PMI Online Business

You are going to encounter some naysayers. Even your closest friends and family may doubt your ability to create, from the ground up, a successful business. But there are ways to deal with any criticism and even grow from it.

• Accept Legitimate Criticism It can be tough to hear skepticism from those you love, but they may have a point. Their criticism should never be enough that you scrap your idea altogether, but it may help you tailor and improve your business.
• Avoid Delusion Sometimes people will get such a hold of an idea or product that they’ll never let go. Passion and positivity shouldn’t turn into being out of touch with reality. Friends and family may actually help keep you grounded.
• Stay Positive It can be discouraging if those you care most about aren’t supporting you, but try to stay positive. If you need to, spend less time with those individuals; if you do spend time with them, keep the conversation about something other than your business. Avoiding confrontation is best.
• Stick To The Real Facts There are plenty of facts out there about how unlikely it is for your business to succeed. Instead focus on all the data out there about why you will succeed, and realize that you’re going to be able to avoid all the downfalls of those other businesses because you have a proven system in place.
• Good Business Plan Every business should have a comprehensive business plan. Preparing and studying the plan will help you answer any criticism your family and friends may have, which is an added reason to have a good one.
• Prove Them Wrong So your family and/or friends doubt your ability to succeed – so what? Use that as motivation to work even harder and prove them wrong.

Recent survey results from the American Express Global Customer Service Barometer have shed new light on the importance of customer service. While 91% of Americans are more likely to do business with a company with great customer service, an astonishing 75% believe that companies don’t value their business and wouldn’t go the extra mile to keep it. The survey also revealed that consumers are willing to spend significantly more with companies they feel take care of them. This is particularly relevant in today’s economy, where over 60% of the consumers surveyed said that high quality customer service is more important to them than in the past. 

Online businesses aren’t immune to the importance of customer service. In fact, it’s even more important online, because there are so many online options that if you disappoint a customer, they only have to visit a different site and they are free of you forever. Here are five customer service tips from PMI to help you boost your customer service: 

1. Treat customers with respect. Great customer service starts here. Always treat your customers politely and with respect. Let them know how much you appreciate their business. Show trust in them by taking their word when there may be misunderstandings. Never argue with a customer.
2. Assist customers promptly. One of the greatest ways to gain your customers’ trust is by responding to emails, calls and complaints as quickly as possible. Don’t leave them hanging, or they will find someone who treats them better.
3. Deliver what you promise. Nothing kills customer relations faster than dishonesty or incompetence. Never make a promise you can’t back up. In the rare cases where circumstances prevent you from fulfilling a promise, always offer some sort of compensation.
4. Know your product. Establish your product details and company policies early and make sure that every employee understands them. Make your answers to customers comprehensive and articulate. Keep your FAQ updated and relevant.
5. Meet your customers’ needs. Make sure you know who your customers are and how to best serve them. Seek their input as often as you can. When they know you are striving to meet their needs, they’ll give you their loyalty.

Running an Internet business requires an ability to manage time and be organized. To that end, here are some tips for how to do better at each:

• Plan each day. Use a planner or online calendar to help you see what appointments you have each day so that you don’t over book yourself. Also consider having a daily to-do list included in your daily planner or calendar. Seeing what needs to be done each day can help focus your energy and keep you on track.
• Prioritize. Many people unknowingly spend a lot of time on things that are not very important. For example, you may spend a large amount of time checking emails or updating your social network profiles (Myspace, Facebook, Linkedin etc.) and checking on friends there when you have much more important tasks to complete. Having a prioritized list can help you stay focused on the things that will help you build your business.
• Say “No”. When non-essential things come up that will take a lot of your time and make it so that you can’t accomplish many of your tasks, simply say no to them. Sure some of those non-essentials will be more fun than your important tasks, but you need to ask yourself if they will help build your business; if they don’t gracefully decline.
• Delegate. This is one of the secrets to some of the most successful people in the world. See, no matter how organized and focused you are, there are still only 24 hours in a day. Sometimes you just can’t do everything on your own; when that is the case, let others who are capable help you out. You’ll find that you can reduce a great amount of stress by delegating to trusted helpers.
• Practice the 10-minute rule. As you build your business, there will be important tasks that need to be done, that you simply despise. However, rather than avoiding them, work on them for 10 minutes every day until you either finish the task, or learn not to hate it so bad.
• Get plenty of sleep, have a healthy diet and exercise regularly. Maintaining good health not only increases your ability to focus, but also reduces “sick days” and “lazy days”; those where you really can’t get much done even if you try.