How To Make Your Customers Feel Important

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If you are a business owner, it will be easy for you to look at your customers as nothing more than dollar signs, but while it is true that the primary function of your customers - as far as your business is concerned - is to bring in money for you, it is also true that your customers are unlikely to remain your customers (and are unlikely to keep bringing you those dollars!) if you do not treat them valuably.

Most business owners know that, generally speaking, ninety per cent of a company's business will come from ten per cent of its customers (in other words - there is nothing more valuable to a company than its loyal customers!), and this is exactly why it is so important that you treat your customers as if they are more important to you than the simple value of their money; as you are find ways to make your customers feel valued, you will create more and more loyal customers, and this will bring more and more money your way.

Making your customers feel like you care about them is one of the best ways to make your customers feel important; if you have a storefront, one of the best ways to do this is to start learning the names of your customers so that you can greet them by name when they enter your store - and you will also want to chat with them whenever they are in the mood to chat, as this will allow you to get to know more about them, and will give you things that you can ask them each time they come shopping at your store.

And if you create a rewards program, or a frequent shopper program, this can be surprisingly effective; create an email list (or a special section on your website) for "members," and give these members special coupons, and even notify them early of special deals and promotions that they can take advantage of.

There is so much more to running a successful business than simply providing a good product or service - and once you begin to make your customers feel important, you will be one step closer to this "so much more," and to the success that it brings.

Tips For Having Fun At Work

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Most people dream of working a job that they truly enjoy, and one of the reasons why they "dream" of this is because the job they actually work does not fit this bill. But even though there will always be certain things in your job that you do not especially enjoy, this would also be the case even if you landed your "dream" job, and once you realize this, it is easy to also start realizing that you can have fun in whatever job you work, as long as you decide to have fun and enjoy it - and in fact, you will also start to find that the more fun you have at work (the more you enjoy work!), the more productive you will be!

Having fun at work can be as simple as trying to start building relationships with your coworkers; lots of people go to work, do their work, and go home, without ever making an effort to get to know those around them, but when you become friends with your coworkers, going to work and seeing them each day will become much more enjoyable.

Having fun at work can also be as simple as doing things at work that you enjoy; for some people, this is listening to music, for others it is taking short breaks to work on a crossword puzzle, and for others it is simply getting up every once in a while and going for a walk.

And finally, having fun at work is usually as simple as working as hard as you can; when you make it your goal to truly work hard, you will start to feel much more fulfilled with your job, and this will in turn make your job a whole lot more enjoyable.

It is certainly easy to complain about your current job while you wait for that "dream job" to come your way, but it is nearly as easy to turn your current job into everything you wish for that dream job to be - and it is also much more rewarding!

Tips For Releasing Press Releases To Help Your Business

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One of the biggest keys to success when you run a business will be figuring out all the little things you can do to bring more customers your way and to give you an edge over your competitors; of course, the list of "little things" you can tackle in order to accomplish this is extensive, and perhaps you even have some things of your own that you have found work for promoting your business - but one thing that you may have been overlooking is the value of releasing press releases to help your business.

The first thing for you to be aware of when it comes to releasing press releases is the fact that you cannot simply do this for every little thing that goes on with your business; however, if your business is launching some sort of new product - or, even if your business is not launching something new, but something noteworthy has happened in the area of business you operate within, and you are able to write a press release regarding this new development, and can put the press release under the name of your business - this will give you a great opportunity to release a press release.

Now, understanding some of the finer points about writing a press release will also be important; before you write a press release yourself, you should take the time to read through a number of other press releases to get a feel for the manner in which they are worded and the typical length and pace of these press releases. And of course, there is no need to shy away from hiring someone else to write the press release for you if you are not absolutely positive you can do a terrific job; after all, people will associate your press release with your business, and considering that it only costs about $50 to hire a professional to write a press release for you, it can be well worth the money!

And finally, it will be important that you release the press release in the right place; if your press release only applies to those in your area, there is no need to release it nationwide, but if people everywhere will be interested in the content of the press release, you will be perfectly fine releasing it nationwide, and can gain some extra exposure in the process!

Becoming Better At Sales

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People who are in sales for a living realize how important sales are (after all, they depend on sales for their livelihood!), but it is also great for people in every area of life to understand the importance of sales, as sales reach much further than just sales in business; regardless of what you do for a living - or what you do in life - here are a few things for you to keep in mind in order to become better at sales.

One mistake a lot of people make is that they try to sell a product, but if the person to whom they are trying to sell the product has no connection with them (or worse, if they do not like them!), the sale will probably not be made; in sales, one of the most important things is knowing how to sell yourself - recognizing that people are a lot more likely to buy something from you if they like you and trust you from the start.

A lot of salesmen get a bad rap because they tend to make over-the-top promises that they cannot keep (and that they have no intention of trying to keep), and it is important for you to shed this label yourself; instead of making promises that you will be unable to keep, you should instead make it your goal to always go over and above what the person is expecting of you, as this will give them a much more satisfying experience with you, and will bring you more business in the long run, as people are likely to spread the word about you if they have a good experience (in the same way they are likely to spread the word about you if they have a bad experience!).

And keeping in mind the fact that people are likely to talk to others about their experience with you, realize that it is up to you to fix any problems or issues the person to whom you made the sale deals with in the aftermath. In sales, one of the best things you can do is realize that your responsibility does not end when the sale ends - but rather, your responsibility ends only when the customer is one hundred per cent satisfied!

Examining Keys To Successful Search Engine Optimization

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If you are trying to be successful online - either with your small business, or simply with your affiliate marketing efforts, one thing you are going to make sure you understand is search engine optimization, as this will be a big part of bringing the traffic to your site you will need in order to be successful. One issue with SEO, however, is that a lot of people fail to grasp exactly what it means - and because of this, they fail to take the right approach!

The first thing you need to realize is that you should be creating content on a regular basis in order to get the most out of SEO. When you create content regularly, you will keep search engines returning to your site, and will keep giving them pages to index and rank.

It will also be important that you know your keywords, in order for you to achieve success online. Too many people try to run a website without ever doing proper keyword research, or even knowing what their keywords are, and this is a big contributing factor to their ultimate failure!

When it comes to effectively using keywords, it will also be important that you are focusing on the keywords within your content, as well as in your tags; lots of people think to focus on their meta tags and whatnot - when it comes to keywords - but forget that their content should focus on these keywords just as much as anything else!

And finally, you need to understand that backlinks are extremely important when it comes to SEO; if you have lots of quality sites linking to your site, you will be in great shape - and if you have no quality sites linking to your site, you will have a hard time succeeding!

As you continue to work on your website, be sure to keep these things in mind, and you will find that you are moving closer and closer to those top search engine rankings you desire, and to the money that comes with them!

Will I Be Able To Build My Own Website?

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If you want to have a business - or if you want to sell anything at all - you need to have a website of your own. But a website is not free to build, and when you are trying to save up money for starting your business, it can be tough to spend extra on a website. Because of this, lots of people who have their own business also end up asking this question: Can I build my own website? If you have ever wondered this yourself, the answer - believe it or not - is that you absolutely can build your own website, as long as you know a few things.

The first thing you need to do, before you can build your own website, is to register your own domain name. It usually only costs about $10 per year to have your domain name, so the toughest part is actually finding a domain name that works for you. If you or your company has a unique name, this should be easy; it can be much harder, though, if your desired name is already taken!

Next, you will want to use a template that will enable you to mostly set up and run your website on your own. You will be able to update, change, and adjust your site whenever you want if you use a template such as a Wordpress template.

And if you decide to design a website on your own, you will want to make sure you put in some time doing research. Firstly, you will want to research some basic HTML coding; this is not complicated, and it will help you have a lot more freedom in the way your website looks. As for other research, you will need to also put in your time making sure you understand as much as you can about the process of building a website. For only $25 on Amazon, you can get the book Learning Web Design - which is the best resource available, and is usually $45!

You will be able to start building your website as soon as you know what you are doing - and what's more, you will be able to make it look exactly the way you want it to look!

Tips For Creating A Good Work Space

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When it comes to trying to get good work done, one of the most important things will be making sure that you are working in an environment that is conducive to productivity and thought - and while this is the case no matter where you work, this is especially the case if you are working at home, where it can be so easy for you to get pulled away from work by other things. It is actually quite easy to set up a work environment that will help you to have no problems with your focus and your productivity, but before you start trying to take steps to set up such a work environment, make sure you pay attention to these particular aspects.

Comfort: It will be good to have a comfortable work space, but it is also important that your work space has just the right amount of comfort; while an uncomfortable work space can make your work time unpleasant (and can therefore sap you of your energy and motivation), a work space that is too comfortable can put you right to sleep!

Lighting: When it comes to lighting, there is a fine line that is quite similar to the fine line with comfort; soft lighting will help your eyes to stay focused without getting worn out, but you do not want the lighting to be too soft, as soft lighting can also cause the brain to think that it is time for relaxation!

Quiet: There are many people who enjoy working with a bit of noise - either with music, or with the radio, or with something similar - but hardly anyone wants to work with external noise coming from someone else; make sure you set up a work environment where you control the noise, which will enable you to enjoy external quiet.

When you create your work space keeping these tips in mind, you will be able to be productive in a great work environment regardless of where you are working - be it at home, in an office, or anywhere else!

The Four Most Important On-Page Ranking Factors

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When you are working on search engine optimization efforts for your website, you will want to be focusing your efforts on both your on-page and off-page ranking factors; of course, each is as important as the other, but because of the fact that on-page ranking factors give you more control, this is the best (and most natural!) place to start for exploring the things you will want to do.

When it comes to the on-page ranking factors on your site, the first thing you will want to look at is your text, as your text will be a big part of where search engines end up ranking you; firstly, it will be within your text that you put your keywords - which are a big part of the way search engines see your website - and secondly, readers will read your text, and they will be more likely to share it with others (and to keep returning themselves) if it is good!

When it comes to the work you are doing within your own website, the next thing you will want to focus on is your headings and subheads; this might seem like something you can push to the side, but realize that search engines use these tags to determine what your site contains, and to determine the order of importance of your content, so taking advantage of these will help you quite a bit!

Another thing worth paying attention to on your website is the text used in your navigation menus; rather than labeling different pages as "Page 1," "Page2," and so on, label your pages with descriptive keywords, as this will help visitors and search engines alike.

And finally, one of the most important things of all on your website (and one of the most often overlooked aspects of search engine optimization) will be the tags on your site; make sure you are properly applying everything from image tags to title tags to meta description tags, as all of these things will go a long way in positively influencing your search engine ranking!

How To Manage Upset Customers

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When it comes to running a business, one of the biggest keys to success will be making sure that you know how to manage customers who are upset, or who have a complaint about the way they have been handled by you, your employees, or your company.

When an upset customer has a legitimate complaint, they can ruin a lot of business for you if they share their complaints with others, but when you are able to fix a situation with an upset customer, they will often be so impressed with the way you handled things that they will end up sending more customers your way!

The first thing you need to do - regardless of whether you feel their complaint is legitimate or not - is to acknowledge the problem; when you acknowledge that their complaint and convey that you understand the complaint, you will be on the right path to making the situation better.

The next step is working to resolve the problem - but the mistake that many people make when trying to resolve a problem with a customer is that they allow the customer to dictate the terms of the resolution. It can be difficult to maintain the balance between keeping the power in your hands and still being helpful, but this is an importance balance to maintain - otherwise, you may end up with a customer who is not satisfied no matter what you do.

And lastly, recognize the fact that there actually will be customers who you will never be able to satisfy; these are the customers who tend to complain with every company they deal with, and the best way to deal with such customers is to do the best you can and then send them on their way!

Managing upset customers is not always easy, but it is one of the most important aspects of keeping your business in good shape - and when you can start to do this effectively, you will maximize the positive news that customers spread about your company.

Tips For Using YouTube To Promote Your Business

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If you have a small business, you may have realized that YouTube is a great market to tap into in order to promote your business. And while YouTube can certainly be a great way for you to promote your business, you can also go about it the wrong way, in which case it will be a poor way to promote your business! Before you take the time to try to launch a YouTube campaign for your business, you need to recognize what you need to do for the campaign to go well.

One of the first things you will want to do is create your own YouTube channel, one that is specific to your business. This will enable people to become more and more familiar with you, as they will be able to subscribe to your channel, which can go a long way in helping you on YouTube.

Next, you should study first; take a look at other businesses like yours, and see who has done the best job promoting themselves on YouTube. And here's a hint: The ones that have done the best job are the ones that have the most hits on their videos! You certainly do not want to copy anything they themselves have done, but you can borrow inspiration and ideas from them as much as you would like.

You also need to keep in mind, if you want a video of yours to go viral, that you need to create something that is actually worth spreading around. The beauty of YouTube is that it enables others to do the work for you, spreading the video around; you cannot just have someone standing there and talking to the screen - you need something that catches the eye.

If you let people make the videos for you, you will find that this is the best way to get others to help you spread the word about your business! Depending on the sort of company you have, you can run a contest where the best video gets a certain, high-priced item for free. This will help you spread the word about your company more quickly than anything you could do all on your own!

YouTube is a goldmine just waiting for the savvy marketeer to come along and tap into it; once you figure out the best way for you to use it, you can watch your business soar!

Tips For Keeping Conversations Short

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People often say that time is money, and even if you disagree with this, you certainly feel that time is important. Time can be anything from money to leisure to fun, but whatever the case, time is an important element for many of us. And even though it might seem funny to figure out how to "end conversations quickly," it is also true that you sometimes find yourself in conversations you would prefer to keep short. And if you learn how to end these conversations quickly - regardless of whether they take the shape of conversations with coworkers, neighbors, or strangers - you will have more time to yourself and the things you want to do.

Be polite: The best thing you can do, when aiming to end a conversation quickly, is to summon every ounce of politeness you can muster. If you are rude to someone when trying to end a conversation quickly, you may find that the conversation actually ends up dragging on longer. On the other hand, your counterpart will leave the conversation feeling fulfilled if you are polite and friendly throughout - which makes it much easier to end the conversation.

Recognize what most people want to talk about: Even though a conversation is supposed to be an exchange between two people, most poeple would much rather be engaged in a "conversation" that focuses on nothing but their own self. Allow the other person to tell you all the things they want to tell you as quickly as possible by turning every question they ask back to them, and in this way they will feel fulfilled with the conversation much more quickly.

Know how to graciously finish: Closing out a conversation is often the toughest part of keeping conversations short, as lots of people try to exit a conversation by making excuses. Instead, you should always end a conversation the same way when you are trying to keep things short: simply tell the person that it was great talking to them, and that you look forward to catching up again!

If you follow these tips, you will not only be able to keep conversations short when you need to, but you will also do so in a manner that leaves your counterpart feeling fulfilled!

Dealing With An eBay Customer Who Does Not Pay

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EBay is a great tool for anyone who wants to get rid of their old, unwanted stuff or wants to make some extra money. But while eBay is great for selling your items, it is not always great for getting you paid for the items that you "sold." After all, on eBay, you do not get paid first and then give the customer the item - the way you would in a regular store - but instead, you have to wait for the person to pay you after they win the bid, and sometimes they can leave you waiting for a while!

If you are dealing with a customer who has won a bid but has not yet paid you, the first thing you should know is that they have four days to pay. Even though this seems like a while, eBay will not take a complaint unless it has been at least four days from the day when the auction ended. At the same time, however, eBay usually takes these matters very seriously if the four full days have passed without the payment.

The first thing you need to do, if someone has not paid you, is contact them and see if you can work things out. If they are uncooperative or - perhaps even more frustrating - unresponsive, you then need to take things to the next step, which is filing the complaint with the Resolution Center at eBay.

The buyer will again have four days to pay after you file a complaint with the Resolution Center (and will also, of course, be notified of the complaint). Although they are allowed to contact you and try to work out an extension or another arrangement during this time, you are not required to oblige. If they do not pay you within four days, and you have not agreed to any other arrangements, it will go down as an unpaid item.

This unpaid item will be listed permanently on the buyer's account, and you are then able to list your item again, or you can give a Second Chance Offer to one of the bidders who lost on the item. And keep in mind: you can look at people's accounts when they are bidding, and if you run into a bidder with an "unpaid item" on their account, you can block them to keep this from happening to you!