You have a great product at a solid price, offer memorable customer service experiences, and are located in prime real-estate. So why aren’t customers flocking in to your place of business?

Investing a lot of money into marketing can be seen as a gamble. Will a billboard drive customers through the door? Did that TV ad see a return on your investment? While marketing is a vital aspect to growing your business, it doesn’t have to be done with an excessive budget. The great thing about marketing in the 21st century is that it no longer employs a ‘fishing with a shotgun’ approach – and that is key for small business owners.

1. Targeted Online Advertising (Facebook, Adwords)

We’ve reached an age where we can segment so specifically that you are bound to reach your target demographic. If your campaign isn’t creating the results you hoped for, you have the ability to tweak it at any time. Facebook offers in-depth targeting based on likes, demographics and interests. Adwords gives you the ability to advertise on YouTube, Google Search, Google TV – the best part is that Google Adwords often offers new customers coupons to get started ranging from $50 to $100. Start small and give it a shot. Just make sure to analyze your results and improve with each campaign.

2. Run a small contest

Word of mouth in the online world is just as effective as the old school word of mouth. In fact, the ability to share thoughts and links gives you the ability to amplify your message beyond what traditional marketing could ever do – and since it’s coming from them and not you, people are more likely to engage. Running a small contest gives you the ability to craft a message, offer something interesting, and broadcast your message to your brand ambassadors.

Get some graphics done on the cheap, put forth an offer that would entice your customers and ask them to share it. You won’t regret it.

3. Recruit Brand Ambassadors

Have you ever asked a friend for a referral? Do you see value in asking how someone else’s experience was before ‘taking the plunge’? Referrals are the most convincing way for your business to gain new customers because it come across as organic and genuine. Speak with some of your best customers and ask them if they can refer others to your business should they see a fit. Entice your brand ambassadors by giving them special coupons for the people they refer. They get to help out a friend, the friend gets a discount, and you get the business. Triple win.

4. Piggyback Marketing

Ultimately, reaching out to your target market costs money. If your cash flow is tied up in other projects and activities, you still need to market your business to remain fresh in your customers minds. Piggyback marketing helps alleviate some of that pressure by finding synergistic relationships to help boost your marketing reach. That means two businesses that offer complementary – but non-competing – products or services can represent each other’s offering in their respective markets.

Take for example a butcher who recommends eating at one of his favourite restaurants in the city. That restaurant in turn displays the logo of the butcher and the waiters boast about the local butcher cuts on the menu.

Or how about a flower shop that tells its customers about the home-made greeting card store down the street for an added touch of sweetness.

These represent effective, personable and real engagement that wipes the floor with costly television ads.

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There are many ways to operate your small business marketing on a shoestring budget. If you need to focus your cash flow on other projects, keep in mind that your marketing efforts keep new customers coming in. And that continuous flow is vital to your business’ longevity. With a little bit of creative thinking and positive outreach, you can find what efforts work for you.

When it comes to social media, one segment of users that dominates engagement and that is often targeted by brands and businesses, is mothers. In fact, the current landscape of the blogosphere clearly demonstrates the impact of moms – 1 in 3 bloggers are actually mothers.

Juggling the daily tasks of carpools, cooking, and kids, a large contingent of moms are actively involving themselves in their own businesses. Hampered by rigid office hours and inflexible benefits (amongst other variables), many mothers are now looking to strike a better balance between home and work by becoming ‘mompreneurs’.

According to thestar.com, in 2010, women accounted for 36 percent of Canada’s then 2.7-million self-employed, up from 26 percent in 1976. This makes female entrepreneurs one of the fastest growing segments in the Canadian economy.

While achieving a balance is critical to maintain a healthy life, understanding small business in Canada is an equally important aspect for the business lives of these entrepreneurial women. Setting realistic expectations and keeping operating costs to a minimum represent some of the challenges and tasks facing mompreneurs.

Buoyed by a continued increase in women with a high level of education, and the advances of social networking tools allowing mompreneurs to reach out to new clients from the comfort of the home or on-the-go, momepreneurs are a trend that won’t be disappearing any time soon.

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Articles of interest 

How to be a mompreneur – The Globe and Mail

If These Moms Can’t Find It, They Invent It – NY Times

The rise of mompreneurs - The Star

Social Networking in Canada: The Infographic

Infographic: The Digital Lives of American Moms

April presented the second-best small business confidence reading for the year amidst a modestly growing Canadian economy. With each province accounting for its own share of challenges, the general consensus is that local businesses are feeling optimistic.

Here are some highlights from the CFIB Business Barometer report based on 807 responses:

- Business owners in Alberta and Saskatchewan continue to be the most optimistic in the country. The surge in optimism in Ontario in March was partially corrected in April, but the region remains above the national average.

- 44 % of business owners expect their businesses to strengthen in the next three or for months, compared to only 16 % who expect a weakening—a balance of opinion of +28 per cent.

- Planned hiring took a big swing to the positive in April. Twenty-one per cent of business owners plan to increase full-time staffing levels in the next three or four months, while only 12 per cent plan to cut back.

- Overall, 42 per cent of business owners describe their state of business to be in ‘good’ shape, almost three-times the 14 per cent who say it is in ‘bad shape’.

- Concerns about customer demand levels have been trending down as the economy gradually strengthens.

- About one business in five, appears to have significant difficulties in finding necessary credit.

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With a general upswing in optimism and consumer confidence, it pays to be on top of your businesses cash flow needs. With a large segment of Canadian small businesses recognizing the busy season ahead, they are pro-actively preparing by making new hires and training their staff to account for an increase in sales and customer traffic.

Act today and profit from tomorrow.

Image courtesy of D Liche Cupcakes

A general change in consumer attitude has helped fuel a shift in restaurant cuisine and tendencies. Whereas past years have shown a focus on pricing trends, recent years have displayed an importance of quality and premium offerings that many restaurants are embracing.

OUT is the notion of quantity over quality, and IN is the demand for customized, super tasty cuisine that is unique to the establishment it comes from – essentially a resident chef’s wish come true. A parallel with retail businesses for more customized product, restaurant goers are seeking out customized choices like single-servings of unusual desserts, indulgent coffees and sustainably grown foods. This speaks to the socially conscious consumer – the one who wants to know where the produce is coming from and its associated health benefits.

Rounding out the Top 10 Trends from the 2012 NRA Show were more indulgent desserts (including dessert dichotomy), southeast Asian flavours (from coconut milk to sweet chili sauce), molecular gastronomy (stored nitrogen-charged canisters of flavour) and hypoallergenic food choices.

How can my Canadian restaurant profit from these trends?

Adaptation is the key to maintaining and improving upon last year’s profits. While we don’t suggest a major overhaul of your menu, adding a touch of sustainability and recognizing some of the concepts that are the top of consumers minds will keep your restaurant bustling with activity.

Advanceit works with thousands of Canadian restaurants and we understand what it takes to succeed in today’s economy.

Here is a list of 3 things to remember when contemplating food trends:

Some trends last and others don’t. 

While we encourage you to experiment with trending items, we also know that you have put countless hours into your restaurant and that often your menu reflects who you are and what you want to have. So while you may not be revamping the entire menu, adding a few trending selections can help bridge the gap between your flavours and preferences, with what consumers are reading, seeing and experiencing.

Without marketing, how will your customers find out what you have done?

So you’ve added some sustainable options and your chef has a tasty new single-serving dessert… What now? It’s time to tell people how amazing your restaurant is. Take out an ad in the local paper and highlight the new items along with your signature cuisine. Establish new marketing ideas to access a whole new segment of customers and bring in a wave of new business. Don’t let cash flow issues limit your ability to market your restaurant. This is the time to boast about your cuisine.

Moderation is key. 

Jumping on all the food trends of 2012 is probably not your best course of action. If you don’t think there’s a fit with your restaurant and a particular trend, then don’t go for it. You don’t want to sway too far away from what your core cuisine is, otherwise you might confuse customers and do more harm than good. So while we don’t see a small Italian eatery offering southeast Asian dishes or nitrogen-charged molecular gastronomy (that’s a mouthful on its own), we do see a fantastic parallel with indulgent desserts and customizable coffee. Do what feels right, and you’ll see the results speak for themselves.

Take a second and ask yourself:

Have I positioned my small business to have a busy, profitable summer?

Consumers spend more time outside, time shopping and ultimately, time spending. This is a huge opportunity for you to spend money on marketing your small business and improving the awareness of your offerings to a larger customer base.

Regardless of your industry, these 4 tips provide you with vital questions to ask yourself, as well as what we like to call ‘Idea Seeds‘ that get you on the path to improving your marketing and driving more customers to your business.

The most important thing is to not let cash flow issues be the reason for ignoring marketing and advertising this summer. By spending money on these effective strategies, you’re building the blocks for your future success and continued traffic through your business’ doors.

4 Small Business Summer Marketing Tips

1. Promote Social Sharing

Give your customers tools and tips for them to succeed and make the content shareable. Introduce or revamp a newsletter that provides great tips that are relevant to your business and promote the sharing of it on social networks and through ‘old-fashioned’ handouts.

Your customer are on social networks, and you should be too. Especially if your website is not as well-serving as you’d like it to be, a Facebook Fan page can provide a fantastic outlet for news, feedback and discovery of new potential customers. Ask your employees what they prefer to see from the brands they ‘like’ on Facebook. See if there’s a parallel with your business and get crackin’!

2. Run a Contest

Everyone loves contests – well, mostly winning them, but participation can be fun and engaging. The summer provides a fresh setting for great publicity, so brainstorm with your employees and see what kind of creative ideas you can come up with that helps advertise your product/service, while incenting customer to frequent your business.

Restaurants can hold a taste-testing competition to sample the new summer menu, auto-shops can give customers the opportunity to ‘spin the tire’ to see what prize they’ve won – like a free oil change. The possibilities are endless, and adding a touch of comedy can really lift your customer’s spirits and promote your business in a positive light.

3. Advertise In New Spaces

If your business is seasonal or in a tourist area, taking the mobile ad route is a great way to increase your business’ awareness. Think about gaining new customers by asking yourself who your customers are, where they shop, what they read, how they live. Is your business visible in these areas? How can you get more eyeballs to see your business?

Explore local advertising online, hot check-in services like Foursquare, and local review sites. Experimenting with different advertising spots will you give great insight and learnings that you can improve upon year after year. Break out of your current promotional bubble and make things happen.

4. Reward Your Existing Customers

It’s a well-known fact that keeping existing customers is less expensive than acquiring new ones – although it is equally important to invest in both. With that said, rewarding your existing customers with additional quality time, a small gesture of gratitude or even a simple thank you phone call can be the difference between them choosing your business over the competition.

Given that strong personalized service is rare these days, it’s surprising that these simple, yet often forgotten methods of keeping people happy is not being done on a more regular basis. This is a great opportunity to do so, as it’s vital to helping maintain a strong relationship with your customers, while increasing their satisfaction and the buzz surrounding your business.

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If you want to learn more about improving your business and preparing it for summer, get in touch with one of our funding specialists. They’ll provide you with increased insight into your industry as well as some fantastic revenue-generating tips to help you reach the next level.

For entrepreneurs looking to start something with an established brand identity and customer base, purchasing a franchise is often a popular choice.

However, the benefits of almost-assured brand awareness and lower barriers to entry are significant franchise costs. Starting with an upfront franchise fee, franchisees also must pay ongoing royalties as long as they remain in business. It is the price to pay for a proven business system that has been planned and packaged for multiplication.

Given these inherent costs, running a franchise can be an expensive undertaking, and oftentimes additional cash flow is needed to maintain and help expand and improve the franchise. After all, what franchisee doesn’t want to increase profitability?

The problem is that finding financing for franchisees has been tough in recent years. The solution lies in alternative business financing.

Merchant cash advances are the perfect solution for financing franchises.

With the burden of fixed franchise fees, merchant cash advances offer cash flow relief in the form of a variable repayment system based on debit/credit sales. If your franchise has a slow month, you pay back at a slower rate, allowing you to focus on revenue-building activities as opposed to worrying about traditional rigid repayment plans that tend to handcuff operations.

As the leading Canadian provider of merchant cash advances, Advanceit has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in business cash advances for franchisees. The important thing to note, is that each franchise is its own unique case, and by working with a funding specialist, franchisees can determine the best way to add cash flow while maintaining a balanced budget.

There is no one solution for all franchises. Even franchises of the same brand will not necessarily fit into the same financing model. The most vital aspect of speaking with a specialist is finding a fit together that works given a variety of factors including your franchise’s card to cash ratio, seasonality, and clientèle demographic to name a few.

With a wide range of franchise clients that include Subway, Second Cup, Midas, Burger King, Pizza Hut and many more, Advanceit continues to fund and support entrepreneurs with cash flow aid and up-to-the-minute business advice.

Speak with a funding specialist to see how your franchise can benefit from a business cash advance. With nothing to lose, and much to gain, it’s no surprise that thousands of Canadian businesses partner with Advanceit to help finance their growth.

Pinterest, the trendiest free social content-sharing site of 2012, has been drumming up consistent attention for its viral capabilities and unique audience – women between 25-44.

Its audience is what truly distinguishes it from other social sites like Facebook and Twitter. This highly-engaged demographic is an ideal target for small business marketing efforts, and the opportunity is there to be exploited.

Pinterest stands out from other mainstream social content networks because of its ability to refer traffic to other websites. In fact, Pinterest has sent more referral traffic to sites than Twitter has in recent months, and its referral power has trumped social networks like Google+ and Linkedin in a very short time span.

Should my small business be on Pinterest?

Pinterest is a fantastically visual social network that is growing at an astounding rate. With its ability to search for keywords, it gives you the potential to connect with like-minded consumers and share pictures and images of your products. Although it may not be applicable to all small business (there has to be a visual aspect to the product or service to help it catch on), it can definitely help with brand awareness and consumer feedback if your product or service has some form of fit within the demographic of users.

Let’s make a case for a small family-run restaurant…

With the increasing trends of sustainability and locally-grown produce, a small restaurant has the ability to expose its local flare and fare by pinning chef creations and new additions to the menu, while captioning it with relevant details. Given the visual nature of Pinterest, the better the picture, the better the chance that it will be re-pinned. Furthermore, pinning pictures of the decor and friendly staff will also add a warmer feel to the restaurant’s Pinterest board. The restaurant can also encourage fans and friends to pin pictures to their wall from their experiences and share it with their friends.

Like all things social, it all comes down sharing and re-sharing. The more people that are exposed to the pictures, the better the chances that it will spread,  and consequently, the better the chances people will come by to taste what they have already seen.

As long as there is consistent activity and attention paid to Pinterest, the results will speak for themselves.

Here is a few educational links to help you determine whether or not Pinterest is right for your small business:

Pinterest: An Introductory Guide for Marketers - Search Engine Watch

How you can make Pinterest work for your small business - Washington Post

How Pinterest Spammers Hurt This Small Business Owner - Mashable Small Business

Small Business on Pinterest – Pinterest

Small Business Pinterest Marketing: 4 Secrets You Need to Know Now - Business 2 Community

10 Video Tips for Businesses on Pinterest - Mashable

Should Pinterest Be Part of Your Small Business Marketing Plan? - Pay Simple Blog

Released by the CRFA (Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association), local remains the hottest menu trend and food source for the third straight year.

Purchasing green, sustainable and locally-grown products has taken the cake as the most popular initiative for restaurants across Canada. Given its dominance over the past few years, it would seem fitting to remove the label ‘trend’ and engrain locally-grown menu items as a staple in every restaurant.

The survey, carried out in co-operation with the Canadian Culinary Federation, polled restaurants in the months of February and March to compile their feelings and direction for the busy and most profitable Spring and Summer seasons.

The CRFA also posted a list of the Top 10 Canadian Menu Trends for 2012:

1. Locally produced and locally inspired dishes
2. Sustainability
3. Gluten-free/ food allergy conscious
4. Farm-/ estate-branded ingredients
5. Simplicity/ back-to-basics
6. Nutrition/ health (e.g. low-fat, reduced sodium, antioxidants, high-fibre)
7. Ethnic/ street food inspired appetizers (e.g. tempura, taquitos)
8. Food trucks/ street food
9. Artisanal cheeses
10. Bite-size/ mini desserts

Amongst up and coming menu directions for 2012, some more interesting results topped the list, including African cuisine – which made last year’s list, and launching at the second overall spot, black garlic – a type of fermented garlic with a rich, molasses-like flavour.

Here is the list of the Top 10 up and comers for 2012:

1. African cuisine
2. Black garlic
3. Gluten-free beer
4. Red rice
5. Peruvian cuisine
6. Vegetable ceviche
7. Micro-distilled/ artisan liquor
8. Goat
9. Game bird appetizers (e.g. duck, quail)
10. Savoury ice creams

With these trends and general directions dominating chefs menu inspirations across the country, this is invaluable information that restaurants must be aware of heading into the warmer patio seasons.

How does this affect YOUR restaurant?

Consumers have spoken, and if your restaurant doesn’t adjust and acknowledge what they are seeking out, you might have a hard time catching up. This means adding new inventory and including some new and socially conscious ingredients to help attract new customers and keep existing ones enticed and coming back for more.

Adding a Chef’s Special with a more unique ingredient (like black garlic) could also help boost sales and increase the word of mouth surrounding your restaurant. Ideas like this help you find where you can gain a competitive advantage over your competitors while keeping in touch with what your customers expect from restaurants in 2012.

Speak with a Funding Specialist today to see how you can prepare for this profitable restaurant season with a cash advance from Advanceit.

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We recently covered an increasingly popular trend called Cash Mobs. Piggybacking off the virality of a Flash Mob, this activity focuses on gathering a sizable group of consumers to promote a sudden infusion of business into a local store.

A Carrotmob by comparison, promotes the gathering of like-minded consumers to locate, and advocate a local business’s commitment to making socially responsible changes to the business.

What does the name ‘Carrotmob‘ mean?

We think the folks at Carrotmob explain it best:

There’s an old saying that there are two ways to make a donkey walk forward: Either offer a delicious carrot out in front of it, or hit its behind with a stick. Think of businesses as “donkeys” which people are trying to move. Traditional consumer advocacy uses a lot of “sticks,” such as protests, petitions, boycotts, and so on. We want to use the “carrot” instead. We believe that we can get businesses to make big positive changes by offering them lots of money in return. It’s a positive, win-win model. So that’s what the “carrot” means. The mob refers to the large group of consumers who come together to achieve shared goals.

What’s in it for the business?

Carrotmob uses a clever form of consumer activism called ‘buycotts’ (where a community buys a lot of goods from one company in a small time period) to help convince and reward positive social change. In a Carrotmob buycott, businesses compete to demonstrate the most socially responsible business changes, and then the network of consumers spend money at the business they support to help fund the proposed change.

The consumer-involved sustainability model is a breath of fresh air (pun intended) that serves several purposes:

1. Local business wins

The business gains funding from an infusion of consumers and funds to support an environmentally positive project.

2. Consumers win

Consumers come together to support local business while promoting sustainability and positive change in their town.

3. Community wins

All this change evolves from people coming together to make it happen. It takes interested, socially-aware people to take on the task of organizing a Carrotmob and driving involvement, while it takes the buy-in from the business to give it a shot and help make their local town a better, more environmentally-friendly place. It sounds like a feel-good story, because it is one.

Get involved in your local community and see what kind of positive change you can help make.

Carrotmob on Facebook

Carrotmob on Twitter

If your answer is no, consider yourself amongst the majority. This newly trending activity jumps on the popularity of flash mobs – where a sizable group of people gather to ‘spontaneously’ break out into a choreographed dance in a public space. However, instead of a planned dance, a cash mob is an organized shopping spree at a pre-designated local business.

Popping up in Canadian cities like Windsor, Halifax and Edmonton, these groups target small retail businesses and in a sense, look for residents to help give back to the local community and support small business. While definitely not something that should be relied upon to keep afloat, these cash mobs provide retailers with an experience like none other.

CBC News covered a story on a Halifax-based hand-made collectibles and jewellery shop called ‘Love, Me’ that was the target of a recent cash mob. The experience, as explained by store owner Chara Kingston, was “like nothing I could have dreamed of. Nothing I could have prepared for, everything any small business owner should have a chance to experience.”

Announced via Twitter, cash mobs recruit interested partakers and suggests spending a minimum of $20 at the designated location.

If you’re interested in joining in on this community-focused group buying activity, search Twitter for CM (cash mob) and then the city name ie: @CMWinnipeg or @CMCambridge.

We think it’s a great idea, and any support for local small businesses is a fantastic initiative.

Maybe your small business will be the target of an upcoming cash mob. Get involved in social media and help promote your store!

If you have any questions about gaining visibility and marketing your store in the age of the social web, get in touch with us!