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Satisfaction is very important within a customer based business. The quality of your product will and should always remain important to the goals of the company. If you are constantly improving your product to where your customer is continually satisfied then the success of your company will grow as you customer base grows.

1.)https://hbr.org/1983/07/quality-is-more-than-making-a-good-product
2.)http://www.businessdictionary.com/article/581/the-importance-of-quality-over-quantity/
3.)https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/quality
4.)http://www.fao.org/in-action/producing-quality-seeds-means-quality-yields/en/

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Corporate executives and consumers have in recent years adopted divergent views of product quality. Several recent surveys indicate how wide the quality perception gap is:

Three out of five chief executives of the country's largest 1,300 companies said in a 1981 survey that quality is improving; only 13% said it is declining.¹ Yet 49% of 7,000 consumers surveyed in a separate 1981 study said that the quality of U.S. products had declined in the past five years. In addition, 59% expected quality to stay down or decline further in the upcoming five years.²

Half the executives of major American appliance manufacturers said in a 1981 survey that the reliability of their products had improved in recent years. Only 21% of U.S. consumers expressed that belief.³

Executives of U.S. auto manufacturers cite internal records that show quality to be improving each year. "Ford quality improved by 27% in our 1981 models over 1980 models," said a Ford executive.⁴ But surveys show that consumers perceive the quality of U.S. cars to be declining in comparison with imported cars, particularly those from Japan.

Mindful of this gap, many U.S. companies have turned to promotional tactics to improve their quality image. Such efforts are evident in two trends. The first is the greater emphasis advertisements place on the word quality and on such themes as reliability, durability, and workmanship. Ford, for instance, advertises that "quality is job one," and Levi Strauss proffers the notion that "quality never goes out of style." And many ads now claim that products are "the best" or "better than" competitors'.

The second trend is the move to quality assurance and extended service programs. Chrysler offers a five-year, 50,000 mile warranty; Whirlpool Corporation promises that parts for all models will be available for 15 years; Hewlett-Packard gives customers a 99% uptime service guarantee on its computers; and Mercedes-Benz makes technicians available for roadside assistance after normal dealer service hours.

While these attempts to change customer perceptions are a step in the right direction, a company's or a product's quality image obviously cannot be improved overnight. It takes time to cultivate customer confidence, and promotional tactics alone will not do the job. In fact, they can backfire if the claims and promises do not hold up and customers perceive them as gimmicks.

To ensure delivery of advertising claims, companies must build quality into their products or services. From a production perspective, this means a companywide commitment to eliminate errors at every stage of the product development process-product design, process design, and manufacturing. It also means working closely with suppliers to eliminate defects from all incoming parts.

Equally important yet often overlooked are the marketing aspects of quality-improvement programs. Companies must be sure they are offering the benefits customers seek. Quality should be primarily customer-driven, not technology-driven, production-driven, or competitor-driven.

In developing product quality programs, companies often fail to take into account two basic sets of questions. First, how do customers define quality, and why are they suddenly demanding higher quality than in the past? Second, how important is high quality in customer service, and how can it be ensured after the sale?

As mundane as these questions may sound, the answers provide essential information on how to build an effective customer-driven quality program. We should not forget that customers, after all, serve as the ultimate judge of quality in the marketplace.

The Production-Service Connection

Product performance and customer service are closely linked in any quality program; the greater the attention to product quality in production, the fewer the demands on the customer service operation to correct subsequent problems. Office equipment manufacturers, for example, are designing products to have fewer manual and more automatic controls. Not only are the products easier to operate and less susceptible to misuse but they also require little maintenance and have internal troubleshooting systems to aid in problem identification. The up-front investment in quality minimizes the need for customer service.

Besides its usual functions, customer service can act as an early warning system to detect product quality problems. Customer surveys measuring product performance can also help spot quality control or design difficulties. And of course detecting defects early spares later embarrassment and headaches.

Quality-improvement successes

It is relevant at this point to consider two companies that have developed successful customer-driven quality programs: L.L. Bean, Inc. and Caterpillar Tractor Company. Although these two companies are in different businesses-L.L. Bean sells outdoor apparel and equipment primarily through mail-order while Caterpillar manufactures earth-moving equipment, diesel engines, and materials-handling devices, which it sells through dealers-both enjoy an enviable reputation for high quality.

Some 96.7% of 3,000 customers L.L. Bean recently surveyed said that quality is the attribute they like most about the company. Bean executes a customer-driven quality program by:

Conducting regular customer satisfaction surveys and sample group interviews to track customer and noncustomer perceptions of the quality of its own and its competitors' products and services.

Tracking on its computer all customer inquiries and complaints and updating the file daily.

Guaranteeing all its products to be 100% satisfactory and providing a full cash refund, if requested, on any returns.

Asking customers to fill out a short, coded questionnaire and explain their reasons for returning the merchandise.

Performing extensive field tests on any new outdoor equipment before listing it in the company's catalogs.

Even stocking extra buttons for most of the apparel items carried years ago, just in case a customer needs one.

Despite recent financial setbacks, Caterpillar continues to be fully committed to sticking with its quality program, which includes:

Conducting two customer satisfaction surveys following each purchase, one after 300 hours of product use and the second after 500 hours of use.

Maintaining a centrally managed list of product problems as identified by customers from around the world.

Analyzing warranty and service reports submitted by dealers, as part of a product improvement program.

Asking dealers to conduct a quality audit as soon as the products are received and to attribute defects to either assembly errors or shipping damages.

Guaranteeing 48-hour delivery of any part to any customer in the world.

Encouraging dealers to establish side businesses in rebuilding parts to reduce costs and increase the speed of repairs.

How Do Customers Define Quality?

To understand how customers perceive quality, both L.L. Bean and Caterpillar collect much information directly from them. Even with such information, though, pinpointing what consumers really want is no simple task. For one thing, consumers cannot always articulate their quality requirements. They often speak in generalities, complaining, for instance, that they bought "a lemon" or that manufacturers "don't make 'em like they used to."

Consumers' priorities and perceptions also change over time. Taking automobiles as an example, market data compiled by SRI International suggest that consumer priorities shifted from styling in 1970 to fuel economy in 1975 and then to quality of design and performance in 1980. ⁵ (See Exhibit I.)

Changes in the importance to customers of U.S. automobile characteristics

In addition, consumers perceive a product's quality relative to competing products. As John F. Welch, chairman and chief executive of General Electric Company, observed, "The customer...rates us better or worse than somebody else. It's not very scientific, but it's disastrous if you score low." ⁶

One of the major problems facing U.S. automobile manufacturers is the public perception that imported cars, particularly those from Japan, are of higher quality. When a 1981 New York Times-CBS News poll asked consumers if they thought that Japanese-made cars are usually better quality than those made here, about the same, or not as good, 34% answered better, 30% said the same, 22% said not as good, and 14% did not know. When the Roper Organization asked the same question in 1977, only 18% said better, 30% said the same, 32% said not as good, and 20% did not know. ⁷

Further, consumers are demanding high quality at low prices. When a national panel of shoppers was asked where it would like to see food manufacturers invest more, the highest-rated response was "better quality for the same price." ⁸ In search of such value, some consumers are even chartering buses to Cohoes Manufacturing Company, an apparel specialty store located in Cohoes, New York that has a reputation for offering high-quality, designer-label merchandise at discount prices.

Consumers' perceptions of product quality are influenced by various factors at each stage of the buying process. Some of the major influences are listed in Exhibit II.

Exhibit II Factors influencing consumer perception of quality*

Watching for key trends

What should companies do to improve their understanding of customers' perspectives on quality? We know of no other way than to collect and analyze internal data and to monitor publicly available information.

Internally generated information is obtained principally through customer surveys, interviews of potential customers (such as focus group interviews), reports from salespeople, and field experiments. Recall how L.L. Bean and Caterpillar use these approaches to obtain data on how their current and potential customers rate their products' quality versus those of competitors'.

Publicly available information of a more general nature can be obtained through pollsters, independent research organizations, government agencies, and the news media. Such sources are often helpful in identifying shifts in societal attitudes.

Companies that try to define their customers' attitudes on product and service quality often focus too narrowly on the meaning of quality for their products and services; an understanding of changing attitudes in the broader marketplace can be equally valuable.

Toward the end of the last decade, too many U.S. companies failed to observe that the optimism of the mid-1970s was increasingly giving way to a mood of pessimism and restraint because of deteriorating economic conditions. Several polls taken during the 1970s indicated the nature and extent of this shift; ⁹ for instance, Gallup polls showed that while only 21% of Americans in the early 1970s believed "next year will be worse than this year," 55% held this pessimistic outlook by the end of the 1970s.

Pessimistic about what the future held, consumers began adjusting their life-styles. The unrestrained desire during the mid-1970s to buy and own more gave way to more restrained behavior, such as "integrity" buying, "investment" buying, and "life-cycle" buying.

Integrity purchases are those made for their perceived importance to society rather than solely for personal status. Buying a small, energy-efficient automobile, for example, can be a sign of personal integrity. Investment buying is geared toward long-lasting products, even if that means paying a little more. The emphasis is on such values as durability, reliability, craftsmanship, and longevity. In the apparel business, for example, more manufacturers have begun stressing the investment value of clothing. And life-cycle buying entails comparing the cost of buying with the cost of owning. For example, some might see a $10 light bulb, which uses one-third as much electricity and lasts four times as long as a $1 conventional light bulb, as the better deal.

These changes in buying behavior reflect the pessimistic outlook of consumers and their growing emphasis on quality rather than quantity: "If we're going to buy less, let it be better."

By overlooking this fundamental shift in consumer attitudes, companies missed the opportunity to capitalize on it. If they had monitored the information available, managers could have identified and responded to the trends earlier.

Ensuring Quality After the Sale

As we suggested earlier, the quality of customer service after the sale is often as important as the quality of the product itself. Of course, excellent customer service can rarely compensate for a weak product. But poor customer service can quickly negate all the advantages associated with delivering a product of superior quality. At companies like L.L. Bean and Caterpillar, customer service is not an afterthought but an integral part of the product offering and is subject to the same quality standards as the production process. These companies realize that a top-notch customer service operation can be an effective means of accomplishing the following three objectives:

1. Differentiating a company from competitors. As more customers seek to extend the lives of their durable goods, the perceived quality of customer service becomes an increasingly important factor in the purchase decision. Whirlpool Corporation promises to stand by its products rather than hide behind its distribution channels; it has parlayed a reputation for effective customer service into a distinct competitive advantage that reinforces its image of quality.

2. Generating new sales leads and discouraging switches to alternative suppliers. Keeping in regular contact with customers so as to deliver new information to them and gather suggestions for product improvements can ensure the continued satisfaction of existing customers and improve the chances of meeting the needs of potential purchasers.

3. Reinforcing dealer loyalty. Companies with strong customer service programs can also broaden their distribution channels more easily to include outlets that may not be able to deliver high levels of postpurchase customer service on their own.

The customer service audit

To be effective, a customer service operation requires a marketing plan. Customer services should be viewed as a product line that must be packaged, priced, communicated, and delivered to customers. An evaluation of a company's current customer service operation-a customer service audit-is essential to the development of such a plan.

A customer service audit asks managers the following questions:

What are your customer service objectives?

Many companies have not established objectives for their customer service operations and have no concept of the role customer service should play in their business and marketing strategies. Every company should know what percentage of its revenue stream it expects to derive from service sales and whether the goal is to make a profit, break even, or-for reasons of competitive advantage-sustain a loss.

What services do you provide?

It is useful to develop a grid showing which services your company provides or could provide for each of the products in your line. These might include customer education, financing arrangements, order confirmation and tracing, predelivery preparation, spare-parts inventory, repair service, and claims and complaints handling.

How do you compare with the competition?

A similar grid can be used to chart the customer services your competitors provide. Through customer surveys, you can identify those areas of customer service in which your company rates higher or lower than the competition. In areas where your company is weak, can you invest to improve your performance? Where you are strong, how easy is it for competitors to match or exceed your performance?

What services do your customers want?

There is little value in developing superior performance in areas of customer service most customers consider only marginally important. An essential ingredient of the audit is, therefore, to understand the relative importance of various customer services to current and potential customers. Distinct customer segments can often be identified according to the priorities they attach to particular services.

What are your customers' service demand patterns?

The level and nature of customer service needed often change over the product's life. Services that are top priority at the time of sale may be less important five years later. Companies must understand the patterns and timing of demand for customer services on each of their products. These they can graph, as Exhibit III shows.

Exhibit III Postpurchase service demands for two products

Product A in the exhibit is a security control system, an electronics product with few moving parts. A high level of service is needed immediately following installation to train operators and debug the system. Thereafter, the need for service quickly drops to only periodic replacement of mechanical parts, such as frequently used door switches.

Product B is an automobile. Service requirements are significant during the warranty period because of customer sensitivity to any aesthetic and functional defects and also because repairs are free (to the customer). After the warranty period, however, service requirements beyond basic maintenance will be more extensive for B than for A, since there are more mechanical parts to wear out.

What trade-offs are your customers prepared to make?

Excellent service can always be extended-at a price. You should know the costs to your company of providing assorted customer services through various delivery systems (an 800 telephone number, a customer service agent, a salesperson) at different levels of performance efficiency. At the same time, you should establish what value your customers place on varying levels of customer service, what level of service quality they are prepared to pay for, and whether they prefer to pay for services separately or as part of the product purchase price.

Customers are likely to differ widely in price sensitivity. A printing press manufacturer, for example, has found that daily newspaper publishers, because of the time sensitivity of their product, are willing to pay a high price for immediate repair service, whereas book publishers, being less time pressured, can afford to be more price conscious.

The Customer Service Program

The success of the marketing program will depend as much on effective implementation as on sound analysis and research. After reviewing several customer service operations in a variety of industries, we believe that managers should concentrate on the following seven guidelines for effective program implementation:

1. Educate your customers. Customers must be taught both how to use and how not to use a product. And through appropriate training programs, companies can reduce the chances of calls for highly trained service personnel to solve simple problems. General Electric recently established a network of product education centers that purchasers of GE appliances can call toll free. Many consumer problems during the warranty period can be handled at a cost of $5 per call rather than the $30 to $50 cost for a service technician to visit a consumer's home.

2. Educate your employees. In many organizations, employees view the customer with a problem as an annoyance rather than as a source of information. A marketing program is often needed to change such negative attitudes and to convince employees not only that customers are the ultimate judge of quality but also that their criticisms should be respected and acted on immediately. The internal marketing program should incorporate detailed procedures to guide customer-employee interactions.

Only a few persons would quarrel with the general adoption of esthetically appealing and pleasant styling. But the point is, say the critics, once such styling has been adopted and accepted, why spend so much effort producing and selling an arbitrarily changed design? Similarly, few individuals would argue that we should eliminate entirely or ignore the desire of consumers to gain status; status is considered to be too much a part of our motivations. However, certain means for gaining status may be much more beneficial for the country as a whole than others. Should we, or can we, direct our production and selling efforts with the over-all good of the country in mind?

In the past, businessmen-in particular marketing men-have claimed that rapid obsolescence based on arbitrary style changes is necessary in order to maintain high levels of consumer expenditures. In opposition, the critics have maintained that one cannot pass off the issue by saying our whole economic system is based on any kind of aggressive marketing. Why, they ask, cannot marketers be just as aggressive with worthwhile appeals as with superficial styling changes and prestige selling appeals? As Erwin D. Canham, President of the United States Chamber of Commerce and Editor of the Christian Science Monitor, has expressed it [in the book Management's Mission in a New Society]:

"There has also been an inflation of goods, of ideas, of taste, of design-a burst of antifunctionalism which looks like materialism at its worst-for which business will also have to pay the price. Take the automobile industry, for instance: Tailfins, of course, are the commonest scapegoat. Does an expanding economy really require so swift a rate of obsolescence?... Why should not functionalism really be the decisive criterion in the development of automobiles or of anything else? Do we need so much horsepower? Remembering Henry Thoreau, somebody said there should be a Walden-wagon-a simple, effective, functional, economical American automobile.

"But let us not be obsessed with automotive marketing practices. The problem is much wider than that... I believe all business needs the tight, challenging pressure of a competitive market in which price is a dominant factor, so that it will again be producing for economy-minded customers. I think business does a more functional and efficient job in hard times than it does in soft times. And if we are to continue to have deficit-financed prosperity, we should create the disciplinary equivalent of hard competition, simplicity, and functionalism."

From "Planned Obsolescence" HBR September-October 1977, p. 14.

3. Be efficient first, nice second. Given the choice, most customers would rather have efficient resolution of their problem than a smiling face. The two of course are not mutually exclusive, but no company should hesitate to centralize its customer service operation in the interests of efficiency. Federal Express, for example, recently centralized its customer service function to improve quality control of customer-employee interactions, to more easily monitor customer service performance, and to enable field personnel to concentrate on operations and selling. The fear that channeling all calls through three national centers would depersonalize service and annoy customers used to dealing with a field office sales representative proved unwarranted.

4. Standardize service response systems. A standard response mechanism is essential for handling inquiries and complaints. L.L. Bean has a standard form that customer service personnel use to cover all telephone inquiries and complaints. As noted earlier, the documented information is immediately fed into a computer and updated daily to expedite follow-through. In addition, most companies should establish a response system to handle customer problems in which technically sophisticated people are called in on problems not solved within specific time periods by lower-level employees.

5. Develop a pricing policy. Quality customer service does not necessarily mean free service. Many customers even prefer to pay for service beyond a minimum level. This is why long warranty periods often have limited appeal; customers recognize that product prices must rise to cover extra warranty costs, which may principally benefit those customers who misuse the product. ¹⁰ More important to success than free service is the development of pricing policies and multiple-option service contracts that customers view as equitable and easy to understand.

Because a separate market exists for postsale service in many product categories, running the customer service operation as a profit center is increasingly common. But the philosophy of "selling the product cheap and making money on the service" is likely to be self-defeating over the long term, since it implicitly encourages poor product quality.

6. Involve subcontractors, if necessary. To ensure quality, most companies prefer to have all customer services performed by in-house personnel. When effectiveness is compromised as a result, however, the company must consider subcontracting selected service functions to other members of the distribution channel or to other manufacturers. Otherwise the quality of customer service will decline as an aftermath of cost-cutting or attempts to artificially stimulate demand for customer service to use slack capacity. Docutel, the automated teller manufacturer, for example, transferred responsibility for customer service operations to Texas Instruments because servicing its small base of equipment dispersed nationwide was unprofitable.

7. Evaluate customer service. Whether the customer service operation is treated as a cost center or a profit center, quantitative performance standards should be set for each element of the service package. Do an analysis of variances between actual and standard performances. American Airlines and other companies use such variances to calculate bonuses to service personnel. In addition, many companies regularly solicit customers' opinions about service operations and personnel.

In conclusion, we must stress that responsibility for quality cannot rest exclusively with the production department. Marketers must also be active in contributing to perceptions of quality. Marketers have been too passive in managing quality. Successful businesses of today will use marketing techniques to plan, design, and implement quality strategies that stretch beyond the factory floor.

A version of this article appeared in the July 1983 issue of Harvard Business Review.

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Quality Is More Than Making a Good Product

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Corporate executives and consumers have in recent years adopted divergent views of product quality. Several recent surveys indicate how wide the quality perception gap is: Three out of five chief executives of the country's largest 1,300 companies said in a 1981 survey that quality is improving; only 13% said it is declining.1 Yet 49% of [...]

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Servant leadership is in my opinion the most effective of its kind. Servant leaders are humble , they observe the needs of his customers along with his/her employees, and one that leads by example. These are the leaders that stick with an organization which is a very admirable trait for someone in power.

1.)https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/servant-leadership-a-path-to-high-performance/2013/04/26/435e58b2-a7b8-11e2-8302-3c7e0ea97057_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b09cdaecdfbc
2.)https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/307923
3.)https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/07/19/servant-leadership-how-to-put-your-people-before-yourself/#1d8aa73b66bc
4.)https://www.rootinc.com/blog/why-servant-leadership-really-works/

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I've spent years researching the DNA of high-performing companies, and much to my surprise the leaders at most of those companies did not fit commonly espoused theories of leadership.

Many people believe great leaders are charismatic, have a commanding presence, are visionary and educated at elite schools. Almost all of the leaders of the high-performing companies that I studied had none of those traits.

Instead, they are what I call servant leaders.

I discovered them while researching well-run organizations such as Chick-fil-A and the old Home Depot, both based in the Atlanta area, and even the U.S. Marine Corps, headquartered in Arlington. I found them again and again in research I did on high-performance organizations such as Best Buy, UPS, Ritz Carlton, Room & Board, Whole Foods, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Levy Restaurants, the San Antonio Spurs and TSYS.

Those leaders tended to share common characteristics.

Leading by example

These leaders were servants in the best sense of the word. They were people-centric, valued service to others and believed they had a duty of stewardship. Nearly all were humble and passionate operators who were deeply involved in the details of the business. Most had long tenures in their organizations. They had not forgotten what it was like to be a line employee.

They believed that every employee should be treated with respect and have the opportunity to do meaningful work. They led by example, lived the "Golden Rule," and understood that good intentions are not enough - behaviors count. These leaders serve the organization and its multiple stakeholders. They are servant leaders.

A leadership myth

Many people think that you cannot be people-centric and maintain high standards, because employees will take advantage. That's another leadership myth.

These high-performance organizations show that people-centric environments and high performance are not mutually exclusive. Employees in these companies have high emotional engagement, loyalty and productivity, and outperform the competition on a daily basis over long periods of time. In fact, the relationship between high performance, high employee engagement and how you treat employees is compelling. My research clearly demonstrates that employee satisfaction drives customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Humble wins

Most people seek a leadership position because they want more pay, more prestige, more perks and more power. They seek and fall for the intoxicating powers of leadership.

Servant leaders side step that failing. They are paid more, but very few ever make the highest-paid CEOs list. Instead, they fight elitism in themselves and their organizations. Many of these organizations eschew corporate jets, executive dining rooms, big decorated executive offices and other trappings of elitism. Some of these leaders had small windowless offices. Some shared administrative staff with other executives.

Behaving well

How servant leaders behave is a key to their successful leadership. Behaviors are means of communicating. For example, treating people with dignity, being in the moment and not multitasking, not interrupting others, listening intensely, smiling, saying please and thank you, acknowledging the contributions of others, admitting mistakes, apologizing, not having to be the smartest person in the room all the time and spending time on the front lines with employees and customers.

Servant leaders do not abuse, humiliate or devalue people. They understand that behaviors either build trust or destroy it, and without trust one cannot generally achieve consistent high employee engagement and high performance.

Vigilant leaders

Like behaviors, a servant leader's attitudes and beliefs underpin successful leadership.

Attitudes and beliefs are fundamental because what you think and feel drives behaviors. Servant leaders do not think they are better than the people they lead. Servant leaders do not think that unless employees are watched like hawks, they won't work hard. They believe that if you create the right values and culture normal people will do extraordinary things.

The behavior of leaders, coupled with attitudes and beliefs, either enables or inhibits high performance. Good intentions and words are not enough. The best leaders understand that daily behaviors count.

And leadership is hard work because it takes discipline. Servant leaders are vigilant in fighting elitism, arrogance, complacency and hubris daily.

Edward D. Hess is a professor of business administration and Batten Executive-in-Residence at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. He teaches an executive education course, "Servant Leadership: A Path to High Performances," in November.

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Servant leadership: A path to high performance

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I've spent years researching the DNA of high-performing companies, and much to my surprise the leaders at most of those companies did not fit commonly espoused theories of leadership. Many people believe great leaders are charismatic, have a commanding presence, are visionary and educated at elite schools.

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It is important to remember that almost everything is consumer based. In order to grow a successful business one must always put the customer first. In addition to this some of the articles I provided spoke on how it is important to value our employees which is what Marriott prides itself on.

1.)https://www.business.gov.au/people/customers
2.)https://www.bbntimes.com/en/companies/importance-of-customer-service-in-a-business
3.)https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/11/a-new-business-strategy-treating-employees-well/383192/
4.)https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247396

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Successful companies realize that employees are their most important asset. Customers might be the reason the lights stay on, but those customers wouldn't exist without the hard work and dedication put forth by employees.

It's for this reason that employers should actively invest in their workers. Specifically, they should aim to treat them as they do their best customers. Just as businesses value their customers' satisfaction, loyalty and referrals, employers should value the same in their employee relationships. Invest in employees, and they'll invest in the company.

Like customer success, employee success should be a holistic experience for employees -- from recruitment through all of the great experiences they share with the company.

To create a top-notch employee experience that attracts and retains talent, here's what employers should do during these three stages of the employee lifecycle:

Stage 1: Recruitment.

When it comes to finding the company's next rock star employee, think of the company's culture as the product. How can companies get job seekers to buy what they're selling? Market the workplace to job seekers just as the company markets its product to consumers.

One way to do this is by embracing transparency as much as possible. Give job seekers a better idea of what it's like to work at the company.

Take cloud-computing company Rackspace, for example. Its company career page features a number of "Culture in Motion" videos that take job seekers into a day in the life of a "Racker." The page also includes informative posts written by company employees.

Social media also serves as a great platform to market employer brand. Just as companies strive to engage customers and keep them up-to-date via social media, employers should do the same with potential job candidates. Posting photos from the company's last outing, highlighting employee testimonials and responding to questions and concerns are all simple ways to attract and engage top talent.

Related: Does Your Company's Branding Really Matter in Recruiting?

Stage 2: Development.

Companies invest in customer success and satisfaction, and employers must do the same with employees through ongoing development. The development process should begin on an employee's first day and expand the length of their time with the company.

However, an increasing percentage of companies -- more than double the amount from 2012 (from 7 percent to 15 percent) -- have reverted to a one-day long onboarding program, according to a 2014 Aberdeen study. One day isn't going to cut it. In fact, the same study also revealed that companies with shorter onboarding programs (i.e. less than a month) are nearly 10 percent less likely to retain their first-year employees.

Organizational and customer success begins with employee success, so give employees the tools they need to grow professionally. Don't bring employee development to a halt once initial onboarding has ended.

Instead, strive to find out where individual employees would like to improve and give them opportunities to do so, such as investing in training programs, bringing in industry leaders for lunch-and-learns and giving employees time off to attend professional development events.
Related: Today's Most Satisfied Employees Demand These 4 Things
Stage 3: Retention.

As with all things -- including employees -- you win some, you lose some. When it comes to customer feedback, companies are quick to react by considering the potential impact of that feedback and addressing it to keep customers from leaving. Employers need to value employee feedback in much the same way. Employee feedback is the key to creating and maintaining a positive experience for new hires and current staff.

To avoid losing employees, pay attention to what might be causing them to consider leaving in the first place. Just as business owners use customer reviews to improve upon their product, employers should rely on regular performance reviews and stay interviews to gain insight on how they can improve the employee experience.

Consider meeting with employees in a casual, one-on-one setting to discuss both employee and manager performance, areas for improvement and possible solutions. For employees who are set on leaving (it happens), send employees off on a good note. Conduct an exit interview to find out why the employee is leaving and what can be done to prevent others from following suit.
Related: Keep Your Talent: 5 Employee Retention Strategies for Long-Term Success

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Why It's Smart to Treat Your Employees Like Your Best Customers

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Successful companies realize that employees are their most important asset. Customers might be the reason the lights stay on, but those customers wouldn't exist without the hard work and dedication put forth by employees. It's for this reason that employers should actively invest in their workers.

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1.)https://workplaceblog.fb.com/work-hacks/diversity-in-the-workplace/

2.)https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236543/business-benefits-gender-diversity.aspx

3.)http://www.hays.be/en/career-academy/diversity/5-benefits-of-implementing-a-gender-diversity-policy-in-the-workplace-1978766

4.)https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-business-case-for-gender-diversity-update-2017_us_590658cbe4b05279d4edbd4b

All of these articles were very Interesting and spoke of the benefits in diversity within the workplace such as a bigger scale of talent along with different views Incorporated into your company. These difference in views could potentially enable your companies growth.

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Gender diversity is important. Ensuring equal representation of women in the workplace can have positive effects across your entire organization. Here are some of them.

It might feel as if women's presence in the workplace is a given, but globally, despite making up 50% of the population, women generate just 37% of GDP.

So why is diversity important in the workplace and how are organizations missing out if they don't get the gender balance right? Here are just a few reasons why gender diversity is good for business.

1. A wider talent pool

Companies that don't encourage women to join them are missing out on the talents and abilities of half the population. Tapping into these can make a huge difference to your productivity and your bottom line.

2. Different perspectives

Having both women and men in your teams means you benefit from the different points of view and approaches that come from different life experiences.

A multiplicity of perspectives can spark creativity and innovation, and help organizations spot and seize new opportunities. It can also encourage organizations to challenge gender stereotypes.

3. Enhanced collaboration

Having women on teams can help improve team processes and boost group collaboration. Researchers have observed that women have stronger skills reading non-verbal cues.

They also conclude that groups with more women were better at taking turns in conversation, which helps them make the most of the groups combined knowledge and skills.

This will benefit groups both when they're collaborating on projects face-to-face. And it will also help when employees use modern communication and collaboration tools like Workplace Groups.

4. Improved staff retention

Having an inclusive culture in your workplace boosts morale and opportunity. Inclusive workplaces tend to have lower employee churn rates - which represents big savings in terms of time and money spent on recruitment.

5. A better reflection of your customers

Customers come from all walks of life. The more the make-up of your organization reflects your customers the more likely it is you'll communicate effectively with them.

That means making sure your teams have a diversity of genders, as well as backgrounds and ethnicities. Women are hugely influential when it comes to making purchasing decisions - in 2018, women globally spent about 40 trillion US dollars. That's a lot of buying power to connect with.

6. Improved recruitment and reputation

Having an inclusive workplace is a powerful recruiting tool. Female millennials look for employers with a strong record on diversity, according to research by PwC, with 85% saying it's important to them.

A reputation as an inclusive employer will also demonstrate your positive company values and that will enhance your reputation in the recruitment marketplace.

7. Greater profitability

Time and again, evidence supports the theory that gender diversity has a positive impact on the bottom line. According to McKinsey, the most gender-diverse companies are 21% more like to experience above-average profitability.

And a report by MSCI shows that having women on the board of a company boosts productivity.

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7 benefits of gender diversity in the workplace

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Gender diversity is important. Ensuring equal representation of women in the workplace can have positive effects across your entire organization. Here are some of them. It might feel as if women's presence in the workplace is a given, but globally, despite making up 50% of the population, women generate just 37% of GDP .

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Markets have progressively been descreasing for the past few months. When in doubt as to where to put your money, why not Gold? Gold seems to be a safe investment for those who don't want to put their money into something risky. Leadership in charge should continuously be looking for new investment opportunities for the growth of the company.

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With Brexit around the corner and stock markets plunging - is now the time to invest in gold?

When stock markets plunge and the world economy is threatened, one asset normally worn around rich people's necks has its moment to shine in the spotlight.

Step forward gold, considered by many as a safe haven in stormy times.

In recent weeks, as markets worldwide have corrected sharply and a full-blown trade war between two of the globe's powerhouses - the United States and China - looks increasingly likely, the gold price has rallied.

From a year low in August of $1,180.40 an ounce, it rose to $1,233.85 by the end of last month before falling back slightly and then rising again to $1,232.

Although the price remains lower than it was this time last year, there are some investment managers who now believe gold has a key - if minor - role to play in putting together a diversified portfolio.

One such individual is David Coombs, head of multi-assets at investment house Rathbones. Normally sceptical of gold as an asset class, he has built a three per cent holding in the £532 million Rathbone Strategic Growth Portfolio that he manages - a fund aiming to provide investors with returns in excess of inflation. It does this by investing in a broad range of assets including equities, bonds, private equity and commodities.

'My long-term view on gold has not changed,' says Coombs. 'If you like it, wear it and don't invest in it. Gold provides no income which is a big 'no no' for many investors, especially when interest rates are on the rise and cash and bond yields become more attractive.

'But given the uncertain times we are currently living through here in the UK with all the speculation over Brexit, I do believe it has a role as a hedge.'

According to Coombs, the hedge is against the threat of 'stagflation' [economic stagnation combined with inflation] triggered by a Brexit deal not being done.

'The UK economy is vulnerable to stagflation if a Brexit deal is pushed out,' he explains. 'Businesses will stall on capital investment projects and we could see UK economic growth slow and unemployment rise with inflation persisting - the ingredients for stagflation. If that happens, gold will represent a store of value.'

Although a pessimistic voice ( a view not shared by investment guru Neil Woodford), Coombs is not alone in looking at gold as an asset diversifier.

Investment trusts Personal Assets and Ruffer both have exposure to gold. Like Coombs' fund, both Personal Assets and Ruffer are broadly diversified and are designed to maintain the real value of investors' holdings. Personal Assets currently has eight per cent of its assets in solid gold (bullion) while Ruffer has seven per cent exposure through shares in gold mining companies.

Jason Hollands, of wealth manager Tilney, says some of the portfolios it runs for private clients have around two per cent exposure to gold. He says: 'We do not see gold as a low-risk asset per se. Gold prices have at times endured long losing streaks and out of the last five consecutive 12-month periods, four have seen the gold price fall. 'Also, a strong dollar is not good for gold because it means the currency is seen as a safer haven. Indeed, a strengthening dollar is often accompanied by a weakness in the gold price.

'Our reasoning for holding gold for clients is as an insurance policy in the event of a collapse in confidence in the financial system. Like most forms of insurance, it will only kick in as a driver of returns in exceptional circumstances.'

For investors, there are a number of ways to get gold exposure.

The cheapest and most straightforward approach is to buy an investment that tracks the gold price. These are called exchange traded funds and are provided by the likes of iShares (part of asset manager BlackRock) and Invesco. They can be bought through a stockbroker and most fund platforms.

Purchases will incur a dealing charge and there will be an ongoing annual fee on the fund. For example, iShares Physical Gold has a fee of 0.25 per cent.

An alternative approach is to buy a fund with limited exposure to gold - such as Personal Assets, Rathbone Strategic Growth or Ruffer. Or more targeted funds such as BlackRock Gold & General and Ruffer Gold.

With the exception of Personal Assets, these funds invest in the shares of gold mining companies rather than physical gold. Companies such as Randgold Resources and Fresnillo - both components of the FTSE 100 Index - and further afield Australian-based Newcrest.

Duncan MacInnes, investment director at Ruffer, believes there is a strong case for investing in gold mining shares rather than buying a fund tracking the gold price.

He says: 'Over the past 15 years the gold price is up by some 110 per cent. Yet mining-related equities over the same period have fallen in price on average by 30 per cent.'

He adds: 'Gold companies are cheap and unloved. The economic backdrop could develop favourably for gold, or the market at some stage could reappraise the value of gold mining companies.'

MacInnes says the proposed merger of Randgold Resources and Canadian-based Barrick Gold - 'a totemic deal' - could herald a bout of industry consolidation, leading to lower costs and more profits for shareholders.

Finally, physical gold (bars and coins) can be bought from an online bullion dealer - the likes of Goldcore and Bullion Vault - or the Royal Mint. Buyers can ask to have it stored, for a charge, or delivered.

With Christmas in mind, Royal Mint is offering the gold 'cracker' set - six crackers hiding between them a one-ounce bar, three gold coins, a silver money clip (with a gold half sovereign) a gold diamond necklace and gold cufflinks. All for a mere £5,000.

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Safeguard your fortune with investment that's guaranteed solid gold

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When stock markets plunge and the world economy is threatened, one asset normally worn around rich people's necks has its moment to shine in the spotlight.

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Apple has produced many services for its clients over the years.This artcle entails how its service division may amass over 870 billion within the next few years. The growth of a company is vital to it remaining around. Something Apple seems to  have no trouble with. Tim Cook and the other leaders or CEOS at Apple are providing for a better future.

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Apple's fast-growing services division, which includes Apple Music, could be worth a staggering $870bn by 2022

Apple's fast-growing services division, which includes Apple Music and App Store, could be worth a staggering $870 billion alone by 2022, analysts have predicted.

America's $1 trillion tech giant spooked investors last week by revealing it would no longer disclose how many iPhones, iPads and Macs it sells.

Shares in the iPhone maker plunged nearly 7 per cent in New York on Friday, wiping $73 billion off the value of the company.

However, Wall Street analysts are suggesting Apple will become less reliant on sales of its devices and grow its high margin services division, which includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud.

In an in-depth research note for clients this week, Timothy O'Shea at Jefferies said that by 2022, Services could be worth as much as $177 per share or $870 billion.

By then, he estimates the division's revenues will more than double to $80 billion, accounting for a quarter of overall sales and 40 per cent of profits.

'Services growth will be led by the App Store and Apple Music, and we see an opportunity to introduce new services over time,' O'Shea added.

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Apple's services division could be worth $870bn by 2022

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The tech giant spooked investors by revealing it would no longer disclose how many iPhones, iPads and Macs it sells. But analysts believe it will become less reliant on sales of its devices.

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Though lively is growing at a rapid pace the dominance of Victoria's Secret seems to still be safe. The reporting on the sales of the VS fashion line remains in the billions, allowing it to remain the largest in its industry. Sorry Lively, you have a ways to go. Though for a new CEO to come in and produce such an impact in a hard industry shows how the continued success Lively will endure in the future.

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Lively has developed "leisurée" that combines lingerie and activewear for women of all sizes. The brand opened its own flagship store in New York City in July and partnered with Nordstrom in September. Founder and CEO Michelle Cordeiro Grant said they are looking to expand with more stores outside of the East Coast.

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This fledgling lingerie company is growing by 300%, and crushing the mighty Victoria's Secret

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Lively has developed "leisurée" that combines lingerie and activewear for women of all sizes. The brand opened its own flagship store in New York City in July and partnered with Nordstrom in September. Founder and CEO Michelle Cordeiro Grant said they are looking to expand with more stores outside of the East Coast.

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This was a very interesting article that I came across. Eventually I want to be able to run my own business and the legalization of weed in the US has created a growing market nicknamed the Green rush for potential investors.

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On October 17th-20th, the Cannabis World Congress and Business Exposition met in Boston forthe third time. Enthusiasm emanated from every corner as the tide slowly turns toward marijuana being accepted across America.

"What's exciting, in a sense, is that yes, there is money to be made," Giadha Aguirre de Carcer, Founder of New Frontier Data, told Yahoo Finance. "But there is also that great double bottom line, meaning we can make money in this industry, and candidly, still do good.

"To be at the forefront of seeing how this plant is [seeing] not just recreational use, which is great, but [also] true medical impact."

Leaders from nascent blockchain companies, pharmaceuticals companies, and hemp manufacturers showcased both new cannabis products and a total rise in industry output - explaining that cannabis legalization is creating an emerging public market that is taking root in the finance industry.

"In 2018 in the United States, we project retail sales to reach about $7 billion," Carcer said. "And we also expect by 2025 that number will go up to almost $25 billion."

The legal U.S. cannabis market is projected to reach more than $20 billion by 2022, according to the " The State of Legal Marijuana Markets, Sixth Edition" (SOLMM6) released by Arcview Market Research in partnership with . This growth has the potential to generate more than 467,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2022.

And despite federal prohibition, the SOLMM6 asserted that the U.S. legal cannabis industry experienced 31% growth in 2017. Arcview forecasts that the continuing state-by-state roll-out of medical-use programs and then adult-use legalization will bring a 22% compound annual growth rate to the market over that five-year forecastperiod

"I've been in the business about ten years and so I've seen it develop," Arby Barroso, Co-Founder of Green Roads World, said in an interview. "And from about five years ago to today, the market share the cannabis or CBD business is getting into is just extraordinary."
WATCH MORE: The cannabis tech boom is only beginning

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Emergent U.S. weed industry eyes 'that great double bottom line'

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The weed industry is growing in the U.S., despite a federal ban on the substance.