Posts Tagged ‘Roger Ebert’
Defending Your Business
By MARK RIFFEY - Take an active role in defending your business, because if you don't, few others will.... more
Creating Client Loyalty = Depending on You
By MARK RIFFEY - This time of year is always a good time to remind you of the difference between working on the business vs. working in it.... more
Focused On The Holiday, The Now or The Future
By MARK RIFFEY - This time of year is always a good time to remind you of the difference between working on the business vs. working in it.... more
Your Systems Should Serve All Customers
By MARK RIFFEY - Do your systems serve your internal customers or all of them? These systems don’t often focus on the client’s needs, even though they ultimately serve that client.... more
The Magic Triangle of Small Business
By MARK RIFFEY - The Magic Triangle of Business? Quality, customer service, management. It's that simple.... more
Customers Cost Too Much to Let Them Disappear
By MARK RIFFEY - What happens to the clients who don't come back? Every business loses customers at some point. What separates the successful from the rest is how they act after that.... more
Have You Thanked Them Lately?
By MARK RIFFEY - Can you remember the last time you received a personal, hand written thank you note from someone you do business with? Thanksgiving isn't the only time to be thankful.... more
Are They Talking About You?
By MARK RIFFEY - Are you customers talking about you? They should be. One of the most powerful tools in marketing is the testimonial. Yet they are used so infrequently.... more
Can You Sleep When The Wind Blows?
By MARK RIFFEY - Taking care of business means more than just caring about today.... more
Has Your Client List Heard From You Lately?
By MARK RIFFEY - As we head into retail’s peak shopping season, the big question is “Will my clientele buy…again?” Have you had any contact with them since last November or December?... more
Selling to Everyone
By MARK RIFFEY - Selling isn’t about the shine; it’s about what happens when the shine has worn off.... more
Does Your Business’ Reality Match Theirs?
By MARK RIFFEY - Ever watch any of the business turnaround reality shows on TV? The pattern is the same for most of them – regardless of the type of business. What's the reality at your business?... more
Big Data, Small Business
By MARK RIFFEY - Rather than being overwhelmed by your data, leverage it. You can use data for guidance and decision making. ... more
Mark Riffey on Business: Ask Great Questions
By MARK RIFFEY - I’m always looking for better questions to ask. Good questions educate me about a situation or a mindset someone is in and help me understand where they’re coming from.... more
ROI And Why They Buy
By MARK RIFFEY - If you can't explain the ROI of your stuff to a random person in your prospect's lunch room or warehouse, it's going to get picked to shreds.... more
What Are Your Compelling Reasons?
By MARK RIFFEY - People need compelling reasons to change what they're doing, even if they're not doing anything.... more
Earning Return Business, Part Four: Confidence
By MARK RIFFEY - Your clients' confidence in you is critical to earning return business. Take a pizza for example...... more
Earning Return Business, Part Three: Little Things
By MARK RIFFEY - Getting you to return comes from you getting the little things right, even if you're the only game in town.... more
Earning Return Business, Part Two
By MARK RIFFEY - Not long ago I heard someone say “Excuses are a lie wrapped in a reason.” Training is a critical component to building a team that brings clients back repeatedly.... more
Earning Return Business
By MARK RIFFEY - When you make client service decisions, do you weigh the cost of losing the client?The incremental cost of service is usually tiny compared to losing the client.... more
Consistency is Critical to Repeat and Word-of-Mouth Business
By MARK RIFFEY - What inconsistencies can you address to increase repeat and word of mouth business?... more
Busy Business Owners Have No Time
By MARK RIFFEY - The average CEO says they only spend about 25% of their day doing what they feel is meaningful work. Does that sound like your typical work day?... more
Help Them Produce Their Best Work
By MARK RIFFEY - No matter what business you’re in and what summer does to your workload – summer is a great time to implement improvements that help your staff produce their best work.... more
Business is Personal: Even Black Cats Need a Reason Why
By MARK RIFFEY - I didn’t do a Friday the 13th promo last week. Did you? There are all kind of reasons to do a promotion, but they are more productive if there’s a reason behind them – even if the reason ... more
Choose your Legislature Carefully
By MARK RIFFEY - What does "serve the people" really mean? Primary season is upon us. It's time to pick someone to serve the people's needs, collectively and individually--and that applies to business too.... more
You Aren’t the Business owner You Need to Be
By MARK RIFFEY - Are you preparing yourself so that you're ready to lead the company your business will be in six, nine or 12 months? Are you learning enough to be ready to manage your company's needs?... more
Choose Your Market Or Craft It? Or Both?
By MARK RIFFEY - Sometimes you choose your market, and sometimes it chooses you. Today, we get a little of both.... more
Tourist Season is Coming. Are You Ready?
By MARK RIFFEY - It's almost tourist season. Are you ready? Is your facility ready? Here are some steps to help you make tourist season better than expected:... more
Business Rules of the Road
By MARK RIFFEY - While they vary from person to person, our values are the central driving force in our everyday lives. It's worth considering where your rules come from and how you use them.... more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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