Up and Running Blog

customer service

bar_rescue

So how do you create long-term accountability behind the bar? How do get your bartenders to do an even pour each time? How do you make sure that your signature drinks are made exactly the same way so that you create that consistent customer experience that gets people to return?

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Amazed Face

Where’s Your Wow?

by Cidnee Stephen on October 9, 2012

I discovered this little piece of heaven on holidays this year. It’s a place on the Sunshine Coast in Canada, and I fell in love with it so much, I have gone back twice already. Both times that I caught a glimpse of the view, I got goosebumps and my eyes welled up with tears. [...]

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2025948 Businesswomen Smiling

It’s a competitive market out there.  If you are a small business or an entrepreneur with a new product to offer, you’ll find consumers have many objections before they purchase.  Prospects are going to carefully scrutinize your product against others before they spend their money.  There are direct and indirect substitutes competing for their attention [...]

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santa

Whether he meant to or not jolly old St. Nick created one of the most recognizable and beloved brands in the western world; one that children have adored and parents embraced for centuries.  Santa Claus has endured wars, depressions, scrutiny (is he real or not??), imposters who tried to tarnish his image (ala The Grinch), and even [...]

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granola_logo

As the song goes, it’s not easy being green. Well, it’s not easy being the Technical Support guy either. While the rest of us in the Marketing and Customer Service departments tend to get a lot of the fun sides of talking to our customers, that isn’t always the case with Tech Support. So imagine [...]

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bizclient

While you would like to think that all your customers will enjoy their experiences with your products and services, the truth is that is not reality. All companies are faced at times with customers who lo and behold will make things difficult for a customer service rep, a manager or even the big boss. The [...]

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bye

Recently a good friend and fellow small business owner decided enough was enough and fired a pretty big client. It wasn’t an easy decision; she had been working with them for years and the money was good. But the client drained her. She was constantly stressed and knew she was spending way too much time [...]

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Customer_Service_03

Many business owners ask me for advice about how to market their businesses. Before I can answer that question, I need to know what the business owner’s key marketing messages are and who their customer is. Frequently, I get a perplexed look when I ask for the marketing messages. Long before you start choosing how [...]

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Marketing is about more than attracting new customers to do business with us – it s about keeping, nurturing, and “wowing” the ones we have so they buy from us again and again and rant and rave about our company to everyone they know.

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Facebook for Small Business

by sara on October 12, 2010

Starbucks is often touted as a Facebook success story. Well, Starbucks is pretty much a business success story, but that doesn’t mean everyone can, or should, emulate them. Alex Wheeler, Starbucks’ Director of Digital Strategy, explains their Facebook success as the result of creating a relationship with their customers as fans, through brand stories and [...]

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