Filed under: business support, small business, support services, virtual assistant | Tags: administrative, better business bureau, business support, customer care, customer service, outsource, Southwest airlines, standards of service, virtual assistant
While reviewing my personal credit card a few weeks ago, it came to my attention that there was a recurring charge that I didn’t recognize. I immediately began researching the charge and after a quick Google search determined the company in question. I was immediately alarmed because this company had been charging me for months and was never supposed to be a paid service. In their commercials and on their site, it boasted of “free” and never mentioned that it was a “limited time offer”.
It seems that they have since made it more clear on their site. This of course is after class action lawsuits and complaints by many to the Better Business Bureau. How unfortunate that they don’t seem to understand the importance of customer care. After speaking with 3 people within the company, escalating to the manager and being put on hold multiple times, I was not adequately compensated for my charges.
Customer care begins with the first contact a customer has with your company. It is their very first impression that they have of you and representative of the company as a whole. In order for this to be positive, be sure you are representing a company or product that you truly believe in.
Once this initial contact is made, it is important to develop a rapport with the customer based on respect. This will allow them to feel appreciated.
Work with them to develop an easy and seamless way to complete their transaction. This will encourage them to return to work with you again.
And lastly, please be sure to thank the customer. With so many opportunities for them to select from, it is imperative that you show your appreciation for their business. On a recent trip, Southwest Airlines did this very well when the flight attendant said “You have many airlines to chose from but we are very happy you gave your money to us”. Nothing like a little humor with your thanks.
Excellent standards of service will lead to happy and repeat customers
Filed under: Green Business, business support, small business, support services, victory garden, virtual assistant | Tags: administrative, business support, economy, environment, going green, outsource, virtual assistant
Murphy Assistants challenges Virtual Assistants and other Entrepreneurs to think beyond green and to encourage healthful and sustainable activities in the work place as well as at home
What is a Victory Garden?
During World War I and World War II, the United States government asked its citizens to plant gardens in order to support the war effort. Millions of people planted gardens. In 1943, Americans planted over 20 million Victory Gardens, and the harvest accounted for nearly a third of all the vegetables consumed in the country that year.
Emphasis was placed on making gardening a family or community effort.
Today our food travels an average of 1500 miles from farm to table. The process of planting, fertilizing, processing, packaging, and transporting our food uses a great deal of energy and contributes to the cause of global warming.
Planting a Victory Garden to fight global warming would reduce the amount of pollution your food contributes to global warming. Instead of traveling many miles from farm to table, your food would travel from your own garden to your table. (thanks to http://www.revivevictorygarden.org/ for this definition)
Get involved! Let’s grow together!
Post a comment here if you are taking the challenge. Lets’ s share our progress.
Send an email to us at victorygarden@murphyassistants.com if you are joining our challenge.
We will send you a gift to show our appreciation. You will also be automatically entered in our monthly drawing for prizes. The drawings will be held monthly from April 2009 through April 2010, the entire 5th anniversary year of MA.
Filed under: business support, small business, support services, virtual assistant
This morning it was reported that Amazon is facing a legal challenge over Kindle. It seems that Discovery is suing Amazon for patent infringement. Discovery is claiming that they have held the patent rights for this idea since 2007. They are citing that this infringes on intellectual property rights.
So you ask how this affects your business? You may not even offer a product, but rather a service based business. It is still very important to do your due diligence. Small businesses tend to be at a larger risk and possibly more vulnerable due to a lack of resources.
When I first opened my business, I hired a designer to assist with the creation of my logo (no longer in use). This designer came to me with 3 options and I selected the one that was my preference. I did not have the knowledge that I now have, and trusted that the designer did her research to ensure that we were not infringing on another company. (Silly me, I will now always check).
Wasn’t I shocked and apalled when I was watching a commercial with my family and my exact logo was in use by a company. Not just any company, but a very well known national corporation. My heart sank, and I immediately made the changes necessary to remove that logo from all of my property and hire a new designer to begin the process all over again.
Thankfully for me I noticed this long before the company did, however it could have gone differently.
Filed under: business support, small business, support services, virtual assistant
Networking is nothing new to small businesses, and has always been a very important component to a successful business. However, in these uncertain economic times it is more important than ever.
I recently read about a group who has formed a small networking group. The purpose of this group is to not only meet with like minded professionals, but to also refer business to one another typically including a discount or possibly a barter for services.
The challenge is finding and attending the best events for your particular business. It is very important to find the crowd that best suits you, and join their meeting. Ease into it by joining your local Chamber of Commerce and finding a committee that needs help. By volunteering, you will be giving back to the local business community while networking with a fantastic group of people.
Baby steps, but you can do this! Happy Networking!
Filed under: business support, small business, support services, virtual assistant | Tags: business continuity, disaster recovery
Hopefully you have a plan for disasters within your personal life, as much as we can really plan for these things. This would include placing important documents in your fire proof safe, having all important account information in a place you can access if you can’t get to your home, and a plan of escape for your children or pets, but have you made a plan for your business? Did you really think it through beyond having an offsite backup of your data?
I ask this because one of my clients actually encountered this dilemma this morning and is now re-thinking their entire plan. During the very early morning hours there was a wide spread power outage in their area. The entire building was without power and phones were down. They were confident that they had backed up all data and were not going to lose valuable information because they had a plan in place. The one thing that they didn’t consider was the fact that all employee information was stored in an online account, that they could only access through their company intranet…which was down.
Take the time to protect your business from all disasters, whether major or minor. Have a plan in place for business continuity, and possibly a back up to your back up. Good continuity plans will ensure very few business interruptions and allow business to resume as quickly as possible.
Filed under: business support, small business, support services, virtual assistant | Tags: bankruptcy, chapter 11, circuit city, dhl, economy, pay off debt, recession, small business
With the reports of Circuit City and DHL this morning, it has some more nervous than ever. DHL has announced that they are shutting down all ground transportation. DHL was quoted as saying that they are hoping “to prepare the company for economic challenges ahead”. On this same morning, Circuit City announced that they are filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
So in light of all of the changes in our economy, how are you preparing yourself both professionally and personally?
As a small business owner and operator, I find myself trying to gather all information and taking a good hard look at my plan. In times of recession, it is very important to do the following:
- Live within your means – learning to live and work with less is very important as the economic recession continues
- Pay off all debt and build savings – attempt to pay down as much debt as possible while still building your savings account. I have been attempting to pay cash only when possible for personal purchases, and also keeping the business purchases to “must have” only
- Enhance customer service – be sure to keep your current customer base satisfied
- Review and revise your business plan – you should already do this annually, as the New Year approaches, it may be time to make important changes to reflect the current economy
- Be proactive, not reactive – it is very important to plan and not panic
So what changes will you make today to ensure your safety and security?
Filed under: small business, virtual assistant | Tags: CRM, customer service
Customer service should be as routine as paying the bills or ordering office supplies. It doesn’t have to be elaborate but its very important to incorporate a personal touch and maintain it. One advantage of being a small business is that it’s easier to respond personally and within a reasonable amount of time.
Proactive resonses versus reactive
Reacting to questions and concerns is extremely important in any client relationship, however being proactive is equally as important.
- Keep your clients apprised of their account and project status
- If you are going beyond a deadline, be sure to let them know in advance
How software can help with customer relationship management
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is very important to any business regardless of the size. From solo entrepreneurs to large corporations, This technology can help improve customer service and customer contact.
CRM activities are generally performed by sales, marketing and service professionals. Customer Relationship Management can be the one thing that keeps your customers loyal. Implementing CRM in today’s market is non-negotiable.
Filed under: small business, virtual assistant | Tags: administrative, business support, office support
CHARLOTTE, NC– This week board and members of the Delaware Valley Virtual Assistants Association (DVVAA) attended the International Virtual Assistants Association’s (IVAA) seventh Annual Summit at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina, at what proved to be one of its best conferences to date. With 83 professionals in attendance from the US and Canada over the three-day event, DVVAA members made up a whopping 15% of the Summit participants!
DVVAA attendees included all of its board members: Carla Wilson, President; Michelle Murphy, VP of Marketing; Laura Pumo, VP of Communication; Corie Stewart, VP of Membership; and Mary Motz, VP of Technology.
The IVAA Summit for virtual assistants (VAs) included a variety of presentations, breakout sessions with panel and round table discussions, plus numerous informal networking opportunities. Keynote Speaker Dave Lieber (www.yankeecowboy.com) delighted the audience with his opening and closing remarks, touching on topics such as the importance of customer service. VA industry pioneer Tawnya Sutherland of the Virtual Assistant Network Association (www.vanetworking.com ) spoke about SEO optimization for business. Marketing was a recurring theme at the event, and was expanded on by dynamic speakers such as Debbra Sweet of Sweet Marketing (www.sweetmarketingsolutions.com) and Stephanie Frank (www.stephaniefrank.com), best-selling author of “The Accidental Millionaire”. Other subjects ranged from niches in bookkeeping, transcription and writing, to working for life coaches and providing VA support in the real estate industry.
“Dinner with Strangers” on Thursday evening set the stage for a unique and wonderful networking opportunity. Each conference participant signed up for dinner at one of four restaurants and was able to interact over a meal with someone they may not have previously met.
For the upcoming year, Michelle Murphy of Murphy Assistants will be working with the Sponsorship Committee on numerous IVAA events, including its Summit 2009, for which she will be soliciting and managing the organization’s corporate sponsorship.
IVAA (www.ivaa.org ) is an industry leader dedicated to promoting and aiding professional development within the VA industry. DVVAA serves Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, working with both clients requiring specialized business assistance, as well as VAs looking for contracts or support.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Interstate Connecting Components, military connectors, virtual assistant
Moorestown, NJ– Interstate Connecting Components (ICC), a global wholesaler of military- and commercial-grade connectors, collaborated with Murphy Assistants (MA) to make its National Sales Meeting in February, 2008, a resounding success.
Originally established in 1986 as a supplier of US Navy shipbuilding connectors, ICC has grown to become a preeminent distributor of the entire spectrum of connectors, spanning applications in aerospace, shipbuilding, avionics, telecommunication, and broadcast markets worldwide.
When it came time to organize its annual National Sales Meeting, ICC sought the conference planning expertise of Murphy Assistants, a full-service company of virtual assistants (VAs).
Corporate delegates attended from all of ICC’s branch locations, including New Jersey, California and Virginia, and with the help of Murphy Assistants, the meeting was “virtually” seamless! Before, during and long after the meeting, Murphy Assistants was there to ensure that no detail was overlooked.
Murphy Assistants assisted with the whole gamut of particulars that any trade event entails: presentation preparation, travel and hotel arrangements, on-site assistance, and catering, to name but a few. Murphy Assistants also organized a networking social on Saturday evening at Café Madison, worked closely with all vendors, and followed up with feedback from the attendees, to assist ICC with planning next year’s event.
Murphy Assistants is a one-stop business support team of VAs offering administrative assistance with office management, event planning and desktop publishing. Interstate Connecting Components is a world-class distributor of military and commercial connectors and connector accessories.
Interstate Connecting Components (ICC)
Murphy Assistants
