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Every Step You Take

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Written by Janelle Nanos  Article from The Boston Globe Most of us now live at the slightly queasy intersection of consumerism and surveillance.  The dozens of apps on our phones, most of them free, aren’t just serving up information and entertainment. Many are able to ascertain our whereabouts based on the phone’s GPS and can then sell that geolocation data to digital marketers.  Unlike traditional print or television ads, location-based marketing has the benefit of knowing where we are, whom we’re with, and whether their ads are working.  Geotargeted mobile marketing is one of the fastest growing forms of advertising — and one of the most controversial. It has arisen in part because, as more of us use streaming and on-demand viewing services, we’re watching far fewer television ads. And because so many of us carry our smartphones at all times, digital marketers have seized the opportunity to gather and sell data on where we are, what we do — and what we might want to buy.

For Certain Types of Purchases, Influencers Have More Sway

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Author: Krista Garcia For the full article, go to eMarketer Even with recent reports of fraud and fake followers, influencer marketing continues to be big business. According to measurement firm Points North Group, influencer ad spending by brands in the US and Canada totaled $211 million in Q2 2018. Nearly three-quarters ($150 million) was devoted to Instagram. A February 2018 survey by influencer marketing agency Activate found that 88.9% of influencers worldwide said they were using Instagram for influencer marketing campaigns more than they did a year ago. Despite Instagram's growing prominence in influencer marketing, an April 2018 CPC Strategy study showed Facebook was the leading platform where US internet users heard about new products, events or services from people they follow. Nearly 70% cited the ubiquitous social network, while Instagram (11.3%) and YouTube (9.5%) ranked a distant second and third. This survey was comprised of all age ranges, though, and many in

Early signs of Christmas make people crabby

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Written by Anne Stych Article from bizwomen It’s only October, but Christmas decorations are already in stores — and a lot of people find that annoying.   According to a new Coinstar Holiday Survey, more than a third - 36 percent - of people surveyed say it's irritating that retailers put up holiday decorations and merchandise as early as September or October, although CBS reported some studies show that people who put up their Christmas decorations early are healthier and happier than those who don’t.  For those who are out of sorts it may be because the decorations remind them they have a lot of shopping to do. And for one in five people, just thinking about holiday shopping stresses them out.

How Long Does It Take to Start a Franchise?

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Written by Joel Libava Article from the Small Business Administration Purchasing a franchise involves many steps — and a lot of time and effort. But, if you’re organized, and you’ve taken the time to learn all you can about franchising, you’ll be able to speed up the process. Purchasing Steps: 1. The Search Typically, you’ll visit several different franchise opportunity websites until you narrow it down to a few franchises that look interesting. Here are three things you should be looking for in a franchise. 2. Contacting A Franchisor This step is a big one, because it involves formally requesting information about a specific franchise. Expect to get a phone call from a franchise salesperson. 3. Research This step involves reading the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and calling franchisees so you can request earnings information, as well as conducting other basic market research. If you’re still interested, you may be invited to visit franchise he

Wallets Full, Shoppers Ready to Crank Up Holiday Spend

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Written by Jen King Article from eMarketer r A survey from adtech company OpenX conducted last month by The Harris Poll found that more than eight in 10 shoppers say they will spend at least as much as they did last year. Fully 26% of respondents said they plan to spend more; 18% plan to reel in spending. Millennials (those ages 18 to 34) and parents were particularly ready to open their wallets. On average, parents estimated they’ll spend upwards of $1,000 on gifts, compared with millennials’ planned $860 spend. Underpinning shoppers' willingness to spend is a sense of financial stability. More than half of respondents (55%) believe the economy is better now than it was a year ago, and three-fourths are confident that economic improvement will continue. Interestingly, millennials were a bit less sanguine about the economy, with slightly less than half (48%) saying things are better now compared with last year. But like shoppers in general, they are optimisti

The Minty-Fresh Way to Fail At Business

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Written by Dan Lewis  Article from Now I Know  More than 200 years ago, a New York City man named William Colgate made a living making and selling soap and candles.  Today, his name makes up half of that of a multi-billion dollar consumer goods corporation known as Colgate-Palmolive.  They, basically, make three types of stuff: soaps (one being Palmolive itself) toothpaste and other oral care products (under the Colgate brand) and, perhaps surprisingly, pet food.  In 1976, Colgate-Palmolive, via a series of mergers whose history isn’t worth going into, added the Hill’s Science Diet product line (and related ones) to their offerings. They decided not to re-brand the pet food under the Colgate brand because that would be, well, stupid. Who wants to feed their dog toothpaste-flavored kibble? Could you imagine pet food being included among these products?

For Many, Reaching Out to Customer Service Isn’t Enjoyable

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Written by Jen King Article from eMarketer Contacting customer service is a frustrating experience for many consumers, especially if it gets them nowhere. According to a June 2018 survey from cloud-based solutions provider LogMeIn, nearly a quarter (23.6%) of internet users in North America—who have contacted a brand for support in the past six months—say their problem was never solved. Those who did manage to get it resolved said it took way too long (33.7%). Others (38.5%) hated the fact that they had to repeat themselves over and over to other customer service agents as their query was escalated.

How to Develop Your Business Strategy

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Written by: Tim Berry See the complete article at Bplans Strategy is what you’re not doing. My favorite metaphor is the sculptor with a block of marble—the art is what he chips off the block, not what he leaves in. Michelangelo started with a big chunk of marble and chipped pieces off of it until it was his David. At the real-world level—my favorite—strategy is like driving and sex: we all think we’re pretty good at it. But simplifying, doing today what will seem obvious tomorrow, is genius. I say the best strategies seem obvious as soon as you understand them. Furthermore, it seems to me that if they don’t seem obvious after the fact, they didn’t work... Think of it as the heart of the business, like the heart of the artichoke. It’s a group of core concepts that can’t be separated: problem, solution, market, and identity. Don’t pull them apart. It’s the interrelationship between them that drives your business. Each affects the other three.

What Small Businesses Should Know About Tariffs

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Written by Peter J. Cazamias  Article from Small Business Administration Recently the United States Government announced several new tariff increases. The U.S. Department of Commerce implemented tariffs on steel and aluminum imports for national security reasons.  Separately, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced tariffs to combat unfair trade practices on certain Chinese goods. Additional tariffs on a larger list of goods from China are expected in the future.  Small businesses should become familiar with what imported products are impacted to make informed business decisions as tariffs could increase the total cost of certain imported goods.  What are tariffs? Tariffs are a taxes, levies, or duties on a particular category of imports. These fees are charged as a percentage of the price of an imported good paid for by a U.S. buyer. These charges are collected by U.S. Custom and Border Protection agents at all U.S. ports of entry.  How can I obtain a tariff

3/4ths of the Nation’s Businesses Don’t Have Paid Employees

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Written by Adam Grundy Article from US Census Bureau You could look at the total number of establishments in the United States using just the U.S. Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns (CBP) data. But if you did, you would only be getting a partial view of the economic landscape. That’s because CBP only provides data on businesses that have employees on their payroll. But, in 2016, only 23.8 percent of the 32,570,855 establishments in the United States had paid employees. That means the remaining 76.2 percent of establishments were nonemployers or establishments that don’t have any paid employees. And those data come from the 2016 Nonemployer Statistics (NES). The majority of all business establishments in the United States are nonemployers, yet these nonemployer establishments average less than 4 percent of all sales and receipts nationally. So, to get a full picture of U.S. businesses in 2016, you have to look at both CBP and NES data programs. The U.S. Census Bureau

Shoppers' State of Mind Affects Customers Experience

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Excerpt from an article by Krista Garcia To read more, visit  eMarketer "Based on the titles of two new studies, “Stress Shopping” and “Retail Nightmares,” it’s a sad state of affairs for shoppers, in-store and online. Emotions play a role in shopping behavior even if consumers don't think that they do. According to a recent survey of UK and US internet users by analytics firm Clicktale, 78% of respondents believe they are rational when they shop. Yet 40% said they shop to calm down, and 74% said they have "stress-shopped" in the past. Younger shoppers and women were more likely to engage in this behavior; 62% of those ages 16 to 24 stress-shop and women were 12% likelier than men to shop for this reason."

The Business Case for Healthy Buildings

The principal author is Kathleen McCormick For the full report, go to the Urban Land Institute Inspired by a growing body of evidence that healthy buildings can have a positive effect on human health and real estate performance, as well as the corporate bottom line, this report highlights the key certification standards in use in the marketplace, explores recent research on the impact of health-promoting design, and offers profiles of five projects that have been early adopters of healthy building and workplace design and management practices. It reviews the evidence and profiles some early-adopter projects that have been shown—quantitatively and qualitatively—to have had a positive impact on people’s lives and companies’ finances through healthy building design, construction, and management. The emphasis on health and wellness is a growing global phenomenon. The global wellness real estate industry, valued at $134 billion in 2017, has increased 6.4 percent annually since 2015

Retain Your Great Employees. Here's How and Why It's Necessary

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Excerpt from an article by Arihant Patni To read more, visit  LinkedIn "Managing Director at Hive Technologies Key employee retention is critical to the long-term health and success of your business. Retaining best employees ensures customer satisfaction, product sales, satisfied coworkers and reporting staff, effective succession planning and organizational knowledge and learning. As job hopping is increasingly becoming the norm, thanks in part to a workforce comprised of more millennial's who are likely to have twice as many jobs over their lifetimes as their predecessors, the baby boomers, let’s take a look at some key takeaways on how you can retain your best employees. Financial stability motivates people to stay in a job, that’s human nature. Apart from this, health care and insurance concerns also add to the list. What you offer your employees must be comparable to other businesses in your industry."

Set your email marketing up for success

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An offer for the free eBook "Step-By-Step Guide To Creating A Winning Email Marketing Campaign" From ThomasNet Email marketing is one of the best ways to connect with prospects and grow your business. However, it takes a lot of planning and preparation to get it right. "Whether you are new to email marketing and want to set up your first campaign, or if you’ve been doing it awhile but need to improve your results, this step-by-step guide will help you achieve winning results. - Learn the best way to build your contact list - Find out how to choose the email platform that's right for you - Get expert writing and design tips - Find out about different tools and apps that can make your job easier And more."

Customer Attitudes About Emerging Technologies

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Excerpt from an article by Remie Arena To read more, visit  eMarketer "A global survey by marketing platform Hubspot found that among a variety of emerging concepts, cryptocurrencies and their underlying technology, blockchain, leave the most people scratching their heads. Interestingly, though, those surveyed seemed to perceive that blockchain and cryptocurrencies were not one in the same, because while more than one-quarter of respondents called cryptocurrencies overhyped, only 10% said the same about blockchain. Two other emerging technologies that were also fairly widely perceived as being overhyped were driverless cars and artificial intelligence (AI). In fact, the survey found that half of respondents did not expect AI to ever have an impact on their jobs."

Who Knew? Census Bureau Conducts Dozens of Business Surveys

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By the AMERICA COUNTS STAFF More information at the Census Bureau : The Census Bureau call center receives hundreds of questions every month. We’re bringing you the answers to some of the most common questions in a series of podcasts. Here’s Andrew Hait from the Economic Outreach Office. We hope this helps clear up any confusion about why you receive multiple surveys.

Most Retailers Haven't Mastered Personalization Yet

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Excerpt from an article by Krista Garcia To read more, visit  eMarketer "Much has been written about value exchange and the push-pull of consumers' willingness to give up personal info for personalization, offers or other supposed special treatment. Many US internet users, however, are reluctant to reveal anything more than their name and email address to marketers. At the minimum, a retailer should be able to discern and differentiate a consumer at some point during a shopping journey. An April 2018 BRP (Boston Retail Partners) survey of retailers in North America found very different capacities for identifying customers in-store vs. online. That’s not completely surprising since digital activity has been easier historically to track than behavior in-store. The bulk of customer identification in-store happens at checkout, cited by 57% of respondents. One-fifth of retailers said they couldn't ID a customer in-store at all, while 13% said they can ID a customer whe

4 Reources to Help You Create a Safe Workplace

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Excerpt of an article by Joshlyn Ross To read more visit sba.gov When was the last time you’ve revisited your workplace safety plan? Not only is it the law, but it also can ensure that you and your employees are always safe. In honor of National Safety Month, we would like to highlight four resources that will help you identify unsafe behaviors, create opportunities for improvement and help you (and your employees) make well-informed safety decisions on a daily basis. 1. Ensure your business meets legal requirements with OSHA Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s role is to assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards as well as providing training and education to business owners. Check out OSHA’s handbook to ensure that your small business meets the legal requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. 2.

Understanding Younger Baby Boomers' Digital Usage

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Excerpt from an article by eMarketer Editors, To read more visit eMarketer Younger baby boomers are not a digitally clueless bunch, but marketers cannot assume that they are as digitally active—or as mobile in their usage—as millennials and Gen Xers. Rather, they have their own distinctive ups and downs with digital. As commerce takes on an increasingly digital skew, many marketers will want to connect digitally with younger boomers. But they must wonder whether (and how) it can be done. "Younger boomers were early adopters of the personal computer and email. But where do they stand in an era of smartphones and social media and ecommerce and all the rest?" asked Mark Dolliver, analyst at eMarketer and author of the new report, "Younger Baby Boomers as Digital Users: Just How Far Do They Go?"

I Don't Like Being Called a Job Creator

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By Hank Green Listen to the vlog on Hank's channel : 1. People don't hire people to create jobs, they hire people to do jobs. 2. The method through which economic opportunity and job creation occurs is complicated and involves many many people, not just the person who starts or owns or runs a business. 3. Entrepreneurship is not charity, it is only a public good if the business does good work and treats its employees fairly.