"Helping you gain
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In this issue we look at how to measure the quality of the service you provide to your customers; give tips for increasing your online sales and consider the best ways of using social media to boost your brand.

• Editor's Desk
• Bite 1
• Bite 2
• Bite 3
• Working Web
• Last Word

As Director of Studies I obviously have a keen interest in ensuring that our colleges provide a good service to students. And no matter how long you’ve been doing the job, it’s always possible to learn more. So, I found the first article this month, The RATER Model: Five ways to Measure Service, particularly useful.

Moving on, as Christmas approaches many high street stores are seeing an increasing amount of their sales being taken by online businesses – no parking problems, no queuing and no fighting against the bad weather (well, that’s a hurdle we face in the UK – it’s perhaps not an issue for many of our overseas readers)! So in the second article we look at tips that will help your business to sell more online.

Our third article looks at social media. We are continually being told that to improve brand image and increase sales, businesses need to use social media such as Twitter and Facebook. But you’ve got to do it right. If your fans and followers feel you’re just trying to sell to them, they’ll soon stop following you. This article looks at what you can expect from your social media campaign and how you can get more brand loyalty.

Another tool that more and more businesses are using to attract customers is a blog. The same rules apply here – tell readers something that will interest them or be useful to them – don’t just try to sell your products. At the moment, our sister college Writers Bureau has a special offer on their Review and Appraisal service, giving you a 10% discount if you would like a professional appraisal of some of your blog posts. And this doesn’t just apply to business bloggers – having an unbiased second opinion can be very useful for anyone who blogs just for the pleasure of it.

Finally, before I let you loose on this month’s articles I’d like to share the following spoof website with you http://www.thecopygod.com/. It made me smile – and it worked because after all the silliness there really was a serious selling message at the end. But if you do want a high-quality, professional Copywriting Course then look no further than Business Training. But I would say that – wouldn’t I!