All posts by SBS

Benchmarking & Performance Management for Small Business

Established & Growing Businesses, Finance & Accounting, Management & Human Relations, Operations & Efficiency, Strategy, , , ,

 

What gets measured will get done.

 
Large businesses and small business alike use performance metrics with the intent to motivate their employees. However often these metrics are misguided and resulting in undesirable behaviour. They are not tied to the strategic performance of the organization.
 
In this video learn…
 
1. Why have metrics?
2. How to create your metrics that will actually help your business
3. Understand what a balanced scorecard is and what components make up a small business’ balanced scorecard
4. Learn how to monitor and implement the metrics in the most effective and efficient way possible
 
There are a lot of red flags when it comes to metrics, and if done improperly a metric can actually stunt your business’ growth rather than foster it.
 
Always remember that what gets measured will get done!
 

 

Performance management resources

 
Examples of Critical Success Factors and Metrics
 
Want the slides for this presentation? Performance Management

Steps To Create Your Super Slogan

Marketing & Branding, Start Ups, ,

Slogans are an extension of your brand and an easy way for customers to remember you. Of course, that’s if you do it right. If you do it incorrectly, this is an easy thing for your customers to forget.
 
This 16 minute video goes through the 5 point checklist to make sure that your slogan is going to get you the results that you want.
 
1. Does it match your business’ brand image?
2. Can your customer instantly understand how your business can benefit them?
3. Will you stick out from the crowd? Will your customer remember it?
4. Is your slogan unique for your business or is it transferable?
5. Is it simple enough or are you falling into some common pitfalls.
 
You’ll be surprised at how many huge companies have create their slogan incorrectly! And you’ll be happy to know that you will be able to save on marketing dollars by avoiding their mistakes.
 
Your slogan is part of your first impression and making sure that your customers remember you. But sometimes it is daunting to start putting your pen to paper and figuring out what you should start with.
 
The 5 point checklist is good to critique an existing slogan, but this video also highlights the 2 step process to getting started if you don’t have one today.
 
Step 1 – What is your product, service or benefit?
Step 2 – Tie it to your brand.
 
Watch the video for an example of how this process can make a huge difference in the effectiveness of your slogan.
 

 
Want the slides? Ad slogans PowerPoint

eCommerce 101

Established & Growing Businesses, Marketing & Branding, Sales & Business Development, Start Ups, Strategy, Technology & Online, , , ,

Ecommerce is more than the future – it is today!

It is currently a $600 billion dollar industry in Canada and the United States, with over 630 million active websites. Plus it is still growing at a massive rate of 47% annually over the last 12 years.

iDeal Advisor presents this topic with the idea of focusing on conversion rates, reducing abandonment rates, and increasing the value of your website through traffic and revenue. Throughout the video, topics are covered to help you with these three goals.

First it covers that a good landing page is critical. It needs to have;

1. Your logo, images, and branding
2. You need great copy and design pieces.
3. You need a headline that is catchy and simple.
4. A brief body of copy that is succinct and clear.
5. Testimonials.
6. A call to action. What do you want the visitor coming to your site to DO.

Second there is the new SEO (search engine optimization)

1. fresh content
2. social media
3. media releases

You can’t improve what you can’t measure. So make sure that you are using Google Analytics to understand your unique visitors, abandon rates, and conversion rates.

And finally, you need a way to nurture the leads. How do you get conversion from returning visitors or individuals who left your site.

Contact The Expert

The subject matter expert is Craig Hunt, the President of iDeal Advisor.
email: craigh@idealadvisor.com

www.idealadvisor.com

If you like this video, check out Simple Website Best Practices.

Small Business Growth Strategies

Established & Growing Businesses, Innovation & Creativity, Strategy, , , , ,

growthstrategiesGrowing your business is something that most entrepreneurs strive to do. They want to grow their business to help increase their profit, grow the value of their business to sell it at a later date, they want to hire more people, they want to help the community, they want to build something for their family, they are competitive, they never quit, and there are many other personal reasons.
 
Regardless, most small business owners are looking for ways to grow. The two that often come to mind is to grow outside of your geographical location and expand the size of the market or to create a new product. But there are a ton of other strategies to growing a business and many examples to follow. Click on the image to see them.
 
Watch this 30 minute video to find out;
 
– 12 small business growth strategies
– examples of businesses that used these strategies and how it worked for them
– draw out key takeways and ideas to use for each strategy
 

 
Expert’s Contact Information
 
Carla Langhorst
Small Business Consultant
Carla@smallbusinesssolver.com

Branding Basics Your Business Can’t Live Without

Established & Growing Businesses, Marketing & Branding, Strategy, ,

There are a ton of reasons why your business needs branding. One big reason is that it makes selling easier, but there are other benefits that will help your business flourish.

This video walks through the following;

– Why brand? Learn why branding is critical to your business
– Understand the key components of a brand
– Defining Your Brand
– Next Steps

Contact Your Expert

Eloise Pasianotto
epasianotto@focalpointcoaching.com

YouTube’s Powerful Tricks

Established & Growing Businesses, Marketing & Branding, Technology & Online, , , ,

YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. This means that it is a huge opportunity for your business to be found.

This video will cover the following;
#1. You need to have a goal and the types of goals your YouTube strategy could have.
#2. Video creation and the different options that are available to you.
#3. Keyword search and how to find out how you should title or describe your video.
#4. Rank your video. There are tons of ways to do this including your title, description, tags, annotations, transcription, channel subscribers, channel authority, video views, video view duration, video feedback, likes/dislikes, favourites, inbound links, social shares, and embeds.
If you don’t know all of the ways to rank your videos, this 37 minute video is for you!


Contact The Expert!

Allan Pollett
allanp73@gmail.com

Expert’s Resources

Online video tools: Animoto, Xtranormal, Flixpress
Video software: Camtasia, After Effects

New Product Development

Established & Growing Businesses, Innovation & Creativity, Operations & Efficiency, Start Ups, Strategy, , , , ,

85-95% of New Product Launches fail annually (FORBES article of March 24, 2010 based on approx. 250,000 global launches).
 

With this daunting figure, we want to do everything right to increase our product’s chance of success. Learn from the expert, Kevin Scanlan, who has over 30 years experience in new product development with enterprises and small business.
 
In this 30 minute video, you will learn:
 
– what invention is versus product development
– the importance of a roadmap and the process
– how to scan the environment
– the QUAD approach and the 4 different types of product development
– the components of a product specification
– the Gate process used by the most successful companies out there
– red flags and things to look for during the process
 
Plus, if you have any other questions you can always contact our expert.
 

 

Contact The Expert!

 
Kevin Scanlan
Anubis3D
tel: 905-963-9130
email: kevins@anubiscorp.com

Path Of An Author

Innovation & Creativity, Marketing & Branding, Start Ups

Whether your goal is to write a business book, create an anthology, or share your family’s history, this webinar will help you gain some added clarity amidst all the choices available in today’s exciting, ever-changing and often confusing world of publishing.

You’ll learn about the production process, the different kinds of publishing and basic marketing. Most importantly, you will be encouraged to think what it is that you want—and how to go about getting it!

Enjoy Sheri’s fresh approach, as she shares excellent information and tools that you will be able to use and incorporate immediately.

Above all, Sheri will inspire you to become even more committed to yourself and your work, reminding you of the value of ongoing learning and the dedication of time and patience required to bring about meaningful success . . . . and the importance of surrounding yourself with people who care about your work as much as you do!

Contact The Expert!

By Publisher, Editor, Speaker, Consultant, Author Sheri Andrunyk of I C Publishing

Email: insightfulcommunications@primus.ca

Follow Sheri on Social Media
LinkedIn (Sheri Andrunyk, MNLP, RP)
Twitter (I C Publishing)
Facebook (Insightful Communications Publishing)

Sheri’s Blog geared to authors and entrepreneurs at www.ICPublishing.ca

 

Sales Storytelling

Established & Growing Businesses, Management & Human Relations, Marketing & Branding, Sales & Business Development, Start Ups, , , , , , ,

Think about the excitement you felt when you first thought about running your own business. Did you dream of financial freedom? More time with your family? Travel to exotic places?
 
Where has all the excitement gone? Many small business owners experience incredible stress, time pressures and little personal time with loved ones. They realize that their business will collapse if they are absent from it. What started out as a dream has now become a cage.
 
The transition from a business that is a burden to a business that enables you to have the lifestyle that you dream of is not as difficult as you might think.
 
Learn to avoid:
 
•The stress from being the bottleneck in your business.
•The stress of poor cash flow
•The stress from not feeling in control
 
And how to achieve:
 
•Financial Freedom
•A business that works for you instead of a business you have to work for
•More time with your loved ones
 
If you would like to rekindle the dream, watch this video!
 

 
Contact The Expert
 
Adrian Davis
Adrian@adriandavis.com

The HST Lowdown

Finance & Accounting, Regulations & Legal, , , ,

Taxation is a tricky world for most entrepreneurs. How to get started? What tax should you be charging? How does this change by province or country? How and when to remit taxes? What types of rebates are available?

Taxation can be a scary topic, but it is inevitable. So it is better to understand what is required upfront.

What will you learn in this video?
– When to register for HST
– How to do it
– Methods of filing
– Filing periods
– The process of filing and how to do it
– A list of issues that you may encounter and tactics to overcome them

Additional Links

How To Register
Business Registration Online (BRO): https://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/bn-ne/bro-ide/
Phone CRA Business Line: 1-800-959-5525

Other Resources

Goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST): https://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/gst-tps/menu-eng.html

Business Registration Online (BRO): https://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/bn-ne/bro-ide/

RC4022    General Information for GST/HST Registrants: https://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/gp/rc4022/rc4022-e.html

My Business Account: https://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/mybusinessaccount

 

Expert Contact Information

Ross A. Libbey, CPA, CA
Off: 905-436-6663
Email: ross@yourbottomline.ws