business-spring-cleaning

4 Business Spring Cleaning Tips for Renewed Success

by BlogEdmiston Group

Spring is filled with ideas of rebirth, renewal, and regrowth. It is the perfect time to review your marketing strategy and business achievements against your goals. It’s also a great time to refresh your branding to ensure your company remains relevant and fresh. 

business-spring-cleaning

Follow these 4 Spring cleaning tips to grow your business:

1. Refresh Your Website.

Are your website pictures and content showing their age? Incorporate updated images to your site that show visitors who you are, what you do, and what you offer. Updating core pages, rewriting with more colorful descriptions, and fresh images or videos can help make a bigger, more lasting impression with your readers about the products and services you offer and the solutions you provide.

2. Spice Up Your Social Media Posts.

Test your social media to see if it reflects your brand. Does it align with your intended messaging? Does it portray the voice of your products and services? Review your metrics and analytics to see how well social media is working for you. What’s working well? What isn’t receiving the engagement you had hoped for? Then spice your posts up with new images, gifs, videos, stories… use a variety of content that will engage your viewers. You want your posts to grab their attention.

3. Review Your Client Base.

Spring is a great time to touch base with your clients – past, present, and potential. The simple gesture of a phone call or sincere, personal email to check in and say hi can make a world of difference for your business’s success and client retention. This simple action allows your clients to feel comfortable calling you for help, and it is a great motivator for you to ask your clients for referrals, especially if they are impressed with your products and services.

4. Renew Your Business Goals.

Take a look at your original goals and vision to see if your business is still on track to meet them. What did you ultimately want to accomplish? What kind of projects did you want to take on? If you are off track, it’s time to update your goals to reflect your current business operations and pace of growth.  

This Spring could be the push that drives your business to success for the remainder of the year. By refreshing your website, spicing up your social media, re-engaging with your customer base, and renewing your goals, you’ll be refreshed, more energized, and ready to take your business to a whole new level. 


About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh-based marketing consulting firm providing senior-level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development strategies, website creation and management, social media management, marketing, strategic planning, and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

4-ways-to-promote-your-brick-mortar-retail-store

4 Ways to Promote Your Brick & Mortar Retail Store

by BlogEdmiston Group

With today’s technology, it seems that a lot of people prefer to shop from the comfort of their homes. However, as a brick & mortar retail store owner, you can take advantage of this trend by letting your customers know online that their products are available locally. Remind them of the benefits of buying locally, so they can help support the local economy while keeping it viable.

Make a trip to your retail store worthwhile, even enjoyable for your customers. As you read these suggestions, keep in mind the customer experience that you want to share with your customers.

So let’s get started. Here are 4 ways to help you promote your brick & mortar business:

Promote In-Store-Only Deals and Excellent Service

Make the customer feel that the offerings in the store are exclusively for them. Make your customers feel special. Go out of your way to assist them with any questions, offer advice, share insights. Create an experience that is so great that they will want to shop in your store time and time again. Create an environment that is relaxing. You want to encourage customers to linger long enough to make a purchase. 

Offer Samples or Demonstrations

Demonstrations of your products are extremely valuable. You can showcase the features and benefits of your product in a way that allows your customers to physically see, hear and touch the product. If applicable, you can show how the product functions. Once a product is experienced, the product can sell itself. 

Add Extra Value With In-Store Services

Extra value or perks are very important in the sales process. When customers are looking for retailers, the best price is not always the best option. The extra conveniences you offer can be very important. For example: if you own a clothing shop, you can offer tailoring at no extra charge. This perk can set you apart from a large online retail store where you purchase a piece of clothing that may or may not fit. Online stores don’t offer custom altering to ensure the customer with the best fit. You can! Like this clothing store example, think about what special service you can provide to your customers.

If the customer knows and feels great after your services are performed, the customer will purchase again. And they’ll likely tell a friend, or two. So don’t be afraid to set your products and services apart. Make it a pleasant experience with great results and will see as they will be sure to pay off.

Create a Loyalty Program

Customer loyalty programs are programs that reward loyal customers who frequently engage with your business’s products and services. By offering a Loyalty Program, you create an effective way to increase your customer retention. A Loyalty Program can help:

  • Attract new customers.
  • Retain existing customers.
  • Reactivate dormant customers.

Spice up your loyalty programs by giving members unexpected perks like a free cup of coffee or perhaps sending a handwritten note thanking them for their purchase and being such a loyal customer. Remember that surprising and delighting your customers is an effective way to boost spending, engagement, and word-of-mouth referrals.

With the pandemic now 2+ years in the making, it is time to bring customers back to your brick and mortar store. People are eager to re-engage with everything they’ve missed, especially going to brick-and-mortar stores to make purchases. It’s time to roll out the red carpet and invite them back. You’ll be glad you did!

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh-based marketing consulting firm providing senior-level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development strategies, website creation and management, social media management, marketing, strategic planning, and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

business-growth

3 Tactics for Business Growth This Spring

by BlogEdmiston Group
business-growth

Spring! What a wonderful time of year. Even amid very challenging times, there’s growth. The trees will fill in once again with green, flowers will bloom, and the air will be filled with the fresh scent of spring. So how can you focus on business growth to bring this same freshness to your business this spring?

1. Know Your Audience

There’s more to knowing your audience than filling in an avatar sheet. If it’s been a while since you have sat down and defined your audience, from their age, socioeconomic status, to their basic beliefs and interests, start there. But that’s only the start. If you want to focus on business growth this spring, what do your target audience and customers need right now? Is it better customer service, a new product, a phone call to see how they are doing, or even a word of encouragement? Maybe your audience is more financially motivated. What type of spring sale would be most aligned with their current needs?

The key is to know where your customers have the most needs right now, what will motivate them the most, and how you can serve those two needs.

2. Freshen Up Your Email Marketing

There’s no doubt you’ve noticed the ever-changing algorithms on social media, as well as more and more competition in your industry. While it’s important to be present on social media and to understand your competition, your email list is your one and only way to directly communicate with YOUR audience in the digital world.

LinkedIn newsletters are all the rage right now, but remember, LinkedIn can at any time stop or change how they distribute these newsletters. If you are not yet sending emails to your audience, now is the time to start! If you’re already communicating via email marketing, congratulations! Now take a fresh look at your email. How does it feel? Is it aligned with your current brand tone, your messaging, and your goals? Is it serving your customers? Look for ways to freshen your email communications to bring more engagement, more value and ideally, one-to-one communications as a result of your efforts. This is how you bring about business growth.

There are two other options for direct communication. They are direct mail and phone calls. Consider springtime campaigns that align your email, phone communications and email marketing for the trifecta approach.

3. Implement a Referral Program

Referral programs, when done correctly, can give bursts of business growth to any business. Depending on how you implement your program, your referral program can also provide long-term sustainable growth.

Referral programs can run the gamut of loyalty cards, discounts or gifts for both the referring party and the individual being referred, or even affiliate programs for strategic partners.

Loyalty cards are great for product-based businesses. If you use a loyalty program, be sure to include your branding, your messaging and above all, bring a sense of gratitude, fun or excitement to the program. Your loyalty program needs to have an emotional element for it to be successful.

Referral programs work well for service-based businesses. Before launching a new program, be sure your onboarding and all areas of your service are smooth and efficient. Find and improve any gaps. Your referral program need not be complicated, it just needs to benefit both the person doing the referring and the person they are referring.

Affiliate partnerships are an excellent option for those in the online space. The key here is to focus on the relationships, building partnerships with those with whom you share an audience and with whom you are aligned, and then using systems to manage the affiliate partnership. Too often, the focus is on using the system first, and not on the relationship.

So, if you are ready to grow your business this spring, take action right now. Pull out your calendar and schedule time within the next 10 days to review your audience, freshen up your email marketing, and implement a referral program. Then schedule time or hire assistance to implement your changes. Do this, and you will bring new life to your business and set the stage for business growth. And I can think of no better time to do this, than the springtime.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh-based marketing consulting firm providing senior-level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development strategies, website creation and management, social media management, marketing, strategic planning, and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

tiktok-marketing

TikTok and Your Small Business

by BlogEdmiston Group
tiktok-marketing

In the past couple of years, social media has become an essential avenue for promoting one’s business. While services from Facebook to LinkedIn can be useful in growing your business, a newer tool to tap into is TikTok. With over a billion users across the globe, this video-based social media app has already allowed countless small business owners to greatly increase their brand awareness and grow their customer base.

Be Attractive and Consistent

With visual apps like TikTok, it is important to create attractive content. Because TikTok’s user base has also grown so large in recent years, it is also important to regularly create content. Frequently posting gives you a greater chance for large exposure. But, don’t overdo it. While the app has recently expanded time constraints on videos, sometimes a burst of short videos with appeals visuals and audio will be most effective!

TikTok offers users various tools to create engaging, eye-catching content. You can choose to include emojis, stickers, trending audios or filters in order to enhance your videos, and gain attention. Be creative. You can craft your own marketing concepts on this platform, as well as work within trending concepts.

Working With Trends

The TikTok platform features a “For You” page, which tailors videos shown to each individual user based on their preferences and viewing behaviors. Similar to hashtags in Instagram, there are predominant trends that take off across the platform. By monitoring trends and hashtags, your business can tap into strategies for expansion to have your content display on users’ “For You” pages. Exploring this page yourself will allow you to find and understand trending content and see where your business can fit in. Tapping into these trends can also be very cost-effective, as creating this content does not require much of a budget or production time.

Business Tools

In addition to gaining viewership from following “For You” page trends, TikTok also offers content creators editing and advertising tools perfect for small businesses. For instance, TikTok offers advertising in the form of infeed native content, brand takeovers, hashtag challenges, and branded lenses. Many of these features are additionally convenient in that they allow direct website links and downloads. Utilizing TikTok’s targeting features will allow you to capture your desired audience and potentially greatly increase your sales, regardless of your product or service.

While working with trends and hashtags is important, you should also remember to be authentic. Allow TikTok viewers to get to know the story of your small business. Rather than simply trying to force your business into existing memes that don’t fit your brand, get to know the platform and its users before deciding what niche to try breaking into. When done right, TikTok will allow you to not only raise awareness of your small business and increase your sales but also really engage with your audience.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh-based marketing consulting firm providing senior-level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development strategies, website creation and management, social media management, marketing, strategic planning, and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

LinkedIn Live

by BlogEdmiston Group

In our increasingly digital world, online networking and tools have become more important than ever. One such resource, LinkedIn, also offers LinkedIn Live, a service which can allow you to “build deeper connections and drive more engagement with the world’s largest professional community.” The platform allows users to stream live video content to professional audiences.

Based on your experience with streaming, you will choose a third-party streaming tool or be offered LinkedIn’s custom stream tool. After connecting the streaming tool with your LinkedIn page, you can begin planning and considering the best practices for your live video’s ultimate success!

LinkedIn offers 5 key strategies for using this tool:

  1. Be prepared
  2. Be authentic
  3. Be consistent
  4. Be flexible
  5. Be engaged

You can also benefit from LinkedIn Live’s built-in metrics, which will allow you to easily measure engagement, awareness, and audience firm demographics. By expanding your reach and knowing your numbers you can better target your message to decision makers within company.

How to Leverage This for Your Business

By streaming on LinkedIn Live, you can reap the benefits of gathering as a community in real time. LinkedIn Live can be used to offer viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the people behind your brand, to help you launch new products or services, demonstrate your expertise, attract employees, and more!

While recent struggles and guidelines have made live gatherings difficult, to the detriment of many businesses, one of the most valuable features of this service is that you can make it interactive! On average, these live videos get 7x more reactions and 24x more comments than “native video produced by the same broadcasters.” This tool can serve you and your business well into the future by allowing you to engage with a much larger potential audience in new and exciting ways!

LinkedIn also offers several helpful links and guides to assist you on your journey to becoming a LinkedIn Live expert and growing your business! To start utilizing this awesome tool, fill out LinkedIn’s application now!

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh-based marketing consulting firm providing senior-level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development strategies, website creation and management, social media management, marketing, strategic planning, and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

fall business strategies

Fall into a New Season of Business

by BlogEdmiston Group

Moving into Autumn means the leaves are changing – and your business may be too! As we enter the fourth quarter of this fiscal year, it is essential to consider what you may need to do differently so that your business finishes strong and is prepared for 2022.

As business owners, we must remain relentless and determined. If you find your business is not achieving what you want, you must be willing to adjust and try out new strategies. Rather than getting wrapped up in how you may have performed in the past three quarters, make this fourth quarter your opportunity to get innovative and try out something different to finish the year strong.

Is your business reaching a new cycle of growth?

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, we are currently in longest business cycle on record. While this has meant consistent growth for many, it also indicates that we may be nearing the peak of this growth and an upcoming downtick. According to Harvard Business Review, applying a market-creating strategy, focused on generating new markets, will allow your business to maintain its growth even as the business cycle changes.
Rather than relying on strategies that focus solely on outperforming existing rivals, a combination of strategies can allow you to enter a new cycle of growth and maintain that growth in the future. Growing your business requires patience, but it also requires determination and focus. By strategizing and planning for the future, you can grow your business and keep it steady even in the face of an economic downturn.

Are your strategies for reaching potential customers working?

As business owners, we often must think of new ways to reach potential customers that allow our businesses to continue to grow and thrive. But we also cannot forget to maintain our relationships with our current customers.

According to the Small Business Association, you can reach potential new customers, while still nurturing your current customers by applying these 10 strategies:

  • Ask for referrals in active ways when following up with customers
  • Network through organizations and events in your industry and relevant to your customers
  • Offer discounts and incentives for new customers only and track those who redeem the offer to target with future marketing
  • Re-contact old customers, who haven’t recently purchased from you, on a regular basis
  • Improve your website to ensure it is up to date and attractive to new customers
  • Partner with complementary businesses and strategize ways to benefit each other
  • Promote your expertise through industry panels or online workshops
  • Use online reviews to your advantage, such as by linking to them on your website
  • Participate in community events to raise your profile and get your name out
  • Offer “bring a friend” deals to allow regulars to introduce potential new customers

By implementing different strategies, you can allow your business to reach a wider customer base and grow your success. These can allow you to also grow on a consistent basis and maintain a strong loyalty with your current customers. As you enter the 4th quarter and work to finish strong, keep these strategies, and us, in mind!

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior-level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development strategies, website creation and management, social media management, marketing, strategic planning, and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

shop small

Get Ready for Shop Small

by BlogEdmiston Group

As Small Business Saturday quickly approaches, it is important to plan ahead! Shop Small is an opportunity for you to be a community champion, increase your profits, and build up your local profile. But how should you begin to strategize for such a big day? Shop Small is all about being a champion for small business. American Express, the founders of this event, indicates 90% of shoppers who are aware of Small Business Saturday use the opportunity to try out new local small businesses and restaurants. If you want your business to be one of those that the community tries out this year, start planning now!

Be a Neighborhood Champion

Shop Small is focused on not only small businesses, but also on local communities. Participating gives you a chance to widen your customer base, as well as to build up your community. One way to do this is to become an official Neighborhood Champion by signing up through American Express. Being a Champion means also supporting other business owners in your community and spreading the word about which businesses are participating in the event.

Think about how you might utilize social media to get the community excited about Shop Small, or even consider hosting a community kickoff event to strategize with other business owners and prepare for the day ahead. Whichever route you take, being a Neighborhood Champion will give you the opportunity to remind your larger community of why it is important to shop small, while also increasing your business’s local profile.

Increase Awareness and Your Profits

To get the most out of Shop Small, it is important to think ahead and to consider if your business is reaching a wide enough clientele. Partnering with complementary businesses will allow you to share in the cost of advertising and drive increased traffic to your businesses. Working with others who are not in direct competition with you will allow you to succeed on raising local awareness of your business and Small Business Saturday. Being a team player benefits everyone!

You may also think about creating some type of special sale for Shop Small. Consider bundling products for a higher price point. By creating product bundles, you can sell more of your products while also increasing your profits! Selling complementary products together, or selling only certain products in bundles rather than individually, can convince consumers that may be new to your business to shop with you.

Make this year the year that you take full advantage of all the opportunities Shop Small offers. As November 27th looms on the horizon, you should feel confident that your business, and your community, will find this event to be successful!

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior-level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development strategies, website creation and management, social media management, marketing, strategic planning, and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

Masterclass – How to Be a Great Podcast Guest to Grow Your Business (or Brand)

by BlogCommunicationsEdmiston Group

My good friend Mj Callaway, CSP, CVP, Author, Professional Speaker, Trainer and 2-time cancer survivor will present an online Masterclass program on what it takes to be a Podcast Guest on Wednesday, July 28, 2021 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm.

Content marketing strategies are expanding a multi-media approach is being used to grow brand awareness and engage audiences. Have you considered a podcast for your business? According to Wista, more people are listening to podcasts than ever before. From 2019 to 2020, the percentage of Americans who listened to podcasts monthly went up 5%, from 32% to 37%. In that same timeframe, the percentage of Americans familiar with podcasting as a content medium also rose by 5%, from 70% to 75%. After hitting record listenership in 2020, it’s likely that even more listeners will hop on the podcast train in 2021.

Like any aspect of marketing, learning how to make a podcast is something you have to invest time and effort in, to get good at. You need to design your podcast artwork and create the intro and outro. But through podcasting you can accelerate your business growth and fast-track your marketing efforts as a podcast guest.

You won’t want to miss this event. As a valued resource partner Mj has graciously offered my guests an additional bonus recording of the class. Use this link to register and receive the recording for the class.

Register Now For This Online Interactive Masterclass

Here are some highlights:

Are you ready to expand your audience, increase your client base, and grow your business? As a GREAT PODCAST GUEST, you CAN increase your reach while multiplying your marketing efforts.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to boost your online presence, gain brand awareness and so much more.

Say yes, if you want to:

  • Build brand awareness.
  • Boost credibility.
  • Gain media exposure.
  • Increase your client base.
  • Reach new audiences.
  • Multiply marketing efforts.
  • Share your message.

In this online MASTERCLASS, you will:

  • Discover the three must-haves that make hosts invite you to be a gu
  • Know the five top mistakes you need to avoid.
  • Find out the key elements you need to be a great guest who rocks his/her interview.
    Get insider secrets. Shh!
  • Create a repeatable podcast marketing plan.
  • Plus, you’ll get the templates you need!

So, if you want to gain more exposure, build your business (or brand), increase your credibility, and expand your audience/client base, you can do it and more.

  • During this jam-packed Masterclass, you’ll discover how to create “sound bite phrases” that resonate with hosts and audiences. Sound bite phrases that have people repeating them. This Masterclass is all content, no filler.
  • You’ll find out the three core must-haves to be a great interviewee.
  • You’ll learn how to weave in your business so that people care without being sales-y.
  • And so much more that will make you look and sound more professional!

You won’t want to miss this event. Space is limited. Register Now For This Online Interactive Masterclass and receive your free bonus recording.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior-level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development strategies, website creation and management, social media management, marketing, strategic planning, and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

Website-Development-Strategy-for-small-business

Website Development Strategy for Small Business

by BlogEdmiston Group

Website-Development-Strategy-for-small-businessStrategy is a key component in the development of a new website. Often business owners will determine they need an updated site or don’t have a website at all. Perhaps new products or product lines have been developed and without the marketing strategy, the website lacks the ability to demonstrate your message and have an effective call to action.

When the Edmiston Group works with a client on a new website, we first determine what the GOAL of the website will be. We ask questions such as “What are your product lines or service offerings? Will you bundle services for a higher price point? How will you utilize social media and third-party testimonials? Why do you do what you do? How does that solve a problem for YOUR customers? Answers to these and many other questions during our initial strategy session will help us design and develop the sitemap and framework for the new website. We ask thought provoking questions that help a business owner determine their unique selling proposition.

Our team recently worked with ATK Design Studios to help them create a new look and tell their story utilizing video and other forms of imagery. Small unique ATK branded design elements were incorporated into the various photos and images and the imagery was locked to help in the prevention of others from copying their photos.

We reviewed website content and assisted in wordsmithing their messaging to provide a better client experience. Linking to their social media sites, particularly YouTube which is owned by Google will also help in their search results.

TESTIMONIAL

“We place emphasis on designing each commercial kitchen with its’ own unique identity. The Edmiston Group grasped that immediately. They saw our passion for communicating each project’s story. We wanted something distinct that reflected our brand. Edmiston Group did a fantastic job of bringing our vision to life. Sincerely a great team to work with.” Terri Kidwell, President – ATK Design Studios.

If your website is in need of a makeover or perhaps you’ve recently changed your product offerings and the website doesn’t reflect the new services, email us or call 724-612-0755 to learn more.

communication-crisis-planning

Communication Crisis Planning

by BlogEdmiston Group

During 2020, businesses were thrust into pandemic mode in communicating with staff, clients, vendors, and their customers. The fluid changes in operations were dictated by the government’s mandates of the current pandemic situation.

According to HubSpot, when a business goes into crisis, it generally falls into one of five categories:
  • Financial – Financial loss such as announcing a bankruptcy or store closures.
  • Personnel – Changes to staff that may affect operations or reputation such as employee furloughs or layoffs.
  • Organizational – An apology for misconduct or wrongdoing as a result of organizational practices.
  • Technological – Technological failure that results in outages causing reduced functionality or functionality loss.
  • Natural – Natural crisis that necessitates an announcement or change of procedure. For example, defining safety precautions in the midst of a health crisis.

By preparing to address how each of these areas will affect your business operations, business owners will be able to quickly to execute a crisis communication plan. Lack of planning for a given situation will leave a business owner trying to figure out in those first critical moments who to notify, what information is needed, how the business will rebound and what long-term effects the crisis has.

For example, because of the pandemic, Christopher & Banks decided to close their brick-and-mortar stores and shift to online operations. Many big box chains reacted similarly. They notified customers via email and other sources of store closings.

Personnel crisis communication occurs when a person affiliated with the company makes statements or takes actions that don’t align with the company’s brand. An organizational crisis occurs when operational procedures aren’t followed. Ellen DeGeneres faced crisis from both personnel and operational fronts in 2020 amidst revelations of a toxic workplace culture and sexual harassment issues regarding senior executives.

How many times does technology and ransomware attacks hit the news? Most recently Microsoft faced backlash for its lack of transparency in a recent hack into their exchange networks exposing millions of businesses to hackers.

We have seen countless news reports over the past year on COVID-related policy changes.

What does this have to do with your business? You may think you’re a small business and these major things won’t happen to you, but in some form or another, they can and often do. As a business owner, preparing for these types of situations will give you the framework to structure your efforts and prepare your contingency plans accordingly. Building a plan that includes communicating with stakeholders, informing employees, and creating adaptive solutions once the crisis has happened will enable you to react quickly.

Being prepared today will enable you to react to adapt and remain open for business tomorrow.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior-level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development strategies, website creation and management, social media management, marketing, strategic planning, and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.