Category Archives: HR

Top 10 Businesses Using Chatbot A.I Technology and Why by Diane Shawe

Posted on July 2, 2022 | Leave a comment

Businesses, Enterprises, Organisations of all sizes and legal formats now find themselves post pandemic with increased online activity from current and new customers wanting information, customer services, services fulfilment and much more at an all time high.

As a result of this the last few years have set up scenarios where businesses and customers are mutually ready to adopt conversational automation.

On one hand, conversational A.I offers personalised interactions, faster replies, improved customer service, and easy purchase flow for customers.
How to order your first chatbot
Businesses can use an artificial intelligence chatbot to boost lead quality, reduce support costs, increase customer loyalty, and gain more sales.


A.I Chatbot for Business: Industry reports that today, just being present online is not enough. Businesses need to provide a 24/7 conversational availability, which is what customers expect across messaging platforms, social networks, websites, and other digital channels.

Virtual Speedy Services has looked at the top ten industries that are 
adopted conversational AI on various social media platforms like facebook,  WhatsApp, Instagram or providing a link instead of their business website.


1. Social Media influencers

There is a growing number of social media influencers who have now amassed a huge following sometimes in the millions.  In order to stay connected with their fans and streamline any endorsements, products or promotions they can stay fully connected in real time with their followers using A.I. Chatbot technology.

 

2. Using conversational A.I for e-commerce


The e-commerce industry is on a roll with exponential sales growth. The worldwide e-commerce retail sales amounted to £3.00 trillion in 2019, which is expected to reach £6.00 trillion by 2024.

Despite this growth rate, e-commerce businesses are struggling to maintain their sales cycle with traditional channels such as social media, emails, and phone calls. Not more than 1-3% visitors feel engaged enough to fill those static forms. If you also rely on these platforms, you must be struggling with the same problem.

Relying only on the human-driven sales and support system which are becoming more and more expensive can’t lead a business to success at profitable scale.  E-commerce brands such as Shopify giant brands have created a new form of transformative digital customer experience with A.I chatbot.

Conversational A.I is helping e-commerce companies to

  • Capture and qualify leads faster
  • Create shorter sales cycles
  • Provide cross-platform support
  • Save time
  • Making more money

Get AI Chatbot for E-Commerce Now

3. Customer Services and Human resource

Every company needs a smoothly running HR department to ensure long-term success. During the process of recruitment, HR managers have to take care of hundreds of activities. And the success of those activities defines the future of a company. Finding the right candidates, ensuring policy compliance, resolving queries and conflicts- all these activities ensure that a business can run without any interruption.

Many organisations have started using conversational A.I for futuristic and proactive HR activities. Companies that use artificial intelligence for HR are able to increase their productivity by 45%. HR teams are saving almost half of their time usually spent on managing talent and answering repeative questions and queries. Hence, they can spend more time strategising, planning, developing, and recruiting talent.


With A.I deployed to your Customer services and  HR activities, you can-

  • Attract more relevant prospective candidates
  • Reduce the hours spent and scale up the recruitment process
  • Qualify candidates based on automated background checks
  • Answer their questions with personalized interactions
  • Help candidates with paperwork, onboarding, and company policies
  • And more!

With Virtual Speedy Services, you can adopt an A.I-powered Customer Services or HR chatbot for more human-like engagement of candidates, customers and employees. An A.I that can find what they  want in real-time and help them instantly rather than letting them go through an endless cycle of emails.

Get an AI chatbot for HR Now

4. Conversational A.I for Distribution and Manufacturing

The distribution and manufacturing industry involves large-scale customer queries and operations. Manually handling interactions causes reduced results due to delayed responses and inefficient processes. With everyone having a mobile phone to hand they react by calling instantly when wanting assistance

To match the scale of manufacturing, enterprises are deploying AI in their digital conversations. Various tasks across marketing, sales, and support are being automated using AI chatbots for business.


Using Virtual Speedy Services conversational A.I platform, your manufacturing business can-

  • Run conversational marketing for more qualified leads
  • Take care of supplies and inventory with AI-enabled ERPs and legacy systems
  • Automate 90% of repetitive customer support queries
  • Offer personalized product advisory
  • Send useful updates and delivery alerts


Get an AI Chatbot for Manufacturing Now!


5. Healthcare industry

It’s hard enough for doctors and nurses to ensure accuracy in every minute detail of their jobs. At the same time, they have to invest 1/6th of their working hours into administrative work. For instance, even the small task of arranging doctor’s appointments requires a lot of attention. Any mistake during manual entries can result in serious problems for patients.

Thankfully, now your hospital staff can automate many such tasks with A.I-powered chatbots. Instead of manually filling forms, hospital staff can simply let the self-service A.I bot schedule meetings for patients as per the available time slots and much more.

Conversational A.I can offer complete automation to the healthcare front-office. Patients don’t have to rely on calling the staff to get information or wait for responses regarding transfer requests, discharge, and consultation requirements. Everything is processed and conveyed by an A.I-enabled virtual assistant.

With AI there for patients 24*7, hospitals can send on-time alerts and receive urgent requests to respond without any delay. AI bots are designed to update records, manage medical history of every patient, notify them about prescription refills.


Get an AI Chatbot for Healthcare Now


6. Conversational AI for estate Agents

Every prospective customer adds a big amount of money to an estate agency’s revenue. So, businesses can’t afford to lose those leads on social media and websites due to the nonresponsive approach or abandonment due to waiting too long..

Beautiful images and too much information can’t do the trick if customers want to ask questions for quick and relevant answers. In that case, they’re likely to enjoy an instant conversation with A.I that understands their requirements, rather than browsing through the long web pages.

Virtual Speedy Services can give that ability to estate agents businesses with conversational A.I, so they can have more qualified leads ready for nurturing and more satisfied clients.

Get an AI Chatbot for Travel Agents Now


7. Travel & hospitality industry

In the travel and hospitality industry, businesses work for 8 hours while customers wish for assistance 24*7. This presents the challenge of losing more than half of your potential customers. Even the best of contact forms on your web pages can’t give you more than 1 to 2 percent of sales.

An A.I chatbot, on the other hand, lets you engage potential leads, qualify them, and convert them into sales. Not only that, but conversational A.I can also be there to answer customer queries 24*7 to enhance their travel experience without you lifting a finger.

Get an AI Chatbot for Travel & Hospitality Now

8. Conversational A.I for car industry

For car dealerships, maintaining an ongoing relationship with customers is a must to keep on receiving revenue by fulfilling maintenance and repair requirements. At the same time, they need to ensure that no prospect goes away due to complications or wrong information.

Without any conversational automation, car dealerships struggle to capture leads and convince them to book a test drive due to delayed or no response. Often customers choose multiple channels to connect with a dealership and feel frustrated if they are restricted to a single channel for conversation.

So, automobile dealerships are now transforming their approach with AI-powered chatbots by integrating them across multiple channels for a unified customer experience. They are using the predictive intelligence and data segmentation capabilities of AI to find, track, and nurture leads.

Get an AI Chatbot for Automobile Now
Chatbot help with conversational marketing

Visit https://www.virtualspeedyservices.biz/view-sample-chat-bots

9. Education industry

The year 2020 was an eye-opener for many institutions that neglected the digital student experience for a long time. From primary schools to higher education institutions, all are now trying to establish a digital presence that can manage the immediate requirements for information by student.

A.I chatbots can help educational institutes:

  • Improve the quality of student query support
  • Increase admissions with conversational academic marketing
  • Employ AI as a digital PR asses
  • And more!


Get an AI Chatbot for Education Now!
10. Conversational AI for insurance

Attractive landing pages and regular social media promotion can’t do much if an instant conversation isn’t possible in the insurance industry. People decide to buy insurance from a company that gives them top-notch experience, answers questions, and resolves confusion.

To enable such prompt service and support, insurance companies now adopting conversational A.I. Instant interactions are improving engagement on websites, social media, and digital ads. Using this 24*7 availability, insurance companies are able to-

  • Generate more qualified leads
  • Provide policy advisory to customers
  • Send personalized notifications
  • Assist with the policy claim
  • Handling other complex queries faster than ever


Get an AI Chatbot for Insurance Now

In Conclusion

With a conversational A.I platform, you can generate leads on every channel and simultaneously nurture those leads with personalised interactions and help with transactional activities 24*7.  But in todays world not everything is about leads.

Callers usually have questions, problems or want some information which is often hard to navigate via a mobile phone on a website.

It was statistically proven that most people respond to text messaging or prefer to engage in messaging on their phones, this is one of the main reasons why A.I conversational technology is proving popular

To have such a conversational A.I for your business, click here to chat and share your business details.
Or, sign-up for a FREE DEMO to see how an advanced conversational A.I chatbot performs 90% of regular business activities without any human involvement.

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10 Ways to Boost your Hair Extensions Business by Diane Shawe

Posted on January 16, 2019 | Leave a comment

Article by Diane Shawe Author: Extracts from Getting Started in the Hair Extensions Business

Sometimes you find things are going great and then the big slump takes a hold. How can you evaluate what you have done right and where you are going wrong?

Doing a SWOT analysis will give you a true picture of how your hair extension business could or should be running. It is essential to work out why some things are working in your business and why some are

SWOT stands for ‘strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats’. It is a well-known term in business and marketing. Performing a SWOT analysis is a very important part of running the business. It must be taken seriously

It is your own audit of your business no matter the size of it and should be done on a regular basis, at least annually. It’s not very complicated but could help keep you ahead of your competitors.

You may discover problems that you had no idea even existed. These can be addressed before they get out of hand. It will also highlight many assets, which could be utilised better, even opportunities, which could be taken advantage of.

The results of your SWOT analysis will be the basis for your marketing plans and decisions.

‘What they don’t tell you about getting started in the hair extension business’ summary from page 20 – 35 author Shawe D 2007

1) Form business alliances

Join up with other businesses to help each other build a bigger clientele.

Form an alliance with another business that has the same type of clientele as yours, for instance a business which involves beauty, nails, tanning, or fashion.

You can take this alliance as far as you like. You could set up shop together, or just refer clients to each other. You could do some advertising together and share the cost. Another idea is to hand out gift vouchers for each other. Each gift voucher could be for a free service.

It’s best if you both cater to clients who are at the same end of the market.

There’s not much point in marketing to people who simply can’t afford to come to your hair extension studio or pay for your services.
2. Choosing a Business

Choose a business where the people have the same business ethics as yours and a good database of clients.

3) Network

Throw the occasional cocktail party and invite the surrounding business owners, managers and employees of your choice. If you can build relationships with these people you may gain them as clients. Remember most men have girlfriends or wives and most women have other lady friends also.

They might also refer some of their customers and friends to you. Do this especially with the staff of beauty and fashion shops in your area. They are ideal people to get referrals from.
4) Get Quality Training

There are over 36 different hair extension techniques in the market place. If you really want to plan to be a success in this market, then you have to choose to become totally proficient in several techniques. There are many types of clients out there with varying hair problems, plan to be of service to you target market. Restricting yourself is restricting your potential income.

5) Be Classy (even if your working from home)

It’s best to set your hair extension studio up so that the right impact is made right from the moment the clients make an entrance or you make an entrance. Remember that the more professional the hair extension studio looks, the more you will be able to charge, as you will attract a more up market clientele. I always advise that the overall look must not out way the warmth and welcome of the studio. Clients like to feel relaxed with the staff and environment, not as if they are on show.
6) Flowers at reception or at your home always add a touch of class.

So does a smiling face, which helps to make each client’s, visit a welcoming visit right from the start. You can make the waiting area more impressive by including a great retail area, some hair extension brochures, and a book containing before and after photos. Provide some new, interesting magazines and hair books. Toss the old or torn ones out.
7) Always protect the clients clothing.

There should be a cupboard or rack for coats, or like some hair dressers have, a small dressing room for clients, who are given a gown to wear. This is a great idea as it removes the problem of high collars being in the way and clothes being ruined.

8) Get rid of shabby items.

Make sure there is a place for everything and enough storage space, so that the hair extension studio can be kept tidy. Get rid of the old wraps, used or shabby towels, and worn brushes. Never have dirty combs or tongs lying around. All of these things make a bad impression on clients.
9) No Carrier bags or damaged cases.

If you are mobile don’t turn up with carrier bags or a damaged beauty case. Make sure you are presentable and that your hair looks emaculate.
10) Don’t be afraid to change with the times.

If your hair extension studio starts to look outdated give it a facelift. Invest in the latest equipment. Make sure that the chairs not only look good, but also feel comfortable. If you are mobile make sure your equipment is up to date in line with your techniques.

The most valuable ebook for your hair extension business Click to order

What they don’t tell you Visit www.needahairmakeover.co to view a selection of 1 day courses.

Call us on 0121 318 2880 to discuss our courses we train in over 14 different techniques or if you would like to book an appointment to have your hair extensions done

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IQ scores are falling -It’s not that dumb people are having more kids than smart people

Posted on June 15, 2018 | 1 comment

IQ scores are falling and have been for decades, new study finds

Guest Blogger: Rory Smith, CNN

IQ scores have been steadily falling for the past few decades, and environmental factors are to blame, a new study says.

The research suggests that genes aren’t what’s driving the decline in IQ scores, according to the study, published Monday.
Norwegian researchers analysed the IQ scores of Norwegian men born between 1962 and 1

991 and found that scores increased by almost 3 percentage points each decade for those born between 1962 to 1975 — but then saw a steady decline among those born after 1975.

Similar studies in Denmark, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Finland and Estonia have demonstrated a similar downward trend in IQ scores, said Ole Rogeberg, a senior research fellow at the Ragnar Frisch Center for Economic Research in Norway and co-author of the new study.

“The causes in IQ increases over time and now the decline is due to environmental factors,” said Rogeburg, who believes the change is not due to genetics.
“It’s not that dumb people are having more kids than smart people, to put it crudely. It’s something to do with the environment, because we’re seeing the same differences within families,” he said.

These environmental factors could include changes in the education system and media environment, nutrition, reading less and being online more, Rogeberg said.

The earlier rise in IQ scores follows the “Flynn effect,” a term for the long-term increase in intelligence levels that occurred during the 21st century, arguably the result of better access to education, according to Stuart Ritchie, a postdoctoral fellow in cognitive ageing at the University of Edinburgh whose research explores IQ scores and intelligence and who was not involved in the new study.

Researchers have long preferred to use genes to explain variations in intelligence over environmental factors. However, the new study turns this thinking on its head.

Intelligence is heritable, and for a long time, researchers assumed that people with high IQ scores would have kids who also scored above average. Moreover, it was thought that people with lower scores would have more kids than people with high IQ scores, which would contribute to a decline in IQ scores over time and a “dumbing down” of the general population, according to Rogeberg.

Anyone who has seen the film “Idiocracy” might already be familiar with these ideas. In the scientific community, the idea of unintelligent parents having more kids and dumbing-down the population is known as the dysgenic fertility theory, according to Ritchie.

The study looked at the IQ scores of brothers who were born in different years. Researchers found that, instead of being similar as suggested by a genetic explanation, IQ scores often differed significantly between the siblings.

“The main exciting finding isn’t that there was a decline in IQ,” Ritchie said. “The interesting thing about this paper is that they were able to show a difference in IQ scores within the same families.”

The study not only showed IQ variance between children the same parents, but because the authors had the IQ scores of various parents, it demonstrated that parents with higher IQs tended to have more kids, ruling out the dysgenic fertility theory as a driver of falling IQ scores and highlighting the role of environmental factors instead.

What specific environmental factors cause changes in intelligence remains relatively unexplored.

Access to education is currently the most conclusive factor explaining disparities in intelligence, according to Ritchie. In a separate study that has not been released, he and his colleagues looked at existing research in an effort to demonstrate that staying in school longer directly equates to higher IQ scores.

But more research is needed to better understand other environmental factors thought to be linked to intelligence. Robin Morris, a professor of psychology at Kings College in London who was not involved in Ritchie’s research, suggests that traditional measures of intelligence, such as the IQ test, might be outmoded in today’s fast-paced world of constant technological change.

Morris states that “we need to recognise that as time changes and people are exposed to different intellectual experiences, such as changes in the use of technology, for example social media, the way intelligence is expressed also changes. Educational methods need to adapt to such changes,” Morris said.

Diane Shawe author of ‘Is Adult Education Broken” goes on to state in her publication that “No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is but the world as it will be.”

In her thought provoking book she explains that we are living in a new economy—powered by technology, fueled by information, and driven by knowledge which increasingly is increasingly becoming automated. We are entering the new century with opportunity on our side with huge problems that require new thinking.

How can we make the new economic age enhance, rather than diminish, our quality of learning?

How can we make this amazing innovation advance the prospects of all people especially those with experience and not just for the youth?

Fundamentally, we need to change what people learn, how people learn, when people learn, and even why people learn.

Inside her publication she explores

: Failure to find a fomular to develop teachers convergent and divergent facilitatingskills

: failure to consider cultural relevance

: failure to develop enterprising and entrepreneurial skills

: failure to prepare students about taking personal responsibility

: failure to encourage international engagement

:failure to manage growth of academic misconduct

Download your copy today https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BWBMGFM/

Finally a frightening statistic:

“If unemployment formed a country it would be the 5th largest in the world” Isaac Asimov

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Tips For Women Entrepreneurs on How To Avoid Feeling Isolated As A Small Business

Posted on April 21, 2018 | Leave a comment

Female entrepreneurs share how to avoid feeling isolated

Is Adult Education Broken by Diane Shawe Author (8)
‘Meeting up with mothers who were running small firms or freelancing made me feel connected to the real world again,’ says The Early Hour’s Anne Ridout
  •  Guest Blogger: Hajra Rahim 
 

Annie Ridout had a one-year-old daughter when she launched her digital magazine for mothers, The Early Hour, in 2015.
“The only time that I could commit to writing and doing admin was during the baby’s nap times and evenings,” she says.

It meant that she had no free time to socialise and spent most days at home, alone.

She was left feeling incredibly lonely and unmotivated, but all that changed when she started to attend some networking events, including Mothers Meeting and The Step Up Club.

“Meeting up with other mothers who were running small firms or freelancing made me feel connected to the real world again,” she says. “I had women to talk to, moan with and get ideas from.”

At first, Ms Ridout found it intimidating, but soon realised that the key to networking is arriving prepared. “Do some research beforehand about the theme or subject – and think about what can you offer around it,” she says.

Don’t forget to ask for contact details, she adds, explaining that it’s not enough to just hand your card out:

“Send an email after the event saying that it was so lovely to meet them and ask to stay in touch – and don’t worry about coming across too keen; people will almost always be pleased to hear from you.”

Find a mentor

For Victoria Usher, founder of GingerMay PR, leaving the buzz of
an office and the comradeship of colleagues was unsettling when she started her own communications firm:

“It was a shock to realise that time-consuming tasks, such as admin and finances, needed to be factored into my schedule.”

Not having people around to discuss problems with was hard, she admits: “I felt lonely at points; I missed having a team.”

To help her through, she found a mentor, Jo Butcher, whom she met while working for Dentsu Aegis.

“We had a weekly Skype call and she would help me with
everything from brainstorming ideas to sense-checking my work,” explains Ms Usher. “It was comforting to know that there was someone at the end of the phone who had gone through the same and had a successful business to show for it.”

When looking for a mentor, try to find someone who has run a business in a similar field, but has grown it much bigger, she advises. It also helps if they have worked in the same role as you, so they truly understand the pressures that you’re facing.

 

‘There were few people whom I could talk to about work,’ says Lenka Lutonska

Co-work with colleagues

Female business coach, Lenka Lutonska, thinks women in particular feel lonely when starting-up because they crave emotional connections with others – and that can be hard when working alone.

“When I started out, friends did not understand why I would leave a well-paid job, sell my house and sacrifice my lifestyle, only to work on a business with very little income,” she says. “There were few people whom I could talk to about work; my computer was my only companion.”

She decided to “buddy-up” with an old friend who had started their own business in a similar industry.

“We would create co-working days where she would come to my office for a day, or vice versa. We exchanged ideas, honest feedback, kept each other accountable and even partnered on projects,” says Ms Lutonska.

“Working not only became more enjoyable, but we also helped each other to become aware of our blind spots.”

She also started a Facebook group, which was initially made to attract clients but ended up becoming a great networking tool as word spread quickly and more women joined. Community members often ask for help with specific business issues.

“It can feel lonely to build a business on your own, and tough;
there’s always something that you don’t know.

“That’s why support groups are a fantastic source for tips and for socialising – they’re great for creating meaningful relationships with other entrepreneurs.”

Take a breather

A final tip comes from Sarah Cooke, owner of silicone jewellery company, Halia Rose, who suggests yoga classes.

“I do a regular class to get some time out to myself and stave off burnout, and I can chat to people about things totally unrelated to my business and get away from it for a while.”

 Source
 
Visit The Telegraph on Facebook for more fantastic tips

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Six Essential Positive Steps when Dealing with negative reviews

Posted on November 10, 2017 | Leave a comment

Reviews just got real..

You work really hard to deliver a professional service and in just a social media stroke a disgruntled client writes  negative review before confronting you. How do you respond?

Article by Diane Shawe Author

You have two choices here:

  • you can attempt to rectify the situation and save face for others who may see the review (and earn some new clients in the process), or
  • you can flip a bitch and make yourself look like a complete idiot.

You may want to read my article on DCC reviews Dishonest Competitor Complaints.

Regardless of whether the ghost client or genuine client was right or wrong, it is your job to show others that you care and you are willing to do whatever is necessary (within reason) to make this client happy.

Here are six examples to demonstrate your genuine concern and suggestions what to write:

1.) Apologise. The very first thing you need to write is,

“My name is ___ and I am the owner of this establishment. I am so sorry that you had such a negative experience and I would love the opportunity to make it up to you.”

2.) Show gratitude. Let the client know that you appreciate that they took the time to write the review.

“I am truly apologetic that we did not meet your expectations during this visit, but I do greatly appreciate that you took the time to write a review. As a small business owner, reviews like yours are so helpful to me, so thank you for communicating to us where we are falling short so that we can rectify the problems immediately!”

3.) Make an offer. Offer the client something for their inconvenience. They may not take up the offer, but at least make an effort. If they had a terrible massage, offer to give them 50% off with your most experienced therapist. If they didn’t like the color job, offer to have it corrected for free by your most senior colorist.

“If you would be willing to give us another chance, I would love for you to enjoy _____ for _____!”

4.) Let it be known that you addressed the problem with your staff. Make it clear that you have taken action to correct the problem.

“After reading about your experience, I held a meeting with my staff members and addressed the problems you have communicated in your review.”

If the problem was caused by a communication issue (a rude employee, for example), say that the staff are now going to be more conscientious in their communications with each other and with guests. If it had to do with a bad service, inform the reviewer that you are now going to be requiring all staff members to undergo weekly continuing education and monthly technical evaluations. (Seriously, you should be doing that anyways.)

5.) Promise it will NEVER happen again…and mean it. This is where you take the feedback you were given and you learn from it.

ADAPT YOUR BUSINESS TO ENSURE THAT NOBODY EVER HAS A REASON TO LEAVE A SIMILAR NEGATIVE REVIEW IN THE FUTURE.

“I want you to know I am taking proactive steps to ensure that this issue doesn’t arise in the future. I am doing this by ___. I promise you that nobody will ever experience this problem again.”

6.) Apologise, thank the reviewer, and invite them back again. Yeah, really.

“Again, I want you to know how sorry I am. I do appreciate your feedback and hope that you’ll give us another chance to earn back your business.”

DO NOT GET CONFRONTATIONAL, ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN “YOUR SIDE” OF THE STORY, OR DISCREDIT THE REVIEWER.

I have seen responses to reviews that were downright nasty and unprofessional.

“This woman is obnoxious and rude. We’re all glad that you’re leaving the salon. We pity the next hairdresser whose chair you sit in.”

“This client fails to mention in her review that she ALWAYS tries to haggle the staff for lower prices when she comes, even though the price is clearly communicated to her prior to the start of her service.”

“This review is completely bogus. This never happened. Whoever this is is lying.”

NEGATIVE REVIEWS GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOWCASE YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS.
DON’T BURN IT BY BEING PETTY.

A classy, professional, understanding response may impress potential clients, negating the poor review entirely.

Common Negative Review Topics AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM

1.) Pricing is too high: A good way to respond to this is to showcase the benefits that set your business apart. (This is assuming that your prices are higher because your services/products justify them.) If you offer monthly specials, mention this as well. Some people just can’t afford to (or don’t want to) pay higher prices. You shouldn’t renegotiate your pricing unless it is affecting your business on a massive scale.

IF A CLIENT OR TWO COMPLAINS ABOUT THE PRICE, THAT’S FINE. WHAT YOU NEED TO LOOK OUT FOR ARE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SERVICE THEY’RE RECEIVING.

2.) Rude staff: Tell the reviewer that you have reprimanded the employee responsible. In addition, make it clear that you’ve held a meeting to ensure that all staff members know how seriously you take customer service. Ensure that the client will not have the same experience again should they return.

3.) Bad services: Make a commitment to help your staff continuously improve. Continuing education doesn’t have to cost tons of money. Have each of them teach a one or two hour class on something every week. Set up a rotation for it. They can pick the topic. Evaluate potential new hires before signing them on to work for you. Do regular evaluations of your existing staff members also.

4.) Business is unclean: There is NO excuse for you to have a filthy, disorganised salon or dirty equipment. If you and your staff are too busy to keep it up, hire someone to do so. Seriously, you have no excuse.

5.) Miscommunication: Clarify the miscommunication in the review. Sometimes, miscommunications are honest mistakes. If an employee said something in error, apologise and explain the reason why the employee may have been confused. Never blame the reviewer.

Whatever you do, keep your cool. You want your response to be classy, upbeat, apologetic, and humble.

YOUR GOAL IS TO HAVE OTHERS THAT READ YOUR RESPONSE THINK, “WHAT A GREAT WAY FOR THEM TO HANDLE THAT SITUATION!”

You do not want potential clients to see you rage out on a client online. Show them how well you treat unhappy customers and how quickly and professionally you respond to their criticisms. Keep it together and not only will you salvage the relationship with the reviewer, but you will gain the respect and admiration of the potential clients who read the review response as well.

BOGUS COMPLAINTS

Dishonourable Competitive Complaints (DCC)

Competitors have found a dishonourable way to rubbish another competitors name whilst promoting there own business or services.

Be aware that there are many DCC complaint websites that are not policed in anyway and allows anyone to post a destructive message without any real link back to them.

Messages can also be posted against your Youtube videos, facebook, Google, blogs and articles, so it is sometime worth ticking the box that allows you to approve any messages before they are posted against your name or business.

Read more …

If you don’t already have policies at your salon, consider implementing them.

 

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How to drive your instagram visitors to your online store

Posted on June 1, 2016 | 1 comment
Instagram social mediaAre you using Instagram to market your business?
by Diane Shawe M.Ed

Want to direct followers to your website, appointment form or online store?

With a few simple tactics, you can generate quality website traffic from Instagram.

In this article you’ll discover how to use Instagram to drive traffic to your website

 1: #Add a Website Link to Your Bio

The most common way to lead Instagram followers to your website is to use the “link in bio” tactic. Instagram lets you include one clickable link in your bio, so make sure you use it effectively. To add a link, go to Edit Profile and type it in the Website text box.

In Birchbox’s Instagram bio below, their link directs followers to a customer appreciation day promotion on the company’s website.

birchbox instagram profile bio

Make sure you include a website link in your bio.

With the tool Have2Have.it, you can use your bio link to direct followers to a page with the same look and feel as your Instagram feed, where they can click images to purchase your products or read your content.

The New York Times has a Have2Have.it link in their Instagram bio. When followers click the link, they’re taken to a curated page with the top stories of the day. Users can click on an image to see the story behind it.

new york times instagram images

The New York Times uses a Have2Have.it link to drive traffic from Instagram to their online content.

With an analytics dashboard, you can gain key insights to see what content performs best. Focus on high-performing posts to form a content strategy.

By tracking clicks on Instagram, you can increase revenue and subscribers to online content (such as blog posts), newsletters or email campaigns. Of course, you’ll want to track your click-through rate, so use a shortened Bitly link or vanity URL to know where your clicks are coming from.

Overall, you can use this tactic for any links including an ecommerce website, YouTube channel or company blog. To take it a step further, create an Instagram landing page that captures email addresses through downloadable content like an ebook. The landing page design should mirror the look of your Instagram feed so there’s a visual connection for the user.

2: #Place a Call to Action on Images

Design Instagram photos that convert. You can layer a call to action and your website URL directly onto an aesthetically pleasing photo.

In Canva’s post below, the image has a call to action asking followers to enter a contest for a year of free access. The photo caption then directs users to click the link in Canva’s bio.

canva instagram image

Add a call to action to your images.

This technique is beneficial for Instagram contests where you ask your followers to enter their email information on your website. Now, you have a strong piece of shareable branded content that drives followers to your contest.

3: #Include a URL in Videos

Instagram video brings digital storytelling to life. In fact, videos on Instagram generate three times more inbound links than image posts, so it’s definitely worthwhile to invest in a 15-second narrative.

Brands like Dollar Shave Club use video in innovative ways to spice up their Instagram feed. Their videos work similarly to a television commercial.

dollar shave club instagram video

Include a URL in your videos to direct Instagram users to your website.

Dollar Shave Club’s videos include the URL in a text overlay and a voiceover (“Shave with a fresh blade anytime; try Dollar Shave Club.com”) that further drives Instagram followers to their website. The videos are quick, fun and engaging, making viewers want to learn more.

4: #Invest in Instagram Ads

Instagram recently announced it was opening its API to all companies and brands. By investing in the platform, you can target the right audience demographic through people’s interests. With an ad spend alongside your Instagram strategy, you’re likely to see an increase in website visits and ecommerce conversions.

Clickable links in Instagram ads give you an opportunity not only to be creative, but also let your followers learn more about your digital campaigns or attribute direct revenue from Instagram.

There are three types of sponsored Instagram ads: image, video and carousel.

Image ads are single photos that tell a story with their imagery.

levis instagram ad

An Instagram ad with a single photo.

Video ads differ from organic Instagram videos. They can be up to 30 seconds long, and you can shoot in portrait or landscape format.

jaspersmarket instagram video ad

An Instagram video ad.

Carousel ads enhance your Instagram storytelling because they can include up to four photos. Retailers, car companies and non-profits have been at the forefront of this new ad product. All three types of ads include a clickable Learn More button that takes followers to your website.

instagram carousel ad

An Instagram carousel ad.

To create ads in Instagram, follow these steps in Facebook’s Power Editor.

With Instagram ads, you can create awareness in a broader audience and promote campaigns that prioritise conversions by tracking sales and views.

5: #Leverage the Reach of Influencers

Sometimes you need an extra push to build brand awareness and extend your reach. By working with influencers, you can amplify your message.

Connect with influencers in your niche or industry (whether that’s fashion, beauty, sports or other verticals) to create effective Instagram content. Influencers capture followers’ attention because they’re recognizable and trusted for their product advice and reviews.

instagram influencer example

Instagram influencers are digital celebrities with loyal followers.

When working with influencers,make sure they use effective calls to action to send their followers to your website. This can be done through Instagram videos or with powerful copy that links to your website also check for any costings.

Final Thoughts

As Instagram becomes a revenue-based social channel predicted to outperform Twitter and Google in ad sales by 2017, make sure your Instagram strategy is focused on driving leads to your website. You can learn about follower data to form content strategies, drive revenue and brand awareness from clickable links and promote blog posts right on the platform.

What do you think? Have you converted Instagram followers to your website? What are your goals for Instagram conversions? What Instagram marketing tools do you use to optimise leads and engagement? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

If your looking for a social media course visit http://www.crashcourses.academy

Tags: drive traffic, influencer, instagram,instagram ads, instagram api, instagram carousel ad, instagram content creation,instagram conversions, instagram cta,instagram for business, instagram influencer, instagram marketing, instagram video, sme show, storytelling, diane Shawe,

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12 Do’s and Don’t Tips For Getting And Keeping High-Net Worth-Clients by Diane Shawe

Posted on August 30, 2015 | Leave a comment

Hair Extension and Makep masterclasses Diane ShaweThere are just over 500,000 millionaire households in Britain, more than in any other European country but fewer than in China, Japan and of course the US.

article by Diane Shawe M.Ed and Eryca Freemantle

As for billionaires, the UK has 1,044 and is second only to the US, though as we all know most of those billionaires are people who made their money elsewhere and then moved to the UK, rather than the home-grown variety.

Worldwide there were 16.3m millionaire households at the end of last year, up from 13.7m at the end of 2012.

Those are three of the conclusions from the latest study by Boston Consulting Group of global wealth – it does it every year and 2013 was notable as the rich got quite a lot richer.

Total global private wealth grew by 14.6 per cent to reach $152bn, the two main drivers being the rise in equity markets and the continuing strong economic growth in the emerging world. The region in which wealth grew fastest, unsurprisingly, was the Asia-Pacific. Since the financial crisis China has passed both Germany and Japan in terms of total household wealth.

So with all that pool of statistics, how do you go about bagging a High Networth Client and keeping them?

  1. Do work at Knowing the trends and your product.When selling a product or service to an athlete or celebrity, it’s all about referrals. You won’t get far going directly to the client, Instead, you need to build relationships with trusted sources of the client. For example, find a way to connect with an agent or financial advisor. If you can get these people sold on you, you have a much better chance of getting a referral.
  2. Don’t Scream – No need to scream. Stay cool, calm and collected. After all, they are human.
  3. Do learn to get around the gatekeeper.To approach a client’s trusted sources, you have to find a way in. Social media makes it easier than ever to find connections, but the power of the phone is still the better route, but you need to plan what your going to offer. Remember the gatekeeper can also get bombarded by lots of enquiries every day on social media so be smarter and look at how you can develop  point 7
  4. Don’t say “OMG” – Some people say “Oh my God” to everything, you sound juvenile
  5. Do try and beat the receptionist to the office. A little clever secrets is to make early morning phone calls, before the office opens. If the company has a dial-by-name directory, you can often catch the person you want to reach at their desk, especially if their name is on the door. You’d be amazed at who picks up the phone at 5:30 a.m.”
  6. Don’t Stare: Its rude and frightening
  7. Do try to stand out.When you’re selling a commodity such as makeup, you’re working with the same inventory as every other artist. That means your value comes from standing out.No matter what your industry, work on developing your qualifications and personality, Have an excellent commitment to client, and find a niche and exploit it.
  8. Do not ever say – “I love You” Do you know how silly you sound?  They will no doubt think your crazy
  9. Do say a memorable ‘thank you.’ Often people do things prior to selling to be remembered, but often when you get the sale, doing a memorable thank you can result in other referrals coming your way.
  10. Don’t take Photos –  Do not take photos of them while working on them without asking their permission
  11. Do have a higher mission.It’s not always about making money just to pay your bills, giving back can also encourage high net worth clients feel good about working with you and support any project that is dear to your heart and help people or animals around the world.
  12. Don’t Cry – Professionals do not cry on the job- especially for nothing

Want to learn how to earn £4000 a month?

Want to learn how to earn £4000 a month?

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To busy to Market your business and get new clients? by Diane Shawe

Posted on May 21, 2015 | Leave a comment

Without new customers your business dies.

Without new customers your business dies.

No business can grow or survive without new customers!
article by Diane Shawe M.ED

If lead generation – in other words – getting more clients and growing your business – is something you keep put off and try to put right in a panic (when it’s too late!)  because you are too busy the rest of the time, then it is essential that you adopt a system that generates new leads – even when marketing is at the bottom of your priority list.

That’s why websites such as pagewiz.com have done so well over the past 3 years.

But before you can even look at setting up  your marketing strategy – the web pages, videos, emails and all the other things you need – here’s how we can help you, for a very small fee (£9.99 + vat) to shape up your campaign in a 3 hour bootcamp.

  • Step One: Visit http://www.clarity4d.softskills.expert and skroll down to the Bootcamp courses
  • Step Two: Select the bootcamps you would like to attend that will give you the most benefit.
  • Step Three: Complete the form and submit it to us and we will send you an invoice.
  • Step Four: We will confirm the venue details, you have already selected the time

As you can see there is no big sales pitch, you either need it or you don’t.  We wont waste your time.

These will be the most constructive 3hours you have every spent in moving your business on.

This is deliberately designed to give the busy business owner world-class marketing – without the effort, hassle, time and stress needed to do it all by yourself.

I know a good deal 3 hours workshop diane shawe

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Diane Shawe M.Ed approved Business Start up Loan Mentor’ for Enterprising Women & Virgin Startup

Posted on August 6, 2014 | 1 comment

Diane Shawe Host KCW Enterprise Womens Club

Diane Shawe Host KCW Enterprise Womens Club

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Diane Shawe M.Ed

London UK, Tuesday 5th August 2014 – A successful UK entrepreneur and CEO has announces that she is now working with Enterprising Women to begin providing support and assistance to women from all walks of life who are looking to secure funding for brand new business ventures.

Diane Shawe Start up loan mentor

Diane Shawe Start up loan mentor

The range of supportive mentor services now available provides individuals with comprehensive guidance and support to identify and secure start-up funding, available from a range of providers. Diane Shawe is an accredited and certified ‘Enterprising Women’ startup loans mentor, ‘Virgin Startup Mentor’ and a registered leadership training provider for government backed ‘GrowthAccelerator’ initiative.

virgin startup loan mentors

Virgin startup loan mentors

The specific funding providers offer clients a viable means to secure the required capital to get their businesses off the ground through a range of financial contributions and matched funding. In addition to the practical support and advice to secure the startup loans required, Diane Shawe offers comprehensive mentoring which goes beyond forms and paperwork guidance. Drawing on her extensive experience in achieving decades of business success, she is able to pass on critical experience which money simply can’t buy.

About Diane Shaw M.Ed

leadership coursed for women diane shawe expresscourses

Growing your business? find out how GrowthAccelerator could help.

Diane Shawe M.Ed has proven her ability and aptitude in the business world with a string of successes and accolades including being the chief executive officer of a leading professional and vocational training provider, an acclaimed keynote speaker, published author, certified WEBE a member of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI) and was recently a 2014 finalist at the Federation Small Business London for Innovation. For further information on the ‘business startup loan mentor’ program, please visit http://www.get.mentoring.dianeshawe.info or alternatively use the contact details shown with this release.

 

 

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Pre employment Short Courses

Posted on May 20, 2014 | Leave a comment

Call us to enquiry about our soft skills courses

Call us to enquiry about our soft skills courses

Whether you are a complete beginner or more experienced, on one of our career development short courses you will find yourself learning in our enjoyable and professional environment.

Our courses allow you  to take full advantage of our specialist facilities and the expert tuition at your fingertips with a full take away manual for further reading.Taking a short course is ideal if you want to add new skills to your tired CV, brush up on an old hobby or refresh your skills, build on your current practice develop expertise to help start your own business review your career build a portfolio for college or work.  We have a range of different creative short courses available. Follow the links below for further information.

 

Call 0203 551 2621

visit http://www.expresstrainingcourses.co.uk for more information.

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