And the numbers are in!
M45 Marketing Services takes great pride in regularly seeking input from our many clients through our customer satisfaction surveys. We use your opinions and suggestions to constantly improve our services for you. Our key results for 2005 include:

• 98.3% of the time our service met or exceeded your expectations
• Our projects were delivered on time 98.3% of the time
• 96.7% of you mentioned that we gave you regular updates on your projects

In addition to those indicators, many of you also took time to include these comments:

"I have always been treated as a five star customer here."

"You were very responsive to my needs, quick and efficient, and you communicated with me every step of the way. I was amazed at how fast you were able to get this project completed."

"Your staff is wonderful to work with—very creative and thorough! We love our new marketing materials!"

"It has been a great experience working with M45 Marketing Services. We were kept very well informed of our project progress and it was completed in a timely manner. The efforts by all involved are very much appreciated!!"

What are your customers saying about you? You've worked hard to produce top quality products or services and you value your reputation. We can help develop a client satisfaction survey to learn what your customers think about you and your product or service, where you need to improve, and where you need to maintain in order to strengthen your position compared to your competitors. Good customer input is also valuable as a marketing tool—once you have the information, consider using customer testimonials in your marketing projects in the coming year. 

Get your business habits in shape

"We are what we repeatedly do."
-Aristotle

In business, as in life, few things are harder to change than bad habits. On the positive side, good habits can be useful tools to get things done efficiently. Bad habits, on the other had, can impede our ability to approach problems from a new perspective. Circumstances change, and because of these changes you may not be able to do "business as usual" in order to grow. You wouldn't expect to lose weight by not changing anything in your eating or exercise habits, and it's just as unlikely you'll experience any changes in your business without making changes in the way you do things there. Are you still using the same ad format you developed years ago, even though the marketplace and your customers have changed? Are you working from the same marketing plan you developed when your competition was less aggressive? The first and most important step to change bad habits is to become aware of them. Here are a couple of ways to jumpstart change:

• Identify and study the three biggest mistakes you made relative to finances, business and marketing last year. What did you do, or not do? What did you learn? What steps can you take to prevent that particular misstep or set of circumstances?
• Try to change just one way you do something in your business every day. It can be something small, but it will help you start getting used to change.

As you look for positive ways to change, you might benefit from some fresh eyes. M45 can help you build on your successes and avoid mistakes that could hold you back. 

Get Your Business Fit in 2006

As you set out to form more healthy habits for the New Year, you may also want to take a minute to look beyond the usual physical dimension. Sure, you can eat better or increase your exercise levels. But perhaps you should assess the overall health of your business, too.

Think about it this way:

• Does your marketing approach need to "stretch" its boundaries?
• As a leader or co-worker, do you need to accomplish some "heavy lifting" of your staff's spirits?
• Should you do some "circuit training" by networking with your peers or customers?
• Are you in touch with the "pulse" of your organization?
• Could you "accelerate" your sales pace?
• Do you need an objective way to get some quick "diagnostics?"

All these are good questions to ask yourself as you look forward to a healthy and vibrant 2006. If you'd like assistance with the answers, as well as some specific exercises to help you define fitness goals for your marketing or communications efforts, call M45. (Exercising with a dedicated partner has been shown to produce the best results!) We can work out with you to slowly and gently make incremental improvement, or use a more aerobic approach for faster results.

Ready? Set? GO!
Note: For your personal health goals, check out WebMD's Living Well section for a myriad of helpful news and tips. 

Anti-resolutions. What not to do in 2006
It's fine to set goals and make plans with good intentions, but it may be just as important to decide what not to do during the next year. Try these anti-resolutions and see how adding some "don'ts" to your day helps with all those "do's."

Don't over-schedule your day.
Scheduling every minute of every day may seem like a logical approach to time management, but it can actually work against productivity. If your day is fully booked, you won't be able to allow for interruptions and unforeseen occurrences. This can lead to frustration, and you'll end up spinning your wheels instead of accomplishing your goals. Give yourself a little breathing room. Try scheduling about 75% of your day instead of 100%.

Don't say "yes" to every request.
Doing other people's work, answering annoying phone calls and deleting junk email robs you of valuable time and energy.

Don't be impatient.
Things take time. Appreciate the various stages of projects and goals as well as the outcome. Goals—whether at work or at home—and getting your schedule organized are processes that require patience.

Don't give up!
Even when things don't turn out the way you planned, do the best you can and then move on. The answer may be just around the next corner. Don't let frustration or fear of failure stop you from succeeding in the long run. Keep going!