Google+ even has an application that extracts contacts from your Facebook account

Keep your current clients satisfied and content!

In this volatile economic climate, client retention has never been more important for businesses than it is right now. Each client is recognized as a critical asset that could make or break some companies.

Businesses spend millions of dollars to attract new clients, but retaining the ones they have is essential for the success of any business.

No one knows this better than Acello Media Solutions and that is why they are sharing their top 5 Client Retention tips.

Do your homework – learn about their business
Having a knowledge and understanding of your clients and their needs is crucial. Find out about each company’s vision and mission, goals and objectives and desired outcomes. Attend meetings and planning sessions with them. Find out what they want, what exactly is it they seek from you and how they want it given to them. Implement the ideas that works for you. This will establish a mutual connection and help you to cater to their needs more effectively.

Focus on existing customer’s needs – value them
It is crucial to focus your time and resources on better serving your existing clients. Go deeper instead of wider. Make your existing customers the number one priority and ensure their needs are catered too. Nurture your customer relationship by consistently treating all customers with respect and honesty; this will encourage cross selling, up selling and referrals.

Provide superior customer service and support
Customer service should be considered more of an investment than an expense. Companies that have had a reputation for outstanding customer service have achieved high successes in the past. Paying special attention to complaints and compliments of existing clients, helps provide a positive customer experience, loyalty and a long-term relationship. Customer complaints can also be used to bring about new ideas and ways to improve your product or service.

Not all customers are equal and providing profitable ones with a dedicated support line can be a good investment. Employees should be trained to meet the client’s needs by answering questions, receiving comments and handling complaints. Retention is the key – it’s cheaper to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one.

Develop customer loyalty programs
Loyalty programs can be used for outstanding customer retention, where your long-term clients are rewarded through gifts, services or discounts. Clients like to feel as if they are being rewarded for choosing your company. After all everyone likes a special discount or free gifts!

Feedback is Critical
Feedback is a reflection of your product or service. Client’s feedback provides and excellent learning opportunity. Both the client and company can benefit from it if taken constructively. Companies should actively socialize with their clients and gather feedback.

Clients are always right even if they’re wrong. Therefore, take both positive and negative comments constructively. If a client contacts you with a complaint, ensure that they receive top priority. Troubleshoot the issue and try to reach a satisfactory agreement for everyone. Feedback can easily be done through the company’s website, blog, social media sites or through an email. Make the customer feel valued by involving them with every step and valuing their input.

In today’s challenging business environment, retaining your client gives you the competitive edge. If you don’t give them reasons to stay, your competitors will likely take them away from you. Client retention is all about keeping the client you’ve worked hard to acquire, maintaining a strong bond with them and make them come back to you again and again. It drives profits for the business and is far less expensive than attracting new ones.

The fashion element is the most developed theme on the site with seemingly unlimited product descriptions and options. Many of the products listed are not only fashionable – but many seem to share a practical nature for ease of travel.

There are also new articles each week with travel safety and security tips for women who travel alone. Some of the items are pure common sense – but there are also a variety of travel tips that will definitely deliver some piece of mind when you’re on the road.

The site even doles out some techie advice – displaying and describing some of the new gadgets out there to make any trip or flight you take that much easier. Hop aboard this travel treasure trove and see where it takes you. In-Flight Insider

The ROI is the delivery of potential customers!

There is a great deal of discussion about social media and its role in business these days. A common misperception revolves around what the ROI, “Return on Investment” is supposed to be from a Social Media Campaign.

The purpose of social media, in its current form, is to drive eyeballs to your website. This means driving traffic to your site – What your site does once those people arrive on your site is up to you and your marketing expertise. There is a world of difference between company exposure and direct sales.

This going is going to be hard for many business leaders to understand. Social Media Campaigns are designed to generate interest and traffic – NOT TO SELL! This needs repeating, so here we go again…

Social Media drives the traffic, someone else must be tasked to sell.

Experienced Social Media consultants will help you drive traffic to your site. That’s not the same as direct sales, nor should it be. If you confuse the two roles, both parties will eventually walk away from the deal feeling like they have been taken advantage of.

Many so-called social media experts are into this “New Media” for the short hall, because they are not up front about the limitations of social media. I’ve had many a business owner ask what good is social media if it doesn’t produce direct sales.

The answer is really quite simple. Potential customers who visit your site due to social media efforts may or may not choose to buy your products or services. BUT, these are potential customers who found your company because of the social media campaign in the first place.

Think of social media as a large expo or conference, companies attend these functions to gain exposure, not necessarily to sell right there on the spot. So before you undertake a social media campaign, determine what you really hope to gain. If your company needs nothing but quick-strike sales, then it is more prudent to spend your money on another strategy.

Toyota issues a public apology, but is it too late?

The embattled Toyota Motor Corporation is pulling out all the stops on a massive public relations campaign to stop the bleeding from weeks of negative press.

The once stellar Toyota image may have been permanently tarnished by widespread recalls amid reports that multiple models of cars and trucks have accelerators that stick.

Jim Lentz, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Sales was on the Today Show this morning trying to talk his way out of this Public Relations nightmare and Toyota ran full page ads in several national newspapers this weekend trying to undue the national breakdown in trust.

This PR blitz comes on the heels of a federal investigation into the Indiana manufacturer that sold the “reportedly” faulty accelerators to Toyota and other automakers.

It’s too early to tell if this PR campaign will be successful. Lentz insists that from here on out, Toyota is going to take great care of its customers. However, even if that happens, Toyota has a long road to travel before any true customer confidence is restored.

Brian Kenny, CMO of Harvard Business School

Brian Kenny, the Chief Marketing Officer for Harvard Business School (HBS) was in New York City this week to discuss his professional journey into the world of social media. He says HBS is actually embracing the behavioral shift brought on by social media and that the school is going to great lengths to harness viral marketing opportunities.

HBS is using social media for a variety of endeavors including publicizing faculty work, reaching out to potential students, customer service and event promotion.

However, with any social media program, there is some risk involved. Kenny says at first, it was difficult for the university to understand that successful social media efforts involve giving up a certain amount of control.

There are going to be events that garner negative attention and there will be people who post negative comments. The goal is to be involved enough in the social media spectrum, so that you can steer negative attention or press into a more positive venue.

Turning a negative into a positive, is often the best way to deal with a bad situation that is generating unfavorable press.

Kenny also spoke about Buzz versus Risk making the following four points:

• Social Media is not just another marketing and communications channel
• Technology is not social, people are social
• Go to where the communities already exist
• Embrace the shift, but pay attention to your brand in the realm of social media

Topics:                             

Why is brand important to a tech startups?

What difference does a good (or bad) brand make for the likelihood of a startup’s success?

How important is a good name and domain name for your startup? How do you come up with a good name?

When is it worth it to buy a domain name?

What is PR / public relations? How is it different from marketing?

What is buzz? How can it be generated and sustained?

What is the purpose of PR for a startup?

How does PR and branding fit into an overall marketing strategy?

When should a startup focus on PR rather than other marketing priorities (social media marketing, traditional media, CPC, CPM, etc)

Interacting with the press – targeting publications/journalists, writing pitches, developing press packets, etc.

When to hire a PR agency vs. do it yourself.

What are some success stories of tech startups using PR to their advantage? Horror stories of bad PR?

John Adams, Founder of BizBriefs (Moderator)

Panelists:

Lloyd Trufelman, Founder and CEO of Trylon SMR
Karl Schmieder, Founder of MessagingLab
Rachel Honig, Managing Director, G.S. Schwartz & Co.
Todd Barrish, Managing Director of LaunchSquad

Topics:                              

Why is brand important to a tech startups?

What difference does a good (or bad) brand make for the likelihood of a startup’s success?

How important is a good name and domain name for your startup? How do you come up with a good name?

When is it worth it to buy a domain name?

What is PR / public relations? How is it different from marketing?

What is buzz? How can it be generated and sustained?

What is the purpose of PR for a startup?

How does PR and branding fit into an overall marketing strategy?

When should a startup focus on PR rather than other marketing priorities (social media marketing, traditional media, CPC, CPM, etc)

Interacting with the press – targeting publications/journalists, writing pitches, developing press packets, etc.

When to hire a PR agency vs. do it yourself.

What are some success stories of tech startups using PR to their advantage? Horror stories of bad PR?

John Adams, Founder of BizBriefs (Moderator)

Panelists:

Lloyd Trufelman, Founder and CEO of Trylon SMR
Karl Schmieder, Founder of MessagingLab
Rachel Honig, Managing Director, G.S. Schwartz & Co.
Todd Barrish, Managing Director of LaunchSquad

January 2010 Entrepreneur's Forum

On January 7, 2010, Ultra Light Startups is hosting an expert panel on PR, Branding, and Buzz. After six months of covering and blogging about the various events put on by Ultra Light Startups, I’m now pleased to actively participate and moderate the first Entrepreneur’s Forum of the upcoming new year.

Our panel of experts will include:
Todd Barrish, Managing Director, LaunchSquad
Rachel Honig, Managing Direct, G.S. Schwartz & Co.
Karl Schmieder, Founder, MessagingLab
Lloyd Trufelman, Founder of Trylon SMR, publisher of NYConvergence

PR, Branding, and Buzz are terms that have various and ever changing meanings as the “new media” technology evolves around each one of us. Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, WordPress and LinkedIn seem to launch a new application or sharing tool almost every week.

My company, Bizbriefs, has used many of these tools in conjunction with one another to help various businesses boost their SEO rankings and divert more attention to their websites.

What I’ve found is that it’s not how you use one of these social media tools by themselves, but how you can link them together and start a viral campaign with a targeted audience.

Every business owner seems to have a favorite social media site, just one that they feel most comfortable using. However, not using other site options to support their efforts, means losing out on potential prospects and future customers.

In conducting several social media campaigns during the past three years, I’ve learned that there are certain steps you should take before just diving in.

1. You have to identify the true audience your customers are trying to reach first.
2. Once that’s done, you must craft the message or the image that each company wants to portray to the online community.

Too many times, companies want you to just get started, without knowing the message they want to deliver or what audience they hope to reach.

To learn more about branding, buzz and PR strategies, join us at for the first Entrepreneur’s Forum in 2010 sponsored by Ultra Light Startups.

January 2010 Entrepreneur's Forum

On January 7, 2010, Ultra Light Startups is hosting an expert panel on PR, Branding, and Buzz. After six months of covering and blogging about the various events put on by Ultra Light Startups, I’m now pleased to actively participate and moderate the first Entrepreneur’s Forum of the upcoming new year.

Our panel of experts will include:
Todd Barrish, Managing Director, LaunchSquad
Rachel Honig, Managing Direct, G.S. Schwartz & Co.
Karl Schmieder, Founder, MessagingLab
Lloyd Trufelman, Founder of Trylon SMR, publisher of NYConvergence

PR, Branding, and Buzz are terms that have various and ever changing meanings as the “new media” technology evolves around each one of us. Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, WordPress and LinkedIn seem to launch a new application or sharing tool almost every week.

My company, Bizbriefs, has used many of these tools in conjunction with one another to help various businesses boost their SEO rankings and divert more attention to their websites.

What I’ve found is that it’s not how you use one of these social media tools by themselves, but how you can link them together and start a viral campaign with a targeted audience.

Every business owner seems to have a favorite social media site, just one that they feel most comfortable using. However, not using other site options to support their efforts, means losing out on potential prospects and future customers.

In conducting several social media campaigns during the past three years, I’ve learned that there are certain steps you should take before just diving in.

1. You have to identify the true audience your customers are trying to reach first.
2. Once that’s done, you must craft the message or the image that each company wants to portray to the online community.

Too many times, companies want you to just get started, without knowing the message they want to deliver or what audience they hope to reach.

To learn more about branding, buzz and PR strategies, join us at for the first Entrepreneur’s Forum in 2010 sponsored by Ultra Light Startups.

Decode the social media matrix with Acello Media

It seems that the matrix is seeping into the baby boomer culture. No seriously, more than 20% of grandparents over the age of 60 have joined the world of social media.

Seniors were asked, “Do you have an account on any social networking websites?” An astounding 22% of grandparents over 60 said YES and the overwhelming majority of them are on Facebook! 71% of those who said yes, say they are living to good life of Facebook.

Since we’re spitting out so many stats, 68% of those who joined social media sites, have done so in just the last year! More than half of those who recently joined said they did so with the urging of the younger generation.

Hey kids, be careful for what you wish for. Do really want your grandparents reading about some of the whacky stuff you post on your Facebook page? Just a thought.

New Nokia phone standing up to new challenges!

How cool is this?

Nokia has an awesome new phone that actually stands up and comes to attention when a call comes in.

The Nokia Kinetic has a curved base that shifts its weight and tilts up when somebody calls.

There’s certainly a risk for this type of technology becoming a bother – but it will be quite hard to miss a call when your phone stands up and demands you take notice.

The cool thing is – if you don’t want to take the call – you can tap the phone and it will sit back down.

That fun feature could be a hit, even in business settings, but it will be a wait and see game to see if the public stands up to embrace this new technology.

Online marketing takes time and effort, but it’s obviously a critical tool in today’s information-driven society. MyPRGenie has a team of experts well-versed in the world of online marketing and promotions.

Online promotions and marketing have obviously become crucial tools across the business spectrum. A recent survey released by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) and Econsultancy indicates that money will be shifted from other marketing venues to pay for search engine marketing efforts.

Just this year, more than $2 billion dollars are expected to shift from more traditional forms of marketing to online marketing efforts.

MyPRGenie features a wide variety of tools to help each business develop its own online newsroom that allows each release they create to be automatically tagged and search engine ready for the World Wide Web.

These online efforts will help each company increase exposure by reaching a wider and more diverse audience. Here are a few helpful tips from MyPRGenie on how to begin the online promotions process:

1. Set up a website

Think of this as a base of operations–all online promotions should bring the customer back to your website. An account on Facebook or Twitter can also be effective, and free. But they shouldn’t be used in isolation; they should be tools to draw audiences to your website.

2. Optimization

Search engine optimization boosts your website’s ranking in online searches, such as with Google. By utilizing keywords and links to well-traveled websites on your own web pages, you can boost your ranking. See our other blog entries for specific SEO tips, at http://blog.myprgenie.com/#awp::

3. Social media

Social media marketing can produce wonderful results. Set up an account on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube; make interesting posts regularly; and link your followers back to your website.

4. I’d prefer to pay

Many websites offer inexpensive online advertising, such as Google Adwords. Just make sure that the websites where your advertisements appear are reaching your target audiences.

Marketing money making the shift to Social Media

Social media has been tagged as the driving force behind these new statistics – even though measuring ROI is still a complicated and murky process.

The SEO market is forecasted to generate $16.6 billion by the end of the year, an increase of more than 14 percent.

Nearly fifty percent of 1,500 companies surveyed indicated they have or intend to reallocate print budgets to search engine marketing efforts. This includes the more than 23 percent of organizations that are moving from web display advertising.