What technology should you be getting your hands on to take on bigger competitors?

Monday sees the start of the SBA’s 50^th annual National Small Business Week in Seattle, WA. This year it seems small businesses have even more to celebrate as evolving technology equips them to take on even the biggest and best funded corporate giants.

While economic uncertainty may have held some back over the last year, entrepreneurs seem to have decided to create their own futures. They aren’t just dipping their toes in the water, they are dragging that bull by the horns, creating new jobs as they go, and forcing improvement in the economy.

According to statistics from Babson College this attitude resulted in a record number of new startups in 2012. Just pop into a co-working space near you now and you’ll also likely find that memberships have doubled and rooms are now filled and bustling with independent entrepreneurs crafting, coding, and collaborating.

A recent post on the Microsoft Blog suggests that a good part of this new surge isn’t just due to professionals launching small businesses out of necessity, but thanks to new, affordable, and easily accessible technology that has enabled innovators to pursue their business ideas. In particular the tech company points to Office 365, Lync for meetings, and Office on Demand as tools that have helped small business owners level the playing field with larger and more established competitors, increasing odds of success and eliminating fears of failure.

Of course more experienced entrepreneurs will be the first to tell the newbies that many of the promises made by software and cloud solutions providers about ‘ease of use’, aren’t all they are cracked up to be. In fact many, even various WordPress frameworks and plugins are notoriously far more complicated than the ‘drag and drop’ fantasy spouted in advertising materials. So make sure you allow for this and seek out IT solutions that come with customer support.

Perhaps one of the easiest to use and even more affordable and powerful tech tools available to small business owners today is toll free vanity numbers. Toll free vanity numbers can instantly rocket a small business brand to being perceived as on par with even the most established luxury brands, while streamlining operations, maximizing marketing ROI, and fattening the bottom line.

So if you are really serious about getting the edge, then make sure reserving a winning toll free vanity number is on the top of your to-do list for Monday morning…

There are many instances in which the digital age has opened the door for small business to compete with larger companies and even meet on some of the same playing fields. The following are a list of low priced methods to promote your startup or small business without breaking the budget while preserving your brand and level of professionalism.

Run a special contest or promotional give-a-way-tie in to monthly communication

This is something that is fairly simple and can be an inexpensive way each month to give you a reason to stay in touch with a customer base that you may have not had a reason otherwise to contact every month. Any solid reason for keeping the lines of communication open between you and your customer base is worth its weight in time and energy spent to bring a possibly large return.

If you are a service business and you run a monthly contest, now you have a reason to create content to distribute to your customer base each month with something new to share. Tie it in with a possible discount or offer, or a bulk packaging deal and possibly an article, newsletter or press release with something to convey. It will keep you communicating with your customer base and keep your name in the front of their minds.

Create a customer recognition or frequent buyer promotion

When you take the time to actually think about how you can thank your customers for their patronage to your small business, it’s far easier to build goodwill than you may have previously thought. Can you offer some sort of discount each month to those that participate in the promotion? Be creative and pull out the loyalty rewards cards in your wallet and see what other businesses use to thank their clients for choosing their small business. What ideas can you come up with that are different from your competition?

Leverage the power of social media for your small business

One of the best things about social media is it gives your small business another opportunity to distribute the other bits of advertising and promotions. Almost all of the ideas in this article can be published in your business’ social media channels. Always give readers the option to download your most recent newsletter, and link to any guest posts on industry blogs you have contributed to.

Can’t decide what to publish or where to get content? Consistency is key with social media campaigns, especially when you continue to add unique and value driven content. Even if you are sharing others’ content, be certain it has value.Add comments on a local or national news story and share the information with your network. Again, be sure there is value for the reader. It’s not a platform to toot one’s own horn or bombard others with commercialized messaging; think branded information instead.

Buy access to Toll Free Numbers

A range of toll free numbers is very economical with the many services available. Your vanity number should be something easy for your customers to remember when they hear it; something that’s easy to memorize and makes sense with your line of work. 

You can also use a unique number for each of the promotions you run, both listed here and in different segments and mediums of advertising. If you segment the suffix numbers, or any in which you use to differentiate by campaign, or by media type (all blogs one number, print advertising another number, radio another number, etc.), then you will know instantly what sort of media is bringing you the best return on your investment.

So what does it take to make a small business event successful? How should it be planned? How should it be funded? What and how can you make it worth your while? Today we will concentrate more on how to boost attendance and market the event so that it turns into the lead generator that you hoped it would be. After all, while the devil may be in the details, keep in mind covering all these bases can result in a heavenly return.

1-      Market, market, market then market some more.  Without a more detailed plan of how to get the word out about your event, you may end up with just yourself and family and friends.  To avoid this, be certain to devise a detailed strategy if your event is not invitation only and spread the word as far and as wide as you can leading up to it. If you are hoping to attract a local base of prospect, then don’t neglect local publications or TV stations and radio alike.

2-      Leverage the use of unique Twitter hashtags.  Don’t neglect to use this one strategy to your advantage. Leveraging the use of social media is just good business and likely you’ve had some sort of presence on at least the big sites such as Facebook and Twitter. By devising a unique and memorable hashtag you give people the opportunity to easily spread the word about your event.

3-      Make your own inexpensive video to use to promote your event.  This may sound overwhelming but it can be as simple as a $25 or $50 project on any freelance network. You can write the scripts yourself, or even pay someone to help you, and then record them on YouTube. You can then share those YouTube videos you created on all your social media sites, along with your other contact information, such as your vanity toll free number. You can even having them playing on your laptop or tablet before or after your event to gain an audience.

4-      Don’t neglect online advertising. Regardless of how small of an event you are starting with, you can reach out to both local and industry bloggers to spread the word.  For the local press there is undoubtedly opportunity to be listed in an online publication advertising your event, which gives you another place to link to your video and advertise your vanity toll free number. Offer to write a guest post and try and tie the subject of your event into the subject of the guest post, but remember to add value to the reader and not just push your event. The event mention comes in the last sentence of a “to learn more,” or “X will be hosting a live event at…on….”

5-      Follow up to follow through.  If you were lucky enough to be able to delegate any parts of your event planning, be sure to follow up with those staff members, event site, or vendors who will be supporting the event to be certain that the day and time are accurate. This way there are no unforeseen surprises that could have an adverse effect on your event.

Remember there are a number of ways you can have a successful event regardless of the size of your budget. If you find your budget is relatively small, try taking on some of the things you might hire out and do them yourself. You can also enlist the help of those close to you in order to share some of the load. The less you have to spend might just mean that more creativity is needed.  Regardless of the size of your event, if you’ve clearly identified the goals and you know who you your small business wants to target, you’ll be able to accurately measure the success by the rewards that you reap.

You’re a medical provider in what is now a changing world. Once upon a time, doctors, dentists, physicians, and other healthcare providers could just put a sign up in the middle of a plaza and see business grow through the natural progression of word of mouth. But in this day and age, the fight to attract new patients, while keeping existing ones, demands a more aggressive and accessible approach. Now you need a Facebook, Twitter, and even a few positive reviews on various sites just to get established.

But for those customers and patients, which today typically consist of senior citizens or those who choose not to be wired on Smartphones and social media, a toll free number provides that establishment, as well as a way for you to be contacted at no cost to the customer. If patients can recall a vanity number, they’ll know just how to reach you when needed.

Get an accurate listing.

What if Google does you wrong and improperly lists your local, numeric phone number? Maybe it was their mistake or someone working for you incorrectly transposed a few digits or accidentally posted your fax number. These things happen more often than not. With a vanity toll free number, your number will never be posted or listed incorrectly.

In addition, as a healthcare provider, you may be at different places or in different offices at different times. So if you don’t have an active vanity number, you may miss out on connecting with those patients calling you at the wrong place or wrong time. Don’t let this happen.

Get a vanity number.

What if that 800 vanity number spelling that you want isn’t available? Don’t fret. Custom Toll Free has a variety of alternate toll free number prefixes, such as 855 and 877, available for you to get the spelling that best embraces and describes your business or practice.

Having a vanity toll free number gives your medical or healthcare practice a stronger brand and market presence. By being equipped with the right answering services, you’ll never miss out on the wrong calls or lost patients. You’ll always be on call.