I don’t remember the exact figures, but it has been demonstrated time and time again that it is much more cost-effective to try and keep an existing customer than it is to try and find a new one. In trying to attract additional clients, you will probably put out a fair amount of money in marketing and advertising. Your conversion rate won’t be anywhere near 100%, not to mention the time and effort involved in the “gamble” of attracting new customers.

As I’ve discussed on Beyond the Rhetoric, the single best source of additional revenue is your existing client base. You already have an established relationship with these customers and this relationship can be mutually beneficial. You already know what to expect and the customer already knows what to expect from you. This rapport gets well past the initial “feeling out” period when you’re still trying to get to know one another.

It’s up to you whether you want to take the route of signing customer agreements and contracts, but it is always in your best interest to do what you can to keep your customers. If you have a client that is thinking of going somewhere else, thinking that the grass is greener in your competitor’s lawn, you need to offer something better. This may not necessarily be a reduction in price! You can remind this client of your exceptional customer service, as well as all the features you offer that your competitor does not.

This process of retaining customers can actually increase your revenue, despite the possibility that you may be offering a discount of some kind. That’s because this retention provides an opportunity to upsell and suggestive sell your customer on additional products and services. Further still, the customer will walk away happy and is more likely to refer associates and colleagues your way. That’s more business for you.

Yes, offering a “retention discount” may sound like you are losing money in the short run, but it will ultimately provide you with additional revenues in the long run.

The Javascript language also has more sophisticated programming mechanisms such as loops. Today we’re going to be discussing the most complex loop, the for loop. If you’re familiar with this loop from other languages, such as PHP, then you’ll feel right at home with the Javascript version.

The for loop allows you to recursively check if an expression is true, and execute a piece of code for each time that it is. The for loop has three parts to it, the beginning – where you set an initial variable that will be incremented with each run, the middle – where you have an expression to be evaluated, and the end – where you increment the variable created in the beginning.

The beginning will only be run once, the middle will be run until it evaluates until true, and the end will be run at the end of every “cycle” (when the middle is true and after the code is executed). Let’s take a look at an example.

[code='javascript']for (x=0; x < 15; x++) {
document.write(x);
}[/code]

Which would write out 01234567891011121314. For loops have the potential to be the most useful loop at your disposal, use it well.

When you make the transition from using a desktop computer to a notebook computer, certain sacrifices are usually made. The screen won’t be as big, so you’ll have to get used to having a smaller display. The keyboard won’t feel quite the same, because you don’t get the same amount of key travel and the size of the keyboard itself may be a little smaller. Furthermore, the speakers aren’t going to be nearly as powerful as a decent set of desktop speakers.

For all of these shortcomings, there is usually some sort of add-on solution. You can use an external keyboard with your laptop, for example. In like manner, you can make use of some external PC speakers when you know you’ll be seated in one place for an extended period of time. A great example of this is your workstation in the office, particularly if you rely on your notebook as your main computer.

With many of the available speaker systems for notebooks, you get the sound out of the headphone jack on your laptop. This is an analog signal and the sound quality may not be the best. That’s why it may be a better idea to consider a USB solution like the Logitech V10 USB Notebook Speakers. This system won’t compete against the powerful 5.1 speaker systems out there, but it’s a heck of a lot more portable.

These computer speakers are lightweight, feature matched quad micro drivers, include a protective travel bag, and are completely USB-powered. You don’t have to deal with a second set of cables for power. The volume can also be adjusted using the built-in controls. The Logitech V10 speakers retail for for $59.99 on Amazon.ca.

Last week we ran a spell  check on our site to ensure that all the spelling mistakes were removed. This week we will focus on adding a secondary MX record. MX stands for Mail eXchange and is used by DNS to route email to the proper mail server. In the off chance that our mail server is dead you could possibly loose emails. One way to prevent that is to use a secondary MX.

Mail delivery is first attempted to be delivered to the primary mail server. If that server is not reachable then the mail will be attempted to be delivered to the mail server with the second lowest MX level. If the second lowest mail server in priority can not be reached then the mail will be delivered to the mail server with the third lowest MX level and so on.
If no mail servers can be reached then mail is sometimes queued but is usually just bounced back to the sender. This can lead to lost sales and lost revenue and worst of all lost of communication and respect.

To setup a second MX the easiest is to purchase the service through DNS Made Easy. The cost is only $12.95 for a year. Once you have purchased it they will provide you with a list like the following…

20 mx1.dnsmadeeasy.com
30 mx2.dnsmadeeasy.com
40 mx3.dnsmadeeasy.com

Open a ticket with our support and ask them to setup the additional MX records in your DNS. You are now prepared encase of an emergency that your emails will not be lost.

 A cartoon created by artist Rob Cottingham.

 

If you have an idea for a future comic or would like to submit your own BlueFur cartoon let us know in a comment.

Hurray! You’ve managed to survive yet another workweek, emerging out largely unscathed and, hopefully, a little better off than how you started your week. As your well-earned reward, take a few moments to read these great posts from the blogosphere.

Ed Lau takes us for a brief stroll down memory lane. Most of us are familiar with movies like Knocked Up and Pineapple Express, but where did Seth Rogen get his start? Check out the great clip of Seth Rogen from 1996, getting started with some fundamental standup comedy. Do you think he was funny then? Do you think he’s funny now?

Charnita Fance knows how important it is to integrate your various profiles from around the Internet. It’s about synergy and building your brand. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, so Charnita provides five ways to import and promote your blog on Facebook. Social networking can be great for marketing and promotion too.

Buzz Bishop has been afflicted with something and he’s spreading his condition to everyone around him. Yes, Buzz has caught playoff fever and he’s cheering on the hometown Vancouver Canucks on their run to the Stanley Cup. However, he’s turning tradition on its head, saying that it’s acceptable to reset the playoff beard each week. Some purists will say this practice is blasphemous! Your thoughts?

Raul Pacheco certainly has a reason to celebrate, because his blog hit its three-year anniversary earlier this week. Congratulations on making it to this momentous milestone, Raul! Here’s to many more years of Hummingbird604!

Michael Martine, by his own description, is a remarkablogger. He knows a thing or two about getting our attention with his words, so we should all pay attention when he describes how to write an e-book that doesn’t suck. There are some rather poor quality e-books out there and you don’t want to be one of them.