With 2.8 million small businesses employing 4.7 million people, Texas has the second-largest gross domestic product, valued at $1.77 trillion annually. These businesses account for over 97% of companies and employ about 50% of the state's workforce. All this indicates that the Lone Star is a great place to start a new business but it also means that you will face fierce competition and a number of other challenges.
Running a business takes work and comes with a number of risks that might stand in the way of achieving your goals. While some of these risks will be unique to your business, others are more universal and easily foreseeable. The good news is, there are certain steps you can take in order to manage and mitigate these risks. For instance, purchasing commercial insurance in Texas can help business owners protect themselves, their staff, and their livelihoods.
If you want to know more about it, here are the 7 most common risks that every new business owner in Texas should keep in mind.
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Google Analytics has a wealth of data and can be used for much more than just measuring traffic increases and decreases. It has numerous reports that are useful for any kind of business that has a website. However, it also has some reports that can be very helpful for e-commerce businesses.
E-commerce business marketers don't need to be an expert in using Google Analytics to be able to benefit from it. Google Analytics has been designed to make it simple to start benefiting from it. It also has some more advanced features for those who have grasped the basics.
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It's no secret that most new products are unsuccessful. Even the biggest companies on earth struggle with product launches and experience flubs that cost them millions.
According to Nielson, approximately 80 to 85 percent of all fast-moving-consumer-good (FMCG) launches fail in the marketplace. By other estimates, 95 percent of the more than 30,000 products launched each year fail.
Many issues contribute to this discouraging failure rate, including high price points, bad product-launch timing, design flaws, recalls, and unforeseen bugs that can't get resolved. But these issues are small compared to the real problem: a lack of knowledge about what resonates with customers.
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If you run a WordPress eCommerce website, your main goal is likely to convert as many sales as possible. However, there is a big difference between forging strong relationships with loyal customers and simply throwing marketing strategies at whomever will take the bait.
Because in the end, the stronger the ties you have with your loyal customer base, the longer they will remain faithful to your brand. In fact, 94% of companies see "higher engagement and conversions rates" with a dedication to customer service.
This is because ultimately, those that cater to their customers in a more personalized way - think effortless shopping experiences, convenience, and excellent product inventory-will experience an increase in sales as a result.
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As digital advertising methods proliferate and morph, companies funnel more money into television advertising to reach viewers who spend 22-36 hours watching TV every week
Despite what the advertising industry rumblings might lead us to believe over the past few years citing the decline of television as we know it, television advertising is instead alive, well, and producing solid results. In a recent MarketShare study that analyzed advertising performance across industry and media outlets like television, online display, paid search, print and radio advertising, MarketShare found that TV has the highest efficiency at achieving key performance indicators, or KPIs, like sales and new accounts. When comparing performance at similar spending levels, TV averaged four times the sales lift of digital.
In fact, 2016 could wind up being one of the most profitable years ever for TV advertising, thanks in part to Super Bowl 50--which set the stage with its $4.8 million, 30-second commercials. According to Advertising Age, total ad spending on commercials in the Super Bowl from 1967 through 2016 (and adjusted for inflation) was $5.9 billion.
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Social media intelligence and marketing company Wayin conducted a study of 200 director level and higher marketing professionals who are currently practicing real-time marketing.
Real-time marketing has matured since Oreo dunked their cookie in the dark and has become an integral component of a brand's marketing strategy. In fact, 98% of respondents report positive return on their real-time marketing efforts; 89% of respondents have fully tied their real-time marketing efforts to measurable business goals; 56% believe real-time marketing help build customer relationships; 59% plan to increase their real-time marketing budget in the next year.
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These days, the Super Bowl is often considered the mecca of advertisement. With rates at a record- $4.5 million for a 30-second spot, brands spend big money to showcase themselves during the big game, with the hopes of capturing the attention of the 100 million plus viewers who tune in for the game (and the commercials) each year.
But despite this audience size, the question still remains: is the Super Bowl really an effective way to reach your audience? We decided to take a closer look at the potential impact of running a Super Bowl ad, with a particular focus on the auto industry. Car makers have long dominated the advertisements during the game, but this year, many chose to forgo buying air time.
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Oh look Now you can get your own copy of Social Media Marketing For Dummies! Yes, it's true.
It's a 90 minute training course that will show you how to build your social strategy and become a whiz at creating programs on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others.
It's five section include Building a Social Marketing Strategy, Marketing on Facebook and Twitter, Jumping to Other Platforms, Analyzing Your Data and Ten Steps in a Social Media Marketing Plan.
Download it now for free.
Content marketing has become an important piece of a modern digital marketing plan. Marketing teams are producing more content than ever, working closely with editorial teams, and pumping out blog posts - all to attract more potential buyers to their web properties.
In this new digital landscape, writers and content marketers are key players in the search optimization equation, but most don't yet know the rules of the SEO road.
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Earlier this year during SXSW Interactive, Spredfast gathered together a team of five leading brand strategists to answer the five most pressing social questions in marketing today.
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