Tune Up Your Small Business

Key Principles that Work in Every Business Type

While every business and every industry is unique, every business can see success by following the same basic principles. Not only do these principles work in every business model, they often can be applied to specific, unique projects as well. Whether you are trying to open and grow a new business, build a strong customer mailing list, or close an important sale, these basic business principles can almost guarantee that any endeavor you take on to be a complete success.

Make it Simple

There are one of three things that all humans naturally are – lazy, busy, or both lazy and busy. Regardless of what category your customers fall under, there is one way you can encourage them to respond to you or your business - make it simple, simple, and more simple. This will be true for any business type, online or brick and mortar, and becomes even truer if you are trying to accomplish a goal through the Internet or smartphone app. Making it simple, easy and obvious will get you the results you’re looking for.

Keep it Short

In order to be successful with your project, you will need to be able to explain to someone what you are doing in just a few short sentences. Whether you are preparing an elevator speech or writing a headline for a press release, the fewer words you use, the better. You need to be able to explain your product or service and show its benefit in just a few short sentences. Think about the impact the following phrases have – “lose 5 pounds in 5 days,” “increase sale conversions 150%,” and “1000s of songs in your hand.” All of these phrases are 5 words or less and tell you everything you need to know just like that.

Repetition is Key

Repetition, whether it is seeing something or hearing something, is a key factor in making sure your business is recognized and remembered. How many times have you read a great article or seen an interesting photo and simply shared it with friends and family via sharing buttons on your smartphone? Every time someone shares in this manner, the piece’s originator gains more exposure. Going back to point number one, always make it easy for consumers to share your information with others.

Sell a Benefit, Not a Product

The features of your different products and services are great, but what consumers really care about is how your offerings can benefit them, fulfilling some kind of need or want. It’s all about the customer and if you can’t show the benefit, chances are you will not be selling very much. Chances are you as a business owner are in love with all your offerings and love all their features – the key here is to show consumers why they should love them too, while also keeping your messaging simple and to the point.

Always Analyze

It is very important to make sure you are reviewing the analytics of your efforts to see what is working and what isn’t – there is nothing worse in business than wasting time, money and resources on a project, product or marketing effort that is not helping to move the sales needle. Use the information you find to decide what to keep and what to cut loose. Doing this will help you focus on the areas of your business that need improvement or those that need to be cultivated to keep the success going.

Do you need help getting your own work from home opportunity off the ground? Did you know that Stacy O’Quinn was once just like you, in debt and making very little money? Today, Stacy has a six figure income and has shown dozens of entrepreneurs how they can do the same thing. If you would like Stacy to help you, click here.

*Photo Courtesy of Senselalan via Creative Commons License

Mobile Marketing for Small Business Owners

Improving Your Mobile Marketing Efforts

Using mobile marketing for
small or home businesses

As many successful business owners will tell you, marketing is an important part of growing your company. But, the problem that many small businesses face is not being able to outsource their marketing to ensure its success. Many times, owners take the marketing on themselves and become lost in the many options they now have to reach customers wherever they are. Mobile marketing is one of those tools that can make marketing easier, but doing it right is often more of an art than a science.

Mobile marketing allows businesses to reach customers directly on their smartphone or tablet device. Since these devices are much more popular these days than desktop computers or newspapers, it only make sense to hit customers up on the device they use the most. However, business owners walk a fine line between being effective and being annoying – bombarding consumers with unwanted text messages can often be a turn off so how business owners can use mobile marketing correctly?

Respect Consumers’ Privacy

Consumers are often taken aback when they receive advertising via text message, especially when they weren’t asked permission first. This is often a violation of consumers’ privacy and when they feel violated, they will often not purchase from a company. Before sending a customer any mobile marketing, make sure you ask their permission – this could be checking a box during online checkout or filling out a card at your storefront. If consumers are expecting your message, they are likely to accept it.

Keep it Short and Sweet

Text messages have a much higher open rate than email but give you only a few words to get your point across. Remember to keep your messages short and to the point – consumers are not going to want to take the time to read a text message that is multiple pages long. The beauty of mobile marketing is that it is fast and effective – the quicker a consumer can read your message, the sooner they comprehend it and the faster they run to your business to make a purchase or take advantage of a sale.

Include Special Offers

There is nothing consumers like more than having coupons and special offers sent directly to their smartphone. While mobile marketing is great for sending advertisements, it is also the perfect platform for sending consumers great deals. Consumers often don’t mind when entities like grocery stores track their purchases since they often get coupons for what they buy most – keep this same idea in mind when using your mobile marketing – great deals will bring consumers right to your door.

Integrate with Other Efforts

Mobile marketing is great but, as any marketing professional will tell you, an integrated marketing plan is much more effective than only using one channel. Make sure to use a mobile platform in conjunction with your other efforts such as social media, email and direct mail. Also, keep a close eye on the metrics of all of your marketing platforms to evaluate what is working and what isn’t – by doing this, you can tailor and advertising plan that is appealing to your target audience and will produce results.

If you would like more tips on how to make your small or home business more successful, call Stacy O’Quinn today! Stacy has helped dozens of entrepreneurs create financial freedom by teaching them the same tools he learned from Dani Johnson. For more information about Stacy and his opportunities, please click here.

Use Your Small Business Tax Refund Wisely

How Your Refund Can Drive Results

Under United States Tax Laws, small business owners have a number of opportunities to earn a significant amount of money for their tax refund. For example, small businesses that report a net loss over the tax year can carry those losses back against the previous year’s profits, helping to offset those profits and earn them a larger refund. A tax refund can be an important or necessary cash injection for a business, and using these funds properly can help to drive further success for the business owner.

What You Should Invest Your Refund In

There are a number of ways you can invest your refund to help drive results in business. Depending on what your company needs, you have the ability to use those funds to help accomplish your goals. By putting a tax refund back into the business, it becomes possible to improve the business from within – extra funding provides the opportunity to launch new products, invest in marketing, and even purchase new technology. Here are some of the best ways a small business owner can use their refund.

Upgrade Your Business Technology

As many of us know, there is an amazing number of tools available to help small business owners run their company is the most effective, efficient and profit-producing manner. No matter what industry your company operates in, chances are there is something out there that can help make your business better. Unfortunately, many small businesses have to pass up this kind of technology due to budget constraints, but a tax refund is the perfect opportunity to invest in tech that helps the business grow.

Outsource Important Projects

As mentioned earlier, a small business’s budget can often hinder owners from doing many things that can make the company better. Many small businesses do secondary tasks themselves to help keep their budget under control – some of these projects may include customer support, payroll, accounting, marketing, and deliveries. Investing your tax refund gives you the opportunity to move some of this work outside the business. Not only does this ensure professionals are managing those tasks properly, it also means your employees have more time to focus on the business and their specialized work overall.

People are an Investment Too

Your employees are your most important resource, so investing in them only makes good business sense. It is important to make sure that employees feel appreciated and supported, while also making sure they have the most up to date education to do their job to the best of their ability. A staff that feels empowered and invested in by the business owner tend to work harder and be more loyal to the company – a report from ADP shows that organizations who do not invest in their people lose over $2,000 a year per employee due to lack of work ethic or employees who are overworked.

While it is important to ensure that your business receives the largest refund possible, it is even more important to make sure those funds are invested properly. A tax refund is “extra” money that is not built into the business’s established budget – this makes your business’s tax refund the perfect avenue to use when you need to make changes or updates to help your business thrive. Investing those funds back into the business, whether it is through technology or employees, is a smart way to use that money.

If you do not have your own business yet, maybe you would like to use your personal income tax return to start your own home business. You can start part-time and branch out over time as you become more confident. If this sounds like something you would like to pursue, it may be time for you to talk to Stacy O’Quinn. To learn more about Stacy, click here.

*Photo Courtesy of Chris Potter via Creative Commons License