I experienced some strange business behaviour this January. It’s February now so I’m sure business behaviour will be back on track. Small Business is all about learning. The big lesson I’ve learnt recently is never to assume anything in business. Instead, try and employ contingencies to manage expectations and outcomes. [...]

This year in business has definitely been an interesting one.  One trend I have noticed is that consumers and other businesses are holding on to their money.  It’s not that they don’t have money – it’s just they are not letting it go and this is causing problems or more bluntly – it’s causing economic [...]

Sounds a bit crazy I know particularly if you are a one person band, but when you get sick how does your business cope? How do you manage your customers? How do you manage your recovery? If you are like me and many other business owners out there, we don’t have time to [...]

Q:  When customers move on – how do you stop them from moving on from your business?
A:  Keep contact details and follow up on returned mail.
Why don’t businesses care enough about keeping customers to keep their databases updated?  The cost of changing a record is minimal compared to the cost of finding a new customer [...]

One of the smartest questions for business owners to ask themselves is; have my customers been affected by the global economic crisis? If the answer is no then fantastic nothing to panic about (unless you want to add more stress to your life then fill your boots!) If the answer is yes again don’t hit [...]

If a customer who complains is a gift for business why do customers ignore them?  In my particular situation I wrote a detailed letter (yes very old school on paper with an envelope) to Qantas over really really bad service I received, I also emailed as well just to make sure and 6 weeks has [...]

What can I say just because you can doesn’t mean you should!  I’m sure you have experienced the sudden increase in email newsletters promoting everything in the shop using a ‘one size fits all’ method. It is unwanted, untargeted and e-nnoying!  When times are tough it is important not to don’t give in to negativity [...]

It can take years to build up a brand.  As well as lots of money, hard work and consistent performance yet it just takes months to unravel a brand.  Let’s look at Qantas.  Qantas 10 years ago was undisputably one of the world’s best airlines known for safety, reliability, quality aircraft, professional and capable staff, [...]

What’s going on with sales teams?  I thought everyone was desperate for sales.  We hear it on the radio talk back about times being tough and needing customers. Apparently not!
In Melbourne this week.  A woman (let’s call her Mary) who has the money and the need was looking for a car.  She walked into three [...]

One of the major advantages of small business has always been the relationships that staff and owners can develop with customers. Customers usually have direct access to the business owner and staff turnover, particularly if staff is family, tends to be low so customers get to know staff as staff get to know customers. [...]