Author: Pamela Swift

Categories
Legal

What You Need to Know About a Criminal Tax Investigation

As any successful entrepreneur will tell you, it’s vital to plan for the best — but be prepared for the worst. And it’s hard to imagine anything more daunting than a criminal tax investigation.

First of all, it’s important to note that all criminal tax investigations aren’t triggered by alleged taxpayer malfeasance or illicit behavior. A simple mistake or oversight, some eyebrow-raising deductions, or an accountant’s incompetence or malpractice can all initiate a routine audit, which can be elevated to the level of a criminal investigation. And that’s where the IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) enters the picture.

About the IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID)

Forget about the bumbling, bureaucratic “couldn’t hack it in the private sector and so become a public servant” IRS auditors you see on TV and in movies. The CID is comprised of Special Agents who are highly trained financial investigators. They also carry a gun, which tells you pretty much all you need to know about how serious and often dangerous their work is.

Once CID gets involved in an audit, expect the process to take years. Your family members, friends, co-workers, employees, bank officials, associates, financial planners, accountants and so on may be interviewed for the purpose of obtaining tax evasion or tax fraud evidence. If the facts add up to a conviction, the fines are massive and a custodial sentence is not outside the realm of possibility. For example:

  • S. v. Mauricio Cohen Assor (Florida, 2011) – The defendant received 120 months in jail, as did his son.
  • S. v. Monty D. Hundley (New York, 2005) – The defendant received 96 months in jail.
  • S. v. Brett G. Tollman (New York, 2004) – The defendant received 33 months in jail. His mother and other relatives were also convicted and received jail time.
  • S. v. Diana Hojsak (San Francisco, CA, 2007) – The defendant received 27 months in jail.

Signs Your Audit May be Headed for Criminal Prosecution

If during an audit any of the following “tell-tale” signs emerge, then it’s possible that your case may be heading for a criminal referral:

  • The IRS agent inexplicably and without warning or notice ceases communication.
  • The IRS agent suddenly shifts from fact-related questions, and starts asking state-of-mind questions (e.g. “Didn’t you realize…” and “What were you thinking when…”).
  • You receive a summons for closed tax periods.
  • You receive a summons for periods other than those listed in the original examination notice.

What to Do it a Criminal Investigation is Initiated or Possible

If your case becomes a criminal investigation, or if you believe that things are heading in that direction, then here are four things to do right away:

  • Terminate all direct contact with the IRS – and don’t even think of contacting the field agent who was conducting your audit. He or she can’t and won’t help you. In fact, trying to communicate with them will make things worse for you. Besides, they have no authority to do or stop anything.
  • Get your tax records together. If necessary, request third parties to send them to you ASAP.
  • Do not communicate with third parties (other than the above-noted request, which should be done in writing), as this could be construed as witness tampering.
  • Retain a tax attorney who has experience dealing with the IRS. Remember that any conversations with your accountant, bookkeeper or any other financial planner – along with any work product – isn’t protected by attorney/client privilege.

The Bottom Line

I won’t sugar coat it: a criminal tax investigation is serious business. But it doesn’t have to be devastating, or derail your entrepreneurial dreams or vision. Stay calm, get informed, know the rules, and follow the advice of your tax attorney down to the letter. You’ll make it through.

Categories
Sales & Marketing

3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Pay for Traffic

Not-So-News Flash: Paid Traffic costs money… sometimes lots of it. So, the last thing you want to do is drain your marketing budget to paying for low-quality, unengaged traffic.

To help you make the most of your marketing dollars, here are some key questions to think about before you begin your next paid traffic campaign.

1. Who’s your target audience?

This is a simple question, but fundamental. If you’re selling designer fitness wear, then you may want to define your target more narrowly than ‘Men and Women between ages 18 and 24.” Otherwise, you’ll end up paying for whole swathes of people who don’t know the difference between Lululemon and citrus fruit.

Put your thinking cap on and figure out who you expect to buy your product. Who’s your ideal customer? Break out a white board and write down everything you come up with. Take that information and boil it down into a customer avatar.

As an example, here’s a customer avatar we created for Drop Ship Lifestyle.

Basic Info

Name: Jacob

Age: 34

Relationship Status: Married

Household: 2 KidsEducation: Bachelor of Arts in Sociology

Employment: Information Technology Specialist

Household Income: $130,000/yr

Interests: Technology, Golf, and Travel

Religion: Non-practicing Catholic

Favorite Brands: Apple, Under Armour, Nike, Chipotle

Favorite Websites: Facebook, Reddit

Personal Goals: Improve his handicap (golf) and find meaning at work

Business Goals: Build a second source of income alongside his day job

Family Goals: Secure finances, spend more time with the kids, and take more vacations

What problems is Jacob currently experiencing?

Jacob’s hit a ceiling at work. Dissatisfied with his position and income, he wants to go into business for himself. With a wife and two kids, however, he can’t give up his day job. He’s investigated different side businesses, but everything seems too expensive or time intensive.

What’s the worst that could happen if I don’t help Jacob?

Since Jacob is unhappy at work, his performance may suffer. He could potentially lose his job. He’ll have to drain his savings account to support his family. Eager to take the first job that comes along, he may find himself in an even more worse job situation than before. With such a hit to his finances and ego, he may never find the confidence to start a business.

What keeps Jacob up at night?

Jacob is plagued by the thought that he could spend his entire life toiling away at a job he doesn’t love and still not be able to put his kids through school or buy his wife a new car.

What does Jacob want more than anything else?

To supplement his income so that he could bring in a few thousand dollars a month without having to leave his day job.

What would he be willing to drain his bank account for?

Jacob would gladly pay someone to show him how they were able to build their own side business without investing a ton of their own money or leaving their day job.

How does my product match up with Jacob’s situation?

Right now, Jacob doesn’t know what he needs. He wants to become an entrepreneur, but reading hundreds of articles on Entrepreneur.com has only left him confused. With DSL’s coaching program, we can introduce him to eCommerce and show him how to build a lucrative, scalable business with a minimum of time and money invested.

2. Where does my target audience spend their time?

Of course, you’re not going to look for Jacob specifically—we made him up out of thin air, remember? Still, you’re going to want to find people just like Jacob. To do that, you need to know where those types of people hang out.

Are they on social media? Can you find them on Facebook or Reddit? Twitter or Youtube? If so, then those would be great options for your paid traffic campaign.

On the other hand, maybe they’re members of that rare breed who choose not to use social media. Perhaps they’re more into browsing “serious” outlets like CNN or NPR. In that case, either you can advertise directly on those sites or use Google Adsense to retarget those users.

The basic principle is what matters here: think hard about where your target audience spends their time on the web and tailor your ad campaigns to hit them where they already are.

3. How do I get my target audience to notice and respond?

Whether you’re optimizing an ad itself or its corresponding landing page, you absolutely must speak in a way that resonates with your target audience and convinces them you’re worth engaging with.

If for example, your paid traffic is pointed at a lead magnet of some sort, you need to convince people that it’ll tangibly improve their lives. Make sure your copy clearly answers this question: why should they fork over their private contact information to download your content?

Here are a few ways we like to do that:

  • Make sure your audience knows exactly what they’re getting.
  • Capture their emotions by painting a picture of how your content will benefit them.
  • Clearly explain to your audience how they can use your content to succeed in life.
  • Provide examples of real people who’ve succeeded with this specific piece of content.

Remember to treat your audience as you would a friend. Put yourself in their place and ask, “what would I need to hear to be convinced that this product is what I need?”

Conclusion

Take the time to answer these three questions honestly and comprehensively. Think hard about who your ideal customers are. Then, find out where they hang out and how your ads can meet them there and to compel them to act.

If you can line up your answers to these three questions, you’ll never again let your paid traffic dollars go to waste.

About the Author

Caitlin is an Austin-based digital marketer with a passion for content and social media marketing. She is the newest member of the Performance Marketer team and brings years of writing and marketing experience.

Categories
Branding

The Entrepreneurs’ Guide To Rebranding Your Business

Rebranding is an extremely tricky business and an incredible gamble that businesses take in the hope of increasing their marketing prospects. However, it is possible to have a better control of the outcome by executing the rebranding process in a scientific manner. In this article, we will take you the most vital factors that an entrepreneur must consider while rebranding their business.

Map your customer profile

The first step in a rebranding process is to understand the customer you are trying to target and also make a note of how they are different from the previous customer profile. Sometimes, the customer demographics itself may not have changed and only the aspirational needs and wants of the prospects may have evolved. Knowing how your new target demographic is different from the old one will help a marketer make the brand transformation without impacting the core values of your brand.

Identify your brand goals

Each brand conveys a message to the customer about the customers’ aspirations, the ethos and values of the business. The Lance Armstrong Foundation found itself in a reputation crisis when the champion cyclist got caught in a major doping scandal. The foundation soon rebranded itself as the ‘Livestrong Foundation’ that helped the organization distance itself from its disgraced founder. After a major oil leak that threatened the reputation of BP, the company reinvented its branding to provide a more ‘green’ and environment-friendly outlook. As a rule of the thumb, your brand goals should be based on where you stand currently and what you want to communicate to your customer.

Plan your execution strategy

A rebranding process is much more than simply changing the logo and the brand tagline. Execution is key when it comes to rebranding. According to this guide on Templafy, the planning stage of rebranding should involve detailed mapping of the timelines and deadlines in addition to delegating the various tasks to people in your team. It is also a good idea to set a budget for the rebranding process and actively work towards achieving your objectives using just the allocated resources.

Keep your stakeholders in tow

Stakeholders play a major role in determining the success of a rebranding exercise. This is because they are often the face of the company to the end customers. In order to ensure a seamless rebranding exercise, keep your stakeholders, including your staff on roll, vendors, distributors and suppliers in loop about the impending rebranding exercise. Communicating the rationale behind the rebranding and the message you want to convey through the process helps your business get around any reservations that these stakeholders may have about the process.

Execute

Once all the logistics related to rebranding have been worked out, the next step is the execution itself. It is a good idea to reach out to all your media partners well in advance. An embargo policy ensures that the news about your relaunch or rebranding does not get published before you officially launch. This is also important from a marketing perspective since your media announcements can then be aligned with your advertising campaigns announcing the rebranding. It is also important to quickly transition from your old branding to the new version. This includes replacing all your old marketing materials (including billboards, brochures, etc.) with new ones.

Rebranding is not cheap by any means and should be an option only when you are absolutely sure that your business needs it. However, under the right circumstances, rebranding can do wonders for your business. Have you rebranded recently? Share your experiences in the comments.

Categories
Online Business

4 Ways to Retain Customers in eCommerce

Article Contributed by Dan Razak

There’s no need to say that business world today is all about eCommerce. More and more entrepreneurs decide to start websites that involve selling stuff online. But, with so many eCommerce websites, retaining your customers has never been more difficult. Luckily, there are some things you can do to ensure your customers stick around and buy from you. We have come up with 4 tips that are always going to do the trick. Make sure you check them all out.

Invest in SEO

Just like all the other websites, eCommerce websites simply have to invest in optimization for search engines. This helps them both attract new and retain old customers. Besides using some traditional SEO features such as keywords and back linking, you also have to go for some specific techniques for eCommerce businesses. First of all, this means creating categories and subcategories that make your website easier to use. Moreover, you’ll need to come up with interesting product pages. Just bear in mind that search engines don’t tolerate duplicated content which meant that you’ll always have to make sure that you have content that’s absolutely original. Last but not least, including as many internal links as you can is always a good idea.

Deal with abandoned carts

With so many people buying stuff online, it happens quite often that an online shopping cart gets abandoned. In fact, in 2015, more than 69% of online shoppers decided to abandon their carts. It’s up to you as a business owner to do whatever you can to ensure that each of your customers return and buy the items they’ve left in their shopping carts. Sending a pleasant email to remind them about the stuff they had their eyes on should do the trick. Just remember that emails like these should never be too aggressive. A simple email that includes the price and some additional info about the stuff they wanted to buy is more than enough.

Give cross sales a go

When running an eCommerce store, you have to bear in mind that there are plenty of customers who will wait until the product they’re after goes on sale. But instead of putting all your products on sale, you can choose to hold cross-sales. For example, if your customer is buying pants, you should also offer them items that go with them, such as a belt, shirt or a jacket. Not only this, but in case they buy one of these you can give them a discount code they can use for their next purchase. If they choose to give their discount to a friend, you can give them a bonus that they will get as soon as their friend uses the discount code. This is guaranteed to keep a large number of your customers coming back to your eCommerce website and have them recommend your online store to others.

Go for a personalized approach

Also, your approach is very important if you want to retain your customers. You should always try to learn as much as possible about your loyal customers and try to come up with customized offers that will fit all of their needs. This will make your customers happy and more likely to turn to your online store once again. You can also send emails to your loyal customers as soon as a sale starts or there are new items available for sale. Also, when sending emails, it’s always a good idea to treat your customers as individuals. There are experts in lifecycle marketing who can help you out with this and make your marketing emails as effective as possible.

Give these 4 tips a go and you’ll see more customers return to your eCommerce business the next time they’re in need for the products or services you’re offering. This will, of course, only boost your sales and help your online store grow.

About the Author

Dan Radak is a marketing professional with eleven years of experience. He is a coauthor on several websites and regular contributor to BizzMark Blog. Currently, he is working with a number of companies in the field of digital marketing, closely collaborating with a couple of e-commerce companies.

Categories
Sales & Marketing

How To Market A Product In Different Geographies

Figuring out a market go-to strategy can be a challenging task. Add to this the complexity of culture and economics from across the world and it is clear why few businesses successfully make the transition from being a domestic player to an international corporation. Take McDonald’s for example. The extremely successful quick service chain is positioned as a cheap fast food option for customers in countries like the US. At the same time, the company markets itself as an urban fast food joint for customers in developing economies.

As an entrepreneur, it is important to understand how your product fits each of the demographics that you target. This is true not only while working on the positioning of your product in a specific geography, but also in deciding whether or not you must enter a specific market or not. Here are a few factors you will need to take care of while marketing your product in different countries across the world.

Understand your market 

Your go-to strategy and positioning depend a great deal on the level of saturation and competitor profile in the market. Take dishwashers, for example. The product is quite ubiquitous in countries like the United States where the market is saturated and is dominated by the likes of Bosch, Samsung, GE, Frigidaire and Whirlpool. At the same time, dishwashers are not really a thing in a number of emerging markets including the likes of China and India. A brand entering countries such as these would not only be required to position themselves as the best in business, but also educate the customer on the need for such a product.

Chart your competitor profile 

How your customers view your product vary across markets and a major contributor to this is the prevailing competitor profile. ECommerce is a terrific example of this. In many countries in the developed world, eCommerce is a mainstream reality and your market positioning should be based on creating a streamlined process and differentiating yourself from existing players in the market. On the other hand, eCommerce in smaller and poorer countries could still be in its infancy. As a result, a lot of your marketing should be about establishing credibility and trust in the market. Customers who are not exposed to eCommerce may not really prefer purchasing a product without the ‘touch and feel’ that they are used to with conventional retail.

Acknowledge cultural and linguistic differences 

Marketers routinely make the mistake of crafting a universal positioning statement that is then translated into the various native languages that the product is marketed in. This is not only ineffective, but also extremely risky. KFC, for instance, launched their “finger-lickin’ good” campaign in China with a Mandarin translation that literally meant “we’ll eat your fingers off”. Such campaigns can cast a negative light on your brand and can potentially be viewed as culturally insensitive, ultimately hurting your customer acquisition efforts.

Prepare a pricing strategy 

Pricing plays a major role in determining the success or failure of your product in a market. Startup businesses seldom have local manufacturing or assembly plants and instead rely on global distribution from their warehouse or supplier. This can affect your success in a number of ways. Competitors who source and manufacture locally in emerging economies will often have a price advantage over your product. This is especially true if it is exported to the market, as the international shipping costs can add as much as $10-$20 per product for even small scale shipments. Your marketing strategy should identify a price point and this should help you work out the strategies for procurement, manufacturing, assembly and distribution.

Catering to a global customer base can be quite challenging. But we are living in an extremely globalized world that has made such transactions simpler and seamless. By understanding your market and your customers, you can pave the way to building a solid go-to strategy that is the first step towards succeeding at a global scale.