In a competitive market, sometimes it’s the little things that make the difference between merely satisfying a customer’s needs and thrilling them so much that they’re bragging to their friends about your products. In other words, you want them to say: “Wow!”

According to Scott Martineau, Senior Vice President of Product Strategy at Infusionsoft and author of Conquer the Chaos: How to Grow a Small Business without Growing Crazy, there are four steps to wowing your customers.

• Step 1 - Create a culture of Wow! Customer service starts at ground zero. You need to talk about it from day one. You need to emphasize and teach it to your employees at every opportunity, and when you’re evaluating new employees, you should look for people who love to serve. Wherever possible add incentives for employees to go above and beyond. In a crowded field of competing companies, people will remember the small, personal touches far more than they will another advertising campaign.

Customer service is a pet peeve of ours. The other day I ran into our favorite grocery store to pick up a few things and had a shock. To set the stage, you need to know this grocery store is not the bargain store in our area and they blatantly pride themselves on their stellar customer service.

Anyway, I went to the deli and duly pulled my numbered ticket. There’s one other customer at the deli counter, standing near me, and currently being helped. So I figure I’m next. Especially since there are several deli employees chatting together at the far end of the counter.

Wrong.

Social media for business - what are you doing to promote your business using social media? Consider if your business B2B or B2C because it can make a difference which social media platforms you concentrate on. Should you be focusing your efforts on LinkedIn or Facebook?

User Group member and social media expert Tim Ludy was our guest presenter today at the New England Infusionsoft User Group meeting. Tim answered questions and gave advice to those of us at the meeting about creating an effective plan to achieve our social media goals.

With the July Fourth holiday breathing down our necks, it was a small group but full of questions and discussion as usual. We have asked Tim to come back to speak to the full group at the September meeting about getting measurable results using social media for your businesses. He will be available to answer questions then too, so bring your social media challenges for Tim!

August is our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY meeting for the New England Infusionsoft User Group so you can expect some fun stuff in addition to some new Infusionsoft and marketing how-to’s. See you there!

We wish you all a safe, fun, and Happy Fourth of July!

John Wooden, a Basketball Hall of Fame coach, said, "Don't let what you can't do interfere with what you can do."

Henry Ford Sr, founder of Ford Motor Company, when challenged on his lack of detailed how-to knowledge on manufacturing cars, answered that he only had to push a button and have 6 people in his office who knew how to get it done.

Plugging the gaps in your skills or interests with an expert is critical to your success. We do this all the time in our personal lives: we hire landscapers, dry cleaners, caterers, mechanics, housekeepers, tailors, you name it. (Although some of us could take a closer look here too.)