Are You Making These Mistakes in Business?

Are You Making These Mistakes in Business?

Throughout your career as a small business owner, you are bound to make the occasional mistake. No matter how prepared you are, how much research you have done, or how smart you and your team may be, mishaps are pretty much a guarantee. However, the good news is that as long as you accept them, take them in stride, and learn from them, the damage will usually be minimal. Here is a brief list of some common mistakes made by small business owners to help you steer clear of preventable missteps.

Inconsistency – Being consistent is an absolute must, whether it pertains to your company policies, customer service protocol, or any other aspect of the way your business operates. Inconsistency equals lack of reliability and will send your customers and staff running to your competitors. For example, your staff handbook clearly states that repeated lateness to work will result in first a warning, then a brief suspension, and finally dismissal. This policy is enforced for everyone except one employee you’ve known since college. Because you and your friend go back a long way, you have turned a blind eye when it comes to her tardiness. Not only is this unfair to the rest of your staff, but it puts a major dent in overall morale. When people feel that there are different sets of rules for different people, they become unhappy in their jobs, and their work suffers. Be fair and consistent in every aspect of your business.
Failure to stay in contact and/or follow up – Acquiring contacts through networking, referrals, or through family and mutual friends is a great way to grow your business. However, you must do your part to maintain such contacts. Implement time in your daily or weekly schedule to make follow-up calls, send friendly emails, or jot down a handwritten note to your contacts. These can be prior customers you haven’t seen in awhile, people you’ve recently met at industry events, or even prospective clients whose information was given to you by a friend. Be proactive and keep that contact list current.
Lack of online presence – Here we are in the year 2013. The importance of an online presence cannot be emphasized enough. Here’s some perspective: the current generation of 20-somethings has no memory of life without the internet and has been using social media their entire young adult and adult lives. You don’t need to get on every single networking site and try to be everything to everybody, but at the very least, have a user-friendly and informational company website as well as a current profile on one or two social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. If you don’t make this a priority, your competitors will easily get the best of you.
Neglecting to listen and respond to your clients – Most people frequent small businesses over their larger corporate counterparts because of the personalized attention they receive. Be sure to make it worth their while by listening to their concerns and responding to their wants and needs. Even if you can’t provide everything they’re looking for at the moment, knowing that you care and that they are being heard will ensure that they remain loyal customers in the long run.

Although many mistakes cannot be avoided, certain mistakes can. Use common sense, listen to others, be fair, and follow industry trends.

What other common mistakes would you add to our list? Please share your ideas below!

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Three Ideas to Maximize Your Marketing

Three Ideas to Maximize Your Marketing

As a small business owner, marketing is one of the most important things you do to keep your business growing. Don’t rely on guess work and speculation when putting together a marketing strategy; with thorough preparation, you can spend your marketing dollars wisely and get the best return possible on your investment. Here are three ways to maximize your marketing budget and efforts.

Do research on clients first, and then use targeted ads and personal messaging. You should know exactly who is patronizing your business. Create a detailed profile of your typical client, including economic and social demographics. The more specifics you include, the better able you’ll be to target your efforts toward your intended audience. Once you’ve researched your clientele, create ads targeted to that specific population. Reach out to prospects on social networks with a professional message that peaks their interest in your business. For example, an independent nutritionist and mother of four, “Cheryl,” seeks to attract clients much like herself: busy moms who want to provide healthy and convenient meals for themselves and their families. She finds that most of her clients are working moms who have the extra income to spend on such a service, so she targets her ads to this population. To maximize this strategy, she also reaches out to certain personal contacts on her Facebook page, specifically people who have posted status updates about starting a new diet or workout regimen. By researching her clientele, Cheryl can focus her time and money in places where they will not be wasted.
Promote the value of what you are selling. The best way to promote value is to emphasize the versatility of a product or service and how it is the solution to a problem. Cheryl the nutritionist knows that her services can be costly, but in her marketing, she stresses the value of modeling a healthy lifestyle and instilling lifelong healthy eating habits in our children. She offers a sample grocery list to show potential clients how they can actually save money at the grocery store by buying fresh produce to make multiple meals that are easy to cook and will last the week. Her goal is for clients to see the value of a good education about what we put in our bodies. When it comes to our children, it’s a safe bet that most people will do whatever they can to establish good nutrition.
Be social, fun, and unexpected. Don’t make the mistake of relying on electronic and print ads to connect with your potential customers. Socialize in person and tap into your fun, spontaneous side. Cheryl threw a party to welcome a new neighbor to her street, and provided snacks and a meal from her personalized menu. Anytime someone complimented her on the food, she had an open introduction to point out how easy it was to prepare and how nutritious it was. Find ways to incorporate some personal flair into your business.

The goal for any marketing campaign is to spend your money wisely so as to increase revenue as much as possible. Research your clientele, focus on value, and have fun with it.

What other ideas would you add to our list? Please share them in the comments section below!

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Seven Ways to Energize Your Business

Seven Ways to Energize Your Business

When you have been doing something for a long time, it’s easy to become stuck in a rut. Routine is comforting, but it also has its downside. Sticking with the same routine for too long can cause you to become complacent and stop you from seeking continual improvement. In times like these, it is important to energize your business. Review the list below to find ways to refocus your efforts and keep your business on the path to success.

Establish priorities. There are likely many projects you’d like to tackle or new policies/products/protocols you’d like to implement. Getting started can be an overwhelming endeavor because it can be difficult to know where to begin. Establish your priorities by making a comprehensive list of everything you would ideally like to accomplish. Once the list is complete, choose one or two things that you can get started on right away. Choose wisely; what can be of most benefit to your business immediately? Prioritizing a list like this takes the stress off and allows you to focus on one thing at a time with the comfort of knowing where you will go from here.
Be as efficient as possible. For example, if you are in the midst of a project and have to stop to email a colleague for more information in order to continue, don’t waste the time you have waiting for the response. It’s tempting to take those few minutes to browse your Twitter feed or whittle the time away on Pinterest. Instead of giving into distractions, keep a running list of other tasks that you can work on. Is there a prospect that you could follow up with? A filing cabinet that could use some organizing? Although it is important to work in some down time, it is just as imperative that you maximize your time by working efficiently.
Combine your work with different areas of your life. This isn’t always possible, but when it is, build your life around your work. If there is a weekend-long industry convention you’d like to attend, consider making it a long weekend and taking your family with you. This way, you can attend the workshops and get in some networking. Once your work is finished, you have a day or two to enjoy the area with your family. When you can do this, you are less likely to feel pulled away from your home life by work and vice versa.
Actively manage your time and stop wasting it. For some, this comes easily. For others, it’s a constant struggle. If necessary, make a daily or weekly agenda for yourself. Expect to not be able to stick to every scheduled minute, but with a basic outline of how you want to spend your time, you’ll be better able to stay on track.
Commit to learning new things. Professional development is an investment of both money and time into your business. Without continuing your learning, you are missing out on what could be valuable tools to run your business successfully. It doesn’t always have to be a formal workshop or convention either; commit to listening to an industry expert’s audio book once a month or reading some small business blogs once or twice a week. Always be on the lookout for new learning opportunities. These will keep your ideas fresh and your business moving forward.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. There are going to be many bumps in the road, but learn how to cope with minor inconveniences in a different way from how you cope with major setbacks. The more you let the small things roll off your back, the easier it will be for you to handle major decisions and more important stressors.
Laugh more. Hopefully, you enjoy what you do. Take the time to be grateful for what you have built, enjoy the people you do business with, and laugh when something is funny! Finding the humor in everyday life makes for a happier person.

How have you gotten yourself out of a rut and energized your business? Please share your ideas below!

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Getting Your Best Customers to Promote Your Business

Getting Your Best Customers to Promote Your Business

Promoting your business is a continuous job that often requires a great deal of creative energy, time, and money. However, it is important to keep in mind that you have a wonderful resource in your clientele; your clients can not only promote your business for free, but their stories are often more meaningful and effective than any marketing strategy or sales incentive. The following is a list of ways to get your best customers to promote your business.

Create excellent products/services your customers need. Without this basic tenet of sound business practice, any of your efforts to promote your business via customers will be meaningless. You should strive for the utmost quality in your products and services, as well as in your customers’ experience patronizing your business. This will lay the foundation for satisfied clients who want to spread the word about your business to anyone who will listen. Would you recommend to a friend a restaurant whose food and service was not up to par? Of course not! But if you had eaten one of the most delicious meals imaginable and your server was attentive, you’d be telling everyone you know to eat there as soon as possible.
Give clients what they want so they get excited about sharing their experiences with others. Once you’ve made sure you have quality products and excellent customer service, the next step is to find out what clients want that you may be lacking. When you can deliver on a customer demand, your chances of customer promotion are even greater. For example, listen carefully and take to heart when a customer asks you a question such as, “Do you carry a cleaning kit made specifically for this camera?” or “Where can I buy the conditioner you used on my hair? I love the way it smells!” When customers can get all their needs met while having a great experience, they will want to share that with others.
Seek out a loyal customer with a good story to tell who is eager to share it with his or her network of friends. As happy as many customers may be with your products and how you conduct your business, most of the time, they won’t exactly volunteer to become informal spokespeople. Take the initiative to find a customer you know has a good story to share about his or her experience with your business. Ask the person to share the story with friends and family. If you’ve picked the right person, he or she will be happy to do so.
Look for genuine stories that customers want to share; do not pay for testimonials. Paid testimonials are less meaningful to potential clients than authentic ones. Think about how many times you’ve read customer reviews on sites like Amazon or Yelp that have influenced your decision to buy a certain product or use a certain company. If you knew some of these reviews were paid for instead of written genuinely and voluntarily, it would most likely change your decision. Besides, if you are doing all the right things to satisfy your clients’ needs, you won’t need to pay for customer promotion anyway.

Don’t let your customer base remain an untapped resource. Authentic stories from satisfied and eager customers are more valuable than any paid advertisement. Strive for excellence so your customers will want to share these stories.

How do you get your customers to promote your business? Please share your comments below!

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Three Ideas to Keep Your Business Growing

Three Ideas to Keep Your Business Growing

When planning for the long term success of your business, your focus should be on moving forward with such things as industry trends and customer demands. You’ll want to make sure you’re planning to grow your business in a realistic way. Without a focus on improvement, your business becomes stagnant and will not grow. The following ideas are simple adjustments you can make for yourself to keep your business growing.

Reward yourself for positive results, not for effort. You may feel as if all the hours and creative energy you put into running your business deserves its own Nobel Prize. While it’s definitely commendable that you devote yourself so fiercely to the business, hold off on rewarding yourself until you actually see positive results. For example, you’ve spent countless hours researching how to design the most efficient online ordering system and even more hours implementing it. Now you’re ready to take that long-awaited holiday weekend trip. But instead of laying out lots of cash, the smarter approach would be to reward yourself with a latte, and then await the results that come from this new system. By doing so, you ensure your physical presence if there are unforeseen problems and you maintain your focus on quality and efficiency. Once you’ve gotten positive feedback and that increase in orders you were hoping for, then you can pack the car and head out of town.
Be flexible; that’s why you have your own business. Being your own boss has allowed you to create your own work schedule and everyday operating protocol, hand-pick your team, and run this business in a way that works for you. Keep this in mind when things don’t go as planned. Your flexibility is crucial to staff morale, customer satisfaction, and the overall success of your business. One recently retired photo lab owner spent most of his career and gathered much of his success by running the lab efficiently and being knowledgeable about each photo processing machine. However, when the industry went digital and photo processing started to become a thing of the past, it was time for him to modify his whole business model to compete with big business processing chains and the at-home photo printing and scrapbooking revolution. By adjusting to these new ideas and thinking creatively, he was able to spend the final years of his career in the business that he loved, instead of shutting down like so many of his counterparts had to do.
Pay yourself fairly, but not too much. You may have a pre-conceived notion about how much you want to make each month or year, but make sure this is a fair amount based on the financial state of your business. There will be times when your profits fall short of those expectations, so it may be necessary to take a pay cut. On the other hand, when business is booming, don’t be tempted to pay yourself too much. Plan for a rainy day by putting some money back into the business and/or by rewarding deserving staff with appropriate bonuses. It’s important to frequently assess your salary and adjust it accordingly.

You can keep your business growing and achieve your goals in low-cost or no-cost ways by being disciplined, flexible, and fair. Always strive for these qualities in yourself and your colleagues.

How do you keep your business growing? Please share your ideas below!

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DSEF & BBB: Will You Have to Pay a 4% Surcharge for Using a Credit Card?

DSEF & BBB: Will You Have to Pay a 4% Surcharge for Using a Credit Card?

By Caitlin Vancas

Did you know that every time you make a credit card purchase, the store you are buying from pays a fee to the credit card company? Did you also know that as of this week, PA merchants are able to pass along up to 4% of these credit card interchange fees to customers?

All but ten states (CA, CO, CT, FL, KS, ME, MA, NY, OK, TX) are allowing merchants the option to incur these new surcharges. Luckily, if a business does decide to add a check-out fee for credit card users, it must be clearly posted near the door of a physical store location or on the website for web transactions. Customer receipts must also clearly state any additional costs to consumers using a credit card. Purchases made by debit and pre-paid cards will not be impacted.

According to the National Retail Federation, merchants are unlikely to begin surcharging for credit card use. What do you think? Your BBB recommends asking stores you frequent about any additional costs that may be incurred if you pay using a credit card. If a merchant does not follow the rules about alerting consumers to these fees in their store or website, notify BBB and the FTC. Click the links for more information about the surcharge on Visa and MasterCard’s websites.

DSEF and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) foster honest and responsive relationships between businesses and consumers—instilling consumer confidence and advancing a trustworthy marketplace for all.

About the Better Business Bureaus
As the leader in advancing marketplace trust, Better Business Bureau is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Every year, more than 87 million consumers rely on BBB Business Reviews® and BBB Wise Giving Reports® to help them find trustworthy businesses and charities across North America. Visit www.bbb.org/us for more information.

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How to Handle Criticism of Your Business

How to Handle Criticism of Your Business

Wouldn’t it be great if everyone was as excited and positive about your business as you are?

Unfortunately, every business owner eventually encounters critics…people who only have negative things to say about you or your business. Sometimes these comments come from complete strangers, but sometimes they come from those who are closest to you. And it can be discouraging! Fortunately, you are not the first (and far from the last!) to deal with critics as an entrepreneur, and there is lots of wisdom to be gained from those who have “been there, done that.”

We asked our community on our Facebook Page to share some of their experiences. Here is some of the great advice they shared:

Find misconceptions, and share the facts. Howard Fidler from Minnesota writes: “Find out what their objection is and then give them facts to overcome it,” and Marcia Flach from Texas suggests: “Ask them questions!” This is always a great strategy. By asking specific questions you can uncover the reason for the criticism. It may be that the person you’re talking to misunderstands some aspect of your business or is making certain incorrect assumptions. By providing facts that counter the misconception, you can overcome the objection and possibly create a new customer or business partner.
Respect differences of opinion. Occasionally, you and the critic may just disagree on certain points. And that’s OK too. Respect their right to disagree with you, and leave things on a friendly note. You never know when, down the line, someone may have a change of heart. If you’ve left the door open and friendly, they may eventually come back to you! As Mark Arsenault from California says, “Be pleasant, then go achieve massive success!”
Know when to move on. Sometimes you need to realize that no matter what you say, someone doesn’t want to hear your side. And that’s OK. There are plenty of other people who will be open to learning more about your business. As both Robyn Mohs from Montana and Christina Ortiz from Texas shared…”Next!”
Refuse to dwell on negativity. Sometimes, even after the critic has stopped talking, we continue to think about what he or she said, running it over and over in our minds. And too much of this can stop you in your tracks. Don’t let it keep you from focusing on your own success. John Taylor advises: “Move on. Life is too short to deal with Negativity!!!!”

Finally, we leave you with these wise words from Kelley Michelle Barnett of Texas: “I was told to accept the word no, put a smile on and deal with it because when you least expect it you will get a yes and straight up positive.” Good advice indeed!

How do you deal with people who criticize your business? We’d love to read your advice in the comments below!

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DSEF & BBB: Facebook Graph Search: The Good, The Bad & The Opportunity

DSEF & BBB: Facebook Graph Search: The Good, The Bad & The Opportunity

By Rachel Harner

Facebook graph search. Have you heard of it? Probably, but do you know what it is? Facebook graph search is a new feature, in an ever-growing list of Facebook changes, which rolled out to a select few last week. According to Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, graph search will join News Feed and Timeline as the third pillar in the Facebook structure.

Where a typical search engine would give you a list of links relevant to your query, graph search delivers people, pages and photos already available on Facebook to your fingertips. To maximize results, you’ll want to customize your search using language Facebook understands, such as “friends who work at my company and like to ski.”

Here are a couple practical examples: Are you new to the area and experiencing back pain? Search: Chiropractors in Phoenix my friends like. Are you planning a trip across the pond and want some tips on local hotspots? Search: Friends who have been to London, England.

While innovative, graph search has raised privacy concerns. Many of us probably do not think about the consequence of our actions when liking a page or filling out the “About” section of our profile, but that information will now be searchable in a myriad of ways. If you are looking to keep your information private, triple check your privacy settings now that anything set to “public” will be even easier for others to find. And remember, if you don’t want people to know about it, don’t put it on social media. (Click here for an informative article by the Electronic Frontier Foundation that will help you keep your information private.)

On the other hand, graph search could provide huge advantages for businesses and marketers currently on Facebook. Engaging with customers on social media is a great business practice, and now companies will have more opportunity to get brand content in front of consumers who are intentionally looking for someone in their area of expertise. Graph search will also allow businesses to form well thought out searches to reach targeted demographics.

Do you want to be among the first of Facebook’s billion+ users to get Facebook graph search? Click here to be placed on the waiting list for the beta version.

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Establishing Your Online Presence

Establishing Your Online Presence

The internet can provide tremendous exposure for your business, when used correctly. For this reason, establishing an online presence is not a task to be taken lightly. It can be overwhelming to get started, however, especially with all the different online options to choose from. Here are some tips to help you narrow down your goals and present yourself on the internet in the best possible light.

Quickly and clearly let people know how you can help them with your product or service. Your main objective should be solving a problem for your potential customers. State clearly how you can do that right away on both your website and your social networks. For example, on your company website, the home page is the first online impression (and sometimes first overall impression) people will get of you and your business. Use images and very brief text to communicate how you solve that problem, and provide one or two clear calls to action, where people can learn more and sign up for your list. Avoid too much text on your home page, which can cause people to leave your site right away. If presented effectively and visually, that initial impression will keep people on your website and encourage them to explore further.
Provide honest facts. Facts about the types of customers you’ve served, other businesses you’ve worked cooperatively with, awards you’ve won, or community service you’re involved in are all helpful in educating a prospect about the type of business you operate. If you’re a new business with little or no history, state realistic goals. How do you plan on contributing to your community and to your customer base?
Never pretend to be something else. Trying to present yourself as something you are not will only hurt you in the long run because any prospective employees or clients will be set up for disappointment. Be honest and truthful about who you are and what you provide.
Use real photos, not stock. Stock photos are impersonal and lack creativity. Additionally, visitors to your website or social media presence will be put off because they can’t get a realistic look into your business. Use photos of your office or retail space, employees and customers (with their written permission), and products. People want a true impression of what to expect when patronizing your business.
Stay current and update your site. Always keep abreast of current industry trends and product research as they pertain to your particular business. Incorporate this knowledge into your online presence. As for your company website, frequently check for broken hyperlinks, outdated contact information, discontinued products, etc. When doing so, consider asking someone else to explore the site. A fresh set of eyes can help point out something you may have missed.
Make your site customer-focused. Your website should be user-friendly and focused on how the customer can make the best use of it. Your site should be easily navigable, convenient to use, and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Consider asking current customers to visit your website and tell you what they think of it.
Choose the social networks your customers use. Not sure which ones they use? Ask them! Most likely they are using Facebook, but are they on Pinterest or Instagram? By choosing the social networks where your customers and friends like them are spending time, you can more effectively communicate your message without wasting time on social networks where you’re less likely to get results. Click these links for some tips for setting up a social media presence for your business:

Also be sure to explore the online presences of your competitors to gather ideas and find out which techniques are effective, and which are not. Make sure the message and goals of your business are portrayed accurately online, and adjust when needed.

What tips do you have for establishing an online presence? Please share them below!

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DSEF & BBB: “Bait and Switch” Coupon Scams Promise Savings, Deliver Spam

DSEF & BBB: “Bait and Switch” Coupon Scams Promise Savings, Deliver Spam

By Emily Patterson

Searching for coupons online is an easy way to save money. Unfortunately, it’s also an easy way to give your name and contact info to scammers. Be sure to verify a coupon deal is real before sharing your information.

How the Scam Works:

You need to make a purchase, but you hope to save money by finding a coupon online. A Google search turns up dozens of websites. Most of the online coupons promise a modest 10%-15% discount. But one offers a significantly better deal: 50% off your purchase.

You click the link, and the website looks official. It uses the logo of the business. It asks you to enter your email address and telephone number, promising that your coupon will be sent to you.

When you complete the form, you may be taken to a promotion for an unrelated (and untrustworthy) product. It may be anything from car loans to pharmaceuticals. Other sites do provide fake coupons to print, meaning that consumers don’t know they were scammed until the store clerk rejects their coupon.

This “bait and switch” is a way for unscrupulous businesses to collect names and contact info for resale. If your information is sold, you will start receiving spam calls, text messages and/or emails to the contact information you provided.

How Can I Tell Fake Coupons from Real Ones?

It is easy to copy a business’ logo and make a fake coupon look real. Identify fake coupons by the following warning signs:

It’s the only website with that great deal. If most websites offer a code for 10% off, a 75% off offer is likely a scam.
Be wary of all high value offers. A promo for a $500 gift card is nearly always fake.
Look for legal language and expiration dates. Online coupons need to match manufacturer requirements.
Never pay for coupons. Don’t be tricked into paying for something that’s actually free.
Watch for “bait and switch” tactics. This scam offers you online coupon codes and, once you agree, requires you fill in a form with personal information.
If you suspect that a coupon is fake, check it against this list. The non-profit Coupon Information Center maintains a li st of fraudulent coupons.

For More Information

To find out more about scams, check out the new BBB Scam Stopper.