Friday, December 23, 2016

Merry Christmas

From Mike and Barb Lammons, to YOU,  Amazing DW Agent!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!



Wednesday, December 21, 2016

DW RECAP

Recap of 2016

Over the last year Digital World™ has made some incredible progress and grown as a company, bringing on new agents, products, and perfecting our program. We'd like to take a little time to give a summation of the past year.
  • We've taken on 3 new partnering companies
  • Launched our Canadian division
  • Added a long list of consulting services
  • Increased our incentive to get started with our 90 day and 6 month incentive bonuses
  • Designed new videos and flyers for marketing including the $500 and 45 day merchant guarantees
  • Created the agent and merchant websites, 
  • Brought on a great lineup of new and innovative products
  • Established all new product training
  • Simplified and shortened the required training
These are just some of the highlights of what we've accomplished in 2016, and we still have some awesome news that has yet to be announced!

Way to go!

We want to give a shout out to some of our agents for their incredible dedication and efforts this past year.

Kelly Landaker for his restaurant with the most terminals placed.
Sean Stecker for the biggest volume and most accounts in 1 location.
Casey Stubbs for placing the first free giving kiosk.
Sanford Valentine for his account with the most Clover units placed.
Justin Ibe for the most consulting submissions.
 

New Products & Services

Over the last year we've brought on some fantastic new products and services. If you haven't hear of them yet, head to the interface and check them out!

United States

  • Exatouch POS
  • Free Giving Kiosk
  • Zero Cost Credit
  • Clover Go
  • Consulting Services
Canada
  • Ingenico ICT250
  • Ingenico IWL250G
  • Talech Elo
  • Converge
  • Authorize.net
  • Pivotal Mobile

Friday, December 16, 2016

once an Agent, always an Agent


As if a Digital World business, for just $195 one time and nothing else -- ever -- along with an incredible training module that we can refer to time and again, tucked inside a corner of a reliable NEVER-DOWN interface website for no charge, were not enough.....
ta-da!






Great Scott:  MORE great DW gifts coming --- including one that we KNOW you'll love due on New Year's!


From Stryde to Discovery Calls for merchants to new 'gifts' to continuing great residual opportunities -- Digital World never ceases to call us back to the truly unique and irreplaceable biz that it is!

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Heard from a DW Agent in Vegas who started his DW business 2 years ago and never did anything.  He was a busy businessman who thought DW sounded great, but he didn't really have time for it...however, he kept getting texts from Mike and occasionally he'd read the blog.  Recently though, things just clicked and he determined to get out and find a few merchants and other Agents.

His uplines were nowhere around so he called Mike for help, and they have plans going forward to get his 2017 fired up with DW!

You just never know how long it may take for your team to begin to sprout!  The great thing about DW is it is the Baptist marketing plan:  once an Agent, always an Agent!


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Happy Holiday Preparation Weekend!






Thursday, December 8, 2016

Digital Shadow

Hey, kids,

Just finished an interview with a full-time, professional, career card processing agent with a giant processor in our industry.  (Name starts with an "H" and ends with a "land".)  It made for a great contrast with what we have as Digital World Agents.  Here are some comparisons:


  • He makes around $120k/year.  (Do you make that?)
  • He has a quota that he must meet each month so, he says, the work is never done. (We have no quota.)
  • After he generates $2k in residual he begins to get paid residual monthly. (We get residual from the first dollar.)
  • He loves the fact that he sets his own schedule and is his own boss.  (So do we!)
  • And how about this quote?
What is the common misconception people have about what you do?
That all credit card processors are equal. There’s a lot of shady companies out there that will screw the businesses that they process the credit cards for and just as likely they’ll screw their employees.
When you’re looking at companies that do this, there are only a few that are true players in the industry that actually don’t jack you around and price you fairly.  (Source:  JobShadow Interviews)
So who knows?  This crazy, simple/complex, home biz you signed on for just might end up being a fantastic career for you as you continue to dabble in it!

A conversation here.  A questionnaire there.  Let the Magic  happen!!
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Image result for magic fairy  and wand artwork
Card Processing Fairy

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FROM THE INBOX:

Timing

Sometimes our timing is perfect and sometimes it's not.

Many years ago when we left Texas for San Jose, CA we were excited to begin a new adventure with our two little Girls.

After 2 years we finally bought a house for $50,000 --- and we thought we overpaid.

Few years later, we moved to Central California and sold our house for $299,000 and we were thrilled at how smart we were.

Just saw a real estate article about Home prices in San Jose. Our house there recently sold for $995,000.

For $195.00 one time, your timing in Digital World is perfect.  What if it takes you or someone on your team 2 years to land a "BIG" Stryde case?

Trust me---you will luv the commission that comes from Stryde and u might even enjoy the monthly RESIDUAL that comes from processing.

Share DW with a friend every day.  Mike

Mike Lammons
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Monday, December 5, 2016

Top 10 Reason Cycle to give thanks for Digital World

Top 10 Reason Cycle  to give thanks for Digital World:


  1. Only $195 got us training, website, lifetime Agent status and headstart at residual income!
  2. Digital World is unique in the world of network, or multi-level, marketing.
  3. Digital World is still within its formulation (first 5 year) stage.
  4. Digital World is family-owned and operated.
  5. Stryde gives DW Agents an offering to merchants and business owners that NO OTHER ISO has!
  6. So we are the UNIQUEST among uniques!
  7. Remembering you are a DW Agent as you go about your holiday shopping, and leaving your Digital World biz card or flyer, can result in major income at any given time...when you least expect it.
  8. DW residual income is pretty much unstoppable:  once you get it started.
  9. Gathering a team of Agents makes your residual income grow much faster.
  10. Everybody should be a DW Agent because of #1 above...and so on!

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Here's one merchant's customer's take on using her credit cards:

It builds up a great credit rating.

"By charging and paying off up to thousands of dollars in expenses each month, I have built up a rock-solid credit rating — the best  possible. So whenever I have sauntered into the bank for a loan, I have been accepted right away, and at the lowest possible interest rates, with no security deposits required."

And as for not using credit cards -- ever --:

"After having a few bouts of credit card debt in my early twenties, I swore I would only pay cash for my stuff and never use a credit card again. But knowing the importance of having credit, I kept a few accounts open and just locked the cards away. I thought I was being smart... I thought wrong.
When you don't use your credit — as in, ever — there's no payment history for potential creditors to evaluate and after an extended period of time, your creditors may close your account because of inactivity, both of which can make it harder for you to secure credit when you need it.
In addition, if you do ever decide to use one of those cards, you may find that your purchase is declined because it's outside of your "usual" spending habits. Of course, this can be resolved, but not without some embarrassment as you step out of the checkout line to call your credit card company."  Source:  http://www.wisebread.com/surprising-things-that-can-kill-your-credit

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Keep yourself and your merchants and all of your community in the Happy Card Loop!

While earning all the while, as a Digital World Agent!

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Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Happy Christmas Campers

FROM THE INBOX:

Just off phone with Co-Founder John Daniels and boy is he excited!!!

We have 21  Stryde cases in the hopper and 4 of them already have contracts and all documents signed.
Minimum $$$ recapturing for each of these 4 biz owners is $400,000.

Some of you are gonna be happy campers.


Also he told me another  of our $1,000,000 + Merchant accounts isnow  active with their multiple  terminals.

We will be able to post a copy of the  40% commission check when issued.  Gonna be a shocker for sure!

Mike
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ALSO FROM INBOX:

Received an urgent email from a dry cleaner merchant who refused to get a chip terminal last year when we asked him to -- he just got hit with a $75 fraud charge due to NO CHIP so now he is begging for that free emv terminal!

Hmmmm... should we hurry one to him or not?


Just kidding; WE WILL, OF COURSE!   And now might be a good time for you to check back in with those stubborn Anti-EMV merchants from your past!

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Happy Free Chip Readin' Terminal Snowman!







Thursday, November 17, 2016

WHOPPING UPRADES UNDERWAY!

We made some pretty big announcements on today's webinar. We've done our research and calculated what you can expect from a given Stryde deal. But even more important, we've upped your personal level percentage to 40% on Stryde deals!  

 Your potential has just doubled! We even made some changes to our www.digitalworldmerchant.com website. 


Head to the webinars section to find out more! 
  
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Happy campers    !!


Monday, November 14, 2016

The Un-dead Horse



Image result for fall excitement almost here      IT'S COMING~~

It'll be here before you know it!

Stay tuned for incredible news from the DW/Stryde front.  Some of that news may be from YOUR team!
 Image result for fall border clipartImage result for fall border clipart
 The easiest approach to a merchant IN THE UNIVERSE surely must be ours with Digital World:  

"Our company helps business owners recover, recapture and reduce business expenses -- over $400 million has been recovered for our clients in the past decade.  Just schedule a NO OBLIGATION 15 min. Discovery Call today."
 There is no upfront cost to the merchant:  if we don't get them MONEY, they don't owe us a dime!  It's Christmas in November already!

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Great training with EPI Exatouch expert tomorrow:   check your interface for details!

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Talk fraud to your merchants:

Point-of-sale credit card theft has remained high in the U.S., where 47 percent of all credit card fraud occurs, though the country only represents 24 percent of worldwide credit card volume, according to CreditCards.com.
A full one quarter of American cardholders have been victims of card fraud.  And it's because here, old credit card technology is still widely in use.
Craig Shearman, vice president of government affairs and public relations at the National Retail Federation, said the U.S. has been slow in adopting the latest and greatest credit card tech and moving on from the magnetic strip.
"That magnetic strip is about as sophisticated as an eight-track tape from the 1980s," he said.
Magnetic strips are relatively easy to copy. And blank magnetic strip cards, at the same time, are easy and legal to come by. The strip technology on your credit and bank card is the same technology hotels use today in throwaway guest room keys.
But there is a better credit card technology out there, said Shearman, and it is  The EMV (short for Europay MasterCard Visa) card, equipped with a more secure data chip, is currently being ushered into wide use by American card users. Chip cards create a unique code at every purchase, making it much more difficult to create a fraudulent copy.
Chip cards also emit a signal at each purchase, signaling legitimate use.  "It's not something that's as easy to create as a magnetic strip," said Shearman.
Retailers across the country were given an October 2015 deadline to begin implementing chip card technology in stores. So far, around 1.6 million stores locations — or one-third of all store locations — are chip card-enabled, according to MasterCard.

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 Image result for fall border clipartImage result for fall border clipart

 This horse isn't dead: that's why we keep beating it!



U.S. Credit Card Fraud Could Top $10 Billion by 2020

New card fraud protection technology has been slow to catch on in the United States. 

 Source: http://losspreventionmedia.com/insider


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Get some  merchants set up for a Stryde audit  this week and let them know some of the above info --- that will lead to Good Stuff!  For them and for you! 


Image result for fall clip art
 

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

DW plus Stryde

DW = credit/debit card processing

Stryde =  audits to reduce, recapture, recover money for businesses

WHAAAT?

What does Stryde do?

It provides Cost Remediation services for businesses. Services include Property Tax Mitigation, Engineering Based Cost Segregation, Research & Development Tax Credits, Credit Card Merchant Audits, Workers Comp Audits, Equipment Lease Audits, Medical Supply Audits, Cell Phone Audits, and more. 
 
All of our services are designed to add money to the bottom line or improve cash flow of the businesses we work with, and all of our services are contingency based. If we are unable to benefit our clients, we do not get paid!

How much does it cost?

Our fees are a percentage of the actual savings. They vary depending on the service, as the services vary in complexity and amount of labor involved.

Who do we work with?

Companies who are in need of our services. Some categories in which we consistently have outstanding success include Manufacturing, Restaurants, Hotels, Medical Professionals, Funeral Homes and Auto Dealers. Property ownership is a plus but not a requirement.
 
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How do we participate in this offering to merchants?
 
1.  Identify who you want to help.
 
2.  Prepare a letter of introduction about Stryde with Discovery Call Questionnaire attached.
 
3.  Fill out and send in to DW and wait for further instructions.

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Stryde offers a path to LARGE commissions unlike any we've ever seen before!  Get acquainted with Stryde so you can be a lifeline to your local businesses!


 
 

Thursday, November 3, 2016

EMV Still a great doop-opener to merchants

News headlines show more and more fraud costs are being absorbed by those merchants who do not have -- or are not using -- chip terminals.  John Daniels has a great study of stats on this currently....watch his Micros/Oracle training as soon as is posted.  In the meantime:

 Lifelock has an emv chip quiz for you!  (I got  12 out of 12.)


Click here to see.

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Don't miss Jim and the Stryde hour today -- noon Pacific time!

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DW Co-Founder John Daniels with Agents Michelle and Dave Margolati

Remember. once an Agent, always an Agent.  This season can be the incredible beginning of YOUR residual fortune.  Get up to DW speed today!


Thursday, October 27, 2016

Cash v Cards

Cash v Cards (Guest post from processing partner NxGen blog):


Advantages of Cash:
  • Instant money in hand, except taxes of course. (Hey, nothing is entirely free!)
  • There are no transaction fees with cash like there are with credit cards
  • Minimizes bookkeeping, which means less stress & less hassle
Disadvantages of Cash:
  • Money in the drawer can be tempting for some employees to steal
  • A safe needs to be on site or frequent trips to the bank for deposits must be made, which takes time and money.
  • Money at your location increases your risk for theft not just from employees but criminals as well.

CHECKS
Checks have always seemed funny to me, don’t get me wrong, we all use them, but a check is simply an I.O.U. (“I owe you”). Checks have been around for probably longer than you think but lately are becoming somewhat of a dying form of payment. With the technology boom of online banking & online bill pay, which have become a fast favorite for most people, written checks are becoming less and less common.  However for a merchant, like cash, the beauty of checks is that it costs nothing to accept. Now that being said, this payment method does come with drawbacks.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Payment Types
  • Some customers prefer to pay with a check instead of carrying cash or using a credit card. The age of your customers may also be a factor, folks over the age of 40 tend to be more comfortable with checks than with credit cards. Checks are also better to send in the mail for payments and invoices.
  • Checks can now be processed electronically at the point of purchase much like a credit card but cost less to process in most cases. If you team up with a large processor, they may offer Point of Purchase check processing (P.O.P).
  • A check is usually better than a customer walking out the door because they don’t have cash or plastic. (There are exceptions to every rule)
Disadvantages of Checks:
  • Just because you have a check in hand, that doesn’t guarantee payment; bounced checks can even cost you money. Depending on your bank, they may assess fees for these bounced checks. Checking accounts can be frozen, empty or even nonexistent. A hand full of NSF checks can mean you start bouncing checks of your own since your account is lighter now than it should have been.
  • Customers can put stop payments on checks, close their account, and even post-date checks if the cashier is not paying attention. All of these delay payment.
  • If your bank does not offer remote capture, you again will be spending time and money away from your business driving to the bank regularly, hoping these are more than “I owe you” notes.

CREDIT CARDS
Credit cards came to the market in the 1950s growing in popularity ever since.  Credit cards, like cash and checks, have come a long way since they first rolled out. Today, the statistics show that approximately 7 in 10 Americans have at least one credit card in their wallet. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population at the beginning of 2016 was 322 Million people, which means there are approximately 232 million American potential customers with credit cards ready to purchase.
Advantages of Plastic:
  • Accepting credit cards boost sales. Credit cards are becoming the most common method of payment, and your customers expect the ability to pay by credit card at any location. Studies show consumers who pay with a credit card spend more than if they were paying with cash. Who doesn’t love a good “impulse buy?”
  • Accepting credit cards increase cash flow. Credit card transactions are deposited directly into your account, no need to head to the bank. As a general rule, a reputable processor should have your funds deposited within 24 – 48 hours after settling out. (Bank standards and holidays apply, just like for all other forms of payment)
  • Accepting credit cards creates legitimacy. Customers see those credit card logos on your door, the brands they trust that are in their wallet, and strangely enough, there is a transference of confidence to your business. Merchants who are “cash-only” seem foreign and ancient in this new credit card-centric worldview.
Disadvantages of the Card:
  • Credit Cards can add another level of difficulty to bookkeeping and accepting credit cards can be an added monthly expense in most cases. Surcharging products can alleviate the costs associated with credit card acceptance.
  • Credit cards do come with risks such as chargebacks and fraud. But added steps like EMV and PCI Compliance give you the protection you need to combat fraud. Additionally, finding a reputable processor who can help you with tokenization and encryption is an important consideration. The more steps you take to protect your business and your payment system at the time of set-up will allow you allay your worries once you start processing.
  • Refunds on credit cards are not immediate. While a credit card transaction may take seconds, the reversal or refund is not nearly as fast. Many steps are involved in issuing refunds, the general rule of thumb for a refund to be processed on a credit card is 2-30 days depending on many factors.

MOBILE PAYMENTS
How times have changed from bartering with sea shells (8000 years ago) to wearing a watch that pays for lattes.  Mobile wallets are the newest craze to hit the market, and Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Wallet are the front runners blazing the trail. Not all mobile wallets are the same, some accept loyalty programs where others do not, some only accept certain types of cards, etc. If you decide you want to be on the cutting edge of technology, talk to your merchant service provider about what they recommend.
Advantages of the Mobile Payments:
  • NFC (Near-field Communication) payments are the newest form of accepting credit cards, and if you like to be on the cutting edge of technology you won’t want to be left out
  • Nearly two-thirds of Americans in 2015 owned a smartphone. Chances are if your customer has a smartphone they will likely have a mobile wallet. The more options you can offer your clients the happier they will be.
  • Mobile payments are secure. The POS system does not have access to the full card number so malware cannot take the information. Apple Pay, for example, does not store your card information at all.
Disadvantages of the Mobile Payments:
  • You must have NFC equipment. No NFC hardware = no mobile wallet payments
  • There are many mobile wallets out there, and they don’t all work the same, you will have to figure out which one is right for you.
  • The rewards for the customer to use a mobile wallet are not 100% clear yet. The customer may not receive certain “perks” at that approved retailer because the system would show the charge coming from Google instead of the authorized retailer.


In the end, regardless of what types of payments, you decide to accept, your customers at the very least will expect to be able to pay with cash and credit cards. You have many decisions to make about which payments are right for your business. If you’re still on the fence about what payment methods to accept, talk to a merchant service provider, talk to other business owners, consult the world wide web but always do what feels right for you and your business.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Helping merchants keep more of their hard-earned revenue

Great call regarding our Stryde cost audits offering for our (your) merchants on Tuesday -- and a follow-up call tomorrow.  Details in Home screen of interface. 

Points of Clarification:

Audits by Stryde are an ADDITION to the credit card processing audits that we have been doing for years.

The audits are for the purpose of seeing how much excess merchants are paying on fees they HAVE to pay in order to be in business.  And when we find the excess, we reduce and recover it so the merchant can keep more of his hard-earned revenue.  Audit areas include:


  1. workmens' comp
  2. waste management
  3. energy
  4. commercial property taxes
  5. cost segregation deductions
  6. research and development
  7. hiring incentives
and many more...about 30 or so!

We also show the business owner a way he can exit his business when he is ready to retire.  Don't think that's a big deal?  Recent studies show that 'how to retire from his or her business' is in the Top 5 Business Owners' Worry List!

Tune in tomorrow for more info!

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Saturday, October 22, 2016

YAAAHHH!!!  STRYDE IS OFF TO THE RACES!

Find out about this unique and FANTASTIC service offered to business owners by YOU as a Digital World Agent -- aka cost remediation and recovery.

This is the week and here is the place:

It's time to talk about Stryde! We're bringing in Jim Colip  to give everyone an introduction to one of our most lucrative programs! If you haven't heard of it, you'll want to be on this call! If you have heard of it, this is a great opprotunity to ask questions!

Stryde
Tue, Oct 25, 2016  2:00 PM  CDT  Noon Pacific time


Please join our meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
You can also dial in using your phone.
United States +1 (669) 224-3212
Access Code: 343-319-885

Join Meeting

Thursday, October 20, 2016

EIGHT Questions that Open Merchant Doors

Status update: 

Sorry for paying too much attention to the riveting presidential election drama AND baseball (who knew it was SO exciting??  or...  what happened to baseball during the past year when it changed from being a good way to go to sleep to something we now can't stop watching?!)

Some of you have been bizzy adding new merchants because the merchant count in our 7 levels has gone up 4 in 2 days!

GOOD JOB(S), GUYS!
Image result for good job gif

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I do solemnly swear to turn off the presidential histrionics and start tending to DW merchant gathering .... but not so fast with turning off baseball!  

Aren't you glad that DW is there for you when you're watching baseball and when you're finished watching baseball?


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EIGHT Questions that Open  Merchant  Doors:


  1. What do you like about your current processor?
  2. What do you not like about your current processor?
  3. In an ideal world, what would you most want from your processor?
  4. On a scale from 1 - 10, how would you rate the importance of service from your processor?
  5. On a scale from 1 - 10, how would you rate the importance of rate from your processor?
  6. On a scale from 1 - 10, how would you rate the importance of equipment from your processor?
  7. On a scale from 1 - 10, how would you rate the importance of EMV and NFC capability from your processor?
  8. What is the biggest challenge your business faces in daily operations that processing can help with?
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These questions are a guideline to spur you to remember this premiere truth:

IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO GET TO KNOW YOUR MERCHANTS NEEDS AND DESIRES than it is to ...well, THAN ANYTHING ELSE !!

Work up your own list of questions; work up a 'get acquainted' survey -- a 'can I help you?' questionnaire;  create some tool of your own that will assist you in giving your merchant prospects real value in letting you and Digital World be their processor!

Image result for may I help you?

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Monday, October 17, 2016

Market Your Business for the Holiday Season

By kmurray, Contributor and Moderator   SBA.gov blog
Published: October 23, 2013 Updated: October 4, 2016
The holiday season is quickly approaching, and the time is now to make sure you get the most of your marketing efforts to help secure sales success in the coming months. Here are a few budget-friendly ideas to help get you started.
Social Media Contests
If your small business has a social media presence, contests on Facebook and Twitter are often a popular way highlight your brand and engage with customers, reminding them that your product or service is available – and a potentially great gift idea. With a few rules, a clever hashtag and incentive such as a prize or discount on your offerings, you can drum up excitement about – and draw people in to – your business.
Extra Appeal for Your Loyal Customers
Take this time to make your loyal customers feel extra special – it may come back to you by way of additional business and referrals. Without breaking the bank, you can provide special offers, sneak previews, free shipping or secret sales.
Special Events or Open Houses
Make your small business stand out by hosting an open house or special event at your store or restaurant. Use it to showcase holiday season gifts, menus and merchandise so customers can get a glimpse of your seasonal goods in advance. Pair the browsing with light refreshments – a mug of hot cocoa or a glass of cider – to get people in the holiday spirit. On their way out, give a special offer or coupon that invites customers back to make their purchases at a discount.
Holiday Help
This is a great idea from Illana Bercovitz at Small Business Trends: use social media to offer helpful tips during a stressful holiday season. Consider your industry, product or service and related advice you could offer to make customers’ lives easier. “Everyone appreciates useful advice and your customers will thank you for pushing content that makes their holidays slightly less stressful,” Bercovitz says. Use an original hashtag to maintain brand awareness across platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.
Email
Although it’s often considered overused, email remains inexpensive and easy to implement when it comes to maintaining contact with existing customers. That’s a key to remember – to be effective, email marketing should be used with folks you have already done business with or who have expressed an interest in your business and have requested email from you (otherwise known as permission marketing).
Keep these tips in mind if you plan to use email to support your holiday marketing efforts:
  • Keep the e-mail short and sweet. Link directly to the content of interest so you make the process as easy as possible for your customers.
  • Clearly state the email’s intent in the subject line. For example, "A Special Offer Just for You. Thanks for Your Business in 2013.”
  • Be festive in your design. Appeal to the sights of the season with a special design for the holidays.
  • Follow online marketing rules. Don't forget that online marketing is regulated, so whatever tactics you employ be sure to follow government guidelines that apply to list management, SPAM and other guidelines.
For more great holiday marketing insight, check out this recent post from guest blogger Rieva Lesonsky, “Start Now to Plan Your Holiday Retail Marketing Campaign".

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Thursday, October 13, 2016

Find your niche and fill it!

Find a niche and fill it:


Guest Post

You may have the desire to provide as much as you can to as many people as you can. But with that kind of thinking, you’re just setting yourself up for failure. It’s impossible to be everything to everyone. You can try, but you will fail 100% of the time.
Everyone isn’t your target market (or they shouldn’t be), so why should you try and be everything to everyone?
Put yourself in the shoes of a potential customer. If you needed a lawyer to handle your personal injury case, would you choose a personal injury lawyer who specializes in these types of cases or would you go with a lawyer who handles these cases among their many others? You’d go with the first. Why? Because they have a set focus and niche and only spend their time within that area of focus, meaning they’re highly skilled and knowledgeable in that area. This is exactly what you need to be doing if you want to be considered a thought leader in your industry.
When you try to be everything to everyone, you face several challenges and dangers. Here’s the hazardous road you’ll drive down if you choose this method of thinking:
  • Your brand message becomes lost because you’re straying from it.
  • Lose value to your brand.
  • Slows down your business growth.
  • Takes away the time you could be spending providing better, more meaningful efforts.
  • The more you try and do, the less consistent you are with your work so you deliver mediocre instead of great work.
  • Gives off a sense of desperation.
  • Get easily burnt out.
Basically, trying to be everything to everyone means you’ll be nothing to no one.
The only way to be a thought leader in your industry is to focus and go narrow and deep into a niche. You earn more from this method of thinking, and can offer more to your target audience. It’s much easier and more profitable to connect with a smaller, more focused niche in a bigger way than it is to try and connect with a large, broad audience in a big way. Your mind and efforts aren’t being pulled in every direction, so you have the time and capability to offer a higher value to your audience. When you focus and go more narrow and deep, you offer the less-is-more method, which works greatly for you and is appreciated by your customers.
Your brand is stronger and your business grows faster when you’re focused. When you offer concentrated services to a target audience, 3 things happen: it’s easier to find your customers, it’s easier to convince potential customers to become loyal customers and your expertise in your industry grows, which in turn attracts more customers your way.
It’s human nature to not want to limit yourself and your abilities or turn away someone who could be a potential customer. But you will actually find more customers and more easily find them and turn them into loyal customers when you focus and go narrow and deep into a niche. You become indispensible, needed and highly sought after for your skills in your niche area. You turn yourself into the go-to thought leader in your industry, and that’s exactly what your goal should be.

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Decide on a DW 'niche' and see if that path doesn't help your merchant-gathering efforts gain serious traction!

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