Author: Pamela Swift

Quick Guide to Hosted Phone Systems

Post author By Pamela Swift
Post date July 20, 2009

What’s the one thing your business uses every day that impacts customer relationships, vendor contacts, and even employee communication with one another? As popular as internet communication has become, there’s still no substitute for a telephone call in key situations. Most businesses don’t pay too much attention to their phone system unless service is down, the system is malfunctioning, or they are looking to cut costs by evaluating office expenses. This is a big mistake- the telephone system you use can have a big impact on your communications, employee productivity, and even company profitability.
The best phone systems for your business fit within your budget and will deliver the services you need. Hosted phone systems are fast becoming the top choice of businesses that want the functionality of an on-site PBX but the cost savings of VoIP. How do you know if a hosted system right for your business?

What is a “hosted” phone system?
A phone system is “hosted” because equipment (such as a phone cabinet and routing software) is housed at the provider’s data center, rather than at your office. Calls are routed to your business using a high-speed internet connection or a T-1 phone line. Hosted systems range from basic, VoIP-type systems where software can be downloaded in a few minutes to “enterprise grade” systems that require VoIP adaptors or phones. Similar to traditional PBX telephone systems, bandwidth for phone calls and data transfers can be designated by your own system operator to ensure call quality.
Calls are routed to your office from the provider location using a “dedicated connection,” or a T-1 line, or the “open internet.” A dedicated connection typically produces better call quality, but is much more expensive than routing calls using an open internet connection – usually about $500/monthly for an office with 10 employees or less and average internet use. Though routing calls over the internet can be more cost effective, it can lead to security problems for some companies if calls aren’t protected with a firewall or encryption protocol.
System Costs
Hosted system providers either work on month-to-month agreements or service contracts. Month-to-month services are typically used by smaller businesses that have one phone line and less than 10 extensions. Software for a small phone system can be downloaded from the provider website and installed within a few minutes- all you need in the way of equipment are the phones themselves. Contract services operate more like traditional phone system services: the contract specifies acceptable downtime, service offerings, maintenance, and other costs in advance.
The service cost can vary in range from $20/month for a month-to-month service to $200 or more for an enterprise based solution. You’ll also need to consider the costs of connection- using either an internet connection or T-1 line.
Make sure you compare several different price and service quotes before making a final decision. You should also compare local references and ask about call quality- especially if you choose to use an open internet connection to route calls instead of a T-1 line.

Home-Based Business Sales & Marketing

Mailing List Basics: How to Target your Direct Mail Efforts

Post author By Pamela Swift
Post date July 6, 2009

Here’s something many small businesses already know: the mail is one of the most effective ways to reach out to current customers and attract the attention of new ones. According to the United States Postal Service, 98%- almost all mail recipients- check mail on the the day it’s delivered, and 77%, sort through it immediately. Think about it- you can turn radio down or fast forward through commercials, but you do need to check your mail. What other advertising method has proven to capture the attention of so many potential customers?
The mailing list is the foundation of a direct mail campaign. You can choose to purchase a direct mail list from a list broker or mailing service, or generate a list in-house. Purchasing a list works well if you’re looking to reach out to new customers or increase your presence in a new market. Your own database or information is an excellent source for efforts geared towards current customers.
Buying a List
Search for “mailing list vendors” online can turn up thousands of results- not all of them reputable companies with accurate lists. A quality mailing list is thorough (it contains the full names, addresses, zip codes, and possibly email addresses of potential recipients) current (information is up-to-date and accurate), and targeted. Targeting your effort is important- a mailing list based on market research will generate a higher ROI than one that includes every house in a given neighborhood. You can target by demographic (for example, families with small children) by consumer habits (families who have recently purchased a home or a car) or using other “filters” that help you find your target customer. Here are a few ways to make sure you’re purchasing a quality mailing list:

Response lists v. Compiled
Mailing services can compile lists in two ways: A response list is typically generated using a customer’s responses to online advertisements, while a compiled list is generated using data collected by other businesses, such as magazine subscription lists or mailing lists compiled by companies that target a particular market niche. Both types of list can be effective, though many businesses have found response lists to be more targeted toward customers who are ready to make a purchase.
List History
Make sure you ask a list broker which other businesses have used a certain list within the last six months. You want to guard against soliciting customers that have already been bombarded with sales pitches from your competitors. Finding out who has used the list can also be a great way to check how accurate and effective it will be. You can call the prior users and ask how well the list worked in their mailing campaign. Was their effort successful? Make sure you take into account geographic differences, different product offerings, and any other factors that would make their campaign different from your planned effort.
Data Accuracy
Be sure to ask list brokers how frequently mailing information has been updated, and how recently the addresses were obtained- especially if you’re using a list generated by online ad responses. The older the list, the likelier it is that information is outdated- make sure you don’t waste valuable marketing dollars by mailing to households whose information has changed since the list was created.
Costs
Mailing list costs typically fun from a few hundred dollars to several hundred for highly targeted lists. Typically, you can obtain a list of up to 1,000 names for between $100 and $500.

Tags direct mail, direct marketing, mail marketing

Entrepreneurs Online Business Starting Up

A Blueprint for Success

Post author By Pamela Swift
Post date July 1, 2009

Article Contributed by Lori Olson
Business goals need to be defined. Startup business plans always need to include what the expected destination will be. Image that you are going on vacation and have no idea where you are going as you get in your car. How do you pack for such a trip? You might end up in Florida with a suitcase full of ski clothing. As obvious as this may seem, many online businesses start out pretty clueless about this.
Step 1 – Pick an online business monetization model.
The four ways to make money online are:
– Ecommerce model – this applies to any business that has a product or service to sell online.
– Lead generation model – this is the cost per action (CPA) approach where information is sold to other businesses
– Advertising model – this applies to sites that are rich with content and attract lots of information seekers and repeat visitors. The site makes money through pay per click and affiliate products. It relies heavily on high traffic and repeat visitors.
– Support – this applies to businesses that specialize in solving customer problems
Once your business model has been defined (“your travel destination”) you can figure out the steps needed to get you there. In some cases, there will be overlap of models but one will prevail as dominant.
Step 2 – Identify the steps you need to accomplish your goals.
Here are the minimum requirements for online success:
– Keyword research – This is a crucial first step that is most often skipped or done in a shoddy manner. It accounts for the majority of startup business online failure. It is so critical to be done right, yet most startups fail to take the time to fully research it. They make the mistake of brainstorming keywords that “sound” right. If they do any keyword research they usually stop after identifying keywords that are highly searched. They don’t continue the investigation by finding out how much competition exists for those keywords. They don’t determine whether the people searching on those terms are information seekers (and will never buy anything) or actual buyers. Keyword research needs all three of these components. If one of these is missing, it is extremely likely that the website will not succeed.
– An SEO friendly website – Failure to develop a search engine optimized (SEO) website is another typical and huge mistake that startup businesses make online. Unfortunately, the main focus is on a website’s looks (whether that be “pretty”, “trendy”, or professional). Many startups make the mistake of using web designers who know little or anything at all about SEO. They are graphic designers who will make a site look terrific but will be a coding nightmare for search engine spiders. They often include excessive amounts of flash (spiders are just starting to be able to make some sense of it) and dynamic scripts (e.g. spiders cannot read JavaScript). The focus should not be on creating the most beautiful website but rather on the most functional one that has high visitor usability.
– Great content – Sites need to provide the content that is highly relevant to the expected audience and that is also of great quality. It must contain the right keyword weight, frequency and proximity. The content needs to be chunked in a way that makes it easy for visitors to find and consumed. It needs to have correct spelling and grammar.
– An obvious call to action that is easy to execute. Anything that is frustrating to your visitor is likely to send them away (even if they are in the midst of your shopping cart).
– Web analytics – Business owners need to follow the Japanese concept of kaizen. This is looking for ways to make continuous improvement. Web analytics is essential for all web businesses. It can tell you about the way visitors enter and exit your site, how long they stay, what pages lead them on and which ones cause them to leave and so forth. Web analytics will tell you where your site needs to make improvement otherwise you will be completely clueless as to why the traffic your site gets does not convert.
– Marketing strategies – This includes developing organic search engine traffic (developing back links etc.), PPC and Social Media strategies.
– Business processing software – Systems that automate your business will cut down costs, prevent follow up failure and make your business manageable. This is important even no matter what size business you have. If you are a solo entrepreneur, it can be the difference between having free time or not.
Step 3 – Evaluation of your resources:
The first thing to realize is that there a lot of technical steps that need to be done. Startup businesses need to determine what in house skill sets exist and what needs to be outsourced. Solo entrepreneurs and small business owners typically have the “must do it yourself” attitude. This can be a formula for online businesses that are unprofessional looking, never get found online, and never get passed the formulation/beginning stage of development. It is not necessary to learn HTML, JavaScript and PHP. It is not necessary to become and SEO or analytics wizard. It is however, essential to know that you need these things. This is why so very many of online businesses fail. They are missing so many crucial elements because of not knowing or by doing things in an incomplete, haphazard and non-professional manner.
Evaluation of resources includes determining what can and should be done by whom. It includes deciding on how to allocate funds so that your business will grow. The reality is that most individuals to not have all the skill sets that are needed to do the required tasks of a successful online business. Getting the help of experts is the most cost effective route. Fortunately, getting expert help for an online business is highly affordable; especially compared to the costs of starting an offline business. Many so-it-yourselfers turn to “magic bullet” solutions. Startup businesses need to evaluate the benefits of the many do it yourself type of products that are available from internet gurus. While many of these products do have value, the cost in terms of time to learn how to effectively use them (and the energy involved) must be considered. How many products will be needed for the do-it-yourself approach? Will the product do what it says? The reality is that the cost of hiring professionals is often the same or less than attending workshops and buying products. After the workshop is over, small business owners still need to attend to execution of the details whereas hiring a professional accomplished this.
There is no doubt that startup businesses who follow this three step blueprint will distinguish themselves from the vast majority of new online businesses that fail.
About the Author
Lori Olson has a passion for helping small businesses develop strong online presences with a team of 250 professionals who analyze & implement SEO, SEM, PPC Campaign Mgmt, Social Media, Copy Writing & Web Development strategies which are customized to fit any needs, wants & budget. Update Small Business also provides leading edge employee & sales assessment & training; & CRM solutions. http://updatesmallbusiness.com or call 877.265.6568.

Business Trends

Pizza Industry Latest Facts and Figures

Post author By Pamela Swift
Post date June 23, 2009
2 Comments on Pizza Industry Latest Facts and Figures

Article contributed by Franchise Direct
Franchise Direct has analyzed the latest facts and figures from the pizza industry. What emerges is a snapshot of a food franchising sector that is well-positioned to thrive during the current economic downturn.
This research comes from assessing FDD (UFOC) documents of a sample size of 20 pizza franchise chains, as well as published industry sources.
Generally-speaking, the restaurant industry has shown initial resilience in coping with the downturn. Americans continue to rely on restaurants, primarily take-away establishments, for their daily eating. National restaurants surveys show an industry bracing for hardship, but confident that consumers will remain loyal.
Franchise Direct’s research shows that pizza franchises make up a majority of America’s restaurants. Our findings state that pizza franchises experienced consistent sales growth up until last year, when the industry slowed. There are a number of reasons why pizza franchises are projected to remain strong. Commodity prices will fall in the coming years, creating savings for the purchase of ingredients. Pizza franchises will also seamlessly fit into new consumer trends, such as the switch towards healthier and organic food options and the integration of new technology in ordering food. Our research suggests that pizza franchises present a deft balance for consumers searching for a quality at an affordable price. It is believed that pizza franchises will succeed as other more expensive dining options fail.
Pizza franchises also boast a number of advantages as far as purchasing a restaurant is concerned. New entrepreneurs can avail of a franchisor’s assistance in getting their business up and running. Our research reveals the typical franchise fee for a pizza restaurant. That figure tends to drops significantly for carry-out restaurants and double for larger, full-service pizza franchises.
The total investment sum for a pizza franchise can also vary greatly depending on location, unit size and whether the restaurant is take-out or dine-in. Our research tracks the range in investment in owning different types of pizza restaurant, factoring in fixtures, signs, inventory, training expenses, payroll and more. There are also a number of ongoing fees that the franchisee must be accountable for and our analysis details every payment that one can expect to make.
Most pizza franchises come with an exclusive territory, although some franchisors maintain a right to open new outlets within a given territory in certain circumstances.
In all, it remains hard to forecast the total earning potential of owning a pizza franchise. Every franchised industry is facing challenges at the moment, with the economy flailing and the sales expected to drop across the board in 2009. Cost control, management efficiency and slumping commodity prices will help to offset the sales decline brought on by the slump in the economy. According to research by Franchise Direct, pizza franchisees who can enhance their service and offer true quality to consumers will be the ones that will enjoy positive outcomes in 2009.