Posts Tagged ‘Community’
How Toms Shoes Turned Social Responsibility into a Primary Business Strategy
Toms Shoes is a company that probably needs no introduction. It’s the shoe company that combined innovative business practices with philanthropy and got itself global attention as a result. Naturally, while some agreed with this novel business approach, others severely opposed such business practices. For one reason or another, Toms know how to remain in…
Read More8 Reasons to Promote Corporate Social Responsibility
Businesses are finding that being socially responsible can be great for the bottom line, as well as good for employee morale. Of course, a company still needs to make a profit to survive, but supporting a worthy cause can be the most profitable brand building you can do. Witness the growth and popularity of Patagonia…
Read MoreGo Local: 3 Easy Ways to Create Loyal Customers
Small business owners are becoming savvier about optimizing their brand recognition and conversion rates. One great way to ensure that your small business remains on track to connecting with and converting people is by optimizing your local marketing strategies. While there are several ways that you can market your brand at the local level, the…
Read MoreAre You Accidentally Doing Public Relations?
According to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) the definition of public relations is “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” My translation is that public relations is any communication that benefits both the sender and the receiver. It delivers a value to everyone in…
Read MoreSmall Biz Interviews: Cannonball Productions
As the adage goes: when one door closes, another opens. Kate Levenstien was laid off from her job at LivingSocial and was thinking on offers from various other companies. It turned out to be an auspicious moment in her career. She started Cannonball Productions having recognized a gap in the market while at LivingSocial, and…
Read MoreCapitalizing on “All the Old, Familiar Places”
There’s nothing as charming as a town square or the village green. My teenage son plays the clarinet in a concert band that performs in area beach towns. One performance takes place in a town square on a main street, surrounded by small businesses. As band members set up their instruments and the audience sets…
Read MoreSpreading Your Small Business Wings
My local library places lovely floral bouquets on the check-out counter. Always seasonal. Always tasteful. And always accompanied by a business card from the nearby small business who arranged these displays. Our nearby Main Street town provides a bi-monthly magazine chock full of activities and events as well as several profiles of area small businesses.…
Read More5 Ways to Boost Your Business Using the Connection Economy
I believe it was Seth Godin who, a few years ago, coined the term “connection economy.” The idea is that value is generated by making connections rather than pumping widgets out of the tail end of an assembly line. I might put a little sharper focus on this and say that for almost every small…
Read MoreHow to Know Which Local Events to Sponsor with a Franchise
When you open your franchise, and possibly even before your doors are open, you will undoubtedly be approached by organizations in your community about sponsorships. School clubs need someone to sponsor their programs. The local rotary club might ask you to sponsor a golf tournament. Non-profits in the area might request money to help their…
Read MoreLocal Revenue vs. Online Revenue, or Both
If you are trying to keep your business local, there are several ways to do it. You can do it without doing business online at all, of course, but sometimes a mix of being online and working offline is a powerful combination. How does a business balance both, however? Is it possible to have a…
Read More