A Look Inside The New Tax Plan. The Standard Deduction vs. Itemizing

There has been so much hype about the new tax plan. I have received numerous calls and emails with concerns, so I thought I would cover a big piece of it for New Yorkers.

The first thing you need to consider before you worry is do you Itemize your deductions or have you been taking the Standard Deduction the past few years? If you have not been Itemizing in the past you are not likely to now - the amounts all doubled. If you file Single - it went from $ 6,350 to $12,200  if you file Head of Household $9,350 to $18,000 and if you file Married $12,700 to $24,400.  

This is not a huge break though because the Personal Exemption has been cut completely. In the past we could deduct from taxable income either the Standard or Itemized Deductions PLUS an exemption of $4050 (2017) for each member of the family. In two or three person households the amounts will equal closely to the new higher Standard Deduction – not much of a change for you…other filing combinations will be impacted differently. The overall issue is if you pay very high real estate taxes on your main home or vacation home you will likely loss deduction.  

Keep in mind – if the RE Taxes you pay are a business deduction - for example; - rentals or farming there is no loss at all. This rule only applies to personal property or that held for investment only. The main thing to remember is that the brackets have changed significantly for lower to mid-income taxpayers. The rates did not change a whole lot, but how they are applied did. In the analysis I did for people over the past month most came out fairly close to what they are paying now. 

Overall, as with anything else some will be helped and some will be hurt. We are too far gone to ever make this a truly fair system. Those of us in NY will not see much benefit at all, but I want to leave you with this thought. There are many (not living in NY or CA) that will be helped hugely by these changes. We need to get the GDP growing. I hope they have found a way.

Google vs. The Professionals

Don’t get me wrong I use google every day. The web has become a primary source of information. It provides us with research and access to more information than we ever thought we “needed”. I do see some danger though as people have become accustom to just flipping out their phone and fact checking everything as if it can replace trusted advice.

As a professional in the consulting business I am starting to see the trust in the internet grow. There are articles and blogs about taxes, business strategy, HR problems, valuation and business plans some of which are factual and well-written and with sound judgement and others not so much. 

My worry and purpose for this article is because people are now using Google to justify their decision making and actions. Instead of seeking sound individualized advice based on their situation they are finding the answer that they like best, meets their needs and going with it. Using it is as their defense for action. Yes, scary I know…

The danger as I see it is people are relying on advice that does not apply. Every state has different laws and regulations, the tax code overlaps and does not apply to every return the same way. The events of a similar situation can have drastically different outcomes based on where you are located.

The moral of my story is this, when something as important as your business is the subject of your google search back it up by confirming with a professional that has the knowledge and experience to adequately assess the facts and provide you with sound advice. Google is great, but can you really believe everything you read?

Planning and Projections

If you are a calendar year business, November should be your planning month. (Fiscal year companies – the advice is the same only the month may change.)

Regardless of the size of your company it is an excellent time to reflect on the first 10 months of the year and to look ahead to the next. You need to be deciding if this is the right time to purchase something to reduce taxes and how that purchase will affect cash flow.

So many people go see their Accountant for tax planning this time of year with incomplete and inaccurate books and no real plans. In order to get the best results for that time and money you really need to do your homework a little beforehand. I do advocate for doing a full budget process even in small companies; especially if you are planning to grow your business. It is not critical the process be executed fully to reap benefits from some of the steps.

At the very least do some analysis:

Look at your sales, expenses, margins and work force, make sure your financial house is in order. Determine if your assets are working for you or against you. Would replacing a piece of equipment increase productivity?

Set some goals for you and your team: Studies prove giving your team goals helps motivate them to Set goals for advertising and a related spending plan. Too many companies advertising in a vacuum, if you can’t measure the effectiveness of those dollars you may be wasting money. You may be surprised how spending a few hours can positively affect your bottom line and your cash flow.

Let us know if we can help you with any planning process or get you started on your way.

Employee Handbook - Friend or Foe?

So many small businesses do not have Employee Handbooks. I hear a wide variety of reasons why, but the most common is that they just don’t get around to it. I have also heard it is too expensive and too hard to make one size that fits all for “their” employees. I suppose if you have only one employee then you likely don’t need one, but for those with two or more keep reading.

If you have one – GREAT – my question to you is – “Are you following it?”. If you have a 100+ page Employee Handbook and you don’t even know what is in there, you likely have a bigger problem than not having one at all. It may shock you, but having a Handbook and then breaking your own rules sets a precedent. The DOL is not too keen on allowing you to only apply the rules when it’s convenient for you as an Employer. My suggestion is to review your current book and either cut it down to something you can truly follow or eliminate the Employee Handbook and then opt for written Employment Agreements with each employee. Each can be customized for the position and the standard boiler plate parts you need added in to cover more adequately than a Handbook you ignore.

For those of you that do not have one yet. Do something good for your business and prioritize it. Most often I find that employees welcome having the rules given to them in writing - especially when they are followed by all. Make sure you get an Employee Handbook customized to your business and needs. Yes, some DOL rules apply to every employer and employee, but many rules are determined by the number of Full-time Equivalent (FTE) Employees you have working for you at one time. Other rules can really be what you want them to be, custom to the company.

Employers with sound Handbooks that are followed have a bit of insurance when dealing with some difficult employee issues. If you lay out the rules in writing and make sure they are followed by management then you may be able to save precious points on your unemployment rate when terminating a troublemaker. It also aids in hanging on to the good employees you want to keep. Rules may feel like your foe, restrictive and difficult when trying to get some things done, but rules are also a great friend, they are an equalizer and short road for unloading an employee who is not helping your bottom line.

By: Kimberly Manrow EA

OVERTIME LAW SUSPENDED!

This week (12/1/16), a new nationwide rule on overtime pay was supposed to take effect. But last week, in response to a legal challenge, a federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking the change. The Obama administration sought to raise the salary cap for workers eligible for overtime pay to $47,500 a year; about double the current cap. The rule would affect millions of workers, requiring employers to pay them time-and-a-half for every hour exceeding 40 hours in a given week. The worst part is many companies have already prepared for the change.

The injunction will likely push President Obama’s executive order past the 1/20/16 inauguration which is when he’s out of office. It’s unlikely President-Elect Trump will agree to the same executive order.

What does this all mean for you, the small business owner?
I’m always hesitant to predict what will happen in the future, but at the very least, this new law is on-hold for the time being. When things become more clear, I will be happy to update you further.

In the meantime, if you have any questions regarding anything specific to your situation – please feel free to contact my office at (315) 258-8780 or Kim@asterfg.com

Just Because You Do It Differently, Doesn’t Mean You Do It’s Better….

My house was built in 1993, my fiancé and I bought the house in 2014. We like to think we’ve done a pretty good job at taking care of our home…..with one exception, the front window. This large, oddly shaped window leaks AC in the summer and heat in the winter. So we finally decided to get an estimate to have someone replace the window. We called a reputable company to come out, measure and give us an estimate. What happened next stunned me.

The pleasant sales woman proceeded to tell us they have a sales man come out and, not only, give us an estimate, but also provide us with “a short 90 minute sales presentation” on why their windows are better than any other windows. I politely told the woman that we weren’t going to need the sales presentation – just the estimate. She proceeded to tell me: “We do things differently than anyone else, it’s why we’re so much better than the competition. There’s no way to get the estimate without the sales presentation. It’s a new policy.”

A stranger trapping me in my own home and giving me a 90 minute hard sales pitch for a product I already want? That sounds like a version of hell that Stephen King couldn’t dream up. Needless to say, I canceled the appointment for them to come to the house.

Small business owners, what’s the moral of the story? Just because you’re different from your competition, that doesn’t necessarily make you better. So before you go changing everything because you’re so desperate to be different, make sure your changes make sense.

Sidenote: Admittedly, this blog is a little self-serving. I still need my window replaced. If anyone knows of a good window company (that won’t hold me hostage in my own home), please shoot me an email – josh@asterfg.com

Why Aren’t Your Marketing Materials Working?

Many moons ago, I used to work for a company where the sales culture was pretty intense. At any given time, there was 10-15 sales people who would try and sell the product – if they didn’t meet their quota, BAM they were out the door. In this company, this culture cultivated an environment where their sales department was a constant revolving door. The whole department was always filled with new faces I’ve never seen before. No one ever took the time to get to know them, because…well, why? They wouldn’t be there for long anyway.

I started to wonder how so many sales guys could be bad at sales. How’s this possible? Everyone was hired because they had some sort of successful sales experience. Then it hit me, I had an epiphany - sunlight started to break through the parting clouds and angels started signing (ok, I’m being dramatic, I’m sure someone just opened the blinds while a Britney Spears song started playing on the radio).

The problem wasn’t the sales department – it was their marketing/sales materials!

Learn from this company’s past (and I’m sure, current) flaws:

• They aren’t customizable. You should be customizing the materials to each prospective client. This company wasn’t doing that; they’d just use the same old info they use for everyone else.
• They’re boring. Numbers, facts and figures are important – but incredibly boring! Marketing 101, you don’t sell a product – you sell an emotion. This company’s materials were boring and had no zip to it. No excitement. In fact, they looked like a 6th grader learned to use PowerPoint for the first time.  
• They tout your company too much. Prospective clients don’t want to hear about how great your company is, they want to know you understand their problems and you want to provide a solution. This company’s materials would spend too much time talking about how great they are – ain’t nobody got time for that.    
• They don’t highlight success stories or recommendations. Prospective clients want to see that you have a history of making other people happy. Studies show, by just adding this extra info – conversions from prospective clients to paying clients goes up 47%.  

If you have a question or comment, please doesn’t hesitate to reach out. You can contact me at (315) 258-8780 or at Josh@asterfg.com

Death Of A Salesman

(yes, I know – Arthur Miller wrote it in 1949)

I’m going to take a lot of heat for this, but let’s just rip the Band-Aid off, shall we? Sales people are dead and any companies still selling products like they did 10 or 20 years ago are dying too – there, I said it.  

Much like video killed the radio star, digital marketing has killed salespeople. The difference between marketing and sales was a clear cut relationship with the customer: Marketing created the relationship and Sales nurtured the relationship. With the invention of social media, this structure doesn’t exist anymore. Marketing now has the power to create and nurture the relationship up to and including the point-of-purchase. Which means that precious “sales funnel” that hangs on the wall of every sales department is worthless. Don’t believe me? That’s ok, I can prove it:

Close your eyes and think about the “stereotypical” car salesman. The picture that comes to mind is the sales man in a suit that jumps you when you enter a car showroom; he invites you to his desk, takes notes of your interests and then recommends a car you might want to consider. The sales man would then take you through the different range, color and accessory options before handing you a brochure and giving you the option of arranging a test-drive at some point in the future. Not anymore - most customers that walk into a car showroom today will have done several hours of research online and usually know exactly what they want – often to the last detail. The marketing materials online have empowered the customer to take over the sale. They come to the showroom to experience the car, to sit in it, touch it, smell it and drive it. The new role of the salesman is offer that experience straight away. Plus, they’ve changed their titles! They’re no longer called Salesmen, but Product Specialists.

Fire your sales team, but don’t put them on the unemployment line – rehire them as Product Specialists, Account Managers or Relationship Managers. Put their focus on providing individual recommendations, advise and expertise.

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Ryan?

If you’ve read this blog enough, you know that I’m a big believer in branding – yes, even for the smallest of businesses. The best brands are rooted in “realness” and following through on your company promises. This is a must when building trust, which in-turn, will bring customer loyalty. BUT what happens when something destroys that trust in one stupid (and I mean STUPID) move?

This is exactly what happened with Ryan Lockte at the Summer Olympics last week.

“But Josh, this isn’t the same thing – Ryan Lockte isn’t a business.”   Make no mistake about it, it’s the EXACT same thing. Ryan Lockte makes a lot of money working for Ryan Lockte Inc. And this “company” is in the middle of something that can only be described as a PR agent’s worst nightmare.

Let’s focus on how this incident affected Ryan’s brand and what you can learn as you build your own company brand.

A week and a half ago, Ryan claimed he and 3 other teammates were robbed at gunpoint by people dressed like police. Later it was discovered the swimmers were not robbed, but had a confrontation with a security guard due to vandalism they committed while in a gas station. Later Ryan admitted the story was “over-exaggerated” (which is a nice way of saying “a complete and utter lie”).

Up until this point, Ryan’s brand was centered around his athletic prowess. After all, he is a 12 time Olympic medalist. Think of him as a poor-man’s Michael Phelps. If Michael Phelps was Coca-Cola, Ryan was that weird store brand of soda that sits next to Coke on the shelf – the one that people only buy because it’s cheaper than Coke.

Even with this being true, Ryan was still able to rake in a ton of cash in sponsorships (the Holy Grail for Olympic athletes), but after these shenanigans – they began to drop him. As of press time, 4 to be exact.        

So what are some Lochte Lessons you can apply to your company’s brand?

·        If you screw up – own it immediately and completely. This is something Ryan has yet to do. He’s still using the phrase “over-exaggerated.” Let’s chip in and buy Ryan a dictionary, because I don’t think he’s using that phrase right.

·        Right the wrong. It’s not enough to say you were wrong, you need to try and make it right. Ryan still has yet to offer anything worth value to the people of Rio - only a half-hearted apology.  One of his sponsors (Speedo) did the right thing and quickly offered $50,000 to a local charity.   

·        People will discover your lie. In a world where everything is video taped and dissected on social media, it’s always safe to assume the truth will surface.

What Can You Learn About Marketing From A Presidential Race?

If you know me at all, you know that a Presidential race is my Superbowl. I’m a political nerd – there I said it. My name is Josh and I’m a politics-aholic (if there were meetings for this, my fiancé would sign me up and drive me there). With that being said, this article’s sole purpose is to show you how tactics for a Presidential race can be dissected and applied to a small business owner’s marketing strategy – I will not be telling you who to vote for (although, it’s taking every fiber of my being not to scream it at you).

Modern politicians have more in common with marketers than you might think. To survive in the cutthroat world of politics, they have to pay close attention to their personal brand and storytelling. In order to be a success in today’s 24/7 social media-driven world, politicians have evolved from soapbox preachers into fully-fledged brands.

The Clinton, Bush, Obama and Reagan brands did not get where they are by accident. They are products that have been properly marketed and America has picked them off the shelf and put them in their cart.

Take some tips from                             (insert your favorite President here)

 Cement and Share Your Brand: Your brand is more than your website and logo, it should embody a core narrative that’s carried throughout everything you share.

Why Are You Different: Clearly identify your competition and differentiate yourself from them. The narrative that you create should communicate why you are a better choice than the rest of the market, particularly when that marketplace is heavily saturated.

Be Willing To Evolve Your Strategy: Politicians require different themes and narratives at each stage of their campaign in order to be successful. As campaigns gather momentum, what worked in the primary season (appealing to a specific audience) will not work in the General Election (appealing to the widest possible demographic). A delicate balancing act is required.

Get Emotional: The best politicians know that stats and facts are important, but nothing sells a product like emotion - knowing how your base feels, sharing their pain points and connecting with them on a human level.

Embrace Technology: Millennials are now the largest demographic in the country (over 75 million). The best politicians know they want to consume the majority of their media online, are more cynical than any other generation and want an active relationship with their candidates.

Elections aren’t won just because someone has the best policies. They are won on how effectively candidates’ communicate these policies and engage with their audience. Small business owners are in the same boat and need to realize just having the best product or service isn’t enough anymore.  

Did I make it? Did I get through the whole article without hitting you over the head with my political views? 

Strategy for the Future

by Kimberly S. Manrow 

As I sit and listen to the politicians and their party leaders of the last two weeks, I am finding myself more concerned about the future of my own business than ever before. This is shaping up to be an election like no other in my business life; leaving me feeling like I need two plans for the future. Business is about seizing opportunity, capitalizing on the right risks and be willing to change with the tide.  The real question is which tide will be coming? They could not be more different on the most important business issues that will reshape the small business climate.

We as small business owners will need to pay close attention to events over the next 3 months and consider having a strategy to deal with the fallout depending on which candidate actually wins. One of the worse places in business to be is unprepared for the winds of change.

I expect few changes for 2016 that will strongly affect many of us, our leaders are too caught up in power struggles to be bothered with tax stuff right now. But there is a long list of employment issues, regulation changes and inflationary concerns coming that will affect every business in this country. 

Most small business owners are often too busy to think much about the future, we spend most of our time just trying to keep up and stop to smell the roses once in a while. I challenge you to think about how $15.00 minimum wage will affect you directly, but more so the burdensome inflation that will come out of it. What are you going to do for all employees’ compensation levels when that happens? How are you going to deal with the new salaried employee rules already law coming December 1? These are just the beginning of new regulation… but what if the floodgates open and you are not ready for it? How long will it take you to take action?  History does repeat itself, which means the ones most poised to seize the day will reap the most benefit.

Most of the clients we have talked with all stated they will have to raise prices to stay in business depending on who wins this fall.  How much are you going to have to raise prices to survive? The planning process can be very enlightening consider exposing yourself and your business to some reflection and critical analysis – think about how well you might sleep being a bit ahead of the curve. 

The Only Thing To Fear Is Fear Itself

by Josh Amidon

We all have fears – I, for example, am terrified of Garden Gnomes. Don’t laugh, it’s a real thing (Gnomophobia). I’m convinced it’s just a matter of time till they all team up and plot to take over humankind. In all seriousness, fear is the most basic of human elements and plays a major role in business success and failure.

I spend a great deal of time trying to help business owners understand that one of the most important marketing strategies they must embrace is finding a way to stand out from the crowd. Because I believe so strongly in this, I can tell you one of the single greatest fears that many business owners have is being different than everyone else in their industry.

I’m guessing it goes back to school where being different made pretty much everyone scared as hell, but I’m a marketer and not a therapist – so figure your own stuff out. I find that this goes well beyond simply copying what others in the industry do, it’s a real fear of doing anything that might appear odd. I can tell you right now this fear and knowing that others in your industry share it, is the single greatest small business marketing opportunity at your disposal.

Here’s an exercise I would like you to tackle. Go to the web site of your four biggest competitors, copy their “about us” sections and paste each on a document. Now add the same from your own web site. Lastly, black out any identifying features and pass this page around the office or to anyone familiar with your industry.

The object of this little game is to see if anyone can identify any of the companies listed, including your own. My experience when I’ve done this is that many business owners struggle even identifying the entry from their own company, but what is usually painfully obvious is that each of the companies is saying essentially the Same. Exact. Thing.

If the world of potential customers can’t tell you apart from your competitors, they will be forced to use price as their only guide.

You must get over the fear of being different and find a way to demonstrate that you serve a very narrow target niche, package your services in unique ways, provide an over the top experience, own a certain way of doing things, do something that someone wants like no one ever thoughts of – and then, proudly declare this difference in every fiber of your communication.

Two things to take away from this article:

1. Let your freak flag fly
2. Garden Gnomes are evil

Make Your Case (Statement)!

by Josh Amidon

Over the course of my career I have worked with many non-profit agencies. One of the things that all successful non-profit agencies are good at is asking for money. The standard tool used in fundraising is something called a “case statement.”

A case statement, as the names implies, is an approach created to make their case to the donor to answer - “why you should give us money?” One of the best in recent memory was the SPCA’s commercial showing video of mistreated dogs and cats while a Sarah McLachlan song played. Without saying much, you knew what the SPCA did and why you should be throwing money at them. If that commercial doesn’t give you a case of the feels, then you’re either heartless or lying.

When you think about it, there’s not that much difference between the profit and non-profit sectors. Almost every small business is proposing that the prospect trade money for something of value.

I have found the case statement to be a handy tool for cutting through the marketing hype and getting to reason why a prospect should trade their money for what you have to offer.

Dump the traditional sales & marketing speak and create a case statement to compel your target market to understand why they should give you their money. This idea may be the most significant piece of marketing collateral you can produce.

Your case statement should address the following:

A statement of a challenge, frustration or problem that your target market experiences
An image of what life is like when the problem is solved
A directed call to contact you

Think about it this way, let’s say you’re looking for a geriatric doctor for a family member. You have 2 in your town and their websites say:

“I’m a geriatric doctor”
 “I’m a geriatric doctor, but what I really do is help people stay in their homes longer, go to one more granddaughter’s wedding and attend their great, great grandson’s Bar Mitzvah.”

Now, you tell me, who has the better case statement? When you need a doctor to care for you when you get to that point in life, who would you call?

I have to go now, people in my office are going to kill me because I keep singing Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” over and over again – but if you have any questions or wish to discuss this further, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at Josh@asterfg.com or (315) 258-8780.

The DOL’s New Overtime Rule Effective 12/01/16

by Kim Manrow & Josh Amidon

As some of you may know, the US Department of Labor made a long-anticipated (or dreaded, depending on your viewpoint) change to rules on overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. President Obama acted in another sweeping Executive Decision aimed at Business Owners in a still weak economy.

As a quick recap, the changes include:

·        Increases the minimum annual salary for exempt employees from $23,660 to $47,476 (or from $455/week to $913/week).

·        Increases the minimum annual salary for exempt highly compensated employees from $100,000 to $134,004.

·        Automatically increases or update these thresholds every three years.

Some other fast facts about the new law.

·        Although the rule was published last month, the changes don’t go into effect until 12/1/16. The only way this could change is if Congress writes a bill to overturn/change the rule – which is very unlikely, because it would have to survive a veto from President Obama.

·        The tests for determining who is an exempt employee have not changed.

·        All For-Profit and Not-for-Profit entities with Gross Sales over $500,000 must comply

·        We expect special rules and additional exemptions to come out once the DOL starts to answer the thousands of inquiries very concerned business owners look at the impact this will have on their business.  

Lastly, please keep in mind – this is only the federal rule. The New York State limit was already above the Federal Minimum of $455.00, at $ 600.00.  The new Minimum Wage Laws have prompted NY to make adjustments, but will likely now base their decision on the Federal Mandates.  That information is not yet available.

We urge you to spend some time and review how this decision will affect your business.  Many companies are talking layoffs mixed with price increases.  Also, be aware that the DOL aggregates income, so if you own multiple companies they will add  $500,000 threshold and also look hard at employees doing multiple jobs at different rates.

We will keep you posted on rulings, filed court cases and MOUs for the latest news of this costly new regulation.

We know this can be very confusing, this is why we have HR professionals who can assist in navigating your company through these new laws and guidelines. Please feel free to reach out to us at (315) 258-8780 for more info.     

My Dirty Little Marketing Research Secret…

by Josh Amidon

To be honest, this post is hard for me to write – I’m about to give you my number one marketing research dirty little secret. I like to think of myself as a smart guy, I watch all the 24 hour news networks – I can hold a conversation about pretty much any topic you throw at me. But the one place I turn to keep my finger on the pulse of what the world thinks and buys is PEOPLE, yes, as in PEOPLE Magazine.

I know, not exactly what you were thinking I was going to say.

Personally, I don’t really care that Kate Middleton found her first gray hair (ok, that’s a lie – I do care), but for about 30 years, more people turn to PEOPLE than any other pop-culture source and that speaks volumes about what the editors have got going on. Any product they promote or recommend instantly sells out, any celebrity they put on the cover is instantly promoted to the A list.

A tough thing for some small business owners to swallow is that it doesn’t really matter what they like or dislike, what matters is what your target market likes or dislikes. If your target market is any cross section of men and women, age 25-54, then PEOPLE is a gold mine of research for your target market.  (SIDENOTE: Let me take a second to defend my masculinity, PEOPLE is not a women’s magazine – 43% of their readers are men)

So, what we’re talking about here is research – honest, it’s research. Read (or at least scan) PEOPLE to:

Get a feel for what the majority of Americans want to fight, find, lose, gain, have, give or embrace.
See design and copy that is easy to scan, read and digest
Uncover story angles that could apply to your organization’s PR
Read and dissect the ads. They will tell you a lot about how multi-million dollar companies are promoting to their base.

If you already read PEOPLE, maybe you have a sense of what I’m talking about, if not, go to the grocery store and buy the latest issue and carve out an hour to go through the pages with this new view in mind. You might find some real nuggets. Plus, now you can be like me and tell your friends you only read PEOPLE for research purposes (I like to do my research while enjoying a glass of wine).

If you want to discuss this topic further, you can always reach me at josh@asterfg.com or (315) 258-8780.

Are You Committing The 7 Deadly Social Media Sins?

by Josh Amidon

Admittedly, this blog title is a little dramatic - but it got your attention! 

Everyone knows social media has great potential for businesses looking to increase their reach, traffic and leads. Although, when it’s not used properly, it can actually damage your brand’s reputation.

This article will walk you through some social media marketing mistakes you should avoid at all costs.

1. Not responding appropriately to negative feedback

Negative feedback is going to happen. You can choose to ignore it, fight back or take it in stride. How you respond says a lot about your brand.

Some brands operate under the assumption that they can simply delete negative comments without repercussions (they would be wrong). Others believe that ignoring negative or inflammatory comments is the way to go (they would be even more wrong).

Rather than avoiding, why not use these situations as opportunities to shine? Respond thoughtfully and promptly to negative comments, and use them as opportunities to showcase your commitment to customer service. After all, I believe social media isn’t just a marketing vehicle for your company, but an extension of customer service as well.

2. Buying likes or followers

Did you know there are companies who’ve created millions of fake social media accounts and you can pay them to have their fake accounts follow you? Instant followers! What could be wrong with that?

Buying fans or followers is risky business. Some brands still believe that padding their numbers by paying for fictitious fans is a harmless endeavor. But did you know that buying Facebook fans can actually hurt your brand by decreasing your overall reach?

Fake fans will never interact or engage with your page, signaling to Facebook that your content isn’t interesting or valuable to your audience. This leads to an overall algorithmic decrease in your post reach and visibility. You could also find your account being closed, banned or deleted should Facebook find out about your schemes.

It’s far better to focus on attracting real, interested fans who will engage with your posts.

3. Being a one-trick pony

When you get hung up on posting the same types of content again and again, your followers will become less engaged and are more apt to think you simply don’t care about posting engaging content.

If you’re really stuck, try posting a photo of your dog/cat…everyone likes photos of cute pets

People in my office are assuming I only wrote that last sentence as an excuse to show you a pic my dogs, but I don’t care because they’re adorable.    

4. Promoting your products … constantly

There’s a time and place for promoting your business or products, even on social media. However, too many brands are still using social media as a channel for pushing their marketing message.

Social selling is all about building relationships and trust that will ultimately lead to sales. Don’t abuse the platform by using it as billboard or commercial. The 70/30 principle is a good rule of thumb: post engaging, high-value content 70 percent of the time and promote your products no more than 30 percent of the time. Better yet, think about how you can move your social media fans and followers into your online marketing funnel -- then you never have to directly promote on social media.

5. Being inconsistent in use and messaging

Do you have a schedule for when and how often you post? Do you have a consistent voice that you use across all your social media profiles? Do your profile and cover photos convey what your brand is about? How do you respond to negative feedback or criticism?

The best way to be consistent in your social media marketing is to have a strategy in place. This will include, among other elements, guidance about how and when you’ll use social media:

Guidelines for how to respond to negative comments
A frequently asked questions document that various team members can refer to. This will help ensure consistency in messaging.
A repository of brand-related images staff can use for profile photos, cover photos, etc.
A posting schedule for each social media channel 

6. Offering too many canned responses

Having a social media plan in place will help you to respond to questions and comments in a consistent manner. But the "cut and paste" method of responding to comments -- particularly to criticisms -- can lead to some pretty significant backlash.

In 2013, Kmart was heavily criticized for using this strategy to respond to criticisms about their holiday hours and staffing policies. Using a handful of generic responses didn’t go over well. But in all fairness, Kmart has MUCH bigger issues than their social media presence.

While having prepared responses in place for commonly asked questions can certainly save you some time, use them with caution. Keep in mind that criticisms, negative feedback and specific questions should generally be met with thoughtful, personalized responses.

7. Spreading yourself too thin

This is my BIGGEST social media pet-peeve. Just because a social networking site exists doesn’t mean you have to use it. Spreading yourself thin by committing to too many networks can mean you’re not using any of them effectively.

I would rather have a client do one social media platform amazingly well, than 4 of them inadequately. It’s better to fully commit to a regular posting schedule on a few networks than letting many lie dormant.

Avoiding these mistakes all comes down to ensuring your team is properly trained, using your resources wisely and responding to your fans and followers in a professional manner. My best social media advice – treat your social media followers like you would your onsite clients/customers.

If you want to discuss social media further or tell me how cute my dogs are, you can always reach out to me at josh@asterfg.com or (315) 258-8780. 

What Kim Kardashian Can Teach You About Social Media

by Josh Amidon

Kim Kardashian is a bona fide social media genius.

That statement, more than likely, drew a strong response from you. Love her or hate her, you can’t deny the digital power this woman wields. With 28.6M followers on Facebook, 45.8M on Twitter and 72.7M Instagram – she’s built a larger audience than all Fortune 10 companies combined. Not only that, but she’s turned this audience into a loyal base that will buy ANYTHING she pushes out.

I can hear many of you right now, “Why is she famous? I can’t stand her, she has no talent.” Guess what? She can’t hear you over the stacks of cash she’s raking in – she’s worth $85M, not including the reported $52.5M she made in 2015 alone! She didn’t make this money off her reality show, that’s pennies compared to her real job – being a social ninja.

Today’s advertising and marketing tactics have evolved to a two-dimensional push and pull model, where customer engagement on public forums is as important as the company’s outward facing communications. The brands that are most successful today aren’t those with the most messages, or the strongest ones. They’re the brands that realize how important their customers are to their success.

For Kim, that means giving her followers what they want – daily interaction and the chance to feel like they are card-carrying VIP members of her Kardashian entourage. With one post: “Hey, which outfit should I wear today?” – she’s endearing herself to her following, so when she posts an hour later “Hey, I just released a new perfume, you should go to the store and buy it!” – they do.

Some more tips, I've learned by dissecting her social pages:

Find Shared Values - Ask yourself, “Outside of my brand, what else does my audience care about?” and then “Does (or should) my brand care about that, too?”

Example: if you’re a real estate agent, people following you are interested in buying a house – so why not become a one-stop-shop for your past/present/future clients? Don’t just post homes that you want people to buy – people get bored of that and move on. Try posting the newest home decorating tips (something every homeowner needs), how to spruce up your home before putting it up on the market, how great of an investment real estate is, etc. 

Leave Your Followers Wanting More – When promoting something on social media, leave a little to the imagination. Make the customer beg you for more info.

Example: If you own an ice cream shop and come up with a new flavor, don’t just post “Hey, this is our new flavor – come try it today.” Create a mystery around it – take photos of the mystery ingredients or post videos of employees trying it for the first time and have them describe it (without giving it away). This creates a buzz around your following and will make the big reveal an event!

Talk To Your Followers As If You’re In The Room With Them – Yes, your message is being read by many people – but those people aren’t all in the same space. Most likely, they’re reading your content alone.

Example: The way you speak to a stadium of people is very different from how you speak to one person in their living room. Make a connection by being as intimate as possible. Make them feel like you’re giving them and only them an exclusive peek into your brand.

by Josh Amidon

Kim Kardashian is a bona fide social media genius.

That statement, more than likely, drew a strong response from you. Love her or hate her, you can’t deny the digital power this woman wields. With 28.6M followers on Facebook, 45.8M on Twitter and 72.7M Instagram – she’s built a larger audience than all Fortune 10 companies combined. Not only that, but she’s turned this audience into a loyal base that will buy ANYTHING she pushes out.

I can hear many of you right now, “Why is she famous? I can’t stand her, she has no talent.” Guess what? She can’t hear you over the stacks of cash she’s raking in – she’s worth $85M, not including the reported $52.5M she made in 2015 alone! She didn’t make this money off her reality show, that’s pennies compared to her real job – being a social ninja.

Today’s advertising and marketing tactics have evolved to a two-dimensional push and pull model, where customer engagement on public forums is as important as the company’s outward facing communications. The brands that are most successful today aren’t those with the most messages, or the strongest ones. They’re the brands that realize how important their customers are to their success.

For Kim, that means giving her followers what they want – daily interaction and the chance to feel like they are card-carrying VIP members of her Kardashian entourage. With one post: “Hey, which outfit should I wear today?” – she’s endearing herself to her following, so when she posts an hour later “Hey, I just released a new perfume, you should go to the store and buy it!” – they do.

Some more tips, I've learned by dissecting her social pages:

Find Shared Values - Ask yourself, “Outside of my brand, what else does my audience care about?” and then “Does (or should) my brand care about that, too?”

Example: if you’re a real estate agent, people following you are interested in buying a house – so why not become a one-stop-shop for your past/present/future clients? Don’t just post homes that you want people to buy – people get bored of that and move on. Try posting the newest home decorating tips (something every homeowner needs), how to spruce up your home before putting it up on the market, how great of an investment real estate is, etc. 

Leave Your Followers Wanting More – When promoting something on social media, leave a little to the imagination. Make the customer beg you for more info.

Example: If you own an ice cream shop and come up with a new flavor, don’t just post “Hey, this is our new flavor – come try it today.” Create a mystery around it – take photos of the mystery ingredients or post videos of employees trying it for the first time and have them describe it (without giving it away). This creates a buzz around your following and will make the big reveal an event!

Talk To Your Followers As If You’re In The Room With Them – Yes, your message is being read by many people – but those people aren’t all in the same space. Most likely, they’re reading your content alone.

Example: The way you speak to a stadium of people is very different from how you speak to one person in their living room. Make a connection by being as intimate as possible. Make them feel like you’re giving them and only them an exclusive peek into your brand.

by Josh Amidon

Kim Kardashian is a bona fide social media genius.

That statement, more than likely, drew a strong response from you. Love her or hate her, you can’t deny the digital power this woman wields. With 28.6M followers on Facebook, 45.8M on Twitter and 72.7M Instagram – she’s built a larger audience than all Fortune 10 companies combined. Not only that, but she’s turned this audience into a loyal base that will buy ANYTHING she pushes out.

I can hear many of you right now, “Why is she famous? I can’t stand her, she has no talent.” Guess what? She can’t hear you over the stacks of cash she’s raking in – she’s worth $85M, not including the reported $52.5M she made in 2015 alone! She didn’t make this money off her reality show, that’s pennies compared to her real job – being a social ninja.

Today’s advertising and marketing tactics have evolved to a two-dimensional push and pull model, where customer engagement on public forums is as important as the company’s outward facing communications. The brands that are most successful today aren’t those with the most messages, or the strongest ones. They’re the brands that realize how important their customers are to their success.

For Kim, that means giving her followers what they want – daily interaction and the chance to feel like they are card-carrying VIP members of her Kardashian entourage. With one post: “Hey, which outfit should I wear today?” – she’s endearing herself to her following, so when she posts an hour later “Hey, I just released a new perfume, you should go to the store and buy it!” – they do.

Some more tips, I've learned by dissecting her social pages:

Find Shared Values - Ask yourself, “Outside of my brand, what else does my audience care about?” and then “Does (or should) my brand care about that, too?”

Example: if you’re a real estate agent, people following you are interested in buying a house – so why not become a one-stop-shop for your past/present/future clients? Don’t just post homes that you want people to buy – people get bored of that and move on. Try posting the newest home decorating tips (something every homeowner needs), how to spruce up your home before putting it up on the market, how great of an investment real estate is, etc. 

Leave Your Followers Wanting More – When promoting something on social media, leave a little to the imagination. Make the customer beg you for more info.

Example: If you own an ice cream shop and come up with a new flavor, don’t just post “Hey, this is our new flavor – come try it today.” Create a mystery around it – take photos of the mystery ingredients or post videos of employees trying it for the first time and have them describe it (without giving it away). This creates a buzz around your following and will make the big reveal an event!

Talk To Your Followers As If You’re In The Room With Them – Yes, your message is being read by many people – but those people aren’t all in the same space. Most likely, they’re reading your content alone.

Example: The way you speak to a stadium of people is very different from how you speak to one person in their living room. Make a connection by being as intimate as possible. Make them feel like you’re giving them and only them an exclusive peek into your brand.

How much more can the small business owner afford?

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the potential for an increase in minimum wage and potentially looking to pay more of our employees’ overtime.  In an effort to do something good for those individuals employed in New York State, our state lawmakers have updated the NYS FMLA law making it the most progressive paid family leave law in our country.  The provision becomes fully effective in 2021 but will start with an initial change in 2018.

Currently, an employee is entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave.  As of January 1, 2018, the employee will be eligible for 8 weeks of paid FMLA and by 2021, it will increase to the full 12 weeks of paid FMLA time off. 

How will this affect small businesses and their employees? 

The employer is affected because the initial start-up money will be skimmed off the state’s Workers’ Compensation Fund which is paid into by employers.  That means that you could end of paying more for your Workers’ Comp coverage. 

Once the fund is established it will continue to be funded by a payroll deduction on the employee.  They are claiming that this will only be 0.5% (roughly $.70) per week in 2018 ending up at $1.40 per week by 2021.  This amount will be determined by the state who is empowered to decide on a percentage deduction.  Experts are already estimating that this could actually cost employees up to 5 times that much by 2021.

Small Businesses should start planning now for these definite and potential changes.  If you should have any questions or need further information, please contact hour HR team at 315-258-8780.

CONTACT, CONTACT & LOTS MORE CONTACT....

by Josh Amidon

You know your potential customers need what you sell. You know they want what you sell. Heck, they even sent away for your free catalog or called you with a question about a service.

But the fact is you are missing one major piece of the puzzle.

No matter what else you know, often, the missing piece is knowing when they will actually make a purchase. THAT you will never truly know.

“Oh Josh, that’s not true – I ask my customers when they plan on purchasing so I can follow-up.”Guess what? Customers lie - it’s a fact of life. (Pro Tip: want to know the fastest way to get a salesman to stop talking to you? Lie to them and tell them what you think they want to hear.) 

Truth is, people search for information and solutions in many different ways and on many different time tables.

Some will buy immediately; some may take a year or even more.

The key to solving this dilemma is consistent and repeated contact, because you never really know when they will need you.

If you build a marketing program that guarantees your potential customers are contacted at least 8-10 times a year you can significantly increase the odds that your name will be at the top of the list when they do actually decide to purchase.

Another benefit of continually reaching out is by sending your customers useful information that doesn’t always contain a sales pitch, you can establish a bond of trust, and trust wins business. Think about it, nothing is more annoying than a sales rep who only connects with you to push their products and/or services.   

Take this blog post for example, the goal of this post is for you to call me and hire me to execute your marketing needs. My strategy? Continually create educational and semi entertaining blog posts that builds your trust in me as a marketing genius ("genius" might be a strong word, but it’s Friday and I’m in a good mood so it stays).   

Anyway, create a database of prospects, set-up a schedule of different types of contact and then stick to it. And don’t forget to include your current clients in that list. Reselling them can lead to more and more business and referrals.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns - you can always reach me at (315) 258-8780 or josh@asterfg.com

ANSWER THIS QUESTION AND YOU'RE WELL ON YOUR WAY TO MARKETING SUCCESS

by Josh Amidon

Create all the fancy marketing materials, websites, and sales presentations you want, but if you can’t answer this question you’re dead in the water…

So what’s the question? What is it that you really sell?

I know, I know, you thought it was going to be a tough one, right?

See, because you sell insurance, or financial services, or duct cleaning, or tax preparation. Right? No, wrong.

I probably don’t even know you and I can tell you what you sell. You sell what the client thinks they are getting when they buy from you.

“But Josh, I sell insurance” – trust me, your customers are not buying insurance. They are buying peace of mind or pride or greed or safety. And THAT is what you need to sell.

Go to work on figuring out what your clients really get from your products or services and you will be miles ahead. Remember, your marketing campaigns should always be selling an emotion – not a product!

Here’s a really bad example, but one that will make sense. Alcohol companies don’t hook us by talking about low cost or great taste. No, they’ve got commercials where impossibly good looking models have the night of their lives, in the trendiest bar/club on the planet. Anyone who’s ever stepped foot into a bar knows those commercials are incredibly unrealistic, but yet we fall for it. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.   

How does your product make your buyer feel cool, needed, sexy, in-control, smarter, thinner, better looking, more appreciated?

P.S – if anyone knows where that bar is from the beer commercials, drop me a line josh@asterfg.com or 315-258-8780.