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Month: <span>March 2021</span>
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Public Relations for Small Business

Author: NSantarone
Categories: Marketing

This blog post is from my lecture notes based on the textbook ADVERTISING 3e, by Arens & Weigold with a little help from Wikipedia.

Public Relations for Small Business

The role of public relations is to foster goodwill in the community and gaining public approval for your organization. The long-term goal of PR is to manage the reputation of the company.

Different PR tactics can be implemented by entrepreneurs to gain acceptance by the community they serve.

Press release, information issued to print and broadcast outlets.

Press kit, a package of publicity materials informing the press at staged events.

Website, containing information about the organization. Company blog to facilitate relationships with their consumers and other publics.

Publicity, the generation of news about a person, product, or service that appears in the media.

Community involvement, a local activity sponsoring or participating in an event.

Public speaking, giving speeches to local organizations, at events, meetings, and conferences. It is a very powerful way of presenting your operation and what you represent.

In future articles, we will discuss how to use these tactics, but in this post, free releases and the press kit will be covered.

The press release (or news release) is the most widely used PR tool, consisting of information issued to generate or shed light on a subject of interest. Topics may include the announcement of a product launch, new store opening, or community involvement by the firm.

A press kit (or media kit) is an excellent tool to announce the information for your press release. Traditionally the press kit was a folder that enabled the business person to present printed information, photos, contact information, and collateral information. Today, the press kit is digital using a flash drive, CD, DVD, and video.

There are many sites offering information on how to create a press kit, but I recommend you look at https://www.canva.com/media-kits/templates/.

Canva Media kit templates

Create stunning media kits with the help of our free media kit templates that you can customize and download. Highlight your brand and services and get people to partner with you.

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Grow Your Customer Base With CRM Software

Author: NSantarone
Categories: Marketing,Small Business Management,Small Business Technology

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) helps business owners to better serve their customers by analyzing acquired data. This software is very effective in examining information for marketing, sales, and customer service. CRM is a valuable tool for business people to better understand their consumers’ needs and wants.

For those entrepreneurs that are in business-to-business (B2B) sales CRM aids in forging a partnership with customers. Those organizations in the business-to-consumer (B2C) such as retailers, service providers, and restauranteurs will develop a bond with consumers increasing repeat sales.

Marketers can create more fruitful campaigns to convert prospects into customers and increase sales volume with existing customers. Promotional media can be directed at the targeted clientele. Using email, digital advertising media, and telemarketing to reach your customer base.

The sales database can be accessed from a mobile device when visiting customers giving the seller an in-depth look at the account’s history. An example is a landscaper visiting a client who will know which services and products were purchased in the past allowing them to trade up and recommend additional services.

Customers service software has been concentrated on social media enabling sellers to communicate with their customer base. This is a tool enabling the purchaser to express their endorsements of a job well done and complaints that can be resolved ASAP.

Take control of your company’s growth and invest in CRM software.

Below is a list of the best 10 CRMs poster online by:

https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/crms-for-small-businesses/

For more in-depth information visit the website.

The 10 Best CRMs List

Here’s the list of the top CRM software for small businesses. More details below:

  • monday.com – Best CRM software for flexibility and ability to scale
  • ClickUp – Best CRM free plan for small businesses
  • Kintone – Best CRM software for managing change
  • Daylite – Best small business CRM for Mac operating systems
  • Salesmate CRM – Best CRM sales software for small businesses
  • Really Simple Systems – Best CRM software for small B2B businesses
  • Method CRM – Best CRM software for integration with QuickBooks
  • EngageBay – Best CRM software for startups and growing businesses
  • Zoho CRM – Best CRM software for user onboarding and usability
  • Keap CRM – Best CRM software for small businesses who want built-in marketing tools
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SBA Programs – Scams and Fraud Alerts

Author: admin
Categories: news

SBA Programs – Scams and Fraud Alerts

By Office of Inspector General
Beware of Scams and Fraud Schemes

The Office of Inspector General recognizes that we are facing unprecedented times and is alerting the public about potential fraud schemes related to economic stimulus programs offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration in response to the Novel Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19).  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the largest financial assistance bill to date, includes provisions to help small businesses. Fraudsters have already begun targeting small business owners during these economically difficult times.  Be on the lookout for grant fraud, loan fraud, and phishing.

Scams and Fraud Schemes

Grants

  • SBA only communicates from email addresses ending in @sba.gov. If you are proactively contacted by someone claiming to be from the SBA, who is not using an official SBA email address, suspect fraud.

Loans

  • If you are contacted by someone promising to get approval of an SBA loan, but requires any payment up front or offers a high interest bridge loan in the interim, suspect fraud.
  • SBA limits the fees a broker can charge a borrower to 3% for loans $50,000 or less and 2% for loans $50,000 to $1,000,000 with an additional ¼% on amounts over $1,000,000.  Any attempt to charge more than these fees is inappropriate.
  • If you have a question about getting a SBA disaster loan, call 800-659-2955 or send an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
  • If you have questions about other SBA lending products, call SBA’s Answer Desk at 800-827-5722 or send an email to answerdesk@sba.gov.

Phishing

  • If you are in the process of applying for an SBA loan and receive email correspondence asking for PII, ensure that the referenced application number is consistent with the actual application number.
  • Look out for phishing attacks/scams utilizing the SBA logo.  These may be attempts to obtain your personally identifiable information (PII),to obtain personal banking access, or to install ransomware/malware on your computer.
  • Any email communication from SBA will come from accounts ending with sba.gov.
  • The presence of an SBA logo on a webpage does not guaranty the information is accurate or endorsed by SBA.  Please cross-reference any information you receive with information available at www.sba.gov.

 

Report Fraud

Report any suspected fraud to OIG’s Hotline at 800-767-0385 or online at, https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/oversight-advocacy/office-inspector-general/office-inspector-general-hotline.

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