The SmallBizLady Buzz - Issue 115

Do you really know your customer?

To be successful in business, you must have a well thought out business plan. Within your plan, the marketing strategy carries an important role in the success of your business. It is essential for business owners to decide to whom they are in fact marketing before actually beginning their marketing process and campaigns.

Having a clear understanding of the customers' profiles or personas is crucial to designing marketing messages that will actually resonate with them. Sometimes when you’ve been in business a while, your niche customer can change. Spend the time to think about who you are targeting now, post pandemic. This can help you save time and increase sales down the road.

If you haven't examined your customer personas in a while, it might be time to look at them. Analyze your customers’ demographics, locations, buying patterns, as well as what influences their purchase decisions. By knowing what the customer wants, it is easier to align their business goals with your solution to meet their needs, which will increase the likelihood of success.

If you are a small business owner doing your own sales, connecting with prospects is an essential way to keep your business growing. Using customer personas to inform when you spend your time online and in person, and engaging with potential customers, is essential to increasing your close ratio.

This week’s featured article:?How to Evaluate a Potential Business Partner

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How to Evaluate a Potential Business Partner

There are three main reasons you’d want to bring a business partner into your business. First, entrepreneurship can be a lonely ball of stress. When you share the load with someone else, you benefit from having a cheerleader, accountability partner, and an extra set of eyes—all wrapped up into one. Second, there’s no way that one person can know and do everything well as the business needs to grow and succeed. By bringing someone else into the business, you expand the range of skill sets, opportunities, and possible sources for financing. Continue reading...

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Grant Alert: Does a FREE 10K grant appeal to you?

To support users of Verizon Small Business Digital Ready, Verizon is committing $10,000 grants to support small businesses! Sign up for Verizon Small Business Digital Ready and complete two courses or live coaching events between January 1 and June 30 to be eligible to apply.

Grow your skills and earn a chance to receive a $10,000 grant! Be sure to apply by June 30 here: Verizon.com/digitalready #VerizonPartner

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Feel free to elevate your employee experience.

BambooHR lets you focus on people and not processes. It’s a modern approach to hiring with applicant tracking tools that can help you manage every stage of hiring, from scheduling interviews to offer letters. It also includes time tracking for all existing employees.

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Podcast: Getting Started with Speaking with Misty Megia

Check out this recent podcast here: Getting Started with Speaking with Misty Megia

Misty Megia is a business strategist who has helped companies across various industries with marketing, corporate branding, and project management. She is also a performer, director, and choreographer in professional theater.

As the CEO and Founder of Misty Megia LLC, she helps individuals with public speaking using her 20+ years of experience in corporate speaking and theater. Misty joins me to share what to do first if you want to use speaking as a promotional tool for your business. For more information: www.MistyMegia.com

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Anniversary Sale at SmallBizLadyUniversity!

Help me celebrate the 1-year anniversary of my online school, SmallBizLadyUniversity. For the month of June, you'll receive $100 off any online marketing course with the code SBL100. Sign up today and start generating big money online.

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Melinda F. Emerson,?“SmallBizLady”?is America’s #1 Small Business Expert. She?is an internationally renowned keynote speaker on small business development, marketing and social selling. Melinda is also the president of the Quintessence Group, an award-winning marketing consulting firm based in Philadelphia, PA, serving Fortune 500 brands who target small business market. LinkedIn named her a Top Voice for 2019 in Small Business and Entrepreneurship.?In addition to being a former NY Times columnist, she is frequently quoted by media organizations including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, MSNBC, CNBC and Fox News. She is the host of #Smallbizchat LIVE and The SmallBizChat Podcast. A prolific writer, Melinda has published more than 5000 articles on her blog?www.succeedasyourownboss.com. Her small business advice is widely read reaching more than 3 million entrepreneurs each week online. She is the bestselling author of?Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Revised and Expanded?and?Fix Your Business, a 90 Day Plan to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business.