Consider the Pareto Optimal Rule when you’re managing your business. The rule works like this: 20% of your customers generate 80% of your business. Or 80% of your sales revenue come from 20% of the customers.
On one current client project, we recently studied our chief competitor’s business. Turns out the competitor generates 80% of its [...]

Analyze the cause and effect in your customer interactions and watch your customer loyalty and sales soar!
My nephew, almost 12, went to day camp this summer. He had a great time, although at the end we discovered that his counselors (college age) teased him. Disgraceful. Custom is to tip the counselors because they earn a [...]

Yesterday morning, my son Mike and I played soccer in our traditional Sunday game. Then I grabbed my favorite: well done bacon (burned!), egg and cheese on a roll for breakfast at my local deli. Umm.
 
A young man who was a senior at Syracuse University was also ordering. I asked him what he wanted to [...]

Sometimes, the smallest, seemingly insignificant little extra clinches the sale and locks up customer loyalty and repeat purchases. In other words, a little gesture can make All the difference in the world!
As part of my emergency fund (safety money), I invest in Certificates of Deposit (CDs). Even though the interest rates are relatively low these [...]

Sometimes, the smallest, seemingly insignificant act, gesture or word to your customers can catapult your customer service, customer relationships and customer experience to the moon.
 
Last Friday, I had meetings in New York City and had lunch at “Metro Café,” a salad and sandwich shop; this location was at 839 Seventh Avenue at 53rd Street (zip [...]

We proudly bring you another case study about “Company A,” one of our best clients that happens to be run by a savvy woman!!! I mention the founder/CEO’s gender because it’s relevant to this post…
 
She just emailed me to describe a situation where she’s pitching a marketing package to an internationally recognized businessMan and author. [...]

Customer service and the user experience is often driven by the little customer interactions. . . Last Thursday, I called one of my favorite restaurants to make a reservation for dinner Friday. The hostess explained, “We don’t accept reservations for  parties of less than 8 or 10 people before the actual day you want to [...]

One of the best ways to generate the revenue you deserve is to make sure your employees charge your customers the right prices for all the goods and services they purchase.
 
I am Not implying that your employees or team members are cheating or stealing from you. Simply put, some things fall through the cracks. . [...]

Finder’s Fees, those referral fees and referral commissions, put money in your pocket and help you leverage your contacts (monetize your Rolodex) and increase your profits. We love to receive finder’s fees and frankly, almost more important, we love to pay them to other people who send us business. Practically, we can only originate so much [...]

Running a small business/growth business has its personnel challenges and employee challenges (as I’m sure you can appreciate), often in ways that are more magnified and intense than in a larger company where Bad Hiring Decisions are typically less costly and disruptive.
Last week, we posted about our client, Company A, who had extended an offer to a [...]