Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts

10 Ways to Market Your Small Business on a Shoestring Budget

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When budgets are tight, marketing might be the first expense you look to cut.Let me stop you right there.While traditional advertising methods are costly and hard to measure, small businesses have never had greater access to cost-effective, trackable marketing tools.

Email marketing is the tried and true digital marketing channel with an average return of $38 for every $1 spent.

Email and social media marketing are just the start. Here are ten marketing strategies that can help you market your small business on a shoestring budget

1. Craft an elevator pitch

You should be marketing all the time — wherever you are. Therefore, you need a compelling elevator pitch. Research shows the average attention span of an adult is about six to eight seconds. That’s all the time you have to grab someone’s attention. If you successfully engage them, then you only have a little over a minute to really sell them on your product or service. Invest the time to craft a killer elevator pitch. The return on your investment will pay huge dividends in terms of creating business opportunities

2. Leverage your community


You don’t have to think big when it comes to your marketing efforts. Think locally. What’s going on in your community? Sponsor a Little League team or a 5k charity walk/run. Print bookmarks and leave them at the local library. Get to know your ideal customer and think about how and where they spend their time. Then search for opportunities to get in front of your customer with your marketing message.

3. Collaborate

Put together a group of synergistic, non-competitive businesses in your area and agree to cross-promote. You can use coupons, fliers, reciprocal website links, bundled promotions or social media platforms. By collaborating with each other, you can expand your customer base because you’ll be reaching new people.

4. Network


I’m a huge fan of networking. I don’t think there is any better way to build a business than to get out there, shake some hands, and get to know people. Networking requires a time commitment and it doesn’t provide instant gratification, but a strong network is one of the greatest assets any business person can have.

5. Give a speech



A lot of people hate public speaking. However, there are many organizations looking for qualified, subject-matter experts who can present to their groups. Take a deep breath and volunteer. You don’t have to be a pro as long as the information you share is helpful to the audience. And the upside the more you do it the easier it gets. Plus, it positions you as a credible authority in your field.


6. Create buzz


I started my corporate career in the field of public relations and the business has changed significantly because of technology. Today, a small business owner can accomplish a lot without hiring a professional firm. You can respond to reporters’ queries that are looking for story ideas and resources. Some are small media opportunities, but others are major media outlets that use this service too.

7. Ask for referrals

Don’t be shy about asking for customer referrals. The majority of people say they are willing to provide a referral if asked, but very few take the initiative to do it on their own. Referrals make it easier to get in the door with new customers. If you aren’t asking for them, you are missing opportunities.

8. Build relationships


It is a lot less expensive to keep a customer than it is to get a new one. That’s why establishing strong relationships with your customer base is crucial. One of the ways you can do that is by keeping in touch with people through email marketing.Ask customers for their email address when they visit your store or website. Then, make your communications informative, helpful and professional — something your customers will look forward to receiving.

9. Offer coupons



Coupons are a good way for many businesses to attract new customers. Research shows that people will go out of their way to use a coupon, proving that this method is successful in expanding your customer base. Coupons can also generate return visits. For example, if you give a customer a coupon for a discount to use on future business, there’s a high probability they’ll be back.

10. Give it away




If someone has the opportunity to experience your product or service, chances are they will want to purchase more. Don’t be afraid to give someone a free trial or a sample. In today’s economy, people are more comfortable purchasing something they have been able to experience first.

These ten, inexpensive marketing strategies will help you engage customers, build relationships, and ultimately keep your brand top-of-mind. It’s not always about the money you have to spend on marketing, it’s about the time and effort you put into it and above all, the relevance it has for your customers.


10 Tips for Compelling Company Updates on LinkedIn

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10 Tips For Compelling For Company Update 


1. Think like a journalist

2. Always Include A clear Call  To Action

3. Ask Thoughtful Question to involve your audience

4. Always include a image or some type of rich media

5. Before Posting double click that and image appears

6.  Post YouTube video to encourage sharing

7.  Make Your Content Snack able and valuable

8. Avoid Hype rt Argentine

9.Test to understand your Audience

10 . Create  an editorial calendar but react timely to event  

eSign – Online Digital Signature Service

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Introduction :--

For creating electronic signatures, the signer is required to obtain a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) from a Certifying Authority (CA) licensed by the Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA) under the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. Before a CA issues a DSC, the identity and address of the signer must be verified. The private key used for creating the electronic signature is stored in hardware cryptographic token which is secured with a password/pin. This current scheme of in-person physical presence, paper document based identity & address verification and issuance of hardware cryptographic tokens does not scale to a billion people. For offering fully paperless citizen services, mass adoption of digital signature is necessary. A simple to use online service is required to allow everyone to have the ability to digitally sign electronic documents


eSign
eSign is an online electronic signature service which can be integrated with service delivery applications via an open API to facilitate an Aadhaar holder to digitally sign a document. Using authentication of the Aadhaar holder through Aadhaar e-KYC service, online electronic signature service is facilitated

Salient Features of eSign

Save cost and time
Aadhaar e-KYC based authentication

Improve user convenience
Mandatory Aadhaar ID

Easily apply Digital Signature
Biometric or OTP based authentication

Verifiable Signatures and Signatory
Flexible and fast integration with application

Legally recognized
Suitable for individual business and Government

Managed by Licensed CAs
API subscription Model

Privacy concerns addressed
Assured Integrity with complete audit trail

Simple Signature verification
Immediate destruction of keys after usage

Short validity certificates
No concerns regarding key storage and key protection



Easy and secure way to digitally sign information anywhere, anytime - eSign is an online service for electronic signatures without using physical cryptographic token. Application service providers use Aadhaar e-KYC service to authenticate signers and facilitate digital signing of documents.
Facilitates legally valid signatures - eSign process includes signer consent, Digital Signature Certificate issuance request, Digital Signature creation and affixing as well as Digital Signature Certificate acceptance in accordance with provisions of Information Technology Act. It enforces compliance through API specification and licensing model of APIs. Comprehensive digital audit trail, in-built to confirm the validity of transactions , is also preserved.
Flexible and easy to implement - eSign provides configurable authentication options in line with Aadhaar e-KYC service and also records the Aadhaar ID used to verify the identity of the signer. The authentication options for eKYC include biometric (fingerprint or iris scan) or OTP (through the registered mobile in the Aadhaar database). eSign enables millions of Aadhaar holders easy access to legally valid Digital Signature service.
Respecting privacy - eSign ensures the privacy of the signer by requiring that only the thumbprint (hash) of the document be submitted for signature function instead of the whole document.
Secure online service - The eSign service is governed by e-authentication guidelines. While authentication of the signer is carried out using Aadhaar e-KYC services, the signature on the document is carried out on a backend server of the e-Sign provider. eSign services are facilitated by trusted third party service providers - currently Certifying Authorities (CA) licensed under the IT Act. To enhance security and prevent misuse, Aadhaar holders private keys are created on Hardware Security Module (HSM) and destroyed immediately after one time use.