The Business Pod's Blog

When you begin any business, one of the most important things to remember is that good customer service is a necessity.  There are three major reasons to make sure that your employees know how important customer service is.  The first is the very simple fact that if customers are treated kindly, they will return.  The second is the awesome fact that if they like the customer service, they will recommend your business to others. The final reason to be great in the customer service department is that since good customer service has almost become a thing of the past and your business will stand out for it. Customer service is a very important aspect of any business and one of the effects of great customer service is that you will have repeat customers. Repeat customers are a commodity that should be valued and catered to. Doing this will make it very easy for the people to want to come back to your establishment.  The opposite side is that while many customers are very lo

Staff turnover costs UK companies millions of pounds every year.  The cost of lost work days, interviewing candidates, reviewing CVs, checking references, filing paperwork and training the new staff member is much more expensive, in most cases, than creating a work environment where staff members are happy and want to stay. If you're worried about waning staff morale in your company, here are some things you can do to keep employees happy and productive. Give bonuses.  Even a little bonus can mean a lot.  Bonuses improve morale and increase productivity.  Explore the possibility of different bonus structures including:  holiday bonuses, birthday week bonuses, sales bonuses, hire date anniversary bonuses, and education bonuses. Plan a staff retreat.  Time to relax and get to know your colleagues in a social environment improves teamwork and again, productivity.  However, many people won't want to spend a weekend away from their families even if you put them up in a nic

Do you know that you get 80% of your results from just 20% of your time and effort and consequently 80% of your time is virtually wasted on non productive activities?. Once you realise this it is easy to take advantage and either reduce the hours you work or significantly improve your productivity. The 80-20 rule was first discovered by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto a hundred years ago.  Using this knowledge is incredibly powerful in combating the "not enough hours in the day" mentality of today's society. The 80-20 rule means that in any area of our lives, literally 80 percent of our fruits are derived from only 20 percent of doing "what matters". In other words, there is only a very small portion of all that we do each day, regardless of the situation, that brings us the "higher return".  How can you benefit from being aware of this principle? Implementing a strategy based on the 80-20 rule can result in greater wealth and greater leisure

How many times has it happened to you?  You walk through the doors of a place of business and here he/she comes - perfectly groomed with a smile planted across his/her face in greeting.  Within two minutes he/she has talked non-stop and promised you everything, including the stars if you purchase his project.  You lift and eyebrow, and think to yourself... "Yeah, right!" The distrust between consumer and salesperson is a longstanding feeling.  After all, you know they are wanting to make money off your purchase.  Sure, you don't mind them making a few pounds, everybody has to make a living, but it would be nice if they were at least a little concerned about what your needs are too!  Let's face it customers aren't likely to buy from you unless they feel confident that you will deliver.  There are a few easy steps that you can take to give them the confidence they need to take the plunge. 1.  Let Previous Customers Make The Claim The proof is in the pudding.

Key visitors to your commercial pages include web robots that crawl the internet and catalog your content. Having proper HTML source code, plus the right combination of text and graphic presentation, is just one secret to success. Proper code may mean higher robot ratings, and the "look" is equally important. Once a new prospect finds your web site, you have 5 seconds to get them to stay. As a small business web site owner, you may have asked "Why don't we get any hits?". Did you know web pages can load and appear correct with improper or deprecated HTML code? A browser may ignore your mistakes, and display what it thinks you meant, and it may look great. Web robots may not be as forgiving. Following is a list of 8 basic elements for good search engine placement that need to be considered in your design and web site promotion. For details on code issues from the worldwide authority, visit the World Wide Web Consortium to view DOCTYPE and other quality st