San Francisco Relocation-Prepare to Fall in Love

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Tamara Zablocki

Exploring San Francisco Neighborhoods

San Francisco Cable CarIf you are relocating or on temporary assignment to San Francisco, you might consider you are a lucky person.  San Francisco has been called “ Baghdad by Bay” and likened to Rome and Lisbon because the city is built around seven hills.  When I am new to area I usually ask questions of a “native” to find out about the real finds in my new city of residence.  Our curiosity and adventurous spirit motivates us to discover those special places that will become our new favorite places.

You can learn about a city in many different ways, but since San Francisco is known for a diversity of ethnic groups and it’s many neighborhoods, what a great way to explore your new city for your temporary assignment or relocation:

Fisherman’s Wharf: The Maritime Museum, with the lore of old sailing vessels to Love, Chaos and Dinner at Teatro ZinZanni, Fisherman’s Wharf has something for young and old alike.  If you like to shop or eat, the possibilities are endless.  Start with Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square, stopping by the Buena Vista for an Irish coffee, to a little known treasure at Pier 45, Musee Mecanique.  Musee is a vintage selection of old player pianos, pinball and fortune-telling machines, which graced the Cliff House in the 1900’s and Playland at the Beach, with the bonus being that admission is free.

Union Square: Bring your wallet or just go window shopping- incredible shopping is to be had in Union Square including; Gump’s, Tiffany’s, Sak’s, Neiman Marcus, or FAO Schwartz for your kids.  Don’t forget to pick up some beautiful flowers from one of the many sidewalk vendors. A few blocks away are some of the best stage shows in the United States with ACT or satisfy your sweet tooth at the Cheesecake Factory.

South of Market: Home to Twitter and some of the top Internet companies today; considered to be some of the hippest real estate in the City with upscale dance clubs, work-live lofts, the Floral Market, Ansel Adams photography center, artists and home to A T & T Park. The Embarcadero in the SOMA area has some wonderful cafes, breweries, and bicycling paths to see another side of San Francisco.

Chinatown: The largest population of Chinese people outside of China.  To really see the authentic side of Chinatown you will want to stray off the two main roads to see some of the alleyways throughout Chinatown.  A few that are particularly interesting are Waverly Place and Spofford Alley, both of which are lined with various Chinese associations and social clubs.  Ross Alley is home to the Golden Gate Cookie Factory, the Hung Sung Buddhist Temple, the Chinese Cultural Center, and Chinese Historical Society.  Eat Dim Sum; buy Chinese herbs, or fresh duck hanging in a grocery store window with a selection of Chinese vegetables that are only available in Chinatown.

Cable Car Ride: OK, it’s not a neighborhood, but a wonderful way to see many different neighborhoods in San Francisco and some of the best views in the City; don’t forget to bring your camera. This is an age old San Francisco tradition; you haven’t truly experienced San Francisco until you have ridden a cable car.

Golden Gate Park: One of the largest urban parks in the United States complete with lake, bison, walking trails galore, and the Arboretum. Visit the Academy of Science-mingle with the undersea creatures while having a sleepover or attending a Nightlife dance event or the Japanese Tea Garden for a serene afternoon sip of tea.

Haight Asbury: Visit the area of San Francisco known as the epicenter for the “Summer of Love” in 1968, replete with Victorians, boutiques, and artist studios.  The Haight has gone through many changes, but has retained the artsy bohemian flavor it had when it stood for a movement and an era in America history.

Broadway/North Beach: Settled by Italian immigrants, experience amazing Italian cuisine, some of the best outside of Italy while experiencing some of the best people watching in the city.  From Upper Grant with boutiques to Bimbo 365 Club to Beach Blanket Babylon or the renowned City Lights Bookstore, North Beach has a wide diversity of nightlife, boutiques, and San Francisco landmarks, such as Coit Tower.

Mission District: Named for the Mission Delores and home to some of the best authentic Mexican food in California and also home to trendy boutiques and organic food cafes. The Mission District, especially along 16th Street, has a wide variety of Mexican cuisine to choose from and also some of the best mural art in the city that graces the sides of many buildings for your viewing pleasure.

Union Street: Amidst trendy shops and great clubs are sprinkled brightly painted Victorians, called ” painted ladies”; Union street is as much fun during the day as at night. Known for the Union Street Fair and some of the best food in the city, a great neighborhood to pick up newest kitchenware, have a new style cut in a trendy salon or get pampered in a spa.

Castro Street: Much of the gay and lesbian community lives and works in this neighborhood; enjoy a wonderful assortment of hip shops, restaurants, pubs and a grand old movie palace. Castro Street also has some of the finest Victorians in the city and is situated just south of Market Street till it reaches Noe Valley at 24th Street.

Golden Gate Bridge: Not a neighborhood, but your stay in San Francisco would not be complete without walking or bicycling across the Golden Gate Bridge with views that are spectacular. A great bike ride; start at the south end of the bridge and continue across to Sausalito, to explore boutiques, sailboats, art galleries and you can always finish your trip off by taking the ferry back to San Francisco.

These are some of the major neighborhoods in San Francisco and a wonderful way to start getting acquainted with the City.  SuiteAmerica has the finest selection of San Francisco furnished apartments available in many neighborhoods throughout San Francisco. You can view our Cityscapes to see some of the beautiful views in the City and also scroll through the different San Francisco corporate housing we offer on our Location pages. Once you have explored these neighborhoods, realize there are over 100 different neighborhoods in San Francisco, a whole lot of culture, food, art and people waiting to show you what makes San Francisco one of the most romantic cities in the world and a worldwide favorite.

Posted in Business, Career, Relocation, San Francisco, Temporary Assignment, Vacation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mobile Apps Increase Business Productivity

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Tamara Zablocki

Improved Business Communication and Productivity

Mobile Apps Increase Business Productivity

At SuiteAmerica, we are enthusiastic about mobile apps and technology.  We have found mobile apps have improved communication with clients and increased our productivity.  We were wondering what the statistics were about mobile apps and business productivity, so we did some research.  We were intrigued with the findings.  Bill French of iPad CTO mentions, “an Aberdeen survey of 240 enterprises suggests that [overall], the use of mobile apps designed specifically to help employees get their work done, increased productivity by 45%.  Further, the data reveals that operational efficiency rises almost as much (44%) when enterprise apps are made available.”

Some further interesting data, Bill French says, “The productivity and performance survey data demonstrates why mobile app strategies are taking on an increased importance and gaining momentum in corporate IT and executive suites.  But this awareness extends all the way down to the smallest businesses.  As a result, it’s not surprising to see how this realization is affecting mobile app strategies in all types of businesses.”

Aberdeen reports the top three mobile strategies and their respective percentages:

  • Improve communication and collaboration among team members (66%)
  • Rapidly deliver actionable information to the point of decision (48%)
  • Use mobile software to increase customer intimacy (42%)

Considering that over a third of the respondents of the survey quote improved communication and collaboration among team members as a top priority, let’s take a look at some of the top apps that people use to increase productivity:

DocsToGoDocks to Go for iPhone/ Blackberry/ Android | free and premium

Documents to Go is a cloud file support app that allows you to view, import and export Microsoft, Apple iWorks, PDF and other files.  Documents to Go supports: Google Docs, Box.net.  Dropbox, iDisk, and SugarSync.

Box.net

Box.net for iPhone/ iPad/ Android | free and business addition

Box.net is a robust solution for scalable, secure mobile collaboration with organizational features, content management, online workspaces and social media integration along with supporting Google Apps, Salesforce CRM, NetSuite, EMC Cloud Connect, and API’s for custom integrations.

EvernoteEvernote for iPhone/ Blackberry/ Android | free and premium

Evernote captures anything you can access anywhere with the ability to find things fast; from meeting notes to photos and web pages using your mobile device.

HootSuite for iPhone/Blackberry/Android | free and premium

HootSuite allows you to update you status on your social network while simultaneously tracking results, offering team collaboration, ability to assign tasks, schedule updates, internationalize, monitor mentions, with a secure profile, report builder, giving you the ability to spread messages on the go and track the results.

Dragon DictationDragon Dictation for iPhone/ iPad/ iPod touch/ Android |

Dragon Dictation is an easy-to-use voice recognition application that allows you to quickly speak and instantly see your text or email messages (up to five times faster than typing on the keyboard).

reQallreQall for iPhone/ Blackberry/ Android | standard and premium

reQall integrates with both Google calendar and Microsoft Outlook and is a voice-enabled memory aid that integrates your mobile phone, email, text messaging and IM into a powerful organizer, reminder system and productivity assistant allowing you to have one system that integrates with the devices and systems you are already use.

More and more mobiles apps are being developed each day to help you seamlessly integrate your work life with your personal life saving you time and improving your productivity.  What is your favorite mobile app; share with us on Facebook.

Posted in Business, Career, Customer Service, Goals, Social Media, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Corporate Housing More Than a Business Solution

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Tamara Zablocki

An Underutilized Resource in Multiple Situations

Corporate Housing Washington DC

Why would you choose corporate housing over a hotel room or extended stay hotel?  A hotel stay fits a typical one or two week vacation great, but with extended vacations or temporary stays over a two week period, people miss the comforts of home.  Maid service is wonderful, but you miss having a refrigerator stocked with your favorite foods and a hotel room can become confining for longer stays with it’s average of 300 square feet.  For travelers with an extended stay in one area corporate housing is a tremendous resource.

For extended stays, corporate apartments are more economical that a typical hotel room of the same quality.  Most clients find a break-even point is about 21 days; this is the tipping point when a corporate apartment becomes a better choice economically than a hotel room.  Corporate apartments come fully furnished and can be customized to meet your particular needs.  Also, with stays greater than 30 days a client is not subject to hotel taxes, which can be up to 25% of the room cost in some areas.

Freeing yourself form the confines of a hotel room by choosing a furnished apartment gives you an average of 750 square feet of living space; parking, an exercise facility, swimming pool, washer and dryer, high speed Internet, utilities, luxurious bed and bath amenities and a fully equipped kitchen.  Corporate housing gives you many of the comforts of home at a price that is hard to beat.

Corporate housing is an under utilized resource for families, providing solutions for longer stays including:

  • Working on a extended project away from home
  • Family reunions
  • Facilities for seminars and workshops
  • An alternative to hotels for longer vacations; especially with a larger family taking in account multiple hotel room cost versus a furnished apartment
  • When you are undertaking a major remodeling of your home
  • Your selling your home and buying another; the two escrow closing dates don’t synchronize and renting back your home in the interim is not possible
  • Relocating for a new job
  • Visiting relatives
  • Weddings
  • Researching the move to a new area or state
  • A good resource for multi-family or multi-generational vacations

Corporate Housing Solution for FamiliesCorporate apartments are two to three times larger than the average extended stay hotel room.  A furnished corporate apartment provides full bedrooms, plus multiple baths in two and three bedroom apartments.  Unlike hotels, corporate apartments are not usually located near highways, but located in residential neighborhoods like a home for greater safety and privacy.

Other resources for longer stays include VRBO and Craigslist, but corporate housing provided by a company with an excellent track record is a simple solution to a myriad of situations that involve a longer stay.  You will find working with a corporate housing company simpler and less stressful when sourcing furnished apartments for your vacation destination.  Let the relocation experts take care of the details allowing you and your family to focus on fun and enjoyment.  Choose corporate housing for your next extended stay vacation and see the wonderful difference it can make in the quality of your vacation.

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The Success Edge-Goal Setting

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Tamara Zablocki

The Critical Difference in Goal Achievement

Goal Achievemen

Many of us have been to goal setting workshops, made New Year’s resolutions or have attained goals.  But what makes goal setting work?  Why is goal setting a critical component in achieving success personally or in business?  A wise man once said, you would pack differently if you knew you were traveling to New York rather than Hawaii.  An obvious fact, but why do some people achieve goals while others seem to take a slalom course through life?

Psychology, attitude, and aptitude are discussed in many books from Richard Bolles’s What Color is Your Parachute to Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Successful People and how they influence attaining your goals.  But, it is Mark McCormack’s book, What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School that explains the 1979 Harvard Business School study with students in the MBA program at Harvard, outlining the critical difference goal setting makes in attaining goals.

Students were asked, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?”  The results were startling from a MBA program, only 3 % of the graduates had written goals and plans; 13% had goals, but not written, and the majority, 84% had no specific goals set at all.

Fast forward ten years and the members of the class were interviewed again, and the findings, while predictable, were astonishing.  13% of the class who had goals were earning on average, twice as much as the 84% who had no goals.  You ask, what about the 3% who had clear written goals.  They were earning, on average, 10X as much as the other 97% who either didn’t have goals or they weren’t written goals.

Seems pretty open and shut, we should all have written goals, but it’s not that easy, most people don’t have clear, measurable, timely goals that they are working toward.  From Zig Ziglar to Brain Tracy motivational speakers pronounce the importance of goals; Brian Tracy in his book, Goals teaches how to identify in the clearest terms what you want out of life, then how to achieve those goals.  Brian Tracy says there are four reasons why people do not set goals:

  • People don’t realize the importance of goals.  Take a look at the 5 people you spend the most time with, do they set goals, what is their altitude?  The people we spend the most time with greatly influence both our attitude and our altitude.

Goal Setting

  • People don’t know how to set goals.  Goals need to be measurable, specific, attainable, relevant and timely.
  • People fear failure.  Failure hurts, but many successful people will share how they failed themselves to success, ferreting out a system that will lead them to their goals.  Every person or company has their hit rate, including Google, from Jaiku to Google Print Ads they had their misses, but their successes have outweighed their failures and have kept them number 1.
  • People fear rejection.  People are often afraid if they miss a goal, people will be critical of their mistakes.  Some the worst criticism comes from people that don’t set goals.  So share your goals with other goal setters, that know that none of us usually hit 100% and will savor your successes and offer their understanding when you fail.

Goal setting is like anything else.  The more you do it the better you get at it.  Practice sharpening the saw, as Stephan Covey says and soon you will see through the consistent habit of goal setting that progress is being made.  Share with us on Facebook some of the goals you have achieved.

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Career Opportunities and Temporary Assignments

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Tamara Zablocki

What Are the Benefits of Temporary Assignment?

Career Opportunities-Temporary Assignment

Why would you want to take a temporary assignment with your company?  A temporary assignment doesn’t always herald job death, but can be the vehicle for expanding your career opportunities.  When a corporation is going through major growth and expansion, sometimes your career path can seem less clear, especially when you are offered a temporary assignment.

As a corporate housing company, our personal transition coordinators have heard both the personal and career oriented choices people are addressing with accepting a temporary assignment.  We have listed below some possible benefits to your career in accepting a temporary assignment:

The opportunity to gain experience and skills: A temporary assignment can give you an opportunity to learn new skills and gain valuable experience that wouldn’t be possible with your present position.  Pilot programs or testing new markets for company expansion brings opportunities to people that are willing to take on a temporary assignment.  Clear communication is important in ascertaining whether this is truly a temporary assignment or whether a division or company office is being downsized due to a company merger or acquisition. When you have all the facts, you can make the best decision for your career and personal life.

The opportunity to flex your job skills: A temporary assignment can give you the opportunity to flex both your job skills and management abilities.  Often you can find your career path blocked in a corporation; but with a temporary assignment, all new vistas can open up for career advancement and personal development.

Networking opportunities: New city, position, colleagues and opportunities for making connections with people you would have never known had you not taken the temporary assignment being offered.  Networking and expanding your sphere of influence is the juice that propels careers forward; you can see your temporary assignment as an opportunity to kick your career up a notch.

Creating a pathway to new career possibilities: Sometimes a temporary assignment leads to a new career position, job offer, or promotion.  With a temporary assignment, people are able to see you from a new vantage point, the opportunity to see the emergence of new skills, responsibilities, or management expertise.  Sometimes a temporary assignment becomes the new permanent; think possibilities.

The opportunity to rethink your career path and reinvent yourself: Temporary assignments can give you a hiatus from your routine, placing you in a new city away from everything and everyone; allowing you time to rethink your career path, goals, priorities, and maybe reinvent yourself.

We would like to hear about your successes with temporary assignment and what it has done for your career, share with us on Facebook.  See our blog on Relationship Tips from last week for hints on how your relationship can thrive during a temporary assignment.

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Relationship Tips for Temporary Assignment

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Tamara Zablocki

Living Separately During Temporary Assignment

Temporary Assignment Goodbye

Usually we don’t go into relationship thinking; wouldn’t it be great to live separately.  Life doesn’t always flow the way we think it will.  Temporary assignments can throw a curve ball into the best of relationships when only one of a couple moves to a new city. It is not always possible for both people to move with a temporary assignment and the reasons are as varied as the people; careers, children in school, finishing a degree, parents in ill health, finances, etc.

As a corporate housing company, many of our relocation specialists hear the dilemmas people are dealing with in accepting a temporary assignment and have offered their compassion and suggestions to help smooth the path to their new city of relocation.  We offer some suggestions below from years of helping people make the best of a temporary assignment when only one of you moves:

Manage expectations: Communicate clearly about your needs, wants, finances, children, career, communication and anything else of importance to you as a couple.  Try to under promise and over deliver to minimize disappointments. Try to keep your pictures of how it should be in check and appreciate what is.

Set common goals: Setting common goals can be unifying as a couple.  Setting goals can help you get clear about why you have made the choices you have and give you both a path for achieving your goals.

Keep up contact throughout the day: Whether it is a quick email, text message, or voicemail it reminds each of you that you are important to each other.  Sometimes a daily lengthy conversation is not possible, so bits and pieces during the day help say, “I’m thinking of you and I love you.”

Keep it positive: You are not always in the best of moods when the phone rings, but be positive when you pick up the phone or let it go to answering machine.  The last thing anyone wants is to call and get a bad attitude.  It makes a difference to be excited to hear from each other, maybe even when you aren’t excited at that moment, but once into the conversation you are reminded that you are glad you picked up the phone.

Talk about your finances: Clear communication is important about finances since it is one of the trouble areas for many relationships.  Living separately for a temporary assignment can put a strain on financial roles and responsibilities-better to be clear ahead of time about expectations and responsibilities.  When living apart roles and responsibilities can shift and it is important to discuss the challenges that you might face beforehand.

Don’t take it personally: Don’t keep score and don’t take things personally.  Days are busy and commitments are many, a day of missed communication is probably not about you, but about scheduling. Keeping a scorecard when it comes to each of your behaviors in your relationship will probably not create what you want.  Be grateful for what is and stay current with your communication about what behavior misses the mark.

Jealousy doesn’t work: It’s about TRUST.  If you could or couldn’t trust the person you’re in relationship with when you were living together the same if probably true now.  If they want to cheat, they will find a way whether living together or not.  You could spend a lot of energy and time worrying about this, but it would probably be a waste of your energy.  If you don’t trust your partner or tend to be a person that is prone to jealousy, consider whether a long distance relationship is the best choice for you.

Create connection-send pictures: With online photo sharing websites, Facebook and Skype you can shorten the distance between you by sending photos of each other to share your lives while apart.  A friend of mine took a video camera with him to his new city on temporary assignment and shot a video walking tour complete with commentary for his wife.  Technology can help bridge the distance with Smart Phones sending impromptu photo opportunities and iPads being able to create Facetime-it’s easier than ever to say I love you.

Make the time you have together count: Make the time you have when you are together special and trade who plans activities for your next long weekend together.  When you do have time together, try not to hit the to-do-list, but spend some quality time together that will get you through to when you are together again.

I have had three friends over the years that have dealt with temporary assignments. What is interesting is the relationships didn’t succeed or fail due to the temporary assignment, but stressed relationships worsened and thriving relationships grew in spite of the distance.  With each of the couples the health of the relationship was determined by commitment, trust, communication, common goals, respect, responsibility, and a sense of humor.  A temporary assignment can be an opening to personal growth and a thriving relationship. SuiteAmerica provides personal transition services to help your temporary assignment be as stress-free as possible and second-to-none.

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The Technology Investment Equation

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Tamara Zablocki

Technology Investments Questions & Tips

Technology Investment

New technology can help companies innovate and streamline their business. We have listed some questions to consider before making the investment in time and money in new technology for your company, helping you to evaluate whether the technology will be a sustainable investment for your business.

Some questions to ask before making the investment:

What is the technology and what will it do for our company?
You should be able to understand how the technology works and what it will do for your company.  Seek alternative opinions and input from colleagues about the pros and cons before adopting a new technology.  A new technology should simplify a process, relationships, system or end result, if not it is probably not the best choice.

Who makes the technology?
If your company is going to rely on a new technology it is best to find out everything, you can about the company who manufactures the technology, technical support and customer service before you invest.

What are the REAL costs of the technology?
While in the research mode it is important to look at the supporting costs of the technology investment: annual maintenance, support, training, customization, or installation.  Know your upfront costs plus your costs to maintain the new technology.

How does the technology work?
Be brazen in asking how the technology works.  You should be able to see how the technology works, what systems or functions the technology will improve.

How does the technology make or save money for our company?
What systems, functions, relationships, or processes within your company does the technology streamline?  What are the “real cost” savings of your company using the new technology?

What services and technology are required to support the technology?
When buying new software is new hardware required?  Or is the inverse true, if your buying new hardware is software required for the new technology?  Inquire about the learning curve that is inherent in getting up to speed with the new technology.  Will there be an additional cost of on-site training to educate your staff?  Understand the full investment cost so you can anticipate any work slow down due to your team adopting and adapting to the new technology.

How long has the technology been in use and who has successfully used it?
It is important to bring in technology that is on the leading edge without being the beta team that works out the technology kinks.  Let someone else work out those frustrating challenges and bugs not your team.  Technology challenges equal lost productivity and extra cost to the company.  Asking for references and talking to other IT people or company owners about their experiences with the technology can save time and money.

What is the ROI on the technology investment?
Will the new technology increase revenue or decrease costs?  Buying new software or hardware should be a quantitative decision.  You should be able to calculate estimated profit increases from adopting the new technology.  Do the ROI and see what the facts are.

How updateable is the technology?
What is involved in updating the technology for your company?  Are both software and hardware upgrades involved in updating the technology?  Are updates simple and straightforward or is extended training required, onsite maintenance, or downtime to your systems or personnel involved?

Will the new technology speak to your other systems?
Are you adding duplicate systems or duplicate data repositories?  Does this technology create more tasks to get the same job accomplished?  Make sure this system or technology can tie into your other systems; if it is not an out of the box solution make sure there is the option to bring in someone to write the integration.  Keep your options open.

Answering the questions above can help you make a more informed decision about new technology investments.  You will have a better idea of how your technology choice will enhance your business and what challenges you might encounter while adapting to the new technology.

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Relocation Survival Guide: Packing and Moving Tips

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Tamara Zablocki

Good Planning Reduces the Stress of Moving

Family relocation moveThriving during relocation involves good planning and anticipating possible challenges before they happen.  We would like to provide some moving advice and a checklist that can help you be proactive in thriving during the transition period.  Many of these tips may seem obvious, but often get overlooked in the fast pace of a move.

From experience, we know the importance of  putting together a relocation survival kit, those items that make the transition period less stressful and allow you to glide through the moving process.  The items listed below are items we suggest are your do-not-pack items:

  • Luggage to pack 3-5 days of clothing for each member of your family
  • Personal survival kit for each family member including: toiletries, toilet paper, makeup, hair dryer, medication, supplements, etc.
  • Tool Set for disassembling and reassembling furniture
  • Protect your memories-if an item is irreplaceable, don’t pack it (including bills to be paid for the next month), valuables (passport, birth certificates, etc.), and jewelry
  • Snacks and food for moving day

Tips for insuring a smooth moving day success

Moving and relocation

We have found that disorganization and lack of planning can make moving day stressful for clients.  With a little forethought and implementing some of the hints below, you might find that you sail through moving day with ease.

  • Packing heavy items in small boxes and light items in big boxes
  • Color code your boxes for each room of the house
  • Have a priority box for each room and mark with #1 and label with different color tape-to be unpacked first for setting up a room
  • Have a garage sale or have a donation pick up; relocation is a great time to lighten the load and sell what you no longer need or use
  • Take photos of all your furniture and appliances; documenting their condition before shipping helps you settle a claim if your property is damaged by the moving company during shipment
  • Pack small parts in plastics bags when taking apart furniture; pack small parts, screws, etc. in plastic bags and tape to the furniture or designate a special box for parts that is #1 box
  • Labels cords, chargers and electronic components for stereos and computers, for more complex set-ups draw a color coded diagram before taking the system apart-so your home office or surround sound home theatre system goes together easily
  • Use different colored tape for delicate items and  fragile boxes
  • Pack plates and records on end vertically rather than placed flat and stacked
  • Give your children a job; let them help with labeling, writing their new address on each box, putting on the different colored tape, red fragile labels, etc.
  • Give your pet a break; keep your pet calm and relaxed and away from all the activity of moving-arrange for doggy daycare or a friend to watch your pets

Remember that good planning and organization helps to make a relocation go smoothly.  Also give yourself a break and plan for some downtime in the first few weeks to recharge your batteries and get acquainted with your new city home.

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Social Media-Art of Customer Engagement

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Tamara Zablocki

Using Social Media to Accelerate Business Growth

Social Media MarketingChoose the social networks that your clients use-that is best place to start your company’s social dialogue. The growth we have seen in social media from the height of MySpace in 2007 and SecondLife to Facebook and Twitter emerging as social media leaders in 2009 to the emergence of Foursquare and Groupon in 2010 is a trend we see in social media to constantly change and adapt to our use, lifestyle and businesses.

You are now able to build on the relationship capability of social networks with the addition of location-based elements we see the emergence of social shopping as a real opportunity for business.

As your company hones their social media presence, remember to keep some of your tried and true marketing tools because they still have an important role to play.  Websites, email, blogs newsletter, brochures, and CRM software still have their place.  All of these marketing elements help support your social media presence and give alternative communications avenues to support your customer service goals.  By combining traditional marketing with social media marketing techniques, you are able customize your marketing message and increase the impact of your company’s message.

The marketing tools you use are only as good as the people and the processes that drive their delivery.  The ability to execute a plan is what makes your marketing plan come together and have real power in the marketplace. When ideas, plans and tools are synchronized in a focused marketing message a company is better able to find a client’s sweet spot or hot buttons to help build relationship.

Social Media MapKnowing your customer, being able to describe who they are, what they want, where they shop, how they make decisions, what is important to them, is the beginning of building a strong relationship with potential clients.  These are also good questions to answer in knowing how to deliver excellent customer service to potential clients.

Keep integrity, ability and your company’s behavior in sync with your culture, values and goals and you will be on your way to producing excellent customer service and a marketing message that is responsive to your clients needs. Stay authentic in your social media outreach, keep clear about your goals and outcomes, focus on what works best for your company and enjoy the conversations that are generated. Be sure to read last week’s blog to read Part1-Art of Customer Engagement.

Social networking can accelerate your business growth and your customer service engagement while building strong relationships with your clients.

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Art of Customer Engagement

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Tamara Zablocki

Enhanced Service Through Social Media

Corporate Housing Customer Service

The cornerstone of excellent customer service is a high degree of trust that fosters a quality relationship. No matter how good the newest widget, it is only a tool to help develop a simpler way to maintain a good relationship with clients.  Whether we are talking CRM software or the newest mobile application, the tool is only as good as the trust and relationship building skills of the company liaisons.

It always comes down to the relationship and trust that has been built between a company and their clients.  There are three fundamental pillars for establishing trust with a client:

  • Integrity: This part of the equation is based on behavior and is driven by a company’s consistency and transparency in relationship to their business and clients.  It has never been more important to be consistent since with social media any bad news travels fast via social media channels.  Any one can have an off day, but what happens the remainder of the year is what counts.  When a company gets bad press or has a customer service challenge, they need to respond quickly, address the situation calmly and honestly, acknowledge it, make it right and move on.

  • Ability: This is based on the quality of a product plus customer service and is judged by demonstrable results in the consumer arena.  Poor customer service can undermine the best of products and eventually the clients trust.
  • Behavior: Clients look for congruent behavior with implicit and explicit brand and business values; and responsiveness to the client based on those values.  Incongruities between behavior and values erodes trust and the relationships that a company has worked hard to build with clients.

Both TOMS Shoes and Zappos are great examples of these principles in action. Both companies focus on their culture, consistency and keeping values and goals in sync with both management and their employees.  Also both companies have broken many traditional business rules, but have risen to the top through their united values and their commitment to providing excellent customer service. Toms and Zappos are great examples of company outreach through social media. See some wonderful examples of corporate social media outreach: Twitter-Zappos, Twitter-Toms-Shoes, Facebook-Zappos, Facebook-Toms-Shoes

Social networking can accelerate your business growth and your customer service engagement.

Next week we will explore customer service enhancement with social media tools.

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