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Small businesses will not have large budgets to spend on marketing and communications. Therefore, it is important that small businesses have a clear plan when embarking on any form of advertising.

When you are looking at selecting advertising methods ensure that they grab your consumers’ attention, provide information and offer consumers a reason to buy your product or service. Any marketing campaign should try to create a relationship, that will build a two-way interaction between the business and the consumer. Your message to your consumer must nudge the consumer to buy your product or service by providing a clear message that is visual and one that offers the consumer a single inspiring idea.

When creating a marketing campaign, consider starting the project with clear objectives. Clear objectives will provide a single creative message that will help the team working on the project. Reaching out to any target market can be difficult, as people are busy and distracted with the large number of marketing messages they receive. Making your idea stand out is key to fuel interest and inspire action.

Gather inspiration from campaigns that used key features of their product to make a statement in the market. Look at the “got milk” ads and the “smell like a man” old spice slogan. These messages resonate in consumers’ minds as they are simple and give you an overall idea about the product and focus on the products need to the consumer.

Summary: Even something as popular as an ice cream store should target specific markets. In this article, we look at the ice cream eating habits of families with children and adults.

The first step when starting a new business, or even marketing an existing business is to identify the target market. Ice cream shop owners assume that everyone is their target market, when in fact, with a little bit of targeting, they will save both time and money when marketing the store. Even niche stores that sell healthier options can cater to several subsets of the same market. This is why it is important to know who your target is and how to entice them. Here are the main target markets for an ice cream store:

Families with children

You can target your advertising by both age and gender. At least 34% of households with children consume at least four quarts of ice cream every month. Similarly, African American households prefer a larger range of flavors and eat more of the dessert than the typical household. Households without children consume about 20% less than those that do. Families that travel with children almost always stop for an ice cream on the way.

Teenagers

When it comes to teenagers, the statistics are slightly different. Teenage boys will always order premium ice creams when available. Teenage girls on the other hand only opt for the premium flavors after a breakup or during stressful times. The standard fare for teenage girls are healthier options like froyo or low-calorie low-sugar flavors.

Use data like this to position your store for the right demographic and make the most of your advertising dollars.

Written by Gelato Products. In the market for frozen yogurt supplies wholesale? Gelato Products will have everything you need for your store.

The key to maintaining and managing a successful business has a lot to do with money management. Here are some tips that will assist small businesses to manage their money.

Start budgeting – Budgeting is a way to fix problems that may arise from cash management. Start by tracking your expenditures, revenues, and your savings. Budgeting will also give you a clear picture of the future and how you can invest in other areas of your business.

Save – Saving money for your business’s emergency fund is a great way to keep your business afloat when you have unexpected expenses, or your sales are low. Another good way to save more is to buy second-hand items, for example, consider buying second-hand furniture, equipment, and vehicles.

Hire a CFO – A CFO will be able to manage your money and have the professional experience to help manage your finances. Avoid the fancy title and hire a good accountant that has some experience in business operations which are similar to your own.

Create strategies to increase your cash flow–To increase your cash flow, you can give your customers discounts and points for paying early. Another way to increase your cash flow is to add more services to your product listing, which will broaden your appeal to customers within your industry. When business is slow, provide a credit line, so that more customers will choose you over your competitors.

Written by Gelato Products

The frozen yogurt industry has grown in the US, and currently, there is a long list of frozen yogurt products and stand-alone stores in the market. However, the industry is still growing and if you are considering entering the market, here are a few key areas that require further analysis.

Know your customers – Look for a location that you see a demand for a frozen yogurt store. Start by conducting a survey and look at speaking to a range of people from your target market. It is important also to gather information on employment, income and how people spend their money.

Know your competitors – Your immediate competitors will be other frozen yogurt and ice cream stores in and around the location you choose. You can have a quick look at the nearby stores by scanning the area or by performing a web search. Visiting your competitors is a good way to understand what you are competing with and the standards you have to maintain.

Know the rules – You will have to pay tax for your business and these rules will vary from state to state. To start your business, you will also require special licenses and permits to serve food safely. If you intend on hiring staff, you will have to register your business for an Employer Identification Number and complete I-9 forms for all new hires.

Know the costs – Usually starting a yogurt store will cost between $10,000 -$50,000 up front. Look into renting costs, hiring staff, inventory and supplies. You will also need serving equipment like dispensers, bowls, spoons and tasting spoons.

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Gelato Products has everything you need for your ice cream parlor, including frozen yogurt paper cups and other Los Angeles gelato supplies.

Written by Secure Net Shop

Sales on e-commerce sites are growing at a rapid pace. Shoppers are increasingly turning to websites rather than going out. The change of shopping habit is partially for convenience and partially because it is easier to check multiple websites for what you want rather than running around from shop to shop. Regardless, if you haven’t already, it is time to get your e-commerce shopping cart up and running. Here is a basic rundown of the steps:

Information – First get all the information you need in one place. For example, The product pages of the website will require images, descriptions, and categories. Lots of companies do not have most of this information available, so it saves a lot of time to get this together first. Talk to your cart provider and get a list of everything they will need.

Payments – Any shopping cart e-commerce operation needs to accept payment from credit cards. Talk to your bank or choose one of the many online payment gateway providers. Keep an eye out for long payment periods or higher per-transaction rates. If you cannot afford the hit on your margin, consider other providers.

Implementation – The next step is to add all the products and categories. Adding everything in your inventory can take some time and requires maintenance. Whenever you discontinue a product, remove it from the side to avoid confusion. This step includes changing the design of the cart to match the look and feel of your website. Shoppers will go from one to the other and should not notice a difference.

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Add the ability to sell goods or services from your website with e-commerce shopping cart software from Secure Net Shop.