By Anthea Taylor As any business up and down your main street, you need to give your customers a reason to keep coming back and talking about yours. Having your customers identify with your brand is the best way to make sure that you become a mighty presence no matter the size of your business. […]
Small Business Saturday 2015 is now history, yet many small business owners are shrugging their shoulders wondering what all the hoopla was about. The concept of Small Business Saturday is great. No doubt about it. It raises awareness of the importance of small businesses to our communities. However, one day isn’t enough to give you […]
We recently polled our Alignable members asking “Do you feel your political figures stand up for local business in your community?” With almost 80 percent replying “No,” it appears local politicians may have some work to do connecting with the businesses in their neighborhoods. So why are small business owners feeling underrepresented? Many business owners […]
I was recently talking to Eric Groves, CEO and cofounder of the small business social network Alignable, about the constant competition and tension between small businesses and the big brands, and in four words he captured one of the most important assets small businesses have on their side: proximity to the customer. He had some […]
Tip #1: Connect with others nearby to become stronger. Your best next customer is frequenting another local business nearby, so the best path to that customer is getting to know other local business owners. You derive competitive advantage from local knowledge and power. When you connect and collaborate with others, you unlock access to collective […]