The conundrum continues for many of us business owners. We want to increase our marketing but need to make sure those efforts align with our company philosophies and goals. Unfortunately, that usually means spending more money on creative ads and photography- which leads us to the cheap fix of stock photography.
Recently On Twitter
Follow us on Twitter Get updates on product features, blog posts and more
Find us on Facebook Meet other fans of BookFresh
Categories
BookFresh on Facebook
Starting a Business? A Blog of Free Plans and Ideas
BookFresh.com's blog about starting and running your own business
-
-
Happy Earth Day!
April 22, 2010, by Staff WriterPosted in Tips and Tricks | 4 commentsIn honor of Earth Day, we wanted to share a few tips to make your business as “green” as it can be.
Change the lightbulbs
We’ve almost all seen those light bulbs that look like a curly straw. Did you know that they use 66% less energy that regular bulbs? A bit pricier than their regular counterparts, they will save you more money in the long-run because they last 10 times longer and use less energy.
-
Is the Web Killing Survey Research?
March 24, 2010, by Staff WriterPosted in Tips and Tricks | 1 commentsYou are in for a treat today! Today, one of our good friends at Survey Monkey, Phillip Garland, Ph.D., VP of Methodology is guest blogging at BookFresh on the hot topic of survey research on the web. Survey Monkey is a revolutionary questionnaire tool to create and publish custom surveys in minutes, and then view results graphically and in real time.
Is the Web Killing Survey Research?
By Philip Garland, Ph.D., VP, Methodology, SurveyMonkey
A growing number of researchers are becoming enamored with opinion hubs afforded by the Internet—facebook, twitter, blogs, and proprietary user communities, to name a few. These researchers may be distracted by flashes in a pan.
Questions about “Web 2.0 methods” are seemingly more often of the “how?” variety, rather than “why?” let alone the “are you sure?” type. In short, it seems that “old timer” researchers are excited to play with a new toy without first determining whether it is safe to do so.
-
How Will the Health Care Bill Affect Your Business?
March 23, 2010, by Staff WriterPosted in In the News | 0 commentsMany small business owners have been asking exactly how the health care bill will affect them. We don’t have a crystal ball but we will do our best to try to answer some of your most important questions.
In 2011, the law will require individual and small group market plans to spend 80 percent of premium dollars on medical services. Large group plans have to spend at least 85%.
By 2014, employers who have more than 50 employees must offer health insurance benefits or pay penalties. Companies with 25 or fewer employees who meet certain wage requirements will also be able to get credits toward health insurance purchases.
-
Does Uncle Sam Pay More?
March 10, 2010, by Staff WriterPosted in In the News | 0 commentsAccording to a recent study by USA Today, federal employee average salaries are higher than their private-sector counterparts. The study includes a range of professions- some of which are nurses, graphic designer, janitors, marketing managers, IT managers, secretaries, financial analysts and lawyers.
Some Interesting Findings
-
Prevent Your Employees from Two-Timing You
March 03, 2010, by Staff WriterPosted in In the News | 0 comments2010 has already seen a few trends that stem from the 1981 recession. Tammy Erickson of the Harvard Business Review discusses some of the effects this recession will leave on the way employees do their work.
Two-Timing
Because so many employers have used pay decreases and furloughs to cut costs, a good portion of the American workforce have chosen to maintain two jobs; their salaried and benefits job as well as an entrepreneurial project or part-time work at another company. The result of this is a buzzword for organizational managers everywhere- disengagement.
-
Customer Service Trends
February 22, 2010, by Staff WriterPosted in In the News | 5 commentsThis may be the Year of the Tiger but for smart entrepreneurs and small business owners, 2010 is the Year of Customer Service. After discounting, slashing prices, and offering everything short of the kitchen sink, the only real competitive advantage your business may have is customer service. To ensure you stay on top of your competition, check out the latest trends in customer service.
Full-Transparency
With social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, it is not easier than ever for a disgruntled or happy customer to share his/her thoughts with thousands of people. Use this as motivation to keep disgruntled customers few and far between while showcasing positive reviews on these forums.
-
2010- The Year of Mobile Coupons?
February 04, 2010, by Staff WriterPosted in Uncategorized | 1 commentsAccording to a study discussed in Small Business Trends, customers are still hesitant to take advantage of mobile coupons. A very small 4 percent of users said they had redeemed mobile coupons; only 10 percent said they felt comfortable storing coupons on their mobile phone as opposed to printing them out. Not surprisingly, younger consumers are more open-minded to using mobile coupons.
-
Help for Haiti
January 27, 2010, by Staff WriterPosted in In the News | 1 commentsAs a small business owner, it is important to give back. Technology has made it very easy and effortless to donate money to great causes. In the wake of the tragedy in Haiti, there is a great opportunity to do good and help our neighboring nation. Not only will this foster a good reputation with your local community but it is for a worthy cause that needs help.
A few things you can do to help Haiti:
Include donation information on your website. A simple link for customers to donate money is a great way to help. Two trustworthy sites are Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and American Red Cross
-
Lower Your Prices?
January 21, 2010, by Staff WriterPosted in Tips and Tricks | 0 commentsMany small business owners have spent a lot of time debating whether they should lower their prices during the recession or keep them consistent. While lowering prices may be a quick fix, it may make your business seem desperate-at least during the recession.
Susan Reid of Small Biz Trends discusses that this may be the best time to lower your prices. As we slowly start to recover from the recession, consumers will begin to spend more money. As Reid puts it, “As consumer confidence grows, so should your business. And what better way to attract new customers than by offering them a smoking economic recovery deal by lowering your prices temporarily?”
- << Older Entries