Past the commentary we so often get about the world going to social media, this month I want to point out two that I think can be of help to your business; TownSquared and FourSquare.

TownSquared is an app that connects businesses together; like a conversation of people who have a lot in common. It has a bit of vetting that is done so that the conversation remains one of exclusively business people. I see a lot of great ideas being exchanged between business owners on TownSquared.

The second is FourSquare. It is not new but definitely it is underutilized. The neat part is that you do not need for all of the world to use it; only your customers. And with your promoting it, you can get more of your customers to participate.

FourSquare is a location based "game". When a customer visits your business they click that they are in your business. Most people link their FourSquare to their Facebook and Twitter so as they are clicking their being at your business, they are telling everyone they know where they are.

Your customers win badges for the number of places they visit as well as the types of businesses they visit and the hours they visit. On top of these fun badges, there is a recognition for the person who visits a business the most; they are recognized as being the "mayor" of the business. The business can give an award for each visit as well as for being the mayor.

As an example, a local restaurant gives a free appetizer for any person that visits and posts to their friends. Think about being a restaurant and having 1,000 people receive a message from someone they know with regard to where they are eating.

I think that both of these can be of value to  you and your business.

 

This month's article is sharing with you some observations about customers and the usage of coupons. While we see a lot of usage, the article is going to question what kind of customer we are attracting to our businesses.

This past week as I was teaching a group in Toronto, we had the opportunity to discuss this online tool from the Profits Plus website. It has been my contention that a financial statement is not arranged in a manner that makes it easy to understand or use to make decisions.

This online calculator was created to offer a look at how most financial statements are arranged, and with one click of a button, rearrange the financial statement into a new format.

If you like the new format, tell your accountant or rearrange your software to use the version we are suggesting.

There was a funny posting on Facebook this week that got me thinking about another incentive. In the posting, A child is visiting their grandfather at work. The grandfather happened to be a stunt double for John Wayne in movies. When asked what he did in the movie, John Wayne told the child, "I do the close up shots for your grandfather."

It is about the kids. And that is what got me thinking. What if we were to ask our employees about their kids? What if we were to know their birthdays and sent something to them on their birthday? We could do something for when they finish a grade in school or when they earn a place on a sports team.

What would your employee think about you show that much interest in their family? Bet they would think you are a very neat person and great to work with and work for. And that within itself is an incentive to your staff.

We want to recognize A Carrot A Day by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, whose book provides the basis for each month's incentive idea.