happy friday! before you gear up for the weekend rush at your small business, we want to bring you some of the most interesting news we found on the interwebs today.

you’ve heard us say it before, but it’s worth repeating: customer loyalty is the single most important driver of growth and profitability. retaining loyal customers is not only 6 to 7 times less expensive than acquiring new ones, qsr magazine reported today that your loyal customers will continually visit you even if you don’t give discounts.

40% of consumers show loyalty regardless of deals

via qsrmagazine.com: more than forty percent of consumers say they are loyal to their favorite restaurants and will go there whether or not the establishment has a promotion, reports the npd group, a leading market research company. and although there are still more than one-third of consumers looking for bargains when choosing a restaurant, this large group of “loyal” restaurant consumers defines value as more important than price, according to a recently released npd foodservice report.

this is great news! are we saying that you should throw out all special deals, discounts, and sales? absolutely not. those are great ways to get your customers to try new items, move inventory, make your product or service available to more buyers, and can attract new customers. but when it comes to people who love your great customer service, value, and quality, your most loyal customers won’t leave you for a competitor. however, be sure to keep the customer experience at your business consistent, and evolve over time with your customers by staying on top of new trends and technology.

for instance, if you are a cafe or restaurant, having your menu and daily specials available online is great for attracting new customers who haven’t made a visit to your business yet. locu is a service that helps your business do this, and they have now integrated with yelp. this means your specials and menus are distributed to the yelp community, which has over 100 million visitors each month.

yelp, locu bringing menus to local business listings in ‘near real time’

via fastcasual.com: “integrating locu’s up-to-date menus and price lists on yelp business profile pages will help ensure consumers have access to even more information about great local businesses,” yelp vice president of business development mike ghaffary said. “with locu’s menus on yelp, consumers can not only find a great restaurant on yelp, they can actually plan their meal before they arrive.”

even if there has been mixed reviews (pun intended) about yelp for small businesses, customers, both new and old, are using it to find information, hours, and other details about the businesses they are looking to check out. so make sure you keep your yelp page updated, respond to both good and bad reviews, and add your menu!

it can be hard to keep up with all these different marketing options for your business. as a small business owner or manager, you are juggling so many other important tasks, like inventory, employees, and revenue, to make sure your business is growing. here are some tips to make sure you stay on track and stay effective as a leader.

how to get results: be strategic, get focused, show grit

via smallbiztrends.com:

1. be very strategic, very focused and very specific. smaller is better, laser niching is smart. have a clear, thought-out, purposeful strategy for everything you do and everyone that you invest time and energy with and on. know what roles you both play in each others story and why you are doing what you do.
2. don’t get distracted for too long, stay focused. linkedin has done an amazing job climbing to the top of the professional online platform space, and is on pace to continue to lead with 200 million+ members in 200 countries.
3. pace yourself and be consistent. easy does it. run for the marathon, not the sprint. always train for the second half of the race so you don’t start out too fast, then fizzle and burn out toward the end. a steady pace and then a kick at the end always wins.
4. sense when the timing is right or wrong. if it feels right, then trust your instincts and go with it. if it feels wrong or there is any hint of reservation, wait and let more unfold and be revealed. blogtalkradio is one of the most popular online audio podcasting sites and networks. they recently re-branded their site and technology to keep pace with their growing hosts,  listeners and the exploding podcast space. it was very timely, smart and needed.
5. assess opportunities that fit and make sense. a lot of opportunities come across our path, but not all are right for where we are and where we are going. pounce on the ones that make the best sense and fit your goals and direction to the present. did mark zuckerberg make a smart move by building a facebook phone?
6. have a self management plan and network to help and support you. do you have a mentor, accountability partner or group and confidants? trusted professional colleagues, friends and family create a network to support and keep us honest and on track. 

what is the best advice you have received when it comes to management and leadership in business? let us know in the comments!

just in case you are looking for a good network to lean on, fivestars has a network of thousands of small businesses just like you, and we’d love to help support and grow your business. reach out to us anytime. 🙂

have a great weekend!