Corporate Etiquette, Professional Etiquette, Business Etiquette
by The Polished Professional

For any business to be a success, business etiquette is essential. It oils the machinery of business and keeps relationships running smoothly. It can be disarming.

More than few observers insist they have witnessed its practical demonstration. For instance, a Healthcare-based company struck the right cord recently in a “Dress to Impress” Workshop as a part of its Professional Development series.  This workshop was a strategic way to communicate company expectations to its associates, and enhance their professional image.  It turned out to be a great retention tool.

The goal of the workshop was to have each participant see that it was not about the dress policy as much as their personal policy and brand.  What does your attire say about you and your company?

Another example of business success through professional etiquette training is the South Jersey Chamber of Commerce who had complaints about customer service among some member companies.  The “Hug your Customers” Protocol workshop was an extra added member benefit and business owners invited their employees to participate in this workshop that showed them how customers felt and what customers said about the treatment they received or did not receive from the results of a Protocol survey.  The business owners are raving about the difference etiquette training has made in their employees and in their businesses.  The workshop exposed employees to the rudiments of basic courtesy in business, and practical business etiquette to use in building and maintaining relationships with customers and co-workers or subordinates, as well as with individuals who have disabilities.

Business etiquette is defined as the conduct or procedures that are generally acceptable in the workplace; a set of unspoken expectations people meet or find when they meet with you. Protocol Int’l training and consultations stress that when you do not use manners and common courtesies when dealing with people, it shows lack of consideration and professionalism.

The Benefit of Protocol International

Etiquette, protocol and professionalism go hand-in-hand. Knowing people’s names, knowing
what to wear on ‘dress down’ day in the office, knowing what humor is appropriate with co-workers or customers, handling a person that comes on too strong, knowing how to entertain a client over a meal, knowing how to conduct oneself at meetings, knowing how important your role is to the company’s bottom line.

If you do not use the expected common courtesies in business, people will start to pass judgments about you and your business that can be damaging. How? Employees will feel unappreciated and may become cynical and distrustful; you wouldn’t be trusted by your managers, employees and peers, customers may even feel slighted or make constant complaints, and you may be left out of committees, meetings, or social functions.

Some commentaries will help to explain these. For example, in an office where superiors are fond of calling junior staff foul names or use abusive languages whenever they feel like it, it may not bring out the best in the staff but is even worse when it concerns customers.

Protocol training has the benefit of increasing self-awareness, taking ownership, expecting the best, and communication. It also encourages continuous learning, formation of alliances and strengthening relationship with the company executives by aligning with their values, goals, image and vision, and being solution-focused when relating with them.

The sales and marketing department of a financial firm conducts the Protocol “First Impression” workshop quarterly and stresses how much that first impression matters. It explained that everything you do and say not only affect you, but the organization as well, and went on to recommend that you make your first word count; be positive, use the person’s name, and send a thanks message. More importantly, it pointed out that you can sabotage a good first impression with careless language, lazy expressions, gum chewing, throat clearing, and inappropriate touching.

As the use of social media marketing inflates, more and more companies are beginning to exploit it. A lot of companies are currently starting to learn about the power of online tools in constructing a community wherein their prospective customers could voice out their thoughts – the crucial foundation of social media marketing. However, the current query of these businesses is “what must be done now?”

For businesses that have already created online communities and possess a certain familiarity about building an online positioning, the next move would be to utilize social media marketing advanced tactics.

Social media marketing advanced tactics are marketing techniques that improve the normal social media presence. Prior to using advanced strategies, you should make sure that your business has already recognized the basic ideas about social marketing, has gained necessary knowledge about online advertising, and has an expertise with engaging customers. Only once you have obtained all of these can you utilize all or any of the following social media marketing advanced tactics:

Multimedia Utilization
This is a great tactic to make prospective customers notice your business because of the fact that the web is now widely utilized by people in looking for photos or video clips of products that they would want to avail of. What’s remarkable about this technique is that it is easy to do, and has been established to be helpful, among other social media marketing advanced tactics.

Capture photos of your goods and your workers. Doing so could help you acquire your prospects’ trust and provide them the confidence that they can avail of your products safely. Video clips are very much useful as well, as they could make your prospects feel important, and you may even take advantage of videos to construct influential online communities in social networking sites. Moreover, videos also let prospective customers obtain a thorough understanding of the concepts about your products – superior to any high quality article.

Combine Online and Offline Advertising
Despite the fact that many consumers utilize the internet to research, there are still a few who rely on offline advertisements to learn more about products. Combining online and offline marketing could help you get more prospects.

This may be done by incorporating your site or online community’s URL to your flyers, brochures, and other offline marketing means. With this strategy, you could make your community expand, as well as earn the trust of more prospects.

Modification of Updates on Social Media Websites
Social networking sites let you acquire a certain kind of connection between your customers. However, it is really a turn-off if the updates you post are alike for EACH social media website. The issue is that people won’t want to read updates that obviously appear to be programmed. So everytime you post on your Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, or any other akin networking site, be sure that you modify your posts, and make it sound like you’re really communicating with your members. See to it that the message you post on one social media site doesn’t relay the exact similar message as what you posted on the other.

Searches and Directories
This may be one of the primary social media marketing advanced tactics since it’s more often than not the strategy that can earn you a lot of prospects. It is essential for you to file your company in online searches and directories so that consumers could discover it without much trouble. Furthermore, be sure to submit your business’ address to online maps such as Yahoo’s and Google’s.

Promos and Contests
Social media marketing doesn’t stop at developing your online community. A deep relation with your members is an essential step in developing your community. A useful technique to toughen the relation between your business and members is to initiate contests. Doing so will allow you to get AND keep your prospects’ attention by providing them with enjoyable games. Promos and discounts solely given to them is also a way of making them feel that being a part of your community is advantageous. This social media marketing advanced tactic is certain to turn prospects into actual clients.

Social media marketing is more than building your business’ presence. It includes constructing a fruitful online community. The said social media marketing advanced tactics are certain to help you make your marketing more successful and your sales rise up.

What is Social Media?

Wikipedia describes Social Media as an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. Social media can take many different forms, including Internet forums, message boards, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and video. Technologies include: blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, crowdsourcing, and voice over IP, to name a few.

Examples of social media applications include: Google Groups (reference, social networking), Wikipedia (reference), MySpace (social networking), Facebook (social networking), Last.fm (personal music), YouTube (social networking and video sharing), Second Life (virtual reality), Flickr (photo sharing), Twitter (social networking and microblogging)

Reaching Target Audiences

Using Social Media sites, you can easily reach your target audiences by:

1. Creating free pages/profiles on one or several of the social media sites and then building relationships with your visitors

2. Boosting your Search Engine positioning by including links back to your website (for both traffic and link popularity)

3. Advertising on social networks

4. Networking with complementary businesses

LATimes.com reported that in May 2008 Facebook had 123.9 million unique visitors and 50.6 billion page views worldwide, according to research firm ComScore. MySpace had 114.6 million unique visitors and 44.5 billion page views.

In order to be successful on social media sites, you need to find a network at which your target audience ‘hangs out’. For example, MySpace attracts a younger crowd with less money, whilst Facebook’s population is older with higher income. You then need to:

1. Engage your audience by providing useful information (not sales pitch)

2. Build up your following by being interesting, funny, entertaining or insightful

3. Be real and show your personality

4. Gain trust and build relationships

When a business has a profile that people recognise on sites such as Digg or Wikipedia, they have a significant ability to influence discussion, create content and push visibility for links.

The ultimate goal of this visibility is to have the power to influence – once a business has a voice, marketing becomes a soft sell rather than hard sell.

To get the most out of social media marketing VirtualSocialMedia.com says:

Don’t try to preach, LISTEN Don’t try to interrupt, CONTRIBUTE Don’t try to control, ENGAGE

Social media marketing can be extremely powerful whether you have a small or large business. There are many guides and ebooks available on the internet for you to learn from. Simply search for “social marketing” or “social media marketing” in your favourite search engine.

In today’s wedding market it’s a given that to succeed you must utilize the Internet. With such social-networking sites as Facebook and Twitter growing in leaps and bounds, certified wedding and event coordinators have to not only be comfortable using these sites, but they must also figure out how to successfully fit them in to their business plans.

The Wedding Report estimates that online wedding sales will grow to $22.7 billion by 2013, with an estimated growth rate of 7 to 10%. It also found in a recent survey that 81% of couples use the Internet to plan their wedding because of the specific planning tools they find there. Their top reasons for using the Internet? Tips and ideas; photos of other weddings; creating a wedding website. The Wedding Report also says that the average age of a newly married person is about 27, which means that most of your bridal couples are part of a generation that is the most technologically advanced ever. It also means that for your wedding and event coordinating businesses to survive you must embrace technology. How can you do this? Here are a few ways:

1. You turned to your community college or local university to become a wedding planner, right? You may want to consider turning right back around to check out what kind of classes they have on Web design, online marketing and social networking.
2. Pick up copies of popular magazines that cover computers, marketing and networking. An afternoon spent at your local bookstore, coffee in one hand and magazine in the other, will be time well spent.
3. Integrate social networking into your business plan. Build a Twitter following by focusing on the wedding industry in the region you target. Start a Flickr page, and fill it will slideshows of the weddings and events you’ve planned. Start a blog, giving tips to brides, showing them how a coordinator can help alleviate their stress! And create a Facebook page to help guide users to your blog and other sites.
4. Keep all of your sites and information updated. Wedding and party trends ebb and flow, and you need to show possible customers that you’re up on the trends – and maybe even have a lot of great ideas of your own.

Getting out there, pounding the pavement, if you will, is definitely one way to grow your business. But to attract the Wired Generation you have to show them that your business is modern and growing. Being a successful wedding and event coordinator depends a lot on word of mouth, yes, but you want to attract business from every possible angle. And the Internet is an excellent place to begin.

http://bit.ly/bo0vXD

MAY 19, 2010

Internet marketing open a new door for students and house wife to earn extra income. It also open new possibilities in promoting online and traditional businesses. If you are looking for less expensive marketing strategy then internet marketing is the answer. Aside from the fact that it is inexpensive it can reach a huge, precisely targeted audience. Because of internet, geographic barriers are no longer a problem to do an international businesses. You can now sell your products and services via web from any country. Your costumer can shop now even from the comfort of your own home.

Article writing and submission is a one way of marketing your product. You do not have to advertise or promote your product from your articles. There are some article directories that allow or give you resource box to post your link to your web site or blog. It is very important that you will write or create an article that has unique content. Observe proper grammar because it will attract more readers and in this case there is a big possibility that this reader will click the link in your resource box that will lead them to your own site.

Directory Listings is another way to promote your web site. Directory submission is no way one most effective way nowadays to promote your website and improve search engine rankings. Good thing about directories is they also supply their links and data to other websites databases and yes to some search engine databases.

Networking and link exchange is building links to your website from other websites . Link popularity can affect your site’s search engine ranking. While you network, consider registering with a link exchange service to quickly generate more links pointing to your site. Networking and link exchange can take time to show benefits.

The first purpose of search engine optimization is to be positioned in the places where your customer is. The second purpose is to be positioned better than your competitions in these places. Search engines are the market makers of the Internet. They connect consumers with providers at the very moment of consumer interest and enable all of us to find exactly what we want, when we want it.

Wedding trends don’t stop at fashion, you know. There is all the food to be considered! And to be honest it’s the food that guests really remember: Was there enough? Was there a good variety? Was it really, really tasty? Every bridal couple wants to offer their guests a fabulous time, and near the top of their to-do list will be Find The Perfect Caterer. That’s where you come in. Certified wedding and event planners are the go-to people in town when it comes to finding the best caterer for the best price. So while you’ve filled your files with the names of the top vendors in your area it’s also a good idea to start a catering trends folder. Here are some of our favorite food finds for 2010:

1) Going Local! Bridal couples – and caterers – across the country are all about local food finds this year. Being a “locavore” is really an outgrowth ofGoing Green. Serving foods that are fresh and in-season can be cheaper because they’re plentiful at shops and farmers markets. They’re also going to taste best! Consider what the area is known for and the ethnic backgrounds of your couples. Talking about these options with a caterer will be a sure way to make reception food not only fresh and tasty but also representative of the couple. It’s just one of those details that wedding and event coordinators are expected to bring about!

Photo courtesy of voila-catering.com

2) Eating Family Style. Couples are all about the familial aspect of weddings right now, as we all know. A lot of them are falling in love with the idea of their guests crowding around tables and eating family-style. This means passing the food to each other and sharing in the breaking of bread. It’s a time-honored tradition in our own homes so why not introduce it to a wedding reception? While it’s not a great idea for huge weddings it is a great idea for smaller, intimate receptions.

3) It’s All About Organic. And maybe vegetarian! Just like being a locavore is about Going Green, couples are very interested in knowing how their food is grown and where it comes from. They want to treat their guests as VIPs – and they want their food offerings to show it! Going organic can be expensive when it comes to meat options so couples are also looking at vegetarian ideas. Having one meat option, along with a few vegetarian ones, makes it possible to serve fabulous dishes with fabulous and organic ingredients.

4) Food Stations. They’re still hot. (And still a bit expensive so be sure to consider the budget before you offer this suggestion!) Setting the food out in groups, separated by cuisines, is a great way to insure that first, the decor of the room is going to be incredible and two, guests are going to get up and mingle. Who wants to sit in a chair all night? We think a Food From Around the World reception would be amazing!

5) Custom cocktails. While this trend has been around a few years we think it’s here to stay. Couples are asking for cocktails in their signature wedding colors. They want cocktails reminiscent of the areas where they grew up – think mint juleps for Kentuckians; cosmos for New Yorkers; and mojitos for couples from Miami.

6) Dessert Buffets. Dessert tables are all the rage right now – and with good reason! Bridal couples want to leave their guests with sweet dreams, and what better way is there to do so than offer up a ton of dessert? Amy Atlas-inspired tables are cropping up at receptions all across the U.S.Macarons in the wedding colors are pouring out of bakeries. And candy buffets are being set up at weddings of every budget. Sugar is fun! And you’re unlikely to encounter a couple who isn’t willing to set the bar a little higher for their sweets budget!

Catering trends ebb and flow from year to year, with the exception of a few, lasting ideas. What are your couples requesting? What fabulous ideas are your caterers offering?

VirtualSocialMedia

http://bit.ly/cxmofa

by Admin on May 17, 2010

Social networking sites enables to bridge the communication gap between two or more people living at distant places. It allows you to connect or relate with group or system that shares the same values or ideas on a particular subject. Therefore, it is known as networking sites as it helps you to exchange ideas and thoughts easily within seconds to other people easily.

Listed below are some of the advantages of using social networking sites for all age groups. 1. Building and maintaining friendship with people who has never met before. 2. Advising people or solving problems mentioned in any of the forums 3. Sending personal messages within seconds to the person sitting at distant places 4. Creating and sharing online collages with friends and family via social sites 5. Creating blogs to track the record of good or bad moments 6. Sharing the same blogs with relatives and friends by providing links to them 7. Companies use these social sites for publicity and promotion. 8. News channels update the public by providing recent and up-to-date information about events. The social networking sites are open to all and therefore, it can put you in danger if used incorrectly. Few of the disadvantages are listed below of social networking sites. These are: 1. Sometimes, sharing personal information with others can put you at risk 2. Availability of private information can lead to stolen identity 3. Stalkers and sexual offenders can trouble you by using the information available on your profile. 4. Fake advertisements can invite unwanted viruses and spywares to your computer 5. Professional companies can refer your online profile while judging you at the time of the interview.

Therefore, it is necessary to understand that an online community is like a room filled with different people. You must reveal suitable information about yourself that doesn’t affect your personal and professional life. Moreover, you must use the option of privacy for restricting the entry of outsiders or unknown members.

Cause marketing involves a partnership between a business and a non-profit organization for the benefit of both parties. Not only does cause marketing increase exposure and awareness for both the for-profit business and the non-profit organization, but cause marketing can also:

• Increase brand loyalty
• Boost sales
• Generate positive press coverage and company reviews
• Differentiate your business from the competition

Of course, the non-profit stands to benefit from cause marketing as well. They have the opportunity to expand awareness of the cause, increasing fundraising and public support.

Since cause marketing involves partnering with a charitable organization and doing something marketing-worthy, you need to think in terms of what your business does and how you can tie it into the goals of a non-profit. Here are some ideas to get you thinking in terms of doing good for the good of your business.

• Join a structured giving campaign like 1% for the Planet that helps you donate a set percentage of sales to a charitable cause
• Launch a co-branded marketing campaign with a local non-profit for an upcoming event
• Pick a charity and add a “make a donation” option to your checkout process
• Adopt a local cause and provide pro bono design work to solidify their own marketing efforts

Have you considered using cause marketing to make a difference with your business?

By Alyssa Gregory on 13-Apr-2010