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Category: Calgary Business Owners

Generating Publicity With Guerrilla Marketing

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by Kent Boehm

Executive explaining stratify on whiteboardThere’s nothing wrong with generating publicity in the traditional way. Advertisements through analog and digital media continue to be popular because they still work really effectively. However, if you really want to get people talking about your business, you’ll have to be a bit more creative. Think back to the last time you saw a small business’ name in the media. What generated that attention? How did it spread? And perhaps most importantly of all: how much do you think they paid for that attention?

Guerrilla marketing, as it is often known, consists of promotions that are deliberately unconventional and out-of-the-box in their approach. For example, opening art installations with a theme relevant to what you’re selling, starting a viral meme on social media, or implementing a policy that is unique and eye-catching (such as a 15-dollar minimum wage for your employees) can serve as a means of getting people to pay attention to you with very little cost investment on your end. Or, you can still achieve that same effect if you’re willing to spend a little money on an unorthodox medium of advertisement. Continue reading “Generating Publicity With Guerrilla Marketing”

Begin Your Journey Towards Mastering Anything

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by Kent Boehm

For many people, the hardest part of getting good at anything is consistently repeating and practicing a certain task until they are good at it. For others, just getting started is really difficult in and of itself. It’s easy to admire skilled musicians and artists for what they can produce, but what you don’t see is the years of practice, hard work, and mistakes that led to their mastery. Because of that, many people fail to realize their true potential – they are unable to chart out a clear path towards realizing the goal they have in mind. They want results but have no way of achieving them.

What do you hope to achieve in the future? Do you want to learn how to play an instrument? Do you want to learn how to speak a foreign language? Do you want to educate yourself in a demanding yet rewarding field? Now ask yourself why you haven’t done it yet. Most people give themselves the same kinds of excuses year after year: it’s too difficult. They don’t know how to get started. They don’t have a natural talent that other people have. They don’t have enough time in their day. Continue reading “Begin Your Journey Towards Mastering Anything”

Common Cash Flow Problems and How to Remedy Them

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by Kent Boehm

Past due billsAre you experiencing troubles with maintaining consistent cash flow in your business? If you are, you may find that you can’t pay your bills on time, and expenses are fast getting out of hand. Cash flow problems plague every small business owner at one point or another – it’s natural to go through the occasional rough patch. However, that doesn’t mean that these rough spots can’t leave lasting damage to your finances. To avoid letting these problems ruin you, here are few ways of improving your net cash flow.

Accept Credit Cards From Customers

You do not have to be a retailer to accept credit cards. Many small business owners make this mistake, and it can potentially cost you a lot of business. Consumers use credit cards to make a variety of purchases, and a lot of them don’t carry cash on them. When they use a credit card to pay for things, you will typically get the money in two to three days. While this can seem like a bit of drag at first, it will quickly remedy itself as the cash flows from these transactions pour in. Continue reading “Common Cash Flow Problems and How to Remedy Them”

Which Key Elements Are Present in Every Small Business Success Story

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by Kent Boehm

People at a party talking to eachotherIt is the dream of most entrepreneurs to hear that their business has become the “next big thing” in the eyes of its customers. For most business owners, this is the single driving force behind everything that they do. All of the long work weeks, sleepless nights, stress-filled days, and agonizing decision-making are to make their dream become reality.

Unfortunately, reality does not typically work like that. In order to have your very own small business success story, one must put in a lot of effort, time, hard work, and dedication. However, you need to do so much more than that. A common element in small business success stories is that the owners did more than just put in long workweeks. There are key elements which play a very important role in helping one achieve their very own success story, and you would be doing yourself a disservice by disregarding them. Continue reading “Which Key Elements Are Present in Every Small Business Success Story”

Fostering a Positive Business Image and Culture

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by Kent Boehm

Humor at the meetingHow you conduct yourself in the business world has real-world ramifications on how potential customers perceive you. Large corporations collectively spend billions of dollars curating an image that encourages people to spend their hard-earned money on what they’re selling. With the emergence of social media over the past twenty years, even local and independent businesses take advantage of the exposure they get. While you can put out slick ads and videos to raise awareness of your brand, ultimately the way you conduct yourself and the values you embrace will be the deciding factor for many people. Continue reading “Fostering a Positive Business Image and Culture”

Ten Keys to Customer Loyalty

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by Kent Boehm

Young couple agree to the dealThe goal when creating a customer is to give your customers an unexpectedly positive experience that keeps you and your product at the top of their mind.

Your goal is to have frequent interactions with the customer, so when the time arrives for them to purchase your product again, they will think about you and your business first.

By doing this you start to add value to them that your competitors aren’t doing. This value is often the point of difference that sets you apart and stops your competitors moving in on your key customers. Continue reading “Ten Keys to Customer Loyalty”

Your Most Precious Resource is Time – Use it Well

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by Kent Boehm

Most precious resource

If you ask a business owner what their most precious resource is, they’ll usually give one of a few answers. Money is the most common, while others say their employees, community, or family. What is less stated is the one resource that can never be replenished or gained back – time. Once you waste your time with something, you can never get it back again. Some busier business owners understand this, but newer ones haven’t yet learned how to utilize their time effectively.

Business owners that don’t have enough time to do things usually have the same problems: they don’t delegate tasks well, they don’t prioritize tasks, and/or they aren’t well-organized in their day-to-day life. These issues are as simple to fix as they are common; most of the time, you only need to make a slight change in how you accomplish or go about completing certain tasks in order to squeeze more productivity in the time that you use. Continue reading “Your Most Precious Resource is Time – Use it Well”

How to Delegate Effectively

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by Kent Boehm

How to Delegate

How to delegate effectively means understanding that delegating tasks and authority is a defining aspect of being a boss, yet personal experience has likely shown you that it’s a skill that many managers lack. Whether it’s a lack of delegation, too much delegation, micromanaging, or putting the wrong people in the wrong places, a failure to properly assign tasks to people can result in a dysfunctional workplace. As the boss of your own workplace, you’ll be responsible for deciding who goes where and who does what. Much of your workplace’s productivity and morale will depend on your ability to not just lead but lead well. Continue reading “How to Delegate Effectively”

11 Ways to Strengthen Concentration

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by Kent Boehm

The ability to focus is a skill – it is not innate. Why do we sometimes have such trouble concentrating?  Distractions as well as the mind and our attitude have a huge impact on our mental stamina to complete a task.
Concentration is the key to economic results
Here are 11 ways to strengthen concentration, even under difficult circumstances: Continue reading “11 Ways to Strengthen Concentration”

Creating Above and Beyond Customer Experiences

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by Kent Boehm

Customer Service is a sector that should be a priority for improvement and investment. Adequate is not enough anymore and to create a memorable experience a business needs to go “above and beyond” in their method of service. The 2015 Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report states that 60% of customers have higher expectations for customer service than the year before. Exceeding expectations for your customers can start by practicing the following:

Have a Conversation

A conversational approach creates a much more memorable experience than a transactional approach.  Starting a conversation can build a relationship and make waiting times go by faster. Reaching out to your customers and ask them about their day, recent family adventures or even their pets. Learning as much about a person can help you help them in the future.

Watch Your Competition

Keeping tabs on your competition, their strategies and their processes is a great way to provide a custom service experience on your side. What can you do to make their visit different from other businesses? By going above and beyond with your service it can show just how “average” the competition is. Continue reading “Creating Above and Beyond Customer Experiences”

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