The significant challenges that we face today cannot be resolved by the same level of thinking that created them.

Hi there and welcome to the new KIT channel subcribers. Even though most of this week has passed in something of a haze, it's been a full, demanding and challenging time.

Whether you are right-handed or left-handed, you tend to perform most of your tasks using your dominant hand. We don't give much thought to which hand we use for each task. I really should have 'practised' using my left hand. Writing a note left-handed puts a whole new spin on the term illegible.

Last Tuesday, I had surgery on my right wrist and now the fun begins. :-) Have you ever tried using a right-handed, ergonomic mouse using your left hand to operate it? In the beginning, it does present a few challenges. Yesterday I took my husband to work and my first outing came with blowing snow and slick, icy roads which turned a two hour drive into more than four hours. The important thing is that I made it home safe and sound unlike many who ended up in the ditch.

Our Feature Article discusses dealing with customer complaints effectively. Bob LeDuc provides seven ways to stay on top of customer complaints in Turn Customer Complaints Into More Sales.

Kevin Nunley shares his knowledge about creating those special ads that will last you a lifetime, if you do them right. Today's Special Feature Article is Wonderful Classified Ads -- 50 Words You Can Use For Years.

Have a great day and keep on smiling.

Lois M. Jeary
Publisher, KIT
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Turn Customer Complaints Into More Sales
Copyright 2003 Bob Leduc
http://BobLeduc.com

Customer complaints can cause you to lose future sales from customers and from everybody else who hears about their bad experience. Or you can turn customer complaints into more sales from these same customers and the people they influence. How you handle your customers' complaints determines which of these two results you get.

Here are 7 simple actions you can take to turn customer complaints into more sales.

1. Plan For Complaints

You can never eliminate every customer complaint. Some mistakes happen regardless of how carefully you try to prevent them. Expect to get a few complaints periodically. It's part of operating a business.

Handle complaints with a positive attitude. Strive to preserve your relationship with the complaining customer instead of your immediate profit from them. Make your customer happy now and they will reward you later with more sales.

2. Make Resolving Complaints A Priority

Surprise your customer with a quick response to their complaint. If you cannot solve the problem immediately, let them know you consider it a priority. Then do whatever you can to resolve the problem fast.

The longer a customer has to worry about getting their problem solved the less likely they will accept a satisfactory solution and remain your customer.

3. Conduct Yourself Professionally

Conduct yourself professionally even when a complaining customer does not. Complaining customers sometimes act hostile because they expect you to resist solving their problem. You can calm their hostility by letting them know you genuinely want to help them. Assure them you will do everything possible to solve their problem.

4. Take Responsibility

Take responsibility for resolving your customer's complaint even if the problem was not your fault. Apologize for the inconvenience. Briefly explain the probable cause of the problem. Then tell your customer exactly what you will do to correct it.

Don't focus on blaming someone else for the problem. It sounds like an excuse. And never stretch the truth in your response to a complaint. Making excuses and explaining something the customer suspects is inaccurate can destroy your credibility.

5. Compensate Your Customer For The Inconvenience

Complaining customers hope they can get a satisfactory solution to their problem. But they often expect to get something less.

Surprise them by solving their problem AND giving them something extra to compensate them for their inconvenience. This helps customers forget about the problem they had. Instead, they will remember the special attention you gave them.

6. Follow Up To Confirm Satisfaction

After solving your customer's problem, follow up to confirm their satisfaction with the outcome. This reinforces your relationship with the customer.

Tip: Once you confirm the customer is pleased with the way you resolved their complaint, give them a special offer not generally available to other customers or prospects. Offer them a special discount on their next transaction. Or offer to include a special bonus item with their next order. This motivates them get back into the habit of buying from you.

7. Take Action To Prevent Similar Complaints

After resolving a customer complaint, try to identify exactly what caused it. A complaint often reveals some weaknesses in your business procedure. Many times this weakness is minor and you can easily correct it to avoid similar complaints in the future.

Customer complaints can cause you to lose future sales from customers and from everybody else who listens to their sad story. Don't let that happen to you. Use these 7 simple actions to turn your customers' complaints into more sales.

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
- Mark Twain

Success is the result of good judgment, good judgment is a result of experience, experience is often the result of bad judgment.
- Anthony Robbins

A focused mind is one of the most powerful forces in the Universe.
- Swami Vivekananda

Wonderful Classified Ads--50 Words You Can Use For Years
By Kevin Nunley
http://www.DrNunley.com

Classified ads are like the diamonds of the marketing world. You know how they say diamonds are forever? Well, you could say the same for classified ads.

A single, well-written classified ad is something you can use for years, and not just in classified ad form. I've written classified ads many customers who use our 50 word ads as copy for flyers, posters, brochures, 30 second radio spots, copy for websites, marketing materials for members, descriptions for something they're selling on eBay, and even pay-per-clicks.

As you can see, classified ads are the ultimate multi taskers. With a few simple changes, they can double, triple, quadruple, etc. as copy for almost any other form of marketing.

But first things first. You have to start with the initial classified ad.

Crafting Your Ad

If you want an ad you can use for years, you have to put a little thought into it. But don't worry. It's just 50 words so you don't have to spend too much time pouring over it. But you do have to pay attention to the details, because in an ad as short as a classified ad, you don't have much room for error.

Here are a few tips that will help you craft an ad you can use for years:

1. Demand Attention - Sometimes it seems like life is just one big barrage of commercials and advertising. People learn--for their sanity's sake--to tune out most of this relentless marketing assault. So when you come along with your classified ad, you can't just blend in with all the other background noise. You have to demand attention!

The ads people pay attention to are those that address their most pressing concerns. It's surprising how many trivial things make it to the top of people's "most pressing concern" lists. Many of the problems you address will have something to do with a chronic issue, something people have to deal with over and over again. Think daily job frustrations; give them a new work option. Think weight loss difficulty; give them a guaranteed weight loss solution.

Products, services and opportunities that grab attention are presented in a way that shows how they can solve a problem, make us feel better, make our lives easier, make us happier, richer, sexier, more beautiful, etc.

Think of who your target audience is and then determine what their problems are. Shout out the solution in your headline and your audience will notice your ad above all others.

2. Make it Skim-Friendly - When you see an ad that promotes a product you're interested in, how often do you read through it word for word? My guess is not very often. Most likely, you see a headline that gets your attention and then you skim the rest of the ad to see if anything else sounds interesting. If a few keywords catch your eye, you will probably read the entire thing, because by this point, you are interested enough to find out the details and take some kind of action.

For this reason, you need to keep your ad short. People don't like to bother with long blocks of text. They just don't have the time or the patience. But a 50 or 100 word ad is skimable.

Put key phrases in bold, or sometimes use caps. Sometimes people can get the gist of the entire ad simply by reading the bold phrases. The faster they can get your point, the more likely they are to buy, order, call, or whatever you want them to do.

Keep sentences short. Use simple words everyone knows. Paragraphs should be no longer then three lines. And don't try to fit more than one or two idea into a sentence, preferably one.

Once you have your initial classified ad, you can choose to either use it as it is, or adapt it for all kinds of different uses. The layout of a classified ad follows the same format as most other kind of advertising: attention getting headline, essential information, incredible benefits, call to action.

Here are a few techniques you can use to adapt your ad:

1. Flyer Copy - Spread the information across the flyer, with the headline at the top, followed by the rest of the information descending down the page, from most important to least important. At the bottom, put the call to action and contact info.

2. Web Copy - In a classified ad, there is no need to make the sentences complete. But if you do make all the sentences complete, ad in a little additional info, and format it differently, you have instant web copy.

3. Radio Spots - You can use your classified ad almost word for word in a radio spot. But listeners might find it a tiny bit sketchy since they can't see the words. Add a few words here and there to make sure it's not confusing. Make sure the radio announcer knows to emphasize the words and phrases you have in bold.

Kevin Nunley writes sizzling classified ads for just $35. See his ad deals at http://DrNunley.com/drnad.htm Reach Kevin at mailto:kevin@drnunley.com or 603-249-9519.

Rearrange items on the Start Menu by dragging them up or down the list of items. Or drag them right into or out of the menu itself. In fact, the tip above can be circumvented in Windows 98 with a drag of the mouse.

Here's how to actually accomplish it.

Drag a program over the Start button, and hold it there for about two seconds.

The Start Menu opens in living color. Continue to hold the item being dragged until you find a place to put it on the menu. Then let go, and it will be inserted appropriately.

You can load up the Start Menu will all kinds of stuff, or reduce what's there to nothing but the basics that came with your computer when it was new.

Anything you drag to the Start Menu will only be created as a shortcut! If you want the actual program to reside there, you'll have to hold down the Shift key while you do your drag and drop operation. This moves the object instead of making a shortcut to it.

The idea is that moving something takes it out of its original location and puts in a new location. Shortcuts aren't real moves. They're, well, they're shortcuts!

If you want to copy an item to the Start Menu, which would simply duplicate it, you can hold down the Ctrl key while doing the drag-drop routine.

Yes, you can drag a folder full of shortcuts to the Start Menu.

This is very useful. It will create a flyout menu you can point to and select from with one click.

For example, create shortcuts in a folder named "Com" (short for communication) that point to your word processor, your web browser, and your email program.

Then drag this folder to the Start Menu. When you run your mouse cursor over it, you'll see the items listed for access. Think about how you can make this work for whatever it is you want.

- With thanks to The Newbie Club

Legal Stuff ...

We accept no responsibility whatsoever for the content, profitability or legality of any published articles or advertisements contained within KIT.

And, although all of the articles have been selected for their content, the publishing of such articles within this newsletter does NOT constitute a recommendation of the products or services mentioned or advertised within those articles.

Be responsible! Always do your own Due Diligence before responding to any offer.