Get your product to go VIRAL.

If you are thinking about how you can get your product to go viral, it may be easier than you think by utilizing some key elements in your marketing process.

Many products that are popular today existed 10 or even 15 years before they got noticed. Nobody knew about them because they were still in the developing phase or were just waiting to go viral. Today, many small businesses go through the same. They believe they have a great product but don’t know how to make it popular in the market.

Nadia Goodman said in a recent article on Entrepreneur.com, “You don’t need a huge advertising budget nor luck...you just need to know how to incorporate some key elements to make your product go viral.”

Read the full article here to learn what these key elements are.

Take care of your customers' needs.

People always say how customers are the lifeblood of any business......well, they are right! Many small business owners forget about this and take their customers for granted. Once the business gets rolling, many business owners focus more on profits and sales than on their customer. Remember, without customers you won’t have sales or profits.

It seems obvious that business owners should ask customers questions about the service or products being offered, but amazingly many don’t. Even more amazingly, many forget to listen to what customers have to say about their business. Customer’s’ opinions on their services or products add value to what you offer -- they are waiting there like gold for you to “mine” and use them.

Complaints are also something you shouldn’t ignore. They can provide some of your most valuable feedback, telling you what areas you need to improve on and what you can eliminate from the business that is not serving you or your customers.

So always remember, listen to your customers and don’t be afraid to ask them questions. That’s the only way you can get feedback and know what is good and bad for your business.

Social Media Marketing To Mobile

We all know that the world is changing and that people are starting to become more technology oriented and “mobile”. By mobile, I mean people using their phones or tablets to do more things than one can even imagine. Research shows that last year the time people spent via mobile checking Facebook increased 85%, Twitter 140%, Linkedin 114% and Pinterest 4,225%. This is something you as a business owner or as a potential business owner should consider when it comes to your Marketing.

The article below explains these 5 easy tips on how you can optimize your social media content for you mobile customers.

5 Tips

1. Be much more thoughtful about when you are posting.

2. Add value to the mobile experience – which differs from adding value to the desktop or laptop experience

3. Design for mobile first

4. Test different mobile platforms to understand the differences
5. Check your analytics

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226200

What is a QR code?

Have you already thought about getting a QR for your business? Check out ours below. Scan it to see where it takes you.

Should you ask a family member for financial funding?

Are you looking into getting some financial funding from a family member but are not sure if it is a good idea? Well, it can be challenging working with family members and even more challenging when a large amount of money is involved. You need to consider how involved the family member will be in your business and how strong a relationship you have.

Before doing anything else, create a contract, just as if you were dealing with a bank; put it in writing and spell out the terms of the loan, interest, payments, time frame, etc. Also, have a plan B in mind just in case the business fails, and make sure the family member is aware of it as well. Here are some pro and some cons for you to consider.

Pros
• More than likely they will not ask for a credit score nor perform a background check
• They may not ask for interest on the loan• If you need a favor, they may be willing to help out, unlike banks
• Possible payment flexibility
• He or she will care about the long-term success of your business...because remember, you are family!

Cons
• Relationship can be ruined
• Unwanted advice
• Family member may be demanding, even more than a bank

It’s March Madness – how can you take advantage of it in your business?

If your employees are crazy about March Madness, try to find a way to use this as a morale-builder and a chance to have fun with them.

John Mahoney, COO of a staffing firm, says “When you let people enjoy the things they love instead of trying to control them, and you trust them to do the right thing, that pays off for the company”.

Mahoney found 4 lessons companies can learn from March Madness

1. Underdogs Win

2. Working together works

3. Fun matters

4. Some moments really matter

To read more on this and see what he means by all 4 lesson click on the following link to go to his complete article.

Article

College of Business Administration - Whitton Speaker Series

Secretary of State Event



Choices in Business Structures
•March 19
•2 p.m. ~ 5 p.m.
•Whitton Auditorium, Vivian M. Carroll Hall
•Reception will begin at 5 p.m. - Macfeat House

- Choices For Legal Structures For Business
- What are my options for the leagal structure of my business?
- (LLC, S Corp, C Corp, Partnership, Sole Proprietorship)

Presented by
SC Secretary of State – Mark Hammond and
Shannon Wiley – Deputy Legal Counsel

Secretary Hammond will discuss the duties of the Secretary of State's Office as a filing entity and the different types of entity structures that file with their office. He will be discussing the form requirements for each business structure choice as well as other facts surrounding business structure choices for business owners.

How to Choose the Best Business Structure
What are the tax and debt implications?
Presented by
Joanie Winters
Attorney at Law – Winters Law Firm

This event is free and open to the regional business community
Sound exciting? Let's get you registered and we will see YOU on March 19!

REGISTER HERE

For more information or to reserve your space please contact Page Bowden, Director of External Relations for the College of Business Administration, at bowdenp@winthrop.edu or 803.323.2504

SC Secretary of State Speaking in Rock Hill on Legal Structure for Your Business

Choices For Legal Structure For Business

What are my options for the legal structure of my business ?

(LLC, S Corp, C Corp, Partnership, Sole Proprietorship)

SC Secretary of State – Mark Hammond and

Shannon Wiley – Deputy Legal Counsel

Secretary Hammond will discuss the different types of entity structures that file with their office. He will be discussing the form requirements as well as other facts surrounding each entity choice.

How to Choose the Best Business Structure

What are the tax and debt implications?

Presented by

Joanie Winters

Attorney at Law – Winters Law Firm

March 19

2 p.m. ~ 5 p.m.

Whitton Auditorium, Vivian M. Carroll Hall

on the campus of Winthrop University, College of Business Administration
Rock Hill, SC

Reception will begin at 5 p.m. at Macfeat House

This event is free and open to the regional business community

PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED AT http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5397197162#

The objective of the Whitton Best Practices Series, sponsored by Elaine Whitton Davis and developed in conjunction with Winthrop faculty, is to provide free or low cost access to current, state-of-the-art knowledge relevant to small business practice.

For more information or to reserve your space please contact Page Bowden, Director of External Relations for the College of Business Administration, at bowdenp@winthrop.edu or 803/323-2504



Co-Sponsors:

Get inspired and become a leader.

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

- John Quincy Adams

Marketing Mix for your Small Business

You may remember this from marketing class, but if you don’t here is an overview of the Marketing Mix and how you can apply it to your Small Business.

The Marketing Mix is synonym to the 4 Ps which are Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

Think about these 4 Ps and see how you are using each one within your business. This can be a very powerful tool for you to use in order to get your products marketed in a much more efficient way. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself about how you are using your current Marketing Mix.

Product

• What do customers expect from the product/service?
• Is the product/service satisfying customer’s needs?
• What does the product look like? Is it attractive to the customer?
• Is the size, color, etc. appealing to the customer?
• How is the product/service different from your competitors?
• Is the product/service profitable?

Price

• Is your price appropriate for the product/service?
• How is your price compared to competitors?
• Is your customer price sensitive? Will lowering prices gain you extra market share? Or will increasing the price gain you a bigger profit margin?

Place

• Where is the customer looking for your product/service?
• Are you accessing the right distribution channel?
• Where are your competitors selling their product/service?
• Are you selling online? If not, is that something you need to start doing?

Promotion

• Are you getting your marketing message across to your customers?
• Are you reaching your target market through your current advertising? If not, try new ways of getting to your customer (social media)
• How are you promoting and advertising your product/service? Is it profitable? Are you seeing results?
• What is the competition doing?

Sole Proprietorship --- Is this Popular Business Structure Right for You?

If you’re starting a business, you may be wondering how to legally structure it. Should you incorporate, become an LLC, or operate as a sole proprietor?

Over 70 percent of U.S. businesses are owned and operated by sole proprietors or sole traders.

But what does being a sole proprietor involve and is it the right structure for your small business? Here’s what you need to know about the advantages and disadvantages of being a sole proprietor.

The informaiton above is cited from an www.sba.gov  article.  To read more, follow think provided.

http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/community-blogs/business-law-advisor/sole-proprietorship%E2%80%94-popular-business-structure

Should I use Pinterest for my business?

Have you been thinking about creating a Pinterest account for your business but you aren’t too sure what it is? Well if you haven’t yet done so, you should start thinking about creating one NOW.

Pinterest is a type of social media that allows you to say who you are through visually engaging ways. This is also a great way to create a strong brand image and reach out to new clients. Many people forget what they read, but once they see a picture, it is a lot easier for them to remember.

This is how Pinterest helps you attract new clients and make your business grow. And just a little extra incentive for you: Pinterest is said to have a higher click-through rate than Facebook and Twitter put together!

How’s that for a business incentive?! The following article gives you 10 questions you should ask yourself when creating a Pinterest account for your small business.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225936