Putting the Thanks into Thanksgiving
Putting the Thanks into Thanksgiving As an American National holiday, Thanksgiving has root in the 1620’s beginning as a celebration in gratitude for a much needed harvest in combination with gratitude for much needed and recently acquired freedoms. Thanksgiving is meant to commemorate a life of opportunity and abundance. But, in reality, does thanks seem to be the focus of the day? Oftentimes Thanksgiving ends up being more about turkey, pie and side dishes—this year, let’s take on the “THANKS-giving challenge” and put the thanks back into Thanksgiving. Step one: Pick a...
Read MoreSmall Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday Tips We all know the drill, it starts Thursday with the food. We stuff ourselves with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, pie…the list goes on. Yum! We rest it off (or walk it off hitting the early bird sales) then hit the ground running Friday and shop ’til we drop. Black Friday is known for offering some of the best prices of the year on a variety of items. You can get everything from TVs to shoes to DVDs on sale. Then comes the somewhat lesser known festivity, Small Business Saturday. With all the big box stores setting their prices at rock bottom...
Read MoreAmazing Customer Service
Amazing Customer Service Experience #1: After spending some time in the yard, my brother-in-law, father-in-law and I decided to head to Subway to get some lunch. My father-in-law was nice enough to foot the bill but unfortunately he’d forgotten his rewards card at home. The cashier told him not to worry and that he could get a new card, go online and merge it with the old one once we got back to the house. After 45 frustrating minutes of trying to get the two cards merged online, we gave up—I’m a tech savvy guy and I literally couldn’t figure it out. Contrast that to another...
Read MoreMobile Marketing for Small Business
Mobile Marketing for Small Business Successful mobile marketing is a delicate balancing act. It is easy to set up and automate but can quickly overwhelm and turn off customers if the messages are sent too often or with the wrong type of content. A recent Bloomberg Business article noted that most cell phone owners are willing to share their personal data with merchants if they will be getting things like coupons and discounts. The article also highlighted 6 mobile marketing tips, specifically for small business owners. 1. Focus on customers. Make sure that you play into how customers...
Read MoreContent Marketing: The Rule of Thirds
Content Marketing: The Rule of Thirds Competition for a customer’s time has never been higher. But at the same time, jumping into the marketing mix has never been easier. But how much do I spend? And where do I spend it? Michael Brenner, owner of NewsCred, a content marketing software company, shares his formula: the “Rule of Thirds.” We’ll break it into three steps. First: Assign a marketing budget The amount is up to you and depends greatly on your industry…but have something! The key is to allocate a certain amount of money each month, quarter or year—depending on your budget...
Read MoreSmall Businesses Are Winning Big
Small Businesses Are Winning Big There is good news out there for small business in the United States! Often seemingly living in the (large) shadows of big box stores and large corporations, a 2015 Cox Consumer Pulse survey on small business showed that 92 percent of consumers around the USA shop at a small business at least once a week. The survey found that 46 percent shopped small businesses three or more times a week. With a recent shift toward improving communities and business at home, more and more consumers are making the effort to “shop small” by patronizing local, small...
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