Blogs

Adapt to changes better than your competitors

Recently, researchers asked a group of 12-year olds if they typically listen to music on YouTube, radio, or a CD? Not surprisingly, the majority answered “YouTube”. However, the second most common response was, “What’s a CD?”

Researchers also asked a group of high school students how they most often use email. Their responses?“To communicate with old people.”

And therein lies one of the most daunting challenges facing today’s companies – the need to reinvent their entire business model rather than just a new product or service.

After all, there’s no point in coming out with a newer and better CD when people no longer use them (much less know what they are). And anyone operating an email-based business might as well get in line right behind the post office because extinction is already knocking on the door, and it won’t take “go away” for an answer.

Don’t confuse your customers by offering unnecessary choices.

Do you want to drink a venti double mocha skinny chai latte? Do you even know what that is? I don’t. We found in a customer survey that 70% of shoppers were also confused by the choices (and their obscure names) on store’s café menu.

Resisting the urge to add customer choice allows shoppers to enjoy more time savouring their coffee and less time “playing coffee Cluedo”. While there may be some customers who want the complicated drink names, (it’s not that important to them) the majority would prefer simplicity.

A recent research shows that less choice more often than not leads to a lower effort service experience. When customers are faced with outcomes for a service experience, 84% chose something other than choice, a low-effort experience.

Salespeople’s performance has a significant influence on customer satisfaction

Demanding customers, fierce competition, breathtaking technological innovation, etc. These are the realities of today’s global marketplace; realities that have changed forever the way we do business, especially the way we sell.

Gone are the days when salespeople could rely on charming small-talk and aggressive closing techniques alone to generate business.

Many traditional selling approaches regard selling as something the seller does to the buyer. They sell them something. The result of this attitude to sales is that many salespeople adapt a manipulative, almost coercive style of selling.

The importance of speaking multiple languages in Business

The importance of speaking multiple languages in Business People say that business is all about relationships, but the truth is that business is really all about communication. Communication is key to virtually every aspect of business—from acquiring and retaining customers to improving employee engagement and performance. At the most fundamental level, business can’t happen without communication. This is even more true in the era of globalisation. As geographic borders become porous and the world flattens, effective communication with customers, employees, partners, suppliers, and other stakeholders across the globe becomes essential to successfully running a company.

Consistency is one of the keys to success

The importance of consistency in business seems so basic as to not need discussion. Yet many companies, especially smaller ones, operate in a day-by-day, case-by-case fashion that is disorganised, undisciplined and certainly inefficient.

The frenetic, never-enough people/time/money reality of small business can make us feel like we’re chasing it down rather than leading it along, but if we get in front of it with consistent standards and practices (ideally working hand-in-hand with a strong set of values), every aspect of the business benefits.

The influence of packaging on consumer purchase decision process

Packaging plays an important role as a medium in the marketing mix, in promotion campaigns, as a pricing criterion, in defining the character of new products, as a setter of trends and as an instrument to create brand identity and shelf impact in all product groups.

The findings of our recent survey about this subject present new arguments and evidence confirming a central conviction held by the packaging industry: that the shopper appreciates and in fact explicitly wants to receive stimulation for the buying decision he is making when standing in front of the supermarket shelf, often even preferring this to other forms of communication. He is keen to be informed and inspired, tempted and pampered by surprising and persuasive functions, emotions and sensual impressions.

How to handle a refund request

Refunds are no fun. You get that email, or a call, or worse yet, a public shout out on twitter or facebook that reads, “I’d like a refund.” Those four words can send any small business or solopreneur into a tailspin of self-doubt. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Here’s how to handle a refund request and use it to boost your business, make a better product and not let “I’d like a refund” get you down.

Take Action…Fast

Is your slogan achieving the intended effect?

Brand names, logos, and slogans are integral parts of any company’s marketing message. All have the same aim: to make consumers react positively to a product or a business. Our research shows, however, that many slogans backfire—for example, causing consumers to spend money when they’re told they can save, or vice versa.

In five studies of several hundred undergraduates each, in which computers were used to simulate shopping behaviour, we found that consumers typically follow the prompt of a brand name or a logo.

How to make your business presentation interesting

According to a recent study, 58% of business presentations are deemed to be too long, uninteresting and lacking relevant information.

Here are 21 ways to make certain that your presentations hold your audience’s interest and help them make the decision you want them to make.

Preparation

Build a story. Presentations are boring when they present scads of information without any context or meaning. Instead, tell a story, with the audience as the main characters (and, specifically, the heroes).
Keep it relevant. Audiences only pay attention to stories and ideas that are immediately relevant. Consider what decision you want them to make, then build an appropriate case.