New York SBDC Research Network

The problem: You worry that members of your sales team are not following the right messaging guidelines in their cold outreach to prospects. The solution: You can give them templates to one-click insert. Giving cold-email templates to your sales team guarantees two things: (1) You can rest easy knowing they're using the right positioning; and (2) Sending emails with proven copywriting techniques will increase their open and reply rates. Remember: cold emails aren't about the sale; they're about initiating conversation and getting the ball rolling. Sounds familiar to what you do every day, right?

From: eMarketer Despite the struggles of brick-and-mortar- retail, the purchase of physical gift cards has grown for three consecutive years, according to new survey data. Digital gift card purchases also has risen sharply this year. Consumers spent an average of $38 more than the value on their gift card this year—up $10 over 2016. And 44% of respondents said having a card caused them to go to a store they would not have visited otherwise.

From eMarketer : Growth of the private-label market in recent years has been driven by demand from lower-income shoppers as well as budget-conscious millennials. But these products are attracting wealthier consumers, creating yet another challenge for national brands. According to an IRI survey released last week, over half (52%) of consumers with household income of more than $100,000 said they expect to buy more private-label products over the next six months. For those earning $55,000 to $99,000, 62% planned to do the same. Those percentages are still smaller than the responses among consumers making less than $35,000 and millennials in general (76% and 74%, respectively). However, the private-label buying plans among the more affluent were higher compared with previous findings, according to IRI.

From:   U.S News Access to credit can be difficult to come by and expensive for small businesses. Small business credit cards can be flexible, invaluable tools for business owners facing short-term cash crunches. Interest rates can be lower than they are for other convenient sources of credit, such as advances against accounts receivable or credit card receipts and unsecured loans available from small business lenders on the Internet. Thanks to credit card incentive and rewards programs, it may make sense for business owners to route as much of their normal expenses as possible through their business credit card. If you spend a significant amount on business expenses each month, you should consider applying for a business credit card. However, it’s important to understand the benefits and drawbacks of business credit cards as well as the wide array of offerings on the market. Business credit cards provide business owners and entrepreneurs instant and convenient capital they c

From eMarketer : Recent studies from key players in the world of ad tech tell quite different stories of how video ads seem to be performing, based on completion rates, viewability rates, clickthroughs and more. Although the body of research on video ad metrics is still limited, the noisiness in the data is remarkable given how concrete some of these metrics are. Nevertheless, those who have followed the industry understand that many complicating factors are at play. One such factor is that each company measures activity on its own platform, which is only a small sample of the broader universe.

The Department of Environmental Conservation recently launched the New York Green Business program and is accepting applications for it through Friday, December 15th. NYGB is a free and voluntary program that provides recognition and benefits to businesses that have a strong commitment to sustainability. Businesses that join the program receive recognition from the State, are able to use the program logo to market themselves as a sustainability leader, get priority access to technical assistance from the Pollution Prevention Institute, and access to a network of sustainability leaders. While all businesses can join the program, it does have a separate application and criteria for breweries, garment cleaners, and restaurants to address their unique environmental impacts. Applications and more information on the program can be found on its website: www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/939.html . DEC also has a fact sheet on the program here . If you have any questions about the program you can

From the Telegraph : A Japanese company is granting non-smoking employees an extra six days of paid holidays a year after they complained that they were working more than staff who took time off for cigarette breaks. Tokyo-based marketing firm Piala Inc. only introduced the non-smokers' perk in September, but employees have been quick to take advantage. "One of our non-smoking staff put a message in the company suggestion box earlier in the year saying that smoking breaks were causing problems", said Hirotaka Matsushima, a spokesman for the company. "Our CEO saw the comment and agreed, so we are giving non-smokers some extra time off to compensate", Mr Matsushma told The Telegraph. Resentment among the non-smokers grew because the company's head office is on the 29th floor of an office block in the Ebisu district of Tokyo. Anyone wanting a cigarette had to go to the basement level, with each smoking break lasting around 15 minutes.