Amanda Dorenberg

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Increasing customer happiness means you’ll gain increased loyalty and sales as a result. It’s true that customers who feel satisfied after an interaction with your brand are more likely to become repeat customers and recommend your product or service to others with positive reviews and word-of-mouth referrals. However, the opposite is true as well. Unhappy customers also leave reviews — though they’re often less than complimentary — and then share these negative opinions with others. It's important, then, for any company to keep their customers returning happy and satisfied. To help, eight Rolling Stone Culture Council members share some key lessons all business leaders should learn when it comes to customer satisfaction.

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The definition of what a leader should be has evolved over the years. With so much shifting in terms of “how,” “when” and “where” we work post-pandemic, special attention must also be given to the way in which we lead. New environments and new expectations make way for new challenges, and in order to overcome them, managers, business leaders and entrepreneurs alike must reconsider what it means to be a “modern leader” in today’s ever-evolving professional climate. Below, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members share their insights on what it means to be a “modern leader” today and the kinds of traits they expect to see if leaders want to succeed in today’s business world.

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Even if you're short on cash, these 12 things will significantly boost your marketing efforts. When it comes to marketing your business, money isn’t everything. While having a large budget can certainly have a big impact on your efforts, there are many marketing activities that cost very little to implement, and even more that don’t cost anything at all. So for new or small businesses that have to operate on a shoestring budget, prioritizing the right marketing efforts can make all the difference. Below, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council experts share the areas of marketing they think are the most important to prioritize if you’re working with a tight budget and why those areas can give you the biggest bang for your buck.

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It’s never too late to make changes for the better. In the excitement of getting their first business up and running, new entrepreneurs may rush through the website-building process, aiming for speed to market rather than a well-planned design. In doing so, though, they may end up missing a few key components along the way, making mistakes that could cost them in the long run. Even if your website is already live, however, it’s not too late to make some valuable changes. Below, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members discuss some of the mistakes first-time entrepreneurs make when building their websites and what can be done to fix them.

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Not every influencer is a good fit for every company — and vice versa. Like with any business partnership, an influencer partnership must start with a solid foundation. Relying too much on transactional details may leave your business with a partner it can’t trust, whereas looking at the person as a whole may help you build a better relationship and save you from potential disaster down the line. If you’re unsure about your influencer partnership, consider this advice from the leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council. Below, they list signs that an influencer partnership might not be working out as you hoped and offer tips on what you should do if you spot them.

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Ensuring your employees are fulfilled in their work pays off in more ways than one. In their efforts to retain their employees, many companies are becoming more and more open to “talent mobility” — or letting employees completely change positions or departments in their company. This can have many benefits, such as increased fulfillment and job satisfaction for employees and higher rates of productivity and lower turnover for companies. But moving employees around the company can quickly turn into a complex mess if you don’t have the right plan in place first. To help, 10 members of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer their tips for ensuring this process goes smoothly and is a successful endeavor for all parties involved.

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It'll take more than a little convincing to show your customers your business is the "real deal." When you start a new business, one of your greatest challenges is convincing potential customers of your credibility. They need to know that your business can be trusted and that the product or service they’re paying for will be high quality and delivered in a timely fashion. Convincing them of this is the first step toward gaining them as a potential lifelong customer. But the process for convincing a customer that you’re a credible business is not necessarily straightforward, as different customers will consider different factors, and no one element will likely be enough to change their minds. This is why the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council listed out their top strategies for proving the credibility of your business below. Implement one or all of these tips to see a change in the way your company is viewed.

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Artists seeking their big break can start small with OOH.

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Take the time to evaluate the situation before you jump ahead. Being an entrepreneur is all about taking risks and reaping rewards. But it’s how you go about taking those risks that defines how successful you are in business. And whether calculated or impulsive, any risk has the potential for a negative outcome. However, with time and experience, it is possible to get better at taking risks and determining whether or not they’ll work out for you. Below, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council share some signs you can look for that will indicate if you’re about to make a big mistake rather than a risk that’s going to pay off.

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It's 2022, and employees' expectations have changed with the times. As the world has changed in the past couple of years, so too have employees’ expectations about their work. Employees are putting their personal fulfillment and work-life balance first, which for many has meant changing roles, jobs or even entire career paths. But as the exodus of employees continues, many companies are left wondering how to retain their employees or attract new ones to take their place. Below, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council business leaders offer a list of perks they believe companies will need to offer if they want to improve their employee retention and gain the interest of new talent.

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What inspires entrepreneurs each day doesn't have to come from the business sector. As any entrepreneur will tell you, running a business is a tough job. Finding the motivation to bring your all every day is a task in and of itself as you can easily become overwhelmed by the responsibility of constant planning, innovating and ensuring your team is well taken care of. Having something or someone to draw from for inspiration, then, can have a major impact on an entrepreneur’s outlook. But you don’t have to look to the business realm to be inspired. To share what has served as their biggest source of non-business inspiration, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members each discuss what (or who) inspires them as they lead their companies now and into the future.

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To be a trendsetter, you have to put in the work upfront. With trends always coming and going, it can seem like businesses are always just trying to catch up with the next big thing. But to be a true innovator, you’ll need to get ahead of the trends and maybe even set a few for yourself. In order for your business to be the first to capitalize on upcoming trends in your industry — and earn the respect and consumer attention that follows — consider these strategies recommended by the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council. Implementing even one could give you a major head start with the competition.

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Running a business shouldn't always be about selling. The holiday season is all about giving, and just because a business is for-profit doesn’t mean it can’t participate in doing a little good for its community. Whether their focus is on local communities or a larger cause, businesses big and small can do their part to show their customers (and their employees) that they care. As business leaders in the culture space, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council understand how important it is for businesses to come together with their communities, especially during such a charitable time. Below, they recommend 10 ways other culture businesses can give back this holiday season and bring a little cheer to others.

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In order to appease their customers, company leaders will need to shift their mindsets. The demand is clear: The next generation of consumers wants more eco-friendly businesses. And yet, not every business is on board, continuing to roll out products made with nonbiodegradable materials destined for landfill or approving unsustainable supply chain practices that hurt more than just the environment. So what’s keeping current businesses from implementing more sustainable, eco-friendly practices and products? To shed some light on the issue, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members each share one factor they believe is holding many company leaders back from developing a more earth-conscious approach to business.

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When your task list becomes overwhelming, try one of these methods for prioritization. Company leaders are no strangers to competing priorities. At the helm of the business, they must have their focus split between multiple areas or departments at any given moment. But when they’re only able to tackle one task at a time, how should they determine what to prioritize first? As successful business leaders themselves, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council shared a few of their best tips for effectively organizing and prioritizing a task list and why these methods have worked so well for them.