Small business owners face many challenges when starting out and can find that the squeeze on their budgets can be tighter than ever imagined.  Constructing a clear path that avoids destruction in all areas that are necessary to make things flow properly can provide its own set of issues.  Deciding what you can and can't afford to run your business smoothly is just a fraction of worries that can surface.  Some offices discover that outsourcing some of the work load to virtual companies can eliminate a lot of the stress.  These companies can provide a face to the business when you can't and be a tremendous support whether things are moving slow or really fast.

For starters, many of these companies are able to answer your phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days out of the year.  This can be an invaluable option to business owners who are preoccupied with other details.  The possibility of missing the call of a potential client, customer, or patient could be detrimental when trying to grow a business.  Also, if you are an office that needs help scheduling, these services can take care of that job as well.  This feature allows you to maximize time getting to know your patients.

Virtual services can take the place or compliment many office funcitons and duties to ensure productivity.  The bottom line is assessing where the services can be of help and how soon do you need to enlist their services.  Be sure and make a list of things that are getting neglected.  Research sites, like Call Desk, and see where their services could help you prioritize and give those neglected areas the attention the need and deserve.   This way you can focus on ways to stabilize and generate business.

Can virtual services lead to the success of small businesses?  Yes they can!  Depleting stress levels in know to improve happiness.  A happy business is a growing business.

Branding is something that many companies have to think about from the inception of their businesses.  Deciding which direction you should go is difficult and can be hard to develop.  Small business owners spend a lot of time and money trying to conceptualize a brand that is true to the nature of the product.  Ever thought about why athlete’s, actors, and business moguls work so hard to develop a brand?  Brands serve as the baseline for many companies and help it stick in minds of consumers.

Many small business owners work hard to develop a brand on low budgets and often have trouble keeping up in competitive markets with big budgets.  However, this does not mean that you cannot be successful.  Building your company and its identity can take time and patience.  Dissecting your product, philosophy, and business goals can play an intricate part in establishing a brand.  It can be useful to start small and then work your way up to something big.  However, Nike was built on “Swoosh”.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to identify who the little logo belongs to without having any written indication of the company.  I’m sure this logo was picked intentionally and has survived decades because of it.

A foundational basis for developing a brand should be based on your company’s strengths and the message it would like to convey for years to come.  There are many ways to achieve this and it could be as simple as brainstorming.  However, don’t hesitate to ask for ideas or advice.  These tools can play an intricate part in a tedious process.  Brands can be developed in an instant but the stamina to make it last is only achieved by a select few.  In today’s economy, people are looking for brands they can trust and depend on.  When deciding on a brand that works for you, put yourself in the consumer’s shoes.  Is your brand a brand that you could see your grandchildren being loyal to?  If the answer is yes, then more than likely, your business can have long-lasting success.  Brands serve a purpose and it can be the backbone of your successr

Offices today reflect the busy chatter of phones ringing, faxes being received, and computers processing loads of information by the second. Difficult as it may be to understand, there are simpler ways to get this same type of information processed and work accomplished without actually having a warm body within the office who is staffed to make sure all of these things are done.  The reality is that a physical receptionist is becoming unnecessary for many offices across the country due to one business that is growing and making its mark.  Virtual receptionist services are on the rise and have been in recent years for a number of reasons.

• Affordability.  These services can cost as little as $25 a month, which can definitely be beneficial for many businesses budgets.
• Efficiency.  Most office hours are only from 8-5 or 9-6.  Many of these services are available after business hours, therefore making you more accessible to your patients or clients.
• Dependable.  These services have sopshistated systems that route or transfer calls and are sometimes more reliable than a person sitting at a desk.  They have the ability to be unaffected by changes going on within the office because they are not there.
• Adaptability.  These services can adapt to the flow of your office and make the necessary changes when needed.  They can grow with your office.

Virtual Receptionist Services can be a multipurpose answer to your businesses' needs.  I can help improve productivity and decrease stress related to all of these tasks.  Its time to upgrade the way you get things done and check out what a virtual receptionist service could do for you.

Good Manners Contribute to Your Company’s Bottom Line

We’ve all encountered people with bad manners – from the person who cuts in line, to the poorly written email, to the curt, unhelpful person on the other end of the phone. These encounters may leave us feeling frustrated and angry. And when it comes to business, bad manners can be downright unhealthy for the bottom line.

So, how can we all strive to make better manners a part of our everyday routine?

First, as a manager, focus on what you’re doing right now, and what you can do better in the future. By practicing good manners yourself, you will not only be setting an example for your employees, you’ll be making good manners a part of your business strategy, and ultimately, your culture.

Practicing good manners shows other people that you care about them, and that you respect them. This is how all customers should be treated.

With the workplace becoming increasingly more global, and virtual, much of our communication with customers does not happen face to face, but rather through emails and phone calls. Because we’re often unable to see the person to whom we’re speaking, this makes practicing good manners even more critical, as we’re unable to see facial expressions, and body language – two key indicators of a person’s mood, attitude, etc.

Often, first impressions are lasting, and as we’ve all heard so many times before, we only get one chance to make a good first impression. Make it count by practicing good manners.

So how do you measure up?

In face to face meetings – Do you greet the customer warmly, with an appropriate handshake? Do you make eye contact? Are you paying attention to the person who’s speaking? Do you interrupt them? Do you talk over them? Do you use profanity, or other phrases which might be considered rude or sarcastic? Do you answer your phone or your cell phone during a meeting? Are you texting with other clients, or answering emails on your Blackberry during a meeting? Do you arrive late to a scheduled meeting? Do you discuss personal business? Do you fail to have an agenda for a meeting, thereby wasting others’ precious time? Have you taken the time to make sure you’re properly groomed? Do you thank the customer for his or her time at the end of the meeting?

In emails or other written correspondence – is your customer’s name spelled correctly? Is your communication grammatically correct; does it contain any other typos? Do you type in upper and lower case letters, versus an email typed in all caps, which is the virtual equivalent of yelling? Do you ramble on incessantly without making what you want clear? Do you greet the customer before plunging into your own agenda? Do you thank the person for his or her time, and include full contact details about how to reach you should they have questions? Do you make it known what your schedule is, so they can reach you easily?

During phone calls – do you greet the customer, and identify yourself? Do you speak clearly and slowly into the phone? Are you prepared to speak to the person; i.e., do you have your notes or other materials at hand, so you’re not wasting their time by looking for what you need? Do you have an established agenda, so you make the most of everyone’s time? Do you thank them for their time at the end of the call? Do you promptly follow up to answer any questions that arose?

Above all, in any communication you have with customers, do you say please and thank you? The phrases ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ are timeless, for people of all ages. These words never go out of style, they’re always pleasant to hear, and they show respect.

Essentially, remembering the Golden Rule, or treating others the way you’d like to be treated, is always a good way to evaluate whether you’re practicing good manners, or whether you could stand a few adjustments. No matter what business you’re in, practicing good manners can only add to your company’s growth, profitability and longevity.

Harnessing the Power of Social Media to Drive Customer Service

Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube have revolutionized communication around the globe. Everyone, it seems, is embracing this dynamic phenomenon, individuals and businesses included.

Indeed, social media creates unprecedented opportunities for businesses in myriad ways, especially in the area of customer service – a critical factor for your company’s success, perhaps now more than ever before. So, how can you harness the power of social media to drive customer service?

If you’ve already been cultivating a social media presence, you’re aware of the many benefits to be had, including building your brand, networking, and improving your ranking in search results.

Reaping these benefits, and more, should be part of an overall strategy for your business – a strategy that works in tandem with, and that drives, your company’s level of customer service.

The immediacy and accessibility of social media makes it a double edged sword – it’s so easy to dash off a Tweet to respond to a customer’s question, which is great, and yet, social media can sometimes be perceived as ‘casual’. It’s almost too easy to start filling the virtual landscape with random thoughts and comments which can range anywhere from unfocused to unprofessional.

The key here is consistency. You need to have a plan in place so you and your employees can deliver consistent customer service across all social media platforms. The key to great customer service is communication, and social media is all about communication!

That starts with you communicating with your employees. There’s no substitute for well trained, knowledgeable customer service representatives that know the answer, or know where to go to get an answer if they don’t. You can build their knowledge through education and training, by sharing information, and by asking for their feedback. Teach them about your product and service on a continual basis. Provide them with the latest marketing data. Ask them what they’re hearing from customers. Put it all together, and you’re both on the same page, and on the fast track to delivering consistent, accurate information to your customers.

Additionally, utilizing social media proactively, instead of reactively, will go a long way at establishing a stellar level of customer service. Again, social media is all about communication, and that means listening to what your customers are saying, and putting ‘crowdsourcing’ to work for you, in the form of innovation and competitive research. What do your customers like about your products and services? What don’t they like? What are your competitors saying about your product or service? What are their customers saying?

Another more practical aspect of utilizing social media proactively is deciding ahead of time a variety of issues, including which platforms you’ll use to address specific issues, timeframes, and what’s appropriate for your employees to include in chatter, and what isn’t.

No matter the size of your business, not all social media platforms will be right for you, or your customers. By being selective about which you’ll use, and by investing your time and money wisely, with cost versus benefit in mind, social media, as part of an overall strategy, can help drive your customer service, as well as the success of your business.