Yes, we all have those days where we just want to be miserable, and being continuously told to ‘smile’ by an annoying colleague certainly doesn’t help. But, much as we hate to admit it at the time, they may have a point.

Happiness is conducive to an effective working environment, both internally and externally. ‘A smile goes along way’ so the saying goes, and that applies to every step of the sales process. If you’re finding that clients can’t get away quick enough, it may be time to take a look in the mirror and start working on that grin.

Research has shown that smiling can have a positive effect on personal and business success. If a salesperson smiles at you, you are more likely to stay in a store longer and buy something. If you can’t decide on a purchase, a smile from a seller can reassure you and complete the sale. Even unconsciously, a smile can have a lasting impact on you. In an issue of MIND magazine, researchers at Duke University discovered that we remember a person’s face better if that person is smiling. Which is why no matter how much our feet hurt on the last day of an exhibition, you’ll always find the Whichlist.com team beaming.

Smiling and laughing is contagious. Whilst a moody person can bring you down, a smile from someone can instantly make you feel happier. And it’s hard not to like somebody that makes you feel good. Professor Sigal Barsade has done copious research into emotional contagion between people, insisting that people can infect others with their personal mood, sometimes without either party realising. (There is even some evidence to suggest that negative feelings may have played some part in bringing about the country’s current economic climate.) Knowing that your personal mood can be responsible for how others feel means it is not only crucial to smile at customers, but also important to give off positive vibes to the rest of your colleagues. A happy team is usually a more productive one.

And don’t keep your smile just for face to face meetings; it can have a significant impact on your phone manner too. A smile doesn’t have to be seen, it can be heard through the tone of your voice. Try it on your next phone call and you may be surprised how much difference it can make to the way the other person responds.

The black cloud may have lifted, but there’s a long way to go before the economic balance is restored. So, it’s no surprise that some companies are using vouchers and special offers to entice customers to their website or venue.

Popular websites such as Moneysavingexpert.com, Vouchercodes.co.uk, and the many others floating around in cyber space, seem to have bred over the last few years. Nowadays, it’s the norm to choose which restaurant you go to based on the vouchers available. There is almost a guilt attached to paying full price for anything when there are so many offers on the market all ready for the taking. However, whilst bagging a bargain is great for the consumer, how great is it for your business?

Vouchers, discounts, special offers – they all have the power to increase foot fall and bring a new range of clientele to your books. There is an opportunity for businesses, by offering savings, to reach consumers who wouldn’t normally have access to their products or services – bringing longer term benefits in addition to short term profits. The trial may be all that a consumer needs to be persuaded that the quality of what they receive, or their enjoyment of it, is worthy of the higher price tag. In this instance, the consumer may continue to buy from the company even when the offer has expired.

Research recently undertaken by online agency fast.MAP on behalf of Promotional Marketing magazine supports this idea, showing how discounts can entice people over from competitors’ brands. A whopping 76% of the people asked, said that they’d try an alternative to their usual brand if they were given a coupon of 40p or more on a purchase of £2. 28% of these went on to say that after being tempted to use another brand they have remained loyal to this brand because they preferred it.

It is common sense to take heed of the population’s financial situation and respond to it. After all, Pizza Express has been running a two for one offer throughout the recession and it seems to have been a great success. However, it is important to acknowledge the possible consequences of such long term offers. What happens when they finally come to an end? Will the regular customers continue to eat at full price, or will they simply drift away? After all, who wants to pay full price for something you’ve been having for half price for over two years?

There is a real risk of devaluing your product/service if you aren’t careful with your use of offers. Will reaching new clientele be at the expense of losing your existing one? What if people become immune to your offer, do you then reduce it further? It takes a careful balancing act to reap the benefits of your offer, without paying the price.

We’re told that the best things in life are free. That’s all well and good for the consumer, but not so much for the struggling business owner who needs to make a profit. The key to maintaining the value of your product is to ensure that any discount you give is earned. If your customers don’t have to do anything to get their voucher, they won’t value it. Whether it’s asking them to subscribe to your newsletter, or giving discounts to people who spend over a certain amount of money, there are ways to make sure you protect your brand’s reputation.

Don’t overlook the positives of using offers and vouchers to draw customers in. A coherent strategy needs to be put in place to monitor their effectiveness and long term consequences, but that doesn’t undermine their potential in the work place. Research commissioned by Valassis, a leading coupon service provider, at the end of 2009, shows that there has been a 28% increase in the number of consumers looking for a promotional offer in the last twelve months alone.

I recently read a news story about a two year old girl who had caught a 20lb fish with her Barbie fishing rod. Amidst a whole hoard of professional fishermen and expensive equipment, the toddler with her toy rod and worm for bait, reeled in the catch of the weekend – a 30 inch Muskie. I’d like to bet that nobody had marked her out as competition or considered a Barbie rod a vital piece of equipment, and yet the result was clear. A perfect example as to why you should always keep an open mind.

Whilst logic can be relied on to determine many things, there are some things that will ultimately defy it – and never more so than with human behaviour. Analysing facts and figures can help to some extent, but ultimately there is no way to know what somebody is going to do or how somebody is going to respond without testing. It’s a crucial lesson to learn regarding your company’s marketing.

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut when it comes to marketing. There are a million tasks to do every day and it can be difficult to find time to overhaul your current marketing strategy – particularly when it is working fine. However, why should we be content with ‘fine’, when with a little bit of time and effort that ‘fine’ could be turned into ‘remarkable’?

As technology advances and your customers change, it’s crucial to ensure that your marketing is still relevant. If you’ve never branched out to email marketing, how do you know that it won’t make a positive impact on your sales? Without ever experimenting with different direct mail inserts, or promoting your products through SMS, how can you be sure that it won’t produce better response rates? Keeping an open mind about potential marketing opportunities is vital if you want your company to continue to progress. After all, you never know what might happen. Perhaps you’ll make a great catch too.