Johannes wrote a post last week about a restaurant going the extra mile, but in the wrong direction. I thought it was real food for thought ... so to speak. Justine pasted it on DWF and people got the point. But Adrienne reckoned it was a bit harsh – didn't the restaurant deserve marks for trying? Absolutely, and I'm sure Johannes was out to make a point rather than beat up on them. But... It's a harsh world. Your customers probably don't care how hard you try, whether you can make payroll, how much you like oysters. Sometimes the toughest thing about being in business is that you can't make To View More >>

I was upsold to in the weekend and didn't even know it. Now that I do though, I'm ok with it. Over the last few weeks my fiancee and I have been looking out wedding bands for us both. We'd again done our homework, been put off by another raft of useless sales people and ended up where we always knew we would, with the same jeweller I'd bought her engagement ring from. I blogged about that experience a while back. An hour later I walked out of the shop with a quote for a wedding band thicker, wider, with a bigger diamond and in higher quality gold than I'd gone in thinking I wanted. Kayla made To View More >>

This clip is from Mad Men, the US TV series about '60s-era Madison Ave ad-men. The guys are planning the launch of the Kodak Carousel. Watch 'em weep. It's not the about the technology, it's not about "new", it's about...  what drives your business. Cheers, Ian To View More >>

I have to say this. That leather is beautiful. Well I certainly think so. It's is part of our new contemporary range, specially made for us. Heather and I were lucky enough to visit the tannery in Europe last month and we were very impressed. So much individual attention to every hide, from the initial inspection and grading (by four very serious men) through to the final finishing processes and packaging. Not to mention their environmental commitment,  and even the way they engaged personally with us. We visited our paper suppliers too. Same story. Great people, great product, high standards. To View More >>

And dare I say it, 'Free' is pretty popular... Danny's throwaway line got a few negative reactions ... despite Wired's Chris Anderson saying "free" is the default price on the internet. And PJ is free, right? (We explained why here.) The counter argument is that sure, we all like free stuff ... but templates save you time by utilising the fruits of other people's. And that justifies the cost. I totally agree, but still people persist in giving stuff away online. Open source software ... free reports about how to take your business online ... the list is endless. Sometimes free comes without strings To View More >>

Buy a set of templates. Use them. Take note of what you liked and didn't like. Then make yours better ;-) Next tip. Danny (sneaky businessman) I'm serious. How many businesses don't check out what's working for the competition? To View More >>

Caring is an attractive quality we're all drawn towards on some level. We notice when people care for us, or someone else, or some thing. And it makes us feel good. Take Gail or Natasha or Sonya here at Queensberry. They make people feel good all day because they genuinely care about the person on the other end of the phone. And trust me, people notice it. When looking for a wedding venue, we noticed how much one venue cared even before we'd visited. They wanted us to have the fullest experience possible when visiting their venue, so suggested we come by one Saturday morning before a wedding, and To View More >>

You know that all important first impression? Well for a lot of people, the first impression they'll have of your business is your online Yellow Pages listing, and we spotted an interesting way some of our clients are making the most of theirs... Yellow Pages gives you the option to add search terms to your listing, to help describe what products or services you offer. What we noticed was that some of our clients were adding terms like 'Queensberry' or 'Queensberry Albums' to their listing. It's a simple idea but a powerful one too. Aligning yourself with a well known or reputable brand is a great To View More >>

When you contact Photojunction support about a issue you're having, Ian C, Christine or myself  always aim to get back to you within one business day. But if you're after a quicker fix, we'd suggest you check out the wealth of information we've got online first. Here are the best places to find specific information about Photojunction: Photojunction Support Forums: http://photojunction.com/forums/ Photojunction Blog: http://photojunction.com/blog/ Photojunction Remix help resource guide: http://photojunction.com/blog/remix/ Photojunction Website: http://photojunction.com/ The quickest way to find To View More >>

Remember your first time? Doing whatever. Maybe photographing your first wedding? Years back when Subway turned up in New Zealand it took me 10 minutes and enough questions to drive mum up the wall to finally place my order. Why? Because I didn't know how. I've just committed to spending a lot of money on our wedding photography, but before I did, I was nervous. Not so much because of the money, but because I wasn't sure what I'd get for it. It was my first time. I'm in the industry, talk to photographers all the time, and write articles about marketing and business every day.  But I still felt To View More >>