Customer Service: November 2007

Friday, November 30, 2007

Keeping The Customer Satisfied In The Retail World

Mark Burdett offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Keeping The Customer Satisfied In The Retail World
Author: Mark Burdett
Category: Technology, Customer Service, Shopping
Word Count: 556
Keywords: shopping, retail, technology, two way radio, kenwood, service, customer service, health, safety,
Author's Email Address: mail@themarketingbuzz.co.uk
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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What do you think is the best thing about shopping? Is it the anticipation of actually going to the store to make your purchase? Or are one of those people who gets the most joy from actually getting home from the shops and trying on or using or sampling the product or item you have just purchased? Perhaps the actual buzz of the shopping trip with family and friends is what most appeals to you including the window shopping and the thoughts of what you may or may not buy.

So if these are some of best things about shopping, what are the worst? Well, how about the queuing in traffic to actually get to the store in the first place or the driving around looking for an elusive parking space? Maybe it is driving all the way to the shops only to be told the item you specifically wanted is no longer in stock. Or perhaps the curse of the queue when you actually arrive at the checkout or when you are waiting for a member of staff to help you with a query?

The fact is regardless of whether you love or loathe the whole shopping experience modern retailers know that in such a competitive market they have to do everything in their power to make your experience when you visit their store as easy, straightforward and pleasurable as possible. Retailers who fail to do this know that consumers will vote with their feet and simply take their business elsewhere. A well known saying is that you only get one chance to make a first impression. This is certainly true but for retailers, even when that first impression has been made, they have to work hard to ensure the service, products and feeling they give customers is maintained at a high standard.

Modern technology has meant that retailers can now enhance the experience their customers receive more than ever before. Store and loyalty cards are one such use of technology as they not only reward shoppers with discounts and money off advantages but they also track spending habits and buying trends of their customers. This means they know who, what, when and how people are buying certain products and they can tailor their promotional campaigns, staffing and stock levels accordingly.

Another new way in which forward thinking retailers are embracing technology to enhance their stores safety, security and communication is through the use of two way radios. 2 way radios give retailers the perfect way improve their communication and performance. Not only does 2 way radio allow members of staff to communicate over a wide area but they can be used as a health and safety tool so workers can report accidents, check stock levels and stay in touch across the entire site from the shop floor to the distribution area.

Imagine a customer asking a member of staff if a particular item was in stock. Gone can be the days of the staff member disappearing from what seems like ever to find out. Instead a simple call using the Two Way Radio to someone in charge of the stock levels and the customer is told in seconds if the item is available. Modern two way radios are a perfect way for modern retailers to differentiate themselves from their competitors whilst making all our shopping experiences better.

Apex Radio Systems Ltd are The UK Leading Radio Communications Experts and the Kenwood TK3201 Radio is available from them by visiting http://www.apexradio.co.uk/products.php
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Thursday, November 29, 2007

The Best of the Best in Customer Service

Paul Sutherland offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: The Best of the Best in Customer Service
Author: Paul Sutherland
Category: Small Business, Customer Service
Word Count: 482
Keywords: small business, business start up, customer service
Author's Email Address: articles@dti.eu.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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Competing with larger businesses seems almost impossible when you are just starting out. Trying to foster business growth, when the competition has more resources can be discouraging. The temptation to close up shop and surrender can sometimes be overwhelming. However, a bigger business is not always better. You can still establish a strong customer base, if you give the best of the best in customer service.

To give awesome customer service, you will need to do two specific things before you can be successful at being the best of the best. First, you need to put your bottom line on the back burner of priorities. Of course, as a businessperson, you will always be concerned whether you are making a profit. However, your main goal is to become a positive force in promoting your business, regardless of the product or service provided.

Many potential customers will be coming through your doors simply out of curiosity. Your job is to give them a reason to stay. If you are more worried about the day's profit margin, the people will know. But, if you can show them that you genuinely want to provide the best in service and sales, you will be more likely to see the same people coming back at a later date.

The problem most new entrepreneurs face is knowing when you are providing the customer service worthy of drawing people back, like a strong magnet? The fear of competition from the larger businesses, which have greater resources, can often make it difficult to discern whether you are accomplishing your objective.

So, in order to become the best of the best, you are going to need to put yourself in the customer's shoes. When you walk into a new business establishment, what services would you expect, if the proprietor wanted your repeat patronage? What makes a buyer want to return as a loyal consumer? Why would people be willing to give up some amenities, or possibly pay a higher price than the big stores, because they have decided you are the best of the best in customer service?

Consider this list:

1. A smile and a greeting when entering the store
2. Always ready to help, but without sales pressure tactics
3. Being willing to negotiate a sale
4. Amicably resolving issues that might arise
5. Keeping your word
6. Taking time to celebrate and letting customers know how much they are appreciated
7. Learning names, so when they return you can greet them personally
8. The list goes on . . .

You undoubtedly can add to the list. You simply consider the perspective of your customers, and go serve as you would like to be served. As a result, your faithful patrons will keep coming back because they believe in you, not because you have gimmicks and slightly lower prices.

Paul Sutherland is an Accelerated Business Growth Coach. His company - Daniel Thomas International - http://www.dti.eu.com helps corporate and SMEs to grow their businesses with tried tested and proven techniques and strategies, increasing their bottom line profits in 90 days or less.
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Friday, November 16, 2007

Profiting From Paid Subscription

Obinna Heche offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Profiting From Paid Subscription
Author: Obinna Heche
Category: Customer Service
Word Count: 471
Keywords: online business,paid subscription,income,special offer,subscription,free membership,update,discount
Author's Email Address: edgar_biggs@yahoo.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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One of the most popular ways for online businesses to profit these days is through paid subscriptions. When you first begin, it may be difficult to even get people to visit your website but as you grow and expand, paid memberships could be just the thing to supplement your income. However, convincing people to pay to see your website does carry its own challenges.

First of all, when you set out, you probably will not be able to offer a ton of products or services but as you grow you will be able to offer more and more. Then you can try to integrate paid subscriptions to your site. Generally, when a site has paid subscriptions, the members obtain special deals and discounts in return. You will have to figure out your discounts and special offers before you begin charging for memberships.

Secondly, members will be paying you to stay updated. This means that you will have to bring in new products and information on a regular basis. Otherwise your customers will be very disappointed to find that they have paid to see the same products and deals day in and day out for the length of their subscription. Whether you are selling a new product or you just have some interesting information about a related topic, place these updates on the first page of your website so everyone sees the updates immediately upon logging in. This ways your members will know that you are keeping up to date with the latest in your industry.

Remember, though, that paid subscriptions will not be your main source of income and in the beginning it will be difficult to convince people to pay for memberships. Start out with free memberships to prove that what you have to offer is worth paying to see. If you can not get anyone to become a member while it is still free, you will certainly never be able to convince anyone to pay for a membership. Free trials are your chance to put on a show and impress your audience. If you do well in the preliminary rounds they will pay to see you later.

As a way to aide you in money making, paid subscriptions are a great method. On the other hand, before you begin to implement this program you must have an outline of how you are going to accommodate your members. What discounts will they get? How often will you update your site? How much will a membership cost and how often must it be renewed? These are all questions you must ask yourself before you try to charge people for memberships. The best way to see whether or not a paid subscription program will work for you is to start with free memberships and work your way up.

Obinna Heche:

Delivering the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home successfully..

http://www.homeincomeportal.com/obhmy365/
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Starting A Home Delivery Business

Obinna Heche offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Starting A Home Delivery Business
Author: Obinna Heche
Category: Customer Service
Word Count: 479
Keywords: delivery service,delivery,transportation,communication,delivery business,license,opportunity,service
Author's Email Address: edgar_biggs@yahoo.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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Many major companies offer next day mail and package delivery but for those businesses or individuals who have the occasional need for same day delivery may be out of luck. Depending on the community in which you live and the number of businesses, there may be a need for same day services that can allow you to being an overnight business. How far and at what times is same day service going to be feasible will be a determining factor and the type of items being delivered will depend on the availability of your transportation.

While most communications today are done through emails or file transfers, there are some items that just will not load onto a computer. Hard copies of documents, especially needed for many court proceedings, may have an urgency to get to their destination the same day they are created. If you can offer a service that is willing to pick up items and deliver them the same day, you may be able to begin a needed business in your community.

Typically, most businesses are geared towards the effectiveness of the delivery services they use. You can offer a delivery service for businesses when they need items and not when the other services can deliver. While thinking about transportation services opportunities consider the legal requirements needed to be met for offering rides for individuals.

Most may require a taxi license or a license from the public utilities commission to operate in your location. However, if someone needs a ride to take their pet to the veterinarians office, you may not need full licensing. Before offering any type of transportation or delivery business, always check with the state, county and local agencies to determine the need for any special licenses and permits.

One occasional use for your business could be someone who is stuck at home with a broken vehicle. The part is available at the auto parts store but the store can not deliver it until tomorrow and the poor car owners needs the part to fix their car today. They order the part online or over the phone and you run to the parts store, pick it up and deliver it to their home. You can also work with medical supply businesses to provide delivery services for certain supplies and equipment.

Many retailers offer some great discounts on appliances and furniture but lose sales because in order to keep costs down, they do not offer delivery. A customer may go to a competitor and spend many more dollars on the same item simply because they have no way to get it home. Opening a delivery business that picks up merchandise at retailers and delivers it to the customers homes can be a rewarding opportunity. Visiting with the store owner or management and letting them know that your licensed and insured can open many doors for a new delivery service.

Obinna Heche:

Delivering the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home successfully..

http://www.homeincomeportal.com/obhmy365/
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Thursday, November 15, 2007

Grocery Tips for Consumers

Several Reasons Why You Need Answering Service

Alex Olson offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Several Reasons Why You Need Answering Service
Author: Alex Olson
Category: Business, Customer Service
Word Count: 447
Keywords: answering, service, phone, line, incoming, calls, outsourcing
Author's Email Address: alexolson100@gmail.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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When you run your own business, you realize exactly how stressful and demanding it can actually be. Your clients can often be demanding and some days it may feel like you are never off the phone or the computer answering e-mails from customers and clients.

This can take up quite a lot of your time and stop you from earning the money that you should be earning. However, there is a solution in the form of an Answering service.

An answering service is basically a service which answers customer's calls when you cannot answer them yourself. Usually, you would have an answering service which just has an automated message followed by a tone that signals to the customer that they have to leave their message. You would then go to the answering machine later and check your messages, writing down the ones which are the most important.

However, there are different types of answering services that you could benefit from. One includes a live answering service and this is where you employ somebody else to answer the calls for you. They will take the message and input it into a system which you can check whenever you are free.

Usually this would be expensive, however, if you employ people from a different country, such as India, you could pay a lot less and you would still be ensuring that you still get your messages. The only disadvantage with this option is that many customers do not want to speak to people in another country. So you need to take that into account before you even consider using a live answering service.

One type of answering service that could really help your clients and customers is a Bilingual service. This will allow your customers to ask a question and get an answer in whatever language they are most comfortable with. This obviously reaches out to more customers and therefore you could gain more business.

However, before you choose an answering service for your business, you need to take into consideration a number of factors. Things such as how extensive the service actually is and what its current reputation is should be looked at. You obviously do not want to purchase a service which will be unreliable and useless, so you will need to do your research before you choose a service.

Overall, an answering service is ideal for any business which has to deal with a lot of client and customer inquiries. It can potentially save you a lot of money and it saves you time to get on with more work too. So if you have not yet got an answering service for your business, then now may be the time to consider one.

Alex Olson is a professional writer who published a variety of books and articles on different topics connected with business and finance. You can find her highly popular articles about answering service at http://www.answeringservicetop.com .
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Monday, November 12, 2007

Secrets Of Extreme Customer Satisfaction

Ajeet Khurana offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Secrets Of Extreme Customer Satisfaction
Author: Ajeet Khurana
Category: Customer Service
Word Count: 794
Keywords: CRM Software, IT glossary, ERP Software
Author's Email Address: kits_ajeet@hotmail.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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Keeping customers happy should be the aim of most businesses. A brand name is no longer enough to help an organization build its client base. The concept of brand loyalty is almost passe nowadays. Customers today have no issues in shifting from one service or brand to another. However, if a person is given great customer service, she/he might not even want to switch loyalties. Every customer wants the royal treatment. Most organizations have realized this and make sure that their customer service policy is aligned with the idea that "the customer is king".

In the initial stages, ads and promotional measures will bring in new clients. Thereafter, however, new customers are brought in by word of mouth. Existing customers may praise the efficiency of a company, and new customers may walk in to see the truth for themselves. Having a good customer service policy in place will ensure that these customers never feel the urge to shift to some other company. This would lead to greater profits, and hence, the company in question would benefit.

Irrespective of what one is trying to sell, the company should look after the customer. This attitude is very important when the company is an upcoming one. The more established ones can afford to rest on past laurels and on the goodwill that already exists for them. But a company that is a new entrant on the scene will have to make sure that its customers go home rooting for it.

It is essential that the people in the customer service department be approachable and friendly. Sustaining the customer is a more complex task. A hint of rudeness can lead to the loss of a customer. A customer is likely to be more patient with someone who seems to smile into the phone than with a person who does not. Each customer services executive should remember that they are simply working for the customer. They are merely helping the company provide great service.

Every customer services representative must be trained to listen to the customer and should try and empathize with him. It is aggravating for a customer with a problem to have to talk to a disinterested representative. No problem should ever be written off. Of course, some customers tend to be rather painful. However, that is one of the cons of being in the business of providing satisfaction to customers.

Customer service executives have to learn to deal with such situations in the best possible way. Tackling customer complaints and dealing with angry customers is an art that is hard to imbibe. But it would be essential for maximizing customer satisfaction.

It helps to have a customer policy that is clearly defined. This gets rid of the problem of shuttling the customer from one phone line to another. We have all been through the same drama a few times. We are all familiar with the frustrations that build up. Hence, it is essential that different problems and issues be farmed out to different groups.

This will help to ensure that the customer's problem is taken care of at the soonest, with minimal delay. In fact, speed has become a measure of efficiency. Perhaps the rise of the Internet is partly responsible for it. Whatever the case may be, it is clear that customers are most likely to stay on with the company that provides great service instantly, and which holds true to their promises.

Sometimes, all that it takes to keep a customer happy is to keep him informed about even the smallest of developments. A customer will appreciate the fact that his/her complaint is receiving attention. At times, this could even dissuade your customer from making a switch to some other company. Competition is fierce these days, and one cannot afford to slack off if there is a disgruntled customer.

Losing even a single client is bad for business. A disgruntled client may spread bad reviews and convince others to look at other companies. By keeping the customer up-to-date and by sending out prompt replies to his/her queries, one can make sure that (s)he does not switch loyalties.

There are several other little things that can be used to make the customer happy. A greeting card sent out at the start of the New Year could make him/her feel valued. Informing the customer about various new developments that might prove useful may be a good idea. If the company is able to foresee the client's needs, she/he is not likely to ever become disgruntled.

Going out of one's way to help out a client in need could mean a lot of business success. The aim of every organization should be to exceed the expectations that the customer may have already built up. When this is achieved, the company would really be flourishing.

Read the IT glossary at http://www.bestpricecomputers.co.uk/glossary/ to know about ERP software at http://www.bestpricecomputers.co.uk/glossary/enterprise-resource-planning.htm and CRM software at http://www.bestpricecomputers.co.uk/glossary/crm-software-solutions.htm
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Saturday, November 10, 2007

Mystery Shopping Doesn't Have To Be A Mystery

Shaun Parker offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Mystery Shopping Doesn't Have To Be A Mystery
Author: Shaun Parker
Category: Customer Service
Word Count: 639
Keywords: mystery,shopping,shopper,customer,service
Author's Email Address: parker@highposition.net
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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Mystery shopping is not a new phenomenon it actually started its life in America in the 1930s as a way to test the integrity of financial services staff. So how mystery shopping changed over the last 70 years? For many, mystery shopping is still perceived as a low-tech process conducted by part-time staff with little or no training, the reality may surprise you!

A mystery shopping programme prepared and managed by a professional company, involves using highly trained assessors posing as customers (for many assessors mystery shopping is in fact a full time professional career). These assessors interact with branches or departments of an organisation, typically to assess their customer service and sales performance standards.

Reports are provided which usually comprise how the organisation has performed in relation to pre-agreed questions (these questions are formulated at the commencement of a programme and should integrate seamlessly with the organisations sales and service standards). Within retail, a typical report format would be split into a number of subsections covering areas such as 'First Impressions', 'Meeting & Greeting', 'Product Demonstration', 'Recommendation' and 'Close & Upsell'

Mystery shopping comes in a number of varieties, telephone, (where a recording of the call is also provided), email/website for complete evaluation of customers' online experiences (including the order fulfilment process), report-based mystery shopping visits and video mystery shopping visits, the latest and fastest growing service, which provides high quality video footage of the entire customer experience by utilising assessors wearing the latest hidden video camera technology.

It has long been recognised that mystery shopping across a retail network can identify through league tables an organisation's shining stars as well as their pits of despair! Well today the level of reporting and depth of analysis is being taken to new levels. Many mystery shopping companies can now provide a wide range of reporting available online, allowing you to track the precise progress of your programme, as well as conduct analysis for your entire estate or pre-selected outlets in areas such as which day of the week or which profile of staff (male/female, under 25s/ over40s etc) are delivering the best service.

Also, which product category your staff perform best with, and of course which areas of performance are improving or declining. A useful recent addition is also the ability for retailers to now benchmark their performance in key areas against averages for the retail sector.

Where mystery shopping has seen significant strides in recent years is in the understanding that it can provide not only a powerful and accurate means of measuring performance, but also be used as crucial tool for driving improvements. Many organisations have come to realise that measuring alone will not necessarily create a change in staff behaviours.

Nowhere is this more evident than when using video mystery shopping. The key for creating change is about getting staff to recognise service issues and understand the need for change. Many forward thinking retailers are now conducting regular video mystery shopping visits across their retail networks and then critically having a structured video review mechanism that involves individual retail staff self-evaluating the video footage of their branch's performance, creating their own action planning and buying into a programme for change.

Interactive DVDs are made available to highlight best practice for both induction training and continuous coaching development. These real-life examples of service delivery from real staff seem to have so much more impact than sanitized training videos featuring actors.

Certainly one of downsides of embarking on a mystery shopping programme, is once you start its very hard to stop, some describe it like going on a diet, if you are disciplined and you eat properly and take the right exercise you will lose weight, once you stop those good practices, the pounds start piling back on, and lets face it there is nothing more depressing than an overweight retailer!

Shaun Parker has been involved with mystery shopping and is a specialist mystery shopper for businesses around the UK. For more information visit http://www.performanceinpeople.co.uk
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Friday, November 9, 2007

Outsourcing: Past, Present and its Future

James Stinson offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Outsourcing: Past, Present and its Future
Author: James Stinson
Category: Customer Service, Business Opportunities
Word Count: 816
Keywords: call center outsourcing services, call center outsourcing, philippine top call center
Author's Email Address: james@global-sky.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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Undeniably, outsourcing professional jobs from Western countries to other parts of the globe is by far, the biggest phenomenon that the business world has seen these last twenty years. The rapid development of the technology behind communication has helped make outsourcing expand exponentially. But what paved the way for this so-called business maneuver to take hold among many of its present practitioners? How is this business practice faring today? What will this phenomenon bring the global market in 20, 30 or even in 50 years time?

In its simplest terms, outsourcing is the delegation of jobs from an internal production to an external entity; a process that is somewhat similar to handing out jobs to different subcontractors. Although many companies are outsourcing professional tasks the different service providers within their countries boundaries, the term outsourcing in itself has now come to mean the elimination of the native staff, in favor of utilizing the services of the less expensive overseas work force. Outsourcing can also be defined as the management and execution of an entire business function by a 3rd party service provider.

Brief History

Although many studies have shown that this kind of business strategy was practiced by global companies since 1962, it was only in 1989 that outsourcing became formally identified as such (Mullin, 1996). Hiring subcontractors to do jobs with ancillary capacity may have paved the very ground work for outsourcing practices; and soon, as a safeguard for this new business strategy, companies begun establishing outsourcing support services as well.

By the middle of the 1990s, companies started looking at outsourcing as a way of becoming more cost-efficient. Business functions that were necessary in running a company, but not related to the core business were being delegated with the emerging group of service companies: from accounting, to data processing and even security companies. Other types of service providers catered to delivering assistance in human resources, internal main distribution, plant maintenance, etc.

At the turn of the century, outsourcing also paved the way for offshore outsourcing practices or simply, offshoring. Offshoring may be defined as a relocation of business processes like manufacturing and production to a lower cost location. These locations are usually situated overseas. Unlike outsourcing companies which delegates jobs to different service providers (or utilizes different companies for one or more specific tasks,) offshoring utilizes the same internal structure or internal business organization as the mother company.

Outsourcing Today

Today, outsourcing is one of the most prominently used business strategy in the world. This business phenomenon has created new jobs for many countries - and some of these job vacancies are unprecedented until outsourcing became a substantial force in the market. Only upon the onset of the new millennium are managers and engineers finally outsourced. There is now room for work force that can generate weekly activity reports, weekly update reports, all to answer the specifications of an evolving market. Auxiliary tasks like customer support, technical support and front desk services are also being outsourced.

Many companies now are subscribing to outsourcing for a variety of reasons. However, the primary cause seems to lean more on a companys desire to cut costs or at the very least, to streamline the companys expenses. Others prefer handing out auxiliary tasks or jobs with ancillary capacity so that the mother company can focus its energy on running its core business. Other small companies rely on outsourcing in their bids to access skills and technology which may be otherwise unattainable to them due to financial or time restraints.

However, outsourcing in itself is often plagued with its own set of problems. Although this business strategy is often used as a cost-saving device, there are still considerable transaction costs to contend with. There are also emerging problems when it comes to confidentiality and privacy of company matters, as well as infringement of intellectual property rights. These are but a few of the problems when it comes to hiring human resources overseas. On the other hand, there are also incessant rumblings about how outsourcing deliberately affects the unemployment rate in the western countries when jobs are shipped overseas.

A Future Market for Outsourcing

These days, market analysts are predicting that ASP or Application Service Providers will come to its own in the future. Already, there are growing numbers of ASP with companies practicing outsourcing methods. ASP can offer deployment and management of application through the Internet or some other private network on a monthly or per-user basis. Basically, it provides software as a service driven by the Internet, helping IT infrastructure markets and software program markets converge. Examples of this technology include: application monitoring, data centers, customer support from consulting firms, connectivity offers to and from hosting companies, hardware monitoring, software applications created by independent software vendors, system implementation created by system integrators, telecommunication providers, etc. ASP offers these advantages over outsourcing: ease of use, faster marketing time, IT expertise, and of course, lower fees and expenses.

James Stinson is Owner and Founder of Global Sky Inc. He employs a team of 50 in a high quality call center facility based in the Philippines. For more info on outsourcing your project visit: http://www.global-sky.com
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How Outsourcing Can Help your Business

James Stinson offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: How Outsourcing Can Help your Business
Author: James Stinson
Category: Business Opportunities, Customer Service
Word Count: 552
Keywords: call center outsourcing services, call center outsourcing, philippine top call center
Author's Email Address: james@global-sky.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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It seems as if all kinds of business ventures can now profit from outsourcing: that process of sending out non-core company projects to overseas service providers. Business Process Outsourcing or BPO can be translated as seeking the services of consultants, independent contractors or freelancers that can do specific tasks with which the primary company has no immediate access to due to either financial or time constraints. Outsourcing entails basic know-how of this kind of transaction especially when deciding on which projects are to be outsourced, what service providers should be assigned to what project, how to manage the project from afar, how to agree on payment terms, and how and when to best present the finished product.

Outsourcing has many benefits, especially for small to medium scale businesses. Here are some examples on how outsourcing can help your business expand and prosper.

Finding expert handlers

There are many forms of outsourcing as many as the required jobs or projects you need to send out to service providers. The great beauty of this business strategy is that it frees your company from many a tedious task like interviewing potential workers, filing your workers benefits, training, etc. If you need accounting done, then simply hire a service provider that specializes in accounting. If you need someone to clear your desk, hire a virtual assistant for your mounting paperwork. If you need a group of people to market your new product over the wires, hire a call center that not only specializes in telemarketing, but one that can also do follow-ups and bills potential customers after the transaction.

Meanwhile, you can continue plotting out your companys next marketing move or brainstorm on that new advertising campaign you have been planning on for some time. Finding expert handlers for specific tasks not only helps your company become more efficient, it also lets you focus more on your companys possible expansion and growth.

You dont know how to start finding a service provider? Theres no need to fret. Incredibly, there are now online outsourcing tools that can help you post your specific project, with which service providers bid for your business. Bidding, of course, helps you discern which company can offer the best deal when it comes to payment and delivery schemes.

Growth means a larger market base

It may seem counter-intuitive but outsourcing can help increase your market base without seemingly increase the volume of your regular employees, without buying more office equipment and without building new infrastructure to accommodate your business expansion. Basically, those three elements rest on the capabilities of the service provider you choose to deal business with. This will actually help your company take on larger orders, or deal with more potential customers. Tracking down orders, shipping and following up on payment can be entrusted to one or more service providers. There are also service providers that accommodate outsourcing and offshoring practices. If your company utilizes such service providers, you can be assured that your companys products (if this is the kind of business your run) can speed up order notation and delivery of goods can be made in record time. Not only will this make your customers happy, but it also promotes your company as very customer-oriented. This is a great form of advertising since many of your satisfied customers will seek your services again and again.

James Stinson is Owner and Founder of Global Sky Inc. He employs a team of 50 in a high quality call center facility based in the Philippines. For more info on outsourcing your project visit: http://www.global-sky.com
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Thursday, November 8, 2007

Effective Customer Communication

Jonathon Hardcastle offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Effective Customer Communication
Author: Jonathon Hardcastle
Category: Customer Service
Word Count: 537
Keywords: Customer communication, effective communication, consumer satisfaction, business
Author's Email Address: jonathon@awesomeemails.net
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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Organizations are open dynamic systems for transforming resource inputs into saleable outputs (goods & services). They are created to provide useful products and services that satisfy the needs of customers and provide value to stakeholders. But the interests of various stakeholders (whether employees, customers, suppliers, or stakeholders) are not always aligned. This places conflicting pressures and demand on managers.

To maintain organizational viability, managers seek to navigate competitive environmental forces and work to achieve goals in the areas of productivity, satisfaction, and revitalization. One of the realities of life in organizations is that today's effective practices are not likely to suffice tomorrow. Whether pulled by the success of growth or jolted by crisis and downturn, managers must periodically transform the system to adapt to environmental realities. In the process of transformation, managers can target changes in the key internal resources such as tasks, technology, organization, people, and culture. Maintaining a dynamic balance among these resources is what human resources management is all about. Particularly, in order to analyze the changes that occur to an organization's strategy, structure, and culture, due to consumer demand, the human resource management communication framework becomes the dominant tool.

Effective communication is essential for transmitting directives, building co-operation and team spirit, optimizing performance and satisfaction, and avoiding and solving problems. Formal communication channels flow in downward, upward, and horizontal directions. Informal networks, essential for any contemporary business unit, are extremely useful as the need to tap into current feelings and reactions of employees, apart of customers, is evident. Thus, messages need to be encoded carefully so that they clearly communicate intentions, feelings, and expectations. Then these should be sent through the most appropriate channels, and feedback should be solicited from the receiver to be sure that the message was decoded as intended.

Such barriers as frames of reference, value judgments, selective listening, filtering and distrust complicate the internal and external communication systems of companies. They can be overcome by sending clear, complete, and specific messages. Demonstrating expertise, clarifying intentions, being reliable and dynamic can enhance credibility, exhibiting warmth and friendliness, and building a positive image. Soliciting and providing specific feedback can also enhance communication effectiveness.

One of the most important consumer satisfaction elements is the ability to ask questions and being able to receive appropriately answers from company executives. Gaining information, uncovering motives, giving incentives, obtaining participation, checking understanding, initiating the thinking process, inducing agreements, and refocusing attention, are all essential components of an effective consumer communication plan. Thus, employees' active listening skills assist a company to build rapport with customers and help them obtain the relevant information they need.

Moreover, body language is useful both in reading the emotions and attitudes of customers and in reinforcing an employee's verbal messages. Understanding vocal qualities can enhance the reading of other people's messages by a company's employees and help them to project their own, more effectively.

Concluding, due to the growing complexity and turbulence of the business environment and the related growth in research knowledge about customer behavior patterns, managers of the 21st century have to take four themes as paramount; the necessity of managing the challenges of change; functioning within a global environment; being sensitive to the diversity among people; and behaving with ethical integrity.

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles for http://1stconsumerinfo.com/ - In addition, Jonathon also writes articles for http://letstalkaboutfinance.com/ and http://businessworldnow.net/
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How to Make Your Business Thrive in the 21st Century

Paul M. Jerard Jr. offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: How to Make Your Business Thrive in the 21st Century
Author: Paul M. Jerard Jr.
Category: Customer Service
Word Count: 507
Keywords: business, customer service, thrive, 21st, century, make, making, businesses
Author's Email Address: AURAWellnessCtr@aol.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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The following story is related to my particular business field, but you will see how it relates to all businesses. After location, marketing, and a business plan, our customer service is what keeps repeat business coming back for more. If you don't value your repeat business, your competition will.

If you have a strong customer service staff, good ethical standards, and a mission statement based upon helping the community, you will see your competition send customers to you. They don't do it on purpose, but by grooming an adversarial relationship, these businesses send abused customers seeking refuge, where they are treated fairly.

Recently, I had a prospective family visit us for an
initial interview. They were interested in martial arts classes, but looked at Yoga on the premises as a bonus. This family had been abused by their sensei (karate teacher), and they were seeking some gentle guidance. They were still studying with their current sensei, but not sure if they wanted to stay for anymore abuse.

One of the things they found at our center is a mission statement that all of my family and staff live by. They were so impressed, that one of their children went back to ask if their current martial arts school had one. Upon asking this question, the sensei told this student to do 1000 push ups.

Needless to say, that family joined our center shortly
afterward. The above-described business doesn't see the true worth of good paying repeat business. In fact, this type of business is working hard to make "service minded" competitors look good.

Now, what does this have to do with your business? This has everything to do with all of our businesses and your job security. How often do you see customers mistreated by banks, restaurants, and department stores? This occurs far too often, and the attitude starts at the top of every organization.

When you send your customers to your competitors, you might as well advertise for them too. Some customer service departments have the same atmosphere as a collection agency. The customers are visualized as the enemy and treated like prisoners without a choice.

If this sounds like your customer service department, you may find yourself out of business. For decision makers, the action is clear: Clean up your customer service or be prepared for extinction. For employees who don't have a say in the decisions, be prepared to "jump ship," if you see customers making a mass exodus out the door.

"The writing is on the wall," when we forget who is really in charge. Your real "boss" is the customer. That's who pays your salary, gets you a bonus, sends you on vacation, and helps you get your kids through college. To thrive in any economy, we must promote a helpful product or service. Otherwise, you might as well give up promoting, advertising, and marketing, all together. Customer service exists to "close the back door," not by force, but by listening to suggestions and establishing a common bond with your existing customers.

© Copyright 2005 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard is the director of Yoga teacher training at Aura in RI. He's a master instructor of martial arts and Yoga. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness. He wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students wanting to be a Yoga teacher.
http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org
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Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Ticket Management System -You May Already Have A Flourishing Online Business?

Gary Jezorski offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum.
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Article Title: Ticket Management System -You May Already Have A Flourishing Online Business?
Author: Gary Jezorski
Category: Customer Service, Software
Word Count: 408
Keywords: Ticket Management System
Author's Email Address: garyj@verticalmarketingllc.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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You may already have a flourishing online business, but in case you believe that further progress is being curtailed due to the ever-increasing number of customer support requests, it's recommended that you opt for a ticket management system as soon as possible. Installing a ticket management system will help you a lot because it will automate all of your vital business tasks such as replying to customer generated queries and complaints. It will also be a great help to your customers because then they will easily be able to create support requests and monitor status updates by using any of the preferred mediums such as email, web forms, phone, support site, fax and postal mail.

A ticket management system offers varied benefits, but if we were to make a list of the most prominent benefits, it would most likely include substantial timesavings and increased efficiency. This would become a possibility because after you install the ticket management system, you will no longer be required to reply individually to each and every support request that reaches you. All you have to do is configure the system as per your needs and preferences. The system will then automatically classify each incoming support requests into different categories based on your set criterions. This way you will be able to concentrate more on the most important requests and post generic replies for less important support requests.

Another important benefit is that you will be able to make a substantial reduction in your operational costs as related to the management of customer support services. What is even better is that cost savings will always be a possibility irrespective of the size of your business. If you have a small business, you will be able to save by handling all the customer support services on your own whereas if you have a large enough business, you will save by limiting the number of support executives you hire. What's notable is that you will be able to do all these without compromising the quality of your customer support services.

Looking at the benefits, you might be tempted to believe that ticket management systems are costly, but you can rest assured because most of the highly effective ticket management systems are quite affordable. What is even better is that free trial versions are available, which you can use to select the most appropriate ticket management system. You have basically nothing to lose, so just go for it.

If you want the Ultimate Ticket Management System make sure you visit Premium Response at http://www.PremiumResponse.com.
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Helpdesk Software - Planning New Product And Sales Strategies?

Gary Jezorski offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum.
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Article Title: Helpdesk Software - Planning New Product And Sales Strategies?
Author: Gary Jezorski
Category: Customer Service, Software
Word Count: 471
Keywords: Helpdesk Software
Author's Email Address: garyj@verticalmarketingllc.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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Helpdesk software plays an important role in managing your customer base and takes a huge load off your customer support function. A helpdesk, as you might know, is an IT-based resource that provides assistance and information in troubleshooting problems that your customers may face while using your products. Larger companies even have additional in-house help desk to provide a similar type of service to their employees.

In large IT corporations, the helpdesk is often a mandatory part of the customer support department. This is especially true for ISO/IEC 20000 companies and companies who want to be known as providers of high-quality IT services. Companies usually provide a toll-free number, a link, or an email to their customers as a means to contact their help desk.
The helpdesk serves as the central point where users and customers can forward their requests.
Helpdesk software is used to manage the requests that customers send by tracking each customer request with a unique number or code called ticket. The software issues the ticket with the details of the request when it receives a request from a customer.

The ticket is closed when the request is fulfilled or the problem is solved. The details of the request and it's solution are documented in a database that can be referenced when similar problems or requests are made again.This brings us to the additional benefit of using this software. This software can be a very useful source of information when you are looking at ways to improve your product by locating, analyzing, and removing the common bugs and weak areas of your product.

Many organizations recognized the true value of their help desk long ago and use it extensively to drive their research and sales.A help desk does not merely respond reactively to customer responses but gathers useful data ranging from technical issues to customer needs, choices and satisfaction. Companies can use this information as research material for planning new product and sales strategies.

These days a wide range of software programs are available in the market to support the helpdesk function. However, most of these programs are complex and large because they cater to helpdesk at either the enterprise level or the departmental level of large companies. This leaves small and medium businesses in the lurch. They either have to learn and incorporate the unnecessary steps and levels of an expensive application into their system or choose to go without the cost-saving and image-boosting benefits of a professional helpdesk.

Premium Response offers an alternative for such companies. It is simple, economical, easy to operate and easy to integrate. You can use Premium Response to efficiently track and speed up the response to helpdesk calls. This helpdesk software has been designed after years of customer support experience and therefore incorporates all the necessary features for running a successful helpdesk.

If you want the Ultimate Helpdesk Software make sure you visit Premium Response at http://www.PremiumResponse.com.
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Sales CRM Software -Will Help Your Business To Organize Your Sales Activities

Gary Jezorski offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Sales CRM Software -Will Help Your Business To Organize Your Sales Activities
Author: Gary Jezorski
Category: Customer Service, Software
Word Count: 467
Keywords: Sales CRM Software
Author's Email Address: garyj@verticalmarketingllc.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------

If your customers visit your website and buy your products or avail any of your services offered, but are unable to contact you so that can get their problems solved often faced by using your product or service, your sales are likely to go down.

That's because, if the customers like something about your product, they will market it for you by word of mouth but at the same time, if they don't like your product, they will still talk about it warning people about the disadvantages about your product or service. This will badly affect your reputation in the market affecting your sales severely. Besides, you want your customer to have a good experience with your company, putting forward a positive impression about your business.

With the help of a Sales CRM software, it becomes easier for your company to integrate all the customer's information into one system so that the technical support will not face any problems during the time of customer interaction. A CRM software is nothing but a tool that is compiled with some computer programs but at the same time uses traditional methods to ensure customer loyalty by solving their queries so that they develop trust in your business. Thanks to the Sales CRM software, the sales, the technical team as well as the marketing strategies have a clearer picture on how to increase your customer base keeping the objective of providing hassle-free services in line with your goals.

Once the software has helped you to define your objectives and make them clear so that they can be easily achieved, as a manager, you can put more emphasis on diversifying your business operations and developing marketing strategies in order to improve your customer service.A sales CRM software will help your business to organize your sales activities systematically for the betterment of your business.

This software does not only reduce the paper work required for recording important details about your customers but it also facilitates the categorizing and distributing processes efficiently. Besides, this is exactly what a sales force automation CRM centric software is supposed to do.An efficient CRM software organizes and at the same time prioritizes the customer requests, their queries, complaints, providing service to your customers, etc. in order to enhance business-customer relationship. The bottom line is that if your company uses this software, the customer calls can be handled quickly and definitely more efficiently.Before you decide to buy the CRM software, it is always advisable that you test the software by using the demo version first.

The demo version is usually for a trial period and the best thing is that it is free. If you find that the software is something that your company really needs, it simply means that you have found an ideal CRM software for your company.

If you want the Ultimate Sales CRM Software make sure you visit Premium Response at http://www.PremiumResponse.com.
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Hi, How May I Offend You Today?

Robert Howard offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Hi, How May I Offend You Today?
Author: Robert Howard
Category: Customer Service, Management, Sales
Word Count: 995
Keywords: Customer experience, customer care, customer service, CRM
Author's Email Address: rhoward@everestkc.net
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------

As an American consumer, chances are that you have been offended in some way by a company this year. It hasn't always been that way. Before the current era of mass-everything, there was a real connection between proprietor and customer: a connection that continues to be the envy of most businesses today.

Let me take you back to a time when the customer and business had a real - not artificial - relationship.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS

"Jim was spending a typical fall Saturday working on a never-ending list of home repair projects. Ever since he bought the little two-story fixer-upper, he has been a regular down at the corner hardware store. Earl, the sole proprietor, was from the old school. He didn't believe in fancy systems or gimmicks; he just liked helping his fellow neighbors. Earl knew everyone by name, and as any good businessperson should - he knew what one of his best customers, Jim, was up to today.

When Jim walked in the door, Earl recognized him like an old friend and immediately asked him about his latest project. Within minutes, Earl had found just the right product and tool that would help Jim get the job done. Earl made a sale as well as a very happy customer."

That scenario just doesn't happen often enough anymore does it? Perhaps it was easier back before quaint neighborhood stores were overrun by the big-box retailers and the mass-production of, well, everything. Neighborhood storeowners developed real relationships with their customers; not a relationship defined by a customer record stored in some computer database.

BAD SERVICE - MASS PRODUCED

Unfortunately, in today's environment of mass-produced products and services, companies rely too heavily on a rapidly changing employee base, and a less than adequate customer database. As a result, it's far too easy - and common - for companies to offend their customers.

If we were to replay Jim's scenario in today's environment, it might go something like this:

"Jim jumped in his car for the second time this Saturday to make the 20-minute drive to a strip mall where the big-box home improvement store was located. On his first trip, the young assistant didn't really understand what Jim was trying to do and had sold him the wrong product. Now, Jim had to return to the store to exchange it for something else.

Upon arriving at the store, nobody greeted or recognized him, and when he finally tracked down a store employee, he had to re-explain his entire project and problem. After a long deliberation, Jim finally had a replacement product and was ready to check out. But without his receipt for the original product..."

You probably know how the story would go. Too many consumers have been treated just this way. It's no wonder that many consumers say that customer service across the board is just plain bad.

THE REMEDY?

Unfortunately, we live in a time where mass-produced products and services are the norm. If you work for one of these organizations, you have to make the most of a difficult situation: multiple locations, multiple channels, changing employees, and rising customer expectations. Many companies turn to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions to bridge the gap on poor customer service.

Although CRM solutions can stem the tide of poor customer service, they often can't achieve the level of customer intimacy that some customers require. CRM solutions do a great job of tracking customer information, transactions, and interactions, but I would argue that a CRM system is only as good as the customer-facing individuals using it.

Ideally, your CRM system should help your organization to keep track of all pertinent customer information:

* Customer Information: This should include all of the basic identifying information for your customer including name, address, email address, telephone number, sex, age, etc.

* Transaction History: This should include a record of all transactions associated with your customer including the transaction dates, amount, products or services purchased, payments, receivables, returns, refunds, etc.

* Interaction History: This should include a record of all contacts made with the customer including telephone calls, emails, newsletters, direct mail, invoices, service calls, etc.

Armed with all of this great information, customer-facing employees should be well prepared to provide excellent customer service, right? In a perfect world, they should. However, there are several factors that can hinder the best intentions of any CRM solution:

1. Employee Behavior & Discipline: Poor customer service can continue even with a CRM solution in place when employees don't utilize it properly or consistently.

2. Data Quality & Accessibility: A customer database can help to collect and aggregate critical information, but it won't help if the data is incorrect or inaccurate, or if your employees can't access it when and where they need it most.

3. Single View of the Customer: CRM solutions in your company are like debt; more is not necessarily better. Too often, multiple CRM solutions arise in an organization, which creates silos of customer data. That can prevent your company from ever getting a single view of your customer - a scenario that can perpetuate poor customer service.

Bad customer service doesn't need to become a habit. We may never return to the time of quant neighborhood stores, where intimate customer service just came naturally. However, companies can begin to improve their customer service by taking a more customer-centric view of their CRM systems. CRM should not be viewed as the end-all solution, but rather as a enabling tool that, if used properly by your employees, can help to develop a more meaningful relationship with your customers.

The next time I walk into a business that I frequent, I'd like them to remember me. I'd like them to recall that I just bought something from them last week, or that I've been a regular customer for more than a year. I'd like them to ask me how I'm doing, or how they can help me with my latest project - which they should know about. Nobody wants to be greeted with an all too common mantra: "Hi, How May I Offend You Today?"

Robert Howard is the Founder and Chief Executive of ClearBrick LLC, an innovative business services company that provides do-it-yourself business solutions and advice.

ClearBrick can be found online at http://www.ClearBrick.com.
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Small Business CRM Software - It Is Very Important That You Define Your Business

Gary Jezorski offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum.
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PUBLICATION GUIDELINES
- You have permission to publish this article for free providing the "About the Author" box is included in its entirety.
- Do not post/reprint this article in any site or publication that contains hate, violence, porn, warez, or supports illegal activity.
- Do not use this article in violation of the US CAN-SPAM Act. If sent by email, this article must be delivered to opt-in subscribers only.
- If you publish this article in a format that supports linking, please ensure that all URLs and email addresses are active links.
- Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to garyj@verticalmarketingllc.com
- Article Marketer (www.ArticleMarketer.com) has distributed this article on behalf of the author. Article Marketer does not own this article, please respect the author's copyright and publication guidelines. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this article.
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Article Title: Small Business CRM Software - It Is Very Important That You Define Your Business
Author: Gary Jezorski
Category: Customer Service, Software
Word Count: 493
Keywords: Small Business CRM Software
Author's Email Address: garyj@verticalmarketingllc.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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It should be remembered that Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is suitable for any business, no matter whether the business is big or small.Actually, considering what the CRM software offers, it makes it a perfect tool for a small business.

The reason for this is pretty simple. The CRM software is very cost efficient and at the same time, the software emphasizes on the aspect of time management that is very much needed in a small business. Besides, if the customer is satisfied with your service, it is bound that he will spread the goodwill of your company thereby increasing your companys customer base.

A CRM software ensures that a customer has a quick and efficient experience with the company. That's because all of the customer information, including his contact number, gender, address, etc. has been integrated into a single centralized system which makes it even more easy to handle each customers queries individually. One of the best things of this software is that it has the capacity of making every aspect of business comparatively more productive

This makes the CRM software all the more compatible to any small business. That means, apart from handling customers and ensuring customer satisfaction, the CRM software also takes care of billing details, frequent inventory checks as well as the basic aspect of accounting. Although the size of the organization plays an important role in advocating this software, the small-scale business faces no problem in this respect.That's because, the CRM software can easily be customized according to the organizations needs and therefore the small-scale organization can feel right at home with the CRM software.

In short, the CRM software is essential for a small business for the following reasons:
- For collecting as well as analyzing the information of the clients in a secure manner.
- Keeping up with the market trends in order to sell more products and services.
- Formulating market-centric strategies that are professional and at the same time cost effective.
- Need of a customer friendly interface that is web based, providing a unique experience with respect to customer interaction.
- Convenient storage options in order to eliminate any loss of data.

It is very important that you define your business needs first before you adopt a CRM software for your business. As a business owner, you have to make sure that the software is flexible as and when you need it. You also have to make sure that the software is easy to use and that your employees don't need any formal training in that respect.

The only thing that you have to remember is that the CRM software that you adopt should be an asset and not a liability to your business. Considering the limited funds in the small-scale business, the CRM software should not demand any extra infrastructure. All of this adds to one simple fact. The CRM software is not just a marketing strategy, but it is distinct software tool that satisfies the distinct requirements of a small business.

If you want the Ultimate Small Business CRM Software make sure you visit Premium Response at http://www.PremiumResponse.com.
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How Can Email Marketing be a Business?

Zach Thompson offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum.
-----------
PUBLICATION GUIDELINES
- You have permission to publish this article for free providing the "About the Author" box is included in its entirety.
- Do not post/reprint this article in any site or publication that contains hate, violence, porn, warez, or supports illegal activity.
- Do not use this article in violation of the US CAN-SPAM Act. If sent by email, this article must be delivered to opt-in subscribers only.
- If you publish this article in a format that supports linking, please ensure that all URLs and email addresses are active links.
- Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to zcthompson@earthlink.net
- Article Marketer (www.ArticleMarketer.com) has distributed this article on behalf of the author. Article Marketer does not own this article, please respect the author's copyright and publication guidelines. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this article.
-----------
Article Title: How Can Email Marketing be a Business?
Author: Zach Thompson
Category: Network Marketing, Advertising, Customer Service
Word Count: 548
Keywords: Business,home business
Author's Email Address: zcthompson@earthlink.net
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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Many people think that email marketing has lost its power due to the new laws. However, the new laws have actually helped those with newsletters and those using email marketing. It has forced publishers to write quality newsletters and to treat their subscribers with the respect that is due to them. Before the laws were in place, there were many publications that were just advertising machines and much of the sales copy was of poor standard.

Now publishers and businesses are realizing the true value of their subscribers and treating them like the VIP's they are. This means that email marketing is of better quality and more effective. Visitors can subscribe to newsletters with confidence that they will not be bombarded with advertisements as soon as they sign up. You will get more website sign ups and a better open rate for your newsletters.

The only problem now is the vast amount of email filters that sometimes eat up your important mail to your subscribers. It is important to alert your subscribers in your initial welcome or confirmation email, and give them instructions on how to white list your mail. It is also vital to your email marketing campaigns to have a good reliable auto-responder, which is user friendly. Use good subject lines that will encourage readers to open your mail and will not be caught by the spam filters.

List building: using good methods of list building is the key to your success with email marketing. It is critical that you gather highly targeted subscribers to your opt-in lists. Use methods that will help you pinpoint your special niche market so that you can ensure the best possible open rate and response from your list.

3 Methods of email marketing:

1. Newsletter: Your free newsletter is your most powerful form of email marketing. It will achieve a few things. One, it enables you to build a large responsive opt-in list. Secondly, it will allow you to develop a strong business relationship with your subscribers. Thirdly, it will allow you to build other important and profitable business opt-in lists.

2. Mailers: mailers are a very profitable and easy way to automate your income. You set up an auto-responder sequence on your auto-responder. The intervals between mailings will be up to you, depending on what, to whom, and who you are promoting. You can use this for a new product, backend selling, or pre-selling information. The mailer can be directed at leads that ask for more information or old customers.

3. Announcement lists: You can make multiple lists for different purposes. One of the most fun and profitable is an announcement list. Some of your subscribers will be actively searching for new products and this list is a tailor made for them. This list will alert subscribers about any new product you are promoting, and of course, to sweeten the pie- a special discount just for them.

Email marketing is still a great way to market. You just need to take advantage of the new technology that helps you to get your mail past the spam filters. One word of warning, never send email to those who are not on your opt-in-list. This is labeled spam and can get you into a whole lot of trouble. Plus, it will ruin your reputation as a business person.

Zach Thompson is a Glyconutrients Representative. His clients range from actresses to pro athletes. You can get a free Glyconutrients consultation by visiting http://www.ZachThompson.com.
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Customer Service