Public Relations

Public Relations can be of beneficial use to some companies. But for small businesses it is not necessary that you hire someone to do this. You can do it yourself. What does it mean?
"Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” 
So if you are a small business all you need is to think of a good slogan to attract the public's attention.

E-marketing

If you are going to sell anything you have to market your product! One of the easiest and cheapest forms of marketing is through social media. Share your ideas through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.. Ask your friends and family to share your pages, get the word out there. Create business pages, then share your products through your business page and share, share, share.

Market Penetration and Competitive Advantage

Have you guys ever thought about how you are going to market your business? Or what type of competitive edge you will have against any other businesses just like yours? This is a huge decision when it comes to having your own business. Think about Dollar General for instance, it seems like they have one about every 10 miles or so. That is a really good Market Penetration for them, and to think about all the good deals they have along with low prices, that's competitive thinking. If there really was one every 10 miles or so, that would cut out the hassle of having to go too Walmart or somewhere for just a handful of items. Say maybe you just need some milk and bread, it would be so much easier to just go too Dollar General for some than to go too Walmart.

Distribution and location

Have you ever thought of starting your own business? Many do, if only just dreams of having one or actually starting one. One of the biggest challenges of planning to start your own business is choosing where to have one, as in location. Even looking for a new home most realtors tell you its all about location, location, location! Maybe you want to have your business in a major city? Or maybe start a local hometown business, either one, choose the location that is best for you, the economy and having a thriving business. Another business challenge is distribution, are you going to do online sales, or just storefront sales. Either way it should tie in with your location. Good luck to you all!

Pricing

I don't know if you all have heard of Aldi but if you haven't you should check it out! This store originated from Germany, but there is several all over the U.S. They are a low cost food chain store. They keep their cost margins down by employing a smaller amount of employees, keeping low overhead cost, using local vendors. They have very good prices on dairy, vegetables, fruit and bread. Along with a lot of other processed and canned foods. Most of their products are a cheaper brand than name brand items. But the quality is still great! Just because it isn't name brand doesn't mean it's not good. They also have great specials every week along with their already low prices! So check them out!

Organizing Departments for complaints

I personally believe every company should have some type of system for complaints, reviews, returns, and purchases to be successful. For instance when a consumer buys a product that doesn't work properly but they can't return it who should they call? I would call the complaint department or maybe even returns. Once you get someone on the phone, tell them the issue you are having and hopefully you'll get a good customer service representative that can assist you. If it was my company I would create the different departments with several team members. Having more than others in some of the larger areas of interest, one being complaints. Have several members taking phone complaints, mail, and email then compile those to give to people to review them. Once they are review see if a solution can be made, if not forward on to a supervisor that can deal with the situation on a different level and provide the best solution for the consumer and company.

company vs. company

Which company or brand to choose? There are so many when it comes to any given product. We as consumers like variety and the biggest factor comes down to the price for the quality. I know most of my post have been about items for children, obviously because I have a baby:) But I do still enjoy watching tv or doing activities when my baby is napping.
When he was first born it was which brand to use? Dr. Browns bottles vs. playtex? Huggies vs. Pampers? Similac vs. Enfamil? Most of these brands are very close in price, but for me it was, what was best for my baby.  So my suggestion is to just try some different ones until you find the one you like!
~
Stacey