Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | June 27, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 23 I love bar trivia. I've spent many nights at neighborhood watering holes with friends enjoying a local beer, eating unhealthily, and showing off my useless knowledge; and I'm not alone. Trivia is a fantastic way for small canteens to draw crowds on slow nights. Recently, my girlfriend and I scanned social media for Tuesday Night Trivia options. We selected a venue and enjoyed drinks, dinner, and guessing the names of obscure Disney characters at the crowded bar. While we found several alternatives advertised, why had we chosen this spot? ey had a great website! e event details, menu, drink list, and other promotions complemented its social media strategy, thus receiving our business over its competitors. Social media marketing is not a replacement for an informative website. Many small businesses have concluded a strong social media presence will drive new customers and keep existing ones. But, without the anchor a proper website provides, many will find the return on their efforts disappointing. A sturdy foundation for your brand – As the home of your brand, your website controls the context in which your products or services are marketed, telling your story to your customers. Social media offers tools to make your marketing stand out, but posts and paid advertisements limit content and promotional conditions. Your website allows total control over your advertising using creative design elements, with no constraints on what you share with customers. Finally, as the cornerstone of your brand, your website should always be the ultimate destination for your customers. 24/7 contact – E-commerce functionality allows your website to conduct sales any time to customers anywhere or empowers visitors to make their own appointments through digital scheduling. An informative website is your best customer service representative, communicating vital information such as location, contact information, FAQs, menus, prices, or special events, while consuming minimal effort from your employees. Credibility – If customers see your social media presence but are unable to find your website (or find a severely outdated one) they may consider your business to be unprofessional, amateur, or worse: a scam. In the age of disinfor- mation and cyber warfare, consumers are weary of what they see on social media. Having a modern, well-designed website communicates a legitimate pres- ence for your small business, even if you have no physical location. e example above illustrates how a proper website complements social media strategy to drive customers to small businesses. While social media got my attention, the website completed the sale. e website communicated the vibe I could expect, creating a brand from my perspective as a customer, and I accessed this information without calling and pulling an employee away from a physical customer. Finally, the modern design and clear display of information gave me the sense this is a legitimate, safe business, offering a well- run event. I hope this demonstrates there is not a binary choice between a good website and strong social media presence. Rather, the two should complement one another as paired tools in the entrepreneur's toolbox. 10) Care for your clients. Take these times to strengthen relationships with your existing clients and let them know you are there for them, especially during tough times. 9) … But don't stop marketing. When business is shaky, balls may get dropped, and customers might seek an alternative. Marketing doesn't have to cost much. Personal calls, email newsletters, improving your website context, and social media marketing are low- cost and high-impact methods. 8) Focus on your competitive advantages. Higher-margin products, more automated, or competent services should be the focus. Stop doing what hasn't been working and lean into the areas of strength to multiply your success. 7) Cash (flow) is king. Trim unnecessary recurring expenses such as subscriptions or memberships that don't add value. Evaluate your vendor contracts to see if there's room for negotiation, or shop around if you're dissatisfied. 6) Build your operating and savings accounts. While too much cash can be an opportunity cost, having a few to several months' worth of expenses provides flexibility and security. 5) If you have extra liquidity, consider paying off any variable-rate debt getting more costly as the Federal Reserve continues to increase interest rates. 4) Systematically invest during a down market. Wealth is built by investing during the times most are waiting for things to turn around. 3) Get financing lined up (before you might need it). If you wait until you hit a snag, you may not be able to get the loan, or you'll wind up with less favorable terms. 2) Take lessons from this downturn to prepare for the next. During a period of strong economic growth, it's tempting to take on more risk in your business or in your investments than you can assume. If you are overextended, gain wisdom for future market cycles. 1) Use the lean times to prepare and plan. Start building the strategy now for the recovery phase so you are best positioned to not only recover with the economy, but to flourish. K N O W H O W Bar trivia & bad websites I n today's economy, there's a lot of focus on recruiting top-tier talent. But once someone grows from a new hire to an invaluable asset, how do you go about keeping them? It is, aer all, less expensive to keep existing employees instead of adding new ones, and low turnover can be an indicator of a strong company culture. Keep communication open. You may be the boss, but even you don't have all the answers. Fostering a collaborative work environment comes with allowing employees to speak their minds openly, not anonymously, and it involves an approach a bit more hands-on than a casual open-door policy. "If you really want to know what people think about something, go ask them," James Detert and Ethan Burris wrote in the Harvard Business Review. "Otherwise, employees might seek you out only when things are getting really bad for them." Make things flexible. In the current workplace, having the option to work remotely seems like it might be a given. But creating a flexible work environment goes beyond the ability to work from home. "You should be regularly checking in with your team to gauge their workload and overall happiness at the company," Spencer Hadelman, CEO of Advantage Marketing, wrote on Forbes. com. "Scheduling team meetings that are just check-ins that have nothing to do with work is another tactic I've found successful in creating a great company." Tailor professional development. Getting opportunities to learn and grow builds confidence, but those opportunities are going to look different for everyone. A less experienced employee, for example, might benefit from working on a project where he or she can learn from more senior colleagues, whereas someone with a longer tenure would do better taking risks and expanding beyond their comfort zones, Margaret Rogers wrote in the Harvard Business Review. "Remember, safety is necessary when confidence is low, but pushing employees to the edge of discomfort results in real development." BY LAURA FINALDI Special to WBJ 101: R E T A I N I N G T A L E N T W Madison Wellman is a business opportunity specialist for Worcester nonprofit RCAP Solutions, who provides free small business business assistance. Reach him at (774)239- 9783 or mwellman@rcapsolutions.org. BY MADISON WELLMAN Special to WBJ W 1 0 T H I NG S I know about... ... Emerging stronger from a recession By Ryan Kittredge Kittredge is president of ClearPath Financial Partners in Northborough and can be reached at Ryan@ ClearPath-FP.com. W

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