INDUSTRY INSIGHT: 
Ten Commandments
for business success
by Naomi Finkel
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Be involved in your community. Sponsor events that give back to your community. Make it an annual occasion. Follow through with pre and post press releases.
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Practice common courtesy. Return phone calls within 24 hours. Try to avoid keeping a person on hold; take their number and call them back. Acknowledge all referrals- even if the referral does not become a customer. Send notes that tell customers how much you appreciate their business. Follow through after the sale is made making certain their expectations were met.
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Become the maven in your field. Give seminars. Write articles. Send out newsletters. Develop media contacts. Give unbiased information that establishes you as an invaluable resource.
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Network! Network! Network! Always carry your business cards. Here’s a great icebreaker wherever you are. Think of yourself as the host or hostess. Approach someone and ask what they do. Be a good listener. They should ask what you do. If not, this person is a loser. Move on! If you have a winner, you may choose to arrange a meeting or make some referrals.
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Walk in your customer’s shoes. Find out what your customers like or dislike. Do an annual customer survey. Have a suggestion box. Go to or phone your competition and see how they treat their customers. Be a hands-on manager.
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Call former customers. Find out why they haven’t bought from you lately. Whom do they buy from? Why? What can you do to encourage them to buy from you again? Tell them of some new services you currently offer.
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Form alliances. Get together with non-competing businesses that have the same target group. Share jointly in promotions. You share the expenses, your mailing lists and the workload. Successful companies have many alliances. I recently did a joint promotion for a travel agency, a cruise line and a luggage shop. It works!
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Have a frequent buyer program. Encourage shoppers to keep coming back. This could be in the form of discounts, gift certificates, free services, upgrades or an incentive catalog. You could encourage your customers to get credits by using the services of your circle of alliances. The airlines taught us well.
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Be innovative, creative. Be a leader, not a follower. Develop promotions that make you stand out from your competition. A bank gave a piggy bank to each child who opened a minimum $50 account. They promoted the event by parading a huge paper-mache bank through town with their logo and throwing chocolate coins covered in gold foil. A tuxedo store offered free rides home to partying graduates. A shopping center had a Presidents’ Day contest. Win gift certificates if you guess how many Lincoln pennies were in jars stationed in each store.
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Develop a niche to meet specific needs. Be aware of emerging trends and lifestyle changes. Adapt your products and services to the changing marketplace. Be flexible, yet consistent.
