information Archives - Canadian Small Business Women

Jan 24 2017

9 Steps to Creating a Perfect Customer

You made a sale – congratulations. Before you hand the customer their purchase, make sure you have the tools to effectively contact the customer again. Get your customer’s information!

Customers buy from people they like, know and trust. The customer already likes your product (and hopefully you). Step back and get to know your customer, so they will trust you and come back for more. Did you know that your BEST customer is an EXISTING client.

Here are 9 simple ways you can create a perfect customer, build a relationship and keep them coming back for more.

DURING THE SALE

1) Get their information: Ask for their email address

2) Get their information: Ask for their mailing address (you’ll find out why … see point 6)

3) Get their information: ask for their birthday (see point 7)

4) Note their purchase (listen): write a note for yourself (Ms. Smith, purple necklace for her sister)

AFTER THE SALE

5) Follow-up and make it personal. It takes 30 seconds, and will make your customer feel good (and potentially come back for more).

Hi Ms. Smith.

Thanks for stopping by my booth today at the Made by Hand Show. I hope your sister loves the purple necklace as much as you do.

Sincerely

Sarah

6) send a handwritten thank-you… our mailboxes are full of bills – treat your customer to a hand-written card. A short simple note is perfect.

MONTHS after the sale:

7) You know your customer’s birthday … and send them something special on their birthday. This could be months from when you initially met them, but this little interaction will keep you fresh in their minds.

8) Be an expert. You have their information, send them something interesting. Trending colours, new jewellery techniques. Maybe even a how-to or DIY.

9) Special Occasions. Remember your customers year-round. Mother’s Day is coming up … what a perfect chance to wish your customers a Happy Mother’s Day, or send a sample or gift.

Written by Jacqueline Hunter (Show Director, Made by Hand Shows)

Image courtesy of imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Jacqueline Hunter is the Director at Craftadian. In addition to hosting annual Craftadian Handmade Markets, Jacqueline is a resource for Handmade Business owners by offering online courses, work shops and support. She showcases, supports and promotes Canadian artists, artisans and designers.

Connect with Jacqueline

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Email

Aug 12 2015

Social Media Expertise Should Never Be Free

Social media today is more than just friends getting together with friends online. It is a redistribution of wealth through the spreading of information. Social media expertise which facilitates this is at the very core of capitalism. The only problem is that most social media experts have been giving away their expertise for free and now that has become the expectation.

It starts simple enough. First I get asked to have some coffee. Then we’ll have some small talk. It won’t be long until the questions about social media begin. I’ve even received emails from friends I haven’t seen nor spoken to in years asking for advice.

We take the “social” component of social media very seriously today. I propose we begin focusing on the “media” component a little more.

Social Media Expertise Is a Skill Which Must Be Developed

Let’s be honest: social media hasn’t been around for very long. If you really stretch out the definition of social media, then some might point to the AOL chat rooms of the mid-1990s as the beginning of social media, but that’s not really accurate. In just a few years, there have been a few people who have dedicated their time to studying this phenomenon to know how it ticks. It becomes their passion.

When we are passionate about something, we love to talk about it. I give out a lot of advice myself that can be executed elsewhere, often without meaning to do so. The bottom line is this: social media experts are practitioners, advisors, consultants… and professionals.

I will not go into details about my expertise, except that I have been in the industry for over 15 years and have been involved in launching and growing some of the largest accounts in the business. I am also a hands-on strategist with an on-going online presence.

The time of a social media expert is valuable. It is worth more than the price of a cup of coffee. $5 for gourmet coffee, that is.

Here’s the Industry’s Double Standard

If you called up the average lawyer to talk about a legal problem, would they offer their advice for free?

Or what if you had a medical emergency and instead of going to the hospital, you expected to go to the doctor’s home to receive treatment?

How many teachers will come to a home after school to tutor a child who is falling behind in class?

Maybe you don’t need a college degree to become a social media expert, but that doesn’t mean the expertise isn’t valuable. There are numerous financial and brand recognition gains that can be built up over time thanks to social media expertise that no other type of media can provide. You can build leads for just dollars per prospect on social media – what other platform can say the same thing?

Integrating social media into any business opportunity is important. Creative ideas, defined objectives, and strategic concepts are all part of the package that comes with social media expertise. Some organizations may feel like this is expertise that is only worth a cup of coffee, but now more than ever, one truth still remains: you get what you pay for right now.

Getting a tidbit of advice for a cup of coffee is great. Getting the full package of social media expertise will forever change a business. That’s why it is worth the investment. If you’d like to book some time to meet with me, feel free to visit my website RedDotDigital.net, send me an email to Karima (at) RedDotDigital (dot) net or follow me on Twitter.

Karima-Catherine is the co-founder of Red Dot Digital, a digital agency that strives to deliver top-notch solutions to various clients. Red Dot Digital drives real, meaningful, quantifiable business outcomes for companies. Karima-Catherine is also the co-moderator of #MMchat, a Twitter weekly forum which focuses on business, marketing and social media.

Connect with Karima-Catherine:

karima@reddotdigital.net

Website, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest

Apr 16 2015

10 tips to Cut costs, Increase sales, and Save time

For every small business, there will always be costs to be paid out. The trick is to receive more business than having to pay bills. Whether you are a small start-up company or a retail store, these tips you can do right now. Marketing and advertising doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money. With a little planning and some time, you can achieve the results you want. Try all of these tips once and track the progress. If it works, great! Do it again. If it doesn’t, note why you think it didn’t and how you would do it over again.

Tip#1 Know your customer! A pet peeve of mine is when an entrepreneur will tell me that EVERYONE is their customer. Although it is true that we can take business from anyone, there will be a group of people that will be your primary customer. This is the “type” of customer that buys from you regularly. They say 80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers. Get to know your customers very well. Learn about their buying habits, their education, and lifestyle.

Tip#2 Following the previous tip, create a customer management system. This means a database where you place all your customers information including birthdays, anniversaries, spouse’s name and number (for gifts), and any other information that you can use to personalize the experience for your customer. These types of small gestures will bring a lot of business over time and a loyal clientele base.

Tip#3 Hire a student. College and University students are looking for experience in their field. You can hire them for an hourly basis or per contract. For example, I had a business mentor that didn’t have time to punch in her receipts into her excel so she hired an accountant student to simply punch in her numbers. The student gets extra money and the business owner has more time to do what they love to do.

Tip#4 Do not go with a very elaborate website. Start with something small and simple then work your way up when your business grows.

Tip#5 Try a joint venture. During your travels as an entrepreneur you’ll find some great people in the same industry but are not your competition.(For example; a makeup artist and hairdresser) These two professions are not in competition but they do cater to same market. You can join together on marketing (IE one business gets one side of a postcard, and the other has the opposite. Together you can split the cost of printing and get your business out there twice as fast)

Tip#6 Know your competition. Do a SWOT analysis of your greatest competition. “S” stands for strengths. What does your competition do better than you? “W” stands for weakness. What does your competition lack? “O” stands for opportunity. How can you improve your business from your strengths and weaknesses? “T” stands for threats. Where can your competition really hurt your business?

Tip#7 Barter goods. When you make great connections with other businesses, you can sometimes barter for goods. This means providing a service for a service instead of using money. You may give a service of printing business cards to get your car detailed for instance. This is a win-win relationship.

Tip#8 Track your invoices, receipts, and bill payments. When you have a handle of your finances, you are able to see where you are making the most money and how. Keep a journal and calendar on when bills need to get paid and when invoices are being charged.

Tip #9 Conduct surveys regularly. The best way to improve your business is to find out directly from your customers. Give coupons or discounts to your customers for participating in the survey.

Tip #10 Give out useful information for free. Your brain is full of so much expertise. Create opportunities to showcase your talents. You can hold free webinars. Volunteer to speak at different engagements. Write articles for different newspapers.

These ten tips will increase your bottom line immediately and save you money. Not every business owner has thousands of dollars to hire an advertising agency. Become an expert in your own marketing.

For more information contact Jemi Echevarria, marketing campaign manager at

(647)785-5851 or jemiechevarria@gmail.com

Mar 11 2015

Should I Start A Podcast?

You may have noticed a spike in podcast shows over the last year, as more entrepreneurs are starting to record shows to expand their personal brands. Many people listen to podcasts to expand their business knowledge, get new ideas and connect with other entrepreneurs.

People start podcasts for various reasons, but many business owners start these shows to promote their respective businesses. For example, if someone is a health coach and advice on personal nutrition, he or she can create a podcast where the discussion will fall on health in various ways.

At the end of the podcast, the business owner can refer to various products or services to get people to go back to the company’s website. While the podcast may not generate money in itself unless there are deals with advertisers, it can be a great marketing tool to push more paying customers.

It is also a great way to self-promote, if the business owner is planning on starting speaking, blogging or being the face of the business.

There are plenty of how-to’s when it comes to starting a podcast online. A simple Google search will give you everything you need.

Malene Jorgensen is an entrepreneur, author and speaker. Jorgensen is passionate about online content, blogging, online business development and e-commerce. She owns an international media publishing company and a design studio. Jorgensen has written several books that are sold in over 50 countries. She is also obsessed with coffee and Twitter. You can reach Malene Jorgensen at Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

Feb 09 2015

A Roadmap for your Journey

Every day we are surrounded by the need to make decisions. The sheer multitude can be overwhelming, from the trivial “what should I make for dinner tonight?” to the triumphant, “should I invest in a storefront location for my home-based business?” When you’re an entrepreneur, these decisions are often made alone or in consultation with family or friends who while helpful, are not as invested (literally and figuratively) in the business as you are. Decision – making can be daunting.

Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield identified the ability to make a decision and stick to it as one of life’s five most critical skills. I couldn’t agree more and struggle daily to help instill this skill set in my children. Decision-making must be fostered from a very early age and parents should recognize that allowing a child to stomp her feet at age 4 and refuse to wear a coat in winter will help her to understand the consequence of that decision – that she’ll get pretty darn cold! Determining whether to attend College or University is more daunting than a coat crisis but the process remains essentially the same – it’s only the magnitude of the decision that varies.

My suggested Decision Making Model runs almost counter-intuitive to many other business theories that require a solid foundation upon which you should build your framework. That is, that in decision-making, you should be working from a top down approach. What is your ultimate goal or vision? If decision-making is about “identifying and choosing alternatives among several possibilities” (1) shouldn’t you know where you want to go first? It helps narrow down the field of choice. Once you have a clear goal, (your Destination) start determining all the necessary steps (your ROUTE) that you need to take in order to get there. Visualize this process as you would a road map. We know that we need to get to Indiana for a hockey tournament. Indiana is the goal. What steps need to be taken to get us there? Using a map we might plot several routes. We should ask ourselves questions to help more clearly define the route chosen based on criteria that is important to us: which route is fastest, do we want to see any sights along the way, will we travel during the day or at night? Knowing clearly and precisely what the final destination is allows us to make the smaller decisions required to get us there.

It’s the same with business decisions. Using our store-front analogy, if you run a cake business from home and your dream is a clearly visualized bakery window on a pretty main street in your home town, start working backwards from that to determine what you need to do in order to make it happen. There are a multitude of business models for decision-making but really, it’s this simple: “G.G.W.C.I.” – it’s not pretty as an acronym but the process is “Goal, Gather, Weigh, Choose, Implement.” Your goal is a storefront location. Gather means to collect information related to that goal – in other words, do your research. Is such a location available and if so what is the cost and should you lease or buy? These questions will lead you to undertake a full financial analysis. Do you generate enough income to cover the monthly expenses, how much take home income do you need to finance your preferred lifestyle and you’ll need staff, can you afford to hire someone? Once you’ve gathered all your facts, weigh your options (a good old fashioned “pro and con” list never goes out of style) then choose. Make your decision, implement and watch it flourish.

As an entrepreneur, being successful also means asking for help from experts. I’m not going to plan that trip to Indiana without consulting Google maps – why try to accomplish something alone when information already exists and is readily accessible? Successful entrepreneurs don’t just learn by doing, they learn from the success and failure of others. When you’ve got a decision to make ask for help, support and guidance from your financial advisor, your bank, even your local Small Business Centre. Certainly, one of the smartest decisions you can make when going solo, is to surround yourself with a “team” of experts that can provide this kind of assistance along the way.

Making a decision also takes time. If your GOAL was clearly defined in the first place, it will already have a timeline associated with it. Colonel Hadfield, in his book “An Astronauts Guide to Life on Earth” also shares insight on the importance of being able to make a decision quickly. Sometimes, like when you are strapped into a rocket, you don’t have the luxury of time to make a mission critical decision. That’s the other reason it is so important to start practicing decision-making as a skill set from an early age. That and about a million simulator experiences will ensure you can make a decision in seconds flat if required to. For those of us just making the decision whether to drive to Indiana and not something as dramatic as flying into space, it could just mean knowing how to react to icy road conditions in an emergency. Regardless of what your decision is, the making of that decision is a journey. Having a clearly defined map will help get you there but only if you know where you want to go first!

Your G.G.W.C.I. “Road Map” – Sheralyn Roman

GOAL- Your Destination
GATHER – Do your research, pull out maps, determine who or what can help you get to your destination and how you want to get there, by car, plane, train? Having a firm timeline helps you not only to reach your destination but to do so effectively and efficiently.
WEIGH your options: Which route is fastest and meets all my stated criteria and plan alternate routes in case of road-blocks.
CHOOSE & IMPLEMENT– pack up the car and go! (Always plan for emergencies too by taking along your tool-kit. Literally and figuratively!)

(1) Wikipedia

and

Chris Hadfield’s “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth.

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed? Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

LinkedIn / Facebook / www.writingrightforyou.weebly.com

Nov 13 2014

Managing Information Overload

Whatever stage your business is in, I can guarantee that you are managing a lot of information. It may sound familiar to be juggling things like correspondence, deadlines, project work and your many-amazing-ideas on a daily basis.

Today I am going to share some simple strategies of how to easily (and enjoyably) send and receive information without it being a stressful or overwhelming process.

Information can come to in the form of a phone call, email, text or even a knock at the office door. When you get that email or pick up the phone, the first step is to identify if it is reference material that is ‘response required’ or not.

Reference material is anything that you will need to access at a later time. For example, it could be details about the date and time of a networking event (time based) or some industry news that you will need to look at later for a project you are working on.

The information that comes to you (but doesn’t require a response) is often the hardest to keep track of. The most effective strategy I have ever used has been to categorize information and prepare a collection area before it comes. Of course you can’t predict every type of information that will come your way, but don’t worry. You should easily be able to create word documents or sections in your paper planners/notebooks to divide topics such as Marketing, Product/Service Development, Website, Industry news etc.

As you start noticing trends in types of information you can add them as you go. Having this area prepared is a quick solution for handing the information that does not yet need to be processed. It is also an easy way to input new information and reference it because it is not getting mixed up from the beginning.

If the reference material is time related, it is considered ‘response required’. To handle this information, simply write down the task in relation to a date or time in your calendar, right at that moment. This could be details of a webinar you intend on attending or something related to sending information to someone else. If you don’t do it as soon as you receive it, it will be something that can get lost in the shuffle. If you don’t have time to do it right then…read on and I will tell you the next important strategy.

If you don’t have time to do any follow up action when receiving information (ie. Look up a quote for a client on the phone), then don’t receive it. Remember, this is your business and you get to set up your day the way that works best for you. It’s better to call the client back when you are available to talk, rather than let it interrupt your current work and risk forgetting to follow up.

Finding a way to manage this information proactively is key to being productive and reducing the stress that comes along with not being able to easily access information when you need it. You get to step out of being reactionary in your business and give yourself more time and opportunity to dive deeper into the work at hand – reference materials near by.

Lastly, becoming organized with information takes commitment and time. It’s an evolutionary process that needs to be adjusted as your business grows. If you find yourself having so much information collected on one certain topic, it may be time to sub-categorize or sift through the information and pull out the most important parts.

It may require an initial time investment but it will definitely save you far more time and decrease stress in the future when any kind of information needs to be sent or received in your business.

Tamara is the owner and designer at ‘Your Pretty Pages’ where she provides templates, guides, tools and resources for creative entrepreneurs to get and stay organized. To gain access to Tamara’s FREE 5 Day Challenge (Transforming Information Overload to Organizational Bliss) visit https://yourprettypages.com/5daychallenge/ .

Nov 07 2014

“B2B” Communications: It’s About Time!

Funerals that offer “creamation” services and companies that say their products or services are “Quiality” – what is your first thought? It they don’t show this much attention to detail on services they are trying to sell us via the internet, I guess we shouldn’t expect too much in terms of their service overall. You might have thought from the title that this would be a blog about “Business to Business” Communications and in a roundabout way it is. But that’s the problem with abbreviations – not everyone has the same understanding of their meaning and a breakdown in communication is the result. What I really want to address today is more about a “Back to Basics” approach to communications. Concepts like “yes, grammar matters” and the lost art of conversation. If we are open to learning how to do these things well, it’s possible our “business to business” communications will improve too.

Spelling matters. Grammar matters. Most of us can’t parse a sentence and don’t know a dangling participle when we see one but we sure as heck know (or should know) the difference between “its” and “it’s.” If you don’t (and this is not shameless self promotion by any means) you had better hire someone who does! Your business might depend on it. Utilizing technology, we tweeted a query not too long ago asking for your input – does it matter to you if spelling isn’t accurate on a website. Would it deter you from buying a product or service if the website contained language inaccuracies? The response suggested overwhelmingly that consumers would indeed bypass a poorly written website, choosing instead someone who took the time to get it right. The perception is clearly that attention to such detail really does matter.

These results are not surprising to me, nor should they be for anyone. You wouldn’t expect your doctor to “sort of” be able to practice medicine and I’m sure you rely on your mechanic to really “get it right” when he is working on your engine. It only makes sense that the same level of care and attention to detail would go into the website that advertises these services yet it always surprises me how often this fails to be the case. Time after time we come across websites like the one offering “Quailty” repairs. The thing is, as much as I advocate a return to the basics, technology can actually help us with these kinds of errors because all anyone has to do is hit “spell check” on their computer! Sure it might not catch the difference between the correct use of “here” vs. “hear” but that’s where the B2B education kicks in.

Communication is so many things. It’s about listening, speaking and writing and it is about the “ability to express or exchange information.” (1) How we interact with one another in every aspect of our lives is governed by effective communications. To do it well takes plenty of practice. It is a skill we should continually improve upon throughout our lives. Entire courses on networking are taught to business professional and really, isn’t this just an opportunity to teach people how to have a conversation? We need such courses because so many of us have now become completely reliant upon technology and all the abbreviations associated with it that we have forgotten how to talk to one another. Indeed, we have forgotten how to look up and into the eyes of people who are sitting right next to us! We are rational (sometimes!) reasoning creatures gifted with the ability to orate and yet it is a vanishing art form.

Therefore, I dare to say this. It’s time we got back to the basics. Put down our tech devices and learn the ability to speak and interact with one another. Bring grammar back into our schools and teach kids that while efficiencies gained from “ttyl” abbreviations work in some situations, they do not work for all. We need to learn how to spell and how to put a sentence together the “good, old-fashioned way.” Technology is a wonderful thing but it is only as smart as the user and what we put into it. “Garbage in, garbage out” as the saying goes so let’s recycle those old school dictionaries and put them to good use. From the perspective of your business, here’s why it is so important. Research shows that 59% of consumers would not use a company that had spelling or grammar errors on their website and that fully 70% of people notice these mistakes and feel it shows “an obvious lack of care.” (2) Further, if the average person only spends between 10 and 30 seconds on your website, being memorable because of your errors is not the right way to get noticed!

In educating ourselves about effective and efficient means of communication without the use of technology we might then be better able to apply that knowledge when we do use it. Building a great, error free website that helps tell the world what you can do is vital. Technology IS important but so is how we use it. Communication skills: good for life – and good for business too!

(1)MerriamWebster

(2)realbusiness.ca.uk