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Recycling is a huge part of our culture now.  We recycle paper, plastics, metals, electronic equipment, the list goes on.  Recycling can be very very beneficial for a business.  The best thing a company can recycle is their customers.

Let me explain.  As a business owner you know that it takes a lot of work to get a customer to do business with you.  With almost any product or service available at the click of a mouse it’s a battle to get them in the door (or virtual door) let alone get them to come back.

So where do our customers go?

• Approximately 1% of your customers will not return or refer others because they will die. Well you can’t stop that one!
• Roughly 3% of your customers will move away and unless your a national chain you will lose that business also.
• About 5% develop other friendships.  You may be the best realtor in town but if your customer marries another realtor your luck has run out.
• Approximately 14% of your customers will leave because they are dissatisfied with the product.
• Around 68% of your customers don’t come back because they perceive an attitude of indifference from you, they don’t feel appreciated. It’s the silent killer of your business. This is the single biggest reason why customers don’t come back. Often you don’t even know it’s happened.

So there you have it.  About 3/4 of your customers leave you because you have failed to show them that you appreciate their business.

Here’s the big question, and yes you already know the answer.  Is it less expensive and frustrating to try to get new customers to buy from you? or to simply recycle the ones you have and get them to come back?

Take a minute to send a card, give a gift or just tell them to their faces that you appreciate them doing business with you.  That simple thing will keep them coming back for a very long time.

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About The Author:

	Mike Liddicoat is a Husband, Father, Speaker and the Sales & Marketing Director of AttaBoy! Solutions. His goal is to help businesses maintain relationships, ensure future business and acquire new referrals through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.
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If you are like most business professionals, you are pulled in many directions on a daily basis. Sometimes even more often. It is easy to get bogged down in the mundane tasks necessary to keep your business moving forward. BEWARE!

Although business must get done, be careful to not get so busy that you lose focus on what’s important – and in case you didn’t know, it’s people and relationships. I attended a luncheon/conference and heard Sharon Lechter, co-author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, say “Focus on your people more than your profits”.

While profits are critical in business, you will never have them without people. It’s the people factor that will multiply the profit factor exponentially at the rate you nurture and build mutually beneficial relationships. Ask yourself this question, “Are you selling or are you serving?”. Be honest with yourself on this one -if you’re not, you are only fooling yourself. People don’t want to be sold, but they are willing to buy from those that put others needs before their own.

I learned through a business networking association for women that I once belonged to that you should “give first, share always”. This phrase really struck a cord with me. If you have ever heard me present for a group, you undoubtedly have heard this phrase too – I find myself repeating it often. When you are willing to give of yourself and share with others you will attract people with the same mindset and it will come back to you ten fold.

We’ve all heard the saying “what goes around comes around”. Often it was from our parents when we did something wrong… It works to our benefit also. The fun part is you never know where it will come back around from. You may have helped someone with an idea to overcome a business challenge and then you unexpectedly got a new client. It happens all the time. Just be sure that what you put out is something you eventually want to get back. Take care of and help others, the rest will take care of itself.
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About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

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Have you heard the story about the two guys selling watermelons?

There were these two guys from Texas who had a little money and an old pick-up truck, they heard they could buy these watermelons in Mexico for $1 each and they decided that they could sell them for $10 per dozen. They did a great business and sold out before they even got halfway to Dallas. But, while sitting on the side of the road, counting their money, they noticed they were a little short of the amount they had started with. They wondered what the problem was since they had done a brisk business and it finally dawned on them-what they needed was a bigger truck.

Well, that’s not exactly what we are talking about here… however, even these two guys could have a completely different outcome if they put together a plan. Giving stuff away is a powerful business building strategy that attracts new and repeat customers. And while it may seem counterproductive, people will always go out of their way to receive something for free.

Believe it or not, there are benefits of giving something away for free. For example, once someone has tried your product or service they often recognize the value and will continue to purchase what you have to offer. In addition, when someone has received something for free they feel somewhat obligated to continue to buy from you. In both cases, you gain the opportunity to earn future business.

Giving away free gifts is a viable marketing strategy when used correctly. Put some thought into what you could offer that would entice your prospects. Make sure that it is something they would consider to be of value. And remember that the value of a customer gained will far out-weigh the cost of what you give.
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About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

Contact Sally

While this question has stumped many men for years, it’s something that as a business owner you need to know. Although women may represent half of the total consumer market, they do make or influence the majority of all purchasing decisions.

It’s important to understand that women love to gather information. They want to make an educated decision and will ask as many questions as they feel necessary to do so. Let them take the lead -they are not looking for a quick fix. Remember, women communicate differently than men. They may even tell you several stories to ensure that they are getting their point across. And although it may seem that they are all over the board, they have a complex thought process that is very thorough. While you’re thinking she’s not focused, she’s probably frustrated that you cant keep up. When push comes to shove, don’t do either. Women will make a decision to do business with you when they are good and ready. They have to believe that they are making the best decision.

It’s very important to understand that women value relationships. They will only do business with people they know, like and trust. Trust will come much easier is she feels you are looking to create a long-term relationship versus just make a sale. Be sincere and spend time building a relationship with her. Go above and beyond, but be sure not to patronize her. She will see right through you. Let her know you value her and want to earn her business and her trust. Once you have her trust, your efforts will be rewarded with her dollars, her loyalty and her referrals.

Since women account for 85% of all consumer purchases, it’s definitely worth your time to focus on what’s important to her. To learn more, read this great article from Inc.: The Six Costliest Mistakes You Can Make in Marketing to Women
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About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

Contact Sally

Can you believe it’s been a year?

Anniversaries are very important milestones. Whether it’s a wedding anniversary or a business anniversary, neither should be overlooked. Both are meant to be celebrated!

Recognizing a wedding anniversary can be tricky business. In the personal realm, generally you are in fairly good contact with friends and/or family and know what’s happening in their personal life. This makes it much easier when sending a card or gift. However, since business may be a little more removed, you should be much more cautious if you plan to acknowledge wedding anniversaries. It wouldn’t look too good to send an anniversary card only to discover later that the marriage had ended.

For businesses, it is much safer to celebrate anniversaries related to the customer or employee relationships. Recognize customers for one or more years of doing business with your company. Or acknowledge the number of years an employee has been with you.

When choosing a gift to send, it’s okay to give something a little more personal for a wedding anniversary. Just be sure to give something that both the husband and wife would appreciate. For a business anniversary, you are better off to have a planned out award program based on years of service -especially for your employees. This will avoid any problems of one employee receiving something the perceive as less than what someone else received in the past. On the other hand, you have more flexibility with your customers. Gifts can be based on the volume of business a customer does with your company or any number of other factors.

Taking the time to take notice and make a big deal of both personal and business anniversaries will mean alot to both your customers and your employees… and will go a long way towards earning their appreciation and continued loyalty.
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About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

Contact Sally

Whether you are looking to create a bigger list of prospects or generate an increase in your company sales, contests are a great catalyst to accomplishing your goals.

Contests come in many forms and can be done both online and off. The possibilities are endless. Below are just a few ideas to get you started:

Drawings – entrance requires a form to be filled out that just includes a name and email address. You can always ask for more later, but asking for alot of personal information up front will reduce your entries.

Q & A – ask a simple question that must be answered in order for an entry to qualify. Again, do not ask for more than a name and email address (and of course the answer to the question). When using Q & A online, changing the question daily will encourage people to come back. They return daily to have another entry in the contest, but they will also return for the question!

Trivia – this type of question requires more thought. You may ask something related to your business. This may reduce the number of entries you receive compared to a simple drawing and because the answer is specific to your business, it may discourage some. You can, however, choose to be more general in your question.

Scavenger Hunt – hide graphics or a specific word on different pages within your website. Provide clues from one item to the next. Don’t make them too hard or people will give up. If you provide good clues people will be able to keep moving all around your site to find them all. You can make things even more interesting by placing a letter on each graphic and requiring that the contestant unscramble the letters to form a word.

Running a contest can be a great traffic booster, a way to grow your subscriber base and can also increase sales. Once you have decided which type of contest your are going to run and have put all the details together, be sure to get the the word out to your customers and prospects and through social media. And don’t forget to publicize the winner once the contest is over. You will surely be happy with the results you receive.
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About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

Contact Sally