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Amazon Announces Changes for Third-Party Sellers in Response to EU Oversight Threat

Posted: 17 Jul 2019 11:05 AM PDT

  • Germany's Federal Cartel Office had been investigating Amazon's Business Services Agreement for several months.
  • Under the new rules, sellers will be given 30 days' notice and a reason for removal.
  • This latest batch of changes at the massive e-commerce site doesn't take effect for another 30 days.

After finding itself under the watchful eye of antitrust regulators in Germany for the past several months, Amazon has agreed to enact new rules for third-party sellers that officials say are fairer to merchants.

Earlier today, the massive online retailer said it will amend its Business Services Agreement to comply with existing European guidelines. In return, the German Federal Cartel Office dropped its inquiry into the company.

"We have achieved far-reaching improvements for retailers on Amazon's marketplaces," said Andreas Mundt, cartel office chief, in a statement. "We are dropping our investigation."

Once this is implemented, Amazon estimates that 300,000 sellers will be immediately affected on its German site. While these changes are largely focused on the German page, officials said they will also impact merchants in Britain, France, Italy, and Spain and worldwide pages in America and Asia.

While the deal reached with Germany eases some oversight pressure on Amazon, it didn't completely end it. Just hours after the German case was dropped, European Union investigators announced that they were opening their own investigation into Amazon's use of third-party sellers' data.

Welcome changes for third-party sellers

While third-party sellers account for approximately 58% of Amazon's physical merchandise sales, the platform's community of small businesses and merchants have experienced hardships as of late. Along with instances where stores were suddenly delisted from Amazon's website, third-party merchants have also had to deal with a surge in counterfeit products and scams.

Under the new third-party seller rules, Amazon will now give sellers 30 days' notice and a formal reason for removing a seller. Previously, stores could be shut down for seemingly no reason at the time.

Additionally, European merchants will be able to sue Amazon in their own country under certain circumstances. While that may not seem like a major concession from Amazon, the only country that allowed for litigation against the retailer was Luxembourg. Third-party sellers will also be able to appeal decisions made by Amazon as they pertain to returns and refunds.

Amazon will also provide new rules for product descriptions, make its terms of services easier to understand and make customer reviews fairer. The new rules will allow sellers to talk about Amazon more openly, since confidentiality requirements were previously in place.

"We'll continue working hard, investing heavily, and inventing new tools and services to help our selling partners around the world reach new customers and grow their business," said Amazon in a statement.

 

How Call Centers Keep You Connected During (and After) a Natural Disaster

Posted: 17 Jul 2019 07:00 AM PDT

Natural disasters are unpredictable. Whether it's a storm, earthquake or other disaster, the impact on the surrounding area and the telecommunications infrastructure can have serious consequences for a small business. While there's only so much you can do to prepare for and avoid the effects of a natural disaster, call center services can ensure your phone lines stay operational and your customers can reach your business.

In the best of times, call centers are professional and friendly points of contact for your customers. They handle phone calls so you don't have to, whether that entails fielding common questions, taking orders or even conducting telemarketing campaigns. During a major disaster, call centers become an emergency lifeline, keeping your business in contact with its customers even while you're scrambling to protect both your company and yourself as the natural disaster rages on.

How do call center services help your business operate during a natural disaster, and how do they stay operational under the same conditions? Better yet, how can they help you get back on your feet when the storm settles? Here's a look at how call center services can help you during and after a natural disaster.

Editor's note: If you're looking for information to help you choose the call center that's right for you, use the questionnaire below to have our vendor partners provide you with free information.

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The threat of natural disasters to small businesses

Natural disasters occur in many different forms in all geographies. Hurricane, tornado, earthquake or fire – no small business is immune to the fury of Mother Nature when it strikes. Unfortunately, many small businesses don't think about the possibility of natural disasters or establish a business continuity plan, even though 40% of small businesses never recover once a natural disaster strikes.

From Hurricane Florence and Texas flooding in 2018 to California's fires and earthquakes this year, natural disasters are prominent occurrences that can severely disrupt business. Unfortunately, scientists believe the rate and severity of natural disasters are increasing due to climate change. On tap for the future are likely more droughts, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and fires throughout the U.S.

"We see disasters across all geographic areas, and the vulnerability [to small businesses] is always on keeping support services up, telephone services especially," said Kathy Gray, business development director for Xact Telesolutions. "Every area has vulnerabilities, but if you're wise, you're preparing for it."

Preparedness for a natural disaster is critical, and that includes ensuring your call center or answering service stands ready to field any incoming calls. Call center services often handle after-hours and weekend calls for small businesses, as well as any overflow when call volumes spike during business hours. However, even if your small business doesn't use a call center, you can contract with one to manage your phone lines if a natural disaster occurs.

"We have a client in Fayetteville, North Carolina, whom we support, but we don't usually handle their main line," Gray said. "They routed their main line to us to direct calls to other call centers in the country in preparation for [Hurricane Florence]."

While a lot more goes into disaster planning than simply making sure the phones keep ringing, it's an important aspect all the same. Customers outside the affected area (or, depending on the nature of your business, within the affected area) will continue trying to reach your business while you have your hands full protecting your assets and yourself. While business might be the last thing on your mind as nature wreaks havoc all around you, many customers won't consider that when they are unable to reach you. Having a call center service at the ready to keep your phones running and a friendly receptionist on the other side is key to retaining their business and keeping them satisfied.

Call centers and disaster recovery services

It's not just during a natural disaster that a call center service comes in handy. Following any kind of natural disaster, small businesses will have to contend with a lengthy and arduous recovery process, just like the residents of the affected area. Call centers are useful partners when you're busy picking up the pieces and returning to normalcy.

"Should [a small business] be away longer than they imagine, they need to have a plan in place with a call center to be supported by that partner while they're away," Gray said.

You can retain a call center to act as short-term customer service staff if you or your employees are unable to work, or if you're preoccupied with the recovery efforts underway in your area. For particularly large disasters where an area is thrown into disarray for a long time, small businesses can rest assured that their call center partners are continuously delivering customer service to anyone who calls in.

"After Hurricane Katrina, for example, people were out of work for months at a time," said John Coulter, director of business development for Five Star Call Centers. "We staffed up so that we could handle our clients' customer service while their employees got back on their feet and returned to work."

There's a lot to do in the wake of a natural disaster, such as filing insurance claims, cleaning up physical locations and getting any disrupted systems back online. Many small businesses also pitch in to community recovery efforts, adding to the workload of bouncing back after a devastating natural disaster. While all these recovery efforts are going on, customers will still need to get in touch with your business, making a fully operational call center a must. Call center services can provide this necessity for your business while you're preoccupied with any and all recovery efforts.

How do call centers stay operational when disaster strikes?

Outsourcing operations to call centers when a disaster occurs is one thing, but how can call centers avoid disruption to their own service if they find themselves in the heart of a disaster? Every company is different, but the best call centers have redundancies in place to ensure they can reroute calls and manage the volume at other locations throughout the country.

"The way a call center should be placing that volume is redundant across multiple locations so they never find themselves in a position where they cannot answer for a client," Gray said. "We have placed agents in 20 states. We have data centers bunkered down in three places in the states, so if one center is impaired, the call routing just switches out."

At the core of it, call centers simply have a larger and more redundant infrastructure that ensures there is always an available location to handle your small business's calls, even if one location finds itself in the midst of a natural disaster or other service disruption.

"Small businesses often don't have the technology and the redundancy that we have in place today," Coulter said. "It's not cost-effective for them to have multiple phone switches, generators on site and multiple locations. Call centers, in general, have multiple phone providers, multiple internet providers and multiple locations. If there's a flood in South Carolina and it hurts a small business, I've got four locations to transfer calls to and keep supporting customers." [Interested in call centers and answering services for business? Check out our best picks.]

Outsourcing the management of your phone lines to a call center or answering service can help you focus on emergency management and an after-the-fact disaster recovery plan. Whether it's a natural or man-made disaster, such as electrical grid failures, answering services give your customers a person to reach who represents your brand through it all.

A natural disaster plan in place

In disaster planning, emergency preparedness is key. It's best to have a plan and not need it than need one and not have it. Having a preliminary discussion and establishing a relationship with a call center service is one step in forming a comprehensive disaster plan to keeps things running even if you can't physically get to your business. While maintaining the phone lines is only one part of a holistic business continuity plan, it's an important piece of the puzzle.

"For anybody, it's about having trusted partners," Coulter said. "Preparation is always key. Many people don't think about business continuity until disaster strikes, and then it's too late. Make sure you have internal policies and procedures documented to get another team up and running."

"My advice is to plan ahead – don't wait for the event to come your way," Gray said. "Protect your business, make a plan with a call center partner, and engage with someone who has the infrastructure where calls aren't leaning into one area of the country."

Whether you operate in a disaster-prone area or a freak occurrence catches you off guard, call center services give you one less thing to worry about. When you're trying to mitigate the fallout of a massive storm, earthquake, fire or any other kind of disaster, you can at least be assured that customers calling your business will be greeted by a professional call center agent representing your brand in a friendly and helpful manner.

Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.

9 Steps to Lead Conversion Success

Posted: 17 Jul 2019 06:55 AM PDT

  • Audience research helps you generate leads and create a conversion plan.
  • Persistent follow-ups are important. Researchers say that 80% of sales require five follow-ups after the initial contact.
  • Pay attention to more than just the content on your business's website. SEO, keywords and calls to action often point leads in the direction of a sale.

Generating leads for your small business can yield great results, but only if you can turn potential buyers into actual customers. Without that, any leads gained through lead generation services, direct mailing efforts or any other marketing campaigns won't add up to much.

To better understand how to convert leads into sales, we spoke with experts to find actionable tips that you can apply to your small business's lead generation strategies.

1. Offer a freebie or discount.

Getting something for free always feels good – whether there are conditions attached or not. Giveaways are a solid way to get people interested enough in your business to potentially make a purchase.

The free item doesn't have to be particularly lavish or expensive, but it should remind people of your business. Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke University, told The Atlantic that the concept of freebies and samples work because "they give you a particular desire for something. If I gave you a tiny bit of chocolate, all of a sudden it would remind you about the exact taste of chocolate and would increase your craving."

Along with turning your leads into sales, Donald D'Souza, a content marketer at eSire, said giveaways can also help your business home in on what gets the most brand engagement from customers. Once you have that information, you can then personalize future communications and deals to convert your existing leads into more sales.

"Personalize your email and make it appear as if the discount is only available for them," D'Souza said. "You can do this by generating a unique coupon code only for your email subscribers."

2. Research your audience.

Information is key. The knowledge of what your customers want and how they like to engage with companies can be a powerful lead conversion tool.

Pedro Campos, founder of PedroConverts, said both generating and converting leads rely on similar sets of "core fundamentals."

"Oftentimes, when I see entrepreneurs having a hard time converting strangers into leads or leads into customers, it all comes down to the quality of their offers," he said. "If you have a bad offer, what that tells me is that you don't know your ideal client well enough."

The solution? Research your target audience and get to know them. Once you have the appropriate data, create offers that entice them to make a purchase with you.

"Remember that nobody has ever succeeded in business selling something that people don't want," Campos said.

3. Always follow up.

This may seem like it should go without saying, but following up with potential leads is extremely important. Just a simple email or call asking a prospect if they have any questions can often kickstart a sale.

Just one follow-up likely won't be enough, though. According to a study by Propeller, "44% of salespeople give up after one follow-up," while "80% of sales require five follow-ups after the initial contact."

"Follow-up is the best way to make your prospects feel important," said Hima Pujara, of Signity Solutions. "Regular emails related to your service will leave a brand impression in their mind, and later, when they need a related product, they will surely consider your business."

If you call your leads for follow-ups but they're not picking up the phone, Anthony Martin, owner of Choice Mutual, said leaving a 15-minute gap between calls often results in people picking up the phone.

"Lots of people won't answer phone numbers they don't know. However, when they see you call back again, they'll suspect that you're calling for something important," he said. "You would be amazed at how regularly people answer when you call back 15 minutes later."

4. Use calls to action.

Sometimes, all it takes for people to act is a slight nudge in the right direction. A definitive call to action in your marketing efforts encourages potential clients to make a decision.

Without a decisive call to action, OptinMonster co-founder Thomas Griffin warned earlier this year, new visitors to your website "don't know what the next step to take is and have to guess on their own." Regardless of your end goal, interesting calls to action that use certain verbs or phrases can lead to conversions.

"We don't just place verbs like 'download now,' "act now' or 'get free' – you must admit that sounds like an order," said John Breese, founder and CEO of HappySleepyHead. "We use a combination of idioms and call-to-action verbs – for example, 'first come, first served,' 'contact us today' or 'buy it off the shelf' – and we use this combination on every page of our site."

5. Optimize your web experience.

If your business has a website, it's imperative that you employ good keywords and SEO best practices to convert your online leads. If you know your most effective keywords, clustering your point-per-click campaigns and managing your Google Analytics score can be easier, explained LegalAdvice.com CEO David Reischer.

"The keywords selected for each ad group should be based on a narrow category to be targeted so that the campaign can more easily be monitored," he said. "We carefully monitor all campaigns and either tweak or discontinue those keywords that do not convert."

Other things to keep in mind are your website's bounce rate (how many website visitors leave after only one page), session duration and average number of pages visited. The longer a user is on your website, the more likely it is that they have reasons to make a purchase from your business.

"Organic traffic is heavily influenced by user site experience," said Earl White, co-founder and online marketing manager of House Heroes.

If you're using paid traffic to generate leads on your site, White suggests directing paid and organic traffic to different landing pages. "You can then optimize SEO pages and pay-per-click pages without the purposes of each page competing against each other."

6. Utilize social media.

Regardless of how proud you are of your business's website, it's not the be-all and end-all of your online presence. Customers of all walks of life turn to social media to get their news and keep up with trends, so your business should be there too.

To that end, Iryna Shevchenko, a Facebook Groups expert, said creating a social aspect to your business can easily turn leads into customers. "I usually encourage leads to join my private Facebook group where I share deals and free information of high value to select members. It is there I can get instant feedback from customers to help me better serve them, and it's also a much better converter of sales when given the opportunity to buy. Once someone has converted, they will also usually share their positive experience in the group in real time, thereby encouraging other leads to convert."

It's important to consider which social networks are the best fit for your brand. For example, if you're a company that sells boutique stationery, Instagram may be a major conversion driver for you.

"You don't have to market on every platform out there – just carefully select a few channels that your audience uses," said Logan Allec, a CPA and owner of the personal finance site Money Done Right. "The most efficient way to do this is to build buyer personas based your target audience. Identify their age, gender, the type of content they prefer and the networks they use most."

7. Use CRM methods.

For many businesses, customer relationship management tools often help turn leads into clients. Implementing one that allows you to automate your text and email communications can streamline the entire conversion process.

"Some people respond to texts, some to phone calls, and some to emails," Martin said. "Hitting prospects with all three mediums gives you the best chance possible to get them to respond. You cannot do all of this manually, because your employees will never 100% follow through. They are only human."

While setting the logic in a CRM automation platform can make it easier for your sales team to reach potential customers, Joe Goldstein, director of SEO and operations at Contractor Calls, cautioned that automation can work against you.

"One of my favorite ways to boost lead conversion is to ditch marketing automation as soon as the prospect requests a free consultation," he said. "By cutting out most forms of marketing automation from our mid- and lower funnel, we're able to connect with leads on a more personal level, qualify good leads faster, convert them more often, and keep them longer."

Editor's note: Looking for the right CRM software for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

 

 

8. Consider the buying funnel.

In sales, there's a marketing model called the sales funnel that visualizes a potential customer's path from just learning about your brand to making a purchase. To properly convert your leads into revenue, Megan Meade, a marketing specialist at Prospect Path, suggests becoming familiar with this sales process.

"Recognize where your prospect is in the buying funnel, then tailor your interaction with them to reach the conversion," she said. "Converting a lead is as much about recognizing when someone is ready to make a purchasing decision, then reaching out to them at the exact right time to close, as it is bringing them into your funnel to begin with."

The middle of the funnel, where leads are generally considering your business and becoming more intent on making a purchase, is the prime place for your company's sales reps to focus their efforts, said Meade.

"By addressing this area, you can see stronger intent and purchasing signals, which will help you determine the best approach with the prospect without wasting time on people who aren't yet ready to purchase," she said. "Having a solid middle-of-funnel strategy improves conversion as leads are nurtured through the buying process and given actionable content that is useful and relevant to them."

9. Be flexible.

Ultimately, what works to convert leads for your business may not be what works for others. If you're confident going into a lead conversion campaign and it doesn't generate the results you're looking for, you may just need to rethink your approach.

"The single best piece of advice I've ever heard when it comes to online lead generation came from Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson," said Dan Grech, founder and lead instructor of BizHack. "When he was a wrestler in the WWF, one of his signature slap-down phrases was 'it doesn't matter what you think!' That's actually fabulous marketing advice, because you can spend forever trying to make your digital marketing campaign just so, but once you put it in front of an audience, it can still fall flat."

You may think you've come up with a perfect plan, Grech said, but if your audience doesn't respond, then it doesn't matter much.

"Better to put out something that makes you a bit squeamish and see if it sticks," he said. "Test and learn, and don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."

The Truth About Free Credit Card Processing

Posted: 17 Jul 2019 06:00 AM PDT

Plastic makes the world go round, but for small business owners, accepting credit cards can mean additional charges from processing companies and confusingly tiered pricing structures. Setting up free credit card processing is an appealing option on the surface – after all, who doesn't like free? But you may be wondering why and how some companies claim to offer small businesses free processing while others charge fees.

Here's the unvarnished truth about free credit card processing, how those freebie companies operate, and what you can expect if you choose the no-cost route. We also offer a comprehensive guide to the best credit card processors for small businesses, which we review independently on an annual basis for our readers.

What is free credit card processing?

Traditional credit card processing methods allow businesses to accept credit card payments in exchange for a processing fee. No matter what credit card processing company you use, there is a processing fee involved in accepting credit. However, with free credit card processing companies, that fee is offloaded onto your customers rather than coming out of your own pocket. So, it's not free in the sense that it has no cost – you're just not the one paying it. Additionally, companies that claim to offer free credit card processing still charge their clients a fee for their software and services, so no matter how you look at it, it's not free.

Why is there a cost associated with processing credit card payments?

The interchange fee (sometimes referred to as a swipe fee by retailers) is what credit card companies charge merchants or customers in exchange for offering them purchases on credit. When people use credit cards to buy things, a financial institution has to offer the money upfront before it is paid back. Credit card companies make money, despite fronting money to card users, both by charging interest on credit card balances and by charging interchange fees on credit card payments.  

 

Editor's note: Looking for credit card processing for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you with free information.

 

 

How much is an interchange fee on a card purchase?

Interchange fees vary by creditor, which is why some cards are more widely accepted than others. Most credit card payment fees are 0.05% to 2% of the purchase, and debit cards generally have a lower interchange rate than credit cards.

What is credit card surcharging?

Sometimes referred to as a checkout fee, surcharging is the practice of passing on credit card processing fees to your customers, rather than paying the costs yourself. Every time a customer uses a credit card, a fee is incurred. That fee is typically paid by the merchant, except in cases of surcharging, where the customer pays the fee.

Is it legal to pass credit card fees on to your customers?

Not everywhere. Any form of merchant surcharging is illegal in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas. If you are not in the United States or some of your clients are international, you should consult an accountant or attorney regarding surcharging practices. Additionally, the way you surcharge customers and tell them about the surcharging impacts the legality of the practice, as does the way you offer discounts for cash-paying customers. Consult with a lawyer before instituting any surcharging practices, and keep in mind that laws are different for credit cards and debit cards (even if the debit card is being run as credit).  

Do you have to tell customers about credit card surcharging?

Yes. Even if credit card surcharging is legal in your state, you must meet disclosure requirements. You may find examples of compliant signage from credit card companies or create your own, but to ensure your wording falls within the legal boundaries of what constitutes disclosure, you should consult with a lawyer or accountant.  

Is charging customers a fee for using credit bad for business?

Surcharging your customers may or may not impact your business. Most consumers who use credit cards are unaware of interchange fees in general, since merchants usually pay these fees, so they may react negatively to an unexpected charge.

Researching the way your local competition handles credit card processing is a good place to start. If no one else in your industry uses surcharging, doing so may put you at a disadvantage. Most credit card companies discourage surcharging, even in places where it is legal, because they feel it disincentivizes the use of credit and punishes the consumer. 

Is it legal to offer customers a discount for paying cash?

Offering a discount for paying in cash allows merchants to incentivize their customers not to use credit, but there are restrictions on how you can do it. It is legal to offer a discount to customers for paying cash, but it may violate the terms of certain credit providers if you do so by adding a fee to the cost of existing items and then deduct that fee for cash payers. Instead, you must price goods and services normally, without an added fee, and simply offer a discount for cash payers. It's a subtle difference, but in the world of credit card processing regulation, semantics matter.

Discounts for paying cash must also be printed on receipts given to customers for your program to comply with U.S. law. Consult with an attorney before starting a cash discount program.

Are credit card minimums legal? 

Yes. Merchants may set a minimum credit card charge of up to $10. This only applies to credit cards, not to debit cards. Credit card minimums are a less harsh way to minimize the negative impact of credit card interchange fees.

Which companies offer free credit card processing?

There are no completely free credit card processing services. Some companies offer an entry-level software subscription for free, but the actual processing of credit payments still costs money. There are also third-party companies like SurchX that work with your primary credit card processing service to help you implement surcharging practices in compliance with current laws. For more information on the best credit card processors for small businesses, check out our independently reviewed guide.

Is there free credit card processing for nonprofits?

No. If you run a nonprofit and want to accept credit card transactions for donations, you will pay the same interchange rate as regular for-profit merchants. However, there are rewards point systems that allow cardholders to donate their credit card points to charities, and if they do, no credit card payment fee is charged.

How to Make Lasting Customer Relationships

Posted: 17 Jul 2019 06:00 AM PDT

Why is it harder than ever for businesses to develop long-lasting customer relationships? The answer is that customers don't just want a quality product. Now that customers can find dozens of your competitors with a quick Google search, it's all about finding a customer connection. 

We live in a world where customers ask, "What have you done for me lately?" Customer connections override customer skepticism and encourage them to stay with you for the long haul. Personalization and engagement are key to turning potential customers into buying customers. In fact, research shows that 1 in 4 customers will pay more for personalized products. It's clear that customers want personalization. That's why businesses that want to create lasting bonds need to give it to them. 

Customer relationships are essential to building brand loyalty. When you invest in these relationships, you'll see not only a happier customer base but a boost to your bottom line. Here are five strategies to build long-lasting customer relationships.

1. Create a retention-focused strategy.

Brands often make the mistake of focusing on retention too soon in the buying cycle. You can't expect a new customer to retain you if they just started using your brand. 

You aren't going to create deep relationships with new customers. It doesn't make sense to pursue new customers right now if a lifelong relationship is your goal. That's why retaining existing customers should be your focus. 

It's cheaper and easier to retain repeat customers. Those repeat customers spend three times as much as new customers and cost five times less to acquire. 

Prioritize repeat customers with your marketing efforts. With this strategy, you'll see a better return on your marketing investment. This means enabling remarketing campaigns, customer loyalty apps and exclusive discounts for repeat customers.

2. Track all customer data.

If you aren't tracking your customer data, now's the time to start. Where are you keeping your customers' contact information? What about their purchase information? If you store customer data in places like social media IMs, you're at the mercy of another platform. You don't want a glitch to erase all of your hard-earned data. That's why you need to invest in a customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Get a CRM to manage customer relationships like the professional you are.

A CRM will do more than store customer information. It will also help you visualize what customers buy, when they buy and how often. This will help you see how many customers come through your pipeline, including which ones drop off and which ones convert. The system also allows you to track who becomes a repeat customer, what they bought and the average value of their purchases. Predict revenue and see how effective your efforts are by setting up the right data platform.

No matter your company size, you need to track customer data. This empowers you to analyze trends and deliver what your customers need. 

But don't start with the software. Create a process for your sales and marketing team to use inside the CRM first. Solidify your funnels, write a marketing plan, and map the customer journey. Plug these processes into your CRM for a streamlined customer-tracking process.

3. Improve your communication skills.

Communication is the bedrock of a good relationship, both in our personal lives and in business. Change how you communicate with customers, treating them as the humans they are instead of dollar signs. If you wouldn't speak that way to your best friend, don't use that language with your customers. 

While language choice is important, the communication method and message content matter a lot too. Don't send email blasts and expect them to suffice for customer communication. Use smart communication strategies to personalize the customer experience. 

Let's say you sell household electronics. Consider setting up time-based triggers that send a how-to guide for your product one week after purchase. Shopping history helps you send customers complimentary offers or a coupon for future purchases. These personalized experiences show customers that you're thinking of their journey and needs, persuading them to stay with your brand.  

Your communication should also provide value. Don't talk about your products or your company the entire time. Send newsworthy articles and helpful blogs, and encourage a two-way dialogue with your customers. Give them something amazing without asking for anything in return. You need to give first to get something back, after all. 

Customer communication is also about being present. Have enough staff on hand at all times to answer customer questions. Create a profile on the social media channels where your customers are most active and engage with them. 

Brands act like relationship-building is hard, but it's no different from creating relationships in real life. Be real, authentic, helpful and present. That alone will boost retention for lasting customer relationships. Customer service with excellent communication is key. Customers are like gold and need to be treated that way.

4. Go above and beyond.

Consumers expect more than just a product from you. They expect a five-star experience. Remember, quality and experience trump everything. You can personalize your marketing all you want, but if you don't have the quality to back up your claims, you won't build good relationships. 

Delight your customers by going above and beyond. The key is to impress customers so much that they wouldn't dream of taking their business elsewhere. For example, women's health company Hers sends postcards and hair ties to subscribers. This isn't included in the company's offering; it's something the brand does to surprise its customers. For little added cost, the brand encourages customers to continue the relationship through unexpected delights. 

Do something nice and unexpected for your customers. Send complimentary treats, bonus items, discounts and more to feed their appetite for excitement.

5. Collect and use feedback. 

Feedback makes customers feel heard and valued. It's also beneficial to you as a brand by helping you improve your processes and products. Don't neglect customer feedback. It's a critical part of relationship-building that is also free advice on how to improve your company. 

Ask for feedback from your customers. This could be as simple as automatically sending an email survey after they receive their order. Keep the survey short and sweet so customers can fill it out quickly on their mobile phones. You can always reach out to them if you want clarification on their answers. 

Internal feedback is great, but you need external feedback too. Encourage customers to review you on Google and Yelp. Make sure you check your reviews at least once a week. Timely replies show you are attentive to customer reviews. 

However, feedback is only valuable if you act on it. Take customer feedback and use it to improve your business. Have your COO review the comments once a month to make improvements across the organization. 

It is important to remember that the relationship doesn't end when a customer buys something from you. Treat this as the starting point instead of the finish line. Use your customer data and adjust your practices to forge lasting customer relationships that result in predictable revenue. It's time to focus more on the customer and grow your business the old-fashioned way: authentic relationships. 

How to Start a Business in a Competitive Industry

Posted: 17 Jul 2019 05:45 AM PDT

  • To break into a competitive industry, entrepreneurs should start at the local level.
  • Partnering with local organizations can help your small business build a better brand.
  • Succeeding in a competitive industry requires industry knowledge.

Breaking into the food industry isn't an easy task for a small business. While specialty restaurants and food trucks may find ways to captivate a local audience, creating a packaged dish and trying to put that on shelves at local stores can be an even tougher challenge. Pozole to the People successfully broke into a competitive industry by committing to its mission and focusing on local efforts. 

By starting local, building connections and knowing the food industry, the company has put its pozole in local stores and built a loyal following. Breaking into a competitive industry isn't easy, but Pozole to the People found the recipe for success.

1. Find a market need.

Born and raised in Hawaii, Pozole to the People founder Chris Bailey grew up with pozole in his diet. Pozole means "hominy" and is made from hominy to create a soup or stew, traditionally with a variety of vegetables. Many people also add meat to the dish.

As Bailey saw some of his vegan and vegetarian friends avoid pozole at Mexican restaurants because of the regularity of meat in the dish, he saw a need in the market. A business idea was born. He decided to make a pozole base that didn't require consumers to eat the dish with meat. He created a meal starter base that is gluten-free and doesn't include meat. Customers can certainly add meat, but anyone can use this pozole, regardless of dietary restrictions.

If you want to break into a competitive industry, you must find a need in that market. Bailey saw that certain customers were being excluded from eating pozole due to dietary preferences and regulations. He was also knowledgeable about the product. It's incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to create a successful product or service in a competitive industry if you lack knowledge of that industry. Bailey grew up eating pozole and understood what it took to create a delicious product that would serve the needs of his client base.

Some entrepreneurs fall into the trap of jumping into an industry without knowing much about it. This can work in some cases, but trying to join a competitive industry without experience in that field is often a failure waiting to happen. If you lack knowledge of an industry but still want to enter that field, take the time to research the industry and build your knowledge base before launching your business.

2. Start local.

Pozole to the People, which is based in Oregon, chose its location based on the many people on the West Coast who are familiar with pozole. Bailey wanted to choose a health-conscious region where his product could build a name for itself in the market. For consumers who aren't familiar with pozole, the company offers live demos and several recipes on its website to educate local consumers.

Bailey also focuses his efforts on local stores. He wants to build his brand before making a national push. If you enter a competitive industry, focus on the niche areas first. Whether that's a region or customer base, you will have a better chance of success if you narrow down your target market and focus locally.

"We're a very community-minded company," Bailey said. "We want this to be a product that serves the community. I believe there will be a day where it expands throughout the country and beyond, but I think, for now, I'm definitely enjoying the ride that we're on."

Building a community-focused company is a tremendous way to start out a competitive industry. Bailey holds live demos and uses local ingredients to help engage the local community on multiple levels. Small businesses need to get community support to succeed and eventually grow. Starting a business in a competitive industry and expecting to immediately compete with major brands is unrealistic. Start small to eventually become big.

3. Partner with other local organizations.

An area where Pozole to the People excels is connecting with other local businesses in the Northwest. Instead of viewing other businesses in the area as potential competitors, Bailey's company embraces other local businesses and tries to connect with them whenever possible.

He also mentioned the importance of connecting with businesses that hold similar values. In Bailey's case, he wants his company to work with businesses that value the community and are committed to using the healthiest ingredients on the market. This helps him play to his company's competitive advantage, which is offering a healthy pozole base for all consumers. His fresh, locally sourced ingredients are a key competitive advantage.

"It's incredibly important, especially in Portland and in the Northwest," Bailey said. "I think people are really conscious of what's being made locally. I think it just adds to the credibility."

Bailey's strategy of using local businesses to help his business, rather than viewing them as competition, improves his company. Don't shy away from connecting with other small business owners in your local area just because others might view them as your competition. As Pozole to the People shows, some businesses thrive when utilizing the help of other small business owners. 

4. Live in your industry.

Bailey works at Portland Mercado, helping with microenterprise development of small food businesses in Portland, as his day job. This means Bailey is living and breathing the food industry. He's constantly immersed in local food businesses, which helps him find some of the best companies to partner with in the market.

"From that, I just happen to find myself in conversation with the greater food scene locally," Bailey said. "It just leads to being able to meet and network."

While you don't need to work a different job in your field, you should find ways to remain immersed in your industry. If you're creating a sports gambling startup, you should be aware of the state-by-state legislation changes regarding sports betting. If you work in the cannabis industry, regulations and consumer guidelines are critical to follow. Regardless of what industry you're in, it's vital to know the trends of the field. Your awareness of what's happening in your industry will set your business up for success.

It's also important to monitor local trends and changes. The food industry in Portland differs from the food industry in Oklahoma. A product that finds tremendous success in rural towns in the Midwest might struggle in New York City. Be aware of the differences in local markets.  

5. Cover business basics.

When starting a business in a competitive industry, you need to focus on the business basics as well. That means writing a business plan, creating financial projections, performing a competitor analysis and understanding your target market. Craft a marketing strategy, consider which social media channels you'll use and how you'll engage potential customers in your area. [Read related article: The Dos and Don'ts of Writing a Business Plan]

While connecting with local businesses and other small business owners is an important part of succeeding in a competitive industry, it's also crucial to cover the basics of starting a business. The best entrepreneurs create solid plans of attack and then adjust to the many challenges they face.

Starting a business in a competitive industry requires solid strategy before, during and after the business's launch. If you cover the basics like a business plan, your small business will be better equipped to follow the road map Pozole to the People has shown to work.

How to Set Manageable Work-Life Boundaries

Posted: 17 Jul 2019 05:00 AM PDT

Here are a few tips to help you find the middle ground and be successful both at work and at home.

Let go of the work-life balance myth

You've probably heard that the idea of having a perfect work-life balance is a myth. This idea that you can be 100 percent present at work and 100 percent present at home – regardless of what's happening in either place – is nearly impossible to achieve. Studies have found that striving for it can actually be detrimental to mental health and happiness. After all, we only have so much attention and awareness to give, right? 

That doesn't mean that finding what the Buddhists call "the middle way," or a place of balance between two opposites, isn't worth working toward. In fact, seeking a balance between your work and your home life is healthy and can significantly improve both your professional success and your private life. You just need to have some realistic expectations.

 A 2016 study discovered that employees with firm boundaries, both physical and mental, between work and home, experience more stress and depletion in both realms than those who have a more fluid set of rules around home and work. This is a result of what is known as cognitive role transitions. This is essentially when your mind wanders to something outside of the current situation you are in, you think about something unrelated. Say, for example, you're sitting in a late-night meeting at the office, and your mind starts to wander to what your kids are watching on television at home. Or you're getting dressed for work, and you start thinking about what you need to pick up at the grocery store. 

The first step in finding work-life integration is to know who you are and your strengths. Never try to be someone you are not because that will just cause strife – both mental and physical. Come to terms with where you may lack and ask for help from loved ones, trusted mentors and friends.

The next, and probably the hardest, step is to reframe the idea of work-life balance. Cognitive role transitions, or your thoughts switching from work to home life, are totally natural and happen all the time. But when you try to put hard boundaries on them and stop certain thoughts from happening, you can cause a lot more problems than good.

The researchers from that 2016 study concluded that people who allow personal things to come up at work and business things to come up at home – those who have less strict boundaries – are more resilient and able to recover emotional balance quicker. Allowing fluidity (at least some) between home and work provides for better work-life integration.

That's not to say that you should let your work life take over your home life or vice versa. We all need boundaries. So how do you know what limits to set? How do you know which ones will help you and which will hinder you? Follow the four tips below to get an early start on setting these work-life boundaries, and you can be sure to reach that elusive balance.

Get to the heart of what matters most

First, you need to determine what work-life integration looks like for you. Does going to a yoga class once per day or making it to your daughter's swim meet each week make you feel fulfilled? Is a spin class once a week your path to being a more sane person? Identify the core needs that you have, make those decisions, and don't look back. 

The things that help keep you going every week and make you feel balanced and whole are going to be what sustain you throughout your life and career. Once you know what matters most, you can work on setting boundaries around those activities so that when you are at work or at home, you can be more fully present for those who need you.

Whatever those things are, make a list of them and figure out which items are negotiable and which aren't. When you have a more complete picture of what you are willing to flex on, you can start to work toward a better work-life integration.

Be connected, but with limits

Let's face it – we're all connected all the time thanks to electronic leashes like our smartphones and work computers. In fact, a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2018 found that more than 24 percent of workers do a majority of their work at home or during off-hours. While it can be aggravating to have to answer emails at your son's lacrosse game, it can give you an advantage, too, and not in the way that you might think. 

The trick is to be connected but somewhat unpredictable.

It seems counterintuitive, but by changing up the timing of your responses (and work), you keep your boss and your co-workers from expecting responses at set intervals during specific days. Vary your response time – sometimes answering back immediately and sometimes waiting a day or a few hours to respond when you get an email. It keeps your contacts on their toes and lets them know that you are still being responsive, but that they can't always have a set expectation of when you might get back to them.

Responding in this way will allow you to take a break from work emails without worrying that something needs your immediate attention. Those waiting for an answer will just have to wait until you are ready to respond.

Guard your downtime

It's really easy to fall into the trap of being always connected and always on, but research has shown that the best way to be successful both in your work and your home life is to find time to rest, restore and unplug. Downtime helps the brain integrate what it has learned or done, and it inspires creativity. It's also vital in nurturing close relationships and building strong bonds with people outside of work. 

It's crucial to schedule downtime and ensure that nothing infringes on it, too. By having a hard stop from work, you offer your brain and your body time to come back down from stressful events and situations, and you become better equipped to deal with life outside of the office. By protecting your downtime, you can become happier and find that elusive middle path between work and home life. 

It also pays to do tiny digital detoxes when you can. Whether that just means putting the phone down for the evening or going a whole weekend without looking at work email, unplugging from devices allows our brains to rest and be more present with the world around us.

Don't stress about work-life balance

Finally, it's essential that you try your best to take the pressure off of striving for the ideal work-life balance. Adding another thing to worry about on top of an overloaded to-do list isn't going to help you be a better parent or a better employee. Realize that the perfect work-life balance doesn't actually exist. Instead, strive for a work-life integration that suits your needs both as an employee and as a human being.

 Following these four suggestions will send you down the right path toward finding the balance you need between your work and your home life.
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