More Than A Few Words

When it comes to marketing many business owners are surprised what a big impact a few little things can make.  It is easy to remember to send the big campaigns, get the booths ready for the trade show, but success is in the details and the consistent follow up.     This week, Allison and Lorraine talk about some of the little details that can make a big difference in any business and why, they are often overlooked. 

What is content marketing?   It is information you share with prospects which help them reach a buying decision without overtly selling.  Content can be video, audio, pictures, eBooks, blog posts, email or social media update.     Using any of these formats you mission is to maintain an informative tone, while still leading the most qualified prospects to the decision they need to work with you. 

While large companies can afford a few bad hires, small businesses can't.   This week we explore the ups and downs of finding the perfect person.  And if you are looking for a job, this conversation is directed at you as well.  Pay attention and discover how to get to the heart of the interviewer, and get the job. 

The lines between on and off line are blurring, but some stores, particularly high end retails stores seem slow to make the move.  Given the computer savvy nature of their customers, this seemed a little odd. But maybe they are just trying to build an extraordinary in person experience.      Join us this week as we share some of our adventures on a recent trip to the mall 

 Your brand is what you want people to think about your company, and feel about your company.  The logo, color, and font choices should all support the impression you want to create. 

Businesses go through growth stages and there is a little pain at each step.  From hiring employees to deciding when to our source or add a new system, these changes may hurt a little, but are necessary in the long run if you want to move on. 

As much as you would love to sell to everyone, you need to accept that Everyone is NOT your customer.    No matter what you sell, there are people who will want your product and other's who won't.     Now limiting who you target, does not limit who you sell to.  It is simply a way of deicing where to focus your resources.   As a small  business owner you need to focus precious marketing resources on connecting with people who might really want to buy.The others will find you 

While a healthy ego can help you have the confidence to launch and run your own business, left unchecked it can lead you down the wrong path.   There are times to trust your gut, and times to take the advice of others.  Successful business owners learn to find a balance between the two. 

Google has just rolled out another change to their popular email tool. your inbox is now presorted into tabs, with only the most important content hitting your inbox.  Is it a productivity enhancement or one more set of hoops to jump through.  As you will discover as you listen to Allison and Lorraine the answer depends on how you use the tool.  But regardless of how you use it, or even if you use it at all, there are implications that will effect the open rate of your weekly newsletter.   Oh, and as an added bonus we also shared some impressions of the new Facebook insights.  

The biggest challenge most beginning bloggers face is where to find the content to fill all those blog posts. 

As web and mobile technologies improve, pictures and video are becoming a more important part of the social experience.  To keep up, or stay one step ahead, we have seen a number of changes in recent weeks including the introduction of Rich Pins on Pinterest and 15 second Instagram videos.  What does this mean for you and your business? That is at the heart of this week's conversation. 

Some "experts" are seeing the recent declines in the time people are spending on Facebook as a clear signal that Facebook is dying.   I think their predictions are a bit premature.  Facebook is still huge social media platform so don't count them out yet.   This week we talk about some of the changes in demographics and user behavior, the addition of hastags, the over use of ads and most importantly, what all these changes mean to small business owners.

Just like a dog is easily distracted by a passing squirrel, small business owners are distracted by new toys, tools and technologies.  So how do you find a balance to stay ahead of your competitors without running in multiple directions and not getting anything done?     Lorraine and Alison share some of their favorite tips for managing this fine balance.  

It is time to move past interns and part time employees.   Social media is serious marketing and needs to be treated that way.    This week we take on the topic of social media management.  Our conclusion?  It isn't so much a job as a job skill that everyone should have.

Often abused and overused, email has gotten a bad reputation.  But if done well it, used to send relevant messages to an interested audience email will  still deliver extraordinary and cost effective returns.  This week Allison and I talk about ways to make your email marketing more effective.

For many small businesses, summer means one thing: interns. Should you be hiring an intern? Do they need to be paid? And what should they be getting out of it, anyway? Lorraine and Allison use their years of supervising--and being!--interns to shed light on how interns can  be a big help to your business, and how they can slow you down.

It's June! The days are longer, the temperatures are rising and people are starting to think about vacations. It's unfortunate many of the small business owners I work with make the mistake of skipping vacations because they are afraid to take the time away from their business. But you need to take time to recharge your batteries, see and do new things and look at the business from a distance.  To help you do just that Lorraine and Allison talk about strategies to plan for your vacation so it is fun, relaxing and worry free. Listen now or subscribe to our feed through iTunes and listen to in on the go.

Allison and Lorraine talk about recent changes to Google + and Tumblr.

Now that tax season is over, it’s a good time to look at ways to reduce your tax bill next year. Join us as we chat with Gregory Simons about how you, the small business owner, can get ahead. About Gregory Simons: Greg has been an accounting professional since 1988, having worked for two Big Four accounting firms as an auditor and manager for special projects for six years. He also worked for a Fortune 500 company as an Internal Auditor for over a year. In 1995, Greg founded Simons Bitzer & Associates and has focused his time on providing services to small- and medium-sized businesses in Central Indiana. He has served as Chief Financial Officer for several organizations, and has specialized in working with tax agencies to resolve difficult tax matters. Greg’s current focus is on managing client relationships, working with businesses in strategic areas, helping clients resolve common business issues, and working with the firm’s Tax Specialists to maximize tax savings to businesses and individuals. Greg was