What’s the goal of a marketing program? If you listen to marketing gurus, they talk a great deal about getting bigger numbers. Many of the tips you find focus on increasing how many people see your message or how many take time to read your content. Those are good first steps because developing an awareness…
Want to improve the operation of your business? One simple tip is to listen to and watch what other business owners are doing. This simple piece of advice can save you a great deal of time, effort and money. It can help you from going down a path that others have tried and found unsuccessful….
Is your business the “best-kept secret?” While that question should make you smile, it also should raise a concern. Reaching your full potential will not happen if people don’t know your business exists. How do you know if you are the best-kept secret? If you finish a sale and your customer comments she wishes she had…
If your a small-business owner, this title may have caught you be surprise. Who wants competition? Business owners often see competition only as something that detracts from their own bottom line. Well, you may want to think differently. First, competition keeps you on your toes. Just by their presence, you need to stay better tuned…
There is a relationship between small business success and strong local communities. That relationship is built over time and is circular in nature. At a basic level, the relationship develops when the business is viewed as a community member and supporter, more residents shop there and talk about it. As more residents display those behaviors,…
Building and running a business means handling a variety of tasks and duties. Some of those duties you may enjoy and some you may not. Some of those duties you may be good at and some may frustrate you. One task that many small-business owners continually tell me they neither enjoy nor feel competent at or…
Practically all of the guest blogs I write for Small Business Survival focus on tips to enhance the management or operational aspects of your business. This post, however, goes down a new road. I would love your thoughts on what you consider acceptable ratings, both as a consumer and as a business owner, when viewing customer…
Customers like doing business with people they know. As a small-business owner, you can use that to your advantage. Some advantages can include knowing your customers by name. You can learn what products and services they want. If customers have a problem, “talking to the boss” to get an immediate solution is easy for them….
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