I want to share an article I wrote for LinkedIn recently that tells a story from my first professional job as a newspaper reporter. Back in 1981, I was hired by a small weekly paper, where I learned the real business of being a reporter. I hope you enjoy it:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/front-page-takes-care-itself-kim-deppe

Many small businesses are struggling in the era of COVID-19, and site or cart abandonment doesn’t help your bottom line. If you’re getting lots of looks but nobody is clicking that “confirm purchase” button, it may be time to reach out in a new way.

Turn a Browse Into a Sale

The world of online shopping has a few behemoths and many more small players. If your small business is struggling to build a healthy online presence, you may have to get information out to shoppers in a different format. For example, you can turn a site abandonment into a Completed Purchase by targeting prospects with a direct-mail coupon, free shipping offer, or another promo.

If your online store sells apparel and accessories, consider sending out a direct mailer that offers a free scarf or pocket square with the purchase of a cardigan or shirt. For those who sell kitchen tools, offer a free tablet stand with a minimum purchase. Free shipping has become something of a given, but perhaps you could offer a standard shipping upgrade with an overnight upgrade for a minimum purchase amount.

What Stops Shoppers

Many shoppers are on pretty tight budgets these days, and the uncertainty of our collective future has many people sealing up their wallets pretty tight. To avoid this crunch, make the checkout process as easy as possible. If a shopper has items in their cart, offer them a discount via pop-up for completing their account set-up. Such a discount would not only make sure that you capture their information regardless of sale at this point, but their next check-in and purchase will be simpler.

The act of having to go and get their wallet or credit card information can be the point at which a shopper abandons their cart. By taking away this need to act on that step, you make buying easier.

Be Upfront About Fees

If you’re offering free shipping over a particular dollar amount, place that on every email and banner on your site. Be honest about your handling charges and the reason for them, such as a packaging charge. Hidden fees that show up on the last screen before checkout are the fastest way to sour a potential deal and damage a relationship with a potential customer. Not only won’t they buy this time, but they may not come back.

Promote Your Size

If there are fees that you must include for your bottom line, such as a crating charge for a piece of handcrafted art, explain why. If you do blown-glass Christmas ornaments and need to package them in spray foam, let people know that there is an unavoidable shipping charge. Invite them into your brick and mortar store with a promotional mailer.

While you’re promoting your size, don’t scrimp on photography or your website design. Getting someone in to take world-class photos of your one of a kind pieces will make your packaging fees or whatever extra charges you have to add to your selling process completely worth it. You’re not just promoting a small business; you’re promoting the sale of a one of a kind item that can be enjoyed only in their home.

Do Video Very Well

Unless you’re offering classes to the general public, be careful with DIY video promotions or how-to tutorials on YouTube. First of all, videos can go viral for all the wrong reasons, and unless you’ve got the help of a skilled videographer, rough video promotion can actually work against you. Even a video commercial can draw the wrong attention in our “gotcha” culture.

Put your focus on the tasks you can most easily manage that take little time and are easily repeatable. One video will take a lot of time, and even then the results may not be as good as you want. A single photoshoot of your product, your store, and your people can give you promotional material that can be used over and over again. If you really want video, put in the time and hire an expert to help.

The pandemic has forced many of us to change how we work and do business. Current indicators are that a return to “normal” is unlikely. To get your products in front of the public and complete the sale will take creativity and focus. Be ready to share your story as a small business owner.

Guest Post by Amy Sloane, freelance writer. Reach her at AmySloaneWriter@gmail.com

As a small business owner you have lots of responsibility. I get it. I own a small business myself. If you are like me, there is a good chance you wear more than one hat – from Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operating Officer (COO) to Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). That’s a lot of hats for just one head. Naturally, as the CEO and CFO budget and profitability top the list of your business concerns. But trust me, to truly achieve success, you can’t neglect your CMO responsibilities.

Here are a few small business marketing tips I’ve implemented that have helped me and my clients focus on promoting our businesses in a way that is budget-friendly, productive and profitable. And by the way, this applies to Nonprofit Agencies just the same.

Tell your own UNIQUE brand story:

Telling a brand story is like telling your life story. It should be emotional, relatable, and authentic reflecting what your brand represents.  This is your chance to share why you are a small business owner, what your business can do for your customer and what your business stands for. Your story should engage your customers and draw them in making them feel part of your brand.

Create the right content:

You have heard it before . . . content is king. Well, it’s true. Once you have created your brand story, content is the conduit to sharing your story via your website and social media platforms. There are a few things I always consider when creating content.

Know what type of content your audience wants. This is can be guided by what your product/service offers. In general, customers want to understand the benefits of your product/service. But just listing the benefits isn’t enough.

Remember that brand story? Make sure the tone and type of your content aligns with your story. Everyone is inundated with information (and choices) these days. Make sure your content is relevant, reliable, educational, and even entertaining. Having the right content differentiates your business making it stand out.

Focus on the most powerful marketing channels:

As a small business owner, you know that you can’t be everywhere at once. The same goes for marketing your small business or nonprofit. Rather being on every social media platform, go where the majority of your customers are.

If your product/service is focused on business owners (in other words, you are a B2B company), LinkedIn is a good bet. If you have a bakery, Instagram could be the perfect channel to showcase images of your delicious creations. Or, if you have a Food Truck or provide a service, Facebook might be the best way to actively and frequently update your customers on special offers. When planning my social media strategy, I allow audience, content and budget drive the social media channels I use to market my business. 

Bring your brand to life via video:

Video content is a great way to bring your brand to life. By nature, we are visual creatures – why else do we spend so much time entertaining ourselves by watching videos of animals, life hacks, and people doing generally ridiculous things?

Video allows you to connect with your audience in a very direct way allowing your customers to get to know your product/service and you! This brings us back to content. While it is important for your video to be engaging and entertaining, the content should also relay specific information such as product/service information or educational information to help your customers.

Marketing isn’t difficult, but it is multifaceted. Building the right marketing mix means that all of these elements must come together; they don’t work well independently. If you are reading this and thinking, “What do I do with this information?” email me or give me a call at  904.524.0170. Together, we can determine the smart move for your small business.

No matter if you’re dealing with the coronavirus or some other hardship, many people’s businesses are suffering. If your business is struggling to stay afloat, you may be wondering what to do next. Don’t let hard times and uncertainty ruin the start of your amazing business, there are quite a few things you can do to help your business thrive during these hard economic times. In fact, this list below highlights five specific actions you can take.

1. Assess Your Situation

Take time now to determine any shortfalls that are hurting your business. You might already have those weaknesses identified. If you’ve already done this, have you really looked at every moving part? Have you analyzed your own potential shortcomings? Even more during hard times, you must pay attention to all the specifics.

Without a real assessment of your situation, you might be tossing plans to the wind. Because if you aren’t honest about your company’s areas for improvements, then mistakes are likely to creep up again. Also, don’t forget to seek honest and open feedback from your employees. They likely want your business to excel, too, and they might have some really good ideas for you.

2. Focus on Communications

Be sure to remember that communications are a very important moving part of your business. You have both external and internal communications that must be solid. Prioritize your company’s communication strategies being in sync with your business’s needs.

You might want to look into software that can streamline your communications processes. Certain workplace communication products come with technologies you can find to be very user friendly. You also should be able to lock in a service agreement.

3. Utilize Social Media

Speaking of communications, be certain that you use social media to your advantage. Why wouldn’t you? Many of your social media platforms have free marketing tools you can use. Also, if you are dealing with something like COVI

D-19, for example, you need to pay even more attention to getting the most out of your social media accounts.

If you don’t have a strong social media presence, yet, here are your basics. Make sure you at least have accounts established on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Tiktok and YouTube could help you out, too. Use high-res photos and videos and with every post. Be certain your posts include a call to action and don’t ever ignore user comments and messages.

4. Address Any Tech Issues

Without a strong information technology (IT) network in place, you can jeopardize your success. Your tech products have to work, and you also need to be sure your bandwidth is strong. Should you already have a tech staff, you might want to hire them additional help.

IT consultants could do a lot for your business. Even from remote locations, they can stay on top of your IT. You limit your chances of cyberattacks happening, and your productivity could go up, too. If you have staff working from home or on the road, this could pay off for you even more.

5. Regularly Look at Your Data

How often do you dig deep into your data? It can tell you so much about your business. Your company can better pinpoint common mistakes. You also can more quickly remedy issues that are keeping you and your team in the weeds. Get away from preventable errors impacting the workflow of your company and look at your data every day.

In addition to seeing immediate benefits, your company can be positioned for success well into the future. Forecasting is more accurate for your staff, and you also can protect yourself from potential legal actions against your business. It’s wise to have as much proof as possible. Get a grasp of your data every day to stay ahead of the curve and survive difficult times impacting your efforts.

Your Business Can Make It During Hard Times

Don’t be discouraged. You can take the necessary actions to ensure your company makes it. Hard times do not have to disrupt your success.

With the aforementioned suggestions, you can see immediate and long-term benefits. Keep this information handy and give these tips a shot. Best wishes with your efforts.

 Guest post by Samantha Higgins. Samantha is a professional writer with a passion for research, observation, and innovation. She is nurturing a growing family of twin boys in Portland, Oregon with her husband. She loves kayaking and reading creative non-fiction.   

It is getting more and more difficult to add followers on your Facebook business page without purchasing boosts or advertising. But there is one simple way that you can reach out to people who have already engaged with your company, but are not yet following you. As you look at your Facebook posts, you’ll see the number of Likes show up under each post. Like this:

If you hover over that, you’ll see a drop down list of everyone who liked the post, like this

Click on that list to open it up and you’ll see something like this:

Wherever you see the Invite box, that is someone who has not yet followed you, so click the box and the individual will receive an invitation from your page to follow you. It is a free and easy way for you to increase your followers, and keep an eye on the engagements for your posts as well.

Working Virtually Can Be An Advantage

More and more people are opting to work away from the office. And since the Coronavirus has caused the need for businesses to be able to still run while everyone is working from home it’s more important than ever. Thanks to new technology and changing corporate culture, working from anywhere is easier from ever. Let’s look at some of the reasons why you would want to be location independent with your work.

You can see the world

While you may be quarantined for now, in the future if you want to travel you will be able to still have effective business communication even if you’re out of the country. When you can work from anywhere, you can explore the world to enjoy better experiences. For instance, you can work from an exotic island, make money while camping in Maine, and acquire new income from an exotic city in Asia. This type of location independence may lower your stress level and free you from living inside of a cubicle a third of your life.

You can network better

When you are location independent, you can network better which can increase your income. For instance, let’s say you live in a small city in the middle of the United States. You can make a month-long trip to New York, Los Angeles or Silicon Valley and talk to new people and gain new connections. These new connections can lead to big business opportunities.

You can optimize your spending

The great thing about being location independent is that you can work in cheaper places and really save your money. For instance, you can find a fun little place in Costa Rica, Mexico and South America to base your operations for a few months. At these locations, you can cut your living expenses by up to 75%! This can really save you money while affording you exciting new experiences.

You can spend more time with your family

Hopefully, you are getting the chance to currently spend some time with your family during this quarantine. But when this is over, if you miss your family because you are always in the office, being location independent can allow you to work from home. By working from home, you don’t have to spend time commuting to and from work. Also, you can enjoy working in a relaxing and familiar environment.

How to run your business from anywhere

Now that you understand the benefits of being location independent, we will show you the top five tips you need to know on how to run your business from anywhere. These proven tips will allow you to seamlessly move your business to any part of the world.

1. Have the right computer and wi-fi connection

Your entire business is going to run off of two things: your devices and your wi-fi connection. Therefore, you will want to make sure that you have a high-quality smartphone and computer. Before you go off to an exotic location, make sure that your equipment is in top working shape. It may be hard to have your device serviced if you are at an exotic location. Second, make sure there is a strong wi-fi connection at the location before you go. Investing in a wi-fi hotspot can help you have a great connection almost anywhere. It will be hard to run your business if you have a slow connection or if the wi-fi is unreliable.

2. Make sure you properly schedule your working time

When you move across time zones, you will want to make sure you can still stay in contact with your clients, vendors, and employees. For instance, if you move from the United States to Asia, you may have to change your working schedule so you can stay connected with your clients in North America.

3. Ensure your credit card and business accounts don’t get suspended

Chances are, you need to keep your ad accounts, credit cards and vendor accounts active while traveling. Many of these accounts will flag activity that jumps from country to country. Make sure you contact all of your vital accounts of your travels before your accounts get suspended. Once your accounts are suspended, it could take days or weeks to get your credit card or ad account back online.

4. Watch your cash flow

While you are traveling, you will want to watch your cash flow. Sometimes, your travels may take your eye off the financial ball. You don’t want to be stuck half-way around the world with cash flow problems. Make sure you have enough money and cash flow to stay in business during your travels.

Summing things up

Thanks to today’s technology and many small business services, it is easier than ever to work anywhere in the world. Remember to be well organized before your travels and your location independent business will thrive.

Guest post by Samantha Higgins. Samantha is a professional writer with a passion for research, observation, and innovation. She is nurturing a growing family of twin boys in Portland, Oregon with her husband. She loves kayaking and reading creative non-fiction.