Posted on

Cash at All Costs: Small Business Trends for 2014

 

Small-Business-Trends

The U.S. economy is wrapping up 2013 with a piece of good news. November job growth cut the unemployment rate to 7 percent, the lowest it’s been in five years. Higher-paying industries including manufacturing and construction added more jobs, and hourly wages rose incrementally. Small business owners and prospective entrepreneurs are encouraged by the overall direction of the economy, and small business success goes hand-in-hand with the economy’s overall success. A positive jobs report means more opportunities for small businesses in 2014.

Small businesses will look to capitalize on growing trends in the upcoming year. Expect small business to become more mobile and look for unconventional sources of capital.

Mobile Credit Card Processing

Business was on the go in 2013, and it won’t slow down it 2014. Cash-only small businesses miss out on potential revenue because they don’t accept credit and debit cards, but smartphones are changing the game. Mobile credit card processors enable small businesses to accept credit cards anywhere. These card readers connect to a corresponding app to turn any smartphone into a credit card processor.

Square, Intuit and Paypal are among the companies that offer free credit card readers. Providers usually take 2-3 percent of the transaction cost. That’s a small price to pay to accept credit cards. Intuit’s mobile program even connects to its popular Quickbooks service, so users can automatically track these mobile transactions on the popular accounting platform.

Research firm Forrester forecasts mobile payments to reach $90 billion by 2017. Next year figures to be a major step forward for mobile credit card processors. Small business looking for a leg up on the competition would be wise to get on board.

Maximize Assets

In a rough economy, consumers get creative to earn extra revenue. AirBnB is a online home and apartment rental platform on which users can list available homes and rooms. Many owners stay with their guests throughout the agreement. It’s an unconventional model, but it provider property tenants with extra income and travelers with inexpensive shelter. Zipcar is a similar service in which users rent their automobiles.

Small businesses looking to boost their revenue will look to utilize their assets in similar ways in 2014. Perhaps that means renting a copy machine out to businesses that have high-volume printing jobs or renting out delivery trucks. These revenue add-ons could keep small businesses afloat through lean months.

More Crowdfunding

Venture capitalists aren’t exactly shelling out dough for every interesting idea, but that doesn’t mean startups won’t succeed in 2014. Crowdfunding is the latest trend in fundraising. Crowdfunder and Kickstarter are among the prominent crowdfunding platforms.

Crowdfunder consists of more than 40,000 investors and entrepreneurs, according to the company website. In this model, startups offer future incentives in exchange for donations. This might mean the earliest version of a product once its out of production or access to a blog that documents that journey.

Kickstarter, meanwhile, has successfully funded more than 53,000 projects. Expect that number to grow substantially throughout 2013.

Dana Hudson

Dana is a New York native and small business consultant with a penchant for social media strategy.

 

 

ImageSmith is proud to be a printer in an exciting era of digital communication. Your printer should be able to provide you with the latest information, inspiration, technical advice, and innovative ideas for communicating your message through print, design and typography, signage, apparel, variable data printing and direct mail, integrated marketing and environmental responsible printing. They should also be able to work with you to solve any difficult prepress issues with your files. If they can’t, you have the wrong printer! The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

Call us at 828.684.4512. ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your print and marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.
Posted on

5 Innovative Tech Tools for Small Business Owners

 

Tech Tools for small businesses

The advancement in digital communication technology tools has made it easier for companies to reach their target audiences and beyond, with small businesses and startups gaining the ability to impact the public at a minimal cost. While you may have a team of tech gurus, or may be one yourself, you’re still likely to be overwhelmed by the range of available technologies to help grow your business. From apps for your smart device to safe virtual file exchanging services, there are numerous tech tools designed for the small business owner on a tight budget. Here are five essential tech tools that every company like yours can benefit from.

Appy Pie

Mobile applications are a dominant force within every industry, leading many tech-savvy business owners to believe that signing on to the mobile app phenomenon is a must. Imploring the assistance of a mobile application may be unnecessary for the advancement of your company. And before you hire developers, or you attempt this endeavor yourself, don’t invest in an expensive mobile app before you investigate more affordable options. Appy Pie is a mobile app maker that allows individuals without much technical expertise to create custom apps for their businesses. It also provides small businesses with a test run before they spend money on a full mobile application. Ranging from $12 to $40 in price, this cloud-based service enables you to do everything from viewing your app stats through Google Analytics to helping you design and publish custom apps that your customers can download on iTunes and Google Play.

Crushpath

Promote your business with this app that enables you to construct a simple, one-page website detailing information about your business then sharing it with potential customers and clients through email or on social media. For less than $10 a month, users can create custom-made pitches based on their desired outcome, whether it be promoting a specific product/service or reaching out to a certain segment of your customer base. Crushpath sites are also viewable by anyone who searches for your company online, which helps you generate and keep track of leads even when you’re not actively promoting your business.

ShareFile

With customized business solutions for professionals in over 30 different industries, ShareFile offers companies solutions for transferring and sharing files safely and securely in a custom-branded, password-protected space. Send large files via email, arrange secure file transfers, and coordinate a collaborative arena for project-related files by using tools like the Virtual Data Room. ShareFile’s best attribute is that it can be used on smartphones and tablets on Apple iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows mobile applications. What’s more, ShareFile users can download and use these mobile apps for free.

Slide.ly

small business tech tools

Maximize your social media presence with an app that will grab the public’s attention visually. With Slide.ly you can create unique slideshows and share them on popular social media sites. Simply choose your photos from your Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, or Google Images account, pick some theme music, add special effects, and then share your slideshow on your company’s social media pages. Slide.ly is a free and easy way to promote products and services and engage with customers and clients.

TinderBox

Create, manage, and track everything from sales documents to your company’s marketing strategy with this web-based proposal writing program. TinderBox helps keep your employees on the same page and provides you with the ability to streamline contracts, proposals, and other significant company documents in order to ensure that you’re sending a uniform message to clients and customers. You’ll be able to write, make edits, organize, approve, and disseminate your documents no matter where you are.

Author bio: Greg Richards is a tech blogger who writes posts on the latest news and reviews products in the industry.

 

 

ImageSmith is proud to be a printer in an exciting era of digital communication. Your printer should be able to provide you with the latest information, inspiration, technical advice, and innovative ideas for communicating your message through print, design and typography, signage, apparel, variable data printing and direct mail, integrated marketing and environmental responsible printing. They should also be able to work with you to solve any difficult prepress issues with your files. If they can’t, you have the wrong printer! The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

Call us at 828.684.4512. ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your print and marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.
Posted on

The Rapid Evolution of Cyber Monday

 

Cyber Monday Inbox

My inbox was full of Cyber Monday reminders today.

The idea of “Cyber Monday” as a sales event has proven in just eight short years to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. When it began in 2005 – at least that’s when the term was coined after online retailers noticed a spike in online sales on the Monday following Thanksgiving – there were 9 other days of the year that saw greater online purchases. Still, the growing event inspired  great sale prices, giveaways and free shipping. As the catchy name and phenomenon caught on among retailers creating a double whammy with the already successful Black Friday marketing push, the event has now finally lived up to its name by becoming the #1 online shopping day of the year. Sales are estimated to hit in the area of $2 billion for 2013.

While the concept of Cyber Monday has now lived up to its name, the phenomenon is still changing. Below are a few significant ways:

  • Cyber Monday is becoming Cyber Week: Why limit such an effective promotion event to just one day, when shoppers will be selecting their purchases for the holiday season online for several more weeks? Retailers are catching on that the windfall of a Cyber Monday need not be limited to one day of bargains.
  • The line blurs between Online and Brick & Mortar: Most brick and mortar retailers are now online as well, becoming increasingly savvy and profitable with their online business. The idea of Cyber Monday being a profit-maker for just the online-only retailers like Amazon is a thing of the past. Integrated marketing now connects in-store and online specials in increasingly creative ways.
  • High speed internet changes things:  Why did the Monday following Thanksgiving originally show such a spike in online sales? Because people came to work to do their shopping! Back in 2005 and before, most homes had slower dial-up internet connections so folks waited until work resumed to order online. Also, the workplace afforded the privacy away from family members to do their shopping. Today, with high speed internet everywhere and the prevalence of smart phones, waiting for a workday to shop makes less sense.
  • It’s not just for the big players anymore: Small businesses are coming into their own online, with the ability to offer specials and promotions through their interactive e-commerce websites. The large sales figures for online shopping no longer need to be just the windfall of the large corporate retailers.

Here’s a link to a great infographic on the history of Cyber Monday.

 

 

Call us at 828.684.4512. ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your print and marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.
Posted on

Pin Up Your Marketing with a Bulletin Board Test

Whose Menu Stands Out on the Bulletin Board

So what looks good for lunch today?

This is our breakroom bulletin board – your workplace might have a similar one. While scanning the take-out menus and ads for various local eateries, think of that bulletin board as a little microcosm of a larger marketing environment: each piece hangs there hoping to catch attention, influence behavior, provide information. Some use mouth-watering photos of their meals; others provide detailed descriptions of their menu choices while still others rely on the familiarity of their logo and brand to catch your eye. They come in all sizes and colors. Each local eatery, vying for your daily lunchtime dollar, wants to outshine the others.

Now think of your marketing material on a bulletin board among those of your competitors. Will they stand out? Would you stop and take notice, feel drawn in by the imagery or design? Which one will make you decide to eat – or shop or invest… and why? If you saw a Pinterest page with a screenshot of your website alongside others in the same line of work, how would you feel about what that homepage says about you? Consider those “bulletin boards” as your marketing litmus test.

Back to Basics: Design & Message

If simply designing with eye-catching color was all that was necessary to get noticed, then most marketing would be a neon, day-glo mess. Yet color choice remains central to making design stand out. Consider if your colors are consistent with your branding and company image, if use of an out-of-the-ordinary color would be efficient, or if even black and white or a minimalist design might give you the desired effect. Keep up with the print and digital advertising of your competitors in the marketplace – the more you understand their efforts the better you can craft your own message to stand out.

With print marketing, shape  – whether in terms of scale or geometric shape – can be very important. This is true whether you are printing a flyer, direct mail piece, handout or poster. Over-sized pieces draw attention, yet at times an unusually small piece might stand out from the herd. Die-cuts add an extra step in production but often create a very unique and memorable end product. Your information might fit onto the front of one sheet, or you might need to expand into a folded piece or multiple page publication – all basic and important decisions.

How is your message unique? In other words, what does your business do better than anyone else? Does your marketing simply repeat the same claims all of your competitors are making, or does it reveal why a potential customer is missing out by not discovering what your enterprise has to offer?

The bulletin board test can bring forward some of the most basic questions about your marketing efforts through a simple, real-time comparison. Taking the time to do that comparison can lead you toward finding more productive strategies for success.

Consider the ways you can use inspired graphic design to market your small business. Your printer should be able to provide you with the latest information, inspiration, technical advice, and innovative ideas for communicating your message through print, design and typography, signage, apparel, variable data printing and direct mail, integrated marketing and environmental responsible printing

. They should also be able to work with you to solve any difficult prepress issues with your files. If they can’t, you have the wrong printer! The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

Call us at 828.684.4512. ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your print and marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.
Posted on

Posters: The Best of Fresh Graphic Design & Inspiration

 

Printed posters are a rich resource for design and marketing inspiration. Whether promoting events, movies, music, politics, product launches, sales promotions or mainly living online as with the recent explosion of info-graphics – the common thread here is great graphic design as a tool to capture attention, inform and inspire action. A quick walk through the shop this morning found three examples of poster art good enough to always want around:

Orange Peel: Smashing Pumpkins poster

In 2007, The Smashing Pumpkins reformed as a band after a 7 year hiatus with a nine show residency at The Orange Peel right here in Asheville, NC. This folded insert poster is a keeper – designed by printmafia.net.

 

Framed movie poster

A classic movie poster: Frank Capra’s 1934 film It Happened One Night.

 

Wide Format print

A wide format print of Van Gogh’s Starry Night serves as a backdrop behind my computer. With apologies to Van Gogh, even cluttered over it is a nice image to have around.

Accessible, inventive, designed to catch your eye and stir your emotions – great poster art can be found in museum collections or stapled to the nearest light pole on any street in your town. Great print collections of curated poster art are available, or browse online galleries when you’re in need of a creative boost. Below are a few resources we found inspiring:

  • A great overview of the history of the poster is at designhistory.org. This site divides the development of the poster into the following helpful categories: Early Broadsides, The French Poster Craze of 1880, Early European Illustrated Posters, Cubism Meets the Airbrush, The Photographic Poster, The Swiss Poster, American Posters of the 20th Century, and The Poster as Public Message. Makes you want to read more just from the titles, right?
  • You can read a great interview with Martijn F. Le Coultre, coauthor of A Century of Posters, and a leading poster collector/curator from Holland, over at Steven Heller’s blog. In October 2013, Le Coultre will be auctioning off a portion of his vast collection at Christie’s in London – the auction is titled “Graphic Masterworks: A Century of Design.” Take a minute to browse Christie’s Ecatalogue of the event for an overview of the scope of this collection which spans from the 1890s to 1988.
  • Josef Müller-Brockmann is coauthor of the 1971 seminal study of  the History of the Poster. Browse his own works over at designishistory.com, or on a Pinterest page devoted to his design.
  • For insight into the current, cutting-edge international poster scene, follow Rene Wanner’s Poster Page. This site hold a wealth of information on exhibitions (online and off), publications, links, news and events related to current poster design and graphic arts around the globe.

Wide format printing can take your poster designs to new sizes. Consider using your branded designs as wall or floor graphics for a huge impact. Digital print allows you to run small quantities at affordable prices, whereas in the past an offset run of a poster could be a much more expensive undertaking. Get inspired by the best of graphic design in poster art.

 

Consider the ways you can use inspired graphic design to market your small business. Your printer should be able to provide you with the latest information, inspiration, technical advice, and innovative ideas for communicating your message through print, design and typography, signage, apparel, variable data printing and direct mail, integrated marketing and environmental responsible printing

. They should also be able to work with you to solve any difficult prepress issues with your files. If they can’t, you have the wrong printer! The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

Call us at 828.684.4512. ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your print and marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.
Posted on

1931 Frankenstein Poster Sells for World Record Amount at Auction

 

Frankenstein, 1931 starring Boris Karloff. Insert Poster.

Frankenstein just stomped Casablanca.

That’s not an indie horror movie, but the results of a world record setting auction on July 27. As reported on artdaily.com, an original 1931 “insert poster” for the Universal movie Frankenstein sold at Heritage Auctions for a record $262,900. It is the only confirmed insert poster for the 1931 Boris Karloff film known to exist. To make the story even nicer, the consignor was Keith Johnson of Ottawa, IL who had bought the poster for about $2 in 1968 at an antique store and just kept it in a closet. The pre-auction estimate put the price at perhaps $50,000 – it went for over 5 times that amount!

The previous record holder for highest price paid for an insert poster was  $191,200 bid in 2012 for a “Casablanca” poster.

An “Insert Poster” is vertical format American movie poster that measures 14″ x 36″ and is printed on card stock. These were made to be displayed in standard sized window frame displays in movie theatres. Movie studios stopped issuing these in the early 1980’s, according to the CineMasterpieces website.

Posters are a uniquely powerful form of media with a brilliant cultural history. They have weilded political power, changed minds and attitudes, and served as influential icons of art, politics and popular culture. Think of the “Wanted” posters of Depression-era gangsgters, the pin-up girls from World War II, music and movie posters from the sixties and seventies, and political posters from every campaign since the press was invented. In the digital age, posters have proven no less powerful –  the Obama “HOPE” posters or the art generated by the Occupy movements. Look around town at the musical, political and social events being advertised in shop windows and on phone poles. The poster is alive and well and as intersting as ever… and proof that PRINT IS POWERFUL!

 

Rely on your printer for advice and direction in creating and distributing posters of your own. Advertize an upcoming event, promote your business or your politics, or generate your own cultural meme! To get yours produced at the best price, and seen both online and in public, the best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

 

ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.
Posted on

Buy Local, Buy the Book – Indie Asheville and Print Go Together

 

print, bookmarks and promotion

Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe is the flagship, downtown, indie bookstore in Asheville, NC, and always does a great job in outreach and marketing to the community. With an award-winning events program, website and social media plan, a sister-store at Downtown Books & News, and a bustling café with local pastries and house blends, Malaprop’s is nationally recognized as a leading independent bookstore. Even their free bookmark shows me why they are such a success.

Last week I bought a book at Malaprop’s and the associate stuck a free giveaway bookmark into the volume – a simple, direct way to reach your customers. The bookmark (see above) promotes shopping at local, independent establishments like Malaprop’s and Downtown Books & News, and spells out 10 clear reasons why doing so helps you, helps your community and helps the larger world as well. Click the photo above to see a larger version and read the 10 great effects of your choice to buy local and indie.

What makes this marketing piece so effective?

  • It is useful, and will therefore have longevity. A printed bookmark will stay around to mark your place while you read, getting notice each time the book is opened – a much longer “life” than for most printed direct mail or marketing pieces.
  • The message is clear. The card draws a clear connection between the act of choosing to spend your dollars locally and 10 specific results of that choice.
  • It is thought-provoking. Issues of job creation, environmental sustainability, choice, local economics and growth and more are effected by the decision to shop locally from independent merchants.
  • It rewards the consumer. The free bookmark is positive reinforcement for a smart choice.

And all from a small piece of printed paper! Print and paper are the perfect marketing fit for a bookseller, but if a bookmark is not a natural fit for your business or product line, consider the huge selection of promotional products that you can brand with your logo and message to use in a similar way. Think creatively about new ways your business can reward customers while establishing in their minds the message you want to promote. This little bookmark can help get you thinking about ways you can do that in your own style.

 

Don’t forget to buy your print locally! A community printer will understand communication and design, with a special emphasis on your local market. They should be able to provide you with the latest information, inspiration, technical advice, and innovative ideas for communicating your message through print, design and typography, signage, apparel, variable data printing and direct mail, integrated marketing and environmental responsible printing. If they can’t, you have the wrong printer! The best advice, always, is to ASK YOUR PRINTER!

Call us at 828.684.4512. ImageSmith is a full-service print and marketing provider located in Arden, North Carolina. Contact us at ImageSmith for quotes on all your print and marketing projects, and more useful tips on how to create custom, effective, high impact marketing solutions.