Now more than any other period in history has America been so divided (well, maybe during that pesky Civil War). Recent events in the news have proven this beyond the shadow of a doubt, particularly in terms of the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case and the endless gun control debates.

Lets’ be real…all of us fall on one side of such issues. Even if you’re one of those that claim to never watch the news to avoid these sorts of things, you probably lean to one side or the other.

As a business owner, it’s important not to let these sorts of issues take control of your message. This is especially true when you go online. Sure, it’s okay to have an opinion and support certain groups or actions, but you should try to keep it out of your social media circles.

Being overly vocal about certain subjects can alienate you from part of your audience and maybe even cause to become the center of online controversy. And while getting your name in front of more people seems glamorous, it can be terrible when mentioned in a negative light.

For this reason, you may want to avoid talking at length about any of the following:

The political story of the day: As of late, this has come down to gun control, race, gay marriage and other assorted hot topics. Wherever you stand on these issues, don’t let it become the focal point of blogs or any of your social media content.

Religion: This is a terrible landscape to get involved in online. Unless you are specifically asked in an interview, just don’t go there. And even if you are asked, keep it simple and generic.

Sports: This may seem silly, but sports can divide people just as much as politics depending on where you live or what team you root for. Friendly rivalries are okay but try not to demean or insult fans of other teams under any circumstance.

In other words, stop controversial behavior before it can even get started. After all, internet bickering and controversy really is one of those things that is better to watch from the sidelines rather than being directly involved.

Any small business owner is going to understandably get excited when they secure a new customer. Yet what some business owners end up doing is overlooking the steps they can undergo to ensure that new customers become repeat customers.

There are a few different ways to make sure this transition occurs. Most of it, regardless of your industry, comes down to providing top notch and unrivaled services as well as developing a friendly relationship with those customers.

If you’re looking for easy ways to make sure that ne customer will quickly become a loyal customer, there are three basic principles you can start using.

Make Them Feel Appreciated

By using a variety of tools such as mobile marketing, simple surveys and forms, business owners can learn quite a bit about their customers. However, rather than using this information to relentlessly fill their in-boxes and text screens with sales or offers, use it to make a personal connection. Send them a birthday message on their birthday or even offer them a “birthday only” offer.

This shows the customer that you have taken the time to send them a specific and individualized message. Any customer, no matter what sort of service or product they are looking for, likes to feel that they are valuable.

Honesty and Transparency

This can come in a variety of different ways. Part of it is not setting unrealistic expectations just to make a new customer feel happy. Most new customers will want to hear the actual date a job will be completed rather than an unrealistic prediction that will later be pushed back.

It also means letting you customer in on your processes. Check in with them from time to time throughout the course of a job to let them know where things currently stand and how you are progressing. Including them in such a way makes them feel as if they are a larger part of the process.

Offer Incentives

Give customers a reason to come back. Offer an awards program that gives them discounts or other goodies for returning in the future. Make sure these incentives are only offered to repeat customer, ensuring the exclusivity of the offer.

What are some other strategies your business has used to turn new customers into repeat customers?

Yesterday we discussed how business cards can still be used to effectively market your business. Sure, a business card doesn’t come with all of the nice bells and whistles that more advanced marketing trends offer, but they can still pack a punch.

So just what does it take to create a business card that still holds power in a mostly digital small business environment? Here are some tips to consider when you order up your next batch.

Don’t Get Too Fancy

While you want your business card to look nice and unique, you want to be careful not to sacrifice room for your information for a fancy design. Don’t overcrowd your card with colors and a flashy design, leaving hardly any room for your information. Find a balance between the two. If you aren’t sure you have the chops, hire a graphic designer to help.

Only the Minimum

Speaking of information that needs to be placed on your card, you should only need a few lines for text: your name, your title, your phone number, your e-mail address and your website. Some people make the choice to pay a little extra and use the back of their card to place information as well. Either way, remember that people don’t get business cards to have something to read; they get them to have your contact information. Keep this in mind when you are designing your card.

Make it Yours

Make sure your logo in on your business card. This is not only effective branding, but it makes your business cards look unique.

Don’t Be Shy

Give your cards out whenever you can. Even if you’re speaking to someone you’re certain doesn’t need your products or services. Hand them a card and ask them to give you a call sometime. Even if they don’t they could meet someone down the road that does need your services and viola, they have your information on hand in the form of your business card.

What have you done to make your business card stand out? Got any tips for our readers?

Yesterday we discussed how business cards can still be used to effectively market your business. Sure, a business card doesn’t come with all of the nice bells and whistles that more advanced marketing trends offer, but they can still pack a punch.

So just what does it take to create a business card that still holds power in a mostly digital small business environment? Here are some tips to consider when you order up your next batch.

Don’t Get Too Fancy

While you want your business card to look nice and unique, you want to be careful not to sacrifice room for your information for a fancy design. Don’t overcrowd your card with colors and a flashy design, leaving hardly any room for your information. Find a balance between the two. If you aren’t sure you have the cops, hire a graphic designer to help.

Only the Minimum

Speaking of information that needs to be placed on your card, you should only need a few lines for text: your name, your title, your phone number, your e-mail address and your website. Some people make the choice to pay a little extra and use the back of their card to place information as well. Either way, remember that people don’t get business cards to have something to read; they get them to have your contact information. Keep this in mind when you are designing your card.

Make it Yours

Make sure your logo in on your business card. This is not only effective branding, but it makes your business cards look unique.

Don’t Be Shy

Give your cards out whenever you can. Even if you’re speaking to someone you’re certain doesn’t need your products or services. Hand them a card and ask them to give you a call sometime. Even if they don’t they could meet someone down the road that does need your services and viola, they have your information on hand in the form of your business card.

What have you done to make your business card stand out? Got any tips for our readers?

With everyone so caught up in trying to capture social media magic and looking for the next best thing in mobile marketing, many business owners seem to have overlooked one of the most common marketing tools out there: the business card.

While business cards may seem old fashioned and a thing of the past, they still remain one of the most effective pieces of marketing material at your disposal. Sure, the tech gurus and social media experts may scoff at this concept, but it’s undeniably true.

Here are some reasons you should still rely on your business to help spread the word about your brand.

Forget sending an e-mail, texting, or sharing a link; a business card is always on you. Just reach in your wallet and hand it over. Presto! You’ve provided all of your pertinent information in less than three seconds.

Believe it or not, people do still use business cards as a means to keep someone else’s information. This means that someone that has gotten your card in the past can easily refer you to someone else and easily provide them with your card. This is much simpler than the person of interest going online, Googling your name and maybe finding your information online. A business card turns a process of several minute into a mere five to ten seconds.

Let’s face it…you’re essentially giving away a makeshift bookmark. This means that a percentage of people that get your card will see it several times in the course of a week.

Business cards are a great and inexpensive way to promote yourself. Depending on where you get your cards done and the level of effort you put into them, they can serve as one of the most attractive pieces of marketing at your disposal. Including items such as QR cods to integrate them into current technologies makes business cards nearly irreplaceable.

How about you? Are you still relying on business cards as a large part of your promotion? Share your thoughts on this age-old tool below!

We’ve touched on the fact that just coming up with a great business idea is worlds short of figuring out what your brand will be. Determining what your brand will encompass and mean to you and your audience can be determined by taking the time to analyze a few basic questions.

As you might assume, “basic” in this sense does not necessarily mean “simple.” Still, if you’re on that ledge where branding meets business strategies and aren’t quite sure where to start, mull these questions over and you may find yourself headed in the right direction sooner than you think.

What are your goals? If you can’t clearly express your goals for the business, you’re already sinking. These goals need to be deeper than “to make money” or “to be the best business in my industry.”

What is your mission? This is a multi-level item. Is your mission to please as many customers as possible? Is it to re-define certain aspects of your industry and, if so, how will you do it? You mission needs to be clear and easily translated to your audience.

What is it that you would like to do for the rest of your life? If you’re starting your own business, a lot of your brand’s identity is going to be based on the level of passion and excitement you have for the business. Therefore, it’s important that whatever you decide to pursue, it should be something that you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life.

In terms of what you plan to do and whom you plan to serve, what might your tentative mission or vision statement be? It’s a great idea to have a mission statement in place before you get too deep into the process. Your mission statement is essentially the summary of your brand. Make sure it’s one that you agree with 100% because it will define your brand for the entirety of its life; changing your mission or mission statement can lead to band confusion—and that is something you don’t want to ever happen.

If your brand follows this formula, you’re in good shape and your brand is likely going to be a proper representation of your business. What are some other things you believe can help better shape and define your brand?

We’ve all experienced ruts or out and out declines in business and productivity. Those of us that are lucky and know our industries well manage to rebound from such times and carry on as usual.

Or, some of us can tell when our brand and business is in trouble before the trouble ever hits. Being able to tell the signs of a brand being in trouble can give you enough time to do damage control before the bad times start.

If you fear that your brand may be in for rough times or is suffering, undergo an honest evaluation of your brand and ask yourself the following:

Has your brand started to move away from your original vision?  If you begin to move your brand’s image, message, or vision away from the core of what you originally started with, you could potentially cause brand confusion, This can send your existing customers looking for a more surefire and steady brand to replace yours.

Do you or your employees tend to act first and think later? If you ever find yourself or anyone that works for you saying something like “Don’t over-think it” or “just go ahead and do it,” it’s time to step back and re-analyze. Careful consideration should be placed into nearly every facet of business, from branding to knocking out the simplest of jobs for a customer or client. Strategic thinking should take place before any actions.

Have you been making business decisions based on your own tastes rather than trends and facts? Yes, it’s your business. And yes, your opinion matters. But your opinion should not serve as the end-all be-all of the business. Your decision and approaches should be based more on current industry trends, studies and facts rather than your personal tastes. It’s easy to find the line between basing your actions on facts and keeping in tune with your brand as long as you keep the needs of the customers in mind first.

Can you think of any other warning signs you need to look for in order to prevent your small business from falling by the wayside?

One of the most common mistakes small business owners can make is to come up with that they think is a killer idea to improve their brand. These usually come in the form of strategies that seem like a road map to success.

Be warned, though…often, these strategies can lead directly to failure. If you are uncertain of your approaches or strategies when it comes to helping your brand grow, there are some simple questions you can ask yourself in regards to whether or not the strategy is a good one.

Such as:

• Does this particular strategy stay true to your brand’s original message? Will it confuse or alienate a portion of your existing audience?
• Do you have the resources (and time) to devote time and energy to this strategy? Is there proof anywhere else within your industry that such a strategy will pay off in the end?
• Will the strategy cause you to have to focus on new services or offerings that could undermine your current workload and priorities?
• Does the strategy easily integrate into the brand as it stands now? Will you have to shift or alter the values or intent behind your business?

While some of these questions may seem a little grand in scope, these are the kinds of questions you should be asking yourself when you have one of these great ideas that you are uncertain about. In the event where you aren’t quite sure if a certain strategy or approach is going to align with your brand and reward your customer base with benefits and new exciting opportunities, you should probably ask an expert in the field what they think about it.

Don’t get us wrong…there’s nothing wrong with some creative thinking and putting passion and energy behind grand ideas. But in the small business world, such ideas need to be carefully considered before they are plopped down at a conference table and heralded as the next big thing.

What are some ways you decide whether or not a new branding idea or strategy is appropriate for the stature and direction of your small business?