fayt
11-17-2012, 08:10 AM
Here is some more tips to help your business.
-Don't sell or do a service for dirt cheap. Don't undercut everyone thinking you will make more money. Being the cheapest in town is associated with having a crappy work or product. If you are great at what you do, you need to get paid for what your worth. People generally complain more with cheaper items or service than a higher amount.
For instance I quoted a sign for someone for $12 each and I got cussed out and was told I was ripping people off. I even went way down on my price. When I quoted $18 to another, they were happy and paid me and loved the sign.
Another example I was just in Food Lion grocery store and bought the cheap brand of Home 360 clear plastic wrap. It was horrible and didn't work at all, it ripped and melted. So I went back and got Glad. Sure it was $2.29 compared to $1.57 but it worked great and was what I wanted.
-Customer service is what will keep you in business. You will have thousands of repeat customers just by having great customer service.
If you are in the service business, stand up and shake someones hand and greet them when they walk in. Get to know them on a first name basis. "Hi Bob, welcome back, what can I do for you?". Instead of sitting there and saying "Hello, what do you need?".
As for retail, you can greet each customer who walks in the door. "Hello, welcome to Buggy's, let me know if I can assist you". Also walk around and talk to people. "Hi Ma'am can I help you find anything today?". It puts you on a personal level with them and makes you more of a mom and pop shop rather than a cold corporate position.
-Employee respect. Your employees run your business. They are on the first lines and interacting with the customers most of the time. There are dozens of things I can say about this, but let's start simple. You want to be their friend but also their boss. Be very friendly with them and treat them like a friend. Just remember to stay a boss and take action if needed. Don't buddy up too much or they will take advantage of you. If an employee has an emergency or needs a day off. Don't fly off the handle. If they say "My car overheated is it okay for me to tow it to the shop and just come in tomorrow?". You can do the work yourself, take over his or her position for the day. Don't threaten to fire someone over stupid things, or else they will quit and you will really be in a bind. It's better to get two weeks notice instead of them not showing up. Give them respect and they will do a great job. Also pay them what they are worth. If they work in a warehouse and are lifting 50 - 75 lbs every day and doing a ton of manual labor. Give them $10 an hour rather than a minimum wage of like $7.25. Think to yourself, do you want be paid that yourself? Do you want to live paycheck to paycheck all your life?
-Lastly, if you are in America PLEASE buy locally. With millions and millions out of work and homeless why would you buy from out of the country. Why outsource your tech support or customer service to India instead of paying your next door neighbor? Avoid Walmart about 85% of it is made in other countries. Check product labels to ensure you buy USA made products or equipment. Always do your best to support small businesses. Like for Christmas, instead of getting the best deal at Best Buy, consider the small mom and pop shop down the street. Sure you might pay $50 more for a plasma tv, but that money will stay local in the economy and come back to you.
I don't have a problem spending a little more. The USA makes better products. Consider switching from Walmart to Bob's General Store.
I hope everyone gets something out of this. I've learned from many years of experience of what works and what doesn't.
-Don't sell or do a service for dirt cheap. Don't undercut everyone thinking you will make more money. Being the cheapest in town is associated with having a crappy work or product. If you are great at what you do, you need to get paid for what your worth. People generally complain more with cheaper items or service than a higher amount.
For instance I quoted a sign for someone for $12 each and I got cussed out and was told I was ripping people off. I even went way down on my price. When I quoted $18 to another, they were happy and paid me and loved the sign.
Another example I was just in Food Lion grocery store and bought the cheap brand of Home 360 clear plastic wrap. It was horrible and didn't work at all, it ripped and melted. So I went back and got Glad. Sure it was $2.29 compared to $1.57 but it worked great and was what I wanted.
-Customer service is what will keep you in business. You will have thousands of repeat customers just by having great customer service.
If you are in the service business, stand up and shake someones hand and greet them when they walk in. Get to know them on a first name basis. "Hi Bob, welcome back, what can I do for you?". Instead of sitting there and saying "Hello, what do you need?".
As for retail, you can greet each customer who walks in the door. "Hello, welcome to Buggy's, let me know if I can assist you". Also walk around and talk to people. "Hi Ma'am can I help you find anything today?". It puts you on a personal level with them and makes you more of a mom and pop shop rather than a cold corporate position.
-Employee respect. Your employees run your business. They are on the first lines and interacting with the customers most of the time. There are dozens of things I can say about this, but let's start simple. You want to be their friend but also their boss. Be very friendly with them and treat them like a friend. Just remember to stay a boss and take action if needed. Don't buddy up too much or they will take advantage of you. If an employee has an emergency or needs a day off. Don't fly off the handle. If they say "My car overheated is it okay for me to tow it to the shop and just come in tomorrow?". You can do the work yourself, take over his or her position for the day. Don't threaten to fire someone over stupid things, or else they will quit and you will really be in a bind. It's better to get two weeks notice instead of them not showing up. Give them respect and they will do a great job. Also pay them what they are worth. If they work in a warehouse and are lifting 50 - 75 lbs every day and doing a ton of manual labor. Give them $10 an hour rather than a minimum wage of like $7.25. Think to yourself, do you want be paid that yourself? Do you want to live paycheck to paycheck all your life?
-Lastly, if you are in America PLEASE buy locally. With millions and millions out of work and homeless why would you buy from out of the country. Why outsource your tech support or customer service to India instead of paying your next door neighbor? Avoid Walmart about 85% of it is made in other countries. Check product labels to ensure you buy USA made products or equipment. Always do your best to support small businesses. Like for Christmas, instead of getting the best deal at Best Buy, consider the small mom and pop shop down the street. Sure you might pay $50 more for a plasma tv, but that money will stay local in the economy and come back to you.
I don't have a problem spending a little more. The USA makes better products. Consider switching from Walmart to Bob's General Store.
I hope everyone gets something out of this. I've learned from many years of experience of what works and what doesn't.