Constant Contact Acquires SinglePlatform: Update Biz Info Once, Reach Thousands of Sites |  |
- Constant Contact Acquires SinglePlatform: Update Biz Info Once, Reach Thousands of Sites
- Small Business: Tap Into the Affluent Asian American Market
- Your Pricing Approach: Wallflower, Arrogant Jerk, or Brilliant Conversationalist
- 7 Ways to Make Your Small Business Stand Out Online
| Constant Contact Acquires SinglePlatform: Update Biz Info Once, Reach Thousands of Sites Posted: 13 Jun 2012 01:25 PM PDT Constant Contact, the online marketing company that serves over 500,000 small businesses and non-profits, announced another in what has become a series of acquisitions — this time of SinglePlatform. SinglePlatform helps businesses update company information — think menus, pricing and maps — on websites and mobile applications. A small business can update its information once, and that information is then delivered to a publishing network of over 200 million people a month. That information goes to sites like New York Times, YP.com, Foursquare and UrbanSpoon, as well as to social media platforms such as Facebook (see below at red arrow):
SinglePlatform has been named one of the most promising startups in America by BusinessWeek, and was listed as one of the top 25 New York startups to watch by Business Insider and The Next Web. Its platform includes more than 600,000 businesses and thousands of publishing sites and mobile apps across 13,000 cities and towns. One Source, Multiple Benefits As any overworked business owner will tell you, figuring out what directories, search engines or other online platforms you need to update company information on can be daunting, and a full time job. "There are hundreds of online and mobile sites that consumers use to find local businesses and make purchase decisions. It's literally impossible for time-starved small businesses to keep up with all of them," said Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact. Constant Contact aims to continue to deliver that ease of use that SinglePlatform started in 2010. Prior to the acquisition by Constant Contact, SinglePlatform offered only one service — a paid one — called Digital Storefront, where small businesses can add rich content to their listings, such as menus, products and services, photos, and pricing. The annual price for Digital Storefront is $495, and the company had approximately 10,000 paying customers. Constant Contact will expand the offering to include a free basic listing for small businesses. The company says it doesn’t believe businesses should have to pay to get accurate contact information up online. While SinglePlatform began with a focus on restaurants, its customer base includes a range of other types of businesses, such as spas, salons, and retailers. A spa, for example, could post its pricing and photos of services on its profile. A museum could list fundraising events. A florist could display photos of seasonal arrangements. You get the picture. Acquisition Details The acquisition of SinglePlatform closed yesterday at a price of approximately $65 million. Constant Contact will retain all of SinglePlatform’s 60+ employees in the transaction. The SinglePlatform service continues to be available on its website, but I suspect Constant Contact will find additional ways to roll it in to the services it offers its existing customer base. From Small Business Trends |
| Small Business: Tap Into the Affluent Asian American Market Posted: 13 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT Is your small business marketing to Asian-Americans? If not, you could be missing out on one of the most potentially profitable consumer categories. Data from the Census and the most recent Ipsos Affluent Survey, reported in MediaPost, show that Asian-Americans are more likely to be affluent than are many other minority consumers.
Ipsos defines affluents as households with annual incomes of at least $100,000, and notes that Hispanics make up 14 percent of the general population but only 9 percent of the affluent population; African-Americans make up 12 percent of the general population and only 7 percent of the affluent population. Asian-Americans, however, while they account for just 5 percent of the U.S. population, make up 7 percent of the affluent population, as well as 7 percent of the "ultra-affluent" (household incomes of $250,000 or more). There are some key factors that set Asian-American affluents apart from other affluent consumers in the Ipsos study:
Psychographically, Ipsos notes, Asian affluents have some important things in common with Hispanic and African-American affluents. Specifically, they're more likely to be what Ipsos dubs "StyleSetters." Stylesetters are very interested in shopping and more likely to engage with brands, and are passionate about fashion and style. Asian affluents in particular are more likely than the average affluent consumer to buy classic high-end luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Armani, Chanel, Rolex and Nordstrom. Where they differ from other ethnic groups is in their "globalist" perspective. Asian affluents are more likely than Hispanic or African-American affluents to travel internationally, appreciate foreign food and support globalization. More than other affluent groups, Asian affluents are heavy Internet users, spending an average of 43 hours a week online—more than any other ethnic group and more than the 30 hours a week white affluents spend online. They're the least likely to watch TV. What do these figures mean to you? If you're trying to reach Asian affluents:
Asian affluents aren't a monolithic group by any means, but understanding a bit about where they're coming from can help you craft marketing strategies that work for this audience.
From Small Business Trends |
| Your Pricing Approach: Wallflower, Arrogant Jerk, or Brilliant Conversationalist Posted: 13 Jun 2012 08:00 AM PDT Most small business owners make the subject of pricing way harder than it has to be. And the overabundance of information and theories on the topic don't help (Search"pricing strategy" on the Internet and you get over 6.7million results).
Pricing can be straightforward – but you need the right perspective. You need to realize that pricing is really just a mechanism to communicate value. To help you get this communication perspective on your pricing, let's look at three type of people you meet at any party and compare their style of communicating to the three common pricing approaches small business owners use: The Wallflower They are the one who stands timidly in the corner; not engaging others in conversation, not asking other people about themselves, not joining the conversation unless specifically asked, and then they only answer in quiet, shy, short and non-expansive answers. When it comes to your pricing, the Wallflower equivalent is "pricing emulation." This is where you base your prices on what your competitors and your market are charging, what customers expect, and so on. This approach communicates two main things:
Obviously, when it comes to pricing, this is NOT the communication style you want. Yet so many small business owners use this pricing technique. The Arrogant Jerk The arrogant jerk thinks they are the only one with worthwhile opinions and thoughts. When listening to someone else, the arrogant jerk's eyes glaze over just waiting for them to stop talking so they can start again. You know how annoying this type of person can be (and if you're reading this and are thinking that you have NEVER encountered someone like this, I can almost guarantee the people you talk to have). The pricing equivalent to the arrogant jerk is the "mathematical" (or cost plus) approach. This approach takes a look at your costs, anticipated sales volumes and target profit and then mathematically calculates the price that should be used. When you use this method you are communicating that YOU are the most important person in the sales/purchase transaction. It communicates that YOU believe your customers and prospects should care about things like YOUR costs and YOUR desired profits. The Amazing Conversationalist This person listens attentively, offers their thoughts where relevant and is often lauded as being very interesting to talk to (even though they often spend more time listening than talking). These are the people everyone seems to gather around at a party and are almost always involved in the liveliest conversation groups. This is the way you want to approach pricing in your business. Listen to what your customers and prospects want to achieve from acquiring and using your products and services. Then ethically set your prices based on the value you bring to your target customers. In a future article, I will explain a step-by-step process for applying the Amazing Conversationalist pricing method. For now, your homework is to ask yourself which of these three communication styles you are currently using. Observe other businesses you encounter each day and determine which type of pricing communicator they are. It's fun and gives you great perspective on your pricing.
From Small Business Trends |
| 7 Ways to Make Your Small Business Stand Out Online Posted: 13 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT Fighting for mindshare in a crowded market? I know, it can sometimes feel impossible, right? Not that it's a new struggle! You've been fighting against your local competitors for years, trying to convince customers that your business can better serve them and that you meet their needs better than that other guy. But then the Web and social media came along and now it feels harder than ever. Because you're up against everyone, everywhere. Even if you're not competing on product, you're competing on attention. To stand out, you need to be more present than all the like competitors out there.
Whether you're just starting out or you'd like to increase your presence in your market, below are SEVEN tips to help your small business stand out on the Web. 1. Be an Educational Hub In case you haven't noticed, we are in the middle of a content marketing revolution. And that's something you need to be a part of. Regardless of what industry you serve, setting yourself up to be THE educational hub on the topic is going to help you win favor and reputation in your space. For example, in my corner of the world, Search Engine Land is the hub for everything Internet marketing-related. That means when I'm looking for information, I go there. When I need a source for a story, I go there. When I need expert opinion, I go there. See the power? Setting yourself up as that hub by focusing on creating resource guides, putting out consistent authoritative content, and being seen participating in subject matter webinars/conferences/interviews will help you to establish trust and visibility. Two things vital to your success online. 2. Be a Resource Sure, you're going to establish yourself as a resource by the educational content you provide on your Web site, but don't stop there. Make time to be on Twitter participating in chats, fields questions on LinkedIn, respond to comments on other blogs, guest post on niche sites, etc. By providing content and being seen on sites outside of just your own, you establish yourself as a subject-matter expert. While we can all understand the desire to hoard all your knowledge on your own site, let it go. You'll be rewarded in the form of referrals, new traffic, and business karma. 3. Be a Promoter Learn to be a better promoter. Not of yourself, but of other people. Seek out the awesome work that other people are doing and then share it with your audience. You look smarter by sharing other people's smart work, and you win some goodwill with the person you're highlighting. We remember people who promoted us when we need it. Find ways to promote other people on your blog, in your company newsletter, in social media, at events, etc. It will help you get far more attention than just talking about yourself. [Let other people do that!] 4. Be Social Yeah, yeah, you already know you're supposed to be on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn, but don't just be there, really use them. Use these channels to do market research on your industry, use them to interact and ask questions, and use them to make yourself part of your customers' every day lives and their routine. This is very often the difference between the local café I frequent and the one I just know about – it's that the owner has taken the time to chat with me on Twitter or they let me know what's fresh out of the oven on Facebook. These things matter. They especially matter in business where everything is based on relationships. There’s a great cafe in my hometown called Francesca’s Cafe. I go there in part because the food is delicious and cost effective, but I also go because the owner, Francesca, tweets me when she has a fresh stock of pumpkin syrup for my lattes or when blueberry muffins have come out of the oven. These little bits of humanization are powerful and things customers latch onto and remember. 5. Be an Email Ninja There are few relationships more intimate than the relationships you have with the people in your email inbox. That's sacred space. You don't give that to just anyone. You give it to the brands and the companies and the people that you want to keep in touch with. That you want to hear about it and remain aware of their happenings. If you're not building an email list, maybe check out a company like Infusionsoft and see if it's not something you think would help your business create those all-important relationships. Its one thing to talk to your customers on Twitter. It’s another to be the first email they see when they’re sipping their morning coffee. It’s a whole new level of relationship. 6. Be Specific About Who You Are Standing out in a sea of competition means giving people something to remember. To do that, be specific about who you are.
Who you are in business, create your marketing story and work that into your marketing strategy. Where businesses get lost is when they're unable to define themselves and what's different about the way they do business. Know what's different about you and then talk about it. Talk about it a lot. 7. Be What's Missing …okay, so we're not all sure what's different about us or who we are in the niche. If you're looking for a place to start, identify what's missing. Map out your competition and look at their price points, their offerings, how they (appear) to do what they do, and find the holes. Is there a segment of the population they're ignoring? Is there a process they're not doing? Is there room for you to identify yourself as being an alternative to the norm? Keep your eyes open for opportunities that your competitors are missing. Those are just a handful of ways I'd encourage a small business to make themselves stand out online. What other techniques do you use? What's worked in helping you find your audience?
From Small Business Trends |
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