Charlotte Howard Consulting Blog

Are you listening effectively to what people are telling you. Using the cares method will help you do your best job to meet the needs of those you want to listen to effectively.

C- concentrate on what other people are telling you with clear focus.

A- acknowledge to people that you are listening via eye contact and vocal promptings.

R- respond to people with feedback.

E- exercise emotional control.

S- structure paying attention to the verbal aspects of the conversation.

No matter what kind of enterprise you are running, may it be a big business or not, you can further expand it if you know the tricks of the trade especially when dealing with your customers. Here are some ideas that can help you become more successful in the field of your chosen industry.

In doing business, getting complacent is not an option. Even if the business is doing well, do not get too confident as it may not last for long especially today where the market is highly competitive.

1. Be more creative and do not settle for the same old tactics. Keep in mind that customers constantly look for something new. Check what’s out there, know what your competitors are offering and see if you could offer something much better. By doing so, not only would you keep your loyal customers happy, you would also have the chance to get new clients.

2. Listen to what your customer have to say. It is really advisable to have a designated sector for customer support which can be contacted for any concerns regarding the products and services being provided. This will help you in assessing the changes necessary to improve on the current status of your business.

3. Be sure to attend to the letters being sent out to your customers. Most business and customer-centered letters are written in a very cold manner with impersonal tone filled with jargons and terms that seem to be only used by lawyers. Use a more friendly and conversational approach in delivering the message to your customers. Keep the messages you send warm and interesting so that people receiving them would be more receptive to whatever it is you have to say.

Also, practice brevity. Be straight to the point to keep the pages short. Put yourself in the shoes of your target market and think as if you were the one reading the letter.

Bottom line, customers always come first. Be sure to focus on what your customers want and care about.

If you are a business owner you know that it is important to market your business to the best of your abilities. Creating shorter url’s will help you with your tracking capabilities and allow you to see which activity is bringing in the most results on twitter, facebook, youtube and other websites you use in your marketing efforts.

Their are a ton of url shortening services out there on the internet and would love to hear what your favorite one’s are and why you love it. I have one that have worked great for me and I will tell you why I love it.

Here Is My Top Pick:

Bit.ly – I love this url shortening service because it allows me to track clicks by the day, it integrates with rss feeds well and most services use it for integrating. It helps you cut down on your time consuming tasks so you can focus more on your business building activities.

About the Author:

Charlotte Howard is a Business Consultant and Founder of Charlotte Howard Consulting LLC. Grab Charlotte’s FREE click by click training for Traditional Business Owners and Home-Based Business Owners.

Copyright © 2009 Charlotte Howard Consulting, LLC. All rights reserved.

Twitter has become quite a phenomenon. Everyone is using it – even big business. You know that Fortune500 companies would not be wasting time with Twitter if it wasn’t effective. But how do you manage Twitter and “tweeting” while still spending the time you need on other aspects of your business?

So how do you use Twitter effectively for YOUR business without wasting time? How do you focus on the most important aspects of your business, but still capitalize on the benefit of Twitter?

….Find out how to use Twitter to YOUR business advantage on the
next Works Team Monday Night Training Webinar!

Date: 11/16/09
Day And Time: Monday Night 9pm Eastern Time
The Topic is: Time-saving Twitter Tools to Promote YOU and Your Business

Get your free Business Building Tour Now!