In This Issue:

1. Charitable Trends Yield Business Profits
2. Meet America's PremiereExpert: Frank Patrick
3. Personalized Search Results, What Does This Mean for You?
4. Increasing Your ROI: Proper Pricing Is Paramount
5. Latest News from America's
   PremierExperts®

Charitable Trends Yield Business Profits

As the recession progresses, (no its not over yet), it is bringing back the "Charitable Era" for business. Taking advantage of this trend can help your business grow, increase revenue and do good work all at the same time.

A minor trend for corporate conscience and social responsibility was already occurring before the economy took a dive. The guilt felt by successful business owners who are uncomfortable they are not as bad off as their neighbors is accelerating the trend.

Guilt isn't necessarily a bad thing and you could make a case that time is right for a Michael Douglas type impassioned speech from the movie, "Wall Street" and the now famous line, "Greed is good."

In this case, "guilt is better".

Whatever the reason we find to be motivated about doing good deeds the results are good just like the effect on me knowing my wife, Linda, is going to frown at me if I don't recycle water bottles and Coke cans when I am finished with them. I don't want the pain of her stare so my bottles and cans are promptly washed out and stored after use. The results of the guilt are good. (Now when Linda's not around…).

Expect to hear more about caring and not caring as consumers will demand more from governments, organizations and companies they do business with.

CARE…will take on a new meaning and you will need to position yourself as a company who "Cares" as opposed to one that does not. Companies that care will win consumers votes and they vote with dollars. Companies that don't "Care" will lose. While some people will think it jaded to look at caring as an economic position let me assure you it won't be the first time or the last. Interestingly, if that's what it takes to get a caring world, maybe it's not all that bad. Practice does make habits, even good ones.

All of this commentary is to point to a trend that is happening and you should consider an application to your own business as a way to connect with your customers. Here are some examples:

Zurich Insurance recently installed "Help Points" in certain major airports. These booths, marked with a big blue Z, offer free internet access, charging facilities and other concierge services for travelers.

Shoppers at IKEA have trailers on loan that shoppers can use to take home some of their larger purchases. In Sweden they are actually offering some customers snooze areas where customers are given eye masks and headphones for a relaxing 15 minute break before retackling the shopping experience.

Charmin, the soft toilet paper producer, offers upscale portalets at fairs and festivals. And they are very upscale.

Ecocabs, gives free pedal powered rides throughout the city carrying up to 3 people.

Chick-fil-a frequently creates food discounts for donations to causes they sponsor.

Whole Foods, offers customers who bring their own shopping bags a reward of "wooden nickels" that the customer can deposit in boxes assigned for donations to selected charities.

Google has launched Project 10 100, encouraging the public to submit ideas to help other people, with the most helpful concepts eventually being implemented with a share of $10 million dollars.

Coca-Cola has started ColaLife, to get oral rehydration salts and educational materials to children in African countries who are dying from dehydration. FaceBook has joined them to spread the word through its social network power.

TOMS Shoes sells simple slip on shoes online and donates a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair sold.

And the list goes on with many companies joining the movement every day. Just like reading these examples gave you a warmer feeling about these companies so your customers will have that same feeling about yours. There is nothing wrong with the profit from giving, particularly when the spirit is right and the results good.

To Your Success,
Nick and Jack

Featured Member

Frank Patrick of REO Renegades, REO ResQ, ASREOS.com

Frank Patrick began his real estate career in 2000 after a successful12 year stint in corporate America as a sales manager. Frank sought out a distinctive niche for himself, and found it after months of research, when he decided to specialize in REO (Real Estate Owned) listings, the industry term for bank-owned foreclosed homes.

Featured Blog

Personalized Search Results, What Does This Mean for You?

By now I’m sure you’ve all heard the buzz about Google’s new personalized search results (although not really new, they have been beta testing for a while). So what does this mean? It means, that Google will now start delivering results to their users based on sites previously visited.[...]

Featured Article

Increasing Your ROI: Proper Pricing Is Paramount