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VoIP with all the PABX features of a sophisticated phone system is the way to go providing the call quality is equal or better to a traditional landline. If it isn't then it can not be classed as true business grade, and it would be a step backwards / compromised service.

As for mobile, I still see this a secondary call option (when you must be mobile and make calls) and not when you are in your office with access to a real phone system. Call quality isn't as good on mobile and limited exposure can only be a good thing for reducing radiation to your brain.

The most common account issues small business owners face are:

• Reconciling services/products provided with cash received
• Choosing the right software 
• Managing cash flow 
• Managing accounts payable 
• Forecasting sales for the month and year ahead 
• Sitting down with your adviser on a regular basis to go over the numbers and make sure the business is tracking to forecast/business plan 

To date we have spent nothing on social media and had very large returns. We have discussed on many occasion, the option of budgeting for paid ads however we have opted to remain focused on directly contacting our target markets ourselves.

I a lot of work was initially put into identifying where our potential customers are "hanging out" on social media then reaching out to them. I believe this would be more fruitful than paying for ads.

We have conducted some campaigns to help measure the success different types of contact with potential customers and seen a large range of variables. One campaign yielded around $120,000 for the month in revenue from one social media site using one form of marketing while other campaigns have been less successful and only yielded around $10,000 for the month. That being said even a bad campaign gave us a return. The only costs involved were time spend in preparation for the campaigns.

This is only based on what we have been doing and we will have to pay for advertisement on social media eventually in order for us to identify the best form of social media marketing. For all we know paying for ads could be the best way forward however the industry we used for this campaign was very niche resulting in a limited number of customers and places to find them.

I would say if you are looking at paid advertising solutions with social media, first ensure you know where the marketing should be directed and run some campaigns your self to gain a "Champion" then use the paid campaigns as your "Challenger". If you do I know a number of people on here (including myself) would be interested in knowing what your findings are. To pay or not to pay.

Hi Steve,

Great to see you're doing a survey.

Looking at the questions, I'm struggling to see what you hope to learn. Are you looking to find out what problems people face at a major appliance retailer?

Brian

According to an article by Yes Marketing study, the average cost of advertising for a 30-second radio slot on Nova 96.9 in Sydney is $425; however, the cost can change depending on the time and day your ad is set to air. The best place to get started is by contacting Nova 96.9 directly through one of their mediums here. 

This comes down to your marketing and growth strategy. If you want fast growth you need to start looking at buying leads and sending out mass communications.

Fax campaigns are still very effective. A fax campaign would cost between 15c to 20c per fax if you are paying a company to do it for you. The company will already have the leads, you are just paying them to send a fax to all of them (and a DNCR wash).

Calling companies is also another option, however it is important to train your staff first. We have our own call center and all our telemarketing and inbound calls go through it. The most important thing is training. When it comes to telemarketing you don't want your staff to sound like robots when speaking with potential clients.

Another option for bulk leads is to be active in the media. Attract attention and you will get a lot of free promotion or pay for it.

Word of mouth (WOM) is also a good source and can be up scaled very easily to produce bulk leads. While most WOM strategies tend to be very slow, you can gain a large volume of leads in a very short amount of time with a good WOM strategy.

Measuring the success of your campaigns is also just as important. Look at the number of customers you already have, then look at the current growth trends. This will be your base.

Once you have run your campaign deduct your base from all conversions and you will see the results.

Champion/Challenger is a good strategy and can help you measure success when trying multiple campaigns. Use this strategy to identify if your products needs incentives to increase conversion rates or if the product alone is enough to convert leads.

Leads are easy to get, you just need to decide if you want to spend money on leads or not. Buying leads is the most common way new companies enter an industry. Buying leads isn't very expensive and the ROI can generally be within a couple of days depending on your product and strategy.

Phil,

Great question. I know many ventures struggle with this (including myself). However, it is important to know what your goals are in aligning social media to conversions. For example, posting great content on social channels is a great way to grow your following and position yourself as an expert in that area. However, that doesn't necessarily translate into more sales or growth.

The differences are small but powerful. If you want to leverage social media to lead to sales growth you need to take a different approach. An easily example is posting about a discount or sale on your social channels, however, this may or may not lead to sales growth.

By including social integration into the purchasing process you've got a captive customer audience that you already know enjoys your products/services. That's great, but how does this work?

• During the signup offer a referral incentive to invite friends/colleagues
• During onboarding give customers direction and key information that show you value customer service and experience
• At the time of purchase offer ways to share their purchase on social media (either because they just like the product/service or because it can lead to referral incentives)
• During fulfillment let customers know you want to hear the good, bad and ugly about their experience with the purchase and what you can do to make the next experience better
• Use your social media channels to provide timely customer service and information to potential customers and/or unhappy customers (don't try to squash negative reviews the fallout will not be worth "being right")
• Be vulnerable. Customers enjoy seeing there is a human side to the business, not just a constant stream of product pitches.
• Think about how you use social media channels to interact with brands you like and what you wish you got from the brands you like on social media that you aren't getting (think about those as opportunities).

I'm not saying this will be a smooth or seamless process, and it will definitely take time. But keep at it and you'll surely see some positive outcomes. I'm getting ready to refocus my approach for the coming new year. Perhaps it is a great time for you to do the same?

There are a number of occasions when an unsecured business loan should be considered.

• As a means of bolstering working capital eg you need to pay for some stock or continue to fund the operation whilst you collect some slow debtors
• As a means to acquire a critical asset for the development of the business eg a piece of IT equipment which will allow to to lift capacity
• To restructure your cashflow eg you've maxed out your credit cards and refinancing these with an unsecured loan would signiificantly reduce your regular outgoings