Thursday, December 19, 2013

How to Get Better Results From Google AdWords Campaigns

How to Get Better Results From Google AdWords Campaigns (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

There’s a good reason that Google AdWords is popular with online marketers: It provides a highly effective means of driving new prospects to a company’s website and converting them into customers. Businesses make an average of $2 in revenue …

11 Phrases You Can Use to Motivate Staff

11 Phrases You Can Use to Motivate Staff (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

Showing employees how important they are to you and your business isn’t hard. In fact, it takes mere seconds of your time — and can boost morale and performance. Recognize hard work and motivate your staff by regularly using these phrases in your…

9 Steps to Making Your Online Content Go Viral

9 Steps to Making Your Online Content Go Viral (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

Content marketing is fast becoming the most effective way to promote your brand and build consumer confidence in your business. However, compiling loads of content on your company’s website is a huge waste of time if no one reads it. To increase…

Techniques for Documenting Your Business Processes

Techniques for Documenting Your Business Processes (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

One big difference between your small business and a Fortune 100 company is the sheer volume of documentation that guide its everyday operations. But even if you have only a few employees, writing down your most essential procedures can be beneficial…

4 Common Legal Mistakes Small Businesses Make

4 Common Legal Mistakes Small Businesses Make (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

Think your business is too small to justify paying for professional legal help? Think again. Failing to dot your i’s and cross your t’s in important matters can expose you to significant risk, and the most cost-effective time to consult an attorney…

4 Online Platforms for Raising Startup Capital

4 Online Platforms for Raising Startup Capital (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

Startup founders, take note: If you want to raise funds from angel investors or venture capitalists to grow your business, it recently became much easier to do so. On Sept. 23, part of the JOBS Act went into effect, lifting the ban on general solicitation…

4 Tips for Creating a Customer for Life

4 Tips for Creating a Customer for Life (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

Do you work to retain your current customers, or are you mostly focused on finding new ones? Savvy business owners try to build relationships with everyone who visits their store or website. That’s because they understand the cost of new customer…

How to Make Your Business More Social

How to Make Your Business More Social (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important, American philosopher John Dewey observed. His insight may help to explain why blogs and social networks have become so popular. Before Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and the like…

Networking: Boost Sales by Making the Right Connections

Networking: Boost Sales by Making the Right Connections (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

“Networking is the single most powerful marketing tactic to accelerate and sustain success for any individual or organization,” asserts Adam Small, founder of the Strategic Business Network, which provides entrepreneurs with training, tools, and…

Want to Keep Your Customers? Update Your Tech

Want to Keep Your Customers? Update Your Tech (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

If you had to guess what issue 91 percent of your customers might leave you over, what would it be: Poor customer service? Shoddy products? A sudden price hike? The correct answer is none of the above. According to a recent poll by Microsoft, nine out…

Preparing Year-End Finances for Seamless Tax Filing

Preparing Year-End Finances for Seamless Tax Filing (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

Tax season is right around the corner. Getting your financial house in order now can help you avoid problems later. Here are some key documents to gather as the calendar year draws to a close. Income Records — If you worked for an employer before…

Creating a High-Performance Business Culture

Creating a High-Performance Business Culture (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

What does “business culture” mean? How does it contribute to the success of your small business? Business culture describes the workplace environment that you create for your employees (and yourself). It determines whether those employees are…

Do You Have the Personality of an Entrepreneur?

Do You Have the Personality of an Entrepreneur? (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

Do you have the ideal personality to be an entrepreneur? New research by Sophia Chou, an organizational psychologist at National Taiwan University, suggests that you do if you’re a “realistic optimist.” A realistic optimist is someone who has…

Do You Have the Personality of an Entrepreneur?

Do You Have the Personality of an Entrepreneur? (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

Do you have the ideal personality to be an entrepreneur? New research by Sophia Chou, an organizational psychologist at National Taiwan University, suggests that you do if you’re a “realistic optimist.” A realistic optimist is someone who has…

Hate Sales? Try These 4 Tactics

Hate Sales? Try These 4 Tactics (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

Most entrepreneurs recognize that selling more goods or services is key to growing a business. But that recognition is of little help to entrepreneurs whose introverted personalities are geared more toward developing products or solutions to business…

Young Entrepreneurs: 4 Highly Successful CEOs Who Started Early

Young Entrepreneurs: 4 Highly Successful CEOs Who Started Early (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

Surely you’ve heard of Mark Zuckerberg, the über-successful entrepreneur who co-founded Facebook in early 2004 at the tender age of 19. Since then, increasing numbers of teenagers have started their own enterprises, perhaps as a result of the sluggish…

How to Turn Your Customers Into Marketers

How to Turn Your Customers Into Marketers (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

If you aren’t asking your loyal customers to get the word out about your products or services, you’re missing a free — and highly effective — marketing opportunity. With some gentle prodding, they could help you bring in more business by recommending…

6 Mistakes to Avoid in Content Marketing

6 Mistakes to Avoid in Content Marketing (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

Content marketing is one of the most effective small-business strategies for reaping the benefits of social networks. But it works only when your words, images, videos, and the like are both appealing and useful. Given the time, effort, and cost of…

Expert Advice on Working With Big Businesses

Expert Advice on Working With Big Businesses (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

If you’re hoping to cater to corporate giants as prime customers, be careful what you wish for: Although large contracts generally help you move more inventory and enable you to hire new employees, the increased business may not necessarily lead to…

Should You Outsource Your Social Media Efforts?

Should You Outsource Your Social Media Efforts? (via Intuit Small Business Blog)

With new social media networks sprouting like weeds, it can be tough to tend your own garden. In a 2012 survey of 500 small businesses, Vertical Response Marketing found that a third of owners, proprietors, and CEOs want to spend less time on social…