“In Business” by Roland Millward

To prosper in business you must provide good customer service. Not only will you benefit from your customers coming back to you but they will tell others about your business and provide you with more customers.

Invest time and resources in your business to make sure that you are providing the best service possible. Some of those resources can be put to good use to give your satisfied customers materials that they can use to pass on to their contacts. I have previously written about the value of business cards but here I want to add a few other things that you can do.

Create a newsletter that has real value to the reader. From experience I can say that newsletters not only keep you in touch with your customers but they will often use the newsletter as a talking point to recommend your services to others. If you are posting out a physical newsletter rather than an e-mail version make sure you enclose your business cards. You may also want to add a discount voucher or a special offer with something free attached that not only your customer can use but that can be passed onto others. Thank about options such as ‘free delivery’, 10% off, buy this and get this free gift. There are many options that you could try and be successful with.

Build your customer service and your business will be successful. As mentioned look carefully at your business and see where improvements can be made. You may need to spend time training staff to a higher standard or your own knowledge may need to be improved. Whatever it is, do it!

One of the best tools in business that was ever invented is the humble business card.

I have found that nothing can compare to it when you are in a person to person business. People like to do business with people and they love to have a reminder of you.

Many many years ago when I worked in a department store I decided to have my own business card printed (with my employers permission) as the store did not provide them.
Customers were not used to going into a store and having a card given them and they loved it.
My sales and those of the department that I worked in sky rocketed!

Whenever I can I make sure that my clients have plenty of business cards. Whenever I mail them I enclose 3 cards in the envelope and usually a note to say that they can be passed onto friends and family. I would not recommend giving more than 3 unless the client asks. This is because you don’t want to appear to be forcing them to distribute your cards but to make sure that they have enough for one or two people.

It is amazing how many referrals I get from this simple method.

Make sure that your business cards are of good quality and appearance. Quality business cards are not at all expensive these days and I can recommend Vistaprint for their quality and service.