BUSINESS NICHES AND COOPERATIVE ADVERTISING Cooperative advertising is the sharing of costs for locally placed advertising between a retailer or wholesaler and a manufacturer. Many manufacturers have a set amount of cooperative advertising funds available per year, distributed as opportunities for collaboration arise. Manufacturers report, however, that much of this […]
HOW TO IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE ENDORSEMENTS AND TESTIMONIALS Endorsements and testimonials are modes of advertising in which a business utilizes the statements and/or support of outside individuals or organizations in order to increase consumer interest in the product and/ or services it sells. The term “endorsement” tends to be more frequently […]
HOW PUBLIC RELATIONS CAN HELP SMALL BUSINESSES Public relations describes the various methods a company uses to disseminate messages about its products, services, or overall image to its customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, or other interested members of the community. The point of public relations is to make the public think […]
VARIABLE PAY AND THE MODERN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Variable pay programs are an increasingly popular mode of compensation in today’s business world. These programs, which are also sometimes referred to as “pay for performance” or “at risk” pay plans, provide some or all of a work force’s compensation based on employee […]
HOW A COMPANY CAN TURN A COST CENTER INTO A PROFIT CENTER A profit center is a small unit of a company that generates revenue in excess of its expenses. It is expected that, through the sales of goods or services, the unit will turn a profit. This is in […]
STEPS IN MEASURING AND INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY In its simplest terms, productivity is the ratio between the quantity of goods and services produced and the quantity of resources used to produce them. Economists have come up with a number of intricate ways to measure productivity, but any business owner knows that […]
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS IN THE WORKPLACE Employee right is a broad term used to describe the range of legal protections that are afforded to individuals and groups that are in the employ of business organizations. Employee rights can be broken into four different categories; rights relating to labor union organizing and […]
HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE REWARDS FROM MERIT PAY AND THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL In a competitive business climate, more business owners are looking at improvements in quality while reducing costs. Meanwhile, a strong economy can result in a tight job market. So while businesses need to get more from their employees, their […]
HOW TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL EMPLOYEE SUGGESTION SYSTEM The term “employee suggestion system” refers to a variety of efforts businesses make to solicit and utilize input from their employees in hopes of achieving cost savings or improving product quality, workplace efficiency, customer service, or working conditions. These range from simply […]
EMPLOYEE THEFT: HOW TO CURB THE SCOURGE Employee theft is a problem of considerable size for many companies. Many corporate security experts estimate that 25 to 40 percent of all employees steal from their employers. Small business owners are not immune to this scourge; indeed, many analysts believe that internal […]
