Marketing with Quick Response Codes

 

 

 

Small businesses all over struggle with the overwhelming options they have for marketing their business.  Some options are too expensive; others are too broad and won’t reach your intended market.  Of course other marketing plans can be too narrow and not reach enough demographics to pay off.  Once you advertise, prompting the customer to visit is a little daunting.  It can take up to ten exposures before you name will stick with someone and turn them into a customer, but Quick Response Codes are breaking the trend for some small business owners who know when and how to use them.

For instance, if you are advertising at your local baseball field, and the big billboard on the wall is not bringing in business, try printing informational cards for the team, and pass them out during the game.  Include a QR code on the card about your business and watch your web traffic soar.

 

Quick Response codes have been around for about 15 years.  They were developed in Japan, but the US was slow to adopt them until recently.  QR codes appear to be random funny shapes within a square pattern.  They can be scanned by any smart phone, with a special app made just for scanning QR codes.  The code will then take the phone directly to the website you programmed into the code.  So in an instant you can have potential customers watching a promotional video, or testimonials for your website.

QR codes are effective because they are semi-exclusive.  Only smart phone users can access them, and only those who know how can access them.  The codes are also a great way to offer exclusive sales, which makes tracking the response of the QR codes incredibly easy.

Creating a QR code is simple; there are multiple websites available to generate a QR code specific to your small business.  From there, you can download and send it to the printer with your next marketing media order.  Be sure to check the code from the printer to be sure it retained the the program information.

New marketing strategies can get expensive, and as always, Strategic Nationwide Funding is there to help small businesses.  A merchant cash advance is a short term advance to help you get the funds you need to advance your business to the next level.  Visit our website for more information on how a merchant cash advance can help your business or call and speak to one of our knowledgeable representatives at 1-866-972-8885

Employee Loyalty Falling for Small Business

Employee loyalty may not be what you think it is.  Reportedly 54 percent of employers believe their employees are loyal to their small business, while only 44 percent of employees feel loyal to the small business they work for.  What has employees so unhappy these days?  In a nutshell; benefits.  Over 50 percent of small business employees are not happy with their current employment because of the benefits or lack of, they receive.  Workers who are satisfied with their benefits tend to be loyal to their company, by as much as 72 percent.  Workers are interested in financial education programs, wellness programs and health care benefits. Another reason for fewer loyal employees is lack of job security.  Employees feel they are working more and have less job security than they did just one year ago.

As a small business owner, employee retention is important due to the high costs of hiring and training new employees.  It may be time for you to take a look at how attractive your employment package is.  If you are losing more employees than you wish, and want to increase employee satisfaction, Strategic Nationwide funding can help.  We offer alternative business funding, to assist in funding your business benefits package.  Merchant cash advances can be used for any business related purpose, including employee benefits or incentive bonuses.  To learn more about a merchant cash advance, call Strategic Nationwide funding at 1-866-972-8885 or visit http://snffunding.com

Protect Your Business from Cyber-theft!

Crime is everywhere you go; in big cities, rural farming communities, and anywhere in between.  It is an unfortunate part of life, but nowhere is crime more rampant than on the internet.  Criminals are lazy and wish to work from home as well I suppose.  As a business owner, you have to work double duty, not only to protect your home, but your business as well, and if you are like most American’s you have internet access and at least one website to protect. Most merchants and small business owner spend quite a bit of money developing and launching their website, but what are you doing to protect it?   Hackers spend countless hours of the day and night looking for loopholes into websites with the intent of stealing banking information and identities.

Here are several ways you can protect your businesses hardware and software:

1. Encrypt your hard drives.  With over 800,000 laptops being lost or stolen at airports alone, protecting your hard drives is a priority.  Encrypting makes accessing the information stored on your laptop a lot more difficult, but not completely impossible, so don’t rely on it for complete protection.


2. Consider using cloud based software.  Utilizing the cloud can benefit you in many ways.  Important data can be accessed anywhere using the cloud, and it is protected by the vast resources of larger corporations like Microsoft.


3. To protect your website information, backup regularly.  Depending on traffic, you may wish to back up your system information daily, weekly or at a very minimum monthly, depending on how much information you are willing to lose and attempt to rebuild.


4. Lock your mobile devices.  Get in the habit of locking your mobile device anytime you are not using it.  So many devices are lost or stolen every day.  Most of which contain some pretty important personal and business related information.  A prime source of information for identity thieves!


5. Check your passwords, and your reset information.  We all think our passwords are incredible, but are they predictable?  What about your password reset information?  Is it a weak link in your security?  Try having employees hack your password, or figure out your reset information.  They know more about you than the average Joe, so if they can’t figure out your password or your reset information, you are probably good to go.


6. Consider investing in computer protection software.  Virus protection is a must, but firewalls, and such are important as well.  There are a large number of programs out there which specialize in protecting your website, and provide automatic back-up of your data.  Sometimes purchasing pre-packaged software programs is the fastest and easiest way for businesses to protect their cyber-systems.

No matter what it takes to protect your business, Strategic Nationwide Funding is

here to help.  With a merchant cash advance, you can purchase a new alarm system for your business, security software for your computers, and even new equipment should you have a catastrophic failure.  Our funds can actually be used for any need your business has.  If you are looking into alternative funding for your business, visit our website at http://snffunding.com or call our knowledgeable representatives at 1-866-972-8885



 

Spray Tanning's Golden Moment

Tanning is big business, and is still growing in multiple regions, such as the United Kingdom greatly due to Kate Middleton sporting a fake tan at the royal wedding.  She has inspired rocketing sales of self-tanning accessories all over the U.K, but the fad is not new to the U.S.  Especially in beach locations, such as Long Beach California, where perfectly tanned bodies are inspired by a multitude of celebrities who pay upward of $100 for a personalized spray on tan.  The steadily increasing demand for sunless tanning products is not just for the wealthy.  Shops are opening all over the US, as clients are looking for a UV free way of getting a beautiful bronze glow, and a typical sunless tan costs  $35-$55.00, making it affordable for most, and a huge potential profit for merchants offering sunless tanning products.

 

The golden moment of spray tanning is not without tarnish though.  Recent publications have claimed a multitude of negative effects from the products.  Some articles claim spray on tans contains small amounts of arsenic, and prevent you from absorbing vitamin D.  Although these claims are supposedly made by the competitor and inventor of the sunless tanning bed.  Such claims have caused spray on tanners to search for more organic and natural recipes to alleviate customer concern.  The benefits to merchants is the availability of a multitude of products to offer their customers desires.

 

Despite the claims, spray tanning is here to stay, and its steady growth is not expected to slow anytime soon.  Merchants offering sunless tans should take advantage of this boom, and consider expansion to boost profits.  If you are interested in growing your business, whether it be increasing your product line, offering organic tanners to your clients, or expanding to a new location, Strategic Nationwide funding can help.  We offer merchant cash advances as an easy alternative to tedious bank loans.  How easy is it to get a merchant cash advance?  Approximately 90% of our applicants are approved for up to $250,000.    If you are interested in learning more about a merchant cash advance, visit or website at http://snffunding.com or call and talk to our helpful representative at 1-866-972-8885



 

Small Business Loans Drop by $15 Billion in First Quarter of 2011

Despite urging from the US government, US banks are still cutting back on their funding of small businesses.  The Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF) was a federal program set up to encourage banks to increase lending to small business, but banks utilized less than half the funds available.  The was set up in September and provided capital to banks at a incredibly low interest rates, some as low as 1 percent.

 

This means trouble for small businesses who are hoping for funding through a traditional loan in the near future.  Lending is still tight with most banks, but smaller banks are more likely to loan than larger banks.  However if you are a business owner in need of additional working capital, there are still options available.  Many businesses unable to get a traditional loan, are seeking alternative funding options.

 

Strategic Nationwide Funding offers a form of alternative financing, called a Merchant Cash Advance.  It is based on your future credit card sales (not your credit), so a Merchant Cash Advance is easy to obtain.  Minimum requirements of at least $4,000 in monthly credit card sales and having been in business for at least a year.    If you are looking to increase your working capital, call Strategic Nationwide Funding today and learn how a Merchant Cash Advance can work for you.  1-866-972-8885 or visit our website at www.snffunding.com