Marketing
How Small Businesses Can Get New Customers and Sell More
4 Mistakes Small Businesses Make with Online Video Marketing
When starting any new venture, it’s a good idea to learn from the mistakes of others. In the world of online video marketing, there are plenty of mistakes to learn …
How to Turn Your Soon-to-Be Ex-Employer Into Your Startup’s Biggest Customer
Does your small business meet a need of your soon-to-be ex-employer? Don’t ignore this obvious opportunity. Most people want to do business with people they already know, which makes your …
In the Trenches: Business Hours Revisited
Back in April, I wrote about establishing fixed business hours, and I implemented some soon afterward. The move not only has helped to preserve my sanity, but also hasn’t hurt …
5 Tips for Influencing Shoppers with Fragrance
Despite the holiday rush, is your retail shop struggling to stay in the black? It may be time to implement an “olfactory marketing” strategy. That’s right: How your store smells …
How to Master the Elevator Pitch
“People love their businesses, but when it’s time to sell who they are and what they do, there’s a reluctance to sound too ‘salesy,’” says Terri Sjodin, founder of Sjodin …
In the Trenches: Holiday Cards and Gifts
It’s that time of year again, when businesses go through the difficult process of determining what to do about holiday cards and gifts. I always dread making this decision, because …
9 Ways for Your Small Business to Be Charitable
You’re the voice of your business. What do you want to say? “I’m all about sales and profit,” or “I want give back to my community”? Most of us would …
6 Etiquette Tips for Sending Holiday E-Cards
Want to be environmentally friendly, save some cash, or avoid a mad scramble to the post office this holiday season? E-cards have become an acceptable means of appreciating your customers …
13 Ways to Deal with a Difficult Customer
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? Some people approach conflict resolution with the goal of being as squeaky as humanly possible. Here’s how to handle this type of tough …
5 Ways to Steer Clear of False Advertising
Now that outspoken consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren has won her bid for the U.S. Senate, business leaders nationwide are anticipating increased scrutiny of their practices to make sure they’re complying …
4 Free, Easy PR Tactics for Your Small Business
Is your marketing budget tight or even nonexistent? Here are four free, easy ways to attract attention to your business without spending money. The only price you’ll pay is time. 1. …
How to Get Started with Direct Mail
Direct mail is one of the least expensive marketing tools available to small business: You can control the quantities and costs while targeting existing customers and qualified prospects with a …
24 Ways to Thank Your Customers and Employees
It’s almost Thanksgiving, but gestures of gratitude — especially those you extend to your customers and employees — should not be reserved for the month of November. Here are 24 …
Give Thanks … and Build Your Business
Shortly after she moved to Newburyport, Mass., in 2009, Erica Holthausen got a haircut at a local salon. A week later, she received a thank-you note and two $10 gift …
6 Tips for Creating Eye-Catching Window Displays
Window shopping dates back to ancient Rome, when Lucius Annaeus Seneca recommended that Roman merchants fill their windows with merchandise [PDF]. The challenge, both then and now, is to present …
