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Scam Alert
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11/21 (9:00am-12:00pm)

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Tax Saving and Recordkeeping Tips for Your Small Business
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  SCAM ALERT

Here is some information on two recent scams; one deals with taxes and another deals with veterans and veteran charities.

 

irsThe first scam targets taxpayers, including recent immigrants, throughout the country. Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver's license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting. Please see more information from the IRS here.

 

Secondly, there are a number of scams currently circulating that target members of the military and veterans, such as fake military charities, identity theft targeting active service members, and veteran pension scams. Find more information on StopFraud.gov

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The Small Business Development Center for Northeast Minnesota

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HELPING ENTREPRENEURS AND BUSINESSES GROW AND SUCCEED
7 HOLIDAY MARKETING TIPS ON A LIMITED BUDGET

By: Caron Beesley

Source: sba.gov/
 
When we think of holiday marketing - which can be critical to your business success - we often think only of promotions and discounts. But you don't have to cut your margins or break the bank to stand out from the crowd any more. Here are seven budget-friendly steps you should consider to promote your small business while meeting the needs of your customers this holiday season.

1. Host an "Open House"
If you operate a retail business, restaurant or any gift-oriented business, why not plan an open house event in mid-November? Use it to showcase holiday season gifts, menus and merchandise. Offer up a glass of warm cider or mulled wine, and really get people into the spirit of the holidays. This will give customers an opportunity to check out your merchandise or holiday menus in advance. You could throw in a special offer or coupon that customers can redeem anytime up until December 24.

2. Work the Holiday Magic for Your Faithful Customers
Think of ways to generate repeat holiday business from your existing customers. Special offers, sneak previews, free shipping, or secret sales are all great ways to make your faithful customers feel special without breaking the bank.

3. Feature Product/Services of the Day or Week
I love this low cost marketing idea from Ivana Taylor at SmallBizTrends: why not create 12 days of "your product" or a product or service of the month? Feature and market a product or service every day or every week during the holidays. Think about focusing on high margin products or items your customers don't know about. "Companies in the food business use this strategy a lot," explains Ivana. "Think beer of the month, cheesecake of the month, or coffee of the month... Maid service companies could feature an extra cleaning detail each month, trainers or consultants can offer featured webinars, reports or newsletters."

And don't forget to communicate this themed promotion on your website, social media, email, posters, and flyers.

4. Offer Gift Certificates
Whatever your business, selling gift certificates, gift cards and e-certificates is a great way to give your customers a convenient gift option. They also help you generate sales well into the New Year, with recipients often spending more than the value of the certificate.

5. Partner With Other Businesses
It's likely that many of the businesses in your community also rely heavily on the holidays for a good chunk of their income. Is there a way you can partner with complementary stores or restaurants to cross-promote each other's businesses? For example, a cosmetic store and a hair salon might develop a promotion that offers a time-limited discount off each other's respective goods and services, if the customer frequents both. SBA guest blogger Rieva Lesonsky offers more tips in her blog: Forget Competition It's Time for Co-Opetition.

6. Get Involved in Community and Charitable Events
Getting out there and supporting charities or sponsoring or getting involved in community events is a great way to generate awareness for your business during the holidays. Even if you don't have the budget to donate large sums of money, think of other ways to get involved, such as offering volunteer services, equipment or even space.

7. Use Your Website and Social Media to Promote your Holiday Activities
Your online presence, email marketing, and social media networks are a great way to target and connect with local consumers through timely updates and compelling calls-to-action. Develop holiday themes for your email templates and update your website and Facebook profile picture with a festive look.

Then be sure to channel any offers or promotions through social media. You can even offer deals or events exclusively to your social media fans to help drive foot traffic and generate leads. And don't forget to engage in two-way dialogues. Ask your fans about their holiday activities. For example, a restaurant might highlight a holiday dish of the day on Facebook and ask fans to chime in on their favorite dish or items they'd like to see on the menu.
TOP 12 TIPS FOR THROWING AN AMAZING BUSINESS EVENT

 

Whether it's a holiday luncheon for your best customers, a workshop for business owners at your accounting firm, an in-store reading by a beloved local author at your children's bookstore, or just a way to thank customers on Small Business Saturday, hosting an event is a great way to attract new customers, cement relationships with existing customers and build buzz about your business.


But the idea of hosting an event intimidates many small-business owners. Yes, there can be lots of moving parts involved in pulling an event together, but don't let that scare you off.

 

These 12 tips will help you plan and execute your next event with ease:

 

1. Set a goal. Do you want to attract local media, create awareness of your business, build a mailing list of potential customers or sell slow-moving products? Set goals first, then determine the type of event that will best achieve them.

 

2. Figure out the scope of the event. Will you have refreshments, entertainment, workshops or speakers? Scale the event's scope to your level of experience. If you've never held an event before, don't start by trying to host a day-long business conference for hundreds of attendees in a hotel ballroom. A one-hour workshop at your office will achieve many of the same goals.

 

3. Time it right. Timing is crucial to the success of your event. Consider key dates, such as holidays or annual events in the community, that might compete with yours, or choose a theme to highlight. Also consider how much time attendees will need in order to plan ahead to attend, and how much time you'll need to prepare for the event.

 

4. Choose your team. Who will be in charge of the event? Whether it's you or a key employee, you need one person to take ownership and manage all the details, then others to help with the rest of the moving parts. Making sure responsibilities are clear-cut ensures you don't end up without chairs at your conference or glasses at your wine tasting.

 

5. Think it through. Sit down with your team, and mentally walk through every step of the event. Envision it happening, and picture everything you will need-from chairs and a PA system to napkins and clipboards. Also consider how much manpower you'll need at the event itself, what could possibly go wrong, and what (and who) you'll need to have on hand to handle those snafus.

 

6. Set a budget. As you envision your event, you may find the costs are adding up to a price beyond your means. That's when it's time to either scale back your plan or find a way to bring in the additional money you need. Depending on the type of event, you might consider seeking a sponsor for the event (perhaps one of your vendors or suppliers), selling tickets in advance, or partnering with a complementary business to share the costs.

 

7. Create a marketing plan. Allow plenty of time to get the word out. Depending on the type of event you're planning, your marketing plan could include email outreach, direct mail, in-store signage, and radio, print, online and cable advertising.

 

8. Alert the media. Local media are critical to building awareness of your event in the community. Send local reporters and bloggers a press release about your upcoming event, invite them to cover the event, and send them a follow-up press release after the event. The publicity will help spread the word about your business even to those who can't attend.

 

9. Build buzz. Use social media to get your target audience excited about the event. You can tease the event well in advance, post pictures of and news about your preparations, and even invite customers to the event. Keep the social media energy high during the event by having an employee live tweet and post pictures and video from the event as it's going on.

 

10. Develop promotions. Figure out how you'll market to customers when they're at your event, whether with business cards and brochures, discount coupons or gift cards, or product giveaways and contests. Be sure to capture attendees' contact information-this can be as simple as having them write their email addresses on a form or put business cards in a fishbowl for a drawing to win a free prize.
 
11. Be positive. On the day of the event, be prepared, but also be ready to accept that you probably haven't planned for every eventuality. If mistakes happen, your attitude is what matters most. If you stay positive, keep your sense of humor and make your customers feel welcome and happy they came, it won't matter so much that there aren't enough chairs. Chalk it up to a learning experience, and know you'll do better next time.
 
12. Follow up. Your work isn't done when the event is over-in fact, that's when it really starts. Follow up with customers who attended the event to thank them and offer them something special, such as a discount, free trial or invitation to your next event. Ask them to rate the event so you can learn for your next one. Assess how well your event achieved your goals. How many new customers showed up? How many returning customers? How many units did you sell? How many attendees make purchases in the months following the event? Developing your own metrics and tracking them will help ensure your events pay off in more than just good feelings. 
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Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and regional support partners. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the program sponsors. Programs are open to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact the UMD Center for Economic Development at 218-726-7975 or toll free 1-888-387-4594 to make arrangements.