Tag: customer

  • Businesses Can Show Appreciation — and Gain Tax Breaks — with Holiday Gifts and Parties

    Businesses Can Show Appreciation — and Gain Tax Breaks — with Holiday Gifts and Parties

    With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the holiday season will soon be here. At this time of year, your business may want to show its gratitude to employees and customers by giving them gifts or hosting holiday parties again after a year of forgoing them due to the pandemic. It’s a good time to brush…

  • Five Ways to Take Action on Accounts Receivable

    Five Ways to Take Action on Accounts Receivable

    No matter the size or shape of a business, one really can’t overstate the importance of sound accounts receivable policies and procedures. Without a strong and steady inflow of cash, even the most wildly successful company will likely stumble and could even collapse. If your collections aren’t as efficient as you’d like, consider these five…

  • Look Closely at Your Company’s Concentration Risks

    Look Closely at Your Company’s Concentration Risks

    The word “concentration” is usually associated with a strong ability to pay attention. Business owners are urged to concentrate when attempting to resolve the many challenges facing them. But the word has an alternate meaning in a business context as well — and a distinctly negative one at that. Common problem A common problem among…

  • Six Ways to Ensure Your Marketing Plan Drives Sales

    Six Ways to Ensure Your Marketing Plan Drives Sales

    “Love and marriage,” goes the old song: “…You can’t have one without the other.” This also holds true for sales and marketing. Even the best of sales staffs will struggle if not supported by a well-researched and carefully executed marketing plan. Here are six ways to ensure your marketing plan is likely to drive strong…

  • How to Research a Business Customer’s Creditworthiness

    How to Research a Business Customer’s Creditworthiness

    Extending credit to business customers can be an effective way to build goodwill and nurture long-term buyers. But if you extend customer credit, it also brings sizable financial risk to your business, as cash flow could grind to a halt if these customers don’t make their payments. Even worse, they could declare bankruptcy and bow…

  • Four Tough Questions to Ask About Your Sales Department

    Four Tough Questions to Ask About Your Sales Department

    Among the fastest ways for a business to fail is because of mismanagement or malfeasance by ownership. On the other hand, among the slowest ways is an ineffective or dysfunctional sales department. Companies suffering from this malady may maintain just enough sales to stay afloat for a while, but eventually they go under because they…

  • Build Long-Term Relationships with CRM Software

    Build Long-Term Relationships with CRM Software

    Few businesses today can afford to let potential buyers slip through the cracks. Customer relationship management (CRM) software can help you build long-term relationships with those most likely to buy your products or services. But to maximize your return on investment in one of these solutions, you and your employees must have a realistic grasp…

  • Is Your Business Stuck in the Mud with Its Marketing Plan?

    Is Your Business Stuck in the Mud with Its Marketing Plan?

    A good marketing plan should be like a network of well-paved, clearly marked roads shooting out into the world and leading back to your company. But all too easily, a business can get stuck in the mud while trying to build these thoroughfares, leaving its marketing message ineffective and, well, muddled. Here are a few…

  • Four Business Functions You Could Outsource Right Now

    Four Business Functions You Could Outsource Right Now

    One thing in plentiful supply in today’s business world is help. Orbiting every industry are providers, consultancies and independent contractors offering a wide array of support services. Simply put, it’s never been easier to outsource certain business functions so you can better focus on fulfilling your company’s mission and growing its bottom line. Here are…

  • Do Your Long-Term Customers Know Everything About You?

    Do Your Long-Term Customers Know Everything About You?

    A technician at a mobility equipment supplier was servicing the motorized wheelchair of a long-time customer and noticed it was a brand-new model. “Where did you buy the chair?” he asked the customer. “At the health care supply store on the other side of town,” the customer replied. The technician paused and then asked, “Well,…