organizational change
Top 10 Small-Medium Business Blog Posts from 2013
As I did on Friday for the nonprofit sector, here are my top 10 small and medium business marketing blog posts from last year:
Study Says Small-Medium Businesses Seeing Higher Twitter ROI
A recent study by BIA/Kelsey’s Local Commerce Monitor says that small-medium businesses (SMBs) perceived their Twitter ROI as “excellent” (10-19 times spend; 18.8%) or “extraordinary” (20+ times spend; 12.3%), up from 25% of advertisers in last year’s survey and 17.1% in 2011. But, there’s something missing here.
Why We Still Need Business Cards
The demise of the 3½ x 2″ business card is a myth. If you’re working, you still need a business card. Why?
Is Your B2B Company Sending the Right Brand Messages?
Your B2B (business-to-business) company may not be sending the “right” brand messages, according to newly-released McKinsey research. It appears that many companies are using ineffective brand messaging to engage their customers and prospects. The research suggests, “a marked apparent divergence between the core messages companies communicate about their brands and the characteristics their customers value most.” Oh-oh.
Companies Wanting to Achieve Social Impact Require Measured Approach
No matter how small or large your company is, if it’s involved in cause marketing – supporting a charitable cause – there are new guidelines out for you. According to the 2013 Cone Communications Social Impact Study, social impact is the new standard for how companies address social and environmental issues to drive meaningful and positive change.
Smaller B2B Companies Outdo Larger Ones on Content Marketing Strategy
Here’s a switch. Smaller businesses – those with 10-99 employees – are outdoing large companies with over 1000 employees on content marketing strategy. Almost half of smaller businesses (48%) have a documented content strategy, compared with 41% of large organizations, according to a newly-released study from the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs. And, get this…
Don’t Forget Customers During Organizational Change
Most smaller businesses and nonprofits exist to serve their customers. But sometimes, they take their eyes off the ball during organizational change or growth. And, that’s not a good thing. The customer experience is a key factor in building brand loyalty for any organization. Every brand touchpoint must offer a positive, exceptional experience. When that experience is lackluster or inconsistent, the risk for customer attrition rises.
9 Essential Elements of an Effective Smaller Business Website
Right now, your website is like a bucket with a hole in the bottom; maybe several. Trickles of your diligent investment to gain targeted traffic are going to waste and the holes must be plugged up before they cost you any more money. The number of considerations in a strong homepage is vast, making it easy to overlook business essentials that can cost you clients. Here are 9 critical website elements to make sure this doesn’t happen.
Do You Feel Pulled in Multiple Marketing Directions?
Content marketers want you to believe that content is everything in marketing now. Same thing with the in-bound marketers, mobile marketers, database marketers, SEO (search engine optimization) marketers, social media marketers, and so on and so on…
Keep Your Small Biz Social Media Interaction Personal
It’s funny how it works… small businesses want to look bigger than they are, while corporations want to appear smaller and more personal. No one’s ever satisfied, right? One thing’s for sure. When it comes to interacting on social media sites, being personal works best no matter the size of your business.
Let’s Make 2013 the Year of Integrated Marketing
Of all the marketing challenges we face in the business and nonprofit sectors, there’s one that is “fixable.” Integration. What is marketing integration?
Here’s to a successful year in 2014 to all my SMB colleagues and friends!
Don’t Forget Customers During Organizational Change
Most smaller businesses and nonprofits exist to serve their customers. But sometimes, they take their eyes off the ball during organizational change or growth. And, that’s not a good thing.
The customer experience is a key factor in building brand loyalty for any organization. Every brand touchpoint must offer a positive, exceptional experience. When that experience is lackluster or inconsistent, the risk for customer attrition rises.
Case in point:
Ross Stores. Even though I don’t often write about B2C retail marketing, this company’s situation is a perfect example of what not to do during change or growth.
According to Hoover’s, “Ross operates about 1,125 Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores that sell mostly closeout merchandise, including men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, at prices well below those of department and specialty stores. While apparel accounts for about 50% of sales, Ross also sells small furnishings, toys and games, luggage, and jewelry.”
Ross is an S&P 500, Fortune 500 and Nasdaq 100 company headquartered in Pleasanton, California, with fiscal 2012 revenues of $9.7 billion! The chain - located in strip malls in some 30 states, mostly in the western US, and Guam - targets 18- to 54-year-old white-collar shoppers from primarily middle-income households.
One thing about me… I love a bargain, and so, I had been a regular Ross shopper for years. (Notice that I used the past tense.) Why don’t I frequent Ross Stores much anymore? Because the customer experience declined so badly, it isn’t worth my time.
When I first shopped there, the shelves were filled with decent merchandise at rock-bottom prices. I always walked out with a few bargains every time I visited. But, that ended about 2-3 years ago.
Now, the shelves are sparsely filled. On some displays, products are separated by a foot of empty space. And, it’s not because items sell out quickly.
The company published a long list of risk factors in its recent “Forward-Looking Statements” that include, “higher than expected inventory shortage.” The company is also re-purchasing its common stock, “obtaining acceptable new store locations and improving new store sales and profitability, especially in newer regions and markets.”
In spite of its challenges, the company has managed to grow its 2013 first quarter by 12%! All that’s well and good for shareholders , BUT my customer experience has been lackluster and disappointing for a long time.
Now, you can’t argue with success, right? But, isn’t there a risk that the stores’ poor customer experiences will catch up and cause customer attrition? Unless, there’s a major change in inventory management, I believe that’s a real possibility.
So, what’s the lesson here?
As organizations experience change and growth, it’s important to ensure that excellent customer experiences are maintained. It’s easy to get distracted managing change, but without loyal customers, the changes may lead to downfall.
The jury is still out on Ross Stores. We’ll have to see what transpires over time.
Have you experienced lackluster customer experiences at Ross Stores? Other businesses? When do you decide to walk away?
