Saturday, 23 February 2008
Legal Technology - Who Wins the Fight Over E-Mail Ownership?
| The challenge of employees using email in a business setting for private use is an area most businesses struggle with. The article linked to this post covers the issue in some depth from a US perspective - looking at recent US case law. While the Australian courts would not be likely to take these cases as precedent, they would still be informed by the content. So what is the bottom line for company email policy? * Companies need a stated email policy that clearly states all emails are the property of the company * The policy needs to state all emails will be monitored * The policy needs to extend to blogging, message board and forum posting * It also needs to state all emails are stored on the companies server and can be searched * Companies need to regularly remind employees of the policy * Companies need to consistently enforce their policy If you do that you will be half of the way there in any disputed case over who owns or can access emails. Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: employee handbook, hr policies |
Friday, 22 February 2008
Tad Hargrave - Brilliant Marketer
| You know I love to share brilliant businesses - this one has blown me out of the water. Tad Hargrave is a marketing consultant for hippies. I found him when I was checking out the latest research on psychographic marketing. Tad's You Tube videos on discovering your niche are great (even if you aren't a hippy) - and his PDF download on "Identifying your Niche" is some of the best work I have read on the topic. I am truly humbled by his work and admit I have also learnt things from reading his notes (and yes I wish I had written it!). I fully recommend you watch his series of You Tube videos and download his PDF. Take the time to work through his content and see the difference it will make to your business. Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: small business marketing ideas |
Thursday, 21 February 2008
How NOT to deal with customer complaints
 Not every customer will be happy with your service - at some point everyone makes a mistake. It is how you recover from that mistake that determines whether or not you convert your customer to a fan or a foe. This week I was forwarded one of the worst recent examples of a business dealing with feedback. To set the scene - this person had eaten at Casa Flamenco at Albion in Brisbane (yes names are being used - you will see why in a moment). They had had some problems so had sent an email outlining their concerns and providing feedback. Here is a copy of their email Hi I saw your ad in the city news last week and dined with 8 friends last night. I wanted to pass on some feedback regarding our experience at your restaurant. As someone who has experience in restaurant marketing I applaud your concept of 50% off the total bill – it will certainly get people in the door to try the restaurant. However, if you are going to retain them as regular customers who will not only return to the restaurant but tell all their friends and family to go to your restaurant you need to make the first visit memorable. Here are my suggestions; 1. Staff. We were the only table dining last night so the fact that there was only 1 staff member working should not have been a problem. The waiter was a sweet, friendly guy but he was not properly trained in waiting. He was unable to explain the menu when questioned. He did not regularly check back on the table to take drink orders, he left the menus on the table after we had ordered and didn’t bring out the cutlery before dessert arrived. He was obviously a little nervous which didn’t help the cause either. 2. Food. The food was good, we enjoyed it but it was not enough and it took far too long to arrive. We had ordered the chef’s tapas selection which the waiter said was good. It was good. However, it took over 1 hour to arrive on our table after we had ordered and the dishes that were meant to be served hot were cold by the time they arrived. Also, I would consider paying $36 or so for the size and contents of the platter brought out but if I was paying $55 I would have been very disappointed (in fact I think I would refuse to pay!). I had assumed that the ‘chef’s tapas selection’ would also have included at least a salad and some breads for the price so we didn’t order any. After we had devoured the food in a very short time as we were starving we decided not to ask for breads or salad as we assumed they would take too long to arrive also. We actually assumed that the platters brought out were going to be followed by a second platter based on the quoted price on the menu. Really, for $55 I would be expecting that platter to be supplemented by 1 salad, some bread and perhaps some olives, calamari and prawns also. We also ordered dessert (creme brulees and creme caramels) because we were still hungry after the tapas– the creme caramels were okay but the creme brulees were lumpy and inedible. Again, if we were paying $15 each for them we would have been very disappointed. I was disappointed enough paying $7.50 for them. Also, the coffee was brought out after dessert was served and was not good coffee. 3. Value for Money was awful. We ended up paying around $30 per person for our meal which was okay for what we got. However, should we have been paying full price I would not have been happy at all. There simply was not the variety or amount of food served for the money that the menu quoted. I am afraid that my experience at Casa Flamenco was very disappointing. I am not seeking any recompense here - I think you have a good concept in the restaurant and your website shows you are passionate about what you do. The fact that you are offering diners a 50% discount to try the restaurant out shows that you are keen to attract new customers. I do hope you take my feedback into account and use it constructively to improve your customers’ experiences. You are doing the right things in your marketing to attract customers. However, the key is to retain these new customers and keep them and their friends coming back for more. To do this you will need to improve your service levels and your value for money substantially from what my friends and I experienced last night. Thank you for your time, Lorraine As you can see it is not abusive - the person was just stating their point of view. Now - this is the exact response they were emailed (obviously they attended the Basil Fawlty School of Hospitality) Dear What is the lesson? This email has been forwarded to many hundreds of people in Brisbane. One thoughtless response by a company has created significant negative attention that will impact on their business. Even if the company privately thought the customer was an idiot, all they needed to do was send an email back stating "I am sorry you had a bad experience with us. We appreciate the time you took to give us this feedback. At our next team meeting we will discuss your feedback as a group to ensure we improve on all aspects. Thank you again" and the matter would be settled. If they wanted to go the next step they could send a voucher in way of apology. Take the time to review your complaints procedure and ensure you have processes in place to deal with any complaints easily, smoothly and swiftly to a positive outcome (and be careful where you eat in Albion!). Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: customer service, small business ideas |
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Tweets for Today
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Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Tweets for Today
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Monday, 18 February 2008
Using the Net to Improve Your Business
| Do you want to grow your business and are interested in how the internet may be able to help you with low cost (or even better - free) marketing strategies? My good friend and colleague Donna-Marie Coggins and I will be running a Business Growth Session on "Using the Net to Improve your Business". Date: 3 March Time: 10-12noon Location: Chermside library Bookings essential In this session we will be sharing our top tips on how you can get the best marketing results from the internet (even if you don't yet have a website). These are simple strategies that almost everyone can put in place - and you don't have to be a geek to do them! Book now. Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony |
Handmade = Profits
| A few years ago who would have thought that doing it yourself could mean high profits? One of the niches that really has grown in popularity in the past 5 years or so are handmade cards. They have gone from the full of heart but poor of design memories of our childhood through to magnificent works of art. When I was reading Jenni's Papercraft Design blog I found out there have been over 150 US & UK books published on how to make handmade cards. Now that's a definite niche! As Jenni said - there are now three markets for cards:
Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: small business ideas |
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Tweets for Today
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Just for fun
| Life is short and it is easy to get caught up in the day to day humdrum routine. You got to work, come home and not much changes. That's why I love the group called Improv Everywhere. They are US based and pull mass theatre improv pieces designed to bring chaos and joy to public places. I particularly love this piece of improv with over 200 people who suddenly freeze in place at Grand Central Station. Watch the reactions of people around them ... Now the scary part - there are chapters of Improv Everywhere springing up around the world. Even Brisbane has its own subgroup that has completed 2 smaller pieces of improv. So the next time you see 80 people enter your shop all dressed in the same uniform as your employees, or your suddenly have hundreds of mobile phones all go off at the same time in the theatre - you may be in the middle of something more interesting than just a coincidence. As an aside - think for a moment why these sort of things are expanding. People have a strong need to be part of something bigger, to belong, to have fun. How can your business capitalise on these needs in providing service to your customers? Could your work pull off its own piece of improv? These sort of things often attract media attention if they are feel good and harm none - so what could you do? Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: small business ideas, small business marketing ideas |
Friday, 15 February 2008
Free University Education
| Have you ever wanted to go to Stanford University? What about MIT or Berkeley? You can - and it's free. Many of the BIG unis now offer free podcasts, webcasts and course notes for many of their courses. Here's a link to the best of Stanford Uni on i-tunes UC Berkeley has course notes and all sorts of interesting things on everything from Archaelogy to Existentialism MIT has an absolutely massive list of resources to explore. Of course if you want access to loads more unis then visit U Channel. It has lectures from institutions around the world. So - if you are looking for business, psychology or anthropology you have no more excuses! Check out the major unis and see what you can learn. I've downloaded a stack of material and look forward to enjoying reading it with a good glass of red wine! Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: small business ideas |
Tuesday, 12 February 2008
Saying sorry
| No business gets it right 100% of the time. There will be times when mistakes are made, emails not responded to, promises made and not kept and customer service given that is less than optimal. It is what you do with those mistakes that makes the difference. If you ignore the mistake, pretend it didn't happen or try and blame the customer you create more problems for yourself. What could simply have been resolved at a lower level gets blown up in the mind of the customer and they escalate the problem or just take their business elsewhere (and complain about you to all of their friends). But it doesn't have to be that way. If you train all of your staff that mistakes happen. that it is a fact of life and they have discretion to resolve the problem to a certain level then you can turn a potentially damaging situation around. Work out within your business what will be your policy if someone complains. If the person complains to an employee - allow the employee to acknowledge the person's feelings, to apologise that your actions have caused the person to feel that way and ask how the person would like to have the matter resolved. Often all the person wants is to be heard. If there is expenditure needed to resolve the matter and it is above the employees financial delegation level, empower the employee that it is OK to contact you with a code word to say that the matter has to be dealt with straight away. You need to act and resolve complaints within one business day. Let it linger and you are creating further problems. Government is a business just like any other. I worked in Government for 15 years and I know mistakes are made - the people in Government are human. They may be acting from the best of intent, but when they forget they are there to serve the greater community and believe they know best for other people - that is when mistakes are made. Over-responsibility in all forms creates hurt and pain. If you try and run someone else's life down to the smallest detail you are not allowing them to grow and learn. Your job is not to run a life, but to grow a life. It is for that reason I totally believe we need to say sorry to the stolen generations. We as a people made major mistakes over generations and now have to live with the consequences. Discrimination in all its forms - both direct and indirect limits us as a society and limits the creative potential of our future. I am proud that Kevin Rudd is finally formally apologising tomorrow for what has been done in the past. Whatever your politics - it is simply the right thing to do. I urge everyone to watch the address live and allow your employees to watch the event as paid time (hey if you can watch a horse race in November, you can watch history in the making). I also ask you to reflect on where your business and you personally may have also unwittingly or knowingly caused hurt and offence to someone else. Take this time to work out how you can say sorry for the hurt you have caused and plan for how you will deal with this in the future. Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: saying sorry, small business ideas |
Monday, 11 February 2008
Tweets for Today
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Sunday, 10 February 2008
Tweets for Today
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Saturday, 9 February 2008
Mika - remembering the niche markets
| Niche markets are everywhere. Filling a need for the niche, helping them do something better or easier or just making them feel good about themselves is great for business. One of the best most recent examples is Mika with his song "Big Girl (You are beautiful). Very catchy song celebrating curvy women. This song is sweeping the world - it is great for teenagers self esteem as well as any lady with a few extra pounds. In other words - an exceptional product targeted to the right niche. What can you do to meet the needs of your niche market? Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: marketing tips, mika, small business marketing ideas |
Friday, 8 February 2008
Tweets for Today
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Business and beauty can be anywhere
 I have lost track of the number of businesses who have said "I can't do that - I am in the wrong location". That's why Annette from Annette Piper jewellery is so inspirational. You see she lives on a cattle farm in rural NSW and creates the most gorgeous quality gemstone pieces. If a mum on a cattle farm can run a thriving jewellery business - what is your excuse? Annette is someone who asks "how can I" and that's the difference. Have a look at your excuses and ask "how can I" solve them. Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: small business ideas |
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
Now that's a question!
| What is the strangest interview question you have been asked? I think mine was many years ago when I was applying for job in a tribunal that meted out the law on things like workplace fairness - I was asked by the male head of the tribunal (in total seriousness) - "What will happen when you fall pregnant and want to leave and have babies." Scared me right off having kids for another 10 years! Today I was checking out a blog post by my favourite internet teacher - Ed Dale when I came upon this ad We have a couple of openings in Melbourne and Manchester for Interns to assist in running our Internet business. You will be paid! You will not be paid much...; We are looking for people who have a lot of enthusiasm and really want to make it marketing online. It might surprise you to know that I have been an intern! It might surprise you more that I was a multi-millionaire at the time! I really wanted to know the information marketing business from the ground up - so I took a commission only position with an organization so I could learn the ropes from the inside. I did it for a year and it was invaluable. I also went and lived with Gary Halbert in Miami for a month. That was one hell of an experience! Lets be clear - you won’t be doing glamourous work BUT you will see how everything hangs together and be on the inside working with Dan, I and the rest of the team. There will be a lot of admin type work and you will need to know your way around a Mac (notice that I said Mac) if your applying for the position and want to work remotely - a mac with leopard is a must - we live on iChat! Dan, Rob and I spent about six hours yesterday working on forward plans for our business and we did it all on iChat The way I see it you will be with us for about a year - I would of hoped by then you would be raring to go out and start making info-products of your own. While I’m happy to consider “virtual intern” arrangements - in truth, we are both going to get a lot more out of it if you are living near-by, if i need you to help me with a location shoot holding the camera - it’s going to be a bit hard doing that from Boston. For the Melbourne position, there is an option for us to provide accommodation, internet, computer etc as part of the deal. In Manchester you’ll need to talk to Dan! For the right person this is a golden opportunity. You will need to be a go-getter (duh!) and if you have seen/read “the devil wears prada” - you’ll have a great idea about the level of direction you will get (I’m kidding - mostly...;) Interviews will be conducted via iChat and in person at Melbourne and Manchester You can send your application to eddale@mac.com (now here’s a tip - think about your application, I barely passed high school, attended two classes at collage and as evidenced by the seven deliberate spelling mistakes above can hardly string two words together. CV’s make me sleepy - who you are, and what your prepared to do, what you love and what get’s you up in the morning (apart from the alarm clock!!) is far more interesting. In Fact, what you HATE doing and can’t stand is even more useful - a great job application is just like a good sales letter (or video...;.)) One final thing - In your application answer at least this one question Think back to when you were little and you wanted to be a ballerina, fireman, six million dollar man, eric estrada on CHiPs (careful, we all have dreams...;.) what did your parent of the opposite sex say to you about your dream?? Have at it - Quick Movers get bonus points Don't you love that last question (and the ad)! It truly reflects the company, the people you will be working with and doesn't pull any punches. A great example of an employment ad.So what did you want to be when you were little. Apparently I wanted to be a teacher when I was very very little (and have 6 kids. Done that one, 2 of my own and 4 I raised for a few years with a previous partner). What did my father say about that dream? "Hey the holidays are good, you are paid well and you always have a job." As he was a uni lecturer at the time I think the answer was more of a reflection of where his mind was at in the middle of yet another school year! So - over to you. What did you want to be when you were little and what did your parent of the opposite sex say to you about your dream? Oh - and the job's still open with Ed - just get in quick! Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: human resource management, recruitment |
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Tweets for Today
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Monday, 4 February 2008
Feng Shui Your Cubicle
| Feng Shui is the art of energy flow. You know instantly when you walk into an office whether the place feels welcoming or challenging. Many people turn to Feng Shui to help create a better feeling workplace. But how do you get started? I found this great short video on the net about how to Feng Shui your office cubicle. There's quite a few tips here in how to make your space better reflect your intent. Happy re-arranging! Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: small business ideas |
Sunday, 3 February 2008
Tweets for Today
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Don't make these email marketing mistakes
| Hi again When businesses start out, they often want to use email to promote sales, publicise events or just keep in touch with clients. Fantastic - exactly what it is designed to do! But ... there are a few common mistakes newcomers to email marketing make.
Think about what else you may need later on - shopping carts, affiliate programs, whatever. You can put different solutions, but it is easier to find the solution that can grow with you as you grow. Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony |
Saturday, 2 February 2008
Tweets for Today
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Yes- another great idea - Playgrounds for pensioners
 OK - this one just forced me to post it (two in one day - a record). With the aging population out there, who said getting old had to be boring. Enter playgrounds for pensioners. Imagine creating specialist playground equipment so older people can laugh and have fun. Love this concept! When I was working with a pharmacy group, my favourite products were the jelly bean patterned walking frames and psychadelic walking sticks. Old doesn't mean dead - and the sooner companies realise the purchasing potential of creating fun functional products the older market the better. Until next time (really) Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: small business ideas, small business marketing ideas |
More Small Business Ideas
| Rather than just Twittering this site, it deserves a post all on its own. Here is a great t-shirt idea (and you thought everything t-shirts had been done). T-shirts that when you are within a few feet of someone else wearing the same t-shirt glows with hearts. To make it even better they recharge with hugs. http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/hearts-lightup-with-a-hug Brilliant Valentines Day promo item and proof that you can always find a new twist on an old product. (Of course having a heart on it helps even more). Now - think about it in terms of its application to social networking, being part of a group, singles on the search. How could you take the concept and make it work for your business? Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: small business ideas, small business marketing ideas |
Friday, 1 February 2008
Tweets for Today
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The secret of selling more
| If you want to know how to increase sales, this quote by Alan Cohen sums it up. Loving something because you sell it is not nearly as powerful as selling something because you love it. -- Alan Cohen Many businesses may start by selling something they love - as the years progress they become stale and begin to hate the product they sell. Sales start to drop as a result. Think about your own experience - do you buy from someone who is genuinely excited and passionate about their product, or someone who is filling in time? Do you still love your product? Until next time Ingrid Cliff Heart Harmony Labels: small business marketing ideas |