As entrepreneurs, we put enormous amounts of time, energy, and money into creating and building our businesses and creating a positive brand reputation. So why does our business sometimes struggle or experience unexpected dry spells? If you’ve stopped receiving inquiries from prospects and repeat business from existing clients, your brand reputation may be to blame. Despite our hard work and daily toil, even one bad review or negative comment on a blog can prove very detrimental to our reputation. Brand Reputation is Important As amazing as it seems that one or two pieces of negative information online or via word…
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Posting at least one article a week to your business blog is a great way to build your expert reputation and engage your target market through professional insights and useful information about your business. Most small business owners have a wealth of knowledge and expertise to share with their clients about their industry and what they sell, but not everyone knows how to craft an engaging, relevant blog piece using this information. I love to write, and have partnered with many entrepreneurs and large businesses alike to create original content on a variety of topics (you can learn more about…
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Staying in touch with your clients via email marketing tools ensures that you are always top of mind. Email marketing includes every email sent to build a relationship with your audience. There are many ways that email marketing tools can help your small business maintain professional, profitable contact with clients. At Jennie Lyon Virtual Assistant Services, we are very familiar with a handful of great email marketing applications. The following are the 5 software we use when partnering with clients on email marketing. [Tweet “Email marketing includes every email sent to a customer or potential client.”] 1. MadMimi MadMimi is a…
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If your small business isn’t active on social networking sites, it should be! Active participation in social networking sites draws more traffic to your website, increases sales, deepens trust in your brand, and provides almost endless networking opportunities. Social networking is more than just Facebook; successful businesses also need professional, active profiles (that they post to at least once daily with a combination of visual content, text posts, conversational links, and referrals) on Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest. Depending on your brand and client base, you may also consider accounts with Instagram and YouTube, as well. If you are not…
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Being organized, especially as a small business owner with a long to-do list, keeps your business productive, focused, and profitable—and keeps you sane. Spring is the perfect time of year to re-focus your energies and get your space and task list in order. Here are 6 great organization tips for your small business. 1. Use the CloudStoring documents in the cloud is a great way to protect them from computer crashes or viruses. Additionally, it’s a much cleaner, faster way to share files and information if you work with a virtual team. Applications to consider include Google Drive and Dropbox.…
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When there is SO much to do that there’s barely enough time to do it in, we have an odd tendency to put off doing anything at all. Procrastination is tempting for many reasons: overwhelm, fear of failure, disorganization, or simply not knowing where to start. As an entrepreneur, it’s best to nip your procrastination habit in the bud before it derails your budding enterprise. Here are a few tools I’ve picked up that can help keep entrepreneurs from procrastinating. 1. Get OrganizedIf your workspace is a mess and pens, papers, and wires don’t have their own designated space, you…
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“Branding”, a term that once meant simply stamping your business logo on everything, has evolved into the process of building a company’s identity and personality. While branding still involves developing a name and symbol or design that sets your business apart from the rest, it is so much more than that. Effective, strategic branding gives you an advantage over competitors and makes it possible for your company to target markets as tight or broad as you like. Because branding is so foundational to success, I thought I would offer a few more tips for creating a strong brand that I’ve…
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Whatever your industry and experience, a small business mentor will increase your confidence, your chance of succeeding, and your knowledge base. It is both empowering and validating to receive insight and encouragement from someone who has “been there” and can relate. Additionally, many mentees feel inspired by their mentors’ successes and can learn a great deal from their failures, as well. Whether you are starting out in small business or well established, with shaky confidence or a strong professional identity, a small business mentor can help move you to the next level. When you have found someone you might like…
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You’ve worked so, so hard to get clients—now it’s time to do everything in your power to keep them! Keeping clients is much less expensive than getting new ones, and client loyalty strengthens business. In addition, word of mouth, testimonials, and referrals are still some of the best methods to attract new clients who want your products or services. What this all adds up to is that it’s important, from time to time, to show your existing clients you appreciate them. I hope that you are already providing exceptional, personalized service and have great client relations, but it’s also important…
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Technology has given us so many incredible things, like modern medicine, instant toast, and spaceships, for example. For me and many other entrepreneurs, one of the greatest gifts technology has given society is the virtual office. We now enjoy the ability to instantly access just about any person, piece of information, and resource imaginable—all from the comfort of a home office. In addition to the virtual container of the Internet, cloud-based small business software has made it possible to hold online calls and meetings, erect storefronts in cyberspace, and share schedules, data, and media of all kinds. Here are my…
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