The Microsoft Windows operating system is practically synonymous with small and medium business computer use, but once its up and running how many people ever think to check out how it is performing and give it a ‘tune-up’? And yet, just like a car, a PC operating system slowly but surely loses performance over time, which generally translates as becoming slower in its operation and giving you more and more error messages.

Basic PC tune-ups are easy and all the tools you need come inbuilt with the operating system. So here are four simple fixes that will improve your PC’s performance. These instructions are based on the Windows XP operating system, although versions of Windows from ‘98 onwards are fairly consistent in the way you access and use these tools. Just one word of caution – whenever you are asked if you want to delete a file during these operations it’s probably best to play it safe; the golden rule of PCs is, ‘When in doubt – DON’T’.

To get underway select <Start>, then < Programs>, then <Accessories>.

Clean up the hard drive

Go down to <System Tools> and select <Disk Cleanup>. Windows now goes through your hard drive identifying files that are no longer required for operating your system. After the search a panel pops up with a list of recommendations of files that can safety be deleted from your hard drive. If you have any doubts about something you can click on the <View Files> button and see the files in question. Most of these are just temporary or leftover files you won’t need again.

Next, click the <OK> button and you’ll get a new panel asking if you’re sure you want to perform these actions. Click on this panel’s <OK> button and Windows does the rest. Windows XP also offers a <More Options> tab on the Disk Cleanup panel that automatically deletes unused Windows components, Installed Programs and older System Restore files. It’s probably best to leave these ones alone unless you have a pretty good working knowledge of computers.

Defragment the hard drive

The next tool down the <System Tools> menu is <Disk Defragmenter>. What it does is go through your hard drive and relocate or group scattered files so they can be accessed more easily. ‘Defrag’, as its nicknamed, gives you a panel with buttons labeled <Analyze> and <Defragment>. Click on <Analyze> and Windows will go through your hard drive and work out how much disk space it can save by defragmenting the disk. 

When this action is completed a new message tells you if defragmenting is recommended and allows you to start the process. Click the <Defragment> button and go watch a movie or have dinner. The process can take quite a while depending on just how fragmented files have become over time.

Delete unused programs

Next, go back to the <Start> button, then to <Settings>, then <Control Panel>’. Select the <Add or Remove Programs> option. What you get next is a list of all the software installed on your PC. On most PCs there will be some old programs that might have been installed once because they were interesting or useful but are no longer needed. Deleting them through <Add or Remove Programs> is the way to ensure that unwanted programs are correctly uninstalled and Windows doesn’t waste time looking for them each time you start up your PC.

If you do see a program you recognize as of no further use just select it to highlight it and a new panel will tell you its size, how often it has been used, when it was last used, and more information if you need it.  To delete the program select the <Change/Remove> button and the Uninstall Wizard opens to guide you through the removal process. It can also be used to repair some programs so you have to choose between ‘repair’ or ‘remove’ at this point.

Check for errors

Our fourth tool is called Error-checking in Windows XT and Scandisk or Checkdisk in earlier versions. Error-checking cleans your hard drive of the miscellaneous errors caused by software conflicts. Select the <My Computer> icon on the Desktop and a new screen opens up that shows an icon for <Local Disk (C:)>. Right click on this and scroll down the panel to <Properties>.

In <Properties> select the <Tools> tab and choose the <Error-checking> option which you start by selecting <Check Now>. This opens a new panel in which you check the <Automatically fix system errors> box, then select <Start>.  Note that you may have to restart your PC before the Error-Checking process can begin. Error-Checking is done automatically before you log in to your next Windows session.

To keep your PC in good running order you should perform these four basic tune-up processes at least every six months.

Consumer surveys consistently report a high level of customer dissatisfaction with Internet retailers when it comes to actually delivering the goods. Too many retailers, it seems, are overly focused on the selling aspect and haven’t planned well enough how they intended getting purchases to their buyers.  

While working out the logistics of a delivery system can be challenging, and the costs associated with making deliveries significant, getting this process right is critical to the success of an ebusiness – a poor shopping experience almost certainly means a lost customer.

And its not just delivery. There are going to be times when products get broken during transit, or the wrong item is sent. What if the customer is simply dissatisfied with the goods? Consumer legislation can often be summarized as ‘the customer is always right’, meaning that you have the responsibility for retrieving the items and getting them back to your storage facility, all at your own cost of course.

What all this amounts to is that your ebusiness plan needs to give just as much attention to policies and procedures for fulfillment and returns, as to the actual selling of your goods. Here are some suggestions.

Find a carrier that will cover your entire trading area

Having a number of separate carriers for particular areas might seem to have some price advantages but overall it is going to be a costly stratagem. When selecting a company to deliver your products employ the services of one that lets you track each shipment. The reason for this is that it’s you, not the delivery company, that will get the enquiries about shipments and you have to be able to respond promptly to your customers.

Insure everything you ship out

Whether you levy a separate charge for ‘delivery and insurance’ or simply build the cost into your price structure, never ship anything without insuring it first.

Partner with local resellers

If your business also sells its products through unaffiliated retailers you might consider negotiating with them to deliver on your behalf in their trading area. Orders received on your website are forwarded to the retailer who then makes the delivery drawing from their own stock and charges you an agreed amount for each transaction.

Develop and promote a delivery policy

Put your entire delivery policy in writing. Cover every aspect from the expected order receipt-to-shipment time, to how it will be carried and what the customer has to do to receive the goods. Clearly state your insurance coverage terms and how customers can return the goods if they are defective or unsatisfactory. Make sure this policy is clearly stated on your website and displayed somewhere on your order form in both its electronic and hard copy versions.

Businesses grow by increasing the amount of work they perform. Unfortunately, this can really create extra problems for a business that doesn’t have the resources to handle the new work - especially a small firm where the workload is already evenly distributed and everyone already has enough to do.

Once you become aware that this sort of situation has developed you have to take immediate action to avoid, among other things, deterioration in your work standards and in your relationship with the team.  But no matter whether you recognize the difficulties early or late, there’s a straightforward procedure for addressing the issues and getting workplace relations back to normal.

Call a team meeting

Call a meeting of everyone involved in the project. Give them an outline of where things are up to and any other information you think might be of interest to them. Go ahead and acknowledge the fact that problems are being encountered and that this meeting recognizes that and is about finding a workable solution. 

Now ask for a report from each team member about their current workload – not just on the project but for everything else they are responsible for doing as well.  Often new work is begun without any consideration of just how much leeway there is among the current team to take it up and incorporate it along with all the things they already do.

This will provide you with some idea of where you will need extra assistance and how much of it.

Ask for suggestions

When you’ve got a clear picture of the situation ask your team members for their suggestions as to how the project’s requirements can be met as well as making sure all the other workload needs are satisfied. There’s probably some catching-up to do and extra support may initially be needed.

Get a consensus on the final decision

You’ve already accepted ownership of the problem so make sure the solution is one that everyone agrees with. Workshop the possible answers to every problem until you get a consensus that the course of action chosen will fix the problems and will be acceptable to all parties concerned.

Act quickly to implement a solution

Whatever temporary additional resources are needed - people, equipment, software - get it in place as fast as possible. Make this your personal priority and be seen to be working hard to fix the problems. 

The worst thing you can do when a project of some kind ‘implodes’ on the firm is to let things go on without confronting the situation. When the actions you’ve taken to fix the problems have succeeded and the project has been completed, have a celebration with your team and be sure that the lessons learned aren’t forgotten.

Marketing is essentially about acquiring and retaining customers. Marketing can be as simple or as complex as you’d like to make it, but every business should have a marketing plan of some sort. Here’s a simple way of covering the seven basic elements of a marketing plan.

Describe the market in which you trade

How well do you really know your own market? A basic understanding is critical to developing an effective sales strategy.

Who are the key players? You should know the major suppliers and the bigger customers. You should know who’s leading the way and who’s falling behind. 

Is your market growing or contracting? You need to know if it’s going places or heading for tough times. You also need to keep up with the major developments in your market both at home and overseas. Your market is the environment in which your business lives. Unless you really know your market you’re not going to be able to grow when it grows or protect yourself when it gets into trouble.

Identify your competitors – current and future

You need to identify and understand your competitors so you can compare what they offer with what you’re offering. You need to watch them so you know if something new is happening in your line of business that you haven’t yet heard about. You also need to know their strengths and weaknesses so you can do it better and increase your customer base at their expense.

And because change is a part of every aspect of life these days, consider too who might compete with you in the future even though they mightn’t be currently.

Understand your customer’s needs

The most successful businesses today are those that get to really know their customers and deliver what they want.  They also spend a lot of time making sure that their customers have satisfying experiences at every touchpoint with their business.

The same thing goes for those whom you want as customers. You need to know them as well as the ones you already have so you can package what it is they want and be able to give it to them. Products don’t sell on just price and quality – customers are going to estimate the value they’ll get on a number of things and you need to know what they consider important.

Develop a pricing strategy

Your pricing strategy has to meet two important requirements – it must appeal to your customers and it has to be profitable for your business. You have to know what your real costs are before you can set a price on what it is you’re selling. That’s not just the simple costs of making and selling it, but the total basket of costs including a fair share of your overheads and an allowance for yourself.

Remember when setting prices that people usually shop around before making their final decision. You don’t have to be the cheapest but it certainly pays to be at least a bit under the top of the market unless you’ve got a product that’s a world-beater. Regularly survey the market so that you know what the range of prices for your product is.  Choose a price point that suits the customers that are already buying from you and will also appeal to those you’d like to acquire.

Developing customer relationships

Among the things customers see as valuable is the sort of experience they have in dealing with a business. Relationships have to be designed for specific groups of customers, then the business structured in such a way that the desired relationships are created and maintained.  Part of successful marketing is knowing just what these relationships should be and being able to create them.

Think about your customers with the intention of developing relationships with them. It’s a lot different from just trying to think of how to sell them something, and in the longer-term it’s going to work much better for you.

Acquiring new customers

Do you actively go out and look for new business or are you just waiting for it to walk in the door?  Are you really aware of what your prospective customers want that will make them buy from you? Do you know how to reach them and what sort of message will encourage them to buy? These are critical questions you have to answer as part of your marketing. Customers’ requirements change and you need to keep up with those changes. Customer acquisition is an important element of any business and it has to receive its fair share of attention or your customer base will eventually wither away.

Market in the right places

Always develop your marketing communications with your customers in mind – where do they look when they want information about a product like yours?  Which of them will provide a good return on investment for you?

These seven elements of marketing are already part of your business. You’re already doing marketing each time you set a price or check what your competitors are charging for what they sell.  The most critical part of each of these is to make sure it works as well as it possibly can and is always targeted at delivering what the customer wants from you. Happy marketing!

Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust – Zig Ziglar