Archive for the ‘Small Business’ Category

Pumpkins, Spices, and Seasonal Marketing

Ah yes, fall is finally here. I just love when the seasons change. The temperature has dropped and as the leaves begin to change colors, the air seems to have a new, crisp smell to it. I pull out my coziest  sweaters and decorate my door with an autumnal wreath, but it doesn’t really feel like fall until I have a Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Latte in my hands. Okay, so I’ll admit it, I am incredibly susceptible to seasonal products. Come December, I won’t rest until I have the Edy’s brand pink, Limited Edition, Peppermint Ice Cream piled in a bowl in front of me. The sad thing is, I don’t necessarily even enjoy the seasonal products as much as I enjoy the idea of them. In fact, every time I take my first sip of my Pumpkin Spice Latte in the fall, I remember that I do not like the flavor.

So how did Starbucks convince me that their Pumpkin Spice Latte is an integral part of fall?  Well, the drink makes me think of pumpkin patches and hayrides and pumpkin pie, and ultimately it reminds me of celebrating the holidays with my family as a child. I associate their product with precious memories.

You don’t have to be a multi-billion dollar business, like Starbucks, to take advantage of seasonal marketing techniques. So, how can small online businesses utilize seasonal marketing techniques to increase sales? Here are a few ideas:

• Change the website appearance to reflect the holiday/season. This could mean changing the color scheme or adding an image or phrase.
• Create special limited-time offers for certain seasons or holidays.
• Make it easy for website visitors to donate to a charity that is related to the season/holiday.

Have you made seasonal changes to your website that have benefited your business? What worked for you?

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Archive for the ‘Small Business’ Category

Lego Models: The New Windows Phone 7

Anyone checked their homepage recently? Anyone have an iGoogle homepage?(Wonder if they ripped that off Apple…?) NO? Well if you do, you know you can customize it and get various news feeds from different news sources.

I have a PC World news feed on my homepage and when I was looking at it this morning, the headline said Microsoft sends out Windows Phone 7 Mockups Made Of…Lego Bricks. So, I clicked on it and found this article. PC World speculated that the Microsoft folks were inspired by the Lego iPad, shown here. I don’t think so. Looking at the photos provided by Engadget, the Lego version of the Windows Phone 7 is one ugly thing. The picture of the real one shown in the photo looks way cooler than the Lego model.  According to PC World’s article , the new Windows Phone 7 launches in New York(Figures,the day someone launches a cool tech product in DC, I will show up to that event.) on October 11, of this year. PC World is still speculating on the list of carriers for the phone, but the list includes all four major US cellphone companies.  The phone manufacturer is still unknown, but the list includes HTC, Toshiba, Samsung, LG and Dell to name a few.

So what exactly is the Windows Phone 7?  PC World has a neat little slideshow explaining that.(Quick little shout out to PC World, you guys are great!) Some of the highlights:

• a mobile Windows Office
• the only(currently) Xbox live app on a phone
• the phone lets you manage its content from the web
• makes it easier to find your lost

The rest is just what every other phone can do. Why buy it? I have no idea. Because it’s new and shiny? Because you’re an early adopter? Because you do a lot of work on your phone? Surprisingly enough, I couldn’t find a PC World article that dealt with that issue. If anyone has a good reason for buying this phone, let me know.

Extra!(because this post is way too short)

Want more Lego models? These sites have some incredible and strange ones.

Popular Mechanics: I liked the Lego Difference Engine and the Lego Air Conditioner(which actually works!)

Huffington Post: I liked the Lego Capitol, the Lego Man(actually Iron Man, but made out of Lego’s),Milk and Lego’s( is that actually milk in that Lego glass?), and the Lego Soccer Stadium(someone had way too much time on their hands)

Mashable: I didn’t know the Twitter mascot was named Ollie. I’d like to see the Google logo made out of Lego’s in a museum somewhere. See the iPhone unpacking slideshow(Mashable has a link) and the Google Chrome Logo video is epic.

Anyone else feel like a five year old watching/looking at these?

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Archive for the ‘Small Business’ Category

Google's Next Game Changer: Google TV?

I was reading this article in the USA Today the other day about how Google’s next big product launch this Fall is going to be Google TV.  Google TV promises to bring a more user-friendly web interface to our TVs than the consumers in this country have ever seen.  Google’s vision seems to be to offer up web content side-by-side with the same television programs that we have been watching for years. Google also plans to offer an “app store” where consumers can buy free and paid applications that can run on the set-top boxes that will also be required to use this new service.

Whenever I think of the Internet on my TV I always think of those annoying wireless keyboards and terrible user interface that I have been finding in hotel rooms for over a decade for a $5 per day fee.  I always thought that the major flaw in these systems was the terrible user experience – it is always very difficult to navigate the web on these systems because of the lack of a usable mouse and the slightly different web browsers that never seemed to support the web content I wanted to see.  Google seems to be promising a solution to these problems by simplifying the browser and keyboard and supporting all standard web technologies.

I am still going to wait until I am able to use the new Google TV interface to form my opinion but I am hopeful that if any company can successfully bring the Internet to our TVs that it is Google.  If they can convince consumers that the Internet on their TV is the same or comparable to the Internet on their PCs, then I think they have a good shot at being successful here.

On a side note, I also wanted to mention that today Skype announced that they have released a version of their product that is compatible with Android, the up and coming operating system for smart phones. Watch for the popularity of these mobile video calling applications to grow in the near future!

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Archive for the ‘Small Business’ Category

A New Entreperneur's Motto: Try to Win Each Day

Marty Schotenheimer giving small businesses and startups inspiration

So as many of you may know, I am from the Cleveland/Akron area and a lifelong Browns fan.  Yes, I am celebrating Sunday’s first victory of the season, but that is another story.  My point is the great former Browns coach Marty Schottenheimer used to tell his team – “Try to win every play.” I believe his thinking was, forget the first half or second half or all 60 minutes of the game.  Break the game of football down to the smallest element and that is each play.  Win each play, and you increase your chances of winning the game.  It really is a good way of looking at the game of football.

The Entrepreneur’s Dilemma: This got me to thinking about the overwhelming odds that most entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses face.  We are up against larger companies, better funded competitors, new products being launched every day and the challenge of just trying to get our names out and keeping our customers happy.  These and the many additional challenges that entrepreneurs face every day can be overwhelming.   They often drown even the strongest and most driven people who take the entrepreneurship plunge.

Just one of these challenges is entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses are faced with being pulled in every direction.   The job of focusing is so difficult (as we discussed previously).  How many of you can not even send an email out or quickly resolve a customer inquiry without being interrupted a hundred times?  We get half way through a three line email and it takes us two hours to get the rest of the email completed and by the time we are done we do not remember what we were responding to in the first place.

A New Approach? So taking Schottenheimer’s football quote, lets try to apply it to our small businesses and startups.  How do you win each play as an entrepreneur?  Here are some tips for us to try:

1) What do you control? Refocus your lens on the issues, tasks, projects and deliverables that are under your control. Forget the rest or at least do not spend a lot of time on items that are outside of your control for your business.

2) What can you attack? Make a daily list of these issues, tasks, projects and deliverables that are under your control and attack them in bite sized pieces.

3) What small steps can I take? The reminder is do not focus on trying to get everything accomplished at one time.  That approach will get you overwhelmed. Instead, take small steps each day and the snowballing effect of this forward motion will eventually help you make progress on your list.

4) What is my daily plan? Take time for an “internal huddle” each morning to plan out your day and what items you want to accomplish for your business.  Even if it is just you taking 5 minutes, it will be worth it.  The alternative is just jumping into the day and letting your emails, telephone calls and employees dictate what you do.  Fight that urge.  The huddle helps you assert some degree of control of your day as Inc Magazine discussed here.

5) How can I give 110%? By concentrating on these smaller steps and items that you control, that should help you really focus your efforts and energy on particular tasks.  That then helps you concentrate your efforts so you can do the best job possible on that task.  This is much better than being distracted and trying to still make progress on these tasks.

6) What is my daily progress? Repeat, repeat and repeat.  And oh yeah, also measure your progress too by giving yourself a scorecard of what you get done.  That way you can track how well you are doing.

Because I am such a huge Browns fan (and I also want us all to succeed at KikScore!), I am going to commit myself to taking these steps to see if I truly can win each day.  I will let you know what progress I make.

Please let us know how you “win each day!”

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Archive for the ‘Small Business’ Category

Searching for the Nonexistent Website

You’re in the mood for Chinese food tonight. You use Google to pull up a list of several Chinese restaurants in your area. The name of a particular restaurant grabs your interest. The phone number and address are listed, but you want to know more. Do they have steamed dumplings? Is the setting formal or casual? Why haven’t you heard of this place before? You don’t see a website for the restaurant, but you figure they must have one, so you continue searching. Fifteen minutes have passed and even though you have read several reviews of the restaurant, you still haven’t found the website. You still don’t know if they have steamed dumplings! At this point you’re annoyed, and hungry! Why don’t they have a website? They must be unprofessional, behind the times, or just lazy. You don’t waste any more time on this restaurant.  You pick the next restaurant on the list, one that is linked to a website.

Does this sound familiar to you? Have you ever spent far too much time searching the Internet for a particular website, only to discover that…there is no website? Maybe you were looking for a doctor’s office, a plumber, or a Chinese restaurant. How did you feel when this happened? I feel beyond irritated in such scenarios. A product of my Internet-dependent generation (18- to 29-year-old “Millennials”), I’m accustomed to accessing an absurd amount of information and services with the click of a button. Using the Internet, I can learn a language, view satellite imagery, and even find my soul mate,  but I can’t get an accurate profile of what services/products a company offers its customers! Am I asking too much of small businesses? Is there a generational divide here? What do you think?

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Archive for the ‘Small Business’ Category

What Makes a Good Partnership for Your Business

No matter what type of product or service your business provides, the question of partnerships will come up.  There are several types of structures a partnership can take,  but it usually breaks down into two real forms: Complementary and Marketing.  Complementary relationships focus on offering a service to an existing platform (and group of potential customers for your business).  Marketing relationships is really just an offshoot of that, but the focus is less on filling a need than attracting the attention of an audience. 

Which is right for your business really depends on your product and the potential audience.  For example, we here at KikScore just announced an integration with Shopster.  To us, it really is an ideal arrangement.  First off, it broadens the awareness of our product and has been generating a lot  of new customers.  But it also filled a need for Shopster — providing a cutting edge trust/security service for its platform customers.  In other words, we’re providing a service that is needed to a customer base that we both want to reach. 

Sounds pretty straightforward, right?  But it’s not.  You need to find the right partner.  Our integration and relationship with Shopster would never be successful if we didn’t share the same view about customer service and quality. It’s hard enough to build concencus with your own team, but unless you communicate well with your partner, and are on the same page, things can get really difficult.

We’re feeling pretty good about our newest partnership, and we’re excited about the buzz it’s creating, but it only reinforces all the preparation and deliberation we took in working with Shopster.  So here’s to partnerships and finding the right one.  We feel we did.

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Archive for the ‘Small Business’ Category

Breaking: Shopster to Kick Butt with KikScore – Helping Small Businesses Demonstrate Trust Online

A few of the founders of KikScore spent much of their formative years within a few miles of Canada! We grew up cheering for Canada’s favorite son Michael J. Fox in Family Ties and jamming to the hard rock sounds of Rush. We even enjoyed a few too many Canadian beers growing up.   So it’s only fitting that KikScore is excited to announce a great new partnership with a Canadian based company and global ecommerce leader.

Our friends at Shopster, the powerful ecommerce platform that has over 100,000 small business merchants, are teaming up with us to help small online businesses. KikScore is proud to launch a fully integrated trust seal offering to all of Shopster’s growing small business customer base.

Here are some facts behind the partnership:

1) Studies have shown small online businesses lose billions each year around the world because shoppers’ trust concerns with buying online;

2) Studies have shown that 63 percent of online shoppers fail to complete a transaction because of concerns about site security or trust;

3) Shoppers are increasingly seeking more information and data from online stores before those shoppers will complete purchases with these small online businesses;

4) Many small businesses have a strong track record of trustworthiness and would significantly benefit if they could show shoppers their history of reliability and stability.

Our partnership gives Shopster’s customers an opportunity to obtain KikScore’s independently verified trust score and seal. The KikScore seal along with the embedded merchant report card empowers small businesses to take their good track record and display it to shoppers and the general public. This will help these small businesses demonstrate trustworthiness and reliability to shoppers who visit their site. Shopster’s customers can then create an environment for website visitors to shop with far greater confidence. This enhanced shopper confidence means more sales for Shopster’s small business customers.

Here are more details on this exciting new partnership between Shopster and KikScore.

Also we want to say a special thanks to everyone both at Shopster, KikScore and our family and friends everywhere that helped support the launch of this fantastic partnership!

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Archive for the ‘Small Business’ Category

When Will Mobile Phones Replace Our Credit Cards?

I was reading this article in the Denver Post the other day about how in 3-5 years a majority of consumers will no longer carry credit cards or cash but will instead use their phone to pay for goods.  While I am not so sure that this will be the case in such a short time period I think that consumers in the United States are definitely moving in that direction.

As this article points out, there are already convenience stores in Boulder, Colorado, and Starbucks coffee shops in Seattle that allow their customers to pay by using applications on their smart phone.  Most of the stores that currently allow shoppers to pay by phone do so through the use of a web-based account that the shopper has to pre-register for and “load” money into their account.  These consumers then bring their phone into the store and login to their account on the merchant’s website or through their “app” on their phone that displays an account number or bar code that the merchant can use to deduct the value of the goods purchased from the consumers account.  While this process is definitely a little less time consuming for both the merchant and shopper and no longer requires the shopper to carry a credit card, it really isn’t all that revolutionary to the bricks and mortar world.

Here is a new product from a company called “Square” that does have the potential to change how and where merchants and shoppers interact at a retail location: the Square Card Reader (pictured in this post).

Square is a new smartphone application for the iPhone and most Android-powered phones that allows merchants to sign-up for a free account and receive a free Square Card Reader that easily plugs into the headphone jack on their phone.  Merchants can then use the card reader to swipe a consumer’s credit card for payment or they can also just type in the credit card number into the smart phone application in order to accept payment.  The merchant is charged 2.9%-3.0% of the value of the transaction plus $0.15 for each transaction which is comparable to what other online payment companies, like Paypal, charge.  I think that Square has the ability to change how we define a “merchant” since their product makes it easier for the smallest of companies to compete with the larger players in their industry.

How popular is the Square Card Reader?  Right now Square has a special message on their website when merchant’s sign-up for a new account indicating that it could take weeks to get their reader in the mail because they currently have such a large backlog!

How do you see mobile payment systems changing the way business is done in your store?

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Archive for the ‘Small Business’ Category

Inc. 5000 Entrepreneur & Store Owner Brian Esposito’s Tips on Growing an Online Business

We came across Brian Esposito, the CEO of Avenue You Beauty Store,  last week and immediately knew we had to feature his great store on the KikScore blog.  Brian’s energy and passionate entrepreneurial spirit even comes across in his emails that he sends out.  We figured that the small business and startup community just needs to hear from Brian as he has so much to teach all of us.  Do not take our word for it by the way, his company was awarded by our favorite magazine Inc. the very prestigious honor of being listed as an Inc. 5000 company.  We are excited and honored here to not only have Brian share his thoughts with us here but also be one of our KikScore customers!

1. Tell us about AveYou and who you focus on serving?

AVEYOU is Your Unique Beauty Boutique.  We specialize in carrying some of the most exclusive beauty and personal care products in the industry.  Our entire concept is being all about you!  Our loyal online and in-store customers.  We focus on servicing beauty buffs around the globe.  With our extremely friendly domestic and international flat rate shipping rates we are able to put orders into our customers hands very quickly.  99.9% of all orders are processed and shipped the same day and are packed in our eco-friendly reusable AVEYOU personal shopping bag.  We are very big on personal experiences and sometimes that is very hard to accomplish with online shoppers.  Because of that we try as hard as possible to achieve that result when a shopper opens their AVEYOU box.  The box is carefully wrapped and all items are placed in the appropriate size AVEYOU Eco Friendly Reusable Shopping Bag.  Also included in that bag are samples, promotional items, coupons or special discounts on future orders, and of course the correct item(s) ordered by our shopper.    AVEYOU currently has one of the highest positively ranked feedback (check out the comments on Amazon!) in the beauty and personal care industry.  Our product selection is very important to our brand and image.  Because we specialize in very exclusive products, we try not to carry items that can be found at drug stores, discount stores, or supermarkets.  Because we do not discount or jeopardize the integrity of our brands, manufactures and vendors are at a point in our growth cycle where they want to be part of our company and be placed on our shelves, or web site.
2. How did you get your started selling online?

In 2002 we re-vamped our store and philosophy.  We created a new brand known as Avenue You.  The store was placed in Deal, NJ.  A very prominent and affluent area.  As the store opened in April sales were incredibly strong and stayed that way all summer long.  Come September we ran into a dilemma, as most of the town was filled with summer or vacation homes for those residents.  We needed a way to reach these customers all year round in order to survive.  It was then when I created and developed AVEYOU.com.  The site was mainly created to keep in touch with our local shoppers who were back to their winter homes for the season.  However because of the brands we carried any my passion for marketing and branding, customers from all over the world quickly began ordering at AVEYOU.com.  I knew we had something special and needed to be focused on and enhanced.  Because of how quickly we process and ship orders, people began talking and to this day word of mouth has been our best marketing tool.

3. What inspires you to grow the AveYou business?

Pride.  Whatever I put my name on I do all I can to ensure it doesn’t fail.  As a family owned and operated business you create a sense of home for the company and our employees.  As we began to grow and hire great employees, they also became part of our family.  We are at a point where we have created an incredible team of beauty consultants who each have so many different talents and strengths.  I have, and will continue, to do all I can to ensure each and every one of them will always have a job/home at AVEYOU.

4. If you had 2 lessons learned from your business that you could pass on to others about selling online, what are those?

The first would be to be honest.  This was my number one asset and at some times biggest downfall when creating AVEYOU.com.  The beauty industry is still filled and mostly run by its originators.  These people are threatened and do not understand the internet.  When I would go after a line I would have to spend hours and sometimes even days convincing them that the internet is a great place to be and we are not a company that would never jeopardize the integrity of your brand by discounting, diverting, or by not giving it the respect and dignity it deserves.  I am not sure about other industries, but I can still say to this day that we run into problems with manufactures not wanting their brands to be sold online.  Every vendor or manufacturer we work with, fully understands our business model and are kept 100% in the light as to what we do and where we sell.  The 2^nd lesson I have learned is be fully compliant with every aspect of an online presence.  Of them I strongly suggest having a privacy policy that is backed up by a firm or organization, run your emails in an ethical and CAN-SPAM compliant manner, and make sure your site is fully PCI compliant with SSL security to not only protect yourself, but to also protect your customers who are choosing you over the thousands of other potential sellers.

5. Where has AveYou focused most of its energy this year?

While we continue to gain market share with our online presence, we are looking to once again rebrand and re-energize our store location.  We are working on a brand new prototype store that will offer more of a studio feel where our shoppers can come in, try products, have makeup, mini-facials, and nails done.  The personal experience is crucial for our brand and image.  We want our customers to feel special and of course feel beautiful.  Having more types of fun energy filled services that can be done in our boutiques will definitely create a stronger bond between our customers and AVEYOU.  Once the new prototype boutique is finalized we are looking to launch more locations in areas similar to Deal, NJ

6. What do you see as 2 new trends in for small business and in your business?

A trend we are seeing is to be careful where dollars are being spent.  Using money wiser and in areas that have a successful ROI is overshadowing the riskier areas.  Another trend is tapping into more social media platforms and applications.  Combining sites such as Facebook with applications developed by Wildfire you are very quickly able to promote coupons, contests, and/or sweepstakes.

7. If your business/store could be any movie or movie character, what movie/movie character would it be and why?

I am sure this has been used a lot in many situations but it would have to be the movie Rudy and we would be Rudy.  Every day we are met with opportunities, but also challenges.  The challenges come in many shapes and sizes.  The fortunate thing to date is that we have been able to overcome those challenges and survive.  Even through the worst of economical times our company was able to grow and become part of Inc. 500|5000 2010 list of fastest growing private companies in America.

8. If AveYou could have a dream spokesperson for your company who would it be and why?

Aishwarya Rai as she is often cited by the media as the most beautiful woman in the world.  She would make a tremendous spokesperson for AVEYOU Beauty Boutique.  Having fans and admirers all over the world and with no negative news she would be exactly the type of woman we would want relaying our brands messages and image.

9. What is the biggest challenge that AveYou faces as a small business and how do you work to overcome that challenge?

As a small business I believe our biggest challenge is gaining trust in a potential new customer.  If a shopper sees a Macys logo or a Best Buy logo they are not going to question is this a secure company/site.  As a brand that is growing, we are not mainstream and are years away from becoming a staple in the beauty industry.  We overcome that challenge by gaining one new customer at a time.  Proving to that customer we are legitimate business, that is not going to sell their name to any third parties, is going to ship their order, their most private and intimate information is in a very secure area, and if there is any problems whatsoever with their order we will do everything we can to correct it and make it right.

10. Do you have any parting thoughts for our readers and the small business community?

I know it has been a tough few years, but if you have the capabilities and mental strength do not give up.  If you strongly believe in what you are creating or have developed stand behind it 100%.  Don’t let outside influences discourage your dreams or interfere with your visions.  All you really have in this world is your beliefs.  Take that vision, access all the tools you need, build the necessary team, and then make It happen.

Thanks Brian for sharing your thoughts.

Please let us know your thoughts on this interview with Brian Esposito.

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Archive for the ‘Small Business’ Category

Fans, Followers and Actual Customers For Your Small Business

I’m looking forward to the new Facebook expose movie, The Social Network.  Why?  Because if I can’t be a billionaire like Mark Zuckerberg, I may as well get to revel in a less than flattering depiction in a  “historically inspired” film.  Now let’s be clear, if KikScore becomes half as successful as facebook, I’ll act way worse than Mr. Zuckerberg.  I’ll not even mind a movie painting me to be a rich recluse.

In thinking about Facebook, its impact on our social lives is obvious.  But its impact on small business is also growing.  As with Twitter, one of the first thing a business now does is to request individuals to become a fan, follower or friend to the business.  Now its still not clear as to what that actually does for the business in terms of credibility, but it is a growing trend. But trust aside, having your customers as your social network friends/followers keeps a business closer to its customers and what they are thinking.

The real business question is which should you focus on:  Facebook or Twitter?  In a perfect world you could do both.  But in a perfect world, you wouldn’t have to update your status, it would always just say “rich and retired”.  Twitter seems to have taken the initial lead, with companies using it for customer service response.  But Facebook is coming on strong, with more companies using the multi-media demension of FB to tell more of a story than microblogging can.

So I pose the question to you:  for your small business, is it Facebook or Twitter.

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