Fix a mistake and you may have a customer for life

This interesting post from the Cialdini camp about error management suggests that making an error and then fixing it may give you customers for life. They cite a hotel where the 2 childrens' sized tennis racquets were in use, so a staff member drove to a sports store and bought 2 more: the guest was so impressed they booked the family in for another holiday.

It's an example of customising the service ad hoc, where being perfect up front isn't as good as making things fit the client.

And of course where letting the client know that we customised is just as important as the customisation.

So if you customise to your client, are you remembering to let them know (e.g. do you mention on your bill that you didn't charge for the phone meeting or the extra trips to site? do you send them a "nil" bill for free services rendered?). How are you making sure they know what you have done to adjust and make it work for them?

Using Twitter for good

Anthill has this informative short article about how to get things re-tweeted on twitter - the cornerstone of any viral marketing campaigns.

I've got a twitter account (cindytonkin it is, go follow me), but right now it just lets people know when I've issued an ezine style blog blast.

It most surely has some applications for teams to keep in touch, and maybe you can think of a way to promote your consultancy using Twitter?

For more ideas, check out Peter Switzer on Twitter.

5 coffees a week - not a bad idea!

Anthill this week features an entrepreneur who attributes his success to 5 coffees a week.

Analysing my own business stats and those of some of my clients, I have always said it's lunches and coffees, especially when I have down time which keeps me going. People I worked with 20 years ago, friends of friends, people who are resigning from clients and thinking about consulting... people who come into my radar. A lot of my leads come from there. I talk about this more in the Consultant's Guide and in Ten (more) ways to promote your consultancy.

Who haven't you had coffee with lately? Who else could you have coffee with?

I'm also planning an art sale in the next few weeks (of the paintings I have done in the past 2 years). Inviting some clients and friends and old friends along to that.... bringing more people and ideas into my personal and professional life. What kind of events bring your clients back into your sphere?

Marketing - like your mum

I enjoyed this slightly humorous post on advertising - you've got to be like your mum.

You may find it a little sexist (do dads nag?), and the message is useful for those of us in small consultancies who don't have a massive advertising budget.

Marketing for Financial Advisors

If Financial advice is your expertise, check out this article on Marketing for Financial Advisors on Wharton. You may have to register with Wharton to see the article, but registration is free, so that should be easy, right?

The subtitle of the article is "harness data, drill deep into a niche - and thrive". Which I consider pretty good advice for most consultants!! Written by psychologists who have been working with financial advisors for some years, it picks up on a lot of things I wrote about in the Consultant's Guide and in 10 more ways to market your consultancy: things like having a board of advisors, knowing what you're selling, surveying your customers to find out what they want.

The Wharton article is well worth a look if you want another take on how to market yourself, even if you're in a different kind of advice-giving industry.

Recording Skype Calls

If you need to record conversations over the phone with clients, check out this gizmo for recording Skype conversations in mp3 format.

I've just downloaded it, and I'm eager to try it. It's freeware too, so even better news!

It will be useful when I'm doing needs analyses for training programs, or if I want to transcribe someone's actual words (for a manual, a modelling project, an analysis of their speech patterns).

What could you use it for?

Starting out? get the colour that fits your image

Loved this short article in Anthill about what colours mean.

If you're just designing (or redesigning) your web site or business card, it's worth a quick look. If you know who your demographic is (and you really should work that out!), you can make a site which fits their preferences.

It's important, of course, that your clients and potential clients love your site and your logo. Not so essential that you do!

When we recently redesigned some of my brands we actually sent the designer's ideas to people within our client demographic. Each brand uses different colours and has a very different look and feel. If you want to see, check out Ludic Creative (Ludicrously fun conferences), and Aragon Gray (public sector productivity specialists). Now on to cindytonkin.com (still in its pre-redesign phase!).