There are a variety of ways in which we might be inadvertently frustrating our customers and clients. One of the most common involves our policies and procedures, which may be unnecessarily confusing or restrictive. By being alert for situations that put our customers on the defensive and handling those situations gracefully, we can retain our customers' loyalty and avoid driving them away.

There is growing concern among business owners that merchant account fees are too high. This concern becomes magnified every time Visa and MasterCard raise their interchange rates -- the rates Visa and MasterCard member issuing banks charge on credit card transactions, ultimately passed down to merchants. The article addresses the topic of ever-increasing credit card rates and whether Visa and MasterCard should cap their profit and limit it to a fixed percentage over the costs that they incur.

Commercial real estate from 50,000 feet- how does it look to you?

Everyone could use some encouragement. Sometimes that encouragement is as simple as asking someone to stay in the game a little longer.

Obtaining government business grants is a straightforward procedure, if you follow the application guidelines. Many entrepreneurs get discouraged because of the formalities involved. But, if you're a successful grant recipient, the financial reward is truly worth the effort.

What are you paying for when you set up a merchant account to process credit cards? We give a detailed explanation of the fees you will see hitting your account!

Speaking in front of groups about your area of expertise is a powerful way to attract clients. This article discusses seven ways public speaking will help you build your business.

The most important question you must ask yourself before you start a marketing strategy or promotion.

A 5-step guide to simple fire risk assessment for any business owner or manager.

Do you use these 9 ways to save costs and improve your green credentials?

Have you ever wondered whether you can save tax or protect your business with an offshore company or IBC? Chances are you can if you set one up in the right location.

The Kanchipuram silk industry has managed to survive many highs and lows and has made its presence felt internationally. However, the biggest challenges faced by it today are undertaking modifications to suit changing customer preferences, use of modern technology and product diversification.

Learn about the Chinese market.

It is a known fact that people need money, at least in the present times, and the need for money increases as the years go by. Most people try to increase their income by looking for more ventures for business but in order to really get more money, you would have to also lower your costs. If you are still starting up an office, or trying to expand an existing one, a good way to cut costs is by constructing a modular office.

Bar codes are a series of vertical bars of different width, in which digits from zero to nine are represented in a dissimilar pattern of bars forming a code that can be read only by a laser scanner. It is representation of machine-readable information on a visual surface. These codes are found on consumer products and are specially used for inventory control.

Transcription may be linguistic, genetic or may even relate to music. Linguistic transcription means the transfer of a spoken conversation into written language. Genetic transcription is the process of replicating DNA to RNA by the enzyme called RNA polymerize (RNAP). Transcription of music means rewriting a piece of music or recopying it.

Are your customers at the centre of your organisation? Are you confident that you can optimize your CRM strategy to maximize value from your CRM technology investments? This White Paper by ROCC outlines just some of the principles of implementing CRM strategies within SMEs and touches upon the role technology plays.

Can brown paper be used to protect the outside of a box for shipping via UPS or the Post Office? See why brown paper should never be used on the outside of a shipping box.

Not many would be aware of this, but the government has legislation for health and safety of people at work. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 requires the employers to have proper health and safety management systems at work.

Why is this happening to me? When is somebody going to train me? When am I going to find good people? Those are all the wrong questions. What should you be asking yourself?

In today?s marketplace, the sale and purchase of businesses occurs quite often at all different levels including anywhere from small, privately owned companies to large corporate conglomerates. Regardless of the type of business one owns, there are a few tips one should follow when selling their business. The following paragraphs will highlight some of these handy guidelines.

Winn Dixie Supermarket Chain is in bankruptcy (yet recording another huge loss in their 2005 fiscal year) after a 51 million dollar loss in fiscal year 2004.

Part 4 of this 5 part series deals with the Effect of Bad debts.