First off, we hope everyone had a relaxing and restful holiday. Happy (slightly belated) New Year! Let’s hope good things are in store for 2019. You hear a lot about influencers in social media. What is an influencer and how does this growing trend affect marketing strategies for business (big and small)? What is a…
As the year winds down, it’s the perfect time to reflect on your business accomplishments and look toward the future. It’s also a good time to review your goals, see what worked, what didn’t, and what you want to achieve in the coming year. It’s often hard for small business owners to set aside the…
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, which means colder weather, family gatherings, shopping, and jolly Old Saint Nick – or Santa Claus, as most people know him. The chubby man in the red suit and white beard brings joy to millions, but kids aren’t the only ones enchanted by this magical figure. Advertisers…
Only five more weeks until Christmas! Whether you just uttered a “yay” or an “ugh” doesn’t change the fact that just around the corner the Christmas chaos commences – complete with long checkout lines, hustle and bustle, and Black Friday. And if you survive Black Friday, there’s Cyber Monday. At least you can stay warm…
You want to keep your customers happy, but how do you know how they really feel about your products and services? A customer survey is an effective way to gain important insights into just what your customers are thinking. You want to design a survey that gets you the information you need and one that…
The holidays are upon us, and that means family, friends, food, social events — and shopping (lots and lots of it). Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the two big shopping days, but there’s another day that’s important to local entrepreneurs: Small Business Saturday, which is November 24. The day was first observed in the…
Since you’re reading a blog, this seems like an appropriate place to discuss blogs. Blogs are a mainstay of the internet, and there are blogs for nearly every topic under the sun — news, media, marketing, work, hobbies, entertainment, pets. You name it, there’s a blog about it. But how did blogging start? And how…
Fall is in the air, and Halloween is right around the corner (EEK!). Ghost, goblins, witches and candy-crazed kids aren’t the only scary things lurking out there. Many small business owners fall prey to something just as frightful: marketing misconceptions. Misconception #1 If I Use Social Media to Market My Business, I Don’t Need a…
Small. Simple. Effective. The business card is a popular and useful marketing tool and has been around for a long time, in one form or another. Let’s take a look at this essential piece of business stationery. Visiting Cards The origin of the business cards takes us back several centuries to China. In the 1400s,…
We all know that the internet is a powerful way to connect to your customers and boost your sales. Email marketing, blogging and social media are digital tools every business needs. But just as you wouldn’t have only one type of tool in your toolbox (like a set of screwdrivers), you don’t want to limit…