What Is The “Right Direction” For Your Business?

It’s very easy to “get off track” with your business decisions, no matter if you’re new or have had your business for years. Analyzing your business and your goals every so often is beneficial to knowing if you are heading in the right direction.

A good sign of success is continued happiness - Do you wake up each morning excited to go to work? Do you enjoy what you do? Do you thrive on speaking with your customers and planning ways to build your business and meet their needs? If you’re happy with your business chances are it’s on the right track.

Growth is another sign of success - Is your business growing steadily? Has your sales grown? Has your customer base grown? Growth doesn’t have to be substantial to determine success; it just has to be steady. If you are reaching your goals as quickly or consistently as you’d like then your business is headed in the right direction.

Think about what your customers say about your business - Do you receive positive feedback and responses from customers? Are you building positive relationships? Happy customers are worth their weight in gold. If your customers are happy and are expressing their happiness, then you’re definitely headed in the right direction.

Consider how you can expand your business - Do you have room for growth? Some industries are short lived, such as a website which sells pet rocks, Chia pets or other trendy and short lived fads while other industries have unlimited potential for growth. The ability to grow and expand your business is a sign of future success.

Thinking realistically about your business and the path you want it to take will help to insure your future success. Business plans are not meant to be written in stone. They should be fluid documents that changes with the times and adapt to your new ideas.

Personally I have made major decisions in business when I wasn’t happy, I think we all should. In the end, yes it is about the money but it’s also about your happiness, asking these questions often will help keep you on track.

Do you think there should be changes made to a business when you’re not happy with it? Or do you think you should just continue on your plan without disrupting anything?

Growing Your Brand With the Internet

Branding for the small business owner is an incredibly important part of marketing your business. You want your customers to think of you first, to trust you, and to ultimately purchase from you. A small business owner’s most powerful branding tool is their personality, which will also be interpreted by customers and prospects as the business personality.

Here are a few great ways to use the internet to express your personality:

Blogs are a super easy way to both communicate with your customer and to offer them value. Every business can benefit from having a blog, which is simply a way to teach your readers something new and to form a relationship with them. A blog has the added benefit of being interactive, with the reader posting comments or questions to which the writer can then respond.

Video is rapidly becoming one of the most popular marketing tools for small business owners with the popularity of YouTube. For some business owners, speaking is easier than writing and it gives you the same ability to communicate with your prospects and customers as a blog does. In fact, you can upload a video to your regular blog to mix up the content and to give your audience a new perspective.

Audio precedes video as a marketing tool however it is still very popular. When you’re speaking to your prospects and customers, about any subject relevant to your industry, your personality comes through in your voice, your inflections, and even in the words you choose. Audio is also a popular choice because your messages can be downloaded to an mp3 player so your clients can take your words with them through their day.

Content is an excellent form of personality marketing and many forms, such as ebooks, articles, reports and ezines, are viral. Viral simply means the information can all be forwarded to friends and associates of your prospects thus increasing your reach and your exposure.

Using pictures on your website helps you connect with your clients. Ever flip to the back page of a book to see what the author looks like? I do it all the time. Why? Curiosity. I just want to know what the author looks like. The same holds true for your business. A picture of you as the owner and pictures of your team help visitors connect with you as a person.

Social networking gives business owners the ability to connect with people on an entirely different, non-sales, level. You can establish a profile on any number of networking sites, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, and meet, greet, and connect with prospects, customers, and even potential future business partners. Social networking is personality branding kicked up a notch.

Branding is a continuous process and for the small business owner it means more than a logo and a catchy name. Your website is often the first impression a customer gets before making a decision to use you or not. Include an About page, Company Philosophy, or Mission Statement on your website for customers to read. Small business branding is all about connecting with your customer on a personal level and the internet has made it easy and accessible for all.

20 Quick Tips To Improve Your Business

Owning a small business means you are “the one.” The one responsible for marketing, sales, accounting, administrative assistance, and technical support. If you are doing all these jobs just to care for your current customers, when on earth will you have time to market your business to attract new customers?

Rather than burn yourself out by doing everything, think about all of your jobs and try to implement these 20 quick tips to improve your business:

#1 Outsource - You don’t have to do everything nor should you do everything. Find a reliable and trusted outsource provider for the menial, everyday tasks so you can focus on the money making tasks.

#2 Automate - Learn about new technology and find a way to put your business on autopilot. Autoresponders, email drafts, scheduling blogs or newsletters, and even automating invoicing can save tons of time every month.

#3 Manage cash flow - Proper cash flow reduces stress, will help you save money for future projects, and will also help you forecast future finances so you can make better business decisions.

#4 Socialize with your customers - Social networking allows small business owners to socialize and learn more about their customers. In turn, you will become better at meeting your clients’ needs and increase your bottom line.

#5 Build in passive income - Have you heard the term, “Make money while you sleep”? Building passive income from information marketing, selling ad space, and affiliate marketing are great ways to add extra income and boost cash flow.

#6 Create a community - Adding interactive tools such as blogs, forums, and membership sites can increase your search engine ranking along with providing valuable information about your customers and their needs.

#7 Reward loyalty - Whether you establish a formal loyalty program where customers receive points or discounts based on how much they spend or you simply give out a discount to loyal customers from time to time, people love to receive acknowledgement. Rewards let your customer know they’re appreciated and they foster continued loyalty.

#8 Become an expert - There’s always room for more learning and the more knowledge you have about your industry or product, the more you’ll be able to display this knowledge. Teach your clients something new and you will profit in the end.

#9 Learn about your customers - Your customers are your most valuable asset. Get to know their hopes, dreams, needs, problems, and desires and then set about to help them improve their lives with your information and products or services.

#10 Be grateful and show it - Customers and prospects respond to a positive attitude and a thank you is always appreciated. Additionally, it makes each and every day better.

#11 Take time to set goals - Goals are an important part of every business because they motivate us to achieve. Make a list of goals specific to your business and steps to take to reach those milestones.

#12 Make time to strategize - A goal on paper is just words or an idea of what you want to have. A strategy or plan is also required. How are you going to achieve your goals? Set time aside on a regular basis to analyze where you are, what you want, and how you’re going to get there.

#13 Take time off - This may seem contradictory to improving your business however a fresh mind, enthusiasm, and perspective are all essential for continued growth. Don’t wait until you’re suffering burn out to get away. Schedule time off regularly.

#14 Protect yourself - Make sure you’re operating within state and local tax laws, regulations, and have all of the required certifications necessary to run a business. Do you have insurance? Back up savings for slow times? Protect yourself now so you don’t pay the price in the future.

#15 Be personal - People do business with you because they like you, who you are and what your company represents. Share your personality and company mission and philosophy with your customers and prospects.

#16 Partner with pros - Partnering with other experts in your industry and relevant industries increases your credibility, expands your knowledge, and broadens your reach.

#17 Make friends with the media - Press and publicity can truly enhance the success of a business. Make friends with the media and your chances of receiving consistently good press sky rocket.

#18 Continuing education - One thing is true, there is always more to learn. Set aside time each year to improve your knowledge and skills.

#19 Make friends in your community - Offline networking can be just as profitable as online don’t forget your neighbors. Meet other business people at networking events or community events.

#20 Pay attention to the competition - Even if you are the industry leader, pay attention to your competitors. You might be surprised what you can learn from other experts and then you can position yourself competitively.

Even if you work just one of these suggestions at a time, you will see a vast difference in how your business runs and how it grows with new clients and revenue. Just remember that slow and steady wins the race! There’s no need to make all these changes overnight.

Familiar Brand = More Sales

With the onslaught of advertising in today’s electronic age, we are exposed to thousands of advertising images every single day. And with our attachment to television it’s fairly easy to recognize those companies who have millions of dollars to spend on television advertising.

These millions of dollars of advertising help contribute to the brand awareness of the product. Think Coca Cola, McDonalds, Mercedes Benz. Even these highly successful and very recognizable brands still pay advertising dollars to keep their names foremost in the consumer minds. Familiar branding results in consumer awareness, trust, and increased purchases.

The same is true in the world of internet marketing. Branding plays a very critical role in an overall marketing strategy which is often the same as that of the billion dollar companies: make the consumer aware of your name and develop that trusted relationship. Sales will then follow.

The good news is, becoming a familiar brand doesn’t mean spending millions of dollars on a Super Bowl ad. Becoming a familiar brand simply requires patience and a strategy that encompasses a variety of marketing tools designed to increase brand recognition.

Think this is mumbo jumbo? Let’s think of it this way: if you were in a foreign city where you did not speak the language and you wanted something to eat, would you choose a foreign, unknown burger joint or the McDonald’s on the corner? Probably you would choose McDonalds, simply because you are familiar with the name. This familiarity has a direct result in purchasing behavior.

Do you remember the “Coke versus Pepsi” taste test? Subjects were blindfolded and asked to taste unmarked soda and identify which they preferred. What wasn’t generally shared was that when subjects were told that one of the drinks was Coca-Cola, they were more likely to show a preference for it even if it wasn’t Coke. Interestingly enough the people who were told it was Pepsi, even when it wasn’t, didn’t seem to show any biased behaviors. These results were attributed to Coca-Cola’s branding and the reason Coke generally sells more product than Pepsi.

Branding is an important part of any marketing campaign because of all the competition, both online and offline. Brand familiarity works on all business sizes, all industries, and all consumer types. Familiarity breeds comfort and confidence in a product even when we’ve never tried the product before.

It’s why building large databases and contacting them often is such an integral part of internet marketing. It’s why retail stores create loyalty programs and give consumers little cards to keep in their wallet and it’s why a long term branding strategy adds significant profits to a company’s bottom line.

What are YOU doing to improve your brand?

Brand Identity 101

Many small business owners launch their businesses without thinking about their brand. Some may even question what is a brand and why is it important to their success. Branding your business should be a part of every marketing strategy, no matter how big or small the business. After all, a familiar brand will yield more sales.

Your brand image simply means how your brand is perceived. For example, the Harley Davidson brand is perceived as a tough, rebel motorcycle brand. People are attracted to the brand if they’re seeking a tough image. Harley Davidson brand image is one of the most successful brands and has often been compared to Coca-Cola in terms of branding success.

A brand identity is how you want your brand to be perceived. If Harley Davidson decided they wanted to be perceived as a ‘gentleman’s motorcycle’ or attain an elite image like BMW, then they’d certainly have their work cut out for them!

Be aware that the brand image and identity are two separate yet important factors in your success. If there is a vast difference between the image and the identity, then you need to make some changes in order to improve your sales.

What are the key factors to making your company’s brand identity a reality?

Your Unique Selling Point (or USP) is simply what makes you unique and different from your competition. Your USP is often the foundation for an overall marketing strategy success.

Repetition is one of the first things any advertising student learns: It takes at least three connections to create recognition. Each day we’re inundated with more than 3000 advertising messages so there is plenty of competition for mind space. Connect with your audience in as many ways as you can via telephone, print, email, mail, radio, and television, etc. Each new marketing tool used will help tie your brand identity to your brand image.

Your business personality is a key ingredient and quite possibly the best tool in a small business owner’s marketing toolbox. People are motivated to buy because they like you, because they identify with you. Think about it for a moment, who do you buy from? Martha Stewart is a tremendous success because despite all her quirks, people like her. Her brand is her personality.

Your brand identity must be consistent across the board to be successful. From the way your website is designed to the magazines you choose to publish or advertise in, branding relies heavily on consistency. If Harley Davidson advertised in Martha Stewart Living Magazine, people would scratch their heads in confusion. If, however, they advertise or publish in Muscle or Car and Driver, that makes much more sense to the prospect.

Use some unique methods to set yourself and your company apart from your competition. This is where publicity and promotion come into play or creative advertising. What can you do to capture the attention of your prospect while at the same time improve brand image?

Sit down today and analyze your brand image and brand identity to see if they match. If they do, then you are achieving success in your marketing efforts. If not, then listen to what your customers want and make some changes to your marketing efforts. What you discover during this self analysis will only benefit you and your business.

Financial Management For Small Business Owners

Did you know that more than 30% of small businesses fail due to poor financial management? During the course of your business day, it’s very easy to let the financial management of your business take a back seat. This, however, risks the stability and success of your business.

As yourself these questions to determine if you are realistic about your business expenses:

#1 How is your cash flow?  Cash flow is the single most important aspect to keep a business afloat.  Cash flow is essentially how much money you have coming in and out of your business each month.  It is income minus expenses.  Many small businesses fail because they consistently have more monthly expenses than income. If you have a problem in this area, start using an accounting software to track expenses and pay your bills as late as possible without incurring penalties.

#2 Are you in debt?  Debt is sometimes a necessity for small businesses when a lot of capitol is needed for startup. However, consistently having a negative cash flow and using a credit card to pay debts can get you in trouble very quickly.  Create a plan to first manage your cash flow and include a plan to pay off debt.

#3 Do you have money set aside?  Rather than panicking about the economy and how it will affect your business, make a plan to survive through tough economic times. If you don’t have at least 6 months savings to cover expenses, make a plan to get it. Set aside a specific amount each month in an interest bearing account to attain your goal. You’ll be glad you have that money socked away.

#4 Do you have passive income?  This is often a problem among service based business owners. When they are not working or performing their service, they do not make any money. Passive income requires some work upfront to create but then minimal work to maintain. Some examples of passive income are sales from digital products, such as ebooks, or affiliate marketing.

So…you’ve answered those questions and realize your finances are a mess. Now what?

Hire an accountant!  An accountant who understands your business can be a valuable resource to not only recommend cash flow procedures but to help you forecast profits and plan for the future.  They’re also a fantastic time saver when tax time rolls around.

Purchase a good accounting software package.  Software such as QuickBooks and Peachtree make it easy to pay bills, record income, and estimate and pay taxes in addition to forecasting future income and expenses.  Setting them up properly is the key to success and an accountant or skilled bookkeeper can help you get started.

Take a class on business financial management. Many community colleges or continuing education programs offer financial management classes. There’s a lot to know and many strategies which will help you maximize your income and cut back on your expenses.

As a small business owner, your goal is to be prosperous and make money. However, if you do not have the skills to manage that money properly, your business will fail. Learn everything you can about money management and practice those lessons! You’ll be glad you did!

How to Better Understand Your Customers

Serving your customers should be foremost in any business owner’s mind but how do you know if you’re doing a good job? How do you know what you can improve upon?
Researching your customers is an important step to ensure your marketing message is communicated effectively.  However understanding your customers can be a real challenge.

Here are three great ways to get inside their minds:

#1  Eavesdrop.  This is easy if you own a brick and mortar business, however online eavesdropping is a bit more difficult.  Social marketing has made it possible to go where your market goes. Research online membership sites, blogs, forums and chat rooms on your subject matter and listen to what your potential clients are saying. Better yet, create your own forum or chat room on your own business website to give you instant information about what your customers need and want.

#2  Ask them.  Feedback from your customers is a valuable asset and there are a number of ways to obtain feedback. Post an online survey or quiz or even send a simple email asking for feedback can provide a wealth of information.  To increase your response rate, give away a free report or coupon. No matter how you get the feedback, read it all carefully and implement the changes they are looking for.

#3  Test and track.  Analytics often provide great customer insight.  You can easily see what web pages are viewed most often and how long a visitor stayed on your site, both of which may give insight to what they find valuable. The same can be said of an article that has thousands of click throughs and is forwarded many time; that article is valuable to your customer so you should provide more information like that.

Completing this customer research may sound boring but it’s a necessary step to improving your business. It’s also a great task to be outsourced! Getting inside your customer’s mind will help you create the best marketing messages and provide the best and most profitable products or services.

Growing Your Business Clientele

For those of you who run a service-based business, growing your business usually means increasing your business clientele in addition to increasing your revenue. However, once you get comfortable with a set number of clients, the task of finding new clients may seem overwhelming.

By following just a few simple steps you can start to attract new clients to your business!

#1 Create a community. Every business can benefit from creating a community.
Offering community building features like a blog, forum and even quizzes, contests, and surveys gives your audience the opportunity to participate and learn more about your business and services. Each of these options is interactive, where the customer becomes involved in your website and starts to care about what you have to say and offer. Interactive websites also draw more traffic by word of mouth, which is especially easy to generate with the popularity of Web 2.0 applications.

#2 Create viral products and marketing tools. Viral products are usually digital products (such as ebooks or reports) which are distributed free of charge as a way to get your company name and website into cyberspace. Recipients of these products are also encouraged to share it with other friends or business associates. Inside the report make sure to list your website URL and contact information. Additionally, audio and video are excellent viral tools. Podcasts, audio interviews and videos are all easily downloaded and shared.

#3 Communicate frequently with your customers. By simply adding regular blog posts, autoresponder messages, or website content you will keep your name fresh in the minds of your target market. Additionally, adding regular content improves your website ranking in the search engines so more people will find your website when conducting a search. Teach something to your market; show yourself as the expert (without sounding obnoxious); announce special sales or new product launches. These are simple ways to keep your clients from forgetting about you.

#4 Advertise your business. Advertising opportunities are plentiful online but be sure to conduct your market research so you don’t waste money on media options that do not reach your target market. Whether you choose to launch a PPC campaign, advertise on a relevant blog or website, or even advertise offline in print, radio or television, a targeted advertising campaign can bring new awareness and new clients to your business.

#5 Create a partnership. Joint venture partnerships (or JV) are an exceptional way to bring new awareness to a business. Partner with the right person and you can double your client base and opt in list. Be sure to do your homework to make sure the partnership is equal and beneficial to both parties.

#6 Create more website content. More content means an increased search engine ranking. An increased SEO ranking means more visitors. More visitors mean more clients. Simple! Get on a regular schedule to add articles to your website or posts to your blog that your clients can come to expect.

#7 Personalize their visit. Website visitors respond better to website content and sales pages which not only appeal to them personally but also demonstrate your company personality. Cookie cutter templates and dry content doesn’t convert, personality does. Adopt a more casual writing style or insert some personal stories from your experience to let your customers know there’s a real person behind the website.

#8 Improve credibility. If your business is known as providing quality service or goods, you become a credible and trusted vendor in your marketplace. The higher your credibility, the higher your conversions. Increase your business credibility by publishing, partnering with experts, and by demonstrating your capability through testimonials, case studies, samples, and reports.

#9 Publicity. Publicity not only brings awareness to your business, it adds credibility.
Getting your name mentioned in the local media or other online media outlets will expose even more people to your company name, thus potentially increasing your business. Imagine what an “As seen on CNN” could do for your business!

#10 Network with others regularly. Networking is invaluable. Online networking via membership sites, blogs, and forums produces a wealth of information and connections both professional and personal. Offline networking with your small business association, chamber of commerce and networking groups connects you with businesses in your community and again produces valuable connections, resources, and clients.

As you can see, there are multiple ways to increase your client base. Find one or two which appeal to you and fit your business needs and incorporate them into your marketing strategy today.