• Your limit per text message is only 160 characters or so. Thus, your message must be concise. If your message can’t be summed up in the given constraints, it may be best to relegate it to a facebook post or email blast.

• Make sure the message you send is a clear call to action. Let the subscriber see the reason behind your message.

• Offer something of particular value to those being contacted like an free app or mobile game. Cell phone users love freebies (the more entertaining the better). And if the freebie builds brand awareness or creates advertising revenue, all the better.

• Use text message marketing as a way to gain feedback for your business, product or service. People love giving their opinion, and this approach allows them to do just that.

You will need to be prepared to make a cold calling campaign successful. Start with a script and rehearse it several times. You don’t want to sound like a telemarketing robot, just get yourself familiar with the script so you really know what you’re talking about. Then you will feel comfortable about going off script.

Warm up by making your first call of the day to a trusted friend. This should be someone that will put you in a good mood. It helps to be motivated and in the right frame of mind before you start calling people out of the blue. Tell yourself that what you have to sell is valuable and the buyer will be lucky to have it. Selling is about solving the other person’s problem. Before you can convince the buyer, you need to convince yourself that what you have is worthy of their time.

Make some warm calls first. These are to people that you have a connection with. Maybe they came from a referral or you met the person at an event. These calls with be slightly easier and you’ll have a better chance of the conversation going well. Every call that goes well will get you more excited about making the next one. It’s important to keep your confidence high when you are cold calling and selling.

The gatekeeper is probably going to be the first person you will talk to. The secretary or receptionist might be the first gatekeeper you encounter. You can expect to be screened by the gatekeepers. Be prepared for it. Make a friend of them and make it easy for them. Get this person on your side. It’s likely that you will be talking to these same people again at some point in the future and they will be able to help you. Ask questions of the gatekeepers and make them a friend. You want to make sure you are contacting the right person and this is the time to find that out.

It is best to pick one unique feature and demonstrate (a good picture is worth a thousand words) its clear benefit to your consumers. This will result in a more interesting ad that gets read and differentiates you from the competition. Include a call-to-action so that you can deliver your product’s information in its entirety later, either electronically, through collateral material, or a personal sales call. This initiates the personal relationship between your company and the consumer necessary for success, while being respectful of the consumer’s time.

To win their patronage, you have to prove yourself stable, successful, and sure of yourself. You won’t prove those things if you constantly change your marketing, your media, or your message. The idea is for you to remain consistent. Be consistent in theme, format, graphics, media, and identity.

Your prospects will subconsciously feel comfort, security, and safety in the consistency of your message. You’ll be making inroads into their deeper, inner minds – where the decision to spend money comes from.

Since business is dependent upon customers for profit and continued growth and expansion, it is evident that relationships with customers are vitally important to the success of your business. Today, business owners should be gravely concerned with this problem. Competition is very tight nowadays. Many similar businesses are overwhelming the market. This is happening in many similar businesses such as printing greeting cards, business cards printing, custom greeting card printing, boutiques, salon, health and beauty shops and the likes.

With this competition among businesses, you need to know some techniques on how to improve your relationships with your customers. Here is how:

Improve your understanding of human behavior. Since all the people in your business in one way or another have contact with customers, it is important to teach them to recognize individual differences. There is a need to understand the principles of frustration and emotional involvement so that irritation and conflict can be avoided.

Show sincere interest in the customer and his problem. This technique is one that can be practiced even by the inexperienced. Common courtesy demands that such people be treated with respect. In handling each individual, it is important that this interest in the customers should not be based on the profit to be obtained from him or her. For instance, someone would like to return the greeting cards he bought at your printing shop due to some changes in the design or have something to add in it. Show interest and courteously ask what he would like you do with the greeting cards.

Deal appropriately with the unsatisfied customer. Where there is customer dissatisfaction, it is necessary to find out the cause such as careless work, defective parts, or unforeseen difficulties arising from some type of faulty adjustment. It is necessary to make an adjustment satisfactory to the customer. On the other hand, if the investigation shows that the fault lies with the customer, someone must take time out to tactfully and courteously explain the facts concerning the case. Such instances will be helpful in making it clear that the store owner or the dealer has interest in the client as an individual, and offering him all possible help. People are basically honest, and when facts are brought out into the open and misunderstanding is clarified, most people are reasonable, and they settle things by making a compromise satisfactory to both parties concerned.

Maintain personal contacts through follow-up. Some follow-up service is not only desirable in maintaining customer relations; it can be a source of profit for an organization.

Arrange extra special services. Still another way to improve customer relationships is to provide, whenever possible, special services, adequate warranty periods, and appropriate waiting room facilities in the service shop. Even a small service such as operating tips or certain economic measures will be appreciated by most customers and help build favorable attitudes toward the organization.

Lastly, make practical use of human relations and principles. A final technique of improving customer relations is to have the personnel sharpen up their practice of sound human relations. An aid to this might be the compiling of a list of some human relations practices especially appropriate to the improvement of relationships with your customers.

article courtesy Lynn Saarte

A happy customer is a customer who is willing to refer business to you. In fact, word-of-mouth is one of the most effective and popular ways of getting new business. You can ensure your customers send you more business consistently if you follow a few simple steps:

1. Provide superior customer service

With good customer service lacking in so many businesses today, if you provide superior customer service, you are going to stand apart from and above the competition. Your customers are going to appreciate that you take the time to listen to them, that you solve problems quickly, and that you genuinely care about them as customers.

In addition to ensuring that your current customers continue to do business with you, they’re going to refer others to your business because they are satisfied with your customer service.

2. Treat your customers well

Customers want to be treated well. They want to know that you appreciate their business, so always ensure that you treat your customers well by thanking them for their business, asking for their feedback, and addressing any problems or concerns they have in a timely manner.

Treating your customers well also means ensuring that your employees treat them well by offering to help them, and by always addressing them in a polite manner.

3. Ask your customers to refer business to you

Sometimes getting customers to send you more business is as easy as asking them to refer their friends, family, and coworkers to you. Satisfied customers will generally have no problem spreading the word about your product or service. All you have to do is ask.

4. Offer discounts or specials for those who refer business

While it’s not a necessity to reward your customers for referring business to you, it is a strong incentive for them to continue to send business your way. You might offer a discount on your product or service every time a customer refers someone to your business. You might also offer a free product to those who send business your way.

Or, you may want to come up with a more creative way to reward your customers for referring new customers to you. The key is to reward your customers in some way.

5. Thank customers for their referrals

When a customer refers a new customer to you, take the time to thank that customer. You can send a handwritten note or call the customer. Whatever method you choose, just make sure that you thank the customer for his referral. Showing your gratitude will also help ensure that that customer continues to send new customers to your business.