Are you frustrating your customers or making them feel special?

I was on the phone the other day to my insurance company and I got really frustrated about their service. While I was "on hold" I scribbled down these notes to blog about.

This is actually something I have been thinking about for quite some time so this was the drop in the bucket so to skeak. Time to blog about it! :)

If you can save your customer’s time when doing business with you it can be gold worth. In fact, the easier and the more time you save for your customers, the happier they will be. They will go out of their way to do business with you again and again and again. Plus they'll tell their friends how fantastic you are. Your best customers are your best advertisers right?

Question is; are you frustrating your customers or making them feel special?

1) Remember their order
Instead of asking the same question over and over again, save their preferences so that you remember what they wanted last time. Not only does it save time it allows you to be personal and friendly with your customers. Last it gives them an incentive to order from you again.

2) Don't put them on hold
I hate being put on hold. Imagine if you call your insurance company and you are placed on hold for 20 minutes. How does that make you feel? I bet most people say “very frustrated”. So why frustrate your customers when they are already upset if they are calling about a problem? Show respect and offer to call them back when their place in the queue is next. It also gives the customers a chance to cool down before you speak with them.

3) Save their preferences
Make your customers feel special. Go beyond remembering what color, size and quantity they ordered. Remember the small details that makes a person feel special. For example, how they like their coffee? For a hotel you should remember if the guest wanted 1 or 4 pillows. Soft or Extra soft. Keep a spreadsheet or if you can afford, have a CRM tool that allows everyone to know the little details about customers that makes them feel special.

Summary...
By making customers feel fantastic about your service all at the same you make the shopping experience faster and easier will make people want to do business with you. They want to tell their friends about how fantastic you are. This process might take a while to perfect so I recommend you start by making small steps every week and ensuring your staff knows what you are trying to do.

Until Next Time – Stay Hot – Stay Cool – Stay Smart!

Christoffer Bjorklund
Really Hot Marketing Ideas that Actually Work!

10 Blogging Tips for 2009

With all the new internet marketing methods available, blogging has become a little bit “old hat” in the eyes of many. I mean, it’s not sexy like Facebook; it’s not as easy as Twitter and it certainly is not as glamorous as having a MySpace page. In spite of all of this, blogging remains one of the most effective ways to brand your business online. Following are 10 reminders about blogging to keep in mind .

Blogging in 2009: Going Back to Basics

Blogging Tip #1: Post Regularly. Readers will be more likely to follow your blog if you have a regular posting schedule. Post weekly, post bi-monthly, post monthly — it doesn’t matter what it is (although it should be at least once a week in my opinion) — but stick to a schedule.

Blogging Tip #2: Use Plugins. Plugins like “relevant posts”, “most popular posts” and “recent posts” make your blog more sticky because they encourage readers to hang around longer. The longer a visitor is on your blog, the better chance you have of converting them into a customer. And that, remember, is the goal when you’re in business.

Blogging Tip #3: Post from Experience. I like first-hand information. In fact, many web surfers are looking for this type of info. It’s no coincidence that “how to” information is the number one selling product on the web. Most of it comes from first-hand information.
So use case studies, write in the first person (eg, use “I”), tell your readers how you solved a particular problem, etc. I sell a lot of ebooks by doing just this. It lets readers know that you know what you’re talking about; hence, you become an authority voice in your niche.

Blogging Tip #4: Niche It. Speaking of niche – clearly define who your audience is and speak to them – and only them – directly. You will get ancillary customers/clients/readers as a matter of course. BUT, you should always blog with your core audience in mind.

Blogging Tip #5: Comment on Other Popular Blogs in Your Niche. Make relevant posts on other authority blogs in your niche. The key word here is r-e-l-e-v-a-n-t.

Blogging Tip #6: Write Well. Make your post long, make it short, make it mid-length, but by all means, write well. This cannot be taken for granted. I don’t care how salient your post is, if it’s poorly written, you will not be taken seriously. In fact, you can even damage your online reputation. It’s probably no coincidence that the alphabet and sentence construction are among the first things we learn in school. It’s the foundation of communication — so don’t waste it; use it.

Blogging Tip #7: Market Your Blog. Don’t post it and forget it. This is your chance to use sexy marketing like social networking. Market your posts on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.
Remember, once you start with social networking though, you have to engage with those communities. So when you start to incorporate social networking into your blog marketing, do it with this in mind.

Blogging Tip #8: Use a Clean Design. A blog doesn’t have to have all the latest gadgets to be effective. A simple, clean design – with good content – will compete with the flashiest design every time. Simplicity rocks!

Blogging Tip #9: Personalize Your Blog. Inject some personality and let YOUR BRAND come through!

Blogging Tip #10: Don’t Give Up. Blogging is tedious, boring, monotonous and downright draining at times. Once you’ve blogged for a while, there will be days when you just want to chuck it in favor of something more exciting. But keep this in mind: in many cases success is not gained by the most talented, the most brilliant, or the most beautiful. All of these things help. But, success comes to those who simply “stick with it!”

Credit goes to: Yuwanda Black from Inkwell Editorial. She writes great stuff! :)

Until Next time - stay hot stay cool!
Christoffer Bjorklund

How to launch your website in one easy step

Right, so you have a department store that is over 30 years old and you are making your first tentative steps online. How do you go about launching your site? With a bang, of course!

HEMA is a Dutch department store. This is what their site looks like.

The first store opened on November 4, 1966, in Amsterdam. Now there are 150 stores all over the Netherlands.Take a look at HEMA’s launch campaign.

You can’t order anything and it’s in Dutch, but just wait a couple of seconds and watch what happens. What a clever way of introducing your catalogue of over a thousand products in nearly 30 categories.

Check it out http://producten.hema.nl/

Notice where it ends – on the play again button, coz you’ll want to, and send to a friend, again coz you’ll want to! Sometimes it really is the simple things that are most effective.

The problem is it gets VERY annoying the 2nd and 3rd and 4th time you visit the site. The 1st time it's awesome but after that it's just annoying. They should have made the flash play only once and if a user wants to see it again, click to play.

I want to say thanks to Justine Paul from Linc in Melbourne who emailed me this. It's awesome! :)

Until next time, stay tuned. Stay hot.
Chris Bjorklund

Why did Ad Age post this article? Are they trying to influence people? Sneaky stuff...

This is a comment from a news story I read on http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=137840. This is an insanely stupid comment Sarah Palin makes.

.../…You know, sometimes you just need to have the courage and the conviction to look the moose square in the eye, level your shotgun, and say, 'Sorry, fella, but this is what's best for America, and Alaska, and all Americans,' and then ya pull the trigger. And if you end up getting a little messy, if you get a little blood and guts on your Naughty Monkeys, well, so be it."

My response:
Wow... holy smokes....?! That’s real red neck load of bullcrap….wow am I ever glad she is not in the White House.

But hey… the real story is why the heck does Ad Age publish this nonsense on their site? I went there to read some REAL AD NEWS… not political stuff about Palin who really should take up 4x4ing and bush whacking and hopefully stay in the Alaskan wilderness.

But still, why the heck does Ad Age publish this? Politicking or is this because someone in Ad Age’s board of directors has ordered someone to start rumours? Hmmm… I’m not impressed by this Ad Age.

Go Obama!!!

Happy Canada Day!

Wanted to take the time and say: Happy Canada Day!

Chris Bjorklund

The definitive explanation of Marketing. The secret of marketing is...

This will clear up any confusion about Marketing...

You're a woman and you see a handsome man at a party. You go up to him and say, "I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Direct Marketing.

You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome man. One of your friends goes up to him and pointing at you says, "She's fantastic in bed."
That's Advertising.

You see a handsome man at a party. You go up to him and get his telephone number. The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Telemarketing.

You see a man at a party, you straighten your dress. You walk up to him and pour him a drink. You say, "May I," and reach up to straighten his tie, brushing your breast lightly against his arm... And then say, "By the way, I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Public Relations.

You're at a party and see a handsome man. He walks up to you and says, "I hear you're fantastic in bed."
That's Brand Recognition.

You're at a party and see a handsome man. He fancies you, but you talk him into going home with your friend.
That's a Sales Rep.

Your friend can't satisfy him so she calls you.
That's Tech Support.

You're on your way to a party when you realizethat there could be handsome men in all these houses you're passing. So you climb onto the roof of one situated towards the centreand shout at the top of your lungs, "I'm fantastic in bed!"
That's Junk Mail.

I hope you all have a complete understanding of Marketing now!