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What to Know Before You Refinance Your Business Loans

Posted: 22 Mar 2019 01:00 PM PDT

Perhaps the original terms of your business loan might have worked well for you when you took out the loan, but you're in a better financial position now. Or, maybe you had to apply for a business loan with less-favorable terms due to how quickly you needed access to capital.

No matter your reason, the idea of refinancing business loans and landing a more manageable payment plan is thrilling to most business owners.

If you're considering refinancing, it's important to make sure you understand the details before you sign on the dotted line.

What does it mean to refinance your business loans?

When you look into refinancing, your general goal is to make your debt less expensive or easier to manage. That can mean a better APR, a longer repayment period, or lower payments, whatever it is that makes the loan better for you.

With refinancing, you'll pay off your original loan in a lump sum and take on one with more favorable terms.

Why would you refinance?

Simply, to get a better business loan for you. No lender ever wants you to drown in debt – they make their money from you repaying your loan, not from defaulting – so getting more manageable terms could benefit both parties involved, especially if it means you are more likely to make your payments on time.

You also may want to refinance to consolidate your debt. If you have multiple sources dragging you down, consolidating your loan into a single source of debt through refinancing can make your debt more manageable.

Editor's note: Looking to refinance your existing loan? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

 

Important things to know before you attempt to refinance

Think you're ready to refinance? Before you go forward, make sure you know the following:

1. Not all lenders allow refinancing.

Before you go into the process of applying for a better loan, make sure that the terms of your original business loan include the ability to refinance. Not every lender permits refinancing, so, before you move forward, double-check that you're able to.

2. Your business's vital signs.

The terms of your loan are issued based on your credit score, revenue, time in business, cash flow and other essentials that indicate to a lender your company's financial health. You can think of these like vital signs. Have they improved since the last time that you borrowed money? If they haven't, you might want to wait until you can demonstrate financial improvement to apply for refinancing. Remember that every lender assesses your risk as a borrower. If you haven't proven to them you're likely a lower-risk candidate, you're less likely to find more favorable terms.

3. What you want to accomplish.

What are you hoping to find when you speak to lenders? Do you want to find a loan that will lower your monthly payments? Are you hoping to extend the term of your loan; for instance, are you looking to conver a short-term loan into an SBA loan? All of these goals are different, and they will all help your business. But the best refinancing opportunity for you should align with the goals you have for your business.

4. Your loan's current terms.

Do you know all of the ins and outs of your current loan? Do you know what interest rate you pay and the APR? Do you know how much you have left in both principal and interest to pay off? How is your loan structured? Does it amortize? You get the gist. You can't find the best refinancing terms to suit your business unless you understand the situation you're in now – and the one you want to get to.  

5. Not every offer is worth it.

Just because you get an offer to refinance your loans doesn't mean that you should take it. Refinancing is a long process, and it's worth it for the right offer. But if refinancing doesn't make a big difference for your business, like making your monthly payments more manageable, or giving you access to working capital for a longer period of time, it might not be worth the trouble. You also could be better served by waiting until your financials improve and then reopening your search for strong offers.

 

3 Trends that Will Change the Game for Trade Show Exhibitors

Posted: 22 Mar 2019 06:00 AM PDT

The trade show industry is impacted by the constant forward march of technology, new design ideas, and new approaches to how trade show exhibitors will perform at a show. Exhibitors need to be aware of the trends that will significantly impact them in the coming year. 

If you're planning to attend or exhibit at a trade show in the near future, consider the following trends and how your organization can implement them.

Interactivity Between Trade Show Exhibitors and Attendees

One of the biggest game changers for trade show exhibitors is the growth of interactivity at shows. Attendees want more than just a video playing on a loop at a trade show booth -- they want an experience. 

Interactivity takes on many forms, whether that's by engaging people in gamification experiences, multisensory experiences, or virtual or augmented reality. Trade show exhibitors using interactivity in their trade show booth are more apt to draw a crowd and keep a crowd with these techniques. Because they provided an experience, attendees are more apt to remember these trade show exhibitors over the hundreds or thousands of other exhibitors.

Editor's note: Looking for help with your business's trade show display? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

 

Adaptation to Varying Spaces

Trade show exhibitors are attending more shows in their industry now and need to be able to adapt to varying sized spaces. Not every show is worth investing in a large trade show booth, so they need to be able to scale down to something smaller.

For this reason, trade show exhibitors are increasingly recognizing the benefits of trade show booth rental. This allows them to scale up or down depending on the show. Companies that own their own trade show exhibit are stuck with the same sized trade show booth at every show and are therefore limited in their ability to exhibit at more shows. Trade show exhibitors who rent are nimbler and can therefore adapt to a variety of sized spaces and varying shows.

Themed Environments

Themed environments at a trade show are very popular for a reason. These are the trade show exhibitors that people remember. A themed environment can create connections in people's minds about the brand. For example, a barn could create the connection in people's mind that the produce is farm fresh. 

No matter the industry, there's a brand association that can be made with a themed environment.  When trade show exhibitors sit down with their trade show display designers, they can guide exhibitors into a theme that will represent the brand accurately and create favorable connections in attendees' minds.

As the trade show industry continues to evolve, there will be more disrupters that change the way companies exhibit.  The trends we're seeing now will continue to evolve as time goes on and there will be new elements to consider at your next trade show.

E-commerce and Social Media: How to Drive Positive Engagement

Posted: 22 Mar 2019 06:00 AM PDT

When talking about online business promotion and engagement, it's hard not to mention social media. It has become a vital component of any marketing campaign. Avoidance of social media is a major handicap for an entrepreneurial venture. To ensure that you get the desirable kind of engagement for your e-commerce operations, consider the following tips.

1. Offer giveaways and freebies.

Giveaways are such a common method of stimulating customer engagement that some think they're overused. However, they remain highly effective at attracting customers' attention.

These giveaways can take a variety of forms:

  • Discounts or special coupons
  • Free shipping
  • E-books
  • Freebie physical products (raffled away)
  • Free consultations
  • Bonuses with a purchase
  • Points (that can be redeemed in cash or discounts) obtained for buying something or other actions
  • Free desktop software and mobile apps

Freebies or giveaways help generate positive engagement and create buzz for a business. They also promote web traffic, hook customers and create the desired brand associations. Customers may not remember your store as the one that offers the lowest prices, but they will remember that they got something for free or a positive experience that may convince them to buy from your store.

 

Editor's note: Looking for help managing your business's social media marketing? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you with free information.

 

 

2. Hold contests.

You could say that contests are a more efficient form of giving freebies. They let current and potential customers know that you are giving something away for free and create even greater hype, while you give freebies to only a few recipients.

With giveaways, you have to give to as many customers as possible. If you hold contests, you only have to hype up the contest and award the prizes to a few winners, but the buzz still reaches those who have not received giveaways. You will have to offer prizes that are considerably more valuable than giveaway items, but the cost is usually lower than what you would spend for the latter, taking the impact into account.

Arguably, the most common and one of the most effective ways to hold engaging contests on social media is by calling on customers to post something about your product or brand (usually with a hashtag or a mention of your brand). The winner is then determined by holding a raffle or by determining the most interesting or the highest number of posts made. (With both contests and giveaways, though, make sure you follow the rules.)

3. Encourage customers to review your products or business.

Another way to get customers involved with your brand is encouraging them to write reviews. The goal is to get positive reviews, but less-than-positive ones should also be welcome. Comments or feedback from customers provide excellent opportunities for you to correct mistakes, clarify misunderstandings and build a good reputation for your brand. Reviews also generate ideas for changes or new products you can introduce to generate more sales.

4. Localize.

If you are targeting customers in a foreign market, it helps to localize your e-commerce site and marketing content. After all, how will prospective customers in a new market interact with your business if it doesn't use the language they are accustomed to? Even in countries known to speak English, for example, American companies still exert the effort to localize their marketing to better connect with potential customers.

Basic localization makes a significant difference, but for the best outcomes, you can get e-commerce localization from an experienced language service provider. Localization does not mean the simple translation of texts in your online store and marketing materials. There are expressions, idioms, cultural references, humor and technical terms that can only be appropriately translated by someone who has the proficiency of a native speaker or has been professionally localizing content for a long time.

5. Feature games, challenges and other interesting content.

Make your potential customers stay longer on your e-commerce site or official social media page by featuring games, brain teasers, trivia, galleries of interesting photos, videos or blog posts. Just make sure that they don't slow down your page's loading time. Optimize the size and position of these elements for the best impact. It's advisable to perform A/B testing for this content.

6. Offer apps.

You can also provide free mobile apps to customers. These apps can be designed to make it easy to contact your support and customer care team, send inquiries, get updates on your latest products, or place online orders. Apps can also make it easy for customers to lodge complaints or feedback.

7. Present video demos and other videos relevant to your brand.

There's a reason YouTube is one of the most popular websites worldwide. Internet users undeniably love watching videos. It just makes sense to reach out to potential customers through videos. Publish video demonstrations on YouTube, Facebook and other video-sharing sites (and embed them in your e-commerce site or blog) to provide more engaging sources of information about your product.

Videos, especially well-produced ones, appear prominently in search engine results for common search terms, such as "how to troubleshoot ..." and "how to use ..." If you create good videos about your products, you are not only attracting more traffic to your e-commerce site – you are also creating an avenue for you to respond to comments from customers or for customers to interact with each other (through the comments section in videos).

8. Produce potentially viral content.

Come up with interesting videos, collages, photo manipulations, comic strips, memes and other interesting pieces of content that have the potential to go viral. When purposefully made, viral social media posts are effective in spreading brand awareness. When they are covered by traditional media, particularly on TV, your products or brand name may also be mentioned and brought to the attention of more potential customers.

When trying to make a viral post, remember the following:

  • Your product or brand name should prominently feature in the video and audio.
  • The content should be related to or associated with your product. Otherwise, your brand will be sidestepped or totally ignored as the post zooms into popularity.
  • Get involved as the viral content spreads. It's a waste letting your social media post gain hundreds of thousands of likes and comments if you don't do anything to insert your brand name into the picture. If possible, create related content that will promote your brand further.

9. Feature content from or about your customers.

This is one of the most direct ways to engage your customers. Ask them to submit content (photos, videos, articles, memes, GIFs or audio) to be featured on your site or official social media page. The content can be something that promotes your business, a testimonial for your product or success stories about using your products.

10. Actively respond to customers' comments and inquiries.

You don't have to respond to all inquiries and comments. What's important is to address the critical issues and make it clear that you have read or heard what your customers wanted to say. In many cases, likes, upvotes, retweets and other positive non-text responses to social media posts are enough.

It would be advantageous to have a dedicated social media manager. The social media landscape can open a lot of opportunities for promotion, so someone has to keep watch so they can jump on these chances. Conversely, social media also poses risks of committing gaffes or serious blunders. The social media manager should be quick to address these problems and prevent them from escalating.

Positive engagement is not extremely difficult to attain. You don't need technical skills and extensive customer care experience for it. Take note of the pointers above to start improving the ways you reach out to and engage your current and prospective customers.

Great Harvest CEO Offers Tips on Meeting New Diet Demands

Posted: 22 Mar 2019 05:00 AM PDT

Whether it's paleo, keto or low carb, there seems to be a new diet trend capturing the fascination of diners every few months. The ability to cater to those preferences is key to a restaurant's success.

As the chairman and CEO of Great Harvest Bread Company, Mike Ferretti knows firsthand about the importance and challenges of keeping up with what diners are partial to at any given time. Since coming on board in 2011, Ferretti has guided the company through a wave of various diet fads, including the South Beach, Mediterranean, low-carb, gluten-free and keto diets.

We recently had the chance to speak with Ferretti about how to build a business that can adapt to changing times and how to best communicate those changes to your customers and employees. In addition, we asked him some rapid-fire questions about technology, his career and advice he has received over the years. 

Building a flexible business model

Q: How do you know which trends and fads are worth your business acting to adapt? 

A: This is a hard question. You have to look at each one as they come up and analyze them individually. There are so many carb-focused diets now they have become mainstream. We do look at each one and develop specialty products for some. 

We have some stores that still sell a lot of low-carb bread. We also have a recipe made with gluten-free ingredients but don't call it gluten-free, since it is baked in a gluten-filled environment. The gluten-free issue is real and we respect it. That is a real disease with real issues, and we would never want to sell to a person with celiac disease. Our product is more for someone with minor gluten issues. 

Q: How do you best express to your customers that you are changing to meet current demands, and how do you ensure your changes are being implemented smoothly?

A: Communication. We do press releases, publish blogs and have in-store signage.

Q: Food choice changes aren't the only thing those in your industry must adapt to. There is a number of new technologies, such as kiosk ordering and contactless payments, that are making waves. How do you evaluate when, and if, it is worth implementing these new technologies in how you operate? Do technological changes affect your business plan? 

A: Technology is completely changing the food business. For the longest time, the industry thought it was immune to the pressures of Amazon and the internet, but now, as technology is proliferating, that just isn't the case.  

We are not yet looking at kiosks, but we are heavily embracing online ordering and smartphone technologies. 

Q: What tips do you have for other small business owners looking to create a business model that is agile enough to adapt when necessary? 

A: This may sound contradictory, but you have to remain true to your brand and what it promises your customers. But at the same time, you have to adapt. Technology is changing everything, and you have to embrace that.

Q: How do you get your employees to buy into a change in how your business operates or what it sells? 

A: Most of the time, this isn't an issue. A lot of our change is driven by local franchisee innovation, and a good bit of that comes from their employees. But there are times we have to tread lightly.

An example we are currently dealing with is the wave of third-party delivery. The economics of that are challenging for a small business, so we listen to the concerns of our franchisees and work with them to change when and how this makes sense for us.

Rapid-fire questions

Q: What piece of technology could you not live without? 

A: Personally, my iPad. I am very mobile, and that keeps me in touch at all times. Professionally, there are two items. Increasingly, we can't live without the data available from modern POS systems. And we have an internal website that we use to communicate with our franchisees.

Q: What is the best piece of career advice you have ever been given?

A: Don't be afraid to declare victory and move on. What that means is you can't solve every problem. Focus on the ones you can control, and adapt to the ones you can't.

Q: What's the best book or blog you've read recently?

A: I read to relax these days, so my book reading list probably isn't very interesting. But I do read Seth Godin's blog every day. He has such great insight into marketing, sales, branding and business trends that I find his writings invaluable. 

Q: What's the biggest risk you've taken professionally? Did it pay off?

A: Joining Great Harvest, and I wouldn't go back on that decision for anything. I love what I do and who I do it with, but I came into the company shortly before the Atkins craze hit 15 to 20 years ago. As carb-focused food trends have continued to evolve ... it hasn't been easy. But I love a good challenge.

Q: As a leader, what's the biggest challenge you face? 

A: People. We are a very culture-driven brand. Finding and retaining people that share our beliefs is never easy, but, knock on wood, right now we have an ideal team, and it is the best we have had during my time with Great Harvest. We plan to keep that rolling. 
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