New York SBDC Research Network

Excerpt of an article by Kristin Manganello, To read more visit Thomasnet Sustainability initiatives — which focus on promoting and expanding healthy business systems by addressing various environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors — have become a key focus for consumers and businesses alike. The ultimate goal of implementing sustainable practices is to ensure that the global business community is eco-friendly, socially responsible, inclusive, easier to predict, and financially successful for all involved parties. Because sustainability is often associated with high implementation costs, there is a common misconception that the expenses outweigh the benefits. For this reason, many companies are still resistant to introduce these practices into their business models. But working toward more sustainable processes offers more than just environmental benefits and a boosted company reputation; opportunities abound for fiscal savings and increased profit margins as well. A Pe...

From eMarketer An April 2018 study of US retailers by Retail Systems Research (RSR) found that pricing concerns far outstripped other issues. Keeping up with the competition’s prices was the No. 1 challenge, cited by 58% of respondents. When asked about their top three business challenges, 65% of retailers cited "aggressive competitors of like items make price our primary demand driver." And 60% cited "increased consumer price sensitivity." Those two challenges were the only ones cited by more than half of the respondents. But pricing pressures were more acute in some sectors than others. In particular, the study noted that fashion and apparel retailers were much less likely to be focused on pricing parity (at 39%) and tended to be more concerned about minimizing markdown spend (48%).

From The World Economic Forum : Ten years on from the global financial crisis, the prospects for a sustained economic recovery remain at risk due to a widespread failure on the part of leaders and policy-makers to put in place reforms necessary to underpin competitiveness and bring about much-needed increases in productivity, according to data from the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018 . The Global Competitiveness Index 2017-2018 presents a framework and a corresponding set of indicators in three principal categories (subindexes) and twelve policy domains (pillars) for 137 economies. Drawing on data going back 10 years, the report highlights in particular three areas of greatest concern. These include the financial system, where levels of “soundness” have yet to recover from the shock of 2007 and in some parts of the world are declining further. This is especially of concern given the important role the financial system will need to play in facilitati...

From MarketingProfs : You feel a ripple of nausea as your stomach falls. You just heard from the sales team that your company lost a hot prospect that you really wanted to add to your client list. You'd followed the tracking notifications as the prospect read your articles, downloaded your premium content, read additional articles, and checked out the case studies and bottom-of-the-funnel content that the sales team had sent. Your hopes were sky-high when your company's best salesperson was assigned to this prospect, and you just knew she would close the deal. But, no... And the worst part is, you lost the prospect to a competitor you've been enviously watching win again and again. What happened? Content is like a new baby: To the people who made it, it's perfect—even though there are hundreds of thousands of other babies out there that are arguably just as "perfect."

From Marketing Profs : To many retailers today, Amazon.com seems unstoppable. The website that ate retail has overtaken a fellow titan, Wal-Mart, as the second-largest seller of consumer electronics, and it has category No. 1 Best Buy in its sights. As retail witnesses the shuttering of former retail heavyweights, including Sports Authority and Sports Chalet, and the slimming of long-term players, including Macy's, Walgreens, and the Gap, smaller retailers are often left wondering whether there is, in fact, a path to success when you don't have millions to spend on marketing. Here's the key: An underdog doesn't win by beating a giant at its own game, but by outwitting, outmaneuvering, and out-strategizing it. Offering hope to retail are the stories of nimble retailers, including Ulta, TJ Maxx, and H&M, which are continuing to grow and open new stores year after year. Those successes prove that although midmarket retailers might not be able to compete with Am...

Competitive analysis has become an essential part of business marketing activity and has made it possible to perform qualitative strategic planning. While analyzing your competitors, you should know what you are looking for and how it can help your business. It is not about stealing your competitor’s ideas; it’s about revealing their strengths and weaknesses, and finding your own company’s competitive advantages. Only unique brand positioning will eventually bring your company customer loyalty and business success. If you’ve wondered what your competitors are up to, that shows you’re thinking strategically and want to have confidence in your own company’s approach. There are plenty of ways to check on your competition that are totally above-board. Read more BPlans

If you run your company like most business owners do, you might take a deep look at your business numbers once every three months. Frankly, that’s not a terrible strategy. You have time to see how things are going and you aren’t spending too much time on the books. At least you’re actually looking at your numbers—which puts you well ahead of many other small business owners. But, reviewing your key numbers only once a quarter can limit the opportunities you have to evolve your strategy and grow your company. If your company closes its books quarterly and only looks at results quarterly, you’ll have a hard time adapting and evolving quickly to situations that arise within your business. That’s because you are only stepping back, reviewing your strategy, and course-correcting your business four times a year. Thankfully, there’s a simple solution to make your company more nimble and agile than your competition. read more from LivePlan

Most companies are continually looking for ways to get an edge over their competitors, and a time-honored method is simply to spy on the other guys. Technically, it falls under the category of market research, unless, of course, it’s actual spying. But, we’re not going to get into corporate espionage here—we’ll stick with the “market research” strategies that are legal, if somewhat sneaky. In the event that you feel uneasy about spying on your rivals, consider the fact that if you’re any sort of force to be reckoned with in your market, they are probably already spying on you. But, if you’re still not quite comfortable with the word “spying,” think of it as “competitive intelligence.” Competitive intelligence is a means of legally obtaining information that you can use to improve your own products, services, and customer retention. Read more from BPlans.com

The New York Public Library in conjunction with its sponsor, the Citi Foundation, is proud to announce the 5th Annual New York StartUP! Business Plan Competition for New York-based startup entrepreneurs with cash prizes totaling over $30,000. New York 2014 StartUP! gives aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to bolster their business acumen. Entrants gain practical insights about starting and growing a business, while learning about the comprehensive small business resources at NYPL's Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL). Eligibility: • You must be 18 years of age or older, live in Manhattan, The Bronx, or Staten Island as a legal resident or US citizen, and wish to start a business in Manhattan, The Bronx, or Staten Island. • Start up businesses only. Operating businesses that have earned revenue and/or have paid taxes are not eligible. Any business incorporated prior to October 13, 2011 is not eligible to enter. • This competition is for For-Profit Businesse...

The College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering at the University at Albany, UAlbany's School of Business, the Lally School of Management & Technology at Rensselaer, and Syracuse University will host the third annual New York State Business Plan Competition on April 26, 2012. The New York State Business Plan Competition is a venture creation and innovation competition that was established in 2009 to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship throughout New York State's colleges and universities. The competition encourages students to fully engage in their research and allows them to gain valuable experience through presenting their business plan to potential investors and industry executives. The top applications will be selected by an external panel of judges to present in the final round of the competition and compete for over $100,000 in cash prizes. Since 2010, over 35 student teams from 13 New York State colleges have presented at the competition. At the end of ...

An interesting discussion on the internal SBDC listserv recently. Some of the info has been redacted for confidentiality reasons. One of our advisors has a service provider client who has been in business for more than 10 years. He recently had a telephone call from a customer complaining about his work. He explained to the customer that he had not done work for her and after further investigation of her receipt she realized that the work was done by another company with a very similar name. Unfortunately both company’s are even located on the same street (different towns). Upon further investigation of the new company my client discovered several dissatisfied customers. He contacted the new business owner who is not willing to change his company name. My client is wondering if anyone has any suggestions on ways to distinguish his company from the other. He is currently in the process of meeting with managers of local home improvement stores to make sure they are aware of the situ...

Survey Based Assessment of Financial Institution Use of Credit Scoring for Small Business Lending: The introduction of credit scoring by banks for small business loans may help increase small businesses’ access to credit, according to a study released by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The report also found that relationships continue to be the dominant factor in banks’ decisions to lend to small businesses. Written by Drs. Charles and Adrian Cowan with funding from the Office of Advocacy, A Survey Based Assessment of Financial Institution Use of Credit Scoring for Small Business Lending, shows that banks, particularly those in urban areas, are moving towards the use of both owner and business credit scoring as a key metric in the small business loan decision. A copy of this report can be obtained here , and the research summary here . Should you need further information, please feel free to contact Charles Ou at (202) 205-6533 or advocacy@sba.gov . **...