We’re moving into a new decade (according to *some* — see: Farmers’ Almanac’s take), and as we do, it’s important to remember that we need to move our businesses into the new age, too.  Year-over-year, there are changes in the market, in technology, and even in consumer behavior that need to be taken into account […]

We’re officially just a couple of weeks away from entering a new decade, leaving the 2010’s behind. In the last ten years, an almost unbelievable number of things have changed, and they’ve done so drastically, especially in the business and entrepreneur world.  The advancements in technology (which includes more accessible and reliable internet) have changed […]

The holidays are such a stressful time – we’re all feeling the strain. Between the pull of work and obligations with friends and family, the last few months of the year get filled up fast. The to-do lists become a mile long and everyone starts mentioning how they could really use a clone. Businesses feel […]

Customer service is of increasing importance to all businesses, and there are more tools than ever before that reflect this. We’ve got advanced CRMs hitting the market, insanely capable chatbots, and intuitive help desk software that’s all designed to help businesses offer improved customer service to their clients and save some time and/or money along […]

Customers can be fickle. This is a hard truth that businesses have to face, especially with not-so-true cliches floating around like “the customer is always right.” While the cliche may not be right, there’s no denying that with so many choices available to customers today that it puts them firmly in the driver’s seat. As […]

With so much to do, businesses and marketers are increasingly relying on technology and tools that are designed to automate some of the work that we’re doing. We all want more time in our day, and finding ways to cut costs and reduce the need for extra manpower on “non-critical” tasks seems like a good […]

Customers have higher expectations than ever before. They expect customer service excellence at every turn; that’s the standard now, not a perk, and if a customer has anything less than what they consider a stellar experience, they’re likely to jump ship and hire one of your competitors instead. A whopping 33% of customers recently surveyed […]

There’s no denying it: hitting “reply” on an email instead of picking up the phone  is more often than not the route you want to take, especially on, say, a Monday morning. It’s fast, it’s easy, and quite frankly, dealing with every single issue that came across your desk with a phone call would get […]

Running a business from home can feel like a disadvantage. Yet, it’s no secret the way small businesses operate is changing – remote work is more prevalent than ever. It’s feasible to sustain a business from home successfully just as you could from any office. The key to competing with larger businesses is recognizing your advantage: superior service. A […]

It seems like the most profitable businesses get flooded with new customers non-stop, while the reality is slightly different: their current customers are sticking around, generating consistent value.  Loyal customers are worth more to your business and are worth 10 times their first purchase. Existing customers are also 50 percent more likely to try your […]

Running a business is expensive. Between the employees, the supplies, rent and utilities, it’s no wonder so many businesses struggle to exist for five years. And then things break. In 2014, over half of all small business owners spent money replacing old equipment or maintaining current IT systems. Expensive things will break and all of […]