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Entrepreneur profiles and lists

Business Focus >>

The new manufacturers The new manufacturers

A great British renaissance has been taking place. From Aberdeen to the West Country, the zing is back in manufacturing. It’s about time this spectacular story was told.

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Top ten customer tips

by Real Business - Friday, 18th April 2008 -

Top ten customer tips

Is one of your customers giving you grief? Well, sack them then. Best-selling author Seth Godin reveals how to handle clients.

1. Fire problem customers: If it’s not worth making the customer right, fire her. If you’ve got something worth paying for, you gain power when you refuse to offer it to every single person who is willing to pay you.

2. Cut them some slack: You’re not setting precedent every time you interact with someone. Customers deserve a little slack now and then.

3. Don’t teach, just delight: If you try to teach a customer a lesson, you’ve just done two things: failed at teaching a lesson and lost a customer.

4. Shiny happy people: If you’re going to be obsessed with delighting customers, it’s more efficient to focus on customers that are able to be delighted. Hire nice people and attract satisfiable, gabby customers.

5. Customer of the month: Do you have one? With a special parking space and their picture on the wall? Give it a try, it’s probably worth the risk.

6. Every customer is different: A common mistake marketers make is believing that there is perfect information between consumers.

7. The right apology: “We’re sorry that we caused this problem”. This is what the customer needs to hear.

8. Every customer is different (part 2): Not every pair of feet that walks in the door is worth the same as the feet before.

9. For, not to: Do you spend time doing things to your customers or for your customers?

10. On the same side: What happens when your worldview and biases are so different from the places you’re hoping to grow?

Compiled from best-selling author Seth Godin’s blog.

Source: IBM publication Now we are 100 in association with the CBI.

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Nicholas De Lacy-Brown thought being fired by Alan Sugar was bad. Little did he know that a few months later, he’d receive a far more crushing blow.

Recession almost inevitable, says BCC

By Matthew Rock - August 18, 2008 11:00am GMT

The week begins with a grim warning from the British Chambers of Commerce that UK businesses face two years of tough conditions and that imminent recession is a "distinct possibility." Here's its prognosis.

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