Customer service
I'm terrible at remembering names.
I was never great. After having my children, my pregnancy brain did not completely go away (for those of you who have never been pregnant, when you are, your memory is shot!).
So I've gotten used to writing a person's name down after meeting them.
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What do you do when someone posts something unflattering about your company on a blog? Do you respond?
We’ve received this question a few times from our viewers and each time it has elicited a different response from our show panel. This is far from a black and white issue.
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A few weeks ago I got a call from an angry neighbor who wanted to know if our neighborhood bylaws include any restrictions on door-to-door salesman.
She called me because I'm the president of our neighborhood civic association and one of my main jobs is fielding tons of phone calls from irate neighbors who want me to make their lives easier.
I thought it was an odd question for her to ask. So many people who have been laid off or have seen their hours cut have chosen to start direct sales businesses, including door-to-door sales, so I figured let's help out those in our community that need a hand.
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Many of you who read my Twitter post a couple of months ago took me up on the offer to get on the social networking site and started tweeting to help promote your business.
Unfortunately, many of you just don't seem to get Twitter yet (don't worry -- I'm not going to name names).
You can't just tweet over and over again about your products or services. Well, actually you can do whatever you want on Twitter, but just listing products in hopes someone will head over to your Web site and buy your wares is going to get you ostracized, aka un-followed, and fast.
For the majority of people out there that don't know, first I'll start by explaining what the heck Twitter is.
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Your opinion counts!
We've made changes to the Your Business show page based on your previous feedback, now please fill out our survey and tell us if you like it.
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I attended a trade show down south last week and was surprised at how busy it was. In spite of the economy, attendance by both exhibitors and attendees was strong.
In fact, many companies I spoke to told me that this is not the time to skimp on marketing. While most of them are not planning any over-the-top campaigns, they're still continuing with efforts to attract leads and customers. So in light of that I wanted to go back to a story we did a while ago on "Your Business" called Trade Show 101.
Now more than ever, if you spend thousands of dollars on a trade show, you want to make sure you get a return on that investment.
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I cleaned out my closet this past weekend and I came across a horrific suit from the 1980s. The shoulder pads were too big, the waist was too small, and the bright orange and green fabric was anything but just right.
The 1980s were not only a frightening time for fashion, the decade also ushered in one of the worst recessions on record -- even worse than the one we find ourselves in now.
So, in an attempt to look on the bright side of life, I'd like to point out that the economy could be in worse shape than it is right now.
It could be 1980.
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I was recently raving to a friend about the wine selection at a local wine shop. He told me he knew about the place and agreed it was top notch, but he also said he no longer shops there.
Turns out my friend feels the wine shop staff is "overly nice."
Huh? I said to myself.
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My local newspaper has been shrinking and that's making me very sad. But you know what's been making me very mad? The number of coupons in the damn thing seems to be multiplying.
I may not be able to read in-depth stories about my community, but I can get 50 cents off diapers and poisoned peanut butter products. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
What will happen to all those glossy coupons when the foretold death of newspapers finally occurs in this country?
One entrepreneur is already benefiting from print media's downfall, and the economic downturn.
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So it finally happened. I read a "tweet" this week about someone having a bowel movement.
It was just like any other day. I was perusing social networking site Twitter when I came across this clear example of too much information.
A lot of people think Twitter is all about inane stuff like this, but in reality bowel-movement notifications are a rarity among the great comments you find on this Web site. Basically, Twitter is a place where people share a sentence or two about something great they read, or an interesting blog post they wrote.
It's also an ideal place to get the word out about your service or product -- for free.
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