This Week In Small Business: Market, motivate, measure and keep moving forward!
Middle-class economics, marketing and wrestling with the continuing roll-out of Obamacare were topics of conversations last week. These stories will give small business owners and managers the background they need to stay ahead of the curve.
Marketing
Finally people are realizing that online advertising isn’t about page views. Far more important is how long visitors stay on your pages. Here’s the big story and strategies. And I think Matt Heinz’ essay after writing 2,000 blog posts gives another perspective and practical advice.
Seth Godin offers some principles on marketing in the “connection” economy that could be crucial for future success. But if you need something with more “firepower,” check out these military tactics that matter to marketing, or maybe growth hacking would fit your business model better.
B2B marketers – and others – should soak up these three very practical mobile marketing tips. Need some inspiration for your content marketing? Document some customer success stories. And for the bigger picture, read what Co-Founder & VP of Marketing at E2M Solutsions, Pratik Dholakiya, has to say about 12 content/search engine marketing trends; they’re insightful.
Is it time to move your online advertising away from Google and see what Bing, Yahoo and others can do? Google may have reached its saturation point. Other big changes are in store for marketers as well, with tech leading the way.
Leadership, management and productivity
Are you motivating and measuring you support teams in ways that give them incentives to provide better service? Here are some examples of what some companies are doing. And on the personal side, consider asking yourself these 10 productivity questions each morning.
If your sights are set on becoming a real influencer in the social media, carefully study this analysis of PR and branding influencer tweets.
Don’t make any simple legal mistakes in your small business that can set you up for trouble down the road. Here are three common legal faux pas.
Reading shelf: Best books and magazines for small business professionals and best ebooks for startups. On the practical side, here are 12 online tools that will help your business in a variety of areas.
January 28 was Data Privacy Day. More important than baking a cake is checking out some of the resources available at StaySafeOnline.org.
Winning Small-Business Loans in 5 Easy Steps: If you have good credit and a sound plan, you could be eligible for a small-business loan. However, John Mullins may have a better idea: Start your business with your customers’ cash and forget about the loans. And finally, although they’re a long shot, here are five grants to consider from major corporations.
From a tidy desk, to efficient daily planning, this methodical approach to organization could help clear your mind to focus on your success.
Starting and running your own business can be scary. Be ready to deal with these five fears that virtually every owner experiences. On the other side of the coin, be sure to acknowledge, share and celebrate your triumphs.
Inspiration
Fresh, brilliant ideas are today’s most valuable commodity. Here are eight proven ways to get your creative juices flowing.
Lisa Seacat DeLuca is just 32, a mother of twins and the most prolific female inventor at IBM. Don’t miss her insights on innovation.
If you need an idea for a small business, look to your hobbies, they often prove successful.
Economy, politics
If Michigan is any kind of bellwether, small businesses there are dropping health insurance for their employees and sending them to the exchanges. On Capitol Hill, Ohio Senator Rob Portman introduced a bill to give small businesses some relief from health care regulations and mandates.
In his State of the Union Address, President Obama stressed improving “middle-class economics.” However, there are many who think President Obama’s policies are ruining U.S. competitiveness. Maybe that’s why Heritage Foundation only ranks the US 12th in economic freedom. And when you see those state-by-state business friendliness rankings, do they tell the whole story?
In more national news, here’s a troubling headline from The Hill: Congress renews program Pentagon admits hurts small business.
Central bankers have done all they can do; in 2015 we may find out if the global economy will sink or swim on its own merits.
We’re always talking about the importance of small businesses to the American economy. Wayne Rivers quantifies this truth and it should be encouraging to entrepreneurs…except that entrepreneurism in the US seems to be withering on the vine.
