You’re Going To Lose A Lot Of Money

Did you know that since 2005, more than 80% of all credit card breaches have occurred at a small business?

Sounds like a horror movie doesn’t it?  Sadly, it is reality. 

Everyday I see more and more businesses being “sloppy” about PCI compliance (Payment Card Industry if you’re a little more than sloppy……).

• Some have all of their clients credit card numbers on an Excel spreadsheet anyone can get to……………
• Some have a binder with all of the customer’s credit info so they can charge them on a recurring basis without having to call…………….
• Some even have to get a customer’s credit card number written on a basic invoice with one of their technicians who later brings it to the shop to be charged………..

All of these are a big no no that can result in fines anywhere from $90 to $500,000 and possible civil litigation from the consumer on top of that!!


In 2006, 40% of businesses that reported breaches had them come from contractors, employees, and business partners……………..

So how do you protect yourself?

1. Protect stored card holder data
1. If you have to keep customer’s credit info, do it the smart way.  This means no paper records or folder full of the info.  Use the computer.  It's kind of a useful tool............
2. Encrypt the data
1. The easiest way to do this is to have a payment processing system that has encryption with it already.  Preferably one that has a web based system of storing the data.  That way it is never physically in your possession. 
3. Assign a unique user ID to each person that may have access to the data
1. This does 2 things.  One is that not just anybody can access the data.  Two is that if something does happen, you can more readily find the culprit.

In short, if you’re keeping your customers’ credit info do an assessment of your security.  If it’s still “old school” you definitely need to upgrade to a safer and more modern system for your customers and your protection. 

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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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Don’t Tweet Like A Twit

Hi guys!  So let’s start off with a few updates on social media’s impact.  Namely Twitter. 
Last year, Twitter was the number 2 tool for social media branding at 53% of businesses using it.  Facebook was number one at 83%, but that is a different strategy.  I want to talk about a few quick tips for Twitter, because I see a lot of businesses make these mistakes. 
Top 5 tips:

1. Know that you’re tweeting!
1. You’d be amazed about how many companies don’t know what or when they’re tweeting and then have the gall to say, “I don’t think Twitter helps my business”…………  You definitely need some automizing to help your tweeting, but if you don’t know when or what it’s helping you with then you’re kind of wasting the web’s time….
2. Stop talking about yourself all the time!
1. You know that friend you hate to talk to because the entire conversation is about them?  Don’t be that guy on Twitter.  So many people get surprised that they don’t have followers when all they talk about is specials and promos.  There’s only so many times someone will want to see you say thing are half off before they’re all the way gone…………
3. Be helpful!
1. Try to provide your audience with some knowledge you’ve gained from your industry or life experiences.  Sure you want to gain sales from these people, but social media is like a Hanzel and Gretel situation.  Give people a few crumbs to lead them to the real meal!
4. Get to the point!
1. Yes twitter allows 140 characters, but don’t do the long sentence … thing.  People don’t respond to those that often unless you have a very compelling 137 characters.  Try to leave something hard hitting and a quick take away with a link attached.  If you expect everyone to read all of your “extended” tweets you’ll have a lot of extended alone time.
5. Be fun!
1. Last year 91% of mobile internet access was spent socializing.  Not self promoting!  Talk about fun things sometimes.  Provide cool news articles related to your field or how you help people.  People will read this a lot sooner and you develop a subliminal link with them.  Then you’re able to slip in  very small marketing things here and there. 

Social media is very much a cat and mouse game.  You  cannot expect quick techniques to work or not spend any time planning.  You have to be likeable especially when you consider how short the shelf life of a tweet is. 
Definitely get familiar with sites like Hootsuite, Tweetcaster, and Buffer.  They’re 3 of my favorite social media tools and greatly help. 

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