Thursday, 01 September 2022
UK Finance's Payments Market Findings 2022
UK Finance, an industry body for financial and banking sectors, has released their latest report on the state of payments and consumer behaviour — Payments Market Findings 2022 — and it contains plenty of interesting reading for small business owners up and down the land. It's a hefty report but don't worry, we've gone through the entire thing and distilled the most important information for our SME professionals. Let's take a look at what you need to know...
Tuesday, 26 July 2022
Social media trends 2022
There are social media platforms for every niche and interest nowadays. From the big four of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube to newer platforms like TikTok and Twitch, businesses have more opportunities than ever before to reach consumers with their message. Take Shein, for example. The online retailer has built a massive following on Instagram by sharing images of their products in action, often using influencers to promote them. Fenty Beauty took a similar approach on Snapchat, using short video clips to show off their products in use. And Dollar Shave Club built an empire by creating hilarious videos that went viral on YouTube.
Thursday, 07 July 2022
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is a form of promotion that involves targeting influential people who can deliver your brand's message to their audience. Also known as word-of-mouth marketing, social media is the primary medium influencers will use to create buzz and place your brand and product in front of their followers. If you’ve been thinking about investing in influencer marketing for your small business, read on to discover what this strategy entails, how influencers can help your business grow, how to select the right ones to work with and what sort of budget you might need. If you’ve not done so yet, let us walk your through getting set up with an Instagram for Business account.
Monday, 06 June 2022
How banks are helping tackle card fraud
As you'll know, running a small business places plenty of demands on those running the shop, and if there's one thing we all want, it's a smooth payment process once our customers get to the till. Recently, however, you might have noticed an uptick in the amount of times your customers have been asked to enter their PIN at checkout. Well, fortunately, we're happy to tell you there's nothing to be concerned about — for yourself, staff or customers.
Friday, 27 May 2022
How to use YouTube (and its ads) to help your small business grow
In the last 15 years, YouTube has become an important platform for many small businesses and individuals, as a way to share their content. With over 1 billion users, it's a great way to reach a large audience quickly and easily, but only if you know how to get your brand in front of them in the first place. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the ways you could use YouTube to help grow your small business.
Thursday, 05 May 2022
Learnings from Stranger Things
Now, stick with us! The 4th season of Stranger Things is on the horizon and we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to talk about it (from a business perspective of course!). The premise of the show is about a group of kids living in a small fictional town (Hawkins, Indiana) who uncover a series of Government experiments, as well as a mysterious girl (Eleven) who has powers to access other alternative dimensions. Think Stand by Me mixed with E.T and the Goonies - basically a full blown 80s nostalgia fest.
Tuesday, 19 April 2022
How to educate staff on your products
If you run a retail store, one of the most important things you can do is help your staff understand your product range inside out. Picture it: a potential customer comes to pay at your till and all of a sudden your shop assistant gets into an engaging conversation about what is in their shopping basket. You then find that the customer actually buys more because of the recommendations of a knowledgeable employee.
Friday, 25 February 2022
How to get customer feedback
Customer feedback is one of the most important tools small businesses have at their disposal to stay ahead of the competition. Gathered and acted upon correctly, it can help you understand what your customers want, identify potential problems and build upon that knowledge to improve your offering going forward. However, in order to effectively use customer feedback, small businesses first need to understand what type of feedback is useful and how to go about asking for it.
Thursday, 10 February 2022
What could an SME learn from American Football?
In 2022, the Superbowl takes place between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals in the sporting showpiece that will be watched all over the world. However, we know that a fair few of you won’t have watched this sport before. So you may be confused by some of the rules of what can be a complicated game to watch. However don’t fear, because this blog will give you the American Football basics and there are a few lessons business owners could learn from it.
