November - December, 2020 Volume 17 --- Issue 98 Aannndddd... the pandemic continues. Just as we started to see some economic recovery in the third quarter, another COVID uptick began. Every time there is a new uptick, state leaders create new ways to lock down our world. Small businesses that received no financial assistance or ability to open back up are feeling the pinch again. We don't need to feel helpless and hopeless as [...]
What marketing strategies does your small business use to drive traffic to your website? You spend time and money on the #1 piece in your marketing toolbox: a website to attract consumers. That critical piece in any small business marketing plan should tell visitors everything they need to know about your company to make a decision to buy from or work with you. Your site must convey strong marketing content that tells prospects who you are, what you do and why what you offer, or your solutions, are superior to other competing companies. Developing a powerful website take more than [...]
If you’re a small business owner who has spent the past six or seven months wondering how to keep your company afloat throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re not alone. Countless entrepreneurs are trying to figure out how to recover from this major setback. With a little ingenuity, your business can make a comeback. We’ve gathered resources with tips on everything from overhauling your marketing strategy to helping your employees become more efficient remote workers. Hopefully, these resources for recovery from COVID-19 business setbacks will set you on your way back from the pandemic standstill. Establish Financial Stability Your business’s current [...]
Remember six months ago? We were all told to hunker down in our homes to help ‘flatten the curve’ of hospital admissions due to the latest pandemic. Well, spring has come and gone, summer flew by and we’re moving into fall. And, depending on where we live, most are still under some level of lockdown and isolation. During this passage of time, thousands of small business firms have been struggling to find ways to pivot small business strategies and adjust their business models to stay afloat. There is no ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card with this pandemic. Rich or [...]
Maurer Consulting Group has been a from home operation for quite some time. So, that part was not a new hardship imposed by COVID-19 shutdowns. Other small business owners and leaders watched as their businesses imploded into a number of separate pieces, trying to continue operations from numerous different places. Business as they knew it was reconfigured overnight and with little warning. I know it was time for some useful business saving actions and strategies. I am thankful that my isolation at home is just my husband and myself during the COVID-19 pandemic. That has been our normal for the [...]
November-December, 2019 Volume 15 -- Issue 92 Sometimes just knowing what you need to have or do to expand and grow your business isn’t enough. Not knowing how to make necessary changes, when and where to begin can become major barriers. It is like running into a very thick, high, wide wall. You are stopped dead in your tracks. You want to get back on your path to success beyond that wall, but [...]
In a recent ‘Designing Strategies’ newsletter we wrote about staying cool when customers get ‘hot’. The discussion focused on how to keep yourself ‘calm and cool’ during a heated confrontation from a dissatisfied client. Perhaps we should take one step backward and consider what moved them to the screaming and yelling level and how to avoid pushing their ‘Rage’ button. There are a number of behaviors that cause problems with angry customers. Needless to say, these should be avoided like the plague. Customer service should be more than a priority for your business - it should be a strategy for [...]
July - August, 2019 Volume 16 -- Issue 90 If your small business can't seem to find, recruit and retain a constant stream of customers and clients, is it your own fault? It might just be. What steps have you taken to become more visible and [...]
Focus on Increasing the Value of Your Small Business Every entrepreneur would love to boost the value of his or her small business. Opinions differ as to which strategies are best to add meaningful value in weeks or months as opposed to years or decades. Fret not, you can significantly increase the value of your small business in a short period of time if you implement proper strategies. Even if you do not end up with an offer that knocks your socks off, increasing the value of your small business just might inspire a lofty bid at some point [...]
Why on earth would anyone want to sell their small business? With all of those favorable reasons to go out on your own, who would want to give it all up? Pride, recognition and job security are a few of the positive features of owning your own business. Long hours, major learning curves and staying afloat during a lagging economy are three less positive features of your own business. Selling your small business may be one way to avoid those less favorable business elements. Beside those pros and cons, there are a number of very logical reasons a business owner [...]
