NSD Newsletter

Recent news from Small Business Trends

Small business owners often shoot from the hip, do what others will not do and sometimes attempt to accomplish monumental tasks in small amounts of time with limited resources.  I respect the ambition. We have things like the telephone, the car, the ipod because of this frontiersman like ambition. But there is a process to everything.

As John Mariotti says in, “You Can’t Rush The Harvest:”

“After the right steps are taken the crop grows and matures.”

While he was talking about government programs, spending and job creation, it holds true for business development. So, instead of diving in head first, take a few strategy steps first.

Here are two areas to consider: Niches and Productivity.

Niche It And Make It Stick

In “How To Find A Market Niche That Makes Money” Ivana Taylor says:

“It’s counterintuitive to think that by focusing on a smaller market you will actually make more money, but it’s true.”

Niches give you a chance to focus on a target market. That focus means you can truly know your entire market and create solutions that resonate with them. Instead of having an “every man” product, you can effectively create the “go to” solution for your niche.

Focus is powerful. The problem is small businesses are often slow to accept the power of niches and choose to serve everybody. Well, Walmart type companies have everybody covered, you can afford to niche and take care of specific markets.

Lean, Mean Productivity

We are not factories, but productivity matters to us just like any other company. Are you getting the best bang for your buck? Are you making the most of the time that you pay for? How much are you getting done?

Even if it’s a one man or one woman business, you still want to know that your tools, your independent contractors, your late night efforts are saving you time and making you money. You want to know that it’s worth it. And there’s only one way to know.

In “Pride And Productivity: A Win Win Combination,” John Mariotti says, “If you want productivity to be good—and get better—then measure it and manage it.” You have to track your efforts. And you have to manage the work.

But how?

For businesses with employees, managers are important. That’s their role. They need to understand the business, the team and the company goals. Then they are responsible for inspiring, informing and managing the outcome.

For solopreneurs you have to manage yourself. And that means tracking your efforts. I suggest a time sheet that documents how many hours you spend on each task and the end results. This way you can see if you truly save money by designing your own website, being your own bookkeeper, and developing your own marketing strategy without the support of an experienced team.

I use an app to measure my activity (so that I can track it in my phone—iTimesheet). And it has been an eye opener. This data helps me understand which activities cost the most and make the most.

Remember, the cost of time always counts.

Niche Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

Steps and Strategy: It’s About a Niche and Productivity

Recent news from The Small Business Blog

Ofcom’s ban on automatically renewable contracts (ARCs) or ‘rolling’ contracts came into effect on 31st December 2011. This means it is now unlawful for telecom providers to roll customers over onto a new contract without their permission. But what does this mean for small businesses?

Simply, if you are a consumer or a business with less than 10 employees, the new regime will give your business more control over how much you are paying for a business telephone and broadband package, more freedom to shop around for the best deal and will make it easier to switch providers.

The process used to be that thousands of customers with phone lines coming to the end of a 12-18 month contract would find themselves signed up to the same provider for another 12-18 months unless they actively opted out of the renewal in a specific time frame. This usually incurred a penalty charge.

Automatically rolling contracts tied customers into another contract without the customer signing anything. So telephone and broadband contracts across the country will now be much more flexible for customers and businesses with less than 10 employees.

Ofcom states that 15% of consumers were on these automatically renewable contracts. The ban came into effect because Ofcom was concerned the rolling contracts made it difficult for customers to switch providers and so there was less competition within the broadband and telephone market. The argued that the rolling contracts make switching unattractive to consumers as they are put off by the costs related to cancelling a contract.

BT disagreed with Ofcom’s ban stating that it didn’t think it hindered competition in the telecommunications industry. Ofcom investigated the issue and found many unhappy customers who felt duped into staying with their providers for another year.

Consumer watchdog Which? backed the ban, saying that telecom companies should focus on offering great value deals with top-notch customer service, so that their customers are happy to stay with them voluntarily rather than being tied in by over-restrictive terms and conditions.’

GUEST BLOG: This informative business article was provided by Nadine Bourne of XLN Telecom.

Recent news from Small Business Trends

As small business owners in a recession, we eagerly await any news that consumer confidence is rebounding to normal levels. But looking at consumers as one undifferentiated mass is a big mistake. As the latest BIG Research Consumer Intentions & Actions survey uncovered, consumer optimism may be on the rebound among some groups, while it’s falling among others. Knowing what your customers think is key to successfully marketing to them.

BIG surveyed consumers in four age brackets:

1. Silent (born 1945 or earlier)
2. Baby Boomers (born 1946 – 1964)
3. Gen X (born 1965 – 1982)
4. Gen Y (born 1983 – 1993

Gen Y (there are various “definitions” of the age of this generation) was the most likely to be feeling confident that the U.S. economy is going to return to its pre-recession days. More than one in three (36.7 percent) of Gen Y felt this way. At the same time, Gen Y was also the most likely to feel uncertain about the future of the economy (37.5 percent).

Generation X was close behind its younger cohorts, with 35.8 percent feeling that the economy will bounce back, and 33.9 percent feeling uncertain.

More pessimistic were the Baby Boomers and Silents. Only 29.5 percent of Boomers and 26.8 percent of Silents felt that the economy will bounce back to its former days. In contrast, 39.3 percent of Silents and 37.9 percent of Boomers believe the economy will never recover. (33.9 percent of Silents and 32.5 percent of Boomers were uncertain.)

Least pessimistic? Generation Y—just 25.8 percent felt the economy will never recover, and only 30.3 percent of Gen Xers felt the same.

What’s the reason for the different attitudes? And more importantly, how can your understanding of them help you market to the different age groups?

Silents: Silents lived through or were closely affected by periods of hardship. Some lived through the Great Depression, and all grew up in the shadow of World War II, so they are used to saving and sacrificing. So their pessimistic attitudes may reflect the attitudes they were raised with. To market to this generation, focus on value—not just cost savings, but products and services that are worth the price.

Baby Boomers: Born and raised in unprecedented economic good times, Boomers have taken hard knocks in this economy. They’ve seen their retirement plans decimated and since many of them are caring for aging (Silent generation) parents, they’re shouldering their parents’ financial burdens as well. Add to it the return of adult children to the nest, and Boomers are feeling pretty squeezed. But Boomers still want to treat themselves, so marketing to them should focus on how your product or service can save them time or money, how it can enable them to enjoy life (the way they feel they deserve) or how it can give them a well-earned break.

Generation X: Generation X is in the throes of marriage and parenting and are at the prime of their work careers. This is the stage when consumers, no matter the economy, have to make lots of big purchasing decisions—buying homes, planning weddings or gearing up for babies. Gen X has high expectations for success but a lower budget to achieve it. Target these stressed-out consumers with products and services that help them feel good about themselves without breaking the bank. And be aware that they’re fully tapping the power of the Internet to find and share the best businesses and the best deals.

Generation Y: While they may be the most optimistic, Gen Y has less money to spend than the other groups, simply due to their life stage. However, because they have fewer commitments, they may have more disposable income. Target them with products and services that help them connect to their peers while still being affordable for their limited budgets. One option that can work well for Gen Y is offering different price packages for your product or service. Pricing at a basic level, mid-level and premium levels can appeal to their budgets as well as to their beliefs that eventually, the premium level will be within their reach.

Learn to target the different generations in your marketing, and you’ll see sales that will have you feeling a lot more optimistic about the economy.

Stormy Economy Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

Consumer Confidence: It’s a Bit Murky Out There