How to Stand Out From the Crowd
- Written by Fox Business
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As competition across industries increases, so do the demands of your customers and clients, making it vital for you to stand out in a crowded market.
A strong brand that highlights your unique value will help create a bond between you and your customers. The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's goods or services as distinct from those of other sellers."
For small businesses, branding involves more than just symbols or design, and standing out takes more than just touting your great services.
They key to differentiating your business is not what you do, but HOW you do it. And “how” you do it is a direct reflection of your core values – the bedrock of a strong brand. ... Read more
Why We Are Afraid to Talk Pricing
- Written by Small Business Trends
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When I heard Marcus Sheridan speak at BlogWorld, one thing that stood out was his statement, “Businesses are afraid to talk about pricing.” I realized he was completely right.
Think about the last time you went to a website for a product or service that you couldn’t buy outright online. Did it list prices? Or did the site encourage you to call for more information? How many times do you walk away from a purchase simply because you couldn’t get enough information on pricing to make an informed decision? I know that’s been the case for me in many instances.
Why We Don’t List Prices
I think we’re afraid to talk about pricing on our websites because we want to convince potential customers of the value our products provide. Simply giving a number doesn’t express how awesome our widgets and doohickeys are. But we, our companies’ salespeople, can expound upon the benefits our products provide! They’re magical and worth every penny! ... Read more
Habits to avoid if you want to succeed in business
- Written by Globe and Mail
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Bad habits of CEOs
We often revere corporate leaders. It may be their ability to inspire, or a get-the-job done mentality that draws us in. Whatever that je ne sais quoi may be, we want it and believe that with it, we too will be successful one day.
But the truth is that many leaders have undesirable traits, at least according to Eric Jackson. In this post from Forbes, he zeroes in on the seven most common habits of unsuccessful CEOs, emphasizing that not all attributes deserve to be emulated:
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They see themselves and their companies as dominating their environment.
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They identify so completely with the company that there is no clear boundary between their personal interests and their corporation’s interests. ... Read more
Pinterest leads content curation boom
- Written by Globe and Mail
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There’s been a lot of buzz lately around new social media networks focused on content curation.
Pinterest, a virtual pinboard that lets you collect and post your favourite things on the web, is driving the most interest. But others, such as Buyosphere, an online shopping destination based on community recommendations, are gaining traction.
To say Pinterest is growing quickly is an understatement. According to a report from Shareaholic, Pinterest now drives more referral traffic than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined. It recently became the fastest website to attract more than 10 million unique monthly visitors. Time magazine named it one of the 50 best websites of 2011 and Techcrunch named it the best new startup of 2011.
Interior designers are sharing images that inspire them, and the DIY crowd is sharing a never-ending supply of new projects to try out. ... Read more
When talk isn’t cheap: How to bring down cellphone costs
- Written by Globe and Mail
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Ms. Nikolajev is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Beautifully Bare Hi-Tech Spa, a Toronto-based “medical aesthetics” company that offers laser hair removal, non-surgical skin tightening and teeth whitening. The company offers these services in 10 spas in Ontario, and opened its first storefront location last month.
Since Ms. Nikolajev operates her business out of other people’s spas, she and her partner, Karen Doering, are constantly on the phone with spa owners and two employees – technicians who do most of the procedures. Ms. Nikolajev and her partner are finding they each spend close to $400 a month on mobile costs. "We’re constantly on our phones, and we always go over our minutes,” she says. ... Read more