New Year, New Clients!

Amongst goals like getting in shape, volunteering more time to worthy causes, and working even harder, many Britons are vowing to meet their perfect match in 2009. And although we sometimes fail to follow through on our resolutions, smart goal-setters know that a solid plan makes all the difference.

That’s why dating services like TopMatch typically see an uptick in business this time of year. Diet services and self-improvement outlets like salons and gyms also benefit from the annual good intentions. For anyone operating a self-improvement franchise, taking advantage of the season’s spirit is a sure-fire way to get a jumpstart on your own business resolutions.

New Year’s promotions are a great way to stoke public interest and resonate with the collective mindset. Convince the public that YOUR service is an essential stepping-stone to their long-term goals and you’ll see a boom in business worth celebrating.

Beyond what you say, consider the best ways to disseminate your message. People preparing to change may be browsing want-ads, personals, fashion magazines, and more, so start thinking about where your message will make an impact.

If you’re still thinking about purchasing a franchise, don’t waste this chance! It will be an entire year before people are once again so motivated and open to change.

For Yourself, Not by Yourself: Understanding Franchise Support

Part of the beauty in franchising is the chance to capitalise on the benefits of professional independence whist enjoying the guidance and established reputation of a stable company. With that said, there is a gamut of support levels available, and this varies from one opportunity to the next. If you’re seeking a franchise that offers true five-star support, consider the following criteria.

Reputation. Reputation can be as simple to gage as asking friends and colleagues what they may think of a company. Of course, the most important impressions to consider will be your own, and these ought to be developed by considering yourself a potential customer. Even if the company isn’t well known (getting in on the ground floor of a growing business is often the best bet for anyone on a budget), take a look at how they present themselves to the public and decide whether or not you’d trust them to satisfy you as a client.

Accessibility. Does the company hold up to modern standards of communication? If they don’t have a professional website and plainly provide e-mails and phone numbers to contact real people, you may want to reconsider whether or not they’ll help you provide first-tier customer service.

Training. What kind of training tools and events are available? A great franchise will give you everything you need to conduct business without any hesitations.

Company Resources. Does head office provide marketing materials, reliable contacts, and exciting extras like a location website or laptop? Remember, the way they treat prospective franchisees is the best indication of the kind of support you’ll receive in the long run.

Testimonials. Unless the company proudly provides positive testimonials from satisfied franchisees, you may want to scrap the idea. Happy franchisees mean great support whilst disappointed franchisees indicate that opting into the opportunity may make way for you to share a similar fate.

Occupational Control May Boost Heart Health

According to a report in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, professionals who enjoy a good amount of occupational control find themselves at lower risk for cardiovascular disaster. Whilst those who answer to one, two, three or more supervisors often feel overwhelmed by pressure, people who make most of their own daily work decisions live life with less stress.

No doubt everyone experiences work anxiety from time to time, and anyone in a power position has all kinds of worries to contend with. Not only that, but managers, supervisors, and entrepreneurs have few to blame if things go poorly. However, it seems that the amount of stress is less relevant to heart health than a person’s ability to cope. Naturally, anyone with enough control to navigate through turbulent waters their own way will feel more secure about the future.

Among those with the highest risk for heart attack were workers with little control and a lot of psychological demand. Examples are waiters, telephone operators, fire fighters, and sales clerks. Those with more control and healthier heart records were nearly all professionals with management-level positions.

When you consider the benefits of operating your own franchise, health might not be the first concern that leaps to mind, but heart wellness is certainly no benefit to ignore. Have you been suffering from stress imposed by others? Consider that climbing the corporate ladder to attain the kind of power you are looking for can take years or even decades. Fortunately, franchisees take the lead immediately, and so can you!

Here’s to your heart.

Source: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 56, 334

Beat the Short-Term Blues with a Long-Term Plan for Success

The people who thrive in tough times are those who can keep calm and maintain some long-term vision. After all, isn’t it flawed short-term thinking that often leads to crisis in the first place? Fixation on quick profits and overly ambitious expansion are two of the most common causes of financial woe for small businesses, but in globally rough times it’s easy to get carried away thinking there are a million things that can go wrong.

Fortunately, a troubled economy provides savvy entrepreneurs with every opportunity to shine. For you, here are five things that can go right by keeping your eyes on the future.

Job Security. Everything is in your own hands when you are your own employer. Paranoia and panic may hinder the productivity of many employees, but you’ve got nothing to fret over.

Less Competition. The market may seem strained, but as companies who fail to adapt and grow fall, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to pick up new clients looking for better alternatives.

Motivation to Innovate. Let the pressure push your business strategy to a whole new level. A changing market means there will be exciting new challenges at each turn. Consider the needs of people today and your products, service, and advertising may benefit.

The Chance to Earn a Great Reputation. Be a fish in these sink-or-swim times and people will remember your name. Prove yourself to be a leader and innovator and people will be lining up to work for you as you grow.

Steady, Sustainable Growth. Young businesses that experience an initial boom frequently spend themselves into the ground with misguided ambition. People today don’t have a lot of extra money to spend, so if you win their business, chances are you’ve really sold them on it. Build a loyal clientele now and you’ll always enjoy success.

While others may be quick to throw in the towel or panic, remember that for anyone smart enough to take control of their own future, there will be ample rewards in the long run.

Expand Your Sphere of Influence with LinkedIn

Want to expand your professional influence? LinkedIn.com may be your perfect solution. With well over two thousand UK members joining each day, LinkedIn.com is a social networking website for motivated employees and entrepreneurs. Make a few contacts in the network, and you’ll stand to substantially expand your sphere of influence (or professional ‘know-who’ according to LinkedIn insiders).

Especially for anyone operating their own business or franchise, it can be rather difficult to meet new and influential people each day. Through online networking though, you can work the virtual room in mere moments, making valuable contacts whom may be eager to do business or offer advice.

Don’t forget, online social networks are a fabulous way to gain free publicity and increase your clientele or membership. By posting your resume, interests, and references on LinkedIn, you may also make some great business partners (and maybe reunite with old friends and colleagues).

Of course, most people look to LinkedIn to further their careers and not their social lives, so avoid getting too personal in your profile. Save the goofy pictures and irrelevant hobbies for sites like Facebook.

You can become a member for free at http://www.linkedin.com/home today and start meeting and greeting. Every contact increases your online visibility; so don’t be shy about sending plenty of virtual how-do-you-dos.

Ad Inspiration: Burger King Wallets

Savvy marketers have to think outside the box – many boxes in fact. The television, magazine page, and Macbook flatscreen are just a few of the boxes that great ads must burst out of to make a truly memorable impression. And because the modern media is so saturated with ads already, some companies are getting especially creative.

A splendid example of ad ingenuity is a recent Burger King promotion in the US that is getting international attention. The fast-food chain has been depositing wallets on the streets of large cities that contain notes urging finders to keep everything inside.

These contents include:
Money, ranging between one and one hundred US dollars
A map to nearby Burger King locations
A Burger King gift card
A driver’s licence belonging to The King (Burger King’s wacky mascot)
Fake receipts

Apparently Burger King plans to dispense nearly 5,000 faux-leather wallets in the coming weeks.

Whilst other companies are spinning and sweating looking for ways to appeal to consumers with lean budgets, Burger King has found a way to have a little fun with the economic crisis. Part stimulus package, part publicity stunt, the bifocal effect of the promotion is well under way. With heaps of free media coverage and plenty of word of mouth excitement, this clever campaign will likely pay off in a King-size way.

If you’ve been looking for a way to drop the hint about your great business, consider taking a lesson from the BK playbook. Playful, topical promotions that get people talking always energise consumers (and let’s face it, most of us could use more reasons to smile).

What ads inspire your marketing strategies? Post your thoughts below!

Service Industries May Be the Key to Comfortable Living

As our savings get smaller and smaller, our schedules seem to get tighter and tighter. In periods of economic strain, there's little time to relax and whilst we struggle to make the most of our professional lives, our personal lives invariably suffer. Before flashy commodities, prime real estate, and impressive investments, people today seek comfort. This may explain why some financial experts have predicted a significant turn of our economy toward service-related industries.

Years ago the dual-income household was an exception, not the rule. For every suit-and-tie professional there was likely to be a dedicated homemaker to tend to chores, meals, and child care. Weekends were more faithfully observed and people made a little more time for their own enjoyment. More leisure time meant it was easier to meet others and forge beneficial marital partnerships. Of course times weren't perfect, but things like hot meals and good conversation certainly didn't seem so expendable as today. But that's not to say we don't still desire them.

Clever franchisees all over the world realise that people will pay big to regain personal comforts they may have lost to long work hours. Take a look at some of today's fastest-growing franchises and see for yourself:

Professional Introductions/Dating Services

Catering Companies

Residential Cleaning

Tutoring/Childcare

Lawn Care

Dry Cleaning

Every one of these franchises offers relief to busy professionals who may feel too crunched to personally manage every aspect of their frenzied lives. Leave it to the true professionals to know when to outsource!

Long before our current economic predicament, service industries began their rapid growth and, because inflation and a climbing standard of living keep pushing us all to work harder, it's the kind of growth that is sustainable in the long term. Furthermore, franchisees who provide a helpful service tend to spend less funds on advertising and receive a whole lot more customer gratitude.

Getting Feedback That Counts

Recently we talked a bit about customer focused marketing and the need to frequently answer the customer’s inevitable query, “What’s in it for me?” Of course, it’s rather difficult to effectively market to customers if you are not fully in touch with their specific concerns. The best way to understand what the customer wants is to ask him. Logical enough, right? Alas, what’s not so simple is getting the customer to answer.

The tried and true tactic to gather customer feedback is a satisfaction survey. So what does it take to make a survey really count?

Shorter is sweeter. Getting a customer to do the work of a paid focus group is no simple task, and frankly it conveys to him that you do not value his time. Limit your survey to five really meaty questions. Trust me, you’ll get more thorough answers and many more responses.

Don’t mince words. Make every question clear, concise, and open-ended. Whilst a multi-part question may detract from clarity, a “yes or no” question won’t yield useful answers. Another effective approach is asking a series of multiple-choice questions, which can do a lot for convenience (just be sure to offer a good range of responses, positive and negative).

Clarify your expectations. Ask yourself (and your colleagues) what kind of information you are hoping to gather. You may be able to gather demographic, product, and customer service data from some very pointed questions, but it may be in your best interest to focus surveys on one specific area of interest at a time.

Take advantage of free tools. Smart Survey UK is just one of many web-based survey tools that can assist in your data quest. You can send interactive surveys out to customers via e-mail in the form of survey requests, or in most cases link to the survey in your signature.

Offer an incentive. In some cases it may be enough to use the old “help us help you” line, but if you really want to rake in the responses you ought to get creative. An exclusive discount or entry in a drawing can be a cheap and effective way to entice Feedback Scrooges, but it never hurts to use your imagination and affordable resources.

Expert Tips for an Efficient Office

Administrative assistants keep big offices organised, efficient, and tidy. However, most small businesses operate without the kind of administrative support available to large corporations. If you’ve recently made the transition from cramped cubicle to home office, you may find it helpful to take a glance at these pro tips provided by real administrative gurus.

File as you go. “I can’t tell you how much time this will save in the long term. We tell ourselves we’ll file later, but is there ever really a good time? Make filing an intuitive part of your routine—train yourself to do it automatically. If a client or partner calls or pops in, you’ll come off as calm and professional when you know exactly where everything is located.”

Single Home. “Every stapler, file, and pen should have one spot on your desk to reside, and it should always return there. Give all of your supplies a single home and you’ll never be caught off guard. Most people waste time and money hunting down and replacing elusive items.”

Virtually spotless. “Keep your virtual space as tidy as your physical space. Have standard places and formats for all of your virtual documents. Create new folders and subfolders when necessary and use them to your advantage. Clutter on your computer desktop is every bit as distracting and stress inducing as a three-dimensional mess.”

Plant a reminder. “My boss is especially untidy and it was always difficult to locate files and contacts in her messy office. For Christmas last year, I bought my boss a plant, hoping it would encourage her to nourish her workspace. Now, if she neglects to open the blinds, make proper space, and water the soil, the plant literally responds by wilting. It’s almost been a year and every time she sees that little thing start to droop she knows she needs to attend to her space. Trust me; an office plant is a canary in the coal mine for disarray.”

Start the day head on. “If there’s a task you’re dreading, putting it off will only allow your anxiety to fester. Begin each work day by jotting down the day’s toughest chore, then complete it and cross it out before making the rest of your To Do List. You’ll now have more energy (and less stress) with which to take on the workday.”

In Perfect Focus: How to Put the Client First in Your Sales Pitch

Any business guru will tell you that a steady focus on client service is essential to the success of a growing business. And although it may sound simple, effective client service means going above and beyond the competition to offer something better. For example, how many businesses advertise that they put the client first? Most modern companies tout superb service. Simply saying what you do has little impact unless you can say how you do it.

If you want to attract new clients, you'll need to convince them that you're in tune with their needs. Remember, today's consumer has more buying power than ever before. They won't settle because, in a world of so many options, they don't have to. For example, here at TopMatch we know we offer the best singles solution on the market - it's secure, effective, and affordable to everyone - but because our potential members have many options, we have to win them over.

So what wins the sale? Tell the client what's in it for them. Whether you're writing an advert, e-mail, or meeting a client in person, if you focus on explaining how your company will meet their needs, you'll be on your way. You may be tempted to mention awards your company has won, the fact that you are family owned, or that you operate in three countries, but be sure you draw everything back to the customer's needs. For example, "For three years in a row we've won the city's Best Small Business award, which means we have to work hard every day to live up to our great reputation. Our clients rest assured that we take that reputation seriously." Want to boast that you use the latest technology? Brilliant. Just remember to explain why this will help the client, as in, "We use the latest in telecommunications technology to ensure that day or night, you have an effective way to get in touch with one of our helpful representatives." If you have a hard time relating something back to the client, consider omitting it.

So what makes you great? At TopMatch we have a lot to be proud of, but we know that more than anything our clients want a service that works, that's safe, and that they can afford. That's why when we say we're the best, we back it up by explaining that we're secure, effective, and affordable. Excellent customer service starts with the question, "What do my clients and potential clients value most?" To answer this question you really must step outside your own head for a bit.

Start thinking about the changes you can make in your sales pitch so that it speaks directly to the needs of your clients. In the long run, great customer service will put the focus right back on your business.