For most businesses, it’s not enough to make a sale or sign a customer – you want happy customers, repeat customers who will gladly return for more. Whether you’re selling a product or a service, keeping your customers satisfied is a key part of a sustainable business model. Finding creative ways to show your customers you really appreciate their business – going beyond a simple “Thank you” email – is a smart investment for several reasons: Word of mouth is often more valuable than professional advertising, marketing, and PR – people trust their networks more than companies. Giving your customers…

Twenty years ago, having an office meant being surrounded by paperwork. In the pre-Internet days, there was simply no way around it: no matter what line of work you were in, every aspect of daily operations (from invoicing to project management to document creation) left an enormous paper trail. Luckily, that is no longer necessary today. Using the free/low-cost Internet tools below, modern businesses can, if they choose, run a completely paperless office: Google Docs America’s offices are flooded with hard copies of documents that rarely (or never) looked at on a daily basis. Whether in filing cabinets, stuffed in…

This episode is about my favorite way to build traffic and get leads – Blogging! https://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SEO.mp3

I’ve been reading a lot lately concerning networking. The general discussion has been the effectiveness of the endeavour. The interesting thing for me, was that it was generally seen as a one or the other scenario. It seems that most people from the off-line camp network through organized groups or events and on-line people network through social media. But neither crosses the road to the other side. I don’t understand the logic in this. I absolutely use both. One compliments the other. Locally, my audience is very much aware of my online presence. My brand is consistent across both channels.…

My general feeling is that you can do business one of two ways: You can either let the economy happen to you, or you make your own economy and capture opportunities. I choose the latter. The last three years have been very good for me. And this year is looking positive already. At the end of last year, I sat down and forged my goals for this coming year. I earmarked two items: earn more consulting business and to harness more paid speaking engagements. If my intention was to let the economy happen to me, then my strategy would be…

When people talk about social media, sites like Facebook and Twitter they often talk about return on investment and monetizing it. If I told you I invested 3 hours a week and got a significant return would you believe me? Would you believe me if I told you I was a brick and mortar business and not a social media business? As a small regional courier company, based in the UK I work in a county that is smaller in size than Brooklyn, New York. In fact someone told me once the whole UK could fit into New York state…

Trade shows are often times a necessity for many industries, but can be a daunting task to plan and implement. The upside to doing a trade show is that it is the most cost effective approach to market to a huge crowd. There are many social media and viral efforts for marketing, but trades shows are the only face-to-face marketing today. If you market wisely, trade shows can bring hundreds of motivated potential customers to you. Unfortunately, many exhibitors don’t make the most of their trade show participation because they don’t adhere to these simple rules: Consult an exhibit or…

People have been wanting to process credit card payments on the go for years. I still remember the applications and hardware that you have to have before. As with anything, new technology makes it lighter and easier than ever. Take Square for example. It is a small little card reader that you plug into your phone or iPad. When you sign up for an account with Square,  you will get the card reader free in the mail. Then you can start processing payments. There are no monthly contracts or fees or merchant account involved. They do take a cut out…

Summer is a great time to look for interns to fulfill painstaking duties that have been put on the backburner or just to have assistance to get you above all the paper. Many students are looking to make money and could use the extra credit that goes toward their degree. Hiring interns, however is not one of the most thought provoking ideas for many entrepreneurs. Interns are hired much the same as any other employee with two major exceptions to the rule. First, major training is necessary because of the intern’s inexperience. Second, the hard work of training goes into…

If you want to invest money in a new business, then chuck those overburdened checking accounts, piggy banks, change purses, mini-safes, and spare mattresses into the fireplace and look no further than your nearest banking institution, friend, or investment firm. Loans are a low-risk endeavor when compared to taking money out of your house or personal savings to front a business venture that has the potential to fail — and leaving you and your finances hanging out to dry. With a loan, you can ensure that your business has everything it needs to thrive while not worrying about your own…