123 eGuides

1 Minute Advice: Why Mobile-izing is Mandatory for Small Business

Are you finding yourself conducting more and more business with your smartphone or tablet? Have you ever practiced "showrooming" -- going into a retail store to look at something you want to purchase, and then using your mobile device to price it and buy it online?

If you answered yes to either or both questions, you are part of an increasingly mobile society that will re-shape the way big and small businesses reach prospects and customers.  The Pew Internet and American Life Project found in a recent survey that 55 percent of Internet users access the Internet on a mobile device at least occasionally. As of September 2012, 45 percent of American adults have a smartphone, and 25 percent of American adults have a tablet computer, according to Pew.

This is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. In 2013, smartphone and tablet usage will skyrocket, thanks to increased competition and dropping prices. This is especially true with the current tablet war primarily pitting Apple against Amazon, but Microsoft, Samsung, and many other players are in the market. With mobile device and Internet service availability, mobile users will be expecting to be able to do a lot more on the go. That's why apps of every variety are enjoying such popularity -- and why they played a major role in this year's holiday shopping.

Perhaps the most significant development for small businesses, though, is mobile payment technology. Square, a payment device that attaches to smartphones, is already "facilitating over $10 billion of commerce annually for small businesses across the US. Up $2 billion in just 2 months," says founder Jack Dorsey. Meanwhile, both MasterCard and Visa are implementing their own versions of mobile payments. The implications of this are enormous. I was at a food truck recently and saw a customer swipe a debit card through the vendor's Square device on a smartphone to pay for the meal.

QR codes (those funny little boxes that look like demented barcodes) haven't gained traction, but they're now starting to appear in retail store windows, allowing shoppers to point their smartphones and be connected to an online site where they can order what they see. That means a consumer can pass by the window of a store that may be closed and still place an order, right from their phone.

Mobile payments and ordering online with QR codes are just two examples of the emerging world of "m-commerce." Competing effectively in 2013 means beginning to "mobile-ize" your business so you can take advantage of your mobile audience.

For more small business insights, check out the on-demand online course by branding strategist Barry Silverstein,  Big Brand Strategies for Small Brands.

1 Minute Advice: How Small Brands can Win in 2013

There has never been a better time to be marketing a small brand. The American public increasingly sees large companies who own large brands in a negative light.  Large companies are seen as reaping healthy profits while cutting back on employee benefits and laying off workers, paying top executives outrageous salaries, and raising prices while customer service languishes.

Large brands still have a lot of brand equity in their name, so brand name products are still popular. But store brands have lost their inferior image. Recent studies suggest that these private label products are gaining traction. That means consumers are more receptive to "no name" products that retain the quality and value of brand names.

A small company can take advantage of this current business environment in 2013. For example, a small company can:

• Emphasize individual attention from the principal of the business
• Offer outstanding personalized customer service, particularly by providing local call support to compete with the off-shore call centers used by large companies
• Serve a narrow niche a large company can't afford to service with specialized products that a large company can't afford to make
• Make product and service guarantees that a large company can't match.

In terms of brand image, a small company can look solid, established and credible by having a professionally designed, well written website. Using online marketing effectively -- including the web, email, video, and social media -- levels the playing field and allows small brands to compete effectively with large brands.

Because small companies produce lower quantities of a product, a small brand can afford to create unique packaging that differentiates it from a large brand. Small brands may find it easier to obtain and use customer testimonials, too; customers like to support small brands , and small companies have a more streamlined legal process than big companies in gaining approval to use testimonials.

These are just some of the benefits of being small. Use them to your advantage to win in 2013!

For more insights, check out the on-demand online course by branding expert Barry Silverstein,  Big Brand Strategies for Small Brands.