Smaller local businesses face a lot of challenges, especially growing competition from huge online shopping corporations like Amazon and the big box stores of the world. With the ease and convineience of purchasing online or heading to Wal Mart to grab everything on your list at once, why would someone choose to shop at thier local […]
How Money Stays in Your Community When You Buy Local
Why do people say you should buy from local businesses? Is it just a tactic small businesses use to get people to buy from them? Why should you care? If you’ve asked yourself these questions, you’re not alone. The buy local movement has been around for some time, but if you’re just hearing about it […]
Customer Connections: What Makes Customers Connect With a Brand?
Building brand loyalty is an important part of any small business marketing plan, but businesses today must get creative to help improve customer connections with the brand. Research routinely shows that customers who feel a personal connection to a brand feel that the company has fulfilled a need in their lives. If you're concerned that […]
How to Find and Make a Splash at Local Events This Summer
Supporting, sponsoring, and participating in local events can boost the visibility and recognition of your small business, and it's important to begin seeking out opportunities for local event promotion in the spring since many events occur during the summer. Options for local event participation include 5K races, home shows, themed festivals, and carnivals, as well […]
How to Survive as a Local Business in the Age of Amazon
The perception that brick and mortar retailers can't compete with online mega-retailers like Amazon has discouraged many local business owners from even trying to offer items online. However, there are many ways the average business can compete with a large entity like Amazon, even if the business only handles a small number of sales each […]
Small Business Branding Trends for 2017
Staying on top of trends helps small businesses take advantage of growth opportunities when they arrive, and the end of the year means it's time to start examining small business branding trends for 2017 immediately! Many trends arrive swiftly and demand immediate adoption, and other trends take a few years before they're accepted as standard […]
What Did We Learn in 2016? Our Top 5 Blog Posts
With the economy on a steady track of improvement, today's small business owners have the opportunity to create valuable growth within their organizations. One of the best ways to continue positive growth is to examine the past year for its triumphs, failures, and discoveries. In 2016, we published several blog posts designed to help you […]
How to Find Local B2B Companies to Work With
The relationships your business cultivates with customers are necessary for sustaining long-term growth, but the partnerships and agreements you make with local B2B companies can also work in your favor. Even if your business isn't focused on the B2B market (maybe you're a B2C company), forming alliances with other, local B2B companies helps grow your […]
How Packaging Influences Buying Habits
Many factors influence a shopper's buying habits, and packaging can have an incredible impact on the growth and popularity of a particular product or the entire product line of a company. Packaging is an essential factor in encouraging sales for virtually all industries from writers who want to sell books and need snappy book covers […]
5 Summer Promotion Ideas
As a business owner, you may assume your biggest sales season will coincide with the winter months. However, creative sales pitches and yearlong advertising can help you enjoy healthy sales whether the temperature is freezing or broiling outside. After setting aside enough money in your marketing budget to cover winter holiday promotions and advertising, you'll […]
