April 2015

IN THIS ISSUE

Networking Events

Jumpstart Your Business

Networking Tip

Newsworthy...

Extra, Extra!

Women's Business Forum

Meetings

1st Wed of month

Doylestown

For more info: WBF

Lower Bucks Chamber Bucks Business Connect

Thursday, May 7

8:00-9:15 am

RSVP: LBCCC

Lower Bucks Chamber

Business Card Exchange

Wednesday, May 20

4:30-6:30 pm

RSVP: LBCCC

Central Bucks Chamber 2015 Business Expo & Card Exchange

Wednesday, May 13

2-7 pm

For more info: CBCC

QUICK LINKS

Want to share

this info?

Sign Up for Our Newsletter...

Subscribe me!

It's finally Spring and the flowers are in bloom! I hope your business is blossoming as well.

Are there aspects of your business that worry you? Maybe it's pricing your products or services, reaching customers, using social media, or keeping up with the competition. We can help!

At Richard Associates, we specialize in cultivating a better customer experience. We work with businesses to nurture ideas, analyze marketing efforts, and create strategic solutions. Our goal is to improve your processes and promotions for success!

We are currently booking May and June one-on-one strategic session appointments. Contact us today to position your business for growth!

In addition to helping businesses meet their goals, we develop lectures and workshops for organizations and associations. Contact us to find out how a presentation can be crafted for your team.

Want to know more about your customers? Try a survey. Read more about it
in "Jumpstart Your Business" below. There's also a list of local networking events, a networking tip, and links to articles I think you will find interesting.

Best regards,

Susan Richard

P.S. Ready to cultivate a better customer experience and grow your business? Contact us today!

Tell Me Anything

Are you wondering what your customers think of your business? Find out by sending a survey. There are multiple survey tools available. SurveyMonkey offers a free service, and there are others as well.

Format

Develop 5-10 questions that are relevant to the issues you are facing in your business. Maybe you would like to know what motivates a customer to contact you. Or, how they use your product. Create a

5-minute survey using different types of questions, like multiple choice, ranking, and short answer. Be sure to include one question as a forum for customers to comment openly. You may get some great testimonials about your services.

Results

Once you get the results of your survey, you will be able to evaluate your processes, as well as revise your message. In addition, you might change the timing of your communications. Be ready for some negative comments, and use these as a learning experience. What frustrates your customers and how can you make your service better?

The point of the survey is to improve your business, and you want your customers to feel that they can tell you anything.

What would you like to know?

Be Curious

Attending a trade show or conference can be overwhelming with lots of people and booths covering a large area. It helps to have a plan. Before touring the exhibit, review the exhibit hall map and mark the booths you definitely would like to visit.

Also, the people working the booth may not know how to capture the attention of the passing crowd. So, develop a few general questions that you can ask the representatives at the booths to approach them and create conversation.

It's a great way to show interest, make new connections, and learn something new!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Susan Gittlen of Whispering Woods Gallery! By clicking on a link in our February 2015 newsletter, she won the best-selling business book on leadership, "Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action" by Simon Sinek. Thank you, Susan, for being a loyal reader of our newsletter!

Lucky Me!

I was recently recognized with an award for Outstanding Faculty

(part-time) by Bucks County Community College. The award is presented annually for outstanding service to the college and its students. I love teaching at Bucks and it was an honor to receive the award.

Better Interviews

Do you wonder how people ace job interviews? Find out how you can answer questions better in this article from Forbes.

Do You Have Time for Social Media?

Keeping up with social media can be time-consuming. Take a look at this article from OpenForum.com to find out if you need a social media manager.

Richard Associates...Your Marketing Partner

At Richard Associates, we cultivate the customer experience to help you succeed. From advertising that works to seminars designed to enhance your professional skills to business consulting that focuses on your goals, our services are developed with your needs in mind.

We understand that marketing is an investment in your business. And, you'd like a return on that investment. That's why we focus on results-oriented efforts that measure your success.

We build client relationships into marketing partnerships. Working with you.

Call 215-595-8959 � Website www.richardassociates.net