Small Business

The humble business cards have been around for a long time and have can be found amongst all sorts of business people. Trade cards as they used to be know as were also acted as a type of advertising and map to direct customers to there merchant store. Today business card is something that every business man has on hand as it still is an important marketing tool.

Your card is a powerful tool. Your business cards needs to be designed in such a way as to provide your name, address, contact numbers and list the services you provide in a well designed eye catching way.

If you are planning on including a photo on your card, then the use of glossy paper to print your card on is recommended as this ensures once it is printed, the card looks as good it did when you designed it on the computer. If you yourself are disappointed with the end result how can you expect your clients to react.

A key thing to remember when designing a card with background colour or images is to make sure that all images and text is at least 3mm off the edge of the card. Or that the papers you use have gaps between them this will make up for the unavoidable elusiveness printer paper system. Be warned though printer imprecision’s can destroy you business card and you will have to start from the beginning again not forgetting the costs as well.

Glossy paper is not a good choice if you are using a laser printer as this could damage your printer. The better looking your business card is, the more likely it is that people will keep it as a reference and the better for you and your business.

There are many ways for you to distributing your cards. Many cards are handed out during meetings, conventions, tradeshow but if you get creative you can also place them in and with your products, sending out the cards amongst products or staple or tie them to the product that has been gift wrapped.

Don’t forget that your business card is your secret weapon and can be your best salesman, always keep a few on hand as you never know where your next potential customer is going to come from, you need to know how to utilize these possibilities to your advantage.

Tags: small business opportunities, small business startup, small business idea

No business or individual can claim full immunity from rising energy costs and a slower economy. In fact, energy costs have impacted all of us, so much so that inflation is now at a multi-year high. Plus, the constant reports in the media about a slowing economy do very little to endorse growth initiatives, especially where small businesses, which typically have tighter budgetary controls, are involved.

In these economic periods, sales typically slow, and margins and productivity decrease. Sales slow because many businesses continue developing (or trying to develop) leads the way they used to. Worse, some businesses even reduce their development efforts. Margins decrease because expenses have increased. Productivity decreases as employees sit around, discouraged with their slowing results.

Rather than sitting tight and riding out an economic slowdown, small businesses need to ramp up their sales activities. Instead, many are gun shy. This is a fundamental error that is only exacerbated by the fact that they are “small” businesses. To achieve growth targets in slower economic times, Quote Stork urges small businesses to take a non-traditional approach to their marketing efforts. One such approach is through web conferences.

Introducing a webinar to your marketing process can yield great sales growth if properly executed - Quote Stork Solutions provides two simple steps below. According to data collected by Ipsos in May 2008 and reviewed by Quote Stork Solutions, webinars as a communication method will grow by six hundred percent over the next five years. This trend is supported by the current usage by medium- and large-businesses. If small businesses do not start taking advantage of this technology, they stand to suffer in the long-term.

The first step involves direct-response marketing. Typically, larger competitors shy from this type of marketing effort despite the high return on investment (ROI). For the small business, however, direct-response marketing has proven to be a cost-effective way to reach hundreds and even thousands of prospects. And since it is a direct-response method, only interested prospects will respond.

The second step entails hosting a webinar. Of course, the webinar will have something to do with a sales pitch, but Quote Stork recommends offering a value-added reason for prospects to attend. For example, a mortgage broker might want to discuss regional mortgage trends and highlight some of the problems facing existing homeowners and how this particular broker can help prospects through tough times.

Through a direct-response campaign, the small business can reduce cash expenses needed to develop an attendee list. As well, since only interested prospects will show interest in attending your web conference, you are now speaking and selling to a captive audience rather having to complete a hard sale.

In summary, webinars provide a win-win solution for everyone involved. For the small business owner, a webinar means selling to a large interested group instead of one-on-one cold-calls. For interested prospects, a webinar means saving time and potential travel expenses; they can enjoy your webinar in the comfort of their office or home.

The market leader here is GoToMeeting. They offer a comprehensive web conference solution for all business types. Plus, through the link below, you can enjoy a Free Trial and receive $10 off your first paid web conference.

Tags: small business opportunities, small business startup, small business idea