By Listening To Your Customers Innovation is what keeps new businesses alive, fresh, and ahead of your competition. If you aren’t periodically adding new products and services to your line then customers may run out of reasons to be customers. Keep them invigorated and excited about doing business with you by developing new products and services, here’s how: Listen To Your Market Your customers are likely sharing information and stories with you. Take the time to actually listen to them. You’ll be surprised what they have to say and how that information can be used to create new products and…

While I do know a few business owners who are absolutely religious about tracking their business’ performance, most small business owners tend to use the gut check method of monitoring the health of their business. I get it. Numbers aren’t fun or sexy. They aren’t interacting with the customers, creating new product offerings or coaching the employees. But, without an understanding of the numbers – those opportunities go away pretty quickly. Think of it this way. If you were going to build a house, how would you know how much lumber to buy if you didn’t have a blueprint? Before…

When you want to get your message in front of a target audience, you’ve got to be creative in your approach. During the last week, I was planning on attending an industry organization’s annual general meeting with my wife, Rose – who works in this industry. It was her first time taking part in such an event and she wanted me to accompany her. I pondered as to how I might leverage some business leads while attending and what immediately intrigued me was that during the day’s events was a two-hour window where companies could display their services to attendees…

After spending years working hard for someone else, you feel that now is the perfect time to forge out on your own and benefit directly from your business experience. Here at Small Business Branding you will find a lot of good sound advice on building a successful business. My contribution to the mix is typically brand issues that I feel you should pay close attention to. The simple fact is we all have a brand whether we want one or not. Now – you can either work hard to develop and nurture a powerful brand, or you can do very…

Branding, like anything worthwhile, takes time. Nike didn’t become who they are overnight and neither did any other large corporation. It takes time for many reasons. Branding is part of a larger marketing process. Branding has many aspects to it including company personality, logo, mission statement and all of the intricate features of a comprehensive marketing plan. Because branding is an ongoing process and because it is interwoven with a company’s marketing strategy it is absolutely in your best interests to take is slow when becoming the owner of an already existing business. Here are a few considerations when becoming…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Popular Web Business Purchased By Entrepreneur Contact: Vera Raposo Company: Small Business Branding Address: 63-816-Peace Portal Drive, Blaine, WA 98230 Phone: 778-240-6578 Email: [email protected] URL: https://www.smallbusinessbranding.com VANCOUVER, BC — DATE – Small Business Branding, a site aimed at those interested in marketing and building small business, announced it’s under new ownership. Vera Raposo, long time brick and mortar business owner turned internet entrpreneur purchased the popular site from Yaro Starak for an undisclosed amount. “I’m thrilled to be a part of the Small Business Branding website community. We are poised to be the central resource for small…

Branding comes in many shapes and sizes and the internet has opened up an entirely new set of tools in a business owners branding and marketing toolbox. One of the most powerful forms of branding, particularly if you’re a small business, is what is called personality branding. A small business owner’s most powerful branding tool is their personality which will also be interpreted by customers and prospects as the business personality. Since I’ve taken over this site from Yaro, you will come to see that I’m definitely a different person. I have different experiences in life, different ideas, and so…

I recently attending a breakfast discussion at the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor. It was facilitated by Dr. Fritz Rieger. The subject being discussed was how to anticipate the outcome of two companies joining forces, through Acculturation – a model of cultural adaption. He essentially outlines four directions the corporate cultures would go. First of all they would either assimilate completely into the new culture or the opposite, separate themselves and the stronger entity would continue their home culture. The other two directions are the softening of the model and probably the more desirable positions. They…

Passion is one of those potentially arbitrary words that is difficult to define. Passion, as defined by the dictionary, is “a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.” Having passion for your business is critical to your success. Why? Without passion and enjoyment for your business you won’t be motivated to make it the best company it can be. Sadly your customers will get very bored of you and what you have to offer. Without passion and joy for the work that you do, it’ll show in your company’s personality and have a direct…

One of the most intoxicating aspects of the Internet is the power and reach it extends to even the smallest businesses. For this article I was inspired by Yaro’s post Using The Internet To Grow Your Business. He makes a very good point when he says… “There is no good excuse for not initiating some form of online marketing. Even simply having a website listing your contact details is a start and should be leveraged using other marketing methods, such as including your web address on business cards, letter heads and brochures.” Just ensuring that you have a professional presence…