Creating the logo for your company is as important as choosing your business name. Your logo needs to be original, meaningful and unforgettable all at once. Your best bet is to let the experts take over. Logoworks by HP employs many professional designers and gives you access to their expertise through its website. Pick the level of design you want (the least expensive gives you four original logo concepts and two revisions), fill out a detailed form describing your business and what you want your logo to express, and two or more designers will get to work on your logo. Everything can be done online or, if you purchase a higher-cost package, you can talk to the designers yourself.
Small Business Success Index 4
Index Score* | Grade | ||
SBSI INDEX | 73 | C- | ![]() |
Capital Access | 67 | D+ | ![]() |
Marketing & Innovation | 65 | D | ![]() |
Workforce | 76 | C | ![]() |
Customer Service | 88 | B+ | ![]() |
Computer Technology | 73 | C- | ![]() |
Compliance | 92 | A- | ![]() |
*Index score is calculated on a 1-100 scale. |




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5 Quick Tips for Boosting Your Small Business’s Holiday Retail Sales
November 26th, 2010 :: mhaubrichBy Maria Valdez Haubrich
Black Friday, Cyber Monday—the Internet is abuzz with assessments of how profitable these crucial selling days will be for retailers this year, and what strategies work best to capture customers. It’s already Black Friday, but it’s not too late to profit from these 5 quick tips and tactics that can help your retail store sell more this holiday season.
- 1. Psych up your sales staff. Personalized service is one of the key differentiators a small retailer has to offer. When customers come to your store, make sure they’re greeted with a friendly smile and get helpful (but not pushy) service from your staff. Yes, this can be a tough time of year to be a retail employee—but your employees should be people who thrive on the challenge.
- Make it fun. One reason consumers still come out to bricks-and-mortar stores to shop (instead of going online) is for the fun and festive feeling. Make your store a happy place to be with music, décor, or small party favors for children. Host a visit from Santa or an open house with free hot apple cider and cookies.
- Be thoughtful. Little things mean a lot to tired and stressed-out holiday shoppers. Something as simple as placing a few comfy chairs around your store (where tired spouses can rest their feet) or making sure checkout clerks smile at customers in line and thank them for waiting can help.
- Clarify store policies. Returns are a key concern for holiday shoppers, who want to make sure their loved ones will be satisfied. Figure out a return policy that works for your business during this busy time (it may differ from your normal one). Then make sure the policy is politely and clearly conveyed to customers, whether by in-store signs, on your receipts or on flyers tucked into shopping bags. Customers are more likely to buy—and to buy more—if they feel confident they can return hassle-free.
- Give back. Get involved in community or charitable organizations. Give part of the proceeds from a certain item, or sales on a certain day, to a group that customers are likely to care about. Despite the economy, people are more likely to buy if they feel that their purchase is helping a cause.
The golden rule of holiday sales? It’s not all about discounts or deals. Think about how you like to be treated when you shop—and make sure your store treats customers the same way.
Image by Flickr user Kevin Dooley (Creative Commons)
When It Comes to Marketing, Baby Boomers Still Matter
November 24th, 2010 :: Rieva_LBy Rieva Lesonsky
When you think of baby boomers, do you think of gray-haired fuddy-duddies who probably don’t know how to turn on an iPod? The oldest boomers are over 60, and suddenly, in the eyes of many marketers, this once-golden group has been dropped like a hot potato. But if you think of baby boomers as irrelevant when it comes to consumer spending, think again.
There are still 78 million boomers in the U.S., and their purchasing power has not dwindled. In fact, boomers account for 38.5 percent of spending on consumer packaged goods spending, and dominate 1,023 out of 1,083 consumer packaged goods categories, according to Nielsen data reported in Marketing Daily. What’s more, they often purchase products for their children—“double-dipping,” as Nielsen SVP/research and development Doug Anderson calls it.
According to Nielsen’s research, boomers are far more “wired” than they’re given credit for. They are significant purchasers of all types of technology, including computers and cell phones. They account for one-third of all TV viewers, online users, social media users and Twitter users. They watch more video than any other age group (9.34 hours daily on average). They’re also far more likely to have broadband Internet access than are other age groups.
Surprised? You’re not the only one—apparently, many marketers don’t find this market worth their time. According to Nielsen, a mere 5 percent of advertising dollars target adults aged 35-64 years old. This means marketers aren’t just missing out on boomers, but on the older part of Gen X.
Yes, boomers’ purchasing power may have been hurt somewhat by the recession—but so has most other people’s. And as a result of the recession boomers will be working longer—meaning they’ll need technology tools and services to keep current in the workplace. For those boomers who aren’t working, they’re spending money on travel, downsizing and redecorating their new homes, or on their children and grandchildren. That’s lots of money being spent, and if you’re smart, your business will grab a piece of it.
I’m a boomer myself, and one thing I can vouch for: We boomers have never responded well to being ignored. If you ignore us in your marketing, do so at your own risk—because you’ve got lots to lose. Your business success depends on it.
Image by Flickr user Jeremy Carbaugh (Creative Commons)
Small Biz Resource Tip: Constant Contact
November 23rd, 2010 :: mhaubrichContemplating creating an e-mail marketing program, an e-newsletter or a social marketing campaign? Constant Contact is one of the leading online marketing solution companies and for a very low monthly cost allows you to create e-mail newsletters and updates, online surveys and more. You can even send marketing e-mails from your smartphone. Try Constant Contact’s free 60-day trial offer and create an e-newsletter for your customers from one of the many templates. E-mail address can be stored directly at Constant Contact. Want to discuss your needs with someone in person? The company has representatives all over the country.
Doing CRM the Old-Fashioned Way
November 22nd, 2010 :: Rieva_LBy Rieva Lesonsky
CRM software is one of the most useful tools a small business can have to keep customer data close at hand, easily searchable and sortable, and maximize its value. But there’s another aspect to CRM that doesn’t involve cloud computing, networks or training your team on a CRM system.
I’m talking about the old-fashioned way of CRM. Sometimes we forget what CRM stands for: customer relationship management. And that’s a skill that requires more than just software. CRM has been around as long as business itself. And as we’re heading into the depths of the holiday season, I thought this might be a good time for a refresher on the basics of building customer relationships.
- Get personal. Whether you’re staying in touch with customers by social networks on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter, include a personal touch in your posts and tweets. Use a photo of yourself on the sites—not one that’s “too businessy.” Make it friendly. Just like in the offline world, sharing stuff about yourself helps build bonds.
- Get offline. It’s great to meet potential customers or partners online, but make sure you take the relationships offline at some point—that’s how you truly get to know each other. Make plans to meet up for coffee or take the person to lunch.
- Be part of the group. I’m sure you belong to some industry associations, and while today more of these groups are forming online communities, it’s important to be a presence at these organizations’ offline events, too. Taking time to travel or spend a day out of the office may seem like a hassle, but these events are often where relationships truly begin.
- Put it on paper. In this day of BlackBerry’d tweets and acronymic responses, an actual handwritten note makes a huge impression. Drop a thank-you note in the mail when someone has done you a favor, and send cards on clients’ birthdays or important dates (like the anniversary of their first doing business with you).
- Think of the other person first. When you’re trying to grow your business, it can be easy to think in terms of “me, me, me” and what you can get out of a relationship. Try to think of things in terms of how they affect your customer—and how you can help the customer with the problems he or she is having. When you put yourself in the customer’s shoes, your relationship will naturally develop
Of course, CRM software solutions can help you attain all these goals by tracking dates, remembering details and prompting you to follow up. But keep in mind that CRM software is simply a tool in the service of a larger goal. If your heart isn’t in the right place when it comes to CRM, nothing else matters.
Image by Flickr user Yakinik (Creative Commons)
How Much Is Too Much to Pay for a Marketing Tool?
November 16th, 2010 :: Thursday BramFor some small business owners, it’s impossible to pay too much for marketing, provided that the marketing in question brings in at least a little more than you spent in the first place. For other companies, even spending a little more than a set percentage of their budget on marketing is out of the question.
For both of these viewpoints, the many new marketing tools that keep appearing on the scene can be a problem. There is software to help with social media, tools that will show you wherever your business is mentioned online, and so on — all of which can help you market your business. Some are free, some come with sizable price tags, and all of them require deciding how much you’re willing to invest in a marketing tool.
Costs Beyond Money
With a new marketing tool come costs far beyond what you pay to use it. You may need to pay a specialist to handle using the tool in question or to train you so you can manage it. You need to spend time on using the tool, which can easily take time away from other, revenue-producing work. Before you decide if paying for the use of a tool will help you with your marketing, you need to know what it will actually cost you to use. Take that a step further and determine what it will cost you on a monthly basis — many Web-based applications are priced as a monthly subscription, rather than one initial payment.
Once you’ve actually got some numbers in place that you can work with, you’ll be in a far better place to make the financial decision on any given tool.
The Marketing Decision
There’s a difference between the financial decision and the marketing decision, though. A business owner has to balance the marketing needs and the financial needs of the business. Depending on the business owner’s background, it may be harder to see the immediate usefulness of a given marketing tool. For that reason, it can be important to have someone in your business — whether a regular employee or a consultant brought in specially — who can make an effective argument for the different marketing tools you may be considering.
A marketing professional may be able to offer a more in-depth comparison of the different tools that are out there, going beyond what a couple of minutes of Internet research can turn up. There may be reasons for price differences between products that many not be immediately obvious, especially for a business owner who must focus more on management and operations.
There are other reasons to bring in a marketing specialist as early in the conversation as possible. When you’re trying to figure out your true costs for a tool, your marketing specialist is either going to be using the tool or training you to use it. That means his or her recommendation should carry weight, unless you also want to pay for the time that it takes that marketing pro to learn a new tool.
Image by Flickr User House Of Sims (Creative Commons)