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You are here: Home » Customers Customers Customers And Operations Customers and Customer Service are the cornerstone of every business. We all know what great customer service is like yet we so rarely see it. And does our own business deliver great customer service? And if not, why not? This ‘feed’ offers hand-picked videos, workbooks, worksheets, checklists and book chapters to help you increase your profitability by blowing away your customers with legendary service. Easier said than done. Robert Recommends: 1. Customer Care Checklist 2. The Bright Marketing Workout from Workbook 104 3. Calculating Customer Value 4. I Am Furious. Really Furious A good place to get started with this feed would be the book 'Customer Is King' by Robert Craven (Virgin, 2005), which can be bought here. Full Member (£20+VAT per month) have access to everything in this feed plus additional benefits.  Available To Lite Members and Full Members How Processes Fail The Systems They Serve Clay Shirky on how too many processes can get in the way of innovation. (50 mins) Video Your Life Is Your Business by Rasheed Ogunlaru How personal problems can affect your business performance. Article & Video The Key Influencers Chart Utilise the people you know to grow your business. Worksheet Your Website - 15 Way To Guarantee It Will Fail A checklist of things you should not do with your website. Checklist The Service Firm Myopia You Aren't Aware Of Do your customers really think you are better than the rest? Article The Competition Audit How to assess and outmanouvre your competitors. Worksheets It's Not Rocket Science - eBook by Andy Lopata A short eBook on improving the way you network. eBook New Book: Business Gurus The new book about the top gurus that Robert contributed to. Article Sticky Marketing Club with Robert Craven Robert and Grant Leboff talk about Bright Marketing (30 mins) Video The Happy Manifesto by Henry Stewart How to make your workplace happy. eBook Be True To Yourself And Your Customers by Rasheed Ogunlaru Why it is important to be honest and true in Business Video View Your Marketing Effectiveness Robert questions you on how to win and keep customers. Video 10 Things To Do In The Next 10 Days Action plan to improve business profits fast. Checklist Content below is only available to Full Members Workbook 104: Kick-Start Your Marketing Some great customer-focused tools. Workbook Workbook 110: The Crunch Questions Questions 18-34 and 38 are customer focused. Workbook Brian Solis eBook And Video How to improve your online communication with customers. eBook & Video Ken Blanchard - Leading At A Higher Level A seminar on leadership and management techniques. (60 mins) Video The FiMO and RECoIL Worksheets Analysing business performance and growth potential. Worksheets Stop Selling And Start Storytelling Why telling a great story will get you customers. eBook The Macintosh Way by Guy Kawasaki Business management and presentation secrets from Apple. eBook Bog Roll and Revenues Robert Craven looks at a company revolutionising their industry. Article Making Things Worse - Customer Service In Cornwall One of Robert's worse customer service experiences. Article Malcolm Gladwell On Leadership And innovation Using great stories to give good advice. (2 x 60 mins) Video An Introduction To Email Marketing by HubSpot How to set up and operate different email campaigns. eBook Guy Kawasaki - 12 Lessons Steve Jobs Taught Me Things you can learn from the Apple founder. (60 mins) Video Small Business - A Ripe Market For Plundering Robert on big companies' attitudes to small business clients. Article Rory Sutherland @ Wired UK Small changes to products can make the difference. (30 mins) Video How To Use Pinterest For Business Why the latest social network can help promote you. eBook I'm Not A Social Media Guru by Robert Craven A guide to the social media sites and the best eBooks. eBook All Fitness Clubs Are Not The Same Robert looks at a fitness chain that is standing out. Article Free - The Future Of A Radical Price by Chris Anderson Creating a free product or service to increase sales. Audiobook Robert Craven @ Warwick Business School Part 2 Selling, The Expert Model and Disruptive Marketing. (50 mins) Video Excellence Now! by Tom Peters The 'mother of all slide shows' on business practice and theory. Powerpoint Presentation Why Marketing Is A Load Of B****cks Robert Craven on the problems with marketing. Article The Best Of 2011 The the top content of last year's Business Club. Article Robert Craven's Best Blogs of 2011 The top blogs of last year. Article Winning The Zero Moment Of Truth Take advantage of a new consumer habit. eBook 25 Website Must-Haves For Driving Traffic, Leads And Sales Simple guide to important features your website should have. eBook Reinventing The Wheel: Creating Lifetime Customers Great customer service will bring all customers back. eBook Revolutionary Marketing Technique Robert on getting more conversions from your newsletter subscribers. Article Dan Pink's TED Talk: The Surprising Science Of Motivation How to best motivate employees for results. (17mins) Video 100 Inbound Marketing Content Ideas Produce better online content to build up traffic to your website. eBook Smoke Your Own Dope by Robert Craven Robert offers some peculiar business advice Article Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us by Seth Godin Build a group of followers that will promote and support you. Audiobook Grow Your Service Firm By Robert Craven A pre-release sample chapter from the new book. Chapter How To Capture A New Market by Stephen Wunker The best approaches to take when entering a new market. eBook 111 Ridiculously Obvious Thoughts On Selling by Tom Peters Checklist on how to sell and finding new customers. eBook Enchantment Marketing - Guy Kawasaki How to enchant people with your business and products. (60 mins) Video Will New Business Consultancy Programmes Translate Into Better Business For The Client? Robert on changes coming to the business support industry. Article 'How To Email Important People' By James Clear How to contact the hard-to-reach people. Worksheet A Simple System For Getting Amazing Things Done Leo Babauta on creating a good working environment. Checklist Are We Short-Changing Our Customers Business consultancy value: the good, the bad and the ugly. Article Andrew Keller - How Advertising Works The important features of a great advertising campaign. (25 mins) Video Twitter And Facebook For Business Get the most out of social media for your business. eBooks Focus by Leo Babauta Book on how to focus on getting important tasks done. eBook 'Networking In A Downturn' by Roy Sheppard Checklist and guide to the best way to network. Checklist Curating - The No Brainer Social Media Activity Robert introduces 3 great social media tools. Article 'Real-Time' by David Meerman Scott Doing your marketing and PR in real-time. Book/ Video Is Your Company Customer Focused? Ensure your market is targeted correctly. Article How To Encourage Involvement In Online Communities How to interact and develop an online presence. (20 mins) Video Why Effective Marketing Today Must Provide Value Grant Leboff on how to show your customers value. Article I am Not An SME You Patronising ***! One of Robert's most popular articles so far. Article 10 Things To Do In The Next 10 Days Robert goes through the ten steps and calls you into action. Webinar Making Banks And Bankers Better Robert Craven 20-minute interview. Audio Microfinance A revolutionary method of banking and investment. (20mins) Multimedia How To Create Sustainable Profitability For Your Business: The Robert Craven Manifesto. Article The Rise Of The Amateur Professional: Charles Leadbeater's 20-minute TED Talk. Video The One-Minute Intro Checklist Make an excellent elevator pitch. Checklist Guy Kawasaki Social media guru's new book on 'Enchantment' of customers. Case Study A Game Of 20 Questions Self Assessment: 20 tough questions to ask about your business.    Checklist What Managers Can Learn From Somali Pirates Case study on the Indian Ocean's least popular businessmen. Article Freemium: The 21st Century's First Business Model Chris Anderson on this new way to run a business (20 mins). Video An Out-Of-Touch Board Can Spell Disaster For A Growing Business Robert on what the board can do to stimulate business growth. Article Good Old Fashioned Referrals 23 different ways that you can find new customers. Checklist You Get The Business You Deserve Robert gives three great ways to sort out operations in your company. Article Why The Future Of Business Is Sharing How sharing across a customer base reduces costs (12 mins). Video Forrester Research - Customer Experience And Delivery Changing the customer experience to boost sales (15 mins). Video Harvard Business School - The Three Ds of Customer Experience Harvard offer their key formula to a great customer experience. Article Tom Peters - The Smell Of The Customer A great customer service worksheet for your employees. Worksheet Funny Videos On Customer Service Just for fun. Here are some good examples of bad customer service. Video Customer Care Robert gives his lowdown on creating a great customer service. Article Gary Vaynerchuk - Crush It! Demonstrating the benefits of social media to business (80 mins). Video Gary Vaynerchuk - How Business Must Adapt To Social Media The short version of the above (8 mins). Video Chip Conley: Stand Out From The Brand Crowd On creating extremely happy customers (50 mins). Video The Email Checklist What you should remember to consider before you click send. Checklist How Raving Fans Create Profit Robert on why you should make your customers love you. Article  2010 Zappos's CEO On Going To Extremes For Customers Most popular customer service and company to work for in the USA. Article Why Starbucks Wants To Have Millions Of Friends BBC on why corporations are clamouring to be on Facebook. Video 'The Start-Up Essays' The key aspects of customer service for start-ups. Book Mind The Gap Robert offers you the long-term fix for your business. Article How To Run An Effective Board Robert's guide to how your boardroom should be run. Article The Dragons Giving You Their Top Tips Theo Paphitis and co. offer advice to business owners (15 mins). Video Calculating Customer Value - A Guide To Relationship Marketing Checklist to find out the value of each of your customers. Checklist How To Succeed In A Highly Competitive Market Robert on how treating the customer better can bring success. Case Study United Breaks Guitars (5 mins) An entertaining warning to poor customer service providers. Video Three Free Chapters From 'Kick-Start Your Business' A focus on operational strategy from Robert's book Book Customer Care Checklist 9 steps to put you in the mindset of the customer experience Checklist The Customer Experience Do you provide everything your customers want? (5 mins) Video Beating The Credit Crunch Robert's webinar on surviving the recession. (20 mins) Webinar Why The Dead Parrot Sketch Is So Important Do you treat your customers like this? (3 mins) Video Why Should People Bother To Buy From You? Robert asks you the important question relating to sales. Video             Recent articles   Ken Blanchard - Leading At A Higher Level May 14, 2012 The author of 'The One Minute Manager' talks about what makes a good leader when giving a presentation at The Drucker Institute. He has sold over 18 million books worldwide and is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and popular business gurus.   Brian Solis Video and eBook May 14, 2012 Brian Solis is a globally recognised author and thought-leader on web 2.0 and new media practices. Here is a video interview with him, where he discusses the developments of new media and social networks and why you should be looking to interact with your customers online. Plus, there is an eBook by Brian on how to find out where your customers and potential customers are socialising online.   Clay Shirky on How Processes Fail The Systems They Serve May 14, 2012 Clay Shirky talks about how the leadership of many news agencies will get continue to be ever reluctant to innovate. He highlights the problems this can create and the frustrations it can put on employees. This releuctance form leadership to innovates is relevant to all industries and not just journalism.   Your Website - 15 Ways To Guarantee It Will Fail May 2, 2012   Guy Kawasaki eBook - The Macintosh Way Apr 30, 2012 Guy Kawasaki was Chief Evangelist at Apple Computers and has was a 'key player'  when the company grew rapidly in the 80s. He rejoined them again in the late nineties for Apple's resurgence, with the launch of the iMac range shortly after he returned that initiated the period of rapid growth that has continued for the last 15 years. This eBook is about Apple's core values and strategy during the 80s and gives you an excellent insight into what drove the company forwards during this period rapid expanision.   The Service Firm Myopia Apr 30, 2012 Many service firm believe they have above average customer service, but commonly this is not the case at all.   The Competition Audit Apr 30, 2012 This is a worksheet to help you analyse your competitors and understand what their strengths and weaknesses are. This will help you work out the best ways to approach your strategy in order to out-perform them and take a slice of their market share.   Stop Selling And Start Storytelling by Jason Baptiste Apr 30, 2012 A 16-page guide about why business owners and salespeople need to stop selling products and start telling stories to engage their potential customers.   The FiMO and RECoIL Worksheets Apr 30, 2012 The FiMO (Finance, Marketing and Operations) and RECoIL (Resources, Experience, Controls and systems, Innovation and ideas and Leadership) worksheets will help you analyse the way your business is performing and look at how prepared the business is to grow. The worksheets are taken from Workbook 101 of The Directors' Centre coaching workbooks.   The Customer Care Checklist Apr 25, 2012   more articles >>