Small Business Profit Maximizer!

Increase engagement and interaction through Twitter

It is important to market a business appropriately through social media and get the most out of the internet in order to get as much customers as possible. Twitter is one of the best sites to advertise your business on and this article conveys some tips on increasing engagement and interaction through Twitter.

The real advantage of Twitter is that the posts are limited to a maximum of 140 characters and this does keep posts short and snappy and does not allow waffling or other unnecessary filler to be put onto the message. This is a principle that you should follow when promoting your business online through Twitter: keep your posts as succinct and to the point as possible. You may wish to market special offers of your business through Twitter as these are the types of post which do not require a lot of content.

Furthermore, you should keep posting regular content onto your page so that it does not become stale and slip down the rankings when people search for similar sites for you. Putting constant posts on your site really keeps in tune with the whole concept of Twitter as it is all to do with efficiency.

Another tactic that you could use to promote your business on Twitter and boost engagement is to look at some of the promotion packages that the site offers. These can put your site above others in the news feed and thus facilitate an increased amount of traffic. The initial financial outlay of purchasing such a service is far outweighed by the engagement you will get from it.

If you want to boost engagement, you need to reach out to people and advertise your business. Follow people who you would like to follow you and you would be surprised at the amount that follows you back. Furthermore send direct messages to your potential followers and also re-tweet some of their posts and perhaps favorite them too. This will make them feel special and know that you are taking more of an interest in them so they are more likely to interact with you.

The Education of an Entrepreneur

One of the main differences between a business owner who has created for themselves a “job” and an entrepreneur who has created a “business” often can be traced to one thing – the entrepreneur never stops learning!

Most start-up business owners don't know what they don't know. Confusing I know so let me explain. Most new business owners don’t understand taxes, bookkeeping and the law so they hire CPA’s (like myself), lawyer and other professionals to handle these issues for them. But, they don’t even have a clue that they need to learn how to market, manage employees, handle growth, the importance of knowing and understanding the metrics of their business, the importance of systems, etc, etc, etc, ……….

So when a new business owner comes in to see me I try to help by recommending the following three books that I feel that every business owner should own, read and re-read.

First would be The EMyth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber. All wealth is a result of the creation of a system by the business owner. This book goes into the importance of systems in order for the business owner to succeed and grow while still keeping their sanity. I have used the chapter on the importance of an Organization Chart for every business to save a couple of marriages between husband/wife ownership teams.

Second would be Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson. The theory of guerrilla marketing is that your primary investment is not money (a scarce commodity in most small businesses) but, rather time, energy and imagination.

Finally, any book by Dan Kennedy. I guess I would start with his No B.S. Direct Marketing. He has so many key concepts it is very hard to pick just one. But, if forced to, I choose his statement that every business owner is in the business of getting and keeping customers!

These are my favorite three. Drop me a line and let me know if there is a business book that you think I should have put on the list.

Thank you for your continued support and let's make this year our most profitable year ever!

Why Blog?

All businesses need to have a blog, no excuses! It’s free, it educates your customers, and it can lead to sales!

There are SO many free blog sites that allow you to create a blog that is easy to manage! Blogs give you a forum to tell your customers about your industry, why they need you, and how you can solve their problems! On top of that, you can highlight new products, promote events, reward certain customers, discuss hot topics in your field - the list goes on and on! It’s your company’s voice!

Go create your blog today and give your company a step up on your competitors.

If you need help with your marketing, we’re starting a new company, Innovative Marketing Consulting, which specializes in internet marketing and consulting. Go to www.imcelpaso.com to learn more!

How Video Marketing Can Improve Lead Conversion

If you think that video marketing isn’t an important part to growing your online presence, think again. According to recent studies, 85% of Internet users in the US watch online videos on a regular basis, including 4.3 billion online video ads. While we tend to skip past ads on television, when it comes to online videos, we can’t seem to get enough.

With the number of video views, it’s no wonder that these can help convert leads for any company and any niche – as long as it’s done correctly. Having videos available on your site has proven to keep visitors longer. Not only does it increase lead conversion but also increases time spent on your site.

Video gives your customers and prospects a unique experience that no other medium can offer. It is more than just words or pictures. Video allows your customers to know they are dealing with a real person – you give them a live person to listen to and relate with. This relationship builder can mean the difference between a completed sale or not.

It’s not a matter of IF you’re going to use video to convert leads, it’s when. There is no media that “doesn’t work.” It’s a process and every campaign is an opportunity to learn and improve your efforts.

Adding Product Videos Increases Sales Dramatically!

I have attached an excellent video by Drew Davis on the huge increase in sales that can result by producing videos for your products and services (www.tippingpointlabs.com/2011/04/25/steal-this-slidethe-value-of-product-videos ).

The research he includes in this video is amazing and includes:

• Videos increase web sales by 64-85%!  (0:31 mark)
• You are 53 times more likely to achieve front-page Google status with a product video.  The Google search algorithm just loves video.  (1:00 mark)
• Offline sales also increased by 6%. (1:31 mark)
• The use of product videos reduces the product return rate by 25-27%.  The video manages your customer’s expectation by clearly showing what the product or service does and what it doesn’t do.  (1:58 mark)
• Direct email campaigns showed a 96% increase in email click-through rates.  This can have a huge impact because if your prospect doesn’t read your pitch, they are highly unlikely to buy.  (2:13 mark)
• Video merchandising doubles sales when you add related products (upselling and cross-selling) that you can recommend in the product video that the prospect originally clicked through on. (2:24 mark)
• Finally, if you are selling items with a high price point (what he calls “luxury items”), a video increases sales by an amazing 20%.  (2:40 mark)

One point:  You should start measuring these items now so that you will have a benchmark to compare how much adding videos is increasing your sales.

These statistics make it clear that if you’re not using videos to showcase your products or services you better start now.  I know I will be adding them very soon!

Until next time, thank you for your continued support and let’s make this year our most profitable year ever!

3 Innovative Ways To Build An Optin Email List That Stands Above The Crowd

With so many optin email lists out there, you really need to come up with a hook to attract subscribers. It needs to have something special or different. It could be something you offer inside every newsletter issue, like interviews with experts. Or the hook could be a unique incentive that website visitors can take advantage of immediately when they sign up.

Here are 3 ideas you can use for your own sites, or use as inspiration to get you thinking a little outside of the box:

-- Build an Optin Email List by Creating a Private Members Only Site or Section --

Create a private web site and have people sign up to get free, immediate access. For example, you could say, "Subscribe to our free e-zine and get free access to our private membership web site!" You can choose to have them receive a username and password every time they want to login, or you can just provide a link to the site in your welcome email.

Your private members only site can be as big or as small as you want. Some of the things you can include inside are: reports, software, articles, ebooks, etc. Inside the site, you can advertise your affiliate programs, as well. And you can follow-up to let them know about updates, new products they might be interested in, the latest news in your industry, etc.

-- Build an Optin Email List By Giving Subscribers a Free, Tangible Gift --

Instead of offering a free ebook (or a whole package of them) like most everybody else, promise to give your visitors something they can hold in their hands if they give you their contact information.

For example, you could say "Subscribe today and get our new report mailed to you via First Class." You could print out your report on standard 8 x 11 sheets of paper, fold it up, put it inside an envelope, and mail it off.

Or you can offer a tips booklet and mail it to new subscribers. Or you can create your own CD full of information targeted toward your market and mail that. Or if you have a wholesale supply of a product of interest to your subscribers, then you can send one to each new subscriber. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Follow-up possibilities include: articles (your own or written by others), tips you pick up, news in your niche, reviews of products or other interested, related websites, etc.

-- Build an Optin Email List Through a Contest or Sweepstakes --

Hold a free contest or sweepstakes at your website where they must give their contact information, including their email address, to enter. Make the prize something that your niche market will be interested in. Otherwise, they'll never want to enter.

If you already have an ezine up and running, you could offer free automatic entry for new subscribers. For example, you could say, "Subscribe to our free newsletter and get automatic entry into our contest." You'll also want to retroactively include current subscribers.

You can announce the winner(s) at the end, as well as send any new contest announcements or product announcements. Or you can make this an ongoing contest, where you give away the same thing to one (or more) lucky people every month. That way you'll entice many subscribers to stay on your list.

You can find niche products to give away through wholesalers or dropshippers. Or you can create it yourself. One of my favorite ways to do this is create a CD-Rom with a guide or report (or sometimes several) that my niche market will find interesting.

Once again, you can follow-up with tips, articles, news, new product announcements, or just an announcement of each monthly winner(s).

Hopefully, now I've inspired you to take some action or encouraged ideas of your own with these tips. Any idea, the more popular it gets, requires you to think outside the box every now and then in order to be effective. Building an optin email list is no different. And with newsletters and ezines saturating the Internet day by day, you need to offer something a little different to make them want to sign up to yours. Or you'll just end up getting left behind.

20 Power Marketing Tips

Use these powerful yet simple tips from the national best-seller, "Secrets of Power Marketing: Promote Brand You" - the first guide to personal marketing for non-marketers.

Create and grant an annual award.

Send hand written congratulations and thank you notes.

Send greeting cards for some occasion other than Christmas.

Send postcards when you travel and even when you are at home.

Give a good book to special clients. Always sign it with a positive message.

Build relationships with the media before you need them.

Associate with winners - attend awards functions.

Build and maintain a database of clients, prospects, and key influencers.

Earn certifications and win awards from your associations - and tell everyone.

Ask happy customers to write testimonial letters for you.

Recruit your suppliers as marketing agents. They work for free.

Join and be active in your chamber of commerce.

Write tips sheets for your customers.

Write and send articles to magazines and newspapers.

Send a news release to the media every three months.

Do something crazy and newsworthy at least once a year.

Send photocopies of your news coverage to your clients.

Build and maintain an informative and interesting web site.

Sponsor a cause, event, charity or community group.

Volunteer for your association, charity or community group.

Brainstorming Techniques

Have you been in a "brainstorming" session where each person just defended their own ideas? Worse is when people don't suggest ideas at all, for fear they'll be attacked. That's no way to brainstorm. Brainstorming is using the power of many minds, and ideas should flow freely and trigger other ideas. How do you make that happen?

The Key To Good Brainstorming

You have to have a good leader to have good brainstorming. The leader isn't there to impose his will, though, but to stop the imposition of anyone’s will. His role is to stop criticisms, arguments, and even strong opinions, at least in the first part of the session.

A brainstorming session needs to be spontaneous, open and uncritical. "Bad" or "silly" ideas can lead to helpful ones, so suggestions have to be left un-judged at first. To brainstorm effectively, you can't stifle the creative process. The leaders job, then, is to make everyone feel free to suggest any ideas.

An Example Of Good Brainstorming

The scenario: your business needs to cut delivery costs. The group throws out ideas and thoughts. "Let's not deliver," someone suggests, and when another starts to criticize, you remind him of the rules. "Negotiate lower rates," somebody says, "Or just find a company with lower rates," another adds. Ideas like reducing package weight and charging customers more are suggested, and lead to other ideas.

You keep it civil, take notes, and eventually call a halt to this free-for-all part of the session. Now it's time to evaluate and develop the ideas for whatever usefulness they may have.

To keep the creativity flowing in this stage, have participants defend or develop ideas that are not their own. This brings new insight to the idea, and prevents the problem of ego-identification that causes people to get "stuck in a rut" with their own ideas.

For example, ask the man who was critical of the idea of not delivering to work with that idea. "We have to deliver," he might start with. Then he thinks for a second and says, "I suppose we could deliver to central distribution points instead of to the individual customer. The customer could drive a short distance to pick up their order. That might save us on shipping."

Someone else suggests that the customers may like the arrangement. They would be able to return the product immediately if they were dissatisfied, with no need to pack and ship it. You assign a couple people to look into it, and move on to the other ideas.

Good leadership keeps the whole process working. In the last example, you've even used a "bad" idea to come to a possible solution. That's good brainstorming.

Marketing & Selling – Why Reinvent the Wheel?

If you have worked with me before, you may have heard me say “Why reinvent the wheel?” And I really believe in that saying.

As a small business owner, I know we have limited resources.  Using information, techniques, ideas and methods that other businesses have had success with is just smart business. They have just saved you a ton of money and time by finding a selling method that works and all you have to do is incorporate it into your marketing plan.

I have worked with business owners who have argued, "That is what my competitor is doing." My response is: So? Why are you going to lose money because your competitor tried something out before you did? All you have to do is put your own spin on it in order to have the same idea increase your sales also.

Marketing is one of those things that is always changing and can produce different results at different times; but, if you find something that has proven to work, feel free to jump on that bandwagon and hope it works for your business.

Making the Most of Computer Down Time

For some managers, Internet access is a crucial part of getting things done. So, what happens when your server crashes? What’s your backup plan?

If it’s around midday, there’s always your lunch break. But if it’s early morning or mid-afternoon, you might want to have a few options that are more productive—for you and your staff.

Here are some ideas:

• Catch up on paperwork. There are probably schedules to review—including vacations and other requests for time off—as well as reimbursement documents, invoices, etc.

• Tidy up your desk. Take that 15 or 20 minutes and clear away the clutter. If the system comes up sooner than that, don’t stop. The reorganization and the feeling of accomplishment will help you be much more productive, and you’ll regain whatever time you “lost” by neatening up. Also, your staff might follow your lead, and you can have a morale-boosting cleanup session during otherwise fallow minutes.

• Talk with your associates. You can have an impromptu department meeting, or just engage employees one on one or in a small group. Make the conversation meaningful, though: Focus on an objective or a nettlesome problem to spark a casual brainstorming session.

• Check in with your boss. If the system’s down, the honchos are not immune. Bring him or her up to speed on what’s been going on, and find out what projects and initiatives are in the pipeline so you can start thinking about them now and hit the ground running when they come to fruition.

Ten Steps to Becoming a Marketing and Sales Expert

What I didn’t understand when I started my CPA firm is that every business is a marketing business!  A business without customers is called a hobby.  This leads to the major problem that most new business owners discover:  They may be good at what they do, but they must become experts at marketing and selling if they want to have a successful business.

I think Bill Glazer (the author of Outrageous Advertising That’s Outrageously Successful) explained best when he said,

“I have a two thing business—Getting new customers and keeping them as long as possible.”

The question I usually get is, “How do I become a sales and marketing expert?”  The following are the steps I have used over the last 20+ years to teach myself.

1. Change your mindset about sales and marketing.  Too many business owners, especially professionals (doctors, lawyers, CPAs, architects, etc.) view salespeople with disdain.  You must eliminate that attitude now!  If you really believe that your product or service will transform your customer/client/patient’s life, then you have a moral obligation to provide it to as many people as possible.  This can only be done by selling it.
2. Educate yourself.  Read as many books as you can about sales and marketing.  I would start with the following books:
   • Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson
   • Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gitomer
   • Duct Tape Marketing by John Janstch
   • All of the No B.S. series by Dan Kennedy.  I would start with No B.S. Direct Marketing
   • Outrageous Advertising That’s Outrageously Successful by Bill Glazer
   • SNAP Selling and Selling to Big Companies by Jill Konrath
   • Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes
   • LinkedIn Marketing an Hour a Day by Viveka van Rosen
   • Stick Like Glue by Jim Palmer
3. Take some marketing courses.  Check out sales online training with Jeffrey Gitomer (www.salesblog.com) and Steve Clark (www.newschoolselling.com).
4. Find and hire a sales and marketing coach.  Being an entrepreneur in charge of marketing and sales is a lonely job.  Having a coach gives you an outsider’s perspective, an experienced voice, and a deadline for getting stuff done.  Don’t underestimate the value of a deadline.  Without one, the everyday demands of your business and the natural inclination to procrastinate when faced with something you’re not good at will delay (sometimes forever) your work on sales and marketing.  One of the key things a coach does is get you on schedule.
5. Subscribe to sales and marketing magazines and blogs.  And read them constantly!  You must think about sales and marketing your business 24 hours a day.  Heck, you should dream about it!  Don’t forget to check out our magazine every month.  We cover marketing and sales every month and provide you with homework to help you improve.
6. Create a marketing plan.  A good resource for preparing a marketing plan is Guerilla Marketing in 30 Days by Jay Conrad Levinson.
7. Create a 12-month implementation plan of your marketing plan.  The motto of this magazine and my coaching programs is Good Ideas + Action = Massive Profits.  You have to do the work.  Having a marketing plan and sticking it in your desk drawer won’t accomplish anything.
8. Choose sales tools that fit your budget.  Once you do, commit to sticking with them for at least six months.  It takes time for marketing to work.  Don’t make the mistake of giving up after only a couple of tries.
9. Make a monthly appointment with yourself to review your marketing.  Every marketing plan needs to be adjusted based on how your prospects and customers react to it.  It is a good idea to A/B test every part of your sales and marketing process.  Remember, results are all that matter!  Keep experimenting and improving until you get the marketing message and sales methods that deliver sales.
10. Set aside time to sell weekly.  This is particularly important for professionals and technical businesses (mechanics, contractors, etc.) that put more importance on getting the work done correctly than they do on sales and marketing.  It is extremely easy to get lost in doing the work that needs to be completed now, but doing so usually results in not having any work lined up once the current job is completed.  It is important to always be selling so that the work pipeline is always full.

Remember, every business is a sales business first!  That means that every business owner must become an expert marketing and sales professional in order to be successful.

 

Latest Marketing Trends And Why You Cannot Afford to Ignore Them

Social media, the Internet, and mobile devices are revolutionizing marketing.  Big companies are jumping into these avenues with a huge investment in advertising dollars and employees.  This can intimidate the small business owner and make them ignore the whole issue.  I often hear, “What’s wrong with what I’ve been doing?  It’s worked for me for the last ___ years!”  That’s great, but I can almost guarantee you it won’t work much longer. 

You see, we now live in a “New Economy” where 95 percent of customers will gravitate to the business owner who is more ambitious, eager to learn, willing to adapt, and dedicated to continuous integrated marketing. 

One of the main reasons for this is that our current interconnected information age has transferred control from the business to the consumer.  Today’s consumer has the ability to easily explore their options.  They can quickly compare prices, determine who has the best customer service, and find out which company has the best reputation. 

The financial crash and the resulting loss of wealth and income since 2008 have resulted in a consumer base with far less money to spend.  This means that when they do spend their money, they are much more cautious.  Luckily, this does not mean that they only want what is cheapest—they just want the best value for their dollar. 

So how do you adapt to this? 

First, you have to understand that if you sell a commodity, you will lose.  A small company just can’t beat the price that big box stores like Sam’s and Costco can offer or that can be found shopping online at Amazon and other stores.  If you want to survive, you will need to differentiate yourself and educate your customer on why shopping with you is really a better value.  (How to do this is well beyond the scope of this article.  Be sure to check out our soon-to-be-released “8-Week Boot Camp:  Dominate Your Niche in the New Economy” which will be released in October of this year.  This course is designed to help you position yourself to be that one firm in your niche that will attract 95 percent of consumer dollars.) 

Second, traditional sales and marketing are quickly losing their effectiveness.  This is especially true for smaller businesses that just don’t have the budget to run branding advertising.  Traditional advertising tools such as TV, newspaper, and radio require an expensive, long-term commitment to be effective.  This makes it almost impossible for most small businesses to compete head-to-head with the big companies. 

But this also presents small business owner with fantastic opportunities to grow their business if they act quickly enough to take advantage of recent marketing trends. 

• Content marketing is becoming vital to market dominance.  Content is the foundation of digital marketing and is vital to your marketing results.
  • Content marketing allows you to educate your customers on why your product or service is best for them.  It also helps with customer retention and upselling to your current customers.  Remember, educated customers buy more.
  • Content marketing is key to establishing yourself as an expert and thought leader in your industry.  People want their problem solved by an expert.
  • Content marketing increases customer retention by reminding them why they became a customer and that you still care about them as a customer.  People switch providers because they perceive that you don’t care more than any other reason.  Constant contact helps eliminate this.
  • Content marketing increases upsells and cross-selling from your current customers by educating them on additional products and services you offer.  Remember!  Educated customers buy more! 

• The integration of offline and online marketing.  Some of the best results are accomplished by a) using offline marketing (direct mail, small newspaper ads) that b) push to free reports or webinars online that educate the prospect and introduce you (in a non-threatening way) that is then c) followed up with contact that pushes for an in-person sales call.  This online/offline integration has proven to be very effective and cost efficient. 

• The rise in mobile marketing.  Many companies are using text messaging with great effectiveness to bring prospects into their stores.  One example is a restaurant that sends a text message to loyal customers offering a VIP-only special. 

• Continuous planned marketing.  The market leaders in every niche usually have at least a 12-month plan for all of their marketing.  Nothing is left to chance; everything is tracked, tested, and improved. 

• Results-based marketing.  More and more companies are making a shift toward using only marketing that allows them to easily track the results.  This is one of the main reasons for the resurgence of direct mail. 

• Visual marketing.  A picture is worth a thousand words, particularly when selling a product.  I have a client who sells home medical equipment who is using video with great effectiveness.  A patient bed lift looks like something that would have been used during the Spanish Inquisition.  But a video showing a small person easily lifting a larger person out of the bed, along with an explanation of how this reduces injury to both the patient and the caregiver, does a tremendous job selling the advantages and benefits of the bed lift. 

What are you doing to keep your company from losing market share to your competitor?

Save Face, Time, and Money on Your Next IT Project

How many times have you been involved in a project where a newly-released piece of software required an immediate enhancement because the right people were not “in the loop”?  This is an example of how poor communication costs money and damages the reputation of an Information Technology (IT) Team. 

Well-managed communication can increase the rates of success on your IT projects by improving relations between you and your customers and decreasing the odds of hasty last-minute enhancements, thus saving face, saving time, and saving money. 

Most developers are familiar with technical writers, who produce documentation.  While these writers are important to your project, they do not typically handle communication.  That requires a person well-versed in communication planning and execution:  the communication specialist.  

A communication specialist will:

• determine your communication objectives (educate?, gather specifications?, change behavior?)
• identify the people who have and need information about your project,
• identify the best way of reaching these people,
• and build a list of key messages. 

The communication can occur through many channels, such as focus groups, face-to-face meetings, status reports, newsletters, email messages, web sites, PowerPoint presentations, or phone hotlines.  Communication can also be executed in less formal ways, such as establishing mail lists and selectively copying the appropriate people on relevant email. 

The communication specialist brings all this together in a communication plan.  

Then the communication specialist will execute each communication, according to the established timeline.  And of course, he or she will adjust the communication plan as the project evolves. 

Well-planned and managed communication is crucial to how your organization is perceived and it will have a direct impact on your project.  Adding a communication specialist to your next IT project will increase your odds of success.

Great Business Software and Tools: Dropbox

Dropbox is one of the tools that we find ourselves using more and more.  It is basically an online hard drive.  But it is so much more than that.  In fact, the more we use it, the more uses we find for it.  Here are some of the main features that make it so useful:

• You get 2 GB of Dropbox storage for free, and can subscribe to get up to 100 GB.
• Your files are always available from the secure Dropbox website.
• Dropbox works with Windows, Mac, Linux, iPad, iPhone, and Android.
• Since Dropbox has apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, you can take your files with you even when you are away from your desktop computer.
• It allows you to easily share some of your files by inviting friends, family, and team members to certain folders.  It’s like saving the file to their computers or phones.
• Dropbox works even if you are offline, so you can always have access to your files.
• Your files are safe without you needing to do anything.  Dropbox keeps a one-month history, changes you make can be undone, and it uses the highest encryption possible.

Go to www.dropbox.com and watch their video for more detail.

 

Best Apps for Business Owners: Instapaper

As a business owner, I am always running into articles that I find on the Web that I want to read but just don’t have time at that moment.  I sometimes print it or email it to myself for later reading.  Neither option is great, because I end up with a mountain of paper on my desk and my email account has enough junk in it as it is.

That’s where Instapaper is a “must-have” for every business owner.  Whether you find the article on your computer, iPhone, or iPad all you have to do is tap Instapaper:  Read Later.

You can then read it later when you are ready, either on your computer, iPhone, or iPad.  You can also read it offline even if you don’t have an internet connection.  You still have the option to print it out to read later.  What I really like is that I can download it to my Kindle and it is automatically converted to an easy-to-read format.

This is also great if you are an active Twitter user.  I often get Tweets with links to great articles from some of the top thinkers in my field.  Now I can easily send them to Instapaper for reading at a later time.

It’s free, so check it out!  This is too good NOT to use.

3 Tech Applications Every Business Should Adopt This Year

Web based applications have come down in price and become much more user friendly.  Three in
particular promise to improve efficiency and customer service for the small business owner.

First, it is simply time to outsource payroll.  Business owners often find payroll processing both time-consuming and confusing.  Add the potential for large federal and state penalties for any little error and it is easy to see why the business owner just wants to outsource payroll.

Technology has added many options.  Here are the two options my clients have had the most success with:

• The payroll add-on in QuickBooks.  The top option outsources everything to QuickBooks.  You enter the time and they cut the checks, make the payroll tax deposits, direct deposit into the employees’ bank accounts, prepare the quarterly tax reports, and do year-end W-2s.  The program has good tech support but it still would be a good idea to hire a QuickBooks advisor to help you set it up.

 

• Just outsource the whole mess to an outside party.  My clients have had good luck with ADP and the major banks.  I personally think that Wells Fargo is doing a better job than most.  You will need to get your accountant to create a memorized journal entry so you can enter summarized data for each pay period into your QuickBooks.

 

Second, customers expect businesses to accept payments at the time of service.  Thankfully you now have many mobile payment options.  We use one that imports straight to QuickBooks but there are several options.  The attached article by Elizabeth Palermo, a BusinessNewsDaily contributor, lists 27 ways to accept mobile payments (http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4457-mobile-payment-solutions.html).

Mobile payment systems work great for service providers, retail, or restaurants.  Go to an Apple Store and watch how accepting mobile payments allows their staff to serve customers much more efficiently.  Now even the smallest retail store can afford to adopt the same technology.

Third, adopt an online loyalty program.  If you want to see how one works, sign up for the Starbucks loyalty program.  Understand how their reward program increases repeat sales, customer loyalty, and referrals.  Most importantly, it provides the business owner with valuable sales data.

Every study shows that loyalty programs pay for themselves many times over.  But before now, launching one was time-consuming and expensive.  Online applications such as GetOne (http://info.getonerewards.com) have changed that.  Heather Clancy, writing for Small Business Matters, lists four other loyalty programs that are tailored for small businesses (http://www.zdnet.com/article/4-loyalty-program-services-tailored-for-small-businesses).

Mobile Device Use Has Hit Critical Mass

Almost every prospect who contacts me has already Googled me, checked out our blog, and visited our firm website before they ever call me to set-up the initial appointment.  This is a sure sign that these technologies are well past critical mass.

I use the term "critical mass" to mean that your best customers are expecting the firms they deal with to have that particular product, technology, or service available.  And, they will only consider buying from those places that do.

In my example, I can attest to the fact that if I did not have a strong presence on Google, did not have a blog, and did not have a good website, I would most likely not even be considered by these new prospects.

Lesson:  Once a technology hits critical mass, the business owner ignores it at their own risk!  They learn how to implement it into their business or they slowly start losing ground to competitors who have learned how to use the technology to reach their customers.

Alex Lerch, in his blog post titled "Why You Need A Mobile Website This Year" (www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-you-need-mobile-website-year-alex-lerch), bluntly states:

Now is the time for businesses to become very aware of the need to target their marketing towards mobile device users, as they are rapidly starting to dominate the share of internet and search engine use.

He goes on to list the following “cold hard facts”:

• 58% of American adults have a smartphone with internet capability
• 32% of American adults have an e-reader
• 42% of American adults have a tablet computer
• 29% of cell owners describe their cell phone as "something they can't imagine living without."
• 34% of cell internet users go online mostly using their phones, and not using some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer.

And these trends are not slowing down.  In Alex Lerch's article he states that Apple sold 39 million phones in the third quarter of 2014 alone.  In the fourth quarter of 2014 Apple sold another 39.2 million iPhones and 12.3 million iPads. (www.theverge.com/2014/10/20/7022335/apple-q4-2014-earnings)

The problem?  While 34% of users find your website using their phone, only one out of 10 small business websites are optimized for mobile.

I agree with Mr. Lerch that "Mobile dominance in the market is not a trend, but a change in course for all online marketing.  An effective website today is not the same as it was three years ago.”

In my article titled “Is Your Business Growing or Dying?” I listed six things that successful businesses do differently from those businesses that are struggling to survive.  Two are pertinent to this topic:

• Successful business owners stay current, and often lead the way, on tech trends.
• They also understand how these changes in technology will affect how their customers interact and buy from them.

2015 is a great time to gain a competitive advantage by optimizing your web content for mobile devices.  Check out future articles where we will cover how to accomplish this in more detail.

Mobile Devices Have Hit Critical Mass

 

Almost every prospect who contacts me has already Googled me, checked out our blog, and visited our firm website before they ever call me to set-up the initial appointment.  This is a sure sign that these technologies are well past critical mass.

 

I use the term "critical mass" to mean that your best customers are expecting the firms they deal with to have that particular product, technology, or service available.  And, they will only consider buying from those places that do.

 

In my example, I can attest to the fact that if I did not have a strong presence on Google, did not have a blog, and did not have a good website, I would most likely not even be considered by these new prospects.

 

Lesson:  Once a technology hits critical mass, the business owner ignores it at their own risk!  They learn how to implement it into their business or they slowly start losing ground to competitors who have learned how to use the technology to reach their customers.

 

Alex Lerch, in his blog post titled "Why You Need A Mobile Website This Year" (www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-you-need-mobile-website-year-alex-lerch), bluntly states:

 

Now is the time for businesses to become very aware of the need to target their marketing towards mobile device users, as they are rapidly starting to dominate the share of internet and search engine use.

 

He goes on to list the following “cold hard facts”:

• 58% of American adults have a smartphone with internet capability
• 32% of American adults have an e-reader
• 42% of American adults have a tablet computer
• 29% of cell owners describe their cell phone as "something they can't imagine living without."
• 34% of cell internet users go online mostly using their phones, and not using some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer.

 

And these trends are not slowing down.  In Alex Lerch's article he states that Apple sold 39 million phones in the third quarter of 2014 alone.  In the fourth quarter of 2014 Apple sold another 39.2 million iPhones and 12.3 million iPads. (www.theverge.com/2014/10/20/7022335/apple-q4-2014-earnings)

 

The problem?  While 34% of users find your website using their phone, only one out of 10 small business websites are optimized for mobile.

 

I agree with Mr. Lerch that, "Mobile dominance in the market is not a trend, but a change in course for all online marketing.  An effective website today is not the same as it was three years ago.”

 

In my article titled “Is Your Business Growing or Dying?” I listed six things that successful businesses do differently from those businesses that are struggling to survive.  Two are pertinent to this topic:

 

• Successful business owners stay current, and often lead the way, on tech trends.
• They also understand how these changes in technology will affect how their customers interact and buy from them.

 

2015 is a great time to gain a competitive advantage by optimizing your web content for mobile devices.  Check out future articles where we will cover how to accomplish this in more detail.

Recommended Software or App

 

QuickBooks GoPayment

 

We have been using this app for a couple of years now.  It is an easy-to-use app that can quickly create orders and then receive payments.  You can receive payments by swiping a credit card on a reader or by scanning them with your iPhone camera.  Then you can email your customers the receipt.

If you use QuickBooks, this is a must-have app.

Recommended Software or App

Audio Memos

Audio Memos is a voice recorder for the iPhone and iPad.  The intuitive interface is easy to use, yet it has many advanced features such as volume boost and normalizing, editing of recordings, and more.  It has many features exclusive to this free program which makes it one of the most advanced recorder programs and a major upgrade from the recorder that is included with the iPhone and iPad.

 

This is an ad-supported version of Audio Memos.  You get most of the full version's features with no limits on recording length, unlike other free products.

 

Your recordings are stored on your device but can be backed up to your computer using your web browser (or by email).

 

Here are some of the more useful features:

• Send recordings by email (up to 3MB in free version).
•  Use bookmarks to navigate easily in a recording (in the pro version).
• Voice and timer-activated recording (in the pro version).
• High quality recordings up to 44100 Hz with three levels of quality available.
• Professionally engineered audio-normalizing filter, giving you a constant average volume on all of your recordings.  This feature does not modify your recordings, so you can turn it on even if you intend to post-process your audio files on a computer.
•  Records even when your device is in sleep mode and pauses automatically in the event of an incoming phone call.
• Advanced listing of your recordings, which displays file name, date, length, and size information.  A detailed view is also available for each recording.  This view gives you extra information such as recording quality and download status.