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Beyond Coding: The Comprehensive Guide to Creating Your Business App

Author: Poppy Williams <poppy@techbizguide.com>

Image by Freepik

In the realm of modern business, the digital platform plays a pivotal role in connecting with customers. A mobile app has become an indispensable tool, bridging the gap between businesses and consumers. It’s not just about having a digital presence; it’s about enhancing reach, engagement, and the overall customer experience. Crafting a mobile app for your business is a journey that necessitates meticulous planning, research, and execution. Courtesy of Keystone Business Brokers, this guide will walk you through the essential steps to ensure your app’s success, focusing on clarity, precision, and a user-centric approach.

Understanding Your Audience

To set your app apart, start with a clear definition of its purpose and a deep understanding of your target audience. Your app should not only aim to achieve specific business objectives but also address the needs and preferences of your audience. Tailoring your app to meet these requirements ensures it resonates with users, fostering engagement and loyalty.

Market Research and Competitive Analysis

A thorough analysis of the competitive landscape is crucial. By examining competitors’ apps, you can identify market trends, recognize untapped opportunities, and learn from their shortcomings. Delving into user reviews and feedback provides invaluable insights, guiding you toward innovative solutions and improvements that could set your app apart.

Acquiring Essential Skills and Knowledge

Earning a computer science degree provides an in-depth overview of a Bachelor of Computer Science degree, laying a solid foundation for aspiring app developers. It equips students with essential skills, including mastery of programming languages, understanding of data structures and algorithms, and knowledge of software engineering principles. Furthermore, pursuing an online degree offers the flexibility to learn these vital components while managing work commitments, making it an ideal pathway for continuous professional development in the field of app development.

Prioritizing User Experience Design

The triumph of an app hinges greatly on the quality of its user experience (UX). Crafting an interface that is both intuitive and aesthetically pleasing is crucial. It is vital that your app provides smooth navigation and flawless functionality, turning each user interaction into a delightful experience. A meticulously planned UX design is key to not only drawing in users but also fostering sustained interaction with your app. This approach can significantly boost the likelihood of users recommending the app to others, amplifying its success.

Rigorous Testing and Quality Assurance

Ensuring quality is imperative. Conducting comprehensive testing on a variety of devices and platforms guarantees that your app functions seamlessly, eliminating glitches that may impair its performance. Through usability testing, you can confirm that your app achieves its intended goals, providing an intuitive and user-friendly experience for everyone. This rigorous approach to quality assurance not only enhances user satisfaction but also bolsters the app’s reputation in the competitive market.

Crafting a Strategic Marketing Plan

Visibility is key to your app’s success. A well-executed marketing strategy is essential to generate interest and attract users. Leveraging social media, email marketing, and other digital channels allows you to reach a broader audience. A compelling narrative around your app’s unique features and benefits can spark curiosity and drive downloads.

Leveraging Analytics for Continuous Improvement

Integrating analytics tools into your app provides a wealth of data about user behavior, preferences, and app performance. This information is critical for making informed decisions, allowing you to refine features, enhance user engagement, and foster growth. Analytics serve as the compass that guides your app’s evolution, ensuring it remains relevant and competitive.

Developing a mobile app for your business is a comprehensive process that demands attention to detail, an understanding of your audience, and an unwavering commitment to quality. By meticulously planning and executing each step outlined in this guide, you can create an app that not only achieves your business goals but also delivers a superior experience to your users. Remember, the journey doesn’t end with the launch; it’s a continuous cycle of feedback, iteration, and improvement. Stay agile and attuned to the needs of your audience and the shifts in the digital landscape to ensure your app remains a valuable asset to your business and your customers.

Discover the perfect business opportunity with Keystone Business Brokers, the leader in South Jersey for selective business listings. Don’t wait, transform your entrepreneurial dreams into reality today by exploring our inventory or getting in touch for a consultation. Visit Keystone Business Brokers to get started.

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Evergreen Marketing Methods That Still Work Today

Image courtesy of Unsplash

Evergreen Marketing Methods That Still Work Today

Author: Poppy Williams,  poppy@techbizguide.com  

The increased amount of time people spend on their phones has changed how businesses spend their marketing budget. In the U.S., 72% of people spend upwards of 3 hours each day on their phones for work and social activities according to Statista. Marketing budgets for traditional channels, such as flyers, billboards, and paid mass media, have been slashed and redirected to social media ads and email marketing. However, as Keystone Business Brokers explains, marketing methods from decades ago still deliver a sizable return on investment (ROI) and pair well with more recent channels.

Coupons

Physical coupons sent directly to customers via mail were a major thing years ago. They were a great way to keep customers coming to your physical store. Coupons have since evolved with digital coupons booming with e-commerce. They remain reliable in retaining and acquiring new customers. You can pair them with email marketing to reduce customer churn. For instance, you may entice customers who have not renewed subscriptions or not visited your website for a while to come back using coupons.

Postcards

It may surprise you, but postcards are still an excellent way to market your products. On the downside, you need to pay for postage upfront and curate a mailing list. On the upside, Central Mailing Services notes that people are more likely to read physical mail than emails. This method works because 98% of people bring their physical mail into the house the day it comes. Meanwhile, 77% of those people sort and read their mail within 30 minutes of receiving it.

Business Cards

Today, it’s possible to create and share your e-business card with a phone app. However, you should still carry physical business cards with you to share with new leads. Physical business cards leave people with something tangible to remember you by. You can easily design your own business cards using free templates available online. The templates are usually customizable, allowing you to add your own text, images, font, and color schemes.

Working with Professionals

You may prefer working with professionals to help create high-quality postcards, coupons, customized emails, and social media posts. Often, entrepreneurs know what results they want but need professional web designers, graphic designers, and marketers to help with proper execution. For instance, the entrepreneur knows the brand’s story, but marketers will help tell it correctly through brand campaigns.

During discussions with these professionals, share images you have been working on with them. If these images are in JPG format, you can compress them to send them via email, but this will lead to a loss in quality. The correct alternative is to convert the JPG files into PDF format. In fact, you can convert multiple JPG files into a single PDF file for easier sharing.

Choosing the Correct Channels

Today’s marketers face a tough dilemma when deciding which resources to allocate to different marketing methods, including social media platforms. An affordable and efficient way to experiment is to get started with a Facebook ad template to fast-track publishing an ad that directs customers to your website or generates an email or phone call. 

One solution for choosing the best channels is to monitor the source of your current customers. This is why companies conduct surveys on new customers to ask where they first heard about the company. When running an e-commerce website, tools such as Google Analytics will break down your traffic sources by website and country.

Be Objective with Marketing Channel Choices

As a business leader, you have to be bold and objective in the marketing channels you use. Futuristic channels are not always better. Some marketing methods may have been around for a while, but they may still be great for your niche. Try these marketing methods to see which ones work best for your business.

Keystone Business Brokers is backed with more than 60 years of experience in commercial and business brokerage. Reach out today for more info! (866) 744-0720

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Vimeo and TikTok Partner to Drive Small Business Success with Video Ads

https://press.vimeo.com/148496-vimeo-and-tiktok-partner-to-drive-small-business-success-with-video-ads

Vimeo and TikTok Partner to Drive Small Business Success with Video Ads

The partnership connects Vimeo’s powerful creation tools with TikTok Ads Manager; Vimeo is the first video software company to join the TikTok Marketing Partner Program

Vimeo (NASDAQ:VMEO), the world’s leading all-in-one video software solution, and TikTok, a leading destination for short-form mobile video, today announced a new partnership that integrates Vimeo’s powerful video tools with the TikTok platform. The partnership gives small and medium businesses (SMBs) everything they need to make effective video ads to engage customers while enabling them to take full advantage of Vimeo’s suite of video tools and the broad reach of the TikTok platform. In pre-release tests of the combined capabilities, participants saw up to 50% higher clickthrough rates compared to previous campaigns on other platforms and were able to double the number of videos they created in a short time span.

Vimeo is joining TikTok Marketing Partners, a group of vetted experts who create, implement, and measure TikTok ad campaigns. Vimeo is the first partner to be badged under TikTok’s all-new Creative Tools subcategory of Creative Partners, which helps brands produce creative assets that leverage TikTok’s best practices.

With this first-of-a-kind partnership between TikTok and a video software company, SMBs can now use Vimeo Create, an advanced AI-driven video production tool, to produce and publish ads directly into the TikTok Ad Manager in minutes. The companies also collaborated on developing custom video templates exclusively available in Vimeo Create, optimized for the TikTok platform.

Pre-Release Test Advertising

Ahead of the launch, Vimeo and TikTok invited small businesses to try Vimeo Create and advertise on TikTok for the first time. More than 85% of participants reported successful campaign results and plan to run additional TikTok campaigns. NaturalAnnie Essentials, a family-run, Bridgeport, CT-based soy candle company, saw a 5.5x increase in conversion rate within the first two weeks of the trial campaign when compared with other forms of online advertising.

“We’ve saved thousands of dollars, the stress of shipping candles to a production studio, and lots of headaches by using Vimeo for our TikTok ads,” said Annya White-Brown, CEO of NaturalAnnie Essentials. “Vimeo Create made it super easy— it was as simple as adding your assets to the templates to fit your brand. Now we create anywhere from 30-75 videos per month.”

TikTok gives small businesses opportunities to reach and attract wider communities where they spend their time today. However, the high level of user engagement on the platform creates a challenge for marketers who need to publish new content and ads with far more frequency than on other online channels. It’s recommended that businesses test new TikTok ad creative on a bi-weekly basis and that they post new organic TikTok videos multiple times a week – if not every day – to maximize their engagement.

“Vimeo and TikTok are solving one of the most significant pain points for SMBs in reaching customers — how to easily and affordably create professional-quality content at scale,” said Richard Bloom, SVP, Business Development, Vimeo. “We’re thrilled to be the first video creation platform to integrate with TikTok For Business and to expand the reach of Vimeo Create, so more businesses can engage even more customers online.”

“As small businesses recover and rebuild after a challenging year, TikTok is working on ways to make it easier to reach their community and grow their business,” said Melissa Yang, Head of Ecosystem Partnerships, TikTok. “Our partnership with Vimeo provides small businesses with simple, effective video tools that rival what the biggest brands in the world have access to — and they drive real results.”

Following the launch, Vimeo and TikTok plan to find more ways to join forces in helping every SMB succeed with video. This integration is available immediately to all Vimeo users.

Website Developers: Accularis Marketing Solutions     

https://www.accularis.com               856-793-9440

Host Platform: BlueHost.com

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The Future is Streaming Video Marketing

The Future is Streaming Video Marketing

The trends in online marketing have consistently shown growth in using promotional video for both B2C and B2B marketing. Approximately 90% of all information processed by our brains is visual. It is easier for consumers to digest and retain visual information rather than text material. Viewers claim they retain 95% of a message when obtained via video. (Social Media Week)

The most successful videos are those that are easy to understand and are direct to the point. Before creating a video determine who is your target demographic and what is your message. Videos that are generalized for multiple demographics are less effective.

Once you have a series of videos you can use them in a plethora of channels to be viewed by potential buyers. For starters you can place videos on your company’s landing page this gives customers and prospects a clearer reason to purchase your products or services. You can greet the viewer and introduce your organization establish confidence and explain why they should do business with you. Other videos can demonstrate your products, testimonials by satisfied customers, and promotional advertising. The biggest and most effective social media channels are YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik-Tok, and LinkedIn.

Small business owners have two options when implementing a marketing video strategy, they can hire an outside firm to produce the video which you can find online.

If you choose to create your own videos using the technology now available read my blog article Marketing Your Business With Video 02/15/2 < https://kbizbrokers.com/2021/02/15/marketing-your-business-with-video/ >. This posting will give you an overview of how to produce a video on your own. Prior to joining Keystone Business Brokers, I was a member of the business faculty at Penn State University where I taught marketing. Students taking the Advertising and Sales Promotion Management course were required to produce a promotional video for a local business in the Abington PA area. Below are examples of some of the projects that the students created. Remember these were not art or creative students, but marketing management students. With basic simple software tools, they were able to create these advertising videos and you can too.

Our Family Cafe.  https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/100336918 >

Attractive Properties.  < https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/147528467 > 

Foster’s Plumbing, Heating & Cooling  < https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/147528469 >

By 2022 it is estimated that 82% of all internet traffic will come from video streaming. Will you be ready?

Announcement

If you’re a business blogger and you would like to contribute articles to appear on our site, please contact Dennis Hassis the Agent Manager   dennis@kbizbrokers.com. Your name and website will appear on the post. We look forward to hearing from you.

   Website Developers: Accularis Marketing Solutions

 https://www.accularis.com        856-793-9440

Host Platform: BlueHost.com

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The Democratization of Advertising

Photo by Tracy Le Blank, Pexels

The Democratization of Advertising

Advertising has been with us since ancient times. The advertisers posted their messages on walls and printed pieces of papyrus which were handouts. Examples of this can be viewed at Pompeii the city in Southern Italy destroyed by the explosion of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD.

In the middle ages signage with drawings was used to identify small businesses. The invention of the printing press was a leap forward for commercial advertising. Promotional marketing evolved into other forms of media such as broadcasting, billboards, high-volume print ads with large circulation periodicals which were all very expensive and not suited for small businesses.

In today’s marketplace technology has been the stimulant for entrepreneurs to bypass expensive ad agencies and national media. Now the independent business-person can create their local advertising on various platforms. The available platforms have made it relatively easy for start-ups, small and mid-level businesses to advertise.

SCORE recommends the following platforms.

In my previous article, I covered LinkedIn and Twitter which I recommended for B2B (business-to-business) marketers.

Facebook www.facebook.com

Unlike LinkedIn which is primarily a B2B marketing site, Facebook’s audience is the consumer. Once you establish your presence on this platform you will need to create a following. Posting display ads, offering limited-time discounts, and featuring new products will draw customers.

YouTube www.youtube.com

Videos are one of the best mediums to get your message to your customers. Both individuals and business buyers view videos. Most people prefer to watch an informative video rather than reading text.

Instagram www.intstagram.com

This is a photo-sharing site that appeals to a younger audience. You can create visual stories about your business, products, and services you offer.

Pick one platform that works well for your business before trying others. Develop a strategy, follow it through, and track results.  Most of the sites offer tools to help you streamline your site.

Website Creation by ACCULARIS < https://www.accularis.com >

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A Streamlined B2B Advertising Strategy for Small Business

A Streamlined B2B Advertising Strategy for Small Business

The average entrepreneur is knowledgeable about their specific services and products that they offer for sale. They are usually out of their area of expertise when it comes to promoting their businesses. This article limits using the many types of advertising media and focusing on the three most productive.

The first step in creating an effective marketing strategy is building a company website. This site should describe your company’s location, the product line, and the benefits offered to the client. If you’re not skilled with websites you can hire a consulting firm to set up your site.

When the website is operational the next step is to establish a presence on social media. Social media is a vehicle to create awareness of your brand, and bring prospects to your website. Once a prospect views your site and learns about your company and its offerings you have a potential customer.

The internet offers a plethora of social media platforms, but be selective, and concentrate on just a few. For the B2B marketplace, I recommend the following three promotional tactics LinkedIn, Twitter, and Direct-Mail.

1. LinkedIn < https://business.linkedin.com/grow >

LinkedIn is without a doubt the best platform for small businesses to connect with other businesses both large and small. This provider offers you the ability to direct your message to the targeted geographic location, industry, and demographic.

2.Twitter < https://business.twitter.com/en/advertising.html >

Once you develop a following on LinkedIn you can create a list on Twitter and develop relationships with prospective customers. Twitter allows you to make frequent short announcements about new promotions and updates to your brand.

3. Direct Mail < https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15776-direct-mail-marketing-guide-for-small-businesses.html >

Similar to Twitter this medium also gives the sender the ability to communicate directly with customers and prospects, but direct mail allows the sender to transmit more detailed promotional material. This would include eye-catching color graphics, special offers, and more product information.

This article is a brief outline of a lean strategy that most small businesses can pursue. For more details click on the website links in this article.

Website Creation by ACCULARIS < https://www.accularis.com >

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Do You Really Need a Website?

The following post was copied from The Hartford’s website, Business Owners Playbook.  

https://www.thehartford.com/business-insurance/strategy/building-website/10-reasons-need-website.   

Do You Really Need a Website?

The answer is yes. There aren’t many businesses that can survive without a Web presence and there’s no reason not to have a website. Your company’s website can be a highly effective marketing tool that can be very cost-efficient. There are quite a few benefits and very little downsides.

 

Ten Things Your Website Can Do (for Starters)

There are many things you can do with your website, here are 10  good starting points:

 

  1. Create a presence. Who knows about your business? Where can prospects and clients go to learn more? Your website can help establish your business as a going concern, communicate your brand value proposition and it can convey professionalism. It also extends your reach to anyone in the world.
  2. Help build trust. New clients and prospects might want to know about your business history, your expertise, and your specialization. This is a great vehicle for people to learn more and attain that comfort level they seek.
  3. Get listed on search engines. Build your website incorporating search engine optimization (SEO) techniques so that you can easily be found by people searching for relevant keywords. This can be an important gateway to expanding your business.
  4. Point of contact. Your website provides customers an easy way to contact you and learn more about your products, services, and business.
  5. Leverage social networks. Implement a social media strategy to reach a larger audience and to create more buzz about your biz. Establish your presence on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Facebook likes and shares can drive people to your website. Links to popular or topical items from or to your website will add to its relevance.
  6. Sell products. If your business lends itself to online sales, create a virtual store as an alternative or complement to a storefront or office location.
  7. Share the latest news. Whenever there are new developments regarding your business, update your website. Sites that have fresh, relevant, and timely information draw users back more often.
  8. Blog. Keep your website fresh and keep drawing people in with regular Blog posts. Show your expertise, share insights and provide practical tips on topics relevant to your business  or to your customers
  9. Learn about customers. Learn about their needs, preferences, and interests. Establish and nurture two-way communication with prospects and clients. This will forge a deeper bond and serve them better.
  10. Customer convenience. Providing customers with multiple ways to interact with your business is almost mandatory these days. Anything less could result in lost sales.

Common Concerns and Questions About Small Business Websites

It’s natural to have questions and concerns about setting up a website. Cost is a common one. Beyond an up-front fee to design the website, the ongoing costs can be minimal. And considering the long-term benefits, a website will provide, the cost to design a good website should be well worth it.

 

Other concerns often relate to a business not being web-oriented or that it wouldn’t sell goods online. The answer to these concerns is that a business website can provide so many more benefits. Establishing trust, strengthening your brand, forging better customer relations, and informing a wider group of people about your business’s capabilities are all key benefits.

 

Another common concern is that you don’t have much content to add for frequent updates or you don’t have time to blog. The short answer is that you don’t need to. Sure, more activity and frequently refreshed content can generate more interest, but any Web presence is probably better than none. Once you have a basic website, you can always add to it, as your business and resources grow.

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Company Blogs as a Public Relations Tool

Company Blogs as a Public Relations Tool

Unlike other forms of public relations and sales, promotion blogging allows a company’s website an opportunity to have a dialogue with their customers, suppliers, and their employees. Blogs as a medium of communication can introduce new products, services, address rumors, and share news.

The benefits of the comments section allow your readers to give you input. There are positive comments and constructive criticism which are both helpful in developing your style of writing. Unfortunately, there are the trolls who will be deprecating, insulting and vulgar, ignore them.

Before you start a blog ask yourself what is the purpose of your blog and what information are you trying to convey to your readers. A year ago, I took on the duties of writing blog articles for Keystone Business brokers. Originally, I was focused on news articles dealing with how small businesses are dealing with the Covid-19 crises. My primary emphasis was curating news that I’d read and seen on TV. Unfortunately, I received very few comments.

Before my current job I was a marketing and entrepreneurship professor for a major university from where I retired. I decided to post a series of articles about the “4 P’s of Marketing.” To my amazement, there were hundreds of comments posted to our site. This was when I found my voice on the blogosphere. Since then the articles that I’ve written have been focused on educating my readers about marketing and small business management. Unlike teaching business theory to college students my blog posts are focused on the practical application of strategies and tactics.

One of the comments that have guided me on my journey of writing was to keep my posts short (300 to 400 words). Some readers have commented they wished that I would give more information on the topics. My compromise has been to give an overview of the topic and add website addresses for more detailed information.

SCORE Website: 10 Reasons to Keep an Active Business Blog

https://www.score.org/blog/10-reasons-keep-active-business-blog 

US Department of the Interior / Digital Media Guide

https://www.doi.gov/employees/dmguide/website-and-social-media-basics 

How to Start a WordPress Blog

https://www.wpbeginner.com/start-a-wordpress-blog/

In closing, write what you know and share your knowledge with your readers. Provide information your followers can use, give them a reason to follow you.

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Sponsorship an Effective Public Relations Strategy

Recently, my colleague Dennis, and I stopped at a coffee and donut shop to discuss business strategy. During that visit, I noticed that the display which included photos, trophies, and memorabilia of a little league that they sponsored was no longer there. The back of the establishment that was a TV lounge with pillowed chairs was closed off, obviously due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Those of us that frequented the establishment were impressed by the owner’s support of youth sports. Sports events are the most popular by far at an estimated 69% of sponsorship.

As the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania start to relax restrictions in the coming months, sponsorship is a PR strategy that enhances the reputation of a business within its community. Sponsorship is one of the fastest-growing forms of marketing promotions.  Causes require a for-profit business to partner with a non-profit organization. This strategy includes contributing a portion of the sales to the non-profit.  The attendees of the event are informed that a set percentage of sales will be donated and a deadline given for the purchase. Sponsoring events to improve the stature of a company by being linked to a worthy cause, and resulting in increased sales and profits.

Another advantage of sponsorship is that it is a cost-effective way of reaching your targeted customers. With traditional advertising, you are paying the media to promote your products to a mass audience of consumers that have no interest, this is referred to as the shotgun approach. Sponsorship allows you to target the customers that you are trying to reach.

Courting local media gives the non-profit and your company coverage that is free advertising with much more credibility than paid promotions.

A hypothetical example is a sporting goods company specializing in tennis equipment, sponsoring a tennis tournament, supplying equipment to top players for endorsements, and donating a percentage of sales to the charity fundraiser. This is a WIN-WIN for all parties involved.

Reference:

Weigold M, and Arens W. (2015) ADVERTISING, 3e.   Dubuque:  McGraw Hill 

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Public Relations for Small Business

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.