home business blog

Advertisements are seen as contributing to the cultural codes that direct a material culture which encourages (a feeling of emptiness) because people who feel empty make great consumers? (Kilbourne, 1999). Such codes are believed to create unintended consequences and consequent victims from the ?invidious comparisons of reality to the world seen in advertisement? (Pollay, 1986, p.27). Advertisements are actually very useful though we sometimes feel annoyed when they interrupt our favorite television programs. They provide us with free information on the products and services. (more…)

Marketing has always been about focusing on consumers. However, while marketing has previously only been able to use mass-marketing techniques to reach large groups of consumers, the current and evolving market scenario requires reaching individual consumers. Marketing and branding are, indeed, central to service firm growth. However, what you think you should be doing for marketing and branding, and what you really should be doing, may be quite different. Markets may change, but brands shouldn’t. They may be bent slightly, or given a new slant, but their essential characteristics should never be changed. (more…)

Train your representatives to make customers feel important. If a customer makes a suggestion, the representative should note it and let the customer know they have noted it (see follow-up). Training can take place at open workshops or can be arranged in house. Open (public) training can be arranged at short notice, and is usually attended by individuals or small groups.

Real opportunities for customer service all too often happen when something goes wrong. For example, out of stocks, price checks, voids, refunds, returns, and exchanges are prime situations where a customer can be won or lost, depending on what the employee says and does while handling the transaction. Real customer service died quite a few years ago, and with each passing year of bad customer service, those who remember the look, feel, and sound of real customer service will not be around to describe it. So the downward spiral continues. (more…)