I’ve just watched a video from USA Today, and I think there’s a wealth of useful tips coming from two prolific business leaders, Angie Hicks of Angie’s List and Fran Tankerton, ex-NFL player who is now the owner of 20 businesses – as well as some advice from Jack Dorsey, Co-founder of Twitter and Square. The tips evolve around how to deal with bad customer reviews and how to be a successful entrepreneur.
To recap, here are some advice I take from the video and the article intro, so you can benefit it greatly (and quickly!) Here they go:
Advice from Angie Hicks, Co-founder of Angie’s List…
- Wait and calm yourself before responding to negative customer reviews – otherwise, you will only worsen things. You may vent out at your office – anywhere you want, in fact… but when you are typing a response to the review, be sure you are well-composed.
- Review sites can help your business a lot, as they take the traditional words of mouth marketing online. Start focusing your attention to them and track reviews on your business – both good and bad.
Advice from Fran Tankerton, serial entrepreneur who has started 20 businesses since retiring from the NFL…
- Be desperate – put your back behind a wall. When you are desperate, you will give 110 percent.
- Want success? Take an active role – don’t sit on the bench. Watching the game from the sideline might be fun, but you will find success when you actually play in the game.
- It’s all about mindset – make a habit of creative thinking, such as “how can I get one customer today”… “how can I help people more” – on daily basis.
- Entrepreneurs don’t retire – make it a lifestyle, and make it exciting by challenging yourself every day.
More advice from the USA Today’s recent small business advice article
Advice from Jack Dorsey, Co-founder of Twitter and Square
- Communicate with your employees clearly and make sure your employees – especially those from different departments – communicate well with one another.
- In order to achieve the above, business owners need to make communication simpler within the organization.
- Start a small business offering people a simpler option to do things – just like Jack’s Square, a credit and debit card reader for tablets and smartphones.
Takeaway
To recap the advice from the three business leaders above, if you want your small business to be successful, you need to challenge yourself every day, to be able to communicate well with your team members, as well as to become PR-savvy, especially when it comes to bad customer reviews.
Read more about the interviews here.
