Listen Up! Tracking software and services can alert you to what customers are saying about your business on social networks, blogs, and other social media. These tracking techniques offer steps beyond Google Alerts to keep you informed.

A few weeks ago, a Twitter user tweeted that she was planning to try Zitune, a restaurant in Los Altos, Calif. David Auerbach, the restaurant’s co-owner got an e-mail alert from a Web-based service Trackle, calling his attention to the tweet. As he often does, he sent a response thanking her for visiting Zitune and asking how she’d liked it. Soon, they had a dialogue going. Then she asked if Zitune’s chef (and Auerbach’s brother-in-law) would like to be interviewed for her video blog.

As social networking sites grow in popularity it is becoming more and more crucial to monitor any online mentions of your brand. You can use these methods to take advantage of opportunities to connect with satisfied clients who can become advocates for your services and products (as in the above example). You can also connect with clients who are dissatisfied before negative publicity grows and damages the public’s perception of your brand. An excellent example of why this can be valuable is the massive amount of bad buzz and negative publicity caused by United Airline’s handling of one angry customer’s request for replacement of a broken guitar (story HERE).

The method you choose to monitor mentions of your company is less important than having a system in place that ensures you are aware of it when your company is being discussed online.

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If you’re like most of us, you probably have a folder filed away at home that’s full of all the manuals for the various electronic devices in your household. When you need to know how to work your microwave or your television breaks, the first place you go for help is that folder. In your business, your operations manual acts in the same way. It serves as the single-point reference for all important company information. And when used properly, it’s not just a place to go to look for “fixes,” rather it’s the first thing employees familiarize themselves with so they know how things work, right from the start.

At MyNewCompany.com we have found our operations manual to be one of our most useful tools for obtaining consistent superior results from our business processes. By clearly defining the daily/ monthly/ quarterly and/or yearly tasks that must be carried out for the business as well as the areas of responsibility for various positions you can make sure that processes are carried out the same way every time. A properly written and updated operations manual is also an invaluable resource when bringing someone new into the company. If all processes are already documented and easily accessible the transition period for new hires is both smoother and shorter!

Building and maintaining your operations manual is a key component of Small Business Management. More information is also available on our page on Automating Your Business.

This type of high-quality advice is why The E-Myth tops our list of Recommended Business Books and Software.

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Giving customers opportunities to comment on their experiences is just one component of a top-notch customer service operation. If you fail to close the feedback loop by delivering that information back to your employees, then you’ll miss a critical step toward improving customer service and nurturing loyalty.

By sharing the results of customer feedback with all staff members that interact with your customers you can improve the level of service provided to your clients and can also show concrete proof to your employees when they do well!

The article lists several ways to measure customer experience. One method that is not mentioned that is gaining in popularity is measurement of a company’s Net Promoter Score. Regardless of which method you choose, the most important thing is to be tracking your customer’s feedback in a measurable way.

At MyNewCompany.com we give all clients an opportunity to participate in a follow-up survey 1 month after they receive their completed orders. Comments generated by the survey help us in two ways:

1.) Client suggestions show us ways that we can improve our services for a heightened customer experience.

2.) Positive survey responses and comments show us which processes are working best so that we can focus on continually providing the best possible service!

Measuring customer responses is just one part of the process of growing a successful company. For more useful tips just visit our page on Small Business Management.

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It seems that sometimes when people are talking they forget where they are. Or they get so engrossed in the conversation that they don’t realize who may be near.

As new technology enters the mainstream it is easy to make it part of your life without thinking about the consequences of that new technology on interpersonal relationships. This is true for both business and personal relationships. Most of the tips are pretty common-sense but it’s never a bad thing to be reminded of how things we are not thinking about can influence our interactions with other people.

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I feel it’s essential that you are able to marry your work and what you love. This passion will ignite the minds of your potential clients and connections. Your business has to be a reflection of what you are already willing to pour countless hours into. Your passion and enthusiasm for your business has to connect to your why, be a part of your own experience, and is ultimately what will make you successful.
 

The article also includes summaries of the creation of Facebook and YouTube and encouraging words for those with an entrepreneurial spirit who haven’t yet made the jump to starting their own venture.

The concept of starting your own business can be intimidating but it’s not as difficult as many people think. Once you have come up with a Business Idea and drawn up a Business Plan you’re ready to Start Your Company! MyNewCompany.com also has a Resource Center with tons of useful information!

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If you’re one of the many people in business for whom writing has never been a major concern, you should know that a lack of writing skills is a greater and greater handicap with every passing year. Spending some time to improve your writing can result in a marked improvement in your hireability and promotional prospects.

At MyNewCompany we are always looking for ways to improve our communications skills. Whether we are responding to client email requests or live chats using our Support System, posting entries on Social Media Sites or creating new content for our site there is no such thing as “good enough” when it comes to communicating with our clients or potential clients. Constantly working towards improved communication methods is also a great step to include when developing your Marketing & Sales Strategy!

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1. Obsess Over Customers (not competitors)
2. Invent (figure out solutions)
3. Think Long Term
4. It’s always Day 1 (theirs always new ways for invention and solutions)

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Every business should operate with a set of plans – a plan for the business, a plan for cash, a plan for growth, and certainly a plan for marketing. Opening a business with no plan is kind of like driving somewhere you’ve probably never been without a map or GPS device.

The article is full of useful tips and tricks for adopting the best possible marketing plan, as well as pitfalls to avoid when developing your plan.

Before beginning the development of your Marketing Plan it is important to understand the difference between Marketing and Sales. We’ve made this easy! Just visit our page on Marketing & Sales. The page also lists helpful resources for developing an effective Marketing Plan and Sales Strategy.

Of course the first step when developing your Business Idea is to create a Business Plan. A properly written business plan will make it much easier to develop a marketing plan and implement your sales strategy.

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The initial step is to recognize the reality. What results do you achieve in your business? Yes, you created patterns of behavior (systems) that you’ve followed in order to achieve a degree of business success. You pride yourself on your abilities. You enjoy the fact that in your growing organization, nobody has the same personal touch with the customers that you have. I mentioned rainmaker status above, for often this is how this pride in the personal touch shows up; you feel recognized and special for your personal ability to achieve great results.

The trick is to create a system that allows replication of these personal touches even when you are not there to provide them. Once such a system is in place you can concentrate on the work of growing your business instead of getting bogged down in the day-to-day routine of client service.

At MyNewCompany we believe that the E-Myth System works! We provide our clients with a general overview of the process of Automating your Business so that they can free themselves up to grow the business, and can even take a real vacation without having to worry that their clients’ experience will suffer during their absence!

The E-Myth system works so well that we have made it our top pick on our Recommended Business Books & Software page.

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Tim Ferris has a fantastic post about how Dr. Martin Luther King handled criticism. In his famous “Letter from a Birmingham City Jail”, Dr. King notes:

While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities “unwise and untimely.” Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statements in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.

Note that Dr. King was in jail and under the strain of criticism few humans are likely to endure. The full letter is long but definitely worth a read. He not only dismisses most criticism, the criticism he deems as fair he engages vigorously and makes his case passionately.

Business and Life Lesson: Most criticism can be dismissed, the valid criticism (typically from people whom you respect) should be listened to and acknowledged. Don’t let critics prevent you from doing what you deem necessary to live the life you want to live.

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