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No Same-Day Delivery? No Big Deal, Shoppers Say

March 29th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Are you stressing because you know big retailers are increasingly offering same-day delivery, and your small ecommerce site can’t afford to do so? If you’re worried that same-day delivery is a game-changer that will make or break your business, you can breathe a sigh of relief. A new study by the Boston Consulting Group found that customers don’t actually care that much about same-day delivery, despite the emphasis that big ecommerce sites and retailers like Amazon.com and Wal-Mart may put on this service.

The BCG study found that consumers care much more about low prices and free shipping than they do about same-day delivery. Only 9 percent of consumers polled say same-day delivery would improve their online shopping experience. In contrast, 74 percent say free shipping would and 50 percent say lower prices would.

The study notes that lots of dotcom companies touted same-day delivery in the first dotcom boom in the 1990s-2000s, and that the service didn’t prove popular enough to keep those companies afloat.

There is one niche market that could be willing to spend on same-day delivery. Affluent, urban Millennials with incomes of $150,000 or more have shown greater than average interest in this service. If that’s your target market, you may want to consider this option.

However, even so, keep in mind this advice that BCG offers for making same-day delivery work without breaking the bank:

  • Charge additional fees for same-day delivery. The average respondent in the survey was willing to pay $6 for this service; affluent Millennials were willing to pay up to $10.
  • Limit same-day delivery offerings. It’s best to offer same-day shipping only for smaller, lightweight products, like electronics, office supplies or apparel, that can be quickly packed and don’t cost a lot to ship.
  • Focus on high-margin items. Products where you’re making a higher profit make more sense for same-day delivery.
  • Consider your location. If your customers are primarily in upscale, urban areas where delivery is common, such as New York City or Boston, it may make sense to test same-day delivery. If you’re in a rural or suburban area, however, it’s likely not going to be cost-effective.

Keep an eye on what happens with same-day delivery so you don’t get caught behind the eight-ball if the concept takes off—but also keep in mind that currently, BCG found that only 2 percent of online purchases are delivered the same day, meaning demand for this service is far from widespread.

Image by Flickr user Lachlan Hardy (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Customer Service, sales process, Small Business, small business | No Comments »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: PageSpeed Insights (Website Speed Analyzer)

March 28th, 2013 ::

PageSpeed Insights

How fast does your website load? If it’s not fast enough, you could be losing customers who get impatient waiting for your beautiful but complex site to load. To help figure out what’s slowing your site down, check out PageSpeed Insights from Google. Simply input your URL and PageSpeed Insights will scan your website and make suggestions on how to speed up your site by optimizing photos, adjusting HTML and more. PageSpeed will also prioritize the changes in order of importance so you can see results immediately by taking care of the high-priority changes first.

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Posted in Marketing, Resources, Small Business, small business, Technology, Web Design | No Comments »

7 Timeless Pieces of Advice for Small Business Owners

March 28th, 2013 ::

7 pieces of advice that lead to successI have been reading a lot about what makes a businessperson successful lately, and the following pieces of advice really struck a chord with me. Of course, many different factors contribute to success, some of which you can control, and some of which you can’t.

One thing you can control is your attitude, and I think attitude plays a big role in success. Here are 7 timeless pieces of advice I always try to follow:

1 – Have a great product first

Before you have a company, you have to have a great product or service that people want. Doing market research is great, but what’s better is getting out there and talking to people. Run your idea by people you trust, potential customers, mentors, and people in the industry. Stay open to their suggestions, and make changes that will improve your product.

2 – Don’t have a back-up plan

I recently read this, though I can’t remember where, but it stuck with me. The premise is that if you have a back-up plan, you won’t go all out to achieve your goal. You’ll start making excuses for why Plan A isn’t working, and then it’s a downward spiral from there. Have one plan, and go for it.

3 – Never judge a book by its cover

CEOs, company founders, venture capitalists, millionaires, royalty, United States Senators – they look like you and I. Just because you don’t recognize the person sitting next to you doesn’t mean they’re not worth knowing. I talk to everyone, and I have met some really cool people simply by reserving judgment.

4 – Be resourceful

Learn to solve problems quickly so you can take advantage of any opportunity when it arises. I have taken on clients even though my roster was full; I simply pulled in contractors to help out.

5 – Be passionate

If you are enthusiastic and passionate about your product or company and project confidence, people will respond. I know a lot of startup founders who are bootstrapping it and making huge sacrifices to launch their company. You know what keeps them motivated? A strong belief in what they are doing.

6 – Focus on what you’re good at

There are two big mistakes any business owner can make: 1) – trying to do everything, even the things you are not good at (I have been guilty of this, which is why I now have a CPA), and 2 – deviating from your core competency rather than being really good at that one thing.

7 – Be honest when you mess up

We all make mistakes; sometimes they’re huge. When the founder of Zipcar realized her pricing was way too low just as they were about to launch, she emailed her customers and told them she had to raise rental fees by 25% or the company wouldn’t survive. She didn’t lose one customer – they all loved the concept and appreciated her honesty.

What other pieces of advice have served you well?

Image courtesy of binauralbrains.com

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Posted in Entrepreneurship, Small Business | No Comments »

Are You Making the Wrong Offers on Social Media?

March 28th, 2013 ::

By Karen Axelton

If you’re trying to grab fans and followers on social media just by offering discounts, deals and special offers, you might be making the wrong move, according to a study by mobile video advertising firm Rhythm NewMedia.

The study, which looked at how customers engaging with brands on mobile social media platforms, found that discounts and deals (although important) aren’t the only or even the biggest factor in whether customers like or follow companies. What mattered more was simply showing loyalty to the companies.

Rhythm found that while 51.9 percent of mobile social media users follow brands on Twitter to get discounts, 60.7 percent do so because they want to support the companies and show their loyalty. Similarly, 55.9 percent like brands on Facebook in order to get deals or discounts, 57.6 percent do so to show support for and loyalty to the businesses.

The study reports that customers are engaging with businesses on mobile social media in increasing numbers. Some 74 percent use Facebook on their mobile devices several times per day, and 68 percent engage with brands on Facebook on their mobile devices. A slightly smaller figure (63 percent) use Twitter on mobile devices multiple times per day, and 56 percent say they engage with businesses or brands via Twitter.

Brands are engaging, too, with about one-quarter (24 percent) of marketers in the study reporting that they have mobile social media campaigns. That’s an increase of more than 400 percent from a year before the study was conducted in late 2012.

Try these three tips to improve your engagement on mobile devices:

  1. As you create your social media campaigns, think about how they will play out on mobile devices. That means keeping posts short and sweet, using images that display well on mobile devices, and thinking about the kinds of content users will want to see on the go.
  2. If you use mobile advertising, consider putting social media buttons within the ad so that users can easily share, tweet or like it. The study reports that social media buttons in ads increased using engagement by 36 percent.
  3. If your current social media campaigns are focused on discounts and deals, expand what you do to appeal to loyal customers. Consider spotlighting customers, encouraging them to share photos or make comments, or asking questions so users will feel like they’re part of your brand.

Image by Flickr user Beverly & Pack (Creative Commons)

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Marketing, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | 1 Comment »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: 2013 Leading Moms in Business Competition (Web Contest)

March 27th, 2013 ::

2013 Leading Moms in Business Competition

The number of mom-owned businesses is growing and fueling the American economy—and there’s no time like the present to honor these busy entrepreneurs. StartupNation has launched its fourth annual ranking of mom entrepreneurs and the businesses they run. If you are a mom business owner or know of one, enter today for a chance to win prizes including $10,000 cash prize from Staples. Additional prizes include a complimentary business growth consultation by the founders of StartupNation and a $1,000 gift card from Staples for the top three winners. The deadline is April 30, 2013.

 

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Posted in Entrepreneurs, Resources, Small Business, small business | No Comments »

What the New American Household Means to Your Business

March 27th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

How are the demographics of U.S. households changing—and what does it mean to your small business? SmartBlog on Leadership recently rounded up some data from the U.S. Census that paints a picture of the new makeup of the “average” American household. Here’s some of what they found:

Husband and Wife on the Decline: The traditional, husband-and-wife household is on the decline. In 2000, 51.7% of households were husband and wife; that went down to 48.4% in 2010. While the percentage decreased, the sheer number increased: In 2000, there were 54.5 million husband/wife households and in 2010, there were 56.5 million. One area where husband/wife households tend to dominate is near military bases.

While the percentage of husband/wife households shrank, the percentage and number of unmarried, opposite-sex partners rose from 4.8 million (4.6 percent of all households) in 2000 to 7.7 million (5.9 percent of all households) in 2010.

Non-family Households on the Rise: Correspondingly, the number of non-family households (people living together who are not related and not married) increased. As of 2010, 33.6% of U.S. households were identified as non-family.

Solo Households Increase: Most non-family households are made up of people living alone. The percentage of single-person households rose from 25.8 percent (27.2 million people) in 2000 to 26.7 percent (31.2 million people) in 2010. One-person households exist in all parts of the country—not just in the urban areas that you might expect. There are two key demographic segments that make up a large percentage of the one-person households, and they’re pretty much polar opposites. The first is young, well-educated singles who are starting their professional careers; they tend to live in large urban areas. The second is older retirees, who are frequently living in rented apartments or subsidized housing.

Multi-generational Households Surge: The percentage of multi-generational households (defined has having three or more generations of relatives living together) has also grown, from 3.7% of households in 2000 to 4.4% in 2010. This is partly due to economic hard times and the difficulty of finding affordable housing, but also due to the growth of the immigrant population.  The Census Bureau says multi-generational households are most commonly found in areas with a lot of new immigrants or where a lot of children are born to single mothers. Hawaii, California and Texas have the highest percentage of multigenerational households, partly because these areas have a large immigrant and minority population.

What do these trends mean to your business? If your products or services, or the way you market them, are tailored to traditional, two-parent households, it may be time to shake things up—or get left behind as America’s average household continues to change.

Image by Flickr user Images of Money (Creative Commons)

 

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Posted in Generational Marketing, Marketing, Small Business, small business | No Comments »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Zite 2.0 (Digital Magazine App)

March 26th, 2013 ::

Zite 2.0

We told you about Zite one year ago when digital magazine apps seemed to be surging in popularity by gathering top stories of interest to readers based on their interests and delivering them in one attractive dashboard. The demise of one major player has not stopped Zite from revamping their iPad app in their new 2.0 version and offering thousands more topics, a new look and an “intelligent discovery machine” that learns your likes and dislikes as you use it so that it retrieves more relevant content results as time goes on. Also helpful: Zite 2.0 is now integrated with Facebook so the app can provide content suggestions based on your history in the social network.

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Posted in Resources, Small Business, small business, Technology | No Comments »

Healthy Technology Is More Important than Healthy Employees for Today’s Small Businesses

March 26th, 2013 ::

By Maria Valdez Haubrich

How important is technology to today’s small business? So important, according to the recently released Brother Small Business Survey from Brother International Corp., that 75 percent of small business owners say a crashed computer disrupts their business more than a sick employee.

Although small business owners rely on technology to keep their businesses productive, they also find it difficult to manage their technology. Some 86 percent say that in the past year, they had a situation where malfunctioning office equipment hindered their business’s productivity. And two-thirds (66 percent) of small business owners admit they’re “frequently” overwhelmed by the amount of technology options available to help them run their businesses.

Technology is so crucial to smooth functioning of a business that nearly one-third (31 percent) of small business owners say they’d gladly give up a week’s worth of vacation if it could ensure they’d never suffer a tech malfunction in their business again.

While small business owners are still cautious about spending, they recognize the value of technology. Slightly more than half (52 percent) say it’s important to invest in their business to gain an edge over competitors. When they do invest, the most common area to spend on is technology-related capital investments such as software, mobile apps and cloud computing services. The next most popular investments, machinery and facilities, were far behind at 21 and 20 percent respectively.

Speaking of cloud computing, small business owners are still not widely embracing this technology, perhaps due to confusion about how it can help their businesses. Only 28 percent of small business owners say they fully understand what cloud computing is, while 42 percent do not use it at all. (That means a lot of entrepreneurs are using it without fully understanding it).

What are entrepreneurs using cloud computing for? About one-third (35 percent) use it only for data storage; 21 percent use it for document management, and 17 percent use it for business applications such as customer relations management, accounting and human resources.

Image by Flickr user Ell Brown (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Small Business, small business, Technology | 1 Comment »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Pinterest Web Analytics (Web Analyzer)

March 25th, 2013 ::

Pinterest Web Analytics

If you’ve been waiting to see if Pinterest would catch on in the social media world, you really shouldn’t wait any longer. Especially if your target audience is women. Women make up 80 percent of Pinterest users and since women make 85 percent of all consumer purchases, you don’t want to miss out on all these eyes seeing information about your business. Now, Pinterest is offering Web Analytics so you can measure how well your Pinterest business account is performing. Be sure to set up your Pinterest account as a business account and then sign up for Pinterest Web Analytics. You’ll find out how many people are pinning from your website, seeing your pins and clicking on your content. Plus, pick a specific timeframe to see how your numbers trend over time.

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Posted in Marketing, Resources, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | 1 Comment »

Hot Market: Indie Women

March 25th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

When you think of marketing to women, do you think of moms? Then you’re missing out on a huge and profitable target market of “indie women.” Age 27 and up, these single women are living without partners or kids, and pack a disproportionate amount of spending wallop, as MediaPost reports.

Currently, indie women account for 31 million or about one-third of all U.S. women over 18, and their numbers are increasing: There will be a projected 50 million indie women by 2035. What do you need to know about this powerful market?

Indie women have higher incomes than the average woman and spend $1 trillion each year, including:

  • $22 billion on vehicles (that’s five times more than “indie men” spend)
  • $20 billion on entertainment
  • $50 billion on food

Indie women watch more television than average women and are multi-screen users, meaning they frequently accompany TV-watching with a “second screen” such as the tablet, laptop or smartphone.

Indie woman are highly socially engaged online. They are 6 percent more likely than average women to  rely on online ratings and reviews, 12 percent more likely to report that friends and family routinely ask them for advice on health and nutrition advice, and 10 percent more likely to say they are frequently the first among their friends to purchase from a new brand or store.

Indie women are professional: They hold 59 percent of masters’ degrees and 52 percent of managerial positions.

What should you do to reach indie women?

  • Use social media. These women are key influencers and brand advocates, so engaging with them on social media can drive your success.
  • Treat them with respect. Indie women are successful on their own terms, so make sure your marketing reflects the fact that they’re happy with their lives and making their own decisions.
  • Know where they’re spending. Indie women are more likely to dine out, entertain at home and spend money on home décor and apparel than the average woman, making these potentially lucrative areas for your business to focus on.

NBCUniversal Integrated Media began studying the indie woman because this group does a lot of discretionary spending, but is not yet widely researched in demographic studies, making it an undiscovered marketing opportunity. You can learn more about this demographic by watching NBCUniversal’s Integrated Media group’s film about indie women here.

Image by Flickr user EpSos.de (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Business Development, Marketing, sales process, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | No Comments »

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