Idioteex

Posts Tagged ‘Business’

Now, wait a minute. You are not a stage comedian or an actor. Your job is to sell something, not put on a clown act. How does humor fit into customer service?

And that’s exactly why this works: Everybody thinks just like the above paragraph. Because everybody thinks that way, nobody uses humor to ease a customer transaction. This causes the business world to take on a droning, monotonous tone: “How are you?” “Would you like a receipt?” “Thank you for shopping with us.” “Can I get you anything to drink with that?” “How may I assist you?’

It goes on and on, a routine that everybody sleepwalks through. Clearly, you don’t have to be very funny to break up the rhythm. Even a little, tiny bit funny does very, very well in the jet stream of flowing consciousness that is the consumer’s day. And they will remember it for the rest of the day.

Here is one of the best examples I’ve ever seen from real life. Do you like calling a business and hearing one of those droning phone menus that tell you to push a button for each option? Well, here’s another one:

Welcome to International Discount Brokerage!

This call may be recorded or monitored for quality assurance.

For stock trading, press 1.

To order a new account kit, press 2.

For stock quotes, press 3.

For other customer service, press 4.

If you are a netware points benefits customer, press 5.

To hear more about our easy-buy program, where you can secure future stock credits, press 6.

If you would like to hear a duck quack, press 7.

If you know your party’s extension, press 8.

To return to the main menu, press 9…

Or stay on the line for the next available customer service representative.

Thank you.  Read more...

During the recent years, the world of Arts and Entertainment in the Middle East has taken a new form. Unlike the past where painting, architecture, sculpture, theater and cinema were the only mediums that creative people could use for their artistic expression, the present world offers a plethora of choices. Whether you specialize in performing arts like various dance forms, can mesmerize your audience with orchestras, symphonies and bands, want to use art exhibitions and galleries to display and publicize your graphic art, calligraphy, painting or sculpture, get the word out about your metal art, using contemporary channels of mass communication like getting listed in online business directories can help.

People into the entertainment business also need to give adequate exposure to their business and there is no better and cost effective way of advertisement than using online business directories. However, your chosen online directory should have relevant business categories to list your business. Getting listed under “Restaurants and Bars” when you actually own a tourist resort with a gaming zone is no way to further your business. It is here that d3ayat can help.

This online directory has many categories under Arts and Entertainment where you can submit the details of your business, product or service. The main categories under which you may submit your business listing include Arts Exhibits; Arcades & Amusements; Children’s & Family Entertainment; Carnivals, Fairs & Festivals; Event Planning; Game Centers; Entertainment Industry; Performing Arts; Music; Movies, Videos, & DVDs; Gifts & Novelties; Visual Arts; Cultural Attractions, Events & Facilities. In case you want to dig deeper to come across a more specific category suitable for your business, you can check the sub-sections under each of these main categories to choose the right one. By getting listed under the relevant business category in d3ayat, you stand to get prospective customers who are most likely to strike a deal and help you further your business. In other words, d3ayat listing can help you get focused visitors who are likely to buy from you rather than getting you stray visitors who may browse through your offerings and just leave.  Read more...

Are you looking for a new way to market your business? One that has withstood the test of time? One word: Storytelling. Recently BusinessWeek, featured an article on the importance of using Storytelling for customer interest. Need to kick it up a notch? Check out storytelling with sand animation or “Sand Art.”

Sand Story is a fresh and innovative storytelling approach to business marketing. Mixing sand and light, pictures are formed and reformed into ever changing shapes and images that tell visually powerful stories. Set to music, these images inspire, challenge and motivate in a captivating way. Sand Art is performed live and projected on screens for a powerful and standing ovation experience. More than entertained, the consumer walks away remembering the corporate message – which is after all essential for any business choosing to marketing its products and services.

Sand Story also reaches across a broad spectrum of marketing venues from nonprofits to corporate business. Newsweek Magazine has also affirmed the versatility of Sand Art as a storytelling marketing strategy for business: “Part performance art, part visual art and part storytelling, the craft has been featured at Cirque du Soleil and Christian youth camps, Russian nightclubs and corporate events. Live shows enchant audiences not only because the visual effect is riveting, but because they tell a story, typically about love, war, or faith.”  Read more...

If you are a business owner or manager and are currently playing music in your venues or considering implementing music on hold, you need to be aware that the music you use must be licensed, or it will be considered illegal use of copyrighted music. If caught, you could be facing steep fines or possible legal action. The music industry is coming down hard on businesses that are unaware of or disregard proper licensing of copyrighted music, as is evident by a recent series of crackdowns on over two dozen venues in Seattle who failed to pay royalties on music they were playing. (ASCAP) The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, says that these venues have been performing copyrighted music without permission. ASCAP is now actively going after local businesses that have not been paying to use copyrighted music. According to their web site any music that is played outside a direct circle of family and friends is considered a public performance; this includes restaurants playing background music or commonly known as in-store music, DJs and music on hold over phone lines.

Fortunately, if you are unwilling or unable to pay expensive music licensing fees but still would like to play music in your venues or implement music on hold, there is a less expensive alternative, Royalty Free Music. Unlike most music licenses, royalty free music only requires a typically low one time fee, and the purchaser is then free to use the music as often and in as many different ways as they like. The majority of music licenses stipulate how the music is to be used, and charge additional fees accordingly. If you’re looking for music you can use without being restricted by fussy contracts, you should consider royalty free music. One good source for royalty free music with clean and simple licensing terms is www.opuzz.com, one of the larger independent providers of quality royalty free music.  Read more...

Have you been told that you have a good sense of humor throughout your life? Do you find that things are easier to understand when they are described in a humorous way? Humor helps us appreciate the good times and smile through the bad times. Humor is a good memory tool. It is part of who we are as humans.

Perhaps you enjoy a good joke every now and then, or you find yourself seeing the funny side of things. Did you ever think that you could use humor to make money? Many people use humor as a marketing tool to make money, and not just stand-up comedians and television writers.

If you are an exceptional observer and commentator, if you spend time analyzing jokes and why they are funny, if you want to spend many years working hard to make it, then you very well may have what it takes to be a successful stand-up comedian.

For most of us, however, getting on stage and speaking in front of people is not something we want to do. Some people are terrified of speaking in front of a group; it’s the number one phobia world-wide.

There are many other ways to make a good living using humor. Try to think of commercials that are particularly effective. Chances are the commercials you thought about were funny. This is because a good joke is memorable. Advertisers have understood this for decades.

Behind every great funny commercial, there is an ad writer. The ability to find the funny side of things is a hot commodity in the advertising business. Talented ad writers make a good living. Even in political campaigns, humor is used to make a point, or get folks to pay attention to a person or issue.  Read more...