• Introduce Yourself
• Get Across Two Points
• Make a Connection

So, let’s break down the most effective way to do this for your time, assuming you only have half a minute to get this done.

Starting the Elevator Pitch: Introduce Yourself

To begin, this is where it gets big. Think Sun Tzu, win it before you start. This is done with “the intangibles.” Additionally, think about how you dress, and how you approach the meeting – your voice, and your body language. These are all defining things that will speak volumes without taking any of the floor time. For that reason, when you are dealing with limited stimulus you have no room for nuance. Even the best elevator pitch will leave them feeling you have the same nuance as Wile E. Coyote. It’s too short.

So, introduce yourself with everything you are bringing to the table; good clothes, well-kept, professional mannerisms, a great tone, a bright smile, and a winning attitude. Demeanor can be picked up instantly.

Get Two Points Across

I switched it there, did you notice? The same number of words. The same exact words, a slightly different feel. These are basically reductionist points to the core of what you’re there to do. You are there to make a connection. So, this is just the formality on the page so that they have a reason to meet you, a reason to listen to what you have to say.

Likewise, keep it to the point, but opt for a presentation that lets you show those secret, deeper, more lasting qualities that you want to get across. People won’t remember what you say, but they will remember how you made them feel. Remember that – that’s something you should remember what is said.

Make a Connection

This is the point of the elevator pitch. It’s a segway to a better pitch. But right now you don’t have the benefit to show that. Your job is to be likable and sell them on yourself, via the approach to your chosen points. By making that connection you’ll have an opportunity to either meet or reach out later and seal that connection for future more nuanced opportunities.

If you are in the market for a quick set of ideas, I would look here. However, beyond that, I have opted for what are four ideas for successful elevator pitches you can use.

The Question

Ask the question. Also, qualify the question. Answer the question.

Question:

• Are you overwhelmed by elevator pitches?

Qualify:

• You have to convey your message quickly.

Answer:

• It also means you get to focus on your number one selling point. Know it best, focus on it and you leave little room to go awry.

Include a Shocking Statistic in Your Elevator Pitch

Present an insane statistic. Subvert its necessity. Illuminate.

Insane Statistic:

• The average person spends 2 hours on a single elevator pitch.

Subvert necessity:

• The average pitch lasts only about 30 seconds.

Illuminate:

• It’s better to understand the single point clearly unsteady of overcomplicating an essentially simple thing.

Make Your Elevator Pitch to the Point

Likewise, don’t waste any spare time. Get to the point.

Value:

• Elevator pitches succinctly put forward your value proposition.

Advantage:

• This saves time and keeps things efficient.

Feature:

• You don’t waste time with people who have no interest.

Elevator Pitch Credibility

Put forward your experience. Put forward why you prefer what you do. Why it works.

Experience:

• I have written a lot of professional pitches and documents.

Preference:

• You waste a lot of time writing unnecessary words that don’t move the conversation forward.

Why it Works:

• You’re going to be saving a lot of time, highlighting and improving the fewer lines you have. What you are left with will be better and receive less divided attention.

To conclude, the elevator pitch is a good way of boiling down a factor to its pure essence. Avoiding all the long-winded jargon and unnecessary formalities to get to the point of the pitch and the outcome sooner.

The post An Entrepreneur’s Elevator Pitch: Four Awesome Examples appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Just as with any other business model, growth is the ultimate goal when it comes to e-commerce. Yet it can often be a challenging and complex process to achieve it. Too few visitors to a website may result in lower-than-projected sales, or perhaps it’s the lack of credibility-boosting customer testimonials that are dampening conversion rates.

Luckily, online retailers can implement multiple strategies to help overcome these challenges and grow their companies steadily over time. If you’re looking to jumpstart the growth of your e-commerce business, here are some tips to get you there:

1. Beef Up Your Online Presence

Almost by definition, an e-commerce business requires a compelling online presence in order to succeed. If yours is falling short, you’ll need to improve your online presence in ways that grab your target audience’s attention. Your website needs to be user-friendly, easy to navigate, and responsive to keep your customers engaged when browsing through your online store.

Having a well-designed website that is visually appealing and consistent with your brand image is an important step in forming a good first impression with potential customers. Additionally, your website should be optimized for search engines by using relevant keywords in your content, meta tags, and descriptions. Following SEO best practices will help your e-commerce store rank higher in search engine results pages so your target customers can find you.

Another powerful tool that can be used to boost online presence is social media. Consistent posting on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter lets you build brand awareness. It also engages with your target audience and promotes your products.

2. Leverage the Power of Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are a powerful marketing tool that can be used to grow your e-commerce business organically. Positive reviews from other consumers can increase your credibility and encourage prospective customers to buy products from your business.

To make those reviews more visible, you can feature your customer reviews and testimonials directly on your website and social media accounts. You’ll also attract consumers who see rave reviews of your business on third-party review sites. These can include sites such as Google, Trustpilot, and Yelp.

To encourage your customers to write reviews for your business, you can offer incentives such as discounts or free products in exchange for a review. Or you can ask satisfied customers to write testimonials that you post on your website.

3. Find the Right Partner

There are many different aspects of running an e-commerce business, such as web design, content creation, digital marketing, fulfillment, and customer support. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to do everything all by yourself — especially if you want each of these tasks to be done well. That’s when it’s important to look for a partner.

If you’re in the direct-to-consumer product space, a DTC accelerator like Boomn is one strategic partner option. The company has a proven process that can help your business scale, from customer acquisition modeling to inventory forecasting and management. Rather than outsourcing various business tasks piecemeal, you gain comprehensive support that will spur the growth of your e-commerce business.

4. Use Paid Advertising Strategically

An attractive, easy-to-use website loaded with relevant content and customer testimonials will help draw organic traffic. Sometimes, however, those efforts will need a boost. Paid advertising can be an effective strategy to help drive traffic to your website and increase your sales. However, you need to use it strategically to get the best results possible for your business.

Tailor your ads to your ideal customer demographic, using relevant keywords to attract your target audience. It’s also important to test out different ad formats, such as text ads, display ads, and video ads to see which ones perform best with your desired customer base. Keep track of your ad performance over time and adjust your strategy based on your clickthrough rates, impressions, and conversion rates.

5. Focus on Customer Experience

Once you’ve attracted online shoppers, managing the customer experience aspect of your business is a critical step to take to promote the success of your venture. You need to make sure that your customers are satisfied with their purchase and that their overall experience with your business is a positive one.

Customer service software platforms like Help Scout can streamline your communications with your customers, whether they contact you via email, live chat, or text. Such tools will ensure you’re able to provide purchasers with the proper customer support in a timely and seamless fashion. You can also enhance your customer experience by sending personalized emails, creating a loyalty program, and offering customized recommendations for products or services that complement your customer’s initial purchase.

6. Monitor Your Website Metrics

Monitoring your website performance is essential to understanding the health of your e-commerce business. Tools such as Google Analytics and Kissmetrics will help you keep track of your metrics, revealing things like the number of users, average order value, bounce rate, and customer lifetime value.

By analyzing these metrics, you can gain a better understanding of where your business is performing well and identify areas that need improvement. For example, say you discover that one of your product landing pages has a high bounce rate. You can modify the content and use A/B testing to see whether the changes improve your conversion rate. With the insights you gain by tracking your website metrics, you can optimize your growth strategy accordingly.

Get Going on Growth

While there’s no “one size fits all” solution that will guarantee the growth of your business, these strategies will help you focus on the aspects of your e-commerce business where you may be lacking. By adjusting your strategy based on what you learn, you’ll achieve better business results over time.

The post How to Grow as an E-Commerce Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Reasons for Entry Level Jobs in Sales

1. Universal Skillset

Regardless of where you wind up, selling is universal. Even think about the interview process. Where else can you get a job that pays you to prepare for your next job? Even if that is in a completely different industry. Sales is essentially the art of targeted communication – clear and concise, etc.

These are skills that you can take to any event at any level. Communication is quite literally the most universal skill. And command over communication is one of the most universally priceable skills. While salesmanship is largely rooted in a deep understanding of the product, the product of the sale is rarely the product. The product of the sale is the subject of the sale. The human you are selling to.

If sales are the communication then the words are the topic and the person is the page, read and rewritten. Selling is a skill set that can have any of your future efforts or endeavors sublimated upon it and it will continue to serve you. Like marketing it is a set of skills that function regardless of medium. That makes it a great place to start.

2. Low Barrier of Entry

Sales are often seen as fast-moving, high-stress positions. While there are elements of this that are true, it would be more apt to deem that sales are a metric-driven position that come into focus based on their achievement. This means that it comes down to one simple thing: can you do the job?

If you can, you’re in. Forget the degree. Forget the experience. This gives people who took a path that offered them little money or are not fortunate to have come from the abundant opportunity to work and create abundance for themselves.

It should be noted, however, that this makes the application process far more rigorous as many applicants apply for these roles. Starting in a lower-tier cold-calling position can open this up. Additionally, the interview process is additionally very rigorous and serves as a very, very critical point. Meaning that it can make or break the applicant’s good or bad application.

3. High Ceiling

Sales offer one thing that a lot of jobs do not: a near-limitless ceiling. Sales positions are skill sets like any other, however, in a more juvenile metaphor they are a technique of coloring, not a particular medium of coloring. This means you can throw off the skin of an insurance salesman, and move to software, and eventually, high-grade medical equipment. Sales positions offer ample height in their cash ceiling. And offer work in multiple industries across the marketplace.

Sales also serve as the bedfellow of business operations. That means that if you ever wanted to truly remove your ceiling altogether you can take those skills there. And if you do in fact prove more apt at selling than you are at management or business strategy there is always a slot for you to return to… and likely beat out a sales rep hopeful that did not jump into the field earlier.

4. Teaching Motivation and Self-Starting

Sales teams are ultimately their own island. To keep the poor metaphors rolling. Sales would have you as an island in an archipelago. An island, – but not really. What sales positions do relay to the individual is a staunch appreciation for driving their own schedule and meeting their own metrics.

This confers responsibility and internal motivation. Additionally, learning skills of how to take rejection in stride and keep rolling along. These are elements of individual character that like sales training, can be carried through life. Incidentally making the approach to proper sales an approach to best living a healthy life.

5. No Loss From Experience

Sales skills are universal. There is a low barrier to entry. They can be taken to any industry. The skills can help you with elements of selling yourself in life. They have an insanely high monetary ceiling. They can impart deep life lessons. Many companies are hiring for these positions right now – even in the worst of economic times.

There is not any recognizable loss from the experience of entry level sales jobs- save if you were to spend that time learning one of the other three metrics of economics – either advertisement or production. Both are diametric to sales, with even advertisements sharing much crossover. Regardless, sales stand as one of the three pillars that drive any economy and are necessary for any individual looking to make themselves a fully realized person and an unadulterated master of business.

The post Five Reasons Your First, Entry Level Job Should Be in Sales appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Staying Motivated

This could go for any top performer in any field. It’s an underpinning of success and necessary for any objective completion. Action completes tasks and motivation is the ability to rev up the engine.

Motivation on a goal-oriented mindset allows for the top salesperson to focus-in on the task’s achievement and level up their game accordingly. Served as “the desire to act in service of a goal,” being motivated translates into often relentless action (given the degree of motivation) towards the ascertainment of a given outcome. Being able to stay in this state is what allows for greater completion and thus more tasks being completed over time.

Being Goal-Oriented

If motivation is the hypothetical ability to drive forward, being goal oriented would seat itself as the destination to where you are heading. Motivation is the drive, but that in and of itself will not complete the puzzle. The capability to move does not mean productivity.

The top salespeople set lofty metrics, often both in terms of results and of expectations. Think I will make thirty calls in the next hour, or I will close three deals this week. Regardless of the particular metric in which they work the top sales individual focuses in on mapping a high objective and then working relentlessly toward it.

It is often better to fail at greatness than achieve at middling mediocrity.

Stay Focused

Top sales performers need to hone in on their objective, then be willing to work toward it. If both of these are achievable then the premiere salesperson will need to stay on track until the objective is met.

Focus is the ability to tailor your course to your goal and then shrug off distraction and detraction until the objective is achieved. It can help to take time to break down the bigger goals into readily available and achievable milestones. The point is to find whatever beats you as a salesperson require to stay involved.

Time Management

Another top habit of sales performers is time management, as everything you do in life will require time to complete. Everything. Making your bed, brushing your teeth, and reaching your goal. Feeling existential yet? Not to worry. While each task that is undertaken will require a specified amount of time this also means that the salesperson can allot the time needed to accomplish the task. Likewise, remaining time conscious allows the top salesperson to keep the objective in mind and be mentally available toward its completion.

Surround Yourself with Better Salespeople

Networking is huge. Via the top salesperson’s network, there are mentors, competitors, and potential clients that can all add benefit and status to the aspiring salesperson. Regardless of what the developing individual needs to up their sales acumen, it can be found in the network.

Sales mentors can offer advice. Competitors can push the salesman to dominate the market. Clients offer the saleswoman a chance at honing the craft and potentially closing the sale. Networking is huge for salesmen of all levels. Learning to properly network can be what even land you the deal in the first place.

Reading and Listening

The top salespeople are always concerned with how much information they know. Specifically, in what ways they know can help present them with the information or opportunity to lock in a deal. Listening and reading help the top salespeople know what to do, in potentially pivotal situations before they ever occur.

Many sales professionals have either spoken or written at length about their process, perspective, and nuances that have appeared to them over their tenure in sales. The shrewd sales-minded individual recognizes this and pulls from that pool of knowledge.

Remain Consistent

Often starting something off is deemed the hardest part. This typically holds true for sales. Yet, there is the discipline required to keep production high even after sales numbers begin to take off. The top salespeople are able to maintain a high level of action, motivation, and performance throughout their careers through focus and dedication. Keeping an eye on the level of production is a tip many salespeople advise. This is especially imperative as the sales novice starts down the road to becoming a veteran.

Knowing the Product

One of the top habits of sales performers is also the best advice. What the salesperson is selling can vary greatly, and while there are many philosophical outtakes to help a general sell-all mentality there is no makeup for knowing the thing that is being sold. The top salespeople on any given product need to have a thorough enough grasp on the thing and system in which they are selling to answer whatever questions a potential buyer may address.

Understanding the common thoughts, typical questions, and their frequency as well as the common woes of the individual on the opposite end of the sale allows for great closing rates among the top sales professionals. This also can offer insight into what areas of the product they should understand most thoroughly.

Persistence

In essence, persistence combines motivation, focus, consistency, and passion. There is no remedy for persistence. Passion is persistence’s best bedfellow. Passion and persistence make sales.

Persistence will often close whatever deal the top salesperson is facing largely off the point that no is not an operable answer until it is the only answer. Not conceding until necessary is an often unbecoming aspect of the typical salesman, but absolutely critical to a goal-oriented, top sales focus.

Mentality

Finally, the last top habit of sales performers is perspective. The lens through which you see the circumstances inform how you may address the world. By tailoring sales to produce agency, the top salesperson can put him or herself in a place where they are ready to look on to the next sale. Whether previously met with triumph or defeat, a strong mind creates the top salesperson’s most versatile weapon.

The post 10 Habits of Top Sales Performers appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

First impressions can color the rest of the relationship between individuals, companies, or even more transiently, experiences. The best sales teams are often the ones that feature the best opener. Let’s look at some of the best conversation starters in sales and break down exactly what makes them so solid.

“What motivated you to meet with us?”

Get to the point. Keep sales short and sweet. Figure out why they are there and what they are looking for. In the sales world, there is this idea that you are trying to convince someone of something they don’t want to do. Or rather that you are manipulating them into acquiring something they either don’t want or don’t need.

By informing the prospect of what your position is upfront you establish the baseline. Ask them what they are looking for. More often than not it isn’t that the prospect will not buy, but rather that you have them on the wrong product. You will wind up wasting time and energy on someone who is not in the market for what you have to offer. This works in relationships, in business, and in recreational or committee meetings.

By establishing what you are and being steadfast and concrete in that, you earn the respect of being honest, upfront, straightforward and fair. It makes the prospect feel like they can trust you. After all, they are looking to buy something. They are in the market talking to you already. Your job is to figure out why they’re there and to do that, you need to keep them talking.

“What are we trying to accomplish here today?”

Again you need to establish the baseline. Being a smart salesman involves the mindset of getting to the goal, but more so eliciting that out of who you are talking to. You need to have all the ideas of what you want to sell them, created remotely in their own head. Do not hit them with overuse of data or analytics. This is good in reputing yourself as an expert, but if you are already understood to be one you need to keep it moving toward a point of being goal driven based on their predilections and their individual needs.

“Where do you want to be?”

Whatever you have you need to be able to convince your client or customer that what you have; either abilities or products can take them from where they are today. A state of duress, anger, and opportunity-driven immobilization, to one that they picture themselves. You do not give them the vision. The smart customer views that as selling and being sold makes them weary. Trust that they already have a vision in their head that is far closer to where they want to be – one vision that you could never know and all you have to do is get them thinking about that. Get them thinking, and keep them talking.

“Where are those problems for you?”

One of the great conversation starters in sales is asking what spurs someone to action. What could motivate someone to leave a state of rest and venture out into an arduous risky landscape? The presence of a problem. What makes relationships dissolve? The presence of a problem. What gets someone willing to part ways with their valuable assets? The removal of a problem. This presents an opportunity.

Your job is to sell the alleviation to that problem by having the remedy you create value. And by creating value you are worthy of doing business with. This is where capability comes into play. By being an expert or coming off as so, you can secure a lot of that efficacy with mannerisms and professionalism. This is Sun Tzu’s “winning the battle before it begins.” The appearance of expertise is a good way to guarantee trust of capability. This is a really good idea for an article in the future.

“If this meeting could accomplish everything you wanted and needed, what would it look like?”

Sales are all about making the deal work. Using this you get to outline what exactly is going on in the client’s mind and get them to sell themselves an image. And you are the first point of contact and the perceived ticket and alleviation toward that vision. They will tell you.

It gets hard outlines from the client and they will give you clear instructions on how to reach them. You need to have them tell you what they need because that is what they will be paying you for. The most powerful thing any salesman can do is get the client or prospect to sell themselves. After that, it is about being present. As said by many professionals, you need to get the individual talking. Letting them talk, allows them to get comfortable and allows you time to assess and use your brain to acquire information and fetter out what they really want. Then be clear and concise and use that time you aren’t speaking to create a plan for them to reach their goals.

The post Conversation Starters That The Best Sales Teams Use appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

How do you do it? Where do you start? What qualities should you look for? What does any of this mean? Oh, man. Don’t worry. Building your first sales team. Here are five things you need to know.

Know Your Goal

This is everything. A team, while it is composed of sentient and autonomous people, it ultimately does serve as an instrument with which a goal may be accomplished. Remember your team can appear for a multitude of reasons; they like the work, they like the company, and they share in your vision. Whatever. Regardless of whatever it may be, they’re going to expect money in their account on a semi-weekly basis.

If your employees don’t care about getting paid then what you might have is a cult and you may be working in the wrong industry. But, if your team is like what I can only hopefully imagine is 99.99% of the rest of the world, they will want money.

This is where you need to keep them to the goal. By knowing what that goal is, you can set up a team that is both passionate about it, and work toward it with some degree of autonomy. Finding people who are passionate about their work is always a good rule of thumb.

Beyond this make sure that they are willing to ascribe to the vision or goal. As well as your individual take and approach to it. Whether that is through their appreciation for the work, pride in the job they do, money that you are paying them, or loyalty you have instilled inside them.

Culture First

This is mapping out one of the intangibles. Company culture precedes any of the work that you will be doing. Anything that comes out of the company will start within that company be it a product, or a service. This is the mentality of the company, and now with a team of your own, you can decide the nature of that team. 

Culture is what will govern your team when you are unable to. You are one person, and at a specific point, your team will begin to drive and furthermore business than you. By hiring based on the culture you can effectively pre-co-sign the decisions of the company. Think about the story of the Three Little Piggies. What you chose to build your house with will in turn have an effect on the ability of that house to reach its specific goal.

Find people that share a common outlook and will easily adopt your goals. By setting the stage with a similar culture and emotional baseline, you can confidently begin to extrapolate to strategy.

Find the Right People

The best part about a sales team and position in the modern age is that they are largely geo-independent. With commonplace technologies of our time salespeople are free to work remotely and more importantly come from anywhere.

As the team builder, this allows you to remove location as a barrier and thus put greater emphasis on elements that are harder to find and target in a team. Attitude, opinions, demeanor. All the little things that go into a culture. You can coach strategy. You cannot coach attitude. Do not be afraid, based on your company’s barriers to reach into unconventional areas to find the team that best suits your company’s lifestyle and demeanor.

This is informed by the goal, which shapes the culture, and the culture ultimately helps set the prerequisite criteria for the qualities and attitude of your team. Look for the things that are the hardest to instill in your community and then partner and cross that with the traits that are the most necessary and most valuable.

Understand Your Hiring Priorities

Your team is an instrument, intended to be set toward a task that it must complete. This means you as the team lead, get to place priorities on making your hire. If you are in a big company there is likely some level of involvement coming down from the top, however, it is your team at the end of the day.

Know what you seek to have around you and work with on a daily basis. For this reason, many people hire for culture over even attitude and attitude over skills. However, if you are in desperate need of action maybe skills take precedence given the time of training and gamble of unclear on the untested’s industry mettle. 

Regardless, having your situation and circumstances clear and your priorities recognized, will better align you with the appropriate people. Whether that be on the basis of culture, outlook, skills, or coachability.

Know the Industry’s Climate

The world is always changing, and always growing. A new piece of technology can revolutionize and change an industry. Likewise, the often subsequent “spiritual death” of another medium can once again, albeit less often, change an industry. In sales understanding, the current market informs how you can best organize your sales team. Sales are about understanding and communicating. Additionally, connecting with people. Specifically the right people in the right way. Your team should be able to understand where the world is at and have a thorough enough understanding of the product and the climate to reach out and connect with the individuals you want to buy into your product. 

Find the right team that can become an inverse mirror of your client. The one that understands and reflects the pain. Yet the team that offers the solution. Find people on your team that are distinct enough in their talents and lifestyle and approach that the team can balance itself out fully and also be enough in tune with each other that they always agree on the baseline and don’t eat each other alive.

The main aspect of recruiting is perspective. Find and connect with people who all agree on what needs to be done but are unique and distinguished enough in their ways they can all bring new solutions to the table to accomplish that.

The post Building Your First Sales Team? Here Are Five Things You Need to Know appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Over half of Facebook users go to a local business’ page weekly, so it’s not surprising that marketing agencies see Facebook as one of the best social media platforms to invest in as a small business.

This platform can help small businesses build brand awareness, attract new customers, retain existing customers, increase sales, and improve customer service.

1. Create a business page.

Is your small business Facebook-ready? A small tea shop, an eCommerce store, or a landscaping company may benefit from Facebook. If you can only concentrate on a couple social media networks, make Facebook your top choice.

How do you find out? Ask your clients whether Facebook is a good way to interact with them. You can send a survey via an email list or through a social media post. Inquire about their preferred platforms and brands.

Getting Started

The Facebook page you create for your business will inform prospective customers about your business, its mission, and what you offer. If you’re nervous about setting up a page, it’s actually quite easy. Facebook provides templates, so you just choose the one that works best for you.

Upload a profile image that includes bright colors and an easy to read logo. Include contact information like a phone number, email address, and website (if you have one). If you serve customers locally, include your location or physical address as well.

The About section will allow you to give background information on your company’s mission, history, and products/services. It’s vital that people know what you do! Tell them what makes your company unique.

A cover picture is your brand’s initial impression. Evoke an emotion or inspire action, like taking advantage of a seasonal sale. Take a snapshot of your product in action, your business, your staff, or your current deal. Be sure to fill in all of the contact info fields.

2. Match your target demographic to Facebook users.

Some social media networks have more active audiences than others. You can match your target audience’s interests, values, beliefs, and personality to the social media platforms you’re considering.

For example, Millennials love Facebook. With over 290,000,000 users, the platform is worth exploring for all age groups. On the other hand, if you want to reach adolescents, try TikTok, where 25% of users are aged 10 to 19.

3. Examine your competitors.

Your target demographic is likely on Facebook if comparable companies have significant followings and get many comments and likes. After all, your competitors’ customers could be yours! Just start posting.

However, if your rivals aren’t on Facebook, it’s probably not for you. On the other hand, if numerous clients say they’ll follow you on Facebook, it means there’s untapped potential in your industry.

4. Customize your CTA button.

At the top of your Facebook page, you can customize the CTA button to encourage your followers to take a specific action. Other CTA considerations include:

• Vanity URLs: After 25 followers, you may obtain a branded URL, which helps to further brand your business page.
• Videos: Posts with videos get more attention and interaction than posts with only text. Facebook videos immediately play, making them much more appealing.
• Text Posts: Utilize text-only postings to poll your followers or create discussions. If you include a link, it will display a sample of the website, grabbing more eyeballs than text-only posts. Use them to promote a bargain or a blog article.
• Photo Postings: People notice photos on Facebook while looking through their feed. Photos are easier to publish than videos and have a higher possibility of interaction.
• Phone Videos: These are natural and may help viewers connect. Showcase new items, behind-the-scenes shots, and Q&As through video. Go live to interact with the audience in real-time.
• Stories: Instead of creating a status update, share a story. Facebook users are more interested in a business or product after seeing it in their stories, according to Facebook. Stories are suitable for informal content. Post exciting questions and polls to keep folks interested.

5. Be human, not pushy.

Your customers come for what you can offer them, but they remain for your human-like interaction with them on social media.

Consider Facebook to be a brand extension. You may still upload promotional material, but it should be mixed in with lots of compelling, non-promotional content to attract Facebook fans. And remember to respect their privacy as much as possible.

The post Grow Your Business on Facebook in the New Year appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The top priorities for 2022 are to use new technology, automate drudgery, communicate clearly, stay organized, find your best project match for your pipeline, and actively build your network. Sounds like a great plan, right? Let’s jump in.

Adopt New Technologies

What’s your favorite way to communicate with prospects, clients, subcontractors, and suppliers? In the last year, we’ve all had a crash course in using Zoom, GoToMeeting, or Microsoft Teams to keep in touch.

Technology has evolved and so have expectations. More businesses are now looking at ways to adapt systems, build skills, and increase comfort with using new technology. Technology is a key growth trend that is poised to only increase.

Automate to Thrive

Speaking of stuff you hate, avoid, or procrastinate doing…take a look at automating your workflows. Consider ways to automate tracking construction project leads, invoicing, payroll, insurance, and state-specific requirements.

There’s no need to spend extra hours slaving over the forms, or losing a valuable weekend with your family because you’re stuck at the office doing paperwork.

Communicate to Succeed

Using technology and automating your workflow are key components to success in the New Year. Whether your company is a tiny one-person shop or a multi-state operation, effective communication is key to your success.

As you look for ways to boost communication skills, practice thinking about the person who is receiving the information. Many communication experts suggest that the key is simplicity. Speak in short sentences. Write clear and concise emails. Take the time to ensure that you don’t leave any room for error or misinterpretation.

Whether you are communicating within your office, sharing information with your team, or submitting a proposal, your efforts in communication can make you stand out above the competition.

Stay Organized With Project Pipeline Leads

As demand increases, so do the requirements to stay organized. After all, if you’re managing multiple projects in multiple states, you need to have all your projects, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers in an up-to-date database.

But what if organization isn’t your thing? The fact is that a lot of business owners need to have the support of administrators, data managers, and analysts to thrive. If you know you are not the right person for the job, hire staff who love to do the stuff you hate.

Find Projects In Your Area

There’s always a toss-up between finding projects and doing projects — especially if you are a solo entrepreneur. Many small business owners find that when business is booming, it’s challenging to actively seek out new projects. You can keep your calendar full of exciting projects by balancing your current workflow with a rigorous approach to finding new projects.

While you’re looking for projects, define your criteria. Start with location, so you can book projects that will support your health, shorten commuting, and enable you to nurture your relationships. Target your main projects to be local within a comfortable commuting distance, so you can maintain a good work-life balance.

Naturally, as you look for projects, consider ones that you are uniquely suited for with your specific expertise and training. Using construction software will help you review project documents online, instead of driving all over the county to talk to construction managers.

Search for the projects that match your specific criteria, such as construction type, project type, and timeline. By focusing your search, you’ll build confidence and strength in finding the opportunities that are genuinely best for you.

As you work to find local projects, use software to stay in touch with other contractors. Streamline your bidding process so you can submit unlimited bids and fill out your calendar with the jobs you want.

Build Your Nationwide Network

As projects become available in diverse areas of the country, it’s essential to build your national network. Many construction managers and subcontractors have relied on a personal network of trusted and vetted peers for out-of-state projects. This may have worked in the past.

However, there are ways to reduce barriers and increase your national network that can help your business grow. For instance, you can consider using computer software built for the construction industry. This technology can help you make important connections, share project opportunities, and stay in touch with the workforce in different locations.

The post How To Keep Your Project Pipeline Flowing appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Were you a small business thrown into chaos when the Covid-19 outbreak? If you were hit, you may just now be starting to recover more than a year later. In a post-pandemic environment, small-enterprise owners must be aware of the changes and key trends driving business.

1. Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

We cannot overstate the importance of emotional honesty and modeling emotional intelligence.

Empathy is no longer a luxury but rather a valuable tool for coping with life’s and work’s obstacles. You don’t have to know or reveal every detail of an employee’s (or your own) circumstances, but detecting moods or actions and responding with care is appreciated. “If we inquire, ‘How are you doing?’ we genuinely want to know.” Adopt that slogan.

2. Social Media Influencer Marketing

The power of influencer marketing is a key trend that small companies should be aware of if they aren’t already.

Small companies may use online platforms and social media channels such as Instagram and TikTok to communicate their stories and raise awareness and enthusiasm. Influencers of all sizes (even micro-influencers) provide credibility to the article by adding context and endorsements.

3. Large-Scale Business Processes and Systems

Small firms must begin adopting large corporate systems and procedures to succeed in 2022.

What we mean is that small firms should set up toll-free phones, IVR systems, and automation to organize their operations. Act as if they were much more significant than they are. It will be critical to their success if they can do this.

4. Increased Recruitment Efforts

Companies will be able to broaden their recruitment efforts to be more far-reaching than in the past.

As the globe is more linked than ever, more individuals choose remote work locations throughout the world. In a tight labor market, organizations have purposefully established their culture. They are defined purpose, values, and norms will be more effective in recruiting the appropriate personnel.

5. Workplace Values That Put Family First

Over the past year or two, many individuals have reviewed what they value in life, resulting in family-first key trends.

As a result, company owners must establish a workplace that prioritizes people or risk losing their most exemplary employees. Small-business owners must develop a set of workplace principles with their employees and ensure that supervisors, in particular, lead by example.

6. Building Relationships with Business Owners

Don’t miss out on 2022’s hottest key trend: networking!

Small company entrepreneurs may increase their efforts tremendously by networking with other business owners rather than expanding alone. As a result, networking allows you to get business lead referrals and hear new market views. Learn from other people’s experiences, improve your game, and pitch. Team up and establish partnerships that motivate and drive each other’s development.

7. Digital Marketing’s Effectiveness

Digital marketing is here to stay, and small company owners should embrace it.

However, digital marketing may not completely replace in-person profile development. While it did during the epidemic, its cost- and time-saving benefits cannot be overlooked. Consequently, utilize these advantages to reach a large audience constantly.

8. Cloud and Digital Technologies for Business

A robust digital presence is lacking in many small firms.

Your ability to utilize and use today’s digital and cloud technologies will determine much of your success. Similarly, key trends like this bolster your commitment to keeping on top of whatever technology your customers use. That is to say, it will add to your success in the next ten years. It’s Slack, Teams, and Twitter trends these days. Who knows what the situation will be like in three years?

9. Product Development and Agile Service Delivery

The ability to stay flexible in client service delivery and product development will provide you with an edge.

Flexible delivery trends assist in creating a personal brand with a recognized competitive advantage. Likewise, creating a range of solutions and understanding the effect of these solutions on various customers can help your small company stand out. To clarify, your small business can stand out in any market by allowing you to provide variety, creativity, and strategic innovation.

10. Employee Business Coaching and Mentoring

Small firms will need to develop unique, new methods to recruit and retain talent to keep their employees happy and enhance retention.

Trends toward providing coaching or mentoring to workers exist. Consequently, it is considerably more beneficial to a person’s growth than a break room with a ping-pong table!

11. Synchronous and Delayed Video

The use of both synchronous and asynchronous video will be crucial.

The use of video to prospect, sell, service, and meet with people across the world has increased dramatically in the previous 18 months. Everyone has access to a phone, tablet, or laptop, and we are just a click away from engagement. Video is the new “new” thing, and its popularity will only grow. There are several free platforms to choose from. Get started!

12. A Business That Is Both Traditional and Hybrid

As we balance security and insecurity with a healthy home and working environment, we have options for workers.

Having a hybrid workplace where workers may pick their best work schedule will be a key trend for the future. In conclusion, employers must accept multi-generational staff with various value systems and life-learned skill sets.

The post Key Trends: 12 That Will Drive Small Business in 2022 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Even though small company owners confront great challenges, such as the ongoing supply chain issue, they continue to bounce back. And customers continue to support them. Even though finances can be troublesome.

As recently as last month, the National Retail Federation predicted that over 58 million people would shop on Small Business Saturday. Marketers had a chance to recover and reassess how to best serve the rising small company sector during the previous year.

We wanted to discover how small firms were reacting to the present climate, preparing for the future, and encouraging innovation. Recently, Forbes polled 500 small company owners in the United States to provide marketers with the information they required to effectively serve this market.

And, based on the statistics, the mood is upbeat!

Despite the fact that 41% of owners reported low growth last year, over half believe their company emerged stronger than before the pandemic. According to the same study, small company owners will be spending in five areas in the next year. What exactly are they?

Customer Satisfaction Challenges

Customers are at the forefront of small company owners’ digital developments. In the Forbes Small Business Survey, more than 80% of respondents stated they would concentrate on customer experience next year. One-third of respondents responded that the primary purpose of new technology investments is to serve more consumers.

Small company owners want to empower their teams when deciding what technology to invest in. Three out of four aim to improve their workers’ ability to create transformational client experiences.

It’s no surprise that many small company owners are turning to data to improve their client experience and reach a larger audience. According to our poll, 45% of respondents want to acquire consumer analytics software next year.

Initiatives Promoting Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion

Brands will continue to prioritize diversity, equality, and inclusion next year, regardless of their size.

Despite this, 62% of small company owners want to invest in additional DE&I efforts in 2022, according to our poll. While Forbes is not a small business, it’s providing a good example for promoting a diverse, egalitarian, and inclusive workplace while assisting small companies. Forbes EQ is a dedicated area for companies, entrepreneurs, and charitable organizations.

Supporting underrepresented groups to share their experiences and insights with Forbes.com widens its audience through the BrandVoice content marketing platform.

The Challenge of Technology

According to 78% of poll respondents, technology will be a major investment challenge in 2022.

It’s perhaps no surprise that technology would be front and center for small company owners. However, they have no intention of investing in just any technology. Research also revealed that a staggering 80% of companies have invested in the cloud or intend to do so in the next year.

What is the primary goal of all of these investments? To service a more significant number of customers — and to do so successfully.

Workforce and Talent

Small company owners now aim to improve their employee experience, with 73% of owners predicting that personnel would be a major challenge and investment in 2022.

To empower their workers, 36% said they’ll concentrate on enhancing mental health and well-being while 35% said they’d focus on promoting work-life balance.

More than three-quarters of chief experience officers (CxOs) claimed they’ve already enhanced parental leave. CxOs have created clear limits around working hours to recruit and retain female talent. With “The Great Resignation” continuing in full gear, small companies will continue to prioritize talent in 2022.

2022 has arrived, and smaller companies are eagerly embracing it.

As an entrepreneur or small company owner, you need to be a futurist. Think past today. Imagine tomorrow, then act on your intuition, no matter how far-fetched.

Marketers will also need to be futurists in order to target small enterprises. Small businesses faced difficult times as a result of the epidemic. We’ve seen and heard about several firms that found creative methods to adapt and prosper.

Salesforce, the world’s largest cloud-based software firm, saw this coming a long time ago. At the height of the epidemic, Salesforce wanted to encourage small companies. They hoped to encourage them to keep pushing ahead while also recognizing those who had already made significant progress. This key action yielded great results.

So…find your blissful state when it comes to the modest requirements you have. Or, go big if you have the guts for it and are not risk-averse or fearful of challenge. Always remember that the longest journey begins with that single, first step.

The post Challenges to Small Business Owners in 2022 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

With the right email marketing software and a strategy to win over the hearts (and wallets) of your contacts, you could be raking in some serious cash this holiday season.

How to Boost Your Christmas Sales

Before we officially head into the New Year, we mustn’t gloss over the last major shopping season of the year. Consumers are ready to buy and they’re looking for the best deals on the internet. So how do you get their attention?

1. Shout out your website with a sense of urgency.

With wishes of “Merry Christmas” from family and friends filling up the inbox, there’s even more competition for your subscribers’ attention. For a successful bout of buying from your store, you’ll want to adopt a strong sense of urgency.

With copy that captures the essence of time is running short (but also points to a solution), your target audience will get the picture — your site is the perfect place for fulfilling any last-minute shopping this year.

2. Problem? Solution!

You want to create copy that’s clear and to the point. Keeping your email brief means your contacts are more likely to read it in its entirety and act on a compelling call to action. For the best results, we return to the problem-solution strategy.

The end of the year sets the stage for a major bout of last-minute shopping. The problem is clear…your shoppers are running out of time! Give them quick gift ideas by showcasing your best sellers or outline a current sale with helpful links.

3. Show off your customer knowledge.

It’s time to break out the flattery. With Christmas sale competition eating up valuable inbox space, your email campaigns will need to stand out with a bit of personalization. There are a few ways to go about this.

• Personalize product recommendations that capture your target audience.
• Capture cart abandoners with the old “get it before it’s gone” technique.
• Better yet, encourage would-be customers with a discount on the things they nearly purchased.

Personalized messaging goes a long way in email campaigns as it makes it easy for a customer to feel confident about a buy. Feeling like a company truly understands them takes the guesswork out of finding the perfect product to purchase.

4. Make your campaign website mobile-friendly.

Now more than ever, it’s important that your email message is compatible with multiple devices.

In this day and age, it’s likely that a good portion of your contacts will be shuffling through their inboxes on the go. With visually enticing and clickable CTAs, you invite your clients to swiftly follow through with an effortless click of the thumb.

5. Free shipping = a shopping cart follow-through.

Have you ever wondered why shoppers abandon their carts so frequently? The greatest influence is unexpected shipping costs.

The best way to get customers to complete their purchase this holiday season is clear: offer free shipping.

6. E-gift cards are here to stay (and for good reason).

They’re super convenient and don’t require any shipping wait time! Contacts that are really cutting it close with their last-minute shopping will be hoping for a solution this simple.

Give them a shout-out in your subject line, to the tune of, “We’ve got your last-minute gift right here.” With a clickable link that goes straight to your e-gift card options, consider the sale complete.

7. Go a different email route…with a huge shopping success rate.

SMS campaigns typically host an ultra-high open rate, so if you’ve had the opportunity to collect your contacts’ phone numbers, launching SMS automation might be the thing you’ve been missing when it comes to closing that sale.

Sending an automated text won’t do much good without a clickable link attached, so be sure to include one — and maybe even a photo if your platform allows!

In conclusion, what’s the moral of the story? Christmas isn’t over yet! Your customers still have time to buy! Employ those snappy CTAs. Whip up some attention-grabbing copy. Create clear, concise messages to get your point across. When it comes down to the final hours before Christmas, your contacts will be glad they opened your email.

The post The Best Ways to Enhance Your Pre-Christmas Sales appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Travel, eating, and entertainment businesses have all been negatively affected by the pandemic. And there is plenty of negative reinforcement from social media platforms such as TikTok.

Other areas, such as small business technology, have had to deal with lockdowns and work-from-home rules. Meanwhile, a lot of people want to learn online.

But, in the New Year, will these trends continue?

According to the SBA’s latest small business profile, the U.S. has approximately 31.7 million firms employing 60.6 million people. More firms are employing in 2022, despite the COVID-19 epidemic decimating small enterprises throughout the nation. The unemployment rate has consistently declined from 13% in the second quarter of 2020 to 5.2 percent presently.

We don’t have a crystal ball to predict the future, but we know which companies individuals will start. So which U.S. small enterprises will thrive in the future? Listed below are the top five business and industry trends for 2022.

Popular Markets Post-Pandemic

A year of lockdowns, distant schooling, and remote work has sparked demand for travel, eating, and entertainment. Vaccines, better medical treatments, a greater knowledge of the coronavirus, or simply population exhaustion have boosted demand for companies and services damaged worst by the epidemic.

The possibility to plan trips, dine out, and seek amusement beyond television programs and movies streamed from home arose naturally once the light at the end of the tunnel was seen. As a result, in the future, the following top 10 small business sectors will experience revenue growth:

• International Airlines 61.3%
• Motels and Hotels 57.8%
• Casino Hotels: 57%
• Cinemas: 56.3%
• Operators: 53.3%
• Aer Lingus 50%
• Travel Agencies: 48%
• Concert and Event Marketing: 45.2%
• Taxi and Limousine: 42.8%
• Water Parks: 42.1%

It’s apparent that the firms hit the hardest by the epidemic are ready to bounce back.

While the percentage increases indicated above are temporary, they represent the reality confronting this industry and enterprises. Ski resorts, car engine and parts manufacturing, medicinal and recreational marijuana, and real estate sales and brokerage were among the enterprises that enjoyed considerable growth.

Also, CNBC just revealed their ranking of the top states for business. The ranking of states takes into consideration factors including infrastructure, workforce, capital availability, and business costs. Among the best states for business, CNBC lists:

• Virginia
• North Carolina
• Utah
• Texas
• Tennessee

Business Ideas, Trends, and Predictions for the New Year

Now that we know what worked in 2020, we can plan for next year. What will be the top five industries in the U.S. in 2022? Where should you focus your business?

Adoption of New Technologies

Who hasn’t utilized Zoom, GoToMeeting, or Microsoft Teams this past year? As a result, new technology has entered millions of homes and companies for work, education, or to keep connected, and the advances are set to continue.

The genie is out. The horse is out of the barn. (Or is the toothpaste gone?) Therefore, people will constantly want faster data and network speeds. Similarly, we will need it to fulfill rising demand, and now is the time to join this digital boom. Some of the top tech occupations in 2022 include:

Web Admins

This position builds the code that powers millions of websites that power global eCommerce. In other words, a web developer’s function might range from client-facing work on-site design and features to back-end work with databases and networks.

Developers

A software developer creates computer programs and millions of mobile applications. Mobile app developers are showing the fastest-growing occupations, with a predicted 22% increase over the next decade.

Analysts (CS)

Computers, processes, and procedures are the emphasis of this function. Accordingly, they depend on IT to handle client demands and guarantee a company’s digital needs are satisfied.

IT Security Analysts

These people defend enterprises against cyberattacks. Above all, they safeguard and monitor a company’s computer network.

Data Managers

This employee organizes data. They ensure database information is safe and efficient.

AI and ML Growth

Smartphones and other smart gadgets are one example of how AI is influencing our lives. Smart automobiles will navigate the streets using AI systems. Whether you work in customer service, human resources, or even AI-powered applications, AI is meant to help. Among the new roles AI will perform in 2022 are:

• Cybersecurity
• Trends and Business Forecasting
• Healthcare Help Desk (Chatbots)
• Voice Recognition and Search

Entrepreneurs want location independence as digital nomads. As a result, working as a digital nomad was a rising trend in 2019 and will continue in 2022.

According to the Harvard Business Review, there will be 10.9 million digital nomads by 2020. This is a 49% increase and is anticipated higher growth.

Similarly, many businesses, particularly millennials, value flexibility, and geographical freedom. That is to say, these digital nomad enterprises are ideal for knowledge jobs like consulting and freelancing.

As the world shifts away from office occupations, new technological tools such as productivity applications, collaboration software, and communication channels allow knowledge workers to work almost anywhere.

Digital Nomads May Run Numerous Sorts of Businesses

Freelance in coding, programming, writing, graphic design, marketing, and other fields. Likewise, provide personalized knowledge and assistance in areas of extensive experience and understanding. For example, make money from a website or blog through affiliate marketing or advertising. Sell an information product like a course or an ebook using a well-known site like Fiverr, TaskRabbit, Upwork, or Toptal. In conclusion, there literally are no limits as you move into the New Year.

The post 5 Growth Business Trends of the New Year appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

After the last year, more small and medium business owners are realizing that having Managed IT is a way to remove unnecessary headaches, sleepless nights, and lost weekends. Savvy small business owners know that they need to use technology to grow. 

Switching to a managed service comes down to three core benefits: reduce complexity, boost efficiency, and trim costs. Let’s explore each one and see how this may help you.

Reduce Complexity

Don’t you have enough to do with managing your business, creating innovative strategies, building strong teams, and delivering exceptional customer service? Do you need to spend your spare hours reading a tech manual or learning about network monitoring? 

If you’re in a service business and relying on a physical location, you already have your hands full and your hours accounted for. You know that every minute you’re spending on technical services is time away from the people-centric activities that make your business succeed.

But it doesn’t change the fact that you need to be up to date and at optimal functioning to keep your business state of the art. Reducing complexity is a daily mantra for every small business owner. Especially during the holidays, reducing complexity is the key to coping with stress, pressure, and longer hours. 

Here are four essentials that are likely to elicit a sigh of relief:

• A 24/7 Help Desk so that every request for help gets a rapid response.
• Remote Network monitoring so you know everything is functioning perfectly around the clock.
• Remote and on-site support to solve issues quickly and efficiently.
• Routine maintenance to make sure technology is up-to-date, secure, and backed up.

If you’ve been struggling to do these basics on your own, with the help of your family and friends, or leaning on a small internal team of tech wizards—you are in for a treat. 

Boost Efficiency

The benefits of managed IT services can go way beyond these critical essentials. It can provide you with peace of mind, improved efficiency, and increased customer satisfaction. If you’re growing into new lines of business or new geographic areas, managed services are the key to unlocking unrestricted expansion. 

You can reduce stress and improve employee morale when you let an outside IT managed services team take the load off of your internal team. You’ll provide your staff with access to expert support, and remove the burden of preventative maintenance. Ask your staff for their input…you’ll find that they are more than happy to let experts do the heavy lifting.

Trim Costs

If you’re a small business owner, you may have been holding back for one big reason: the cost. This reason seems valid until you examine it more closely. It turns out it can be much more expensive to train and support an in-house IT team. You could be looking at thousands of dollars, depending on the size and scope of your operations. 

Alternatively, managed IT services tend to run from $100 to $150 per person per month. This could average out to much less money than you have been spending. Money and time are the ultimate levers of success in a small business, but you still need to factor in the unknowable elements. 

For instance, what is the cost of a technology glitch? What will it cost you in sales, service, or customer loyalty? Ultimately, you’ll save a lot more money by preventing costly downtime or recovery time.

Finding The Best Fit for Your Business

How can you find the best-managed service provider for your business? Start with a core list of your values and needs. Four essentials for selecting a provider you can work with over the long-term include:

• Communication skills. You want to know that your needs, wants, and issues are being heard and given top priority.
• Expert skills. Technical expertise and insights into industry trends will keep your company positioned for success.
• Collaboration skills. Partnering together will help you innovate for current needs and anticipate future developments to stay ahead of your competition.
• Agile skills. Adapting and staying flexible will help you and your IT partner start, learn, and grow without limiting you to a fixed obligation or operation.

As you explore the next steps in managed IT, keep an open mind and discuss options. You may find that a dedicated team helps you to reduce stress and grow your business.

The post Three Benefits of Using Managed IT in Your Small Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Change upward will require technology. Using technology strategically will provide you with a competitive advantage.

You don’t have to be a scientist to use technology to expand your business. Just spend less time on useless stuff like TV and more time on things that can help your business. The material in this article is meant to help you start using technology to expand your business.

Here are some strategies to use technology to grow your small business.

1. Communication technology can lend a hand.

Communication is one of the numerous advantages of technology. This perk allows you to communicate more readily with potential clients and partners.

For example, you may utilize top email marketing tools to engage potential customers. There’s no need to go when you can call. Technology improves communication. You may use a video call to see the other person from afar.

2. Use technology to boost marketing.

If handled appropriately, technology may increase your marketing efforts. However, conventional marketing methods will never be as effective as technology-based marketing strategies. Like social media marketing.

A camper repair service, for example, may use a strong social media strategy to quickly contact new consumers and drive them to their website. Even if you lack education or experience, technology can help you write a business strategy. You can construct unique websites utilizing technology-based solutions even if you don’t know anything about web design.

3. Social networking will be useful.

Social networking accelerates business growth. It connects you to so many individuals from your home. Digital marketing is one of the best methods to use social media for business success.

Working with a social media marketing agency allows you to promote your products and services without having to advertise physically. The internet touches almost every country. So anything you share on social media is worldwide. Social media marketing also allows you to select your target demographic.

4. Remote employment saves on resources.

As a small business, you must save time, effort, and money. A remote office is one of the finest methods to do this.

It allows workers to work from home and will enable you to communicate with them without having to meet in person. If an employee is unable to report to your physical office, they can interact with you using remote work tools.

5. Create a website.

You will need a website to promote your services. So, if you want to develop your business faster, get a website.

Building a website is not enough; it must be adaptable and appealing to potential clients. An effective, responsive website will provide your company with a digital presence. It will also provide credible information about your company to anyone seeking it online.

To ensure that your website is both visually appealing and functional, consider partnering with a reputable b2b web design agency that can create a custom website tailored to your business needs and target audience.

6. SEO is your lifeblood.

It’s not enough to develop a website; it must be seen. Increased visibility attracts more customers, resulting in quicker brand growth.

This is only achievable if you optimize your online content for search engines. If you lack the necessary understanding, you may need to engage SEO specialists.

7. Protect your assets.

While technology might help you reach a global audience faster than traditional methods, it also has its drawbacks. For one, your website may be hacked, resulting in data loss or theft, as well as financial damage.

Securing a reliable internet company will help. Create active firewalls for your website and use encrypted passwords.

8. Use cloud storage.

Don’t keep everything on your PC; shift some to the cloud. Cloud storage frees up disk space and might even speed up your machine.

It can also make your data and files available if you need to view them outside of your office or at a remote location. This way, you have all the information you need at your fingertips.

9. Provide better client service.

Technology can help you noticeably improve customer service.

This may be done by offering live chat services where existing and future consumers can speak with you and receive rapid responses. You may also provide toll-free calling so that your customers don’t have to pay.

10. Automate mundane duties.

Automating duties can also help your small business. Customer service is one duty that may be automated.

Automated messages can address many of the questions customers ask. You may also schedule social media postings. And therefore focus on other elements of the business.

11. Video marketing always attracts eyeballs.

Another option is video marketing. But make sure the videos you create are linked to your products and services.

Search engines will give your website a higher ranking if you have connected videos. You may also share these films on social media.

Bonus Advice!

Content marketing is a great approach to promote your company online. You can submit SEO-friendly material to major websites like E-zine. You may also develop backlinks to connect with authoritative websites. If this is too technical for you, you can always employ an SEO specialist.

The post Use Technology to Improve Your Small Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Fortunately, this new-normal society ensures enormous earnings from small resources.

With everything going online and technology taking over, there are limitless ways to earn. But becoming an entrepreneur requires foresight. While you’re still thinking out what your small business should be, someone else is already generating money and building an empire.

Small Risk, High Return

Are you looking to establish a business now? Consider the changing standards and technology developments. It will assist you in choosing one that will benefit you long-term.

Listed below are five small business/entrepreneur ideas to start in the New Year.

1. Reseller Hosting

Nowadays, reseller hosting is quite popular.

Reseller hosting operates like a rental business. Instead of owning and renting an online residence, you rent web server storage space. This gives users access to all web server resources needed for a website. In addition, reseller hosting is less expensive than buying straight from the central hosting service.

Owners may make a lot of money if they rent the place for a long time.

A simple technical understanding of website hosting and a budget to acquire a reseller plan from the parent provider allows you to customize those packages and sell them.

The definitive guide should be your first stop for learning how to resell hosting. This type of company has a lot of potential as you can offer it alongside web design, development, SEO, and other online services.

2. NFT Collectibles

NFTs are non-fungible art tokens that may be used as blockchain digital assets. The average monthly sales for NFT’s value was calculated at $336.6 million USD. This shows the NFT industry’s potential.

If you like visuals and crypto, you might like the NFT startup business. You don’t need to be an expert in all graphic design tools to start with creativity and fundamental abilities.

The blockchain allows you to mint any sort of abstract item, GIF, photo, song, sketch, or anything else. To mint art, you must first code it for blockchains. It will prevent anyone from copying your art. The most common cryptocurrency for selling NFTs is Ethereum. However, there are others.

3. Sustainable Products eCommerce Business

Starting an eco-friendly eCommerce business might be a terrific solution for you.

People are becoming more aware of the need to conserve the environment. The sustainable goods industry is expected to hit $150 billion USD by year’s end. You may earn your share by opening a modest online store.

Introduce notebooks, stainless steel water bottles, cloth totes, travel mugs, biodegradable cutlery, bowls, plates, reusable food bags, and other recycled plastic items. You may quickly create an eCommerce website or launch your business on Amazon, Etsy, or eBay.

4. Affiliation

Affiliate marketing is also a terrific way to generate money.

Affiliate marketing is online marketing. It’s simply helping others promote and sell their products or services in exchange for a cut of the revenue. You can utilize blogs, YouTube videos, social media, and an email list.

The most popular choice is blogging, which produces long-term effects. A website is all you need to become an affiliate marketer. After that, join an affiliate network such as Amazon Associates. Then choose a hobby and start writing about it to make money.

In other words, affiliate marketing has a high return on investment and may be done as a side hustle. The nicest part is that it can be automated.

5. Online Coaching

This is the new normal. The e-learning industry is expected to reach $336.98 billion USD by 2026. For instance, if you are brilliant at something and know everything about it, share your expertise…and get money.

Virtual classrooms are possible using Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. Also, you can make money by teaching skills relating to your industry via your YouTube channel.

Providing mini-classes in any profession or industry is always a good trend. You can train people online in any field, from manufacturing to digital marketing. You can be a relationship coach, a financial coach, a health coach, etc.

How does that work? It’s simple.

Most small business owners can access in-house or online classes for themselves and for their employees. The cost is nominal. Even free sometimes.

So do yourself a favor. Look into continuing education for yourself. Also for your staff. It will help you expand your horizons. Similarly, your employees will become more efficient and more valuable. And maybe even a bit grateful.

Don’t hesitate to offer tuition reimbursement. This can be a key to better employees. The more you know, the more you contribute.

The post 5 Small Business Ideas for the New Year appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

• The chances of selling products/services to a new customer are only 5-20% whereas the odds of selling additional products/services to an existing customer are approximately 60-70%.

With loyalty program management, companies can retain and make repeat sales to existing customers. Loyalty management is a powerful strategy that uses various tools and tactics. Companies use these tools to gain, engage, and maintain customers. A well-organized and executed loyalty program is beneficial for both companies and customers.

Loyalty programs are often not considered an important part of the overall customer experience. However, they can help build strong relationships and loyalty. According to one report, approximately 75% of adults in the U.S. belong to at least one loyalty program. A survey by KPMG revealed that a loyalty program encourages 80% of millennials to spend more with a brand. Roughly 78% said that they would switch to another brand if they get a better offer. 85% of people loyal to a brand said they would recommend it to their friends and family members.

Well-executed loyalty programs can prevent customers from straying to other brands. They are effective at retaining customers and also augment the lifetime value of your regulars by offering incentives to make more purchases. Loyalty programs provide added recurring revenue to the company and improve overall customer satisfaction through various offers, rewards, and perks, resulting in a superior experience.

Three Ways to Enhance Customer Experience via Loyalty Programs

Listed below are three of the most effective ways to manage a customer loyalty program.

1. Personalization provides the key.

Businesses can use relevant information about their customers in their loyalty programs. This helps deliver personalized experiences throughout the customer journey. Customer details and preferences can help businesses better incentivize their customers. It’s important to note that customers tend to react well to a personalized approach. Personalizing a loyalty program can make it far more powerful.

It’s likely that personalization will make a customer feel more satisfied — about eight times more — with your offer. Tailored products and services enhance business by targeting a customer’s attention. Businesses can provide only the most relevant offers to their customers even if they don’t provide all the details upfront.

Personalization is made possible by tracking order history, search history, location, current service subscriptions, and so forth. Showing customers that their individual preferences and requirements are important to your business can make a big difference. It can enhance the relationship with your company and make your loyalty program successful.

2. Streamline the buying process.

Any effective customer loyalty program must be able to ease the entire buying process. Most loyalty programs collect only essential information, even the payment details. This allows customers to purchase quickly, without a lengthy checkout process.

Nowadays, many businesses use customizable apps to enhance customer experience. These apps allow customers to buy any product and pay immediately without waiting in a queue. Since the system has all the essential details about the customers, it eliminates the obstacles that can slow down a seamless transaction.

3. Implement creative ways to engage and delight customers.

Finding effective ways to engage and delight customers is another important factor in building customer loyalty. Rewards such as free shipping, early access to new products, coupons, discounts, gifts, and added benefits make customers willing to pay extra to be a part of a loyalty program. The rewards or offers should encourage customers to repeat purchases and also make them likely to recommend the product/service to others.

With loyalty program management, companies can engage and delight existing customers. To create customer excitement, brands can make the buying process as well as the contacting process easier for their customers. This can be achieved by paying attention to the devices as well as channels customers use to reach out to a particular brand. Brands can use new tactics as part of their loyalty program to set themselves apart from the competition.

Setting Up a Loyalty Program Is Easier Than Ever Nowadays

Technology has filtered down such that small businesses can set up loyalty programs just as effective as those of large corporations.

Owing to their benefits, more and more companies of all sizes are implementing loyalty programs. When executed carefully, loyalty programs can bring great results for just about any company. They lead to higher sales and improved brand identity. In all, a successful loyalty program can drive significant value and growth for a business.

The post The Role of Loyalty Programs in Augmenting the Customer Experience appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Additionally, native advertising platforms support the creation and distribution of ads or paid content that match the form, style, and function of the media in which they appear. By blending into the native content of the target platform, these ads are perceived as being less intrusive and sometimes readers are even unaware of the promotional nature of the post.

Native advertisements are typically presented as in-feed ads that appear in social media, are promoted via search listings, or show up as related content recommendations. They can even be blended into social media platforms, streaming services, and news sites. Oftentimes they get picked up by ad agencies and affiliate marketers.

These types of ads are becoming an increasingly popular format for advertisers. Native advertising can be considered a part of any company’s ad distribution operation. They are often part of a company’s overall content marketing strategy.

The majority of native advertising platforms will offer A/B testing, ad inventory management, affiliate management, AI/machine learning, analytics/ad attribution tracking, audience targeting, automated publishing, behavior analytics, and bidding strategies. Some services offer even more features. It’s worth noting that these types of platforms typically support Cloud, SaaS, and web-based implementations.

Native Ad Networks Can Help Boost Brand Awareness Rapidly

If you’re looking for an effective way to generate increased awareness for your brand, product, or service, native advertising is worth consideration. Native ad networks represent an opportunity that can provide a lot of bang for the buck. Listed below are nine of the top native ad networks.

1. Taboola

Taboola has a global reach of 1.4 billion monthly visitors, approximately 44.5% of the global population of internet users. Roughly 50% of Taboola’s traffic comes from countries such as the United States, UK, France, and Japan. Taboola partners with 10,000+ top websites including Fox Sports, NBC, USA Today, Business Insider, Bloomberg, MSN, CBS News, etc. Their ads are delivered as recommended content and in-feed content across partner platforms.

2. Outbrain

Outbrain ranks among the top three native advertising platforms in the world. It currently boasts a reach of 1.2 billion monthly visitors. The company partners with premium publishers across different countries including the United States and UK, delivering ads in the form of recommended content, in-feed, search, and promoted listings.

3. MGID

MGID has been in the business of native advertising for 12 years. It’s ranked among the top three advertising networks in the world and MGID’s reach equals 850+ million unique monthly visitors from the web. MGID partners with top websites and blogs around the globe.

4. Revcontent

Revcontent delivers native ads in the form of recommended content and in-feed content across premium publishers such as USA Today, Tribune media, Nasdaq, and the like. Their ad inventory encompasses e-commerce, finance, health, beauty, and politics. 50% of the companies’ traffic comes from the United States and UK.

5. Yahoo Gemini

Yahoo Gemini has a reach of over one billion unique monthly visitors, with 50% of their traffic coming from the United States, UK, and France. To begin advertising with Yahoo Gemini, applicants need to have a minimum of $25 deposited in a Yahoo ad account.

6. Admixer

With over 10 years of experience, Admixer is another veteran in the native advertising industry. Their ads are delivered as in-stream, in-article, native display banners across top publishing platforms.

7. Plista

Plista partners with over 1,500 websites around the world. Approximately 80% of their traffic comes from Germany, Poland, Russia, and Australia, so this distribution makes Plista appealing to advertisers who are interested in driving high-quality traffic from these countries. The company charges clients using a cost-per-click billing model.

8. TripleLift

According to their business statement, TripleLift promises to help advertisers generate 3x higher brand awareness and consumer purchase intent. TripleLift targeting is based on country, region, browser, operating system. They partner with top publishers such as USA Today, BuzzFeed, eBay, BBC, and the like.

9. Nativo

Nativo boasts approximately 220 million unique visitors from the United States alone. This makes Nativo one of the top native advertising platforms for targeting audiences in the United States, UK, and Canada. Nativo further targets audiences based on country, device, region, and operating system.

Native Ad Networks Can Help Cut Through the Noise

In today’s media-saturated world, native advertising should be a pivotal part of every successful marketing strategy. Native ads mimic the surroundings in which they appear. This makes sure your message is delivered as discreetly as possible and allows you to catch and hold a user’s attention.

There are many native advertising networks out there, so doing some research is definitely in order. The nine listed above are the top networks you can trust to help you get your brand message in front of your target audience. Depending on your niche, you stand a better chance of converting and generating quality leads when ads are not perceived as interruptions.

The post Native Ad Networks: Top 9 Services for Advertisers and Publishers appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Landing a corporate customer offers a ton of revenue security. Large enterprises are more financially stable than small or midsize businesses. They’re also likely to buy your most elite product or subscribe to your most expensive pricing tier. At the same time, cross-selling to other silos within their organization also becomes a possibility.

Make no mistake, all of these will transform your business. It will benefit your cash flow, your growth prospects, and your ability to attract other high-value customers.

In this article, we’ll take a look at ways you can remove common obstacles many businesses face as they pursue their first enterprise client.

1. To Win an Enterprise Client…Know Their Business

First thing’s first. You must understand your prospect’s business or your pitch has no chance of success. And I’m not talking about just being familiar with their history, their marketing material, and their roadmap.

If you want to show how you’re going to be valuable to an enterprise, you need to have remarkable insight into their operations and strategy. You need to know the objectives that drive them. You need to demonstrate that you understand the mechanisms required to get them there.

Fortunately, publicly traded companies always have highly detailed information available via their investor relations (IR) departments.

Another approach would be to Google the company’s name and look at their News results. Big business makes big news, so there’s likely going to be a wealth of up-to-date information on your prospect.

2. Understand and Articulate How You Can Add Value

Once talks with your prospect start picking up momentum and you get face time with decision-makers, the conversation should not be about you and what your company offers. This is not the time to go through a rehearsed sales pitch where you quote figures and cite case studies.

Yes, there’s a time for this spiel, but once you’re sitting in front of someone working in procurement, that time has gone.

The deeper you get into discussions, the more you need to steer the topic of the conversation toward the specifics of how your product or service will benefit them. At this point, they don’t care that you reduced administrative overhead costs by 15% for one of your other clients.

What they want to know, whether they’ll say this to you or not, is: 

• How can you make our lives easier?
• What will you do to you make us more profitable?
• How will you protect us from the risks that are unique to our industry?

In short, you have to speak their company’s language. To do this, you need to have insight into their world. You’ll also need remarkable knowledge of your product’s capacity to make it better.

Practice these conversations. Meet with your colleagues and other industry specialists. Be ready to preempt every single question they may throw at you. Have smart, insightful, non-generic answers prepared for them.

3. Fine-Tune Your Company Image

Involve a branding specialist to ensure that your company’s public-facing presence is up to standard. This process typically involves a thorough audit of everything “out there” that could shape the public’s perception of your company and its reputation.

There’s a lot to this. There are websites, social media accounts, news mentions, press releases, the tone and content of your blog, even the online profiles of your management team.

In some cases, it might be worth the effort to start positioning your CEO as a thought-leader in your industry. 

Yes, this could take a while. However, the positive reputational impact of speaking at a conference or taking part in a round-table discussion with other experts can be huge.

Even simply building a solid, thought-provoking presence on Twitter will sometimes be enough to make your prospects take your brand a little more seriously. Make no mistake, your company’s leadership will be Googled.

4. Be Prepared for Serious Scrutiny from an Enterprise Client

Large organizations are extremely cautious when integrating their systems with an external party. Corporate governance often dictates that an absurd amount of auditing has to happen before a deal with a vendor is finalized.

This is most keenly visible in the digital security arena. If your company offers a solution that needs to be integrated with your prospect’s technical environment, be prepared to be placed under a very powerful, very intimidating microscope. Onboarding a new technology vendor is a lengthy process that typically kicks off with something called an Enterprise Security Questionnaire.

Don’t be fooled by the term. This is no one-pager with Yes/No answers. Your commitment to cybersecurity will face a level of scrutiny you may not be ready for.

Experts in cybersecurity cite this as the number one reason new customers contact them. Any potential enterprise client will assess your technical environment and, often, a small business is simply not ready for this.

It’s often a good idea to involve a consultant even before the questionnaire hits your CTO’s desk. As negotiations start heading into the closing phases, be proactive. Hop on the phone with a company that knows the questions enterprise clients are going to ask.

5. Understand the Impact a Long Sales Cycle Will Have

This is a biggie. Be prepared for many of your resources to be tied up in negotiations that can go on longer than expected. Much, much longer.

A long sales cycle will affect every company differently. It’s not always possible to preempt how this will impact other areas of your operations. The best approach is to stay aware of the risk and to never base any predictions on having the deal finalized by a specific date.

Also, tread carefully if your company somehow becomes dependent on closing the deal with an enterprise prospect. It’s understandable that this could happen. If it does, do whatever you can to avoid letting your prospect finding out. Desperation is not a good look in the business world. What this scenario says about your company’s ability to plan (amongst other things) isn’t great.

Signing Your First Enterprise-Level Client Will Require Patience

The sales cycle for landing a big fish is lengthy. Things move slowly at big corporations for a variety of reasons that can be both understandable and infuriating.

The truth is that large organizations are immensely risk-averse. They take new partnerships incredibly seriously as accountability is a big deal for them. As a result, the tactics we talk about in this article represent a lot of effort on your part. Get comfortable with this.

To create the optics you need to be taken seriously could take months, if not a year. You might have to make some challenging internal changes to align your operations with your prospect’s regulatory needs.

This is the price smaller businesses have to pay as they start wading toward the deep end of the corporate swimming pool. Know what the sacrifices are and be prepared to make them.

Fortunately, the benefits of succeeding in your pursuit of an enterprise client are immense. There’s no doubt about that.

The post How to Win an Enterprise Client to Transform Your Small Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

• How often do you struggle to find new leads for your business?
• Are you struggling to convert leads into prospects?
• Have you lost deals simply by not following up on time?

If you find yourself relating to these scenarios, your business badly needs to consider automation. It will help you communicate with clients, nurture relationships, and close more deals. All of this can be done without working 80 hours a week.

Sales automation includes software and tools that help you streamline and automate parts of your selling process. These can include contact management, sales performance analysis, and lead generation. Automation can help with a specific part of the sales process or the entire sales journey.

A few instances where sales automation might be useful include data entry, record creation, activity logging, communication, research, and lead management. Sales automation helps you eliminate repetitive, time-consuming tasks in your sales process. It frees your people up to focus on higher-value tasks such as closing a deal or making a sales pitch.

Here are five ways to boost revenue via sales automation.

1. Prioritize Leads Using a Lead-Scoring System

Every sales lead is not of equal value. Some customers might be interested in buying from you right away. Others may not be interested just yet. It makes sense to go after your most interested leads first to close more deals.

Qualifying each lead manually, or checking which leads may be interested and which ones are not, is time-consuming. A lead-scoring system helps you automate the process.

A system such as this assigns specific scores to each lead in your customer management system based on his/her actions. For instance, when the system recognizes that a lead has engaged with a piece of content, read an email, or interacted with your business in some other way, it assigns a specific number of points to that lead.

These points add up, allowing your sales team to know which leads are closest to purchasing. Leads with high scores or those that have completed certain tasks should be of utmost priority. Those that have been less involved can be pushed further down the list.

You can also place weight on different actions depending on how important they are. For example, a prospect who has engaged with your company at an in-person event should receive more points in comparison to a lead who has only opened an email. Below is an example of a lead-scoring system in action.

2. Sales Automation Outreach and Follow up Emails

Approximately 80% of sales require at least five follow-ups. Veteran sales reps know that follow-ups matter, but far too many give up. A shocking 44% of sales reps give up after the first rejection.

When you have dozens of conversations to manage, it’s difficult to keep up. It becomes easier to accept an initial rejection and move on. What’s more, manually sending follow-ups can also be inefficient. Sales reps might accidentally reach out to the wrong person, send the wrong message, or miss a follow-up entirely and lose a sale.

Email marketing tools can help automate email follow-ups and save a good chunk of your sales reps’ time. Through email marketing automation, you can put initial outreaches and follow-up messages on autopilot. You can also set specific guidelines to keep the sequence going, change, or end based on the response of your leads.

3. Automate Administrative Tasks

Apart from qualifying leads and sending emails, sales reps also have several administrative tasks to attend to on an everyday basis. Using sales productivity tools can help automate and simplify these tasks. Now your people can spend more time on high-value activities. Here are a few routine tasks that are prime targets for automation.

Data Entry

Approximately 55% of sales data entry was eliminated in 2020 via automation. A successful CRM system requires an organized collection of data on customers, prospects, accounts, deals, and other related sales activities. However, all of this information still has to be manually entered by your sales rep. By automating CRM data entries, you help save time and increase productivity.

Platforms like Freshworks offer an automatic call-logging feature. Your sales reps can crush their daily call quota without worrying about adding calls to the CRM.

Scheduling Meetings and Calls

Scheduling meetings takes time. You suggest a date and time. The prospect comes back suggesting an alternate date and time. By the time the meeting is scheduled, you’ve already lost a week. This delay disturbs the tempo of your prospect’s sales journey. They may begin to lose interest in your business. They might even end up connecting with your competitor while you’re wasting time trying to nail down a meeting.

This hassle can be eliminated by automating your appointments using a scheduling tool like Calendar. This scheduling tool helps you eliminate unnecessary communication just to get a call or meeting set up. Simply send a link with available time slots in your calendar so leads can choose their preferred slot. The tool automatically sends calendar invites to both parties as well as reminder emails before the scheduled time.

Online Signature Maker

Online signature tools make it easy for both parties to quickly sign important documents after closing a deal. This saves a great deal of time as you don’t have to upload a picture of signatures or have both parties sign a physical document. It also eliminates the time and expense of travel or employing couriers.

4. Use Sales Automation to Build a Lead List

You need a strong list of leads to close more sales. But searching all over the internet to find companies or individuals who may be interested in your offerings is no easy task.

Automating this lead list-building process spares you the hard work, giving you and your sales team a targeted list of people to reach out to.

To use an automated lead list-building tool, you’ll need to provide simple criteria such as location, industry, and job title. After that, you’ll be presented with a list of individuals matching those descriptions. For instance, a tool such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator can help you find quality sales leads from LinkedIn by adding specifications for leads you’re looking for.

Alternatively, you could buy a list of leads from platforms such as UpLead to supply your reps with prospects to contact.

5. Sales Automation Can Enhance Your Lead-Enrichment Process

For closing a high-quality sale, a lead’s job title and name probably won’t be enough. For making a real connection, you will need much more information including their industry and the reputation of their company. Just like all the other tasks we’ve covered, you could end up spending hours or even days trying to uncover insights about your leads and companies.

Lead enrichment tools use online data sources and help you extract information about your lead and the companies they work for. A quality tool will provide you with complete and accurate information about the individual you’re trying to connect with.

There are dozens of tools available in the market that gather lead enrichment data automatically and sync it with your CRM or other software. One such tool is Lead Boxer. With LeadBoxer, you can identify visitors to your website and then populate their profiles with contact information.

Don’t Allow Sales Automation to Eliminate the Personal Touch

Sales automation can be a boon for sales reps, but it still needs to be used with great care.  Mistakes such as using the wrong lead name or sending the wrong follow-up message may negatively affect your credibility.

You also need to make sure you’re not only relying on automation to close deals. While automation can help alleviate your workload and eliminate mundane tasks, you cannot automate building customer relationships. And you wouldn’t want to! Use the time you save via automation to build better relationships with prospects, make better pitches, and help customers see the value of your product.

The post Sales Automation: Five Pro Tips for Maximizing Your Reach appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Step #1: Outsource Your Customer Support 

The faster your business grows, the more difficult it becomes to give your customers the personalized support they need to resolve technical problems or after-sales issues, such as delayed or incorrect shipments. 

Alienating your customers by not providing sufficient support is the fastest way to tarnish the value of your brand and destroy your online reputation. But rather than fretting over how you are going to afford the cost of hiring more people, simply outsource your online customer support to a virtual staffing company.  

Your new virtual customer support team will efficiently handle all customer support tickets in any time zone throughout the year, taking care of your customers quickly and courteously over the phone, through live chat, via email, or on social media.  

Step# 2 Streamline Your Productivity 

The better the quality of your hardware and software, the more efficiently your business will run. This is because streamlined business processes built on the backbone of a robust technological system ensure high business productivity.

In the beginning, you’ll probably only need a robust computer system, high-speed Internet access, and all the applications necessary to run your business efficiently. As a small business, you will be able to run an efficient operation without needing to invest in expensive hardware or software.

But, later, as your business grows, the cost of hardware and software, data storage, and security protocols can run high and cut into your profits. At that point, you may want to abandon your legacy computer infrastructure and adopt cloud computing,

Cloud computing offers a plethora of benefits: 

• You will reduce all your IT costs, costs related to managing and maintaining your computer infrastructure. 
• You will be able to scale your business, adapting to seasonal changes in website traffic.
• You will find it easier to collaborate with freelancers around the world on your projects.  
• You will ensure business continuity, i.e. protection of all your data should your home office or commercial office be in a place vulnerable to natural disasters, such as hurricanes or flooding. 

Step #3 Optimize Your Marketing 

There are two significant ways you can optimize your marketing: learn from the past and improve the expository and persuasive elements of your website to convince your visitors that you can deliver on your promises.

Here is a breakdown of each of these elements:

Analyze Your Data

If you have a successful business right now, it’s probably because you have a great marketing system in place. Since you have gathered plenty of marketing data over 2020, now would be a good time to analyze last year’s marketing strategies to get an understanding of what worked better than you hoped and what did not work out as well as you expected.

Since you’ve tested out many marketing strategies and tactics in 2020, now, during the early months of 2021, would be a good time to figure out the ones that worked best for your business. 

Here are two aspects of your marketing data to review: 

• Review your Google Analytics or other analytics tools to get an in-depth understanding of the results you got from your campaign launches. 
• Review the performance of your different marketing channels, such as email marketing, YouTube videos, blog posts, and PPC advertising. 

Once you’ve reviewed this data, try to fit it into the framework of the Pareto principle. If you remember, Pareto’s principle states that 80% of your results come from only 20% of the things you do. So, after your analysis, double down on the 20% of the marketing activities that brought in the highest profits and drop the 80% of moderate to low-performing activities. 

Improve Website Copy

It’s curious how a simple thing as a change in a few words in your headlines or body copy can make the difference between high and low sales.

While you need good content, of course, to engage your readers and establish yourself as an expert in your niche, you also need specific calls to action throughout your copy. 

For example, how well you word your opt-in offer determines how many people subscribe to your email list; how clearly you describe your brand’s origin story on your about page determines how many people consider you a trustworthy website; and how succinctly you outline the benefits of your products and services on your sales page determines how many people buy from you.    

One of the biggest mistakes small business owners make is to write their own copy when they have not been trained in the art of expository writing or the psychology of persuasion in print. The result is often one boring content page after another.

But, worse still, is one sales page after another inflated with hyperbole. If you try to use hyperbole to persuade, then hypersensitive consumers, wary of online scams, will instantly distrust your brand, considering your business dishonest. Instead of impressing them with your long list of business accomplishments and incredulous promises, you’ll frighten them away.  

Hire content writers to create entertaining and informative content that engages people. Also, hire copywriters to create persuasive content to drive sales. When you can convince website visitors that you can deliver on your promises, then you’ll have the Midas touch.

Make 2021 Your Favorite Business Year

As the government spends trillions to jumpstart the U.S. economy, now would be a great year to grow your online sales to do your part in rebuilding the economy. It’s your time to flourish.

The post 3 Simple Steps to Grow Online Sales in 2021 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In fact, studies suggest that they conduct at least 12 online searches before making a purchase. They move in and out of the sales funnel before making the final purchase. Cross-sell and upsell are two methods that help B2B marketers sell more than what they intend to.

What is cross-selling?

Cross-selling is a selling technique where customers buy a product that is related to an already bought or soon-to-be bought product. Example: Selling earphones along with a smartphone or a keyboard or mouse with a laptop.

What is upselling?

Upselling is a selling technique where the seller tries to sell an upgraded or premium version of a product that the customer is considering purchasing. Example: Selling a higher version of a smartphone that has more RAM, storage specs, or camera capabilities. 

How do cross-selling and upselling differ from each other?

Cross-selling and upselling differ from each other in several aspects. The very purpose for which it is done, the objective, the elements involved in the transaction, the end result, and so on. 

Here is a snapshot that explains the key differences between cross-selling and upselling. 

Importance Of Cross-selling And Upselling In A B2B Scenario

B2B selling is not easy. The sheer involvement of too many decision-makers elongates the purchase. This makes it super important for businesses to focus on existing customers and to squeeze maximum revenue from them. In fact, studies show that the probability of selling something extra to a customer is 60% to 70% higher than selling one item to a new customer, the probability of which is 5% to 20%. 

So, what makes cross-selling and upselling possible?

There are a few elements in every B2B transaction that makes them possible. They are discussed in detail below.

1. Knowledge of customer journey

Cross-selling and upselling cannot be carried out at random junctures of the customer journey. It must be properly planned for. This calls for a thorough understanding of the customer journey. 

When do they move past the awareness stage onto the interest and decision stage? Also, when in the decision stage, what kind of questions race through their minds? When would it be appropriate to suggest a cross-sell offer or an upsell offer?

Suggesting an upsell offer when a cross-sell offer is appropriate might actually backfire and cause the customer to churn. Such situations can be avoided only if the customer journey is understood in detail. 

2. Real-time support

eMarketer found that more than 80% of millennials have made an impulse purchase. Most millennials do not plan for too long to make a purchase. What makes them impulsive shoppers is also the fact that online stores have made it extremely convenient to make a purchase without taking too long. 

However, the case is different with B2B companies. In B2B eCommerce, the decision is taken after due consideration by many stakeholders. They also look at every possible information before arriving at a conclusion.

Hence, the need to offer real-time support. In a website that provides B2B-targeted products and services, it is best done with the help of live chat software. Why? In addition to providing real-time support, it can also give deep insights into what customers are looking for. This can further fine-tune the business offerings to customers, just like how HLC improved its digital customer support with its live chat software. 

3. Deep Product Knowledge of Support and Sales Team

End of the day, it is the customer-facing personnel who can put cross-sell or upselling into place. Also, they need to have deep product knowledge so that they can help the customer with the right product or service, be it a cross-sell or an upsell based on their needs.

The purpose of cross-selling or upsell is not to make an additional sale, but also to provide the customer with the right product that solves their problem or a combination of products that will deliver a better customer experience collectively.

4. Personalized Content Strategy For Every Stage Of The User Journey

Like mentioned earlier, B2B selling is a convoluted process. It also requires that the buyers be best informed about the product, its pros and cons, and also what makes it unique compared to competitors. 

In the past, traditional marketing communication like brochures helped with this. Today, product literature and also marketing content is best created and published digitally. A proper content strategy ensures that customers are empowered and educated to make a well-informed decision. Also, the content strategy cannot be a cookie-cutter one. 

Instead, it must appeal to customers who are traversing through various stages of the user journey. There must be a proper blend of awareness content, problem-solving content, and also decision-making content. 

Bringing it all together

Cross-selling and upselling are not new-age marketing strategies. They have been around since the beginning of B2B marketing. Today, they are carried out in a different mode. Website, social, email, and chat help B2B marketers sell more products to an already existing customer. 

In fact, selling to an existing customer is easier than selling to a new customer. The probability of the customer purchasing is also higher than a new customer making a purchase. The key is in knowing the various elements of the content strategy and in using them to your advantage. 

The post 4 Key Elements of a Cross-Selling and Upselling Strategy for B2B appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Indeed, unless you manage to nudge your leads towards making the final purchasing decision, it doesn’t matter how well you’ve been converting them before. 

Why is it so Hard to Get Bottom-Funnel Conversions?

The ones who’ve already signed up for your product — hand-raisers, your trial-period users, your last-stage leads — all of them comprise the bottom of your sales funnel, BOFU. These conversions should be a piece of cake. They’ve already travelled from the top of the sales funnel, which means they’ve shortlisted you. It shouldn’t be difficult to make the last final step towards a commitment, should it? Unfortunately, it’s the commitment that is the problem. 

Customers are always afraid of making a wrong choice, specially when they’re B2B customers with more than just their money at stake. They’ll keep looking for the best option available for them, fearing to settle for anything less than that. That’s why they’re such a challenge to deal with. Sales reps need to convince their BOFU leads that the search is over and the solution in front of them is the right one.

The Best Practices to Increase Your Bottom-Funnel Conversions

1. Don’t Dive Straight Into the Selling Process 

We get it. You’ve already been waiting for long enough for your leads to reach the bottom of the funnel, and you want them to make a purchase as soon as possible. But put yourself into their shoes. They’re on the verge of making an extremely responsible decision that will have an immense impact on their business. Hesitation is natural. They need to be 100% sure that the product they’re about to invest in is worthy before they wire the money. 

Fear of commitment is exactly the reason why it’s so challenging to get the BOFU leads to convert. As a B2B sales rep, it’s your job to do your homework and conduct thorough research on the leads at the funnel’s bottom. You need to know exactly who you’re trying to convert to succeed at doing it. The secret to selling isn’t so secret after all. You just need to be able to address your customer’s pain points and challenges. Find insights and context on needs and challenges they face at the moment to personalize your nurturing emails and demo call at max.

Certain pre-sales activities can drastically increase your chances of winning the deal. After a lead pops into your CRM system, qualify and inspect them to find out the things that can help you build your further communication around the potential buyer. Even before the first interaction with your BOFU lead, you need to learn as much about them as you can. Find out everything about their business workflows, current tech stack, team composition and other relevant details. 

Based on your findings, you can map out your customer success strategy and better prepare for the demo call. Knowing their current situation, problems they are dealing with and which other options they’re considering, helps you show them how your product can fit right into their processes and help to accelerate their growth. 

2. Start Small, Be Specific and Don’t Overwhelm Your Leads

Once you’re done with your research, you should know exactly what your BOFU leads are after. Make sure you put that knowledge to good use. Instead of trying to sell your product A to Z, focus on the features that fit your leads’ needs the most. 

Of course, it can be extremely tempting to present your product in all its glory straightaway. You want to brag about it to your potential customer because it will surely convince them to make an instant purchase. The problem is – it probably won’t. 

The difference between you and your lead is that you’ve spent ages working on your product. Thus, it’s easy for you to navigate through the endless list of its marvelous features. On the other hand, your lead is only now getting to know your product. Too much information can be overwhelming. When you talk too much, nothing stands out. Which is why you should only briefly mention your product’s main features, and focus on describing the functionality that is particularly relevant to the lead. 

Talk about how they can benefit from adopting your solution, explain its advantages, and save the rest for later.

3. Understand Your Prospect’s Real Concerns

I don’t know if we can afford your solution at the moment, sorry.

No matter how affordable your product is, you must have heard this phrase from your bottom of the funnel leads at least once. The product’s price is never an issue. The real issue is it not matching the product’s value. 

When your leads are 100% confident that your product will solve their problems and help their business prosper, they won’t care how much they have to pay for that. However, if they’re not, they’ll keep looking for excuses to postpone the purchase.

It’s essential to identify your potential customers’ real concerns regarding the offer and work through them, if you want to prompt bottom-funnel conversions. Instead of ignoring the concerns your leads voice, try to uncover the underlying problem and the reasons behind it. This way, you could negotiate more effectively.

Let’s go back to the initial example. Whenever a lead says they aren’t ready to make a purchase because the price is ‘too high’, they just don’t see the value in your product. Therefore, you need to find out what would help them to justify paying more and show them you can deliver on that. 

To convey your value proposition, you can try out the following tactics:

• Showing side-to-side comparisons of how using your product brings positive results (before and afters);
• Discussing implementation plans;
• Providing social proof from clients with similar use-cases. 

4. Make Sales Enablement Your Kingpin

If you want those bottom of the funnel leads to finally make a purchase, it’s absolutely essential for you to marry your marketing and sales departments. Creating proper sales enablements to support your selling points that will appeal to the potential buyers’ pain points and challenges will help you close the deal. 

There are lots of different types of content that you can create and promote to your potential customers. Just make sure that you personalize it well and target the right segments of BOFU leads. For instance, you could produce a unique and helpful blog post, presentation, or a YouTube video. Include some elements of pre-boarding to reflect on the issues your lead is dealing with at the moment. Alternatively, you could create an in-depth comparison of your product and your competitors’ products to highlight the value you offer to your customers. 

Finally, you could create and disseminate a case-study with a current client. The one that runs a business in the same industry, faced the same challenges and had the same pain points. In order to do that, though, you need to make sure that you use a CRM tool to track your interactions with different customers and effectively segment them into relevant categories. 

Just remember! When it comes to sales enablement materials, consistency of communication throughout the whole customer journey is your best friend. You need to eliminate the human factor out of the equation and make sure you don’t miss a single follow-up! The best way to do this is to automate the sales process by setting up a drip campaign. 

BOFU is only challenging when you don’t know how to approach it. Increasing the bottom-funnel conversions is easy when you have a clear plan of action:

• Learn everything there is to know about your lead’s pain points
• Identify and address their concerns
• Create added value to justify the price
• Strengthen your value proposition with social proof
• Convert through using sales enablements.

The post 4 Ways for B2B Sales Teams to Get More Bottom-Funnel Conversions appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

To be sure, you don’t have to rise to the fame of a Mary Kay Ash or Zig Ziglar to be a sales phenom. Plenty of salespeople across the world land tons of deals, build loyal connections with customers, and solve buyers’ biggest conundrums. You may not know their names, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less successful. 

Here’s the dirty little secret, though: The majority of sales folks aren’t utilizing all the tech at their fingertips. As a result, statistics culled by Forbes suggest that most sales experts sell only 35.2% of the time. The rest of the time, they’re pushing papers, engaged in redundant activities, and not bringing in revenue. 

The bottom line is that even the most prolific seller probably has room for improvement. And there’s no shame in wanting to get better. So why not embrace the technology that can help you rev up your conversations? Or reduce the risk of being ghosted by a top prospect?

Below are four tech stack must-tries to impress your boss and win over resistant buyers.

1. Close deals seamlessly with virtual proposals.

Remember the days of sending your client a proposal, waiting for the client to make adjustments, and going through the process ad infinitum? (Those days might have been as recently as this week, to be honest.) Every time you make your prospect jump through a hoop, no matter how minuscule, you risk losing momentum.

What’s the way to close this gap for good? Leverage proposal and contract processes that automate the system on one platform. PandaDoc, an all-in-one document automation software, notes that requesting proposals the old-fashioned way needlessly extends your close rate. In other words, you waste precious days and weeks trying to get the final go-ahead. Plus, once you’ve built a proposal on paper, how easy is it to change on the fly? In most cases, it’s not easy at all.

The way to fix this issue is to find a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider like PandaDoc that offers the ability to manage your proposals and eventual contracts in one location. Having documents available to everyone who needs to know—and make changes effortlessly—transforms the proposal experience. It also shortens the sales cycle by reducing buyer barriers to acceptance.

2. Add robust templates to your tech stack.

Have you ever found yourself writing the same email again and again? Sure, you might change a word or two here and there. But the gist and tone remain similar. These are documents and correspondence that you could automate with software.

What’s the value of having dozens of templates? With the right system, you can deploy your templates quickly across omni-channels. Have a prospect who prefers text? No problem. Your template can be revamped to look great on a phone. Dealing with someone who’s a social media user? Send DMs and get noticed.

Not sure you want to invest in more tech software? Even if you just keep a catalog of templates on your centralized knowledge system, you’ll be ahead of the game. As a side note, you don’t have to lose the individual touch. In fact, you should focus on personalization because it’s what 80% of participants in an Epsilon buyer study said they want. Templates can be constructed with “holes.” Fill those “holes” with customized messages and foster connections without losing precious hours re-typing content.

3. Invest in a truly modern customer relationship management (CRM) system.

Why do so many salespeople rave about CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce? The companies have made it their business to lead the CRM industry. They’re continuously adding new solutions to their platforms, including AI-driven tools.

Feel as if your outdated legacy CRM gets the job done? That may be true. However, it’s worth investigating state-of-the-art CRMs. Sure, it’s understandable to want to hold onto your CRM because you know it. No one likes change. Still, it might not be the right answer anymore.

Newer CRM platforms aren’t just clearinghouses to hold prospect and client information, either. The top ones allow you to analyze customer behaviors, set up regular messaging based on where a customer is in the sales funnel, and perhaps listen socially. Unless you’re 100% sure you have a CRM that truly links your organization’s marketing, communications, service, and sales teams, you’d be wise to investigate what’s on the market.

4. Increase your sales prospecting IQ.

The more intelligent your sales prospecting, the less arduous it is to uncover truly qualified potential clients. AI has helped sales technology become savvier, moving way beyond just grabbing prospects’ personal and business information from the web.

How does sales intelligence work when buoyed by technology like AI and machine learning? For one, sales software can crawl the Internet, looking for potential prospects based on your company’s past purchases and historical information. The software can then deliver target personas to specific sales team members. Even if the sales team has to evaluate the information by hand, everyone will save time.

Sales prospecting software can also help you scrub and update information, much of which will be outdated in about a year’s time. Remember: These are processes you would have to do yourself or ask someone else to do on your behalf. If a program can do it just as well, why not let it?

Prospect.io even suggests that sales prospecting should include a deep dive into data about the sales that turned you down. This way you can get a better understanding of why, and what to do better next time. 

Sales will always be about relationships, and tech can help you finally have the time to build connections. So why wait? Stop spinning your wheels and start generating long-term ties.

The post 4 Types of Sales Tech You Shouldn’t Sleep On appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

These are the essential features a marketplace script should have:

• Customization options
• Scalability
• User experience
• Affordability and
• Mobile accessibility 

Top Marketplace Platforms

1. BigCommerce

Most suitable for small-to-medium sized businesses, BigCommerce’s dashboard is very straightforward and user friendly.

Pros:

• Fully hosted
• Easily accessible
• Unlimited product listings
• Unlimited bandwidth & file 
• Integrations with shipping and POS software
• No transaction fees

Cons:

• You have to pay for 24/7 customer service.
• They are expensive compared to competitors. 
• Customer orders don’t come with tracking information.

2. Shopify

Offering the widest range of apps, add-ons, and plugins for small, medium, and large marketplace platforms, The Top Shopify Developer NZ are always ready to help to build an online store providing  Shopify provides tons of readymade templates for personalization.

Pros:

• A ready to use ecommerce store with cloud hosting
• Access to hundreds of themes and plugins
• Hundreds of templates for selling any type of products
• Built-in payment gateways
• Highly customizable and scalable
• Compatibility with popular third-party integrations

Cons:

• Month-to-month pricing
• Limited customization options
• High price for the enterprise level plans
• Complicated migration

3. Shopygen

Supporting different types of marketplace platforms like B2C and C2C, Shopygen provides turnkey solutions for marketplaces like Uber, Airbnb, and Instacart. They also provide services for customized plugins and themes for other eCommerce software developing platforms like Mgento, Shopify, WooCommerce etc. 

Pros:

• Created using NodeJS technology
• Highly customizable
• No recurring fee
• Cost effective in comparison to its competitors

Cons:

• You will need to get your own hosting and security maintenance.
• If customization is required, the development time is longer than usual.
• It requires an upfront cost. 

4. Magento

Magento’s platform helps to empower retailers and brands with flexible cloud solutions to help companies scale up their business. Magento’s wide range of customizable options makes it a  great platform for merchants who want to innovate and grow with technology.

Pros:

• Integrated checkout, payment and shipping
• Mobile-optimized shopping
• Catalog management
• Instant purchase
• Customization options available

Cons:

• Long development time 
• Higher budget than most of its contemporaries
• Doesn’t have a lot of content creation options
• Magento Commerce support comes with a hefty price

5. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a free, open-source wordpress shopping cart plugin. It is one of the most chosen eCommerce platforms in the market and runs on about 30% of all stores.

Pros:

• Regularly updated and totally secure
• Highly customizable
• Integrates with many other ecommerce platforms and payment gateways
• Complete support

Cons:

• Not all of the features come with the basic plan
• Expensive external themes, plugins, and hosting
• You are on your own with regards to maintaining hosting to security and backups.

There are many eCommerce softwares available in the market; don’t just limit your choices to SaaS. Of course, managing a self-hosted site is not as easy as a SaaS platform, but you get the complete control when you own the code of your site which is incomparable. Ultimately it depends on your requirements, budget, and how you are going to manage your website.

The post Shopping Cart Software for Multi-Vendor Ecommerce Marketplaces appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The Power Of The Consumer’s Voice

Over the past two decades, the internet marketplace has changed almost beyond recognition. With more companies than ever before moving online and a highly competitive selling environment, it’s never been clearer that marketing strategies need to change and adapt too. Companies have to work harder than ever before to stand out in the online retail arena.

However, a surprising number of businesses have failed to move with the times. Outdated techniques are still in use and pushy selling tactics can still be seen in operation. Yet, after running successful e-commerce, financial and marketing services business since 2003, Brian Greenberg is paving the way for a new generation of digital marketers, extolling the virtues of gathering reviews and using the customer’s own positive voice as a way of attracting more traffic and raising more revenue.

This is a technique that he has used to his own advantage over the years and that has led him to write a book inspired by his own experience entitled “The Salesman Who Doesn’t Sell”.

The Importance Of Review Gathering

Greenberg, the founder, and president of True Blue Life Insurance, is well-placed to offer expert advice about successful digital marketing, having generated more than $50 million in revenue from his own businesses.

Having discovered the statistic that 90% of consumers read reviews before visiting a company’s website and making a purchase, Greenberg took the idea on board by working on ways to generate more reviews for his businesses and, thus, to leverage those positive testimonials to raise awareness of his companies, to build up trust, increase the conversion rate, and to promote future sales.

The result was incredibly successful. So much so, in fact, that he has collected more than 10 thousand testimonials and customer reviews, and has earned the title of one of the financial service industry’s most creative individuals.

What About Negative Reviews?

It’s fair to say that, no matter how good a business may be and no matter how hard it tries to satisfy its customers, from time to time there will be negative reviews. Greenberg doesn’t necessarily see this as a problem. In fact, he sees it as a useful way to showcase the company’s customer-centric approach.

It’s only natural for would-be customers to read the negative reviews first before they read the positive ones. Therefore, they need to see that the business cares about those negative opinions and have pulled out all the stops to try to appease their dissatisfied clients. It isn’t the negative reviews themselves that are a problem, it’s failing to deal with them properly. 

Greenberg recommends a three-step approach to handling negative reviews: 

• Apologize – retaliation must be avoided at all costs. Take this chance to say sorry for the mistakes you have made and reinforce your company’s values by offering to put things right immediately.
• Rectify – once you’ve promised to put things right you have to actually put that into action. 
• Following up – once you’ve addressed the problem and rectified it, don’t leave it there. Follow up afterward to ensure the customer is now satisfied and ask them to take the negative review down. 

Replying publicly to a negative review also demonstrates to potential customers who read it that you aren’t just a faceless organization but are, instead, a business that cares about its customers and wants to do the right thing.

A negative review can, therefore, even work to your advantage and help show that you’re running a reliable and trustworthy company. Greenberg effectively harnesses this technique to his own advantage in his own business enterprises and extols its virtues to those he advises.

Incentivizing Employees For Getting Reviews

Greenberg places such great importance on customer reviews that he offers incentives to his employees for getting as many reviews as possible. By offering them bonuses based on the reviews they get, he scoops a double win – 5-star reviews that showcase his company in the best possible light, and a team of motivated, hard-working employees who are driven by customer service.

Making It Easy To Leave A Review

To leverage the potential of customer reviews, Greenberg emphasizes the importance of making it as easy as possible to leave reviews. Without facilitating the process of reviewing, customers are unlikely to put any effort into reviewing their experience. The only customers who are likely to do this are those who are extremely unhappy with the service they’ve received.

To this end, he uses an automated process to remind customers to leave a testimonial and includes direct links in the reminder that takes the customer right to the appropriate review page. Eliminating the need for customers to click around and carry out searches to leave their opinion, he simplifies that process and increases the likelihood of a positive review being left exponentially. 

Building Customer Trust – The Key To Selling Success

While Greenberg doesn’t engage in aggressive marketing techniques, he still manages to increase sales and boost profits in an impressive manner. How does he do it? The answer lies in his customer-centric approach.

By focusing on offering outstanding customer service and encouraging the customers themselves to do the selling through their own positive reviews, Greenberg is blazing a trail in the global digital marketplace, showing others how to encourage their customers to leave testimonials and how to use the power of those reviews to strengthen their reputation within their industry, increase their brand awareness, and grow their business exponentially. It’s no wonder that Greenberg has become known as the Salesman Who Doesn’t Sell.

The post How Brian Greenberg Made His Competitive Advantage In Getting Reviews appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

To a degree greater than other domains, though, sales is about relationships. Should companies really be putting person-to-person work — work that’s responsible for their revenue, no less —  in the hands of algorithms?

The truth is that automation and personalization go hand in hand. Tech can take those tedious, tracking-type tasks off salespeople’s hands, giving them more space to do the relationship-building work they do best.

To automate without losing the personal touch:

1. Start with your customer’s job.

Who really hates performing the same action over and over? Your prospects. Choosing between competing solutions means comparing features, scheduling demos, and haggling over contract details.

Take those tasks off buyers’ shoulders when you can. UX consultancy Nielsen-Norman Group recommends starting with product comparison tables because they create trust and are easy to build. Showing customers exactly how your product stacks up against competitors’ produces a sense of consideration and transparency. 

2. Know which touchpoints not to touch.

Sales communications are trickier to automate than parts of the buyer’s journey that customers manage themselves. Before automating them, talk to your team about “moment of truth” touchpoints. 

Two typical “human required” touchpoints are the first conversation and the contract signature call, but where others lie depends on your product and sales processes. These crucial interactions have a big impact on a buyer’s decision and should be left to the pros (i.e., your sales team).

Touchpoints that are less connected to the customer’s decision are good candidates for automation. Leads don’t care whether you clacked the keys yourself to send that “Checking back in” message. 

3. Personalize automated messages according to funnel position.

With the right software and setup, automation can actually improve personalization rather than impede it. Personalization shows that you understand your prospect and where he is in the buying journey.

CRM tool FullContact uses an identity graph to visually plot how communications should be personalized by funnel progress. For prospects in the consideration stage, for instance, you might use drip emails that describe the results a prospect can expect from the product. After the purchase, though, your email promotions and newsletter should include advocacy suggestions.

4. Watch for ‘human’ signals. 

Don’t just use lead scoring to determine the order in which your sales team should reach out to leads; use it to plan which ones get the most personal attention. 

Job attributes, demographics, and frequency of activity should all go into your lead-scoring model. What should dictate the amount of personal attention you provide, however, is how those people interact with you. Someone who emails the sales team directly expects more human communication than, say, a person who downloads whitepapers or adds something to his cart. 

Set up automatic notifications in your CRM system so the sales team can reach out when a prospect takes a “human” action, like emailing or requesting a callback. The prospect will appreciate that you took his preferences into account.

5. Automate only what you’d want automated.

When workflow automation first gained steam, management consultancy McKinsey & Company warned companies to optimize journeys, not touchpoints. Many salespeople took precisely the wrong message from that statement: They added more touchpoints, assuming it would make prospects feel more “supported.”

The trouble is that adding more touchpoints pressures companies to automate more of them. Journey optimization isn’t about automating more touchpoints, but about automating the right ones. For example, workflow automation can work well for cold outreach. On the other side, an automated email may not be best after an important conversation with a lead. 

Customers can tell when companies try to pass off chatbots as real people and automated emails as personally written ones. Automate touchpoints that prospects expect to be accomplished by an algorithm, such as content suggestions and follow-up messages, not everything from start to sale. 

Whichever processes and touchpoints you choose to automate, make sure prospects can always reach a real person. Provide transparent opt-out opportunities, and respect their communication preferences. Done well, sales automation benefits everyone; it’s when companies treat it as a replacement for the human touch that nobody wins.

The post How to Automate Sales Workflows Without Losing the Personal Touch appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

1. Focus on your people — all of them.

Do you have a sales superstar who brings in the numbers but doesn’t get along with the team? If so, your reliance on that person could end up costing you more than a headache.

Research published by Harvard Business School found that results achieved by toxic employees don’t offset their negative behavior, even when the toxic employee performs in the top percentile. Your company would sell more if you fired that toxic “best employee” and employed a team of average people who know how to work together.

The longer you let the bad dynamic go unchecked, the more trouble your team will have. “Behavior is contagious … we find that when a toxic person joins a team, others are more likely to behave in a toxic fashion,” says Dr. Michael Housman, co-author of the Harvard study. 

2. Show some love to the marketing team.

The sales team celebrates the final reward, but no sales department lasts long without marketers pulling in qualified leads. Align your sales and marketing teams more closely to ensure both sides do all they can to ensure mutual success.

Get your salespeople to talk to the marketing team about the questions prospects ask most frequently, then make sure the marketers deliver content that matches the need. Build a demand generation strategy that frees up your salespeople to spend more time closing and less time qualifying. When marketers and salespeople work in harmony, good things follow.

Better yet, make use of a sales coaching software to analyze effective strategies, identify areas that need improvement, and monitor progress weekly. This software uses artificial intelligence to listen to your best sales reps, learn from them, and imitate their behavior. You can think of it as a self-service training coach.

3. Appreciate your current customers more.

While nothing beats the thrill of earning a big new account, your current customers deserve love, too. Communicate more frequently with your existing clients to hear about their experiences with your products and find opportunities to upsell.

Even if you only offer one product, don’t sleep on the value of your customers as lead sources. A good relationship with a small customer could lead to a massive partnership with a new client down the road. You never know how social circles connect, but by treating everyone with respect, you can boost your word-of-mouth marketing and up your chances of earning new business.

4. Check out chatbots.

Chatbots allow prospects on your website to ask questions without the pressure of a human salesperson on the other line. Take advantage of this dynamic by using chatbots to qualify leads through your website and on social media. With a little robotic help, customers who were “just browsing” could end up speaking with a salesperson in a matter of hours.

“The decision to deploy virtual agents can be complex,” says P.V. Kannan, co-founder of AI company [24]7.ai. “Even so, we think this sort of conversational interface to companies is destined to displace the current app and web interfaces over the long term, simply because it’s faster and in many cases, better for the customer.”

5. Evaluate your products and markets.

Provide customers with options to deepen their engagement with your company before you lose momentum from your existing line of products. Your niche may be successful for now, but every niche grows more crowded over time. To maintain your position at the front of the market, you must either offer something new or offer the same value to a different group of people.

Look at your current buyer personas to find similar groups who might enjoy your products. Could someone else use your product for a different purpose? With a few small tweaks, you may discover an entirely new marketing opportunity. Regularly evaluate your best markets, and think about how you could provide more value to current and prospective fans.

6. Experiment with email.

Email is a double-edged sword for small companies. Yes, it might be your best lead source — but how many hours a week do you spend in your inbox? Try techniques like time-boxing to keep email from eating up your schedule, but also consider your copy. Could less formal emails take less time to write and boost conversions? 

“Change the length, change the focus, try sounding cheeky instead of polished,” suggests TJ Macke, who handles go-to-market strategy for sales enablement company Regie.io. Although Regie uses AI to recommend copy that’s likely to resonate with your audience, Macke makes it clear that there’s no substitute for manual experimentation.

The 2020s will be here before you know it, so don’t waste time on sales tactics that belong in the 2010s. Use this opportunity to evaluate your sales strategy and achieve your sales goals next year — and the years beyond.

The post 6 Essential Tips to Reach Your Sales Goals in 2020 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

If we’re aware of the importance of interacting with our customers over the phone to close those all-important deals, why did these studies find that 93 percent of companies don’t respond within the recommended 5 minutes, and 23 percent of companies don’t respond to their leads at all? Clearly, businesses are so slammed that getting back to customers and possible sales leads is proving impossible. And while many are making use of virtual phone systems, often their features aren’t actually that important in helping them make more sales.

Luckily, artificial intelligence can lessen the workload of sales teams and help them to become more efficient. In fact, 55 percent of telecom companies are already using AI. Here are the top ways integrating AI into your phone system can boost your sales performance.

Drive New Business from Call Data Insights

If you were to look into your company’s call data and try to interpret it, you may spend hours diving into the numbers. While reports can be helpful, without AI, there’s a slim chance you’re going to use it.

AI can notice trends from your phone calls and alert you of any opportunities for improvement. For example, the most common cities your calls are coming from could give you insights into potential new markets for your company. It can also pick up on how long it’s taking you to answer calls and alert you to slow response times, which could help you determine when to hire a salesperson who can follow up while you concentrate on your work.

AI can not only tell you what is your busiest time of day, but it can also recommend when you should stop working and return phone calls. And on top of this, it has the power to analyze call transcripts themselves to evaluate and offer suggestions for improvements how your sales team is pitching to leads.

No More Forgotten Leads

When your business receives a lot of calls, it can feel almost impossible to get back to every single one you missed. AI can recognize when you get over your head and suggest ways to increase the number of callbacks. It can alert you about phone calls, and send a reminder to call them back.

This feature is invaluable, especially since research has shown that companies that reach their leads within an hour are seven times more likely to have meaningful conversations with decision makers than those who waited more than 60 minutes. And the more people you get back to quickly, the more likely you are the make the sale and increase revenue.

For when calls don’t need your personal attention, AI bots can take much of this extra workload away. The bot can answer voicemails based on the content of the message transcript, and give information such as hours of operation and directions — so you don’t have to call them back.

AI can Grade You on your Overall Performance

So, you’re utilizing the insights and reminders you’re getting day to day, but what about the value of all of that data taken over an extended period? AI can compile it into a detailed profile, helping you to make sure you’re improving on your stats each month and calling sales leads and customers back quickly. Insights into when and where your calls are coming from mean you’ll be able to identify what marketing strategy is the right one and who are the most important customers to prioritize in order to increase customer retention.

It’s high time companies left behind flashy virtual phone systems that are oversaturated with features they don’t really need. The advent of AI in phone management systems has the power to revolutionize your sales process by giving you true insights into the strategy you should be adopting, and helping you keep up with more leads than would otherwise be possible.

Authored by:

Jay Reeder has more than 23 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. He began creating voicemail systems in high school, which led to his first job as a software developer creating voicemail technology. Within the first year, he had completely rewritten the company’s voicemail software platform and at the age of 20 was selected to lead voicemail development for telecommunications giant ITT.

In 1994 Reeder founded his first company, Revox, developing high-end voice platforms for telephone companies. This was followed by Atlanta Voicemail, VoicePlus, Buzzworks and ultimately VoiceNation, a live answering company that has been recognized by PC Magazine, Clutch, and others as an industry leader. His latest product, Ninja Number, is a virtual phone system that helps entrepreneurs increase revenue by improving their communication with customers.

The post How to Use AI To Triple the Efficiency of Your Sales Process appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

However, many of these small business owners are overlooking critical technology tools that online retailers have been taking advantage of for years: analytics. So often entrepreneurs with physical storefronts and no online presence overlook the power of data and analytics, assuming that because they rely on foot traffic patronage, they don’t have access to shopper data that will inform and benefit their future sales. That’s not the case. In fact, brick-and-mortar retailers that use analytics are benefitting from several factors that give them an upper hand in this competitive environment.  

Brick-and-Mortar has the Edge in Sales and Spend

Contrary to common belief, our youngest group of consumers, Generation Z (or Gen-Z), is shopping in-store. Call it a penchant for instant gratification or a desire for an in-store “experience,” but these shoppers have $44 billion in buying power and most are spending in stores rather than online.

According to a study from IBM, 67 percent of Gen-Z shops in a brick-and-mortar store most of the time and an additional 31 percent shop in-store sometimes, meaning that 98 percent of Gen-Z are shopping in physical stores.

That’s a lot of revenue potential for brick-and-mortar stores, but only if they can turn Gen Z prospects into customers and, more importantly, into repeat customers. This generation is known for being made up of “digital natives,” and they are creating data every time they connect to wifi or sign up for your email lists. They may not be your business’ target demographic yet, but they will be someday. Collecting data from your customers and leveraging it to effectively target and serve shoppers can help retail stores capitalize on the active customers they already have.

Not only are shoppers still drawn into stores, they are actually spending more when they shop in-person. Consumers spend an average of $1,700 per month in traditional stores, compared to just $247 per month online, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

With sales and spend on their side, brick-and-mortar shops have an opportunity to captivate market share by targeting one-time shoppers with special offers, news and more, simply by collecting contact information or recording purchase histories.

Harnessing Technology to Close the Sale in-Store

While brick-and-mortar shops may find it challenging to compete with the inventory flexibility, low cost margins and single-click ordering convenience offered by Amazon, they can use shoppers’ reliance on technology to get customers in their door.

A survey by mobile loyalty company SessionM found that 90 percent of consumers use their phone while shopping in-store, giving traditional retailers the opportunity to incentivize purchases while customers shop, just like online retailers can. This offers brick-and-mortar businesses a unique opportunity to share promotions and suggestions in real time, which, in turn, helps to provide the personalization customers expect and ultimately drive sales.

It’s clear that implementing analytics can help brick-and-mortar shops improve audience engagement and boost sales, but many retailers aren’t sure how to start. Here are a few quick and easy ways traditional retailers can begin using analytics to help improve their businesses. Remember to check state and federal laws with regard to the collection and use of data and information:

• In-store Wi-Fi: setting up a network in your store may allow you to begin collecting information from your shoppers, like email addresses, dates visited, time spent in your store and more.  
• Location data: Being tuned into who is visiting your store and who is visiting your competitors can be a critical measure of your current market share and potential market share.

Contact Information: Make sure you are collecting contact information from your customers when appropriate, so you can maintain contact with them, offering personalized “in-store only” offers and driving repeat transactions.

Authored by:

Amber Colley, Business Credit Expert and Senior Vice President, Dun & Bradstreet

The post Using Brick-and-Mortar Analytics to Compete with Amazon appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

• • Brent Leary, Master Analyst of CRM Essentials,  
  • Rieva Lesonsky, from SmallBiz Daily,
  • Laurie McCabe, co-founder at SMB Group, and Tech-analyst at Laurie McCabe, as well as,
  • Anita Campbell, publisher of Small Business Trends CEO of bizsugar.com.
    

The Path to Small Business Growth

Ramon kicked off the conversation with a key takeaway from a speech from Zoho’s CEO, Sridhar Vembu: Lot of start-ups want to go big, be the next Facebook, Google, etc. But, it’s essential to make sure you:

“Don’t forget the people who made you what you are, and make sure that you always take care of them as well as serving your new customers.”

And what do you say to people who are saying to the start-ups who are like, ‘I need outside VC. I want go big, I want to go large. How do I fund my operations if I don’t have public money? Jeff Bezos did it, why can’t I do it?’  

Anita Campbell believes in,“the power of a long-term vision. Having it and sticking with it, and not second guessing yourself. “

Higher Education & How It’s Changing

What’s more important: going to a 4 year university or learning a specific skill to get into the workforce sooner? As mentioned in a previous article, Zoho employees are no strangers to these topics – Zoho houses its’ own University, dubbed, “The Meaningful Alternative to Conventional College Education.” “Earn while you Learn”, is the middle ground that many post high school age kids have been yearning for. Zoho University prepares its’ students for the real world by teaching skills  like other tuition centre that hiring managers find attractive and companies need more of. Plus, students don’t pay any tuition – instead, they receive a stipend and after successful completion of their program, are inducted as an employee into the Zoho Corporation.

In American Society the assumption is usually that it’s necessary to go to a 4-year college to get a worthwhile job. But, is it necessary?

Reiva agreed that people have more options now and can enter the workforce with less debt, due to some of the new options available, especially since it’s not a one size fits all system.

She gave a nod to education in general, saying, “That’s the tea: You need to learn the skills.”

The panel all agreed from their personal experience as past students, and current business owners, that education should help students learn skills to bring into the workforce, making them more attractive to future employers.

Small Business Technology and Finding the Best Solutions

Brent gave us some insight into smaller businesses and their relationship with technology. He explained that there are a lot of smaller applications built specifically for small businesses. But, most of the applications do ONE thing well. Then, you end up needing a number of different applications from different vendors to get everything done. Having so many applications “…adds a layer of complexity. It makes it harder to get things done, it takes longer to get things done.”

Brent explains:

When you have the opportunity to have a platform that has a lot of functions, you don’t have to keep going in and out multiple applications building integration. It makes it easier for you to get the stuff done so that’s where […] the power is. And that is a big thing for a small business.

Words of Advice to Small Business Owners

With 1 month of 2019 already gone,what should small business owners know: Rieva’s advice to small businesses is that “you just need to pay attention.  Are you a local business? Then pay attention in your local market. What do people want? What doesn’t exist? And can you fill that niche if you’re a start-up?

Rieva Lesonsky also went to the idea of a business plan, and how to look at it so it can work better for your business.  

“What can I do today to make my business better tomorrow? Think of it like that. And just come up with some action steps that you can do now that don’t freak you out, and then do them. Don’t think about it, don’t stress about it, just actually do them.”

What are 2-3 things that can help a small business, TODAY?

Brent’s advice was focused around your business website and how to easily improve it. He explains,

“Get a tool and do an audit of your website. So there are lots of tools out there, SEMrush is one of them, but there are other ones you can use. And they’re very easy, they’ll do it automated for you. They’ll tell you what you need to fix. And every website needs to fix things.”

Another common business issue? Working on the business instead of it in. Brent Leary explains,

“If you have to think about your business, don’t bury yourself in the details. You’ll get further ahead if you spend that equivalent time thinking about your business and some goal you’ve made. “

Like Rieva said, take action today.

Didn’t catch this Facebook Live? Make sure to follow them on Facebook and set your calendar for the next one.

The post Small Business Growth Advice From Small Biz Owners appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

If we’re aware of the importance of interacting with our customers over the phone to close those all-important deals, why did these studies find that 93 percent of companies don’t respond within the recommended 5 minutes, and 23 percent of companies don’t respond to their leads at all? Clearly, businesses are so slammed that getting back to customers and possible sales leads is proving impossible. And while many are making use of virtual phone systems, often their features aren’t actually that important in helping them make more sales.

Luckily, artificial intelligence can lessen the workload of sales teams and help them to become more efficient. In fact, 55 percent of telecom companies are already using AI. Here are the top ways integrating AI into your phone system can boost your sales performance.

Drive New Business from Call Data Insights

If you were to look into your company’s call data and try to interpret it, you may spend hours diving into the numbers. While reports can be helpful, without AI, there’s a slim chance you’re going to use it.

AI can notice trends from your phone calls and alert you of any opportunities for improvement. For example, the most common cities your calls are coming from could give you insights into potential new markets for your company. It can also pick up on how long it’s taking you to answer calls and alert you to slow response times, which could help you determine when to hire a salesperson who can follow up while you concentrate on your work.

AI can not only tell you what is your busiest time of day, but it can also recommend when you should stop working and return phone calls. And on top of this, it has the power to analyze call transcripts themselves to evaluate and offer suggestions for improvements how your sales team is pitching to leads.

No More Forgotten Leads

When your business receives a lot of calls, it can feel almost impossible to get back to every single one you missed. AI can recognize when you get over your head and suggest ways to increase the number of callbacks. It can alert you about phone calls, and send a reminder to call them back.

This feature is invaluable, especially since research has shown that companies that reach their leads within an hour are seven times more likely to have meaningful conversations with decision makers than those who waited more than 60 minutes. And the more people you get back to quickly, the more likely you are the make the sale and increase revenue.

For when calls don’t need your personal attention, AI bots can take much of this extra workload away. The bot can answer voicemails based on the content of the message transcript, and give information such as hours of operation and directions — so you don’t have to call them back.

AI Can Grade You on Your Overall Performance

So, you’re utilizing the insights and reminders you’re getting day to day, but what about the value of all of that data taken over an extended period? AI can compile it into a detailed profile, helping you to make sure you’re improving on your stats each month and calling sales leads and customers back quickly. Insights into when and where your calls are coming from mean you’ll be able to identify what marketing strategy is the right one and who are the most important customers to prioritize in order to increase customer retention.

It’s high time companies left behind flashy virtual phone systems that are oversaturated with features they don’t really need. The advent of AI in phone management systems has the power to revolutionize your sales process by giving you true insights into the strategy you should be adopting, and helping you keep up with more leads than would otherwise be possible.

Authored by:

Jay Reeder has more than 23 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. He began creating voicemail systems in high school, which led to his first job as a software developer creating voicemail technology. Within the first year, he had completely rewritten the company’s voicemail software platform and at the age of 20 was selected to lead voicemail development for telecommunications giant ITT.

In 1994 Reeder founded his first company, Revox, developing high-end voice platforms for telephone companies. This was followed by Atlanta Voicemail, VoicePlus, Buzzworks and ultimately VoiceNation, a live answering company that has been recognized by PC Magazine, Clutch, and others as an industry leader. His latest product, Ninja Number, is a virtual phone system that helps entrepreneurs increase revenue by improving their communication with customers.

The post How to Use AI To Triple the Efficiency of Your Sales Process appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

While still in its early stages, machine learning has already had a significant impact on different aspects of everyday life. Chances are you’ve already interacted or heard of how machine learning is being used today:

1. Google is using machine learning to train driverless cars, which will change how we move.
2. The “People You May Know” feature on Facebook, which opens us to a new network of people.
3. The evolution of semantic-based search results in search engines.

It’s clear how machine learning has the potential to transform everything, from transportation to the way we communicate, and it doesn’t take much imagination to see how machine learning is going to change things for local stores, as well.

Since machine learning algorithms feed off data to create patterns, Google has been in a powerful position to make an impact on everything from online search to local retail. With over 3.5 billion searches a day, and an incomprehensible amount of user data, Google’s machine efforts can and have been making an immediate impact.

Here’s how Google’s machine learning is impacting local stores’ traffic, and what we can expect in the future:

What Is Machine Learning?

By definition, machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence that enables computers to learn without further explicit instruction from a programmer. Essentially, machine learning involves finding patterns and adjusting program actions as needed.

Most people are more familiar with machine learning from a non-technical perspective. For example, Netflix’s machine learning capabilities can predict what show you will probably be interested in next based on what you’ve just finished watching. Similarly, Amazon’s machine learning capabilities can make product recommendations based on your viewing and purchasing history.

Machine Learning and Local Store Traffic

The sheer amount of information and analytics available in the world of retail is what is making machine learning a very effective solution for local stores.

If you’ve used Google to find information about a local store, you may have seen a handy little bar graph highlighting the busy times of the store. Google compiles this information by using the mobile phone GPS location signals and Wi-Fi connectivity of those who have enabled Location History/Services to determine where users are.

Once Google has enough data about location times, it can predict the most popular times even if the search isn’t “live.” The implication that this has on store traffic is that traffic which has previously researched the location might be more inclined to visit during a time that is less busy. For example, the above graph describes the traffic at a local Target Supermarket and shows a relatively steady, uniform series of data points.

In contrast, this bar graph describes the traffic of a local restaurant. Based on the information provided, it is a popular lunch spot but isn’t so popular around dinner time, as well being typically empty at 4 p.m., as most restaurants are. If traffic were inclined to visit this restaurant but didn’t want to spend a lot of time in line or waiting to be served, they would likely opt for the less busy times, evening out the distribution.

Tracking your phone’s location to estimate wait times is not a novel idea; it has been used in Google Maps to estimate traffic times for a few years, now.

Machine Learning Can Improve the Shopping Experience

Machine learning’s reach extends far past the distribution of local store traffic. Local stores can tap into big data analytics and machine learning to source products from outside vendors or provide recommendations based on basic things such as the price and quantity, and even the more complex components such as the place the item sits on a shelf and the best marketing channel to reach out to the right customer in a specific area.

Through machine learning, local stores will be able to help the right customer find the right product at the right time. The impact this has on local store traffic could either increase the number of people walking through local stores or decrease the amount of time spent in the store since they are more likely to find the item they are looking for based on machine learning predictive analytics.

The Future of Google’s Machine Learning and Local Store Traffic

Technology has allowed local stores to create an index of virtually every product in existence, and machine learning is going to help them to pair this information with customer shopping habits to provide a convenience that is otherwise more difficult and expensive to do.

Local stores will not only be able to offer customers a much better experience, they will be able to better understand the best landscape to open up new locations based on foot and car traffic patterns. Trained algorithms can predict the popularity of certain locations and take into account everything from competitors to average customer lifetime value in certain areas.

As far as Google’s machine learning goes, it only seems to be continuously advancing and becoming a larger part of everyday life. Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, noted that machine learning is becoming an integral part of every component of Google:

“Machine learning is a core, transformative way by which we’re rethinking how we’re doing everything. We are thoughtfully applying it across all our products, be it search, ads, YouTube, or Play. And we’re in early days, but you will see us — in a systematic way — apply machine learning in all these areas.”

As Google’s Machine Learning algorithm advances and Google Shopping updates continue to change the way local stores interact with their shoppers, new strategies will emerge to capitalize on new in-store and online traffic patterns.

Final Thoughts

Artificial intelligence isn’t just a marketing trend, it’s a technological breakthrough that has the potential to completely change the retail game in a short period of time. Machine learning is massively scalable and improves with the amount of information it has to work with.

Complex tasks that were previously only done by humans could soon be transitioned to a tireless, high-quality digital workforce. Machine learning has impacted and will continue to change the landscape of local store traffic, and local stores that figure out a way to best use Google’s machine learning algorithms and local SEO to their benefit will ultimately be able to provide their new traffic a better experience.

Authored by:

Ronald Dod is the Chief Marketing Officer and Co-founder of Visiture an end-to-end eCommerce marketing agency focused on helping online merchants acquire more customers through the use of search engines, social media platforms, marketplaces, and their online storefronts. His passion is helping leading brands use data to make more effective decisions in order to drive new traffic and conversions.

The post How Google’s Machine Learning Is Impacting Local Store Traffic appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The answer is yes. There are always reasons to be optimistic about small businesses and their opportunities for growth. But, in a slow-moving market, the growth might be slow, too.

As I talk to small business owners, I am feeling their confidence. They are fired up about opportunities in 2019. Their enthusiasm is contagious, despite the negative outlook from organizations like the The Wall Street Journal.

So, how do you stay positive when the word on the street is full of negativity? The short answer – you keep doing what you do well. Market your business. Hire good people. Stay involved in your community.

In a slower market, you might have to hustle a little harder. Maybe you make more videos, or you post more on social media. Maybe you get creative with special events. There are plenty of ways to hustle.

You can also look around for good news. Like this good news from the National Federation of Independent Business:

“Small business owners are enthusiastic about the economy and have demonstrated their optimism by raising wages, creating new jobs, and investing in their businesses throughout 2018,” said NFIB President and CEO Juanita D. Duggan. “Overall, small business owners have shown a historic trend in optimism for their businesses and the economy and continue to be the driving force behind economic growth.”

Optimism drives more optimism. Share your successes. What’s going well with your business? Let’s prove the pessimists wrong with our small business successes.

The post Small Business Owners Grow Pessimistic: A Rebuttal appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

“As women, we have the power to shape and transform our communities—through our purchasing power and also through the leadership and employment opportunities we offer as business owners. By joining forces with Visa, we will help build awareness of women-owned businesses, provide them with more opportunities and invest in women across the socioeconomic spectrum around the globe.” – Rebecca Minkoff

Training Opportunities for Female Entrepreneurs

“She’s Next” by Visa is offering female entrepreneurs several programs. But, the most exciting is the year-long training opportunities. The opportunities include pop-up events, interactive workshops, and access to experts.

• The pop-ups will take place all over the world so women can network with and learn from other women entrepreneurs.  
• The interactive workshops will take place at major events, like the National Retail Federation’s  Big Show in New York, Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
• The experts will come from businesses like Yelp and Square, as well as Visa, and they will share their innovative ideas at the pop-up events and the scheduled events.
• Many of the workshop topics will help women better understand how to use digital marketing to grow their businesses.

The training opportunities were rooted in research. Visa found that women-owned businesses have struggles that businesses owned by men don’t necessarily have. Some of those concerns include:

• 73% of women struggled to get funding to start their businesses.
• 61% of women had to fund their own businesses.
• 43% of women started businesses to get financial independence.

Visa will also begin a marketing campaign called “Money is Changing” that showcases millennial female business owners. The campaign will show how they opened their businesses and challenged stereotypes regarding women and money.

Financial Services that Support Female Entrepreneurs

The “She’s Next” campaign is also supported by the Female Founder Collective (FFC) that was developed in 2018 to support female business owners. The FFC has over 3,000 members who are able to support each other through networking and training opportunities. To further support female entrepreneurs, the Visa Foundation promised $20 million to the Women’s World Banking that promises to help women in several ways including,

• Learning to develop, scale, and test sustainable products that are innovative.
• Expand global financial services to underserved populations.
• Collect and analyze data regarding the impact of financial services for female business owners.
• Share innovative ideas to support micro enterprises around the world.

The post Visa Launches She’s Next to Support Female Entrepreneurs appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Jeff Leitman and Killer Concepts

Jeff Leitman, CEO, and Founder of Killer Concepts understands the retail world and has built a company that thrives in the tough retail marketplace. His company is on the Inc. 500 list and is continuing to see growth in the world of retail.

Leitman’s start in the retail world began just after he finished college. In the late 90s and early 2000s, he worked as a buyer during the computer boom. Later, he worked in the growing field of retail supply-chain logistics. The experiences in all aspects of the retail world helped him develop his own company, Killer Concepts, in 2011.

How Killer Concepts is “Killing It” in Retail

His company does it all. They design and manufacture their own products which then transport thanks to the cheap and handy used scissor lifts for sale any manufacturer can get online. Then, they move them around the world and sell them. Leitman understands the role of being a buyer and seller and all of the operational and compliance-related steps in between. “We make it, move it, and sell it.” His insider knowledge of retail, inside and out, gives him an advantage over his competitors.

“Know What You Know”

When it comes to entering the retail marketplace, Jeff asserts that the most important thing is to, “Know what you know, and know what you don’t know.” Take advantage of what you already know about the world of business and retail. Secondly, he recommends surrounding yourself with mentors–people who know more and can share their experiences with you.

Leitman says, “the most important thing in understanding retail is to understand the numbers.”

• Start with developing products around the prices you want consumers to pay
• Know blind costs–deductions, expenses, supply-chain costs, commissions
• Know that different channels require different numbers
• Understand that retail and online channels need consistency

Over the past 16 months, Leitman and his staff have been investing in e-commerce. He is still learning, but he also had tips to share with other small business owners. He shared that everything in business is a growing process,

“You start with making the wrong decisions, and then the next time you get to make that decision, you get to make a better one.”

It’s going to be tough. Jeff shared that they are on their 6th version of their website and are still refining it. You’re also going to have to spend some money to get your product in front of buyers. “Having a higher price point and higher margins means you have to have something different.” It’s going to take some trial and error and Jeff admits, “ultimately, you’ve just got to get your hands dirty.”

As a small business owner, Leitman sees himself as an investor. He recognizes that when something works he tests, learns, scales, and refines. The other part of being a business owner involves building relationships, which brings positive energy to his business and his products. There are so many hats that small business owners need to wear if they plan to be successful.

Jeff’s Guide to Retail

Leitman shared more advice for people who have yet to even build a small business, who may still be at the idea level, looking to get into the retail marketplace. He suggests that people just starting out ask good questions about their potential products. According to Jeff, the first step, “once you have your passion, your vision of your product…you’ve really got to shop the market.” Then, ask, “where are you different, how are you different, and where is the value?”

• Can you sell your product?
• Is the thought of a differentiated product realistic?
• Will buyers give up established relationships with other vendors to sell your product instead?

Leitman explained that business “isn’t always fair. There are politics involved.” So, to stay abreast of retail politics, he constantly hopes for loyalty from buyers. But, that can’t always be the case. Therefore, Jeff is always keeping his eye on the ball and maintains that “positive energy, a good plan, and an understanding of the landscape are critical to succeeding in any business.” Leitman also emphasizes that “retails starts with relationships,” and it’s important to develop good customer service by interacting with the people who are involved in buying and selling your products.

Fulfillment Logistics: To Outsource or Not?

After the idea becomes a product, logistics becomes an issue that needs thoughtful consideration. Products can be sold in brick-and-mortar locations and in the online retail marketplace. Both have pros and cons and the balances are still changing. Whatever you choose, understand that your plan will most likely change.

Jeff understands that most small businesses will use outsourcing for their logistics. Killer Concepts outsources their shipping to transportation companies like FedEx because they do not own their own trucks. But, they do their own supply-chain work and they have their own warehouse.

While Killer Concepts does most of its own logistics work, Jeff knows a few things about outsourcing logistics, because of his experience working with 3PL solutions in his younger years. Third-party logistics supply chains come in all sizes and are all over the country. They can help with:

• Filling containers when small businesses do not have enough product
• Supplying warehouse space
• Taking care of inventory
• Packing and shipping

Take Charge of Quality Control

Leitman also shared his experience with quality control, which is constantly a struggle. He advises that small business owners constantly stay involved so products are always to your standards. Small business owners need to be clear about standards. “If you can’t do it in-house, at least be very, very engaged…You have to hand-hold to set the standards, otherwise, they won’t know which standards to follow.”

Taking Quality Control into the Hiring Process

Jeff uses his own version of quality control when it comes to hiring new talent. As an executive and CEO, he said that the “happiest day…is when we hire a new person. We love growing, we love hiring new people” and “when you do it right, it’s so rewarding.” He has learned that looking at the character of the candidates he is considering allows them to be themselves. “We give them a good working environment, we trust them, and they flourish.”

What doesn’t work for Leitman is thinking he’s found the right candidate just because the candidate said one little thing that sounded good. That one little thing won’t be enough and the hiring will be disruptive. “When you get it right, it’s liberating and you know that there are people doing things the things you need to do better than you can do it because you’ve made a good hire.”

Getting Eyeballs on Your Products

Marketing is a necessity for businesses that want customer eyeballs on their products. Leitman has had a range of experiences with marketing. The one constant: he never really knows if he’s doing it the best way or not. Marketing is constant trial and throttle in the retail world, but he does understand that an important aspect involves the presentation on the shelves.

Jeff saw 1000s of products when he worked as a buyer, so he is confident that Killer Concepts has festive packaging designs. When it comes to packaging, he also knows that price point involves where the products will be placed in the store. In some cases, Killer Concepts has been lucky with its real estate inside of stores, but no matter what, the best places do come at a price.

Marketing Advice for New Businesses

“You have two decisions: Am I marketing to sell a product to you today? Or I am I marketing to build a brand and build product awareness?” Businesses that are trying to do both have to value both aspects of marketing. There is constant learning happening, especially when it comes to marketing to different price points. A $17 product requires different marketing than a product that costs $50 or $100.

Killer Concepts has outsourced marketing and Leitman always pays attention to what marketers do and say. He looks for patterns and asks questions. He continues to outsource some aspects of marketing but is doing more in-house. The goal is to get the right message on the right vehicle to customers at the right time. His marketers have found the right path with a few products but shared that, “every day is a challenge about what we are doing tomorrow. It’s a brand new challenge.”

Ask Questions and Always Strive to Learn

The biggest takeaway that small business owners can learn from Jeff Leitman is to constantly be a learner. He finds value in not being the smartest in the room. His value comes in asking questions so that he can understand at his level. “The more you can understand, the better decisions you’re going to make.”

The post Retail Success with Jeff Leitman of Killer Concepts appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

When Is It Time to Raise Your Prices?

“did you see my text”

me: pic.twitter.com/ITtD3Z9a9M

— (@boujeesIut) December 25, 2018

So, why now? Well, Netflix has an extremely popular offering and they know that raising their prices $2 here and $3 there won’t lose them many members. They also know this change will bring in big revenue.

To say it plainly: people are hooked on Netflix– and few (if any) will leave just because of a price increase.

So, what’s the lesson?

• When you offer a GREAT service its OK to raise prices a reasonable rate.
• Since they have such a strong brand. Customers are less likely to leave.
• Branding matters, and when done well, a brand can become a part of people’s lives. (think Apple, Google, and more)

Before raising your own prices its important to know: Are your prices set at the right rate?

• When you think about your ideal customer their budget, how does your product/service work into their life?
• Do you have a loyal group of followers (either on social or otherwise)?
• Do your followers recommend your product and feature it on their social services?
• Are you making a profit from the revenue produces by your product?
• Are you offering a valuable product or a luxury product?

When your customers pay more for your product or service– they are expecting more. Consider your brand positioning.

The goal, no matter what you sell, is to be seen as irreplaceable, essential and priceless. If you are all three, then you have pricing power. When the price charged is up to you, when you have the power to set the price, there is a line out the door and you can use pricing as a signaling mechanism

Netflix has definitely accomplished this. They are irreplaceable, and essential to many people’s lifestyle.  They have millions and millions wrapped around their finger.

So, do you have an irreplaceable product your users will gladly pay more for? Or is it time to rethink your current pricing?

The post When Is It Time to Raise Your Prices? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Your account can be used by both brick-and-mortar businesses and online businesses; depending on the country in which is set up, the merchant account may not be required for a brick-and-mortar company, but in the case of online stores, this is a necessary aspect, regardless of the jurisdiction, as the customers won’t be able to conclude cash payments.

For example, when setting up a merchant account in Singapore, the company will be able to accept credit and debit cards transactions from approximately 150 countries, one of the advantages being that the merchant account can process payments in well known global currencies, not only in the local currency. Other countries, such as Estonia, accept credit cards from more than 160 jurisdictions.

In other jurisdictions, such as Cyprus, the companies wishing to set up a merchant account that will accept international payments will need to select an international merchant account, especially designed for this purpose (the country provides several types of merchant accounts, depending on the specific activities of a company and the country in which it is incorporated).

If you have an online business in Ireland, another option to explore merchant accounts refers to mobile phone payments, which increased in popularity in the last years, due to the fact that payment itself is processed very fast. Its advantage is given by the flexibility obtained by the customer, who can conclude the purchase at any given time, from any location.

The main advantage of a merchant account is that the customers can conclude a certain purchase regardless of the daily schedule of your business, in safe conditions, as all merchant accounts have to provide a safe gateway payment software.

Besides these advantages, it is important to know that companies can benefit from a simple registration procedure, which requires only several documents, but this can vary depending on the country in which the merchant account is registered. Investors can also conclude this procedure through online applications, in certain investment jurisdictions.

The post The Advantages of Opening a Merchant Account appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

1. Practice Makes Perfect

The saying “practice makes perfect” applies to almost anything in life. But, in order to refine your public speaking skills, practice is essential. The more comfortable you are with the material and your delivery, the more comfortable you will be when you are giving your presentation in a boardroom or you’re standing in front of a room full of hundreds of people. Practice in front of the mirror, or practice your speech out loud while you’re driving. Enlist willing (or unwilling) family members or friends to rehearse your presentation to and ask for their feedback. Knowing your material inside and out will help you beat your nerves when they do creep up.

2. Seek Feedback

Speaking of feedback, it’s an extremely effective tool when you are trying to improve your public speaking skills. Feedback from friends and family or a professional mentor can be invaluable for improving your public speaking skills. Another great way to receive feedback is from yourself. You are your own worst critic, so try videoing yourself giving the presentation. You’ll probably cringe when you watch it, so be forewarned. Use this incredibly helpful tool to improve your public speaking skills by looking out for nervous habits like saying “uh,” “like,” and “um.” Observe if you have any nervous tics like wringing your hands, crumpling your notes, or licking your lips. Reviewing a video of yourself can also help you avoid distracting body language during the presentation. Use it to see if you are making eye contact, standing up straight, and smiling.

3. Mind Your Audience

Another form of feedback happens during the presentation or speech and it comes from your audience. Your audience will give you clear cues if they aren’t engaged. Is everyone on their phone or chit-chatting in the back? You may need to adapt your speech or presentation if necessary to get the audience engaged. Ideally, you would want your presentation to be engaging from the get-go, but some audiences are a tough crowd and you might have to reel them back in from time to time. Engage your audience and make it a conversation. If you’re feeling a little nervous, tell them that! They will appreciate your authenticity and honesty. Make it personal, tell some stories, and make it relatable–nothing helps to connect with your audience better.

4. Your Presentation is Powerful

A good, professional presentation can make a huge difference. Use your slides to help you get organized before the presentation and stay on track during it. Great looking slides that clarify and enhance your story can give you a real confidence boost. If you need design help, use a professional platform like Beautiful.ai to create a sleek presentation with ease. However, don’t rely too heavily on technology. You should be able to give your presentation without it. If you get nervous and lose your train of thought, you can look to your slides to jog your memory and seamlessly carry on. Your slides should enhance, not define, your presentation.

5. Be Natural

Don’t script your speech or presentation too much. Experienced speakers, with amazing public speaking skills, always feel like they are having a conversation with the audience. Whatever you do, don’t memorize your speech! The littlest thing could throw you completely off track and you could forget the whole thing. You also don’t want to read your speech. You might as well just send it out in an email at that point. Do whatever you need to do to get organized. If you find you absolutely need notes, make sure they are large enough to read and put together in a way that makes it easy to pick up where you left off by glancing down. Let your delivery be natural. If you’re the one giving this speech or presentation, you are likely the expert, which means you should be able to speak to the topic without having to read word-for-word off the paper. You’re the expert, you know your stuff, and you’ve got this!

The post Are You a Terrible Public Speaker? Here Are 5 Key Tips to Get Better appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

1. Customer Experience Matters

According to Salesforce’s “State of the Connected Consumer” report, “Eighty percent of customers say that the experience a company provides is as important as its products or services.”

The report also reveals that 57% of consumers have stopped buying from one company because they had a better experience at another retailer.

As an eCommerce small business, it’s incredibly important to treat each customer as a person rather than a number. It should come as no surprise that people value experiences. Use this principle to gain a leg-up on the competition. For many, holiday shopping brings back feelings of nostalgia. While you can’t recreate The Miracle on 34th Street, you can make your shopping experience unique and enjoyable.

2. Outstanding Customer Service

One thing customers fear losing when shopping online is the warmth and personalization of a brick and mortar store shopping experience. To increase holiday sales, offer unrivaled customer service by:

• Follow up purchases with a personalized thank you note or email
• Put the important information at their fingertips. If they can’t find things like shipping information, return policy, sizing guides…etc., right away they will get frustrated and walk away from the sale
• Because holiday shopping happens in a pretty small timeframe, offer a direct phone number so customers can call with time-sensitive and urgent issues
• Offer a live-chat feature on your site so customers can get answers to questions immediately
• Leverage social media support. Although customer complaints will be out there for the world to see, you have an opportunity to prove to new and existing customers that you take customer service seriously and resolve issues in a timely manner. You can really make your business stand out with quality support conversations on social media

3. Seasonal Social Media

The holidays are a great time for seasonal social media content marketing campaigns. It’s important to stay connected with your audience if you hope to increase holiday sales. Be sure to optimize your content for your audience. Tailor your social media campaigns for the holidays to keep your brand relevant. Small changes like a holiday-themed profile picture, holiday messages, or pictures of your products in holiday gift wrap go a long way.

4. Go Local

Even though you may not operate out of a brick and mortar store, you can still capitalize on some of the advantages of local businesses during the holidays. Analyze which areas are your largest markets and run a promotion for that location. Just because you are based out of Maine doesn’t mean you can’t sell swimwear during the holiday months, you just have to target the right demographic such as consumers in Florida or California. 

5. Look at Your Conversion Rate

Use a free tool like Google Analytics to see where you can optimize conversion rates on your website. Track things like your bounce rate. Google Analytics gives insight into how much traffic your site has and how many visitors “bounced” because your site didn’t have what they were looking for. You’ll also be able to see how visitors are getting to your site whether it be a Google search, social media site, or an advertisement. Do you have a high rate of cart abandonment? Go through the checkout process yourself and see if there are any areas for improvement in your check out process.

6. Optimize for Mobile

People spend more time on mobile devices than any other platform. If your online store isn’t optimized for mobile, fix it immediately!

In 2017, 56% of traffic came through mobile devices, but mobile devices only generated 33% of the revenue.

This means that people are using mobile devices to shop, but not purchase, probably due to a messy mobile checkout process. Make it easy for customers to go from seeing your ad on Instagram to buying your product right from their mobile device to increase holiday sales.

The post 6 Quick Tips to Boost E-Commerce Holiday Sales appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

It’s Not Too Late to Sell Online

Melissa said that there are many last minute shoppers who are looking for the perfect gift.

As I type this, I still have not bought a gift for my wife!

If you go to any mall you’ll find what looks like a beehive of shoppers who are scrambling to buy, at the last minute. These could be your customers.

It’s so important to remind your current customers that you are there for them and have a solution to their needs. Sure, try to get new customers, but CURRENT customers already know, like and trust you!

Be it via social media, email marketing or otherwise – remind your customers of your solution. Consider making a special “holiday” offer.

Seth Godin talks about “tension” in his latest book, “This is Marketing“. Melissa and I discussed that even though there’s only a few days before Christmas, take advantage (in a good way) of the tension your customers have and you can snag some last minute sales for your business.

Help Your Customers

Don’t have an attitude of “how can I get” from your customers, but instead think, how can you serve them.

You’ll find that most successful marketers put the customer first and convey how their solution can help the customer.

Beyond Online Sales

While it seems that online sales get the lion’s share of media focus, for those of you selling services, you can also participate in holiday sales.

What about a special offer for accounting services, legal services, design services or etc. Maybe the customer can BUY them now and use them in 2019. Or buy them as a gift for another business.

Multiple Touch Points

Don’t put your marketing “eggs” in one basket. Don’t you love cliches?

Leverage the power of multiple touch points to have your message conveyed via email, your website and social media. Your customers might not have received your email of last week, so you might want to get their attention via Twitter. Or maybe they missed your last Instagram post, you can get their attention with a pop-up on your website.

Can They Find You?

Remember to ensure your listing on Google and Yelp are up to date.

The hours you’re open, reviews, menu options and more. Local listings are so important so be sure they’re updated!

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, Melissa says take things one step at a time. Remember, services like GoDaddy have an array of solutions to help you quickly get up to speed on all your digital marketing and fulfillment.

Kudos to Donut Parlor who Melissa says is rocking their digital presence. Their donuts LOOK good and so much more.

It’s not too late – GO make some last minutes sales….tick tock tick tock! Last minute holiday revenue is waiting for you!

The post GoDaddy Exec Says It’s Not Too Late For Businesses To Capture Last Minute Holiday Revenue appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

A Day Planner

In the world of business, organization is directly related to success. But, organization doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Give the gift of organization in the form of a day planner. Even in our digital age, nothing compares to being able to handwrite notes, reminders, and events on paper. The Passion Planner is a gift that keeps on giving all year long. Not only can they use it to keep track of their daily, weekly, and monthly activities, it also has a tool that will help them define short and long-term goals and incorporate them into their day-to-day life.

Moleskin Evernote Smart Notebook

The perfect gift for small business owners who love putting the pen to the paper, but operate their business in the digital world. This notebook uses Evernote’s Page Camera to transform their notes by simply snapping a picture. Each notebook includes a 3-month subscription to Evernote.

Coffee

Small business owners run on dreams and coffee. There are countless ways to give the gift of caffeine this holiday season. Help them support another small business by getting them a gift card to their favorite local coffee shop.

Or, get them a pretty percolator for their office like the Ninja Hot & Cold Brew System that does everything from a simple cup of joe to a nice cuppa tea, to fancy lattes and cappuccinos with its built-in milk frother.

Something for Their Health

Small business owners work so hard! But, if there is one thing they consistently neglect, it’s themselves. A great gift for small business owners is a fitness class, spa package, or a wearable fitness tracker to motivate them to keep moving.

For the small business owner who burns the midnight oil, consider the Philips Somneo Sleep and Wake-Up Light. This light therapy lamp and alarm clock simulate the sunrise to wake them gently and is clinically proven to improve energy, sleep, and general well-being. Sounds like a much less stressful way to start the day than a blaring alarm.

A Business Magazine Subscription

Most small business owners are on a budget, which means they don’t typically splurge on things like magazine subscriptions. A subscription to a great business-focused magazine, such as Entrepreneur Magazine or Fast Company can be a great gift for small business owners.

Business Card Holder

A small, but practical gift. Even if most of their business is conducted online, a business card is still a valuable tool for any small business owner or entrepreneur. Having a professional way to carry and hand out those business cards will make them look like they’ve got it all together and a business card holder is the perfect way to do that.

Meal Box Subscription

Small business owners are constantly on the go and cooking a healthy meal can sometimes take a back seat to important work tasks. A meal box subscription like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron is the perfect way to make sure the overworked small business owner in your life gets a healthy meal that’s easy to prepare a couple of times a week.

Some Extra Advertising

It’s basically cash, but a little more thoughtful. Find out which advertising platform is the best fit for their business and put some money into a Facebook or Google AdWords account. This gift for small business owners in your life will definitely put to good use.

The post Holiday Gift Ideas for Small Business Owners appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In some ways this model is necessary. After all, our economy requires workers of all skill levels to function. But that doesn’t mean you need to fall in line like everyone else. Deep down you know you’re special, and to get everything you want out of life you must reclaim your inborn negotiator, starting with these five lessons.

1. Entitlement is Over: Negotiation is Everything

Like it or not, the post World War II world order has come to an end. America isn’t the best in the world by default in industry, medicine, or education. Globalization and the Internet have shrunk the world and made every industry ultra-competitive. To be competitive for the next 10 or 100 years, we must focus on what makes us truly valuable: our companies, products, and our people. Whether we have the best talent or not we must now negotiate to protect what we currently have, and procure what we need.

2. Learn to Negotiate or Get Taken Advantage Of

The history of humanity is dark and brutal, ever since stronger caveman beat up their weaker counterparts for their food, shelter, and women. Today you need to know how to negotiate to protect your position in life and business. Many of history’s most successful leaders had little technical knowledge of negotiation. However, they possessed a deep understanding of human nature. In many ways, an understanding of human nature can outweigh all technical skills at the bargaining table.

3. All Is Fair in Love and War

In negotiation, as in war, there are no rules, but there are guidelines to help make order out of the chaos. Throughout history, great generals and leaders, such as Alexander the Great, have understood human nature and, subsequently, how to negotiate. By age thirty, Alexander had conquered the entire known world mostly through negotiation, not bloodshed. Alexander understood the need to cooperate with the lands he brought under his rule. Alexander knew that he could get what he wanted by giving his people what they wanted.

4. Win-Win Negotiation Is Dead

“Win-win” is an idealistic concept of negotiation “in which both sides get what they want. This sounds ideal, but it largely doesn’t exist in reality. You have a position and something you want. In contrast, the other side has a position and something they want. You are not responsible for the other side achieving their goals, only yours. This may sound harsh, but if you don’t focus on yourself and your situation, then no one will.

5. Every Human Interaction Is a Negotiation

Whether it’s asking your boss for a raise or deciding where to eat with your wife, everything boils down to negotiation. In Canada and the United States, we are worried about not offending anyone. Unfortunately, success is directly correlated to the ability to have tough conversations. We must become comfortable with being uncomfortable, and stand firm to get what we want.

If you have trouble asking for what you want, you’ll end up with whatever others happen to give you.

Regardless of profession, career, or business, learning to negotiate is one of the most imperative skills you can develop to succeed in the world today. No one is going to buy phentermine from uk simply hand you everything you want on a silver platter: you must demand it and negotiate your way until you get your desired outcomes. To be a good negotiator you must be defiant and know exactly what you want. This takes a certain amount of risk, but without risk, there is no reward, and without reward, there is no life worth living.

Authored By:

Stefan Aarnio is an award-winning real estate Investor, Entrepreneur, Author and winner of the 2014 Rich Dad International Hall of Fame award. He has been featured in Canadian Real Estate Wealth Magazine and Entrepreneur Magazine named him one of the Top 10 Real Estate Influencers to Follow. Starting with only $1200, Stefan has built a multi-million dollar portfolio for himself and his partners and been recognized on The Self Made List. Let me know if you need anything else- thanks!

The post 5 Lessons on Negotiation You Didn’t Learn in School appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Stuart joked that their products are so well-made they, “kind of go to sleep for you! The feel of it, the hand of it, it’s really, really exquisite stuff.” One of the benefits of being a domestic manufacturer in the U.S., is that Matouk can personalize their products. Many of their customers are high-profile designers who, “take interior design seriously and they want a look that’s completely their own and we can deliver on that.”

Growing Up at 90

Matouk had been selling wholesale to retailers like Macy’s and other brands for over 90 years. 5 years ago, they faced a new challenge when they decided to start reaching the customer directly. Traditionally they sold wholesale to independent retailers in places like Bloomingdales. But Stuart shared,

“As everybody knows, independent retail is really changing, is going through a sea change right now, the Amazon effect.”

Matouk was charting new territory and had to evolve their business to compete in the new marketplace. So, 5 years ago, when they started selling direct from matouk.com, Stuart admitted they quickly realized that, “for the first time we needed to create a relationship with a customer.” Their formula for building relationships with customers is pretty simple:

1. Make great products and have a great product experience that’s one of a kind, that can’t be beat
2. Create great brand experiences
3. Market to the customer. When they call into our service center we need to know who they are, recognizie what they like, when was the last time they called.

In order to maintain those hard-won relationships, Stuart remarked that Matouk relies on systems, and that’s where the Salesforce platform comes into play.

From Sticky Notes to Salesforce

Stuart emphasized that, “Information is key at all corners of the business, whether you are using it to service your customers, to market to your customers, to run the business better, or to make better decisions.” Prior to implementing Salesforce, Matouk didn’t have the visibility into the information—which meant they couldn’t act on it.

One-Stop Shop

“We not only moved our CRM system up to Salesforce, but we moved our entire operation entity up to Salesforce.” So now, they’ve got all of their data sitting in the same exact place and “it has access to all the technology that surrounds us and it’s in a turn-key way. So, we don’t have to worry about upgrading, or patching, or pulling this in here.”

With Salesforce, they also have access to Einstein. Einstein is Salesforce’s platform for machine learning, AI, and automation. “How many people can say their 90-year-old manufacturing company has access to next-generation Artificial Intelligence?”

Stuart appreciates that one of the beauties of being on the Salesforce platform, is that it can connect a business to everything. He shared that, “it really connects our company to not only the customer and our vendors, but to all the technology teams out there.”

It Scales Well

Matouk is a small business of 150 people based in Fall River, Massachusetts. They’ve chosen to build on the Salesforce platform because they know and understand how it can grow with their business. “It’s going to keep innovating and allow us to keep innovating as well,” adds Stuart.

Tip for Small Businesses to Grow

Stuart has some great advice for businesses looking to grow. He said, “The goal of any business is to think like a startup. You want to create that in your culture. You want your people to think like they can change the world no matter what they’re doing in the business. In order to do that they need the right tools. The benefit of moving to a platform like Salesforce is that it enables everybody to think creatively, like an entrepreneur.”

The post High-End Home Fashion Head Gives Insights on Selling Direct appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In this environment, it’s no longer enough to simply have a nice-looking website. Small businesses and online retailers need websites that are eye-catching, easy to use and ultimately websites that make it simple for the customer to find what they’re looking for… and fast. Bottom line: they need sites that put the consumer and their online experience first.

When working to optimize their online presence, small businesses need to make sure they’re taking a consumer-centric approach to their website. Below are just a few key factors to consider that influence how visitors will interact with your site and brand:

Honor the Need for Speed

Not only will a quick site help get you found in search results (Google ranks faster pages higher in search results), it is a central factor in determining how visitors engage with your site and whether they stick around at all. More than half of mobile users will leave a site that takes more than three seconds to load, yet many mobile pages take 15 or more seconds to load. If your site is too slow and people leave dissatisfied with their online experience, and sales opportunities go out the window with them.

With Google’s Revenue Impact Calculator, you can see how site speed impacts business results. An e-commerce site that loads in eight seconds, has 500 visitors a month, an average order value of $50 and a conversion rate of two percent could earn $471 more per year by reducing the page load time to four seconds. Another blog that loads in five seconds gets 20,000 monthly visitors, has an average order value of $100 and a conversion rate of 1% could earn $14,721 more per year by dropping the page load time to 2.8 seconds.

So how do you speed up a site? Things like enabling caching, removing plug-ins and add-ons, optimizing image size, minimizing code, and using a CDN all help. Tools like PageSpeed Insights will check your load speed and give you advice on how to lower it. Your hosting software and support teams should also be able to provide customized advice on how to increase the load and processing speed on your particular site. 

Embrace the User Experience

Just like we judge books by their covers, visitors judge websites by their appearance, so a dynamic design and quality visuals matter. There are many sites which provides Free clipart, vectors and images as well which helps to improve user experience. But usability is also key. About half of all online traffic comes from mobile devices so making sure sites look good and function well on mobile devices as well as desktops is no longer optional, it’s essential. Mobile-friendly sites are also boosted in Google searches, so it’s important in more ways than one.

When building a new site or evaluating an existing site, think about the layout from the perspective of a visitor, like how the site looks on a variety of devices, whether the font is readable on all devices, how easy it is to find key elements, and whether clickable elements are large enough to click with a mouse and a finger on a touchscreen. Make sure your online experience visually aligns with the overall look and feel of your brand, from the homepage to all your subpages, so visitors experience the brand consistently at all touchpoints. Additionally, ensure the navigation is intuitive for first-time and frequent visitors alike. Taking a bit of time to research and employ web design best practices can really make a difference.

At the end of the day, it’s not just enough to put your information out on the web. To drive the traffic, engagement and business results you’re looking for, you need a website and online experience that’s optimized for the visitors you’re working to attract. It’s not difficult, it’s just about making smart choices.

The post Putting the Visitor First: Tips for Consumer-Centric Website Optimization appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Small business entrepreneur understands the struggle of the small business owner. As the global social media platforms became too big, he decided that small businesses needed a networking site of their own. So, he developed Alignable.com – just for small businesses and local markets.

Local Networking Through Alignable

His goal was to give small business a place to connect and find referrals for everything from new customers to employees to products to services. And, it’s all free.

One of the best features of Alignable is that it is organized by the city level. So, you can connect not only with like-businesses around the country but with neighbors you didn’t even know you had.

Don’t Neglect The Traditional Social Media Platforms

Of course, the big boys – LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. – also have value for small business owners, simply because there are so many people and organizations that use them. But, when you need a hyperlocal platform that can give you a network within your business’s five-mile radius, Alignable delivers.

Local Social Media Success

One such user is Jenni in North Carolina who owns a marketing business. With Alignable, she is able to share her knowledge about inbound marketing. Fortunately, people need her knowledge and new customers flock to her in droves to see what she knows. Jenni gets 70% of her clientele from Alignable.

Word-of-mouth Successes

There are several ways that small business owners can use Alignable. One is to simply follow and chat with fellow business owners. The other is to actively share what you want fellow business owners to share. Sharing useful content works, but you have to create it.

While the connections made on Alignable are helpful, none are as helpful as that made word-of-mouth. According to Eric Groves, the CEO, and co-founder of Alignable:

“The best source of customers is word-of-mouth referrals. You have to invest time to get into a word-of-mouth network.”

Groves suggests considering mouths as the network and words as the content. To get the mouths sharing, you have to have something to share. And, the best way to do this is to post content regularly. This will keep your business on the minds of those who read your work. When you colleagues on Alignable share your work, that gives you even more exposure through their word-of-mouth networks. Remember, if someone shares your work, you should reciprocate and share theirs.

The post Want to Connect with Other Small Business Owners? Here’s How. appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

What’s your pipeline management process?

To be successful, a sales team needs to know their procedures. If you haven’t ever told your sales team the process that they are supposed to follow, how are they to know they are supposed to follow it? What you need is a pipeline management tool, or a customer-relationship management tool.

With a CRM, your sales force knows what to do at every step of the sales process. In most small businesses, a sales process exists. But, in many cases, it exists in the business manager’s or the business owner’s head. If that’s the only place the process is, it does not do anyone any good.

Why a pipeline process works.

When the process is accessible, small businesses have more effective sales conversion. Joe Malcoun with Nutshell knows this to be true. How does he know? He is the CEO of Nutshell, a company that designed software that makes sales automation simple. The qualified appointments, successively assist the corporate in acquiring clients.
Appointment setting agencies concentrate on many techniques of lead generation like social media researching, targeting customers, reaching out through various modes and channels, negotiation, leveraging contacts, network building. The appointment setters are often external agents or in house agents who concentrate on generating contacts and leads and fixing appointments for various initiatives within the company. The revenue model for the appointment setting agencies may be a commission out of the deal or a hard and fast price just in case the appointment is of non-monetary outcome. The appointment setting is a crucial task in many occasions for finalizing deals and speeding the method of business negotiations and interactions.

Get to know Nutshell.

Nutshell has a user-friendly design, so the features are not overwhelming. It makes the sales process easy to archive and automate so employees know who is working, what they are doing, and how they are succeeding. All of the unwanted noise that exists in other CRM tools has disappeared in the Nutshell software.

The Nutshell CRM software is not a one-size-fits-all app. It actually can be adjusted to fit the needs of small businesses. With the intuitive wizard, business owners just have to answer a few questions to get their sales process successfully recorded. Then, the sales force can get busy converting leads into sales, which is what they do best.

What can you do to better your sales process?

Unfortunately, businesses that do not use a CRM are often too busy doing other things instead of focusing on making sales. With Nutshell or another smart CRM, the sales force no longer has to worry about:

• Scheduling
• Emails
• Confusing spreadsheets
• Time-consuming tasks
• Learning the sales process
• Guessing what to do next

When small business owners are ready to invest in a CRM, they should look into it with their sales team. With the sales team, the business owner or sales manager should write down the sales process. Then, the sales team should try different CRM products so they can decide what meets their needs. If the team doesn’t like a program, then it would not be smart to buy it.

The post An Easy Way to Better Your Sales Process appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

What is Small Business Saturday (SBS)?

Small Business Saturday (SBS) began on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2010, and thanks to American Express, it has become as iconic as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Unlike the other two shopping events that are solely about finding bargains, SBS is designed to celebrate local communities and the small businesses that decorate them.

How do small businesses affect their communities?

Shopping locally on SBS or any other day of the week benefits more than just the businesses. According to studies compiled by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, money spent at local businesses stays in the local economy. These studies have repeatedly found that money spent in small local businesses stays in the community at a rate of more than two to one.

For example, a study conducted in Salt Lake City in 2012 found that “the local retailers return a total of 52 percent of their revenue to the local economy, compared to just 14 percent for the national chain retailers.”

Along with keeping money in the local economy, supporting small businesses also helps the community and the local economy. In another study about consumers in West Michigan, researchers found:

“if residents … were to redirect 10 percent of their total spending from chains to locally owned businesses, the result would be $140 million in new economic activity for the region, including 1,600 new jobs and $53 million in additional payroll.”

Promoting Your Business on SBS

Small business should take advantage of the hashtag #SmallBusinessSaturday to share their special events for the day. American Express offers free marketing tools for this special day to promote your business and your community.

Whether consumers spend at local shops or they dine at local restaurants, the benefits of this shopping event are numerous. Adding jobs and keeping revenues in local communities are just two of them but, the benefits get even bigger. Supporting small local businesses instead of big-box chains during the busy shopping season:

• Increases property values
• Reduces environmental waste
• Improves local schools
• Enhances diversity
• Encourages more local businesses to open
• Increases tourism
• Strengthens local communities
• Develops neighborhood identities

So, Why Does SBS Matter?

Small Business Saturday matters because people matter. Without small businesses, communities would not have their own unique identities. Consider the neighborhoods in the Chicagoland area; they are pleasantly defined by their small businesses and the employees and consumers who frequent them. Communities are embracing small businesses and SBS provides businesses and consumers the opportunity to show appreciation for all they do every day of the year.

Want to make sure your SBS is a surefire success?? Don’t miss this…

The post What is Small Business Saturday, and Why Does it Matter? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Know Your Strengths

Scott serves a very niche market and has been very successful focusing his efforts on Zen Cart development and customization and on small businesses doing a certain kind of selling who need a professional developer to help them or to support their site. Scott gave an example of how he supports several customers who use a drop shipping model and how with that, “you want a certain level of automation because you don’t want to be handling each of the orders yourself.” Scott has helped his customers by automating the back-end ordering, shipping, and tracking processes for them so their businesses run more smoothly.

Scott helps growing businesses reach a higher level of automation. Scott remarks that as a small business owner, you very well could customize and manage these processes yourself, but “I’m an expert in this and you’re not.” He affirms that it’s better for his customers to spend their time running their businesses and doing the things they love rather than spending time on the things they could be hiring him to do for them.

Salesforce is for the Smallest Businesses

Salesforce Essentials is designed for even the smallest of businesses. The Software Guy is as small as a small business can get. Scott runs the whole show by himself.  He is essentially able to do this by using Salesforce. Although Salesforce is an enterprise solution, they have a scaled-down version called Salesforce Essentials, “which I’m using to keep all my customer data organized.” For years, Scott shared that he used five or six different solutions to keep up with his customers, such as Dropbox, Google Contacts, and spreadsheets, and he “got fed up with it!” He said that by using all kinds of different data repositories for his customer data, he kept losing things. “It’s very hard when all the data is in disparate places, to keep track of things.” So, he adopted Salesforce SMB Essentials in order to streamline his operations. Scott’s words for small business owners who don’t yet employ Salesforce Essentials, “You will be so happy you’ve moved all your data into one place…it’s just such a better way to operate.”

We asked Scott to take off his “tech hat” and talk about how easy Salesforce Essentials is to setup. Even for the small business owners who are not as tech savvy, setting up Essentials is relatively simple. Scott even released an open-source version of the import he did.

Successful Selling Online

Scott advised that small business owners think about how to differentiate yourself and utilize it in order to be successful selling online. If you want to compete, figure out how you can bring value to that market. Whether you’re an expert in that space, you’ve done a lot of reading, you have a lot of contacts, or you have a good buying relationship with a manufacturer, “it’s especially important for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs to differentiate as sharply as possible because there are so many players in the marketplace, and so many vendors providing so many services.”

The post How to Stand Out in the World of Online Selling appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

“Confidence is near an all-time high, unemployment is the lowest we’ve seen in decades and take-home wages are up. All of that is reflected in consumers’ buying plans,” says Matthew Shay, National Retail Foundation (NRF) President and CEO.

Retailers should expect to see strong demand this holiday season, and it’s critical to be prepared. In order to compete with the increasingly popular eCommerce market, brick and mortar stores need to go above and beyond the status quo this holiday season (especially on Small Business Saturday). Here are 6 ways you can increase holiday sales and capitalize on the extra money shoppers are projected to spend this year:

1. Make it an Experience

Going to the mall, or browsing the eclectic storefronts on Main Street, to shop for holiday gifts is a quintessential part of the holiday experience. Feelings of nostalgia come flooding in. In-store holiday shopping captures Christmas magic, as you can see in countless holiday movies. That’s what makes gift buying in stores so special—it’s an experience, not just an event and consumers want a personalized shopping experience that only a visit to the store can provide.

2. Equip Your Employees

One of the best things you can do to enhance the holiday shopping experience for your customers is to have knowledgeable associates. With access to product and competitor information online, many customers will have thoroughly researched what they plan to purchase before they set foot in your store. But, since you are selling the product, they expect you, and your associates, to be experts on your merchandise. Your associates may not have to know all of the tech specs, but they do need to know what you have on hand. Providing a mobile point of sale will equip your employees with the information customers want to know. Does this come in another size or color?

On the topic of employees, consider beefing up your holiday staff. Customers want individual attention and exceptional service and they don’t care about the holiday rush that’s pulling you and your staff in a million directions. Hire enough seasonal employees to help manage the busiest times of the day and days of the week. Train them to pay attention to the customers. Even if they can’t answer every question, they can find someone who does while making the shopper feel they are being taken care of.

3. Offer Small Business Saturday Promotions

Since 2010, American Express has been hosting Small Business Saturday in an effort to get consumers to support small businesses in their communities. Held on the Saturday after Black Friday, Small Business Saturday has been a great tool for SMBs to get more customers in the door during the holiday shopping season. In the years that the Small Business Saturday campaign has officially been going on, an estimated $85 billion has been spent at independent retailers and restaurants on just 8 days over the last 8 years. That’s incredible and a proven way to increase your holiday sales. American Express offers free posters for download as well as free email and social media templates to let shoppers know you are participating this year. If you are going to go through with the idea, then make sure you have enough shipping boxes for those large orders you are going to be getting.

4. Get Active on Social Media

One of the easiest and most cost-effective strategies to get more customers in the door this holiday season is to get active on social media. Post often and consistently to let customers know what exclusive promotions and holiday sales you are offering. Leverage platforms like Instagram to post photos of your merchandise that will inspire customers to buy from you. Appeal to customers who are really into gift giving, event planning, and entertaining on Pinterest. They just overhauled their ad manager, so advertising on Pinterest is easier than ever.

Don’t just share information strictly related to what you are trying to sell. Get creative and try some seasonal social media posts on things like holiday recipes, décor, or a topical series on best gifts for moms, dads, bosses…etc. Run contests. Followers will check back in periodically to see the results or if there is a new contest running. Even better if your contests can get customers in the store to participate.

5. Employ Email

There is no better time than the holidays to put a little extra effort into your email marketing strategy. Send your subscribers exclusive information about your holiday sales and events. Offer a holiday preview sale to your existing customers and encourage them to bring a friend to the event. Offer special discounts if they refer new customers or offer coupons or special discounts strictly for email subscribers. Send out your holiday gift guide to make choosing gifts for friends and family even simpler.

6. Gift Cards are the Way to Go

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the number one gift on shoppers’ wish lists this year is gift cards and gift certificates. Since consumers are looking for that personal touch during their holiday shopping experience, they are also likely looking for a gift card to a business that will give their loved one a unique experience when they cash in their gift. Another way to get customers to purchase gift cards from your business is to offer google play gift card bonuses. If a customer buys a $100 gift card for a friend, offer a $10 gift card that they can spend on themselves. The great thing about gift cards is that recipients often spend 20% more in your establishment than the amount of the gift card they received.

Make to make Small Business Saturday a Success? Don’t miss this…

The post 6 Ways You Can Boost Your Retail Store’s Holiday Sales appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Here are five characteristics of a scalable online business.

1. Sound customer-acquisition cost ratio

Every customer you get costs a certain amount to acquire, even if the cost is indirect. For example, you might spend money on online ads to drive new customers to your website. Divide the cost of the campaign by the value of new customers it brings you to get the customer-acquisition cost (CAC).

The ideal CAC ratio is 3:1, meaning that the value of your customers should be three times the expense of acquiring them. If you spend $1 per customer and make only $2 per sale, your profit margins are too slim. To improve the margin, reduce the amount you spend per customer or increase your prices to realize growth. Today, the influence of social media and search marketing has allowed online businesses to bring in customers at lower costs. These kinds of approaches could improve your CAC ratio.

2. Highly automated systems

Technology has the power to reduce expenses, increase productivity, and minimize risk. Whether you automate shipping, banking, social media posts, or sales leads, the move toward automation allows you to save time – and, as they say, time is money. For example, automating lead generation and pushing prospects down a sales funnel, keeps you from wasting energy on leads that are unlikely to purchase. Instead, automation allows you to garner more legitimate customer opportunities.

Automation can come in many forms and can be as simple as choosing a more-automated phone system. Start with the basics, but keep in mind that companies that undergo a full digital transformation are more equipped to grow at faster rates.

3. Business services that can grow with your company

You need a number of services to run your online business, not the least of which are your internet and phone services. Make sure to enagage with imminentbusiness.com, they  can handle the demands of serving customers (and employees) at a higher volume. Reliability and flexibility are paramount to scaling an online business — outages or bandwidth issues translate to lost sales and dissatisfied customers.

4. Loyal customers

Which brings us to our next key factor: your customers. One of the most overlooked yet most powerful aspects of growing a business is customer retention. According to Adobe, a massive 40 percent of an ecommerce store’s revenue is created by only 8 percent of its customers. Upselling is an estimated 20 to 35 percent more cost-effective than finding a new customer. A regular customer that comes back week after week is more valuable than a brand-new customer, with their first-time CACs. If your business has high customer retention, then it can be scaled more easily — you can focus on lead generation with a steady, reliable base to build upon.

5. Adaptability

Let’s face it — small business owners need to be scrappy. You need to stay on your toes and make use of every dollar earned. This means constantly assessing and re-assessing where money is spent, how to cut costs, how to bring in and keep customers, and even which products and services you offer. When you can quickly pivot and respond to the trends in the market, you keep your business in the running. Being locked into a long-term lease or manufacturing contract, for example, could limit your ability to grow.

If your online business has these characteristics, congratulations — you’re well poised to scale your company to widen your reach and achieve new heights! If you struggle with your scalability strategy, work toward these ideals and watch for the results.

Authored By: 

Patrick Hearn is an Atlanta-based tech writer for Comcast Business who also runs his own small business. When not researching the latest business solution, he can be found at the latest coffee shop trying the newest pour-over. 

The post 5 Attributes of a Scalable Online Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Online Retail Implications

With the growth in online retail shopping, more and more small businesses need to concentrate on their online reputation and marketplace. Unless the physical storefront of a small business is extremely successful, the majority of a business’s focus may need to rest in a great online experience. Without a total package to offer, a small business may lose its ground in a quickly changing retail world.

Sometimes the lack of an online storefront, or subpar availability to shop online, can cause problems for a small business. Many times, consumers will check out a small business or a ‘locally owned’ shop online before deciding to make a trip to see the store itself. If the online presence of the company just doesn’t cut it, then consumers may be quick to mark the business off the list.

What all this means is that small businesses are needing to invest more in their online marketability and how they conduct their day to day business. This includes shipping options for those who may not have shipped to the customer before. This could also mean offering preordering options when a business would typically only sell what would be in stock for a physical location. You should considered all of these factors when creating an online presence to keep up with the technical business world.

The Online Shopping Experience

The downside to online shopping is how easily it can make or break a business. For small businesses, this can be incredibly critical for the long-term success of the business. One bad experience can cause a severe blow to one’s reputation, despite having a good repertoire otherwise. Sometimes, a single bad online shopping trip can ruin a business.

With the world living through social media, consumers will rant or rave about a business using social platforms. If they have an easy going and great experience, they may or may not leave a good review. This helps boost your company a little. If someone has a bad experience, they are far more likely to voice this online. This can cause a far larger amount of harm to a business’s reputation.

Post Purchase Issues and How to Address Them

Most online purchases issues come after the purchase is made. Most of the time consumers have no complaints about the process of finding an item they want and buying it. Odds are their problems come the minute after the ‘submit order’ button is pressed. These issues range from untimely delivery, costly shipping, and lost items, to name a few. Small businesses especially have to think ahead to try to navigate around the potential for these problems.

Shipping will likely forever be a sticky subject when it comes to online retailing. Simply put, shipping can be costly. The consumer wants to pay as little to nothing for shipping as they can, and they want their orders to be delivered yesterday. This is just the ugly truth to the mindset today’s consumers have. Many customers can be turned away if they deem shipping costs to be too high. They can also be deterred if the expected turnaround time isn’t short enough for their needs.

In fact, 90% of consumers are likely to change their mind about an online purchase if they feel the shipping options are not cheap or fast enough.  

Subscription Boxes

Contributing to the dissatisfcation with shipping costs and convenience are the well-know subscriptuon boxes. In a Pitney Bowes study on e-commerce, they found,

“27% of online shoppers are subscribed to at least one such service, including 51% of millennials and 47% of households with children.”

We all know the boxes, from Birch Box to Bark Box, we can subscribe to anything from clothes, to makeup to dog food. So, how will small businesses cope?

The problem for small businesses lies in capital. As in there may not be enough of it to back the company providing cheap or free shipping options. There has to be a balance for the small businesses to continue to profit and grow from offering an online retail experience. On the other hand, this can sometimes be difficult to find. One possible solution could be to eliminate a physical storefront. If there is a promise for success by switching to an exclusively online business, as long as the kinks are all smoothed out, then it could be wise to lose the overhead costs of a physical store to opt for building up the online experience.

The post Online Shopping: How Different Factors Can Impact Your Small Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

I’ve started using a brand new tool for all of my presentations, Beautiful.ai. I loved it so much, I’ve partnered with them. Beautiful.ai is easy to use and helps you create bold and beautiful slides, has a built-in library of eye-catching images and templates that will best illustrate your talks. I’m using it, you should too!

Here are 10 easy and helpful ways to boost your audience engagement:

1. Planning Your Presentation

You wouldn’t take a test without studying, so why would you give a presentation without preparing? Take the time to properly research the material you plan to present and become intimately familiar with your subject matter. Then, take the time to lay out and organize your thoughts and ideas.

• A flowchart or outline will help you get your ideas organized so you can begin to build your presentation.
• Give your presentation structure. It should follow a logical sequence and not bounce around.
• Use a tool like Beautiful to make a visually pleasing presentation that’s easy to create.

2. Focus on Your Target Demographic

This is a huge factor when it comes to increasing audience engagement. Tailor your presentation to your audience. Research your audience before your presentation and find out the demographics of the group. Know what company they are from, their position, and how you can help them.

3. Keep Visuals Limited

When you build your presentation, think about what’s going to make an impression on your audience. To keep them focused on your and your talk, limit how much text you put on your slides. If your audience can read your slides to get all of the information, why do they need you? Focus instead on adding striking visuals and speaking about your content rather than simply reading off the slide.

4. Keep it Clear

If your audience is unfamiliar with your idea, product, or industry, don’t use industry-specific jargon, acronyms, and concepts that they won’t understand. Refer to #2 and cater your presentation to your audience. Knowing who you’re speaking to will help you prepare language that is appropriate, and anticipate what questions they might want answered.

5. Be Deliberate in Your Delivery

Practice your presentation! Practice in the mirror at home, to your spouse or coworker, just practice! Also, find balance in your movement–have some energy, but don’t be all over the place. You want your audience focused on your content, not the sweat beads forming at your temples because you’ve walked a quarter-mile across the front of the room.

6. Make it Fun

We’ve all sat in 30-minute meetings that seemed to last an eternity. Audience engagement is the key to avoiding that situation when you are the presenter. Even if the topic is technical and dry, you can still make the presentation fun. Make your presentation memorable by allowing the audience to interact with you. Make them laugh. Tell a story that evokes emotion. Have an icebreaker or small group breakout session if the format allows.

7. Leverage Tech Resources

If you don’t engage your audience, within a couple of minutes everyone is going to be on their smartphones checking emails, playing games, or catching up on social media– pretty much doing anything other than paying attention to you. But, don’t assume that technology is against you. Encourage social media use before, during, and after the event. Create polls and have your audience respond on their smartphones throughout the presentation. Create a unique Twitter, Instagram or Facebook hashtag for your event.

8. Make it Relatable

Don’t get up in front of a room full of people, read off a bunch of facts and technical information, and expect people to be impressed. Make it relatable. Everyone likes to feel like they are part of the story. Tell your audience about your own experience, share something personal, and make your message stick.

9. Set the Room Up for Success

If you have the option, be strategic about setting up your room in a way that encourages audience engagement. Don’t set up 200 chairs for an audience of 50, everyone will sit in the back. Force people to the front. Make them sit next to one another. Get them engaged and talking to each other. Utilize all of the space and don’t confine yourself to the front of the room.

10. Don’t Stop to Let the Audience Read Your Slides

We already covered that you shouldn’t be reading your slides. But it’s also important not to stop in the middle of your presentation to let your audience members read your slides. First, you shouldn’t have so much text on your slides that the audience needs more time than you spend talking about the slide to read it. Keeping text short and to the point will leave more room for visual media that will leave a more lasting impression and increase your audience engagement.

The post Audience Engagement: 10 Ways to Connect with Every Audience appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The bad news: Many people struggle with getting a pitch together at all, while others battle with honing their spiel or keeping it audience-relevant.

The good news: Ramon Ray happens to judge spitch competitions from time to time, and has given us his insight into how to formulate the ideal business or sales pitch. Here are the top 8 things to consider so that you can form the perfect pitch:

1. Enter Pitch Competitions –

Yes, these are a thing! In pitch competitions, you and other small business owners can toss around your business plans, ideas, and pitches and see if they are caught. Puns aside, these competitions serve as a great opportunity to not only practice telling people about your business, but you have the chance to actually reap the benefits of investment if you win! Pitch competitions include actual potential investors, meaning you could walk in to practice and walk away with funding for your small business.

2. Make Connections –

With pitch competitions, you are able to make connections even if you don’t walk away with a win. Even if the judging investors don’t choose you and your sales pitch, there are typically investors present who may take an interest in you and your company. These connections could then lead to investments and funding to get your business off the ground. Aside from investors, you will meet other small business owners and will network with people going through the same things you are in the small business world. You can potentially toss ideas around and brainstorm with others, only improving your business along the way.

3. Personable Pitch –

Make sure that you are making connections with your potential investors. If you have rehearsed your spiel so much that you sound robotic, you can’t connect with them and get them to become interested and invested in your company or brand. While you want to know your pitch and know it well, you need to practice comfortably proposing it and making those person to person connections throughout so that you draw interest from the people you are trying to sell.

4. Know your Audience –

Depending on the nature of your pitch, you may need to form alternate versions of it. If you are speaking with investors, you’ll need to concentrate on goals for the company and what their contribution would do to help you reach those goals. Make a clear depiction of where their money is going. If you are speaking to potential clients, you are truly trying to sell them on your product or service. Make sure that you are painting a great picture of what you have to offer so that they will ultimately leave with your message in hand and their money in your hand. Being able to have a solid pitch foundation that you can alter for your audience is important and can benefit you greatly.

5. Know the Rules –

For a pitch competition, it is important that you understand the guidelines and rules before you enter. This applies to real life investment opportunities as well. You need to know the rules of how the investor operates to adjust your pitch to best appeal to them and what they do. You don’t want to go in blindly pitching for a $100K investment to a company that’s known for only investing $10K towards new clients. Know your audience and do your research to know the rules.

6. Keep Track of Time –

Manage the time you have to give your pitch wisely. They don’t fall into the category of an elevator talk for nothing. A sales pitch of any sort is no more than 2-3 minutes long, so you want to hit home the most important and relevant points in that short time span. Don’t get bogged down in the details or you could run the risk of striking out before you even get through your spiel. Take your time, but use it wisely to land the investments!

7. Be Clear in Your Intent –

Make sure your pitch is clear and to the point, enough so that it is blatantly obvious what your company does, solves or offers. If your pitch has too much fluff to try to get sales, potential investors or clients won’t be able to clearly tell what you have to offer. Your audience may get lost in the overabundance of detail and get turned off by your company as a result. Remember, you’re trying to grab their interest quickly, and then they can ask follow up questions where you can go into more detail.

8. Provide Examples —

Don’t be afraid to provide an example or two in your pitch. Yes, you are limited on time, but if you strategically place examples you are not only providing proof, but you can also make your points clear. You’re then taking care of two aspects at once, saving time in the long run, and getting the information in there.

The post How to Make The Perfect Sales Pitch (8 Tips) appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Motivation and Accountability –

These go hand in hand, really. A sales coach will be there to push you harder no matter how motivated you think you are–there’s always room to grow. A sales coach is going to find what you need to address the most in your business plan and push you to go above and beyond what you are already doing to get there. It may be your weakest link, but with someone else’s eye, they’ll keep you on the ball at all times to keep things on the up and up. Working with a sales coach will allow you to set these plans into action and then work together to meet the goals along the way.

Fresh Perspective –

Once you get in the groove of things, having a fresh eye can be challenging and those minors details can blur out pretty easily. Even if a sales coach is familiar with your business or similar companies, they will still be addressing your business as a unique setup through a new pair of lenses with a brand new approach. This can lead to introducing new ideas and innovative techniques to grow your business. A sales coach could very well have the knowledge and resources necessary to introduce you to opportunities you never previously considered.

Specified Training –

You and your business will be a unique job for any sales coach. It doesn’t matter if anyone else in your field used this coach before so they have an idea of what your company is about. The unique experience and circumstances surrounding your business will lend to specific training from your coach. You may have some similarities with plans they’ve helped others with, but you are guaranteed to have a unique training experience as no two companies are identical in their strengths and weaknesses and how to get the business off the ground and running. A coach will be able to walk you through the steps you need to take to keep your company unique. You don’t want to be a carbon copy of everyone out there in your field and it is key to develop a differentiating factor to set yourself apart from the rest.

Peace of Mind –

Having a sales coach walk you through the steps of getting started in your business is a huge stress relief. If you’re looking to grow your already successful business, then a sales coach can help relieve some of the burden you’ve put on your shoulders as well. Knowing that you aren’t going at it alone can ease the tension you feel surrounding your startup by leaps and bounds. Less tension and stress means more focus on the important things you need to do to get your business to a successful point. Whether you are just getting started or just looking to grow, the company of a sales coach and knowing you can reach them for any advice makes a big difference in how you face the ups and downs you will inevitably get to.

Bigger Earnings –

This really should go without saying. No matter where you are in your business, hiring a sales coach to take it to the next level will undoubtedly result in making more sales and thus more money in the long term. Sure you are spending money by hiring the sales coach, but it takes money to make money and investing in someone who is going to work to help you build up your business is money well spent. With a coach, you’ll more than make that investment back, and who doesn’t like more money?

It goes without question that there is a lot to learn from a sales coach and there is always room to grow. The takeaway is always that a great business model will utilize whatever resources necessary to get to success. There is no shame in asking for help or even hiring out help. You never know what a fresh pair of eyes can see for your business, so why not seize the opportunity to be held accountable and become more profitable? Trust us, a sales coach is a guardian angel in disguise, there to help you through the tough times when growing your business. You won’t be sorry you made the choice to contact a sales coach, I promise. 

The post Why I Hired a Sales Coach & Why You Should, Too appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

1. Meet holiday shoppers where they’re at

2. Tune into what your customers really want this holiday season

3. Like gift shopping, it’s best to start earlier than you think

4. Look outside the gift box and expand your audience

5. Make your list and check it twice

6. Deck your feed with seasonal content

7. Wrap it up with mobile

8. Trim your Pins with pops of text

9. Make it merry, build up customer trust and confidence

10. Use consistency to make your experience sparkle

The post 10 Ways to Drive Holiday Sales on Pinterest appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Now, Instagram has developed a method to translate that brand awareness directly into sales. According to the best instagram agency Melbourne, Instagram is in the process of developing a tie-in shopping app that allows Instagram users to browse the goods of businesses they follow and directly purchase them. This app intends to make it easier for users to reach and purchase content they already enjoy, and in turn makes it easier for businesses to remind individuals who enjoy their content that they are more than just a page with great content, but a brand with products users can take home.

This app will be particularly helpful in promoting small businesses in the world of online shopping, which attracts 79% of shoppers in America. Online shopping for small businesses has been historically dominated by websites such as Amazon that bring products of all different types together on an accessible platform, but that does not promote individualized content based on brands that users have been shown to enjoy. The new Instagram app will be helpful to small businesses because it will make shopping from their brands accessible like Amazon while simultaneously only advertising to individuals who actually care about the brands they’re purchasing from.

While this app has exciting implications for small businesses, it also means that now, before the app’s launch, is the time to heavily focus on social media. Get those followers and engage those followers, because soon, followers will mean sales.

Authored by: Natalie Lifson, reporter, Smallbiztechnology.com

The post Shopping on Instagram (and Beyond) – What to Expect appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Hence, it is not easy to convince the investors, be it the angels, venture capitalists, banks, government organisations or your own aunt to hand over the funds to you & empower you to run your own show on their funds. While the variety & intensity of challenges in fundraising can be different & that you may have to figure out on the way, here are a list of 6 mistakes to avoid on this journey of fundraising, inspired as shared Meredith Finn Vice President at Salesforce, who leads their investments into other companies.

Failure to adequately touch upon 3 key items in your pitch: Team, Product and Market

Investors generally evaluate these three things (Team, Product and Market) when they take a look into a business idea for investment:

TEAM – Investors consider the Team to be of utmost importance when funding a business because they believe that the Right Team can champion a business to success whereas the Wrong Team can spell disaster! It is extremely important for them to have an idea about “Who is Who” on the team & where each of the team member has his/her expertise on. The team that runs the show is a very important asset for the investors to build trust and hand over their funds to you for running your business. For example, if the team members have awesome industry, technical or domain experience relevant to the business, its easier for the investor to trust that team. Also, whether the team members are collaborative enough and have spent considerable time with each other is an important consideration for the investor to evaluate the investment proposition. For the investors, a strong team is equivalent to a strong business. So, the team composition is crucial to the success of your fundraising efforts.

MARKET – The market that your business will cater to is another HUGE consideration for the investors for evaluating investment options. As a rule of thumb, a multi-billion-dollar market is always the safest bet to net an investment. The benefits of addressing a big market (Read Billion-Dollar) is pretty straightforward: the bigger the market, the bigger is the playing field for you and share with your competitors since monopolies (e.g. Google’s global share of search) are incredibly rare. As a result, everyone gets a pretty good share of the entire pie (market) and be satisfied. If you are able to earn a good revenue and mark up your profits, it will not only benefit you but your investors as well. Remember, the investors need to make money off your business and relish the Return on Investment (ROI) as much as you do. The most important advantage of equity market is the diversification of investment, with the help of clear research and expert guidance investment in equity is safer and easier. The equity cannot be bought unless a company issue shares on public notification. Certain companies issue shares only through broking system. Companies sell its shares through brokerage system to small brokers who then sell their shares to public in trading account. A stock broker is agents between you and stock market. Stock broker play a important role in online trading. They charge brokerage according to the services rendered. Use online compare brokers tool to find the right stock broker for your needs. Trader should concentrate on the facilities and the quality of the services provided by the broker on priority than the price or charges. The charges may differ depending on the service rendered. a stock broker provide assistance by means for trading

PRODUCT – The PRODUCT or SOLUTION that you are offering is expected to solve a PROBLEM that your customers are facing. Your solution must provide a unique solution to the problem & therein lies the value of your innovation. Ask yourself the following questions to evaluate your Solution:

1. Does your solution have a unique technical or competitive advantage with a clear differentiation from other similar solutions in the market?
2. Will your solution place you in a dominant position in the target market segment so that you can command a favourable price from the customers?
3. Do you have any viable evidence to prove the above mentioned technical or competitive advantage?

NOT KNOWING YOUR DATA

Apart from the core revenue and profitability metrics that are absolutely a must to know, it is advisable to stay abreast of the core metrics that drive your business. The investors are experienced in running & overseeing different types of business ventures & so have an all-round exposure to business environment. While they are still deciding whether or not to get into the battle field alongside you, you have an opportunity to impress them by proving that you have a great working knowledge and control of your business. Use a data-driven approach to explain the business proposal to your investors. This will help them to build confidence in you and your business so that they can quickly reach to that important decision of writing THAT cheque for you.

Here is a list of key metrics that you must have a hang on:

1. Number of Customers: How many customers have you been able to impress currently?
2. Customer Churn: Percentage of customers who discontinue using your solution within a given time period. For a business to perform well, the New Customer Acquisition Rate must be greater than the Churn Rate.
3. Average Contract Values: Average Annualised Revenue per Customer Contract
4. Average upsells: Average annualised value of add-on purchases
5. Length of Sales Cycle: The process of selling your solution to the customers encompassing all activities associated with closing sales
6. Quota Achievement of Your Sales Team: Dollar figures (monetary) or number of units (volumetric) actually sold to customers
7. Customer Satisfaction: Last but not the least, this is a metric that determines the success of any particular product/solution & thereby any business. A quantitative representation of whether your solution was able to exceed your target customers’ expectation can be used to address this key business metric. It can be estimated in terms of “Net Promoter Score”: an index that ranges from -100 to +100 that measures the customers’ willingness to recommend a particular solution to others.

NOT SHARING A BIG ENOUGH VISION

This is an important strategy that you must design in order to communicate well to the investors about your current area of focus as well as your vision to scale up your business in the near future. Investors are interested in the ROI & so before they put their money in your business, they will be curious to know about your future plans so that they can envision their exit from the business & make quick cash. You have to balance your sales pitch to the investors in such a way that it caters to both the points of interest: the short-term goals in which you will be expected to share how you are taking steps to achieve success in the present times as well as how you are preparing to go all out & scale big in the near future. It is important to remember that if the investors are able to believe in your short & long-term goals, they will not hesitate to write that big fat cheque for you.

NOT UNDERSTANDING THE TYPE OF CAPITAL YOU NEED TO RAISE

Although Venture Equity is one of the most celebrated options of fundraising, it usually come with a lot of conditions – equity dilution of the founders and quick and large exits that you are expected to satisfy. So, it is extremely important to understand how & in what way you are going to use the funds that you are raising and accordingly work out a specific estimate for the  amount of funds that you will be asking for. If you are not in for these conditions that Venture Capitalists will channelize you towards, then it is wise to consider other forms of funds that you can raise for growing your business. Some of the top alternate options are venture debts, bank loans, crowd funding. As long as you can manage, bootstrapping is the best option that you need to consider in order to retain 100% equity & control of your business with yourself.

NOT DOING YOUR DUE DILIGENCE ON INVESTORS

You need to carry out the due diligence on the investors that you are planning to approach for fundraising purposes because not all VCs are created equal:

1. There are investors investing at different points in the lifecycle of businesses – Seed stage, early growth, late stage growth etc.
2. There are investors with considerable experience in a particular niche & prefer sticking to it: B to B, B to C etc.

Think of investors as partners & not as guys who offer funds for your business. You have to carefully select the investors whom you would like to work with for at least the next 10 years of your business partnership knowing well that they will have a significant amount of influence & control on your business since they will be holding significant proportion of stakes in your business. It is somewhat like “dating before marriage” as Meredith puts it. A right match will go a long way. So, in addition to estimating how much funds you will be raising from a potential investor, you will also have to think about how much value the investor will bring to the table in terms of access to industry know-how, talent & network of key resources. After evaluating all of the investors on your radar individually on all these above terms, select the right candidate for an awesome business exposure & experience.

NOT ALLOCATING ENOUGH TIME OR NOT HAVING A PLAN B / C AND D!

Expect fundraising to be a long process & not an instant fixing hack. You need to give sufficient time to the investors to evaluate not just your business proposition but also yourself. The best way is to keep the channels of communication wide open & keep interacting with them in order to build relationships even in between rounds so that you aren’t crunched with introducing yourself and trying to convince them to give you money in a few weeks.  Manage investor relationships like customer relationships – stay in touch and build them over time.

Last, but not the least, it is important to bear in mind that in spite of doing all the homework in preparing an attractive business proposal to woo the investors, all efforts may fail if the investors are not convinced about the value of your business. Be prepared to fall back on a few backup options under such scenarios. Keep your spirits high!

Keep this list within reach & pull it out every time you need to go for a fundraising round & face the investors & their barrage of questions. Don’t make these 6 mistakes, believe in yourself, prepare in advance & enjoy the fundraising process.

Authored by: Poromita Ghosh, Reporter, SmallBizTechnology.com

The post Salesforce VP of Investments Shares 6 Mistakes to Avoid When Fundraising appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

For businesses, this rise in popularity of online subscriptions presents an opportunity for significant growth. Capitalizing on this very trend has helped Freedom enable users to reclaim 10 million hours of their time from distracting websites.Freedom launched as a tool to block distracting content on desktop computers so internet users could concentrate on the work they set out to accomplish. As more of our work migrated online, we started seeing a significant rise in demand for the product.

The way customers consumed content also began to shift with the increased adoption of mobile and tablet devices. For example, in December 2010, U.S. internet users spent a total of 543 billion minutes online, with 74 percent of that coming from desktop computers. By December 2016, usage skyrocketed to 1.50 trillion minutes, with just 31 percent of that from desktops and the remainder from smartphones and tablets.

These shifts in behavior presented a strong need for us to offer multi-device functionality for customers, which called for a requirement to design pricing that was suitable for device-specific usage. With the growing adoption of subscriptions, we decided to take a plunge and make a shift to a recurring revenue business model so customers could pay us a monthly fee to block websites across multiple devices.

What We Learned: The Need For a Customer-Focused Subscription Solution

One of the earliest lessons we learned after making the shift to subscriptions was that under a subscription model, monthly recurring revenue is directly related to customer retention rather than one-time sales. Every member of our business began to have a role in expanding and retaining our customer base and revenue. Streamlining the subscription experience while making it easy for our team to control customer subscriptions became a priority for us.

The original online payment gateway we selected to manage subscriptions was initially helpful, but we quickly realized we needed a more comprehensive solution that would scale with our expanding business and give customers the options and flexibility they demanded. Managing subscriptions on top of a payment gateway alone fell short of our needs and forced us to compromise on the subscriber experience.

We then switched to Chargebee’s subscription management service, which was a strategic decision that proved beneficial from a business perspective. Chargebee has improved our subscription conversion rate by helping us enhance our product’s capabilities and its overall subscription experience.

How Our Subscription Management Product Drove 30 Percent Growth

Your subscription management product can be an effective lever to accelerate acquisition, monetization and retention. At Freedom, we’ve configured Chargebee to help us move the needle on these three core business levers by focusing on the following strategies:

Multiple Payment Options

Adding diverse payment options has evolved into an important acquisition strategy for us. In today’s growing digital landscape, consumers have vast differences in payment preferences. Some customers prefer to pay with a credit or debit card, while others prefer a web-based payment service such as PayPal or Amazon Pay. By adding multiple payment options, we were able to onboard international customers and scale globally.

Under the subscription model, we also encouraged users to set up backup payment methods for recurring charges. This helps recover revenue that could have otherwise been lost.

Flexible Pricing

Offering discounts is an effective way to drive acquisition for B2C businesses. We extensively used the capabilities of the subscription model’s coupon functionality to test different coupon codes and discounts, such as limited-time access to promotions, or one time, limited validity offers. We also had a giveaway boost through a site called yourdailygiveaway.

We also tested several pricing strategies to help drive monetization and upgrades, and subscription analytics has helped us understand how customers responded to pricing. For instance, we found that some customers prefer paying a monthly fee for our product, even if our annual plan was cheaper in the long run.

Using a subscription management tool for pricing experiments helped us drive revenue from new customers while still honoring existing customers by grandfathering them in on the old price.

Self Management for Subscriptions

Offering customers an easy way to manage their subscriptions can significantly improve user experience. Expecting customers to manually upgrade via customer support teams creates friction in the upgrade experience, causing some of them to drop off or delay their upgrade. Offering a built-in customer portal has helped us empower customers to manage their own subscriptions, while our customer success team is freed up to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Transactional Emails

Transactional emails can be a great way to communicate and engage with customers while helping recover revenue. We use transactional emails to communicate with customers about the details of their transaction and send one-click card update emails, reminding them to update credit card information if their card is about to expire. At Freedom, we’ve used Chargebee’s Engage toolset to drive up-sells, retention and revenue through email.

Optimizing our customer subscription experience and internal subscription management process helped us grow the business by 30 percent. While shifting our business model away from one-off sales and moving to subscriptions has been a key factor in our business growth, creating an enhanced experience with a subscription management system helped us identify areas to further accelerate adoption and retention.

The fundamental nature of the recurring revenue business model creates opportunities for long-term customer relationships, and using a subscription management system has provided us with an added layer of operational efficiency to leverage these opportunities better.

Authored By:

Fred Stutzman, Founder and CEO of Freedom, a platform that enables people to be more productive by managing digital distractions.

Fred Stutzman is founder of Eighty Percent Solutions, a LAUNCH Incubator company which builds the innovative productivity software Freedom and Anti-Social. Previously, he was co-founder of ClaimID.com and technology researcher at UNC-Chapel Hill and Carnegie Mellon University. He holds a Ph.D. in Information Science, a graduate certificate in quantitative research, and a B.A. in Economics. Currently, he is adjunct professor at UNC’s School of Information and Library Science, where he teaches courses about privacy and social media.

The post How One Business Gained 30 Percent More Customers by Turning to Subscriptions appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

SMBs and Pinterest – A match made in heaven

For SMBs, the platform is a crucial marketing toolbox because it works as a visual discovery engine and helps the customer find what they love. In 2017, 67% of the Pinners discovered new brand or products from business content on Pinterest.  Whether you’re looking to increase the brand awareness,  drive the web traffic to your website, or drive customer engagement – Pinterest in your one-stop-destination.  The social media platform effortlessly makes the promoted content as useful as the organic content.  Furthermore, Pinterest caters to SMBs with tools to optimize results and make the most of marketing budgets.

Let us understand, how the platform is lending a helping hand to the SMBs in their marketing efforts.

1) Chatbooks

The SMB captures memories from social media and brings them to life, recently ran a Promoted

Pin campaign and encouraged Pinners to bring their summer memories to life. The campaign was a massive success because the sales team witnessed up to 3x more clicks on their ads and 15% lower cost per clicks within the first 90 days of launching of their ads.

2) LitJoy Crate

The company which is a monthly book box decided to use Pinterest’s promoted pins to drive acquisition among their audience of women aged 20-35. LitJoy Crate achieved a CPA 70% lower than their average CPA on marketing channels, acquiring new customers for only $3-$5 per customer.

The sky is the limit for business using Pinterest!

How to get started?

The first step in the right direction is always crucial for an SMB. Here are a few tips for the newbies to use the platform to enhance their business growth.

1) Set up a business account

To set up a business account, you need the logo or the visuals of the products (for a profile picture) and a business description containing the link to the website, contact details, and location. For those who already own a personal account, converting to a business account is as simple as waving a magic wand. A business account outperforms a personal account because it comes loaded with additional features such as Pinterest analytics and Pinterest Ads.

2) Claim your website

Claiming your website on the social media platform unlocks an array of features such as Pin stats and Pinterest analytics. Learn more at Pinterest.

3) Set up your boards

If you want to make your board look professional, set up the board and categorize the Pins based on the products, audience segment or the topic.

4) Start Pinning

Don’t forget to create new Pins daily to help the Pinners discover your brand and Pins. Consistent activity on the social media platform is the key to reach the right customers at the right time. Furthermore, link all your Pins to the website as it will help increase the web traffic.

What Next?

Getting started on Pinterest is simple, follow these tips to leverage the maximum benefits from the social media platform.

1) New business profiles

Pinterest is thriving to make life easier for SMBs by helping them connect with their target audience.  Recently, the company launched a new business profile which is empowering the brands to take control of how their brand will appear on Pinterest. The new profile is allowing the companies to highlight the content they deem as necessary for their customers and want them to see first. Furthermore, the new profile offers a dynamic cover image that is helping in capturing the attention of the ideal customers.

2) Key metrics

Running a promoted campaign will never yield the desired results unless the SMBs track the progress of each campaign. A few key metrics will give deep insights into how engaged the Pinners are with the content. It will help the SMBs, tweak changes in their content strategy. To further assist the small businesses, Pinterest allows the companies to access valuable metrics on their Pins to make critical business decisions.

3) Following tab

Staying one step ahead of competitors always work wonders for SMBs and is probably one of the leading ways to discover new ideas and see what other brands are saving to attract their audience. And, for that Pinterest has a following tab – entirely focused on the people and boards you follow on Pinterest.

4) Promoted Pins

To further de-stress the life of small businesses, Pinterest offers the ‘Promote’ button, which helps a brand of any size to promote their Pins. Business can set up a promoted Pin in less than 9 seconds.

Pinterest is the goldmine for your bottom line because it’s a new way of flipping through magazines and scrapbooks, which quickly captures the attention of the customers. As an SMB, never overlook such a big chance to mint money, especially from Pinners who have the biggest spending power on the social media. The household income of 40% of Pinterest users is more than $100K. Don’t miss the golden opportunity!

Authored by:

Lisa Fong, SMB Marketing Lead at Pinterest
Lisa Fong leads the Pinterest SMB Marketing team focused on inspiring and empowering businesses to grow and succeed on Pinterest. She has over 12 years of experience in digital advertising, technology and marketing. Her passion for mobile ads led her career to adtech companies Google, Apple and Sharethrough. She received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. – headshot is attached

The post How To Make Sales on Pinterest. Think Like a Pinner. appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Since business is relatively slow, summer months are the perfect opportunity to take the time to make sure your business is moving how it should be.

• In regard to finances, it is important to ensure that every product you put out is bringing in a reasonable profit.
• Teach your employees how to maintain superior customer service.
• Customer service is a key component in a business as it determines if they will return to your business.
• It is also important to make sure your employees/contractors are well taken care of; they are the heartbeat of your business, and the business’s success depends on them.
• Another thing you can do in this slow season is advance your marketing techniques as it is important to bring in new customers.

As summer sets in and your existing customers are out vacationing, it is essential that you bring in new customers through your door.

This can be done through simple things such as thank-you cards or lowering prices for customers who refer your business. Another thing is to accept a variety of credit cards, including the American Express card. Marketing is a key factor in ensuring that new customers continue to patronize your business.

During these hot, humid, and slow summer months, small business owners can take advantage of any spare time to insure that your business is moving forward. Keep a steady watch of your finances, devise new marketing skills, maintain excellent customer service, and continue to bring in new customers.

The post Summer is Slowing Down, Your Business Doesn’t Have To appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

As the backbone of some of the most successful e-commerce sites out there, the Weebly team has prepared a list of best practices that can help any online store drive repeat business.

Create A Unique Design and Layout

The key to starting is shedding the long to-do list and beginning with a solid framework. A creative site domain, an attention-grabbing picture, and “coming soon” text are good starting points to start generating momentum. Once that’s done, find a color palette that reflects the look and feel of your offline brand touchpoints. Your website should have the same look and feel as your Instagram feed, store, packaging, and any place potential customers interact with your brand. When considering site design, less is more. Maintain a clear call to action and direct your visitors to where you want them to go. While you will feel compelled to fit everything on one screen, drop-down menus and white space can be instrumental in designing a beautiful and engaging online platform. Remember that consistency is key: fonts, colors and style should feel the same throughout.

Be a Picture Perfectionist

Once products are available to promote online, it’s critical to integrate product and lifestyle photography that accurately represents products’ features and how they will be used by the people purchasing them. Gifs and video have become increasingly popular, as they are more likely to draw attention. Try adding a video that showcases your best work or a behind-the-scenes tour of your latest photo shoot and creative process.

Another key design component is making sure your products look just as good on mobile devices as they do on a laptop. Close to 60% of all traffic to a Weebly site is coming from smartphones, which is why our sites are optimized for mobile-first, but it’s important to test the checkout process from a phone or tablet to make sure everything looks as it should.

Word-of-Mouth Still Reigns Supreme

Audience growth can happen in a variety of ways, but the most important ones are email marketing, an active social media presence, and a regularly updated blog. Asking visitors if they’d like to sign up for email updates increases your chances of repeat shoppers. Integrating social media with your marketing plan is vital to promoting easy content sharing capabilities that drive additional traffic. Social media can also be used to analyze consumer sentiment, conduct research, and share important moments for your brand. Last but not least, blogging is an effective way to engage with customers and express yourself by establishing a voice for your brand.  Some examples for blog topics include seasonal offerings, new products, and major announcements.

Read Your Online Reviews

Online first-time visitors to your store need encouragement to gain trust in your brand and the quality of what you’re selling. Positive online customer feedback can lead to new sales and hopefully, brand loyalty. According to PeopleClaim, 70% of customers consult reviews or ratings before making a final purchase. Your email marketing platform should automatically prompt customers to leave a review on every purchase is a way that solicits feedback organically. Positive reviews are what help engineer a credible reputation, and even negative reviews can be strategically managed. Replying to unhappy customers with timely and attentive customer service can serve as a strategy that encourages customers to either update their review or remove it altogether.

Be Real

Millennials are the most ethically-conscious generation of consumers, and companies should aim to create a site that doesn’t just sell, but also creates a personality. Bring your business to life by sharing inspiration, stories, and the process of how everything came together. If your product comes from a sustainable resource, shoppers will want to feel a connection to supporting that. A well written “About” page can be just as important as the products.

Be Human

Starting an online store is a combination of excitement, adrenaline, and fear; most new business owners believe it requires a perfect homepage, thousands of social media followers, and professionally curated artwork. However, some of the most important aspects of e-commerce success stem from personal touch, carefully shot photography, and simple mobile integration.

When all is said and done, it’s important to remember that your website visitors are people like you and not Twitter bots. If you were interested in making an online purchase, what would you hope to see, read, and interact with? In the long term, a lasting business can’t be faked – to be authentic compels transparency. If you create captivating stories and look to build a reliable and responsive persona, that’s what will attract customers to invest in you.

Authored By:

Katie Swett, Director of Product at Weebly

The post How to Build a Successful E-commerce Website appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

While it’s not always easy being the “little guy,” it does have its advantages. Everyone loves an underdog, and as impossible as it may seem sometimes, the truth is small business owners can play to their strengths and gain the advantage over their larger competitors. With big budgets, glitzy websites, and established names, large retailers seem to have it all. But what they don’t have is the dedication, personal touch, and ingenuity that today’s entrepreneurs and small business owners exemplify.

That said, retail competition is as fierce as ever, and small business owners have to be ready to adopt new technologies and tools to level the playing field. Following are some things small business owners can do to compete with and even gain an edge over their larger ecommerce counterparts.

The Tools Are There – Use Them

If you haven’t already, you should establish an online presence. Having a website that highlights what’s currently in the store, special promotions, events, collaborations and classes will go far in helping bring customers to your store. A website is often a customer’s first point of contact with your business, so be sure to build a website that showcases what you and your brand are all about.

So many of today’s consumers are using their smartphones to search and shop – whether while just killing time or when searching for a desperately needed product or service. Without an online presence, potential customers will not know about your store, let alone be able to find it. And if they do know about your store but can’t find you online, their impression may be that you lack credibility.

In today’s world, you don’t need to learn coding or spend a fortune to set up a website. Research and explore “website builder” tools online, which can get you started for free and make setting up a basic website easy. As you create your website, make sure to include keywords such as the city and zip code where you are based, along with the products and services you offer. Your store and website should also be listed in the local online business pages to help search engines find and list your store in search results.

Once your basic website is established, you can make the decision to go the extra step and sell your products online. This, too, may not be as complicated as you think. Research your web builder for ecommerce tools, and check with your merchant services provider for ways to accept payments online.

Socialize

As you embark on the journey of owning and operating a website, the next step is to engage. One way to do this is through social media, which can help build your presence online. With pages on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, small business owners can involve customers in their decisions and interact with them in a more personal way. For example, taking an Instagram poll is a fun way to involve customers. Managing and posting updates to your social pages shouldn’t take a lot of time – simply share what’s new in the store, behind-the-scenes, and any other information your customers may find interesting.

Another good way to interact with customers is through online review sites. Thanks to Amazon, the online review has become one of the biggest influencing factors for consumers – shoppers have even been known to step out of the checkout line after reading bad reviews about a product. Using local review sites such as Yelp and Google Reviews will go a long way toward building your store’s success. Be sure to monitor and address any less-than-flattering reviews, doing so with positivity and invitations to reconnect. When a customer compliments your service, products, or store, encourage them to leave a positive review online – doing so will have a great impact on future customers.

It’s All About the Experience These Days

So all your efforts of building an online presence are paying off and more people are visiting your store. Now what? Getting customers into your store is just the beginning. Consumers want to feel like they are getting something of value by coming into your store versus ordering online. Give it to them by having a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can provide excellent service and personal attention. Your staff should not only have a good understanding of the products they are selling, but they should also be able to connect with customers and anticipate their needs.

Beyond your staff, there are lots of ways you can go above and beyond to make your store a more appealing place. For example, have an area for kids to play or offer a lounge section if space permits. Offer free samples, and of course offer free Wi-Fi. Consider hosting events related to the products or services you provide – cooking classes, yoga, interior decorating, writing workshop, painting, landscaping, personal style, etc. Think outside the box.

The store itself should also be inviting and reflect the feeling you want customers to have when they visit. Make sure customers can easily find what they are looking for, keep the shelves and surface areas organized, and have signs displayed with prices and additional information. Often, soft music or scents from candles and diffusers are good ways to make customers feel at ease. Offer ways for them to experience your products and experience what your store is all about, whether it be through a behind-the-scenes look of how the product is made, tasting a fresh recipe, or trying a shade of lip gloss. Finally, customers love to know where their purchases are coming from, and, when it applies, who is making the product. Providing this kind of detail is a nice touch to personalizing your store.

Closing the Deal and Looking Forward

Considering the level of modern technology available, the checkout process should be the smoothest and easiest part of the customer’s experience. Ensure a fast, secure and hassle-free checkout for customers by accepting all the ways they may want to pay, including EMV credit cards and NFC payments like Apple Pay.

As you look for ways to further your engagement with customers, consider creating a customer loyalty program. Your POS software may already be set up to run a loyalty program. Using customer information and tracking purchases, you can tailor a program that rewards people for coming back to your store. Some POS systems will also send messages to customer smartphones when they are near your store, alerting them of special promotions for insiders.

What it all boils down to is this: embrace your roots and be the best small business you can be, but don’t ignore important online tools that will enable you to level the playing field and meet all of your customers’ distinct needs.  Don’t be intimidated, and remember that there are plenty of simple, inexpensive tools that can get you started on the ecommerce journey. Couple a great online presence with the personalized customer knowledge that only a small business has, and you will have a winning combination that increases customer engagement and interaction, all while maintaining your small, local, underdog identity.

Authored by:

Mark Boeder has more than 20 years of marketing leadership experience, including work for a retail marketing agency serving both big box and independent retailers. He is the current Director of Marketing Strategy for

The post Play to Your Strengths and Gain the Advantage Over Competitors appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

These answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC has also launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

1. Use Online Incentives

If you’re operating an e-commerce business, this is the smartest way to bridge the gap. If brick-and-mortar shoppers know that they can get a bigger discount of some sort by purchasing your products or services online, they’ll do it!- Codie Sanchez, www.CodieSanchez.com

2. Look for Tactics That Work in Both Areas

Identify marketing tactics that involve both channels so you can create content that works in both places or that encourages your audience to visit the other channel. This could be adding social channels to your offline marketing information or hosting an event and asking visitors to share it or check in online.– Drew Hendricks, Buttercup

3. Make Sure Your Messaging Is in Alignment

Making sure your messaging is consistent across your offline and online marketing is extremely important. Your offline and online marketing should be closely aligned in language, target customer, and (as much as possible) call to action. Reaching different customers in different realms will lead to a confusing customer picture and a sales pipeline that is difficult to manage.- Kevin Bretthauer, FuelCloud. If you are looking for new marketing strategies, then consider using a Wide format signage. 

4. Use Ad Tracking Software

Aside from making sure you maintain brand continuity across your ads, you can also implement analytics tracking measures into your offline ads. Radio ads can have promo codes, brochures can have call tracking numbers on them and depending on your market, you can utilize QR codes, too.- Nicole Munoz, Start Ranking Now

5. Let Customers Do the Work

One of the quickest and easiest ways to merge the offline with the online is to host a competition. A good example is to ask customers to take selfies that promote your brand by having them upload their images to your social media accounts using a particular phrase or a unique hashtag. The details about the competition should be outlined on your offline marketing materials, including any products you sell.- Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker

6. Use Email Marketing

Email marketing is important for both offline and online marketing strategies. Ask your offline customers for their email address in exchange for a coupon, and ask your online customers using opt-in forms on your website. Make sure to keep the email addresses on two separate lists, so you know where the lead came from.- Syed Balkhi, OptinMonster

7. Make Your Brand Searchable

These days, new businesses focus too heavily on marketing edgy brand names that are hard to pronounce and spell. When you use a brand name or tagline that is memorable in your offline marketing campaigns, you’ll see a surge in organic search traffic for those terms as customers rediscover your business online.- Firas Kittaneh, Amerisleep

8. Use Branded Merchandise

Branded merchandise feels like a forgotten strategy of the marketing world. Whether it’s a customized water bottle or T-shirt, these items serve as a walking advertisement of your products, increasing brand recall and word-of-mouth advertising. Encourage people to show off their flair online through social media. You can even offer free merchandise in exchange for signing up for an email list.- Kristopher Jones, LSEO.com

9. Connect Your Leads List

Although you found your lead while out on the street, you should still follow up digitally. And vice versa. Because you found your lead online, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them a call. In any case, going old school and making a call is a great way to break the ice instantly.- Andrew Namminga, Andesign

10. Use Augmented Reality

One of the interesting features of augmented reality is the way it blurs the boundary between offline and online. AR inserts representations of digital entities into the world. Companies like Heineken, Ikea and Visa are using augmented reality to inject digital marketing experiences into the physical environment of users and attracting attention through the innovative use of a new technology.- Justin Blanchard, ServerMania Inc.

11. Get Microinfluencers Shopping Offline

One new advertising model we have is allowing microinfluencers within our community to take a $100-$500 coupon and go shop at the advertiser’s brick-and-mortar store. Microinfluencers interested in the vertical of that advertiser get to spend time at the store, take pictures while shopping and then write an online article about the product, the shopping experience, display and potentially other products.- Tolga Tanriseven, GirlsAskGuys

The post 11 Strategies to Combine Your Offline and Online Marketing Efforts appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

These answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC has also launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

1. Executive Branding

Executive branding is crucial. That means your personal image on social media as an executive or a professional. It becomes a currency anywhere you go. High-profile marketing accounts are more attractive to employers. It’s only going to become more important. – Derek Broman, Discount Enterprises LLC deguns.net

2. Partner Marketing

Many B2B marketers overlook the power of leveraging partners to drive new business. Partnerships can be forged with other businesses who sell to similar customer personas, and it is a great way to drive brand awareness and increase leads from a core customer demographic. – Jeff Epstein, Ambassador

3. Mobile Optimization

B2B marketers should abandon the idea that most business owners conduct research on desktop devices. Business owners are busy and use mobile devices to find solutions anywhere, anytime. To ensure customers have a streamlined process on any device they use, content must be mobile optimized. – Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker

4. Structured Data

Google will be expanding its focus on structured data, featured snippets, the Knowledge Graph and answering voice searches. You should implement structured data wherever you can today so you’re prepared, but also listen closely for any new updates, so you can get there before your competitors. – Francois de Lame, Policygenius Inc.

5. Education Marketing

Use education marketing that positions your company as a helpful resource, especially if you’re in an industry (like the legal services industry) that is riddled with unscrupulous vendors. Creating great educational content and sharing it without pushing for the sell positions our company as a partner. – Todd Richheimer, Lawfty, LLC.

6. Social Network Adoption

Most B2B marketers are focusing on channels such as webinars and events, but the focus needs to be more toward the social networks, because they are equally as powerful when it comes to generating market-qualified leads. If more B2B focus on channels that humanize them, they will be able to win big. Plus social proof is going to be everything — if people don’t know about you online, your business is dead. – Sweta Patel, Silicon Valley Startup Marketing

7. Micro to Macro

Micro moments, where customers turn to their devices to look for information, are set to reshape the online B2B marketplace. This is because an increasing number of people now make purchasing decisions after interacting with brands through multiple touch points. B2B marketers will need to anticipate probable points of contact and produce content accordingly. – Derek Robinson, Top Notch Dezigns

8. ABM Targeting

B2B marketers need to learn how to target their prospects on the same platforms as B2C marketers. B2B marketing is targeting humans, the key is to find those needles in the digital haystack. To get the targeting right and eliminate waste, they’ll need to leverage first- and third-party data to ensure their ads and content are hyper-targeted to B2B buyers. – Dan Golden, BFO (Be Found Online)

9. Artificial Intelligence

You’ve got to look at AI. Artificial intelligence is still infiltrating business, so it becomes critical to leverage it in your marketing. Understanding customer behavior, proclivities and what have you, allows marketers to streamline their efforts. Moreover, it allows decision makers to close the gap between insight and execution. – Philip Michael, New York Equity Group (NYEG)

10. 24/7 Live Chat

Live chat is no longer a nice-to-have for B2B businesses, it is a must-have. In this highly competitive world, you’ll stand out if you communicate with customers the way that they want to chat. It could be the difference between them purchasing your product or going with the competitor. – Jared Atchison, WPForms

11. Intelligent Analytics

It’s important to understand intelligent analytics and what it can do for the marketing campaigns that a B2B marketer may develop in 2018. It’s there to improve what analytics was trying to do. – Peter Daisyme, Calendar

12. Enhanced B2B Marketing Precision

The idea that marketing needs to be targeted and backed by solid data is already popular in B2B marketing, but this is also important. Rather than simply reaching out to businesses in your industry, it’s important to get more precise and seek out the companies (and specific individuals in each company) who are the best prospects for your message. – Shawn Porat, Scorely

13. Focus on a Single Vertical

When we started our B2B marketing, we were just reaching out to everyone in the local area, and we did not get very positive results. We realized that customers were looking for industry-specific capabilities, even though we were local. So we changed it this year based upon industry. Showing our customers that we have experience in their industry is providing better results. – Piyush Jain, SIMpalm

14. Amazon Entering Your Space

One of the top objectives Amazon had in 2017 was to begin expanding into the B2B space. In 2018 we will start seeing Amazon make some significant strides in reaching companies, and those of us who currently sell B2B should start taking notice. Amazon is not currently a threat to our businesses, but in 2018 they will begin to inch into our markets and we must choose to fight or join them. – Diego Orjuela, Cables & Sensors

The post 14 Trends B2B Marketers Need to Become Familiar With in 2018 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Here are nine ways to apply data analytics to your calls to help improve sales.

1. Use Conversion Analytics to Qualify Leads in Real-Time

You can increase your sales team’s conversion rate with conversation analytics. The bleeding-edge technology analyzes phone conversations and searches for particular phrases, pitch, volume, context, words, and speech rate. As software like Convirza analyzes data, it generates scores such as lead quality, missed opportunity, sales skills, and conversions in real time. Let’s say a caller uses a phrase like “looking to buy” or “wanting to replace”. The software increases the lead quality score upon recognition of those phrases as it suggests that the caller is almost ready to buy.

With conversation analytics, agents can use the scores generated in real time to come up with the necessary steps to close a sale.  

2. Monitor Connect Rates

By definition, connect rate is the number of  calls that met a specified criterion — for example, appointment scheduled or call duration — divided by the total number of calls. The best phone systems should enable you to see the duration of each sales call and number of calls made by each agent through call logging. These applications let you quickly pull up records so you can analyze your connect rate.  

Tracking and analyzing your connect rate is important as it helps you understand how to improve the performance of your sales team. By listening to the calls of agents with low connect rates, you can quickly identify issues that hold them back, and come up with a tailored coaching plan to help improve their performance. You can even listen to calls of agents with high connect rates, and use their performance as examples. It helps to have some form of contact management to help manage the process.

3. Probe Talk to Listen Ratio

In an ideal world, agents would spend more time listening to customers than selling. The reality, however, is that agents often do more talking than listening. On average, sales agents consume up to 75 percent of their calls talking. This leaves customers very little room to convey their concerns or ask questions.

The top sales performers have a talk to listen ratio that’s closer to 40:60. If you want your agents to close more, start by measuring their talk to listen ratio. Software like Gong offers features that enable you to save calls and monitor the talk to listen ratio of your agents. You can also see individual statistics so you can identify the talk to listen ratio of your star performers. Through data analysis, you can train average performers and under performers to replicate the talk time of your top closers.    

Talk to listen ratio of agents according to performance

Source: ThinkGrowth

4. Find Your Average Number of Calls to Close a Deal

Sales experts know that it takes more than one call just to get a favorable response. In fact, it takes an average of eight cold calls just to reach a prospect. The number goes higher as you make additional calls to close a deal. That’s why it’s important to keep track of your activities per lead so you can determine how many calls it takes to close a deal.
CRMs like Salesforce allows your agent to record every interaction with a prospect. More importantly, it comes with tools that lets you generate reports based on customized metrics or fields. You can use these tools to get your team’s average number of calls to close a deal. You can use the number as a target to encourage your agents to make more calls.

5. Study Time Spent Selling     

You can improve the efficiency of your agents by learning how they spend their time. If some of your agents are making more calls but are behind in conversions, it is important to identify the types of calls that they make to see which stages in the sales process consume most of their time. For instance, a few of your agents may be underperforming because they’re struggling to find good quality leads. As a result, they spend a lot of time researching and reaching out to people who are not ready to purchase.

You can get this insight by monitoring your agents’ time spent selling. With the help of tools provided by cloud communications providers such as 8×8, you’ll be able to see the amount of time your agents spend at park life every stage of the sales process. You can then identify points of congestion and come up with coaching strategies to improve the performance of your team.

6. Examine Lead Response Time        

You are 100 times more likely get a hold of the lead if you respond to them within five minutes. If you take 24 hours to respond, your chance to close a sale drops by 60 times. This is why it’s essential for your team to reach the prospect as quickly as possible. The longer you respond, the higher the odds that your competitors will close the sale.

To monitor this metric, you need a lead response time tracker tool that you can integrate with your CRM. With this tool, you can see how long it takes for your team to respond to a lead. If it takes your team several hours to return a call, consider reviewing your workflow to prioritize inbound leads. You can also consider hiring more agents as an investment to improve your performance in this metric. Getting your lead response time down can help you generate more sales as your team puts their attention to people who show interest in your product or service.

Dashboard of a Lead Response Time Tracker

Source: Salesforce

7. Look at Number of Calls Versus Talk Time

Another important metric that you can track to help improve the performance of your sales team is their daily talk time. While your sales agents might be generating more than 100 calls per day, their time and effort may be misplaced. You need to also review their talk time to see whether they’re making the most out of their calls.

You can see agent talk time with the help of analytics tools offered by Nextiva which provide visual data such as number of calls and total talk time for each agent. By measuring their talk time and comparing it with their total daily calls, you can see who’s struggling to reach the right people. For example, an agent recording 80 daily calls but has a talk time of less than two hours may indicate that the person is not logging a lot of minutes per call. This might mean that the agent can’t move past the gatekeepers such as assistants or receptionists. You can use the data to equip the agent with the skills to deal with gatekeepers and reach the decision-makers.

Nextiva’s dashboard

Source: Nextiva

8. Discover the Best Time to Connect

Decision-makers are not the easiest people to reach. They are often on the go or are currently occupied. If your sales team is struggling to get a hold of decision-makers, consider tracking the time of day your agents usually connect with them.

With the help of voice communications platforms such as RingDNA,  you can determine specific hours in the day when your chance of connecting with decision-makers are high. As long as your reps take notes about the outcome of each call, you can use the historical data to create a report and determine the best times of day to connect with decision-makers. Team leaders can use these brief windows to maximize their prospecting efforts.

9. Track Phone Call Lead Source

It’s a dream for many business owners to see which traffic sources are generating inbound sales calls. This dream could be a reality with the help of Infinity Call Tracking and Google Analytics. With Infinity, you can track website visitors as the software assigns a unique phone number to each visitor. Infinity then tracks everything including keywords and traffic sources that led the visitor to your site.

All the data collected is linked to the Google Client ID of the user. When the user calls, Infinity sends all data to Google Analytics so you can see it in real-time. You can use the data to create reports and identify mediums that generated the most number of qualified leads and conversions.

Sample Infinity report generated through Google Analytics

Source: Econsultancy

With call tracking technology, you can analyze which mediums provide the best returns on your investment so you can optimize your campaigns. This can also dramatically improve the performance of your sales team as optimized ad campaigns generate quality leads.

The Bottom Line

With the advent of data analytics, managers and team leaders now have an easier time identifying the metrics that impact the performance of their sales team. By analyzing the behavior of your agents when they are in a call, how fast they respond to inquiries, and which marketing channels generate quality leads, you can improve the performance of your sales team and boost your bottom line.

The post 9 Ways to Apply Analytics to Your Sales Calls and Dramatically Increase Sales appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

If you’re like most, you probably said something along the lines of building an effective and well-maintained email list. And it’s true – an email list can easily become your best friend when it comes to conversions.

It’s an avenue that allows frequent and direct communication to keep you top of mind and it can be one of the best ways to direct traffic to new content. In fact, email automation platform Campaign Monitor conducted an annual report for 2016 that shows for every dollar spent on email marketing, you’ll typically earn back $44. That’s some impressive ROI!

But that kind of return is only possible if you’re using your email list wisely. The five tactics outlined below will help you not only grow your email list, but also turn it into a customer converting machine.

1. Strategically Located Opt-Ins

An email list without opt-in forms is like a flower without roots – it won’t last long and it makes you wonder how it came to be in the first place. But it’s where you place these opt-ins that really drives conversions.

In classic newspaper form, above the fold placement on your page is essential. It’s all about being able to spot the opt-in quickly and easily. Draw the eye with some colors and make it especially visually appealing to bring in more subscribers and grow your list a breakneck pace.

2. Take Advantage of Lightbox Popups

The sight of an opt-in may be enough to scare off some prospective leads. That’s why you should also incorporate a different tactic – lightboxes. Think of these as mobile opt-in forms, ones that are activated once a prospect reads a certain post or scrolls through your page enough.

Technically considered popups (which if you’re completely opposed to then checkout tip #5), these nifty features have a clear call to action, catch the eye, and trigger strategically, among their many other benefits.

3. Split Test Like Crazy

This should be a major priority already but just in case it isn’t, split testing is absolutely essential in the marketing game. Color psychology, word connotation, length, and structure all come into play when someone decides whether or not to engage with content.

Thankfully, most email platforms have this capability built right in. Beyond that, there are a host of other software options out there to help you along the way. Happy testing!

4. Encourage Forwarding

Depending on the platform you use, asking your users to forward your emails along to others can be a great way to grow your list without having to put in nearly any time at all.

You’ve heard of the power of asking followers to retweet on Twitter (which can boost these numbers by 23x)? Well the same principle applies to email.

But be sure to check the terms and conditions of your platform first as some may outlaw this technique specifically.

And as with almost any other marketing tactic, be sure to keep the pushiness down to a reasonable level.

5. Forget About Popups

Popups may be the go-to for a lot of marketers these days but for others, they’re the bane of their existence. And while the efficacy of such tactics can certainly be backed up by some impressive numbers, some people are moving away from popups entirely.

Luckily, though, there are a number of other ways you can still drive growth for your email lists without the help of these intrusive ads.

The Best Ways to Grow Your Email Lists

Emails are by far one of the most effective methods for making a connection, staying top of mind, and ushering prospects through your expertly crafted sales funnel. In fact, many marketers turn to email campaigns as their primary source of new customers.

And when you use the tactics above, you can be sure that your list will grow faster than ever!

The post 5 Ways to Grow an Email List that Actually Converts appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Using an email marketing platform will greatly improve your results, as well. However, more and more organizations are adding Salesforce to their email marketing assets to win far more conversions than with just a single platform.

Using Salesforce to Improve Your Email Marketing Platform’s Results

Email marketing platforms, such as GetResponse, will still be in charge of automating the next email message in a chain, but you can use Forms integrated  to send much more customized emails based on where they are in the sales funnel, information you have about them and actions they’ve taken such as purchase history.

The combination of these platforms will also give your marketing and sales team a far more comprehensive view of how your leads behave. This, too, will make it easier to improve everything from your actual emails to the offers you use to nurture these leads. If you have no experience in marketing then you can contact Conversant Media for professional assistance.

2 Ways to Use Field Change Triggers During Your Email Campaigns

Fortunately, this is actually very easy to do when you use Salesforce. Any time a change is made to a value field on the lead or contact form, you can use automation to begin an email nurturing process that targets recipients based on these changes.

Here are two examples to show you how easy this can be.

1. Bringing Cold Leads Back to Life

Often, a lead will give you every indication that they are on their way to converting and then – all of a sudden – fall off the face of the earth.

Reviving these cold leads is difficult when all you have is your traditional email marketing platform, but when you combine it with Salesforce, you can easily reroute these recipients right back to a “Nurture” status. Then, use the Field Changed trigger to begin nurturing them anew.

Just be sure you give these leads some breathing room before sending them the first email in this new sequence. For example, if they went cold on you right after a trial service offer, give them five days before sending out the email.

Also, that new message should be educational in nature. Even after waiting five days, it is too soon to try again for the conversion if a lead has been unresponsive.

What happens if the lead still is not opening the email?

Do not cut your losses quite yet. Give them about 10 days and then send an email that will reconfirm your mindshare and position as a thought leader. Again, it should be educational, so something about industry trends would be the perfect choice.

You may still not get the conversion, but by reestablishing yourself with the recipient, you will be top-of-mind when they do decide to purchase.

Now, for those leads who do click, send them a nurturing email for a webinar or some other offer that requires a substantial investment of their time. A deeper commitment will bring them closer to converting.

 2. Load an Upsell Campaign for Qualified Customers

Upsells are vital to increasing profitability over time. With Salesforce, you can establish a threshold for when a subscriber becomes a “Power User.” When that happens, an email goes out to your marketing team to let them know about this opportunity.

An upsell email is then sent to this recipient with all the relevant details about this new offer. An account manager is also notified to follow up with this user in the near future over the phone if they do not place an upgraded order.

Getting the Most Out of Your Email Campaigns Is Easy with Salesforce

These are just two examples of how you can use Salesforce as a force multiplier to improve your email marketing campaign. While a high-quality email automation platform is still as important as ever, Salesforce can increase your ROI further by helping you better target your recipients with less work.

The post How Email Marketing Platforms Combine with Salesforce to Boost Sales appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Contractors

A contractor is someone you hire for a specific length of time rather than on a permanent basis or for an unspecified period of time. While contractors are sometimes more expensive than workers in the short term, they come with the advantage of not requiring you to pay them if the work they do slows down or becomes unnecessary. Bringing ir35 contracting for important work projects lets you scale up expertise quickly and without the necessity of a long-term commitment to the employee that can become onerous in later days.

Rentals

Similar to hiring contractors, renting equipment that you will only need temporarily can cut long-term costs by keeping your physical space usage down and keeping capital from getting tied up in heavy machinery. Renting equipment for a project ensures that you have the tools you need for as long as you need them. Of course, in the modern cloud computing environment, increasing numbers of businesses are also outsourcing functions like IT, storage, and other technology issues. Doing so keeps your in-house IT trim and fit and helps businesses that are not primarily IT-driven avoid carrying too many expensive technologies and staffers.

Set Objectives

Growing businesses can too easily lose sight of where they need to be going. Setting a long-term goal is a great way to focus the company on a singular vision, but big-picture goals are often too lofty to guide day-to-day decisions. Instead, try setting up a group of medium-range goals to inform immediate progress. Try to focus on growing a specific product or enhancing one area of the business. If you want to get ambitious, you can set reasonable medium-range goals for each of your departments.

Watch the Customers

Every business in the world has one thing in common, and that is its ultimate dependence on the goodwill of its customers. Businesses deliver products or services to their customers, and these customers either like or dislike what they get. And those customers are often not shy about letting you know where they stand. Sending out customer satisfaction surveys is a reasonable way to gather information, but sending too many or soliciting them too intrusively can make you look pushy. Asking big customers if they have the time for a more personal talk about their experiences is a decent tactic. Moreover, make sure you have a clear route to receive and resolve any complaints.

Growth need not to be a scary thing. A well-prepared company will embrace growth and come out stronger on the other end. Just be sure you have a plan, and things should go seamlessly.

The post 4 Hacks to Manage Growth Like a Pro appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

During the slow times, it makes a world of difference to have an established system in place for generating new leads and pushing them into and through your sales funnel.

This is obviously much easier said than done.

Inbound marketing efforts are not always effective. The leads you do have go cold. And even more often, people are just downright uninterested.

If this is the situation your brand is currently facing, fret not for you can refill your marketing funnel with just a few steps and a little bit of guidance.

1. Land in the Right Inboxes

When your sales funnel is barren, there are a variety of ways to drum up leads. You can ask current customers for referrals, attend networking events and collect business cards, write informative articles in publications your desired audience gravitates towards, and so on.

There is a good chance, however, that even these tactics will fall short and you will have to mine for prospects using search engines and platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social destinations.

The key to this method is selecting an industry or demographic that has proven particularly fruitful in the past and targeting these individuals.

Create a spreadsheet for this folks and organize them by their likelihood to be interested in your offerings.

Before reaching out, however, it is necessary to ensure you have the correct and appropriate email address. Since people have, on average, 1.7 email accounts, your best bet at catching their attention is using a corporate address; this, unfortunately, is not always easy to find.

In such situations, it is wise to deploy an automatic email finding tool.

This type of service will save you tons of man hours hunting down the correct address and can ensure you are getting in front of your audience.

Once you have the right contact information for your leads, it’s time to start the outreach process.

2. Start Cold Emailing

There are a lot of businesses and entrepreneurs that shy away from cold emailing tactics and largely consider these types of communications to be spam; this is nonsense as cold emails are still a widely used technique in various fields and are (more importantly) still quite effective.

You do, however, need to know how to appropriately construct your message and grab their attention. Anything that is are extraneous in any sort of way will get glossed over and eventually canned.

Start by ditching the introduction. Forget telling people about who you are or what your company does. Honestly, at this point, they don’t care.

Get right to the meat of your pitch by pointing out your prospect’s potential pain point and how you can solve it.

Additionally, considering that there are 205 billion emails sent every day, cold emails have a tremendous tendency to get lost in the mix.

This means that you need to continuously follow-up to verify they have seen your message. If this sounds time consuming, that’s because it is.

A more efficient technique involves leveraging a cold email outreach service like Mailshake which allows you to schedule various follow ups at custom intervals.

These types of services are not only an incredible resource for helping to maximize your funnel filling potential, but they often provide other beneficial tools for brands to utilize such as templates, analytics, and other insightful features.

Using this method, you are far more likely to gain the attention of a prospect than by simply sending a solitary email and crossing your fingers that they respond.

3. Know How to Follow-Up Effectively

You’ve manage to hook your lead and gain their interest; fantastic!

Now you need to close the deal.

Sending your prospect a business proposal is one of the best and most effective ways to showcase your company’s skillset and its ability to generate results.

Again, easier said than done.

Starting your proposal off on the right note and organizing the material in a convincing and appealing way is no small feat. Your copy needs to be insanely compelling. Additionally, company data like objectives, strategy proposal, campaign breakdowns, pricing packages, and more all need to be featured in an appealing and professional manner.

If this is something that you struggle with, you might want to consider setting your frustrations aside and utilize a powerful proposal software like PandaDoc that eliminates many of these pain points.

Any proposal software worthy of your time and money should be dynamic in its ability to create, send, and sign documents while also providing useful resources like templates, analytics features, and information archives that allow users to become increasingly effective at writing organized proposals.

Cold emails can often feel like a shot in the dark; especially when your company’s sales funnel is running on empty. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

There are extremely viable options for vetting out cold contacts, making sure they get in front of the right eyeballs at the right time and with the right message in order to move them into your sales funnel and get them to convert.

If your brand needs a refill on prospects, this is proven method to welcoming new and loyal prospects into your all-important sales funnels.

The post Filling the Funnel: 3 Steps to Turning Cold Leads into Hot Prospects appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The post 12 Negotiation Tactics That Actually Work appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In our digital age, it might be hard to keep up with all the advances in technology. So if you don’t know what are chatbots is, you’re probably not alone. Let’s begin with defining that term. Essentially, a chatbot is simply a type of computer program that engages in conversation with people, either through text messages or audibly. Popular chatbots include IBM’s Watson, LiveChat, and LivePerson, to name just a few. But even if you don’t own one of these devices, you have probably interacted with a chatbot without even knowing it. Many companies currently implement this technology, particularly for information gathering tasks or customer service purposes.

Given the global nature of our modern world, as well as the fact that chatbots are already a commonly used form of artificial intelligence, it will probably come as no surprise that one of the most sought-after products in this field is the multilingual chatbot. The technology is still in its infancy, and it’s easy to understand why. Programming a chatbot with the capability of simultaneously translating language is extremely complicated and time-consuming. There are rare examples of multilingual chatbots on the market today – such as Language I/O® Chat, a product designed to be a customer support tool – but they are few and far between. However, the day will certainly come when a variety of multilingual chatbots are available to businesses. After all, there are several situations where these programs would be useful.

Users typically access chatbots in messenger apps and communications platforms like WeChat, Facebook Messenger, iMessage, Kik, Slack, and Skype. Users type or ask a question, and the chatbot responds with the right information. Just as important as the ability to understand the context of a user’s question or command is the ability to “learn” from that interaction so it can offer more personalized information the next time. For example, if you ask a chatbot for recommendations for a local restaurant, it will analyze volumes of data so it can be proactive in suggesting restaurants that match your preferences the next time you’re out and about.

Next-Gen Marketing

Chatbots are relatively new to the marketing technology scene, and their arrival could not come at a better time. Traditional digital advertising tactics that provide only one-way interactions – from brand to customer – are becoming less effective. Brands push messaging, offers or services to users, but that should just be step one. Moving beyond the one-time interaction and creating an avenue for back-and-forth engagement is the key to building long-term customer relationships.

Conversational bots enable you to communicate the value of your brand to a vast audience, but do so via one-on-one conversations that make users feel like you’re tailoring those interactions to their individual likes and needs. They feel empowered by having command of ongoing interactions that more closely resemble two-way conversations. They can conduct research, ask questions, make a purchase, request help and share experiences with friends.

Email may still be King of the Marketing Hill, but chatbots are proving to be much more effective at getting your brand and messaging in front of customers, and more importantly, getting them to engage with you.

According to MailChip’s February 2017 report on Email Stats^[1], the open rate of email campaigns range from 16% to 27%. In contrast, chatbots deployed on messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger boast an open rate over 90%. Even better, the user typically opens and reads a message within five minutes. Think about how you interact with email compared to messaging clients. It’s a good bet you don’t open every single email as soon as it hits your inbox. But when you receive a notification from Facebook Messenger, chances are you read and respond within a few minutes.

Another key difference between email and chatbots is how users consume a message. Emails show all messaging in one window, and frequently include links to web sites that force you to leave the email app. Chatbots show only a bit of information at a time, so the interaction more closely resembles an exchange you have with a friend in your network. The ability for a chatbot to engage with your customers in “conversational commerce” is a key reason why chatbots have a higher stickiness factor than email.

Behind the Curtain

Of course, most small businesses do not have the massive budgets or teams of software engineers necessary to develop their own chatbots. All good AI implementations require the the ever-growing volumes of customer information businesses collect, and investment in technologies that enable the AI to analyze all that data. Additionally, chatbots requires effective natural language processing and neural networks to “understand” and process the context of a user’s question or command.

That’s where partnering with a company like Botworx can help. We have developed a bot platform that allows brands to use chatbots and messaging services not just for customer service and retention, but for acquiring customers. The platform features full lifecycle management and analytics, an AI-powered natural language engine and industry-leading commerce, trust and security features.

Before you create and launch a chatbot, the first step is to determine why you want to use it in the first place. For instance, do you want to attract new customers, improve engagement with current customers, improve customer service levels? All of the above? Don’t start building a bot until you know what purpose(s) it will serve.

The next step is to decide whether you want to build and maintain the chatbot in-house, or partner with a developer.

Just like an e-commerce web site, a chatbot is built on two main components: the user interface on the front end, and the data collection and analysis on the back end. The user interface needs to be simple to use and provide a compelling experience that keeps the user engaged. That’s only possible if the artificial intelligence technology on the back end enables the chatbot to not just provide immediate answers to a user’s question today, but also analyze data on all interactions over time. This enables the chatbot to “learn” to anticipate the information a user will want or need and offer it up on a more proactive basis.

Keep in mind that enabling conversational commerce is just as much as marketing challenge as a technical one. Building loyalty with customers is not as simple as rolling out a new chatbot. You must earn their trust, and that takes more work than convincing a customer to continue interacting with your chatbot after the novelty factor wears off. This requires time and constant effort, but the payoff will be well worth it. The chatbot gives you greater power to acquire customers, engage them with compelling content that’s relevant to them, and monetize those engagements.

^[1] Average Email Campaign Stats of MailChimp Customers by Industry, MailChimp. February 1, 2017

The post Chatbots Are Not Just for the Big Brands appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

On top of the traditional foundation you’ve created, it’s vital to expand and grow beyond the basics. Rather than experimenting with tasks or ideas that do not work, stick to the list below for a few modern, non-traditional techniques, to grow your business like never before.

Use Daily Deal Services

Using websites like Groupon and Living Social can drastically change the brand awareness for your small business. For example, within the heating and cooling industry, offering services, such as duct cleaning, energy audits, or tune-ups, can help you find new customers who will consider using your company beyond the initial visit if the service is performed well.

In addition to long-term customers, there are also going to be some coupon clippers who are only looking for discounts, but don’t get discouraged. Use Groupon for what it is and make the best of it as a customer acquisition tool. Budget the daily deal service like you would advertising dollars to see if it’s worthwhile for your company.

Once you have determined if a customer is around for the long run, make sure to train your team on how to offer and introduce additional services. In addition to considering the expense of the purchase, also plan for the best-case scenario. This means that you’ll need to be prepared for a massive influx of customers. Before selecting a commercial dryer repair company, look carefully into the background of each possible hire so that you’re completely mindful of their talents and shortcomings. Feedback and reviews are essential tools that you could use to evaluate the appliance technician candidates. The suggestions we’ve assembled below can be instrumental in helping you find the ideal appliance service technician.You can discover more here about the Commercial Dryer Repair for Pittsburgh. When you are within the marketplace for a chiller rental, trust Alliance Comfort Systems as your source to locate cooling equipment. It doesn’t matter whether you would like a chiller for a billboard or industrial facility, CTCA will assist you find an appropriate unit or multiple units that fit your requirements. Avoid the difficulties involved searching the web for a supplier and get in touch with CTCA Systems.

Your look for Rent A Chiller solution will likely reveal that it are often a touch bit more complicated than expected. In fact, chillers are complex machines so there are several various factors that you simply should confine mind when shopping around for the simplest option. While your application are going to be an enormous determining think about what equipment will deliver ideal results, you ought to also consider your budget and therefore the length of your time during which you’ll employ the equipment.

Due to the very fact that there are many various manufacturing brands on the market, you ought to always keep your budget in mind when buying rental equipment. make sure that all of the required features are included and avoid adding elements that you simply don’t got to maintain your costs. remember of any additional requirements which will be necessary to finish the installation of your unit.

Pay-for-Performance Advertising

Online advertising is much different than putting up a billboard and hoping for the best. Pay-for-performance advertising is a measurable, real-time method that can target specific customer demographics. It’s also known as “direct-response advertising,” which means the cost varies as the results grow.

The most common method of performance advertising would be pay-per-click (PPC). You’ve likely seen these ads on the side or at the top of your search engine. When potential customers click on those ads, it means they have seen the ad and they are interested in the service. It’s also a great way to measure conversion rates.

In order tо operate thе latest technology, thе field technicians аnd contractors аrе appointed tо install, repair аnd maintain thе air conditioning systems. Generally, thе HVAC technicians work іn аll kinds оf buildings ѕuсh аѕ large industrial plants, factories, private homes, еtс. If уоu аrе looking fоr аnу employment opportunities іn thіѕ industry, thеn іt іѕ essential tо pass a competency test аnd receive thе certification frоm thе Environmental Protection Agency.  You can browse around these guys for more information about the HVAC services.

The financing companies provide financial assistance to acquire HVAC at low interest rates. Hence the companies do not find it difficult to repay the amount in low monthly installments. Since there is no red tapism, the company can get loan at any time they want. Sometimes, HVAC financing can be obtained on the same day itself. Since there are no cumbersome procedures, many companies find it a great relief to get financing HVAC. In fact, it is often difficult to get financial help for stand alone or roof top HVAC. But the genuine financing companies make it possible for almost all companies to have HVAC in their buildings. Click here if you want to get more detail about the heat pump repair company.

Google Adwords is perhaps the most common way to begin PPC advertising since most people use Google over the other search engines. Determine the best target keywords for your business. Landmark Air company provide the best aircon repair service. For service companies, long-tail keywords such as “Heating & Cooling Contractor Nashville” could work. Facebook ads are another option.

Advertise Locally or Within Your Industry

Media outreach is a technique that most HVAC business owners do not really consider.  It might not bring immediate phone calls, but it can be inexpensive yet profitable if performed correctly. More eyes on your website mean your site will rise higher in search rankings, so you can beat the competition. Creating comfortable indoor temperatures is a delicate balancing act between equipment, air flow, and mechanics. A qualified licensed HVAC contractor is crucial to quality installations and repairs. You can read more here about HVAC service and repair.

To take this route, start by simply sharing news about your company. Send out newsworthy press releases about your business. If you’re not sure what to write about at first, go online and read what articles the website or publication is currently printing so that you’ll know the accepted style and format for outside queries.

Then, take some time to really contribute to the conversation. Spend some time reading what others write or what comments are being written on past articles so that you can gauge what the audience is interested in reading. Furthermore, demonstrate your ability to be an online leader, so that future customers will know that you are a pioneer in your respective field.

Conclusion

You’ve most likely tried everything to grow your home services business. Whether you’ve spent too much time posting ads on Craigslist or wasting time and money hiring someone to spin a sign, there are marketing methods that will expand upon the current marketing practices that are already working for you.

Using daily deal service sites can help thousands of people discover your business. People love a good deal and while there are some discount-seekers who may not come back, there are just as many potential customers who will try your service and stick with it for the long haul.

Beyond this route, there are two other methods to target those within your demographic. Using techniques like PPC advertising or inner-industry advertising will help you build authority and advertise to those directly in your market. Don’t shout into the virtual abyss when you can speak to potential customers directly.

The post Marketing Tech Tips to Grow Your Home Services Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

In the last decade, commerce has moved online – and not just for big guys like Amazon, but for millions of smaller companies selling their wares and capabilities. At the same time, these business owners have also seen an increase in the options available for how they host and manage their mission critical sites and in the number of hosting providers in the marketplace. Without the benefit of in-house technical expertise, overwhelmed by the options available and frazzled by time constraints, many small business owners struggle to find the best unlimited hosting provider. Check this list for Canada before choosing a provider that is often viewed as a necessary evil rather than a strategic partnering decision and as a result their business could likely suffer for it.

In a recent study conducted by Liquid Web, nearly 80 percent of small and medium business owners responded that they expect their business to be even more reliant on the web and cloud technologies five years from now. These business email domain understand that having a strong web presence is necessary if they want their businesses to succeed.

Astonishingly, the survey revealed that 86 percent of respondents believe that selecting the right hosting provider like Knownhost will affect a company’s competitiveness. With the potential for web presence to make or break a business, hosting is now part of the foundation for producing better business results.

While business owners want a hosting partner who can help their business succeed, more than 1 in 5 respondents reported that the state of their business limits their selection. This is most prevalent in organizations without internal IT staff or who cannot afford third party expertise to assist in the selection. Most web hosting services charge once for domain registration and you have to annually renew this domain. But all prefer that can allow to pay once for the domain as long as you use their hosting services. To know the best web host you can check the 28Msec website. The 28 Msec reviewed a lot of web hosts to help the people.

With an increasing number of businesses betting their success on their web presence and cloud reliant technologies, it is troubling to see the percentage that make this critical business decision based on price alone. It can be a costly mistake, especially for businesses that can’t afford downtime, slow site performance or security breaches. Instead, ask a hosting provider:

• What is their track record on uptime? What service level agreements are in place in the event of an outage?
• Do they own their own infrastructure and are they on-site with the servers 24x7x365?
• Does a cheaper price mean that they utilize older or refurbished hardware?
• Do customers have around the clock access to highly- trained, certified technicians?
• What do current customers say about them? Ask for data.

Business owners must also ensure their hosting provider can support their potential for growth. For example, Infoplum AFP needed to insure their application would withstand billions of global requests during the FIFA World Cup without interruption. Since 2008, Liquid Web’s Cloud Sites platform helped them serve 4.1 billion requests or 153 million hits per day and over 100 million pageviews.

And CrazyEngineers, an online outlet and forum for professional engineers and engineering students, switched its host provider to fastcomet coupon, after multiple issues with the previous host. As the CrazyEngineers site grew in popularity, Liquid Web was able to upgrade its server to withstand this large influx of web traffic easily handling a 70 percent increase in traffic that occurred over less than three months.

Businesses need a hosting partner they can trust. Three factors top owners’ concerns when choosing a hosting provider:

1. Security

1. • In Liquid Web’s survey, 88 percent of respondents considered security one of the most important criteria when selecting a hosting provider. Unlike large corporations, most small businesses lack the advanced tech support and funds to recover from a security breach. Owners want a provider that has built in security at the network, platform and application level. Ask about the provider’s security expertise and proactive monitoring. A good hosting provider is constantly blocking malicious activity, offering security solutions and helping with compliance needs.

1. Reliability

1. • Almost half of respondents have experienced technical issues with their hosting company in the past 12 months. From the survey, the average number of technical issues is 4.5 – an unacceptable figure when even one technical issue could be detrimental for a business that is web-dependent. Not surprising, reliability is considered one of the most important criteria when selecting a provider according to 89 percent of respondents. Web-dependent businesses deserve 100 percent power and network uptime. While every provider may promote great service and high availability, ask them what they do when it doesn’t happen. With a hosting partner, owners should expect service level agreements that guarantee everything from response times and hardware replacement to compensation for downtime.

1. Support
   • When choosing a hosting provider, it is important to dig deep on the expertise of support personnel. Not every company offers 24x7x365 service and a tiered support model can cause delays in finding and addressing any hosting issues. Insure that the hosting provider offers access to experts around the clock and on the first contact – consulting on the product that is best for each business, helping if the site or application is slow and proactively flagging any issues. Having certified experts on-site and near the servers means if there is an issue, it will be fixed quickly. No middleman. No finger pointing.

The Liquid Web survey revealed that businesses are often held back from choosing a better hosting partner by the “what-if” situation migration presents. Nearly a quarter of consumers who aren’t switching to a new provider cited too much work for the migration as the biggest reason for maintaining the status quo. The right partner will have dedicated teams who can provide advice and expertise that can deliver a smooth migration experience.

If web presence fuels a business, then the site is mission-critical. Pick a partner – not a price. Think of hosting partners as part of the solution, not the problem.

The post The impact of web hosting on small business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

eBooks.

These are great for B2B companies or businesses that work in a technical space where people love to read more and gain knowledge about their industry. Remember that it’s crucial that you write about things other than your products and services. People do not like to be sold, but instead, prefer to be informed. Write from a neutral perspective and give insight about current events or other relevant, engaging content. Share your eBook on social media and your network can share it for you.

When you build your eBook, ensure your landing page is set up where visitors are required to share their name, phone number, and an email address for the chance to download the eBook.

Newsletter.

If you don’t have a newsletter yet, you are missing out on one of the easiest ways to generate more leads. Put a newsletter sign up in multiple locations on your website to grow your email list.

A great thing about your newsletter is that you have a captive audience since the recipients choose to receive it. Email pathways are also a great way to avoid getting lost in the noise of the Internet.  Don’t make the newsletter all about your business – share your insights and other industry-related and helpful information with your audience.

Blog.

A blog is one of the best lead generating tools a business can use, yet many fail to understand the importance of it. It allows a company (the writer) to have complete control of what is said and the opportunity to have the undivided attention of the audience. It’s essential to find ways to drive action and measurably grow business outcomes.

Add a section to the blog where readers can sign up for your newsletter and use the margins to promote your products and services.  Share links to the blog on your social platforms – this is one of many ways social media can benefit your business.  Remember, don’t make the blog all about you – instead, share valuable content with your audience.

Networking events.

A lot of action happens in the digital world, but the real world has its advantages, no doubt. Networking events – even those that may not pertain directly to your business – can provide you with valuable leads. Attend so you can meet new contacts, expand your network, and gain referrals.  Events are also a great way to build your brand.  Don’t forget to pass out your business cards!

Infographic.

Infographics have been used a lot, but people still share them and stop to read them when they are able.  They aren’t expensive to produce either. You need to start by coming up with an original idea that isn’t about you, then hire a quality graphic designer, and share the finished infographic socially so your network can pass it along.  You should also submit infographics to publications that cover your industry.

Make sure to put your logo and website URL on the infographic so readers will see it and can visit your site.

Strong branding.

Customers want to support authentic companies and prefer that a company have a strong message that’s consistent across all of their platforms.  Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Be who you are.  Customers want experts and want to support the business that is the best in the industry. Focus on communicating that through your strong branding to make your conversion rates go up.

Many business owners are familiar with the common ways to generate leads online and are used to navigating those platforms. There are countless ways to build relationships, boost exposure, and increase interest – probably even ways that you have yet to try. The key to generating leads is to act consistently and work to provide relevant information to your audience instead of just trying to sell them.

What other methods work well when it comes to generating leads?

The post 7 Ways Your Business Can Generate Leads appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

GoDaddy also announced 3 upgrades to its shopping cart features. These upgrades include:

• Smart mobile checkout: redesigned checkout flow to minimize all friction points for customers to complete purchases. Dramatic reduction in typing and tapping to checkout.
• Abandoned shopping cart recovery: automatically send emails to shoppers with an easy link to return where they left off in the purchase flow.
• Commerce ready email marketing: upgraded email marketing integration enables rich mobile experiences for your prospects or customers.

What does this mean for your business? If you’re not enabling multiple payment options for your mobile (and other) shoppers you’ll lose sales.

The shopping cart is the “last” click for many shoppers. Make sure your shopping cart is optimized for mobile shoppers to enable them to shop fast and remind them if they don’t finish shopping.

This announcement also shows that email is still a VERY important asset in e-commerce, it is a very important factor when trying to define ecommerce. Social media is useful but email is still quite powerful. If you’re a beginner to dropshipping, you may want to check out the ecombusinesshub.com before you put all your savings into a new dropshipping business.

Prepping Products
Why is prepping important?

Product prep is important because it helps reduce time in post-production or photo editing. You can reduce the appearance of fingerprints, creases, folds, or other imperfections that otherwise would have to be corrected during editing.

Sometimes product imperfections can be so noticeable that they can’t be reduced even after editing. Thus, it’s important to take this step as seriously as the other steps. Keep in mind that the camera picks up things that are unnoticeable to the naked eye.

The post GoDaddy Enhances Mobile Shopping With ApplePay and Shopping Cart Intelligence appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Clicks to your website equal customer engagement. If you’ve got a decent social media following, are publishing content regularly, and are continually increasing your email subscribers, but aren’t seeing a high click-through rate, it’s time to ask yourself a few key questions.

Are Our Headlines Engaging Enough?

Whether you’re writing a blog post, a press release, or an email, your headline (or subject line) must grab people by the eyeballs and get them to click to read more. If yours aren’t getting the kinds of clicks you want, you need to assess why.

Start by reading other headlines. Which pique your interest? Which make you want to click them? Do you see a theme? Some strategies for improving your headline engagement include:

• Use a statistic or number (“Get a 58% Boost in Reads with This Simple Trick”)
• Ask a question (“Could You Use More Money?”)
• Make a list (“7 Things You Didn’t Know About Cats”)
• Keep them short (5 words is a good average)

Test out different headlines to assess which show an improvement in clicks, then use those strategies for subsequent headlines.

Are Our Emails Putting People to Sleep?

You work away on your company newsletter and promotional emails, but people aren’t clicking to buy your products. What gives?

First, look at the data. What percentage of people are opening your emails? (this is called your open rate) Average open rates vary by industry, but you want to see somewhere between 17% and 20%. If you’re not getting that, look at how frequently you’re sending emails. It’s possible that you’re sending them more than people want to receive them, and they’re just deleting those emails you spent so much time developing. Scale back and measure results to see if they improve.

Within the email, assess what you’re trying to communicate. Ideally you have one call-to-action per email, so if you want them to buy a product, don’t confuse them by giving them eight products to consider. Keep the language short (just a few paragraphs) and include several places with the same link you want them to click.

Are People Ignoring Our Ads?

If your digital or pay-per-click ads aren’t generating interest, turn your focus to what the reason may be. Remember: whether you buy advertising on Facebook, Google, or somewhere else, you’re competing with a lot of other activity. Your copy and image, if you have one, need to be eye-catching so that people want to click your ad to learn more.

Keep the copy benefit-focused, meaning you’ve got to boil down the perks that people get by clicking your ad. Special offers and deep discounts, such as free shipping, 30% off, and buy one get one free are sure to generate clicks.

If you use an image, make sure it’s professional-quality. If the ad is for a product, the image should be of that product, not your headshot or brand logo.

You can A/B test ads to see which copy generates more interest, and tweak your campaign accordingly.

If your marketing efforts aren’t getting the engagement you’re looking for, don’t give up. Just assess what you’re currently doing to find places you can improve for better results.

The post Increasing Customer Clicks: Here’s the Secret appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

New Business Has Slowed? Here’s Why

The key to business growth is acquiring new customers, so if you’ve noticed that things have slowed down, it’s time to take notice. While slow business growth can happen for reasons like an economic downturn, there are often business missteps that are to blame. In this article, sales guru Adrian Miller is sharing five reasons why you might not be seeing the new business you’d like. Figure out which are applicable to your situation, then use her advice to fix it.

Click to read 5 Reasons Why You Might Not Be Winning New Business

Connecting with Customers via Facebook Live

Video marketing is a hot trend right now, but do you know what is even hotter? Live video. The thought of appearing live and unscripted on camera in front of your customers might sound daunting. However, when you understand the benefits of live video (and the fact that your fears are largely exaggerated!), you’ll be ready to take the first step into this promising area of marketing. In this Smart Hustle interview, social media expert Kim Garst shares the benefits of Facebook Live and five tips that will calm your fears and get you prepared for your first live video.

Click to read 5 Tips for Using Facebook Live to Get Closer to Your Customers

Enhance Your IT Security Today

A sobering statistic for you: in a recent survey of 500 IT professionals, 30 percent said they believe there is nothing they can do to protect the security of their company. If you’ve ever felt the same way, it’s time to eradicate that self-defeating thought and take charge because you definitely CAN improve IT security at your business! In this article, cloud service LogMeIn is sharing four simple things you can do to greatly enhance the security of your company.

Click to read How to Improve IT Security in Four Simple Steps

So what is troubling you these days? Winning new business and sales? Forming better relationships with your customers? The security of your business data? These articles are sure to help, and for more tips and advice, catch new content over at SmartHustle.com.

The post Smart Hustle Recap: Winning New Business, Facebook Live & IT Security appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

What’s a small business owner to do?

If you’ve rode this roller coaster before, you have likely realized that you must take a slightly different approach depending on the season. While you always want to provide customers with a pleasant and positive experience, each season requires its own unique spin on promotions and marketing in order to lure shoppers into your store, whether physical or online.

In a recent article on The Business Journals titled How Staples Helps This Retailer Weather the Doldrums after Holiday-Sales Rush, I read about how one company uses Staples Print and Marketing Services to adapt to the seasons and give customers a positive experience.

A wise small business owner knows the value of planning in advance. Check out The Business Journals’ article to learn how a fellow business owner relies on Staples to boost sales through the holiday season and beyond. It is sure to spark some creative ideas for how your business can successfully ride the holiday sales roller coaster too.

This article was written in partnership with Staples; however, all opinions and experiences expressed are my own.

The post How to Ride Holiday Sales Through January and Beyond appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Using Google Analytics to Track Social Campaigns

Even though there are several social media management tools, the richness of Google Analytics reports make it ideal for tracking your social campaigns. Did you know that you can use Google Analytics to track network referrals, conversions, landing pages, and social plugins? This article tells you how to get started with Google Analytics, set up goals, and five top Google Analytics reports to look at to understand how your social media campaigns are going.

Click to read How to Track Social Media Analytics with Google Analytics

Recovering from a Sales Slump

Unfortunately, everyone will experience a sales slump at some point in his or her career. Biz expert Adrian Miller says the first important thing is to understand why the slump happened so you can address the cause! However, if you find yourself in a slump, there are plenty of things you can do to recover. Adrian reviews four of the best things you can do to get the sales ball rolling again.

Click to read How to Revamp Your Business in a “Sales Slump”

Small Biz Owner: Don’t Focus on Going Viral

The gold standard in content marketing is a phenomenon known as “going viral” – when your content (whether it is a blog post, video, social media message, or something else) gets the attention of mass audiences who flood to your site and “discover” your company, making you an overnight sensation. While going viral is definitely a good thing, there are many reasons why small business owners should not focus on going viral. This article explores the reasons and what small business owners should do instead to make sure their content is a hit among the target market.

Click to read Content Marketing 2016: Why Small Businesses Shouldn’t Focus on Going Viral

Smart Hustle Magazine is committed to helping small business owners through all the twists and turns of running a business – the high points (like going viral), the low points (like experiencing a sales slump), and all of the experimentation that goes on in between (including tracking campaign analytics on platforms like Google Analytics). For more advice – no matter what stage of the game you’re at – check out SmartHustle.com or join the discussion in the Smart Hustle Community.

The post Smart Hustle Recap: Google Analytics How-To, Recovering from a Sales Slump, and More! appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

If you are planning on starting a restaurant or something similar, then you should checking out and EXPLORE OUR HEALTHY SANDWICH FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY | PITA PIT FRANCHISE. 

Entrepreneur Advice on Leaving Your Full-Time Job

Many entrepreneurs and budding small business owners face that point in their career when they have to make the decision to stay in the 9-5 or to leave that full-time job and pursue their business idea full time. No matter how confident you are in your ideas, this is a tough decision because it means saying goodbye to the structure and safety of a regular job with a regular paycheck. In this interview with Jessica Mah of the accounting company InDinero, Jessica gives advice for making a smoother transition into entrepreneurship. She also comments on the importance of refining your product and creating a long-term business plan.

Click to read Advice to Live by for Startup Entrepreneurs from Jessica Mah of InDinero

Entrepreneur Advice on Creating a Niche Business

If it’s been said once, it’s been said one hundred times – small businesses shouldn’t try to be everything to everyone; instead, they should find a specific niche and focus on bringing a unique product or service to a distinct market. If you are starting (or dream of starting) your own niche business, check out this entrepreneur advice from junk pickup Phoenix, an eco-friendly junk removal company. Josh talks about the importance of niche businesses to focus on one thing, partner with the right people and enhance your customer care so you can benefit from referral marketing.

Click to read Business Growth Strategies for Niche Businesses: An Interview with Josh Cohen of Junkluggers

Entrepreneur Advice on Franchising

Other readers may be further ahead in the game. Perhaps by now you have set up a steady and successful business but are curious as to how you can take it to the next level. Have you ever considered franchising as a way to expand your brand to a wider market with the help of others like you who dream of running their own business? In this interview with Ciarra Stockeland of MODE, a discount fashion store, Ciarra shares her advice on becoming a small business franchise. She speaks about the differences between franchising and retail, the limitations of a franchise, and the importance of mentorship. Her advice is helpful for those who want to create a franchise out of their own business as well as those who want to buy into a franchise to become a business owner.

Click to read Entrepreneur Ciarra Stockeland on the Challenges and Nuances of Starting a Franchise Business

The articles above will provide you with excellent entrepreneur advice, and if you’re looking for even more, I want to remind you about the Smart Hustle Small Business Conference that takes place October 20^th in Midtown NYC. The conference will feature speakers including Joe Connelly, Peter Shankman, Ramon Ray, Gene Marks and other entrepreneurs who are going to share their best advice with conference attendees. Tickets are on sale but are selling fast!

The post Smart Hustle Recap: Entrepreneur Advice to Grow Your Small Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Determining which are your best leads — in other words, those most likely to turn into customers — can help you increase your conversion rate and boost sales. Also, putting more focus on your most likely prospects in your pipeline will save you time (because you won’t be chasing dead-end leads). But how can you figure out which are the best leads?

First, Categorize Leads

Did you realize that 73% of new B2B leads aren’t ready to make a purchase? That doesn’t mean they’re not worth pursuing, but you will want to handle them differently than you would a lead who’s ready to buy.

Create “buckets” for your contacts. These buckets might include:

• People you’ve met in person
• People who downloaded an ebook
• Social media contacts

You could also categorize them by how they ended up in your lead funnel, such as “downloaded our 10 Reasons to Invest in Financial Software ebook,” which you’ve targeted at a particular audience.

Next, Score Those Leads

This part is fun, and a bit like a game. You can assign points to each lead to give it a score. The higher the score, the better the lead. You can give points for things like:

• Job title
• Location
• Interactions with your brand (downloaded whitepaper, attended webinar)

Also take away points for any negative actions that a lead takes, like unsubscribing from your email list.

Decide on Nurturing Techniques

Even if a lead ranks high on your scoring matrix, she might not be ready to buy from you right now, so it’s imperative that you invest the time and energy in nurturing her appropriately. If you can further break down your bucket of high-scoring leads into where they are on the buyer’s journey, you can give what each lead needs at the particular stage she’s in.

For example, if a lead is in the Consideration stage, she’s past needing to be informed about your general category of product. Now she’s comparing you to the competition. Make it easy for her. This is the ideal time to send her a free graphic that puts you (in a favorable light without being promotional) against the other top players in your space. Remember: you want to communicate that you’re trying to help her on her buying journey, not push her into a decision, so focus on being informative, not salesy.

Leverage that CRM

Your CRM platform can be hugely helpful in nurturing your best leads…but only if you maximize your use of it. Take copious notes about your leads’ activities, and tag each contact with that lead scoring information. You can even more a contact from one category or stage of the buying cycle to the next so you can easily view everyone who’s at the same stage.

These days, we have so much data at our fingertips, that chasing bad leads is nearly obsolete. Instead, put your efforts toward ensuring that those ideal leads grow to love and trust you, and eventually become customers.

The post Using CRM To Nurture Your Best Leads into Sales appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

 On Passion and Humility

Many a small business is driven by passion, but for every passionate business owner who starts out, there is another waiting in the shadows, uncertain of how to take that passion and turn it into a realistic business idea. Our interview with Alvin Perry of P5 Designs shows how it can be done. We chronicle Alvin’s journey from Corporate America to successful business owner, showing how a little humility and hard work can make your dreams a reality.

Click to read Be Passionate and Humble: Business Advice from Dr. Alvin Perry of P5 Designs

On Handling the Logistics

Our next interview almost takes off from where we left you in the Alvin Perry interview (although not intentionally). So you have passion, and you have found a way to turn it into a viable business idea. How do you deal with the logistics of actually getting your product made and your business off the ground? Like Alvin Perry, Laina Gossman started a product-based business and was challenged with figuring out how to actually get that product manufactured. Her interview shares the steps she followed to find manufacturers, select the right one for her product, and then get the product made and out to customers.

Click to read Using the Power of the Internet to Build a Manufacturing Business: An Interview with Laina Gossman

On Executing Your Vision

If you’ve followed this series of interviews, you’ve learned how to take your passion and make it into a business, and how to iron out the logistics of getting your products made. But what happens after that – when your business is up and going, but you encounter people who have other opinions about how you should run the business and what the ‘end goal’ should be? Should you stay true to your vision, or pivot based on the ideas of others? In this interview with Dawn Dickson, we learn that it’s best to use a mixed strategy. Dawn shares with us her unique vision for her company, and how she is carrying out that vision, but also how pivoting slightly from that vision at critical moments has helped her survive.

Click to read Following Your Vision & Knowing When to Pivot: Small Biz Advice from Dawn Dickson of Flat Out of Heels

Smart Hustle interviews are what makes Smart Hustle such a unique website for small business owners. The business stories we are used to hearing are those of wildly successful entrepreneurs whose status many of us will never obtain (nor do many of us want!) There are actually thousands of small business owners just like you who are dealing with the same challenges you are facing and whose inspiring stories can motivate you to keep pushing forward, even on your toughest day. Check out the interviews above (which contain written text as well as audio if you’d rather listen!) and for other Smart Hustle interviews, visit SmartHustle.com.

The post Smart Hustle Recap: 3 Outstanding Smart Hustle Interviews Take You Through the Small Biz Journey appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Establishing Culture in Your Business

Culture is what differentiates those companies where the employees love to come to work from those where the employees dread ‘punching in.’ How your employees feel about their job is then reflected down to the customers, which is why every business owner should think carefully about the kind of culture and the core values they want the business to represent. Need a little guidance? This article offers four great tips for how to improve your work environment.

Click to read How to Build a Rock Slid Company Culture

Making Analytics Work for Your Business

Business data provides valuable insights into how to improve your business, but many times, business owners collect data and then aren’t sure what to do with it. Ideally, analytics should be the driving force behind the decisions you make, and all employees should understand how to use analytics. This article will help, with four training tips that will teach your whole team how to use analytics effectively.

Click to read How to Train Your Team in Better Analytics

Upgrading the Point of Sales Experience

The point of sales is that final moment in the journey where a person officially becomes a customer. Think now to the point of sales experience in your business – does it positively add to the customer’s experience or does it hurt your chance of making a sale? This article has a valuable lesson on what not to do, then some tips for improving the experience, like upgrading your point of sales technology and empowering your sales staff.

Click to read 3 Ways to Improve the Point of Sales Experience

Business Tips for Artists

Although artists funnel their passion into their artwork, interview guest Crista Cloutier says that artists are also entrepreneurs and they must learn how to build their business if they want to be successful. An artist herself, Crista also runs a program called The Working Artist which teaches artists the business skills they need. In this interview, Crista gives tips for how people in creative industries can plan out their business and execute their marketing.

Click to read The Working Artist, Crista Cloutier, Shares Business Tips for the Creative Industries

Successful business owners know they have to pay attention to those important details, including creating a positive culture, listening to analytics, and giving customers a good point of sales experience. What little details in your business could use some TLC? Chances are you’ll find the tips and advice you need on SmartHustle.com.

The post Smart Hustle Recap: Establishing Culture in Your Business, Better Analytics, & More appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Overall, the power of social media is so important for all businesses to understand and do more of. I’ve asked Kati McGee, SMB Brand Development for Instagram to share her tips on how to get the most out of Instagram.

Small businesses around the world turn to Instagram to capture and share the moments, products, and services that matter most to their business. The community on Instagram is over 500 million strong, more than 300 million of whom use Instagram every single day. Small businesses have always been an important part of this community, using Instagram to turn their passions into livelihoods. Take Janine, a woodworker that turned her hobby into a well-run business of selling custom-made art and furniture creations, or Stance Socks, which breathed new life into a traditionally unremarkable category by dedicating its brand to art and self-expression, posting playful imagery to its Instagram account.

With nearly 50 percent of people following businesses on Instagram and 60 percent of people learning about a product or service on the platform, Instagram is a natural place to introduce people to your business, connect with your community and acquire new customers. It’s never been easier to get started — Just recently Instagram announced a new set of business tools that will help you develop more meaningful relationships with your followers, better understand how content performs and find new customers on mobile

As we introduce these new tools in the coming months, we want to share 10 tips for how to use Instagram to help your business be successful. From creative content to community mentors, we encourage you to experiment and learn in order to identify strategies that work for you and your business.

1. Showcase your passion — Think of Instagram as your virtual shop window where you can demonstrate what makes your business unique. A picture, after all, is worth a thousand words. It’s the perfect place to showcase your passion and inspire existing and future customers.
2. Engage your community — Play an active role with your community. Engage with comments and questions on your own posts and use hashtags, location tags and view content your business is tagged in to discover and join the conversation on other community members’ posts. A lot of great small business accounts feature content posted by followers, which helps strengthen the relationship between a business and its most enthusiastic customers.
3. Establish your voice — Instagram is where people connect around their passions so be authentic and create a visual voice that reflects that of your business or band.
4. Take your customers behind-the-scenes — People come to Instagram to get a behind-the-scenes look. Use Instagram to tell the world how your business operates, the team that makes it all happen and the effort that it takes to bring your product or service to market.
5. Get creative with video —The total time people spent watching video on Instagram has increased 150% over the last six months.  That said, lots of people aren’t able to consume sound when on mobile so ensure your video will be engaging with or without sound.  And don’t forget to try out our new video tools like Hyperlapse and Boomerang to create simple and engaging videos.
6. Choose quality over quantity — Instagram is where people go to connect around their passions and interests. Developing content that is authentic and well crafted will help businesses stand out by fitting in.
7. Experiment with advertising — To find new customers, consider experimenting with advertising on the platform. Instagram introduced ads to businesses of all sizes in September, and offers all of the same targeting capabilities as Facebook while utilizing the same simple ad buying interfaces. We also offer many ad formats – landscape, up to sixty-second video and multi-image or videos for example. When our new business tools roll out soon, you’ll also be able to promote a post directly from the Instagram app.
8. Search for inspiration — Businesses have been a part of the Instagram community from the beginning. Follow your business partners, advocates, and influencers in the community whose content may relate to your business or inspire you. What do they do well that you can learn from?
9. Seek advice and feedback — Your community of fellow entrepreneurs on Instagram domestic and abroad is one of the best resources you can go to for advice.
10. Keep your eyes peeled for Instagram Business Tools — These tools will give small businesses like yours the support they need to grow. Profiles with a contact button, insights on your posts and audience, and the ability to promote a post from your account on Instagram will make it easier than ever for your business to find new customers.

With these 10 tips in mind, you’ll be able to continue to build your business on Instagram, which is a place to turn your passion into livelihood.

The post 10 Ways Instagram Can Help Your Business Find New Customers appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The Importance of Existing Customers

These days, people do business with companies that they’ve formed “relationships” with, which means that a focus on existing customers can boost your customer retention, customer loyalty and, therefore, your profit. This article features four best practices for paying attention to existing customers, including how to deepen your relationships, stay in contact, and give your customers exactly what they’re looking for.

Click to read Why and How Successful Businesses Grow Revenue by Paying Attention to Existing Customers

Should You Surcharge?

Surcharging has definite benefits and costs. On the one hand, it helps you recoup the costs of credit card charges. However, on the other hand, your customers might not appreciate these extra fees. This article is designed to help you decide if surcharging is right for your business, sharing pros, cons, considerations, and alternatives to surcharging.

Click to read Surcharging Credit Cards in Your Small Business: What You Need to Consider

Boost Your Training with a Learning Management System

Training is an important part of bringing new employees aboard, implementing new systems and procedures, and keeping all of your team members at the top of their game. Have you ever considered a learning management system? These online systems help you create training programs that standardize the training process in an online e-learning program that you can customize to employees and also use to track their progress.

Click to read Why Your Company Needs a Learning Management System

What Is Holding You Back from Success?  

Do you ever feel frustrated because you seem to be hitting an invisible brick wall – that there is something holding you back, but you can’t quite pinpoint what it is? It’s time to let go of these hidden blocks so you can find the success you deserve! This article reveals three potential sources of your hidden blocks, so you can resolve the issue and move forward in your business.

Click to read 3 Ways to Uncover Your Hidden Blocks to Business Success

Smart Hustle aims to tackle the various problems that small business owners face, whether related to sales, marketing, business operations, technology, or any other area that is crucial to small business success. So what is on the top of your mind these days? Bring it to our attention in the Smart Hustle Community, and for other great stories, visit SmartHustle.com.

The post Smart Hustle Recap: The Importance of Existing Customers, Surcharging Credit Cards, & More! appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Snapchat Announces a New Advertising Option

If millennials are your target market, you probably know about Snapchat by now. This social media platform is a hit among 18-34-year-olds, who use the platform to share pictures and videos. Snapchat has offered various advertising options for a while now, but on June 13^th, they announced a brand new option that shows promise for reaching the millennial market. This article explains your new Snapchat advertising option, and also presents an infographic full of tips on how you can use Snapchat to market your business (both organically and paid).

Click to read New Snapchat Advertising: Target Millennials with Video Ads

Pitching the Media

Another way to market your business is to get coverage in the media. Although small business owners typically don’t have the budget to hire a PR person, the DIY strategy can work when executed properly. This article shares tips on how to pitch the media, including where to pitch as well as the length and timing of your pitch.

Click to read 3 Ways to Pitch Your Small Business to the Media

Improve Your Sales with Negotiation Skills Training

Sales are the most important aspect of building a successful business. Think about it – no matter how great your marketing is, you won’t get very far if your sales team can’t seal the deal. In the days of fierce competition, your sales team must be able to build a strong argument for your product and service, but they also must be prepared to negotiate the final terms and price. This article presents six reasons why you should provide negotiation skills training to your sales team to set them up for success.

Click to read Negotiation Skills Training: Why Startups Need It

Growth Hacks to Try in Your Small Biz

Growth hacking refers to a wide range of activities spread across marketing, sales, programming, and design that help a business grow FAST. Taking examples from successful startups like Apple, Google, Dropbox, Pinterest and more, this article shows you how you can also use growth hacks like referrals, email signatures, communities, piggybacking and more in your small business.

Click to read 9 Growth Hacks from Your Favorite Startups (And How to Use Them)

What do you say – are you ready to market your business and bring your sales to the next level? Get guidance in the articles above and for more ideas and inspiration visit SmartHustle.com.

The post SH Recap – Market Your Business, Improve Your Sales, and GROW! appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

This article was written in partnership with GoDaddy, a company that offers domain name registration as well as hosting and ecommerce services to help you develop your online presence.

The phrase rings out on websites all over the Internet – if you’re a business, “you HAVE to be online!” Although most small business owners will recognize the importance of an online presence, many have held back for fear that setting up and running a website is a complex process that they can’t possibly understand or manage. It’s not true! As small business owner Fred Magnanimi said in a recent Smart Hustle interview, technology is a lot more accessible than many people assume. He set up his website and e-commerce store all by himself and with the tools available today (like GoDaddy hosting and e-commerce services), so can you.

I recently had the chance to review GoDaddy hosting and e-commerce options. My conclusion? These are the sort of tools that empower small business owners to take control of their online presence and reach a larger market. They are affordable, simple to use, and include everything a small business owner needs for success.

Want to know what I think about GoDaddy hosting & e-commerce services? Check out my personal review by clicking play on the video below, plus read on to learn more.

The Importance of Hosting and E-commerce

Before I cover the GoDaddy services and features, let’s talk about why you would need them in the first place.

Hosting (or web hosting) refers to a service where a company (in this case GoDaddy) provides access to, and storage space for, a website. It’s a lot like renting your space. Just like you pay to rent your physical location, you pay a web hosting service to rent your online location. The host gives you a certain amount of storage space (for pages, website content, files, pictures, etc.) and they store your information on a server. When someone wants to view your website, they type in your address, their computer connects to the host’s server, and your website is displayed in their browser.

There are some sites that offer free hosting, but that comes with downsides that aren’t ideal for business. For a few bucks a month (as low as $3.99 with GoDaddy hosting) self-hosting gives you perks:

• Choose your own domain name (you want to be timsbakery.com not timsbakery.wordpress.com!)
• Fully customize the design of your website
• Use plugins – tools that extend and improve the functionality of your website
• Add Google Analytics to learn about your website visitors

It’s clear that any person who is serious about their business should choose a self-hosted site over a free site. And why do you need a website? Because it’s where your customers are and where people will go to find you! Even if you are a local business, your customers (and prospective customers) will want to go online to find your location, phone number, business hours, contact information, menu, and so on.

If you have a product you could potentially sell online, having a website gets even more important. That’s where e-commerce comes in. E-commerce refers to the selling and purchasing of goods online. It takes your website to the next level – not only do you have a site that gives information about your business and your physical location, but you also have the ability to sell your products. This expands your reach and opens you up to millions of potential customers. E-commerce is a natural progression for any local product-based business that wants to expand.

GoDaddy Hosting

GoDaddy offers WordPress hosting services for small businesses who know it’s time they set up a website. WordPress is the most popular website building tool because it’s completely customizable and user-friendly. If you don’t feel comfortable setting up your own site, there are also plenty of WordPress experts out there who can help you get set up. The GoDaddy plans allow you to choose the hosting that is right for your business:

• Basic Plan – As low as $3.99/month and $7.99/month when you renew, you’ll get hosting for one WordPress site with a capacity for 25,000 monthly visitors and 10GB SSD storage.
• Deluxe Plan – As low as $4.49/month and $9.99/month when you renew, you’ll get hosting for one WordPress website with a capacity for 100K monthly visitors and 15GB SSD storage, plus extra perks like an SEO plugin.
• Ultimate Plan – For as low as $7.99/month and $14.99/month when you renew, you’ll get hosting for two WordPress sites with a capacity of 400K monthly visitors and 30GB SSD storage, plus extra perks like malware scan and removal.
• Developer Plan – For as low as $13.99/month and $24.99/month when you renew, you’ll get hosting for five WordPress sites with a capacity of 800K monthly visitors and 50GB SSD storage, plus extra perks like a free one-year SSL certificate.

If you purchase an annual plan, you’ll also get a free domain (your chosen URL). All plans include free daily backups and one-click restore so you won’t lose your data, plus free 24/7 support for questions and issues.

GoDaddy E-commerce

If you want to sell products online, you can choose GoDaddy’s e-commerce service which includes your website, hosting, and shopping cart. Currently, you can try it for free for the first month then get a discount of $19.99/month for the first year (after that, the normal price is $29.99/month). With GoDaddy e-commerce you can:

• Easily set up your store, choosing from many customizable themes that allow you to drag and drop product images and add descriptions.
• Take payments online, with the ability to accept all major credit cards and PayPal. You are only charged a fee when you make a sale, which is 2.9 percent plus $0.30 per transaction.
• Sales are automatically transferred to your bank account.
• Enjoy 24/7 support for advice and answers to all your questions.

My Experience with GoDaddy Hosting & E-commerce

There are several things to look for when considering an e-commerce solution for your business. Of course, the specific needs of your business and your goals are most important. But in general, I look for simplicity and the ability to easily add products online. Other things, such as security and integration with other apps, are important as well.

I explored GoDaddy’s e-commerce solution by making a test store of my own.

In my experience, GoDaddy’s e-commerce was fast and easy to use, allowing just about any business to get up and running quickly to sell online. You can sell through QuickBooks or Stripe, for starters.

GoDaddy’s hosting solution is pretty seamless as well. When I tried out GoDaddy hosting, I wanted to see how easy it was to migrate SmallBizTechnology.com over to GoDaddy. After entering a few bits of information, GoDaddy’s migration tool took over the rest and began to automatically migrate my managed WordPress site to the GoDaddy platform. From my experience, it will be easy for anyone who currently has a website to switch from their current host to GoDaddy hosting. Doing so will allow you to lock in the low prices and features I mentioned above.

Also, if you don’t have a website yet, I’m sure you’re now amazed at how easy and affordable it is to set up your online site and store. GoDaddy hosting and e-commerce services are perfect for small business owners who are ready to embrace technology and all the perks that come with it – more leads, customers, sales, and profits. The online world is your oyster, small business owner!  It’s time to set up your website or e-commerce store today.

GoDaddy is the world’s largest domain registrar, with over 14 million users worldwide. Their services also include website creation, hosting, design, ecommerce for small business, security, marketing services, bookkeeping, and productivity tools. GoDaddy has 62 million domains currently under management and is committed to empowering small business owners to successfully start, grow and run their businesses.

The post GoDaddy Hosting & Ecommerce Helps SmallBiz Owners Set Up an Online Presence appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Choosing the right point of sale (POS) technology is one of the many tasks for setting up your small business, and like other areas of building your business, it is complicated by the variety of choices available. There are hundreds of POS systems to choose from, and they’re certainly not created equally. Choose the wrong system and you’ll encounter headache after headache, including lost productivity and unhappy customers. Make the right choice and you’ll streamline your processes, with the ability to simplify and automate tedious tasks that you used to handle manually. In an effort to help you make the RIGHT choice of POS technology for your small business, ShopKeep has just released a free resource called the Ultimate Guide to Choosing a POS System.

Goodbye Cash Register, Hello Modern POS Technology

Historically, the cash register has been the go-to device for ringing up sales. However, today people pay with a variety of methods, including credit cards, debit cards, and even contactless payments. These multiple payment methods make calculating daily transactions much more difficult than simply counting up the cash in your till. POS technology can efficiently handle daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual sales tracking, and it can even perform additional duties, such as inventory management.

The earlier generations of POS systems were PC-based, which came with drawbacks such as software costs, crashes, repairs, maintenance and more. However, technology has progressed so that today small business owners can choose iPad-based POS systems that are cheaper, more reliable, and easy to use.

What to Look for When Choosing POS Technology

The guide walks small business owners through what to look for when choosing POS technology. This includes:

• Usability – The technology should be easy to set up & use.
• Customer Support – The system should come with 24/7 support.
• Simple Pricing – You should look for simple, pay-as-you-go pricing.
• Quality Hardware – The hardware should be both durable and stylish.
• Cloud Data – The POS data should be held in the cloud and accessible anywhere.
• Security – The technology should keep customer and business data safe and secure.

The guide reviews these and other important aspects of POS technology. You’ll learn how making the right choice in POS can also help you with sales reports, business insights, accounting, and even building better relationships with your customers.

It’s Time for a POS Makeover

Whether you’re just starting out, or you’ve been in business for a while, it’s definitely time to look at the latest POS systems and update accordingly. The ShopKeep Ultimate Guide to Choosing a POS System features a variety of quotes about payment systems, and this one by Greg Burch, VP of Strategic Initiatives U.S. for the Ingenico Group, really stood out to me:

“It’s crucial for small retailers to keep their payment technology up to date both to ensure security and to let customers pay the way they want to pay. Ultimately, small merchants who don’t keep up with payment technology are likely to lose business to their competitors.”

Your customers ARE looking for the convenience and security of modern systems, where their transaction with your business can run smoothly. Having the wrong POS can make your business look dated, and any mishaps with the POS transaction will cause customers to shop elsewhere.

Choosing the right POS technology can also help small business owners who run brick-and-mortar businesses to streamline their processes.  Since modern POS systems can automate many tedious manual tasks, business owners can become more efficient and productive. This gives them more time to devote to the most important aspects of running and growing the business.

The ShopKeep Ultimate Guide to Choosing a POS System has everything you need to make an informed decision about POS technology. Grab your free download today and you’re one step closer to choosing the right point of sale system for your small business.

The post Choosing the Right POS Technology for Your Small Business appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

I was reading the Wall Street Journals article about how designer Michelle Smith, sketched a dress “Selena” and after seeing the interest on social media, decided to accelerate it’s manufacturing.

The Journal writes, “Over several weeks following Milly’s September show, the Selena dress garnered more than the usual attention on social media, particularly vogue.com, which showed how often people were sharing photos of it. Ms. Smith posted photos of the Selena alongside other dresses from her collection on Sept. 18 and Oct. 20. Both times, interest in the Selena was strongest. “Dat red sleeve flounce doh,” wrote an Instagram follower whose handle is QueenDemakos. Others asked to buy it immediately.

“That’s the beauty of social media for a retail business. You can gauge people jones-ing for something,” Ms. Smith says.”

This story goes to reinforce and echo the power of social media for big and small brands.

Build a minimal viable product, test it online, gauge the reaction, then sell it appropriately.

The post Make It, Ship It, Test It on Social Media, Then Sell It To Your Fans. The Power of MVP Creation. appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The 3 Biggest Mistakes in Pricing Strategy

Finding the right pricing for your products and services is vital to your success. Price too high and your target market won’t be able to afford your product; price too low and your target market won’t trust your product. To increase sales, you must find the right pricing strategy – and to help you out we spoke with Lisa Hendrickson of Spark City, who shared the biggest pricing strategy mistakes and why you should be careful about adopting the lean startup model.

Click to read Why Small Business Needs to Rethink Pricing Strategies and the Lean Startup Model

Branding: Design & Color

Your branding elements are the visual representations of your business that will drive brand awareness and customer loyalty. Since many of us need help with design, we conducted an interview with Pam Webber of 99designs. In our discussion, Pam gives advice on the role of color in branding and the importance of design for small businesses.

Click to read The Importance of Color and Design When Branding Your Business

Review of Robert Herjavec’s Latest Book

You know Robert Herjavec as an investor on ABC’s Shark Tank, but according to his new book, you DON’T have to be a shark – success is available to anyone who is willing to work hard enough for it. The book touches on issues such as hard work and the importance of selling effectively. As a small business owner, will the book help and inspire you? Should you add it to your reading list? Find out by checking out Ramon’s review.

Click to read You Don’t Have to Be a Shark: Review of Robert Herjavec’s Latest Book on Sales, Hard Work, & More

Do You Have an Accountability Partner?

An accountability partner is somebody who helps you stay on track and reach your goals. It could be a mentor, a group of advisors, a business coach, or some other confidant whom you can turn to for a fresh perspective. Being an entrepreneur means that you are your own boss – but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have someone who will help you stay accountable. Find out why you need an accountability partner and how to do accountability the ‘right way’ in this article.

Click to read Why Every Small Business Owner Needs an Accountability Partner

Small Business and Health Insurance

The current rules say that small businesses that have fewer than 50 full-time employees do not have to offer health insurance to employees – but should you offer it anyway? This article looks at the pros and cons of offering cheap viagra from mexico employee health care benefits and also shares information on how and where to explore health insurance for your employees.

Click to read Should Small Businesses Offer Employee Health Benefits?

This issue of the Smart Hustle Recap will help you take control of sales with the right pricing strategy, create beautiful branding elements for your company, contemplate thought-provoking topics like health care and accountability, and even add a new business book to your library. In addition to that, there are plenty of other stories you may have missed in the past couple weeks while we took a break from our weekly Recap. Take a few minutes to catch up at SmartHustle.com.

The post Smart Hustle Recap: Developing the Right Pricing Strategy, Using Color in Your Branding, & More appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

• There has never been a better time for e-commerce.
• It has never been easier to set up an online storefront.

But as simple as it is to set up an e-commerce presence, it’s important to know how to build and market your store before you get started. With the right tools in place, you can build a winning website and draw customers in. Once you’ve set up your e-commerce shop, you’ll need to know how to leverage it to get the best results.

How to Leverage an Ecommerce Platform

As beneficial as an online store can be to your business’s success, it isn’t the only option. If you aren’t quite ready to set up your own online store, consider leveraging one of the many existing platforms for reaching customers online. Marketplaces like Etsy, Amazon, and eBay will let you set up a store and reach their already robust customer bases. Angi (formerly Angie’s List) and Thumbtack will help you connect with local customers who are looking for services like yours. The best thing about these resources is that you’ll be able to enjoy quick setup without a huge financial commitment.

If you decide to use a site like Etsy or Amazon as your sole selling platform, you should buy the domain name that best relates to your business and point that domain to your online store. This will give you a single address on the web, whether that address is connected to your Amazon seller account, your Etsy shop, or your own dedicated website. This will give you one online address, as well as the benefit of an easily-remembered address that promotes your own brand up front. It will also give you a company-branded email address.

How to Build Your Own Online Store

Once you’re ready to build your dedicated online store, getting started is easy. Useful website builders like Shopify, Squarespace, and Wix let you build an online store using drag-and-drop tools. These sites offer features like shopping carts, site hosting, and search engine optimization, making sure your online store is easy to use, has a professional look, and ranks well when customers are searching for certain products or services.

While these services generally aren’t free, businesses usually find they’re budget friendly. Generally do-it-yourself site builders cost less than $75 a year and may even be free if shop owners are willing to allow third-party ads on their sites. Best of all, these tools come with customer support to provide technical help when needed.

3 Tips to Guide You

1. Identify your website needs – Your online store can be simple and streamlined or a sophisticated multimedia marketing and sales hub. Determine your requirements before you begin building. If you decide you want a lot of bells and whistles on your site, you may want to consider a professional web developer to help.
   2. Pick a domain name – Your domain name will be your virtual address, as well as your online identity, on the web. Even if some solutions offer to host your site on their domains, you should put your website on your owndomain name to have a consistent, branded web address for your customers to remember. It will also give you an attractive, professional web address to use in your marketing.
   3. Select the right website builder – You can find an array of solutions by doing an Internet search for ‘e-commerce website builder.’ Take time to research and compare two to three options. Make sure they have an e-commerce option and that they will not only meet your needs for today but in the future as well.

With so many great resources, entrepreneurs can easily set up an online store and begin promoting it immediately. Before choosing your site’s platform, make sure you carefully research all of the available options and choose the one that’s best for your own business.

This article was written in partnership with Verisign; however, all opinions and experiences expressed are my own.

The post Tips to Help Your Business Build a Winning Ecommerce Store appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

How to Use Landing Pages

Landing pages are an important tool to use in the middle of your marketing funnel. They help you capture website visitor information so they become leads that you can contact – and then they help move those leads into paying customers. In this interview with Robert Nendza of LeadPages (a landing page tool), he explains how to use landing pages, detailing the process so you can replicate it in your own business. This article (and the accompanying audio interview) is sure to change the way you think and execute your marketing.

Click to read How to Build a Powerful Marketing Machine: Tips from LeadPages VP of Marketing

The Inspirational Story of the Kauffman Foundation

The Kauffman Foundation is a philanthropic organization that is devoted to the advancement of education and entrepreneurialism. As a small business owner, you may have come across the name before and even visited the website for resources like the ‘Founders School’ which provides valuable information to entrepreneurs. In this article, we get the full story of the man behind the Kauffman Foundation. In an exclusive Smart Hustle interview, Matt Pozel from the Kauffman Foundation tells the inspirational tale of Ewing Kauffman whose sales expertise and business savvy helped him earn the money to start the foundation. This is a tale that is sure to inspire and motivate your own journey.

Click to read Matt Pozel of the Kauffman Foundation Shares the Story & Legacy of Ewing Kauffman (Interview)

Stop Aiming for Perfect

Small business owners are a highly ambitious group, a fact that makes many of us prone to perfectionism. While ‘perfect’ may be the standard you have set in your business, this article explains why perfectionism can actually hurt, not help, your business. If you need convincing, this article has 5 reasons why perfectionism isn’t a good model. It also offers help to those perfectionists who have to learn how to let go.

Click to read 5 Reasons You Need to Stop Aiming for Perfect in Your Business

Knowledge, inspiration, and reality checks – that’s what we are offering you in this edition of the weekly Smart Hustle Recap. For help on your other small business issues and questions, make sure to check out the full Smart Hustle website here.

The post Smart Hustle Recap: How to Use Landing Pages, the Story behind the Kauffman Foundation, and More appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

I am a serial entrepreneur. I started my first business in 1981 and it is still operating. Over the past 35+ years I own or have owned 6 businesses. Some did extremely well. Others failed. All provided or continue to provide learning lessons that I implement to increase productivity and profitability of the businesses we work with as well as my own businesses. I’ve shared my learning experiences in my books, The Courage to be Profitable, The Ugly Truth about Small Business, and The Ugly Truth about Managing People.

I have also learned from many entrepreneurs and authors. My favorites, which I call the classics, may not be the most popular or well known. All have solid business advice including why you need Library Solutions. These books should be in your library, not sitting on the shelf collecting dust, instead dog earred, highlighted, and used as guidance for your profitable business.

Sales

You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar, David Sandler

David’s sales processes are tried, true, and will help any professional sales person. Follow his funnel , implement his suggestions, and your sales closing ratio and dollar volume will increase. You will know when to walk away before you spend your valuable time on a potential sale that will never become reality.

How to Master the Art of Selling, Tom Hopkins

This is a basic primer for sales. Definitions, practices, and methods to sell almost everything, including Tom’s famous bird bath example. Learn words and phrases to use and ones to avoid in this practical, down to earth book.

Marketing

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Dan and Chip Heath

Whether you are marketing to customers, potential customers, or your employees, your messages must get out. They must break through the clutter and be memorable. Dan and Chip show us how to get our ideas to stick. Hint: tell a story. The sticker your messages, the better chance of increasing your customer base.

The New Rules of Marketing and PR, David Meerman Scott

David constantly revises this book to keep you abreast of the latest changes in marketing and PR. He offers a step-by-step action plan to help you invest your marketing and PR dollars wisely. The latest version includes social media, video, and mobile applications that you can use to reach buyers directly.

Finance

The Richest Man in Babylon, George S. Clayson

Give back. This book shows you an easy formula to do it so that you don’t break the bank. It also shows you an easy way to handle your business finances. If you are profitable, handle your cash well, and give back, then you will have a nest egg and cash reserves when you need them.

Personal Development

Think and Grow Rich and Laws of Success in Sixteen Lessons, Napoleon Hill

Napoleon is the granddaddy of business personal development books. Andrew Carnegie tasked Napoleon Hill with studying, interviewing, and writing about how the habits and routines of rich and powerful business magnates to discover what made them successful. The result: these two books which give insight into the thinking patterns and actions of successful businessmen. Copy them and you have a great chance of being successful.

Author Bio: Ruth King is the CEO and founder of Profitability Revolution Paradigm, an internet-based television program that provides information to help small business owners better run their businesses and maximize their profits. A serial entrepreneur, she also wrote the book The Courage to Be Profitable, a resource that helps small business owners get and stay profitable in less than 30 minutes a month.

The post Business Classics That Should Be in Every Small Business Owner’s Library appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Small Biz Success Story – Hannah Perry of the Giggling Pig

Small business is the engine that drives America’s economic progress, and it’s no secret that people come from other countries in search of the American Dream. In this inspirational story you’ll learn about Hannah Perry, who came to the United States from England with just $15 in her pocket to last her a week. Life was tough but she struggled and found success with her children’s art and after-school studio called Giggling Pig. In this article you can learn about her recipe for success and business advice, plus watch the video interview.

Click to read How Hannah Perry of the Giggling Pig Turned $15 Into Small Business Success.

5 Tips to Become More Profitable

As an entrepreneur, profit is one of your main goals; however, there are many ways you can unknowingly let that profit fall through the cracks. This article has five tips that will improve your profit by filling those cracks, careful planning, and developing healthy financial habits.

Click to read 5 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Become More Profitable.

Cloud Security Tips

These days 77 percent of business owners are using cloud technology. Cloud software and apps feature benefits such as easy access to business data on the go – however, with that convenience come additional security risks. If you use cloud technology in your business, you’ll want to check out this must-read article that covers 5 important things you should do to increase the security of the business and customer data you store in the cloud.

Click to read 5 Security Tips to Keep Your Business Data Safe in the Cloud.

So what are you looking for this week – perhaps inspiration for your small business journey, financial tips, or cloud security strategies? Explore the articles above, plus check out Smart Hustle for more important small business information.

The post Smart Hustle Recap: Small Biz Success Story, Ways to Increase Profit & Cloud Security Tips appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Valentine’s Day Marketing

If your business hasn’t done any Valentine’s Day marketing yet, you probably think it is too late to capitalize on the holiday. Not so fast! This Smart Hustle article shares ten Valentine’s Day marketing ideas that you can try at the last minute. The list includes ideas for boosting sales and customer engagement, applicable to both online and brick-and-mortar stores.

Click to read 10 Last Minute Valentine’s Day Marketing Ideas

Tech Twitter Chat

Did you hear the news? Staples has recently unveiled a new feature called Staples Tech Services where you can get next day service on PCs brought to their store by noon. To explore the topic of how technology downtime impacts businesses, they are holding a tech Twitter chat on February 17, hosted by Ramon Ray and Denise O’Berry. This article will tell you everything you need to know to participate in this tech Twitter Chat – including some helpful information for those who have never participated before.

Click to read Staples #MakeMoreHappen Twitter Chat: Avoiding & Reducing Tech Downtime

Tips to Compete With – and even BEAT – Bigger Businesses

As a small business owner, you probably feel that you are at a disadvantage compared to the power and resources that your bigger business competitors have. While bigger budgets and more manpower are to their advantage, there are also several advantages that YOU hold over THEM. This article explores five key ways that you use your own small business strengths to your advantage.

Click to read 5 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Beat Bigger Businesses

Making Pivotal Changes in Your Business

After you’ve established your businesses, making changes can be a risky endeavor. However, if planned carefully, pivoting your business can lead to greater success. This article gives a few examples of companies that have successfully pivoted and outlines how you too can use pivoting to give your business a fresh start.

Click to read Why Your Small Business Needs to Pivot

Marketing, technology, sales – what is your business focused on at this particular moment in time? Click to explore the articles that will help you the most, and stay tuned next week for another Smart Hustle recap.

The post Smart Hustle Recap – Valentine’s Day Marketing, Upcoming Tech Twitter Chat & More appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.