Rule One of Business: Get Paid
Getting paid, you would figure is essentially important at your business because if you are not getting paid, what’s the point in business?
You will be shocked at the number of business people who only get their customers to pay them when and if they get around to it. I am acquainted with a trader who repeatedly collects bad debts like awards. Why? Simply because he won’t bring himself to take the money and people just intimidate him.
If you give a client credit, do it only because they have proven their integrity to you by paying cash on delivery (COD) for some time. Moreover, you can find whether they have the means to pay you - otherwise do not do business with them. Don’t fool yourself into saying “I need the work” or “I need the sales”. It’s ultimately doing the job or providing the goods for zip if you aren’t paid.
If you are the sort of person who can’t demand the payment after the service has been done, try these tips:
Tell your customer that when the work is done with, you will need cash or cheque. They should probably have it on them at the point of sale and you won’t need to demand your pay.
When giving out an initial quote, be sure your payment terms are plain.
Do up an invoice that has the terms of payment plainly listed and give the customer the invoice when the task is finished up. They can look at the invoice and immediately understand they should pay it off now without you having to say anything. Make up an “evil boss” who may skin you alive if you can not go back with the money for the job.
Organise your bank branch to provide you with Merchant facilities so you can accept credit cards including Mastercard and Visa. Most people possess credit cards and it should solve the problem of the customer not operating a cheque book or not having the right amount of cash on hand.
Likewise, don’t be asked not to hold onto your goods til after the payment has been made. Understand, until the goods are paid for, they remain to be yours.
If you decide you’re going to allow someone credit, make sure you get the following information about them at a point PREVIOUSLY you permit them credit.
- Name
- Address
- Phone number
- Bank name and address
- Account no.
- 3 trade references with their names, addresses and phone numbers
When you record all this information, ring the branch and make for certain that they do use an account at there. Then, call each trade reference and ask if they pay their debts consistently or if they have any problems with them.
Most people will be willing to tell you if the person is troublesome. If everything is OK, allow them a moderate level of debt, say no more than $500 (depending on your business). Monitor the operation of the account for a few months before allowing this amount to be exceeded.
If you’re looking for a Brisbane web design company or Brisbane SEO company, talk to Search Tempo. Check out their SEO prices today.
Relationship Marketing Fundamentals
As a customer service concept, relationship marketing is not new. For decades, business-to-business marketers have employed account managers who have the responsibility to dedicate themselves to key clients. In the financial world, `relationship banking’, whereby high-yield customers are assigned a personal manager, has been practised for many years.
When direct marketing is embraced to establish connections or relations between the marketer and the consumer, it is too easy to suggest that all forms of direct marketing communications achieve a closer relationship, a closer bond between the two parties. Such a conclusion exaggerates what generally happens in the marketplace.
Direct marketing is all about generating a direct response from the consumer and about direct communications to the consumer. A direct response is needed to generate better understanding of the advertising message or to motivate transactions. Direct communication is simply about media reach efficiency. Relationship marketing is a concept that transcends these pragmatic direct marketing objectives.
Kotler appropriately positions the concept of relationship marketing as one which applies principally to business-to-business situations:
Smart marketers try to build up long-term, trusting, `win—win’ relationships with customers, distributors, dealers and suppliers. That is accomplished by promising and delivering high quality, good service, and fair prices to the other party over time.
It is accomplished by strengthening the economic, technical, and social ties between members of the two organizations. The two parties grow more trusting, more knowledgeable, and more interested in helping each other. Relationship marketing cuts down on transaction costs and time; in the best cases, transactions move from being negotiated each time to being routinized.
Outside of `membership’ or `continuity’ programs, there are two basic ways to approach consumers. The first is with a product and price combination considered to be `the standard’. That is, the proposition is essentially of long standing and relies on the features and benefits being competitive. The second way, normally of short-term duration, is a `special offer’. Direct marketing textbooks are full of the theory, practice and case histories relating to `the offer’.
The choice of basic propositions or selection of special offers depends on the circumstances of the individual firm and its competitive environment. The right proposition or offer can make a world of difference to response cost-effectiveness.
Looking for online marketing assistance? For seo brisbane contact seovoodoo.com.au For assistance with web copywriting, contact copyvoodoo. Landing pages by salespages.com.au