One of the most annoying things is looking for a company online and finding nothing about them. I realized that when I am researching a business, if I can’t find them online, 9 out of 10 times I look for someone else.

What can you do to make sure you’re visible online, and convert consumers from searching online to coming into the store?

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I’ve broken down the type of business into three separate groups (business to business, restaurants, retailers) because each group has different options for their online presence. I’ve further differentiated, basic, intermediate, and advanced strategies for businesses.

Business to Business:

B2B companies needs to be able to show potential clients that they are trustworthy. Because, for many, clients don’t actually see the ‘office’, it’s important that the trust be conveyed in other ways.

Letting clients know there is an office, a telephone line, and contact form is a bare minimum. A more advanced strategy is to make sure clients know why you are better than other companies.

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Basic

• Office Location
• Directions To
• Phone Number
• Fax Number
• Contact Email

Intermediate

• Services Offered
• About the Company
• Awards and Press

Advanced

• Newsletter
• Social Media Presence
• Company Blog

Restaurant:

More and more often consumers are researching restaurants ahead of time before deciding on one. What before used to be a friend recommending a good place to eat, is now being replaced by the web. Customers are able to see reviews, recommendations, and even create reservations all online.

Making sure your restaurant is visible means giving consumers basic information and convincing them to come dine with you. Use your online presence as an extension of your dining room ambiance, conveying your culture. Consumers should at least be able to find you and call you to make a reservation.

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Basic

• Restaurant Location
• Directions To
• Hours
• Phone Number
• Fax Number
• Contact Email

Intermediate

• Online Menu
• About the Restaurant
• Restaurant Reviews
• Awards and Press

Advanced

• Newsletter
• Social Media Presence
• Blog
• Online Reservations

Retailers:

The retail industry is becoming more competitive, with wholesalers cutting costs to make smaller stores less profitable. A good way to combat this is to enter a new space, specifically online. Being easy to find and get in contact with, helps you get a leg up on your competition.

One thing I suggest, if possible, is becoming eCommerce enabled. Selling online as well as in store, opens up a new entry point for consumers. Although it may seem expensive and labor intensive, it allows your local store to have a global reach.

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Basic

• Store Location
• Directions To
• Store Hours
• Phone Number
• Fax Number
• Contact Email

Intermediate

• Product lines
• About the Store
• Sales and Coupons

Advanced

• Newsletter
• Social Media Presence
• Store Blog
• eCommerce

Conclusion

What used to be the bastion of sales, the mall, is now evolving to the Internet. The prime difference is that anyone is able to open a store online. The question left to ask is, why don’t you have an online presence? Why have an amazing store, that most consumers don’t know about?

Building an Online Presence for a Small Business is a post by: Samir Balwani

Is your company small enough that someone can pick up the phone and complain to the owner? Do you have a relationship with your biggest clients? Do you know their name, do they know what you look like? If you already have all of this, and most small businesses do, why are you wasting your time on social media?

Social media is a tool to create and manage relationships. For large companies, that are known by their brand, who are generally extremely difficult to get in touch with, social media is the medium for them to show their human side. Corporations are using social media to act more like small businesses.

The average consumer hates calling a support desk and hearing an automated recording. They want to feel that their call counts and want to hear from someone in the company. Businesses, however, realize that hiring employees is costly and want to find a way to maximize efficiency. That’s where they start to lose out.

Small businesses have the ability to keep a strong relationship with their customers. They don’t need to utilize social media to do it.

There is an exception to the rule. Some small businesses can indeed gain from social media.

A businesses that wants to strengthen its brand, social media can help with that. It’s cost effective, in that it’s easy to create a facebook page, or myspace account and just check on it every once in a while.

Small businesses can also use social media in a way that is not time intensive. If you want to create a Twitter account, think of something automated. Create a script that retweets any @’s sent to you, and ask people invite customers to tweet about the length of the line, what they just bought, or how the restaurant or store is.

To truly use social media effectively, requires a big investment of time. Large companies can invest money instead, by hiring someone to care for all online assets. For most small businesses, it isn’t cost effective to hire someone, and usually an employees time can be better spent doing something else.

Once social media matures and more people start to use it, it might become more useful for small businesses to utilize it. For now, build the relationship with a phone or email.

Are you a small business owner that did something extraordinary with social media or found a way to make it more time effective? I’d love to hear about it, please leave a comment and share with all of us!

Small Business? Stop Wasting Time on Social Media is a post by: Samir Balwani

We’re in a recession and everyone’s hurting… awesome. You’ve got a few customers, but what are you doing to keep them loyal? Have you convinced them to recommend your product? Your current customers are the most important consumers. They will help you survive the recession and find new customers to grow your business.

Consider a pyramid; the larger you want it to be, the larger the base has to be. These days, that same fundamental idea applies to your business marketing.

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Word of mouth, viral marketing, and recommendation marketing all require brand evangelists. People who had a great experience with your product and are willing to share it.

If you don’t have a base and your consumers aren’t crazy about your product, they won’t go out and share your stuff with the world. They won’t take the effort to write a review of your product on Amazon, or tag your store on Google Maps.

It’s important to remember that consumers that have already bought your product are biased towards you already. They’ve bought something from you and they trust you. Offer them exceptional service and watch how they talk about your company.

Social media has made it easy for people to share their favorite products, write reviews, and recommend stores. The more we get to rank things, the more important a fan base becomes.

Having brand fanatics is what will help you get ahead in social media. Building this kind of loyalty should be the first step of any social media campaign.

It’s not that easy though. You can’t just say “we’ve got fans, a certain percentage of them will be crazy about us”. No, you have to reward them. Give them insider information, invite them to beta test new products. Cultivate brand loyalty by making them a part of the marketing process. Let them create a new ad, be a part of product creation, or innovate new things that they want from you.

Build a following and they’ll recommend your product. The more people crazy about you, the more people will hear about it. Consumers are beginning to experience ad blindness to online ads, fast forwarding tv ads, and not reading print ads. They want to hear from their friends what’s good and what’s bad.

Savvy companies will stop promoting their own product, but cultivating an environment where others promote for them.

Build Your Base or Crumble is a post by: Samir Balwani

Everyone keeps asking for a ROI or proof that social media is important. I’m here to say, if you’re a company that cares about your brand, investing in social media is a required expense. Whether you like it or not people are talking about you and you better spend the money to not only be a part of but to dominate that conversation.

Social media marketing is in its infancy and may never actually come to fruition, but leveraging social media for pr, customer relations, and community building is here to stay. We have case study after case study proving its effectiveness as a vessel for customer service or buzz creation.

I’m Not Listening

The biggest reasons why brands must understand the online space and social media is because it will happen without you. Whether you’re listening or not, people will gripe on Twitter, complain on their blog, or boycott you.

If you don’t respond to the bad press it could explode on you. Traditional media is relying on bloggers and web resources more often for breaking news and trending topics. What you saw on a blog could very well show up on the New York Times.

Who’s The Leader?

Don’t want to take part in the conversation? Fine, but don’t complain when someone else becomes the trusted member of a community based on your brand.

When the company isn’t the leader of the community, someone else will rise to that position. Are you willing to put full faith of your message and brand in this random person?

Yes its true that the web has made it more difficult to control your message, but without a social media campaign you have no means to push a favorable conversation for your brand.

Where’s the Store?

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Not having any social media interaction or online space is like not having a store front.

Let’s say you have a website, but there’s no back and forth. That’s like having a store with no employees.

Without a website or blog people can’t connect with you or find you online. They can’t create the connection new customers crave. If I have a question about a product or just need a suggestion to push me over the edge, there is no way for me to get that.

Proper Use of Social Media

We talk a lot about how to use social media. There’s a very simple formula for making it an effective tool. Listen about 90% and talk 10%.

Use the time to monitor for your brand. Where are you showing up, what are people saying, how can you help them? These are all questions you need to answer before setting up your full campaign.

By tracking your brand, you’re able to quell uprisings before they grow out of control. Placating consumers with issues publicly, not only solves problems but is proof to potential buyers that the brand is willing to help and easy to get in touch with.

Social Media is NOT Optional is a post by: Samir Balwani

When starting a small business, one of the best first steps you can have is setting up a company. Whether you do a sole proprietorship or setup an LLC, having a business gives you a load of options. I’ve already written about the perks of owning your own business, but now let’s look at what you get and where to open up a business bank account.

If you’re starting as an small business it’s tough finding a good bank. Many require a minimum requirement or have maintenance fees. Most have a maximum number of transactions, and a maximum amount allowed to be deposited each cycle. I’ve outlined 6 of the major banks, to help you better decide which account type to go with.

Bank of America Business Economy Checking

$16 Monthly Maintenance Fee – Unless you have $3,000 deposited or $5,000 average in account
Features Online Banking
200 Transactions per Cycle
Up to $5,000 Deposited per month at no charge

PNC Bank Free Business Checking

No Monthly Maintenance Fee
No Minimum Deposit
Features Online Banking
200 Transactions per Cycle
Up to $5,000 Deposited per month at no charge

Wachovia Free Business Checking

No Monthly Maintenance Fee
No Minimum Deposit
Features Online Banking
150 Transactions per Cycle
Up to $5,000 Deposited per month at no charge

Wamu Free Business Checking

No Monthly Maintenance Fee
No Minimum Deposit
Features Online Banking
Features Merchant Payment Services
250 Transactions per Cycle

Chase BusinessClassic Checking

$33 Monthly Maintenance Fee – Unless you have $5,000 average in account
Features Online Banking
200 Transactions per Cycle
Up to $5,000 Deposited per month at no charge

HSBC Free Business Checking

No Monthly Maintenance Fee
No Minimum Deposit
Features Online Banking
300 Transactions per Cycle

In the end I decided to go with HSBC. They offered me a higher number of transactions per cycle with no monthly maintenance fee and no minimum deposit.

I hope this list was useful for you. Do you use another bank? I’d love to hear how you like them or if you have any other suggestions. Am I missing a bank you think I should add? Leave a comment and let me know

Small Businesses and Bank Accounts is a post by: Samir Balwani

If you’re working from home for yourself or are otherwise self-employed, but don’t have your own business, you’re missing out. Business owners gain a number of perks not available to other people.

Starting your own company is easy, but beware there are sometimes a filing fee. However, once you’re filed with both your State and the IRS, it opens up the possibility for a multitude of benefits.

1. Easy Accounting

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When it comes to making money, you need to be organized. If you have created your own company, you can open up a business checking and savings account at your favorite bank.

Now you have the option of separating personal and business charges and know exactly how much money you have and your business does.

2. Reduce Identity Theft

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If you’re self-employed and making money online, you’ve already filled out tax forms online for a bunch of affiliate programs or advertising programs.

Without a company you add your own Social Security Number each time you fill out the form. Why would you want to make that information easily available on the net?

Business owners get the option of using the IRS EIN Number instead of Social Security Number. This can drastically lower your risk of identity theft.

3. You Decide the Direction

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Tired of taking orders from people? Business owners get to choose their own direction.

The hardest part about deciding where your business will go, is that if it doesn’t work, you’re the only one to blame.

If you can stomach that kind of responsibility. The days of having to report to someone, or doing things how you’re told are over.

4. You Decide the Hours

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Do you enjoy your daily work hours from 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday, everyday? Wouldn’t you rather be able to choose when you work, when you take time off?

That’s the freedom afforded to people who work for themselves. Your work hours become however long it takes you to finish your work.

It takes a sense of discipline, you need to be able to plan each day and stick to that plan. Staying focused and recognizing what needs to be done is another necessity, but once you’ve tackled these, the when and how long you work, can change to your behest.

5. Your Office is Where You Are

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Do you want to work from home? the beach? your backyard? the park? Open your own business, and now you’ve taken the first step to making your office come to you, instead of the other way around.

Online mobility has opened a host of opportunities. Spend more time with your family, and do what you enjoy, all the while, working from home.

Starting your own company and working for yourself, is the first step.

6. Deductible Health Insurance

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For the Self-Employed, individual health insurance can be extremely expensive.

If you work for yourself without your own business, you pay for health insurance out of your own pocket.

However, once you’ve filed with the State and IRS you can deduct the cost of your Health Insurance from your taxes.

7. Reduced Liability

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One of the scariest things for most people, is the fear of getting sued. If you’re doing any work online or with clients, you open yourself up to being sued, and potentially losing a lot of money.

Business owners gain a ‘shield’, separating their personal and business liabilities.

8. Tax Deductions

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One of the greatest perks of owning a company is the ability to write work related charges off on your taxes.

Went out to lunch? bought a new computer? needed paper and pens? All of these can be work related, all of which can be deducted from your taxes.

8 Perks of Owning Your Own Business is a post by: Samir Balwani

So you’re starting a new business, whether it be a new innovation, blog, or enterprise, there’s so many things you can learn from a surfer - me. Just remember as you read this, in Hawaii they follow the aloha spirit. It’s a spirit that “brings each person to the Self. Each person must think and emote good feelings to others.” It also means to be happy, and be relaxed. This is the first lesson. You can’t do something well and share it with others unless you enjoy it yourself. Work is only work if you’re not having fun, if you are, it’s play.

Understanding the spirit of a new business in this era is the first step, but the next is perfecting the physical aspect, just like you would as a new surfer. Every time a surfer paddles out to the ocean, they know that they’ll jump on a wave and enjoy the moment, but be back where they started, paddling again out to the ocean. In business it’s the same thing. You will have ups, and a lot of them – but they won’t come easy. You will have to work for them, nothing comes easy. Just like you can’t catch waves without paddling you can’t succeed without hard work.

If you ever watch surfers waiting for a good wave you’ll notice that they hang out, sitting on their boards relaxing and talking. It’s as if they’re networking on the waves, because that’s exactly what they’re doing, making friends and sharing in their joy. If you can’t share how great your company is with others, and can’t make network with others, business might not be your cup of tea. Surfing may look like a solo sport but the truth is, that sharing it with others makes the joy that much more. Business may seem like it’s run only by the CEO, but the truth is that through the support of friends, clients, and colleagues the company flourished.

Every once in a while, a great wave comes by, and a good surfer will start to paddle furiously trying to catch the way. They pop up and, people watch in amazement as the board glides over the water, through the wave, almost effortlessly. The truth is that without being able to balance on the board, the surfer would never have made it up onto the wave, they would’ve doomed themselves from the beginning. Understanding that business life and personal life needs a healthy balance is just as important. Spending too much time in your business life can make your personal life wither, and might make you burn out. Conversely, if you spend too much time enjoying your personal life, your business will suffer. Finding a healthy balance between the two will keep you happy (important? check paragraph 1).

One of the scariest things a spectator can watch is a surfer wipe out on a huge wave. It’s one of the hardest lessons to learn for a surfer, and it can be summed up in a simple phrase, “don’t bite off more than you can chew”. How does this relate to the business world? Don’t spend more money than you have and don’t jump into ventures you don’t know or understand. Research and learn all you can, and take the time to realize how much you can commitment to a new business. Don’t worry if you fail, though, it’s a part of life. Just make sure you learn from your mistakes, and don’t wipe out twice to the same wave.

Hopefully, the lessons helped you, and you can take away something. Worst come to worst, it may just make you realize you should be out surfing and enjoying life instead of working so hard. Time for me to head to the beach.

Business Lessons from a Surfer is a post by: Samir Balwani