What's Bugging Your Customers Today? - [read]
Customers can be fickle: happy one minute, not happy the next. But the better job we can do of avoiding trigger points that bring on customer dissatisfaction, the better we can keep our customers happy. The bullet style list in this article can be used for in-house training - it's a hot list about what you might be doing that is bugging your customers today. - thecustomercollective.com

Youth Trends: The Digital Native - [read]
Today's generation is the first to come of age in the online era - Digital Natives, not Immigrants. Digital Natives have come of age - they are the workers, customers and citizens not of tomorrow but of today. Business owners who recognize them as the latest big group of consumers to target (and who recognize the unique advantages that their entrepreneurial mind set adds to the marketplace) are the ones most likely to embrace the future with ease. Small businesses can use their technological expertise as employees to explore online business opportunities and discover how to utilize social networks and user-generated media.- openforum.com

12 Keys to Greater Self-Awareness - [read]
Self–awareness is difficult; we don’t always like to admit things about ourselves because we don’t like the guilt associated with not doing what we know we should. But it is your thinking and the behavior that flows from it that has brought you to where you are now - so you must admit things to grow. Ask yourself, “In light of where I come from, what do I need to know about myself?”
- leadershipnow.com

Leadership Caffeine - [read]
If you're the kind of boss that reads leadership advice, use what you learn to to instill your values in the next generation, rather than focusing energy on convincing other, less motivated leaders to adopt better practices. Create a new generation who will ultimately innovate and improve upon what you did. Take the people-focused, results-oriented great practices so widely covered and help them go viral inside our organizations. - artpetty.com

Think Little to Think Big - [read]
Nothing can kill innovation faster than the performance anxiety that results from outsized ambition. In a business culture that likes to talk up big innovations, we may be lacking appreciation for the beauty of the small idea. Outsized ambitions can set you up for failure in a big way when you spend most of your time rejecting your own thinking. No one bats a thousand at coming up with big, disruptive innovations, so you need to explore all your ideas to find the great ones. Not only that, most really big ideas often look small to start.- fastcompany.com

Creating a Culture of Incentive - [read]
Undisputedly, employees are the most precious asset of a company, so it’s vitally important for organizations to recognize and communicate their value in a variety of manners. Some ways include giving them public attention, while other methods could mean offering a quick, personal “kudos” or simply letting them know that they’ve got a team that has their back. These displays of appreciation can be the incentive staff members need at times to take things to the next level. - fastcompany.com

Low Tech and Lovin' It - Build Your List Off and Online - [read]
You probably invite customers to join your email list during their online activity, but do you have list-building strategies for offline interactions? Don't forget the real world. While they might be low-tech, offline methods can also get the lead-gen job done; they could, in fact, yield subscribers who wouldn't otherwise sign up. - marketingprofs.com

Put Sampling on the Menu - [read]
Tokyo's first Sample Lab connected brands with consumers by letting them test and take away new products, a concept quickly picked up in other parts of the world. Now, the original Sample Lab has reopened as one-of-a-kind marketing cafe targeting Japanese women in their 20s and 30s with free samples in exchange for their visits and views, in a relaxed and informal setting. With every order of food or drinks, they receive an L Coin, which can be redeemed for free samples at the cafe's sample bar. After the visit, members are asked to share their views via an electronic survey, in exchange for more tokens. Samples offered range from food and drinks to skin care products. Operating a hybrid between a regular cafe and a sampling venue makes sense, creating two streams of income and many ways to draw new customers in.- springwise.com