Think of it this way: Is there any better public relations you can gain than by being known as a company who goes above and beyond to ensure a quality experience for its customers? Your product may be top-notch, your services and expertise second to none - but it's the respect and consideration you show each and every customer that sets you apart from the pack. Providing stellar customer care demonstrates, in no uncertain terms, that sentiment we hear as we deplane: "We know you have a choice in carriers. We here at X Airlines appreciate that you've chosen us for your travel needs." That's it in a nutshell - today's customers are looking for something special and unique about a company - something that makes them proud to do business with you instead of someone else. That something has everything to do with the way they're treated. Giving customers a reason to choose you - isn't that precisely what marketing is supposed to do?

Why is customer support so important to your business?

Customer service can easily be regarded among the most important elements of your business for a couple very basic reasons:

1. It's cheaper to retain an existing customer than to gain a new one. Marketing to new customers is costly and fraught with opportunities for failure. Existing customers, on the other hand, have already enjoyed the experience of doing business with you. Nurture these relationships by acknowledging them and showing your appreciation and they'll be highly motivated to continue sending business your way. Another expression comes to mind here: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
2. Satisfied customers are the best advertising. It stands to reason that satisfied customers will recommend you to others. Keep existing customers happy and well fed and they'll be better ambassadors for your brand than any marketing campaign.

What does stellar customer service look like?

Customer service wears many hats these days. It's an entire suite of philosophy, actions and details with the goal of making customers feel important, understood and appreciated. Customer service can manifest as training webinars, company-sponsored Twitter chats, an informative and interactive Facebook presence or loyalty programs over and above the more common practices of answering the phone and responding to customer emails. Keeping this in mind, it's easy to see that customer support falls under more than one department's purview. It's everyone's job, in one capacity or another, to demonstrate customer care and provide them with a positive experience with your brand.

No matter the form of the customer care you're providing - or who's providing it - stellar service includes all these elements:

• Knowledgeable - It's not enough that there's someone minding the store when a customer contacts you. The company representative must know his or her stuff, backward and forward. Uncertainty and/or misinformation breeds distrust.
• Articulate - Satisfying customer care means being able to communicate about your company's products, services, mission and policies clearly and effectively.
• Powerful - Effective customer service agents are authorized to take appropriate actions to completely resolve the customer's issue.
• Patient - Those who deal with customers will undoubtedly encounter common issues to which they will need to respond numerous times per day. They will also occasionally need to deal with unhappy or dissatisfied people. Customer service representatives must find a way to continually present information thoroughly and cordially, no matter what the circumstances.
• Respectful - Respect is more than just not being rude or discourteous. Respectful customer service reflects an interest in their opinions about your offerings, recognizing their power in the relationship as consumers.
• Proactive - Caring for your customers is so much more than simply helping them when they experience a problem or have a question. Develop a culture that anticipates potential issues or gaps in the dissemination of information and addresses them before customers need to ask for help.
• Generous - Caring for customers means freely giving of your time, knowledge and maybe some company bling. Identify your brand's best ambassadors and reward them with a T-shirt, coffee mug or keychain. Fans of your brand will appreciate your generosity and will proudly display their loyalty to the world while helping to spread your logo around.
• Empowering - Information is power. Empower your customers by providing them with a wealth of information about your offerings and ways to share it. Provide videos, photos, blog posts and other resources that can be shared via social media. Your well-informed, enlightened customers want to talk you up and recommend you to others.

It comes down to this: Treat your customers like the valuable marketing resources they are. The more you invest in their experience as your customers, the more you're taking advantage of one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal.

How do you provide a rich and valuable customer experience?

What exactly is a franchise?

The Small Business Administration defines a franchise, or chain, as business model that involves one business owner licensing trademarks and methods to an independent entrepreneur. There are two primary forms of franchising:

1. Product/trade name franchising in which the extent of the relationship is such that the franchisor, who owns the right to the name or trademark, sells that right to a franchisee.
2. Business format franchising in which the franchisor and franchisee have an ongoing relationship, and the franchisor often provides a full range of services, including site selection, training, product supply, marketing plans and even assistance in obtaining financing.

Why would you want to own a franchise?

Franchising affords you the opportunity to be in business for yourself while enabling you to operate under a well-known name and/or taking advantage of the franchisor’s experienced business model. These perks of franchising can help alleviate marketing challenges, because the parent company has already done the work of making the business name recognizable to consumers. They can also help ensure your success by offering tried-and-true business practices and guidance targeted to the exact business you’re running.

Of course, there are significant fees associated with franchising. You are, after all, buying the business plan of a successful business and the rights to use their name. It’s important to thoroughly investigate a franchise opportunity to make certain you’re getting value for your investment.

Choosing an appropriate franchise

Determine the following factors to help decide what type of franchise to explore:

Amount of money - and time - you are able and willing to invest

Your abilities, interests - and weaknesses

Your financial - and lifestyle - goals

Develop a prudent franchise strategy

Fortunately, there are regulations regarding franchising. The SBA reports that by law, franchise sellers must disclose certain information about their business to potential buyers. They, along with the Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection, suggest the following best practices and tips for potential franchisees:

• Retain a lawyer, accountant, or business advisor to review the disclosure document and proposed contract with you.
• Contact other franchisees before deciding to invest. Obtain a Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC), which contains vital details about the franchise's legal, financial, and personnel history, before you sign a contract.
• Listen to sales presentations with a critical ear. Investigate claims about your potential earnings. Broad sales claims about successful areas of business – for example, “Be a part of our $4 billion industry,”– may have no bearing on the likelihood of particular franchise’s actual profits.
• Shop around and compare franchise opportunities.
• Before entering into any contract as a franchisee, determine whether you would have the right to use the franchise name and trademark, receive training and management assistance from the franchisor, use the franchisor's expertise in marketing, advertising, facility design, layouts, displays and fixtures and do business in an area protected from competing franchisees.
• Be aware that the contract between the two parties usually benefits the franchisor far more than the franchisee. The franchisee is generally subject to meeting sales quotas and is required to purchase equipment, supplies and inventory exclusively from the franchisor.
• Consult professional financial help. The tax rules surrounding franchises are often complex, and an attorney (preferably a specialist in franchise law) should assist you to evaluate the franchise package and tax considerations. An accountant may be needed to determine the full costs of purchasing and operating the business as well as to assess the potential profit to the franchisee.
• Check out the company with your local consumer protection agency, state Attorney General’s Office, and the Better Business Bureau, both where the company is located and where you plan to operate.

For a comprehensive list of resources for franchisees, consult the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection (http://business.ftc.gov/selected-industries/franchises-and-business-opportunities).

Franchising can be a profitable business model, so long as you investigate the opportunity thoroughly and get the professional counsel you need to make prudent decisions.

Have you looked into franchising a business?

It's all well and good to have good intentions where motivation is concerned. Without positive and solid actions, however, it's all just that - intentions. Fortunately, there are many actions you can take to help those factors fall into place and enhance your motivation. Here are some concrete steps help enhance your motivation:

Steps Toward Enhancing Motivation

1. Define/redefine goal - Motivation may wane when you're trying to stick a round peg in a square hole. Go back and assess your ultimate goal to make sure that it's realistic and achievable.
2. Track that goal - Don't just assume that your goal will be achieved. Break it down into smaller increments so that you can witness your progress easily. It's very motivational to acknowledge and celebrate those benchmarks you achieve along the way!
3. Schedule yourself - work toward it on a regular and ongoing basis - Instead of saying, "I'm going to walk on the treadmill three days a week," make it a commitment by scheduling it like any other appointment. If it's truly a priority, scheduling tasks associated with a goal will motivate you and remove excuses for neglecting or postponing it.
4. Take a break - Stand up, stretch, drink some water, take a walk, take a vacation... whatever it takes to clear your mind for a time and refocus. When you return, you'll be more highly motivated and energized.
5. State your goal publicly - Once others know your goal, it becomes awkward and embarrassing to back out of it. It's like employing self-inflicted motivational "blackmail," and it's highly effective.
6. Brainstorm - Invite fresh, new, out-of-the-box ideas into your mind. Brainstorming opens the floodgates, washing away what's stale and flowing in a fresh perspective.
7. Read/learn - Perhaps your motivation is waning because your mind isn't adequately challenged. Make the effort to read up on a subject or take a class to enhance your knowledge and jumpstart your intellect.
8. Talk to someone with a fresh perspective - One sure way to get out of your own head is to engage with someone else's. Pick someone's brain about your goals, project or something totally unrelated. The change will do your motivation good.
9. Find support - There is strength in numbers. Whether you take on a partner, contribute to a forum or join a club, don't go it alone. These exterior sources can be encouraging motivators, whether things are smooth sailing or choppy seas.
10. Prioritize - Circumstances and people change and you must be willing and able to perceive what's most important at any given time. Stubborn adherence to irrelevant goals isn't productive and will ultimately bring your motivation to a screeching halt.
11. Give yourself permission to move at your own pace and accept the ebb and flow of your motivation - No matter how much of a dynamo you are, no one can give it all 24/7 and expect to be able to keep up an energized, creative and productive pace. Learn to recognize the times when you've "got it" and give it your all. Also, learn to recognize and accept when your energy and focus are lagging. Motivation is cyclic - it will come around if you give it the occasional break it needs. To force yourself to "be motivated" when you're distracted and/or not legitimately feeling it will prove disheartening.
12. Keep on keepin' on - Don't abandon all hope! If one project lacks promise or results at the present time, keep forging ahead with something else to keep your mind and body occupied. Remember, there's value in the journey - not just in the destination. There's nothing motivational about a state of stagnation.
13. Visualize your success - It may begin as nothing more than a glimmer of light at the end of a long dark tunnel but try to "see" the results you want. Every step closer will create a clearer vision of your success and there's little as motivational as seeing a dream through to fulfillment.

Motivation is a complicated issue with many contributing factors. While there will always be roadblocks and setbacks to achieving our goals, motivation is a key driving force behind our success and we have the power to enhance it. Rather than merely "wanting" motivation, taking actions such as these will help you to actually "be" more motivated.

What steps do you take to enhance your motivation?