5 PR Moves You Can Make Yourself (via Intuit Small Business Blog)If you’re like many small-business owners in today’s economy, hiring a press relations or PR rep isn’t in your budget. But you still need to get the word out about your business. Don’t fret. Here are five PR moves that you can make yourself. Create a media kit. Media kits are sent to reporters…
5 Ways to Tell Your Customers You Love Them (via Intuit Small Business Blog)As a small business owner, you understand how important it is to make your customers feel appreciated. Unfortunately, showing your loyalists some love isn’t always easy. And it certainly isn’t a responsibility you want to take lightly. According to a 2006 study by the Harvard Business Review, it…
3 Ways You Can Benefit from Neuromarketing (via Intuit Small Business Blog)“Neuromarketing” has become a hot buzzword in marketing circles, but as intimidating as the practice may sound, it’s actually quite simple: It essentially lets businesses translate a handful of scientific discoveries — such as how certain stimuli (scent, sight, sound, texture, messages, etc…
6 Tips for Starting a Small Business During a Recession (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Although it goes against conventional thinking, there are many reasons why you should consider launching a small business during a recession. If you have a great idea and a strong work ethic, the state of the economy should have little or no effect on your plans. In fact, by starting a business during…
Small-Business Owners Share the Best Advice They Ever Received (via Intuit Small Business Blog)A trusted mentor who can guide you toward opportunity — and away from costly mistakes — is a valuable asset to any small-business owner. The Intuit Small Business Blog recently asked six entrepreneurs for the best advice their mentors ever gave them. In the spirit of paying it forward, here are…
4 Small-Business Skills Worth Sharpening (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Whether you believe that entrepreneurs are born or made, small-business ownership requires you to perform diverse duties, some of which you may know very little about. The more skills and knowledge you possess, of course, the less paid assistance you’ll need. So, why not educate yourself? Many community…
How Customer Loyalty Programs Can Bring You More Business (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Repeat business deserves special recognition. You want to acknowledge and reward the people who help to support your small business — and keep them coming back for more. An effective way to show your appreciation is through a carefully designed and implemented customer loyalty program. To ensure…
How to Improve Your Product or Service (via Intuit Small Business Blog)In a tough economy, some small-business owners try to boost sales by rethinking their marketing campaigns, while others concentrate on increasing customer loyalty. Yet they often overlook opportunities for growth in their own products or services. Jeffrey W. Zindel, president of JZ Small Business Consultants…
5 Businesses You Can Start With Little or No Money (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Even for the most passionate entrepreneurs, finding startup capital can be a huge issue to overcome. Businesses such as restaurants, retail stores, and manufacturing plants often require too much money for the average person to get their hands on. However, many other types of enterprises can be launched…
How to Create an Effective Email Newsletter (via Intuit Small Business Blog)If you have a list of email contacts or are in the process of gathering one, sending out a regular e-newsletter may be just what you need to increase interest from current and prospective clients. When used correctly, “newsletters can be a great way to get your message out there, offer helpful advice…
Preparing to Pitch Your New Invention (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Entrepreneurs with inquisitive and lively minds often come up with ideas for inventions, but they don’t always know whether the concept is worth developing — or how to develop it. One option is to submit the idea to a so-called “inventor service firm,” many of which promise to help develop,…
5 Ways to Turn Your Small Business Around (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Do you ever feel like your business is clinging to survival? Or that you’re one lost client or bad Yelp review away from bankruptcy? Saving a small business from the brink of disaster isn’t easy. But Grant Cardone (pictured), entrepreneur and host/executive producer of the TV show Turnaround King…
3 Tips to Boost Your Small Business Sales (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Amid the economy’s stop-and-start recovery, many small businesses are struggling to reach or exceed their pre-recession sales levels. This means effective sales techniques and strategies are as important as ever. However, it can be easy to lose sight of best practices when you’re occupied with…
How to Impress a Venture Capitalist (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Venture capital funding declined from $29.4 billion in 2011 to $26.5 billion last year, according to the National Venture Capital Association. However, that’s still a big pot of gold for fortunate entrepreneurs who are looking to take their businesses to the next level. The truth is, there will always…
What Does Construction Have to Do With Small Business Employment? (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Small businesses created 15,000 new jobs in February, totaling 75,000 new jobs added since February 2012. The Intuit Small Business Employment and Revenue Indexes showed that U.S. Small Business employment increased by 0.07 percent in February while overall small business revenues dropped 0.6 percent…
How Well Do You Know Your Competitors? (via Intuit Small Business Blog)You work like crazy to come up with a new product or service, rent a bricks-and-mortar store, design a spiffy website for marketing purposes, and hire talented go-getters to meet customer demand. Yet there are still other businesses waiting to eat your lunch. As much as you might like to ignore your…
4 Tips for Winning Business through Webinars (via Intuit Small Business Blog)If you run a virtual company and want to reach new prospects across the country — or around the world — hosting a webinar training session is an effective way to generate qualified leads. Webinars, which can consist of live audio, video, and slide shows, typically focus on explaining a solution…
4 Strategies for Waging a Successful Text-Messaging Marketing Campaign (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Want your customers to pay more attention to you? Invest in mobile marketing. Although the typical email marketing message is opened by fewer than 20 percent of its recipients, “open rates” for text messages often exceed 95 percent, Mashable reports. What’s more, your potential audience is huge…
5 Small-Business Tasks to Outsource (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Many small-business owners like to do everything themselves, particularly when they’re just starting out. There’s good reason for this: Going it alone can save time and money and assure quality control. That said, if you want to your company to grow — even if it’s based in your home — it…
4 Trends in Content Marketing to Watch (via Intuit Small Business Blog)The idea behind content marketing is to engage existing customers and generate new business leads by offering high-quality, useful advice and information that isn’t overtly sales-focused. Small businesses can go about this by providing everything from grocery flyers and Rotary Club speeches to blog…
5 Ways to Promote Your Business Blog Posts (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Blogging as a marketing strategy involves more than just writing and publishing posts. Once you’ve put content out there, you’ll need to promote it — and your small business — in order to draw people to your website. Here are five ways to promote your blog posts: Start a newsletter. An online…
How to Build Customer Trust in Your Online Business (via Intuit Small Business Blog)You’re likely to save a bundle in overhead costs by starting an online business. But the virtual nature of your existence means you’ll probably face another significant challenge: getting people to trust your company. With so many “Nigerian princes” and other scammers all over the internet,…
The Etiquette of Asking for Referrals (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Word of mouth remains the strongest form of advertising. In a recent Experian study, 54 percent of consumers said their purchase decisions are influenced by recommendations from someone they know. So, how do you encourage your customers to make referrals? Try these strategies: Take advantage of LinkedIn…
What Kind of Online Ad Should Your Small Business Run? (via Intuit Small Business Blog)You’re ready to invest in your small business by buying some online advertising. Where should you spend your money? It depends on your needs and what you want to accomplish. Here’s a look at three types of ad campaigns to help you determine which one may best suit your company. To increase overall…
How to Make Marketing Automation Work for You (via Intuit Small Business Blog)You may have heard of “marketing automation” before, but what does the term really mean? Should you turn your outreach efforts over to a robot? Not exactly. Marketing automation software can be used to set up a series of triggers for specific messages based on your prospects’ behavior. For instance…
How to Evolve from an Employee into a Consultant (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Many people decide to become entrepreneurs while they’re slogging away for someone else. If you’re passionate about your job — yet would prefer to be your own boss — shifting into a consulting role may be the ideal path to becoming a small-business owner. As a consultant, you can use your accumulated…
How to Delegate Effectively (via Intuit Small Business Blog)As an entrepreneur, you’re used to handling dozens of responsibilities, from generating leads to taking out the trash. But trying to cover all the bases yourself can be not only exhausting, but also potentially harmful to your business. “Small-business owners who remain convinced they must do everything…
4 Ways to Drive Business with Customer Testimonials (via Intuit Small Business Blog)One of the most effective ways to gain people’s trust and drive new business is to include compelling customer testimonials in your marketing efforts. Testimonials serve as a form of “social proof”; they use existing social connections to positively influence prospective clients. Here’s how…
6 Ways to Get More Client Testimonials (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Using customer testimonials effectively can make a big difference to the success of your marketing efforts, as we’ve previously discussed. But if you’re running low on client endorsements, how do you get more? Here are six effective strategies: 1. Cull quotations from emails. If a customer’s…
How to Choose the Right Freelance Consultants (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Hire the right freelancers and you’ll be able to complete projects on deadline and under budget. Hire the wrong freelancers and you’ll end up with a disaster, one that costs you time and money. So, how do you determine which candidates best fit your needs? You can (and should) review people’s…
How 4 Busy Moms Make Their Small Businesses Work (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Moms who run small businesses often lead double lives, managing both a company and a household with kids. Although it can be tough to keep everyone — spouses, children, partners, vendors, customers, and themselves — happy, quite a few mompreneurs do just that. Here’s how a few of these busy parents…
