Problem: Article: Identifying who your target customer is may not be easy, as you may have a product that reaches across demographics. Nonetheless, you need to know who your customer is before you can begin to build a customer-focused business. You can use one of the many research methods in this section to help identify your customers. Surveys and feedback forms allow you to get information from your customer just after the service is performed. They can help you understand what your customer liked or didn't like about the experience. They should be short and simple, as you don't want to take up too much of your customers' time. In addition, many companies offer some incentive for a customer to take survey, as most customers don't want to take the time to do it. Really, they are doing you a service by providing you with information, and by rewarding them, you show you value their time. Try offering a coupon or something small for free if they fill out your survey. For the majority of the survey, rating questions will probably work best. That is, you have a question, and you tell your customer to rate the experience on a scale, such as 1 to 10. However, it's also good to have an open-ended question so your customer can provide feedback in ways that you didn't think of, such as "What did you like best about your experience today?" followed by "Where you unhappy about anything with your experience today?" Focus groups are when you invite small groups of people in to examine a product or service. You can use your friends and family as a focus group if you are a new business, for instance, or you can pay customers to participate in your focus group to learn more about your business. Essentially, focus groups are like a group interview, generally focused on one product or service. When your customers browse your website, they are providing you with valuable information you can use to put your customers at the center. Analytic software can tell you how your customers are browsing, what they're looking at, and what just doesn't work on your website. Secondary research is research that someone else has performed for another purpose. For instance, you can use census data research to find out about the people in your area, which can help you identify who is most likely to use your product. Sometimes, it's easy to overlook just talking things over with your customers face-to-face. Your customers know what they want, and if you take the time to ask them questions and see what's working and what's not, you can better understand how to serve them. For instance, when a customer comes in, take the time to ask some questions, such as, "Is there anything that could be better today?" or "What are we not doing that could make your experience better?" If you're on a social network, you can use it to your advantage. Your customers will be providing you constant feedback on social media, both good and bad. In addition, you can see when you're doing something right by how often your posts are shared or liked. However, some social media tends to throttle business posts if you don't pay to advertise. Therefore, to get a good sense of how a post is doing, you may need to pay some for promoting it. Your customers will not stay the same over time. That means that you must continue to do research on your customers, so that you can continue to make them the focus of your business.
Summary: Identify your target audience. Try surveys. Conduct focus groups. Use web analysis. Look at secondary research. Talk to your customers. Watch your social network. Update research constantly.

Problem: Article: Psychologists have identified at least three different primary "love styles" based on friendship, passion, and game playing. Some suggest there may be as many six different ways of experiencing the condition of being in love, and that most people experience love as a blend of two or more of these. Spend some time thinking about what love means to you, and what it means to your partner. Psychologist John Lee argues that there are six love styles: eros (romantic/passionate love), Ludos (love as a game), Storge (love as deep friendship), Pragma (love as a useful arrangement), Mania (love as obsession), and Agape (love as selflessness). Think about which style or styles best fit you, and which best fit your partner. If your partner is a romantic but you are not, that doesn't mean you love your partner less, it just means you experience love differently. Understanding and appreciating your differences is important in any romantic relationship. Try to put yourself in your partner's place, and understand their way of seeing things. If you and your partner have different approaches to communicating your feelings, consider whether your way of communicating is getting the message across. For you, mowing the lawn or doing some other chore for your partner might be a way of saying "I love you," but consider your partner's perspective: is he or she receiving that message from your actions? Your needs are valid, but so are your partner's, so it's important to consider whether or not you're communicating your feelings in a way she or he understands. Dating a romantic can be very fulfilling. Try to focus on the perks instead of the extra effort you may have to make. Your partner will probably make an extra effort to remember what you like, to do fun, spontaneous things with you, and to cheer you up when you are feeling sad. Additionally, most of the time, the primary thing your partner will want in return is to be loved by you. They are also likely to focus on the the things they like about you. None of this means you don't have to do anything nice in return, but it does mean you are lucky enough to have a partner who really enjoys being with you and wants you to feel the same.
Summary: Understand your differences. Try to relate. Enjoy the attention.

Problem: Article: You'll need an extremely large stainless-steel mixing bowl and a large balloon whisk to properly whip cream by hand. A bit of patience and strong arms (or a friend who'll lend a hand) are nice to have, too. A balloon whisk helps to incorporate lots of air into the cream as you whip, creating an airier, lighter product. Chef Leslie Bilderback recommends what she calls a "ludicrously oversized bowl" because the more surface area the cream has, the faster it will whip. Always chill your mixing bowl ahead of time. A stainless-steel mixing bowl is your best choice because it'll hold the chill longer, but you can also use porcelain or glass. To keep your cream extra cold while working, you can also set the mixing bowl inside a larger bowl that you've filled halfway with ice. Begin whipping the cream in a wide, circular motion. As you whip, lift the whisk out of the cream with each pass. By doing this, you'll bring more air into the cream, and it'll whip more quickly. Whip as quickly as you can; the faster the better. After whipping your cream for about 30 seconds, you should see lots of little bubbles--the cream should resemble foam. Continue whipping and notice when you get to the point that you can see and to feel your cream begin to thicken. It depends on your arm strength and how successfully you maintain good whipping technique. When you get to the point that the cream starts to hold it's shape, you've reached the soft peak stage. This is the point at which you'll add sugar and/or flavorings to your cream. If you're working ahead and won't be serving your cream for a while, stop whipping now and put your bowl in the refrigerator until you're ready to finish. It should only take an additional minute or so to move from the soft-peak to the stiff-peak stage. To test it, take a scoop on the end of your whisk and turn it upside-down. The peak on the scoop should hold firm and not soften back into itself. If you over whip your cream, you will end up with butter. If you see it the mixture starting to separate, you've gone too far. You do not to have to whip your cream by hand. You can use a mixer with a whisk or whip attachment; however, since this is a classic French recipe, you may prefer to use this classic method of whipping by hand.
Summary:
Pick up two essential tools. Get the technique. Whip the cream until it thickens. It could take a minute it could several minutes before your cream thickens. Enter the soft peak stage. Finish with stiff peaks. Stop.