customer retention

How to master Messenger

As the digital age picks up speed, so has the expectations of your customers. Most people expect fast communications and nearly instant service, whether they’re asking a question or voicing a complaint and it’s up to you to provide it to them. More and more often, that means some form of messenger. As many as... Read More

How to get reviews (without bribing your customers)

Customer reviews are vital to the success of your small business. The more you have, the better you’ll look, both in terms of the quality of service you provide and the loyalty of your customer base. Not only that, but they will lead to new customers and, hopefully, increased reviews. Consider that 90 percent of... Read More

How to stay ahead of your competitors on social media

Social media is just like your business: you have to get ahead to stay ahead. With so many people taking advantage of social media in 2018, you have to be smarter and faster than your competition in order to stand out, lure in new customers and keep your current audience engaged. Fortunately, that’s not all... Read More

How to give your website a spring tune up

The ice, snow, sleet, hail, frost and other assorted winter ills are grudgingly giving way and soon the world will be born anew. As you’re taking stock of the changes that are going on in the world and thinking of attracting new customers just now emerging from the long hibernation of winter, it’s a good... Read More

How KFC used humor to respond to a PR crisis–and won the day

For business owners, there’s nothing worse that running out of the one thing your customers are seeking from you. An oil change shop running out of oil, a tire shop running out of tires (all of them) or a chicken restaurant running out of chicken. That’s exactly what happened recently, when a change in suppliers... Read More

Commonly misused business terms

We’ve often said that if your customers don’t trust you with the little things, they won’t trust you with the big things—like giving you their business. Proper word choice is one of those “little things.” If you’re positioning yourself as an expert in a field of service, your task will be more difficult if you... Read More

Use your social media feeds to improve customer service

Your social media channels are not just another way to reach out to new customers and engage with the ones you have. They’re also very effective at dealing customer complaints and improving customer service. More than 42 percent of mobile patrons use social media to direct their anger or general dissatisfaction at businesses—or to ask... Read More

Four ways social media can help your CRM

Marketing with social media is effective because it can help build or strengthen your connections with existing customers. Used properly, it can enhance your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) results and build a solid, loyal customer base. There are plenty of reasons to improve your CRM, of course. The biggest is the cost factor. According to... Read More

Digital marketing trend for 2017: Permission Marketing

When it comes to marketing in 2017, one early trend is becoming clear: if you want attention, you’re going to have to earn it. That’s particularly true in the digital world, where more and more people are hanging out and advertisements are increasingly getting ignored. Banner ad click-through rates continue to decline, your organic reach... Read More

4 ways to improve your CRM

No matter where you are in the business world—just starting, just catching your stride or a long-time veteran—you won’t get any further without loyal customers who trust you. To build up that foundation and to improve on it you need feedback from your customers, old and new. You need a viable Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy—or a... Read More

5 customer retention strategies

Customer retention is an important part of maintaining a healthy business. It’s cheaper to keep customers than to attract new ones, and the longer a customer stays with you, the more likely he or she will be to bring other consumers to your doorstep or your web site. In fact, Harvard Business Review reports that... Read More

How to humanize your brand

You’ll have more success if you treat your customers like friends, not dollars. It’s not enough to have a lot of friends or followers subscribe to your social media channels. The number may look comforting and you may be able to brag about it, but what you’re really looking for, as a business, is the quality of... Read More

How to give a five-star response to a one-star review

How to give a five star response to a one-star review Online review boards and social media channels have taken the place of the complaint lines of the past. You may think you can ignore negative reviews posted on your site—particularly if there are only a few and the good ones far outweigh the bad.... Read More

How to get started with Facebook Audience Optimization

Like the ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz, the key to increasing your Facebook engagement may have been with you all along. Or, in this case, recently added. Facebook has added a new feature, Audience Optimization, that will allow you to specify the audiences most likely to engage with each Facebook page post, based on... Read More

How to handle customer complaints

Customer complaints are as much a part of doing business today as they have been since the first person traded coin for product. Obviously, the methods have changed. Back in the day, people would either bring it up in the store or, perhaps, stew a bit and then give the owner a call. Now, more... Read More

How to improve social media engagement for your auto shop

If your content is not getting the kind of engagement you’d like, you’re not alone. No matter how well you plan out your marketing efforts, you might not get the kind of interaction with your audience you’re hoping for, making it difficult to tell how effective your social marketing is. It doesn’t mean you should... Read More

How to increase customer loyalty for your auto repair shop

As an auto shop owner, you have to split your time between operating and maintaining your shop, attracting new customers and taking care of the ones you already have. Of the three, ensuring customer loyalty is probably the most important—keeping a satisfied customer loyal is cheaper, in the long run, than attracting new ones and... Read More

Six customer retention strategies

Ben Franklin once said: A penny saved is a penny earned. The same applies to customer: keeping them is just like earning them. You know how important customer retention is, but here are a few things to consider: According to the Harvard Business School, increasing customer retention rates by five percent increases profits by 25... Read More

How to build relationships and retain customers

Attracting customers is only half the battle. Once you win them over, you have to keep them and that isn’t easy. With a little perseverance and some proactive thinking, you can keep your customers by reminding them what brought them through your doors to begin with—superior customer service. Before we get to some tips about... Read More