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Are There Any Customer Service Absolutes?
Customer service would be easy if absolutes such as these were indeed true. In today’s highly interactive world of customized customer service, nothing could be LESS needed than training in such fallible absolutes.
The Small Business Non-Compete Agreement: Why It’s a Good Idea
Employees are often trusted with confidential and sensitive material while under your employment. But what happens when they are no longer working for the company, or have left for a competitor, taking all that valuable information with them?
7 Ways to Protect Your Home-Based Business
Just because you manage your company from your family room doesn’t mean you should approach it too casually. You still need to consider the health and well-being of any employees, subcontractors and clients; safeguard expensive equipment and important data; and maintain a professional image to your clients.
Disaster Recovery and Other Happy Subjects
Have you been open in sharing your knowledge and talent with a backup, or even a potential successor? It is prudent and certainly a sign that you take this responsibility personally as a leader among your peers and subordinates.
Where Should You House Payroll for Your Small Business?
Every business must have payroll in some form or other. Traditionally, payroll has been one of the most outsourced processes in the business world. But despite the number of solutions available, the choice boils down to a simple dichotomy—keep your payroll in the hands of in-house administrators, or outsource your payroll to a traditional payroll service.
The Heart of Customer Service is Respect
Excellence comes out of respect, which is at the heart of customer service. It starts with internal service; treating the employees with the same respect and attitude as you would want the customer treated. You can’t expect the customer to experience excellence if you don’t first create excellence internally.
Information is Even More Critical
To deal with a constantly evolving environment, communication—both incoming and outgoing—is more important than ever. You need to be sure you are communicating to your customers and are taking in new information about the economy and your industry, all at breakneck speeds.
The Customer Service Training Success Equation
When you invest in customer service training, you naturally want results. The sad truth is that many times there are no lasting results from business training programs. Sometimes this can be the fault of a poor instructor or materials, but more often it is a result of how training fits into a bigger business picture.
7 Tips for Overcoming Perfectionism and Getting More Done
A very busy schedule and perfectionism are a deadly combination. A “friend of mine” has this problem from time to time. There just isn’t enough time to do everything and do it perfectly.
Is Customer Service the New Marketing?
The line between customer service and marketing is becoming blurred, and some companies are even counting customer service as a marketing expense. Although in the past there were definitive marketing and customer service “departments,” it makes sense to acknowledge their relationship and interaction for the overall good of the company.