Many salon owners agree that it is harder to keep a client than to get a new one; salons are popping up everywhere as more people begin their own styling businesses. So, how do you keep your loyal clients, well, loyal? The trick is to offer them something they won’t find anywhere else: a mobile app created just for your salon. By using a mobile app, you can stay in touch with your current customers and use this marketing tool as a way to attract new clients.

What do Clients Get from Apps?

Consider creating a mobile salon app that has an appointment-setting feature where clients have the ability to book appointments directly from their phones.…

With a few weeks of shopping still ahead, there are plenty of ways a business can earn a fair share of the Father’s Day profits. Standing idly by and allowing large department stores, discount centers and online retailers to lure your customer’s away is not the answer. There is still time to reach your customers, and recent research strongly suggests you do just that! Although traditionally Mother’s Day attracts more money, according to the research firm IBISWorld, people are willing to spend more than ever on Dad. Sales forecasts predict that Father’s Day sales will exceed $13.2 billion this year, making any advertising pitch a worthy effort indeed!…

For most restaurants, weekday hours between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. usually draw corporate customers who are using their valuable one-hour break to come dine at your restaurant. If you have surveyed the clientele at your business during these peak lunch hours and you haven’t noticed this weekday crowd, here are some ways you can help to attract a larger business lunch crowd:

Create a Lunch Special

Any consumer who eats out on a regular basis knows that each bill can add up, especially if he eats out every day on his break. Consider implementing a lunch special at a discounted rate to help your customer move past home-packed lunches.…

Recently, a survey that explored how people selected a restaurant revealed some interesting results. You’d think that a restaurant’s location, ambience, ease of access and cost would be the main things a person would consider when selecting a place to dine out, yet a recent survey suggests otherwise. Nearly half of the people questioned about how they chose a restaurant emphasized that an establishment needed a great menu more than anything else. That’s not to say that having a well-run restaurant in a prime position doesn’t have some sway in a customer’s decision, but ultimately people want a fantastic meal for their money above everything else.…

There are several reasons why some small businesses don’t engage in mobile marketing. The more common reasons are usually linked to the business operator’s belief that there is no real customer demand for such options. Many small businesses feel that their customers didn’t really need to pay for products or services using their mobile device. Surprisingly, many small businesses avoid mobile marketing simply because they lack the knowledge to implement the service. They don’t even have company smartphones. These operators fail to see the point of introducing mobile technology into their business, choosing to adopt the belief of “why fix it if it ain’t broke” approach to their current business practices.…

The old saying “jack of all trades, master of none” speaks of talented people who are too busy focusing on trying to do everything, and then failing to finish anything with real flair and expertise. Sadly, many companies display this mentality when it comes to marketing. They often become lost fishing in the general pool of potential customers instead of narrowing the focus of advertising campaigns to target real customers. Worrying about competition and missing opportunities to snare a handful of paying customers can divide your attention and cause you to spend mountains of money on campaigns that just don’t cut the mustard.…

Pop-up restaurants, originating in London, have taken the United States by storm. These temporary restaurants are set up in strategic locations only for a short period. Essentially offering several courses for a set fee, they are great business models for those of all cooking experiences and backgrounds. New chefs have found that pop-up restaurants are fantastic ways to get their names in the game, while seasoned chefs can use pop-up restaurants to test out overall restaurant concepts or new menu ideas. These restaurants can stay open for one night, a weekend or even an entire month.

Why Open a Pop-Up Restaurant

There are several reasons why you may consider opening a pop-up restaurant.…

Imagine the ideal member of your target market just received your promotional email or ripped open the envelope containing your most recent direct sales letter. She takes the time to skim over the email or letter, but doesn’t know exactly what your business sells. Will she take the action you want her to take next or dump your communications in the recycle bin? If you take the right steps, you increase the chances of customers taking the action you want.

Three Steps to Actionable Marketing

Your chances of getting a good response from your marketing materials increase greatly if they meet all the following criteria:

• Written in direct, active language with a concise call to action
• Designed so the call to action is prominent on the page and easy to notice
• Easy to see and recognizable business name slogan, and other branding information included

If that member of your target market quickly recognizes your company name and understands what you want her to do next, there is a good chance she will take that next step.…

Creating a successful sales company does not require a large number of sales people. To experience success, it simply needs quality sales representatives. How often have you heard the grumble that twenty percent of the employees complete eighty percent of the work? Actually, finding uninspired employees in this sector is not unusual. Most employees strongly despise sales. The dance required to entice a sale from a potential customer is exhausting, and more often than not, it ends in rejection. Each year, sales companies invest heavily in the training of salespeople only to see most participants quit or fall short of sales expectations.…

Trade shows are one of the most effective places to generate leads, because they’re filled with people who are hungry to do business. Unlike traditional cold calling, the connections you make are already warm with an in-person connection already made. And in order to maximize the leads you get from a trade show, you have to employ a few tricks before you get to the hotel ballroom or convention center.

Prepare Before You Get There

Going into the trade show, let your existing customers and prospects know that you’ll be there. Give them a preview of your booth, salespeople who will be there, and by all means spotlight any freebies or demos you’ll have at your location.…

Small businesses use various types of equipment to keep their business running. From computers to telephone systems to service vehicles, all businesses have equipment that is not only necessary, but is replaced regularly. The IRS allows businesses to depreciate the value of the equipment each year on their balance sheets and lower the profit shown on the income statement to cut tax liability (smallbusiness.chron.com).

What is Depreciation?

Simply put, depreciation expenses show the amount by which your business equipment is devalued “for each year of its useful life, which is the number of years you use the equipment,” (smallbusiness.chron.com). The depreciation expense is added to the amount of depreciation accrued since its purchase on the balance sheet.…

Today, social media marketing is vital to your car wash marketing.

Owning a car wash is one of the best forms of passive income. Though the car wash business has changed somewhat over the past several years, introducing new equipment such as automatic washes, it has remained one of the most profitable business models around. Marketing for this type of business has changed considerably too. Old methods such as flyers, direct mailing and coupons may not quite work as well as they used to. Getting the most out of your marketing dollars means taking advantage of all the modern marketing techniques social media has to offer.…

Running a beauty or skin care salon takes a lot of careful planning and attention to detail. It is a highly competitive industry. To survive, our salon must to offer something exceptionally satisfying for customers. Having a long list of happy customers is a sign of a healthy business, so salons need to focus on not only attracting new customers, but also enticing regular clients through the door. The first instinct may be to shout out your marketing messages to anyone willing to listen, but taking a more subdued approach may be what it takes to gain the regular business of high-profile clients in your salon.…

Unless they are subsistence farmers that merely live off the land and have no contact with the outside world, just about any business endeavor that anyone on earth undertakes has to deal with customers. Those who are able to succeed in the business world are first able to succeed in customer service. Above all other aspects of making money in business, meeting the need of the customer ranks as the most important.

The Most Important Step of Customer Service

Finding out what a customer wants is the most important piece of knowledge to have in running a business. The most successful businesses are usually the ones that have repeat customers lining up to buy more products.…

Hair and beauty services are a highly competitive industry, and running your own successful salon can be hard. Customers are spoiled with choices when it comes to spending a day at a salon. That makes it important that you advertise the value of your services to attract your share of new clients.

Successfully attracting new customers who are happy to return requires more than just offering a good service for a reasonable price. You can make your salon stand out from the rest by offering something a little different. You can do that by looking at your salon’s service list and reinventing it with unique names.…

How can local restaurants compete with the big chains? Well Restaurant.com and Cleveland attorney Andrew Samtoy recently got together to launch an interesting idea. It’s called a dish mob! Dish mobs are volunteers who choose restaurants to patronize all at one time, boosting visibility and profits for smaller local restaurants. The first Restaurant.com dish mob took place in fall 2012 and was overwhelming well received by the public.

Volunteer Non Profit

Andrew Samtoy is a volunteer who organizes many such events. Samtoy seeks to make sure that local restaurants, some of the most vulnerable businesses in any economy, survive the lagging recession.…

Unfortunately, the old adage, “You can’t please everyone,” is true. No matter how hard you try, there are always going to be some people who aren’t happy with your service or your products. A real problem arises, however, when you have a customer who is not only displeased, but is angry as well. An irate customer can cause irreparable damage to your business unless you can find ways to channel his or her negative energy towards a positive direction.

Does that sound impossible? It really isn’t. The following are a few tips that can turn a potential detractor of your company into a strong advocate of your products and services.…

Since 2009, a new wave of marketing has latched itself to the rise of social media. Small businesses have reaped great profits by utilizing the services of Facebook to help promote and sell products, a phenomenon that Facebook itself did not foresee. While some businesses sell solely through their Facebook storefront, others use it as part of their visual marketing efforts by directing traffic to their company websites and stores. However it functions, F-commerce is worthy of consideration for any small business.

What is F-Commerce?

F-commerce is the act of using Facebook to promote your product. The application creates advertisements that are then posted on potential customers’ pages.…

There are so many advantages to online selling. Imagine an almost unlimited base of customers from all over the world. You are no longer restricted by the economy of your small town. Imagine overhead of less than 40 dollars a month in most cases. If you are already running a local retail store, you can increase sales exponentially with an online store. If you don’t have a store, and have found yourself out of work, then maybe an online retail store could be your golden ticket.

Consider Your Budget

While most web hosting will likely be free or cheap, there are more expensive providers out there who offer a lot of perks.…

Consumers are becoming more and more internet savvy as the days go by. More than half of Americans own a smartphone and nearly as many will own a tablet computer in the near future. Your retail location can benefit from this trend by offering both online and offline sales, but only by optimizing your sales offerings for the table users most likely to buy from you online.

Tablets offer consumers an easy and convenient way to make purchases. No longer does one have to sit down at a desk and browse the internet while they are at home. People can now enjoy the convenience of shopping using their tablet computers as long as they have an internet connection to use.…

If you’ve been constantly focusing on the pricing of your items, it may be time for a change.

If you’re looking to increase your profits, you may have to delve a bit deeper into the psychology behind selling your products. These psychological selling tricks are not well known, but implementing them into your business may mean bigger profits down the road.

Sales Is About More than Just Numbers

It’s important to control the environment that you create for your customers. Your customers’ subconscious minds may control their buying decisions based on music that they hear or a scent that they smell within your store.…

The Internet has made it easier for potential customers to reach businesses. As a result, companies can reach a national and global audience in a way never before possible. However, this reality has increased competition significantly, and businesses may have difficulty standing out from their competitors. Because of this, all businesses need to take steps to become memorable in the minds of potential customers. Here are a few techniques businesses can use to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Establish a Voice

To stand out, a business must set up a voice to use when communicating with current and potential customers. Your company’s voice will be the tone with which you communicate with others, and a consistent voice can help set up a particular brand in the mind of your customers and potential customers.…

Neon Creation: (5 billion years ago)

During cosmic nucleogenesis of the elements, large amounts of neon are built up from the fusion process in stars. Although neon is a very common element in the universe and in our solar system, it is very rare on Earth. The neon present on Earth today was created in the core of the Sun 5 billion years ago before it exploded and created the planets.

What is Neon?

Neon is a rare gaseous element present in the atmosphere to the extent of 1 part in 65,000 of air, or about 18.2 parts per million by volume.…

Regardless of how terrific your pizza may be, unless you have a marketing strategy, the business will never perform as well as it should. Quality marketing entices customers to your store. By investing in compelling advertising tactics, your pizzeria will see sales soar. Therefore, it is wise to spend some time planning your attack in this dog-eat-dog business. Here are twelve tried and tested techniques to drive sales.

Quality Product

Pizza is probably the most popular fast food choice. Therefore, make sure your pizza is good. No advertising campaign in the world will help your business if the product isn’t worth it.…

Next year will be the year of the mansumer. Driven by the Great Recession, the male consumer is quickly becoming the dominant spender in domestic households. According to a report by BPN, the male consumer currently tops his female counterpart in buying power. This trend is expected to continue.

Evolution of the Male Consumer

Due to the job losses and layoffs of the past few years, men without work began taking on more domestic responsibilities. In fact, BPN reports that 40% of men currently do the grocery shopping for their families. Shopping for household items is one of many domestic roles that the modern men have embraced.…

By now, you’ve probably heard about Pinterest, the increasingly popular website that lets users pin items they like to a personalized online scrapbook. In this way, users can save ideas, crafts or styles that interest them. It’s most popular among women ages 25-44. In fact, this age group of women makes up 68 percent of Pinterest users.

As a salon owner or manager, you probably recognize the value of Pinterest from the demographics above alone. More than likely, women in this age group make up most of your clientele. Just to give you a little more motivation, SEOnix recently reported that views increased 4000 percent over the last six months.…

Signage may seem old fashioned, compared to slick websites and glossy full color ads, but don’t be fooled. Signage is probably the single most important element of branding for a mortar and brick business. Actually, the real secret to branding is a uniform presentation of the logo on packaging, shopping bags, ads, websites and signage. Traditionally though, all other occurrences of the logo refer back to the main exterior on premises sign. It is this sign that all other branding materials must match exactly.

The Importance of Signage

Signage is real world local advertising at its finest. It directs both car and foot traffic into your business establishment.…

According to the National Retail Foundation, employee theft costs employers $34.5 billion in 2011 in the retail sector. This figure accounts for 43.5 percent of losses reported by retail companies. The National Restaurant Association reports that 75 percent of losses incurred in the restaurant industry are due to employee theft. In today’s tight economy, controlling employee theft is a key part to boosting company profits.

Controlling inside losses is an affordable way to boost a company’s bottom line. There are no marketing or advertising costs. Most of the time, employers can control theft by changing systems or implementing new rules rather than hiring new employees.…

Since 2013 is fast approaching, small business owners are making plans to attain success because they expect that good things are in store. The 2012 Bank of America Small Business Owner Report (published this Autumn) states that a significant number of small business owners expect to experience success. Overall, small business owners expect their businesses will grow in the coming year and that they will have enough operating capital to continue growing. While most aren’t planning on hiring, very few expect to downsize. Small business owners are relying heavily on big businesses for their work, which suggests that the optimism extends to the economy as a whole.…

If you have money for top salaries, it is easy to find quality employees. You may not even have to look – they may come to you. But how do you attract and keep five-star employees if you only have three star money? You offer the best boss and the best benefits.

Who Is the Boss?

One thing that will keep employees at a job with less than top pay is a great boss. If you are already a great boss, congratulations, but for the bosses just rate good or fair, here are a few things to help you become great.…

Opening a restaurant in the current economic climate can feel like a risky venture, but, despite the cash crunch many consumers are experiencing, people are still going out to eat at restaurants. They are simply being more conservative with their eating out dollars. The key to surviving and thriving in this economy is not just to attract many customers, but to attract the right kind of customer. Here are three tips to get hungry patrons in the door and keep your restaurant tables filled.

Target Marketing

While it might be tempting to mass market your restaurant to everyone, your scattered efforts could be why you are still seeing empty tables.…

Previously, it was immensely difficult for entrepreneurs to obtain lines of credit for their businesses. These difficulties were a result of the credit crunch that occurred after several banks made terrible economic decisions that almost led to their collapse. Due to not being able to procure a loan that would facilitate business growth, many entrepreneurs either lost their businesses or did not have the means to start up a business that would allow them to turn their dreams of success into reality. Recent surveys, however, are showing us that the credit crunch is beginning to loosen, enabling more entrepreneurs to apply for loans and get them approved.…

The success factor for business in today’s world depends primarily on technology. If you’re not using mobile marketing and don’t have a presence on the Web, you are doing your business a disservice. Because most consumers have smart phones and increasingly use them to find businesses in their areas, local marketing is a must. Here are a few reasons you should be using local marketing.

Mobile Marketing Benefits

• Mobile phone users are typically very bonded to their phones on a 24/7 basis – your messages can be received nearly immediately.
• Messages can be received anywhere and anytime without the need of TV, radios or computers.
…

Large retail stores hire tens of thousands of temporary workers for the holiday season. If you operate a small business you may not need that many helping hands, but you can probably use an extended staff in some areas. Even just a few extra helpers can ensure you efficiently process the large volume of orders hopefully to come during this unusually busy time of year.

Work within Your Budget

You get what you pay for in terms of employee performance, temporary or not. Go over your budget or ask your accountant how much you can afford to spend on seasonal help.…

Your business keeps you busy and engaged in promoting a product or service dear to your heart. The problem is, the demands of business keep you so busy tracking various details that there’s not enough time to attend to your actual product. As a small business person, you’ll find yourself playing quite a few different roles, including personnel manager, accountant, secretary, file clerk, copywriter, efficiency expert, travel agent and, of course, chief executive. Here are eight apps designed to streamline all these different roles and increase your productivity. Some are free and others require a small investment, but all are worthy of your consideration.…

Every online or offline business has a message to deliver to potential customers, but reaching the right target is getting considerably harder. Even if you do successfully reach the correct target, you must also incite them to take action. Consumers need to trust and believe your solution will address their challenges. So why choose you out of the myriad other options out there, the numbers of which are growing every day?

It’s important to realize that consumers see hundreds of messages daily, both offline and on. The most successful strategies will convince them that your solution works and that it offers some clear advantage over competing solutions.…

The problem with data is that sometimes there is just too much to process. How simple life must have been in 1960, when business telephone service went through the Bell Telephone Company and the only choices had to do with how many buttons you could order on an executive phone. These days, keeping employees connected and informed can be accomplished with many smart devices. iPhone has been the simplest and most productive product to date, but here are comparisons with four other, often more affordable, choices.

iPhone5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S3

The iPhone5 is more refined, with a 4-inch screen in a unit that weighs 3.9 ounces, the lightest on the market.…

Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR sounds very complex. In reality though, it simply means that companies should attempt to help rather than harm individual people, communities and the environment. True CSR is merely exercising an effort to do more good than harm. In that sense, historically speaking, small business has always been well equipped for CSR.

CSR Issues

Any issue that is currently impacting the community can become a CSR target. Today’s hot button issues could be called the four Es. Here are a few small business ideas to promote the four Es.

• Economy – A small business should benefit the local economy.
…

Many companies now use location-based marketing to spread awareness about their businesses among potential customers. In location-based marketing, technology sends messages customized on the basis of a potential customer’s location. It is a great way to connect, offering you a wider reach and giving consumers the convenience of finding your service for easily.

Location based marketing uses inbound and outbound marking to pull in consumers or push your message out to them. In push methods, Bluetooth or SMS alerts deliver information to consumers geographically located near to your store. In pull marketing strategy, technology uses consumers’ search habits and locations to provide them useful and relevant information that will include information about your business and services.…

Running a small business is one of the most challenging and fulfilling things an entrepreneurial person can do. It can be a struggle at first, especially for people who do not look for help when they need it. One of the most common complaints of business owners is that they work so much that they feel disconnected with the outside world.

It takes a certain personality to be successful. You need a lot of drive and a good dose of “can do” attitude. These personality traits can make it difficult to seek help when you need it. It is important to know when your pride is holding you back.…

Why is it so important to improve the accuracy of your sales forecasts? In order to answer this question, think of how expensive it is to have inventory and not have sales. These are inventory carrying costs. Now, think of the costs involved in losing business because your company allowed an inventory stock out to occur. These costs are represented by lost business. Both outcomes are representative of your company’s costs of managing inventory, and they are directly related to how accurate your customer demand forecasts are.

Accurate forecasts mean the company encounters fewer stock outs and doesn’t have as high a carrying cost of inventory.…

Allow for Innovation

There are two areas of innovation every company should focus on. Incremental innovation focuses on improving existing product lines while breakthrough innovation focuses on creating new products, developing growth and market share.…

As a small business, you can’t afford to lose a single customer, yet many small business owners lose customers without ever realizing it. That’s because they have failed to make the type of first impression that makes them feel welcomed into the storefront. These easy fixes to your business location can attract more customers by making your store a place they want to check out:

1. Landscaping

The retail space you own or rent may or may not be cared for by a property manager that pays attention to detail. Things like weeds growing among the bushes or in the landscape mulch make the business look abandoned and disheveled.…

A neon sign is a form of signage in which lead glass tubes are filled with inert gas and bend into various shapes and designs. When a high-voltage current is passed through the gas the tube emits light. Neon gas was originally used in these signs but nowadays a variety of gasses are used depending on the specific colours required. Xenon, Krypton and Helium gasses are sometimes used as the sole gas in some tubes in order to achieve certain intense colours. Neon signs made their first appearance in the early 1900′s and have moved on to become an essential part of advertising for many businesses.…

CLAIM TAG: 6TPXJQM6JEHW

With a flashing neon open sign, customers will see that you are ready for them, and you will capture attention (and business) with this type of sign.

Many companies use the neon open signs especially bars, restaurants of all sizes and shapes.  Neon signage companies can also incorporate pictures of beer, pizza, or anything else their customer want to incorporate into their neon open sign.  You can have your neon sign crawl, strobe, and even flash; you can even order a neon sign that will fit your unique business needs”even sculptures.…

The pawn shop fills a need that other financial systems cant cover.  A loan from a bank takes time to process, while a pawn shop client can get what they need in thirty minutes or less.  The knowledge that people can get cash quickly are often drawn to pawnshops instead of other lending institutions.…

Hanging out at a coffee shop is one of America’s most popular current pastimes.  Most everyone enjoys sipping on coffee of all types.  If you are the owner of this type of establishment, there is no better way to attract customers than a Neon Coffee Sign.

Coffee is no longer something that is plain, so advertising it should not be either.  Most coffee shops could use a variety of signs to advertise their products including a cappuccino neon sign , espresso neon sign, and different flavors of coffee neon signs.  Let your prospective clients know exactly what you serve inside with an appropriate neon sign.…

In today’s fast-paced times, pizza is a great convenience food.  Busy students and professionals may not always want to take time out to cook dinner.   It is easier to pick up a pizza on the way home.  Most every pizza parlor has take out.…