Apply For An Award, Competition or Contest Today
Apply for a contest or award today — there are good business reasons to do so. First, you get recognition and publicity for your business — and that’s just good marketing. On top of that, it’s good for employees. You give your team something to excite them and to rally around. Finally, awards are good strategy: being nominated and winning can set your business apart from competitors.
But remember, YOU must make it happen, by applying for awards. Don’t be shy — nominate your company. Or nominate a customer or client for an award and show them you care about THEIR success and want to honor them.
The list of awards and competitions below is brought to you by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.
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The New York Enterprise Report 2012 Small Business Awards
Enter by May 21, 2012
The New York Enterprise Report Small Business Awards is the annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of the 500,000+ small businesses throughout the tri-state area. The Small Business Awards will recognize 5 small businesses for their best practices and 3 businesses under the “Best of the Year Awards” categories.
A panel of experts in the related fields will judge all award packages. Awards will be presented to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages, revenue profits and/or long-term value. Please note the criteria and requirements listed on the awards website.
Small Business Influencer Awards 2012
Enter by July 15, 2012
The 2012 Small Business Influencer Awards are now open for nominations! The Influencer Awards honor companies, organizations, apps and people who have made a meaningful and lasting impact on the North American small business market. Impact may mean (i) providing products widely used by significant numbers of small businesses, or (ii) influencing significant numbers of small businesses by being a thought leader, or (iii) providing information or services of note to significant numbers of small businesses. Nominate here.
Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition
Enter by August 8, 2012
The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is an annual international business plan competition in Michigan. The event is the world’s largest business plan competition with more than $ 1 million in prizes. The goals of the competition are to promote Michigan as a venue for innovation and opportunity and stimulate job creation.
The New York Times Make Your Pitch Contest
Enter by August 29, 2012
Submit your pitch on video, telling about your product or service, your marketing plans, your customer base. Tell what makes your business different — why it is one to watch? Do you need capital? If so, how much and what for? Most important, how are you going to make money?
All video pitches that meet the submission guidelines will be featured on The New York Times small-business Facebook page and selected pitches will be featured on the New York Times You’re the Boss Blog.
To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar.
If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Small Business Event and Contests Form (it’s free).
Please note: The descriptions provided here are for convenience only and are NOT the official rules. ALWAYS read official rules carefully at the site holding the competition, contest or award.
From Small Business Trends
Apply For An Award, Competition or Contest Today
Ben Watson of Hootsuite: Managing Twitter Chatter
Tweet, Tweet. Who’s there? Millions of people. The power of social media is helping small businesses make great strides getting the word out about their business, products and services. But one area where it’s specifically making it’s mark is in better customer relations and service. The amount of information flowing in and out can be overwhelming. But there are organizational tools to help and today, Ben Watson, Vice President of Customer Marketing for Hootsuite, joins Brent Leary to share a solution.
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Small Business Trends: Can you tell me a little bit about what you are doing with customer marketing at Hootsuite?
Ben Watson: Customer marketing takes us down a step and says, “Who are our customers? What is the ultimate value driver for them? What is causing the turn? What is causing the update? What’s different by the different verticals we work with, and even break down the functional role?”
So in a nutshell, my team looks at the unique needs of different customer segments, identifies them, and then insures that we are creating a marketing plan to speak effectively to those people and help them to understand the messages we are putting out there.
Small Business Trends: Can you give us a little insight into how things have changed over the years?
Ben Watson: Yeah, we are bumping up to 4 million users right now. Growth continues to explode. I think what is interesting about the Hootsuite story is that, while there is a significant difference in how the enterprise, or small business, or agency would manage their social media, there’s even more difference in terms of an individual who just wants to manage profiles across multiple networks and take advantage of some basic features.
What we see at Hootsuite, when we take it up to the enterprise side, is massive growth in terms of the number of members on teams that are managing social media. Also, growth in the different organizations within the enterprise that are managing social media as well.
At the same time, we have a massive base of individual users, small agencies, and small businesses. We need to continue to focus on their needs as well. There we see, “I want to know what people are saying about me. I want an effective way to manage my inbox, and to use social media as the messaging communications platform. Also, to have an effective way of listening to the things that I am interested in. Being able to create filters based on topical areas that I am interested in, or geographical area where I am located in. Because I want to know what is the difference in the conversation locally vs. the conversation that is happening around the world.”
The bottom line is there’s a lot of consistency in terms of how people are using social media and the things they want to do. But, on an individual basis, we see a lot of different types of views. A lot of different frequency of views and a lot of different needs in terms of governance, security, and team work flow, and depth of analytics that is required to cross these different segments.
Small Business Trends: You recently came out with Hootsuite Team. Can you talk about how that addresses the need for businesses to be more strategic and more collaborative with their social engagements?
Ben Watson: One of the first things that people need to do is get organized around social media. Looking at the different functions within the teams and looking at the work flows that are going to be different by departments. Also, looking at the hand off. If something comes in from a marketing perspective and really belongs in customer support, or if somebody reaches out to express their interest in an employment opportunity, how do you insure that it is routed into human resources effectively?
Hootsuite Team was really meant to help with the first critical step that many enterprises and businesses are facing today, which is mapping my organization involved with social media into a common tool bringing everybody together in one place. Then giving them appropriate levels of control over the different social accounts, over social networks and profiles that they ultimately need to manage.
It is both an organization tool, in terms of getting my people together in one place, and it is a collaboration of work flow tool in terms of having appropriate checks and balances in place for the messages that are going to push out across us over the network. Then it is to bill shared understanding in knowledge around the impact of our works.
Small Business Trends: How difficult a challenge is that today as compared to maybe a year or to ago?
Ben Watson: The types of networks are changing. The number of networks is changing. Some real centers are forming around some of the social networks that are more established in the same place for a long time. We see first the increase in the number of people within the enterprise that focus on managing those. We also see a significant increase in terms of the number of accounts that people are actually managing. Some of our enterprise accounts are literally managing hundreds of social profiles across a myriad of networks. That added to the complexity.
I think it is more complex. At the same time, ourselves and other folks in the industry are working to make this easier. To get organized thoughout and easier to understand what the ROI looks like.
Small Business Trends: What impact do these kinds of tools have on the actual customer experience?
Ben Watson: The result on the customer experience is better interaction, better personalization. The person that I am speaking with truly understands my problems. I am, hopefully, being interactive in a more timely fashion so that my issues are resolved.
Small Business Trends: Where can people learn more?
Ben Watson: A great place to start is Hootsuite.com or follow us on Twitter @Hootsuite.
This interview is part of our One on One series of conversations with some of the most thought-provoking entrepreneurs, authors and experts in business today. This interview has been edited for publication. To hear audio of the full interview, click the right arrow on the gray player below. You can also see more interviews in our interview series.
Whether you’re growing your business or starting a new venture, BlackBerry solutions provide you with the freedom you want and the control you need. [Series sponsor]
From Small Business Trends
Ben Watson of Hootsuite: Managing Twitter Chatter
How to Pump Up the Volume on Your Online Marketing – Twitter Chat
Save the date! In honor of Small Business Week, we’re holding a Twitter chat on May 23 at 3:00 pm Eastern time, on the topic of online marketing. I am thrilled to partner again with Stephanie Chandler on this event.
We’re going to cover some of your favorite topics – from email marketing, to local listings, to online reviews, to optimizing your website, to social media, and more.
A big shout out goes to our sponsor, Yahoo! Small Business, for making it possible. This Twitter chat came about almost by accident. I recently had a chance to preview an intriguing new Marketing Dashboard from Yahoo! Stephanie and I were on the same demo. One thing led to another, and we suggested a Twitter chat.
Those of you who are regular readers know I am a HUGE fan of business dashboards – I write frequently about them. I learned the value of dashboards when I was in the corporate world, where dashboards tend to be highly customized. Most of us don’t have the resources to build customized dashboards for our own businesses, connecting with all of our business systems.
That’s why it’s great to see the growing trend of ready-to-go dashboards for small businesses. Today you can find dashboards for tracking sales, finances, or – now, with the new Yahoo! Marketing Dashboard – for online marketing. Managing your online presence and making sense of all the data you have is more important than ever, as the infographic below shows.
Twitter Chat Details – Mark Your Calendars!
When: Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at 3:00 pm Eastern time Where: On Twitter! Follow the event hashtag #YDashboard to participate
Who: Stephanie Chander (@Bizauthor) and I (@smallbiztrends) are co-hosting.
Sponsor: Yahoo! Small Business (@YSmallBusiness)
Bonus: We’ll be holding random drawings for two $ 100 AMEX gift cards. But you have to be there!
If you’re new to Twitter chats, check out Lisa Barone’s “How to Participate in a Twitter Chat.”
Click to see larger infographic
From Small Business Trends
How to Pump Up the Volume on Your Online Marketing – Twitter Chat
JPMorgan Chase-d After Risky Foreign Investments
The manner in which J. P. Morgan Chase lost more than $ 2 billion is particularly appalling. It’s even more insulting when one takes into account that risky foreign bets were made in lieu of investing in American companies.
For months, JPMorgan Chase has been one of the most difficult banks for small businesses seeking capital. My company, Biz2Credit, recently conducted an analysis of small business loan rejections. More often than not, JPMorgan Chase ranked #1 or #2 as the lender that most often denied requests for small business funding. At a time when big banks reject almost 9 of 10 funding requests, the banking behemoth was a leading naysayer.
Meanwhile, JP Morgan Chase took small business account deposits and bet big on risky investment products that led to huge losses. Embattled CEO, Jamie Dimon, says that “it could get worse” because of the company’s “errors, sloppiness, and bad judgment.”
I’ve experienced first hand the hypocrisy of how Chase treats small business owners. My company’s business credit card had an unlimited line of credit. Without cause, they capped it at $ 10,000 even though my personal and business credit rating is quite high.
Biz2Credit’s credit marketplace attracts up to 6,000 loan applications each month from small business owners, many of whom were rejected for loans and business lines of credit by Chase even though they had existing banking relationships with the firm.
Led by Dimon, JPMorgan Chase had built a stellar reputation for being great risk managers, but now the curtain has been drawn back, and the Wizard of Wall Street isn’t looking so great and powerful now. His firm took oversized bets with other people’s hard earned money and lost big time. Yet Chase frequently rejected small business funding and cut lines of credit because they were deemed “too risky.”
Does Chase really expect us to believe that derivatives and credit default swaps were considered a safer bet than American entrepreneurialism?
In its pursuit of continued big profits, Chase went to extremes to try to guard against risk. Anyone who understands how the markets work knows that this is not feasible over the long haul. You don’t take record profits without taking big risks and saying otherwise plays us all for fools.
Risk Photo via Shutterstock
From Small Business Trends
JPMorgan Chase-d After Risky Foreign Investments
JPMorgan Chase-d After Risky Foreign Investments
The manner in which J. P. Morgan Chase lost more than $ 2 billion is particularly appalling. It’s even more insulting when one takes into account that risky foreign bets were made in lieu of investing in American companies.
For months, JPMorgan Chase has been one of the most difficult banks for small businesses seeking capital. My company, Biz2Credit, recently conducted an analysis of small business loan rejections. More often than not, JPMorgan Chase ranked #1 or #2 as the lender that most often denied requests for small business funding. At a time when big banks reject almost 9 of 10 funding requests, the banking behemoth was a leading naysayer.
Meanwhile, JP Morgan Chase took small business account deposits and bet big on risky investment products that led to huge losses. Embattled CEO, Jamie Dimon, says that “it could get worse” because of the company’s “errors, sloppiness, and bad judgment.”
I’ve experienced first hand the hypocrisy of how Chase treats small business owners. My company’s business credit card had an unlimited line of credit. Without cause, they capped it at $ 10,000 even though my personal and business credit rating is quite high.
Biz2Credit’s credit marketplace attracts up to 6,000 loan applications each month from small business owners, many of whom were rejected for loans and business lines of credit by Chase even though they had existing banking relationships with the firm.
Led by Dimon, JPMorgan Chase had built a stellar reputation for being great risk managers, but now the curtain has been drawn back, and the Wizard of Wall Street isn’t looking so great and powerful now. His firm took oversized bets with other people’s hard earned money and lost big time. Yet Chase frequently rejected small business funding and cut lines of credit because they were deemed “too risky.”
Does Chase really expect us to believe that derivatives and credit default swaps were considered a safer bet than American entrepreneurialism?
In its pursuit of continued big profits, Chase went to extremes to try to guard against risk. Anyone who understands how the markets work knows that this is not feasible over the long haul. You don’t take record profits without taking big risks and saying otherwise plays us all for fools.
Risk Photo via Shutterstock
From Small Business Trends
JPMorgan Chase-d After Risky Foreign Investments
Lights, Camera, Action!
Summer’s here and I’m excited about movies!
In addition to the regular action blockbusters and goofy comedies, there’s a whole slew of sci-fi and superhero films I can’t wait to settle into with my popcorn and a box of Whoppers.
Still, as much as I’m looking forward to these films, I’m already tiring of some of the accompanying merchandising and co-branding.
Soda? OK. Toys? Sure. Lunch meat? Really?!
So one day while musing on the old “lights, camera…” phrase, the idea of modernizing that trope came out in this cartoon.
From Small Business Trends
Lights, Camera, Action!
Is Your Brand Helping Or Hurting Your Small Business? Chat Recap
Didn’t get a chance to participate in the FedEx Office Twitter chat on May 15? No worries – we have a recap of the highlights below.
The topic was branding: Is your brand helping or hurting your small business? Let’s take a look at some of the responses and comments on this topic. The Twitter handle of the person who said them, follows:
1. What exactly is a “brand”? Is it a name, a logo – or more? – @FedExOffice
A brand is the overall perception the publicgets when they think of your business. - @Smallbiztrends
A brand has many parts: name, logo, tagline,reputation, experience customers have had … and more. @Smallbiztrends
Even your business cards, packaging and signagehelp the public recognize your brand. @Smallbiztrends
It’s a combination of all. It’s the whole picture that pops in to a client’s mind when they hear a company name -@a_biro
To me, a “brand” is symbol of your business story. Logo, name, everything should refer & infer the story -@3keyscoach
When branding works well it immediately tells your story - @CASUDI
A Brand is the thoughts, feelings, and psychological relationship between a business and a customer -@paintermommy
Sum of who you are, what you do & stand for visually and viscerally. -@DeborahShane
A brand is what people say about you when you’re not around - @philsimon
2. Can your brand hold your business back? If so, how? – @FedExOffice
Yes, brand can evoke perceptions of poorquality or unprofessionalism. – @Smallbiztrends
For example, an inappropriate look (e.g., acartoonish font for a serious business) may undermine confidence. – @Smallbiztrends
Inconsistent design details are also aproblem (e.g., multiple styles in marketing materials). – @Smallbiztrends
I’ve seen logos & websites of such poor quality I couldn’t trust them. Hence, no sale. – @robert_brady
Some businesses outgrow their branding or shift biz focus – old branding might be blocking new customers - @CathyWebSavvyPR
Small biz can learn a lot from big biz – both face similar challenges in establishing a brand – dif steps but useful lesson - @ZimanaAnalytics
Wrong image can alienate potential buyers – I feel this way abt “edgy” clothing lines – some local – @janejoeyxo
3: How do you assess if your brand is helping or hurting? – @FedExOffice
Start with your biz name and logo. What do others think of when they seethem? Is name easy to spell, say?- @Smallbiztrends
Do people say they don’t know what you do? If so, consider re-naming,re-designing your logo, or adding a tagline. – @Smallbiztrends
Website analytics, how ppl look @ my biz card, types of questions/comments they make tells me if my biz is connecting - @3keyscoach
When U hear ~ I didn’t know you do that! - @CASUDI
A professional logo is simplistically memorable, practically appropriate, and conveys an intended meaning. - @TommyGuns
4. What if your name and logo do not need overhauled? What other brand elementsshould you look at? – @FedExOffice
Look at how you present your business. Areyou putting best foot forward in brochures, website, business cards, signs? – @Smallbiztrends
You have 5 to 10 seconds to make a goodimpression – as a person or as a biz. – @Smallbiztrends
Too often I see small businesses sabotagetheir own brands, and that’s a shame. – @Smallbiztrends
What about a “headline statement” such as what http://t.co/tPWyzIxR has -@DIYMarketers
Simple one… Font type! - @lvansteen
Maybe if your logo and name don’t need to change your marketing plan does… – @Apex_Biz
Customer service, without positive customer interactions your logo is nothing but a reminder of a bad experience. – @TommyGuns
5: What are some ways small businesses sabotage their own brands? – @FedExOffice
Faded signs and tattered trade show bannerswill undermine your brand, suggesting lack of pride. – @Smallbiztrends
Poor quality printed items (fuzzy graphics,cheap paper, bleeding ink) make even the best brands look bad.- @Smallbiztrends
By not marketing properly -@carnivalfanatic
Setting up auto-responders on social networks that don’t engage customers can be a bad thing – really bad…. - @BasicBlogTips
I’ll never forget early on I handed a potential client my biz card made w/ generic logo, her card had same logo - @CathyWebSavvyPR
They forget why they started their business in the first place. - @KStaib
Bad customer support smashes your brand. To have successful brand, control every aspect of doing business - @lvansteen
The right #smallbiz signage equation: simple + clean = best. Read more to see if your signs stack up: http://t.co/fjVyl66G – @FedExOffice
6: Is consistency an important element of brand? Why or why not? – @FedExOffice
Consistency is crucial. People notice if abusiness card has a new logo and the brochure has the old. – @Smallbiztrends
Also, it is easier to build brand recognitionwhen you use similar graphics throughout multiple channels. – @Smallbiztrends
Yes very important, it creates comfort for customers and trust - @marilola33
Promotes consumer confidence in your business -@GeekDad248
7: Complete this sentence: “A professional looking logo …” – @FedExOffice
A professional looking logo helps you cut through the marketing clutter and create a memorable association for your customers -@GeekDad248
8: Can you present a quality brand on a small business budget? - @FedExOffice
Yes! For marketing materials, weigh “value.” Cheap cost = good. Cheap look = bad. – @Smallbiztrends
You can get a pro look using a DIY tool, provided it’s a good tool. Find a good “partner” to execute, too. – @Smallbiztrends
Example: a brochure based on a Word templatecan look professional if printed in color on quality stock. - @Smallbiztrends
A personal touch and attention to your customer’s needs can go a long way and might not cost much - @Ileane
Choose wisely where you spend your branding dollars. Keep your customer’s response in mind @ all times - @CathyWebSavvyPR
A smile is the best thing a business can offer me, costs nothing but makes my day - @TommyGuns
9: What is the biggest mistake to avoid when presenting your brand? – @FedExOffice
Mistake: presenting your brand in anyway that you would feel compelled to apologize about. – @Smallbiztrends
You can hardly focus on sales if the next breath has you apologizing for yourwebsite or outdated business cards! – @Smallbiztrends
Too cluttered. Too many words - @janejoeyxo
Overspending on marketing, making outlandish claims, using negative pressure tactics to gain business – @itmaiden
10: What are your two best tips for presenting a small business brand professionally? – @FedExOffice
Tip 1: spring for a professionally designedlogo. You will have it for years. Get the best you can afford. – @Smallbiztrends
Tip 2: quality materials count! People are tactile. We feel a business card’sweight, or a mailer’s gloss. – @Smallbiztrends
Acknowledge the value of the relationship with your customer, say thank you and don’t be afraid to ask for testimonials - @Ileane
Make sure your branding showcases what you/yr product can do best for yr customers, and is memorable - @CathyWebSavvyPR
Attending marketing events helped me a lot – ones sponsored by prof org -@janejoeyxo
2 tips to present a smallbiz brand professionally: (1) set clear expectations; (2) Underpromise, but overdeliver. - @crowdSPRING
This Twitter chat was part of the FedEx Office® Our Office Is Your Office Tweet Chat Series
Note: to make the recap easier to read, tweets above have been edited to remove redundant information, such as hashtags and answer numbers, and fix obvious misspellings. Tweets may be slightly out of order, for better readability. The above represents only a small portion of the tweets — it is intended to cover key highlights for reader convenience. Go here for a transcript of the chat.
Disclosure: FedEx Office compensated me to participate as a small business expert during the FedEx Office Our Office Is Your Office Tweet Chat program. The ideas in this blog post are mine and not ideas or advice from FedEx Office.
From Small Business Trends
Is Your Brand Helping Or Hurting Your Small Business? Chat Recap
Small Business Owners And The Estimated Tax Payment
For new small business owners, meeting your tax obligations is a big adjustment – particularly when you’ve been used to having an employer take out income tax withholdings with each paycheck. When you have your own business though, tax time isn’t just once a year; rather you have to make estimated tax payments throughout the year.
If you’re not sure if you need to pay estimated taxes for your business, read on to learn more about small business estimated tax payments:
What are estimated tax payments?
Individuals and businesses are required to pay taxes over the course of the year, and not just at “tax time.” If you’re working for an employer, your employer most likely withholds these taxes for you throughout the year. When you’re self-employed or own a business, you’ll be expected to make these tax payments to the IRS and state on your own.
Who has to pay estimated tax payments?
The rules for estimated tax payments vary based on business type:
- For sole proprietors, partnerships, S Corporation shareholders, single member LLCs who elect to be taxed as a sole prop or an S corporation, or multi-member LLCs who elect to be taxed as a partnership or an S corporation: If you expect to owe $ 1,000 or more in taxes when you file your income tax return, you most likely will need to make estimated tax payments to the federal government (and potentially your state government too). There’s one exception: if your witholdings and tax credits add up to as least as much as your prior year’s tax, you do not need to made a federal estimated tax payment.
- For C Corporations and multi-member LLCs who elect to be taxed as a C Corporation: If you own a Corporation, you will need to make estimated tax payments if you expect to owe $ 500 or more with your tax filing.
When are payments due?
Estimated tax payments are divided into four payment periods throughout the year:
- April 15th
- June 15th
- September 15th
- January 15th
If your business is a Corporation, your estimated taxes are due on the fifteenth day of the 4th, 6th, 9th, and 12th month after the end of your company’s fiscal year.
Once you’re in the system, the IRS will send you estimated payment vouchers at the end of each tax year. However, whether you receive these payment vouchers or not, it is your responsibility to make payments for both the Federal and State taxes.
How to Pay
If you’re filing as a self-employed individual or disregarded entity (i.e. single-member LLC, partnership, or S Corp shareholder), you should complete Form 1040-ES. This form contains blank vouchers for mailing your estimated tax payments. You can also make your payments using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). For your state payment, you have to search online for the appropriate form, complete it and send it in with your payment.
Corporations must submit their payments using EFTPS, or can arrange for a tax professional, financial institution, payroll service, or other trusted third party to make deposits on their behalf.
How much should you pay?
- For self-employed individuals and disregarded entities (i.e. single-member LLCs, partnerships, and S Corp shareholders), the IRS recommends using Form 1040-ES to calculate your individual estimated tax payments.
- Corporations should use the Worksheet on Form 1120-W to calculate estimated tax payments.
Alternatively, if you expect the current year’s earnings to be relatively similar to last year, you can use last year’s tax return to calculate your estimated payments. Or if you experience fluctuating income, you can choose to calculate your estimated taxes based on the actual amount you made that quarter.
You don’t need to show the IRS how you arrived at your estimated sum. However, it’s in your best interest to reach as accurate a figure as possible. Paying too little can result in an unfortunate surprise when it’s time to file your annual taxes, in addition to potential penalties for underpayment. Conversely, by paying too much, you’ve essentially taken money out of your business and you could have invested that money for a higher return.
If you’re unsure about your estimated tax obligations, it’s wise to consult a tax specialist who can advise you on the best calculation method for your business and how to properly track and record your earnings and deductions. Just remember the more time you invest in your estimated tax payments, the easier your life will be come tax time.
Piggy Bank Photo via Shutterstock
From Small Business Trends
Small Business Owners And The Estimated Tax Payment
New Shopping Habits: When Your Clients Go Mobile
How do you know that you’re making the right move? As a small business owner you’re always evaluating and deciding, watching and then doing, discovering and then digging in. You’re a shopper.
Every piece of software, office equipment and service that you purchase for your business is a shopping experience:
- How did you find the item or the service?
- What did you compare it to?
You have a certain type of shopper’s behavior — the same is true for your potential clients.
The question is: What are their shopping habits and how can you become a more integral part of it? When making the most of your clients shopping experience here are two new behaviors to consider.
#1: Quick Mobile Searches
As long as the mobile internet connection is strong, then it’s nothing to whip out that smart phone and run a quick online search for the item you’re interested in. I do it often, especially when I’m out with family, clients, or friends (that’s just about everybody). While they talk to the sales associate, I search and discover other locations and prices for the same item. Of course, price isn’t the only factor (and often times its not even the primary one) in a purchase (customer experience goes a long way).
But here’s the deal: as we put our cell phones to greater use, your mobile web presence becomes more important to your business.
Can shoppers discover the right kind of information about you on the spot (i.e. location, reviews, price range, hours of operation)? Do you have a web presence and is it mobile friendly?
#2: App Savvy Clients
In “5 Internet Marketing Predictions for 2012” Susan Payton laments about our inability (in the U.S.) to use our “phones to pay for things.” Since mobile spending is fun when you can find the right app, I understand her complaint (and I’m excited about her prediction that there will be “more effective apps in 2012”).
One of my favorites, so far, is the Starbucks app (new to me). It tracks your gift card money, so no matter how many cards you receive for your birthday they’re all logged into the same place (once you set it up).
It also tracks your purchases (as long as you use the app or the gift card to pay). It gives you points and rewards (like free soy milk, free refills on certain drinks) that’ll keep you coming back for more. It’s a smart and fun little app. I like it so much that I found myself at the grocery story trying to pay with my cell phone (didn’t work).
The Exceptions May Be Your Clients
It’s true that everybody doesn’t have or even like Androids, iPhones and Blackberries — I know some people who still prefer a simple flip phone. So before you go out and spend money on designing an app for your company, check your market.
- Who do you serve?
- How do they usually find you?
- And how do they find other businesses and services similar to you?
If they are heavy smartphone users, then it’s time to set up that mobile friendly website and start brainstorming about that app; of course, it has to smart, easy to use and fun or it’ll just get lost somewhere on your phone (you know that place where glitchy apps go to die).
The Point
Internet connections for cell phones are stronger. Shoppers are mobile and more tech savvy. Is your web presence in front of this trend? Behind it? Or Missing in action?
Mobile Device shopping Photo via Shutterstock
From Small Business Trends
New Shopping Habits: When Your Clients Go Mobile
New Bulk Listing Management Tool From Google Places
Businesses with multiple locations should be breathing a heavy sigh of relief now that Google has introduced a new and improved bulk listing management tool designed to make the whole process easier and faster for business owners.
Google revealed several new changes last week which have been implemented to help SMBs and enable the follow actions:
- Edit one or more of your listings’ data at once
- Search through your listings, filtering by specific information or for listings with errors
- Upload new listings using a data file or by adding them individually within the interface
- Tell us how we can improve this new interface by clicking the “Give Feedback” link
Google has also uploaded two tutorial videos to walk both new and verified users through the process.
Tutorial for new, unverified users
Tutorial for Verified Users
If you’ve visited your Google Places dashboard recently, you may have already noticed that it went through a makeover. Personally, I find the updated dashboard considerably more user-friendly and intuitive. I especially like how easy it is to find listings with errors. The easier it is to spot errors, the easier it is to fix them!
If you’re a business owner with 10 or more locations and you’ve been avoiding uploading and/or correcting your information on Google Places because it was too much of a hassle or you weren’t sure where to start, these new upgrades and the accompanying videos help remove both of those obstacles.
We’ve said this many times but taking the time to ensure that all of your online business listings are claimed and showing correct information is one of the most powerful things you can do to build your Web presence and your offline customer base. Nearly 20 percent of all Google searches are users accessing Google Place Pages – that adds up to millions of searches a day! If a user can’t find you or it looks like your information is incorrect, they’re not going to keep trying. It’s going to deter them away for your business and push them toward your competitor. This isn’t something you can afford.
The release of this new tool from Google is a good reminder of how important it is to claim and optimize all of your business listings. If you haven’t checked to make sure they’re accurate, use today to do it.
Consider it a little Spring cleaning as you:
- Claim your Google Place listing (and all other online business listings)
- Make sure the information is as accurate as possible and that it’s consistent with what else is out there about you on the Web. It’s vitally important that you align all of your listings and allow them to work FOR you and show your relevance.
- If you have already claimed your Google Place listing, work on optimizing it. Add some new Google business photos/videos. Update your keywords. Start thinking up new ways to build reviews or point people to your page. Don’t leave it static.
The updated Google Maps Bulk Listing management tool is great for businesses for with 10 or more locations, but even if that’s not you, it’s also an important reminder that these listings matter and that Google is looking at them hard to determine relevance and search placement. If it’s been awhile since you’ve optimized your Google Place listings, give it another look. It could be the difference between showing up and being invisible to your audience.
From Small Business Trends
New Bulk Listing Management Tool From Google Places
