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What if everyone finds out you’re not perfect? What if your customers learn about everything that’s  wrong  with you and your business? Your every past mistake, every public misstep, every business failure? Will they abandon you? That’s a scary thought. And it’s a real possibility. Everywhere we look, we see customers deserting the brands they used to trust and going to competitors, because those brands made a misstep. Or a series of missteps. Understandably, many business owners want to protect themselves. So they only reveal things that make them look good. It is the best policy? We disagree. In today’s post, we want to talk about how being  open  about mistakes, failures, and all manner of negative things about your brand can actually help your image, not hurt it. We’ll cover 4 strategies for turning  anything  negative – as long as it’s legal and well-intentioned – into high-octane marketing fuel for your business. And we’ll do it with lots of examples....

It’s no secret that small businesses play a vital role in the US economy. However, most non-employer small businesses average just $44,000 a year in annual revenue, with many of these companies earning $25,000 or less. While various factors can affect a business’ revenue potential, one of the most important is the pricing strategy utilized by its owners. Good pricing strategy helps you determine the price point at which you can maximize profits on sales of your products or services. When setting prices, a business owner needs to consider a wide range of factors including production and distribution costs, competitor offerings, positioning strategies and the business’ target customer base. While customers won’t purchase goods that are priced too high, your company won’t succeed if it prices goods too low to cover all of the business’ costs. Along with product, place and promotion, price can have a profound effect on the success of your small business. Here are some of the various strate...

In his landmark 1980 book  Competitive Strategy , Harvard professor Michael E. Porter laid out three different types of strategies in business: differentiation, overall cost leadership, and focus. Any of these business strategies can be effective in the long term, but each has its own priorities for resource allocation. Which fits your business growth model? Differentiation Companies undertaking this strategy must prove to the customer that they are different (and better) than the competition. A differentiation business strategy is less concerned with price. Your company can command higher prices for products or services because they stand out in some way; they are worth the extra money. Your long-term strategy is to cut costs in the areas that don't contribute to your differentiation, so you can remain cost competitive. Starbucks, for example, charges more for its coffee than Dunkin' Donuts. But it differentiates itself by focusing on high-quality products and sustainability, ...