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Posts Tagged ‘business’
Sunday, December 18th, 2011
Just when you thought you had seen and heard it all, Amazon takes on a brave move to take business away from small business owners. This has caused small business owners to complain to the Retail Industry Leaders Association about the unfair competition.
Amazon has released a free app for iphone and smart phone users so that consumers can then go into any brick and mortar business, find something they are interested in, scan the bar code and see if Amazon has it at a lower cost.
This is the reason that small business owners are so mad. This is not really comparison shopping, it is more of a search for Amazon by users of the app. If the shopper finds what they are looking for, instead of buying it in the store, they will go home and order it online, get a discount for using the app and avoid paying sales tax.
And, to top it off, the new app comes out just before Christmas when all shoppers are trying to get in last minute purchases as cheaply as possible. Many business owners see it as an unfair advantage to Amazon. It could hurt an already shaky economy for small businesses.
The price checker app will check multiple items simply by scanning the bar code, taking a picture or speaking out loud what the product is. Of course, the product has to be an exact match. You can’t compare a Sony Playstation to a Nintendo. But, it is still easy to see why business owners are hopping mad. If a lot of shoppers use this new price checker, all they are going to do is visit several stores, compare the prices in the store to what Amazon is offering, and then a potential sale is lost.
It’s not that business owners don’t want Amazon to have any customers, it’s the fact that it is an unfair advantage. Brick and mortar businesses have to have prices a little higher because of sales tax. Amazon customers do not have to pay sales tax.
All in all, Amazon is not on the friendly list where small business owners are concerned. But, hopefully, most shoppers will want it now no matter the cost and still buy it while they have their hands on a product instead of having to wait for it to come in the mail. Especially here at Christmas when the mail service will be way behind and a chance of a present might not arrive in time.
Tags: advertising, business, internet marketing, local business, local search
Posted in Traditional Marketing for Small Business | 6 Comments »
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
We hear a lot of information about how social media is a great marketing tool. It is a great marketing tool, but is it better than other marketing tools? It depends on the market and how well you get your information out.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is actually the better way to go for small businesses. A recent Merchant Confidence Survey shows that 35% of small businesses use and are optimized by SEO over the social media marketing. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and others is standing at 16%.
Surprisingly, traditional media such as newspapers, yellow pages and radio advertising are behind the SEO ratings at 19%. The proof is there. More small businesses are utilizing the SEO marketing tool over any other type of marketing.
At the same time, the survey also suggests that 70% of all small businesses do use Facebook over any other social media like Google, LinkedIn, Yahoo and Myspace just to name a few.
It is easy to see why marketing tools, no matter what they are, are very important to a small business website. The more information you get out about your business, the better off you will be. If you can consistently write a blog, interact with people on social media and do traditional advertising, chances are your business will grow even bigger.
If you are just learning the ropes on SEO and how to market your business, think about speaking with a consultant who can give you tips and ideas on the direction you need to go as far as your business is concerned. A new year is just around the corner, and now is the perfect time to start getting something in place for the coming year.
Tags: advertising, business, facebook, google, internet marketing, SEO, social media marketing
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 11 Comments »
Monday, December 12th, 2011
We have been hearing a lot lately about Facebook. What it means to individuals as well as businesses. Most of us understand basically what Facebook is. It is a way to stay connected with family and friends and to keep current on events in their lives. That is correct. What a lot of us don’t understand is how it will actually help businesses just by staying connected with friends.
In nearly every aspect in our lives we depend on the references or opinions of others that we do trust in order to make informed and responsible decisions. This can be something as simple as where to eat to what companies we will trust our personal information on the internet.
That information is what drives the search engines to small businesses. It’s like the old saying “what goes around, comes around.”
For instance, you are chatting with a family member on Facebook. You may be telling them that you need a new roof replaced. They may have used a company from your area that they were very impressed with themselves. They give you the name, but they don’t have any other information. After you get off Facebook, because you trust that family member, you are going to do a search for that particular company, right? Right. That is just one way Facebooking and Search Engines can work together.
Social Media marketing is only going to grow. Make sure your business stays on track by using social media sites to build your business. Start a fan page. It’s just like word of mouth, but it will be word of friends and family. The family and friends of fans of your page will look at your page. Because they trust their family and friends, they will like your page as well. Your audience will only grow. And getting bigger means more sales for your business.
Tags: advertising, Branding, business, facebook, publicity, search, search engine optimization, small business, Social Media
Posted in Social Media | 3 Comments »
Sunday, December 11th, 2011
Did you know there are an estimated 21.5 million small businesses in the United States? Those same small businesses contribute 44% of all business in the United States. This is phenomenal. One would think it would be less than that simply because of the large corporations. It just goes to show you that small businesses are favored among the citizens of the United States.
It would be nice if banks would favor small businesses over large corporations when it comes to lending money. The recent economic crisis has made it harder for small businesses to operate when the credit card companies have lowered limits on some without notifying them.
A lot of small businesses operate by using a credit card to pay off all expenses at the end of each month. Some credit card companies have lowered limits, which is causing some small businesses’ credit scores to go down. This in spite of having payments on time. This has caused a snowball effect. Now their credit score is lowered and they can’t get banks to help with any lending issues they have in order to purchase new equipment and the like.
This is a direct result of why some businesses go out of business. They can’t get any cooperation. Since small businesses represent 44% of all business, then maybe shoppers can try to be a little more loyal to their local businesses.
It used to be that everyone shopped locally, which in turn kept dollars in the local market. Now, with a lot of things being shipped from overseas, the local dollars don’t stay locally much.
Try to keep your customers by offering a little extra for the holiday season. It gets awfully tiring having to shop for gifts so why not offer free drinks and/or a place to sit and rest? This way, they are in your store and while they are resting their tired feet, they are looking over your merchandise. They may very well see something they want and will get it there before traveling on.
All it takes is a little customer service and going out of your way for the customers. Don’t be a scrooge, take your customers back from the big corporations. You will be surprised at how well this works. Then, you might not need to speak with a lender.
Tags: business, publicity, small business
Posted in Small Business Finance | 3 Comments »
Friday, December 2nd, 2011
It’s wonderful to have small mom and pop stores in local towns. That is what defines the town. Most people will stay loyal to their local shops because that is what helps the community stay alive.
Sadly, a lot of those same mom and pop stores are closing simply because they don’t have enough business in today’s world. This is due to more people using the internet for their purchases. For some, it is much easier to sit at home, in front of a computer, and purchase whatever you want and have it shipped, instead of visiting the local stores.
This is why it is more important than ever for those same stores to get a website and add a few products to the site and let people purchase from the site. It not only boosts the business owner’s revenue, but it puts that same business owner in the driver’s seat as far as keeping their doors open.
No one wants to see the quaint little corner market or antique store close. These businesses have been the mainstay for many small communities to stay alive and there is a bit of history and nostalgia associated with local business.
A challenge to all small business owners. Start a website, build your presence on the internet and get your business rolling again. The internet is here to stay and you should just hop right on and take your piece of the pie too.
You don’t even have to be computer savvy to do it. Hire a web designer. That person will get a domain name for you and design you a website according to your specifications. You will be surprised at how easy it is. You can then still retain the old world charm in the store itself, but your pocketbook will thank you.
Tags: business, internet marketing, local business, Local Internet Marketing, small business, web design, website development
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 4 Comments »
Thursday, November 17th, 2011
There comes a time in every business’s life when it will be prudent to re-brand the business. How do you know when that time is?
There might be several reasons why you’d re-brand a business. If the current branding is hindering you more than helping you, then that’s an obvious situation that requires paying attention to. For instance, lawsuits that have drawn negative publicity and have hurt your brand could spell an end to your brand and require a re-branding effort. Many large businesses have done just that. But that’s not the only reason to re-brand.
Sometimes you can re-brand a business just for the sake of improving the customer experience.
Recently, Small Business Mavericks underwent a re-branding effort. We streamlined the website and simplified our navigation to make it easier for you to find information on the website. We hope you like it!
Another reason you might re-brand yourself is your mission has changed. If the company changes direction and your service offerings change along with it, then you might find that your old branded look just doesn’t cut the mustard any more. You might find it necessary to re-brand in order to communicate your new mission and new values more effectively.
Re-branding is not always a bad thing. If you do it right, it can be very positive.
Tags: Branding, business, re-branding
Posted in Branding | 6 Comments »
Sunday, September 18th, 2011
People who don’t spend much time on the Internet will often ask me, “What is a blog?” It’s a hard question to answer.
Trying to answer that question for someone who doesn’t spent more than 5 hours online each week or month is like trying to explain the nature of the universe to someone who failed science in elementary school. You can do it if you use the right words, but you have to be careful to really use the right words and to make it really simple. I’m going to try to do that right now.
Take a look at the page you are on. You are reading a blog. It’s a separate section of my website. If you were on the main page of my blog you’d see a series of headlines, each one followed by some text. The headlines would be in blue and would be followed by a date and then the blog post. If you click on a headline, you’d be taken to that specific blog post. All you’d see is the content on that page and my sidebars.
So what makes a blog special. The way it is ordered. You’ll typically see 10 blog posts on the main page. They’ll be in reverse chronological order, the last one written first.
Blogs are done this way because they are like online journals. A sort of a diary. It’s a website, or a piece of a website, that you can update periodically and that others can read. For a business a blog can be great marketing tool. You’re reading mine, aren’t you?
Tags: blog, business, website
Posted in Blogging for Small Business | 4 Comments »
Sunday, August 21st, 2011
Businesses who make their first attempt to participate in online marketing often make the mistake of choosing the wrong hosting company. It’s easy to do. There are so many hosting companies offering services and so many different types of hosting services available that it can be overwhelming to some small business owners who just want a website for their business.
While it can be tempting to find a local web host that will provide a place for your website, that could be a fatal mistake.
Larger hosting companies often have more resources available to them, which means an overall better service for you. The last thing you want for your business website is to experience frequent down times. If customers are trying to access your website and are constantly hit with 404 and 500 errors, then you’ll lose plenty of business.
Make sure your web host has plenty of servers and that those servers are in constant maintenance. Also, make sure that they provide SSL and SSH security. If you are planning a large Web development project, it might be in your best interest to find a hosting provider that offers a dedicated server. That will allow you to host your website on a server with no other businesses, however, it is more expensive.
Be sure to shop around for the best hosting service. It’s a very important part of your web business.
Tags: business, dedicated server, web hosting, website hosting
Posted in website development | 9 Comments »
Friday, August 19th, 2011
Business people like to criticize social media websites like Facebook and Twitter for being time killers. You get sucked into some game like Farmville or Cityville and the next thing you know you’ve spent an entire afternoon killing time. Who’s fault is that?
It cerainly isn’t the game maker’s fault nor is it the fault of the game. You have to discipline yourself to control your time. Isn’t that what business is all about?
That said, it’s OK to let yourself have a little fun. Just carve out some time during the day when it is “down time” and spend no more time than you’ve allowed yourself to have some fun. But you can also consider that down time to be a part of your business time. After all, even business people – busy ones too – allow for social activities.
And social activities can also carry business benefits.
So what about those silly questionnaire notices you get from your friends on Facebook. You know the ones. They ask if so-and-so thinks you’ve ever danced like Michael Jackson or would look good in a mini-skirt. Silly stuff.
One way to think about this is those questionnaires allow you to connect with potential customers in new ways. Usually, the questions are asked by people who already know you, but they may not be customers. By “opening up” and playing the game with them, you could be allowing them to get a sneak peak at your personality and who knows where that might lead?
Tags: business, facebook, social games, Social Media
Posted in Social Media | 4 Comments »
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