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Business.com

American Companies Pay Too Much for New Talent

Posted: 11 Jun 2019 11:01 AM PDT

  • Nearly 25% of U.S. workers said they were looking for another job, marking a 7.6% increase from last quarter.
  • Only 43% of U.S. workers reported a "high intent" to stay at their current job.
  • Business confidence is up 2.6% from Gartner's report in Q4 2018.

Many factors lead employees to look for new employment, but an increase in compensation remains one of the top reasons why people seek out greener pastures. Because of this, employers offer pay increases to attract new talent. According to new data from Gartner, American employers may be overpaying new hires.

Earlier today, Gartner released its 1Q19 Global Talent Monitor, which estimates that while U.S. workers would be willing to change employers for a 10% pay increase, most employers offer an average increase of 15% to attract new talent.

Brian Kropp, group vice president in the Gartner HR practice, said that 5% difference can lead to more than just higher wages for newcomers. "Not only are U.S. employers often paying too much to new workers, but once tenured employees discover discrepancies between their salaries and those of new colleagues, they may be more inclined to look for another position elsewhere," said Kropp.

Drawn from Gartner's larger Global Labor Market Survey, which polls more than 40,000 employees in 40 countries on a quarterly basis, the Global Talent Monitor "reflects market conditions" of the previous quarter, officials said.

American workers regularly seek new opportunities

With better pay becoming a regular offering to new employees, it shouldn't be a surprise that Gartner's data also shows an increase in the number of American workers looking to switch jobs.

According to researchers, nearly 25% of American workers are actively looking for another job, marking a 7.6% uptick from last quarter. Despite the increase, officials said the American figure is still lower than the global average of 27%.

Officials said the report also found that just 43% of American employees reported a "high intent" to stay at their current job. While this number is a slight decrease from last quarter, researchers said it was "significantly higher than the global average of 33%."

Business confident is trending upward

Even though workers are looking for better job opportunities, Gartner's data shows that overall business confidence among U.S. employees has slightly increased since last quarter. According to the data, business confidence is up 2.6% in the U.S., while global figures have dropped by 1% in the same period.

While tariff threats from Washington against China have yet to impact business confidence, officials said changes on this front should be monitored carefully.

"Employee perceptions of the economy are primarily driven by how their company is financially performing, and what they gather from news cycles ... Companies need to proactively communicate with their employees about the current business plan and what will keep the organization successful," said Kropp. "By leading these conversations, employers can help diffuse any potential workplace issues that might lead valuable talent to go elsewhere."

Tactics to attract and retain new talent

As the current job market continues to favor workers, with a low unemployment rate and more job openings than people seeking work, employers must find ways to bring new talent into the fold. To that end, Gartner says employers should engage their employees by recognizing hard work and accomplishments.

Gartner also suggests that employers develop a strong Employee Value Proposition (EVP) that focuses on things that the labor market values, such as benefits, career development opportunities and work-life balance.

"When companies invest and deliver a strong EVP, engagement levels in their workforce will likely see a boost – not only in the ability to retain talent, but also in attracting sought-after talent," Kropp said. "In this hypercompetitive U.S. labor market, organizations with attractive EVPs can reduce the compensation premium needed to attract qualified candidates, as well as potentially decrease annual employee turnover by just under 70%, all of which helps the company's bottom line and brand reputation."

How to Use Partnerships to Improve Your Brand's Image

Posted: 11 Jun 2019 09:00 AM PDT

The partnership between Red Lobster and Ocean Conservancy stands to provide some pretty powerful benefits to both organizations: Red Lobster's image gets a much-needed face-lift, and Ocean Conservancy gets a megaphone to promote its message.

For Red Lobster, a partnership like this is a step toward redefining the brand. Instead of being an unhealthy, mid-market restaurant chain concerned only with profits, Red Lobster can tell a different story of a seafood restaurant that cares about the world and takes measures to protect it. At the same time, the Ocean Conservancy gains access to the platform — and reach — Red Lobster provides. The fact that a business as entrenched in its ways as Red Lobster can modernize provides a strong testimony to the work Ocean Conservancy does.

Small businesses can look to this partnership for inspiration. A marketing partnership — whether it's with another small business or with a big legacy brand — can unlock audiences or associations that were previously out of reach.

Reaching new audiences

Young and old brands each have something to offer the other in the rapidly changing digital age; that's why marketing partnerships between the two are so effective. To begin with, brands that are used to old-guard marketing channels like television and print now struggle to make a digital impact. That digital impact gets more important every day: Digital advertising saw a 16.8% increase in 2018, while television advertising increased by only 7.1%. And social media spending surpasses both, rising by 42% in a single year. For brands less comfortable with digital tactics, a partnership with a digitally innovative business will allow them to reach different audiences and build new, authentic relationships and channels.

Conversely, many newer companies have engaged digital audiences but have largely neglected developing expertise in any other channels. Television and print advertising are still important, especially for location-based marketing, but they almost always require the sort of scale — large minimum buys for television advertising, expensive billboards — that relatively young brands lack. Established businesses of any size are likely to have pre-existing media advertising relationships, a tidy work-around for a younger brand. When small businesses with different strengths join forces, both brands reach untapped audiences.

Reputation upgrades

Partnership marketing also offers brands a way to burnish their reputations by association. Young brands are often seeking to establish credibility in a noisy market. While old brands may seem staid and boring, they are known quantities. Consumers face a barrage of noise from what feels like a new startup knocking on their doors every day, vying for their attention, and it's hard to separate the truly innovative from the also-rans.

Established brands, on the other hand, often struggle to create truly newsworthy moments that capture positive public attention. Consumers can feel the desperation radiating from a publicity campaign for a product launch hawking something that is only a little bit different from what came before. While innovation from within is admirable, many so-called innovative breakthroughs are little more than a contrived bid for attention.

A marketing partnership is an easy and cost-effective way for small businesses to merge assets and take on the other partner's traits. While a new brand might have some edgy cachet, consumers are often hesitant to trust them. If a brand with a household name endorses an emerging one with its partnership, that can create immediate trust with prospective customers. For the consumer, it's like having a recommendation from a friend. If you trust your friend's taste, you are much more apt to try a new product than you would be after seeing even the most flashy advertising.

When larger businesses partner to amplify a smaller brand's reach, the bigger partner gets to upgrade its image. This is true of Target's partnership with Quip, in which Target is sourcing actual subscriptions for Quip and receiving an affiliate fee in return. Since partnering with the retailer — Target sells the toothbrushes in-store and consumers must buy refills online directly from Quip — the brand has already sold more than 1 million toothbrushes. In this way, Quip can use its relationship with Target as a marketing channel to reach tons more people than it would have targeted and been able to reach through its Facebook and Instagram ads.

Though it is a major, established brand, Target benefits from its partnership with a young, relative unknown because it allows the big-box behemoth to offer a new type of product for younger customers. In fact, Target offers products from 12 different startups as a way to nurture customer loyalty and maintain their youthful, trendy brand image.

A fine romance

Though it's wise to look first for partnerships with other small businesses, don't assume that larger brands won't want to partner with you. Small brands with some early press are particularly attractive. Large brands are eager to find innovative brands to inject a breath of fresh air into them, just as small brands are ready to benefit from the large brand's endorsement through partnership. Keep these best practices in mind for a successful marketing partnership.

1. Know thyself

Before you start scouting out partners, you need to understand what sort of brand you are and where your relative strengths and weaknesses lie. Starting out with a SWOT analysis will show you what you have to offer and what you need in a partner. It's a little like marriage (without the romance): You want partners who are strong where you are weak and weak where you are strong so that you can shore up one another's weak points. It's not just about getting more eyeballs on your brand, after all; it's about filling in the gaps in each other's businesses in ways you couldn't achieve alone.

2. Define your goals

Once you have a sense of the gaps you want to fill with a partnership, clearly define your own specific goals. If your business is well-established, but feeling stale, and you want to reinvigorate your image, seek out brands generating a lot of buzz. Or if you're that new, buzzy brand, partner with a neighborhood fixture that can lend its air of credibility to your business.

3. Map the terrain

Having assessed your own assets and weaknesses and defined your goals will allow you to understand your ideal universe of partners. Now you can force rank them by two criteria: how much they can drive your primary goal, and how much you can shore up their perceived weaknesses and deliver value to them. Your perfect partners are those that can drive you toward your goals while you deliver high value to them.

4. Throw out the first pitch

Once you've done your self-assessment and your analysis of the field, you're ready to reach out to potential partners. This is a pitch like any other, and your preparation will serve you well. Because you now have such a clear idea of why this partnership makes sense for the other brand, you can craft the messaging to ensure you touch on the right points.

5. Play the field

Don't put all your eggs in one basket by limiting yourself to a single relationship. Forming partnerships often drains a lot of time before an agreement comes to fruition. Though your highly informed and strategic messaging should garner a response more quickly, it's still the case that you'll need to be patient as you wait to hear from a bigger or more established brand. If you have multiple potential partnerships in process, you won't have to start from scratch if one falls apart at the last minute.

Though partnerships require time and effort to get off the ground, partnership marketing is cost-effective for small businesses and gives you outlets you wouldn't have on your own. Good partnerships are both authentic and engaging, proving effective ways to build awareness and start a conversation with the next generation of potential consumers.

4 Industries That Can Benefit from Presentation Management

Posted: 11 Jun 2019 07:00 AM PDT

Businesses rely on presentations to promote and sell their wares, but these crucial assets – used to drive business – tend to be a hodge-podge of PowerPoint slides, images and videos scattered across network folders, emails and various hard drives. 

Whether it was an entry-level marketer or the head of sales, all these assets were painstakingly created for an important meeting and include a well-spring of information that can be re-used, if only someone can find them. When presentation assets are scattered across the business network, it leads to employees scrambling to piece together a one-off presentation. Without the proper strategies in place, it becomes too easy to just grab an existing slide with target demographic numbers, even though it has the old company logo on it. Even worse is when they combine that slide with a graphic that includes outdated figures. The business looks sloppy, and it can even result in fines and lawsuits.

What is presentation management?

To rectify the process, businesses across every vertical are turning to presentation management, which puts a strategy behind your company's presentation content. Presentation management starts by housing all presentation assets in one location and ultimately automates and streamlines the creation, distribution, sharing, tracking and updating of presentations content. As a result, your team spends less time making decks, and more time presenting them. 

Who benefits from presentation management tools?

While presentation management strategies can be applied to any business, the industries that stand to benefit the most include:

Travel

Nothing sells a resort, hotel or cruise better than beautiful images and videos of exotic locations. Having a repository where all videos, images and other files are automatically formatted as slides and ready to present makes it easier for the sales rep to showcase the beautiful beach at sunset, the decadent dinners and first-class amenities. Store these images and videos in your slide library, along with pricing and vacation packages information. Reps will have a quick, easy way to combine (i.e. drag & drop) them for their own meetings. 

Pharma

Pharmaceutical companies can benefit from presentation management on three levels. First, the amount of content – some presentations are well over 150 slides of complicated graphs, charts and animations, telling a very detailed, scientific story. The visual slide library with search will help sales reps and medical science liaisons (MSLs) find the specific slides they need. Second, user permissions ensure that the right user, whether it's a rep, an MSL or even a contracted speaker is directed to the content that they are accredited to use. Third, and above all, is message compliance. Presentation management links slides in a set sequence to ensure that users in the field speak in a legally compliant manner.

Finance

The finance industry is also highly regulated, and disclosure of risk and other legal statements must accompany financial information that is presented to investors. Like pharma, financial institutions use presentation management mechanisms to force those disclosure statements into individual presentations. Second, finance presentations include a lot of research, analysis and other content in the form of charts and graphs sourced from different databases. Banks and other financial institutions can feed that data directly into a formatted, nicely designed slide and then update it directly to the slide library, automatically. This equips bankers and advisers to present up to the minute financial data to a client, in real time.

Media

Media companies have a strong need for both video and data because they sell both programming and audiences – glitzy TV shows combined with research. Therefore they need a repository that can store gigabytes of video and rich images combined with data, ratings and delivery data by third-party sources like Nielsen and comScore. Presentation management can provide up-to-minute rating information formatted on an easy to preview slide, right alongside a sizzle reel. All the rep has to do is listen to the client, and then present the appropriate slide. 

Bottom line

Presentation management is a business solution that spans verticals, and a must-have for organizations in the industries mentioned above. To get started, an employee – or team – should collect all company assets that can be used in presentations and save them to a place that can be accessed by everyone who needs them. Review, edit and format all the content, so they are ready to present. Once you have a central repository, it's easy to see what's working and refine what's not. This provides your business with the insight needed to convert more leads that boost the business. 

How to Follow Up on Sales Leads

Posted: 11 Jun 2019 05:24 AM PDT

Many small businesses understand the importance of converting sales leads, but far too often, businesses don't engage in an effective sales process. A shocking number of businesses fail to even follow up with potential customers who show an interest in their products. According to a study by the Harvard Business Review, 23% of businesses never followed up with web-generated sales leads. Another 24% took more than 24 hours to follow up with those leads. Nearly 50% of businesses in the study either didn't follow up with web-generated sales leads or their sales reps took far too long to reach out.

A business offering quality products or services shouldn't fail because of a flawed sales process. When it comes to following up with sales leads and potential customers, there are a few best practices to follow. We spoke to experienced marketers and salespeople to learn how to follow up on sales leads, and why you should follow up on sales leads to maximize conversions.

Respond to online sales leads promptly.

According to the HBR study, firms that followed up on sales leads within an hour of getting them were seven times as likely to qualify the lead than companies that waited more than an hour. Following up within an hour also made those businesses 60 times more likely to qualify the lead than companies that waited more than 24 hours. Clearly, it pays to respond quickly.

If a customer fills out an online form, there's a benefit to following up within the first hour. Following up within the first five minutes can be even more valuable. This can be difficult as a small business juggling other responsibilities, but utilizing a live chat solution, in addition to any sales reps you employ, can be a cost-effective way to quickly respond to leads and convert potential customers into paying customers.

"If it's an inbound lead, [follow up] as quickly as humanly possible," said James Pollard, founder of The Advisor Coach. "Preferably within five minutes. If it's a prospect you've sourced yourself, follow up every few days and then if [they] don't respond, every few weeks until you clean out your pipeline."

As Pollard mentions, the timing for following up with someone who filled out an online form is different than following up with someone you've met with in person. Let's say you own a local sandwich shop and someone messages you on social media at 10 a.m. asking if you have gluten-free bread, because they want to come in for lunch today but have a gluten allergy. Responding in the next one to two hours is critical. If someone messages you at 10 a.m. saying they run a catering business and would be interested in partnering with your organization, timeliness is slightly less pivotal.

The same concept applies if you're a B2B company, like a digital marketing agency. It's important to quickly respond to those contacting who first contact you through an online form or email, but it's OK to allow a little bit of time to pass when responding to a client you may have met with in-person or over the phone. If you're following up to online sales leads and not hearing back, however, continue following up at regular intervals.

"After your initial 24-hour response, you want to have additional contact within five days," said Emily Carlson, marketing lead at Rantizo. "From there, you should have a pretty good idea of timeline. If you do not hear back, follow up in a week. After that, follow up in two weeks. From there, a month. After that, I would just add them to the cold leads list and continue to market in ways to stay in front of them. You'd be surprised how many people come back around one to two years later."

Carlson specified that this comes from the perspective of businesses with a two to six-month sales cycle. She also mentioned that follow-up times vary depending on different sales cycles. While the timing of following up differs depending on your company, it's important to have a plan in place for following up with interested customers. In addition to timing, the messaging in follow-ups should change if you aren't getting responses.

"Most people who follow up use the same medium and the same message each time," said Pollard. "You want to switch both of them up because if the prospect didn't respond to one medium or message, you can try again with something different."

Personalize your sales communication.

Take the time to cater your messaging to qualified leads whenever possible. It's important to value customers and try to offer them the best solution possible in a timely manner. For larger sales and important contacts, it's always a good idea to meet with them in-person or to reach out over the phone.

"While we live in a passive world of email communication and digital notifications, nothing beats the effectiveness of an actual conversation with a lead," said Glen Panarese, digital marketing consultant for Living Online. "Whether or not this is in-person, or via a phone call, discussions open up the potential to forge a relationship of trust, integrity and likeability, which is essential to the conversion process. In-person meetings are the most ideal way of following up, and in many cases, will act as a great gage of potential conversion."

By personalizing messaging and taking time out of your day to jump on phone calls or meet in-person, you make it clear that you care about the needs of your customers. Panarese also recommends using social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to interact with customers and speak with leads. In addition to social media, text message marketing has gained popularity in recent years and was another suggested medium by Panarese.

Regardless of your medium, try to have a conversation with potential customers. Having conversations, rather than immediately trying to sell something, is a good way to increase your conversion rate. Understand the needs of your potential customer before offering a solution. Personalized communication is a good way to get to the bottom of a customer's needs.

Simplify your messaging.

In addition to personalizing your communication and making time to meet with prospective customers, you want simple messaging. Your sales pitch should be easy to understand, and marketing language shouldn't overwhelm customers. According to research from Boomerang, emails written at a third-grade reading level were more likely to receive replies than emails written at a college reading level. Simplify your language to get more engagement on sales emails and any written marketing materials.

Simplicity should be valued when creating email subject lines as well. Boomerang found that email subject lines in all caps were commonly marked as spam, and subject lines that were three to four words in length generated more responses than other lengths.

"Following up with leads is key since many people intend to respond but lose your email in their inbox as more flood in, and they forget and simply never do, said Stacy Caprio, founder of Growth Marketing. "The key is to get creative with your subject lines so they are more likely to click and take a look at your follow up message."

Crafting simple and creative messaging is easier said than done, but it is an important part of effective online selling. Aim to create written copy that is simple but still drives your point home in a way that engages potential customers. Get creative in terms of content but keep wording simple.

Find the right times to follow up.

Don't overwhelm potential customers with follow-ups. There's a fine line between being persistent and being overly pushy. Find that happy medium, which might vary with each client, to better serve your customers.

"Be considerate with your leads and don't spam them and text them at all times of the day," said Jared Weitz, CEO and founder of United Capital Source. "If you have made contact online, communicate via email to start and include them in any informational content that you send out. A good rule of thumb is to email once a week, offer a phone call monthly and depending on the business investment, host a face-to-face meeting a few times a year."

Your business might follow a different plan than what Weitz recommends, but the concept carries weight. You should maintain regular contact with clients and sales leads. You may reach out to cold leads less frequently than warm leads, but a key to the sales process is remaining persistent. Staying in the minds of potential customers requires frequent communication.

When it comes to converting on lead generation through a better follow-up system, the goal is to create great communication. This means following up promptly, personalizing communication to each customer, simplifying your messaging and following up the proper amount. No company will ever have a perfect sales process, but following best practices will help you convert more leads.

How to Turn a Passion Project Into a National Business

Posted: 11 Jun 2019 05:00 AM PDT

  • What started out as a batch of greeting cards on Etsy is now a stationery brand available at Michael's craft stores across the U.S.
  • The characters featured in Cynthia Koo's Wonton In A Million product line, which are based on dim sum foods like shu mai and dumplings, have attracted an enthusiastic fanbase.
  • Koo's mission is to use her brand's platform to promote Asian culture and encourage other women to become entrepreneurs.

Even though she studied East Asian languages and culture with a minor in computer science at Columbia University, Cynthia Koo says she's always been a designer at heart. Growing up in New York City's Chinatown, she enjoyed making custom greeting cards for her family, carefully rearranging stickers in her sticker books and emblazoning her planners with Hello Kitty characters.

Now, Koo is a 31-year-old entrepreneur that shares her heritage through Wonton In A Million, a unique stationery business that makes dim-sum-inspired washi tape, stickers and stationery.

"I think this company is a way to introduce Chinese culture and food to people who may not know what it is yet," said Koo. "Wonton In A Million is a way for me to promote cultural understanding during a time when immigrants are kind of vilified."

Turning a passion project into a small business

Koo's journey with Wonton In A Million began in 2015 when she was waiting for dim sum takeout at the Oriental Garden where her father has worked for the last 30 years. As she waited for her order, she took in the sights and smells of the restaurant and wondered if her love of Chinese culture and cuisine would lend itself to "punny dim sum greeting cards" as a project for a 365 Days of Design challenge she was participating in.

At the time, Koo was a full-time designer at a financial technology startup. The design challenge was a "passion project" that originally only served as a way to check things off on a to-do list. "I've always had ideas for businesses and art project ideas. I started [doing the design challenge] to get some of those things done, because I was always starting things and then stopping," she said.

"I set about designing 20 cards. That was my goal for the month, and once I put them up on Etsy, I would move on to the next design project," she said. "The reception I got was incredible and surprising."

Shortly after posting her initial designs on Etsy, Koo said her friends and family began sharing them online. Soon, sales grew, and people started making product suggestions. "Before I knew it, I had been working on this project for six months and hadn't moved on to my next project."

Other businesses began reaching out about collaborating, and Koo said it wasn't long until she worked with Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.

For the first two years, Wonton In A Million was Koo's side gig while she worked at her full-time design job. Though she'd occasionally considered devoting all of her time to her fledgling online business, she had reservations. "I hadn't intended to do that because I was worried that it would stop being fun and stop being a source of joy ... if it became my main source of income," she said.

However, those concerns went out the window when her weekly sales numbers exceeded the weekly paycheck from her full-time gig. "That gave me confidence to start thinking about [making it full time], and it still took me six months to disengage from my job," she said. She ultimately left her job in April 2017.

Transitioning from an Etsy shop to an e-commerce business

Wonton In A Million began as an Etsy shop. For the uninitiated, Etsy is an online storefront that allows people to sell handmade, vintage and custom items, as well as craft supplies like the stationery items Koo sold. "The phenomenon of being able to be a sticker shop is a new option made possible by marketplaces like Etsy," she said.

Without Etsy, Koo firmly believes Wonton In A Million wouldn't have gotten off the ground. Koo says its "platform, audience and instruction on how to get yourself found [by customers]" were instrumental in starting her business. "Etsy is a great platform, especially if you're not technical, to get started and see if your ideas have traction," Koo said. "The fees are a little bit higher once you start doing a lot of volume, but starting off there is a good idea, because you at least have one built-in source of traffic to bolster your sales."

When Koo outgrew Etsy, she used her coding and design knowledge to create an online store using Shopify's e-commerce platform to better serve Wonton In A Million's customers.

While she's proud of where Wonton In A Million is today, she said there were some things she wishes she knew as a new entrepreneur. "I wish I had asked for help more often and earlier. I have always been the kind of person to want to figure things out for myself," she said. "If I had extra help earlier, I would have grown faster and struggled less."

As a creative entrepreneur, she said the business's operational needs often got less attention than the need to create new designs. Given the chance to start over, she said she would swap those priorities. "I'd get that side of the business buttoned up properly from the beginning, and I'd ask for help for that stuff earlier," she said. "I'm having to deal with that now as I'm preparing to scale up. Having that figured out allows you to grow faster and make better decisions."

Finding a community in stickers and paper

From the beginning, Koo said her designs took on a life of their own online. Her cute dim-sum-based characters resonated with consumers, and Wonton In A Million's products became an easily shareable product via social media. The company now has more than 7,500 members on its Facebook page and nearly 30,000 followers on the accompanying Instagram account.

Since its inception, Wonton In A Million has steadily cultivated a following in the stationery and planning communities that share designs and planner layouts online. Koo said she was initially unaware that the hobby had such a huge following online. "We have a very specific, nerdy hobby, and there probably aren't a lot of people in our life that understand, so to meet other people who are similarly obsessed with this hobby is amazing," she said. "I've built lifelong friendships in this community."

The online planning and stationery community also serves as a unique platform for sellers to collaborate with each other. Rather than fostering a feeling of competition, Koo said Facebook groups and Instagram posts are used to create a stronger bond between creators.

"We collaborate with each other to help with giveaways, and I think that's something that sets our businesses apart – we have potential competitors supporting each other. What's amazing in this community is that shop owners are themselves customers, so they're excited to discover and work with new shops," she said. "The overarching mindset of collaboration over competition within this community has been incredible for me."

Scaling up a small business

After years of collaborating and partnering with small local retailers, Koo signed a nationwide partnership with Michaels Arts and Crafts stores to sell an exclusive line of products. Koo said this opportunity has opened her eyes to "the world of licensing and having bigger distribution partners," though she still struggles with where she wants to see Wonton In A Million go and just how big it will get.

"I love working from home and determining my schedule, but to reach the heights of where I want to take the brand and the business, it will need to take on a bigger organizational structure," she said. "I think my impulse is to keep this small as long as I can while working with partners to help spread the characters."

Now that her products are available across the country, Koo says her business has seen an influx of new customers. "People saw my items in-store, thought they were incredibly cute and wanted more. I'm also hearing from Asians who see their own culture reflected in a mainstream store and were excited to have found me," she said.

Today, Wonton In A Million has four full-time workers, including Koo, her boyfriend and two employees. While such a small team can handle the company's current business, with all the newfound attention, the company will need new ways to meet customer demand. The only way to keep up, Koo said, may be to find larger manufacturing and distribution partners. For now, Koo said she's considering hiring more designers, licensing experts and other possible hires.

Regardless of where the business ultimately lands, Koo hopes the Wonton In A Million brand will help make people curious, empathetic and happy. "It's still to be determined where this opportunity leads, because I think it might open more doors that I haven't walked through yet," she said. "I'm excited to see where this goes."

Sharing culture and fostering entrepreneurship for women and Asians

When a group of customers reached out on Facebook asking fellow community members what dim sum was, Koo realized how much cultural outreach her brand could do. She estimates that about 60% of her customers don't know what Chinese cuisine is. As a result, Koo said she's been drawing on the cute factor of her characters to help people learn about dim sum and Chinese culture. She thinks one of the reasons Michaels was interested in Wonton In A Million was because of her brand's mission to share Chinese culture and "having the 'why' be front-and-center in all of my branding and packaging."

Koo is also passionate about fostering entrepreneurship among Asians and women. Growing up, Koo said she doesn't remember a time where her parents weren't working. Whether her father was at the restaurant or her mother was working as a seamstress, she says her parents always struggled to make sure things were fine for the family.

It wasn't until she got older, Koo said, that she realized how hard so many Asian immigrants worked to give their families a better life. Despite how hard her parents worked, Koo said she was never pressured to pursue a career just for the salary. It was a luxury that she understands not many children of immigrant parents get. "As a child of immigrants, I understand that is rare and not every immigrant child has that freedom ... I was lucky that my parents always told me to do what [made me] happy," she said.

Koo has written numerous blog posts on her Medium account aimed at helping Asians and women become entrepreneurs themselves. "It occurred to me that I know so many kind and generous women. If they were able to fulfill their potential and take the leadership positions that they deserve, the world would be much kinder and better off," she said. "I think I'm uniquely positioned to work on that cause on behalf of Asian women."

She's also conducted a "How to Design Your Own Design 365 Project" class on Skillshare and taught workshops at planner community conferences. "I'm still figuring out a more systematic way to do it, but doing things like partnering with The Cosmos ... helps address unique challenges for Asian women, both socially and internally," she said. "As a business that has resources, I love figuring out how to tie that into specific social causes to support them."

Koo said the most important thing a new entrepreneur can do is to "find your tribe." For her, a tribe consists of an audience and other shops to collaborate with. "For every idea, for every product, there are people who are going to love what you do," she said. "The trick is to find those people and serve them."

4 Psychology-Based Tips to Improve Your Copywriting

Posted: 11 Jun 2019 05:00 AM PDT

If your copywriting isn't generating leads and sales for your business, it needs a makeover. Fortunately, if you don't consider yourself a copywriting master, you can improve your skills. One of the easiest ways to boost the effectiveness of your copywriting is to use science. That's right, you can mix the art of writing with science in order to turn your ineffective content into persuasive copy.

Check out these four psychology-based tips to improve your copywriting.

1. Use positive language.

It's not what you say, it's how you say it. A reader doesn't necessarily want to hear what they're lacking, they want to hear what they can have when they use your product or service. So in your copywriting, you need to aim to frame information positively, not negatively. For instance, a negative frame might describe something that isn't happening, while a positive frame might describe what could happen. Take a look at the examples below for a better idea.

  • Negative framing: Don't lose money.
  • Positive framing: Save money.
  • Negative framing: Don't waste time.
  • Positive framing: Increase your productivity.

A classic Kahneman and Tversky experiment found that 72% of participants chose an option when it was presented with positive framing but that number dropped to only 22% when the same choice was presented with negative framing. It's perfectly fine to use negative frames once in a while, but if you write about your product or services with positive framing, your readers are more likely to be persuaded to take the desired action.

2. Use power words.

Another way to supercharge your copywriting is to use power words. There are certain words and phrases that have a stronger effect on people than others. These power words trigger an emotional response in people, which makes your copy more meaningful. For instance, the word "new" is a power word. Neuroscientists have determined that the appeal of the word "new" is hard-wired into our brains. Here are other power words you should be adding to your copy:

  • Free
  • Imagine
  • Because
  • Instantly
  • How to

Your reader's name also works as a power word. For instance, personalization is an effective email marketing strategy.

Editor's note: Looking for the right email marketing service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

 

3. Create a sense of urgency.

Many people hate to miss out on a good opportunity, so they'll take action if the pressure is on. This is why using urgency in your copywriting is so effective. In fact, according to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, people are more likely to perform unimportant tasks over important tasks when the unimportant tasks are characterized by urgency.

You can create a sense of urgency by announcing a limited-time offer and using time-sensitive reminders such as "order in the next 24 hours to get free shipping." But of course, don't lie to consumers in order to create a false sense of urgency. How do you use urgency in your copywriting if you aren't having a sale? Try saying something like "don't waste another minute on XYZ" or "get started with XYZ today."

4. Add important information at the beginning and the end of your copy.

After spending all that time and effort writing great copy, it can be disappointing to realize that many people won't even fully read it. In many cases, readers completely ignore the middle. Even if someone does read all of your copy, they won't remember it all. This is why you need to add the most important information at both the beginning and the end of your copy.

According to studies, the serial-position effect is the tendency to remember the first and last items in a series best, and the middle items worst. Simply making sure that the most important and compelling information is moved from the middle of your copy to the beginning and the end increases the likelihood that your customers will remember it.

Supercharge your copywriting with the power of science. With these 4 psychology based tips to improve your copywriting, people won't just read your words, they'll feel them, connect with them and take action.

9 Things You Should Never Do After a Job Interview

Posted: 10 Jun 2019 03:44 PM PDT

The interview is the toughest part of the job application process – it can be nerve-wracking and intense, and is often difficult to prepare for.

Your actions after the interview, however, are just as important as the prep work you did prior to the interview and your performance during the interview.

You may have impressed your interviewer during the meeting, but you need to maintain that positive image once you leave the office.

Business News Daily spoke to hiring experts to find out what you should not do both during and after the interview, as well as how you can recover if you slipped up during the interview. [Read related story: The No. 1 Thing to Avoid Doing in a Job Interview] 

1. Follow up too much

It's all right (and even expected) to follow up after the interview, but don't overwhelm your potential employer with multiple messages and phone calls. If you reach out too often, you're going to turn off the hiring manager.

"Many of us have been programmed to send thank-you notes immediately following an interview, and sometimes that's the right plan, but … be respectful of any communication parameters the interviewer may [have] set," said Jodi Chavez, president of Randstad Professionals and Life Sciences at Randstad US. "For example, if your interviewer requests email communication, stick to that and don't reach for the phone."

Additionally, she said, your follow-ups will differ depending on how far along you are in the interviewing process.

"In general, the earlier you are in the process, the more quickly you should check in," said Chavez. "An initial phone interview with no response may require follow-up within the week. However, you may want to wait seven to 10 days after a second or third interview."

During the interview, you should ask the hiring manager when you should expect to hear back and when it's appropriate to reach out if you haven't heard from them, said Jennifer Akoma, human resources director at Android Industries. Don't take it upon yourself to reach out to people who haven't given you permission to do so.

"We had one candidate [who] … used an organization that many of our employees were involved with to get their internal emails and phone numbers," Akoma said. "Their guerilla tactics ended up leaving a huge negative impression on me and many members of our staff."

2. Get too comfortable with the interviewer

You might hit it off with the hiring manager, but you should remain professional through the entire hiring process.

"Be polite, but never become too familiar," said Chavez. "Many people assume comfort early on in an attempt to build rapport, but this could put off your interviewer."

This goes for social media as well. While it's a great tool for marketing or showing your personality, it's not good for socializing with a potential hiring manager. [Read related story: Social Media Success: A Guide for Job Seekers] 

"[One mistake is] asking to connect on LinkedIn with a hiring manager or one of the interviewers as soon as the interview is over," said Richard Orbe-Austin, career coach and partner at Dynamic Transitions Psychological Consulting. "This request may seem too presumptuous and [can] be a turnoff to the hiring manager or interviewer." 

You also should not attempt to friend an interviewer on Facebook or follow them on Instagram or Twitter. General company accounts are fine, but do not hunt down the interviewers' personal accounts. 

3. Change your salary expectations

Mike Astringer, founder and principal consultant at Human Capital Consultants Inc., noted that HR professionals interview candidates based partly on their initial compensation expectations.

"We [need to] know that they fit into our overall compensation range," he said. "All too often, a candidate will interview for a job, become overconfident [and] then dramatically increase their compensation expectations."

Astringer said he makes an offer to a candidate based on those initial salary expectations. Candidates should avoid greatly increasing their expectations at the final hour, he said.

"It makes the candidate look bad, it makes me look bad, and it wastes everyone's time," Astringer added.

4. Be too confident

Being confident to the point of arrogance can be seriously off-putting to the interviewer. Becky Beach, design manager at Mom Beach LLC, shared a story about an applicant who went too far.

"A day after the interview, he tried to connect with me over LinkedIn with the message, 'Thanks for interviewing me yesterday. Let me know when I am able to start the position.' I decided he would not get hired after that."

Be self-assured and confident in your abilities, but remember, the ball is in the interviewer's court, and you should defer to them.

5. Not follow up

This is probably the most common post-interview mistake that hiring managers see. It is vital to send some form of correspondence – whether it be snail mail, email or even a phone call – thanking your interviewer for their time and effort.

"The most common mistake I see people making after the interview is not following up," said Melissa McClung, professional career advisor and owner of LBD Careers. "Following up by email and card or letter is essential."

Zohar Pinhasi, CEO of MonsterCloud, said that an applicant who follows up after the interview does more than express gratitude – it shows him that they still want the position.

"A post-interview email reassuring me of their interest in the position shows ambition, and also tells me that the candidate enjoyed the interview and is indeed still interested in working for me. Plus, it's the courteous thing to do."

6. Send a generic follow-up letter

"The biggest mistake I see job seekers make is sending a generic thank-you letter," said Irina Pichura, CEO of Career Manifestations. "It's always a good idea to send something personalized as much as possible. Think about topics that came up in the interview, anything you'd like to add that you didn't get a chance to address during the interview, and emphasize your interest in the company."

Most hiring managers can spot a generic thank-you letter (and cover letter, for that matter) a mile away, so spend time and effort making your letter personal. Bring up something you discussed that isn't strictly related to your skills or the job description. For example, let's say you talked about a project you worked on in a previous position. Include a link or sample of that project in your follow-up as a nod to the discussion and a way to show off your skills.   

7. Overlook what you post on social media

We all saw the disaster of the would-be NASA intern who swore at a former NASA engineer on Twitter and subsequently lost her position. Avoiding posting crude, offensive or sensitive information about your interviewing process should be a rule of thumb while you're interviewing.

"Posting about the interview, especially about interviewers, can be seen as a lack of confidentially or professionalism," said Michelle Merritt, executive partner at Merrfeld Career Management.

Remain professional on social media at all times, not just while you're applying. A professional and polished online presence is important regardless of your career stage.

8. Ghost the company

If you decide that the position is not right for you, for whatever reason, be sure to reach out to the company and let them know that you want to withdraw your candidacy. Whoever interviewed you took time out of their busy schedule for you. The courteous thing to do is to acknowledge that effort with a gracious thank-you and official withdrawal.

9. Conceal info

Being upfront about all of your requirements and skills, as well as other offers you may have on the table, is key throughout the interview process.

"I had a candidate go through two rounds of phone screens and a daylong interview," said Lisa Barrow, CEO of Kada Recruiting. "She said to me she wasn't actively interviewing anywhere else. After the interview, she sent a thank-you email to the CEO that included a mention of an offer at another agency. The CEO called me to say he was taken aback and concerned about her lack of transparency in the process."

Barrow and the CEO had a further discussion with the candidate, who admitted that she wasn't truly considering the other offer and had only mentioned it to show her high level of interest in the company. She apologized, but Barrow said, "This ultimately showcased the importance of transparency and the impact it can have in the process."

What happens if you mess up?

Mistakes happen. Though it depends on how serious the mistake was, for the most part, if you handle minor gaffes with pure intentions and grace, you can recover.

"I haven't had anyone recover [from a mistake], but I also haven't had anyone try," said Akoma. "For example, if someone noticed an error on their thank-you letter and owned up to it quickly, I think I would still consider them. It shows accountability and a willingness to admit and correct a mistake."

Rishit Shah, a finance professional at the Tally School, recalled an applicant who accidentally sent his thank-you letter to the wrong person in the organization.

"He quickly apologized and sent the letter to the correct person," he said. "What I liked about him was that he owned up to his mistake and quickly rectified it."

But no matter what happens following a mistake, don't burn bridges.

"If you don't get the particular position, you always send a gracious follow-up to the hiring managers and/or the HR person expressing interest in future opportunities," added Akoma. "It will make a good impression and could get you considered for other opportunities."

Additional reporting by Sammi Caramela and Brittney Morgan. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article. 
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