Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1494985
wbjournal.com | March 20, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 23 By Gicelle Brito Gicelle Brito is the vice president, business devel- opment officer for Workers Credit Union of Littleton. 10) Consult the team regularly. Every small business owner should have a solid team of experts working toward the same vision. This team can include a banker, accountant, bookkeeper, and lawyer. 9) Plan for the long term. Don't just plan for 2023. All companies should have a business plan updated regularly and including measurable goals. Consult with a financial advisor for retirement plans. 8) Consider vendors. Counteract rising prices by asking vendors to finance the supply purchases. There may be a dis- count loyalty program. If paying in advance allows them to pay less, owners can take out a line of credit. 7) Use small business loans when need- ed. Small businesses in need of funding for upcoming projects, business expansion, or equipment purchases can turn to U.S. Small Business Administration loans. A good financial institution can outline what type of SBA loan is appropriate. 6) Pay off debt. Making consistent on-time payments is crucial. Invest in bookkeeping software to track accounts receivables and accounts payables, set up recurring online payments, and keep revolving line of credit below 30% - 40% usage. 5) Implement good hiring practices. Finding and retaining high-quality em- ployees is crucial. Offer employee benefit programs such as health insurance. 4) Create a company handbook. Put pol- icies in writing at a location where all em- ployees can access it. A good handbook can ensure clarity, encourage employee growth, and protect against fraud. Include transparency on performance and what needs to be done to get a raise. 3) Evaluate cybersecurity risk. Many small businesses don't prioritize this until it is too late. Separate your operating account from the payroll account. Use a separate business debit card for online. Ensure the person receiving payments is who they say they are. Bad actors will copy email signatures and write legitimate-look- ing invoices. 2) Consult with an insurance agent. An agent can explore policies such as busi- ness interruption insurance and employ- ment practices liability. 1) Volunteer in the local community. This allows for additional exposure to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs. K N O W H O W Content marketing: What it is and why I like it I t's great to have a strategic plan. You can hash it out all you want. But without organizational design, where the administration and execution of that plan happens (the magic, essentially), your plan never comes to fruition. To be a success, according to the Academy to Innovate HR (AIHR), your organizational design has to be a good fit with your company's strategic plan. Change has common triggers. ese include changes in the environment, maybe new technology or a new competitor, for example. Internal or external, they all require a response. New strategy prompts an organizational design reshuffle, too. MindTools. com gives the example of a publishing company putting more of its content online, thus needing to set new goals for website engagement and advertising revenue. Or, a new design may be needed if your current design isn't fit for your purpose anymore, like if recruitment is being impacted due to the fact your company hasn't offered flexible working options. Problems produce symptoms. ose symptoms can likely be traced to organizational design flaws. For example, according to Ron Carucci in Harvard Business Review, the inaccessible boss complaint may be due to an excessive span of control design flaw, not necessarily a time-management issue. Money spent on time-management coaches, in this case, would be wasted. Know HR success factors. According to the AIHR, getting the right stakeholders with the right knowledge bases and power-making capacity into the mix is key, as is an evidence-based approach. "Use a data- informed approach that validates design assumptions throughout the process," says Dr. Dieter Veldsman, a chief HR scientist with AIHR. With each step in an organizational design roadmap building upon one another, it's important to avoid skipping any steps, he says, ensuring the model delivers value. 10 THINGS I know about... ... Keeping a small business moving forward O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L D E S I G N BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to WBJ Michael Donovan is chief strategist and creative director for Worcester marketing agency Metaphor. Reach him at info@ metaphormarketing.net. BY MICHAEL DONOVAN Special to the WBJ D oes advertising still work? Absolutely. But what works is always changing. A hundred years ago, "Buy product X" was competitive. Fiy years ago, not so much. Today, there's a lot to overcome. Clutter. Ad blindness (the habit of tuning out ads). Ad blockers, which are used by more than a quarter of people in the U.S., and two-thirds of younger adults. Enter content marketing. You can think of it as a blend of three elements: advertising, branding, and thought leadership. Advertising is about selling. Branding is about projecting a personality and set of values in all you do. ought leadership is about sharing knowledge: tips, insights, lists (top five ways, top 10 myths, etc.). With content marketing, the first step is engagement, typically a promise of useful or intriguing information. e second step is paying off the promise by delivering that information. Only then does any type of marketing message enter the picture, if at all. Some of the most effective content marketing sells by leading the customer to your door in such a way they open it themselves. You may have heard the term branded content. at's a type of content marketing where you create or curate W W content appearing as a sponsored item on a given website, publication, or social media. It's similar to an advertorial but more about branding. A biotech company, for instance, might sponsor an ongoing series of stories about scientific innovators through history. Content marketing in action Options for each phase of the customer journey. Content marketing can play a role in all phases – awareness, consideration, decision – but especially in the first two. You can use it in the same media you're currently using for sales messages, but you have additional options too, including brand video, webinars, white papers, and checklists/ tip sheets. A refreshing break from spam. Unlike the sometimes aggressive tactics seen in some online ads and messages, content marketing seeks to align with how people prefer to choose and consume content, because of the benefits it offers. In a noisy environment, quiet alternatives get noticed and appreciated. Storytelling with a purpose. Content marketing goes beyond the traditional storytelling of advertising by using branded content to tell stories reflecting a company's values and the ideas it stands for. It's a way to bring the brand to life by providing helpful information, making value statements concrete, and inspiring more referrals and deeper customer loyalty. Content you can repurpose. Once developed, content marketing materials can be adapted for other channels. In addition to those mentioned above, this can include blogs, social media, email marketing, events, and how-to guides. Branded content can be especially powerful in these venues. W