Virtual Business Concepts - Blog

Exclusive Members Only

2009-04-03T20:45:00.005-04:00

VBC is announcing its members only section!

This section is exclusively for VBC members and we offer three types of subscription plans. As a VBC member, you will have access to the latest business articles, downloads, and other great tools. In addition, you will receive members only discounts and special offers.

Stop in today and become a member!

Using Twitter to Promote Your Business

2009-03-28T19:36:00.002-04:00

Millions of people are using Twitter and it's time for your company to use it, too. There are many ways to use Twitter to promote your company effectively. I've written an article about it and posted it to the News and to Digg. Here's a sample of the article:

"#1: Import Your Contacts
You can import your contacts from your address book, Hotmail, and Gmail. Be sure to import your contacts because they're already interested in your business.

#2: Complete Your Profile
From a prospect's view, there's nothing worse than an incomplete profile. Be sure to complete all fields...even the optional ones, and don't forget to add your web address. Twitter also allows you to personalize your page to include your logo for increased brand recognition. Be sure to utilize this feature!"

Drop by the News page to read the full article. If you have any article suggestions, send 'em my way. I'm always up for writing about most topics.

Have a great weekend!

Do Virtual Assistants Need Certification?

2009-03-13T20:01:00.007-04:00

I have been asked this question numerous times over the years and I decided to write an article about it. The article has been posted to my website on the News page. This article addresses the benefits of becoming a certified VA and stresses that certification is not required.

"Becoming certified can get expensive. Many of the VA organizations that offer certification also require members to pay monthly or annual dues in addition to paying for the certification. Just because you’re a paying member of these organizations doesn’t mean you get the certification for free. You do, however, receive a discounted fee for each certification."

Drop by the News page today to read it. I'm going to be writing more articles in the coming days. Be sure to check the News page often.

Client Area Now Available!

2009-03-01T13:05:00.005-05:00

As you know, we've been working on adding a client area to our website. We're proud to report that the Client Area has been completed and is now available to all of our registered clients. If you have not registered for an account with us, please click here to enjoy your personal features.

Our registered clients will enjoy paying invoices online, viewing their personal time and project status reports, and our new message board. This section of our website will be, like all of our other pages, under constant development. We will be request feedback from our clients on the features, what other features they would like to use, and so on.

Stop by our site and take a look at the new Client Area!

Make Payments Online

2009-02-25T15:27:00.004-05:00

Our clients are now able to make payments online! That's right, we've added a "Pay Now" button from PayPal that allows our clients to pay all or part of their invoices on line. The make a payment link is located in the footer of our site for your convenience.

In the future, we will be adding a client area that will require a log in by each client. We will then move the online payment function to each client's personal page. We will be sure to notify all of our clients when this area becomes available.

Stay tuned for more from Virtual Business Concepts!

Free SEO Tool

2009-02-04T14:10:00.000-05:00

I stumbled across an interesting online tool yesterday and feel I have to share it. Website Grader allows you to receive a grade on your web site based on different criteria. If you're just starting your business online, this tool is great to keep in your arsenal.

To use this tool, simply visit the web site and enter in all of the required information. Once you've completed this step, your report card will be generated and you'll see where your site can improve. You will also be emailed a copy of your site's report card so you can review it and make corrections at a later date. Once you've updated your site to include the recommendations of Website Grader, you can start the process again to see if your grade as improved. Once you're satisfied with your site's grade, you can download a badge to put on your site.

I can't say enough good things about this tool. If you're just starting your own web site, this tool should definitely be one of the most used tools to which you have access.

Marketing a Start-Up Business

2009-02-04T11:30:00.000-05:00

Now that you're a little more familiar with the definition of marketing and the marketing process, it's time to move on to marketing your start-up. Before you can create your marketing process, you should ask yourself the following questions.

1. What kinds of clients do you want to attract?

2. How can your products and/or services compete with already established products and/or services from other companies?

3. What is your business image? How will you gain attention, interest and trust from your prospects?

All of these questions are important when beginning your marketing process. Determining the types of clients you want to attract is often referred to as finding your niche market. This means that you target specific clients, such as those in accounting, real estate, construction, and so on. You can't market to everyone so don't even try to. Be sure to choose your niche market carefully and be certain that you can succeed and compete in those markets.

Once you've determined your niche market, you now have to determine what makes your products and/or services stand out from the competition. Knowing this will help you determine how your products and/or services will compete in your niche market(s) and you can estimate your level of success within those markets. When working on this part of your marketing process, be sure to think realistically. It's not uncommon for start-ups to think too broad or overextend themselves, which can often lead to business failure.

Now that you've answered the first two questions, it's time to determine your business image. Many people may have already completed this step first because it's how your business appeals to prospective clients. To start this step on a strong note, try to define your target clients' profile and tailor your communications to fit those profiles. What this means is that you simple define the types of people you believe your prospective clients are and communicate to them in a way that appeals to them. For example, if your start-up is a consignment shop for children's clothes and toys, you want to target only those prospective clients with children. Targeting clients who are single won't get you much business. Be sure that your marketing messages are suited for your target markets.

Intro to Small Business Marketing

2009-02-04T11:15:00.000-05:00

As many of you may know, marketing is essential for all types of businesses. From conglomerates to mom and pop stores, marketing plays a vital role in the success of a business. However, many of people may not be fully aware of the true concepts of marketing. I will be addressing some key concepts here and in future blog posts. For now, I’ll begin with the definition of marketing and how marketing is used in small businesses.

What is marketing?

The term “marketing” will have a different definition for each person you ask. The actual definition of marketing is – the process of how you create and keep your clients. Marketing contains all of the necessary steps you take to tailor your products and/or services, messages, customer service, and all other business tasks to satisfy your clients. Marketing is only successful if it contains two-way communication. Without effective two-way communication, your marketing process has not been successful and your business could suffer.

How does marketing work?

Think of marketing as a circle - there's no beginning and no end. Each time you or your company introduce a new product and/or service, your marketing process begins. This process is followed through to the client's purchase and begins again with the next client. There are 8 functions or deliverables of the marketing process:

1. Customer, Product and Competitive research
2. Product development
3. Pricing
4. Labels and packaging
5. Distribution
6. Advertising, promotions, and public relations
7. Sales
8. Customer service

Each of these deliverables are equally important and it's not wise to skip 1 or 2 to move through the process quickly. If steps are skipped, your business will have to deal with the consequences. These consequences could be that your products and/or services aren't selling as you expected them to or your list of clients isn't as established as you would like.

Common marketing misconception

If you ask 10 people to define the term marketing, you may find that about half of those people will tell you it's just a fancy term for sales. This is a common misconception. Marketing is not sales. Although sales is part of the marketing process, sales alone can never replace it. Sales is the act of communicating your marketing message. For example, if you see an advertisement for a large furniture sale, you've just received the company's marketing message. However, when you walk into the furniture store and purchase a new cocktail table, the salesperson effectively communicated the company's marketing message, offered the product and then you made your purchasing decision. That's sales - not marketing.

This is just the tip of the iceberg for marketing. I will be posting more entries in the future regarding the rest of the marketing process so stay tuned.

Pro Bono

2009-02-04T11:08:00.000-05:00

Virtual Business Concepts has always had special pricing for non-profit organizations and the Silver Oaks Homeowner's Association of Leesburg, VA made use of that last month. I was contacted by the President of the association to revamp their website. This project was a success as all of the members are thrilled with it!

I had spoken with a member of the association a few months ago about working on their site. The board of directors had to vote on changing the website and the previous webmaster had to be contacted. In January, I was contacted by the President and was given the go ahead on this project. Everything was emailed to me and I began immediately. The site was up and running within 2 days.

The President was thrilled with the layout, colors, and the time it took to complete this project. I will also be making the updates to the site, including the meeting minutes and other content. Stop by their site to see it for yourself!