Category Small Business
8 criteria to meet for building a business you can sell
Ninety-nine out of one hundred businesses are not sellable because their owners, as the experts, are requested by customers personally. Thus, the business becomes centered around owners, and a business that is too dependent on its owner is not sellable. You can be part of the one percent who create a sellable business by following these eight steps:
1. Identify a scalable product or service. Scalable products and services exhibit three qualities. First, they are broadly valuable so that more people will want them . Second, providing them is a teachable skill so that you’re not the only person who can operate the business. Third, they are scalable, so that the owners can take the valuable and teachable products and services and grow the business.
2. Create a positive cash flow cycle. The more working capital an acquiring company must put into your business, the lower its potential return on equity, and the less it will pay for your business. Create a positive cash flow cycle by charging up front or at least in staged billing so that you get paid before buying the products or services you’re selling.
3. Hire a sales team. Most business owners are their company’s best, and sometimes only. salesperson. That may seem a positive, but if you want to build a company you can eventually sell, you need to show that sales are not dependent on you personally. Hire at least two salespeople, and an acquirer will see a sales system—not just one great salesperson.
Posted by eBrand Media Research Department in Small Business on January 13th, 2011
eBrand Media shares how to increase conversions by assuring customers.
By Tom Polanski, EVP, eBrand Media and eBrand Interactive
eBrand Media has always been a strong proponent of keeping a security symbol in the homepage “hero” spot. Every site guest arrives with a degree of anxiety and their anxiety level increases exponentially as they move further down the shopping funnel towards the cart. Every friction point should be removed for the purpose of bringing form and function together to create an online store that is positive, easy to navigate, pleasant to be in and conducive to frequent and extended visits.
Clarity, clarity, clarity, and if you think you’ve given enough clarity, give some more.
The prospect of identity theft has led the majority of online users–53 percent–to stop giving out personal information online, according to a study released by Consumer Reports WebWatch.
Additionally, 30 percent of the consumers surveyed reported reducing their overall use of the Web, while 25 percent say they no longer make online purchases, according to WebWatch. The report, “Leap of Faith: Using the Internet despite the Dangers,” was based on a survey of 1,501 online adults.
Even those who continued to shop online reported taking precautions. Fifty-four percent of online shoppers said they now are more likely to read a site’s privacy policy or user agreement than in the past–while 29 percent say they shop online less frequently than before.
The results show a growing concern about identity theft, said Beau Brendler, director of WebWatch. “There’s been a pretty steady drumbeat over the last three years about it,” he said. In addition, the wave of headlines about security breaches at databases has led consumers to rethink how to best protect their personal data, he said.
A previous study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project also revealed that consumers had changed their online behavior, partly because of security concerns. The Pew study, “Spyware,” concluded that fears of spyware and adware had driven 48 percent of Web users to stop visiting certain Web sites.
In keeping with this theme we’d to share a valuable case study with you that we came across in our virtual library, obtained from a leading marketing journal.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Growing a Business, Home Based Business, Small Business, Start a Business, eBrand Media on March 3rd, 2009
Why Best Buy Matched An Online Price No Questions Asked
By Tom Polanski
Simply put, they’re fighting to stay relevant in the minds and pocket books of the American consumer. As Anthony Mirhaydari points out in the article below there are a number of reasons why Best Buy, despite the breathtaking revenue generated from the Federal stimulus package, could be in pain again soon. One alternative is, and it’s a drastic action for a company like Best Buy, would be to take a smaller margin for the sake of generating a higher volume of conversions. People are driven be price, no more so, than when the economy is turning down.
“Best Buy and Circuit City are reeling this week from the loss of their edge over discounters in the minds of high-definition television buyers — just as total industry sales are beginning to slow. Yesterday’s retail numbers showed that more consumers are trading down to price-focused shops for entertainment products, eschewing the better service and selection offered at specialty stores. Wal-Mart, the king of discounters, yesterday reported “extremely strong sales” of flat-panel TVs and home entertainment furniture.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Gadgets & Gear, Small Business on June 20th, 2008
Automatic Triggers, Fixed Action Patterns and Odd Number Pricing. Turning Browsers into Buyers.
By Tom Polanski
Recently, I came across some information about pricing. Researchers at Cornell University believe you’re better off pricing your products with an odd number than with an even number (for example, $39.71 vs. $40.00).
The researchers found that odd numbers cause buyers momentary confusion. Confused, people fall back on associations. And people associate odd numbers with discounts. Hence, odd numbers in a listed price equal a discount.
The Cornell report caused me to think about automatic triggers. This is a term I first came across in an enlightening book written by Robert Cialdini, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”. A must read for all marketers. The premise is that we’re all inundated with too much information, that we suffer, to different degrees, from a form of cultural ADD and that we fall back on automatic responses.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Advertising, Agencies, Growing a Business, Home Based Business, Marketing, Small Business on June 13th, 2008
Stagnant Businesses Are At a Critical Juncture
An increasing number of companies have told eBrand account executives that they’ve been stagnating. It’s a scary word. For example, when lakes stagnate, fish die. Businesses that are stagnating are at a critical juncture, a temporary stopping point. They’ll either move forward or backwards but they won’t stagnate for long.
I find it interesting that even though we’ve had advertisers admit that they’re stagnating, they’ve decided to stick with the status quo. They’ve lost their appetite for change even while admitting, based on the historical and live data we present, that the solutions we offer are superior. I’m certainly empathetic to the quandary decision makers are in but the fact is; if they’re not acting then they’re reacting. Thinking but taking action too empowers a company to control its future. On the other hand, companies coming from a position where they’re reacting to changing circumstances invariably leads to a culture of emergency management.
Posted by Tom Polanski in Small Business on April 2nd, 2008