From Our Community: Rules for Customer Service and More


From Our Community: Rules for Customer Service and More

In our community news and information roundup, we collect small business sources from across the Web. Here are some important links from the sites we’ve been following this week.

Have Clear Rules for Customer Service (Click Click)

There’s almost endless talk online, it seems, about time worn business adages like: “The customer is always right.” Here Joe McIntyre of the Click Click Blog addresses that policy by asking a simple question. Are we hurting our business and other customers by trying to meet unreasonable customer demands?

Consider the Lean Startup Path (Pinellas County SCORE)

If you’re creating a business plan from marketing research only, without talking to actual customers, you’re not following the lean startup plan. That may or may not be important to you. But one blogger from the Pinellas County, Fla. chapter of SCORE gives some reasons it should be.

Here’s Why Small Businesses are Important (The Murray Group)

Ryan Hanley has an interesting post here on a topic that’s rarely discussed. We accept small business survival as an absolute good these days. We see it as a driver of the economy. But in practical terms, Hanley, who works with plenty of small business owners, explains why they are really so important.

You Need an Effective Strategic Plan (Strategy and More)

Renee Sanders talks about the importance of strategic plans in small businesses. But what is requires may be a less static and rigid approach than many business leaders are used to. Here’s what your business needs instead.

Here are Some Tips to Manage Reputation (Rawson Internet Marketing)

One solution for reputation management of your business is to create an authentic social media presence. But you may still be wondering what kind of social media qualifies as “authentic.” Here Richard Rawson suggests five ways to build a social media community with which your audience and customers can connect.

Facebook is Gaining On Google as Traffic Referrer (Marketing Land)

It’s no secret to anyone that social media continues to be a growing influence in traffic referrals to websites. But a recent report gives a particularly dramatic view of how Facebook is eroding the dominance once held by Google. Matt McGee has more.

Build a Better Newsletter (Bizactions)

You doubtless already know the importance of a newsletter for your online business or for your company’s online presence. One important way to improve on the quality of your newsletter is to tie it in with the quality content on your website. Here Leslie Self of Bizactions shares tips to connect your newsletter with your other online content.

Make Your Web Presence Responsive  (Metis Communications)

The growth in the popularity of mobile shows no sign of slowing. If you don’t want to continue building different versions of your Web presence for every screen, fortunately there’s another option. Web developer Niko Matses explains.

This is How Fast Businesses Can Be Built (Shea Laughlin)

OK, launching a new product or business each month may be a bit too ambitious for most. But sometimes entrepreneurs may forget just how easy it can be to launch a new business. So here Shea Laughlin gives us a look at a truly aggressive launch schedule…even if he can’t always meet it.

Here’s Some Data on Mobile Shopping Trends (Mail in Mobile)

We said earlier how mobile continues to be important for business. Here’s some specific data about how the mobile revolution is affecting retail specifically. Understanding mobile behavior is critical to almost all retailers these days. Check out this infographic and other details to learn more.

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3 Comments ▼
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  1. I think that the article on customer service is timely as more and more businesses are now only able to sustain their customers through superior customer service. Sometimes, it may not even be because of the product or service. Some businesses after all can survive on pure customer service alone.

  2. Great roundup. Looking forward to seeing these more regularly.

  3. I used to work in customer service, so the first article interests me. I don’t think the customer’s always right. I’ve never thought that even though that’s what I was usually told.