No 'Fence-Sitting' when it comes to Feedback

From the desk of Leah Calnan, Director of Metro Property Management...
Recently I came across an interesting Blog from a marketing guru I follow named Seth Godin, a really interesting guy with some interesting ideas on all things marketing. Seth believes in advertising with a conscience and that businesses need to earn buzz by being remarkable, which is a principal I agree with entirely.

Below is his latest blog:

"Please complain"

Acquiring and processing user feedback is a choice. There are good reasons to hide from it:

• You might believe that inviting disgruntled customers to call or write to someone who will actually take action will encourage them to become more disgruntled. If no one is listening, the thinking goes, then perhaps the annoyed will quietly go away.
• You might believe that it's expensive to listen to squeaky wheels, particularly if you have someone in authority (as opposed to a low-paid clerk) actually listening and responding.
• You might believe that the noisy minority don't share the objectives of the rest of your audience, particularly the higher-paying and silent majority.

On the other hand, you might believe:

• That direct feedback in real time is a competitive advantage which will help you grow.
• That assuaging an unhappy customer now is worth way more than negative word of mouth later.

Whichever strategy you choose, you should choose. It's the middle way that vexes... the pretending, the grudging acceptance, the insertion of many levels of filters - when you do this, you get none of the benefits of either plan.

If you want people to speak up, be clear and mean it. If you don't, don't pretend.

(If you'd like to follow Seth's blog visit http://sethgodin.typepad.com/)

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And out of the cold we come...

From the desk of Leah Calnan, Director of Metro Property Management...

So here we are in September & SPRING! and goodness hasn’t the year flown already! Lots happening at the office this month, to begin with I decided to surprise the team with a Team Appreciation Day which we were all very excited about (myself included). At the recent REIV Property Management Conference we heard from many innovative and inspirational speakers one of which had the idea to surprise your dedicated team, not just at Christmas or the End of Financial Year but unexpectedly throughout the year. So we had a lovely lunch and a movie as a way of saying thank you for all of the hard work they put in, day in and day out. It has been a big couple of months which is great and this was a lovely treat, we had lots of laughs.

The end of August saw my assistant Melissa and I attend a very interesting conference on Social Media, we had heard a few speakers talk on Social Media over the past few years however this seminar was a little different. The speakers were from America and seemed to have a broader insight into what was working and what was not and how people use social media today to not only to talk to friends and family but to investigate property, review their experiences and interact daily with their favourite companies.

We will be implementing a few new programs to assist our clients and tenants with regards to Social Media (although as most of you know we have a Facebook & Twitter account along with a Blog, the links are on the home page of the website), we see this as a way of the future, not just a fad and we love to embrace new technology here at Metro. In fact, we are very close to the release of our iPhone application which you will find has great functionality for both tenants and owners alike...exciting stuff.

In other news we are beginning to get organised for our Home Buyers & Investors Show stand on the 7th, 8th & 9th of October. Last year was a great experience and we met many new and current owners there at the show so why not come and say ‘Hi’ again this year. We have a limited number of free tickets this year so please contact Melissa at melissav@metropm.com.au if you would like a couple posted out to you in the coming month so that you may attend.

Until next time...

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Finding a broadband comparison service online

If you are thinking of finding a new broadband connection then by far and away the best and easiest way to do it is to search for one online. Firstly of all, it is cheaper to buy a broadband deal online. Because it is cheaper for companies to be set up on the net it means their overheads are lesser, so you can expect a better deal. You will also find that there is far more choice online, which makes things easier for you.

Of course, with all of this choice comes another problem in itself. You will find it difficult to narrow things down so that you can choose the right deal! The best way to get around this problem is to use a broadband comparison service on the internet. These sites make searching for broadband deals so much easier. You will be able to look at a range of different broadband deals next to each other so that you can really see which is the most valuable.

Another good thing to do is to try to piece together your broadband contract with your home phone contract and you satellite television contract. Doing this normally leads to some sort of discount on all three, and you can still search for comparison sites so that you can look at these deals alongside one another. To find out about broadband phone and digital TV deals you should also search for the review sites online so that you can get the reviews of the best ones. for instance if you are thinking of signing up to a deal with Sky, you should be looking for a Sky broadband review site so you can find out how they perform in terms of their customer service. Just take your time making your decision, and make sure you know exactly what you are signing up for, before you sign up for it!

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Finding a quality server cabinet for less online

If you run a business that relies on computers then you will be well aware of how important it is to have a good contact that can deal with any computer issues you have. If any parts fail in your computer system it is imperative that you are able to get the replacement parts you need quickly and easily with plenty of choice too. It’s not always easy to do this, so to help yourself in the future you should work on finding a website that can service all your needs. If you find a decent site then you can go back to it and back to it, knowing that you will be able to solve your problems quickly and easily.

Finding the right site depends largely on what your system requires, but if you have things like a server cabinet that might need changing from time to time, it is important that you find a site which is able to give you plenty of options. A server cabinet can be expensive, but there are some sites which will offer new, used and refurbished parts, meaning you can save a bit of money on occasions.

Some sites are fantastic both for sourcing the more unusual parts and keeping in stock the parts that you require more frequently. You should look out for companies who keep a ready stock of things like Netgear routers, because this is the sort of thing that you are going to need sent out the very next day, so stock is important in this respect.

To find the right sort of site you it is best to search for something like computer parts UK to make sure you end up with a company that is based closely. Otherwise, you could find that you are subject to very expensive delivery fees. Look for companies that will source parts for you even if they don't have a stock of them themselves, and try to make sure that the site you find is able to deliver quickly and cheaply and able to offer you plenty of options when it comes to buying computer parts.

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Spring is Nearly Upon Us!

From the desk of Leah Calnan, Director of Metro Property Management...

Before & After Pics of Reception Area

Wow so it is August and isn’t it a little warmer? And with the sun setting a little later in the day it feels like Spring is just around the corner. Spring cleaning is already happening at our office, to be exact a freshening up/renovation of our reception is starting to come together. Gone is the pink and purple carpet and we are loving our beautiful new tiles and the repositioning of the reception desk means more room for our new client couch and chairs which we will have very shortly. We have had some lovely comments so far and we will continue with carpet replacement throughout the office in the coming months.

In other news at Metro as mentioned last month myself and Samantha Taylor of our office will be attending the ARPM Conference in Sydney this month. Speakers include professionals like Fiona Blayney, Director of her own real estate business development and recruitment firms and highly sought after speaker who’s energy and passion never cease to amaze me, Paul Tonich who will speak on Social Media and it’s impact, Jonathon Handford - Managing Director of Newman Estate Agents who will speak on the UK’s approach on property management and then there’s James Castrission & Justin Jones who became famous for crossing the Tasman Sea in a kayak who will speak on their challenges and how to overcome adversity. These are just a few of the speakers and their topics so as you can see it will be a real mix of ideas which is really very exciting and we hope to get a lot out of our time there.

A couple of months ago now I gave an interview for which myself and the team were filmed for Business Victoria they approached me as they had discovered that our team had embarked on some tailored Customer Service based training last year and were interested in our team culture for a short video for their website (known as a Vodcast). My assistant Melissa and I attended the launch of this Vodcast and it was great to see and meet the other businesses that were involved in other Vodcasts being launched. There were so many different ideas and great advice given that other small to medium businesses can access via these Vodcasts that will be put online shortly, we will of course keep you posted of the link once they are up. Some of my team were quite shocked to learn they could soon be ‘stars’ as around 800 people per month had viewed the previous series of Vodcasts on the www.business.vic.gov.au website.

And finally a big thank you to all that came along to our recent Self Managed Super Fund Seminar and for all of your fabulous feedback. I was so thrilled that so many of you attended and got so much out of listening to Nicholas Don from Metro Wealth and his colleague Paul Kusli on the night. I wish you all the best in continuing to grow your wealth and am happy to have introduced you all to some new ideas. Again, we will keep you posted on our next Seminar evening in the near future.

Until next time...(enjoy the warmth, albeit temporary)

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