A friend of mine shared this video with me. It reminds of me of how to take something that is normal to most people and make it exciting and new. We all know the story of Lil Red Riding Hood. But here is a new way to experience it.

Slagsmålsklubben - Sponsored by destiny from Tomas Nilsson on Vimeo

I have had some people say to me over the years, “I don’t need a website because I don’t need people from (enter far away place) as a customer, I’m a local business.” You may be a local business and your market may primarily be in your own backyard but what is the niche you serve in your community? More importantly, how do you define your community? The definition of community has changed with the internet and local is not always just in your backyard.

A couple of weeks ago I needed to buy a hat for an event I would be participating in. It is a rather special hat in that it is an 18th century colonial pattern workers cap. By doing a search on the internet I was able to find a small, mom and pop business who makes them by hand. They live a state away from where I am but after an email and a phone call there was a hat in my size on its way to me. I received the hat, in the mail, two days later and in time for my event.

This small business caters to reenactors and living history folks. They definitely have a niche that they serve and the internet has allowed them to serve that community like they never could before. As a consumer, the online community helped me connect with a small business I never would have heard of had it not been for a search on Google. It is a win / win for the business and customer.

What niche do you serve and what IS your community? If you think about those questions in non traditional ways you could find new revenue streams never before imagined.

Let’s face it, times are tight and we are all looking for ways to save money. But what happens when the business decision you make to save money ends up costing you more in ways you may not have anticipated? I won’t go into a lot of detail in this post but here are some things to keep in mind.

1. What is the value of having a design unique to your site that matches your branding and your business?
2. What is the value of having not just a website creator but a business partner work with you to build a true solution to the needs of your business and the visitors to your site?
3. What is the value of working with someone who works with you to identify future online initiatives in order to incorporate elements into your initial site that will allow for future enhancements and growth without having to start from scratch?
4. What is the value of working with a company who knows you and your business vs. working with a company that identifies you by a number or a username?
5. What is the cost if your website was not built in a way for search engines to find you? How many times do you use Google to find a business? What if your potential customers can’t find you?
6. What do you pay for other forms of advertising? Now compare that to your website which is your online opportunity to connect with new or existing customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year? Compare the initial cost to what you pay for other advertising over time.

If you would like to find out more about the true cost of going with a low cost solution vs. a business partner committed to your success, give me a call for a free consultation.

I really dislike those words. Alright I hate those words.  This post over at the Signal vs. Noise blog today made me think about all of the times I have heard people tell others they can’t do something. I have seen businesses make the wrong decisions or even worse no decision because they have listened to those words. How many inventions, innovations, discoveries, achievements have been missed because someone listened to those words and didn’t ask the question “why not?” The next time someone says “you can’t do that” just look them in the eye and tell them why you can!

A recent trip to the grocery store reminded me of some of the key points behind great customer service.

1. Call the customer by name - in this case the cashier got the name off the rewards card info
2. Always have a smile on your face
3. Engage in small talk about current events ie. the Academy Awards and who some of the winners were
4. Make sure you have covered EVERY category from the Academy Awards that you remember
5. Take the time to help your customer remember names of actors or actresses they can not remember
6. Provide your personal opinion of who and what films should and should not have won and why
7. Make recommendations on movies that your customer should watch
8. Provide the total amount of the customers groceries
9. Ask if they saw “that wrestler movie” with Mickey Rourke
10. Swipe the customers credit card
11. Tell them how proud you are that were able to stay up so late to see all of the awards
12. Laugh when the customer says that though they stayed up they will now be asleep before dinner tonight
13. Provide a receipt to your customer
14. Tell them thank you and have a nice day

Maybe the person engaged with the cashier felt like they were getting great customer service. The rest of us in line however were having a much different experience.

I might just suggest this DVD to the local store manager … Cashier training video from 1965