The customer experience encompasses every interaction your customer has with your business – from marketing and advertisements to in-store interactions.

As cashiers, stockers, sales associates, and the source of your business’s first face-to-face contact with your customers, your employees are an important element of your store’s overall customer experience.

They can turn a new customer into a loyal, returning customer – or they can make long-term customers second guess frequenting your business. That’s why it’s integral that, when hiring employees, you do so with the customer experience closely in mind. Read the full entry

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Whether it’s taking calls in the office or keeping in touch with your mobile sales team, communication is important for your business to stay on track.

While many big-box businesses can afford expensive, complex solutions, your business can stay connected for a fraction of the price.

Look into new and emerging technologies to help you maintain all your necessary communications without breaking the bank. Read the full entry

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Providing the highest salary in the market can’t ensure that your business attracts the top talent in your industry.

Many of the highest-rated businesses have found that the key to finding and keeping good employees lies in offering prospective employees the benefits that they want the most.

Providing generous benefits packages improves employee retention rates and keeps your employees happy, healthy, and loyal. Read the full entry

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Proper employee classification can have a significant impact on an organization. The penalties for non-compliance can put a large dent into the growth and long term stability of your business.

On a Federal level, penalties can include back wages, fines, interest, and liquidated damages.

In addition, employers with incorrectly classified workers may also be subject to penalties imposed by the state(s) in which their business operates. Read the full entry

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Email marketing isn’t going anywhere. Instant messaging, social media and advancing technologies haven’t killed off this powerful marketing tactic.

Successful marketing teams are using email to reach new subscribers, encourage upsells, and reengage customers who have been missing out on new products or services. One metric that really matters to email marketers is the open rate.

Is your email marketing program performing as well as it should or as well as it could? As you look to improve your email marketing efforts and open rates, consider taking these three steps forward.

Read the full entry

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How does your business manage customer experience? Is customer experience even a priority? According to Forrester’s report, “The State of Customer Experience Management, 2013,” most businesses are failing at tracking, assessing, and managing their customers’ experience – despite knowing how important it is for their future success. Read the full entry

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There usually comes a point when you need to attend a convention, conference or some type of out of town meeting for the first time as a new business owner.

While this is a great moment for your business, you need to be careful. Don’t make the common mistakes novice business professionals are faced with when attending their first overnight event. One wrong step can hurt your business prospects and alienate potential clients, customers, and business partners.  Read the full entry

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Every business is different. Even businesses operating in the same industry and using the same business model can vary depending on its leadership and staff.

Thanks to the infinite diversity of human beings and the unique ways in which we all go about things, there is always something to set one company apart from another. Read the full entry

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The recruitment and hiring process is one of the most crucial aspects of running a successful business.

Bad hiring decisions lead to poor performance and excessive employee turnover, costing you money – a lot of money – with each lost employee. Read the full entry

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Really, how much can one say in a six-second video?

A lot.  Twitter Vine is growing rapidly and landing its role as a staple of online marketing efforts. Read the full entry

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