NEO Biz Blog

Construction Industry Types: The Blue Book Network Showcase Is April 9th

If you're in the construction or design industry, you're invited to attend a huge networking and educational event.

The Blue Book Showcase takes place on Tuesday, April 9, at "Brownstown."

 (The Cleveland Browns Stadium!) 

This event is a complete afternoon of networking and education with your local design and construction community in one place.

There is no charge to attend and hors d'oeuvres and beverages are included! 

All Attendees must provide 2 business cards to enter.

Go here to learn more about this huge event-and to register.

Remember, it's free!

 

Small Business And Twitter

(Guest post from Megan Totka, Chamberofcommerce.com) 

Twitter has fast become a fixture in the online landscape that is social media. People and businesses use the network for business communication, sharing news, and having personal conversations. Navigating the site and its symbols and quirks can be tricky. And don’t get me started on the 140 character limit. So how can small businesses use Twitter to the fullest? The answer is multi-faceted. 

 

• Create real conversations. Forming a bond between your company and your customers is crucial. Be social and follow them back. This shows that you care about your customers. Also, treat Twitter conversations like conversations that you would have in person makes your customer feel like you are really taking the time out of your day to care about what is going on with them. Be sure not to ignore personal questions that are not related to sales, instead, turn that into an opportunity to make a connection.

 

• Be honest. Honesty really is the best policy, especially when it comes to social networks. If your customer or follower asks a tough question, be prepared to answer honestly. If you are dishonest or vague, it can really come back to haunt you. Don’t forget that all of your replies are immortalized in the Twitter-verse and can be found by just about anyone, any time.

 

• Focus on the human aspect. This is critical to small businesses in particular. Because small businesses can’t always be the best when it comes to price, it’s really important to try to be the best when it comes to customer service and customer interaction. Twitter is a great place to showcase this. People are able to share instantly with others if they feel like they have had a great experience.

 

• Give your customers insight into your company. Twitter is a great place to share anecdotes about what is going on in your company at any given time. Even silly things, like your company having a talent competition and posting a photo of the winner, can help customers feel like they are connected on a deeper level than you just trying to sell them something.  This in turn can help to build loyalty to your company.

It’s important to try and use Twitter to its fullest if you do decide that your company will have a presence on the site. By doing this you can even translate social interest into cash.  Twitter is great for building personal relationships because of its ability to generate replies instantly. While a site like Facebook shows posts for a long period of time, Twitter moves quickly and conversations can get buried. Make sure that you are interacting regularly and meaningfully with your customers, and then others will see that your company is active and ready to respond.

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com.  ChamberofCommerce.com is a pro-business organization that helps small business connect with potential customers.  Browse our listings of local Chambers of Commerce to find your local Chamber.

Creative Contest From BizSugar And Brother

You know about BizSugar, right?

This small business website won The Best of Tech Award for Best Social App a short while back, and this NEO-based  website has been climbing the charts ever since. 

Well, BizSugar just announced a cool contest that you need to know about.

And, enter!

This contest challenges small business owners to create marketing materials using the Brother CreativeCenter – a free web-based design portal. You’ll really be amazed at the number of templates available to help you design professional marketing materials to grow your business and improve your branding efforts.

Go here to see how to enter...and to find out what you could win!

 

Is it Possible to Translate Social Interest into Cold Hard Cash?

(Guest post from Chamberofcommerce.com)

Lately, it’s pretty much common knowledge that social media has the ability to help businesses succeed or fail. The same goes for grassroots organizations, charitable foundations, and personal campaigns as well. There are even whole websites that have social components that are dedicated to helping people raise money for all different types of causes.

But is using social media to raise money for these causes successful? The answer seems to be a resounding…maybe? Poster Mark Schaefer addresses the topic in an article he wrote recently for socialmediatoday.com. He suggests that most social media campaigns to raise money are unsuccessful. His argument is centered on the fact that many of our social media connections are “weak,” in that while people are willing to share content or ideas, actually opening their wallets to donate is another story entirely. I absolutely agree that most social media connections can be considered weak – this is evidenced by my own personal social network. I really only have a handful of close friends and family, but I have nearly 1,000 Facebook friends. I would definitely consider some of these connections to be weak.

While I definitely agree with his points to an extent, there are still quite a few successful online campaigns to raise money that would defy this theory.  While Facebook has really cracked down on money-making endeavors, it’s still possible to use it and other sites in order to raise funds. Facebook and Twitter can be used to drive interested parties to your personal or business website. This is probably one of the most effective ways to get people interested in your cause.

Some other websites to consider when it comes to fund raising are crowd-funding sites such as indiegogo.com. These sites allow anyone who wants or needs to raise money for a cause to launch a campaign to share with friends, family, and social media followers. It is free to start a fundraising campaign on indiegogo and several other similar websites. There are generally very few restrictions on what types of campaigns can be launched. It can be personal or business-related.

Crowd-funding campaigns have proven to have the possibility to be very successful. Many campaigns have raised all of the funds that they requested, and then some. Sharing a campaign via social media is a great way to get friends and family involved. One of the keys to success, however, is to make as many strong connections via social media as possible. Work on cultivating your online relationships, both personal and professional. Social media is a powerful business and fundraising tool, when used properly.

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on writing business advice articles across the web. 

Related articles

Mobile Updates: What Social Media Platforms Owe Their Users

What Kinds of Businesses Are Successful in 2012?

Mobile Updates: What Social Media Platforms Owe Their Users

 

 

 

(This is a guest post from the folks over at Chamberofcommerce.com)

Most social media users access their accounts from a variety of different sources. However, it does seem that the vast majority of heavy social medial users tend to log in from mobile devices more often than from a stationary computer, which has greatly improved the need for mobile marketing companies.  Because this is the case, social media sites are wise to make their mobile versions just as useful, if not more so, than their static sites that can be viewed on a laptop or desktop.

The 2 technology giants, Apple and its line of iProducts and Google with its Android OS, have been in competition for a long time to establish which one is superior. It has been shown that Android phones outsell iPhones, however this may be because the Android operating system can be found on hundreds of different phones, while the Apple OS is just for the iPhone. The same goes for tablets – iPads from Apple and Android powered tablets from different companies.

Because competition is stiff for both the phone and tablet market and sales are high, social media websites have to continuously improve in order to keep up with the advancing technology. Here are some things that social media platforms owe to you as the user:

1. A user friendly interface. This is probably the most obvious need for both the consumer and the company. An interface that is confusing and difficult to navigate or update isn’t going to be successful.
2. Updates that actually update something.  Many networks are notorious for updating their mobile app and full site for no apparent reason. In my opinion, this is a good example of companies who don’t know when to back off. If your users are happy with your interface, don’t change just for the sake of change.
3. Quick fixes to bugs or problems.  Social networks should however, update as soon as possible if a big bug or problem arises. Letting a bug linger can alienate users.

Mashable published an article exploring a new update to Twitter’s various mobile offerings. This update is designed to bring the user more content that is relevant to them, even if it is not posted by someone in their direct network. They also improved the search function to show more relevant content as well as why it is relevant to the user who ran the search. The Discover tab can now help users to find popular content quickly.

Facebook also recently updated its mobile app to coincide with the release of iOS 6 for iPhone and iPad. The update makes the whole app more user friendly. The content now refreshes on its own, rather than waiting for the mobile user to pull down the screen in order to update. This was a great example of a company updating its mobile platform for a great reason. The update made the app more useful and user friendly.

Overall, social media is a rapidly growing industry with millions upon millions of users. These millions of users are why businesses have even jumped on social media to utilize social media marketing.  If these networks want to continue to have the levels of success that they have had in the past few years, they need to keep their users in mind. Updating (or not updating!) their services in a timely fashion is a great way to retain users and will be important as more and more devices with which to access these networks become available.

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for www.chamberofcommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com connects local businesses with their local Chamber of Commerce.

(Image courtesy of ivanpw, on flickr.)

How To Choose A Mailing Machine

To get the most from this time-saving device, it’s important to select a model with the right features

Postage meters, aka mailing machines, are popular among businesses of all sizes, and it’s easy to understand why. Instead of running out of stamps, running to the post office, and standing in line to get packages weighed and shipped, a postage meter can print a USPS stamp directly on any small envelope, along with the date and other official post mark symbols –just like at the post office.  A postage meter is “charged” with a specific amount of money (typically $1000) and this account draws down automatically as stamps are printed. More money can be added to the account using pre-paid cards, via phone, or through an online postal account.

With a postage meter, your company mailroom essentially becomes a branch of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). You have access to all USPS mailing services  –like Priority Mail®, Express Mail®, Media Mail®, First-Class Mail® and Parcel Post®. Thanks to password-protected access, there are no worries about employees taking stamps. And as a bonus, your postage meter will provide easy, automatic and foolproof tracking of your mailing & shipping expenses.

 Choose a meter with the right features. Pitney Bowes developed the first mass-marketed postage meter, which was made available to businesses back in 1920. Today the USPS authorizes 7 companies to produce postage meters and lease them to businesses. The most advanced postage meters are often equipped with automatic feed, stacking and envelope-stuffing functions, but most businesses can get by with basic models that are compact but capable.

Make sure your postage meter includes a built-in scale so that you’re certain to get the right postage fees. A manual-feed meter is adequate for most businesses, and costs much less to lease than larger models equipped with automatic or power feed features.  Choose a postage meter that can print stamps as well as package labels. This will enable your mail room to process envelopes as well as packages. Most meters in use today are digital models that have password-protected access to prevent unauthorized use. It’s also useful to have a postage meter that is network enabled. This feature allows you to operate the meter directly, or via a computer, using an online postage program (see below). Check to make sure your network-enabled postage meter has automatic postage rate adjustment, to ensure that meter rates comply with current USPS rates.

Postage meters are typically provided through a year-long lease. Ask your meter provider about the availability of tech support and maintenance, in case functional issues come up. Finally, you may want to expand your shipping and mailing capabilities by adding an online postage program in the future.

Pitney Bowes, for example, can provide postage meters as well as online postage programs that enable authorized employees to print stamps and mailing labels from any online connection.

 

What Kinds of Businesses Are Successful in 2012?

 

(This is a guest post from Megan Totka, Chief Editor @ Chamber of Commerce.com)

 Small businesses have come and gone on the proverbial horizon for many, many years. From mom and pop restaurants to internet start-up companies, hundreds of thousands of businesses are started each year. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, in 2010, more than 500,000 businesses were less than 1 year old.

So what is the deciding factor on whether or not a small business will be successful? There are quite a few different answers to this question. Some would say that the type of business would be a huge factor. Others would say location, location, location (and yes, location includes online companies – your web address is critical!) can make or break a company so it’s important to make sure you have the right real estate agent helping you.  One of the most popular answers would probably be the drive and dedication of the business owner.

I happen to agree with all of these answers. The question I want to explore is what types of businesses are the most successful. While this is by no means a scientific study, I think that observations of those that actually patronize small businesses are invaluable when it comes to determining success. Here are a few types of businesses that are seeing success in the year 2012:

• Local businesses – lately, there has been a huge movement towards supporting local businesses. From farmers to photographers, consumers are looking for businesses that are closest to their home. Going local is popular for several reasons. One great example is that consumers are beginning to see that keeping their dollars in their own community promotes the local economy, and in turn, job growth. Another reason to support local businesses in Northeast Ohio would be because you as the customer know exactly where the product or service you are paying for, came from.
• Businesses that are based online – more and more consumers are turning to online stores to purchase, well, everything! Even grocery shopping can be done online. Big box stores are doing their best to cash in on consumers’ need for convenience. Small business should be, and are, doing the same.  One way to get your name out there is to send weekly email newsletters that broadcast special things about you company like delivery of a unique product that meets a need. Another perk of Internet business – lower overhead costs.
• Technology companies – but maybe not the kind that you think. Of course business giants like Apple or Samsung are raking in billions of dollars with each new product release. But there are many smaller companies in places that have been able to cash in on this success as well. Many companies have been able to make unique, interesting products that complement the iProducts made by Apple. Things like speakers, cool headphones, and cases have been some of the most successful.

Always keep in mind your market when thinking about starting a small business. It’s also a great idea to research several things. One being, does type of business you plan to start already have successful counterparts on the market? While this may seem counterintuitive (they could be competition!) it’s a great idea to see what has happened to those who have paved the way. If they are successful, perhaps you can be, too. Another consideration would be your target market. If you will be a local business, how is the economy in your community? If you will be an online business, how will you get your product to you customers quickly and easily?

There are so many questions when it comes to starting a new business. If you are thinking of starting your own, research everything you can, including what types of businesses are successful in your industry.

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and business news. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.  

Image courtesy of Flicker.com, JPDAigle)