Selling A Brand By Using The Right Branding Statement

StorytellingBrands have evolved to become both the identity of the product that you wish to sell and the essence of what your customers want to buy. A brand is not simply a product offering; in fact, it signifies quality, service, and reliability. A solid brand has a story to tell of its own, one that makes its captive audience loyal to it forever. What all great brands have in common is an amazing story and a unifying statement that tells customers everything they need to know about it. When a customer hears that statement, they will know exactly what the brand will do for them. Continue reading “Selling A Brand By Using The Right Branding Statement”

Public Relations: A Necessary Tool in Your Marketing Kit

Interviewing businessman or politician, press conferencePublic relations, by it’s most basic and simplistic definition, is using media contacts and exposure to make a person or business famous. It’s an important facet of any marketing strategy, and is, unfortunately, also one of the least practiced and understood.

So, what are public relations? Well, it’s basically an effort to influence the public or target demographic in some way. This could mean drafting a press release, pitching media or coordinating media outreach for an event.

The key to an effective PR campaign is understanding what IS a story and what is not a story. This can be a tricky task if you have no experience working with media. But there are a few guidelines that, if followed, may help you better how to navigate these muddy waters. Continue reading “Public Relations: A Necessary Tool in Your Marketing Kit”

Helpful Strategies to Meaningfully Increase Sales at Your Store

Conversion Rate Optimization ToolStarting a business is the easiest thing that you can do. Running it successfully is the hard part. If you are business minded and have the finances to support the opening and execution of a business plan, you are well-positioned to set your business up for future success. The hard part, however, is consistently increasing sales and making sure that your customers return to you for their particular needs.

Moreover, when it comes to sales, the success of a business isn’t only about increasing them. You want to benefit from a rise in profits – after all, an increase in sales is meaningless if you aren’t actually generating money after your expenses are taken into consideration. Do you want to know how to increase sales? The following tips in this article will help you get started on the path to greater profitability. Continue reading “Helpful Strategies to Meaningfully Increase Sales at Your Store”

Top Three Advantages of Video-Conferencing

Businessman video confrencing with colleguesThe business world thrives off of communication. In many instances, the failure of a business can be traced back to a lack of communication between its different divisions, and an inability to execute its mission effectively. Businesses, small or big, need to find an effective option when it comes to communicating with different levels of management. A popular format that many businesses are turning to is video-conferencing.

Video conferencing has been a staple of the corporate since the 1980s, and its use has slowly perfused into the small business across America. If you are convinced that video-conferencing is right for you, the reasons below will help persuade you to make the switch. Continue reading “Top Three Advantages of Video-Conferencing”

Common Cash Flow Problems and How to Remedy Them

Past due billsAre you experiencing troubles with maintaining consistent cash flow in your business? If you are, you may find that you can’t pay your bills on time, and expenses are fast getting out of hand. Cash flow problems plague every small business owner at one point or another – it’s natural to go through the occasional rough patch. However, that doesn’t mean that these rough spots can’t leave lasting damage to your finances. To avoid letting these problems ruin you, here are few ways of improving your net cash flow.

Accept Credit Cards From Customers

You do not have to be a retailer to accept credit cards. Many small business owners make this mistake, and it can potentially cost you a lot of business. Consumers use credit cards to make a variety of purchases, and a lot of them don’t carry cash on them. When they use a credit card to pay for things, you will typically get the money in two to three days. While this can seem like a bit of drag at first, it will quickly remedy itself as the cash flows from these transactions pour in. Continue reading “Common Cash Flow Problems and How to Remedy Them”

Which Key Elements Are Present in Every Small Business Success Story

People at a party talking to eachotherIt is the dream of most entrepreneurs to hear that their business has become the “next big thing” in the eyes of its customers. For most business owners, this is the single driving force behind everything that they do. All of the long work weeks, sleepless nights, stress-filled days, and agonizing decision-making are to make their dream become reality.

Unfortunately, reality does not typically work like that. In order to have your very own small business success story, one must put in a lot of effort, time, hard work, and dedication. However, you need to do so much more than that. A common element in small business success stories is that the owners did more than just put in long workweeks. There are key elements which play a very important role in helping one achieve their very own success story, and you would be doing yourself a disservice by disregarding them. Continue reading “Which Key Elements Are Present in Every Small Business Success Story”

Fostering a Positive Business Image and Culture

Humor at the meetingHow you conduct yourself in the business world has real-world ramifications on how potential customers perceive you. Large corporations collectively spend billions of dollars curating an image that encourages people to spend their hard-earned money on what they’re selling. With the emergence of social media over the past twenty years, even local and independent businesses take advantage of the exposure they get. While you can put out slick ads and videos to raise awareness of your brand, ultimately the way you conduct yourself and the values you embrace will be the deciding factor for many people. Continue reading “Fostering a Positive Business Image and Culture”

What My Customers Have Taught Me

Kent BoehmOver the years I have had the pleasure of coaching and teaching many businesses throughout Calgary and Western Canada how to get the best results possible. What some of you don’t know is that my clients also teach me every day. I have learned that you should:

  1. Do Business as Often as Possible with Your Customers

Although this sounds like a given, it is frequently forgotten. I have met dozens of business owners who want to grow sales, yet never invite past customers back or track the frequency of the business they have done with their past customers. Save time and money by tapping into the network you have already established. Continue reading “What My Customers Have Taught Me”

6 Ways to Persuade Your Audience to Buy

Buy NowWhen appearing on radio or television, it’s vital that you maximize the opportunity to connect with your target market. The following are six ways to engage your audience in a meaningful way: Continue reading “6 Ways to Persuade Your Audience to Buy”