The SmallBizLady Buzz - Issue 122

Do you know what your customers want?

Understanding your target customer is key to hitting the mark with your marketing content, videos, and direct sales appeals. So how can learn about your customers? Here are my 5 Ways to Find Out What Your Customers Really Want:

Connect with them:?A few times a week, schedule phone calls with customers and prospects, use Zoom calls to make a more personal connection, make a coffee date with a customer to find out what they really like or don't like about working with you.

Send surveys:?To learn how your customers feel about your business, send them a survey 4-7 days after they receive your product or service, to find out how they feel, get a review, or correct the situation. Don’t just collect data; read it and treat it like a report card for your business.

Watch them online:?The best thing about social media is that you can watch your customers and prospects online and learn what questions they have, where they get information, and what is important to them.

Exhibit at a tradeshow:?Personal networking is a door opener. A trade show is a perfect place to engage a lot of potential customers at one time. It’s a great opportunity to answer questions and learn detailed information about your customers’ needs.

Learn your net promoter score:?Find out your Net Promoter Score survey. It works by asking your customers 1 question: on a scale of 1-10, how likely they are to recommend you to a friend. This specific type of survey gives you an idea of how your customers like you.

Make listening to customers a priority, and you’ll learn what you need to know about your customers, and your marketing messages and sales pitches will be a lot more effective.

Check out this week’s featured article:?10 Tips for Creating an Effective Content Calendar.

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10 Tips for Creating an Effective Content Calendar

A content calendar is an easy way to preserve your most scarce resource as a business owner: your time. It is an effective tool for coordinating content creation and helps you manage your weekly workload into clear, manageable assignments. The key is to create content ahead of time to give yourself time to do it right while you are busy running your business.? Continue reading....

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Success starts at the frontline.

AskNicely.com allows you to connect real-time to learn your company’s Net Promoter Score and feedback with your team, tools and processes. The nicest way to measure NPS and respond to customer feedback. The software automatically collects customer feedback directly after they receive service with customizable surveys that customers love.

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Podcast: How to Build a Business Transition Plan with Laurie Barkman

Check out this recent podcast here: How to Build a Business Transition Plan with Laurie Barkman

Laurie Barkman is the founder and CEO of SmallDotBig LLC, a strategy advisory firm for business owners to maximize the value of their company anticipating a future ownership transition. Additionally, she is a Partner with Stony Hill Advisors, an M&A firm representing companies on the buy-side or sell-side of transactions.

As host of the Succession Stories Podcast, You can find her show wherever you listen to podcasts. Laurie has joined me to discuss the idea of business acquisitions from both the seller’s and the buyer’s perspectives. For more information: https://smalldotbig.com

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BREAKTHROUGH: Application Timeline - Now to August 29

Philadelphia-based founders:?It’s time for a BREAKTHROUGH for your business! Apply for an opportunity to receive $5k in funding and accelerate your revenue past the 5-figure mark with digitalundivided's BREAKTHROUGH program, powdered by JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Advancing Black Pathways. This 100% virtual program is open to all Black and Latina women entrepreneurs in the Philadelphia area with a tech component to their business.

Through BREAKTHROUGH, founders will receive a deeper understanding of their customers, startup funding, growth marketing strategies, and networking opportunities to scale their ventures. In addition, each company accepted into the cohort will receive a $5,000 grant.

Ready? Apply here today!

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Check out the 30 Day Fast Start Program

August is a great time to start a new business. If you need to get started in a hurry, maybe because you just walked away from your corporate gig, or perhaps it walked away from you--- check out my 30 Day fast start program. The month-long online course will give you daily inspiration, and the step-by-step notes on what you need to know as you start your journey into small business ownership. Don’t delay! Sign up for the 30 Day Fast Start right away!

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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.