Marketing Tips From an Etsy Power User (via Intuit Small Business Blog)“Marketing online is all about photography now,” says veteran jeweler Mark Poulin. “I’m selling photographs.” For the past 20 years, Poulin (pictured) has been selling enamel jewelry featuring whimsical depictions of animals, aliens, and more…
Surprise Your Customers to Build Loyalty (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Customers generally expect to get what they pay for. If you go beyond that to deliver something extra and unexpected, you can set your company apart from the competition. To that end, here are five ways to surprise customers and beat “the other guys…
6 Tips for Hiring Your Successor (via Intuit Small Business Blog)You know you’ve succeeded as a small-business owner when you can finally hire someone else to run your company’s day-to-day operations. Handing over the reins can give you a chance to grow, try something new, or simply relax for a while. But letting…
Simplify Your Social Media Efforts With Buffer (via Intuit Small Business Blog)If you truly want to influence people and establish yourself as an expert in your field, your social media presence needs to go beyond Twitter and Facebook. But maintaining multiple accounts across networks can be a time-consuming endeavor. Content…
Building a Successful Social Media Campaign (via Intuit Small Business Blog)As an entrepreneur, you know all about the power of social media: It can help you build your brand, promote your business, and connect with customers. But before you write your next post or tweet, consider whether your current strategies are making…
Disenfranchised: How to Get Out of a Bad Franchising Agreement (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Buying a franchise can be a lot like getting married: Your courtship is blissful, so you seal the deal and then enjoy a fruitful honeymoon period. But then, at some point, the relationship sours — and you decide you want out. As in divorce, leaving…
5 Things You Can Do Today to Become More Productive (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Do you feel like your to-do list and the clock are engaged in constant battle? Kevin Kowalke, a mortgage broker and business strategist, believes you need to examine what’s working and what isn’t — and then strategize how to be more productive…
5 Licensing Lessons Every Inventor Should Understand (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Americans have long admired inventors, those gadgeteers intent on thinking up the next big thing. From Ben Franklin, who tinkered with eyeglasses to create bifocals to Fulton’s steam engine, Bell’s telephone and Edison’s light bulbs, the notion…
How to Identify and Train Future Managers (via Intuit Small Business Blog)While your business is in startup mode, your management “team” may consist of only one person: you. But as the company gains momentum, you’ll likely reach a point where you’ll have to relinquish control and trust someone else to oversee day-…
How to Get Employees to Share Ideas to Grow Your Business (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Your employees may be able to tell you a lot about your business you may not know. What do customers really think about your product or service? Are there more complaints (or less) than usual? What could be done to improve sales, marketing and customer…
How to Use LinkedIn to Generate Leads (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Forget six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon. The odds of most small-business owners selling anything to the Golden Globe-winning actor are astronomical. However, in the context of professional networking on LinkedIn, the six-degrees concept can…
Building Buzz: How to Spark Word-of-Mouth Marketing (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Word-of-mouth advertising is 10 times more effective than a traditional ad, asserts Jonah Berger, a marketing professor and author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On. But, contrary to popular belief, less than 10 percent of those sought-after personal…
Building a Website for Your Business (via Intuit Small Business Blog)The recession may be over (at least according to economists) but America’s small businesses are still in cost-cutting mode. In an October 11 article, SmallBizTrends.com cites a National Bureau of Economic Research study. It’s findings? “Owner…
Become a Go-To Customer Resource to Increase Sales (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Want to attract more customers? It may be time to scale back on promotions and take a hard look at what you’re providing potential clients. “Success in today’s economy means creating relationships that last through the good and the tough times…
To Boost Revenue, Choose the Sales Channel Less Traveled (via Intuit Small Business Blog)When the going gets tough, it’s said, the tough get going. Likewise, when traditional sales channels come up short, some tough-minded small-business owners find opportunities where few — or maybe none — have dared to sell their wares before. Hammers…
What You Need to Know About Small-Business Record Keeping (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Three little words can cost you a lot more money than you might imagine — and they have nothing to do with “love.” When it comes to keeping your business’s records, saving everything “just in case” can prove to be an expensive proposition…
Cater to How Customers Communicate for Greater Marketing Success (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Your customers obviously share an affinity for your business and its goods or services, but they differ in how they communicate. Their methods these days include texting, email, phone, and face-to-face networking. Understanding your customers’ styles…
Is Profit-Sharing Right for Your Small Business? (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Profit-sharing? You want me to share my hard-earned profits with people who haven’t invested any capital in my company? Yes, perhaps. Profit-sharing can increase employee productivity and morale while decreasing turnover, among other benefits. Here…
What to Do Before Launching a New Product (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Sooner or later, your small business will probably have to release a new product in order to grow. But unless you take a few key steps beforehand, your effort may be doomed to fail. Here are four critical things to do before you launch a new product…
4 Hints That Your Target Market Is Moving (And How to Follow It) (via Intuit Small Business Blog)You identified your target audience when you drafted your business plan, but perhaps since then the market has shifted in ways you didn’t anticipate. In fact, the customers you originally sought may differ greatly from those you attract today. How…
Want to Earn More Green? Use the Psychology of Color (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Want to really influence people with your marketing efforts, give some serious thought to the colors you use in everything from advertisements to in-store promotions. Why? Consumers cite color as the reason they buy [PDF] something 85 percent of the…
6 Mobile Marketing Tips for Your Small Business (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Nine out of 10 adults in the U.S. has a cell phone — and more than half of those devices are smartphones. The question isn’t whether you should adopt a mobile marketing strategy; it’s what are you doing to reach people who live and die by their…
How to Market Your Business Through Public Speaking (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Nobody knows your business as well as you do, which makes you an expert in the field. Sharing what you know in a public forum can help you market your business, expand your network of contacts, and attract new customers. Here are things you can do before…
The Essential Ingredient of Small-Business Exporting (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Somewhere in Fiji, someone is devouring a meal made with Bone Suckin’ Sauce, a lip-smacking and award-winning product exported by Ford’s Gourmet Foods of Raleigh, N.C. When former real estate appraiser Phil Ford re-created his mother’s recipe…
7 Tips for Setting Your Marketing Budget (via Intuit Small Business Blog)If boxing is the sweet science, then maybe marketing, given its unpredictability, is the sweet-and-sour science. Or perhaps it’s more like fuzzy math. No matter. Your small business needs marketing. It must be done, no matter how tedious or difficult…
4 Free Online Courses for Entrepreneurs (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Among educators and anyone who’s anxious to learn, massive open online courses — MOOCs for short — are all the rage. It seems that when you pair online instruction with everybody’s favorite word, free, you’re onto something. “We estimate…
Designing a Pop-Up Model for Small-Business Success (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Creative entrepreneurs Sarah Filley and Alfonso Dominguez (pictured) had known each other for many years before the day in 2011 when they hatched the idea that would transform a California neighborhood and spark national interest. “We literally ran…
5 Factors to Consider When Setting Prices (via Intuit Small Business Blog)The legendary psychologist Sigmund Freud is thought to have said, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” That may be, but price is never just about price. The psychology of pricing involves much more, including perceived value and marketplace competition…
Why and How to Conduct a Web Content Audit (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Whether you’re planning to redesign your website, rebrand your company, or increase your online marketing might, you’ll want to examine whether your existing web content is supporting your company’s goals. A web content audit is a thorough review…
Using Power Words to Sell (via Intuit Small Business Blog)When it comes to sales, a high-quality image can go a long way toward making your product or service more appealing. But using the right words can help make or break the deal. The Most Powerful Word of All So, don’t be afraid to use the most powerful…
How to Increase Your Powers of Persuasion (via Intuit Small Business Blog)A successful small-business owner must be adept at persuading others. Whether it’s asking employees to do a better job, negotiating a more cost-effective arrangement with vendors, or convincing prospective customers to purchase a product or service…
4 Ways to Build Your Customer Base (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Three out of four U.S. small businesses expect better sales in 2014, according to the latest monthly survey of CEOs [PDF] released by The Wall Street Journal and Vistage. Is that what you want for your company as well? A key way to sell more goods or…
Is Your Product in Danger of Becoming Obsolete? (via Intuit Small Business Blog)“People don’t want gadgets anymore. They want services that improve over time.” —Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com Once upon a time, building a quality product and offering it at an attractive price was the key to success. However, that…
7 Tools for Gathering Customer Feedback (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Do you know what your customers really think about your company, products, services, or employees? You should make it a point to find out: 73 percent of consumers trust the recommendations of their friends or peers far more than most of your marketing…
6 Ways to Cultivate User-Generated Content (via Intuit Small Business Blog)User-generated content — words and images provided by visitors to a website instead of its publisher — is an effective way to boost the SEO ranking of your company’s website. Requesting reviews of your products and services, answers to frequently…
4 Factors to Consider Before Taking Out a Small-Business Loan (via Intuit Small Business Blog)If your company is running short on funds, applying for a loan may seem like the best next step. After all, an influx of cash can keep operations running, support expansion plans, and ultimately help to increase revenue. Before borrowing money, however…
Using Handwritten Thank-You Notes to Distinguish Your Business (via Intuit Small Business Blog)A personal touch can boost client loyalty, referrals, and overall business success. John Kralik’s story proves this: With everything going wrong in his life and his work, he decided to spend a year writing a thank-you note a day. Kralik wrote to everyone…
4 Guidelines to Follow When Offering Free Shipping to Customers (via Intuit Small Business Blog)When it comes to shipping, the word “free” can be a deal maker. Eight in 10 Americans who bought an item this year that required shipping said shipping options — including free delivery — were an important factor in their overall shopping experience…
7 Tax Breaks for Small Business to Consider for 2013 (via Intuit Small Business Blog)It’s up to you to keep the appropriate records and take advantage of the available IRS income-tax deductions. There’s a fine line between cheating the system and not cheating yourself. Here’s a look at a few of the breaks available to small-business…
How to Use ‘Schwag’ as a Marketing Tool (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Giving away products that bear your company’s logo can effectively capture — and keep — people’s attention. Most consumers own about 10 promotional items, which they typically hang on to for six months, a far longer period of time than any other…
Understanding Your Company’s Core Competencies (via Intuit Small Business Blog)When you first started your business, you probably knew which areas you excelled in. Over time, however, your focus may have shifted. “We move away from our core competencies as our businesses grow, and we choose — consciously or not — to take…
Using SEO Analytics Services to Boost Your Website Rankings (via Intuit Small Business Blog)The field of search-engine optimization, or SEO, has changed dramatically in the past few years, thanks to Google’s algorithm updates. Today, the best way to increase your website’s ranking for specific keywords in search results is to publish high…
4 Customer-Relationship Management Systems for Small Businesses (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Does your small business routinely seek customers for large projects? Does it sell particular products or solutions to clients on an ongoing basis? In either case, a customer-relationship management system may be an ideal way to keep track of your clients…
Do You Need a New Social Media Strategy? (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Teenagers, who spend more than $208 billion each year, are leaving Facebook in droves. This means that small-business owners who rely on the world’s most active social network to sell products or services to young customers may want to rethink their…
Set Meaningful, Measurable, and Motivating Employee Goals (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Are you and your employees setting goals for 2014? Now’s the time to finalize your plans for the year ahead. Follow these five steps to help ensure that your expectations are met and that everyone’s efforts drive the business’s success. 1. Align…
Be a More Productive Risk-Taker in 2014 (via Intuit Small Business Blog)For most small-business owners, there’s a big difference between taking calculated risks and behaving recklessly. Doing nothing qualifies as reckless behavior, because maintaining the status quo in an ever-changing marketplace is almost always a recipe…
Using Guest Writers to Beef Up Your Blog (via Intuit Small Business Blog)Experts predict that content marketing isn’t just a trend; it’s here to stay. Small-business owners who ignore its existence are missing big opportunities to connect with customers and keep them engaged. Don’t have time to write original blog…
Content Marketing: 3 Tips for Effectively Using “Listicles” (via Intuit Small Business Blog)The “listicle,” a slang term for content presented as a series of bullet points, steps, tips, facts, quotes, or pictures, is nothing new. Newspapers and magazines have been publishing Top 10 articles and similar fodder for ages. However, lately…
Robert Goetz on Small-Business Trends to Watch in 2014 (via Intuit Small Business Blog)As the new year begins, small-business owners need to look at the big picture. While many business owners are concerned with making the monthly payroll, other issues — such as managing employees, competing with bigger players, and determining which…
7 Small-Business Management Goals to Set This Year (via Intuit Small Business Blog)All of those resolutions you made for yourself for 2014 — get healthier, save more money, and find work-life balance, etc. — are certainly worthwhile endeavors. But the best thing you can do for your business this year is become a stronger manager…
