New York SBDC Research Network

Import prices decreased 10.0 percent from June 2014 to June 2015. The import price index for fuels and lubricants (which makes up 12.0 percent of imports) declined 40.7 percent from June 2014 to June 2015. Over that period, petroleum prices decreased 41.3 percent and prices for natural gas declined 42.7 percent. In June 2015, prices for nonfuel imports declined 2.3 percent over the year. The decrease was led by a 6.7-percent drop in prices for nonfuel industrial supplies and materials (13.4 percent of imports). More from the Bureau of Labor Statistics .

From Inc. Jennifer Walzer, CEO of Backup My Info!, offers a strategic hiring tactic you probably haven't used before.

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One-third of consumers who contact a brand on social media with a customer service issue never get a response, according to a recent report from the Northridge Group. The report was based on data from a survey conducted in March 2015 of 1,017 adults in the United States. Consumers were polled on their expectations and experiences with customer service problems and inquiries in the past year. When consumers do get a response on social media about a customer service issue, the answer comes from the brand within an hour only 38% of the time. Some 42% of respondents say they expect a response from companies on social media within an hour. Read more from MarketingProfs

The Office of Advocacy, an independent office within the U.S. Small Business Administration, released an Issue Brief entitled “ Patenting and Innovative Startups: Putting the America Invents Act (AIA) in a Broader Economic Context. ” The issue brief summarizes some of the potential small business outcomes of the AIA and contextualizes those outcomes for innovative startups. This issue brief finds that policy changes that affect patenting could affect innovative startups as they may heavily utilize patents to raise funds to continue to innovate.

As our intake of user-generated content has increased, businesses have capitalized on that material and in turn, relaxed the style of corporate media. We see ads copying the style of social media, and the use of popular social media stars to promote brands. The use of humor is becoming even more expected. There has been an increase in the use of various short video-based communication formats across the Internet. From Vine s, SnapChat s, Instagram and Twitter joining the already established YouTube , FaceBook and Tumblr , very young people in particular are comfortable using these methods and video content is proliferating. Small business brands need to be relevant, and it would be wise to consider video as a vital part of the marketing mix. Any dedicated person with a smartphone can start making video content, but it is an opportunity for videographers whose meat-and-potatoes are wedding videos and christenings to expand their clientele. Some businesses are especially suited to usi

Supplier Connection is a FREE, Web-based portal that allows small businesses to register to become suppliers to Fortune 500 corporations, mid-market firms, and other enterprises.  It is open to any small business with less than $50M in revenue OR less than 500 employees.  https://www.supplier-connection.net/SupplierConnection/index.html Supplier Connection is offering a webinar on July 28 at 1:00 PM for clients to learn about the procurement needs and best practices for doing business with the Kellogg and Caterpillar companies.  Speakers include Charly Ugorji, Supplier Diversity Manager at Caterpillar, and Debra Quade, Supplier Diversity Manager at the Kellogg Company.  Each will share how procurement works at their corporation and what they look for in suppliers. Small businesses will have the opportunity to ask questions during a Q&A session at the end of the webinar. To register:  http://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-the-buying-members-caterpillar-kellogg-company-ticket