(Part 3 of a 4 part series) Advice on franchising by Pieter Scholtz, Master Licensee for ActionCOACH SA. ActionCOACH is one of the fastest growing and most successful business coaching franchises in the world today. In part one and two of this four part series on customer relationships we discussed external relationships, ideal customers, satisfying customers and explored the concept of winning customer service. In this article we will discuss a customer plan and the ladder of loyalty.       Any business owner knows they need to do more than just provide great customer service. To be truly effective you need to implement a customer service plan, and an effective customer service plan will incorporate the following points: ·          Identify your ideal customers.   Find out who they are. ·          Create a customer service vision. Remember, customer service is about understanding th...

White collar crime is not only a corporate concern Contributed by The Orange Many entrepreneurs are under the mistaken impression that white collar crime, such as fraud, is exclusively reserved for large corporate companies. Despite fewer employees and smaller revenues, small businesses are more susceptible to falling prey to the criminal activities committed by those they employ. Fraud and corruption are rife across the continent and while big corporates have the capacity to bear the brunt of such cases, for small and medium enterprises it is a very different story. Incidents of fraud could force small and medium businesses to shut down. Jenny Reid of iFacts, one of the original South African employee screening companies, says that it is possible for companies, even small to medium enterprises, to institute safeguard procedures that will reduce the possibility of employees committing crimes. Below, iFacts provides small to medium business owners with a few tips on how to prevent fr...

Part 2 of a 4 part series) Advice on franchising by Pieter Scholtz, Master Licensee for ActionCOACH SA. ActionCOACH is one of the fastest growing and most successful business coaching franchises in the world today. In part one of this four part series on customer relationships, we discussed external relationships and ideal customers. In this article we investigate the concept of winning customer service and how to achieve this state.   Ask yourself this question, how do your customers feel about doing business with you? Do they leave your establishment feeing satisfied, dissatisfied or delighted? This is an important question that requires a great deal of consideration. The first thing to understand is that customers expect to be satisfied. They have identified a need, have gone to the trouble of finding out which business can satisfy their need and followed through either by phoning or calling on you at your place of business.   What happens next will determine the impres...

(Part 1 of a four part series) Advice on franchising by Pieter Scholtz, Master Licensee for ActionCOACH SA. ActionCOACH is one of the fastest growing and most successful business coaching franchises in the world today. Franchising, really, is all about relationships. Successful franchising boils down to making sure you develop great, lasting relationships at every level of your business. By building successful relationships you are significantly increasing your chances of success. Let’s dig a little deeper. Why is it that most networkers are also successful in business? Why is it they always seem to have great relationships with friends and colleagues? Networkers who build successful relationships have perfected the craft of surrounding themselves with people and then listening, really listening, to what they have to say. They have developed these relationships to the point where they have earned the right to ask others for advice. Good relationships are the lifeblood of business. ...

Johannesburg, 22 November 2011 - Following the announcement of possible restructuring within the Reunert group, and the confirmation that the Nashua group of companies will no longer be consolidated, David Coutinho has been appointed as Managing Director of Nashua Limited, effective November 2011. Commenting on the appointment, Coutinho says that he plans to maintain Nashua’s established success in the office automation market. “Nashua is currently in a strong position, as we are number one in the South African office automation market.  I plan to ensure that the company continues to live up to these high standards, leads the way in innovation, service and document management solutions, and performs smarter and better in all our endeavours.” Coutinho has been employed by Nashua Limited by for over 25 years. He started off as a technician and has since fulfilled a number of roles, including Sales Manager for franchises, and most recently, Sales Director. He says that he plans t...