Business.com |
- How to Write a Self-Service Article That Actually Works
- How Customer Support Improves B2B Customer Retention
- 5 Reasons Your Business Should Share Live Streaming Videos
- How a Project Management Tool Changed Our Team Culture
- A Marketer’s Guide to Re-Branding
- Top Small Business Grants of 2020
| How to Write a Self-Service Article That Actually Works Posted: 11 Feb 2020 05:05 PM PST  The best way to support customers is to help them help themselves. Once you've wrapped your mind around that sentence, consider this: Many of your customers want to solve their own problems, and have often tried to do so before reaching out to your support team. In fact, one study showed that 67% of customers prefer self-service instead of interacting with a customer support rep. What's the most proactive approach to providing self-guided customer support? Effective self-service articles. In theory, a self-service article is a perfect strategy for helping customers to help themselves, preventing a heavy influx of support tickets, and reducing the administrative burden on your team. That being said, writing a great self-service article isn't always so easy or straightforward. The study described above also showed that 58% of customers are unable to resolve their own problems by using self-service. And there's good reason. Providing self-service is challenging. How can you explain an issue that might seem intuitive to yourself (a seasoned expert at your product or service)? How can you clearly explain solutions to customers without getting bogged down in the details? Finally, how do you choose what kinds of topics and questions to cover, when it seems there are an innumerable variety of support requests? In this article, we'll take a look at a breakdown of how you can write a self-service article that actually works-creating a great CX that helps your customers fix their own problems before contacting your team. Use helpdesk software to build a self-service databaseThe first step to writing a self-service article that works is to create an organizational system for providing access to your articles. Chances are, you're going to need more than one or two articles to address the myriad of support requests you receive. Instead, you'll need to build a clear, carefully organized support database of articles on a wide range of topics. Using helpdesk software, you can build a self-service database from the ground up (Not only that, but using this system will give you the added benefits of organizing and tracking your support requests, developing reports, and managing multiple inboxes). Depending on your product or service, your database of self-service articles might include:
These might be great starting points for building out your self-service database. But in order to pinpoint what your customers really need from you and write content that a total newbie can understand, you'll need to start with a blank slate of experience and knowledge – which brings us to our next point… Pretend you're a newbieWriting a clear, efficient self-service article might be easier said than done. When you're very well-acquainted with your product or service, most "issues" that arise might seem intuitive or obvious to solve. But remember that your customers are not standing in your shoes. Instead, you must stand in theirs. Make your best attempt to walk through your entire customer experience as a total newbie. As you respond to calls to action, make purchases, and go through the process of setting up an account, consider any and all questions that may arise. You may even want to contact your support team anonymously and see how they respond (unless you are the support team). Consider all types of customers as you do this. Depending on your business, your customers may have different needs and purposes for using your product or service. Do you have customers that will be ordering a product in bulk? Do you have customers that will be using your application to manage their employees? Do you have customers that live internationally, or who speak multiple languages? Make sure to address all types of customers and a range of needs. Now that you're in the proverbial shoes of your customer, you're ready to write. Write clearly and efficientlyA great self-service article tells customers exactly how to fix their problem and nothing more. It should be easy to understand and easy to follow but it should also remain on-brand, written in your voice and geared towards your specific audience. Here are a few simple strategies for creating clear, effective content for your self-service articles: Cut out the fluffWhen you're writing a self-service article, get to the point quickly. You're not writing an essay. You don't need an introduction, conclusion and supporting details. You need to give your customers what they want: A clear, easy-to-follow solution. Write short sentences and paragraphs and use bulleted or numbered lists when appropriate. That being said, be thorough in explaining processes. Don't skip details or assume your customers intuitively know certain things. Use visualsNever underestimate the power of a visual. Depending on the subject you're addressing, a well-placed screenshot or GIF can make all the difference in a self-service article. If you're describing a complex process, visuals aren't just a good idea; they're critical. Seeing how something works is nearly always more informative than reading about how something works. Go through the process yourself and take screenshots. Write detailed and specific titlesTitling a self-service article may not seem like that big of a deal, but it can make or break the effectiveness of your customer's self-service experience. Imagine that your customer clicks on a link and reads the entire article only to discover that it doesn't address what they were looking for. They're going to be extra annoyed – and will most likely immediately send in a help ticket to get support from an agent. Lastly, when writing an article title, be detailed and specific. Don't write "How to Sync X Product." Write "How to Sync X Product With Your iPad or iPhone." Be strategic about how you organize articlesChoosing clear and effective categories and subcategories will be clutch to creating effective self-service. Think through how you might organize various processes and types of information to make it intuitive to navigate. When your customers visit your article database, they should be able to immediately figure out how to find what they're looking for. Canva and Campaign Monitor have especially well-organized self-service databases, if you need some inspiration! Stay on-brandAs you write your self-service articles, don't forget to consider the voice of your brand. Reading a self-service article is still a point of interaction between your customer and your business, and a relationship-building touchpoint. If your tone is warm and friendly, remain warm and friendly in providing help. If it's more formal, then stick to formal. In any case, make an effort to remain aligned with your tone and voice. Your customers will take notice. The inestimable benefits of self-serviceGreat self-service saves you considerable time and resources spent on responding to support tickets and interacting with customers. It might even help you to streamline your support team and cut down on the number of agents you need. But just as importantly, great self-service shows your customers that you are thorough, detailed, and invested in making sure they have a great experience. An effective article goes a long way – creating a more efficient, sustainable system for providing support and helping customers to be self-sufficient. |
| How Customer Support Improves B2B Customer Retention Posted: 11 Feb 2020 04:10 PM PST  For B2B customers, great support is a critical deciding factor in staying with a vendor. The Harvard Business Review found that elements of excellent support – expertise and responsiveness – were the biggest determining factors for customer loyalty in B2B transactions. So how does customer support help you retain customers? Beyond the obvious solution of fixing problems that frustrate your buyers, your customer support teams are the front line for continual customer interactions. Think about it: after your sales teams close the deal and onboard your latest customers, how do you find out if they're having great experiences with your product? Feedback like five-star reviews and metrics like contract renewal rates offer part of the answer. To get customers to that point, however, requires a proactive approach to support. This is where a lot of companies slip up. They're focused on building the next product release – the next big thing – and they wait for customers to come to them with feedback. But, if your customer is always bringing problems with your software to your teams, then these negative experiences are the direct impression they will have of your company. Your B2B customer retention rate is tied to positive customer support interactions. A reactive approach might seem easier, but it'll cost your business in the long run. If you offer a seamless and pleasant experience and consider how to get ahead of problems before they occur, you're making it easy for your customers to continue working with your product for the long haul. As you're building out your customer support teams to match customer demand, you should ensure that every customer feels like they matter. You can immediately implement a few tactics to get started with improving your customer retention rate. Make it easy for customers to connect with youWhen your customers have a problem with your product, they want to reach you to find out how to fix it. Problems can slow down their business functions, and time lost on broken software is frustrating for teams of all sizes. Your customer support team exists to relieve this burden and give time and energy back to your customers so that they can get their own business done. With this in mind, you can build out several channels to guide your customers to your support teams and solve their most troubling issues. An easy way to get out in front of this issue is to run a quick audit of your website and make sure you have a contact link on every page. When your customer is already frustrated by a problem they can't solve, adding to the frustration by not providing enough paths to reach you won't help your cause. Whether your support team has only a single email address or uses a developed omnichannel customer support system – with support presences on email, phone, chat, and more – making the path more prominent shows your customers that you want them to contact you with questions and concerns. Companies can also stay ahead of problems by setting up recurring calls with customers with team members from both customer support and customer success. You can check in on their experiences with your company on a regular basis and work through any issues before they escalate. Not only that, but you can also form a stronger relationship that isn't based entirely on solving their problems with your products. It creates a healthier line of communication with your customers and shows that you care about them having positive experiences with your offerings. That goes a long way toward retaining your current customers and having them spread the word about your business to other potential customers. Add a personal touch to customer support interactionsJust about everyone has had that kind of customer support experience, the one where you feel like you're only another number or ticket. When you're struggling to solve an important problem on a tight deadline, feeling like you're lost in the support shuffle leaves the worst kind of impression. When it comes to your business, you could make your customer support interactions feel very personal when you only had a handful of customers. But as your number of customer accounts grows, how do you continue to provide a meaningful personal touch to every interaction? A capable customer support software system can be useful in setting up your support agents with the solutions they need to personalize interactions. If you have support forms with fields to fill out, or a customer puts their name and company in their emailed ticket, you can use that information for personalization. For example, add their name to the first line of your response. Like any other email messages your team would send, every support email and ticket response leaving your team should be targeted to one person and feel like it's unique. The right software can also help your team follow up to show they're still thinking about the customer and ensuring they have the best experience possible. For example, if your support agents can view the usage of your software and see that a customer hasn't tried the solution you provided, they can follow up with another email to see if more support is needed. You can share additional resources, like an article or video discussing the problem more in-depth and provide other means to help your customer. In addition, you can also examine your industry and consider how else you can personalize a customer support experience. A small gift on a regular basis can serve as a great reminder – holiday treats are a common way to do this – but think about what else you could offer to keep your company top of mind. If your industry doesn't allow for gift-giving, even something as simple as a hand-signed thank you card can set you apart from the pack. You can create memorable support experiences because of the good elements you provided on all fronts. Create a self-service portal that has great contentAn often-overlooked way of simplifying your customer support experience is letting your customers solve problems on their own. Put yourself in your customer's shoes: Isn't it far easier to spend a few minutes with a DIY article than to go back-and-forth with a support agent via email for days on what should be a simple fix? Make it easy for your customers by building a self-service portal. As your support agents take on more tickets, be sure you're cataloging the most common issues. From that list, you can draft the most important articles for clients to use to fix issues themselves and add them to your portal. Your customers can solve common problems with no hassle while your agents don't spend time answering the same questions. Self-service content also gives you flexibility on how to explain a solution. Embedded video solutions can save your customers a lot of time by showing them the exact steps to take for solving a highly complex problem. Good customer service software can track data on common problems and provide you with the information you need to develop the right kinds of content to answer these problems. Overall, B2B companies are still run by people, and these people want and expect an excellent experience with your product. Proper software and self-service content create the basis for a strong customer support program. When your support team is enabled to provide attentive service with a personalized touch, your B2B customers will walk away with positive experiences they'll remember when it's time for them to decide whether or not to renew with your business. |
| 5 Reasons Your Business Should Share Live Streaming Videos Posted: 11 Feb 2020 03:25 PM PST  When you think content marketing in 2020, video content takes center stage. Diving deeper into video content marketing, live streaming is the name of the game. In case you have this rather common misconception about live streaming, no, live streaming is not just for gamers on Twitch and YouTube. Many brands have been successfully using live streaming as a part of their marketing strategy since 2016, and the numbers don't lie:
And so, live streaming is quite undoubtedly a major marketing strategy that's here to stay (it's not a fad!). But if you still aren't convinced, here are five powerful reasons why live streaming should be a part of your content marketing strategy in 2020 and beyond. 1. Live streaming enables real-time engagementOne of the biggest reasons why live streaming is still trending up and to the right (and will continue to do so) in the field of content marketing is because it allows real-time user engagement, enabling your audience to join the conversation as it happens. Your followers can share their reactions with you or comment in real-time, allowing you to converse with them and understand what sparks their interest and what motivates them to engage with your content. Businesses can encourage their existing and prospective customers to ask questions and use the live stream to respond immediately. This ability to provide prompt feedback enhances brand rapport and a feeling of connection between the company and its customers. It's no wonder that so many brands, big and small, are incorporating live streaming in their social media strategy to drive increasingly more meaningful engagement that serves to build their authority. Besides enabling real-time engagement, it also gives an opportunity for businesses to offer live assistance and Q&A sessions to their customers using a screen recorder, which makes live streaming quite nifty. 2. Live streaming helps build trust and transparencyPeople do business with brands they trust. Sure, putting out professionally edited, high-quality video content has its own benefits, but your audience would also appreciate authenticity over heavily edited and scripted stuff. For example, if your business streams an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session on Facebook, viewers would feel they are participating in truly genuine interaction with your brand. Likewise, if you show customers the "behind-the-scenes" of the processes you follow to design your products, their level of trust would shoot up. Indeed, backstage access is extremely enticing for 87% of audiences, who would prefer to watch online over traditional television if it meant more behind-the-scenes content. A spur-of-the-moment live stream conveying a motivational or inspirational message in line with your brand's vision would go a long way in humanizing your brand. Not to mention showing the raw and unedited side of your business will boost customer loyalty and retention, driving more word-of-mouth in the long haul. 3. Live streaming is appealing and exciting to the modern audienceThere's no denying that watching events unfold in real-time, such as watching a live football match or race, is far more exciting than watching it later after everything is concluded. Live streaming is a great way to capture engaging and unique content. For instance, if you go on a company retreat to an exciting location or attend a major event or festival (such as SXSW), you can invite your audience to follow along by regularly streaming live on social media. You can also showcase or reveal a new product in real-time, which builds up the excitement. Viewers love the sense of unpredictability, drama, and anticipation they feel when watching a live stream wherein anything can happen. This is especially true for people who don't enjoy watching scripted videos, so your business can capture that audience segment as well. In fact, 80% would prefer to watch live video from a brand than read a blog post, and 82% prefer live video from a brand over the usual social media posts. So, it all adds up. 4. Live streaming can be super cost- and time-effectiveMarketing is an ever-evolving field with new trends emerging each year, such as chatbots and influencer marketing. While these new advancements are also important in their own right, the problem is that not all of them are cost-effective. Before adopting any new form of marketing, you have to make sure that you get the best bang for your buck. Now, when you think about it, live streaming doesn't cost a pretty penny and potentially even nothing at all. All you really need to live stream is some camera confidence, a stable internet connection and a decent camera, like the one your smartphone has. You don't need any special software or gear to get started. While conventional business blogging would still require a modest monetary investment as you'll have to hire full-time or freelance writers to keep churning content on a regular basis, live streaming is something you can do yourself anytime you fancy in a matter of clicks. What's more, it takes considerably less time to produce an engaging live video. HubSpot's data suggests that it takes around two hours to write a 500-word blog post and between four to eight hours to produce a 1,500-2,000 words article. A 500-word post can be easily read in under three minutes, isn't comprehensive, is unlikely to rank high in search, and wouldn't generate much exposure. Similarly, it could easily take between two to three hours to create and edit a simple, quality vlog. So guess how long it takes to create a 10-minute long live video? That's right: 10 minutes (make it an hour if you want to do extensive planning and preparation, but that's about it!). 5. Live-streamed content can be easily repurposedContent marketing is not always about creating new content. It is only natural that you should always try to extract the most marketing juice out of every piece of content you create, which leads us to the concept of content repurposing. Content repurposing is the recycling of your existing content in different formats so as to reach and capture new audiences. Of course, this point applies to pretty much any type of content (blog posts, infographics, and so on), but live videos are a prime candidate for repurposing. They can be easily converted into other formats for maximum exposure and results. So, once your stream is complete, you can simply take that video and publish its transcript as a blog post, and/or an infographic, and/or a podcast, and obviously a refined version of it as a proper video. Over to youLike it or not, in 2020, video content is where the money's at. And live streaming is very much in the spotlight. Now you can appreciate the tangible benefits of live streaming, so if you're serious about content marketing, there is no reason why you live streaming shouldn't be a part of your 2020 marketing strategy. |
| How a Project Management Tool Changed Our Team Culture Posted: 11 Feb 2020 05:40 AM PST  SMB Compass focuses on transparency and efficiency in all aspects of our process. It's actually a term we've coined "Efficiency by way of Transparency." This methodology has led to great success with clients as we tend to find people appreciate honesty and a concerted effort to not waste time. Within our team, we had an epiphany that while we were providing what we preached to our clients, we weren't being fully transparent & efficient in our own internal Project Management protocol. After years of growth and building "on the go" we built some inefficient ways to keep track of our team's tasks and the way we communicated internally about said tasks. In a typical organization, you'll find that task & project management tools are either non-existent, or they're so robust that it easily overwhelms and tunes out team members. Our problem was the lack of a platform where, as a team, we could bypass all distractions and clutter. We need the ability to highlight our most important tasks in a more impactful manner. Our lives are overfed constant distractions and content such as emails, texts, and the last minute requests. All these attention-demanding pings are ripe opportunities to veer from the weekly/monthly tasks and projects you should be working on. How did we implement it?After identifying our opportunity for growth, we felt that the most important action we could take as a group was to find the one platform we all felt most comfortable using. The idea was that in order to have buy-in, we needed to use what organically was most practical for all our staff. Between 2 project management tools, email, our CRM and our big whiteboards, the clear winner was our most simple project management tool. We found out that the reason this tool was the most used by the majority was its lack of interconnectivity with our other organizational tools like Outlook and CRM. Most of us were using this tool as our monthly to-do list. While not the most practical and efficient use of a project management tool, we at least had considerable user interaction. We essentially had a platform with user buy-in now it was a matter putting this handy tool to good use. How we made it work for usAs the majority of us were former lenders, we have a natural curiosity about how and why things work. We dug into why the most simple of tools had the most usage internally. Turns out, it wasn't so much the fact that this tool was simple to use, but that it was separate from all the other "clutter" or better yet data we used to track our progress and work efficiency. As mentioned earlier, our diminishing attention spans are constantly being pulled in all directions by work apps and non-work apps. We decided to focus on how we could turn this project management tool into a much more impactful part of our everyday work life. The first step taken to ensure we would go beyond an exploratory and likely futile attempt was to identify how we would all be held accountable for not just inputting tasks and projects into this platform but that if there were deadlines, they were being met and communicated efficiently. There were some critical points we found worked best to make sure we took this tool to the next level. We started with only inputting our most important task that needed to be completed each day. By identifying our most important task, within its own standing platform, we were able to hone in and focus on this one task that mattered most. This task was shared with everyone else in the main "Team Board." Naturally, each one of our team members started marking off their most important task pretty early in the day. We realized that internally we started to build a larger sense of accomplishment and accountability with our time management. Our days were starting to feel less overwhelming and burdensome. This minor shift in our daily time management was the start of a culture change within our group that has led to the more focused and targeted activity being completed. The impact on our teamThere are some key impacting takeaways from our new implementation of project management. There's been added accountability that isn't being forced from the top down. Each one of us prepares their task lists knowing that what's been logged as an important task is a task that we've individually identified as an action item that requires attention. Along with the added accountability, there's been further attention to detail in the sense that any project taken on, must be a project that matters. In workplace settings, it is easy as a business owner, entrepreneur, manager, or employee to fill your day with tasks that seem like matter but ultimately aren't driving you closer to your purpose or goal. The attention to the singular goal in mind or the big picture allows for fewer distractions and less time spent on tasks that don't matter. Another key aspect of having a project management tool that's doesn't interact with the rest of your apps/tools is the segmentation and further organization of your "attack plan". Within our project management tool we can exclusively communicate (in a way that works for our team) all necessary information to keep projects and tasks progressing. No longer are we intertwining our multiple ways of communication to document progress, but instead, our focus on the progress of our projects happens exclusively within our project management platform. Like all human-related things, there's no perfection in this segmented and separate communication channel. We will still veer from time to time to our default text/email follow up communication. The impact is still clear though, as our inboxes and chat channels are now 90 to 95% clear of follow up/collaborative communication. We believe this decluttering of our inboxes also allows us to react more efficiently to our overall process. Our salespeople are less bogged down with emails and thus have the time to spend more time talking to prospects and clients. Our operations staff have a simpler path to keep our transactions and opportunities moving all in a less jumbled environment. Constant improvementAfter a couple of weeks of tweaking the process and working within our schedules, we came up with a combination of time and attention needed to plan and schedule all tasks and projects. There's a balance needed between the time spent planning and organizing and the time spent executing. For us, we believe in a daily 30 minutes of task and project review. Within this time period, our team discusses improvements and tweaks to our timelines and projects. Like any tool or app used in the workplace, there is constant tweaking needed to keep our project management tool working the way we need to. As we continue to grow, we'll have a larger team to incorporate and blend into our projects and processes. After the experience, we've gone through and the culture change internally SMB Compass recommends all our clients to spend time thinking of similar tools or at least thought processes to achieve higher efficiencies in communication and the progression of projects. In our case, it's led to a much more efficient and transparent approach to our internal communications, maybe it can do the same for your business.
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| A Marketer’s Guide to Re-Branding Posted: 11 Feb 2020 05:30 AM PST  Being in the marketing and branding space for over a decade now has given me a lot of perspective on how close a consumer is to their favorite brands. As per Martin Lindstrom writer, public speaker and Time's influential 100 honorees "Strong brands are like religion." He based this claim on a $7 million neuroscience research where through MRI tests he tried to see which parts of the brand were activated when we were exposed to our favorite brands. The results through controversial are intriguing because they seek to explain how some of us develop such an emotional connection with certain brands around us. This got me to thinking and it helped me develop my own branding mantra, something I stick by, which helps me humanize any branding activity I am looking to do or have been performing. "A brand is a promise, it is a promise to deliver or go beyond a customer's expectation(s)". So, while we are on the subject of humanization of brands, like any individual a brand also needs to reinvent and resubmit itself to society in a bid to stay relevant and up to date. That is why I thought it prudent to write this article and discuss certain key factors that help you architect a good re-branding exercise. 1. Building brands are driven by purposeA brand purpose is a pretty powerful statement, it sets you apart from others and showcases what you want to do for the world. It is also a vision you and your stakeholders (both internal and external) can rally around. When you are in the process of redefining your branding, this might be a good opportunity to reexamine your brand purpose as well and see if it requires an overhaul. The first thing to understand is that a good brand purpose can help you cascade all your assets towards it and build a very uniform brand structure. Though there are conflicts in how a well-defined brand purpose can help your company become successful, as a marketer you have to be an advocate of how a good and uniform brand narrative can help build a consistent user experience. So the question is how do you define your brand purpose? Well, like any good research project you have to define a problem statement and how your brand is going to help solve that problem statement – an example of this is Unilever's purpose which is to make sustainable living commonplace around the world. This message will help its employees understand that they need to build sustainable products that have a positive impact on the environment, and it will also help consumers understand what the product stands for – which will guide their purchase decision. 2. Plan your assetsThis is a critical part of your re-branding activity. Now that you have defined your purpose, you have to plan out the assets that will be reflective of said purpose. The entire process of redefining your brand is something where old school no longer works! Imagine filling up excel sheets and project files and Google Docs to understand what needs to be changed and where. Just to give you an understanding, there are multiple assets that would be impacted due to your re-branding exercise, namely: Logos (Fonts, Colors, etc.) Brand Imagery/artworks, Documents (including but not limited to: presentation decks, templates and emails, Physical items, such as stationery and business cards, etc.) virtual assets like social media pages, artworks/banners, ads, SEO, websites, etc. While this list 'is' exhaustive – there are multiple moving parts under each one of these principle assets as well, so you can imagine the confusion that can take place if there are multiple stakeholders involved (with respect to ideation, creation and implementation). This where technology comes in, I have led the branding/re-branding efforts across over a dozen brands/companies by now and I can tell you it doesn't get easier at any point in time (if it's being done conventionally) I was fortunate enough to discover a tool recently that help organize and evolve the way I handled my corporate re-branding drives. Through preset work templates and an easy to understand asset distribution process, I was able to conveniently manage and monitor my workload and the workload of other stakeholders involved. Again, the objective here is to build a 360 Degree re-branding activity that carries all your stakeholders well, technology is now very assistive with respect to operational tasks and this will become a norm in the years to come, so early adoption is key to your future success. 3. The education in executionWhenever someone asks me what's the best part of a re-branding process for you – I always point towards execution. A lot of people might be shocked by this revelation but for me it's simple, I enjoy learning spaces, and execution is a prime opportunity to learn and discover something new. While other points before this are also educational in nature, the most exchange of ideas and insights may happen when you're in the thick of things. An example of this is a re-branding activity I was doing for an Internet Service Provider (ISP), we planned our deliverables in advance and we literally ran each item through a project management charter but when it came down to execution, the management let us know that we were missing some key assets. Now the education here was around three things:
4. Tell the worldThere are some people who disagree with me on this, but my logic is simple if you do something good tell others - so they can do it better. A good re-branding activity needs a strong marketing plan to help build the narrative. What good will a re-branding do if you don't showcase it well? I have dealt with clients who have done amazing stuff but never showcased them, out of fear of ideas being stolen, etc. (that's where good PR or Digital Marketing agencies can help). One of my mentors spoke to me on this and his words have stuck with me, you need to celebrate your wins, they help build a narrative that might be relevant for others as well. Here is a look a good re-branding activity from Asana – not only is its assets on-point but the way they've led people through their process is brilliant. It's the whole we've done this you can do it better message – which I really appreciate. Honestly, there is a lot of learning in this world, but very few teachers. Most of us have great stories to tell, especially brands, who are constantly trying to adapt, improve and humanize their narrative. Building a good marketing plan doesn't mean massive spend, in the age of digital marketing and disruptive marketing practices (influencer marketing, affiliate marketing, SEO, etc.) you can now build cost-effective campaigns through platforms like Fiverr and Upwork. ConclusionThe journey laid out above is a best-case assessment of a re-branding drive done through my own personal experience and exposure. Although the steps may vary, but the intention is very clear, to deliver a well-structured and well-orchestrated plan that takes into account multiple moving parts and organizes and showcases them in such a fashion that efforts are rewarded. A lot of organizations spend millions of dollars without concentrating on these critical areas and they lose out to better efforts by their competition. In the game of business, you have to keep your head above the water, otherwise face drowning in the sea. |
| Top Small Business Grants of 2020 Posted: 11 Feb 2020 05:05 AM PST 
Finding enough money to launch and grow your business can be difficult. While there are lots of funding options entrepreneurs can utilize, one they don't often consider is applying for a business grant. What is a business grant?A business grant is an investment of capital from private and public sources that help small businesses develop. These opportunities are generally based on geographical location, income, business type or other qualifications aimed to support underrepresented groups, such as women, minorities and veterans. Often, grant funding is awarded through a small business contest, in which eligible small business owners apply to be potentially selected as a recipient. Many grants for small businesses are open to companies in the science, technology or medical fields. Some business grants provide training and technical assistance to low-income entrepreneurs, but they generally do not provide grant money. Federal agencies administer numerous grant funds and grant contests; however, these opportunities can be difficult to receive an award. Many state-level business grants that target social or economic concerns may be easier to obtain if certain criteria are satisfied. Local and state governments also provide business grants for investments in key initiatives they are promoting, such as investing in enterprise zones or supporting certain types of businesses. Sometimes, these grants are in the form of a tax credit.
Editor's note: Looking for a small business loan? Fill out the questionnaire below to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs. Do you have to pay back business grants?Unlike business loans, you don't have to repay small business grants. Simply apply, qualify, and there you have it – free money for your business. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans must be repaid. The SBA itself doesn't provide grants, but you can acquire grants with their assistance through their website. How to apply for a business grantMost grants have very specific rules about who can apply, what types of companies and business innovations are eligible and on what timeline. The deadlines and processes vary dramatically by grant program. Business owners need to determine which grants they want to pursue and then write the grant proposal. Here are three steps to applying for a business grant:
Types of business grants that are availableAre you wondering which government grants are available for small businesses? We're here to help you – we've gathered a list of the top small business grants of 2020. [For more information on small business funding alternatives, read Small Business Financing Options Without a Traditional Bank.] Federal grants for small businessesThe federal government typically only provides grants to nonprofits and educational institutions. However, some local governments may offer grants through departments such as economic redevelopment. SBA.gov has documents that detail the full list of eligibility requirements, terms and conditions for SBA grants. Here are the top federal grants for small businesses. Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs (SBIR, STTR)The SBIR and STTR are competitive grant programs that encourage small businesses to engage in federal research and development, particularly with technological innovation and scientific research. The grant programs help connect small businesses, universities and research centers with federal grants. To qualify, you must be a for-profit business with 500 or fewer employees. Nonprofits (those with a 501(c)(3) designation by the IRS) aren't eligible for these programs. The SBIR and STTR grant programs are structured into three phases. SBIR Phase I awards normally don't exceed $150,000, and Phase II awards typically don't exceed $1 million. Phase III is designed for small businesses to pursue commercialization objectives resulting from Phase I and Phase II. The SBIR program doesn't fund Phase III. As of November 2019, agencies can issue Phase I awards up to $256,580 and Phase II awards up to $1,710,531. National Institutes of HealthThe National Institutes of Health, a subset of the Department of Health and Human Services, offers grants for small businesses researching and developing biomedical technologies. Department of EnergyThe Office of Science, a subset of the Department of Energy (DOE), participates in the SBIR and STTR grant programs, and offers numerous funding opportunities for more than 60 technical research topics and 250 subtopics, spanning areas that support energy production, energy use, fundamental energy sciences, environmental management, and defense nuclear nonproliferation. Check out the DOE's open funding opportunity announcements and its open lab announcements. National Institute of Food and AgricultureThe National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), a branch of the Department of Agriculture, supports research, educational and extension efforts in several rural areas related to agricultural and behavioral sciences. These fields include food science, animal life, farming and ranching, business and economics, plant life, and other fields. The NIFAs grants consist of four phases:
National Institute of Standards and TechnologyThe National Institute of Standards and Technology, a nonregulatory agency of the Department of Commerce, gives small business grants to startups researching and developing technology under topics like advanced communications, artificial intelligence, bioscience, nanotechnology and neutron research. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)The EPA awards more than $4 billion in funding annually for grants and other assistance agreements. The EPA aims to help small nonprofits and even large state governments achieve their environmental goals. In November 2019, the EPA announced $2.7 million in funding to nine small businesses to further develop and commercialize innovative technologies. The contracts are funded through the SBIR program, and the EPA is awarding Phase II contracts to these nine businesses of up to $300,000 each. You can find current EPA funding opportunities by searching grants.gov. Department of TransportationThe Volpe Center, or the Department of Transportation's (DOT) systems center, serves as a federal resource that accepts solicitations for financial aid. Participating in the SBIR program, Volpe recently introduced the DOT SBIR Fiscal Year 2020 Solicitation. The program will include:
Check out the presolicitation instructions and full descriptions of DOTs proposed Fiscal Year 2020 Phase I solicitation and the Volpe Center's new and past solicitation activities before applying. State and local grants for small businessesMany state-level grants for small businesses are focused on your state's social and economic affairs. You can find state business grants by checking your state's department of commerce website. Here are some of the most popular state government grants. Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC)The AEDC offers many job-creation incentives and business grants for small businesses in Arkansas. For example, ArkPlus is a state income tax credit program that provides tax credits of 10% of the total investment in a new location or expansion project. The AEDC also offers infrastructure grants, which share the cost of project infrastructure needs by committing grants from state and federal infrastructure funds. The amount of money committed depends on several factors, including strength of the company, jobs, average wage and project investment. Illinois Recycling Expansion and Modernization (IREM) ProgramThe IREM program awards grants to Illinois small businesses to achieve recycling market expansion and waste reduction goals. Any government organization, college, for-profit or nonprofit business in Illinois is eligible for funding. Grant applications are accepted yearly, according to the state fiscal year. This business grant offers a maximum funding amount of $150,000 for demonstration service and $250,000 for implementation service. New York City Commute Enhancement (NYCCE) GrantThe NYCCE grant awards up to $10,000 towards city commuting. If you're a small business with transportation issues in New York, this grant would be of great use. Small Business Development CentersThe SBA can help small business owners and entrepreneurs find local assistance for business grants. These development centers are associated with local colleges and universities, and many can connect business owners with networking and financing opportunities. Corporate grants for small businessesCorporate grants are offered by numerous organizations throughout the U.S. These grants help spread goodwill in the community and polish a corporation's public image. While many nonprofits may overlook corporate philanthropy as a means to raise capital, many startups will likely jump at the opportunity. The Halstead GrantThe Halstead Grant is a yearly award for emerging jewelry artists. Applicants must answer 15 business questions and submit a design portfolio. The money awarded to the winners is designed to help entrepreneurs jumpstart their small businesses. The grand prize is $7,500 in cash. The deadline to apply for this grant is August 1, 2020. Comcast Innovation FundComcast hosts a small business grant contest designed specifically for business owners who are developing the best open-source software. To apply, each applicant must create a Comcast Innovation Fund account, select a grant and submit a CV. Applicants must also describe their project or research and what it will accomplish. Additionally, details of how the applicant will use the proposed grant are required. The innovation fund is now accepting applications for the 2020 grant year. National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE)NASE members can apply for Growth Grants worth up to $4,000. This grant money can be used for equipment, marketing materials, website creation or hiring part-time employees. To be eligible, Growth Grant applicants must be a member in good standing three months prior to applying. Additionally, a resume and a thorough business plan are required. FedEx Small Business Grant ContestFedEx hosts a small business grant contest that awards 12 small business owners money and insight from FedEx experts to help them grow their companies. This grant contest is open to U.S.-based for-profit small businesses that have less than 99 employees and have been selling a product or service for less than six months from the start of the contest. The amount of grant money awarded changes every year. However, for 2020, prize packages include:
This year's small business grant contest opened January 28, 2020. Entries are due March 2, 2020. Grants for women-owned businessesThe SBA helps women entrepreneurs on their journey toward owning successful businesses and remaining competitive in the marketplace. The Office of Women's Business Ownership (OWBO) provides women entrepreneurs with programs designed to help with business training, federal contracts, and access to credit and capital. The OWBO oversees Women's Business Centers, which focuses on leveling the playing field for women-owned businesses that face various business struggles. The Girlboss FoundationThe Girlboss Foundation provides business grants for women working in creative fields, such as design, fashion, music and the arts. The grants are exclusively awarded to women entrepreneurs; each grant recipient will receive $15,000 in project funding. The current application cycle is open from October 21, 2019, to February 21, 2020. The winners will be announced on April 6, 2020. The 2021 application cycle will begin on June 1, 2020. Grants and training opportunities for minority-owned businessesThe Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC), is the largest grant portal for minority-owned small businesses seeking grant money and other financial opportunities. The MBDA has awarded NAIC a $1.4 million grant to support a project that will facilitate the aggregation and deployment of nearly $1 billion in growth capital into minority-owned businesses. For counseling and more information on financing a minority-owned business, check out a local Minority Business Center. Operation Hope Small Business Development ProgramOperation Hope is a small business development initiative designed to provide minority-owned businesses with the necessary financial services to thrive in the marketplace. The 12-week Entrepreneurship Training Program is a curriculum focused on empowering new entrepreneurs the skills required to handle small business ownership. 8(a) Business Development ProgramThe 8(a) program helps minority-owned businesses and other small businesses owned by economically disadvantaged people compete for government contracts. The program can also help minorities form joint ventures with established businesses through the SBA's mentor-protégé program. To participate in the 8(a) business development program, you must be certified, and to become certified, you can use the certify.SBA.gov website and create a profile at SAM.gov. If accepted into the program, your certification will last for a maximum of nine years. However, you'll need to complete annual reviews to maintain good standing in the program. Grants and training opportunities for veteran-owned businessesThe SBA offers support for veteran-owned businesses looking for funding programs, training and federal contracting opportunities. The Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) is specifically devoted to veteran entrepreneurship, service-disabled veterans, active-duty service members, transitioning service members and their dependents or survivors. Veterans Business Fund (VBF)The VBF is a nonprofit that was created because of the high unemployment rates among veterans. Many veterans can become successful small business owners but lack access to startup capital or don't qualify for a small business loan. Currently, no applications are being accepted. (VBF will accept applications once its fundraising is complete.) Once the VBF is accepting applications again, the only applications that will be accepted will be from veterans seeking to fund a new small business but who have been unsuccessful in securing financing. Boots to BusinessBoots to Business (B2B) is an education and training program for veteran entrepreneurs offered by the SBA. Active-duty service members, veterans of all eras and spouses are eligible to participate. Participants are provided entrepreneurial skills, knowledge and the resources needed to launch a small business. A two-day "Introduction to Entrepreneurship" course is managed by SBA experts and introduces business ownership to transitioning veterans through key business steps, such as raising startup capital and writing a business plan. Check out the upcoming B2B course schedule. |
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