3 Things All Small Businesses Should Do

So you've been in business for a while.  Things are going pretty good.  You're paying your bills.  Your doors are still open,............but you're they're all the time!!  

Are you running your business or is your business running you?  And when I say "run" it I mean being the most efficient with the least amount of your most valuable resource, ………..time.  

Owning your own business is supposed to provide you the greatest luxury of owning your time.  A poll in 2009 poll concluded that out 39% of small business owners work more than 10 hours per day.  Struggling businesses are probably closer to 70% working more than 12 hours a day! 

So how can you stop this conundrum? 

By being more efficient. 

There are a lot of missed opportunities for marketing and sales in small businesses  that some know about and some never thought of.

1.  Social Media

I can't stress this enough.  For some reasons businesses think they don't need social media.  Take Twitter for instance.  Stephanie Wagner says "Twitter not only facilitates real-time businesses-to-consumer communication, but it also facilitates business-to-business and consumer-to-consumer communication. Twitter has transformed the platform of business communication. " That is marketing gold.  Plus,
ALL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS ARE FREE!!!!!

2.  Get customers’ emails (if you’re not already)

Email is one of the biggest revolutions in marketing today.  Even if you’re not a great marketer, it provides great opportunity.  Jay Baer concluded from a study that 44% of email recipients made at least one purchase last year based on a promotional email.  In 2012, 85% of the world uses email…………So basically, if you get all of your customer’s email addresses you may be able to get 1 extra sale from 44% of them!  That’s potentially huge!!  Don’t miss the chance.  The easiest way to get their emails is to use it for their receipt or invoice.  If you’re not paperless, then hurry up!

3.  Watch your competition

This may seem like common sense, but I don’t mean just watch the competition and hate them.  If they appear to be doing more than you, see why.  Are they using more social media?  Is their page better placed on search engine results?  Are their online listings more complete than yours?  There’s nothing wrong with learning from your competition.  There is something wrong with being obliterated by them for simple reasons though!

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Your Fear Of Technology Is Killing Your Business

I work with all different walks of life when it comes to business. Young, old, black, white, skinny, fat, foreign, local, etc. With that said, I have noticed a terribly annoying trend with certain groups (there’s not one specific, but all in all they are pesky).

This group is the “I don’t like technology even though it controls 99% of my life” group. When I say technology it can be anything from social media topaperless payments to email marketing. These people seem content on the “word of mouth” factor and referrals from existing customers…………..

I’m dedicating this blog to these people to open their eyes to a few things:

1. Businesses typically lose 10% of their customers each year. This is typically in the case of the businesses that have no efficient way of attaining new customers. Word of mouth isn’t nearly efficient as it used to be when you speak on it vocally. The internet is the new word of mouth. 72% of people trust an online review as much as their friend! Capitalize on this! Make a bloody Google places page (this takes time so get on it……….mine is still in limbo with the “we do not service” error………) or Google+ for God’s sake!!

2. 91% of internet usage on mobile devices is spent socializing. This is huge!! EVERYBODY IS ON SOCIAL MEDIA! WHY AREN’T YOU?! I admit it can be daunting, but not unbearable. Pick 2 platforms to start with and really study and get used to them. When you opened your business you probably spent a lot of time looking for print marketing or television. Apply the same to social media.

3. I don’t like paperless systems / I don’t want my info on the internet. This one really irks me because the people that say this already have info on the internet!! If you have car insurance, the info is online. If you have a home, the info is online. If you pay bills, you probably pay them online (you’re silly to waste postage if you don’t do this). If you have a business, your info is online. When you can get a paperless system for your office it means:

a. You don’t need as many filing cabinets

b. You can find records in minutes even seconds versus hours.

c. You save paper that would otherwise be thrown away within 6 months.

d. If your office burns or you move your records are still there (thank the cloud!)

e. Lessening your exposure the Cancer causing chemical BPA .

4. We get all of our clients from referrals. This is awesome if it always happens, but there’s a few things you’re leaving to chance. If you go through a slew of transit, cheap, or unhappy customers, then you get no referrals. If the clients you do get aren’t forthcoming about their experience or don’t have friends that need your help, then dead end. Referrals today come from the web so much. This is why places ask “how did you hear about us?” More often than not you’ll hear they found you online or saw a web ad. People spend about 60% of their online time shopping. You need to position yourself for this.

In short, don’t be a hermit! The digital age has been hear since we though Y2K was the end of the world! The only thing that ended then was the world as we knew it.

I like to phase it this way a lot: if I presented you the option of a land line phone or a smart phone for the same amount of money each month, which would you choose?........................

If you say landline phone, disconnect your computer right now…………..

I hope these tips help your business grow!

PS – I help business owners increase their sales and lower their costs up to 40% on average.

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1 Little Tool That Makes A Huge Difference

Why aren’t customers beating your door down with handfuls of money?!

Face it. We all want more. The paradox in that is WE ALL want more.

Since there is inevitably a shrinking pie, you need a better knife to get a better piece. So where do you start?

Your competitive edge. This is a phrase that Warren Buffet has stood behind and so should you.

What REALLY makes you different from the other guys?

I’ll tell you an easy way to get a competitive edge for free.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

This can be really simple and cheap things:

1. Follow up every customer about a week or so after service is rendered (sooner is ok as well)

a. A real important thing to know about this step is that you have a manageable customer records management system. Paper will kill you, so make sure you have some digital system in place.

2. Email your customers on a no annoying frequent basis (people like to know you’re thinking about them. We’re all vain…….)

3. Ask customers for reviews (this gives you valuable feedback and free exposure on the web)

a. This can be done verbally, with a sign, or through email

4. Send reminders of coming back or checkups (this is a strong tool that Amazon uses. You should too!)

The economy is busted still, so we all need to get back to basics!

I hope these tips help your business grow!

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This Is Why You Should Go Paperless

You may have heard of paperless offices.
If you haven’t, you’ve lived under a tree!
So why should you make the plunge into paperless?

There are a plethora of reasons (bear in mind that a paperless office can still print things out. The point though is to avoid this as much as possible. A lot of owners get scared that “paperless” means there is no other option.)

1. Saving money: You can save upwards of $100,000 a year by going paperless because you avoid paper costs, receipt paper costs, printing toner, mailing costs, and storage! That amount can be the difference in a business still running for another month sometimes.
2. Protecting yourself: This is in the case of receipt paper. A lot of people don’t know this, but receipt paper contains high levels of BPA and BPS. These chemicals are bad for your health as they cause cancer, diabetes, obesity, etc. Imagine your staff being exposed to cancer causing chemicals every single day!
3. Marketing: If you go paperless you open up a new venue of marketing. Typically paperless systems integrate a lot more email into the routine. THIS IS FREE MARKETING GOLD! When you get a client’s email you have all kinds of opportunities to increase revenue.
4. Improve accounts receivables: Surveys find that businesses who accept payments electronically are normally paid within 10 days versus 27 days for all other forms. Every owner I’ve dealt with wanted their money ASAP. Obviously electronic is faster because who carries checks?...........................Plus,
5. Reduce the amount of bounced checks: Back in 2000 it was estimated that 731 million checks would bounce for various reasons. Don’t get caught in that statistic having to chase a customer down! With a credit/debit card payment you find out right away if it is good, not days later! Plus people nowadays like the convenience of it. I rarely carry my checkbook.
6. Store records on a hard drive not a hard cabinet: A computer can take up inches and hold billions of records while paper takes up cubic feet! Find your transactions in split seconds, not minutes or even hours. Plus, if you pay for bookkeeping, it will save you money being able to present your records via email or USB rather than a folder (accountants hate folder files)

I could go on longer, but you might run out of paper………………………

Seriously though, get with it. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Change is good!

I hope these tips help your business grow!
PS – They will.

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