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- 7 Ways to Earn and Build Customer Loyalty for Your Business
- How to Avoid Chargebacks and Protect Your Small Business
- 12 Productivity Secrets of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs
- 24 Key Issues in Starting a Tech Company
| 7 Ways to Earn and Build Customer Loyalty for Your Business Posted: 28 Sep 2020 09:09 AM PDT By Brian Meert Acquiring new customers is a must in growing your business, but it's also equally important to build a rapport with your current customers. It's not enough to be the chosen brand for a one-time purchase—you need to become the go-to brand for their desired products or services. How do you become the chosen brand? Let's explore the ways you can cultivate loyalty with your customers. 1. Establish a unique brandIt’s difficult to become customers' go-to if you don't have a strong, unique brand identity. You must separate yourself from your competitors and improve brand "stickiness" with your target audience. Otherwise, people will forget about you as time passes. However, if you have a distinct brand identity, customers will likely remember you and return to you for your products or services. To create a strong brand identity, define your company values and mission, ensuring they are in line with the values of your target demographic. Incorporate your values into your visual assets, such as your logo or newsletters, creating a visual presence that will make your brand memorable. Also, create a unique brand voice that you will use to communicate with customers, whether that's through social media posts, or press releases. 2. Create valuable, high-quality productsA report by Yotpo on the state of customer loyalty, shows that 55.3% of U.S. internet users cite high-quality products as the most important factor in deciding whether to be loyal to a brand. For 51.3% of U.S. internet users, low-quality products are the primary reason to drop a brand. For this reason, it's important to sell high-quality products—that's what will get people to come back to you. Of course, you can't sell one high-quality product and expect customers to pledge their loyalty. According to the same study, for 37% of U.S. internet users, it takes more than five purchases to decide whether they want to be loyal to a brand. Meanwhile, 12% say it takes only two purchases. When you provide high-quality products, customers will have more confidence in your brand. 3. Provide excellent customer serviceCiting again the same study, 7.1% of U.S. internet users say excellent customer service contributes to brand loyalty. That's not surprising. Customers are unlikely to return to a brand if they had a difficult or unpleasant experience. However, they are likely to return to a brand if customer service was able to meet their needs or solve their problems. There are many ways to deliver excellent customer service. For example, if customers need to return a product either because it was defective or it didn't arrive in the mail, provide a full refund, offer a free exchange, or ship a brand new product for free. 4. Provide a personalized experiencePersonalization helps customers feel special. They're not just one-in-a-million money-making machines. They're people. Contrary to common belief, personalization isn't simply addressing customers by their names in every email it's also about tailoring the entire brand experience to their needs and desires. For example, if you know that a portion of your customers are eager to purchase the release of your new lipstick line, send email updates to only that portion of your audience, not to the audience that are more interested in your line of perfumes. Of course, creating a personalized experience requires collecting customer data. Make sure to abide my local regulations in the handling of their data. Other Articles From AllBusiness.com:
5. Be ethicalIt's important to run your business ethically. How can consumers expect to trust a brand that has no moral compass? Consumers admire brands that have ethical standards, that place people before profit. Promote the ways that you are helping the community. Show how you're treating your employees as human beings, not as money-making machines. Again, refer back to your company values. Does your company value sustainability? Does it value employee safety over profit? Make these known across social media, advertisements, your website, and newsletters. 6. Be diverse and inclusiveThere's one generation that's gaining buying power: Gen Z. According to Pew Research Center, this generation is the most racially and ethnically diverse. For this reason, it's important to focus on diversity and inclusivity. To foster loyalty with Gen Z, your communications should feature diversity and inclusivity. For example, feature more people of different ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, or sizes in your ads and social media posts. When your brand shows diversity and inclusivity, this generation will be more responsive and more loyal. 7. Provide convenienceIt's important to ensure customers can purchase your products or services in the easiest way possible. The faster they can get their products, the better. There are many ways to provide convenience. You can offer expedited shipping. You can offer live chat services in addition to phone or email support. If you want to appeal to a technologically adept audience, you can even offer mobile payments. If customers remember their interaction with your brand to be a pleasant one, they will be more inclined to purchase from you again. Cultivating customer loyalty takes time. Some customers are more difficult to win over than others. Be steadfast in your strategy, put your customers first, and everything will fall into place. RELATED: 14 Unique Ways to Build Brand Loyalty Through Social Media The post 7 Ways to Earn and Build Customer Loyalty for Your Business appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Guest Post. Copyright 2020 by AllBusiness.com. All rights reserved. The content and images contained in this RSS feed may only be used through an RSS reader and may not be reproduced on another website without the express written permission of the owner of AllBusiness.com.  |
| How to Avoid Chargebacks and Protect Your Small Business Posted: 28 Sep 2020 09:01 AM PDT By Susan Miller A chargeback is a consumer protection tool that allows users to get their money back for fraudulent, unauthorized, or defective merchandise. When chargebacks work as intended, they serve as an important consumer protection mechanism. But what happens if a customer is abusing the system by filing a false credit card dispute? Before answering this question, let me illustrate the impact a chargeback can have on your business. Impact of chargebacksSo what do chargebacks mean for your business? They hit your bottom line. When a customer is disputing a charge, you lose both the product sold and the revenue from that sale. In addition, small businesses can be impacted by:
Winning a chargeback does not mean you will regain your chargeback-to-transaction ratio; you will regain profits but will not reduce the risk of a terminated merchant account. What happens if your customer files a false credit card dispute?First, don't just automatically assume that all chargebacks are valid. As a merchant, you do have reasonable rights under the chargeback process that allow you a chance to dispute and win back the funds. You should certainly rebut chargebacks if you are confident the transaction was legitimate, you have compelling evidence against the chargeback, and the amount is large enough to justify the work of submitting evidence. You must be clear about the procedure and policies you’re obligated to follow after a chargeback. A complete and timely response can go a long way in strengthening your position and can help to reduce the number of chargebacks that ultimately succeed against you. Pay attention to deadlines. Time is of the essence when it comes to credit card chargeback disputes. If you miss a deadline, you will probably lose your chance to win. After you submit your rebuttal to the bank, the chargeback dispute will be out of your hands. It is now up to the bank that issues the credit card (like Visa, MasterCard, or American Express) to decide who wins or loses a dispute. But you may now wonder, is the bank’s decision the final decision? If you dispute a chargeback initially and the issuing bank sides with the cardholder, you'll likely receive a pre-arbitration or second chargeback notice. This letter will inform you that the bank has initially sided with the cardholder and asks if you'd like to pursue arbitration. You can choose to decline, which will mean that the chargeback is upheld, or you can choose to pursue arbitration, where the credit card company will determine who wins the chargeback. Arbitration with the credit card company is final. Once it makes a ruling, there are no further appeals. Going for arbitration will usually incur a fee of several hundred dollars Other Articles From AllBusiness.com:
If you lose a chargeback …I’m often asked, can a business hire a debt-collection agency after losing a chargeback? To answer this question, let’s look at the background of disputes. The federal government enacted the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), a 1974 amendment to the Truth in Lending Act, to protect consumers from unfair billing practices. The Truth in Lending Act gives consumers the legal right to dispute credit card charges if there is a billing error. That law spells out the "card issuer's" responsibilities when cardholders file disputes. But the law is silent on the merchant's role in this process. How merchants respond to credit card disputes is spelled out instead in the contract agreement between the merchant and the payment processing company. So let’s take a look. Most payment processing companies do not allow merchants to directly charge a consumer's card after a chargeback. However, that doesn't stop merchants from trying to collect payments from consumers directly. As with federal law, a review of several merchant agreements gives little answer on whether a merchant can subsequently try to collect from consumers after losing a dispute. The bottom line is since both federal law and merchant agreements are silent on whether or not a merchant can go after consumers for payment, non-payment for a chargeback can be viewed as any other liability. This means that as long as you can prove that the debt is owed, you can proceed. How to reduce chargebacksDon’t be a victim to credit card fraud. According to ClearSale, stolen credit cards are the No. 1 (30%) cause for chargebacks. When a customer's credit card is fraudulently used for a transaction, the merchant is held solely responsible. Therefore, it is up to you to ensure that the credit cards consumers use to purchase your goods or services have not been stolen.
Preventing a chargeback is far easier than battling one. You might have to deal with chargebacks even after taking all the right precautions, but there are measures you can take to reduce your loss. RELATED: Is Your E-Commerce Business at Risk? How to Prevent Credit-Card Processing Fraud The post How to Avoid Chargebacks and Protect Your Small Business appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Guest Post. Copyright 2020 by AllBusiness.com. All rights reserved. The content and images contained in this RSS feed may only be used through an RSS reader and may not be reproduced on another website without the express written permission of the owner of AllBusiness.com.  |
| 12 Productivity Secrets of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs Posted: 28 Sep 2020 08:43 AM PDT By Brad Hodgson Let's face it, there's no shortage of productivity hacks—you can find them everywhere. But the problem is, so many of them are just random pieces of advice from average people with no proof that their advice actually works. Wouldn’t it be better to follow the advice of already successful people and try to integrate their practices into your daily life? Here is some of the best real-world advice from successful entrepreneurs, which can help you make better decisions, increase your productivity, and keep you from procrastinating at work. 1. Surround yourself with people smarter than yourselfJack Ma, Founder of Alibaba "I knew nothing about technology. I knew nothing about management. But the thing is, you don't have to know a lot of things. You have to find people who are smarter than you. For many years, I've been finding people smarter than me and my job is to get these smart people to work together. And if smart people can work together, it's easier."—From a speech Jack Ma presented at the 2018 World Economic Forum. 2. Focus on what you loveJay-Z, Hip-hop mogul "It just got to a point where it was, like, 'Make this decision, because this is something you really love and you love to do. It's time to really focus on and then get serious about it, give it your all.' And once I did that, it was no looking back from there."—From an interview at the 2010 Forbes 400 Summit. 3. Cut down on your choicesMark Zuckerberg, Founder of Facebook “I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community. There's actually a bunch of psychology theory that even making small decisions, around what you wear or what you eat for breakfast or things like that, they kind of make you tired and consume your energy…. I feel like I'm not doing my job if I spend any of my energy on things that are silly or frivolous about my life.”—From a Q&A interview where Mark Zuckerberg revealed why he wears a gray t-shirt every day. 4. Plan your dayTim Ferriss, Entrepreneur and author of The 4-Hour Work Week “Just a few minutes each morning can save you hours of wasting time or scattering your effort each day. Get centered on what truly matters each morning.” “You can spend the whole of the day busy, but fail to tackle the most important items, which in many cases are the hardest things on your plate. So isolate the one or two most important things you need to accomplish today. One or two only.” 5. Wake up early and exercise dailyRichard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group “No matter where I am, I rise early—usually around 5 a.m. I like to sleep with the curtains open, so the sunlight wakes me. I find natural light to be wonderfully motivating. It's hard not to be enthusiastic about the day ahead with the sun streaming through the windows. “If I am somewhere with a tennis court, I'll generally play a hard couple of sets of tennis. If tennis isn't an option, then I'll go for a walk or a run, or jump on my bike. If I'm near the ocean, and there's enough wind, I'll go for a kitesurf. There's no better way to start the day then with the wind in your hair, salt on your skin, and a smile on your face.”—From Richard Branson’s blog. Other Articles From AllBusiness.com:
6. Surround yourself with motivational remindersBlake Mycoskie, Founder of TOMS "I surround myself with inspirational quotations. This easy-to-follow piece of advice has played a huge role in my being able to get past my own fears and insecurities throughout my entrepreneurial career." 7. Make decisions quicklyJeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon “Most decisions should probably be made with somewhere around 70% of the information you wish you had. If you wait for 90%, in most cases, you're probably being slow. Plus, either way, you need to be good at quickly recognizing and correcting bad decisions. If you're good at course correcting, being wrong may be less costly than you think, whereas being slow is going to be expensive for sure.”—From a 2016 Amazon Letter to Shareholders 8. Hold less meetingsElon Musk, Founder of Tesla “Excessive meetings are the blight of companies and almost always get worse over time. Please get [out] of all large meetings, unless you’re certain they are providing value to the whole audience, in which case keep them very short.”—From a 2018 email from Elon Musk to Tesla employees. 9. Don’t multitaskOprah Winfrey, Entrepreneur and celebrity "I have learned that your full-on attention for any activity you choose to experience comes with a level of intensity and truth. It's about living a present life, moment to moment—not worrying about what's going to happen at 3 o'clock and what's going to happen at 7 o'clock…. That whole thing about multitasking? That's a joke for me. When I try to do that, I don't do anything well."—From an interview with Fast Company. 10. Walk in solitudePaulo Coelho, Brazilian author “Walking is, for me, my way of thinking, my way of meditating. It is not that I'm thinking. But I'm in a kind of trance totally connected with the present moment.”—From an interview with The Tim Ferriss Show. 11. Treat people wellLarry Page, Founder of Google “It's important that the company be a family, that people feel that they're part of the company, and that the company is like a family to them…. You treat people with respect, they tend to return the favor to the company.”—From an interview with Fortune. 12. Live in the momentAdam Braun, Founder of Pencils of Promise “I do my best to stay completely present for those that I'm in front of. This helps me reduce multitasking that might make me ineffective in addressing what I need to focus on in that moment.”—From an interview with SaneBox Blog. RELATED: 10 Productivity Tools That Entrepreneurs Can't Live Without The post 12 Productivity Secrets of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Guest Post. Copyright 2020 by AllBusiness.com. All rights reserved. The content and images contained in this RSS feed may only be used through an RSS reader and may not be reproduced on another website without the express written permission of the owner of AllBusiness.com.  |
| 24 Key Issues in Starting a Tech Company Posted: 28 Sep 2020 08:02 AM PDT By Richard Harroch and Mike Sullivan With our combined years of experience in startup law, entrepreneurship, and venture capital, we are often asked the following questions by entrepreneurs who are seeking to start a technology company. Sometimes there isn't an easy answer to these questions, and as lawyers often like to say, "It depends on the circumstances." But here are our shorthand answers to the most frequently asked tech startup questions: 1. Should I form my tech company as a C corporation, an S corporation, an LLC, a partnership, or a sole proprietorship?Start it as a C corporation, unless you can really use the tax deductions that you will get from the losses of the business in an S corporation or LLC. General partnerships and sole proprietorships are to be avoided because of the potential personal liability to the owners of the business. C corporations are the only form of business that can qualify as "qualified small businesses," which may help you avoid some capital gains down the road. Venture capital investors typically won't invest in an LLC and usually expect to invest in a C corporation. 2. Where should I incorporate my business?The standard answer to this is Delaware because of its well-developed corporate law. Venture capitalists have a strong preference for Delaware, in part because they're familiar and comfortable with the rules of the road for Delaware corporations. You will often save on legal costs with Delaware, because most legal forms for tech companies are set up for Delaware corporations. However, sometimes the right answer is that it should be the state where the business is located, as this will save you some fees and filing complexities. 3. How much should I capitalize my business with at the beginning?As much as you can reasonably afford, and in an amount that will carry you for at least 6-9 months with no income. What you will likely find is that it always takes you longer to get revenues, and that you will incur more expenses than you anticipated. 4. How likely will it be that my tech startup can get venture capital financing?Very unlikely. Develop a viable product, gain some traction in the marketplace, hire a good management team, and then consider pursuing venture financing. Your initial financing will likely need to come from family, friends, or angel investors. Venture investors often want to see meaningful traction in product development, sales, and marketing before they consider investing. 5. Should I require prospective angel or venture capital investors to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) so they don't steal my idea?No, don't waste your time. It will be counterproductive and slow down your fundraising. Most investors will either refuse, or assume that you are unsophisticated for even asking. It's hard enough to get a meeting with an investor—don't put another roadblock in the way. For the most part, it's not the idea that is important; it's the implementation of the idea, progress in implementing the idea, and the expertise of the entrepreneurs behind it. 6. How much dilution in share ownership of my company should I give up to investors in my business?Whatever amount gets you funded. Don't try to over-optimize on ownership. Of course, you should try to minimize dilution to the extent possible, but the important thing is to get cash to grow your business and make your investors happy as well. 7. How big should a stock option pool for employees be?Typically, it should be 15-20% for early-stage companies. Standard vesting for options is four years, with a one-year "cliff vesting" and monthly vesting after that. "Cliff vesting" in this context means the employee must be employed by the company for a minimum of one year before the employee earns any of the options. 8. How can I get a venture capitalist to pay attention to my tech startup?Any of the following:
RELATED: 65 Questions Venture Capitalists Will Ask Startups and A Guide to Venture Capital Financings for Startups 9. How can I come up with a great name for my tech startup?This can be challenging. First, brainstorm a bunch of different names. Then do a Google search to see what is already taken, which will probably eliminate 95% of your choices. Make the name easy to spell. Make it interesting, but don't pick a nonsensical name that won't give people a clue as to what your company does (with all due respect to Google and Yahoo). Do a trademark/tradename search on the name, then make sure you can get the domain name. Don't pick a name that could be limiting as your business purpose expands. Lastly, make sure you and your employees will be happy saying the name. For more advice on this topic, see 12 Tips for Naming Your Startup Business. 10. What are some of the challenges to starting a tech company?
11. What are the biggest mistakes made by startup tech entrepreneurs?
12. What should tech company founders do to develop a minimally viable product?Many tech startups take too long to develop a minimally viable product (MVP), which refers to the most basic functional version of your product. The product has to be well designed and something that customers truly want. You need to conduct usability testing and get customer feedback, which will help guide you in refining and improving the product. Determine who your target market is, and tailor the product to that market. That is what is referred to as "product/market fit." Be prepared to pivot if the MVP isn't getting traction. 13. What financial metrics should tech founders focus on?Even if a CEO or founder does not have a financial or accounting background, it is imperative that he or she constantly monitor and analyze the company's key financial metrics. Failure to do so can have serious negative consequences for the business. Depending on the nature of the business, the following monthly key metrics will be important:
14. How can I protect my great tech idea?Ideas are a dime a dozen. It's the actual implementation of an idea that is more important. If it's truly unique and patentable, get a patent for it (see www.uspto.gov). If the idea cannot be patented, you may get some protection through copyright, trade secret programs, or NDAs. 15. How can I obtain the domain name I want?Every good ".com" domain name is already taken, and we usually only recommend that a business use a ".com" name for its website. Ultimately, 99% of domain names are available for purchase—you just have to be prepared to pay for the name you want. Do a "WHOIS Search" at www.networksolutions.com to find out the contact information for the owner of the domain name you are interested in, and offer to buy the name. Don't be naive and offer $500 for a premium domain name. You will be ignored. Be willing to pay a fair amount for a good name. Be prepared to pay a lot for a common word domain name like "administer.com," "recuperate.com," or "resemble.com." RELATED: Key Steps in Obtaining a Great Domain Name 16. I have an invention idea for a new tech product. How do I check that someone hasn't already invented this idea?Key steps to take:
17. Do I need a business plan?Probably not. Our preference is to start with a 15-20 page PowerPoint deck presenting the business. For more information, see How to Create a Great Investor Pitch Deck for Startups Seeking Financing and Don't Waste Time on a Startup Business Plan—Do These 5 Things Instead. 18. What marketing steps should I undertake for my tech startup?To succeed in business, you need to be continually attracting, building, and sometimes even educating your target market. Make sure your marketing strategy includes the following:
19. What do I have to worry about for my customer contracts?Business contracts are legally binding written agreements between two or more parties. They are an important part of business and need to be created and/or negotiated carefully. While smaller businesses will often conduct business based on informal handshake agreements or unspoken understandings, the more that is at stake, the more essential it is to have a signed contract. A contract serves as the rules that must be followed by both parties. It presents each party with the opportunity to:
A contract is, in essence, a written meeting of the minds. While it is typically drawn up by one party and favors the needs and requirements of that party, it should initially be thought of as a work in progress that changes and grows as each party contributes to it prior to signing, when it becomes binding on all parties. "Consideration," whether it is monetary or a promise to do work or provide a service by a specified date, is at the root of a contract. 20. What should I know in seeking angel investors for my tech startup?In reviewing a prospective investment, angel investors especially care about:
Angel investors will want to initially see the following from a startup:
There are a variety of ways to find angel investors, including:
The best way to find an angel investor is through a personal introduction from a colleague or friend of an angel. Using LinkedIn to ascertain mutual connections can be helpful. 21. What permits, licenses, or registrations do I need for my tech startup?Depending on the nature of the business, you may need the following permits, licenses, or regulations:
22. What do I need to worry about when hiring an employee?
RELATED: 15 Big Legal Mistakes Made by Startups 23. What agreement should I have with my startup co-founders?If you start your company with co-founders, you should agree early on about the details of your business relationship. Not doing so can cause significant legal problems down the road (a good example of this is the infamous Zuckerberg/Winklevoss Facebook litigation). Think of the founder agreement as a form of "pre-nuptial agreement." Here are the key deal terms your written founder agreement needs to address:
24. What key legal issues should I be concerned about for my tech startup?Ignoring key legal issues can sink a startup. CEOs and founders should ensure that the company is taking steps to comply with all applicable laws. Here are a number of the key legal points startup tech companies should focus on:
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About the Authors Richard D. Harroch is a Managing Director and Global Head of M&A at VantagePoint Capital Partners, a large venture capital fund in the San Francisco area. His focus is on Internet, digital media, and software companies, and he was the founder of several Internet companies. His articles have appeared online in Forbes, Fortune, MSN, Yahoo, FoxBusiness, and AllBusiness.com. Richard is the author of several books on startups and entrepreneurship as well as the co-author of Poker for Dummies and a Wall Street Journal-bestselling book on small business. He is the co-author of a 1,500-page book by Bloomberg, Mergers and Acquisitions of Privately Held Companies: Analysis, Forms and Agreements. He was also a corporate and M&A partner at the Orrick law firm, with experience in startups, mergers and acquisitions, and venture capital. He has been involved in over 250 M&A transactions and 250 startup financings. He can be reached through LinkedIn. Mike Sullivan is a partner and head of the Corporate Group in the San Francisco office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. He focuses on representing emerging companies, entrepreneurs and angels/venture capital funds. Mike has led hundreds of financings and M&A transactions for emerging companies in a wide variety of industries, particularly in the software, satellite/space, mobile, digital media, cleantech and food/wine/spirits sectors. Mike is a contributor to Venture Capital and Public Offering Negotiation (Aspen Law & Business). He can be reached through the www.orrick.com Website. Copyright © by Richard D. Harroch. All Rights Reserved. The post 24 Key Issues in Starting a Tech Company appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Richard Harroch. Copyright 2020 by AllBusiness.com. All rights reserved. The content and images contained in this RSS feed may only be used through an RSS reader and may not be reproduced on another website without the express written permission of the owner of AllBusiness.com.  |
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