By John Arnold

Because I'm on a lot of airplanes, I've noticed that marketing trends are a lot like air travel. Some trends are ready for takeoff while others need time for more passengers to get on board.

This list features my top 10 marketing trends, with advice to help you determine if the trend is "ready for takeoff" and worthy of your time and money now, or "still boarding" and better for you to just test out.

1. Deals and Rewards

Ready for takeoff.

This will be a year of bargain hunting because the economy is still recovering and consumers have more price-checking tools at their fingertips.

So use your marketing to attract shoppers with unbeatable deals. Then seek profits by generating repeat sales and referrals from your new customers. Also, be ready to respond with instant price reductions or other incentives when shoppers use mobile devices to compare retailers' prices.

2. Mobile Pull Marketing 

Ready for takeoff.

Mobile pull marketing means giving consumers ways to interact with your advertising over mobile devices, and pulling them closer to a purchase decision.

To use mobile pull marketing, combine a call-to-action with traditional advertising. For example, ask customers to retrieve a coupon by texting a keyword to a short code or by taking a picture of the coupon in a print publication.

3. Mobile Push Marketing

Still boarding.

Mobile push marketing means sending promotional messages through texts and voice calls.

It's still relatively expensive for small businesses to become bulk senders of texts and voice calls. Instead, invest in your email list. Emails are much less expensive than texts and can contain unlimited content.

4. Three-Screen Marketing

Still boarding.

In 2012 and beyond, expect attention to your advertising to shift as people in front of televisions frequently -- and simultaneously -- reach for two additional screens: tablets and smartphones.

Next year, advertise on television screens and invite viewers to pick up one of the other two screens to get involved in your promotion. Advertise on the portable tablet screen with emails, videos and social media. And advertise on the mobile phone screen using loyalty apps that track purchases or promotions that involve the phone at the physical point of sale.

5. Local Online Marketing 

Ready for takeoff.

If you want to reach prospective customers in Denver, for example, would you consider advertising in the Los Angeles Times? You would if you realize that the publisher can display your local advertising to Denver residents who find the article in an Internet search.

So try some locally-targeted ads in national publications in 2012 and make sure they contain locally-relevant messages.

6. Proximity Marketing

Still boarding.

Services such as ShopKick and Foursquare let people opt in to receive promotions on their mobile phones from nearby vendors. Consumers can allow the use of location detection technology on their phones or check in to a physical location with their phones.

Many people are still warming to the idea of enabling location detection on their phones. Still, testing proximity marketing in 2012 could help prepare you to reach tech-savvy shoppers in the years to come.

7. Social Earned Media

Ready for takeoff.

If you have enough customers to have a business, then some are probably reviewing and chatting about you online. To get a positive review or referral, you have to earn it. That's why it's known as "social earned media."

Use a social-media monitoring tools such as Trackur or Google Alerts to find out what people are saying when they mention your company or products. Then, get involved in the conversation and politely ask customers to rate and share their opinions of your business.

8. Social CRM

Ready for takeoff.

A CRM (customer relationship management) database is usually used to track people's purchasing behavior. But don't forget that your customers share other information about their lives that you can monitor on social media sites.

Take time each week in 2012 to monitor customers and record any useful information in your database. For example, if you notice customers talking about summer vacation plans on Facebook, then it might be a great time to offer a promotion involving summer vacations.

9. Globalization

Still boarding.

Thanks largely to rapidly expanding mobile Internet access, more people will go online in 2012 than ever before. Language translation technology such as WordLens also is making it easier for people to read a website, email or advertisement in their own language.

To make your online business more global, first see which countries you are already attracting visitors from and use them as a test audience. Then, create some products or services that meet the needs of your international audience and use the test results to expand to other countries.

10. Everywhere Commerce

Still boarding.

Paying with a plastic credit card is probably going to go away someday, but not yet. Still, 2012 will offer consumers many more payment options.

Get your point of sale ready by accepting payments through PayPal or by enabling Google Wallet or a proprietary point-of-sale option.

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com

By Colleen Debaise

Raising money can be a daunting task. But it helps if you're in a hot sector that venture capitalists like.

At Wednesday's "State of the Union" Venture Capital Lunch Club, an annual panel discussion held at law firm Chadbourne & Parke LLP in New York, a number of investors offered their predictions for this year's buzzworthy industries. Here's a rundown:

Big Data – Like last year, VCs will continue to be drawn to startups in the so-called "big data" space, according to Peg Jackson of Gridley & Co., a technology investment bank. In previous years, investors were keen on data companies that could collect and manage data; now, the attention is on startups that focus on "the predictive nature of data," she says. In other words, ventures that help corporations analyze today's mountains of data for patterns and trends will likely be in demand.

Along those lines, Ed Goodman of Milestone Venture Partners, an early-stage VC fund, predicts more investments in "big data companies that can make health-care information actionable," such as startups that connect urgent-care patients to specialized doctors in their area, and social-media applications that can be used by businesses.

Machine-to-Machine – Goodman also sees more money flowing into "machine-to-machine" communications. As an example of a product in this sector, he cited sensors on home fuel tanks that will signal to oil-delivery companies when they need refilling.

"Internet of Things" – Owen Davis from NYC Seed, another early-stage firm, also foresees more interest in Internet-connected devices that collect and communicate data, something players in the space refer to as the "Internet of Things."

Software as a Service – Jeanne Sullivan from StarVest partners, a technology VC firm, says "software as a service" or SaaS will continue to be in demand, as will financial technology, known by the buzzword "fintech." She also noted that there's a better chance for venture-backed companies to be acquired than to go public these days. "The M&A market is where all the fun is," she said.

The panel was moderated by Lori Hoberman, who heads up Chadbourne & Parke's emerging-companies/venture-capital practice in New York. Hoberman noted that clean or green technology, a sector that has received large rounds of funding in previous years, wasn't mentioned by any of the panelists, possibly because the industry requires too-huge upfront capital outlays.

One other topic of discussion on the panel was Facebook's expected initial public offering this spring. Randall Smith, a reporter at the Wall Street Journal who covers IPOs, said the chatter in coming months will be about whether Facebook – or other social-networking sites, for that matter – are "passing fancies" or sustainable businesses. "That will be the debate of the year," he said.

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com

By Cliff Ennico

Buying an existing business is often safer than starting one on your own. But watch out for these red flags.

There's no doubt that buying an existing small business is less risky than starting one from scratch. Why? Because, unlike a startup:

• the business has equipment and inventory;
• the business already has a location, and maybe there's a few more years left on the lease;
• the business has employees, some of whom you may actually want to keep;
• the business has customers, most of whom probably will stick with you (unless this is a professional service business or practice); and
• most importantly, the business has a track record--you can look at the business' books, records and tax returns and get some sense of how much money you will make.

But there's still risk. Whenever you buy an existing business and look at its records, you're looking at the past. There's no guarantee things won't change going forward. If you're negotiating to buy a business and you think the seller is giving you a great deal, be very suspicious--there's probably something heading down the road at 90 miles an hour that will blow this business apart when it hits.

When doing your "due diligence" on a small business you want to buy, consider these five factors:

Demographic and political changes: If lots of business owners in town are looking to sell, there's a reason. How is the community changing? Is the population increasing, or declining? Is the population skewing older, or younger? Is a "miracle mile" shopping strip diverting traffic? Go to the local Planning and Development Office and see if there are any proposed zoning law changes that would change the "permitted use" at the business location.

Owner's Discretionary Income, or ODI: This is what the seller is taking out of the business after paying his suppliers, his employees, his rent, his overhead expenses and his taxes. If you can't live on the current ODI, or if ODI has been declining for several years, watch out! The business is going downhill. If the ODI seems healthy, get the seller to put it in writing, and hold back on naming your purchase price for a few months so you can confirm the seller's ODI numbers are accurate.

Beware the seller who tells you his actual ODI is greater than what he reports--if he's taking extra cash out of the till, understating income on his tax returns, or treating personal expenses as business write-offs, what are the odds he is being scrupulously honest with you?

The location of the nearest big competitor: If you're looking to buy a retail or service business, chances are there's at least one franchise or "big box" competitor that will wipe you off the map if they ever come to town. Where's the nearest outlet or franchisee? If you're buying a local hardware store, don't be afraid to call Home Depot and Lowe's and find out if they have plans to build a local store anytime soon. You might just learn what they're going to build on that 2-acre parcel just off the interstate.

Sales taxes: When you buy the assets of a business, you avoid responsibility for the seller's debts, obligations and liabilities (other than his lease and other debts you expressly agree to assume and continue paying). Except . . . for sales taxes. If your seller has been underreporting his sales taxes, and the state tax authority finds out about it, they can come after you for everything the seller owed. You can sue your seller, of course, but by then he's fled to Timbuktu and can't be tracked down.

Don't pay a penny for a small business until you know the seller has filed all state and local sales tax returns. Ask your attorney if you can get a "clearance certificate" from the state tax authority saying they won't come after you for any sales taxes your seller owed.

Local business reputation: Don't rely on just "hard data." Go to the library and skim the local newspapers going back at least five years. Is the business active in the community? Is it written up frequently? Is there negative publicity? Go to the local police station and ask if there are frequent complaints by or against the current owner.

Spend some time talking to the locals--hang out at the local library, senior center, coffee shops and public parks and talk to the "old timers" who congregate there. Yes, it's tedious and time-consuming, but it may save you from making a deal you will live to regret.

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com

By Mark Siebert

Franchising is perhaps the world’s most powerful growth vehicle.

But it’s not the only choice for a company looking to bulk up its distribution channels. Before you take the leap, it’s worth considering a few alternatives first.

Keep in mind, each of these options present some disadvantages, including loss of control, inability to build a brand and potential increases in liability. Just like franchising, these methods may also be expensive or legally cumbersome – so it’s smart to consult a lawyer. Also, the Federal Trade Commission sets strict rules on what is or isn’t a franchise – and you don’t want to inadvertently run afoul of FTC rules.

Here are three alternatives to franchising.

1. “Business opportunity” or licensing. By FTC definition, when you set up a franchise, you’re providing a common trademark (generally speaking, your brand name) for all of your franchisees to use. If you don’t wish to start a franchise, one option is to allow a person to open a cookie-cutter version of your business, under their own name. This is called a “business opportunity” or a license.

As a licensor, you don’t have to comply with the same federal disclosure requirements as would a franchisor, which makes the legal documentation and the sales process less complex – at least at the federal level. That said, a biz op, as it’s commonly known, will need to comply with a patchwork quilt of state laws (as well as some state franchise laws) in 26 different states.

The main drawback, though, is that you won’t be able to build a valuable common consumer brand this way. That can put you at a significant disadvantage when competing with franchisors, who can use advertising to promote a common brand. But if branding is not important to you, this is certainly a viable option.

2. Trademark licenses. A second option is to simply license your trademark, which is quite similar to what a franchisor does. But here’s the difference: By definition, a franchisor also must provide “significant operational support” or exercise “significant operating control.” When you’re a trademark licensor, you can’t provide such assistance or control – such as training programs, operations manuals or management advice – or else the FTC will likely deem you to be operating as a franchisor.

Unfortunately, very few of us own businesses where the name is so valuable that people would pay for it without also requesting help in establishing the business itself. And even if you could license your trademark, you’d have to think carefully about whether you’d want someone to use your name without the ability to control how they use it. A single rogue operator could destroy the brand that took you years to build.

3. The “no fee” route. The third alternative to franchising involves offering interested parties an option that doesn’t involve any fees. That doesn’t mean, of course, that you give up profits. But you have to structure these transactions in a way that’s markedly different than franchises, which by definition collect initial fees, royalties, advertising fees, training fees and/or fees for equipment.

So, for instance, you could charge no fee but allow someone to start a dealership or distributorship, making money on the bona fide wholesale mark-up of your products to them. Or you could allow others to be sales representatives, where you collect all revenues and pay them a commission to sell your product or service. Another option would be for you and another party to create a joint venture in which you would share ownership of the business – and your only compensation would come in the form of profits (or losses).

To decide whether any of these alternatives is better than franchising, ask yourself three basic questions: Do I want to build a common brand? Do I want to control the brand or provide assistance to my operators? How do I want to be compensated?

Once you’ve answered those questions, it’s easier to determine which expansion strategy is most likely to maximize the value of your business model.

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com