It’s not always possible to get through the latest messages in your inbox. Sometimes you have to focus on the work at hand. Then again, procrastinating with responses to email and phone messages doesn’t do you or your customer any favors.

I set aside some time each day to respond to messages. Over time, my clients have gotten the message that I value their business. Even if I can’t get back to them the same day, they know that their communication has gotten through and they won’t need to corner someone to get a response. Even better, longstanding clients have often improved their own response times.

There are key habits to help you provide role-model type behavior for organized communications:

1. Use email filters to help sort your incoming messages, prioritize them and avoid wasting time on spam.

2. These days, many businesses like publicize a range of other ways for customers to contact you, like Skype or Twitter. Even if customers can initially contact you through those means, it’s often easier to respond by picking up a phone or jotting off an email. Get a feel for what your clients prefer to use to communicate, but if you have a preference, you should make that clear to reduce stress from your side.

3. Think about responding to email messages with a phone call. A call can often feel more warm and personal than an email and also allow for better communication. Rather than sending emails back and forth all day, a five-minute conversation can help speed things along remarkably fast.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

Some entrepreneurs feel like they have to make a show of the amount of work they’re doing in order to impress clients. They want to give the impression that they can handle client requests 24/7. As well, they may feel that appearing to be over-booked will leave the customer with a favorable impression (“If everyone else is giving this person business, they must be doing something right. I’m hiring them!”).

There’s a problem with this way of thinking: unless you’re the CEO of a company with many employees and sophisticated client management infrastructure, you can’t realistically be on call at all times. And giving the impression that you’re busy with clients all the time can actually be counterproductive in winning new business – prospective customers may be given the impression that you’ll be too busy to handle their needs.

Setting reasonable limits such as publicizing your business hours helps give an impression that you and your employees are enjoying a healthy work-life balance. For most types of business, there’s really no need to be taking care of your clients at 2 am.

Don’t run yourself ragged. Set an example for your colleagues and clients. It won’t just make you look good – you’ll actually be able to take better care of your business tasks successfully without getting overwhelmed. Set limits, stick by them and keep doing what you do the best way you can.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

When I ask new entrepreneurs about their target market, I’m no longer surprised when I hear their answer. Far too often, it’s “everyone! Our product/service is needed by everyone. That’s why this business is such a sure thing!”

I can understand why their enthusiasm gets the better of their business sense. For plenty of businesses, the product or service can seem (at first) like everyone would want it. Restaurants are a classic example of this – everyone needs to eat, so how can a restaurant go wrong?

Of course, restaurants have some of the highest failure rates of any new venture. Everyone does need to eat, but getting the right combination of tasty food, great service, location, price, décor and a hundred other considerations just right is not an easy task. Most importantly, restaurants seem to do well when they target people with specific tastes. When was the last time you heard someone say “let’s go to that Chinese-Italian-Irish pub restaurant down the street! I hear it’s got something for everyone!”

In my own business, I learned early on to target specific markets. Of course, everyone needs systems to organize their lives, boost productivity and get better work-life balance. But who’s going to hire me to teach them how to achieve these things?

After doing my research, I recognized that some of my biggest customers would be people who were moving or downsizing their homes, as well as offices that needed to reduce clutter and improve productivity of their employees. Also, successful professionals who were being held back in some ways by bad habits and procrastination could also use my services.

After catering to these target markets, I also adjusted my services to that target market to offer both organization consulting and speaking engagements for companies and organizations that perhaps wanted a one-day workshop or training session. This has led to success and many happy clients.

Whether you’re hunting in the forest or running a business, you have to know where to direct your limited ammunition. Understand your target market before you start your business and keep re-evaluating to ensure you’re not missing opportunities in other markets.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca