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Cavanaugh Interactive

We help you untangle the web

Small Business

Are you ready for some business?

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Growth chart

The 2017 economic forecast for small businesses is bright. According to the National Federation of Independent Business, optimism levels after the election of Donald Trump rose to heights not seen in nearly a year. Two factors shaping this attitude are promises of tax reform and government deregulation. The result? More entrepreneurial startups and small business expansion.

That’s the good news. The bad news is your business might not be ready to grow.

Are you insured for growth?

Planning an online marketing campaign soon? Then you’ll need an “insurance policy” beforehand to make sure it rolls out smoothly.

  • Get your website updated. Your website is your hub in the digital universe. It’s the only online territory you truly own. But without regular checkups, you’re tempting disaster. Do you have a WordPress site? Today, more than 30% of all websites are WordPress-based and require updates to ensure security. Is it older than 2-3 years? Without certain precautions, it can be hacked to deploy pornographic spam, illicit drug sales, and hidden links to disreputable sites. Not to mention wiping out your software and files. That’s bad enough! If Google finds out, your domain and host server will be blacklisted and site visibility plunge to zero. I have experience in site recovery and prefer to work on making sure my clients’ sites are protected in advance.
  • Make sure your site is mobile-responsive. Did you know that more than 50% of visitors are using mobile devices (tablets, smartphones) to access websites? If your site lacks responsiveness, chances are those visitors won’t come back.
  • Update your mailing lists. If you have a MailChimp or Constant Contact account, make sure your lists are current. You can either edit online or download a csv file. If you have a MailChimp plug-in for WordPress, make sure that sign-ups are imported into the correct list.
  • Plan to create a landing page for each promotion; i.e., a page specifically developed to capture business as part of that campaign. Hint: It’s usually not part of site navigation because it’s devoted to one purpose only.
  • Automate sales. There’s a boom coming for businesses willing to adopt ecommerce. Customers prefer to buy online and this is a huge opportunity for any small business willing to sell via their website.
  • Monitor site traffic. Is your site connected to Google Analytics? If you launch a campaign, you need to check site traffic to monitor target audiences, pages visited—any data you need to learn the campaign is working. Otherwise, how can you be sure how many qualified leads are coming from your campaign?
  • Monitor keywords. Did you know you can monitor the ongoing success of keyword phrases used on your website? Google offers a Search Console that connects with Yoast, a popular WordPress plug-in, to keep you up to date on popular keywords and site indexing.

Need reassurance? Ask me for a website analysis. Call 414.771.8906 or email nancy@cavanaughinteractive.biz. If it’s a WordPress site, all I need is your log-in credentials.

Get some peace of mind about how to proceed with your growth plans. I’m here to help with suggestions and answer your questions.

Mid-winter sales slump? 10 tips to increase revenue

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What to do if sales slump?On Jan. 29, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce reported the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of 2015. It plummeted to an abysmal 0.7 percent—down from 2.0 percent for the third quarter.

It’s the dead of winter, folks, and times are tough. The weather’s bitter cold and consumers aren’t spending any of that money saved from lower gasoline prices.

How will your business survive?

Following are 10 tips to kick start sales:

1. Remember the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of your sales come from 20 percent of your customers. Concentrate on pleasing them; i.e., cross sell and upsell to customers who already know and trust your brand. By catering to your best customers, you will convert them into “brand ambassadors” who love your products and services so much they will tell everyone about you. That should enhance your exclusivity as a preferred provider and creates a positive vibe about you.

2. Raise your prices. The easiest way to increase revenue is to raise your prices. Your best customers won’t care. Your worst customers will disappear—which might actually help you concentrate on who you really want to sell to.

3. Target your niche markets. Analyze who they are, how they think, and what you need to do to please them. Ask yourself: What resonates most strongly with your target markets?

  • Customer service
  • Exclusivity
  • Guarantee
  • Quality
  • Unique feature
  • Price

4. Include an offer every time you connect with target markets. They need to feel special and must be convinced that you understand their needs and are eager to take care of them.

5. Update your customer mailing list and use it to follow up. Consider how they prefer to keep in touch. Are they comfortable receiving an email newsletter? Are they heavy social media users? Discover where your customers are and then create a plan for keeping your brand visible on a regular basis.

6. Make special, limited-time offers and create a sense of urgency. If buyers resist purchasing, then make them an offer they can’t refuse. Be sure to track increased sales volume. What products generate the best results? The worst? Keep testing and adjusting. And don’t forget to set deadlines.

7. Minimize risk. Many prospects get as far as the shopping cart, but back out because they have a question. Make it easy to communicate and accommodate any hesitation. Doing something simple like including your email address or phone number on your shopping cart page will help close sales.

8. Use testimonials. One of the most powerful marketing strategies is including testimonials from satisfied customers. Use them often; use them everywhere (websites, ads, brochures, business cards—you name it!).

9. Network with local business “butterflies.” It never hurts to attend professional events sponsored by the local chamber of commerce, Better Business Bureau, or other business associations. Find out about upcoming business trade shows and their schedules of events. Attending shows, conferences, and seminars provides a chance to mingle and network. Important people like to deal with other important people. Act professional and don’t be overtly aggressive in trying to sell them.

10. Listen—don’t talk. You won’t learn much by talking. You need to understand what customers and prospects are thinking—their motivations, concerns, and even emotions—to satisfy their needs.

Do you have any tactics to generate revenue? I’d love to hear from you and share them with other business owners.

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” – Peter Drucker

 

Five tips for managing your small business

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Many small business owners start with an idea. They are convinced they have a solution and can build a profitable niche for their idea.

American business has thrived on the belief that an entrepreneur can succeed through hard work and dedication. Historically, if the business could last for at least five years, then chances are good that it will survive and grow.

In the long run, those same business people come to realize there are inherent obstacles that might derail priorities and cause their business—as well as themselves—to suffer.

It’s easy for distractions, disruptions, and day-to-day troubleshooting to prevent the business owner from staying on track. But here’s a tip: If you already keep close track of your time, then you’ll learn a lot by simply analyzing your activities for at least the past month. (If you don’t, try recording a diary for that same period.)

Here five tips that outline what you should be doing on a regular basis:

  • Strategizing and goal-setting. You need to spend time evaluating how your business goals are coming along. There should already be a written plan with goals that are measurable. They should be attainable (not pie in the sky), relevant, and time-bound. If you don’t have a written plan, begin by writing down basic goals like number of sales per month, expected revenue per month, number of prospects reached, sales closures. Many of these expectations may already be in your head. Put them on paper and you’ll begin to expand each into practical strategies for achieving them. Remember, you should be working on your business—not in your business. This activity is top priority and unfortunately the one most often postponed or ignored.
  • Managing. Often small business owners find themselves balancing sales and marketing with paid client work; finance and product development with the search for financing; accounts receivable with business development. A small business owner needs to be proactive—about these areas of concern. If you’re tracking your time, classify each entry by the nature of the activity to find these imbalances. Then discover solutions to regain your balance.
  • Marketing. With a limited marketing budget, it’s hard for a small business to reach new clients. Even with the many forms of free marketing available on the Internet (social networking, blogs, company websites), you still need to spend time planning and executing. I try to spend one day per week working on marketing, reviewing the overall plan and progress to date. I look for new opportunities. I stay on my toes.
  • Access to new technology. Although it’s true that often a small business doesn’t have the financial resources to take advantage of new technology, that’s no excuse for hiding from it. I know of larger, well-established companies that are decades behind technologically. They may have been aware of change, but upgrades were postponed to the point where their ability to compete today has been compromised. Don’t go down that road. It leads to extinction. A small business is more flexible, more nimble, and there are solutions that fit their needs, too.
  • Learning. If you’re passionate about your business, it’s only natural to keep up with industry trends. Likewise, touching base with your LinkedIn connections or your favorite influencers is good networking. If you like old-fashioned, face-to-face meetings, remember that people are working harder these days and are careful about screening the business events they attend. You can still do reconnaissance and networking very effectively, thanks to social media. And remember: There’s still that instrument on your desk called a telephone you can always use.

Reviewing your daily activities on a regular basis can make a big difference to your success as a business owner. At the end of the day, you will make better use of your time as well as increase your overall productivity.