The Power of Partnerships: Your Key to Greater Client Satisfaction, Referrals and Retention

by Denise Trifiletti


In my last column, I explained how partnerships in business can be the key to increasing sales, margins and profits. This article takes the next step by discussing how to increase client satisfaction and retention, obtain business referrals, and increase your client revenues through the power of partnerships.
First, you know it is a tough world out there, and you face a lot of competition. Your competition is knocking on your clients' doors and seeking the same returns that you are looking for. In view of this fact, it only makes sense for you to forge as many strategic business partnerships as you possibly can. This is already a strategy of virtually every one of the Fortune 500 companies—why not a strategy for you?
A "Power Partnership" in business is one in which you and your partner leverage each other's talents for the benefit of both. It is a partnership in which you leverage what you each bring to the marketplace in order to add value for your respective clients. Let's explore this from the perspectives of client satisfaction, referral business, and client retention.

• Client satisfaction: An axiom of business is that a satisfied client is "gold in the attic." Another axiom is that every client has the potential to become dissatisfied with your products and services. Never assume client satisfaction. Remaining client-centric and keeping in close contact with your clients is key. Continuously ask and learn about their changing needs—then meet them, either through your own products and services, or through those of your Power Partners.

Present your value proposition clearly and frequently, and measure your progress with your clients. Do you have an ongoing client feedback process? Do you have a written tool to capture quantitative and qualitative data about how you are addressing your clients' needs? Do you solicit feedback about what they like most about your products or services, and in what areas you can improve your offerings? Do you ask about their greatest challenges and the ways in which their businesses have changed so you can continually and creatively find ways to add value and provide solutions to their problems? Do you satisfy their needs by referring your clients to your Power Partners if you cannot solve those problems on your own?

• Client referrals: How often do you ask your clients for referrals? Do you have a scheduled process and system for doing so? What if you combine your feedback and referral process? If your clients are highly satisfied with what you do for them, that's surely the time to ask for a referral. How about asking for a referral when you first establish your business relationship, during the "honeymoon period"?

How much is a qualified referral worth to you? If you are maintaining excellent client satisfaction, and continuously assisting your clients in growing their businesses and meeting their objectives, they will be delighted to share the great news of the results they are gaining with you! They will be your champions, your ardent fans—and you will be amazed at just how many referrals you can garner. If you refer your clients to your quality Power Partners, your clients will be even more satisfied, and so will your referral partner, resulting in an "all-win" situation! Here is some food for thought: If you are highly successful in giving and receiving quality referrals, and those referrals in turn become the source of more referrals, how much business could you handle?

• Client retention and revenues: How much is your average client worth revenue-wise on an annual basis? What is your average retention (i.e., how long does an average client do business with you)?  What if you could double the lifetime of your client relationships? That additional retention could increase your revenues by 10, 20, or even 50%. If your network of Power Partners helps you by providing solutions for your clients, you are differentiated as a "value-added" solution provider in the marketplace.

Source:
http://www.wabccoaches.com/blog/the-power-of-partnerships-your-key-to-greater-client-satisfaction-referrals-and-retention-by-denise-trifiletti/

3 Belt-Tightening Mistakes to Avoid

By Catherine Clifford

 
With the economic recovery sputtering along, it's easy to fall into the mindset that cheaper is always better. But even when budgets are tight, there's a right and a wrong way to save money.
Trim spending in the wrong places and you can end up hurting your business in the long run, says business strategist Carol Roth, a former investment banker and the best-selling author of The Entrepreneur Equation. Here are three of most common cost-cutter mistakes:

1. Cut back on customer service. When small business owners start to get panicky about their spending, one of the first things to go is often the perks and services that you lavish on your customers. That's the last place to trim, says Roth. For example, if you own a restaurant, it may be tempting to decrease the number of servers, therefore asking the remaining servers to handle additional tables. Don't do it.


"If you are cutting back in areas where your customer is going to notice, that is a mistake," says Roth. "Your best opportunity is to maintain or beef up in the areas that are going to impact the customer."

2. Chop the marketing budget. Another common knee-jerk reaction of an anxious entrepreneur is to slash the funding designated for marketing. That won't affect your core business, right? Wrong. Eventually the economy will recover more robustly and customers will be willing to spend more freely. If you cut back on your marketing spending now, you are cutting yourself off from the new customers that will grow your business, says Roth.

Also, down periods in the economy are ripe for expanding because the rival business down the street has probably had the same impulsive reaction and reined in its marketing budget. "You don't want to pull back in an area like that, especially when your competitors are doing that, because that gives you an opportunity to poach" customers, says Roth.

3. Scrap employee perks. One way to push the bottom line higher is to cut out the Friday snack that has become a tradition in your office. Don't. It's the little things that make your employees feel valued and appreciated and keep workplace morale up. And that goes a long way toward helping your business.

"That loyalty will resonate from the inside out," says Roth. And happy employees keep your customers happy. "It is all about the customer because if you don't have customers, you don't have a business."

3 Surprising Ways to Find New Clients

By Erika Napoletano

People tell me the weirdest stories. Some are tales of drunken escapades, brushes with law enforcement or photos inadvertently distributed on the internet. Others are more surprising: They star astonishingly sober folks hellbent on playing by their own business rules. One of my favorite themes of the second group: People who employ unconventional methods for connecting with new customers. Get ready to put their oddball antics to work for your business.

Make house calls.
Andy Dunn, founder and CEO of New York City-based Bonobos, wanted to sell a better brand of britches directly to men online, without stocking the product in stores. To build a customer base, he loaded up his car with samples and hosted private events in homes around New York. Gents could try the pants on and experience Bonobos' better fit and better service model, then have the product shipped directly to their homes. His customers became his evangelists, and Dunn's schedule filled up with in-home events. Bonobos reached its first $1 million in revenue without spending a dollar on customer acquisition (aside from the cost of gas). Today Bonobos boasts sales in the multimillions -- and it all started by going directly to the customer.

Offer unlimited service.
Domain registrar Name.com is known for its exceptional customer service -- and that's not business as usual in the domain-name game. But how many businesses do you know that actively provide service to non-customers? In early 2011 that's exactly what Name.com did. Via Twitter, the team caught wind of a software developer whose domain name had been hijacked. (This can occur when your domain registrar mistakenly allows your name to be transferred without the proper authorization.) Name.com reached out to the non-customer and subsequently tracked down the hijacker -- all the way to Ukraine. The company's outstanding efforts (and the good PR they generated) earned it a slew of domain transfers from other consumers.

Differentiate your direct mail.
Business consultant Ashley Ambirge is nothing if not unconventional. The mind behind The Middle Finger Project, which pushes people to "get your ass off the warm-up bench," Ambirge encourages clients to take unconventional and sometimes rocky paths to achieve hell, yeah status in their businesses. A copywriter by trade, Ambirge decided to create a very targeted direct-mail campaign aimed at companies she wanted as clients -- but she skipped out on traditional collateral materials. Instead, she went to a roofing supply company. Yes, a roofing supply company. She sent 30 companies (new home builders) a single roofing shingle inscribed with the words "My Company + Your Company = sales through the roof." The result? A 100 percent response rate, with nearly every one of the responders becoming a client over the following year.

The key to unconventional customer acquisition is to remember to keep it about the customers. Think about their needs. Go where they are. Make them laugh. Help them. And, once you have them, provide exceptional service so they stick around and help you bag new customers.
Don't worry if your competitors think you're all about using shenanigans to bring folks to your door. We know that it's all about your dedication to your current and future customers' needs.

Ideas for Generating New Business

by Kate Smalley

One of the biggest challenges for small business owners is finding a fast, effective way to bring in new customers. That’s because most owners must wear several hats – bookkeeper, technical support representative, human resources manager and marketer. And, of course, owners must provide quality goods or services. Finding the time to market can be especially difficult if you are a one- or two-person operation.
The reality is that spending the time to market is essential to maintaining or growing a business. It helps you avoid one of the biggest pitfalls in small business: relying on a big client or two for the lion’s share of your company’s revenue.
Two things often happen in this scenario. First, business tend to provide preferential treatment to the older, bigger client rather than to smaller, new client, which may cost some business. Secondly, businesses find themselves in a tenuous position by putting most of their eggs in one basket. If the primary client leaves, the company could be economically devastated.
A healthy company always has new clients coming in the door as well as happy existing clients. You can rely on word of mouth to get those new clients on board, but usually it’s not enough. Here are three tips to help you stay on top of marketing efforts.
Get organized. Hire someone to create a database of that huge stack of business cards that you’ve been keeping in your top desk drawer. Make sure it’s a database you can easily use for emails or mailings – like your Microsoft Outlook contacts or ACT! Having all your potential customers at your fingertips is money well spent.
Once you have all your contacts input, you can send targeted e-mails or letters to your potential clients. Make the messages short and sweet, as well as informative. People look forward to getting valuable information, so give it to them. Follow up with a phone call to find out if the information was helpful and if your company can provide goods or services.
Even the busiest entrepreneur can send 20 e-mails each month and follow up with them. Schedule the time on your calendar to do it.
Create an “elevator pitch.” Try to pare down your company’s products and services to a sentence or two. Start by writing down what you do and then edit. This is a great exercise, especially if you offer a wide variety of goods and services, to help you clarify your top priorities.
Most people want to try to throw in everything they do. For example, if you’re a landscape designer, you may be tempted to talk about turf, bedding plants and terracing. Instead, tell people “I’m a landscape designer. I help people create their own backyard oasis.”
If at all possible, get specific. If you are a graphic designer, be sure to add your specialties. Don’t just say, “I’m a graphic designer.” Do say, “I’m a graphic designer specializing in e-newsletters and interactive web sites.”
Cultivate your current clients. It’s much easier and cost-effective to sell an existing customer additional services than to go out looking for new ones. That’s what makes the pitfall of having one big client so insidious – the smaller clients that you are tempted to shove to the side may actually bring in more business than your current big client if you give them the same stellar products and services.
Schedule monthly meetings with your clients to find out how you are doing and to learn what they see on the horizon for their own business. Show them how you can help fill their goals and dreams. You’ll be amazed at how much a couple of hours of your time will pay off.
Contact is the most important element of marketing. If you don’t have time to do anything else, make sure you contact at least 10-20 potential or current clients each month. Doing so will help keep that business coming in and your company healthy. 

http://www.infoservemedia.com/support/articles/generating_new_business.html

9 Daily Habit that will make you happier

by Geoffrey James

Happiness is the only true measure of personal success. Making other people happy is the highest expression of success, but it's almost impossible to make others happy if you're not happy yourself.

With that in mind, here are nine small changes that you can make to your daily routine that, if you're like most people, will immediately increase the amount of happiness in your life:

1. Start each day with expectation.

If there's any big truth about life, it's that it usually lives up to (or down to) your expectations. Therefore, when you rise from bed, make your first thought: "something wonderful is going to happen today." Guess what? You're probably right.

2. Take time to plan and prioritize.

The most common source of stress is the perception that you've got too much work to do.  Rather than obsess about it, pick one thing that, if you get it done today, will move you closer to your highest goal and purpose in life. Then do that first.

3. Give a gift to everyone you meet.

I'm not talking about a formal, wrapped-up present. Your gift can be your smile, a word of thanks or encouragement, a gesture of politeness, even a friendly nod. And never pass beggars without leaving them something. Peace of mind is worth the spare change.

4. Deflect partisan conversations.

Arguments about politics and religion never have a "right" answer but they definitely get people all riled up over things they can't control. When such topics surface, bow out by saying something like: "Thinking about that stuff makes my head hurt."

5. Assume people have good intentions.

Since you can't read minds, you don't really know the "why" behind the "what" that people do. Imputing evil motives to other people's weird behaviors adds extra misery to life, while assuming good intentions leaves you open to reconciliation.

6. Eat high quality food slowly.

Sometimes we can't avoid scarfing something quick to keep us up and running. Even so, at least once a day try to eat something really delicious, like a small chunk of fine cheese or an imported chocolate. Focus on it; taste it; savor it.

7. Let go of your results.

The big enemy of happiness is worry, which comes from focusing on events that are outside your control. Once you've taken action, there's usually nothing more you can do. Focus on the job at hand rather than some weird fantasy of what might happen.

8. Turn off "background" TV.

Many households leave their TVs on as "background noise" while they're doing other things. The entire point of broadcast TV is to make you dissatisfied with your life so that you'll buy more stuff. Why subliminally program yourself to be a mindless consumer?

9. End each day with gratitude.

Just before you go to bed, write down at least one wonderful thing that happened. It might be something as small as a making a child laugh or something as huge as a million dollar deal. Whatever it is, be grateful for that day because it will never come again.

http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/9-daily-habits-that-will-make-you-happier.html?nav=pop

Top 10 New Year's Resolutions for Business Success

Improve Your Work-Life Balance With These New Year's Resolutions

By Susan Ward, About.com Guide

The end of the year is a good time to reflect on your business's progress over the past year and plan how you want your business to develop. Do you want increased success in the coming year or the chance to enjoy the success you've achieved more? These top 10 New Year's resolutions are designed to help you strike a better work-life balance, so you can achieve a truly satisfying success in the New Year.

1) Learn how to delegate and do more of it.
There are so many things to do when you're running a small business, it's easy to delude ourselves that we need to do all of them. Then we wonder why we're so tired and frazzled and have no time to do anything else! Determine Your Personal Return on Investment, and decide to let someone else do some of the tasks for a change. Delegation is the key to a healthy work-life balance.

2) Promote your business regularly and consistently.
Too often the task of promoting a small business slips to the bottom of the to-do list in the press of urgent tasks. If you want to attract new customers, you have to make promotion a priority. Make a New Year's resolution to hire a marketing expert, or take the time to create a marketing plan on your own and follow through. Try some of these Low-Cost Ways to Promote Your Business to get started.

3) Make business planning a weekly event.
Planning is vital if you want a healthy, growing business. Business planning lets you take stock of what worked and what didn't work, and helps you set new directions or adjust old goals. So why do it just once a year or once a quarter? Set aside time each week to review, adjust, and look forward - or even better, make business planning a part of each day. Not only will this help you avoid costly mistakes and stay on track, but you'll feel more focused and relaxed.

4) Learn something new.
What you choose to learn may be directly related to your business (as are the four free ecourses I offer on this website) or completely unrelated. Learning something new will add to your skills and add a new dimension of interest to your life - another important part of achieving a healthy work-life balance. Depending on how you choose to learn, you may meet new and interesting people, who may become customers, colleagues, or friends. How will you find the time to learn something new? By delegating, remember?

5) Join a new business organization or networking group.
There's nothing like talking to other business people for sparking new ideas, refining old ones, and making contacts. Whether it's a group specifically designed for networking or an organization dedicated to a particular type of business, in person or over the 'Net, making the effort to be a part of a group will revitalize you and your business.

6) Give something back to your community.
There are all kinds of worthy organizations that make a difference in your community. Make a New Year's resolution to find a cause that matters to you, and give what you can. Make this the year that you serve on a committee, be a mentor, volunteer, or make regular donations to the groups in your community that try to make the place you live a better place. And those that give get. As I say in Top 10 Ways to Get Known, nothing will seed and grow goodwill for you and your business better.

7) Put time for you on your calendar.
In Schedule Time for You, I point out how important it is to take the time to recharge and refresh yourself; a healthy work-life balance demands time out. All work and no play is a recipe for mental and physical disaster. So if you have trouble freeing up time to do the things you enjoy, write time regularly into your schedule to "meet with yourself" and stick to that commitment. If you won't invest in yourself, who will?

8) Set realistic goals.
Goal setting is a valuable habit - if the goals lead to success rather than distress. Make a New Year's resolution that the goals you set will be goals that are achievable, rather than unrealistic pipe dreams that are so far out of reach they only lead to frustration. If you have trouble setting realistic goals, see Goal Setting Is the First Step to Achievement for a formula to help.

9) Don't make do; get a new one.
Is there a piece of equipment in your office that's interfering with your success or something that you lack that's making your working life harder? Whether it's an old fax machine that's a pain to use, or the need for a new employee to lighten your work load, make a New Year's resolution to stop putting off getting what you need. The irritation of making do just isn't worth it. You'll find information on both office equipment and business software in the Running Your Office section of this site.

10) Drop what's not working for you and move on.
All products aren't going to be super sellers, all sales methods aren't going to work for everyone, and all suppliers or contractors aren't going to be ideally suited to your business. If a technique or a product or a business relationship isn't working for you, stop using it. Don't invest a lot of energy into trying to make the unworkable workable. Move on. Something better will turn up.

Achieving a healthy work-life balance is like maintaining a good relationship; you have to keep working on it. But if you apply these New Year's resolutions throughout the year, your success is guaranteed!

http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/management/a/bizresolutions.htm

Create Goodwill and A Positive Image by helping others

Eric Nialls

In difficult economic conditions, every client and every dollar counts even more than usual. People are seeing their homes going into foreclosure, companies are laying off employees, municipalities are going bankrupt all across the country. After school and community youth programs are disappearing due to lack of funding and support. Public services such as police and fire departments are even on the brink of being consolidated in many areas in order to save money. While many would say that this is a bad time to market and promote yourself or business, it is, in reality, a perfect time to do that, and help in your community as well.

There are a great many people who are of the opinion that doing something for nothing is poor business practice, and that if you give away your service that it means that you don’t value it (therefore potential clients won’t value it either). These beliefs cannot be further from the truth. In reality taking on a small project for the sake of helping another, or lending your time and expertise for a local charity says much more. Doing so shows that you are a member of the community, and that you (and your business) care about that community and are willing to forgo profits to not only help others, but to aid in improving the community as well. Something as small as a medical practice sending doctors to volunteer at a free clinic, any business helping to rebuild homes damaged by natural disasters, or an accountant or lawyer helping a community center or little league set up the bylaws or find funding are just a few examples of such acts.

Donating time and expertise may not immediately affect the company’s bottom line, but what it will do is show people that not all companies put profits before those in the area that the business exists in. Doing so will help build trust and goodwill with neighbors who are always potential clients. Perhaps free positive publicity or PR will follow, which is always a benefit to any business. Even without such broad-reaching attention, word of mouth may carry the company name far enough and to enough people to spread the word of an involved business that takes the time to give back. At the very least, it creates a great opportunity to network with other community members.

Down the road, when conditions improve and people are in a better position to become clients, they will already have a positive view of the company. A positive general image combined with giving back to the community are two sure-fire ways to attract and retain clients. This can all be accomplished at any time regardless of economic climate or without reason other than simply because people are in need and it would be the right thing to do.
http://www.dollarversity.com/create-goodwill-and-a-positive-image-by-helping-others/

Why Giving Back can Help your Community & Your career

Gen Y is intimately familiar with volunteering and social responsibility. As kids we were expected—sometimes required—to serve our communities. As young adults, we volunteered in our college towns and abroad.

Now, as a skilled young professional, you might be looking for somewhere else to make your mark, and something that puts your skills to better use than painting houses. Wouldn’t it be great to drive social change with that same expertise that gets you ahead during the day?
Good news: that opportunity is out there! You can donate your professional skills pro bono to a nonprofit, government agency, or social change organization, and see the power of pro bono service.

And your altruism can help you too. Pro bono programs can be valuable to your development as an employee—a sentiment seconded by 91 percent of HR professionals. Pro bono work also looks great on résumés and graduate school applications, as it shows leadership, commitment, and a drive to see others succeed.

Not convinced? Six reasons business professionals like you choose to donate their skills pro bono:
  
1. Diversify your résumé and professional portfolio
A graphic designer in San Francisco came to the Taproot Foundation, the largest pro bono consulting firm in the nation, explaining, “I love my job, but I have been designing in blue and white for 20 years. I want to design in a different color.”
Even if you love your job, reaching outside your everyday work and getting your hands dirty in another industry, field, or even color can enrich your skills.
If you’re in marketing, experiment with new audiences by creating a branding strategy for a local nonprofit; if you’re in finance, conduct a financial analysis for your local school district and see what it might teach you about bootstrapping. Using your professional skills in a new way gives you fresh insights, and teaches you to bring more creativity to the table.

2. Develop leadership and team-building skills

If you work at an industry behemoth, you’ve probably already found out it’s not always easy to take ownership of big projects as a young professional. But when you volunteer outside of the office, chances are you’ll be sitting in the driver’s seat, honing your leadership skills and learning to direct a team.
“I became a much better manager,” recalls pro bono veteran Donna Campbell. “I had to quickly learn how to motivate and persuade people that I barely knew and get them to work together.”

3. Build your professional network

If you provide high quality services—as no doubt you will—your pro bono clients could become some of your top references. And since you’re likely to get more leadership opportunities on a pro bono project, they may be especially well-equipped to testify to your skills managing a project.
Working on a team with other pro bono volunteers can also give you the opportunity to meet a diverse group of people in your industry—with whom you share a common interest—and help you expand your network.

4. Win respect from professional peers

Engaging in pro bono work can improve your status in the eyes of your employer. Corporations have a difficult time gaining legitimacy in the public eye, and often look to develop social impact initiatives. By donating your time to an organization in your community, you gain positive public exposure for yourself and your company. What’s more, if you do a stellar job without commission, it will leave people wondering what amazing things you’re capable of with a paycheck.

5. Get a firsthand look at the inner workings of a nonprofit

For many business professionals, working with nonprofits can be a lot like visiting a different country: it can be a fun, rich, and rewarding learning experience. While there are some distinctive differences between the nonprofit and for-profit sector (i.e., free lunch), that’s not necessarily bad.
Working with the management side of a nonprofit will give you a better look at what goes on behind closed doors at your local art museums, food pantries, and homeless shelters. You might find it to be an exciting and fulfilling environment, and ideally you’ll do some cross-pollinating and bring new insights back to your own office.

6. Create lasting and tangible impact

Pro bono work gives nonprofit and community organizations access to vital resources they cannot always readily afford. And offering your professional skills lets you contribute something unique, a more specialized gift than painting a daycare room, stuffing envelopes, or other types of hands-on volunteering. Necessary as those services are, they’re much easier to recruit than a skilled graphic designer or financial analyst!

So what next?

Find the perfect project for you. Be careful—not all pro bono opportunities are created equal, and the wrong choice could leave a bad taste in your mouth for years. Check to see if there is an established pro bono program in your company or ask a more senior colleague for guidance, and check out these tips on finding the right pro bono project!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/prettyyoungprofessional/2011/05/20/why-giving-back-can-help-your-community-your-career/

How Giving Back can Help Your Business

By Alyssa Gregory

I’m a big believer in giving back by donating your time and expertise to your community and your industry. Volunteering can have a number of benefits — helping others, enhancing your skills, becoming active in your community, and creating a sense of achievement. But giving back can also help your career and business. While I wouldn’t recommend volunteering solely for the business benefits, here are some of the areas where you may see value from your efforts.

You can develop new relationships.
Getting out there and volunteering in your community puts you in a great position to meet new people who you may not otherwise meet. These relationships are not only good for networking, but they also help you to create a group of people to consult with outside of your immediate business network.

It can broaden your experience.
Even if you donate time doing something you do everyday, volunteering provides an opportunity to work on something new with new people in a new place. You get to see more and experience more, and you never know where you might learn a new skill, discover a new way to do something or expand your knowledge in some other valuable way.

It provides indirect marketing exposure.
Sometimes the best marketing is marketing that happens naturally. This can happen when you are focused on a task, especially one that involves collaboration and teamwork.

It’s good for your reputation.
If you work for yourself, everything you do, on and off the job, impacts your business reputation. Giving back is one way to position yourself in a good light. When you spend time and effort for the betterment of others, you are telling clients, potential clients and colleagues that you are empathetic to those around you.

It makes you more well-rounded.
Volunteering makes you well-rounded, as a person and a business owner. And when you volunteer for the right reasons (and realize all of the benefits listed here are really just peripheral to the main purpose of giving back), you just may become a better person.

http://www.sitepoint.com/giving-back-for-business/

6 Ways Small Businesses can Give Back to their Community

Research shows that giving back is important to small business: 89% of entrepreneurs donate money, both personally and through their companies, according to a study by Ernst & Young and the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. What’s more: 62% say giving back makes their companies more successful in the long run.

But it’s not always easy for small businesses to give back to their communities. Owners and their employees are often short on time and low on funds. However, there are meaningful ways to give back that don’t involve shelling out lots of money or spending days working on pro-bono projects. Here are some ideas.

1. Organize an employee volunteer day.

You might lose a day of productivity, but coordinating a day or two each year when employees can volunteer together—perhaps to build a Habitat for Humanity house or cook for a homeless shelter—can be more cost-effective than writing a check. Bonus: Group activities outside the office often boost morale and camaraderie. 

2. Keep a collection close by.

Own a storefront business? Keep a collection for your favorite local charity at the front desk or cash register. Both employees and customers can drop in their spare change to effect change locally.  

3. Upsell on charity.

Customers might not have any spare change, so why not offer them other ways to give? Ask each customer if they want to round up their purchase (or donate a specific amount) to donate to the local animal shelter. Or announce storewide events where during certain times—say, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.—a certain percentage of sales goes to a local charity.  Bonus idea: Advertise that your business will match every contribution.

4. Get on a nonprofit board.

Offer your business or industry expertise to a local nonprofit by sitting on their board. This way, your contribution can be time (after work hours) and not money.

5. Create a contest.

Ask other small businesses of your size—perhaps on your block or within your office building—to compete with your business in a donations race. The company that raises the most money through their employees (and partners and friends) wins the contest. Collectively, you’ll be able to donate more to a local charity.

6. Donate to silent auctions.

Churches and schools often need gift certificates or merchandise they can sell for fundraising efforts.  

http://www.nfib.com/business-resources/business-resources-item?cmsid=57394

Turn Your Customers Into Company Ambassadors

How to Get Referrals from Long-Time Customers

By Wendy Connick

Treat your customers well, and it will return to you tenfold. People who discover something exceptional - like, say, a company that sells a great product and gives them terrific customer service to boot - want to share their discovery with the world. Anytime someone mentions widgets, your customer’s face will light up. “Hey, I bought this great widget a month ago, and the sales guy actually helped me set it up – AND he sent me a Starbucks gift card the next week. Plus I got free shipping!”

Of course, the opposite is also true. If your customer gets poor service or otherwise has a bad experience with your company, they’ll tell the world about that, too. Mediocre customer service will usually leave no impression at all on a customer’s memory.

You can generate enthusiasm in your customers and turn them into your own unofficial sales team simply by giving them outstanding service. That means providing them with a quality of service that’s much greater than they expect to receive. Sure, this requires a lot more effort on your part… but if every customer brings you eight new customers, isn’t it worth it?

In order to get your customers going, you’ll probably need to train them a little bit and get them thinking about your company. After you’ve closed the first sale to a new customer, don’t just forget about them. Make a point of contacting that customer a few days later and “checking in” to see if everything is okay with their new purchase. 

At this point, you can prime the pump by asking for referrals. If you simply come out and say “Do you know anyone else who needs a new widget?” they’ll probably say no. A better approach is to ease into the subject by talking about their purchase. You want to ignite their enthusiasm. Ask how well it works compared to their old widget, or if they are enjoying specific features. Then pop the question: “What do your friends think of it?” (Or if it’s a B2B customer, ask “What do your colleagues think of it?”). 

Hopefully the customer will say something like, “I showed it to my buddy Steve and he thinks it’s the coolest widget he’s ever seen.” Now you can pounce by saying, “That’s great! I’d love to talk to Steve and see if I can set him up with a widget of his own. What phone number can I reach him at?”
Any time you get a referral from a customer, let them know how much you appreciate it – regardless of whether or not you actually made a sale. Send a thank-you note at the very least. If you can, include a premium – a small item with your company’s name on it. Don’t limit yourself to the usual coffee cups and pens, either.

Keep yourself and your company at the front of your customer’s mind by getting in touch with them periodically. A good CRM can help by reminding you when it’s time to touch base with a customer. You can even use the CRM to build email templates and use them for routine contacts. Once your system is in place, keeping in touch is just a matter of adding a few custom tweaks to the email and hitting Send.

When the holidays roll around, send a token of appreciation to every single customer. This can be as small as a free e-card or as significant as a personalized gift. You’ll probably want to send something a bit more substantial to your best customers, especially to customers who sent their friends and colleagues to buy from you. However, don’t send a gift that’s more valuable than what the customer purchased from you over the past year – otherwise it seems more like a bribe than a gift!

By keeping in touch, you keep the customer thinking about your company. And by regularly asking about referrals, you teach them to think of the people they know as people who can benefit from your service, just as they themselves are benefiting. From there it’s only a short step to a customer who actively hustles for sales on your behalf.

Needless to say, if the customer does call you with a problem or question, answer promptly and be as helpful and courteous as possible. Remember, bad customer service will have the customer bad-mouthing you… average customer service won’t inspire any particular reaction… but great customer service will create great word-of-mouth.

http://sales.about.com/od/customerservice/a/Turn-Your-Customers-Into-Company-Ambassadors.htm

How to Get Referrals and How They can Boost Your Sales

By Wendy Connick

Referrals – otherwise known as getting someone to give you warm leads to new prospects – are valuable for salespeople in all industries. Yet it's incredible how few salespeople actively canvass for referrals. 

Studies show that a salesperson is six times more likely to close a sale to a referred lead as opposed to a cold lead. That means you can generate six times as many sales if you focus on getting referrals than if you spent that time cold calling! A huge increase in sales and, as a bonus, less cold calling to do – what more can you ask for? And if you open your eyes, you'll see opportunities for referrals all around you.

Existing Customers
The easiest and friendliest referral source. In fact, if you treat them right, they may well go out and do some selling for you! That's when you get those wonderful windfall calls from someone's co-worker or uncle saying, “I hear you sell the best widgets in town. I'd like to buy 40 of them.”

But don't wait for your customers to do all the work for you – pick up the phone and ask for the referral. It's a good idea anyway to check in with your customers a few weeks or months after the sale. You can ask them how they're enjoying the product, find out if they have any questions, and then pop the question: “Who else do you know who can benefit from this product, as you have?”

New Customers
Just after you've closed someone is the best time to get referrals from them, because they're excited about their new purchase. Some salespeople are nervous about asking for referrals at this point because they just want to get out of there in case the prospect changes their mind! Well, don't worry about this. Unless you've used high pressure tactics to intimidate someone into buying (don't do this) your new customer is probably thrilled and enthusiastic. Hit them up now, while their energy is at its peak!

Prospects You Couldn't Close
If you pitch a prospect and they turn you down, don't just bolt out the door. Get a referral or two, and you'll have changed a loss into a win.

You're probably shaking your head and thinking, “That's crazy-talk. Why would a person who wouldn't even buy from me give me referrals?” A lot of sales fall through not because the prospect hates you or your product, but because they just aren't a good fit. In that case, it's the perfect opportunity to find out if they know someone who is a good fit.

Everyone Else
Literally anyone you meet under any circumstances can give you a referral. After all, the average person knows in excess of 250 other people. Do you really think that none of those hundreds of people are a good fit for your products? Of course not. Ask everyone – your dry-cleaner, your accountant, your neighbor, even the person standing behind you in the supermarket checkout. You'll be amazed how many leads will drop into your lap as a result of a brief conversation.

http://sales.about.com/od/salesbasics/a/How-To-Get-Referrals.htm

Referral Marketing - Understanding the Value of Referral Business

By Laura Lake

When thinking about the importance of referral marketing I'm always reminded of an incident that happened at a fitness center. I made a decision to refocus on my fitness regimen by joining a gym. I was referred to a gym by a friend of mine, so a few of my friends and I called the fitness center to schedule an orientation appointment. After touring the facility we decided to join the gym and agreed to sign up for a membership. The person that had referred us was with us, so obviously being in the sales and marketing business I asked the representative what our friend would get for referring us to them. His response, "I can give her a water bottle."

This response floored me, I could not believe that this fitness center had no referral program. A water bottle? I can go to a discount store and purchase one for under $5.00 yet this person brought them new business and that was how they would show their appreciation? 

Think about this, the fitness center didn't have to pay for an advertisement, they hadn't sent us a mailing, so their outgoing costs for this new business was zero. In response to the referral given to them by a current customer, they had over $300 laying on the desk and two people signing membership agreements. 

Do you think their referral offer was adequate? 

I think sometimes we become so focused on our advertisements and our marketing plans that we ignore the basics. A referral program should be in place for every business, regardless of the size of the business.
Referrals are the most powerful form of marketing that you can use and it's also the least expensive. Your referrals have more of an impact than any other marketing strategy or advertisement. Have you looked at your referral program lately? Perhaps it's time to evaluate and calculate the value of your referrals and develop a program that rewards current clients and customers for sending you new business. 

A referral program should take the following three things into consideration:

• Make it worth your customers time.
• Be creative, be generous, and be reliable.
• Make sure what you offer has value to your customers.

If a customer thinks enough of you to refer someone, show your appreciation promptly and generously - don't offer them a water bottle.

http://marketing.about.com/od/viralmarketing/a/valuereferals.htm