Small Business Trends |
- Join Tripit Co-Founder at Small Biz Big Things
- PPC on Brand Terms: Pros and Cons
- Implement Year Round Benefits Communication
- Constant Contact Moves into Mobile with Acquisition of CardStar
- The New Economy and Small Business
- Don’t Make Excuses in Your Small Business
| Join Tripit Co-Founder at Small Biz Big Things Posted: 19 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST
This all day event includes a “who’s who” of successful entrepreneurs prepared to share their insight on how to grow your business with the right marketing, hiring, leadership and more.
What You Can Expect
When Tuesday, February 7, 2012 9 am to 4 pm (PST) Where Hyatt Regency, 5 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, CA 94111 Registration: Register now and save $40 (Special discount for Small Business Trends readers!) Small Biz Big Things is an interactive forum – what better way to learn than from business growth experts who have built, or are currently building, successful companies. The experts will share their lessons learned, their success stories, their growth challenges and even their victories with you. Join them at Small Biz Big Things for some good ole’ fashioned, enjoyable networking and education. Come have a great lunch and learn to grow your business. Don’t wait – register now! From Small Business Trends      |
| PPC on Brand Terms: Pros and Cons Posted: 19 Jan 2012 11:30 AM PST Anyone doing Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising will eventually confront the following question:
It’s a common enough question. I recently came across an article about advertising on your brand name and felt like small businesses needed to understand the pros and cons. The Cons of Advertising on Your Brand Name
The Pros of Advertising on Your Brand Name
In Summary In my experience the pros outweigh the cons. If you’re still on the fence, consider the following arguments:
Just like all PPC efforts, as you test and monitor performance you’ll soon determine if the effort is profitable and ensure your PPC dollars are pulling their weight.
From Small Business Trends     |
| Implement Year Round Benefits Communication Posted: 19 Jan 2012 08:30 AM PST Many small businesses with limited staff use the open enrollment period as the one and only time they discuss benefits with employees. This activity, though necessary, can prove to be overwhelming for the staff to comprehend large amounts of benefits information all at once. Small businesses seeking more effective ways to support employees should implement a year-round benefits communication and education approach instead of limited, intense periods of information overload or otherwise infrequent communication. Doing so can help businesses provide employees with retainable information and make processes such as open enrollment smoother and more effective. Impact on Retention By proactively encouraging worker engagement when it comes to making benefits decisions, employers can help workers be better prepared and protected against an accident or illness, resulting in significant financial implications for both themselves and their employers. When evaluating workplace benefits communication at small companies, 39 percent of workers agree they would be less likely to leave their jobs if they were well-informed about their benefits. The turnover cost alone is an incentive for employers to make changes in how and how often their organizations share benefits information. Small businesses must acknowledge the possibility that communication needs improvement. For example, almost half (46 percent) of employees at small companies say their HR departments communicate too little about employee benefit plans, and just over half (52 percent) of HR decision-makers at small businesses believe they communicate very or extremely effectively with employees. Reap significant rewards by developing more-effective benefits communications, including healthier, more-protected and more-engaged employees. Four best practices include: 1. Being a Valuable Resource When employees don't know better, they don't do better in terms of adequately protecting their income and well-being, leaving many workers underinsured and vulnerable to the financial ramifications of an unexpected health event. Over time, unexpected health events can impact the productivity of a small business. 2. Using Surveys By taking the time to understand the preferences and needs of workers, employers can increase employee satisfaction with benefits packages and help provide the peace of mind that comes from knowing their employees have adequate protection. Additionally, employers can use these surveys to identify unaddressed health insurance needs, enabling HR decision-makers to better address benefits communication needs and find ways to make benefits information more robust and accessible. 3. Helping Eliminate Common Benefits Mistakes The brevity of annual benefits decisions requires a comprehensive, year-long education and communication program. Best practices include diversifying materials to encompass print, Web, email, and face-to-face meetings; hosting multiple in-person meetings throughout the year; and including spouses in the decision-making. 4. Consider Retaining a Benefits Consultant or Broker Keeping up with complicated, ever-changing regulations is increasingly difficult, especially for small businesses. Partnering with brokers or benefits consultants can help companies bolster their insurance benefits with little impact on the bottom line. Brokers and benefits consultants can also advise and assist in developing effective communication strategies and enrollment processes. According to Aflac's study, companies that use brokers or benefits consultants are likely to offer more robust benefits packages than their competitors, believe their benefits packages are more competitive than those of industry peers, and communicate more often about their organizations' benefits. Conclusion
From Small Business Trends     |
| Constant Contact Moves into Mobile with Acquisition of CardStar Posted: 19 Jan 2012 07:00 AM PST Today, online marketing tool provider Constant Contact announced its acquisition of mobile loyalty application CardStar. CardStar is the mobile version of the loyalty cards we all carry around in our wallets…only condensed into a single app. CardStar, which is available as an application for Android, iPhone, Nokia, BlackBerry and Windows phones, currently has more than 2 million users. Consumers can keep track of multiple membership and rewards cards, such as what you would scan at a CVS or Best Buy. Merchants can send geotargeted offers to customers, as well as track consumer behavior with the application, according to CardStar’s site. As to why Constant Contact decided to get into the mobile loyalty space, CEO Gail Goodman said:
Will We See an Increase in Small Business Loyalty Programs? In the past, loyalty programs have been most popular with big-box retailers. Small businesses haven’t jumped in to the same degree, maybe due to the fact that loyalty programs have been, in Goodman’s words, too “administratively cumbersome.” Most small businesses don’t have the bandwidth to manage the analytics and track coupon redemption of their individual loyalty programs. According to Goodman, to date “nobody has brought to market a simple, powerful solution” to small business loyalty programs. With CardStar, Constant Contact aims to make loyalty programs more within reach of small businesses. Constant Contact’s Strategy Constant Contact’s announcement today mentioned this as being a milestone in its “evolution from an email marketing company to the leading provider of online marketing tools that help small businesses create and grow customer relationships.” Over the past couple of years, the company has acquired NutshellMail, Bantam Live, and Social CRM, all of which have added to its shift away from solely email-based services. Moving into mobile marketing fits further broadens its offerings. As small businesses tie in their social media, email and mobile marketing strategies together, we’re seeing more companies offering more all-inclusive services. Constant Contact seems to be following the same strategy. ”We think small businesses shouldn’t rely on any one channel as a way to stay connected to customers. They need to use every tool available,”said Goodman. Goodman says that Constant Contact has focused on helping small businesses create and grow their customer relationships, and that CardStar is another tool to help them do so. CardStar is available as a free mobile download for consumers. Constant Contact will eventually wrap up CardStar into its offerings to clients through its site. From Small Business Trends     |
| The New Economy and Small Business Posted: 19 Jan 2012 05:30 AM PST Things have changed. And judging the landscape that we presently operate on, and have operated on for the last 4-10 years, things will continue to change. That's the nature of this economy. "The geography of wealth is being reshaped by our tools," says Kevin Kelly, Author of New Rules for the New Economy. "We now live in a new economy created by shrinking computers and expanding communications." His words were originally published in 1999, but it's still relevant. Mike Koenigs, CEO and Founder of InstantCustomer, calls it a "relationship and reputation economy." However we label it, technology is a key tool of this economy and effective communication is the asset (or liability depending on how you apply it within your business). Things have changed. They will continue to change. That's business these days. But the ability to be relevant in a changing economy can work for the savvy business owner. But what makes you relevant? Here's a short list.Excellent Delivery and Communication. You don't have to make yourself look bigger than you are (of course you can if you want to). But you do have to be great at what you do. And your team has to understand what you do and be able to communicate it to your customers. Have you ever walked into a business where the person behind the counter seemed to make up answers in response to your questions? Or they just seem confused? In this economy excellence in delivery and excellence in communication is everything. Because money is tight for a lot of people, they insist on getting high value for every dollar they spend. Delivery a high quality experience and product makes you relevant. Marketing. You don't have to be famous and have every degree in the world in order to attract and retain business. But in addition to excelling at what you do, you have to get the message out. You could be the best solution for your target audience since sliced bread, but you'll be broke and out of business if nobody but you and mom knows it. Effective marketing is a necessity. Which brings me to the third thing that makes you relevant. Training. You only know what you know. And if you intend to know more, then you will have to pay the price to learn it. It doesn't mean you have to enroll in school, I'm not sure modern degrees can keep up with modern marketing. But you need a mentor, a model and method that makes sense to your budget and your bottom line. "Excellence cost more," but the other end of that old phrase says that "it pays for itself." It's important to create a high quality product, but also to implement high quality marketing. After all, you can only benefit from where you put your energy.
From Small Business Trends     |
| Don’t Make Excuses in Your Small Business Posted: 19 Jan 2012 02:30 AM PST Don’t make excuses in your small business. Making decisions is much better. Deciding to blog, deciding when it’s best to raise prices, deciding which client or team member might be the right fit for your business and which might not–all of these are critical decisions that must be made for your business to function properly. We hope this roundup gives you food for thought when making those decisions today. Business BloggingDo you have excuses? Blogging for your small business has many benefits. But many small business owners find excuses not to use this tool instead. Ryan Hanley, who blogs regularly for business, has collected some of the main excuses others choose not to. Can you think of other excuses you’ve heard not to blog? Strategies in Content Creation Perks that might surprise you. Even if you did start your blog to promote your small business, there are some other perks that might take you by surprise. Here are 31 things that might make creating that blog worthwhile no matter what. Hey, it’s funny, but owning and operating a small business can be the same way. ProBlogger Self-developmentA question of determination. Like many things in life, sometimes small business or entrepreneurial success comes down to a matter of determination. How much do we want it? You might ask yourself when exploring your entrepreneurial journey, what are you willing to do to achieve success. Small Business Bonfire MarketingHow B2B Marketing is like having your own cooking show. Seriously! OK, maybe you don’t have a film crew, hot lights and a bunch of cameras in your kitchen, but beyond that there are some striking similarities, so listen and learn to become a better B2B marketer. Channelship Changing your strategy for a new year. It’s that time again. Every now and then you’ve got to take stock and decide what the future holds for your business. As competition stays fierce but the economy brightens, here are some things you should definitely remember when approaching your business in 2012. Bloomberg Businessweek SalesSelling is more than just making friends. Those who complain about the decline of “relationship selling” may never have truly understood the relationship they had with their customers at all. As a small business owner, do you understand your relationship with clients and customers and why they buy from you? Sales Practice It’s time to raise those prices! Strange as it may seem, this realization is sometimes more terrifying to small business owners, who fear that raising prices will drive away their customers, then to customers who often understand the value of what they are receiving from you. Entrepreneur TechTechnologies you need working for you. New tools are changing the marketplace and leveling the playing field. They make it easier for us to reach clients and customers and to compete on many levels in a way that might once have appeared impossible. But don’t be overwhelmed. Here are some items you won’t want to be without. Open Forum ManagementSome assembly required. You may have the basic components for a successful business. Hopefully you have a great product, great sales team and great customer service, for example. But have you put all this together to create a business that works? Partners in Excellence Tips for managing your team today. Your team is critical to your business success, so managing them correctly is definitely not optional. But what are the steps for creating a successful team and how can you effectively manage that team giving you more time to handle other aspects of your business? Small Business Trends From Small Business Trends     |
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