Let’s go through 10 ways you can keep your customers coming back to you, time and time again. And you will no doubt make “friends” in the process.

1. Send Birthday Cards

Do you like to be remembered on your birthday? How about doing something really easy and sending birthday cards to your customers. Could you send a little gift with it? What about a “special offer” coupon? Free tickets to an event.

Dear ,

There’s something REALLY special happening this month on the 17th.

It’s your Birthday!!

We wanted to be one of the first to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

From the _______ at XYZ Company we wish you a Happy Birthday and would like to offer you this special gift we’ve been saving for this special occasion.

2. Make “How’s thing’s going” calls regularly

Section out 15 minutes a day to call your customers for no other reason then saying ” Hi ______, I just called to see how things are going?”

Have you ever called your customers to do that? Watch your customers appreciate you thinking of them. It makes them feel that you do care. If you want to have more business, do this regularly.

3. Send out small bags of jelly beans or candies.

Could you include a bag of jelly beans, with a handwritten note on your next sale, with the note saying, ” I thought you may like these, they are my favorites.” Or a note saying “Here’s something for you to enjoy” Watch their eyes light up.

4. Send unexpected gifts.

If you find an article, audiotape, or anything specific customers might be interested in,send it with a note saying ” I thought you’d enjoy this. I just finished reading it and there are some interesting deas here. Also, if you educate your customers they will send you more business.

5. Send Holiday Cards.

What about sending a Holiday Card that is different then all the “others” your customers are getting? Make it UNIQUE.

6. Send Thank You notes.

Send Thank you notes for everything. Even when they pay their bills on time. What about thanking them for referring business, coming to see you. Whatever you want more of, reward. It works. Send a little note saying, “Hi _______, Thank you for paying your account so promptly”

7. Make Thank You calls

Now, you should started making Thank you calls, A variation from the letters. Saying, “Hi ________, Just wanted to say Thank you for referring Mr. Smith to XYZ Co.”

8. Give your customers recognition

Can you put photo’s of your customers in your business. How about a photo and a testimonial. They’ll be flattered and you business will increase. People love recognition.

9.Give your customer awards

Yes, you read that right. Have customers of the month. Send them a award certificate or even plaque.

Dear _______,

Just the other day I was going through my records and I realized that you are one of the top (10,20,50,) customers.

We really appreciate your business. That’s why I want to send you this “Top Customer Certificate” that is enclosed.

XYZ Company looks forward to seeing you soon.

10. Hold seminars, breakfasts, lunches.

If you want to give recognition to your customers and stay in touch, have monthly or quarterly functions for your customers. Have a speaker and an interesting topic.

Dear _______,

I would like to invite you to our “Special Customers” lunch.

It will be held at ______ on ______.

It’s FREE

It’s our way of saying Thank you. etc…

10 Easy Ways To Keep Your Customers Coming Back – And Spending Money With You Forever! is a post from: Etapinu Sorority Business Site

What do you want to achieve this year? More new customers per week? Higher average order amounts? Better customer service ratings? No matter what it is you are shooting for, goal setting is one of the most important things that you will do in the New Year. Ive got a few tips to help you get there.

1. Keep it Challenging but Realistic.

Any goal that you set for your company should be challenging but dont over do it. For example, if you had an average order amount of $700 last year, you wouldnt want to set your goal for this year at $3000 per order. Unless you make drastic changes in how your company runs or what you are selling, that goal is just not realistic. You know best what you may be able to achieve in your particular industry, so be honest with yourself and set your goals accordingly.

2. Write All Your Goals Down.

You may say to yourself on January 1, “I want to get 20 more new customers per week this year.” A few months later you will be saying “Did I say I wanted 20 or 30?” Or more realistically, you have forgotten that you even made that goal. If you have all of your goals written down you will be able to not only go back and check them, you will also be able to go down the list every few months and check to see how many of them you have completed.

3. Assess Your Current Situation.

To set goals you have to know where you are at right now. In 2003 I wanted to assess our customer service rating so we sent out a survey to all of our customers on which they could rate us in each department of our operation. That helped us establish our base. Now we send the survey to every customer after every order. This way we can keep track of how we are doing and if there is ever a hiccup we can fix it quickly. Dont assume anything. Always assess the current situation before setting a new goal.

It’s Only Going to Hurt A Little…

Now, in financial goal setting for your business, one invariably comes to the question: How do I decide on a budget when starting a marketing plan?

This is obviously the first question that you have to answer in order to get started on your new campaign and in order to reach the income goals you have set for yourself.

So how do you figure out what your budget should be? Here is an easy method to help you find a number that is going to work for you and your business. Some might say that it is a good rule of thumb, but I personally judge things on whether or not they work and get results. Thats all.

Moving on… Start with the amount of income that your company generated last month and multiply it by .14 (or 14%). That means that if you had $50,000 in Gross Income last month you should budget to spend $7000 on marketing in the next month. Wait… I know, it sounds painful but it is just like a shot at the doctor. It might hurt for a minute (or in this case a month) but down the road you are going to be glad that you went through it. Putting that much toward the right marketing will bump up your income the next month and start you on a cycle of steady growth.

I know that some businesses run tighter than others and it is possible that you won’t be comfortable with that amount in the beginning. Don’t misunderstand me, any marketing is better than no marketing. Don’t get discouraged if your budget is lower than 14%. But use 14% as the ideal to strive for because, for me as well as many other growing businesses, it has proven to give the best rate of growth possible. How do I know,
you ask? My company has expanded 400% in the past 2 years. Now picture your business at 4 times its current size… There’s that smile I was looking for!

The growth of your business is based on three factors; quality products, great customer service and the proper amount of marketing. If you know you have the first two taken care and you still aren’t experiencing healthy growth then you need to take a serious look at your marketing budget.

So sharpen your pencils, start calculating and decide how rapidly you want your business to grow.

Please take a moment this week to sit down and decide on your goals for the New Year. Even if it is past the New Year and even well into the year, set your goals for the rest of the year.

Everything is easier when you are working towards a goal. My goal is your success and I assume that is your goal as well.

Business Goal Setting and Then Following Through is a post from: Etapinu Sorority Business Site

1- Making money with affiliate programs:
Did you hear about those companies who give people commissions in order to help them sell their products? Do you know that many people make $5000+ per month selling others stuff; it is a big cake that everybody can have a piece from, simply because online business is booming day after another.

To do this you dont necessarily have 10 years of marketing experience or so, also it doesnt involve calling people to recommend that product or distributing fliers in the streets! It is as simple as setting an online $2 dollar advertisement that brings you a commission of up to $150, depending on the product you are selling.

Also there are a lot of free ways to advertise for these products like forums, blogs etc.

2- Making money filling online surveys:
Industries pay over 250 Billion dollars on market researching every year, why? Simply because if they launch unsuccessful product they lose a lot of money and time, this is apart from downgrading of their brand name, to drive away all these worries, they do what is known as Market Research they ask people what do you need? What is your opinion about? What would you like to see in this product? Etc. so they can target the market needs successfully.

All this is good but how can I make money from surveys? Money market researching companies offer its participants money to fill market researching surveys, do you know that your can make 5-75$ for spending 15 minutes online giving your opinion in one survey?

3- Make money driving your own car Or Get a free new car:
Many companies use cars as a successful advertisement poster moving everywhere around the town, and they are really willing to pay for it.

How it works? It is simple, you have two options,
You can register your own car to be wrapped with advertisement and you get paid up to $3200 per month
OR
You receive a free new car wrapped with advertisement to drive.
It is as simple as this!!

4- Make money shopping and eating:
Would you like to go shop, eat and go to amusement parks not just for free but to get paid too!! Yes you can do that, strange, isnt it?

Many companies spend millions of dollars to know how satisfied their customers are? What are their customers needs? Etc. and they are going to pay you to do this for them.

5- Make money with eBay:
Nobody doesnt know eBay, but just in case you dont, eBay is an auctions website allows people to buy and sell cars, software, computers, books etc.

Some people make thousands of dollars on eBay, some others dont, what is the difference between these two kind of people? The difference is What to buy? What to Sell? What are the products with least competition and highest demands? This is what matters, if you want to be an eBay power seller you must consider these questions.

6- Make money with adsense:
Adsense allows you to put advertisement on your website and get paid every time an advertisement is clicked.

But the problem is most of the people dont have websites on the internet, but what if I could tell how to get a ready to be launched website, not only that, but how to get paid $2 per click, which means you can make $100+ a day.

To my knowledge these are the best methods online to help you increase your income and may be quit your job, I hope it was helpful to you.

Best Methods To Make Money Online is a post from: Etapinu Sorority Business Site

Below are some solid informational tips for stay at home moms on starting their home based business in 30 minutes a day. The idea is to create a niche market, or find a market that is missing something that you can provide, and market this over the internet.

To begin with you should consider some things like, what are you really good at? What would you love to do for a full time job? These two questions are really important to finding your niche market, if you don’t like what you do, you might as well not bother doing it, look for something that you love doing, like talking about your kids? What ever it is research it, find out what your industry is missing, it could be anything, lack of information? When you have determined this you have found your niche.

Write down ideas as you get them about you niche market, it doesn’t matter what they are, just write them down so you don’t forget them, then you can ponder them later. Here are some more ideas for finding your niche market:

Improving an Existing Market

Improving an existing market, is there a product that you could make better, for example imagine baby food, if you could make baby food that tasted good, had all of the nutrients and minerals in to help babies grow up healthy, and you could produce this at a competitive price, you would really be on to something!

Adapt an Existing Market

Adapt an existing market, or change something about a product to make it more marketable, an ideal example of this is making a fat free chocolate cake that tastes just as good as a regular chocolate cake and market it to people wanting to loose weight? Although this has been done before, it was a good idea when it was new.

Repackage a Product

Repackage a product, this can be good, but competition is fierce, as a lot of people are already doing this, a good idea is not to limit yourself to just one product, offer a few repackaged items, for example e-books to your niche market.

Solve a Problem

Solve a problem, Find out what people are talking about in your niche market, find out problems that people are having, or what is missing in the industry and develop a service or product that will fill the need. A good way to find out this sort of information is to visit related message boards, forums and blogs to see what people are talking about.

Tap into a Trend

Tap into a trend, keep an eye out for what’s hot, what are people interested in, there are trends started every day, all that you need to do is tap into them, and you have a ready market or a demand, begging for a product or service.

Once you have found your niche market, and found which angle you are going to market it from, it is time to start work on how to get your new niche market internet business off of the ground.

How to Find a Niche Market for Work at Home Moms is a post from: Etapinu Sorority Business Site

We can read lots of books and articles about Customer Service strategies and how to build processes that will serve Customers more successfully. All of these things are valuable, but if we put all of our focus on processes, systems, strategies and procedures we may lose track of something very important.

Customers are people first.

This means that each of your Customers, like everyone else, wants to feel important. It a universal truth – we all want that feeling, and will gravitate towards those that make us feel that way.

Hint: Having Customers gravitate towards you is a very good thing.

Here are seven ways that you as an individual, regardless of any corporate policies or systems, can make Customers feel more important, written from the Customers perspective:

Please use my name. I know I may have a Customer or registration number and that I might need to give that to you. But I also know that once you put that number in the system, you know my name. Use it. If I hand you my credit card, now you know my name too. Please use it.

I want to be a part of the in crowd. Thats why I like being invited into Frequent Flyer clubs, frequent buyer clubs or anything that provides me with discounts, special services, education or surprises. If you have this kind of club, invite me to join. If you dont have one yet, please think about starting one.

Ask me for my advice. I have an opinion, and if asked in the right way, at the right time, when I know you really care about the answer, Ill give you that advice. Opinion cards may be OK, but I would love to be asked personally. Give me the chance to tell you what I think, and Ill reward you with more of my business. I dont often get asked for my opinion and it feels good. And who knows, you might even get a great idea for a new product or service.

Acknowledge me. I know you are busy sometimes. I can see the line. I even understand that your system might be down, or that you have five people in the phone queue. Ive been there, I work too. But when I call or come by, acknowledge that I am there and let me know you are glad Im in the line. A smile and a hello, or a Well be with you shortly will go a long way. Acknowledge me and Ill understand. Ignore me, and well, how do you feel when youve been ignored?

Surprise me. A little extra something with my order or a hand written note would be nice. A special discount just because or a free sample of dessert. It doesnt have to be a big thing, and it doesnt have to be every time. If you get a good surprise, do you want to share it with others? Me too.

Apologize. I hate it when people try to prove they were right, or dont mention that fact that the order is three days late, or the surcharge cant be removed, or the item is out of stock. But again, I know things do happen. When things do go wrong though, please give me a simple apology. Heres the funniest thing. When you make a mistake, and then apologize (perhaps even including a surprise of some sort) Ill love you more than ever. Apologies and good service recoveries are so rare that you can take my dissatisfaction and turn it into loyalty, if you will do this right.

Listen. Most all of the other things Ive told you require you to listen. I can tell when you are really listening to me and that makes me feel very good because true listening is rare, sometimes even at home. Listen to my concerns. Listen to my ideas. Listen to my order, so we dont have any misunderstandings. When you really listen, you cant believe how good that makes me feel.

All of us can do most of these things each day. When we do we will make our work more enjoyable, easier, and quite likely will begin creating legions of loyal Customers immediately.

And before you go, read these seven things again, with the voice of one of your Customers in your head, as a reminder of how you can make each of your Customers feel more important.

Seven Ways to Make Your Customers Feel Important is a post from: Etapinu Sorority Business Site

As with the information technology sector, educational institutions that offer automotive related programs must constantly keep abreast of trends in the industry as sweeping changes can happen seemingly overnight. Automotive technical schools are one of the few institutional entities that cater to modern technology and must keep their course offerings relative to the marketplace in order to adequately prepare graduates for what they will experience when employed. Unlike educational providers that offer IT curriculum, however, automotive technical schools are able to stay ahead of market driven changes as the average price of new vehicles keeps consumer spending relative to the age of technological advances.

Automotive Technical Schools Keeping Up With the Times is a post from: Etapinu Sorority Business Site

First impressions last. You may be a non-believer of this maxim but when it comes to marketing items like business cards, this maxim must be given a wider leeway. You do not want your business cards to rot like tomatoes, do you?

That best thing to do is to plan a catchy and functional business card. If the design requires, have it in full color to boost its potential to catch attention and be a head turner. Aside from that, never forget its functionality. Place in there the indispensable details of your company or yourself. After reading it, your information must be accessible to further guide them to your call of action. Whether you want them to purchase a product, subscribe a service or simply make yourself available for their queries, it is a must to give them the details that they will need in the future.

Business cards must leave a lasting first impression, that is. Before they can convince the potential readers to read them, they must invite them first to come closer and take a look at them. They must have captivating design and appearance to entice the receivers.

To complete the formula, you must entrust your would-be masterpiece to a master in business card printing. If you have doubts regarding the printing process, the colors and materials like paper and ink to be used, ask the pool of experts that the printing company has. They will help you solve your business card printing dilemmas.

To make your planned business card a reality, be sure that you use the right materials, printing process, ink, plus a dash of creativity and intent. Bear in mind that business cards are not just tiny pieces of paper. They may mean a lot to you and your business.

Make your business cards do what they are suppose to do. Make them capture your probable customers to your advantage!

Business cards Lasting First Impression is a post from: Etapinu Sorority Business Site

If you answered readability, congratulate yourself! Fancy graphics may get the ad noticed, but readers must be able physically to read the words. This elementary concept sounds simple enough, yet is often ignored. If they can’t read it, they can’t understand enough about your offer to respond.

With todays’ sophisticated and virtually unlimited graphic computer options, it is easy for the graphic design advertising person to get sidetracked into believing what is on the screen looks like a true work of art!

Here are some advertising design questions to ask:

1. Want your ad to look different? Examine a few past issues of the publication where your ad will be appearing. Often publications create ads themselves (“pub-set”) and they can tend to look similar. See if you can spot them. Then try to develop a graphic look different than the other ads. Set your ad apart by using a different type face family that is easily read.

2. Is the advertisement legible? In their desire to be different and stylish, some of todays’ magazines make reading difficult.

Here are some common problems. White type on a light pastel background. Or light pastel type on a slightly darker background of the same color. Or colors that don’t contrast well when viewed in black and white, such as dark forest green type printed on a background of fire engine red.

It is better to go for the headline in big, lighter type against a much darker background.

3. Trying to cram too much information into a small space? One of the big problems is trying to fit too many words and concepts into a small space.

Here is where small space is actually your friend. It forces you (or the writer) to break down your ideas into simple words and simple concepts. Bear in mind that the goal of many advertisements is to solicit an inquiry, not to tell the entire story.

Often readers look to the details to figure out if they want to act. The type showing those details should be large enough to see and comprehend, even for those who have trouble with their vision. Type in color really needs to be 10 point, if not 11 to be read by the entire population.

With black and white newspaper ads, it is possible to use typefaces as small as 8 point because their comprehension is made easier by black type on newsprint. In magazines, black type as small as 4 points (on a white background) has been used. The clarity is astounding, but many people need a magnifying glass!

In conclusion, ignoring these three considerations can spell disaster for the reader who is trying to understand the advertising message. Good advertising design creates graphic effects that enhance the writers’ words and contribute to the overall success of the ad.

2006 Jon Sinish

This article may be reprinted and distributed as long as the resource information remains intact.

Designing Ads? Remember The Reader is a post from: Etapinu Sorority Business Site

Many international transactions are settled using bank or corporate letters of credit, which means you can rest assured that you will be paid on time. However, many of your clients will insist that you give them payment terms. This means you may need to wait 30, 60 or even 90 days before you get paid. And if your company is growing, waiting to get paid can be very tough.

Going to the bank for a business loan may or may not work. Most banks only give business loans to businesses that have a great past history. But this is of little use to businesses that have a short history but a bright future.

A better option is to consider factoring your invoices, which eliminates the 30 day wait that it takes to get paid. Export factoring (or international factoring as it is also known) can be a very useful tool for new and growing businesses.

Factoring is a form of financing, where a factoring company advances you a substantial portion on your invoices. The factoring company waits to get paid, while you get immediate use of the funds. This eliminates the cash flow issues that happen when you extend terms.

Export factoring is a factoring specialty. Actually, very few factoring companies offer international export factoring, so when talking to companies be sure to be specific and ask if they offer this type of factoring.

Many factoring companies also offer purchase order financing. This factoring product extension provides you with financing to fulfill purchase orders. Purchase order financing gives you the necessary funding to pay your suppliers, using the purchase order as collateral.

If your company is growing and selling goods offshore, be sure to look into factoring and purchase order funding as valuable financing tools to help you grow.

Export Financing – How to Use International Factoring to Finance your Sales is a post from: Etapinu Sorority Business Site

So, you earn a few pennies or bucks on each sale. But the big money comes (or is supposed to) when you recruit your friend to do as you have done – to recommend the product to all their friends – and recruit them into the network, too. And you get a few bucks on their sales, and as your network grows exponentially, so does your income. So why doesn’t it work? Why do 97% of network marketers fail?

There are two main answers. First, the compensation plan. To earn anything at all you have to shift product. Suppose that you get $1 on average for each order that flows through your downline. That means that you and your team have to make 100 sales to make you $100. That’s not much. To live the life you dreamed of, to give up your day-job, to spend more time with your family, to pay off your mortgage and car loan and credit-card debts, you’re probably going to need $500,000 (at least!) At $1 a pop it’s going to take you a long, long time.

Which is where the ‘recruitment’ part of the business comes in. If only you could recruit enough people into your team you could shift all that product and get rich. But you’ve run out of friends, and anyway, most of them don’t want to know or are lousy at networking. So this is the second reason why network marketers fail. To expand your downline you have to go out and recruit strangers. And most people hate doing this. It’s difficult, demoralizing and exhausting. So 97 networkers out of 100 give up and fail. The dream withers and dies.

So what’s the answer?

Making a fortune $1 at a time is not the way to go. And cold-calling strangers is about as much fun as pulling your own teeth.

Just forget about the traditional network marketing model: instead look at it from a tycoon’s point of view. You’ll make more money for less effort if you sell a big ticket item. Instead of making $1 profit per sale, why not make $500? And if selling to strangers gives you a pain in the head, why not delegate? Pass the job over to the experts and let them do all the schmoozing, selling and closing. This is what I do and you could do the same.

You can operate this system from anywhere in the world from behind your computer screen. This is not a pyramid, neither is it MLM. And you can do it even if you are a complete and out-and-out introvert.

Why Network Marketing Sucks is a post from: Etapinu Sorority Business Site