Should you be in business?

Just because you are good at what you do – doesn’t mean you should be in business.

I want to tell you about an experience I am still currently undergoing. I decided to expand my skills and learn about xyz. (names will be changed as the situation is still current)

So I’d heard of MRS XYZ – the best in her field. I’d been following her for a while now, reading newsletters etc.

I thought I’d give one of her products a whirl. So I go looking through the website – find all these great testimonials. Fantastic – makes me think that these skills that I am going to learn are worth whatever amount I will pay. Find plenty of coaching tools, but no real online learning course – which is what I’m after right now.

So I send an email, just asking if there is anything like what I’m after. I get a reply within a few hours. “Yes, Emma, we have xyz program – you’ll find it here”. Gives me the link. That’s about it.  So I go into the link, read all about the program (which mind you is somewhere listed on the website…I probably wouldn’t find it without the link given to me).

Costs a few hundred dollars to purchase. From what I’ve been reading about MRS XYZ,  she has some fantastic knowledge and charges upwards of $9,000 for her time. So I kind of think that this price for this course is pretty reasonable.

So I buy it.

I get the usual automated emails – thanks for your purchase etc. One of them comes from a different person with the same surname – MR XYZ I’m presuming??? In this email I have a link to click on to enter some details about me and access my course information.

Link doesn’t work.

The page acutually says that the information is now out of date, but wait whilst you get transferred to the new site….. hmm, I’m still waiting. The redirection doesn’t work.

So this is Monday 18th. I purchase and get this email. So I send email back -no response. That’s ok, must be an automated email address. So I send one to MRS XYZ explaining that the link that you have given me is not working.

No response.

Tuesday rolls around and I get a generic email from MRS ZYX promoting something else. Ok, so it appears that she is still working ,and her email still works…. where is my response?

Finally get a reply late Wednesday afternoon – ’sorry about that Emma, we will have it fixed tonight for you”

Excellent, thanks heaps!

Thursday morning, log in and…. link still not working.

I try it again later wondering if there is some kind of time delay as she said it would be fixed last night. Still not working.

Another email gets sent  -”Hi, just letting you know the link is not working. Can you check it out please” Still very polite at this stage, because of the fantastic reputation of this person.

No reply, so I thought it was about time that I phoned. Tried the contact number on the bottom of the purchase email – “The phone number you have called is not connected. Please check the number and try again…” Hmm, not very promising… By this stage, I am starting to get midly annoyed that it is so hard to access what I had paid for.

I troll through the website looking for another number. Ring it….. Get a message bank. Yet another strike… So I leave a message, just kindly stating that the link is still not working, and I’ve not had any response from my emails, can you please call me back. Leave my mobile number.

No call back.

I receive absolutely no response until Sat arvo – with a brand new email giving me a new website link, with some login details. No acknowledgement that I took the time to ring, or sorry for not returning my call… nothing. Competely ignored it.

So I go to log in – need a password… guess what.

I don’t have one! So another email gets sent on Sunday.

It is now Tuesday lunchtime, and I still do not have a response. Have I complained to them as yet? No. I’ve written this blog post instead. I will also have no hesitation in naming the person should they not respond to the latest email.

So, even though you are great at what you do, which I have no doubt whatsoever that MRS XYZ is fantastic at what she does… she shouldn’t be in business. Not with this kind of service.

The answer for her, is to get an office manager. Get someone else to the be the front of the business because at this point in time, in my opinion, her business shouldn’t be operating.

I’m on the verge of asking for my money back… and will do should I not get what I paid for very soon. Mind you, there are other people out there who have the same business, who offer a very similiar program to this one. I feel like I’m being pushed to their business rather than hers….

I think I’ve given MRS XYZ and her product enough chances – do you?

LED Sheep – Great Publicity Tactic

I absolutely love this video, it’s such a great marketing and pr tactic.

And yes, it was such hard work, but the guys had soo much fun by the looks of it!

(hmm, not sure about the sheep though…!)

Small Business Marketing Strategies – Email Marketing

Best Marketing Strategies from Apr

• Public Relations – How does it work?
  Posted on Monday, April 20th, 2009 in publicity – Comments: (0)
  Publicity and writing press releases can yield plenty of new customers to your business. The best thing is that, done correctly, a publicity campaign can be completely free! Learn how the publicity experts do it.I was recently lucky enough to be part of a brainstorming session conducted by a professional and very successful Public Relations Expert. I want to share some of the information that came out of that session – tips used by the experts themselves to get their clients’ media releases read, and published.Spread the NewsMake your press release say something. No one wants to read boring articles, so make sure your media release is actually newsworthy. Simply stating that your business is open, won’t cut it. (Unless of course the place that publishes it have no readership and nothing else to report on!) Have an event such as a grand opening. Many companies have a grand opening or a special day where they use a gimmick of some sort and invite the media to come along.
• Top Marketing Strategies – April 9, 2009
  Posted on Thursday, April 9th, 2009 in Marketing Strategies – Comments: (0)
  First, tenApril 2, 2009 – This is so simple, it’s amazing!!
• Top Marketing Strategies – April 2, 2009
  Posted on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 in Marketing Strategies – Comments: (0)
  Is marketing evil?March 26, 2009 Timeless Marketing Tool: The Power Of TestimonialsMarch 26, 2009 – Testimonials will always be one of the best marketing strategies to use…What is attraction marketing?March 26, 2009 – Many newcomers to the business arena find this type of marketing very refreshing. Gone are the pushy door to door or telemarketing…Tips for writing marketing materialMarch 26, 2009 – Fantastic ideas here on writing your own marketing stuff.
• Marketing Strategies – April 9th, 2009
  Posted on Thursday, April 9th, 2009 in general – Comments: (0)
  Welcome to the April 9, 2009 edition of marketing strategies.If you’re looking for plenty of marketing tips and strategies to use in your business, why not check out the Marketing Kit? At only $11, it’s a bargain considering it has tools such as Press Release templates, SWOT analysis templates, plus pages and pages of no cost marketing strategies!! Get yours now! Social MediaJordan presents Use Twitter To Make Money For Yourself/Business posted at Jordan’s Internet Marketing Guide, saying, “Thanks!”SEO TipsLee McCoy presents Keyword Density Tips posted at The Secret Affiliate Society, saying, “I will run through the most common questions as best I can, but please keep in mind that Keyword Density is not an exact science, or at least the formula has not been cracked yet. The information I will provide is based on my own experiences, success and failures.”Email MarketingDebbie Ducker presents Create Powerful Viral E-Mail by Using Humor posted at Ducker Promotion Ezine, saying, “include humor in your e-mail ad campaigns”BloggingNicholas Powiull presents Conscious Flex: How to Live Your Passion (How I Became a Fulltime Blogger) posted at Conscious Flex, saying, “Many people have emailed me about my new opportunity in becoming a fulltime blogger.