Author Archives: Michelle Mate

Strategic Plans That Never Happen

The Strategic Plan That Never Happened

failureMaybe you are a business or a non-profit that completed writing a strategic plan within the last one to two years. You spent many hours with your board of directors or management team carefully crafting the wording within each step of the process. Maybe you used a consultant or let a team member lead the discussion. Everyone felt good about the completion of the document, but a year later the status quo continues. What happened?

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Strategic Plans

Making the Strategic Plan Work

The Non-Profit Board

boardroomHaving worked with and been a part of several non-profit boards of directors, we have observed both well-functioning and dysfunctional groups. Please understand that in every case they were made up of intelligent and well-meaning people. Many of them have worked long and hard in writing a strategic plan. But once completed, it often becomes only an agenda item at the next annual retreat.… Read the rest

Building Loyal Customers

Customer Loyalty

A Key to Business Success

success Business owners and managers must be focused on building a successful organization. Let’s define success as a business which is profitable and sustainable. All businesses must be profitable in order to cover their costs and provide the owner with an appropriate income. Sustainability refers to the ability for a business to survive tomorrow, next week, next month and far into the future. Having loyal customers is key to both profitability and sustainability. The questions are, therefore, why are loyal customers important to success and how do you create loyal customers?

Why are loyal customers important to business success?

Loyal customers are those who appreciate doing business with you and return over and over again.

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