Avionics News January 2013 - 44

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS
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To keep your business and technicians in compliance with the training requirements in 14 CFR 145.163 and AC 14510, the AEA offers a multitude of training opportunities, including sessions at the association’s Dan Derby Center for Professional Development in Lee’s Summit, Mo., the annual AEA International Convention & Trade Show and AEA Regional Meetings. “The AEA also has online programs and presentations to keep your skills sharp in 2013,” said Mike Adamson, AEA vice president of member programs and education. “You can get eight hours of credit for free by taking the 2013 Avionics News Technical Training Exam online. Don’t forget to keep your training records for a minimum of two years. If you need to replace a certificate for a past AEA training event, call our office for help.” 8. Train every employee in the art of customer service. Teach them how to communicate effectively with customers, how to be attentive and responsive, and how to empathize with and handle complaints. In a competitive market, the employees best trained in service may garner all of the attention and, therefore, all of the customers. If you don’t know how to train your employees in customer service, hire an expert for a day to help. It will pay dividends. 9. Staff your business properly. Pushing your employees to do too much could be more costly than adding another staff member or two, even part time. Employee productivity drops dramatically when people get weary from being overworked for extended periods and accidents go up, which can be costly to a business in the form of sick days, fixing mistakes, higher insurance rates and unhappy customers. If your workload is too volatile to hire an employee full time, consider contracting a technician to work three months at a time. “The cyclic economy will likely start heating up again in the next two years, and companies prepared for the uptick will be better situated to take advantage of the economic gains,” said Jason Dickstein, AEA’s general counsel. 10. Do a better job marketing your products and services. How can your customers find you if they don’t know about you? Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive; you can take advantage of free promotional opportunities like these.
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Offer to serve as an expert for articles. Call or send a quick email to editors and writers of industry publications explaining your experience, and offer to be on standby for those times they need some industry insight or a quote for an article. Also, consider suggesting a few interesting story ideas that loosely tie to your field of expertise. When you’re quoted in an article, you and your business are perceived as knowledgeable about the subject, a valuable signal to potential customers. Tell others about your accomplishments. Did you develop a supplemental type certificate, completely modify and overhaul an aircraft, develop a new product or expand your facilities or capabilities? If so, make sure others know. Tweet or blog about it, post it on your website and send a quick email to your clients – all free. Also, write a short media release that plainly states what you accomplished, why it’s important or different and how it benefits customers. Provide a few pertinent details about the project, such as what aircraft systems were involved, the length of time it took, what hurdles you had to overcome and who participated in the project. At the end of the media release, briefly describe the services and/or products you provide. Submit your information to Avionics News magazine, other industry trade publications and the business section of your local newspaper. Be sure to include a name with contact information in case the editor has questions. Not every media release will be published, but submit them anyway. Don’t forget to consider your advertising options. “At the AEA, we have several opportunities, from large display ads in the magazine to classifieds in the marketplace to a website ad,” said Lauren McFarland, manager of marketing and advertising for the AEA and Avionics News magazine. “We can help businesses tailor a plan that fits their needs and budget. Of course, send your press releases. We constantly update our ‘What’s New’ section in Avionics News and ‘The Short’ section in AEA’s e-newsletter, AEA Wired. It’s free to members. Also, consider participating in our social media sites. They can spark dialogue, connect you with customers and build your business network.” q

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january

2013

Avionics News January 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News January 2013