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19 Quick-Hitting Ideas to Boost Employee Morale

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Allison Rice

How to boost employee morale is a common question among business owners, and it’s a theme we’ve discussed quite a bit on this blog, including this post on team-building ideas and this post on creating community outreach programs.

Sometimes, however, you need a list of a bunch of ideas, knowing that you won’t implement all of them but also understanding that one great idea often sparks another.

Here’s a list of 19 quick-hitting ideas to boost employee morale and to inspire you further.

1. Give employees their birthdays off. An oldie, but goodie, and it can take the sting out of growing another year older.

2. Provide one “play” day a quarter. Not a sick day. Not a personal day. Not a vacation day. We’re talking a day where an employee is encouraged to take the day off to do something fun.

3. Offer matching contributions to charities. Your employee chooses the charity, and you agree to match their donation (up to a certain dollar amount).

4. Create a charitable foundation. A company that gives back is a win-win for everyone, and it can foster a feeling of goodwill among employees because who doesn’t want to work for a company that isn’t a slave to the almighty dollar and bottom line? Your company’s charitable foundation could manage the idea we had in #3 and support a different “cause” each year (employees could vote/weigh in on this decision from year to year). Of course, there are tax benefits to doing this as well.

5. Give turkeys at Thanksgiving. OK, maybe not actual turkeys, but providing employees with gift cards to their local supermarket is always a welcome present.

6. Cater lunch once a quarter or even once a month. Free food is always a great incentive and it encourages socialization.

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Posted in Employee relations, Fun Stuff, Ideas, Small Business Resource | Tagged how to boost employee morale | Comments Off

Psst. Here’s the Secret Method to Creating Strong Buyer Personas

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Chris Wallace

OK, we realize you might be thinking, “Whoa, back up! First, what the heck is a buyer persona? Second, why should I care?”

So, let’s get to it and talk about the what, the why, and the how behind strong buyer personas.

What is a buyer persona?
It’s a fancy, schmancy take on the whole “who is your ideal customer?” question that you’ve no doubt asked yourself dozens of times. A buyer persona is a bit more “official” than just a vague idea in your head because it’s an actual written document (more on this below) that outlines details about your ideal customer — your ideal “buyer.”

Why should I care about creating a buyer persona?
Sitting down and creating a buyer persona — actually committing it to paper — is a worthwhile exercise. Why? Because it helps you think things through. The document delves more deeply than the basics of gender, location, income that we’ve typically used in the past to paint a picture of an ideal customer. It goes into understanding your customers’ motivations, how they currently perceive your company, how you want them to perceive your company, and what you want them to do. It’s more than just the “facts” about their age or sex. It, in essence, tells a story about this person.

The other benefit is that it can easily be shared with others, like your marketing team, your sales reps, and your customer service. These folks, who often deal with your customers directly, can offer input as well, which will help create an even more accurate picture of this ideal customer. Once everyone “agrees” on the persona, this document can drive and influence all sorts of decisions, from what you write about on your blog, to the color of your product’s packaging, to how you correspond with your customers.

Is it a lot of work?
Like so many things in life, the answer is, “It depends.” It depends on how much research you want to do before sitting down and creating the persona. Research can take the form of…

Conducting focus groups (this can be worthwhile, but it can also be cost prohibitive for smaller companies)
Interviewing some of your current customers, ideally by a third party so that the customers can talk openly (responses would remain anonymous)
Conducting online surveys of your target audience (using something like Survey Monkey or Constant Contact’s survey tool)
Culling comments from customer testimonials, comments left on social media platforms (e.g. Facebook), notes from customer service, etc.

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Posted in Brand Awareness, Customer Relations, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Resource | Tagged how to create buyer personas | Comments Off

Small Business Lead Generation 101

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Chris Wallace

Generating more qualified leads — we imagine it’s one of the top three goals for most businesses. The thing to keep in mind is this: there isn’t one formula for lead-generation success. Different industries, location, business size, and many other factors will influence the strategy you end up using.

That said, there are some best practices that all businesses should consider, which we’ll outline below.

1. Optimize your website. HubSpot coined the phrase “inbound marketing,” which simply means it’s much easier to sell to people who are looking for what you’re selling. One way to attract these people is through an optimized website, one that’s also well designed with clear navigation and plenty of useful information. (Wondering if your website needs a makeover? Here are 5 signs.)

2. Create compelling offers. So many of us are connected to our computers, tablets, and phones that when we need info, we can find it with a quick search, click, or finger swipe. So how do you get these info-seekers to linger a few minutes more on your site, your landing page, your social media platform? How do you get them to surrender their contact information and remember your company? Through compelling offers that provide value. Think white papers, checklists, downloadable templates, webinars, podcasts, and videos. You get the idea. Put these items behind a form so that you can gather info, continue staying in front of these leads, and push them further down the sales and marketing funnel until they turn into a customer. Here’s an article we wrote on the secret sauce to creating compelling offers.
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Posted in Brand Awareness, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Resource | Tagged small business lead generation | Comments Off

6 Tips for Cultivating Strong Business Networking Relationships

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Allison Rice

You work hard networking. You meet all sorts of interesting people, but the question is, what should you do next? How should you foster these relationships? And what are the potential benefits of spending time on these sorts of activities?

Here are six tips to help guide you in cultivating strong business networking relationships.

1. Show a genuine interest in your colleagues’ businesses. One of the guiding principles of the group Business Networking International is that it’s important to show interest in – and care about – other business colleagues’ needs first. In other words, help other people succeed, not because you expect something in return, but rather because you genuinely want to see the person succeed.

So how can you help other business owners?

Share ideas. If you come across an interesting article on marketing, don’t hoard it. Share it.
Be a sounding board. Provide helpful, honest feedback. They won’t forget it.
Provide resources. Maybe it will be in the form of extra storage space or an extra intern for a company event. There are a variety of ways you can provide resources.
Mentor. This can be especially powerful if someone is at a more junior level than you and/or just getting started in the industry (think college grads or people making a career change).

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Posted in Amsterdam Printing, Promotional Products, Small Business Networking | Tagged small business networking | 1 Comment

Why You Should Actively Ask For Customer Reviews

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Allison Rice

Nothing can make you feel better than reading a glowing review about your company on sites like Yelp, Angie’s List, Google+, Amazon, you name it. Of course, the reverse is also true: nothing stings quite like a negative review.

Of course, how to get customer reviews — especially those positive ones! — can be challenging. And one question we hear is whether you should actively ask for reviews. Our answer? YES. Here’s why.

Reviews DO influence buying decisions. According to Digital Visitor, “Over 60% of customers read online reviews before buying a product or service to help them to eliminate any doubts they may have or to help with product/service selection.” See? It’s not just about your ego. The same article notes, “92% of users trust recommendations from people they know, while 70% trust consumer opinions posted online.”

And according to this recent study, “The majority (65 percent) of potential consumer electronics purchasers are inspired by a consumer review to select a brand that had not been in their original consideration set.”
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Posted in Brand Awareness, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Resource | Tagged how to get customer reviews | Comments Off

New Product Launch: How to Prep, Plan, and Implement a Sound Strategy

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Chris Wallace

Ready! Set! Go! Launch Your New Product with Confidence.

You’re excited about your new product. You’ve beta-tested it to the max, you’ve revised, you’ve tested again, and it’s ready. Now what? The purpose of this post is to give you a basic blueprint of what you need to do in order to have a successful product launch. We’re going to assume the product is, indeed, ready (so if patents are needed or distribution agreements need to be signed, we’re going to assume that this is all set). We’re also going to assume that you’ve done your market research and that there is, in fact, a market for your product.

An important note: We recommend that you start thinking about the launch while you’re still finalizing the product itself. We realize it’s a bit of a chicken-or-egg conundrum. Shouldn’t you wait until you’re absolutely sure you have a product to launch before you spend the time investing in a launch plan? Yes and no. There will come a point as you’re developing your product where you’ll know it’s moving forward. At this point, you’ll likely have a solid sense of timing, too (i.e. when it will be ready to market). This is when you should seriously start to develop your launch plan, which should include the items outlined below.

Product Launch Strategy

1. Determine your budget. You’ve no doubt poured a lot of money into research and development, but now you need to have a number in mind for your product launch (which is just a fancy way of saying “marketing”). Be realistic, but make sure you have a number to work with.

2. Determine who will be on your launch team. While it’s not impossible to launch a product on your own, it does help if you have at least a couple of other marketing and/or social media savvy people to help. Identify your team and include them in strategy discussions.
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