Twitter Advertising Abilities Grow. Web Site Tags Enable Powerful Retargeting Capbilities

Twitter is a powerful way to advertise – reaching new customers and reinforcing your brand to reach current customers.

Twitter now makes it easy for advertisers to retarget customers or prospects from Twitter, to your web site and back to Twitter.

By placing a code, from Twitter, on your web site, called a web site tag. When a Twitter user visits your web site, and goes back to Twitter, you can target them with an adv and reinforce your message to them on Twitter with a promoted Tweet. Pretty simple and pretty powerful.

Social marketing is clearly MUCH more than just good posts – it’s also about how smart you can create paid advertising to reach your audience.

Check out more details here.

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Amazon Fire Phone: Why Retail Businesses Better Take Notice and Strengthen Their Customer Relationships

Yesterday, Amazon unveiled it’s newest innovation and product – the Fire Phone smartphone.  With cool features including holographic images, hands-free scrolling and software that can recognize items viewed through the camera lens, this smartphone looks like an amped up version of those that exist on the market today. But appearances can be deceiving – and retail businesses need to take notice. This smartphone is much more than just a phone with cool tools. It’s a mobile shopping assistant and cash register rolled into one and it’s on the prowl and your customer is it’s next target!

So here’s how it works. Amazon’s Fire Phone employs Firefly technology, which allows you to use the phones camera as a scanner to recognize merchandise, signs, music and television shows, 100 million cataloged items that users can buy. Basically, I can walk into a store with my Fire Phone, scan an item and FireFly will find the item and advise me where I can buy it and at what price. I can then purchase it automatically through whichever vendor (possibly – or most likely –  Amazon) I choose.  While FireFly isn’t designed to be used solely as a commerce application (you can also point the camera at a painting and learn more about the artist or other relevant information), it’s more than likely that this is the reason that Amazon has decided to jump into the very difficult, and competitive world of smartphones.

For the small business retailer, this is a huge disruption in the universe and one that you’ll need to step up and notice. Why? Well – let’s play out the scenario. You’re a small retail electronics store. A customer walks in looking for a flat screen television and finds the make and model that they want. They whip out their Fire Phone, scan the UPC on the television and within seconds they see it listed on Amazon for $999. You sell it for $1299. Now the customer can do one of two things:

1. In one click, the customer can buy the item and check out on Amazon – getting the item shipped to them for FREE with delivery in 24 – 48 hours with the one-year complimentary membership to the Amazon Prime program that came with their Fire Phone. (Amazon Prime has already single-handedly boosted overall sales and frequency of purchases over non-Prime customers). The customer then goes home and simply waits for the item to come to their door.

OR

2. The customer can choose to pay $300 more, track down an associate at your store, tell them the model they want to buy, purchase that at the counter and then wait for the stock associate to bring it out front. The customer can then get the television out to their car and load it (I hope they don’t have a Mini-Cooper or Fiat!) and head home for a night of watching World Cup Soccer.

What would you do?

If you noticed, there is one major component that plays into the customers decision. Most of you probably think it’s price, but you’d be wrong. According to Accenture Global Customer Satisfaction Report, price is not the main reason for customer churn, it is actually due to the overall poor quality of customer service.That’s right – customer service!

Many say that customer service is dead in this country, and maybe that explains why a power house like Amazon, that exists beyond our reach and physical interaction, is dominating in sales of everyday items while traditional retailers across the country are closing their doors at alarming rates. So here exists the golden opportunity for all small retailers with their doors still open- providing GREAT customer service! No – not just good customer service or okay customer service – GREAT (or if you are a New Englander like me – WICKED AWESOME) customer service!

Here’s something else that small retailers should take note of: The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 – 70%, while the probability of selling to a new prospect is 5 – 20%. This means that your time is better spent on strengthening your existing relationships than trying to find new ones. Here’s three quick ways you can do that:

1. Get to know your customers better. By knowing who your customers are – their birthday, what products they buy, etc.  - you can customize marketing campaigns that make them feel special and send a message that you care that they are your customer. This goes a long way in creating customer loyalty.

2. Create a customer loyalty program. Creating a customer loyalty program will further strengthen your relationship and the customers connection to your brand.

3. Hold VIP Customer Events. Whether it’s once a quarter or once a year, hold a special ‘by invitation only’ event for your customers to come into the store when it’s not open to anyone else. Let them meet you, your employees and share more about what your business is. This will go far to building a lasting relationship with them!

If these tips aren’t enough, check out a previous article on 5 Ways You Can Treat Special Customers Special and Increase Sales.

So, while the new Fire Phone from Amazon might seem like an immediate threat, you have the tools and knowledge to ward off the giant and protect your piece of the pie. Recognizing your current customers and providing them with an experience that makes them feel warm and cozy and leaving with a smile might be all it takes to keep the doors open and come out victorious.

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Merry Christmas. 8 Things Small Retailers Need To Think About NOW To Prepare For Holiday Sales.

While most of the US (and the rest of the world) are sweltering and not thinking of snow, leaves, Christmas or Hanukkah, small businesses who want to leverage MORE Holiday sales than last year need to start preparing now.

One of the most important things you can do is to ensure that your customers can browse and buy from you on their mobile devices.

According to email marketing service Campaigner's annual Mobile Trends Survey of nationwide consumers, promotional emails incite purchases made on mobile devices. The data reveals a 22 percent increase in mobile device purchases as a result of email marketing in 2013 from 2012.

"Retailers have a significant opportunity to embrace the growing market for mobile shoppers this holiday season," said EJ McGowan, general manager, Campaigner. "The results from our 2014 Mobile Trends Survey indicated that while consumers are more interactive with mobile content and purchasing, marketers are still providing a lackluster mobile experience. In particular, the survey revealed that some consumers feel content is not personalized, underscoring the importance of relevant content to increase sales and effectively engage with consumers."

Here’s a few things you MUST do to get your online experience ready for customers

1. Clean your marketing lists – make sure you have right contact information for all your customers and prospects
2. Brainstorm with your marketing team on what marketing campaigns you should do to attract the right prospects to your web site.  If you don’t have a marketing professional to work with – hire one to assist – at least to help you with ideas, if not for the actual execution
3. Consider tools to help you with your marketing - Infusionsoft (automated marketing campaigns), Reach Local (online advertising platform), CBS Local’s Audio Ad Center (local advertising – including radio) and more. See my ultimate guide to small business marketing here
4. Update your web site . Work with a local expert to ensure the navigation of your web site is well designed and easy to navigate.  Make sure your web site is FAST – customers will not tolerate slow web sites. Check out 10 Web Site Musts for help.
5. Segment your marketing lists. Do you know who on your customer list is male? older? in Texas? In Oregon? Do you have a way to market different messages to your lists, based on who they are and how they buy.
6. Partnerships can be important – do you know complimentary businesses you can consider joint marketing campaigns with
7. Focus on your LOYAL CUSTOMERS – yes spend time getting new customers, but spend MORE time on the customers who already buy from you. Create campaigns to get them to buy MORE and to get them to refer more business to you.
8. Security audit is important . Ensure that your network access points, ecommerce transactions and etc are all secure. Work with a security expert

 

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Video Will Be 79 Percent of Online Traffic by 2018, Says Cisco

If you’re not using online video to market your small business or brand, you’re likely missing out on a lot of traffic. And now is probably a good time to get started.

A new study from Cisco, the company’s VNI Global IP Traffic and Service Adoption Forecasts, 2013–2018, reveals this. The study says that by 2018, 79 percent of all Internet traffic will be video-related. That’s an increase from the 66 percent share that video traffic claims today.

And by 2018, the amount of people online and the amount of devices that are Internet-enabled will grow exponentially, too. The Cisco study predicts that in less than five years, more than half of the world’s population will be active Internet users. That’s equal to about 4 billion people. At that time, there will be 21 billion Internet-enabled devices. That’s an increase from 2.5 billion people using about 12 billion devices today.

Doug Webster, Cisco’s Vice President for Service Provider Marketing, says in a video accompanying the release of the company’s study:

“Those devices can leverage faster broadband speeds and because it’s providing more convenience, people are able to do more things with it. And more often than not, they are turning to video.”

Cisco notes that the average broadband user’s speed will increase from about 13 Mbps today to 42 Mbps in 2018. This will allow the average user to stream 4K and UHD (Ultra High Definition) video from nearly any device online.

The study details the quality of video being watched in 2018:

“Ultra HD video will account for 11 percent of IP video traffic by 2018, up from 0.1 percent in 2013. HD video will account for 52 percent of IP video traffic by 2018 (up from 36 percent) and SD will account for the remaining 37 percent (down from 64 percent).”

There are many ways to market your business or brand with video. The equipment needed to create that content is becoming more attainable all the time.

Using video to promote your business gives the opportunity to give customers and fans a unique perspective from behind the scenes and using your own voice. It’s also an opportunity to educate, add value to your brand and potentially establish your expertise.

Video can be captured with most smartphones and shared quickly and easily through many social channels you are probably already using for your business.

The study also concludes that for the first time in the history of the Internet, by 2018 more traffic will be generated by “non-PC” devices. The trend is the result of the increase in the popularity of both smartphones and tablets.

Finally, the study predicts an increasing number of devices other than computers connected to the Internet — the so-called Internet of Things — in coming years. These include smart printers, other office equipment, video surveillance equipment and utility monitors which are increasingly coming online.

Image: Cisco

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3 Ways to Keep Your Small Business Growing and Gaining Ground

As many business leaders spent the last year focused on cutting costs and staying competitive, small-business employers specifically took measures to hold fast – making careful choices about hiring, compensation and employee benefits options.

The 2014 Aflac WorkForces Report for Small Business found that only 12 percent changed employee hours from full- to part-time in 2013 while 34 percent said they gave employees smaller raises than in previous years. As these decisions were made by small-business owners, the study found that 64 percent of employees at small businesses are extremely or very satisfied with their job, compared to 17 percent of employees at large companies and 19 percent at medium-sized companies.

Maintaining a happy workforce, while keeping an eye on the bottom line, is a tough job to juggle. Below are three important ways your company can gain momentum in a slowly rebuilding economy and changing health care landscape:

1) Cultivate Your Current Business Model for Future Growth

Stability in the marketplace is a good sign. However, small employers are still not seeing enough growth to impact their hiring trends for 2014. The study revealed that employers reported relatively stable sales and revenue trends, yet hiring is still down. Do not let financial fear paralyze you or your business growth. Re-evaluate and innovate your current business model and workforce strategies. Consider 2014 to be a time for strategic planning and use your past successes as a base for how to spark future growth.

2) Boost Your Employee Benefits Package with No-Cost Added to Your Bottom Line

As a small-business owner, your employees may be more satisfied, but many think there's room for improvement when it comes to their benefits packages. Only 12 percent are extremely satisfied with their benefits options and only 14 percent believe their benefits package meets their current family needs extremely well.

One way to contain costs when it comes to benefits and keeping your talented workforce in tact is by offering robust benefits options. Consider private exchanges, the government SHOP Marketplace or self-funding options to help meet your employees' health care needs.

And remember, no matter which benefits delivery option your company chooses, offering voluntary benefits options can help employees build a financial safety net for rising out-of-pocket expenses without impacting your bottom line. Voluntary insurance – such as accident, disability, critical illness or hospital plans – enhances your benefits offerings at no additional cost to your company.

3) Rely on Insurance Brokers or Agents to Understand the Changes and Effects of Health Care Legislation

You probably understand some aspects of the new health care legislation, but key pieces of it may appear as a mystery. Small companies with fewer than 50 employees have fewer requirements but they aren't completely off the hook. Work with your insurance brokers and benefits advisors as resources to guide you through new communication and reporting requirements.

Continue building for the future.  Many small businesses show positive signs with stable revenue and sales, and an improved understanding of the changing health care landscape. But there's plenty of room for progress in the years ahead. Build off of the momentum you already have and add in new ideas to carry your small business toward continued success in 2014 and beyond.

Growth Photo via Shutterstock

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Hotel Pattee: Community Support Drives Business Onward

Would you go to a town where you knew almost nobody just to purchase a business that had already failed twice?

You would if you were entrepreneurs Jay and Denise Hartz.

Prior to an initial trip in August 2013 to Perry, Iowa with plans to purchase the historic Hotel Pattee, the Hartzs literally knew a handful of people in town.

But after that initial visit, the couple had cultivated a grassroots group of community volunteers passionately dedicated to reclaiming the historic 40 room hotel built in 1913.

HOW DID THE BUSINESS GET STARTED?

Jay and Denise Hartz had visited the hotel once before in 2012 and had been interested in buying the business and turning it into a success way back then.

But the couple found the asking price of the current owner too high given the realistic potential for profitability and sustainability.

A year later, Jay got a call that the hotel would be closing and would be taken over by the bank. As soon as his wife had returned from grocery shopping, the two decided on the spot to make their move.

But financial challenges with the bank remained.

After presenting his business plan, attending town hall meetings and explaining his idea to reclaim the historic landmark via conference calls and webinars, Jay received 75 letters of intent from community members interested in investing in Hotel Pattee LLC.

The Hartzs bought the hotel in September with the help of local shareholders who now own 25 percent of the company and $395,000 borrowed from local residents to be paid back within five years.

WHAT IS THE BUSINESS KNOWN FOR? 

Jay says he and his wife are the first owner operators the hotel has ever known.

As owners who also work at and manage the historic hotel, they have established a presence and made an investment in the community.

The Hartzs have worked hard to preserve the fabric, artwork and history of the hotel while operating it as a large bed and breakfast. They are very hands on operators and customers are used to seeing them on the premises.

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST RISK YOU EVER TOOK IN THE BUSINESS? 

The greatest risk was definitely buying a hotel that had closed twice before, for various reasons, says Jay. With a major metropolitan center — DesMoines — just 35 miles away, the hotel has had to work hard to promote itself as a destination in and of itself.

HAVE YOU EVER ALMOST GONE OUT OF BUSINESS? 

“Of course,” says Jay. Cash flow remains a constant challenge, but he says fear is a good motivator. Cash reserves are improving, Jay insists, and the couple is confident of long term sustainability.

IF YOU HAD IT ALL TO DO OVER AGAIN, WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY? 

During the few months the hotel was closed for renovation before finally opening to the public, Jay says he would have spent more on marketing and promotion. He admits that even some physical upgrades that seemed important at the time would have taken a back seat to getting the word out.

TELL US ONE INTERESTING TIDBIT ABOUT THE HOTEL: 

Jay explains:

“Being in the hospitality business, it is our motto that if our team doesn’t have fun, then our guest’s won’t either. We have crazy fun behind the scenes! Laughing, joking and simply being silly behind the scenes. Some of that naturally rolls into the front of the house.”

* * * * *

Find out more about the Small Biz Spotlight program.

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Oracle's quarterly results deepen cloud concerns, stock drops

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Oracle Corp on Thursday posted fiscal fourth-quarter results that disappointed investors looking for more progress against rivals selling web-based services, sending its shares lower.

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Judge says concerned about Apple, Google hiring settlement

SAN JOSE Calif. (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday said she had concerns about approving a $324.5 million settlement involving Apple, Google and two other tech companies in a lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to avoid poaching each other's workers.

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