Small Business Blog

It’s easy to decide one day that your small business needs to have Facebook and Twitter accounts. After all, these resources are free and all it takes is a few clicks of the mouse to get started…right? Actually, no, it doesn’t work that way. Social media campaigns should be evaluated in the same way that you evaluate any other marketing campaign; you need to ask yourself what it’s going to cost and what you’re going to get out of it. (continue reading…)

According to SmallBusinessNewz in the recently published article entited “The Dangers of Misinterpreting Marketing,” small business owners tend to define marketing in terms of promotional activities. When you think of marketing, do you think of ads and seasonal sales? Or do you think of the quality of your customer service, the impact of your logo and brand image, the suitability of your location, the optimization of your product/service set? The first, more narrow interpretation of marketing can lead you to overlook some of the most powerful and important ways that you can make a lasting impression on your customers.

The next time you visit your marketing plan, think beyond your advertising and promotional efforts. Think of marketing as the set of activities that you use, company-wide, to differentiate your business in the minds of consumers.

Read the full article from SmallBusinessNewz here.

Silverpop recently released the results of a review of 70 holiday email campaigns sent out during the pre-holiday marketing season. The review’s main findings were that business-to-consumer campaigns increased 25 percent in November from the prior year, and list sizes grew by more than 124 percent. But Silverpop’s report had some other juicy nuggets of information for email marketers: open rates by email subject lines.

According to Silverpop, “When offering a discount, companies were most likely to offer a percent off the cost of merchandise, with 27 percent in 2008 and 32 percent in 2009 doing so. But they might have had better luck by offering a gift with purchase or a buy-one-get-one (BOGO) promotion. Offering a gift was far more likely to generate an email open than offering a percentage, dollar or British pound off a purchase, or simply announcing a sale.”

Read the full article here.

 

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So you have a large debt repayment due on the 15th of this month. And you have to run your payroll on the 13th. Are you going to wait until the 10th to decide if you have enough money to meet these obligations? Or are you going to cross your fingers and hope that you have enough room on your credit line to cover any potential shortfalls? (continue reading…)

 

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Here’s a quick quiz to test your knowledge of cash flow:

Which of the following is an ongoing source of repayment for your small business credit line?

a. Your equity
b. Your accounts receivable

Which of the following is a source of cash?

a. Rising inventory
b. Rising debt

If you had to think too long to answer those questions, you might need a little refresher course on cash flow. (continue reading…)