Big Ideas for Small Business

What do you get when you tape some wires to your face and synchronize them to music? Something hypnotic, strange, and hilarious.

Check out the original post.

by Susan Sweeney, CA, CSP, HoF

FacebookIn my last newsletter we talked about social networking. I explained what it was and I gave you a few examples of where you could find it. So, today I would like to take one step closer to this new found beast and see if it has anything to offer in terms of using it to help your business grow.

Of course not all social networks are created equal. There are many different sites out there with very different opportunities. You must first determine what you want to achieve out of social networking online and then find the site that will give you the biggest benefits. Today we will focus on the ever popular Facebook. (more…)

Remember that clique in high school? That group of kids connected by some common interest or belief or personal characteristic? Or how about the Chamber of Commerce, your local church, the Rotary Club, or the Girl Scouts? These are all examples of social networks in our traditional world views. Now in the days of Web 2.0, we have numerous free online services that are allowing connections to be made between people and businesses and it can be hard to know where to begin or how you can use these services to promote your business. Many social networking sites are available and most target specific types of connections.

Here’s a short list of sites to explore and their intended focus: (more…)

by Susan Sweeney, CA, CSP, HoF

There is quite a bit of talk on the Internet these days about this new social media service called Twitter. So what is it? Well, basically, it’s a way to keep up to date with what people in your social circle are doing. This is what Twitter has to say about itself:

“Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate
and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers
to one simple question: What are you doing?”

(more…)

Your success as a business person firmly rests on your ability to motivate your customers and clients to perform the actions you want. You want to change what they think, feel, believe and do. I ran across a fact-filled website, ChangingMinds.org,  describing many methods of persuasion and I’d like to share three of these by describing examples you can use to motivate your customers to buy.

(1) Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
This method of persuasion relies on a sequence of actions by you (the seller) to trigger a response in the customer and ultimately motivate them to act on your final call to action.

• Grab Their Attention – All you need is a simple attention grabber. Let’s say you work a cosmetics counter. Your customers are likely motivated by their need for beauty. Your displays could invite them to come closer for a look with big, glossy blow-ups of their favorite celebrity using the product. (more…)