Conference speakers know small business

Speakers at the 5th Annual MRA Retail Education Conference knew their business and the needs of small business, participants said.

The conference, held March 5 at Soaring Eagle in Mt. Pleasant, addressed topics such as using websites and e-mail marketing, hiring and training the best possible staff and planning for the succession of a small business.

"It was excellent as usual," said Mary Mansour of Read It Again Books in Novi, who has attended the conference several other years. "This year's speakers were great at addressing the issues facing a small retailer like myself."

Mansour was impressed enough with Susan Negen of Whizbang! Training to purchase a marketing program from Negen's company after the conference.

Nuggets of wisdom from this year's speakers include:

• Respond to customer complaints not with explanations or even "I'm sorry." Tell them "Thanks for taking the time to point out a problem we need to fix."

• In an employment interview, don't ask "yes or no" questions.

• Planning for business succession requires one part tax planning and one part financial planning, two parts courage, two parts psychology.

• When training staff, tell and show them both what to do and how to do it to meet your non-negotiable standards. Avoid "wiggle words" like "often" or "sometimes." Precision = performance.

• A great website is constructed from the customer's point of view, answering the customer's implied question: "What's in it for me?"

• Use your website and e-mail marketing in tandem, with the website helping build your e-mail list and your e-mail messages driving traffic back to the website.