New York SBDC Research Network

Each year the  New York Small Business Development Center  recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the   Manhattan SBDC  appears in our  2016 Annual Report . Jessica Schreiber   FABSCRAP Manhattan SBDC FABSCRAP, a 501(c)3, was founded by Jessica Schreiber, a self-described “trash nerd” who previously managed the NYC Department of Sanitation’s e-waste and clothing recycling contracts, and earned a Master’s degree in Climate and Society from Columbia University. Jessica recognized that fabric and other textiles made up a significant percentage of the waste stream. She developed a business model through which FABSCRAP charges a modest service charge to cover operational costs associated with picking up the textile waste and redistributing it for reuse. Jessica sought advice from the SBDC about how to grow as well and how to monetize the environmental, financial and public relations benefits her...

Obtained from:   MarketingProfs  IT buyers tend to research products/services across a wide range of online channels, prefer to be contacted by vendors via email, and favor firms with excellent customer support, according to recent research from Spiceworks.  The top factors that drive whether IT buyers will respond to a new sales/marketing outreach effort are the relevance of the product/service and the inclusion of detailed pricing information in the message. IT buyers say the top factors that drive their brand loyalty to vendors are great customer support, consistently fair pricing, and a history of reliable products/services.

Obtained from: eMarketer It’s been called a fad, a bubble, a waste of money. But influencer marketing will remain immensely popular in 2018, and it’s important to put the discussion of disclosure in the context of just how important the tactic has become—not just for the usual suspects (marketers of fashion, beauty and gaming products) but increasingly for marketers in other categories. Marketers and influencers that don’t disclose put themselves at risk for Federal Trade Commission (FTC) scrutiny and consumer backlash, both of which are rising.

Obtained from: SBA U.S Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon announced the appointment of Steve Bulger as the SBA Regional Administrator for Region II, the area that encompasses New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.   According to McMahon, Bulger will be responsible for managing and overseeing the agency’s lending, economic development and procurement programs over five district and six branch offices. Combined, these offices total 64 employees and assist nearly 3 million small businesses employing over 6 million workers in Region II. SBA has 10 regions covering the United States and U.S. territories. These offices, which are managed by politically appointed administrators, play a part in supervising the 68 district offices and promoting the President’s and SBA Administrator’s policies, messages and priorities throughout the region. “I am very pleased that Steve is in place to help support me and the President in ser...

From eMarketer : Using location data has helped many retailers target their marketing and advertising more precisely to better reach consumers. But new data finds there are several inhibitors keeping US retailers from taking advantage of location-based analytics. The study, from Retail Systems Research (RSR), found that roughly half (47%) of retailers surveyed said concerns about the "creepiness" factor in tracking consumers was one of the top barriers to using location-based analytics. And there's also the issue of privacy.

From eMarketer : Consumers across the globe are warming up to proximity mobile payments. In 2018, for the first time, more than one-third (34.9%) of smartphone users ages 14 and older will use a mobile phone to pay for a purchase at a physical point of sale (POS) at least once every six months... Overall, most proximity mobile payment user growth worldwide will be driven by the expansion of the big three global providers—Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay—as well as Alipay and WeChat Pay. Growing retailer acceptance of mobile payments and spreading smartphone usage will also fuel growth.

Each year the  New York Small Business Development Center  recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the   Oswego Satelitte SBDC  appears in our  2016 Annual Report .  Debora Backus   Deb's Hash and Mash Oswego Satellite SBDC Debora Backus had been looking at a closed diner for months and determined that the location was sufficient to warrant re-opening. She had business experience, but did not have any restaurant experience, so she hired an experienced chef who was interested in working with her to re-open the diner. Under Debora’s management and utilizing her marketing skills, she tied together the menu, décor, atmosphere, and logo to develop her brand. Debora was referred to SBDC Advisor John Halleron by Operation Oswego County, a local development agency. They met to discuss the business plan needed for the purchase and establishment of the diner in the town of Volney. Debora prepared...

From MarketingProfs In the world of marketing, there's a misperception that B2B marketing is serious and logical and that B2C marketing is fun and creative. Though B2B marketers may need a deeper understanding of technology and they may have more limits placed on their creativity, the role emotions play in both B2B and B2C marketing is strikingly similar. As neuroanatomist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor puts it, "Most of us think of ourselves as thinking creatures that feel, but we are actually feeling creatures that think”. To gain a clearer understanding of the concept, I interviewed Jonathan Kahn, co-founder and creative marketing hacker at creative agency JM Consulting, and Michal Zarankin, head of digital marketing at in-app engagement platform Insert (recently acquired by Pendo), to learn their thoughts on the role of emotions in B2B marketing.

From Nav : Perhaps you’ve got a hot idea for a new business and decided it’s time to turn a dream into reality. Or you’ve given up on finding your dream job and decided to create your own. No matter what your motivation for launching your own business, the journey ahead is no doubt both exciting and scary. Where do you start? The first thing you’ll want to do is lay a solid foundation for your venture. Here’s a step-by-step list to get you started. While laying the groundwork for your business isn’t the most glamorous or fun part of getting started, it can significantly boost your chances of being successful.

  Obtained From: eMarketer Just 6% of firms are completely prepared for the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), according to a November 2017 survey of IT professionals by data modeling company Erwin. The GDPR, which becomes enforceable in May, states that a consumer's data can only be used if they give a company explicit permission. Not being prepared for these new rules is a big risk, because companies that are found to be in violation of the GDPR face a fine of $24 million or 4% of annual sales, depending on which figure is higher. One of the reasons more companies aren’t prepared for the GDPR is because it is expensive to become compliant with the new laws. Half of the companies in a Forrester Consulting and Evidon survey spent more than $1 million to meet GDPR requirements. And nearly a fifth of companies allocated more than $5 million for GDPR prep. “Conducting a whole GDPR analysis on the companies you work with, and the companies that those ...

At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a federal court has temporarily halted an operation that took more than $14 million from consumers seeking to start their own online business. The operation misrepresented that its purported business coaching program would enable consumers to earn substantial income, such as “six figures  in 90 days  or less.” According to the FTC,  the defendants induced consumers to pay  for a series of tiered memberships with increasing fees, falsely claiming that consumers would learn how to make substantial income with an online business. They promised consumers they would receive individualized coaching from successful marketers that would provide what they needed to build a successful business, but, in reality, these were merely salespeople selling higher membership levels in the defendants’ program. The defendants promoted their scheme via webpages and social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, and offered thei...

From Coleman Report The White House’s FY 2019 proposed budget released [recently] supports $30 billion in SBA 7(a) funding. That is a 10% increase over anticipated $27 billion in loans for FY 2018. Given the Administrator’s newly granted ability to increase 7(a) by 10% if needed at the end of a fiscal year, there should be sufficient 7(a) loan supply to meet 7(a) loan demand. The White House is weighing in on the credit elsewhere rule saying: SBA fills a critical void in the market when economic shocks reduce traditional lending to small businesses and when the private market is unwilling to provide capital to credit-worthy borrowers. However, during prosperous economic times such as these, the Budget proposes that SBA introduce counter-cyclical policies to its business loan guarantee programs that enables it to maintain its operations while ensuring that it is not displacing direct private lending. Through an adjustment of fees across its business loan guarantee programs, SB...

Each year the  New York Small Business Development Center  recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the   Onondaga SBDC  appears in our  2016 Annual Report .  Jeremy Stedman   Quality Auto Care of Cazenovia Onondaga SBDC Jeremy Stedman was studying Automotive Technology at Morrisville State College when he got an internship at Quality Auto Care of Cazenovia. Owner Lyle Regan took Jeremy under his wing and eventually the internship turned into a permanent position. Lyle realized that Jeremy had something others did not - he was driven, had motivation, and had determination.  When Lyle decided to retire he offered to sell his successful business to Jeremy. After many of drafts of the business plan and financial projections with SBDC Advisor Melissa Zomro, Jeremy was ready to apply to a lender. He eventually found a private investor that loaned him the capital to purchase the busines...

From eMarketer : Shopping on your mobile device isn’t always a smooth process. In fact, a new survey finds that many digital shoppers have a difficult time placing orders via mobile, resulting in an abandoned cart. A study from Addressy polled digital buyers in the US, UK and Germany, and found that nearly four in 10 respondents had issues entering their personal details when trying to complete a purchase on their mobile phone, which caused them to desert their cart. Entering personal details is just one of several problems digital shoppers face. Some 35% of respondents said the screen wasn't big enough to see what they were typing, and more than a quarter had issues entering their order accurately. What's more, one-third said they lost the connection, which resulted in a loss of interest in that product. But it isn't always a poor mobile experience that results in an abandoned cart.

From LinkedIn : According to three basic truths, praising people motivates them, praising people encourages them, and praising people inspires them to even greater heights. Impossible to argue with those statements? Maybe not. Depending on the approach you take, praising an employee -- or praising anyone -- can actually have the opposite effect. The difference lies in whether we assume skill is based on innate ability or on hard work and effort. Put another way, are people born with certain talents, or can talent be developed?

From ChuckTheWriter.blog : I've started following a new podcast, and have recently binge-watched a new Netflix documentary series. Oh yeah, and I’m waiting for new episodes of an old CNBC favorite... Business Wars is a brand new podcast from Wondery, and it comes from the same people who made the podcast American History Tellers. The podcast, in episodic format, follows the major battles between corporations for market supremacy – their successes, their failures, their wise decisions and their head-shaking gaffes... Netflix [is] currently airing an amazing six-part documentary series, Dirty Money, about the graft and sleaziness of corporations... There’s always cable television for shows like this … and one of my favorites is a late night CNBC docu-series called American Greed. This show features people and corporations who built their reputations on swindling and scamming and stealing...

From Medium : When it comes to restaurants, every US city has a unique identity. Austin, TX is renowned for its BBQ. New York City is densely packed with pizza-by-the-slice. San Francisco and LA compete on taqueria prestige. Using Google data, visualized by Google News Lab with design studio Polygraph, we can begin to quantify how these food trends vary across the country. Based on aggregated, anonymized, and differentially private data from users who have opted in to Google Location History, we ranked cities and counties by their most popular cuisine. We can also make comparisons: where are pizza parlors more popular than Mexican restaurants? And by comparing all cuisines, we have a better picture of regional preferences across the US.

From Marketing Profs : We all know mobile is gaining momentum, and it's not going to slow down anytime soon. So what can marketers do to make sure their websites stay up-to-date with the latest mobile trends? This infographic by film editing simplifiers Filmora has the following tips: • Make sure videos are mobile-friendly. • More broadly, make sure your website is mobile-friendly. (If your audiences use mobile devices—and they probably do—this should be your first priority.) • Explore augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) options to enhance customer experiences. • If you're running video ads, use mobile native video advertising. • Ensure making payments on mobile is easy to do. • Consider QR codes to streamline user experience.

Each year the  New York Small Business Development Center  recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the   Niagara SBDC  appears in our  2016 Annual Report . Roger Urban   Platter's Chocolates Niagara SBDC Platter’s Chocolates is a family business owned and operated by the Urban family since 1972. Owner Roger Urban purchased Platter’s from Carl Platter who started the business in 1938, and several members of Urban family currently work in the business. Several years ago Roger purchased Betty Dixon Candies, the Jamestown candy shop that Lucille Ball worked at as a teenager, and which inspired the famous episode on her show. This purchase broadened Platter’s manufacturing lines and chocolate mold inventory.  In 2014, Platter’s acquired Ko-Ed Candies, a South Buffalo tradition since 1947, again expanding production. This lead to Platter’s outgrowing its facility. In 2015, Platter’s embarked...

From eMarketer : Many consumers turn to online reviews to help inform their decision when researching a big-ticket product, according to new data from YA. In fact, when researching an expensive item—$250 or more—online ratings and reviews were the most common source respondents consulted, more so than word-of-mouth, in-store sales associates or social networks. But interestingly, while favorable reviews certainly affected their decision to buy one item over another, quality and price were more important. Roughly a third (32.4%) of respondents said quality is the primary factor in choosing to purchase a durable item, like a new computer or washing machine, and another 26.6% said price comes first.

From PC Magazine : Have you started thinking about doing your taxes? Neither have I. But PCMag's Kathy Yakal has been testing tax preparation software for weeks. Tax law changes every year and tax prep software has to change with it. This year, Intuit TurboTax once again earns the Editors' Choice award for the best overall package. That said, TaxAct and FreeTax USA (which actually costs $6.99, despite its name) also had strong showings. Just don't expect to collect on the Trump tax cuts. Those won't show up until you file next year.

From MarketingProfs : Pity the beleaguered Crock-Pot: First it gets its lunch eaten by the upstart InstantPot. Then it murders a beloved character on a popular TV show. The slow cooker that had toiled unobtrusively for years on kitchen counters around the world, silently stewing your Swedish meatballs, suddenly found itself last week thrust into the social media spotlight. Prior to last week, the brand wasn't even on Twitter—because, honestly, who wants to talk to Crock-Pot? Yet, a week later, the hastily assembled @CrockPotCares Twitter feed is still defending itself from attacks caused by the unlikeliest of sources. What Happened? Last Tuesday, NBC's "This Is Us" episode fingered the family slow cooker in the long-awaited explanation of the death of family patriarch Jack Pearson (played by Milo Ventimiglia)... In that moment last week, Crock-Pot found itself blindsided—thrust into the middle of a Clue game. (It was Mr. Crock-Pot in the Kitchen with Flame f...

From MarketingProfs "Domain names play a crucial role in branding and SEO of a website," begins an infographic by review site Website Builder. So it's important to think about your business's website domains carefully, understand how they work, and know your resources for purchasing and maintaining them. The infographic explains all that and more about domains, from the parsing of a URL to a timeline of domain names. (The first domain to be registered was symbolics.com in 1985!) It also answers some common questions about domains and SEO. For example, avoid using numbers and hyphens in a domain name, the graphic suggests, and keep your domain name as short as possible.

From eMarketer : Once upon a time, social media marketing was very different than it is today. Marketers could open a page on Facebook, write a bunch of fun posts and watch the fan count go up. But that all changed when Facebook began drastically reducing the reach of organic (nonpaid) posts. "While organic serves a key purpose within our broader strategy, we are very mindful that the creative must be top-notch to resonate, and that it strategically incorporates the proper hashtags to ensure relevance within the marketplace," said Tad Ehrbar, senior vice president of global consumer social media and content at Citi. Others believe organic social is a waste of time and dollars—and they don’t mince words. “You might as well take your budget to the bank, cash it out in greenback $20s, pile it up in the parking lot and light the money on fire,” said Ogilvy's Marshall Manson. However, some marketers believe organic is not only still important, but perhaps more import...