Impersonal e-mails don't help you build business relationships

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From: SmartBrief on Small Business <smallbusiness@smartbrief.com>
Date: Wed, Sep 12, 2012 at 11:02 PM
Subject: Impersonal e-mails don't help you build business relationships

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September 12, 2012 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF Share | Sign up | Archive | Advertise Problem. Solved.  Identify bottlenecks and get business flowing smoothly Problems such as inventory issues or inadequate staffing might be causing a bottleneck at your company, Chris Griffiths writes. You might assume sales are your bottleneck, but there are likely other issues that are affecting your ability to generate profit, he writes. "Make finding and unblocking bottlenecks in your business a daily activity and you'll discover the true low-hanging fruit in your business, which is sure to get prioritized results at the lowest cost," he writes. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (9/11)       Free Guide: Ten Steps to Email Success Are your email campaigns leaving cash on the table? Get more from your email marketing with iContact's Ten Rules for Successful Email Marketing. This free guide gives you ten ways to boost your email results, with real-life examples from businesses that are now winning more customers. Download now. Marketing  Stretch a red-velvet rope across your new LinkedIn group Creating a LinkedIn group starts with making sure the company has the manpower to follow through, then describing the group with the proper keywords to attract discussion, according to this excerpt of Ted Prodromou's "Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn for Business." Consider an invitation-only approach to allowing participation by those with few LinkedIn connections. Once established and properly moderated, promote the group through social media. Entrepreneur online (9/10)       Impersonal e-mails don't help you build business relationships Business-to-business marketers can utilize e-mail effectively by properly segmenting it, personalizing it and going beyond sales info to an understanding of the customer's problem, Patricio Robles writes. Remember to use e-mail for more than just selling and send direct messages to customers to build up those relationships. eConsultancy.com (9/11)       Fly a lot? Earn 3X rewards points on airline purchases with The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN. Designed to earn Membership Rewards® points faster: • 3X points on airfare • 2X points on advertising, gas, and shipping • 1X points on everything else • Limited Time Offer: 50K bonus points when you spend $5K in your first 3 months of Card membership† LEARN MORE AND APPLY                             †Terms & Restrictions Apply. Management  Offer a top-notch 401(k) to attract stellar employees Offering a top-notch, low-fee 401(k) retirement plan is one of the best ways to attract and keep great employees, writes Bill Harris. The first step to assess the current 401(k) in place to ensure that its fees are the lowest they can be. If not, shop around for the best bargain. "The cheaper you make it, the richer your employees can be in retirement. That's a compelling benefit for all," Harris concludes. Inc. online (free registration) (9/10)       One business owner's approach to interviewing In general, Tom Szaky uses short interviews and focuses on his gut instincts when looking for candidates to fill positions at his company, TerraCycle. During the interview, he asks candidates what they would do in a tricky situation and asks them about the biggest mistake they have made in their careers. If they can't think of anything, "this says that the candidates are either lying or don't take risks. Both are deal breakers," he writes. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/You're The Boss blog (9/11)       You know more about your customers than ever before! But who owns what data and who has access to it gets complicated fast. Online data continues to grow exponentially and the importance of developing a data privacy strategy is critical. Download this FREE white paper and learn how to develop a comprehensive strategy. Money  Is it time to raise your prices? If your business is in the doldrums, you might be able to get back on track and boost your profits by raising your prices, Marla Tabaka writes. You should figure out how your clients are benefiting from working with your business and look for opportunities to provide additional value, she writes. "Your clients will readily accept a rate increase when you show them the value you have provided, coupled with add-on value," she writes. Inc. online/The Successful Soloist blog (free registration) (9/10)       Tips & Tools  How to handle problems with your Web host A recent outage at Go Daddy illustrates the importance of preparing for problems with your Web service provider. If your provider goes down, you should let customers know about the problem by using social media, e-mail and other methods of communication, Jonathan Blum and Alex Dalenberg write. In this situation, you should also think about moving your website to a new hosting company, they write. Entrepreneur online/The Daily Dose blog (9/11)       What you should know about Microsoft's new policies Microsoft has revised its policies to allow it to share data between its various services such as Outlook and SkyDrive. The company says the new policy is intended to improve the user experience and most people probably won't be able to tell the difference, Annie Pilon writes. Still, "the new policy still has an impact on privacy rights and your company's data," she writes. Small Business Trends (9/11)       8 keys to establishing a great brand on a budget Establishing a great brand presence doesn't require a lot of money, but it does call for a little creativity, Lauren Drell writes. To build up brand presence on a budget, impress clients with your customer service and use social tools to engage clients. Drell also suggests collaborating with other brands for mutual benefit. Mashable (9/10)       Featured Content  Report: Small Business Declines Causing Worker Drop-Out Leveraging Luck to Grow Your Business Street Teams: Effective or Obnoxious? How to Build a Powerful Customer Service Strategy Facing the Challenges of the Sandwich Generation Just for Fun  Student uses balloon to record footage from 20 miles above Earth A 19-year-old student in the U.K. used a balloon to send a camera more than 110,000 feet into the air to capture a unique view of Earth. After making its ascent, the balloon burst and the contraption landed 30 miles from the student's residence. The Telegraph (London) (9/10)       SmartQuote  There is a fine line between being persistent and being petulant." --Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, writing at The New York Times' You're the Boss blog       SmartBrief delivers need-to-know news in over 100 targeted email newsletters to over 3 million readers. All our industry briefings are FREE and open to everyone—sign up today! Accounting Advertising Automotive Aviation & Aerospace Biotechnology Business Chemicals Construction & Real Estate Consumer Packaged Goods Distribution Education Energy Finance Food Service Health Care Insurance Legal Manufacturing Media & Entertainment Nonprofit Retail Technology Telecommunications Travel & Hospitality This SmartBrief was created for profjorge.entrep@gmail.com John Jantsch, Editor at Large John Jantsch is author of "Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide" and "The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself." John is a marketing and digital technology coach and creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small-business marketing system. 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