Business Building Principle 101: Take Very Good Care of the Customers You Have While Marketing For New Ones

I am a frequent traveler and have earned status with United Air. I also  have a significant number of points with Continental Air. I have been looking forward to combining all of that into one account. Beyond that I simply want the continual ease of booking reservations and  online check in. I particularly enjoy having my boarding pass available on my iPhone when it is not convenient for me to print one out.

Overall United treats me well and they take the opportunity to let passengers know on each flight their advancements and plans for new equipment and technology. With all that marketing promotion I am surprised at how poorly the systems conversion this past weekend was handled. Specifically,

There was not advance communication of this conversion along with contingency plans in the event of any snags.

There is no information that I have found on the combining of frequent flyer accounts.

Saturday when I was trying to simply confirm my Sunday morning flight and retrieve my boarding pass I could not. I read a message to get to the gate early which is not very comforting. I also noticed a number to call for help. I did call and it took 40 minutes for the call to be answered. While on hold I heard more than 20 times a prerecorded message that United was investing 500 million in new equipment. I wanted to scream ..invest a few bucks in people staffing the phones so customers can be helped. Once connected it took another 10 minutes for the issue to be resolved…which thankfully it was.  Normally it takes me about 2-5 minutes to log in, check in and confirm my boarding pass so 50 minutes was not fun.

Now that I am able to see my account under the new system I noticed today the payment information and some of my profile information is gone. I have to re-enter it.  I noticed there is no evidence of my frequent flyer accounts being merged.  There is not communication on these items. In fact there was nothing more than a press release this morning saying this merger was largely successful.

United Airlines Should Fire The Executive Responsible For Customer Relations!

Other business owners use this example of what not to do and more specifically when you have major changes planned over communicate with your customers and set up contingency systems should things not go according to plan. This is fundamental…United Airlines did not ask me in advance.  I am telling you now!!

Steve Pohlit

International Business Development Consulting
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This is about an amazing opportunity and it is not about Bill Bartmann’s buy bad loan portfolio strategy detailed in Buyout Riches.  That is the topic of separate articles.

Of course I know this is an amazing opportunity because I have been working with this situation for over three months. I know the markets, the business, the customers, the key people who will implement the solution that I crafted.

Personally, I would write the check for this entire deal like yesterday. I know there one or more resources who will recognize this a jump on it.  What is it?

This is a family owned business that is 107 years old.  The company has developed a product line in a specialty niche of a much larger market. However the market segment for this niche is estimated to be about a billion dollars in the US alone. Now I know this word …billion… is used a lot and soon we won’t pay attention unless the headline has trillion in it.  Think I am kidding.

Today the WSJ released a report that Michael Jackson has sold 2.3 million albums in four days since his death. The reaction is ..so!  We are conditioned by so many numbers many have no meaning.   Back to the 107 year old company:

They contacted me in March and said they needed help. I don’t have much time to tell all the details right now  so let’s “cut to the chase”  I quickly determined that this business had experienced a series of  unique events that drained them of cash. But unlike nearly every other business I had seen, this company has what every business would die for. This company has a large hungrey crowd for their product and the revenue and gross margins from this business are very very strong.

So most people cannot understand how this picture can turn to where a receiver is appointed by the courts and the company is targeted to be liquidated. With the help of Bill Bartmann I have a fairly good understanding.  More importantly, using my radar and following Bill’s advice of being able to recognize opportunities, I see the upside here and it is very significant. Let me repeat this …the upside is very significant and I see minimal downside.

If you want to know more and if you are able to act fast and if writing a check for $50k or $1.5 mil. does not cause your heart to skip a beat, contact me for all the details. Don’t email me, call me at 727-587-7871. That is my direct line but you most likely will need to leave a message and I will get back to you fast.

Sharing with all my readers the energy of peace, happiness and abundance

Steve Pohlit, Expert Business Consulting

Email Me, Steve Pohlit to schedule A No Obligation Consultation On Building Your Business Profits.Need more customers? Let’s discuss how to use cutting edge Social Media Marketing in the revenue building cycle of your business to drive your profits sky high. If  your company is not growing revenue and profits,  if your company is not cash flow positive Click Here for more information about Turnaround Consulting Services for Business In Crisis

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About: Steve Pohlit is a CPA,MBA and has been the CFO of several major domestic and international companies.  Steve is business owner and an expert business consultant, direct response and social media marketing  and social networking security expert . Steve is  focused on helping companies improve their business performance. All articles published by Steve unless specifically restricted may be freely published with this resource information.

I recently published an article on how buying a business or selling part of a business can add significant value to your business.  Click Here for that artcle and special report.  Buying or Selling an Internet Business or Domain Names warrants separate information since in most instances the basis for valuation are different. 

Click Here To See A Private Offering of Internet Businesses and Domain Names – List Is Growing and Updated Daily. You are welcome to list your Internet Business and Domain Names for FREE

Here are the primary considerations for valuing an Internet Business and domain names:

Internet Business Valuation

The difference between an Internet Business and a stand alone Domain Name is that one is generating traffic and possibly revenue and profits and the other is not. 

Internet Business Valuation is similar to a traditional business valuation. Consideration is given to physical asset value, customer base information, trends in revenue and profits. The primary goodwill asset is the domain name and active customer base.  Valuation specialists are numersous.  However, many have never operated their own internet business and many have minimal business experience. I started an internet service provider busiess in 1995. I have extensive business experience on line and off line. Normally I can offer you an idea of valuation fairly quickly then you can decide if you would like my assistance in due dilligence and negotiating a deal.  

Domain Name Valuation 

Admittedly valuing a domain name can be challenging when there is no business attached to it. However, there are precidents.  For example a low number of letters attached to a dot com extension are generally very valuable.  I have several of these on the market at Buy or Sell A Business.  Domains associated with hot markets and topics command a higher prices. These domains have highly searched keywords in their names.  

If anyone gives you a definitive statement as to value, unless they are wiring you the cash in connection with a statement you find favorable, I advise exiting that converstation very fast. Many brokers are interested in the listing and then will come back and tell you the market has changed and say you will have to accept a lower price.   Not all are that way since a quality broker will be working to get you the highest price if their fee is based as a percentage of the selling price.   I am not a broker. I provide my site as an painless way to list your domains and if there is deal as a result of that listing, a very reasonalbe referral fee can be paid.  I also do not restrict you from listing your domain elsewhere – your domain is not parked on my server.

Sending all my readers the energy of wellness, peace and abundance

Steve Pohlit,  www.StevePohlit.com

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

Steve is the President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate. Don’t miss my FREE Report: How To Make More Money With Your Business Now and Long Term I am building my practice and welcome new client inquiries. Call me for a fee consultation at 727-587-7871 

This report may be freely distributed without restrictions with the original content including this resource box remaining unchanged. Author: Steve Pohlit, Business Consulting Services, Executive Coaching, please visit www.stevepohlit.com

The number one reason for buying any business is you are able to acquire value faster that what it would take for you to build it.  There are usually always deals that can increase your sales and profits by acquiring a company. In a turbulent economy there are usually more opportunities than normal.  

If you are a business expanding through acquisitions,  there are also economic benefits of combining functions that can successfully support a much larger business. Typically systems support and administrative functions can be streamlined to reduce the expense structure.  

There is no value to economic streamlining of  the cost structure  if the immediate attention needed on the customer base is ignored. Consider this example: you are business who has had a service relationship with a certain suppier for say 5 years. Now the supplier is purchased and the customer service support structure changes and the reltionship is weakened or lost.  (Do you know anyone who was a Nextel customer and has a postive story following the acquisition by Sprint? ) Without an laser beam focus on customer retention, the economic gain of administrative synergies following an acqusition are soon wiped out.  

Please Click Here For My FREE Report on The Key Issues That  Must Be Addressed Before Buying a Business of Any Size

What does this have to do with divestitures?  When you prioritize your resource allocation, sometimes it makes a lot of sense to sell a product line or division.  If a part of your business is divertiing your attention from your core, selling it should be considered.  As for selling the entire business the reasons are many and will be covered in a separate report.  

Email Me or Call Me Steve Pohlit at 727-587-7871for No Obilgation Consultation

If you are considering divesting of part or all of your business, I highly recommend contacting a firm that will give you independent council on positioning the sale.  You will want an objective evaluation of the strengths of what you are selling.  Often I find opportunities strenghening the performance of the component targeted for divestiture.  My most notable success story was helping a company achieve double their asking price.  The value of that increase was $850,000 and that was achieved in less than three months of work while negotiatiing the sale.  
I have in process a report on The Key Issues That Must be Addressed Before Selling All or Part of Your Business. Click Here to send me an email to let me know of your interest and I will send it to you when it is released. 

Buying or Selling An Internet Business or Domain Names 

Click Here for This Special Article

Sending all my readers the energy of wellness, peace and abundance

Steve Pohlit,  www.StevePohlit.com

Network with me on Facebook: LinkedIn: Follow me on Twitter

Steve is the President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate. Don’t miss my FREE Report: How To Make More Money With Your Business Now and Long Term I am building my practice and welcome new client inquiries. Call me for a fee consultation at 727-587-7871 

This report may be freely distributed without restrictions with the original content including this resource box remaining unchanged. Author: Steve Pohlit, Business Consulting Services, Executive Coaching, please visit www.stevepohlit.com

Just Released from my new business consulting site: The Key Issues That Must Be Addressed Before You Buy Any Business of Any Size.

Click Here For The Free Report

Steve Pohlit
http://www.stevereports.com

Steve is the President of International Business Consulting Resources. His firm specializes in guiding companies to rapid increases in revenue and profits with a sustainable growth rate. Don’t miss my FREE Report: How To Make More Money With Your Business Now and Long Term I am building my practice and welcome new client inquiries. Call me for a fee consultation at 727-587-7871 Remember many of my business building articles can be found at Steve Reports and my prosperity building tool (best tool ever for helping you manifest your goals and dreams) is The Prosperity Tool Chest and guiding articles posted very often at Prosperity Tip