Live Streaming and the Entrepreneur

Marketing is the area where entrepreneurs define their unique identity for themselves. It allows them to create an image in the mind of the customer. There are some features that entrepreneurs have in common such as being innovative, risk taking, and being proactive. Technology allows entrepreneurs new innovative ways to grab attention for their products or services on a very broad range. Live streaming is a new way that entrepreneurs are using this technology to go right into their customers homes from anywhere. Trades people can use this to allow their customers to watch them as they are crafting something live, and they can purchase it while it is being created. Many crafters are streaming to draw attention and interest to their goods and create a following and relationship with customers with whom they can communicate with during their stream. Entrepreneurs are using this to bring awareness to new products that have come out and to demonstrate how well they work. Streaming is also becoming a convenient training tool for employees. Social media has became so accelerated, and people want to get their information right now, so we are seeing this trend gaining more popularity.

Guerrilla Marketing

Guerrilla marketing is unconventional, low cost tactics with the goal of gaining maximum exposure for a product or service. This term originated with marketer Jay Levinson in 1984. Levinson thought that campaigns really needed to be clever, shocking, out there, unique, or even outrageous. Big companies sometimes use these techniques but with their larger budget they may not be truly considered guerrilla marketing. This type of marketing targets public places that have a lot of traffic and people access. According to creativeguerrillamarketing.com, some easy guerrilla marketing ideas include:

• money stamping
• sticky notes
• guest blogging
• business cards
• bumper stickers
• temporary tattoos
• t-shirts
• outdoor signs
• circulars
• newspapers
• magazines
• postcard mailing
• give aways

Sales Promotions For The Small Business

Sales promotions are meant to encourage the customer to spend their money on your product or service. They bring awareness to the brand. Before you market your business you must determine your target market. Small businesses do not usually have big business budgets for promotions so they sometimes have to be creative with budget friendly marketing ideas.There are more inexpensive and sometimes free promotional ideas than you may think. Some of these are referrals, brochures, social media, blogs, creative logos, and simply remembering that you are your business.

Referrals

Referrals are a huge way to build your business. Do not assume that you will automatically get word of mouth from clients. Ask for it. Maybe ask for them to hand out your business cards.

Brochures

Brochures can help you get some attention for your product or service even with today's technology. You can use this brochure to refer back to your social media advertising or your website for more information. Brochures must be organized, concise, and stand out to get attention.

Social Media

Social media is a great way you can get free advertising. The balance.com makes a very good point that free advertising is as good as money in the bank. They say that if you want some free publicity you need an angle that makes a story (Ward). Things like how the business impacts the community and grand openings can do this. If you have a blog, social media can bring attention to it. 

Blogging

Blogging can be a very effective and even fun way to bring interest to your business. Sherri Lonon on thebalance.com notes that blogs can bring more traffic for your website and that it can improve a site's search rankings. Blogger and WordPress offer free blog hosting domains.

Creative Logos

Having creative logos is a branding strategy that can make your business stand out from the rest. Karen Saunders on thebalance.com states that it is the first key element to branding. She also notes that you give your company name a lot of  attention so you need to match it with a strong graphic design that is not cluttered (Saunders). She also says that a good tag line should accompany your logo and communicate what you want your customers to remember about you (Saunders).

Remember You Are Your Business!

Business writer Susan Ward stresses that you are your business (It Pays to PAK Your Small Business Image). She says too often we forget this and she says that promotion can be all in how you present yourself. We should work for a positive first impression. PAK stands for Pleasant, attractive, and knowledgeable. Ward says these keys will help you build your credibility.

Sources Cited

Lonon, Sherri, How to Create a Blog, www.thebalance.com, 27 Oct. 2016

Saunders, Karen, Creating a Great Business Logo and Tag Line, www.thebalance.com, 27 Oct 2016

Ward, Susan, How To Get Free Publicity For Your Business, www.thebalance.com, 9 Sept. 2016

Ward, Susan, It Pays to PAK Your Small Business Image, www.thebalance.com, 15 Feb. 2017

Can Small Business Have Competitive Advantages

Can Small Business Have Competitive Advantages

Is there any competitive advantages in being a small business or home-based business? A competitive advantage is defined as the advantage that a company or business has over the competition to get more sales and customers. There are several benefits that a small business may have over a large business or corporation. There is a personal touch to a small business that a larger one just does not have. The contact your business has with customers is more personal, easier, and more accessible. Most small business are not going to have a long list of keypad options you have to go through before you can speak with an actual person. When you communicate with the business you are speaking with the owner or employee and not just a call service. Small businesses may offer less services or products than a larger one but those options can be more specialized, offering the image of quality over quantity. Small business can make their choices much easier and faster. If a small business owner decides that they need to implement something that is going to benefit their business, they do not have to have the same agreements and permissions as larger businesses or corporations do. Being a small business is a competitive advantage.

Signage For Your Business

Signage For Your Business

Signage at your business's location is a very important part of your marketing. Your sign creates awareness about your business to the public. In a marketing series written by James and Susan Claus on the importance of signage for your business they note that when a when a site has been successfully "branded" with signage it reduces the need for a lot of other advertising in the area. Signs are there to get people's attention. Some locations rely totally on a sign to let people know that the business exists at all. Making the site planning become "signcentric" or based around the signage (Claus). In The Importance of Signage the Claus's also state that for a freeway business, almost 50% of their customers are not local so that a sign may be the only way to get their attention.

Signs must be the right height, size, easily read, and well lit to be effective. The content of the sign must be bold enough and not overly cluttered with information. A sign is trying to get your point across in the time frame that a passerby would have to read the sign. Having an effective sign at your location can be so important that it could even make or break your venture.

Source Cite

By. R. James Claus, PhD and Susan L.Claus, Marketing Series, Importance of Signage, Showcasing Your Business on the Street, www.danitesign.com

Pricing For Your Time

In a service based business, pricing for your time is very important. We never want to price too high or too low. If you price too high, people will want to go with a more affordable option, if there is one. If you price too low you may look cheap and people may think that your services are not valuable. Then there is the dilemma we all face when we work for ourselves and have to charge a friend or family member for service. I have made the mistake over and over again of not charging enough for my work, especially with people I know well.

Part of the reason people do not charge enough for their time is because they do not value their own skills. Sometime we may not feel as qualified as we really are and we sell ourselves too low. Being afraid of offending someone we care about if we charge them too much is a problem many of us deal with.

At the end of the day we go into business to support ourselves and our family. Your services are valuable and your time is as well. Even if you are working for people that you know. Many of my clients have became good friends over time and if I did not charge them a fair price I would not be able to do their service at all because I would have to go get a job somewhere else. People will pay for what they value and  those that know you well will pay you if they value you. There is nothing wrong with cutting people a deal sometimes if you can afford to but you have to take care of yourself and charge what is fair for you and your business to succeed.

Michael Jordan and Nike

Many celebrities make money from their endorsements of products and from their own brands, but one particularly impressive earner has been Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan signed on as celebrity endorser for Nike over 30 years ago. There was a deal set that if Michael Jordan did not sell at least $4 million dollars worth of shoes by the third year, then Nike could cancel his deal. Nike went on to sell $70 million in Air Jordans in the first couple of months. Even though this brand started so many years ago, and there are many popular athletes endorsing products now, Jordan's brand still brings in $2.5 billion in sales per year. The Jordan brand is still a very dominant one. Jordan has made a lot more money from his brand and endorsements than he did from his athletic career. He still makes $100 million a year from his sneaker deal. Jordan has also made millions from his endorsements of companies like Gatorade and Hanes.