Posts Tagged ‘Flathead Beacon’
Customer Relationships – Do Yours Mature and Adapt?
By MARK RIFFEY - Why do our companies, software, processes, communications and systems so infrequently adapt to the state of our customer relationships?... more
Breaking Through Business Frustrations
By MARK RIFFEY - What things about your business are you fed up about? Sometimes it might be everything or the biggest things, but at other times the tiniest of things.... more
Where Does New Business Hide?
By MARK RIFFEY - Are you monitoring the sales thermometer? If you're not, how can you consistently produce new business from existing and new customers?... more
Prevent Lost Customers With These Five Words
By MARK RIFFEY - Small businesses are always interested in getting more new customers, but sometimes forget that keeping existing customers is less expensive than the cost of replacing them.... more
Pivots Make Customer Service Personal
By MARK RIFFEY - In customer service, the pivot is that little thing you do to transform what could be a customer-losing experience into one that almost guarantees they'll be back.... more
Win On Low Price, Lose On Low Price
By MARK RIFFEY-Do you depend on having the best price to win business? If so, are you sure that's really how you want people to choose your company? ... more
Your Business Culture is Embedded in Daily Conversation
By MARK RIFFEY - Here are a few commonly-used phrases in business conversation that raise the hair on my neck: 'Industry Norms', 'Best Practices', 'Human Capital' and 'Innovation'.... more
February Blues
By ROB BREEDING - February is the lousiest month on the calendar. It might not be so if I were an ice fisherman or a hockey player. But I’m neither, so my options are limited.... more
What if You Actually Followed Up?
By MARK RIFFEY -Does your business follow up with your clients and prospects like you should? Consider what "like you should" means, before deciding whether you follow up properly or not.... more
Montana Riffraff Win Again
By ROB BREEDING - You’ve probably heard the most recent attack on Montana’s Stream Access Law has been tossed out by the state Supreme Court. It’s still safe to plan on fishing your favorite river this su... more
Next Stop Sochi for Whitefish’s Voisin
By DILLON TABISH - Whitefish's Maggie Voisin builds momentum for Winter Olympics where she will be considered a top contender.... more
They Really Aren’t Very Good At Marketing
By MARK RIFFEY - One of the most common marketing mistakes I see is focusing solely on new clients and doing so in a way that annoys everyone else who has (or had) a relationship with your business.... more
Whitefish Native Maggie Voisin Tabbed for Winter Games
Whitefish native and 15-year-old freeski phenom Maggie Voisin will round out the U.S. Olympic Freeskiing roster after being awarded the coaches’ discretionary spot Tuesday afternoon.... more
Habit Forming: What Do You Do Every Day?
By MARK RIFFEY - Having a routine, a ritual or habit is a good way to start the day. Not only does it go well with coffee, it signals your mind that it's time to switch to "work mode". ... more
Everyone is Someone’s Hero
By MARK RIFFEY -What if you could leap tall buildings, throw balls of fire or swing from webbing that shoots out of your wrist? What's your superpower? Does anyone know about it?... more
Put Your Mask On First
By MARK RIFFEY - Flight attendants ask us to put on our oxygen mask first, then help others, because we can't help others if we're unable to breathe. What about your business mask?... more
Doing Ahead vs Thinking Ahead
By MARK RIFFEY - Quite often, I talk with business owners about thinking ahead. But I'm concerned that small businesses are thinking ahead, but stopping there. And here's why that concerns me:... more
Christmas Shopping Suggestions for the Outdoor-Type
By ROB BREEDING - It's hard to buy Christmas gifts for the serious hunter or angler, but here are a few gifts I think most culinary-minded outdoors types would love to find under the tree:... more
Which Customer Wants to be an Insider?
By MARK RIFFEY - This past weekend, I checked off two to-do list items with one coffee stop. I was looking for a good place to sit, sip and write. I got more than I expected.... more
Turkey Day Blues
By ROB BREEDING - Who was the bright boy who decided to foul a national sports holiday with a feast centered on an impossibly difficult-to-cook bird? ... more
Dodging Deer
By ROB BREEDING - Judging by the deer carcasses that line roadways in the Northern Rockies pretty much year round, I’m convinced they rarely look before they cross the road.... more
Flourless Chocolate Cake
By CHEF JOSHUA AUERHAMMER - More people have been removing gluten from their diet and this can make deciding on a dessert very difficult, but I am pretty sure this delicious, flourless chocolate cake is the ans... more
Turning the Corner
By ROB BREEDING - The signs of change are in the air. Yesterday I wore fleece to work. And the other night when my students had to work late in the lab, I fixed them a pot of soup. ... more
Biologist: Flathead Lake Likely to Reach Warmest Temps Ever
By BEACON STAFF - The vast waters of Flathead Lake could reach their warmest temperature on record this summer.... more
Famous Last Words: ‘We Can’t Afford to Market Our Business’
By MARK RIFFEY - Marketing is steady, don't ever stop kind of work. If you don't have a bunch of cash to invest, here are some frugal yet effective ways to market your new business.... more
Spartan Race Expected to Bring Big Economic Boost to the Flathead
By JUSTIN FRANZ - Organizers of the 2013 Montana Spartan Race start to build the course for the May 11 event in Bigfork.... more
Is Your Work Important? How About Meaningful?
By MARK RIFFEY - (VIDEO) Why spend your life doing work that doesn't interest or motivate you? Why work at a place that doesn't value what you do?... more
Why The Tourist Drove Past Your Business
By MARK RIFFEY - No matter how you feel about smartphones, mobile browsing and the always-connected lifestyle, ignoring the business impact of the widespread adoption of these devices is done at your peril.... more
Are Experts Cheap or Expensive?
By MARK RIFFEY - What do you sell that most of your customers should buy, but don't? How are you positioning, pricing and selling the things that you KNOW your customers really need?... more
Green Irish Whiskey Cake
By CAILIN BRINEY - Once I moved to Montana, I wanted to keep that Irish passion alive. I have started creating my own traditions, which, in some people’s opinion, equates to way too much food.... more
Grandma’s Powdered Sugar Death Balls
By DARRIAN HAYNIE - Most people know these delicious little cookies as Mexican wedding cakes; though, in my family, they have become affectionately known as grandma’s powdered sugar death balls.... more
LETTER: To the Intoxicated Driver from New Year’s Eve
LETTER TO THE EDITOR - You and I met at about 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. I was waiting in line for a taxi in downtown Whitefish. You were slumped over the steering wheel of your running vehicle.... more
Are They Proud Of Their Work? It Will Show
By MARK RIFFEY. Just because it is "grunt work" doesn't mean it isn't valuable. Your employees' work and personality at 2:00 am is the face of your business to many customers.... more
Ski Season Kicks Off This Weekend in Northwest Montana
By DILLON TABISH - Contrary to outward appearances, ski season is arriving in Northwest Montana. Whitefish Mountain Resort confirmed Wednesday that the mountain will open Saturday, Dec. 8. ... more
Why They Don’t Answer Your Calls Or Read Your Email?
By MARK RIFFEY. Do your customers and prospects let your calls go to voicemail? Do they open your emails? It's time to get relevant and engage them in THEIR context with you – not as total strangers.... more
The Scariest, Most Painful Business Conversation
By MARK RIFFEY. The most painful (and scary) conversations I have with small business owners are about marketing.Commonly it involves how another company "stole" their business with "more aggressive" marketing.... more
After Surgery, a One-Eyed Grizzly is Released Back into the Wild
By JUSTIN FRANZ - Bear shot in the face by a bird hunter; veterinarian removes eye. After Surgery, a One-Eyed Grizzly is Released Back into the Wild.... more
Kalispell’s Captain and Thunderbird Pilot Returns Home
By DILLON TABISH - 31-year-old Flathead High School graduate, Captain Jason Curtis has spent the last decade living his dream from inside the cockpit of F-16 fighter jets and was recently chosen by the Air Forc... more
MSU Sets Enrollment Record, UM Sees Decline
Montana State University is reporting record enrollment this fall, while the University of Montana says a record graduating class this spring cut into its enrollment figures.... more
Cabela’s Announces Plans for New Outdoor Retail Store in Kalispell
By DILLON TABISH - This week Cabela’s announced plans to open a 42,000-square-foot outdoor retail store in Kalispell with about 75 full-time, part-time and seasonal employees.... more
Kalispell Mail-Processing Center to Close Next Year
By JUSTIN FRANZ - The United States Postal Service mail-sorting will be moved to Missoula by March 2013.... more
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough for Montana Adventurer Conrad Anker
By DILLON TABISH - For 30 years, Bozeman resident Conrad Anker has explored the world, including Mt. Everest, as one of its most renowned climbers and mountaineers.... more
Keeping Pace with Summer in the Flathead Valley
By KELLYN BROWN - The other day at the gym my teacher forewarned the class in front of him that the next exercise made a previous student puke from exhaustion. ... more
Business is Personal: What’s a Core Story?
By MARK RIFFEY - One of the more common things you'll see from a business that's differentiating themselves using things other than price is their use of a unique selling proposition (USP), and a "core story" t... more
The Most Expensive Advertising Ever
By MARK RIFFEY. Are you wasting those carefully planned advertising investments? The most expensive investment we can make is one that's wasted.... more
View Marketing as an Investment, Not an Expense
By MARK RIFFEY.When something is viewed as an expense, your instinct is to reduce it to the smallest possible amount. Doing this to your marketing is not unlike choking yourself.... more
Simple Advice for Acquiring and Retaining Customers
By MARK RIFFEY. Some of the simplest advice I give is the most powerful: "Do at least one thing today to get, or keep, a client."... more
Skwala Time
By ROB BREEDING. We’re just barely breaking the shackles of winter but things are about to turn on for fly fishers. March heralds the arrival of one of Montana’s great hatches: skwala stoneflies on the Bitt... more
Let Your Customers Turn On the Lamp
By MARK RIFFEY -What's the first thing you do when deciding which lamp to buy? YOU TURN ON THE LAMPS. Give your customers the opportunity to see your products in a place that makes it easy for them to buy.... more
Griz Grit: So Long Seniors
By MICK HOLIEN. The time approaches to bid adieu to four seniors who, as Big Sky tournament play begins, had profound effects on Grizzly basketball.... more