In 1971 The five man electrical band was belting out their famous, anti-establishment hit, Signs. I was 5-years old, and smaller than a peanut, but I remember my parents belting out the lyrics:

Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign

Hearing the song again this morning got me thinking about the role of signs in delivering great customer service.

I just got back from my local wireless store and I'm full of venom! Have you tried to buy a new phone lately? There are many different prices for every phone. First, it was $150, then $200, then $250. I thought I stumbled on the set of The Price is Right! My son, an 11-year old with a Blackberry, wanted the Pearl and had saved enough money; however, because he recently bought another phone, the carrier wanted the highest price - so my little man will have to wait until his next birthday.

So many articles and books have been published about the current economical tides where the consumer is in control, and companies should do everything to serve them. Many entrepreneurs fail to do this, or think it's to expensive - thus going for non-maximized client satisfaction. This will finally result in business failure when a competitor goes for maximum satisfaction.

The secret to a successful business website is to have maximum and good communication with the customers and clients of the website. Once upon a time the customers had to send an email and await an answer from a representative of the company. However today, with the introduction of live chat software, it is possible to provide answers to customers instantaneously.

At the backbone of every successful business is the repeat customer. While it is great to get referrals, it is important to realize that a referral may result in an interested individual taking a look at a business or store, but by and large curiosity rarely translates into sales. On the other hand, a customer who already knows what to expect, who understands your way of doing business, and who comes back for more is an almost guaranteed sale!

Yet in a day and age when customer service is virtually and certifiably dead - have you ever approached a store employee only to have the person shrug her or his shoulders and tell you it's not their job? - it becomes harder and harder to entice customers or clients to come back.

Any time that you enter a restaurant and are greeter by the hostess, when you are bombarded in a department store by an employee who ask if they can help you or the cashier at the grocery store, you are experiencing a tiny bit of customer service. Customer Service is something that we deal with on a daily basis. A bad customer service experience can result in the permanent loss of a customer or even customers.

The way you treat your customers will determine if your business is successful or not. If you ship orders late, cannot answer questions about your product, are rude or condescending or you can not update your website regularly, customers will tell their friends and others to avoid your business. But there are ways to make sure your customers are treated with respect without having to sacrifice profits or time.

Are you looking out for some corporate greeting cards for business? This is the best way to show your customers and the corporate employees the faith and love you have in them and how much you value their dedication and loyalty.

During every Holiday Season or festival season, you can use ecards to convey the holiday message. After some weeks, remember to mail an e-card to an old customer that says: Thinking of You.

Have you caught the fantasy-baseball bug yet? When asked to join a friend's fantasy league this year, I accepted, not knowing what was required. I knew I was in trouble when my friend told me he had spent over 20 hours dissecting his team, position-by-position, and searching other rosters for possible trading partners. I didn't even know my team's name, let alone how to access the league's Website! Here's the point.

The car was drop-dead gorgeous. It had a beautiful dark blue exterior and the interior was brown - very sporty - with a 6-speed manual transmission to boot. There was no use denying it. I was in love. I probably reduced my negotiating leverage immediately by falling in love with it; however, at that point I just wanted to see it in my driveway.

The love affair was tempered, slightly, when the salesman handed me the key.