FRESHviews
PAUL & SARAH EDWARDS: LIFESTYLES FOR THE MILLENNIUM
winning performers are excellent models for how
Paul & Sarah to artfully accept even the cruelest criticism.
Edwards are pioneers First and foremost, they keep their objective
in the home-business in mind. In their case, it’s to remain appealing to
field. They can be the viewers, who they hope will be voting for
reached on the Web them. In your case, the goal is to retain paying
at www.working customers whenever possible and maintain your
fromhome.com. reputation and goodwill with your community
and your field.
Of course, when zapped with what feels like
unjustified criticism, the temptation is to become
defensive, then disagree, justify and/or explain.
But as these shows illustrate so dramatically,
justified or not, such reactions just make the critics
all the more determined to make their points.
So when customers complain, the best
approach is to smile, nod, ask for clarification if
you don’t fully understand how you might better
serve them and then say thank you. By doing
this, customers, like other judges of performance,
will feel heard and most likely won’t amplify
their complaints. Then you’re free to go on with
your day and incorporate whatever is helpful
from their feedback into your service, just as
the winning contestants do each week in
talent competitions.
Again, if you watch these shows, you’ll see
that those who don’t listen and adjust rarely
progress, while those who do usually get better
and better, just as you can, as the weeks go by. C
Can you
manage?
Making criticism
work for you
NO ONE RELISHES criticism, especially when you
don’t think it’s deserved and have gone out of
your way to do your best. But how you as a
small-business owner respond to criticism can
make a huge difference in terms of how you feel
about yourself and how your customers feel
about you.
If you have any doubts about this, just watch
a couple of episodes of television talent competitions like Fox’s American Idol or NBC’s Grease.
Granted, the contestants on these shows
may not be small-business owners, but they are
competing in a professional field—and a particularly tough one at that. Also, while the judges on
these shows may be meaner and nastier than
most customers, if you watch you’ll notice the
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
is a key skill that can make
or break a business. With
more than 20 years of experience with companies such as
Accenture and Microsoft,
Costco member Lonnie
Pacelli has raised it to an
art form and shares his
expertise on his Web site,
www.leadingonedge.com.
The site has articles,
webcasts, seminars and
more, designed to help executives of small and large
companies lead effectively.
Featured titles include:
■ “Great Communicators
Can Be Made”
■ “Seven Deadly Sins of
Leadership”
■ “Don’t Let a Challenge
Stall Your Business”
Pacelli also does personal
appearances, infusing talks
with warmth and wit. C
Create a business logo that says “you”
FOR ANY BUSINESS, large or
small, identity is a major factor
in creating a following. A logo
can lead to instant recognition.
Costco member Melissa Crowe,
vice president of marketing services for VistaPrint, an international graphic design and custom
printing company ( www.vista
print.com), offers these tips for
creating a great logo.
■ Express your organization’s personality. A logo should
express the personality, purpose
and promise of your organization. The potential customer
should learn something about
your organization just by looking
at its logo. Colors are an important component in helping to
accomplish this goal. Consider
using blue in the color scheme,
as blue communicates trust.
■ Pop goes the logo! The
most effective logos are ones
that jump off the page. Make
Before
After
VISTAPRINT
sure your logo is bold and a tag line—a statement of the
memorable. Ensure that the products or services you provide
design makes sense for your that separates your organization
business. Test it with existing from others, such as Subway’s
and/or potential customers for “Eat fresh” or Nike’s “Just do it.”
their feedback. What you think Make it short and to the point
works might not resonate with but memorable.
your customers. ■ Research your logo.
■ Keep it simple. Don’t While your logo might symbol-over-think your logo design. ize something positive in the
Attempting to do too much United States, it might stand for
will confuse your target audi- something entirely different in
ence and blur your message. A other cultures. And make sure
confusing logo is forgettable and another organization is not using
useless. Sometimes less is more. the same or similar logo design.
■ Make it flexible. A logo Research like-minded companies
must work in numerous places and organizations online and do
online and in print. Legibility is a Google Image search to ensure
key, and your logo should work your logo doesn’t have any nega-in both black and white and tive international connotations.
color as it may be on documents ■ Use it! Put your logo on
that will be faxed or photo- all marketing materials, includ-copied. Keep in mind that your ing your business cards, letter-logo may be viewed on a small head, envelopes, Web site and
object, such as a business card, e-mail. Once you have a logo
or on a larger item, such as a that makes an impact, it should
presentation folder. be synonymous with your
