Microsoft Word is among the most well known, and well used, programs out there. Employed by business, educational institutes, government and personal users alike it's hard not to come across Word documents on a daily basis. Because Word documents are often created with the intention of them being printed the margins of each document may need to be adjusted to fit better on the paper. But do you know how to do this?

Below is an overview of how to adjust the margins of your Microsoft Word documents.

Why should I worry about margins? If you are trying to create a document that will be printed, or are looking to make a document look as professional as possible, you will need to know about margins. In general, they are often the key to creating clean and readable content, due to the fact that they set how much white space surrounds each page and document.

The seven different margins In Word 2010 and 2013, you have seven different styles of margin to choose from:

1. Normal - The default setting for Word 2010. Margins are set at 1 inch (1") at the top, bottom, left, and right. This is adequate for most printing and online needs, and can be especially useful for stapled or double-sided documents.
2. Narrow - Has margins that are half that of the Normal setting (0.5" of white space at the top, bottom, left and right of the document). This can be ideal for content-heavy documents that need to be fitted onto one page, or internal documents that don't need a letterhead, headers and footers.
3. Moderate - Has the same 1" top and bottom margins as the Normal style, but the left and right margins are 0.75 inches. This looks good for almost any internal reports that are not being bound, and is best used for documents that won't be printed.
4. Wide - With the same top and bottom margins as the Normal layout, this style has wider left and right margins at 2 inches. A good use for this margin is if you are printing a report or document that will be bound.
5. Mirrored - This margin setting is ideal for documents that will be published in the style of a book, or will be folded vertically. Margins are 1 inch at the top and bottom; 1.25 inches on the inside seam and 1 inch on the outside.
6. Office 2003 Default - Because many older printers were limited by the length of their ribbon and couldn't print documents with narrow margins, Office 2003 had default margins of 1 inch at the top and bottom and 1.25 inches on the left and right. If you use older printers in your office, this is a good setting to use for your Word Documents.
7. Custom Margins - You can also set your own margins. If you have a printer that can only print specific margins, then you can click this to create your own settings. Note: If you set a margin that is too narrow for the majority of printers, Word will flash a warning message to remind you.

Applying margins You can apply or change the margins to Word 2010 and 2013 documents by:

1. Opening the document you wish to modify.
2. Clicking on Page Layout, located in the toolbar at the top of the screen.
3. Clicking on the arrow beside Page Margins which is located in the Page Setup section.
4. Selecting one of the pre-existing margins or customizing your own.
5. Selecting OK.

Viewing margins There are a couple of different ways to view the margins you have set. The first is to look at the top and sides of your document. You should see a ruler below the options buttons, but above the actual document. The white area of the ruler is where the content will be and the grey area is the margin. If you don't see the ruler press on the View menu bar and select Ruler. Try this when in print layout view as this will give you an accurate picture of what your document will look like when printed.

If you would like Word to display dotted lines indicating the page margins, you can display these by:

1. Clicking File followed by Options.
2. Selecting Advanced.
3. Ticking the box beside Show text boundaries under the Show document content section.

You should be aware that the dotted margin lines will not show up on printed documents, and may not show up in all views.

Looking to learn more about Word, or any of the other Microsoft Office products? Please contact us today to see how we can help.

Last year Microsoft released their first two tablets - the Surface and the Surface Pro. While both systems were generally well received by tech experts, they seemed to lack the functionality many companies needed. The price of the Pro was another issue, which made it unaffordable for many businesses. Now, Microsoft is back with two new versions of the Surface - will they be any different?

In late September, Microsoft held an event where they announced a refresh of the Surface brand. Last year's Surface and Surface Pro have both received updates which could entice businesses users to look at the platform. Here's an overview of the important specs for both new devices.

The Surface 2 Last year's naming scheme was a little confusing, so this year Microsoft renamed the Surface RT the Surface 2. This is a tablet device that is meant to compete with the iPad and Android tablets.

• Operating system - The Surface 2 will run Windows 8.1 RT, a more useable tablet-based version of Windows 8. The most popular change 8.1 RT will introduce is full support for Outlook. The Surface 2 also comes preinstalled with a touch optimized version of Microsoft Office - Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.
• Processor - This year's device will run a NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor, one of the fastest and most powerful mobile processors currently available. It should be powerful enough to be able to handle pretty much every task with ease.
• Screen size - With a 10.6 inch screen and a resolution of 1920 x 1080, this device has a full HD display that should look great.
• Memory and storage - There are two versions of this tablet - one with 32GB of storage and the other with 64GB. Users will also get 200 GB of SkyDrive storage for two years. The device also has 2GB of RAM which should be more than enough to cover all types of use. There is also a full USB 3.0 port, so you should be able to attach an external hard drive for even further storage.
• Battery life - According to Microsoft, users should get around 10 hours of use out of the device, but this hasn't been tested yet. However, you can expect the device to last at least a full day at the office.
• Price and availability - The device can currently be pre-ordered from the Windows Store now, and will start shipping October 25. The 32 GB version costs USD$449 while the 64 HB version costs USD$549

The Surface 2 Pro The Surface 2 Pro is Microsoft's high-end tablet, but really, it’s more like an incredibly portable computer with a touch screen. This years update has even further improved specs that make it more or less competitive with most low to mid-range laptops.

• Operating system - The Surface 2 Pro will run on a full version of Windows 8.1 Pro. From what we can see, there will be no difference between this version and that found on laptops and desktops.
• Processor - This years device has seen a bump in processing speed and has a fourth generation i5 processor from Intel. This same type of processor is found in many laptops, which means there should be more than enough power to meet most, if not all of your business computing needs. It may struggle a bit with intense operations like graphics editing or gaming however.
• Screen size - With a 10.6 inch screen and a resolution of 1920 x 1080, this device has a full HD display that should look great.
• Memory and storage - There are four storage versions of the Surface Pro 2 - 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB. The 64 and 128 GB versions come with 4 GB of RAM while the 256 GB and 512 GB versions come with 8 GB of RAM. This means the device should be able to run almost any programs. Each device also comes with 200 GB of SkyDrive storage and a USB 3.0 port that you can plug an external hard drive into, so storage issues shouldn't be a problem.
• Battery life - Battery life of this device has not been published, but you can expect it to be similar to most current laptops.
• Price and availability - The Surface Pro 2 starts at USD$899 for the 64 GB version. The 128 GB version costs USD$999, the 256 GB version costs USD$1,299 and the 512 GB version costs USD$1,799. You can pre-order all four versions of the device from the Microsoft Store now, but the 256 HB and 512 GB versions won't ship until at least December 15. The 2 versions with the smaller hard drives will ship by October 22.

If you are looking to learn more about the Surface 2 or Surface 2 Pro, please contact us today to see how we can help.

Companies are increasingly turning to social media platforms for their marketing and to connect with customers. While the bigger networks like Facebook are the most popular, others like Instagram, which can connect with Facebook are just as useful. If your company isn't on Instagram, you could be missing out on a valuable marketing opportunity.

Here are three ways your company can leverage Instagram for better marketing.

1. Post at the most opportune time Many social media platforms like Facebook, have a strategic time for you to post content in order to have a higher chance of getting your name and content in front of users. But with Instagram, the time is actually different.

Because Instagram is largely mobile based, users tend to be accessing the platform at nearly all hours. One would think that if users access the platform mainly from their mobile devices, optimal time to post content would be after working hours. But, most people use their phones throughout the day, so there really is no major difference; users are online at all hours.

Therefore, the best time to post is almost any time. This means you need to figure out when the best time to post is for your company. Try picking a time when you think your audience will be looking at their devices and post then. Keep track of how many shares, likes and comments you get. Be sure to do this for a few weeks, then try another time. Over time, you should find when you get the most interaction, which becomes the best time to post.

Also looking at your industry could help. If you are a restaurant who is only open for dinner, posting pictures in the evening may not be the best. Instead post in the afternoon, before you open.

2. Hashtag it! Like Twitter and now Facebook, Instagram supports hashtags. By adding one in front of the terms in the image or video's description, you will make your post searchable and could increase the chances others will see it. Unlike the other networks however, numerous hashtags could actually increase interactions.

That being said, not every word should have a hashtag. Instead, hashtag words related to the image or video and try to integrate them seamlessly into the description. By putting all of the tags at the bottom or first, you could risk driving users away, largely because they are jumbled.

3. Videos or photos? Instagram recently introduced videos, which have proven to be useful for many marketers. While this is still a new feature, the bigger companies are using it while the smaller ones haven't begun to adopt it.

If you can find a use for your 15 second videos, for example how to use your product, you could see an increase in traffic and interactions. Because you can also upload or link these to your Facebook and even your website, Instagram could turn out to be a valuable tool for short video promotions.

Of course, you can do this with photos as well, so be sure to try incorporate both features. There are also numerous filters you can apply to both your videos and photos, so be sure to look through them all to see what makes your content look the best.

If you are looking to learn more about Instagram and how it can help with your social media and marketing presence, please contact us today.

When it comes to marketing and PR, many companies have taken their campaigns online. These can vary from something as simple as a Google AdWords campaign promoting a product to a presence on social media services. There is one form of digital marketing that stands above the others - email marketing. When this is done right, it is a powerful marketing vehicle, yet many companies struggle to make it successful.

If you have been struggling with your email marketing campaigns, here are five helpful tips.

1. Sort out your contact database If you have had an email newsletter or marketing campaign for more than a couple of years you likely have a large or fair-sized contact database. A problem many businesses run into is that their contact databases are simply out of date. Emails are being sent to accounts that have been closed, or to recipients who have moved jobs. An out-of-date database can really hurt the effectiveness of email marketing.

It would therefore be a good idea to conduct a periodical audit of your database. Take the time to update information like names, positions, email addresses, etc. You should also look at how your database is organized.

Because of the varying nature of many email campaigns, it is highly likely that you will eventually develop email campaigns that target specific emails. If your database isn't segmented, it could be a nightmare to create effective campaigns. At the very least you should include information like the contact's:

• name
• position
• email address
• industry
• location
• referral source

2. Ensure people opt-in Because of its widespread use, email has become the medium of choice for spammers and even hackers trying to gain access to various systems. To counter this companies have adopted email scanning programs with strict filters that block any emails that could be spam. Beyond that, many states and countries have no spam laws which require that companies must get recipients to opt-in so that they can receive email marketing.

There are a number of ways you can get people to opt-in including:

1. placing links in a clear spot on your website
2. having a link in an email footer
3. Having an opt-in link below sign up or inquiry forms.

3. Determine the purpose A common reason most everything fails in business is because it doesn't have a clearly defined process. The same can be said for email campaigns, if they lack a clearly defined purpose e.g., increasing sales, promote a product or move traffic to a website, then the chances of success will be low.

When developing a campaign take time to define the purpose, what do you want the recipient to do. From there, develop the content and layout around that purpose. Be sure to also define the type of people you want the email to reach because this will make it easier to define a recipient list from your database.

4. KISS Many email marketing initiatives fail because the company tries to include too much information or has an overly complex layout and sign up procedure. Try writing content that gets to the point and tells what the audience needs to know in a clear, concise and correct manner.

When developing the layout, aim for something that looks clean with ample white space and only essential information. Careful use of images and design should also drive attention to the most important content.

Beyond that, content should also be optimized for mobile devices. Because many recipients will deem your email marketing as non-essential, they may not look at it while at work. This means that they will likely look at it on their mobile device. If your content doesn't scale to fit smaller screens, this could lead to the reader simply deleting the email.

5. Don't be afraid to get some help Email marketing can get overly complex so, why not get some help? Try working with different email marketing providers to see what works for you, your content and what provides the best results.

By working with an email service like MailChimp or Constant Contact, you could drastically improve the effectiveness of your campaigns.

If you are looking for an email marketing solution contact us to see how we can help.

The PDF (Portable Document Format) is one of the more ubiquitous file types in business. Many online brochures, documents, etc. are posted in this format, largely because the format captures all formatting and layout, allowing files to be presented exactly how they would be printed, and opened by users on nearly any system. If you are sending Microsoft Word documents to customers or other people, it is often a good idea to save these files as PDFs.

Here's how you can save Microsoft Word 2010 and 2013 documents as PDFs.

Saving a Word 2010 document as a PDF

1. Create and format the document as you would like the reader to see it if it were to be printed.
2. Click File followed by Save As.
3. Enter a name for the file in the Filename box. Be sure the name is easy to read and understandable. A bunch of numbers and unintelligible words will likely decrease the chances of the file being opened, or passing spam filters if emailed.
4. Click on Save as type and select PDF.
5. Select either Standard (for print and publishing online) or Minimum (for publishing online).
6. Click Save.

Saving a Word 2013 document as a PDF

1. Create and format the document as you would like the reader to see it if it were to be printed.
2. Click File followed by Export.
3. Select Create PDF/XPS from the menu that opens.
4. Click Publish.

Word will create a PDF copy of the Word document and by default, save it to the same file the document is in.

Things to remember when creating PDFs Here are three important things to remember when creating PDFs in Word:

• They are not meant to be edited. Because PDFs capture the formatting and layout of a document, they are often seen to be the final versions. As such, they are fairly hard to edit. It is better to ensure that the document is exactly what you want and error free before creating a PDF.
• The simplest way to edit. The easiest way to edit a PDF is to actually edit the original Word document and then re-save it as a PDF. You can even use the same name, just confirm that you would like to replace the existing file. If this file has been uploaded to a website, you may want to re-upload it to ensure the correct version is online.
• You can open PDFs and convert them to Word documents. To do this in Word 2013 select File, Open and select the PDF you would like to open. This should convert the document and open it with all images and content. Beware that formatting may be off or inconsistent and will likely need some work to make it readable or presentable.
• Be sure to open and check the PDF before sending. Take a look for any formatting issues or problems with spacing and layout. The file should look exactly the same as the Word document.

If you are looking to learn more about using Microsoft Office in your company, please contact us today to see how we can help, or if we have a solution for you.

When it comes to running a successful business, having an Internet presence is now viewed as a must. While having a website is a good start, it too isn't always enough. You also need to be visible and active on social media. A presence on social media that is active has many benefits, the biggest being brand exposure. If entered into in the right way, you could even see an increase in where your business shows up in search results.

If you are looking to harness the power of social media and potentially increase your ranking on SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) here are five tips on how you can do so.

1. Relevant & interesting content When people look at websites and social media profiles, they are usually looking for specific information. When it comes to businesses, most people look at social media profiles to get a better glimpse into what exactly a company does and how they interact with the online world around them.

It is guaranteed that an interested user will look at your About page, so it is a good idea to include information about your company and what you do in this section. This is a great place to use keywords that usually don't fit well into the newsfeed. Try thinking like a customer and asking yourself, "What keywords would I type in a search engine to find my company?" Create a list and try to work them into the Description and About sections of all social media profiles you use.

Because these sections aren't set in stone, you can, and should, update them on a fairly regular basis. If you notice that certain keywords are becoming more popular, or users are using different keywords, update your content to match this. The key here is to try and always be aware of what information your customers - potential and otherwise - are looking for.

2. Promote & maintain discussions Search giant Google has publicly acknowledged that part of their advanced search algorithms have been written to look for social media pages and accounts that have discussion and commentary. In other words: If you create content that promotes discussion, there is a higher chance that your site will feature higher in search results.

It's important to remember that social media is a two-way street. When you post content that starts a discussion, you should be an active member of that conversation or debate. Try prompting users to explain their ideas and comments, or ask more questions to keep the discussion going.

3. Audit all of your links Links have become an important part of the Internet and social media. For an effective strategy, social media needs to be linked to your main Web presence - your website. This can be done by putting a link in your contact information and in your About sections. It is also acceptable to put links in some posts or tweets, as long as they are relevant to what you do. i.e., a post that tells users to check out your new website or page.

The reason for this is because search engines don't just look at websites for results anymore, they also look at social media and so much more. If you can find a way to show these engines that your profiles and site are linked, you should see a stronger overall presence in search results.

There is one caveat with links however: If you post a comment about something unrelated to what you do that includes a link to your website, this can be seen as a negative form of link building and you could end up being punished in search results. To that end, it is a good idea to go over your profiles and make sure all links work, and make sense. By having working links that are appropriate, you could see an increase in your location in search results.

4. Location! Location! Location! For many small to medium businesses physical location is still an incredibly important aspect of your online presence. You should make sure that you include your physical address, contact information and regional location. If possible, it is a good idea to include geo-location in your posts. For example, when creating a post in Facebook, press the button that looks like a pin in the bottom of the post window. This will add your location to the post.

The reason for this can be found in the way people search for businesses. Now, when people are looking for a business they usually conduct a local search i.e., printer in Denver which will return similar businesses in their local area. If you have your location on your social media profiles, the chances of you showing up in local searches is increased.

5. Be realistic While social media is important, it's not the be-all and end-all. In order to increase your search rank, you will need to work hard on your social media campaign. Posting relevant, interesting content on a regular basis and keeping conversations going takes time. Beyond that, you can't expect immediate results. It could take months or longer to see an increase, and even then it may only be slight, especially if you operate in a highly competitive industry.

While your rank may not improve in leaps and bounds, a solid social media presence will bring about an expanded brand awareness overall. Combine this with other business aspects, like excellent customer service, and you could also see increased loyalty and sales. If you would like to learn more about social media and how it can help your brand, please contact us today.

The information your company produces, stores and analyzes is usually classified. It would certainly not be in your best interest if it was leaked to competitors. The problem is, so many companies have vague views of who owns what, especially when it comes to resources created by employees. It is therefore a good idea to protect your intellectual property.

Here are four tips on how to keep your resources related to intellectual property (IP) secure.

1. Map it Before you can actually take steps to protect your data and property you need to actually know what information and files you have on your folder, along with how important they are. The best way to go about this is to have your managers or team leaders identify the type of information they use and store, along with its value and the risk you could face if it is lost or stolen.

Try to get them to ask questions like:

• Are there items that should be marked as classified or encrypted?
• How is data to be moved? Is it ok to use removable devices like USB drives or CDs?
• Is printing of classified or important documents and information allowed?
• Are employees connecting to the network with their own devices? If so, do we have access to the files they take/access from their devices?
• Is there any information or property that needs to be patented?

2. Update or create an IP policy As you get the answers to the questions above and rank the importance and risks associated with data it is a good idea to either write or update any existing IP policy. You should take steps to ensure that you define:

• The different levels of security for documents.
• What classified documents are and how they are to be identified.
• When employees should encrypt documents or mark them as classified.
• What will happen when the policy is breached.
• Who is cleared to mark documents and apply security elements.
• Steps for recovering classified or important IP resources from employee's devices.

Once you have defined a clear policy, you should have employees acknowledge that they understand the policy by signing it, or an acknowledgement form which can be attached to the policy. Beyond that, it would be a good idea to periodically review your information and update the policy.

3. Enforce the policy If you are going to through the effort of producing a policy, you should follow through and enforce it. Once again, this information is often incredibly important to your company and if it goes missing this could prove disastrous. Policy monitoring and enforcement is essential, and should usually be done by the HR department, or the owner/manager of the company whose name has been applied to patents or other IP.

4. Test your policy All good plans need to be tested from time-to-time. IP policies are no exception, and should be tested at least once a year. The best way to test this type of policy is to actually try and steal it. Now, since you know about the company and the way data is stored, you are not the best person to try and steal your own data. This is where hiring an external firm or working with a managed service provider helps. They will often have ways to test your systems and can provide you with tips on where to make improvements and how.

If you are looking to take steps to protect your valuable IP and data, please contact us today to see how we can help.

Smartphones are a utilitarian tool. They have given us the ability to connect while on the move, and many people rely on their phones as their main social tool, often checking email and social networks regularly as they are out and about. However, if you have a Windows Phone, you may feel a bit limited when it comes to social media apps. In truth, this isn't the case at all.

Here is an overview of five useful, and mostly free, social media apps for Windows Phone.

Facebook Beta The Facebook Beta app is essentially the Facebook mobile app, but with some new features that Facebook wants to introduce in the near future. The latest update includes the ability to upload multiple photos, download photos, attach images in messaging and inline tagging (being able to mention another user in a post). While these features may be appealing, they are still in beta, meaning that Facebook is testing them with users. With some beta programs apps may not be 100% stable. That being said, being able to access new features sooner is something many users welcome.

You can download the app for free from the Windows Phone Store.

Pin+ Pinterest has become one of the fastest growing social networks and many businesses have found some intriguing uses for it. The downside is that there is no official Windows Phone app. What there is instead though is Pin+. This unofficial app brings Pinterest to your phone, with almost all of the functionality available with the Web version.

If you want to use Pinterest on your smartphone, this is the app that allows it. You can download it for free on the Windows Phone Store.

4th & Mayor Foursquare is a popular social media service where you can 'check into' businesses and see who and what is around you. While there is an official app for Windows Phone, some users aren't big fans of it. 4th & Mayor is an alternative app that uses the Foursquare programming interface. It has all the functionality of Foursquare, just with a different, more user friendly layout.

It's available for free on the Windows Phone Store.

6tag It's widely known that visual content is the key to keeping users interested and invested in your social media efforts. Instagram is a great program for creating visual content with your device by allowing you to take pictures, apply filters and then upload and share images on various social media sites. Unfortunately, there is no official app for Windows Phone, and likely won't be for some time to come. What you do have is 6tag. This unofficial app was built using the Instagram system, and includes all the same features like filters, sharing on social media, uploading and even video.

The basic version is free on the Windows Phone Store, but does have ads. You can upgrade to remove ads for USD$1.29 and add video support for USD$1.49.

Social Mints Spend any time on social media and you soon understand that trends come and go at an astonishing speed. It can be incredibly hard to stay on top of them all let alone figure out what is worth looking into. Social Mints is an app that lets you monitor and follow social media trends. Put in a popular term and watch as updates pop up in real time. You can even learn through which mediums people are talking about it, including related keywords and top posters.

If you're looking for a way to keep on top of trends, this is a great app. It's available for free on the Windows Phone Store.

Looking to learn more about the Windows Phone? Give us a shout, we'd love to help you explore and exploit the full potential of what you can do and how it could potentially help your business.

Social media has quickly become an integral component of marketing and brand strategies of companies the world over. Many businesses now view this platform as an essential tool, largely because that's where new customers can be found. Because social media changes at such a rapid pace though it can be tough as a small business to keep up and keep on top of current trends.

Here is an overview of five common social media trends that small to medium businesses should be aware of.

1. Visual content rules Being successful with social media efforts means that you need to have engaging content. Sure written content will get likes and interest, but it's visual content that seems to really engage viewers.

According to a recent study by Kissmetrics, "photos get 53% more Likes, 104% more comments and 84% more click-throughs than posts containing text only." If you don't already post visual content, like pictures and videos, it may be time to start looking into how you can do this. One great platform that enables this is Instagram. You can also take great quality pics from a smartphone and post them directly onto Facebook.

2. Search and social media are one and the same With the recent release of Facebook's Graph Search, increase of Google+ related content in Google Search, and Google now indexing various social media activity, it's quickly becoming essential for a business to have a presence on various social media platforms. The key point to be aware of here is that Internet search results will likely continue to pull results from various social media platforms, so, you need be active on several of them.

3. Social media monetization Businesses are really starting to realize the important role social media sites like Facebook can play in branding and advertising. Companies are starting to take advantage of paid advertising, like Facebook's Ads, that ensures content is displayed to relevant users or user groups. These paid advertisements have proven to be largely successful for many small businesses.

4. Social currency Social currency is the idea of capitalizing on resources that are discovered by having a presence on social media. Essentially this means leveraging your presence on social media to explore new customer related trends and gain insight into what your customers are doing online and what they want. You can then use this information to create new products, or content related to customer wants, that will not only increase engagement but potentially sales too.

5. Microblogging The popularity of sites related to microblogging e.g., Twitter, is still on the rise. The more popular microblogging sites are actually ones that are more visual, like Vine and Instagram. These short posts allow users to share what is going on through images. As we said above, visual content really is key. If you can create posts using these microblogging sites, you are in a good position to see an increase in engagement with your customers - they will enjoy seeing what you are doing, as long as you don't bombard them.

These are just five social media trends but there are many more. Which ones have you noticed and how have they worked for your business? Let us know and share your social media experiences.

For many companies customer service is an integral component of success. If you and your employees offer poor customer service, the chances of your business surviving are nil, especially if you run a small business. With the majority of customer services going online, there are some things you need to be doing to ensure you offer the best service possible when online.

Here are four ways to ensure that your company offers the best customer service - on and offline.

1. Ask questions It can be easy to discount customers as not knowing what they want or being overly demanding, but in reality, they are the ones supporting your business. Without your customers, you won't survive. One of the best things you can do to keep your customers is to get them on your side and invested in your company.

How do you do this? Ask them what they want and deliver on it. You should take steps to contact your customers - new and return - what they would like to see from you. If you run a small, local garden store and make an effort to reach out to your customers asking them what plants and material they would like to see you carry. Then, when you get your answers, try your best to meet the requests and communicate with your customers letting them know of the new products or changes.

Customers will see that you are listening to them and be generally more willing to return, often noting the great customer service. One of the best places to ask questions these days is on the platforms where your customers spend most of their time - most likely social media. Who knows, the proper question could net you next years big sale or product line!

2. Talk about both good and bad This tip is specifically aimed at your social media presence. It is now normal for customers to take to the networks to voice their complaints or unhappiness. If you ignore these complaints or sweep them under the rug, your brand and sales might take an unfortunate dive.

When you see complaints online, it would be a good idea to address these. Many experts agree that being candid and open while replying in a professional manner could go a long way in showcasing your customer service. If you can, try to engage them in a more personal manner like over the phone. If customers see that you are not only listening to their grievances but also doing something about them, you will most likely see an increase in loyalty.

3. Act Taking action is important for excellent customer service. If your agents or employees ask questions and are willing to deal with both the good and bad criticism, they should also be willing and free enough to act.

If you think about it, almost every company with excellent customer service has employees who take action to fix something when they see a problem. They don't have to go to their boss for approval, they just do. The key here is they need to communicate both with their teammates and the customers on what they are doing or will do in the near future.

Beyond that, utilizing social media and other online channels to monitor conversations is important. If you come across a complaint or request, following up and keeping the conversation going is great customer service. By communicating, acting and following through either online or offline, your company will show that you take customer service seriously.

4. Be approachable Think about the last time you were in a store and the staff were sitting around chatting. Did you feel bad about going up to one of them and asking a question? Nine times out of ten, unapproachable staff will cause lost sales. The same goes for your online presence.

If you have a website that is hard to navigate or customers have to go through hoops to find contact information, they will more than likely not even bother to contact you. This means you will lose the sale before you even know about it.

This also extends to your social networks. Because so many people use this medium to connect, it's important to be approachable here as well. If don't allow customers to comment on your Facebook Page or add suggestions on Google+ due to fear of spam or too many negative comments, then you could be turning customers away. Sure, there will be criticism online, some of it quite harsh but this could be a good thing especially if all interaction on social media is criticism. This shows that your customer service or product isn't working and is providing you with a way to identify what needs to be changed.

In general, don't delete negative comments as long as they are fair and try your best to respond to requests. This will indicate to customers that you care and can help convince them to do business with you.

If your company is looking for a better support system for customer service or ways to improve the connection with customers, contact us today to see how we can help.