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I t p a y s t o b e A B M P C e r t i f i e d : w w w. a b m p . c o m / g o / c e r t i f i e d c e n t r a l 97 Rule #5: HAVE A MARKETING MENTALITY If client satisfaction is the mashed potatoes, marketing is the gravy. But keep in mind: marketing involves far more than an ad in the local newspaper or passing out your business cards. Marketing is a complex challenge, all the more so in a specialized niche business such as bodywork. If you are to achieve optimum success in marketing your practice, you must be willing to spend time studying, reading, and analyzing your market and your competition. Keeping your practice healthy and profi table requires an ongoing marketing program. There is no other way. Competitive prices alone won't do it; professional skills alone won't do it. Marketing embraces all facets of your practice. To be an effective marketer, you must nurture and promote your business image, sell yourself as well as your practice, and concentrate on making your business the best choice for discriminating clients. Rule #6: CONSIDER LEASING Most fi nancial advisors agree that leasing cars, appliances, or other expensive items for personal use is usually not fi nancially advantageous. But business is a different animal entirely. In business accounting, leasing can be the most sensible approach to many types of capital investment. It usually makes sense to lease if you will be able to use the cash in your practice or in your investments to earn a better return than the cost of leasing. Talk to your tax advisor about this the next time you're considering a large capital purchase. Rule #7: DO NOT FEAR COMPLAINTS Never forget that a complaint from a client can be converted into an asset. Some years ago, a major retail marketing study revealed that clients whose complaints were satisfactorily resolved became more loyal clients of the company than they were before the incident that triggered the complaint. Some of the most successful companies in the world have been built on the principle that client complaints provide a valuable opportunity to improve the product or service. When L.L. Bean, founder of one of the world's most successful catalog order fi rms, was starting out, he suffered what could have been a disastrous setback. Shortly after he began shipping his fi rst waterproof boots, complaints that the boots leaked started coming in from customers. Determined to fulfi ll his promise of customer satisfaction, Bean refunded every purchaser's money. Then, he set out to correct the fl aw in the boot's design. The result was a better product and the beginning of the customer loyalty that helped make L.L. Bean what it is today. It costs five times more for a business to find a new customer than to keep an old one. TEN RULES TO WORK BY