Archive for the ‘Entrepreneur’ Category

5 Tips For Ensuring Consistent Customer Patronage

Thursday, December 4th, 2008

How Do I Ensure Consistent Customer Patronage?

An entrepreneur is consider successful when he has gotten a good number of customers who consistently patronize his products or services. It is the dream of every business man to have satisfied customers returning time and time again to make more purchases. Here are five tips that many successful entrepreneurs use to build such customer patronage.

1. Build Good Personal Relationship With Your Customers

Don’t just aim at your customer’s purse or pocket! Render quality services that will truly satisfy their need and then back that up with a personal touch that shows you are genuinely interested in their welfare. When you do this, they will come to consider you as a friend instead of a salesman that is after their money.

Remember that everyone craves for attention and recognition. Don’t wait for them to ask for it. Give them attention, make them feel special. Treat them as friends! Research has shown that about 80% of customers who complain are just seeking for attention, not that they actually have a serious issue with the product or service they are complaining about.

Don’t wait for such customer to ask for attention, give it to them cheerfully. You can be assured they will return for more.

2. Be Courteous To Customers

Treat each client as a king. Believe it or not, without their patronage, your business is as good as dead. Also note that an unsatisfied customer can cost you so much in terms of bad publicity. He or she can make you loose potential income by discouraging others from doing business with you. Unfortunately, you may not be given an opportunity to defend yourself before such potential customer pass a vote of no confidence on you and your business. Do all within your power to treat each customer with respect, kindness and offer extras as much as you can afford.

3. Business Integrity

This is your greatest asset as a business owner. Deal with clients honestly and insist that your employees do likewise. Never make a promise that you cannot keep. Always keep your promise even if it requires a sacrifice to keep your word. This will win your customers trust and make them have confidence in you.

4. Reward Clients Patronage

Devise a means of compensating clients who patronize your business often. Make them feel they are special because indeed they are special to you. They are the ones that gives your business stability. Give discount and if possible render some additional services to such consistent customer without demanding for payment. This will enshrine you to their hearts.

5. Add Value To The Society

In all your dealings, always seek for a way to add value to the society. This pay huge dividend on the long run. Human beings are intelligent, they know the difference between a business man who adds value and the one that seeks for profit.

Summary

If you make up your mind to render quality services and products, beyond what you are paid for, in due time, clients will be eager to pay you for more than you offer. Many successful businesses have built such goodwill that people are willing to pay more for their brand of product even when it is the same quality with that of a competitor. You can get future updates to this post 5 Tips For Ensuring Consistent Customer Patronage by subscribing to Nigerian Entrepreneur RSS, cheers.

Small Business Owners Count Losses

Friday, November 28th, 2008

Small business owners in Port Harcourt are counting their losses in millions of  Nigerian Naira as government bulldozer brings down their offices and shops. The government of Rivers State of recent decided to give Port Harcourt which is the capital of Rivers State, Nigeria a face lift. The new executive governor is desirous of re-modeling the city after the Federal Capital Territory. This sounds like a good vision, but tI am of the opinion that the implementation is faulty.

Small Business Owners Contribute to Economy Growth

A greater percentage of the population of Port Harcourt relies on petty trading and provision of artisan services to earn income. In Port Harcourt, any entrepreneur who employs and pays two or more workers is considered a “big businessman”. The business climate is quite harsh. Too many big enterprises in the state are struggling to earn enough income to pay their workers salaries. It is common story to hear workers of such establishments lamenting that they have not received any salary for months. (more…)

Starting An Online Business

Thursday, November 20th, 2008
Starting An Online Business

Starting An Online Business

Starting an online business is a lot simpler than starting an offline business. So, if you have been thinking of venturing into entrepreneurship, online business is a good way to test the water and check if thoroughly you are cut-out for the adventure of running a small business.

I have personally observed that almost all the fundamental principles that make for a successful offline small business will still be relevant in your online business. Though, the competition online is much more keen than that you have in your neighbor-hood. You may actually be competing with millions of small entrepreneurs who offer the same product or service that you offer.

This means you really need to establish good business practices and lay a strong foundation that can stand the test of time. Your success online as an entrepreneur will be hinged on your ability to build long-term business relationships with your online customers by providing quality products or services at a price that is considered competitive.

Why Start An Online Business? (more…)

Business Website Design vs Quality Content

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

Start-up entrepreneurs, especially the home based small business owners often ask me this question “Does a small business website design and layout really matter?” Yes, it does. If you can afford to hire a professional website designer to develop and manage your business website set-up, it is good and worth the cost. The simple reason been that a professionally made business website design will give your small business website that unique look that separates it from the millions of websites on the net. You sure don’t want to be lost in the crowd 😉

Online Crowd

Online Crowd

However, when starting a small business website, I strongly advise (more…)

Make Money Online, Promote Local Small Scale Businesses!

Saturday, November 8th, 2008
sucessful online entreprenuer

successful online entrepreneur

Make Money Online, by Promoting Local Small Scale Businesses. You can earn easy money by advertising Small Scale Businesses Online. African Entrepreneurs are not as tech savvy as their counterparts in the developed nations. The only thing some of them know about the internet is that con artists use the internet to defraud people abroad.

In Nigeria an estimated ninety percent or more of small scale businesses conduct their business transactions offline. Searching for their name in Google will produce no result. Many of the Nigerian Entrepreneurs in this category knows next to nothing about the great potential that online advertisement offers.

Hope you are getting the gist. This obvious need for web presence among the local small scale entrepreneurs in Africa is a wonderful opportunity for any online entrepreneur. You can easily package an offer and make presentation to such local entrepreneurs who are only doing their business offline! (more…)