Running a small business is no easy feat. That’s why we’ve created a forum for small business ideas, insider tips, and the industry knowledge you need to help your small business grow.
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romanfin, lastcyber, jamesblack, hanna789, 4Accounting, otkm, nancyerick, and chrisflapton updated avatars:
Do you know hey sexy white girl that has gone black? do you know a sexy white girl that has been pimped out by black cock? Do you know any sexy white wives that have been trained as sluts for BBC? If you are a sexy white wife and want some suggestions feel free to get ahold of me.
My business needs a website that is one of the main sources of value to the customer. It needs to provide information on the product, as well as list the customers involved in the current program using photographs and a short description. I don't have a lot of web design skills. Wondering if I should create a site myself or have a professional do it? Thoughts?
In today’s Internet-powered world, smart entrepreneurs and small businesses are growing faster and becoming stronger with every passing day. So, to stay on top of your business endeavor you need to master some of the great tools that will make all the difference in your small business success.
To beat the competition in your industry you need to implement the tools that will increase the productivity and efficiency of your team and provide you time to focus on the most important aspects of your business.
There are hundreds of marketing related, services related and modern technology related tools available online to help you grow your business. However, to choose the best ones you have to put a lot of time and efforts.
So, to save you from that hassle we have reviewed and listed 11 of the best business tools that are cost-effective and provide great values to your business.
#1 Hootsuite
Managing all social media accounts regularly and publishing new posts frequently can become an area of concern for small business owners and entrepreneurs simply due to lack of time and proper resources. After signing up for Hootsuite you can manage all your social media platforms with its simple and easy to use dashboard.
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#2 Slack
Slack is a communication and teamwork management tool. Slack lets you manage project works and conversation with your business partners or team members from a single platform across all devices. Using slack you can send emails, reply to text messages and follow up someone on Twitter without any headache.
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#3 Evernote
Evernote is a note-taking application which is very helpful for busy business owners and entrepreneurs. It lets you take notes of business-related ideas, plans, thoughts from anywhere in the world. Further, you can save the notes, audio recordings, photos, clipped web documents etc. in an organized way so that you can find them later easily.
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#4 Trello
Trello is one of the most popular projects management software to organize and track the progress of any project in your organization. You can create various cards, boards, set deadlines, add notes using your Trello account.
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#5 Shopify
Shopify is an e-commerce software that helps you build an online e-commerce shop of your own. With the help of its marketing, drop shipping, shopping carts, SEO features you can manage all the functionalities of your online store from a single platform.
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#6 Skype
Skype is the world's one of the most used and recommended internet calling services offered by Microsoft. It provides audio and video calling services, messaging, file and screen sharing between computers and mobile devices across the world.
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#7 Asana
Asana is a productivity tool to manage your works, projects, and daily tasks. This tool helps you grow your business and improve the efficiency of the team members.
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#8 Boomerang
Boomerang for Gmail is an email-communication tool to improve the email service. It provides you with an option to schedule emails and monitor their performances.
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#9 Google Analytics
Google Analytics is one of the best analytical tools which has loads of features to improve any website’s performance. There are some of the best features available in Google Analytics which every marketer and small business owners must know to grow their businesses.
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Pricing: Free
#10 Hubspot
Hubspot is inbound marketing software that helps to gain more traffic to your website, generates leads and converts your website visitors to potential customers.
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#11 Paypal
Paypal is one of the most used and trusted online payment service providers. Using Paypal you can make and receive payments for your business in more than 100 currencies. It is one of the fastest and safest payment options available online.
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Conclusion:
Hope you have found this article helpful. Though there are plenty of tools available today, the tools we have mentioned here will fulfill most of your business requirements. Most of the aforesaid tools offer free trials, so you can include those tools in your business plan to check their effectiveness. And as your business gets bigger, you can go for the paid versions that fit your budget and resolve your business needs.
This article was brought to you by PromozSEO Web Marketing Academy, a Digital Marketing training program in Kolkata, India.
Hello! I'd like to ask the community about one thing. Has anyone already dealt with a company or companies that provide outsource services in online marketing? Best regards.
The market has been witnessing a massive shift from traditional taxi to convenient traveling solutions. The major reason for such a shift includes a rise in smart device sales coupled with next-generation millennials entering the global workforce. Let's check some stats on the ride-hailing market:
This has caused a rise in global demand for taxi app development solutions by a huge margin. Have a look at these ready-made solutions in the market.
They are one of the leading app development companies in the market with a strong track record of designing, developing, testing and launching amazing applications in the market. They specialize in developing white label Uber clone script with a special emphasis on infusing cutting-edge features to help cater to global users with ease. They develop Uber-like app for iOS, Android and web and dedicated applications for passengers and drivers. And yes, they develop and deliver powerful admin panels and dispatcher modules to help them monitor the app's functionality seamlessly.
Taxify
They focus on managing drivers, dispatchers, and businesses with an intact taxi booking solution. The ready-made solution was built for entry-level businesses to help them compete with the already existing competitors. It contains many great features, which aids users to book their favorite ride, drivers to list their vehicle and earn revenue, moreover, businesses to streamline their operations.
Infinite Cab
It is developed with a mission to help businesses to cope with the new-age digital transformation. Similar to other software, it minimizes the cost, effort and time needed for a customized mobile app development approach, while helping businesses deploy an Uber-like taxi app easily. With several built-in features, it helps users, drivers and businesses make the best out of their effort.
Hey everyone!
I wanted to ask a quick, but essential advice.
Is anyone experienced enough to provide me with few insights on drop shipping luxury (or branded) clothes. In short, I'm planning on opening an online store to sell the stuff from famous brands e.g. Armani, Versace and so on, and I think I found a reliable clothing supplier in a Swedish-based supplier - BrandsGateway.com. They are overseas, but the shipping's free and I intend on making some profits, although my home is in Allentown. I did my research via TrustPilot reviews and they seem legit. So, my questions are:
1. Can I open my company using my home address
2. Is there any tax return for small businesses?
Thanks in advance!
Happy Fathers Day
A good Father or Mother: (it just happens to be Fathers Day)
"They (parent or child) want someone who's going to motivate them...someone who's responsive to their needs.
Someone who's creative... who will think out of the box, to use a cliche.
Someone who cares about them"
Enjoy, Be safe, LUCKIEST
When it comes to small business marketing, most of the small business owners lack in producing innovative marketing ideas for their product branding, promotion, and sales. This happens more with those who have started up recently. There can be multiple reasons behind this, starting from having a tight marketing budget to a dearth of marketing skills, from employing inept human resources to limiting to one specific marketing channel, and so on. However, whichever is the reason, the results will be substandard.
To tackle this crisis, entrepreneurs must constantly brainstorm full-stack marketing strategies that fit in all aspects of their organization and help them attain their marketing goals. Though, at times, this can be seriously strenuous and challenging even for a seasoned small business owner. To combat these marketing-deadlocks and find out new opportunities, we have made a simple yet powerful list of three marketing blends that let you pursue your marketing intents.
Overhaul Your Content Strategy
Content is by far the most powerful weapon for businesses, be it a small business or a big corporate house. By creating pleasure-to-read contents around your business niche and industry you can reach a wider audience and achieve bigger business goals in the long run.
Starting from blog contents, to media press releases, from case studies to magazine publications, contents can be of different types.
Depending on your marketing budget you should focus on a few of these content types. However, you must constantly come up with interesting, informative, and breathtaking contents that will keep on exciting your audience and customers about your small business. Therefore, consider and concentrate on a few content types that are the best fits for you from all aspects.
When blog contents can help you in SEO of your website, press releases let you showcase your state-of-the-art products to a widespread relevant audience. Ultimately, both of these are put to use to ramp-up the business lead generation and sales.
Additionally, you should also eye on publishing multimedia contents, like videos, imageries, infographics, podcasts, etc. You may also embrace the content-repurposing approach that lets you re-create the same content in different shapes and formats. Content-repurposing helps you funnel visitors to your site from multiple online channels and thus, increases the visibility and sales. Most of the time small business owners ignore these and repeatedly fail in building a community around their brand.
There is no limit in content creation. Hence, don’t restrict your business in publishing contents online only. When digital contents help you connect with your online buyers easily and quickly, a few offline publications featuring you or your company can offer huge publicity for your brand.
Content creation is neither a process nor a one-time-shot, but it is a culture that you must relentlessly develop in your small biz, that will set you apart from all of your competitors.
Plan Your Digital Marketing Blueprint
Creating contents should not be the last thing in your arsenal. Instead, you must know how to market your contents and other assets to attract and reach a larger audience base. At this stage, you must have a solid digital marketing strategy that will amplify your content and broadcast that to your target audience and customers.
Adjust your marketing budget to employ all of the following to promote your content digitally.
Invest in SEO: According to different studies, search engines bring the maximum percentage of traffic to one website. Hence, SEO your website, its contents, visuals, and user experience to turn it into a search-traffic-magnet forever. Remember, SEO takes enough time and demands deep optimization skills, but gets the best results in the long run.
Bid on Google Ads: If you need business from the very beginning which is quite obvious for a small business, bid on Google Ads. Though it depends on your products and services, still Google Ads is one of the best online marketing channels that help you capture business leads and sales from day one. Traffic from Google ads is not free; nevertheless, this can be really profitable if done rightly.
Build confidence in social media: Social media doesn’t disappoint anyone. The only thing you need to develop is skills. You need to have patience when marketing on social media sites like, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can grow slowly by reaching your social media audience organically, else you can plan your social media ad spend to accelerate your growth.
Don’t ignore email marketing: Email marketing is one of the powerful and affordable marketing techniques that has been used by marketers since ages when there was no Facebook. Traditionally and even today email marketing has been empowering small businesses to reach their audiences directly and have a more personalized communication. If executed properly, it can generate a lot of sales for your business.
Build a Brand that is Trusted by Its Audience and Customers
Employ continuous efforts in building a brand that people trust and recommend. Neither it is a one-day job, nor can you artificially get it. Instead, you have to earn it by selling the best experiences to your customers.
People don’t buy products or services, but they buy the experience which can turn them productive at their job, or make them look smart, or help them achieve their goal. Unless you create something that adds values to your customers’ life, you cannot project it as a brand. On the other hand, if your product or service empowers your customers they will naturally become your most valuable brand advocates.
When you have a really good product, next, you must devise a robust game-plan that will gradually position you as a thought leader and authority in your industry. You can do a few things to expedite the process.
Wrapping Up
There is no limit as to what you want to do to reach your target audience, be it online or offline. You need to just manifest new ideas that are profitable and audience-friendly. All ideas may not be moneymaking immediately but if you are confident give some time and keep on improving those ideas before they start showing the magic. Finally, don’t restrict your marketing budget, instead, increase it as you grow.
This post is brought to you by PromozSEO Web Marketing Academy, a digital marketing course in Kolkata, India.
Hi Moderator,
it's been 3 weeks i crossed my points to 1200+ then how come i cant able to create my first article i need your guidelines for this please.
There's no action option for Submitting article, kindly check it out and update me appreciated.
Thank you.
Ensure your business is growing and earning customers by experimenting with new marketing methods. On this episode of “The Heartbeat of Main Street,” Steve Strauss shares his top three tips to attract new customers and get your...
Ensure your business is growing and earning customers by experimenting with new marketing methods. On this episode of “The Heartbeat of Main Street,” Steve Strauss shares his top three tips to attract new customers and get your business in front of new eyes.
“The Heartbeat of Main Street” delivers timely insights tailored to the needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs. Featuring a rotating line-up of small business experts and industry leaders – and covering a range of topics – each episode explores the trends that have an impact on revenue creation for small business owners.
The series is hosted by ForbesBooks, and more information can be accessed through a dedicated home page. New episodes will appear regularly on the Small Business Community podcast page. Be sure to check back often – so you don’t miss a beat.
Narrator: Welcome to “The Heartbeat of Main Street” with ForbesBooks at ForbesBooks.com and Bank of America at BankofAmerica.com. And here's your host, Gregg Stebben.
Gregg Stebben: Welcome to “The Heartbeat of Main Street” brought to you by ForbesBooks and Bank of America. Steve Strauss joins us with a few quick tips for attracting new customers. Steve is USA Today's small business columnist. He's the author of 17 books, including the best-selling Small Business Bible. Steve, thanks for joining us.
Steve Strauss: Gregg, great to be here.
Gregg Stebben: Steve, you own a small business, and in your capacity as USA Today's small business columnist, and also as a Small Business Community influencer for Bank of America, you also talk with a lot of small business owners. They must ask you all the time, "What can I do to get more new customers?" So what's the number one tip you offer when someone asks?
Steve Strauss: My number one tip is also my number two tip and my number three tip. And that is this: market your business, and then market it some more, and then market it some more. Look, we go into business. We have a marketing idea. It works. It keeps us around for a little while. We get some customers. The problem that so many small business owners have is they learn one trick or two tricks and that's it. They don't expand beyond that.
But if you're going to really grow your business, then what you really need to do is get your business in front of new people. New eyeballs. New ears. So the way you do that is by marketing your business in all sorts of different ways. Instead of doing the same thing that you've done for years and years, whether it's a stall at the Saturday market or an advertising campaign that works. What I would suggest is you come up with three or five different kinds of things that you can do. Find some guerilla marketing strategies that make sense to you and implement those. What that is going to do is get your business in front of new people.
If you get in front of enough new people, some new people are going to become your customers. You do your job great, you offer great service, you offer great prices, great customer service, and then those new people will become regulars. That's exactly what we want.
Gregg Stebben: Steve, I want to mention here. You use the term guerilla marketing, and I want to make sure everyone listening is aware that that's actually a series of books by a gentleman by the name of Jay Conrad Levinson. And it is actually - in addition to Steve's book, The Small Business Bible- Guerilla Marketing, that book series is a great place to go and get ideas for things to try you have not tried before. And to break down that barrier of thinking, "Oh, well what I've done in the past has worked. Now it's time for me to do something else."
I want to move on to tip number two, Steve, because as you alluded to, it's easy to keep doing the same thing over and over again, although in reality those things tend to lose their potency over time. And at the same time, the world around us and technology is changing so fast. How do I keep up, so I know I'm going to where my new customers are, even if it's, for instance, some new social media website that I've never even heard of before? How do I make sure I've heard of it so I know that I should be using it?
Steve Strauss: Let me preface this, Gregg, with saying I've lived this. My first business was my own law firm back when I practiced law. The way I got my customers was that I would put on seminars to the public. I would advertise them in the newspaper, to really date myself, and then people would come in to the Holiday Inn for the day and then for the next six months I would have customers. And that worked for me for years and years, until one day it stopped working. And you know why? It was because it was what you said. It just wasn't fresh anymore. People had seen it. It was stale. So I had to start trying some new things. And that's what I think any smart business has to do.
The great news is, it doesn't cost you a lot these days to market your business. Technology is amazing, and one of the amazing things for small business insofar as technology goes, is that there are all sorts of tools out there that allow us to market our business, to get in front of these new eyeballs that I mentioned, without spending a whole lot of money. So it could be content marketing. You create some articles or videos related to your business with a link to your website. People find it, see it, share it. You're getting people that way.
Or what if it's a pay per click? You create a little Google ad or an ad on Facebook and someone sees a nice little ad. People who don't know your business but loves your ad, they'll click on it. And what's great about that is you don't pay for that ad until they click on it. So that's really beautiful.
Or search engine optimization. SEO it's called. You create some webpages on your website that are specifically designed to sell whatever your product is, and then you get it out there. And that's going to be almost free customers, because SEO builds and builds over time. It could be your social. It can be your e-newsletter. The point is there are lots of different ways to do this marketing that I mentioned up front. So the good news is there are just so many ways now to do this marketing that I suggested up front, and none of them really cost you a whole lot of money. They'll take a little time, but they're going to pay out big in the end.
RELATED CONTENT: Learn why local SEO matters more than ever.
Gregg Stebben: Steve, I want to ask about one last thing. And that is, it seems to me that one thing we have not talked about here is if you want to reach new customers, one way to know who they are and where they go is to talk to your existing customers. Where do they go? What do they do? Who do they know? And how can I motivate them to actually become my sales force for me?
Steve Strauss: Well, word of mouth. You are preaching to the choir, my brother. I grew up in a small business family and my dad owned at one point 20 carpet stores. Then eventually went down to one giant carpet warehouse. He really had a lot of experience. And in that carpet warehouse he had a banner that said, "Our word of mouth advertising starts with you." That was the essence of his 20 years of experience as a very successful entrepreneur. So word of mouth works, because it is people talking to people about something, an experience they had that's good, hopefully, and that's what people trust.
But these days, word of mouth really is word of click. I've been talking about all these digital ideas. When someone retweets your tweet, well that's word of mouth. Isn't it? It's word of click. When someone likes your Facebook page, that's word of mouth. It's someone saying to the rest of the world, "Hey, this is a valuable thing that I like that you should like."
RELATED CONTENT:Learn from Mari Smith how to increase authentic reviews on Facebook.
When someone takes your e-newsletter and forwards it on to someone else, that, again, is word of click and word of mouth. So today it's not just one person talking to one person. It's one person talking to a thousand. And for small business people, that's an incredible opportunity.
One thing I would suggest is ask for it. Ask people to retweet, and ask people to give you a good review. Ask people to give you a like. People want to be nice. People will do it, and if you do your job right, they'll help you. You're going to get a lot of word of mouth and a lot more business as a result.
RELATED CONTENT: Rieva Lesonsky explains how to boost positive online reviews and deal with those pesky bad ones
Gregg Stebben: Really well said. Okay, I want to recap what Steve said here. We're talking about ways to find new customers for your small business. Tip number one, Steve said market, market some more, market some more, market some more. Try new things. Don't just keep doing the same things you've been doing over and over again, because eventually those things are going to go stale. Meanwhile, there's all kinds of new avenues for you to try and succeed with.
Number two is to think about digital marketing. Using things like SEO, pay per click, e-newsletters. And I think part of what you're suggesting, Steve, is experiment and just try things to find out what works.
Steve Strauss: Absolutely. Yep.
Gregg Stebben: And number three. Never forget about word of mouth marketing, or as Steve called it, word of click. Don't forget about the power of your existing customers. Where do they go? What do they do? These are good clues for where to get new customers. And ask them to help you market your business. If they're satisfied, they should love sharing information about your business with their friends and family.
Steve, these are great tips. Where can our listeners go to find out more about you and to get more of your great advice for small businesses?
Steve Strauss: You can go to USAtoday.com and find my column, Ask an Expert. You can go to my website which is mrallbiz.com. Or I would really suggest go to the Bank of America Small Business Community. I write there. There's a lot of other influencers who create some great content there. Articles, videos, podcasts like this. And you can find anything you need to take your business to the next level.
Gregg Stebben: Steve just mentioned Bank of America's online Small Business Community. It's at bankofamerica.com/SBC. Steve, thanks for joining us.
Steve Strauss: Gregg, keep up the great work. Thanks so much for having me.
Narrator: Thanks for listening to “The Heartbeat of Main Street” with ForbesBooks at ForbesBooks.com and Bank of America at BankofAmerica.com.
This year CBS set their prices at more than $5 million for a 30-second slot during the Super Bowl. That works out at about $175,000 per second—and that’s only the broadcast price. The production cost of those short creative movies can...
This year CBS set their prices at more than $5 million for a 30-second slot during the Super Bowl. That works out at about $175,000 per second—and that’s only the broadcast price. The production cost of those short creative movies can run from $1 million to another $5 million. It’s no wonder only giant brands get to put their products in front of the giant sports-loving audience.
But you don’t need a budget the size of Budweiser’s to generate returns from video marketing. One of the reasons broadcasters charge so much is that the Super Bowl is a throwback. It’s the one time of the year when everyone sits in front of the television to watch the same show at the same time. The rest of the year, audiences are scattered across different channels. We watch different shows at different hours while struggling to avoid spoilers on social media.
That change has been good for small businesses.
They can find exactly the audience they want without having to pay vast sums to television networks. And advances in film-making technology means business owners don’t have to spend enormous amounts on production.
Although anything is possible now with video marketing, three formats stand out.
Commercials
The first is traditional. Script a commercial, rustle up people—actors if you can afford them, friends or colleagues if you can’t—and spend a bit of time shooting then editing. Upload the video to YouTube, Facebook or Instagram, and ask people to share it. The audiences you’ve already built on the Internet will see it. They’ll get the message and feel a deeper connection. If you’ve included a call to action, some of them may even act.
And if the commercial is funny, witty or extraordinary, it could even go viral, bringing you massive new audiences.
7 Tricks to Make Your Content Go Viral
Infomercials
You could also create infomercials, explaining the products you sell, or showing your customers how they’re made. Cosmetics firms have led the way, paying influencers to demonstrate their products.
Those approaches all look like traditional television. But online video has features television can’t match.
Live Video
Both Facebook and LinkedIn now offer live video. That means you can talk to your audiences in real time – and they can talk back. As you’re broadcasting, they can write comments and ask questions. Instead of looking like the Shopping Channel, you can give the audience an experience closer to an in-store demonstration.
Videos for small businesses don’t have to be complex. Live video can also be spontaneous. Feel like talking to your customers? Pull out your phone, fire up your camera and shoot a selfie. Come across a great use of your product? Show it off. Meet someone who loves what you do? Pull out your phone and record them explaining what they like. Remember that live videos stay on websites and become recorded videos that continue to win engagement.
Those simple, short interviews are so simple. Whenever you find yourself having a chat with another expert in your industry, record them giving their top tip for whatever it is they do. The video won’t take more than a couple of minutes. It gives your audience useful content. It helps your colleague, who will now want to help you back. And it builds a deeper relationship with your customer who sees that you’re genuinely interested in your industry and in them.
And that’s really all you need to create effective video marketing for small businesses: a camera, a message and authenticity.
Read next:
About Joel Comm
As an Internet pioneer, Joel has been creating profitable websites, software, products and helping entrepreneurs succeed since 1995. He has been at the frontlines of live video online since 2008 and has a deep expertise in using tools such as Facebook Live, Periscope, Instagram or Snapchat to broadcast a clearly defined message to a receptive audience or leveraging the power of webinar and meeting technologies.
Joel is a New York Times best-selling author of 15 books, including “The AdSense Code,” “Click Here to Order: Stories from the World’s Most Successful Entrepreneurs,” “KaChing: How to Run an Online Business that Pays and Pays and Twitter Power 3.0.” He is Co-Host of The Bad Crypto Podcast one of the top crypto-related shows in the world and has spoken before thousands of people around the world and seeks to inspire, equip and entertain.
Web: https://joelcomm.com/ or Twitter: @JoelComm
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Joel Comm to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Joel Comm is a registered trademark, used pursuant to license. The third parties within articles are used under license from Joel Comm. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
Happily, summer has arrived. While many businesses tend to slow down in the warmer season, summer can be a boon to your business. How? Because the slower season is the perfect time to give your business a mid-year check-up. You can...
Happily, summer has arrived. While many businesses tend to slow down in the warmer season, summer can be a boon to your business. How? Because the slower season is the perfect time to give your business a mid-year check-up.
You can wisely use this typically slow time to reflect on 2019 to see what is working, what is not, and then institute some changes to put you ahead when business picks back up.
Mid-year reviews help your business stay on track and keep your goals in sight. Whether it be a simple status update or an overhaul of some of your practices, this mid-year review can help you formulate a better plan.
There are three steps to the process, and it is deceptively simple. Essentially the mid-year process involves sitting with your team and answering three big questions about your small business:
Let’s drill down into each.
1. What have we done right and what successes can we acknowledge?
Begin with the positive. What were your best successes so far this year and how did you achieve them? Outlining practices that worked, goals that were met, customers satisfied, and money that was made and saved is critical to understanding next steps you might want to take for your business.
This part of the review is an opportunity to find the pattern in why things worked well. Which area of your business produced the most profit? What services have been popular? What performed well on social media?
In this regard, you might want to employ the 80-20 rule. Which 20 percent of your efforts created 80 percent of your successes? You might want to emphasize those going forward.
2. Which failures are obvious and why didn’t you reach some of your goals?
This part of the review can be the most painful but is also the mostnecessary. Looking at failures gives you an opportunity to get your business back on track. A mid-year review is an ideal time to take a look at mistakes made in the last six months. What didn’t work well - and why?
Dig in. Look at it all: products that fizzled, where your team may have dropped the ball, opportunities missed, dissatisfied customers, marketing mistakes, money lost and squandered.
Understanding the why is critical here. Again, we can look to the numbers to help see where our business didn’t excel. Where have you been losing money? What posts didn’t get good engagement? Is your marketing bringing in clients? Having these numbers provides crucial insight into what needs to be changed moving forward.
Suggested reading: Use a Small Business Dashboard to Understand your Data
List the mistakes, list the root causes, and begin to think about needed pivots to correct the situation.
3. What do you want the future to look like for your company? How can you implement some changes?
This is the payoff: A mid-year course correction.
Knowing the successes and failures of your business and the numbers that drive those ups and downs should lead you to some conclusions. This final step helps you consciously manifest the future of your company. This is where you outline your vision, and importantly, the steps it will take to get there.
Ask yourself: How can we not make the same mistakes again? And how can we double-down on our successes? What has stopped or hindered our progress? And given all of this, should you have some new, updated, concrete goals based on the above? You want to be both big picture and minutiae oriented here. What is the vision, and what are the exact steps needed to implement that vision?
Finally, write down and keep your new goals in view at all times - this way, they’ll always be in sight, even when the day to day gets in the way.
Related content:
About Steve Strauss
Steven D. Strauss is one of the world's leading experts on small business and is a lawyer, writer, and speaker. The senior small business columnist for USA Today, his Ask an Expert column is one of the most highly-syndicated business columns in the country. He is the best-selling author of 17 books, including his latest, The Small Business Bible, now out in a completely updated third edition. You can also listen to his weekly podcast, Small Business Success.© Steven D. Strauss
Web: www.theselfemployed.com or Twitter: @SteveStrauss
You can read more articles from Steve Strauss by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Steve Strauss to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Steve Strauss is a registered trademark, used pursuant to license. The third parties within articles are used under license from Steve Strauss. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice. Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2019 Bank of America Corporation
Know your stuff Embrace the strategic value of inventory management. Join Bank of America Merchant Services June 25 to take a closer look at how inventory management can help you better understand and grow your business. The educational...
Know your stuff
Embrace the strategic value of inventory management.
Join Bank of America Merchant Services June 25 to take a closer look at how inventory management can help you better understand and grow your business. The educational webinar will focus on the importance of inventory management, best practices, actions you can take as well as feature industry expert Dave Carlson, Co-Founder and CEO of Shopventory.
Session topics will include:
Date:
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Time:
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET
To register for the Bank of America Merchant Services “Know Your Stuff – Inventory Management” webinar on June 25 at 2 p.m. ET, click here.
Bank of America Merchant Services and Shopventory are separate, unaffiliated companies. Although their services are complementary, they are provided by each provider independent of the other under separate contracts between the merchant and the respective provider.
When unexpected things happen, will your small business be ready? No matter how prepared you might be, sometimes financial emergencies happen. The good news is that there is help when you need capital fast. In fact, small...
When unexpected things happen, will your small business be ready?
No matter how prepared you might be, sometimes financial emergencies happen. The good news is that there is help when you need capital fast.
In fact, small business owners today have access to more financing options than ever before; any one of several different types of emergency loans could be right for your business. Here are some of the best options for you to inject money back into your company in the short-term.
Working capital loans: A working capital loan is one that is used to finance a company’s everyday operations on a short-term basis. This can be one of the best options when you are experiencing a cash crunch. With shorter terms and lower amounts, working capital loans are typically used for maintaining day-to-day operations.
The 5 most popular working capital loans are:
Learn more about SBA loans from Bank of America
Family and Friends loan: In many cases, small business owners use this as their first option for a short-term loan, rather than a financial institution. Friends and family can offer very flexible repayment terms and often zero interest.
Although it may be tempting to go this route, you must consider the downside: If it takes you longer than expected to repay, you will create some strained personal relationships. As such, if you do choose to go this route, draw up a formal contract (or another type of written agreement) that outlines the terms of the loan. This can help make the transition from purely personal relationships to working ones smoother and will give your lender some peace of mind.
Related content: Small Business Guide to Raising Capital, Part 2: How Much is Family Worth to You?
Finally, if something really bad happens…
Disaster loans: Offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration, disaster loans can be tricky and difficult to get. However, if you qualify, you will be rewarded. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), disaster loans are “the primary source of federal long-term disaster-recovery funds for loss and damage” provided to businesses. When a federal disaster is declared, the SBA is authorized to offer low-interest loans to businesses of all sizes that have sustained damage in a disaster. In a time of crisis, the SBA can provide up to $2 million to help you rebuild your business.
The good news is that when capital starts to run dry, you don’t need to panic; there are many loan options out there for you to help your business weather the storm!
Find the right business loan for you and your business. Get a recommendation from Bank of America.
Learn more about SBA Loans
About Steve Strauss
Steven D. Strauss is one of the world's leading experts on small business and is a lawyer, writer, and speaker. The senior small business columnist for USA Today, his Ask an Expert column is one of the most highly-syndicated business columns in the country. He is the best-selling author of 17 books, including his latest, The Small Business Bible, now out in a completely updated third edition. You can also listen to his weekly podcast, Small Business Success.© Steven D. Strauss
Web: www.theselfemployed.com or Twitter: @SteveStrauss
You can read more articles from Steve Strauss by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Steve Strauss to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Steve Strauss is a registered trademark, used pursuant to license. The third parties within articles are used under license from Steve Strauss. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice. Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2019 Bank of America Corporation
Over the last few years, the use of messenger apps has skyrocketed. WhatsApp usage alone is now over 85.21 billion hours with 1.6 billion users worldwide while Facebook Messenger is right behind with 1.3 billion users. Texting and...
Over the last few years, the use of messenger apps has skyrocketed. WhatsApp usage alone is now over 85.21 billion hours with 1.6 billion users worldwide while Facebook Messenger is right behind with 1.3 billion users.
Texting and messaging through apps has become a top way to communicate. The ability to connect and chat with businesses in a convenient, accessible and trackable way is a huge benefit for customers.
For businesses, with engagement rates reaching up to 80 percent, it comes as no surprise that companies are adopting messaging as a key element in their marketing and customer care strategies.
Not only do messaging apps offer a more efficient, cost-effective way to handle customer care, they offer a means to excel at it.
In this article, I’ll share tips and best practices you can use to improve your social customer care in the evolving world of messaging apps.
The Most Popular Messaging Apps
The most popular messaging app in North America is Facebook Messenger. At Facebook’s recent F8 Developer Conference, the company focused extensively on Messenger as a priority. This means small business owners do need to pay closer attention to the improvements Facebook offers in Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram Direct.
In addition to Facebook Messenger, Apple’s iMessage is vastly popular in the U.S. Plus, check out Apple’s Business Chat, which is growing in popularity among brands.
Outside of the U.S., WhatsApp is the runaway leader. If you have international customers, you’d do well to bring WhatsApp into your marketing mix and social customer care tools.
For third party Facebook Messenger chatbots, definitely take a look at MobileMonkey and ManyChat. Both companies offer extensive support, training and communities into which you can tap for maximum effectiveness right out the gate.
Related:
Facebook Messenger Chatbots Give Small Business Owners an Edge
Why Your Small Business Should Use Messaging Apps
Messaging apps in demand. A study by Messenger People found 117 million customer queries were received on WhatsApp by companies in the last 12 months. Messaging apps allow companies to meet customers where they are at, when they need them most. If this is what the market demands, the greatest step towards enhancing customer care is provide that solution.
Messaging apps increase engagement. When it comes to business, attention is the game. There is a strong case to be made for the ability to follow up and keep in touch with customers once they have contacted you. Certainly, millennials prefer to deal with companies by text; 83 percent of millennials open text messages within 90 seconds. Being able to communicate directly with customers with such high engagement rates is a huge opportunity for companies.
Messaging apps are convenient. Messaging apps evolved from social networks. They provided a way to combine all the key features from different apps and implement them into one platform for the user’s convenience. Rather than having to download a separate app or go through the traditional telephone/email process to contact a company, messaging allows users to quickly reach out to a company and start a conversation while continuing on with their day.
Messaging apps are efficient. Messaging apps create a centralized conversation with customers making it easy for different team members to track the conversation, access all the relevant information, and provide streamlined solutions in one place. No more passing the phone to different teams and waiting on hold for hours. This in itself improves customer care through efficient processes.
Messaging apps are low cost. For the most part, messenger apps are free to use. All they require is a data or WIFI connection. This saves significant resources, once only allocated to call centers and hiring a number of customer care representatives. While companies definitely still require customer care representatives, the very nature of the chat is through written word enabling employees to manage multiple conversations at one time.
Chat conversations are more cost and time efficient than the traditional phone conversations that were restricted to one customer at a time and often involved wait time. For customers, timely responses are a huge plus when it comes to their customer experience.
Messaging apps can be partially automated. Messenger chatbots can be used to provide instant solutions to standard customer service questions. Messenger chatbots are not designed to replace human interaction. They are designed to support it.
Most likely, there are a few key actions customers are looking to take when they message you. A messenger chatbot can provide instant first-level support by answering common questions regarding appointments, open hours, directions, returns, payments, and so on. This means customers no longer have to wait for a human to get back to them. If they still require human support, it should be made available promptly but chatbots offer an instant solution to increasing customer satisfaction.
As AI continues to advance, Messenger chatbots are becoming more sophisticated. This helps to find a quick solution while also creating a personalized experience for the customer.
Messaging App Best Practices
To ensure a streamlined customer experience, you’ll want to properly set up your messaging processes. To ensure you implement messenger bots successfully, here are some best practices to follow.
1. Be human.
People don’t like to talk to robots. They also don’t appreciate pre-written, scripted responses. If a customer is reaching out to you, it’s because they need help. The need people who can understand their problems on an emotional level and relate to how they are feeling in this moment.
If you do decide to implement a messenger chatbot, proceed with caution. Start very simply and focus on getting the process right first. Remember that chatbots are not designed to replace human support; they exist to provide quick solutions. Always let the customer know they are speaking to a chatbot and if they require human support, it is available.
2. Be transparent.
When it comes to customer service, it’s important to be completely honest and transparent. It is no different when it comes to messaging apps. People understand if you don’t know how to help them or don’t have a quick solution available if you are transparent about it.
Rather than leaving a customer waiting hours for a response, politely let them know that you aren’t sure of the solution but you will find out and get back to them by a set time. This way, they understand the situation, can get on with their day and they know when to expect a solution.
3. Streamline your processes.
It’s important to align your service, sales and marketing teams when it comes to messaging apps. You need to be able to understand where your customers are in their journey and provide the right solution to the right problem.
Once they reach the right support, teams need to be able to access all the relevant information to provide a solution. This means companies need to understand the customer journey and have responses instantly available for the most frequently asked questions.
4. Respond quickly.
Being able to quickly identify customer queries and provide a timely solution is paramount when it comes to reputation management. Of the 117 million customer queries received via WhatsApp, only 62 percentwere answered within 24 hours. If you are going to offer support through messaging apps, it’s important the right resources are allocated to the task at hand. People need quick and accurate responses. Otherwise, you could quickly turn a happy customer into an angry one.
People do business with people they know, like and trust. Being able to communicate directly with customers one-on-one in a scalable way is the first step towards creating a personalized experience for your customers. This allows them to feel heard, valued and taken care of.
Messaging apps are changing the game when it comes to customer care. Now is the right time to embrace that!
About Mari Smith
Often referred to as “the Queen of Facebook,” Mari Smith is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on Facebook marketing and social media. She is a Forbes’ Top Social Media Power Influencer, author of The New Relationship Marketing and coauthor of Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day. Forbes recently described Mari as, “… the preeminent Facebook expert. Even Facebook asks for her help.” She is a recognized Facebook Partner; Facebook headhunted and hired Mari to lead the Boost Your Business series of live events across the US. Mari is an in-demand speaker, and travels the world to keynote and train at major events.
Her digital marketing agency provides professional speaking, training and consulting services on Facebook and Instagram marketing best practices for Fortune 500 companies, brands, SMBs and direct sales organizations. Mari is also an expert webinar and live video broadcast host, and she serves as Brand Ambassador for numerous leading global companies.
Web: Mari Smith or Twitter: @MariSmith
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Mari Smith to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Mari Smith is a registered trademark, used pursuant to license. The third parties within articles are used under license from Mari Smith. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
Entering into the Real Estate business attracts many people who are looking to establish a business or career on their own terms. That being said, one of the keys to the industry is establishing some sort of consistency in sales and income year...
Entering into the Real Estate business attracts many people who are looking to establish a business or career on their own terms. That being said, one of the keys to the industry is establishing some sort of consistency in sales and income year over year. There isn’t a magic wand to becoming established in any industry and as always requires hard work, persistence, the right strategy, and don’t forget about timing. Now think about the image of what one would think the average Realtor® is in regards to demographics. It will become clear that a lot of Realtors® became one as a second career act.
The median age of all Realtors® is 54 and the median experience of all Realtors® is 10 years[1].
Surprising right? Those numbers are saying that the average Realtor® started their real estate career at the age of 44. In addition to this, there are more than two million active real estate licenses in the U.S., and according to the U.S. Department of Labor, real estate broker growth is expected to grow 6% year over year from 2016 to 2026[2].
Based on the median age of Realtors® it is more than likely that most have already had some sort of experience with saving for retirement in a 401(k), IRA, or Roth IRA. Although, some agents may not have experience in running a business and it would be prudent to look at a company’s real estate operations as a business and run it like one. Those working in the industry that have not owned their own business prior may also not be aware of what can be done to boost retirement savings as most real estate agents are self-employed independent contractors.
Many real estate agents may feel that they don’t need to save for retirement because they will either utilize income-producing properties or will be able to retire by selling off their book of business. While that may be the case in some situations, it is typically only part of someone’s bigger retirement savings picture.
Real estate agents have financial opportunities and obstacles due to the nature of how they are paid. Uneven cash flow due to fluctuating commissions can present a challenge. Although, that challenge can be met by selecting the right Small Business Retirement plan that would allow flexible contributions.
Small Business Retirement Plan offerings
Contact Merrill EDGE for assistance in choosing the correct Small Business Retirement Plan for your business.
[1] https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/quick-real-estate-statistics
[2] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/real-estate-brokers-and-sales-agents.htm
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We know Generation Z will transform workplace culture—but not all of this cohort will enter the workplace. This demographic, whose oldest members are between the ages of 18 and 23, is already displaying a passion for entrepreneurship....
We know Generation Z will transform workplace culture—but not all of this cohort will enter the workplace. This demographic, whose oldest members are between the ages of 18 and 23, is already displaying a passion for entrepreneurship. What’s driving Gen Z to be their own bosses, and how might they transform the business world?
Fiscally Responsible
Gen Z grew up in the shadow of the Great Recession, seeing their parents struggle financially and their older millennial siblings battle for scarce jobs. They don’t want to live out the same nightmare, so they are wary of taking on debt (21 percent percent already have savings accounts). Although the Center for Generational Kinetics predicts a higher percentage of Gen Z will attend and graduate from college than any prior generation, they are already planning how to avoid college loans.
More than half (60 percent) of Gen Z believe money is evidence of success, compared to 44 percent of millennials at the same age, according to a survey by We R Gen Z. Already, the survey reports, 70 percent of Gen Z’ers earn their own spending money—about the same percentage as millennials, except that Gen Z is 10 years younger.
Freedom and Self-Reliance
To avoid being at the mercy of employers, Gen Z is choosing non-traditional ways to earn a living. Nearly half (46 percent) of Gen Z workers are freelancers, Upwork reports, and 73 percent are freelance by choice, not from necessity.
While some Gen Z workers choose the self-reliance of freelancing, others go one step further by pursuing entrepreneurship. Almost two-thirds (65 percent) of Generation Z want to be financially independent by age 30, Barna Group reports; five years after finishing college, 20 percent want to be entrepreneurs, Robert Halffound.
Gen Z is realistic about their prospects—77 percent expect to work harder than previous generations to achieve success. They’re also confident: 80 percent of high school students believe they’re more driven than their peers.
The Digital Generation
How will Generation Z businesses differ from prior generations? This is the first demographic to grow up in a fully digital world. Weaned on YouTube videos, Gen Z’ers know they can learn anything online—from how to make natural cosmetics to how to use 3D printers or find suppliers. They live their lives online and are natural social media marketers.
For some, showing bigger businesses (and older people) how to reach Gen Z is a business in itself. Back in high school, Tiffany Zhong knew she wanted to be her own boss, so she started asking venture capitalists for advice. When VCs started asking herfor Gen Z insights, Zhong realized she had a business on her hands. Today, her marketing firm Zebra Intelligence helps brands connect with Gen Z. Connor Blakley and Jonah Stillman are others who have capitalized on their Gen Z status to consult with businesses on managing and marketing to this generation.
Other Gen Z entrepreneurs sell products, not knowledge:
For all three companies, social media marketing and an instinctual connection with their peers online were key to success.
How will Generation Z transform the world of business? It remains to be seen—but I, for one, am looking forward to finding out.
About Rieva Lesonsky
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO and Co-founder of GrowBiz Media, a custom content and media company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship, and the blog SmallBizDaily.com. A nationally known speaker and authority on entrepreneurship, Rieva has been covering America’s entrepreneurs for more than 30 years. Before co-founding GrowBiz Media, Lesonsky was the long-time Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Magazine. Lesonsky has appeared on hundreds of radio shows and numerous local and national television programs, including the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The Martha Stewart Show and Oprah.
Lesonsky regularly writes about small business for numerous websites and for corporations targeting entrepreneurs. Many organizations have recognized Lesonsky for her tireless devotion to helping entrepreneurs. She served on the Small Business Administration’s National Advisory Council for six years, was honored by the SBA as a Small Business Media Advocate and a Woman in Business Advocate, and received the prestigious Lou Campanelli award from SCORE. She is a long-time member of the Business Journalists Hall of Fame.
Web: www.growbizmedia.com or Twitter: @Rieva
You can read more articles from Rieva Lesonsky by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Rieva Lesonsky to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Rieva Lesonsky is a registered trademark, used pursuant to license. The third parties within articles are used under license from Rieva Lesonsky. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2018 Bank of America Corporation
Last January, I was reading Twitter when I came across a hysterically funny thread commenting on actors walking the red carpet for the Golden Globe Awards. The author—Quinn Cummings, was a former child actor (nominated for an Academy Award...
Last January, I was reading Twitter when I came across a hysterically funny thread commenting on actors walking the red carpet for the Golden Globe Awards. The author—Quinn Cummings, was a former child actor (nominated for an Academy Award for her role in The Goodbye Girl).
Cummings “retired” from acting, wrote several books and “started making jokes” on Twitter, aiming “fora Dorothy Parker/Carrie Fisher tone.” While she “enjoyed making people laugh” Cummings, “missed writing longer stories” which lead her to create a series of threaded tweets, and “put it up with no sense of what might happen.”
What happened was she more than doubled her Twitter following, gained more than 430 monthly financial supporters on her Patreon account, and is one of a select group of people who’ve figured out how to make money from Twitter.
Rieva Lesonsky: Your Twitter feed is funny, sassy, sarcastic, political and confessional. Hard to pull that off. Is that a reflection of your personality?
Quinn Cummings: In real life, I am fairly quiet, very introverted; I think my most noticeable quality is that I’m punctual. When I’m online I am entirely different. I think of my online identity as Court Jester, comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable. Court Jester says the things I say to myself in private, only written out and carefully designed to make people who abuse their power very angry. It’s an odd thing to say about your own writing, but I admire Court Jester. She’s ballsier than I am. Of course, she would correct me and say she has twice the ovaries.
Lesonsky: How did you decide to sell access to your work on Twitter?
Cummings: For several years, I posted a blog three times a week detailing my life and my adventures—which were mostly misadventures. It was popular. It got me a book deal. But after about seven years, I realized I was kind of burned out on the blog format and started using Twitter more enthusiastically, building followers based on political humor. I was doing well but realized I missed the longer format. Also, I wanted to write a story that just made people laugh. In November, I created that threaded Tweet about the worst decision I ever made in an office. That thread has been retweeted over 17,000 times.
After squeezing my work into tweet-sized bites, I realized there might be a place for longer stories, so I started stitching together a fully fleshed out story every weekday. My only rule: Keep it funny, because people are stressed enough.
People seemed to really enjoy it. In one month, my follower count doubled, and I loved having the chance to tell stories again. The only problem was, creating these things wasn’t a quick job. It was cutting into my income-producing work. After two months’ creating five small stories a week, I created a Patreon account, told my readers what I was trying to do, and crossed my fingers.
After one day, I was earning enough to cover my health insurance. As a working writer, that felt great.
Lesonsky: How does it work?
Cummings: When I first considered doing this, I quizzed my Twitter followers about what they would pay for these stories [and] $5 a month was the number I heard most often. The $1 level is for those people who want to kind of leave me a tip. They don’t get the extra story, but it’s a way of supporting me and I am grateful for those supporters as well. When I started, I assumed that would be the more popular level because, hey, 2019. [But], I have more than twice as many $5 supporters as $1 supporters, and I have seen quite a few $1 supporters move up their patronage after the first couple of months.
Lesonsky: Are you monetizing your Twitter account or are you using Twitter as a promotional tool for your Patreon account?
Cummings: I would say I’m monetizing Twitter. The way to imagine it is that Twitter is the city in which I live. Recently, I have put out a shingle and started a business in the city. People who know me from that neighborhood are supporting me. There are ways to use Patreon to find new supporters and I’m learning the skills, but Patreon is not my original language, Twitter is. I will probably always speak Patreon with an accent
Lesonsky: You’re already making money. What’s the future look like?
Cummings: I…have no idea. Until January, I would have sworn there was no way to monetize what I was already doing for free. I ran the experiment and am pleased to say I was wrong. Now, what other limiting beliefs need to be tested?
When you’re on social media the way I am—which is to say, all the time—you notice things. I’ve noticed human beings need stories. We crave them. Joan Didion said, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”
In fact, stories may be why we’re alive; some scientists theorized humans developed language to communicate where the food was. All I know is we live in a stressful and lonely digital world, but if the right person comes up and says, “Let me tell you a story,” humans come racing. We love stories, we long for authenticity, we yearn to feel whole, sane, not angry, connected, if only for a few minutes. I want to tell stories and I’ll continue to look for new ways to do it.
Check out the stories of other successful entrepreneurs here.
About Rieva Lesonsky
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO and Co-founder of GrowBiz Media, a custom content and media company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship, and the blog SmallBizDaily.com. A nationally known speaker and authority on entrepreneurship, Rieva has been covering America’s entrepreneurs for more than 30 years. Before co-founding GrowBiz Media, Lesonsky was the long-time Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Magazine. Lesonsky has appeared on hundreds of radio shows and numerous local and national television programs, including the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The Martha Stewart Show and Oprah.
Lesonsky regularly writes about small business for numerous websites and for corporations targeting entrepreneurs. Many organizations have recognized Lesonsky for her tireless devotion to helping entrepreneurs. She served on the Small Business Administration’s National Advisory Council for six years, was honored by the SBA as a Small Business Media Advocate and a Woman in Business Advocate, and received the prestigious Lou Campanelli award from SCORE. She is a long-time member of the Business Journalists Hall of Fame.
Web: www.growbizmedia.com or Twitter: @Rieva
You can read more articles from Rieva Lesonsky by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Rieva Lesonsky to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Rieva Lesonsky is a registered trademark, used pursuant to license. The third parties within articles are used under license from Rieva Lesonsky. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2018 Bank of America Corporation
It’s never been easier for a small business to connect with customers and leads. Open a Facebook page, target some advertising, and within a few days a business could have thousands of followers all within its market area and matching its...
It’s never been easier for a small business to connect with customers and leads. Open a Facebook page, target some advertising, and within a few days a business could have thousands of followers all within its market area and matching its customer demographics.
That’s valuable and it can bring sales. But it’s no replacement for the word-of-mouth recommendations that come from networking.
These are two very different strategies. Online networking gives you the lightest of contacts with a large number of people. Offline networking gives you deep, powerful relationships with a relatively small number of people.
While networking on social media can provide sales, networking in the real world can give you loyal customers who return to you again and again. Those customers also act as advertisers, sending the people they know to your business.
But networking doesn’t just increase sales. Networking ensures that businesses that need help with the Christmas rush or over the summer break have people to ask when they need temporary staff. Instead of advertising and interviewing, they’ll be able to call a contact and ask whether their friend’s student offspring is coming back from college and needs some work.
When they need an insurance policy, a good connection can tell them where to turn. If a business owner is looking for a new location, networking can put them in touch with people who know of outlets for rent and who understand the market area.
And if the city decides to make changes that could affect their business, networked owners will hear about those changes, and have the channels to influence them before they’re fully implemented.
Social media marketing is about sales and branding. Networking is unique. It’s about information, which is no less valuable.
Building those networks doesn’t happen quickly or easily. But it does happen enjoyably because meeting people is interesting and fun. Local chambers of commerce might be ideal networking centers, venues in which people with shared interests swap information and advice. But they’re also social hubs where people with similar outlooks meet and talk.
They’re good places to start networking, but the value of a network depends on its nodes. Some people are just more connected than others. We all have friends who have huge contact lists and who seem to know everyone. It pays to build a relationship with those people.
They may be consultants whose work requires them to network at conferences around the world. They could be local activists whose volunteer work puts them in touch with the municipality and with other local service providers. Or they could be teachers who meet dozens of parents each year and manage to stay in touch with many of them.
Every community has individuals with extraordinary numbers of friends. Good networking should include identifying those people and building a relationship with them.
You can often find them by volunteering in your local area, by taking part in PTA events or by joining local clubs and schemes. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t enjoy—if you don’t like golf, don’t join a golf club—but look for activities that you find meaningful or important.
Most of a small business owner’s work involves creating products and making sales. That effort is made in the workplace and during work hours. Networking happens outside the store or office, and it happens after working hours.
But it doesn’t just make sales. It also makes friends.
About Joel Comm
As an Internet pioneer, Joel has been creating profitable websites, software, products and helping entrepreneurs succeed since 1995. He has been at the frontlines of live video online since 2008 and has a deep expertise in using tools such as Facebook Live, Periscope, Instagram or Snapchat to broadcast a clearly defined message to a receptive audience or leveraging the power of webinar and meeting technologies.
Joel is a New York Times best-selling author of 15 books, including “The AdSense Code,” “Click Here to Order: Stories from the World’s Most Successful Entrepreneurs,” “KaChing: How to Run an Online Business that Pays and Pays and Twitter Power 3.0.” He is Co-Host of The Bad Crypto Podcast one of the top crypto-related shows in the world and has spoken before thousands of people around the world and seeks to inspire, equip and entertain.
Web: https://joelcomm.com/ or Twitter: @JoelComm
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Joel Comm to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Joel Comm is a registered trademark, used pursuant to license. The third parties within articles are used under license from Joel Comm. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
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Ways to Make Your Search More Accurate
Most of the time, you just want to find content that has a particular phrase. Here are the easiest ways to find the content you want.
