Archive
Become a better you
8 things you should stop doing today The link above is a great read for self improvement and better business practices. Stand out from what has become the norm.
A win is a win…or is it
Many times in sports, we hear people say, “a win is a win”. While in sports this is true and measurable, in the corporate hallways of many companies its not always this cut and dry.
The two teams; the sales department, and the marketing department. The objectives are often the same for both departments, increase sales, win market share, customer loyalty etc. Most times they even report to the same management. While we encourage these two groups to work together, we must caution that a win for one is not always a win for the other thus creating confusion on how success is defined.
The age old battle of sales vs. marketing is only getting hotter. We see the marketing team spending bags of money on TV ads, colorful brochures, and pens. Down the hall, the sales team is traveling to conferences, making deals and pushing products. When either don’t hit a number, sales blames marketing, and marketing blames sales. This is because a win for the marketing department is measured with terms such as, impressions, top of mind, brand recognition, views, clicks per minute, etc. The sales department uses different terms; commission, bonus, revenue growth, I’m sure you’ve heard them all.
If sales has a great month, why no shift in market share? If marketing breaks an impressions record, why no jump in sales? Because when either team hits its goals their game is over and they assume they won, not addressing the challenges of other team. Do you really think the sales department worries about clicks per minute, or the marketing department thinks about sales commissions? Bottom line, if only one side wins, both sides are at a loss. So how do you make sure both sides come out on top? SquareBall Marketing does that too…
The Simple Solution to Customer Service
Customer service is one of the most neglected aspects of small business operations. The level of service we have come to expect has severely declined from recent years. It is our opinion that customer service training priorities have decreased while more cost cutting and cut-throat sales techniques have been introduced. The key that wins customers from a competitor is great customer service. Every step of the customer experience is another opportunity to make a impact. Bad or status quo customer service is something we come to expect and have prepared for as consumers.
Think about this, your at the mall window shopping with the intent not to purchase anything. When you walk into a store the clerk says “is there anything I can help you find today?” Your response is trained and well rehearsed, ” no, I’m just looking”. The mistake here is that the clerk has been trained that if they ask that particular question they are exhibiting good customer service. While this may be acceptable, it will not win you customers.
In today’s competitive times we must dig deeper, the root of bad customer service is simply unhappy employees. No matter the job they may hold, there is opportunity for your employees to be happy at work. Happy employees will naturally yield high customer service scores which will automatically win customers over. It does not always take a complicated approach to solve a complex issue, ask yourself, are my employees happy? If you struggle with the answer contact SquareBall Marketing for tips on increasing employee morale!
Tasklists can save your business
OK. 2013 is in full swing and the new year’s resolutions have been set. The goals are high and most of them sound similar to this:
- Increase profit margins
- Establish community presence
- Add digital component to current business model
- Etc.
These are none other than goals. Goals are set each year, quarter, monthly, you get the point. However, how are you efficiently completing these goals? How are your employees viewing their worth within the companies goals. Will effort being put forward be noticeable/appreciated by your consumers?
These are all questions that need to be answered while developing you goals. How is this possible you ask….. Task list! Task list are vital keys to organizational success. Too many times have our clients said to us, “We have set goals, but we can’t reach them or measure where we lost focus.” How are goals set with no standards? As in life, one can not find the man/woman of the dreams if they continue to go from relationship to relationship without evaluating what is needed to succeed in the next.
Many business owners only record wins, losses, and “what is everyone else doing?” In business there is never a complete lost. You can always learn or reuse techniques. The key is to pay attention to the details and revise the plan of how to reach the goal successfully.
Each goal should have three action steps. Just like a story you goal should have a beginning, middle, and an end. Also, determine how your goal can be measured. (Please track the goal in increments. Do not wait until judgement time and decide that it did not work. Often, the goal was reachable, but the owner is not executing properly.)
If all else fails…..contact SquareBall Marketing. We are experts on getting you back on track. 
5 Good Holiday Gifts for Your Employees
5 Good Holiday Gifts for Your Employees
The holidays are officially here. As a business owner, please do not forget to show appreciation to the ones who make you business flurish……YOUR EMPLOYEES. Here is an article of great employee gifts.
Careers Start by Peeling Potatoes
Listening to my the family talk about dividing up the cooking chores for this Thanksgiving dinner, including who would peel the potatoes, reminded me that most careers start by peeling potatoes.
KP – Kitchen Patrol
One of the iconic punishments in basic training in the military was being threatened by our drill instructors of being assigned to KP – Kitchen Patrol - as a penalty for breaking some rule.
Engaging consumers vs Getting the sale
Engaging consumers vs Getting the sale
Great read that describes many issues that business are having in creating their social media presence. Audience Engagement is great but how are businesses making it profitable?
Event Marketing….Back on the Rise
http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickhanlon/2012/05/09/face-slams-event-marketing-takes-off/
Great article about expanding your Marketing presence through events.
Enjoy!
Business/Marketing Motivation
How often have we wanted our business to have a new look, new customer base, better relationship/impact on the community, create new business plans to reduce expenses, etc? EACH DAY?! These are goals that all business attempt to accomplish throughout the year; Key Word “attempt.” Many business business struggle to get past the initial attempt due to lack of motivation. When running a business, there are many parts moving at one time to have the time and motivation to stop and be creative enough to develop for the future.
However, when done correctly the amount of success is astronomical. Take apple and the development of all the “I” products. Thinking logically, shouldn’t Sony have been the first to create such a line of products? Sony was already creating TVs, radios, mp3 players, monitors, amongst other products before apple created a single shuffle. Sure there was more to it that motivation, but that is still the underlying message of all long term future planning.
GET MOTIVATED PEOPLE! SUCCESS BEGINS NOW!
“Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.” – Dwight Eisenhower
Does your office space matter to employees?
Does your office space matter to employees?
This is a must read for all business owners. It speaks to the importance of organizing your office space and how it can effect your employees.
