SMB Advice

Celebrate National Small Business Week with Us

May 5, 2019 by Ella Baker Leave a Comment

For more than 50 years, National Small Business Week has celebrated the hard work and dedication of small and mid-size business owners across the country. SMBs are not only the backbone of the American workforce and economy, but they are often the drivers of innovation in their industries. Rentacomputer.com, CameraSecurityNow.com, ComputerServiceNow.com, and Xponex.com are proud to count ourselves among the 30+ million small and mid-size businesses that strive to improve and grow every day. Join us as we celebrate National Small Business Week and tell the stories of our own family of small businesses.

Rent A Computer

For more than 30 years, Rentacomputer.com has specialized in procuring technology for temporary business and event needs. From computers to AV equipment and iPads to iPhones, our agents can obtain the equipment you need and coordinate the delivery and setup of your rentals. No matter where in the world you are, Rentacomputer.com is proud to be your one-stop shop for all of your office, event, and technology rental needs.

Planning a large-scale event? We’re more than just computer rentals – we’re also in the event production industry. As your full-service event production partner, we help make your event a success while giving you the opportunity to focus on the rest of your event. No matter your industry or event needs, we have the expertise and experience needed to handle the production and technical side of your event helping make your event a success.

Whether you’re planning an event or setting up a temporary office, you’re too busy to deal with any extra hassle. Our installation specialists work with your venue and IT professionals to ensure that everything runs smoothly and that all of your rentals are compatible with any existing equipment or technology at your location.

Our customer service experts understand that a quality customer service experience begins with being prompt. We guarantee that we will respond within 15 minutes of your quote request to find out more about your technology rental needs. Responding quickly to your initial request allows us to confirm your rental requirements and deliver an accurate quote. Need even faster service? Give us a call or chat with us on our website.

Subscribe to our blog today to stay up-to-date with Rentacomputer.com and be sure to follow us on social media.

Camera Security Now

Headquartered in Middletown, Ohio, CameraSecurityNow.com offered high-quality security camera systems to businesses, municipalities, schools, and local community members for more than 20 years. Our wide network of installers and technicians throughout the country allows us to offer a nationwide service with a local, personal touch.

While we recognize that every job is different, our focus on customer service and satisfaction is founded on a basic set of rules. We always listen to our customers to understand their needs and concerns and provide straightforward pricing with no hidden charges or fees. Our professional recommendations are based on the best interests of our clients and we perform every installation quickly without sacrificing quality. Our commitment to maintaining a good customer relationship includes providing detailed service reports and helping to prevent future problems.

If you’re looking a one-stop shop for your security camera needs, look no further than the experienced professionals at Camera Security Now. Our camera service installation professionals deliver the camera solutions that your company needs while keeping you on budget and ensuring the security of your business, employees, and customers. To find out how easy it is to ensure the safety of your workplace, request a quote today.

Follow our blog to stay up-to-date with CameraSecurityNow.com and connect with us on social media.

Computer Service Now

Whether you need general IT support, temporary rentals, webpage design, or applications engineering, Computer Service Now offers a comprehensive suite of solutions for any IT project or problem. We work every day to provide the best customer service possible through rapid issue resolution, timely communication, and a promise that our representatives will always be polite and courteous. Our hands-on approach to IT services means that we don’t believe in just fixing a problem – we strive to offer proactive solutions that prevent problems in the first place and attack problems at their root cause when they do occur.

With our high level of customer service and satisfaction, Computer Service Now works hard to be the premier IT firm in the Cincinnati and Dayton region. We offer a wide variety of IT solutions that stay within your budget. For IT-related projects big and small, our experience, expertise, and variety of services allow us to provide the support you need to meet your business needs. Contact us today and let us solve all of your IT needs!

Subscribe to our blog today to stay up-to-date with Computer Service Now and follow us on social media.

Xponex

For more than 20 years, Xponex Marketings’ comprehensive web and marketing services experts have been providing businesses large and small with technical services, marketing consultations, and social media services. Our goal is to provide our customers with the customized websites and tools that suit their business or organizational needs. We work closely with our clients to create personalized solutions that help them grow their businesses, including web design, SEO, content development, and marketing analysis.

Get your free website audit and 30-minute consultation from Xponex Marketing to help you identify some of the most effective solutions to help you improve your digital marketing, build a better website, and grow your business.

Subscribe to our blog today to stay up-to-date with Xponex Marketing and follow us on social media.

From our SMBs to yours

As SMBs, we understand the unique daily demands and stresses of running a small or mid-size business. Though the specific function of each member of our family of businesses is unique, they all have one thing in common: a commitment to helping your SMB succeed. Whether you’re bringing on seasonal staff and need to rent some additional office equipment, expanding and need to install a security camera system to keep an eye on your store, need a comprehensive IT solution so that you don’t have to hire another staff member, or need to revamp your website to help drive traffic to your site, we’re here to help you – whenever and wherever you need us. Happy National Small Business Week!

Service and Etiquette Tips for SMBs

April 25, 2019 by Robert Beagle Leave a Comment

If your small or medium-size business does service or sales calls to customer locations, everything the customer sees, hears, or smells is an integral part of your marketing efforts. Your field employees and contractors are the face of your company, and it is impossible to overestimate their role in marketing your company. The Tech Army offers these tips to help make sure that you and your team are presenting the highest level of service and etiquette.

No smoking

It should go without saying but smoking while on a sales or service call is always unprofessional. Many business sites are smoke-free zones, but even if they aren’t you and your technicians should still act as though smoking is prohibited at all customer facilities. Vaporizers and smokeless tobacco products should also be avoided, along with never going to a job site while under the influence of alcohol or any other drugs.

When you are on a job at the customer’s location, you are there to work (and you’re probably billing them at a high rate). Don’t insult your customers by taking time out to smoke. Whether you’re in your company vehicle or a designated smoking area, smoking while on a call at a customer’s location is unacceptable. If you must smoke, do it between calls – preferably in the open air outside the vehicle so that you don’t smell like smoke when talking to the next client.

Be attentive

Your attention while on a sales or service call should always be on the customer and the task at hand. Believe it or not, we have heard stories about contractors falling asleep at a customer’s facility – dozing in their company vehicle in the parking lot or while inside the building! When you are at a customer’s facility, you need to be working and ready to address any concerns that your client may have. If you find that being tired in the middle of the day is a concern, consider building in a short nap during scheduled breaks or during your lunch period.

Always be courteous

Always be courteous and professional when working with clients. If you’re visiting a client or making a service call, dress appropriately and display your company’s logo. If your company provides polo shirts, dress shirts, or t-shirts for contractors to wear, be sure that they wear them when meeting with every customer. Make sure that all of your employees or contractors have business cards or identity badges that let the customer know that they’re with your company.

Customers can sometimes be chatty or, worse, combative. Even when a customer is rude, you and your employees have a job to do. Being rude in response only hurts you and your brand. If the actions of a customer impact your ability to perform the work requested, just do your best to complete the task. Take notes on the situation immediately afterward and address the issues with your primary contact at the business at the appropriate time.

Mind the Mess

Just as you would be upset if someone came into your office and made a mess without cleaning up, customers understandably get upset when contractors leave a mess behind. You should always leave the work site exactly as you found it. Always wear shoe covers when entering the customer’s premises to avoid tracking in mud, dirt, or other debris. All of the trash or packaging from items you’ve installed or brought into the site are your responsibility to dispose of – never leave boxes or other packaging for the customer to clean up.

If the space you’re working in was seemingly messy or cluttered when you arrived, resist the urge to clean up. While you may think that you’re doing the customer a favor or helping out, you should never do anything outside of your scope of work.

Professionalism at its best

From competing with bigger companies to trying to match the prices of larger businesses and attempting to win larger customers, small and medium-size businesses have enough to worry about. The best way for SMBs to differentiate themselves from their larger competitors is to provide the best customer service possible – make sure that your employees in the field and your contractors share that same commitment.

Running an SMB can be a challenge. SMB Now provides tips, expert advice, and information about the services that you need to help make running your business easier. Visit us often to stay up-to-date with SMB Now and follow us on social media. Join in the discussion by commenting below.

The Role of Social Media for Small and Mid-Size Businesses

December 14, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

For small businesses with limited budgets, the role of social media in growing and advertising your small and mid-size business is enormous. Having a social media presence is a must for most small businesses, especially if you don’t have an established website. Your presence on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn can be your primary advertising opportunity and helps potential customers find out more about your business and services. With all of the responsibility of running your own small or mid-size business (SMB) it can be difficult to find time to set aside to properly manage your social media accounts but poorly managed social media accounts can spell the end of your emerging business. Read on to learn more about the role that social media plays in helping you build and establish your business and your company’s reputation with customers.

Lack of social media presence

With our increasing reliance on the internet for information, a potential customer’s first resource for finding a new business or service is often a quick web search. Developing a website takes significant time and effort, but establishing your business on social media is a quick solution to helping customers find you online.

Your social media accounts can also be used to consolidate your customer referrals and reviews. Your Facebook or Twitter page provides customers looking for your services with access to reviews of your business. If you don’t have a presence, it will be more difficult for potential customers to find you and they’ll be more likely to turn to another business that is easier for them to find.

Your social media persona

When you build your business from the ground up, you often become synonymous with your business. If your business and personal pages are intertwined, it’s more difficult for potential customers to distinguish between your SMB and you personally. Establishing a persona for your business that is separate from you as the owner is important for many reasons.

If your business’ social media page contains profanity or inappropriate or irrelevant content, you are probably doing great harm to your business and its professional image. You should also be careful to moderate your social media pages. Business pages can typically be set to require the page admin’s approval for comments to be visible to other viewers. If you receive a post comment that is inappropriate, simply block the comment from appearing on your page.

Handling negative reviews

It’s a fact of life for business owners – negative reviews will happen. Addressing these critiques with professionalism and ensuring that issues are dealt with appropriately can be an opportunity to turn a negative into a positive for your SMB.

Don’t engage in arguments with customers, competitors, or random commenters on your social media pages. Whenever possible, contact customers offline, either via email to get a better understanding of their concern and to correct any valid issues. After you’ve corrected the situation, ask your customer to post a new review or a revision to their existing review.

Always show your best face when dealing with customers. By truly listening to your customers’ complaints and taking the time to make it right, you are demonstrating to other existing and potential customers that you are dedicated to delivering quality customer service.

Show off a little

In an increasingly socially conscious world, customers want to learn more about the company’s they are doing business with. Your social media accounts can help your customers get to know more about your business, your social commitments, and your expertise in your industry.

Use your social media accounts to help customers become more familiar with your products, your manufacturing processes, where you source materials from, who your employees are, and all about your community efforts. Post associate spotlights singing the praises of a highly dedicated employee. Share photos of your volunteer day your larger customer community. Show off the awards and certifications that your business earns from community and industry groups. Are you hosting a company event? A great way to show off your business and get your audience engaged in your social media page is to have a live feed of your social media account during trade shows or corporate events using HDTVs, video walls, or tablet rentals!

Your social media should also be used to establish your business’ expertise in your niche. Posts should be relevant to your customers and encourage them to learn more about you and visit your location. Share relevant information and posts from other sources so that customers get used to coming to your page for information they need on your industry. The more information you provide, the more clients will see you as a trusted source they can turn to when they need services in your field.

Learn to use social media like successful businesses do

Just because your business is small or mid-size doesn’t mean that you can’t play the social game like the big boys in your industry. By setting aside time to carefully curate your content and create thoughtful posts you can help potential customers discover your services while setting yourself up as the go-to business to meet their needs.

Running an SMB can be a challenge. SMB Now provides tips, expert advice, and information about the services that you need to help make running your business easier. Visit us often to stay up-to-date with SMB Now and follow us on social media. Join in the discussion by commenting below.

Why SMB’s Have to Switch to HTTPS

December 19, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

Attention SMB owners, Google has announced huge changes to the way Chrome displays unencrypted HTTP pages that will scare away your visitors with alarming warnings.

Un-encrypted pages are less secure than encrypted pages. You can tell un-encripted pages because they begin with HTTP. Encripted web pages begin with HTTPS.

Right Now HTTP pages display an information icon within the address bar:

Visitors to the page can click the icon to view information about the pages, including security details.

Alarming Change
Roll out date guesstimate is Friday January 13 2017 for Chrome Version 56.

Why Friday the 13^th? Maybe because for many SMB websites it will be a very scary date. One that you will remember for years to come. It could even mean death to your website.

When Version 56 of Chrome is released all HTTP pages that collect passwords, credit card, or other secure information will be labelled by Chrome as Not secure.

‘Not secure’ will appear ahead of the page address within the address bar. Here is what the first warning will look like:

It gets worse
In future releases, perhaps Version 57, the ‘Not secure’ logo will have a red warning icon with red letters such as below:

The red warning will be displayed on all HTTP pages, even if no data will be collected. The average user will not visit any website with such a warning. Worse yet, Google will have likely removed your webpages from Google search results. Your traffic will likely be cut significantly.

What can you do?
If you noticed, this site and all other sites hosted by Xponex automatically come with HTTPS.

You could move your site to Xponex media or purchase a security certificate from GoDaddy, Network Solutions, DigiCert to name a few.

If your SMB is interested in working with an SMB host company with real people who answer the phones, try Xponex. The website is Xponex.com or call 513-422-3101.

513-422-3101

How Your Seminars Can Benefit From Laptop And Tablet Rentals

March 31, 2016 by Zack Duncan Leave a Comment

Lots of companies hold seminars for many different reasons. These seminars could be used to promote their products to potential clients or could be employee seminars where companies teach employees about new policies and procedures that will soon be implemented. Regardless of the reason, the ability for those in attendance of the seminar to interact with the presenter and the presentation is imperative. That is why a lot of companies hosting seminars find it wise that everyone in attendance have access to something like a laptop or a tablet. As a result, it’s common that businesses rent this technology in this situation. Here are a few reasons that a business would want to rent laptops or tablets for their seminars.

Essential Software Pre-Installed

When people bring their own laptops or tablets, you can run into a software problem. There might be specific types of software that your company is going to utilize during the seminar presentation. When attendees bring their own equipment, it won’t be of much use to them if they don’t have the compatible software installed. However, when you rent laptops or tablets from a professional rental company, this problem can be circumvented. When you rent the technology, the company you are renting from can ensure that every single piece of equipment that you rent from them can have the appropriate software pre-installed on them. This will guarantee that every single person at your seminar will be able to follow along with the presentation without any problems.

Perfect For Audience Members

When you rent all the technology you need for your audience members, you make things a lot easier for them. There’s no guarantee that everyone attending your seminar will have their own laptop or tablet, which is why renting them ensures that everyone at the seminar has the technology they need. In addition to that, attendees will probably be a lot happier knowing that they will not have to cart around their own laptops or tablets. It can be a real hassle taking a laptop or tablet through airport security and onto a plane and it is even worse when you pack that technology in your luggage and it gets broken in transit or your luggage is lost! Renting laptops and tablets for your seminar attendees completely eliminates these hassles and makes your attendees much happier and your seminar much more enjoyable and accessible.

The Latest Technology

Probably the best reason for renting laptops or tablets for your seminar is the fact that you are getting the latest technology currently available. Most rental companies offer the newest technology on the market for rent, meaning that you and your attendees can have cutting-edge technology right at your fingertips. This also means that if you have a specific brand or model that you want or need, you are almost guaranteed to get it. Not only will your attendees appreciate having high-end technology at their fingertips but your business will also make quite a good impression, especially if there are a lot of new and potential customers that will be in attendance.

When hosting a seminar, it is always a good idea to rent things like laptops or tablets for your attendees. Making sure everyone has the right technology to interact with the presentation, the correct software and the latest technology available, renting really is your best bet. Rentacomputer.com has a full line of laptop and tablet rentals that are perfect for seminars. If you want the latest technology for your seminar, contact Rentacomputer.com today by calling 800-736-8772, texting 908-485-7368, or emailing rentals@rentacomputer.com today!

Are You Prepared For A Hard Drive Failure?

March 16, 2016 by Zack Duncan Leave a Comment

A hard drive failure is one of the worst things that can happen. When your hard drive crashes, you potentially lose a lot of important data. Pictures, documents, downloads, and other saved files could be gone forever. So what do you do? How do you handle something that is potentially catastrophic like this? Well, there are a few steps you can take, like being prepared, making backup discs, knowing your local computer shop or just trading out your old hard drive for a solid state drive. It is imperative that you know what to do when your hard drive fails and this list of potential solutions should be something to consider. Continue reading on the ComputerServiceNow Blog.

Do you need full-service tech support in Middletown, or anywhere in Southwest Ohio? Computer Service Now has been serving the Middletown area for over 30 years. Contact CSN today for IT consulting, managed IT service, computer service and repair, web services, networking services, security and more! Call 877-422-1907.

Should You Worry That Windows 10 Is Spying On Your SMB?

February 25, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

Have you been putting off that free Windows 10 upgrade out of concerns over privacy? In the article below we will examine the facts so you can make the right choice for your business:

What’s the common factor between Windows 10 and some of the most prominent actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood? They are both accused of being spies! Just like Charlie Chaplin and Helen Keller (yes, that’s real), Windows 10 has been accused of spying. Specifically, Windows 10 has been accused of spying on literally everything you do.

The operating system launched about 8 months ago and immediately reports started coming in about the alleged spying. The articles about Windows 10 spying were extreme with some making jokes that Microsoft had the “right to your first-born child” hidden away in its ToS. While that assumption is a bit extreme, other allegations were a little more realistic. But is the threat still there 8 months later?

Continued

Temporary Technology Saves Money When Staff Fluctuates

January 29, 2016 by Zack Duncan Leave a Comment

If you’re a small business owner then you know how quickly your staffing numbers can fluctuate. Seasonal employees are vital for some businesses, causing employment numbers to rise and fall in a short amount of time. These fluctuations are common during the holidays and during tax season when increased employment is needed for a short amount of time. However, this change in employment could cost you a lot of money if you don’t plan accordingly.

If your company uses seasonal employees or experiences fluctuations in staffing then you should look into short-term technology rentals. These fluctuations in staffing sometimes bring a fluctuation in technology needs. If your employees have a reliance on certain types of technology then you can probably guarantee that when you hire extra employees you will need extra equipment, like laptops, tablets, desktops, and even copiers. If you want to know more about how technology rentals can save you time and money when staff fluctuates then continue reading here!

How To Use Twitter Cards For Your Business

November 20, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

One of the major faults of Twitter is its 140 character per tweet limit. Despite it, creative small business marketers have been able to use the social media platform for years, successfully.

The latest feature Twitter has launched is its Twitter Cards, which have opened a whole new window of opportunities. I will go through the process of what Twitter Cards are and how you can use them.

The first question you may be asking yourself is “What are Twitter Cards?” Well, Twitter Cards are basically tweets on steroids. Along with your 140-character-message, you are able to attach videos, audio, download links, and images. These Twitter Cards are more appealing to users than your boring old text tweets. There are four types of Twitter Cards that are currently available.

Summary Card: The summary card is made to give your audience a preview of your content before clicking on it. The content above the card is your original tweet and in the card is a small preview of what the blog, that you linked, is.

Summary Card With Large Image: Just like before, your original tweet is shown above the card, but what gives this that special oomph is its large image. With great images comes more potential customers.

Player Card: This card is particularly cool because it allows you to upload a video and audio from within a tweet. It’s very handy and very engaging!

App Card: This last card is known as the app card, obviously aimed more towards mobile app vendors. You attach your app to your tweet and it allows users to download your app right from Twitter!

Another question you may be asking is “How do I use Twitter Cards?”

When it comes to using Twitter Cards, there are two challenges to overcome. First, they aren’t too easy to set up. Don’t let this fool you! Once you figure out how to use it and have everything in place, it will be super easy for you. Getting everything in place is just the tricky part.

Twitter provides useful documentation that can help get you started using their Cards, a simple overview for you to follow. If that isn’t helpful, then the best way to use Twitter Cards is via plugins and extensions. An example, if your website was built in WordPress, you can use the Jetpack or JM Twitter Cards plugins to start off your Twitter Cards. If this just sounds all too confusing for you, Twitter provides how-to docs, to help get you up and running using plugins and extensions.

The other challenge is, if you do not pin the tweet to the top of your Twitter newsfeed, then the card won’t be shown automatically. You want your audience to click “View Summary” on the right side of your tweet, to get the full effect. You can also guide them to click it by tweeting clever things, such as “Click the View Summary link to see what prizes we have in our giveaway!

Twitter Card Approval: Through all of those obstacles, you have one more until you are done, which is validation. According to the steps provided for you at the bottom of the page, you need to, “Run your URL against the validator tool to test. If you are working with a Player Card, request approval for whitelisting. All other Cards do not need whitelisting.”

The only way validation will be hard for you, is if you made a misstep while setting up your Twitter Card. Since Player Cards have more rules, validating them can be a bit more challenging.

If you think you can handle all of that, then you’ll be surprised at what value Twitter Cards can add to your social media efforts. Like I mentioned before, Twitter Cards can be appealing and engaging and that’s what helps boost your traffic to lead them to your marketing offers and messages.

Content originally published here

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The Importance Of Giving And Taking In Small Business Startups

November 5, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

When I started my company, I was absolutely terrified of everything that could go wrong. I could already imagine huge bills for all kinds of services and a dozen lawsuits against me. Since I am not originally from this country and English is my second language, things looked even more difficult to me. What if I didn’t understand what certain laws meant and how would I know if I was breaking them?

I was torn between “taking the risk” or staying in the “safe zone”. In the scheme of things, this comparison becomes ridiculous because at any time you can get fired for doing what you don’t love so why not try doing what you do love.

With that thought, I started my journey into entrepreneurship. Being a newbie, I was naturally more inclined to take (take advice, take direction and, in general, take any help I could get). I have to say that I learned plenty by doing that, but not even close to what I have learned by giving. By sincerely giving.

You can tell by my business, RentBillow, that I am all about the sharing economy. The sharing of resources and the sharing of knowledge included. These are a few tips I have learned since launching my business that I would like to share, especially to new entrepreneurs and people in the media.

1. If you are thinking of starting your own business, try to find a startup to collaborate. You might not like the idea of not getting paid, but trust me, it will save you a lot of money and time once you make the decision to jump in.

2. Volunteer with local entrepreneur and startup events and associations. One mistake I made was not reaching out to local entrepreneurs right away. If I had met other local entrepreneurs beforehand, then asking them for help and advice after I started my own business would not have been so awkward. It’s really hard asking people for help when you don’t have a pre-existing relationship with them.

3. Be yourself. I have noticed that many entrepreneurs change for the worse as soon as they start a business. They become more serious and they stop doing things the way they had before. They don’t want to ruin their reputation as a serious owner, which is fine in a way, but remember to enjoy your pastimes. I personally continued being the same smart-alek on social media as I always was before. Why would I do this? Because if someday I become a known entrepreneur and I say something politically incorrect or offensive, people will say, “Oh yeah, she has always been like that.”

4. Never forget the people that helped you, the people that supported you, and the people that even listened to you whine about how broke you were and how your hair is falling out. These are the people that will keep your support alive.

5. If you are in the media, think about all the small fish in this humongous pond. I know it is more appealing to interview a unicorn entrepreneur, but your help can encourage an up and coming entrepreneur to be successful, and they absolutely will not forget you when they reach the level of success of billionaire entrepreneurs.

By: Anabella Watson – RentBillow

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