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Apply For An Award, Competition or Contest Today
May 20th
Apply for a contest or award today — there are good business reasons to do so. First, you get recognition and publicity for your business — and that’s just good marketing. On top of that, it’s good for employees. You give your team something to excite them and to rally around. Finally, awards are good strategy: being nominated and winning can set your business apart from competitors.
But remember, YOU must make it happen, by applying for awards. Don’t be shy — nominate your company. Or nominate a customer or client for an award and show them you care about THEIR success and want to honor them.
The list of awards and competitions below is brought to you by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.
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The New York Enterprise Report 2012 Small Business Awards
Enter by May 21, 2012
The New York Enterprise Report Small Business Awards is the annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of the 500,000+ small businesses throughout the tri-state area. The Small Business Awards will recognize 5 small businesses for their best practices and 3 businesses under the “Best of the Year Awards” categories.
A panel of experts in the related fields will judge all award packages. Awards will be presented to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages, revenue profits and/or long-term value. Please note the criteria and requirements listed on the awards website.
Small Business Influencer Awards 2012
Enter by July 15, 2012
The 2012 Small Business Influencer Awards are now open for nominations! The Influencer Awards honor companies, organizations, apps and people who have made a meaningful and lasting impact on the North American small business market. Impact may mean (i) providing products widely used by significant numbers of small businesses, or (ii) influencing significant numbers of small businesses by being a thought leader, or (iii) providing information or services of note to significant numbers of small businesses. Nominate here.
Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition
Enter by August 8, 2012
The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is an annual international business plan competition in Michigan. The event is the world’s largest business plan competition with more than $1 million in prizes. The goals of the competition are to promote Michigan as a venue for innovation and opportunity and stimulate job creation.
The New York Times Make Your Pitch Contest
Enter by August 29, 2012
Submit your pitch on video, telling about your product or service, your marketing plans, your customer base. Tell what makes your business different — why it is one to watch? Do you need capital? If so, how much and what for? Most important, how are you going to make money?
All video pitches that meet the submission guidelines will be featured on The New York Times small-business Facebook page and selected pitches will be featured on the New York Times You’re the Boss Blog.
To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar.
If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Small Business Event and Contests Form (it’s free).
Please note: The descriptions provided here are for convenience only and are NOT the official rules. ALWAYS read official rules carefully at the site holding the competition, contest or award.
Apply For An Award, Competition or Contest Today
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Our Black Year: Supporting Conscious Consumerism And Small Business
May 19th
I find it funny when people from all walks of life speak on how a business is run, but few thoroughly examine a business’ relationship with a community. A family’s experiment shows the importance of that relationship more than any words could express.
Our Black Year, One Family’s Quest to Buy Black in America’s Racially Divided Economy, written by Maggie Anderson with Ted Gregory, is thoughtful journalism on being a conscious consumer — in this case, supporting businesses in traditional black communities.
We read about thought-provoking ideas in great books like Lisa Gansky’s The Mesh, but Anderson, a Chicago lawyer, lived the values behind her ideas. She and her husband John (they have two young daughters, Cara and Cori) purchased goods and services from Black-owned businesses operating in local economically depressed neighborhoods. It was a year-long “conscious consumerism” project. I contacted the publisher for a review copy after seeing Anderson speak on C-Span about her experience during the study, because I thought the book would be of interest to small business owners.
New Century Approach To A Long Standing Problem
Discussions on supporting black businesses are not new. Our Black Year places a new more proactive twist on that notion, approaching its topic the way Hollowing Out The Middle, a book on the economic drain of rural America, did.
Anderson shares illuminating data and historic perspective on how businesses in under-served communities start at a disadvantage — from lending discrimination that still plagues Black and Hispanic business owners, to the degree to which economic spending flees a community, such as the studies quoted below:
“One of the first things I uncovered was a report from a 2004 showing that for every $100 flowing into an average underserved Black community, about $95 leaves …. Just as illuminating was a radio piece produced in 2009 by WBEZ-FM, Chicago’s National Public Radio outlet, that examined retail leakage in thirty Chicago neighborhoods. Its findings: “Thirty neighborhoods have more than 50 percent retail leakage. Of those, 20 are on the South Side. Almost all are majority-Black neighborhoods. In 2007 residents in these neighborhoods spent a collective $3.8 billion outside of their own South Side communities.”
Historic views of the African American community ranging from Talented Tenth to the Black Wall Street in Tulsa heighten the points raised.
Making A Difference While Overcoming Obstacles
Anderson’s story perspective enhances the impact of family decisions, more than any white paper exercise could. Moreover, the retelling shows what a customer may undergo in becoming a “conscious consumer.” I was particularly touched by Anderson’s worry about selecting clothes for Cara to attend a christening while meeting the study criteria:
“Cara was going to wear an informal dress with spaghetti-straps and open-toed sandals. No sweater. It was barely acceptable attire…. I kept wondering whether I had forsaken my sweet babies for a purpose.… But someday, I kept telling myself maybe my daughters will understand that taking a stand often creates collateral damage.”
Family reactions are notable, particularly at the start of the project as Mima, Anderson’s mother, discovers she has pancreatic cancer. The trials have thoughtful literary-quality honesty and add humanity with each point Anderson makes.
Anderson also shared the not-ready-for-PC reader commentary from a Chicago SunTimes feature article. These critics who felt the project emphasized racial differences harmfully. Anderson felt disappointment from being told to “move on to Africa” among other more sharp mentions. Fun fact: Ann Coulter even weighed in (I won’t give away that nugget! Read the book!).
The text speaks sharply to the post civil-rights African American middle class. Anderson shares how gentrification overlooks the voices of community residents, via comments from Michelle Boyd, an associate professor of African American studies and political science at University of Illinois-Chicago:
“One reason poorer residents do not present sustained opposition is that they are filtered out of the community development process.”
The book sounds militant in some passages, but that tone demonstrates eloquent arguments meant to establish an urgent proactive stance, as well as to address the harsh responses encountered.
Our Black Year highlights a quintessential concern among business owners – the thin line between activities that will keep the doors open versus being an active steward within a community. Highlighting long ignored economic structures in traditionally Black neighborhoods is an example of how far some segments of the United States have been derailed.
Here are some rich takeaways that can serve small businesses with a “conscious consumer” audience:
- How treating customers well can engender support, be a gateway for customer loyalty, and a form of “brand” identity without trying so hard to creating it through marketing tactics
- Sometimes good marketing tactics can not save a business if used too late (another nugget, read the book)
- If your business is looking for new opportunities, consider basic goods not offered conveniently rather than that “radical new health juice.” Anderson noted an absence when seeking family needs. “Among the businesses we had trouble finding were Black-owned shoe stores and other outlets with children’s clothes.”
The appendices contain terrific data and sources. They complement the ideas raised in Locavesting, another book on supporting local businesses. Combining the listed financial resources like Local Investment Opportunity Network with the resources in Our Black Year is a powerhouse move for those practicing conscious consumerism.
One nitpick: Andersons’ tips for shopping consciously should be a chapter on its own, but I write that with uplifting respect. It’s an excellent thoughtful list that should be highlighted.
Our Black Year will fascinate people who have an interest in community development. Place it in your business library. It is a treasure for how ideas should be enacted and funded with discipline and compassion.
Our Black Year: Supporting Conscious Consumerism And Small Business
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
How to Pump Up the Volume on Your Online Marketing – Twitter Chat
May 19th
Save the date! In honor of Small Business Week, we’re holding a Twitter chat on May 23 at 3:00 pm Eastern time, on the topic of online marketing. I am thrilled to partner again with Stephanie Chandler on this event.
We’re going to cover some of your favorite topics – from email marketing, to local listings, to online reviews, to optimizing your website, to social media, and more.
A big shout out goes to our sponsor, Yahoo! Small Business, for making it possible. This Twitter chat came about almost by accident. I recently had a chance to preview an intriguing new Marketing Dashboard from Yahoo! Stephanie and I were on the same demo. One thing led to another, and we suggested a Twitter chat.
Those of you who are regular readers know I am a HUGE fan of business dashboards – I write frequently about them. I learned the value of dashboards when I was in the corporate world, where dashboards tend to be highly customized. Most of us don’t have the resources to build customized dashboards for our own businesses, connecting with all of our business systems.
That’s why it’s great to see the growing trend of ready-to-go dashboards for small businesses. Today you can find dashboards for tracking sales, finances, or – now, with the new Yahoo! Marketing Dashboard – for online marketing. Managing your online presence and making sense of all the data you have is more important than ever, as the infographic below shows.
Twitter Chat Details – Mark Your Calendars!
When: Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at 3:00 pm Eastern time Where: On Twitter! Follow the event hashtag #YDashboard to participate
Who: Stephanie Chander (@Bizauthor) and I (@smallbiztrends) are co-hosting.
Sponsor: Yahoo! Small Business (@YSmallBusiness)
Bonus: We’ll be holding random drawings for two $100 AMEX gift cards. But you have to be there!
If you’re new to Twitter chats, check out Lisa Barone’s “How to Participate in a Twitter Chat.”
Click to see larger infographic
How to Pump Up the Volume on Your Online Marketing – Twitter Chat
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Ben Watson of Hootsuite: Managing Twitter Chatter
May 18th
Tweet, Tweet. Who’s there? Millions of people. The power of social media is helping small businesses make great strides getting the word out about their business, products and services. But one area where it’s specifically making it’s mark is in better customer relations and service. The amount of information flowing in and out can be overwhelming. But there are organizational tools to help and today, Ben Watson, Vice President of Customer Marketing for Hootsuite, joins Brent Leary to share a solution.
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Small Business Trends: Can you tell me a little bit about what you are doing with customer marketing at Hootsuite?
Ben Watson: Customer marketing takes us down a step and says, “Who are our customers? What is the ultimate value driver for them? What is causing the turn? What is causing the update? What’s different by the different verticals we work with, and even break down the functional role?”
So in a nutshell, my team looks at the unique needs of different customer segments, identifies them, and then insures that we are creating a marketing plan to speak effectively to those people and help them to understand the messages we are putting out there.
Small Business Trends: Can you give us a little insight into how things have changed over the years?
Ben Watson: Yeah, we are bumping up to 4 million users right now. Growth continues to explode. I think what is interesting about the Hootsuite story is that, while there is a significant difference in how the enterprise, or small business, or agency would manage their social media, there’s even more difference in terms of an individual who just wants to manage profiles across multiple networks and take advantage of some basic features.
What we see at Hootsuite, when we take it up to the enterprise side, is massive growth in terms of the number of members on teams that are managing social media. Also, growth in the different organizations within the enterprise that are managing social media as well.
At the same time, we have a massive base of individual users, small agencies, and small businesses. We need to continue to focus on their needs as well. There we see, “I want to know what people are saying about me. I want an effective way to manage my inbox, and to use social media as the messaging communications platform. Also, to have an effective way of listening to the things that I am interested in. Being able to create filters based on topical areas that I am interested in, or geographical area where I am located in. Because I want to know what is the difference in the conversation locally vs. the conversation that is happening around the world.”
The bottom line is there’s a lot of consistency in terms of how people are using social media and the things they want to do. But, on an individual basis, we see a lot of different types of views. A lot of different frequency of views and a lot of different needs in terms of governance, security, and team work flow, and depth of analytics that is required to cross these different segments.
Small Business Trends: You recently came out with Hootsuite Team. Can you talk about how that addresses the need for businesses to be more strategic and more collaborative with their social engagements?
Ben Watson: One of the first things that people need to do is get organized around social media. Looking at the different functions within the teams and looking at the work flows that are going to be different by departments. Also, looking at the hand off. If something comes in from a marketing perspective and really belongs in customer support, or if somebody reaches out to express their interest in an employment opportunity, how do you insure that it is routed into human resources effectively?
Hootsuite Team was really meant to help with the first critical step that many enterprises and businesses are facing today, which is mapping my organization involved with social media into a common tool bringing everybody together in one place. Then giving them appropriate levels of control over the different social accounts, over social networks and profiles that they ultimately need to manage.
It is both an organization tool, in terms of getting my people together in one place, and it is a collaboration of work flow tool in terms of having appropriate checks and balances in place for the messages that are going to push out across us over the network. Then it is to bill shared understanding in knowledge around the impact of our works.
Small Business Trends: How difficult a challenge is that today as compared to maybe a year or to ago?
Ben Watson: The types of networks are changing. The number of networks is changing. Some real centers are forming around some of the social networks that are more established in the same place for a long time. We see first the increase in the number of people within the enterprise that focus on managing those. We also see a significant increase in terms of the number of accounts that people are actually managing. Some of our enterprise accounts are literally managing hundreds of social profiles across a myriad of networks. That added to the complexity.
I think it is more complex. At the same time, ourselves and other folks in the industry are working to make this easier. To get organized thoughout and easier to understand what the ROI looks like.
Small Business Trends: What impact do these kinds of tools have on the actual customer experience?
Ben Watson: The result on the customer experience is better interaction, better personalization. The person that I am speaking with truly understands my problems. I am, hopefully, being interactive in a more timely fashion so that my issues are resolved.
Small Business Trends: Where can people learn more?
Ben Watson: A great place to start is Hootsuite.com or follow us on Twitter @Hootsuite.
This interview is part of our One on One series of conversations with some of the most thought-provoking entrepreneurs, authors and experts in business today. This interview has been edited for publication. To hear audio of the full interview, click the right arrow on the gray player below. You can also see more interviews in our interview series.
Whether you’re growing your business or starting a new venture, BlackBerry solutions provide you with the freedom you want and the control you need. [Series sponsor]
Ben Watson of Hootsuite: Managing Twitter Chatter
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Small Business Owners And The Estimated Tax Payment
May 18th
For new small business owners, meeting your tax obligations is a big adjustment – particularly when you’ve been used to having an employer take out income tax withholdings with each paycheck. When you have your own business though, tax time isn’t just once a year; rather you have to make estimated tax payments throughout the year.
If you’re not sure if you need to pay estimated taxes for your business, read on to learn more about small business estimated tax payments:
What are estimated tax payments?
Individuals and businesses are required to pay taxes over the course of the year, and not just at “tax time.” If you’re working for an employer, your employer most likely withholds these taxes for you throughout the year. When you’re self-employed or own a business, you’ll be expected to make these tax payments to the IRS and state on your own.
Who has to pay estimated tax payments?
The rules for estimated tax payments vary based on business type:
- For sole proprietors, partnerships, S Corporation shareholders, single member LLCs who elect to be taxed as a sole prop or an S corporation, or multi-member LLCs who elect to be taxed as a partnership or an S corporation: If you expect to owe $1,000 or more in taxes when you file your income tax return, you most likely will need to make estimated tax payments to the federal government (and potentially your state government too). There’s one exception: if your witholdings and tax credits add up to as least as much as your prior year’s tax, you do not need to made a federal estimated tax payment.
- For C Corporations and multi-member LLCs who elect to be taxed as a C Corporation: If you own a Corporation, you will need to make estimated tax payments if you expect to owe $500 or more with your tax filing.
When are payments due?
Estimated tax payments are divided into four payment periods throughout the year:
- April 15th
- June 15th
- September 15th
- January 15th
If your business is a Corporation, your estimated taxes are due on the fifteenth day of the 4th, 6th, 9th, and 12th month after the end of your company’s fiscal year.
Once you’re in the system, the IRS will send you estimated payment vouchers at the end of each tax year. However, whether you receive these payment vouchers or not, it is your responsibility to make payments for both the Federal and State taxes.
How to Pay
If you’re filing as a self-employed individual or disregarded entity (i.e. single-member LLC, partnership, or S Corp shareholder), you should complete Form 1040-ES. This form contains blank vouchers for mailing your estimated tax payments. You can also make your payments using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). For your state payment, you have to search online for the appropriate form, complete it and send it in with your payment.
Corporations must submit their payments using EFTPS, or can arrange for a tax professional, financial institution, payroll service, or other trusted third party to make deposits on their behalf.
How much should you pay?
- For self-employed individuals and disregarded entities (i.e. single-member LLCs, partnerships, and S Corp shareholders), the IRS recommends using Form 1040-ES to calculate your individual estimated tax payments.
- Corporations should use the Worksheet on Form 1120-W to calculate estimated tax payments.
Alternatively, if you expect the current year’s earnings to be relatively similar to last year, you can use last year’s tax return to calculate your estimated payments. Or if you experience fluctuating income, you can choose to calculate your estimated taxes based on the actual amount you made that quarter.
You don’t need to show the IRS how you arrived at your estimated sum. However, it’s in your best interest to reach as accurate a figure as possible. Paying too little can result in an unfortunate surprise when it’s time to file your annual taxes, in addition to potential penalties for underpayment. Conversely, by paying too much, you’ve essentially taken money out of your business and you could have invested that money for a higher return.
If you’re unsure about your estimated tax obligations, it’s wise to consult a tax specialist who can advise you on the best calculation method for your business and how to properly track and record your earnings and deductions. Just remember the more time you invest in your estimated tax payments, the easier your life will be come tax time.
Piggy Bank Photo via Shutterstock
Small Business Owners And The Estimated Tax Payment
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Is Your Brand Helping Or Hurting Your Small Business? Chat Recap
May 18th
Didn’t get a chance to participate in the FedEx Office Twitter chat on May 15? No worries – we have a recap of the highlights below.
The topic was branding: Is your brand helping or hurting your small business? Let’s take a look at some of the responses and comments on this topic. The Twitter handle of the person who said them, follows:
1. What exactly is a “brand”? Is it a name, a logo – or more? – @FedExOffice
A brand is the overall perception the publicgets when they think of your business. - @Smallbiztrends
A brand has many parts: name, logo, tagline,reputation, experience customers have had … and more. @Smallbiztrends
Even your business cards, packaging and signagehelp the public recognize your brand. @Smallbiztrends
It’s a combination of all. It’s the whole picture that pops in to a client’s mind when they hear a company name -@a_biro
To me, a “brand” is symbol of your business story. Logo, name, everything should refer & infer the story -@3keyscoach
When branding works well it immediately tells your story - @CASUDI
A Brand is the thoughts, feelings, and psychological relationship between a business and a customer -@paintermommy
Sum of who you are, what you do & stand for visually and viscerally. -@DeborahShane
A brand is what people say about you when you’re not around - @philsimon
2. Can your brand hold your business back? If so, how? – @FedExOffice
Yes, brand can evoke perceptions of poorquality or unprofessionalism. – @Smallbiztrends
For example, an inappropriate look (e.g., acartoonish font for a serious business) may undermine confidence. – @Smallbiztrends
Inconsistent design details are also aproblem (e.g., multiple styles in marketing materials). – @Smallbiztrends
I’ve seen logos & websites of such poor quality I couldn’t trust them. Hence, no sale. – @robert_brady
Some businesses outgrow their branding or shift biz focus – old branding might be blocking new customers - @CathyWebSavvyPR
Small biz can learn a lot from big biz – both face similar challenges in establishing a brand – dif steps but useful lesson - @ZimanaAnalytics
Wrong image can alienate potential buyers – I feel this way abt “edgy” clothing lines – some local – @janejoeyxo
3: How do you assess if your brand is helping or hurting? – @FedExOffice
Start with your biz name and logo. What do others think of when they seethem? Is name easy to spell, say?- @Smallbiztrends
Do people say they don’t know what you do? If so, consider re-naming,re-designing your logo, or adding a tagline. – @Smallbiztrends
Website analytics, how ppl look @ my biz card, types of questions/comments they make tells me if my biz is connecting - @3keyscoach
When U hear ~ I didn’t know you do that! - @CASUDI
A professional logo is simplistically memorable, practically appropriate, and conveys an intended meaning. - @TommyGuns
4. What if your name and logo do not need overhauled? What other brand elementsshould you look at? – @FedExOffice
Look at how you present your business. Areyou putting best foot forward in brochures, website, business cards, signs? – @Smallbiztrends
You have 5 to 10 seconds to make a goodimpression – as a person or as a biz. – @Smallbiztrends
Too often I see small businesses sabotagetheir own brands, and that’s a shame. – @Smallbiztrends
What about a “headline statement” such as what http://t.co/tPWyzIxR has -@DIYMarketers
Simple one… Font type! - @lvansteen
Maybe if your logo and name don’t need to change your marketing plan does… – @Apex_Biz
Customer service, without positive customer interactions your logo is nothing but a reminder of a bad experience. – @TommyGuns
5: What are some ways small businesses sabotage their own brands? – @FedExOffice
Faded signs and tattered trade show bannerswill undermine your brand, suggesting lack of pride. – @Smallbiztrends
Poor quality printed items (fuzzy graphics,cheap paper, bleeding ink) make even the best brands look bad.- @Smallbiztrends
By not marketing properly -@carnivalfanatic
Setting up auto-responders on social networks that don’t engage customers can be a bad thing – really bad…. - @BasicBlogTips
I’ll never forget early on I handed a potential client my biz card made w/ generic logo, her card had same logo - @CathyWebSavvyPR
They forget why they started their business in the first place. - @KStaib
Bad customer support smashes your brand. To have successful brand, control every aspect of doing business - @lvansteen
The right #smallbiz signage equation: simple + clean = best. Read more to see if your signs stack up: http://t.co/fjVyl66G – @FedExOffice
6: Is consistency an important element of brand? Why or why not? – @FedExOffice
Consistency is crucial. People notice if abusiness card has a new logo and the brochure has the old. – @Smallbiztrends
Also, it is easier to build brand recognitionwhen you use similar graphics throughout multiple channels. – @Smallbiztrends
Yes very important, it creates comfort for customers and trust - @marilola33
Promotes consumer confidence in your business -@GeekDad248
7: Complete this sentence: “A professional looking logo …” – @FedExOffice
A professional looking logo helps you cut through the marketing clutter and create a memorable association for your customers -@GeekDad248
8: Can you present a quality brand on a small business budget? - @FedExOffice
Yes! For marketing materials, weigh “value.” Cheap cost = good. Cheap look = bad. – @Smallbiztrends
You can get a pro look using a DIY tool, provided it’s a good tool. Find a good “partner” to execute, too. – @Smallbiztrends
Example: a brochure based on a Word templatecan look professional if printed in color on quality stock. - @Smallbiztrends
A personal touch and attention to your customer’s needs can go a long way and might not cost much - @Ileane
Choose wisely where you spend your branding dollars. Keep your customer’s response in mind @ all times - @CathyWebSavvyPR
A smile is the best thing a business can offer me, costs nothing but makes my day - @TommyGuns
9: What is the biggest mistake to avoid when presenting your brand? – @FedExOffice
Mistake: presenting your brand in anyway that you would feel compelled to apologize about. – @Smallbiztrends
You can hardly focus on sales if the next breath has you apologizing for yourwebsite or outdated business cards! – @Smallbiztrends
Too cluttered. Too many words - @janejoeyxo
Overspending on marketing, making outlandish claims, using negative pressure tactics to gain business – @itmaiden
10: What are your two best tips for presenting a small business brand professionally? – @FedExOffice
Tip 1: spring for a professionally designedlogo. You will have it for years. Get the best you can afford. – @Smallbiztrends
Tip 2: quality materials count! People are tactile. We feel a business card’sweight, or a mailer’s gloss. – @Smallbiztrends
Acknowledge the value of the relationship with your customer, say thank you and don’t be afraid to ask for testimonials - @Ileane
Make sure your branding showcases what you/yr product can do best for yr customers, and is memorable - @CathyWebSavvyPR
Attending marketing events helped me a lot – ones sponsored by prof org -@janejoeyxo
2 tips to present a smallbiz brand professionally: (1) set clear expectations; (2) Underpromise, but overdeliver. - @crowdSPRING
This Twitter chat was part of the FedEx Office® Our Office Is Your Office Tweet Chat Series
Note: to make the recap easier to read, tweets above have been edited to remove redundant information, such as hashtags and answer numbers, and fix obvious misspellings. Tweets may be slightly out of order, for better readability. The above represents only a small portion of the tweets — it is intended to cover key highlights for reader convenience. Go here for a transcript of the chat.
Disclosure: FedEx Office compensated me to participate as a small business expert during the FedEx Office Our Office Is Your Office Tweet Chat program. The ideas in this blog post are mine and not ideas or advice from FedEx Office.
Is Your Brand Helping Or Hurting Your Small Business? Chat Recap
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
The “Belong Subscribe And Engage” Marketing Plan
May 17th
A sound and holistic marketing plan has always combined these areas:
- Advertising: any paid form of communication through mass communication
- Sales promotion: any short term incentive to encourage trial purchase
- Events and Experiences: sponsored events or activities
- Public Relations and Publicity: non paid ways to promote image and reputation
- Direct Marketing: one-to-one communication such as mail, telephone, e-mail and Internet selling
- Personal Selling: face-to-face interaction with one or more prospective customers
Using these marketing areas was simpler when there was only traditional media: TV, Cable, Radio and Print. Now, with the addition of the web and online worlds, plus social media, our choices have increased dramatically.
Regardless of all the options and choices, the best way to grow brand reach and impact is still an integrated marketing approach, using things together, so that you reach the most people with your message and solutions.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed and underwhelmed, with so many choices, products and platforms. The truth is, many of these options are not really right for you and you shouldn’t be using them. Just because something is popular or the “thing” of the moment, doesn’t mean it’s going to last or be around. (Here are some Social Media Failures for 2011, that many regret signing up for.)
Answer these three simple, but important, questions first:
1) What do you do?
2) Who is your core customer?
3) How do you reach them where they hang out and engage?
Applying those answers to these areas will help you know what you need to belong to, subscribe to and engage in.
Belong To The Right Organizations
What’s your networking in person plan? Pick a chamber, be a member of a professional organization, a union, networking or hobby group, or meet ups. Be willing to go to them and get to know others who can become valued peers, colleagues and friends. Be out consistently, show your face and bring your personality.
Subscribe To The Most Important Content
Who are the leading voices and experts in your field and related fields? Subscribe to their blogs, newsletters, white papers, news feeds, and tips. This will keep you on the forefront of relevant and current trends and information.
Engage Where Your Customers Or Followers Are
Wherever your customers, fans, friends, peers and colleagues are is where you should be. Get more active on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs, YouTube, selective chat rooms, online groups, Tweet/Facebook chats. Choose the activities that are best for you and build in time to be on them.
Who are your best playmates, playgrounds and games? The business world is just a big park, playground and party. Get into the conversations and be apart of the discussion. When you put yourself out, in a targeted, focused way with a brand and branding plan that makes sense to reach the best people for you, you create a natural self marketing plan that will reward and return.
Mix and match, use and try media, marketing and promotion until you find the best ROI and RON (return on networking). Stay curious and be proactive in trying new things that are on top of consumer trends that impact you. Here are 10 ways to stretch your marketing budget from author Mark W Bly from his book The Marketing Plan Handbook. If you’re using social media for marketing your business, you should be measuring it, according to Union Metrics founder Jenn Deering Davis.
Be brave, bold, adventurous and follow a game plan, when it comes to marketing yourself! Be willing to adjust, tweak and adapt.
What’s your personal marketing plan?
Marketing Plan Photo via Shutterstock
The “Belong Subscribe And Engage” Marketing Plan
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
New Bulk Listing Management Tool From Google Places
May 17th
Businesses with multiple locations should be breathing a heavy sigh of relief now that Google has introduced a new and improved bulk listing management tool designed to make the whole process easier and faster for business owners.
Google revealed several new changes last week which have been implemented to help SMBs and enable the follow actions:
- Edit one or more of your listings’ data at once
- Search through your listings, filtering by specific information or for listings with errors
- Upload new listings using a data file or by adding them individually within the interface
- Tell us how we can improve this new interface by clicking the “Give Feedback” link
Google has also uploaded two tutorial videos to walk both new and verified users through the process.
Tutorial for new, unverified users
Tutorial for Verified Users
If you’ve visited your Google Places dashboard recently, you may have already noticed that it went through a makeover. Personally, I find the updated dashboard considerably more user-friendly and intuitive. I especially like how easy it is to find listings with errors. The easier it is to spot errors, the easier it is to fix them!
If you’re a business owner with 10 or more locations and you’ve been avoiding uploading and/or correcting your information on Google Places because it was too much of a hassle or you weren’t sure where to start, these new upgrades and the accompanying videos help remove both of those obstacles.
We’ve said this many times but taking the time to ensure that all of your online business listings are claimed and showing correct information is one of the most powerful things you can do to build your Web presence and your offline customer base. Nearly 20 percent of all Google searches are users accessing Google Place Pages – that adds up to millions of searches a day! If a user can’t find you or it looks like your information is incorrect, they’re not going to keep trying. It’s going to deter them away for your business and push them toward your competitor. This isn’t something you can afford.
The release of this new tool from Google is a good reminder of how important it is to claim and optimize all of your business listings. If you haven’t checked to make sure they’re accurate, use today to do it.
Consider it a little Spring cleaning as you:
- Claim your Google Place listing (and all other online business listings)
- Make sure the information is as accurate as possible and that it’s consistent with what else is out there about you on the Web. It’s vitally important that you align all of your listings and allow them to work FOR you and show your relevance.
- If you have already claimed your Google Place listing, work on optimizing it. Add some new Google business photos/videos. Update your keywords. Start thinking up new ways to build reviews or point people to your page. Don’t leave it static.
The updated Google Maps Bulk Listing management tool is great for businesses for with 10 or more locations, but even if that’s not you, it’s also an important reminder that these listings matter and that Google is looking at them hard to determine relevance and search placement. If it’s been awhile since you’ve optimized your Google Place listings, give it another look. It could be the difference between showing up and being invisible to your audience.
New Bulk Listing Management Tool From Google Places
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Does Flextime Benefit You More Than Your Employees?
May 17th
Are you resisting offering employees at your small business flexible working hours because you think it’ll give them an excuse to slack off? Well, some new research should convince you otherwise. It seems flextime may actually be less flexible than a regular schedule.
The 2012 National Study of Employers, released by the Families and Work Institute (FWI) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), found that U.S. employers are offering employees more options for managing when and where they work. The tradeoff for the employees, however, is that employers offering more flexibility are also requiring them to essentially work more.
Compared to 2005, the study found significantly more employers are allowing at least some employees to:
- use flextime and periodically change starting and quitting times within a range of hours (77 percent, compared to 66 percent in 2005);
- take time off during the workday to attend to important family or personal needs without loss of pay (87 percent, up from 77 percent in 2005);
- work some of their regular paid hours at home on at least an occasional basis (63 percent, nearly double the 34 percent in 2005); and
- have control over their paid and unpaid overtime hours (44 percent, compared to 28 percent in 2005).
But although employers were offering more flexibility in some ways, they were offering less flexibility in others. The study found significant decreases in the number of employers allowing at least some of their employees to:
- return to work gradually after childbirth or adoption of a child (73 percent, down from 86 percent in 2005),
- take a career break for personal or family responsibilities (52 percent, down from 73 percent in 2005), and
- move from full-time to part-time work and back again while remaining in the same position or level (41 percent, down from 54 percent in 2005).
In other words, fewer companies are letting employees take extended time off. So what are the costs and benefits of flextime? You’re probably getting more work out of your employees in the short term; a 2010 Brigham Young University study of IBM employees found that those with flextime worked an average of 19 hours more per week than those on traditional schedules.
But are you risking burning them out in the long term?
Don’t get me wrong—I’m a huge proponent of flextime and, as the study noted, offering some form of flexible hours is pretty much essential to attract employees these days. But as entrepreneurs, we have “flextime” too—and it doesn’t take a study to convince any smartphone-toting business owner that flextime doesn’t necessary lead to work-life balance.
Flextime is a great option for employees, but make sure you give them some real time off, too.
Stop Time Photo via Shutterstock
Does Flextime Benefit You More Than Your Employees?
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Navigating the Recruiting Maze
May 16th
For a lot of hiring managers and small business leaders, hiring remains the most crucial pain point. If you magically get the right people, stuff just gets executed. However, we never make the perfect hiring decisions all the time. Sometimes we are in a hurry to fill the role, and the options available seem more attractive than the list of skills and qualities we carefully created.
Of course, every manager has a different outlook – some of us “hire fast, learn fast and fail fast,” whereas some of us passively look at many resumes and only make an addition to the team when it feels right. I’ve made my fair share of errors and would like to share an example that might help when you are at the next crossroads and in a hurry.
I was looking for an online marketing person and started furiously going through LinkedIn for profiles that had keywords of certain skills that were required. After I found a few profiles, I cold wrote to a particular prospect and heard back from her. She shared her detailed resume with me and it looked like a dream. After I explained the role to her, she seemed positive that it was her domain and she joined the next day.
Over the next few weeks, she worked very hard and made a difference to our efforts. Her skills were matching with many peripheral tasks, except for the core role she was hired for. And the mistake was entirely mine. I made a few notes to myself:
Never Absorb The Resume Or The LinkedIn Profile On Face Value
Get evidence of past work or go through some testing or sample review. For engineers, this can be writing a piece of code during the interview. For content writers it would be writing a sample piece.
Understand The Cost Of Hurrying
You can fill a role quickly but if the person is not taking your load off instantly, then chances are they are increasing the load. The relevant experience can contribute to your workload, but if a person needs to be taught everything from scratch – you will be taking time out of your job to show them the way. Depending on how fast your small business is growing, this can be challenging.
References Are Not Always Helpful
When you ask someone for a reference, of course they are going to give you a positive one. Skip this step. Especially if you are a small business without corporate guidelines. Go with your gut and use logic.
Lots Of Trial Projects
If you can, take people on short-term projects to help you with different parts of your business. As a small business, you have to depend on freelancers and consultants for certain roles anyway. Make sure you have a good pipeline of folks helping you as freelancers. As your business grows, you will have the opportunity to offer full-time roles to these folks, and you will know them extremely well by then.
There is no perfect hire and there are no perfect hiring tips or guidelines. We can simply learn from our own mistakes and hopefully from mistakes of others.
Maze Photo via Shutterstock
Navigating the Recruiting Maze
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
