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Introducing Friday 15: Small Business Tips

January 2, 2014

Looking for ways to grow your business online? Meet Friday 15.

In 15 minutes, you could check email, take a nap, dance to your favorite song…three times, or you could learn some new tips to help your business succeed on the web. Friday 15: Small Business Tips is a series from Google’s Get Your Business Online program designed to help small businesses like yours make the most of their online presence.

Friday 15 answers questions like: How should I choose the pictures on my website?  How can I monitor my business online? How should I handle a bad review?  And more.  Check out highlights from two Friday 15 lessons below. Enjoy!

Attract customers with clear page names and descriptions

One quick and easy way to help Google and other search engines understand your website is to add names and descriptions to your webpages. A page name, or page title, describes the content and context of the page. The more specific and informative the title, the better chance that page has to be displayed on a related search.  For example, use “Hours and Location,” instead of “About Us.” (more…)

Small Businesses Need To Be Aware Of Cyber Criminals

December 23, 2013

The risk for cyber espionage continues to evolve as perpetrators are targeting small businesses at an alarming rate. Symantec, a bellwether in the web-security space, recently announced that attacks surged almost three-fold for small businesses or those with less than 250 employees.

Small businesses now account for more than 31% of all web attacks or greater than 300 million incidents annually. Given this backdrop, should your business consider investing in greater security measures and cyber liability insurance?

Why are small businesses being targeted?

Attackers are recognizing now that it’s more effective to go after the weakest link than to focus on the largest companies in the world. If they can attack a million different websites with ease versus one large website, it’s more strategic for them to go after the small players. The data that these cyber criminals are targeting include bank account information, customer data and intellectual property. (more…)

SBDC Success Story: Idaho

December 16, 2013

State: Idaho
Center: Idaho SBDC, Region IV
Client Name: Dr. Jill’s Chiropractic Treatment Center

Dr. Jill Adepoju knew from the time she was 16 that she wanted to be a chiropractor. Her father and brother were in the profession and she grew up working in her father’s office. She witnessed all of the people he was able to help and knew it was the profession she wanted to pursue.

While in college, Jill began writing a business plan. Jill first became a client of the College of Southern Idaho Small Business Development Center (SBDC) as a workshop enrollee in the Center’s Small Business Boot Camp.

With the help of the SBDC, she received a small loan from an SBDC partner, Region IV Development Corporation, to fund start-up costs, leasehold improvements and purchase equipment. The Idaho SBDC also assisted Dr. Adepoju in enhancing her business plan with market research centered around her treatment specialization in family health.

Does Email Marketing Increase Sales?

December 16, 2013

Email marketing provides businesses with a cost-effective way to stay connected to their customers. In addition, companies can easily launch a program to meet many different objectives. Learn the best ways to increase sales with email marketing.

Email marketing programs

There are many different ways to use email marketing to connect to customers. Companies can launch campaigns with the objective of being promotional, informative, or to provide a company specific announcement. The type of campaign and frequency of emails will typically depend on the customer, company, and industry. For instance, a business targeting a previous retail customer may send promotional emails based on historical purchases and the time of day the open-rates perform best.

Important email marketing metrics

The open-rate measures the number of recipients that opened the email as ratio of the total email send list. Most marketers should expect an open-rate of 25% to 30% according to the recent 2013 industry statistics provided by marketing firm Epsilon. In addition, to open rates, marketers will want to pay attention to click through and bounce rates. Click through rates are typically shown as the number of links in the email that were clicked in relation to the total number of recipients that opened the email. (more…)

Are You Updating Your Five Year Strategic Plan?

December 9, 2013

The 2008 recession changed how many businesses manage their companies. Strategic plans from prior years were changed and in some cases completely scrapped for a greater focus on reducing costs. As a result, many c-level executives are now beginning to question the importance of a five year plan. Despite this sentiment, we believe strategic planning is effective when done properly and continuously.

The objective of a strategic plan

Many companies follow a strategic plan to guide them on how to allocate their resources effectively to achieve their objectives. Without a plan, it’s very difficult for senior management and employees to work together in achieving company goals. Unfortunately, these plans are sometimes designed with little regard to internal and external factors.

Updating your strategic plan

First, you may be asking why you need a five year plan when it’s very difficult to predict future business conditions. The simple answer is that you need to prepare for unexpected events when building a long lasting company. Typically, it takes several years to achieve results from developing new products, services and competing in new markets. The same holds true when making changes to existing products and services or setting new financial goals. (more…)