Today, an online store has is a necessity for companies. Whether your business is a large corporation or a small organization, it needs an appealing showcase for successful promotion and for selling its products online. Design is a crucial component of your online store. In fact, visual appearance has proven to be an essential feature that determines whether or not a customer … [Read more...]
6 Tried and True Ways to Increase the Effectiveness of Your Website
Your website can work for or against your mission, whether you’re an entrepreneur with a product to sell or simply looking to build your personal brand. With a mission that is clearly defined and presented throughout your website, you’re sure to find an increase in your website’s effectiveness. Follow these six tried and true tips to help you in the process of increasing the … [Read more...]
What are Newsletters and How Should You Use Them?
How many times have you signed up for a newsletter only to receive what appears to be nothing more than a sales pitch? This might leave you wondering why you bothered to sign up to this email list. After all, this isn’t what newsletters are supposed to be. Is it? Think about Your Newsletter Content Newsletters are marketing messages but that doesn’t mean they are always … [Read more...]
How to Learn From Your Small Business Competition
No matter how big of a business you run, there is no end to learning new things. While well-established and stable organizations are your much-loved source of inspiration and guidance, you often forget the worth of small scale businesses in the industry. You, as a businessperson, should be aware of how your competitors, big or small, are marketing and selling their products … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Boost the Digital Presence of Your Business
Having a strong digital presence has never been so important for doing business as it is today. Why? Because, believe it or not, your customers---both the existing and prospective ones---expect to see you out there. You may think that your business is not the kind that needs an online presence, but the truth is there is no set convention guiding which businesses should or … [Read more...]
How to Market Your Best Asset
One of the biggest challenges for small businesses and budding entrepreneurs is effective marketing on a shoestring or with no budget. You can’t get or do any better than word of mouth. Word of mouth is mainly based on an impression you made with a client or prospect who would like to do business with you in the future. That impression has value. You can trade on that … [Read more...]
Creating Twitter Lists to Build Relationships that Turn into Sales
Sponsored by Visa Business: Building and maintaining relationships is a key component of a successful small business strategy. In fact, fostering small business relationships can give you a unique competitive advantage. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money for you to build and maintain connections with current and potential customers. For example, you can … [Read more...]
What do Free Samples Have to do with Your Business?
You carefully prepare your grocery list. You've got everything written down and your budget is set. As you walk into the store you are on a mission. Then you are greeted by someone offering you a free sample of flavored coffee. It not only smells good but tastes good and now you are hooked! You have to add that to your list. You walk to another aisle and another smiling … [Read more...]
Why Your Trademark Registration Might Be Useless – Infographic
Did you know that registering a trademark doesn't always mean you can protect your brand name, product name, logo, or other marks? Believe it or not, you can obtain a trademark registration but in the future, if someone infringes on your trademark rights, you might not actually be able to do anything to stop them. The reason is simple. If your trademark is too descriptive, … [Read more...]
How to Identify and Develop Your Brand Personality for Small Business Success
Sponsored by Visa Business: Is your brand fun or serious? Is it friendly or professional? If your brand were a person, what type of person would it be? What is your brand personality? Every brand has a personality that positions it in consumers’ minds in the marketplace. Over time, your brand personality could become so distinct and so well known that it becomes a … [Read more...]