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Common Small Business Cyber Attacks

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By Debbie Gregory.

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Let us begin with a frightening statistic!  Do you know that every three- and one-half seconds brand new cybersecurity threats arise?  Small businesses are typically the targets for these threats as they typically do not have strong cybersecurity practices. This article will review where the most common threats come from so you can be forewarned and forearmed.

1.)  Passwords:

A hacker with your password can access any of your private information and data. Hackers learn these passwords in a variety of ways.  The most common way is called a “brute force attack.” These types of attacks utilize specially designed bot programs that generate and try every possible combination of letters, symbols, and numbers out there to obtain your information.

How can you protect against this type of attack?

Creating and using a unique password of upper and lowercase letters that is at least ten characters long can substantially slow down these brute force program attacks. It can take them years to find your password if it is more complex.  It is also important that you do not use the same password over and over and you frequently change your passwords.

2.)  Phishing

Phishing is a technique used to trick people into willingly handing over their information to a hacker. These types of attacks target all types of personal data including, but not limited to passwords, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and more.

How are these types of attacks performed?

Usually a hacker will pose as a reputable source asking their victim to allow them access to their computer or to click a specific link. They impress upon their victims that the reason for doing so is incredibly important and they must provide key personal information. These types of attacks happen via phone, email, and text message.  Often, they have what appears to be a legitimate email address but when you really look at it, you will see they are not who they pretend to be.   Be on the alert and never ever click on a link or open a document from someone you do not know or a generic email address because they are after your personal information.

3.)  Pharming:

Pharming is the term for website spoofing. In this type of attack, the hacker has compromised the naming system in the website’s server so that a visitor to the legitimate site is instead redirected to a fraudulent one. Once on the fraudulent site, the victim is prompted to provide their sensitive data, such as a credit card number or Social Security number.

4.) Malware

Malware is malicious software that is specifically designed to gain access to or to cause damage to a device. The goal is usually stealing personal data such as passwords, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and more. Malware comes in many forms from adware to spyware to Trojan horses. All are extremely dangerous.

These are only a few of the potential risks your business faces. Other common attacks include point-of-sale hacks, drive-by-downloads, and ones that are so new they haven’t even been named yet. The best thing you can do is to take the time and effort to create and enforce strong cybersecurity policies. Stay on top of what is happening in the world of cybersecurity and help protect yourself, your employees, and your business.

Increasing Your Business

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By Debbie Gregory.

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To grow your Small Veteran Owned Business, you must get out the word and grow your business to new potential customers.   This means you need to focus on marketing and more marketing.   This article will help you evaluate ways to attract new customers to your business and retain and engage your current customers.   There are a multitude of marketing channels available today and one or all of them might be a good fit for your business.

Email Marketing:

Email marketing is both effective and an inexpensive way to reach new and existing clients.   It requires a solid list of contacts and engaging content.   The content can tell your story and include special discounts, coupons, tips, and important information that concerns your market.

Work on building a list of contacts by capturing the email addresses of your clients, referrals, and business colleagues.   You can build this list from asking customers to fill out or register on your website or blog, live and industry event and subscriptions.   It makes sense to offer those that register value too.  Keep those on your list engaged by sending them emails regularly with a concise and strong subject line or call to action that tells those receiving your email your message.   Always include something of value in your message such as valuable information or discounts.

There are excellent email services available that are fairly cost effective to assist you.   These services will help you design, compose with content, and deploy your emails.  Additionally, they will help you manage your contact lists and view the results of your emails to learn what works best. Some of most popular services include iContact, Constant Contact, MailChimp, AWeber and GetResponse to name a few.

Direct Mail:

Direct Mail should be included on the list although it can be much more costly than email marketing.  Direct mail includes catalogs, postcards, flyers and can help build the identity of your brand and business.  Printed materials are something more tangible and will get attention since as they are mailed.  You will need the snail mail addresses of your customers and potential customers.  You can use your own list and/or supplement it by renting a list from a direct mail vendor.

Social Media:

Social media is an excellent way to truly engage your customers and potential customers as well as learn their preferences. There are five major social media platform and they include:

  • Facebook that has over one billion users and allows you to post, invite and use targeted ads. Many feel that Facebook can provide the biggest bang or return on investment.
  • Twitter is a huge platform that allows you to share ideas, information, and insights concisely with a limit of 140 characters.
  • LinkedIn is a professional networking site that enables you to connect with other businesspeople and post insights and join like-minded professional online groups that will increase the reach of your business.
  • Instagram is visual and you can share images, photos, and videos to showcase your product line and/or service.
  • Blogging is an effective way to tell the story of your business and share your products and expertise.

It does not matter if you use one or all of them.  It is important to post regularly, respond to comments, complaints, and inquiries and really listen to what prospects are telling you online.

Advertising:

This is one of the most effective methods to let potential customers know about your business.   It can be expensive, so it is imperative to plan carefully and identify your target market to time and place ads in the best venues for your needs.  Place ads where your customers go for information on the products and services that you offer.  Print ads are very expensive, and you may wish to consider digital ads that are much less costly and reach a larger audience.  Some options for digital advertising include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and pay-per-click ads.

Some free advertising to consider and claim are online directories including Yelp and Google Plus. These reach a huge audience and the best part is they are free so be sure to complete your business profile and ask satisfied clients to post positive reviews.

Retaining & Increasing Revenues from Existing Customers

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By Debbie Gregory.

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Your existing customer base are vital to the success of your Veteran Owned Small Business.  It is always nice to gain new market share and customers but keeping the ones you have and generating greater revenues with them should be a major focus for you.   You have a much great likelihood of almost 70% to sell to an existing customer than only perhaps 20% likelihood of selling to a new prospect.   The message is that never take existing customers for granted.

Some marketing strategies are obvious and common sense but it is always good to have more than one in your arsenal. Below are some marketing strategies to assist you in retaining and increasing business from your existing clients:

Get Personal: Send out thank you cards by snail mail or email cards thanking your clients for their orders(s) and letting them know that you appreciate them.   You might also consider sending out birthday, anniversary or seasonal greetings too.   You can customize communications to engage and interest your clients.  This is an excellent way to build loyalty.

Reward Loyalty:  Make your existing clients feel special by holding exclusive sales or offering special loyalty discounts.   You can also offer gift cards or a free gift to those existing clients who refer friends and family to your business including those who spend a certain amount with you.

Send Out Newsletters:  Communicate by sending out a newsletter with valuable information such as upcoming events, sales and advice.   This is highly effective in staying in touch with your existing client base and keeping you front and center with them.  You should also encourage your clients to share your newsletters with others that will generate more business.

Hold Customer Events:  If possible and many of your clients are local, host in-person social events such as a dinner or wine tasting.  Now in the times of COVID, you can host virtual events including a wine-tasting event via Zoom.  Events are a wonderful way to show how much you care and stay in touch.

There are different marketing vehicles that will work best for you, so it is important to make the right choices in terms of what works, what is cost- effective in time and expense.  Below are some marketing components to consider:

Understand Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP):  A Unique Value Proposition UVP) is simply a concise statement that summarizes and persuades why potential and existing customers should patronize your business.  This should be to the point and in way is your “tag line”

Create Your Customers’ Profile:  Define exactly who is your perfect customer in detail including demographics such as age, gender, marital status, income, locations, likes, dislikes, etc.  This will assist you in selecting the right marketing vehicles and how to place them including your messaging that will resonate with your target audience.

Evaluate Your Customers’ Marketing Options Through Their Buying Cycle:  Learn where your customers and prospects go for information about the types of products and services you offer.  This knowledge will assist you in deciding how to convey your Unique Value Proposition and how to move customers through a successful sales cycle.

Define Your Marketing Budget:  You need to figure out how much you need to spend on marketing and every business is unique.  You may want to begin modestly and as you increase revenues, add to this budget as you find out what works and what is not effective.  Test out different options and do not spend more than you can afford too.

Create Your Marketing Plan:  Memorialize in writing your Unique Value Proposition, the profile of your customers and the marketing options you will use to achieve your goals with your budget.   Use this as a guide and modify it as you test and learn what works best.

Buy a Customer Relationship Management System (CRM System):

This system will be  your “customer Bible”.  It will enable you to organize the information you obtain on existing customers and prospects to effectively manage your marketing.   There are many types of Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRMS).  Choose careful in terms of one that is easy to use, can grow with you and fits your budget.

Marketing to retain and increase revenues is an evolving process, a work in progress.  You will be learning so much and the more you know, the greater your revenues.

 

Inventory Management Benefits

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By Debbie Gregory.

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VAMBOA hopes you have enjoyed the previous five articles in this series.  Inventory Management is the final article and here we go.

Inventory management varies from store to store, company to company and industry to industry. However, the basic principles remain the same across the board. Inventory management ensures that you have the correct products in the quantities that you believe you will need. It is one part of the overall supply chain management that means that you know what you have, what you need to order, and how long it will take you go obtain more once you place your order.

Proper inventory management answers important questions, such as:

  • What items do I have?
  • How many of a specific item do I have?
  • When do I expect to run out of a specific item?
  • When do I typically run out of this item?
  • How many will I need to reorder?
  • How much stock does the supplier have of this item?
  • How long will it take for the supplier to refill their stock of this item?

How do you keep track?

There are several ways you can track your inventory. The most basic would be a simple spreadsheet where you log items in and out as you ship/sell and receive them. Another method would be to use dedicated inventory software on a computer and we have covered in the prior articles a number of viable options. Larger companies or suppliers use electronic data interchange (EDI) systems that plug directly into their enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

What are the benefits of good Inventory management? 

Real-time Inventory Tracking:

Instead of taking the time to constantly count how many items you have in stock, an inventory management system enables you to keep track of all your inventory. You can call up any item in your inventory and check its status in moments, at any time. This saves you both time and money.

Prevents Unnecessary Ordering:

If you know how many of an item you have, you are much less likely to accidentally order too many of any one item. You do not need to rely on any possible miscommunication or recent sales that you are not yet aware of as inventory is updated in real-time.

Reductions in Cost:

Over-ordering is not simply a storage problem; it also ties up your cash reserves and can lead to loss or spoilage of product (depending on your industry). A good inventory management system enables you to be aware of exactly how much you have of something and when you will run out of it so you can avoid accidental over-ordering or waste.

Better Overall Organization:

Good inventory management helps you organize your stock or raw materials. You will clearly be able to see which items sell fast, which do not sell well, what times of the year certain items sell better than others, and more.

Better Forecasting:

If you can easily track how often products sell out, you will be able to avoid empty shelves because you will know when you need to order more before you completely run out of any product(s). Automated systems can be set up to send alerts to trigger automatic reordering of items once they reach a certain level. Inventory management systems also allow you to store and access past data so you can better forecast future sales and performance.

Improved Sales:

Utilizing a good inventory management system allows you to see when you are selling more of any items which provides you the opportunity to better promote those items to customers. It also allows you to determine which products are under performing so that you can eliminate items from your offerings that are not selling.

As you can see regardless of the size of your business or whether you are a retailer, supplier, vendor, or manufacturer, you need to be practicing solid inventory management techniques in order to always have a clear picture of what you have on hand.

To manage your work better, especially now that you and your team may be working more remotely, you may want to upgrade your computers and peripherals.  For this reason, VAMBOA has joined forces with Dell Technologies to offer VAMBOA members and friends significant discounts.

Check them out here: https://vamboa.org/dell-technologies/

If you are not yet a member of VAMBOA, we welcome you and want you to know that there are not any fees or dues.

Here is a link to join and spread the word:

https://vamboa.org/member-registration/

Best Inventory Tracking Software

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By Debbie Gregory.

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VAMBOA is pleased to bring you the fifth article in this special series on Inventory Management and the next to the last article.  Enjoy!

Based on some of our research, we found the following to be some of the best available inventory tracking software in 2020. If you need assistance selecting the right software for your specific business, we strongly recommend that you consider consulting a professional in this industry to provide you expertise on numerous vendors.

Below are a few recommendations for Point of Sale (POS) and inventory management software solutions that you may want to check out:

Infoplus Commerce:

Infoplus looks to be a good option for small companies planning on mid-level growth but may be a bit too much for smaller companies or startups. It is highly configurable and includes some warehouse management functions.

LS Nav:

LS Nav was developed by LS Retail.  It was built specifically for the retail and hospitality management industries. This tracking software also includes a mobile app along with the desktop software.  LS Nav allows you to quickly and easily organize and categorize your inventory, modify prices, and find your best-selling products.

Ordoro:

Ordoro is a cloud-based shipping and inventory management app. Ordoro includes barcode scanning and shipping functions, such as label printing.

ShopKee:

ShopKeep is another cloud-based option that was designed to be used on an iPad. You use your iPad as a Point of Sale (POS) device as well as your inventory manager. The app allows you to easily upload all your current inventory, keep track of top-selling items and track the costs and profit margins for each item.

SPS Commerce:

SPS Commerce is a very user-friendly system. It is used by companies of all sizes, large retail chains to small mom-and-pop stores and even suppliers. SPS Commerce even includes features that help you get your products into retailers all over the country, both large and small retailers and many you may not have heard of yet.

Vend POS:

Vend POS is a Point of Sale (POS) solution that allows you to categorize products by name, type, brand, supplier and SKU. You can also build customer reports and generate auto-reorders when a product drops below a pre-set level.

Wasp Barcode:

Wasp Barcode is a good inventory solution for smaller or medium sized companies that have as little as five employees but less than one-hundred employees. This system has cloud options, includes a barcode system, and inventory tracking software.

Zoho Inventory:

Zoho Inventory is the only solution on the list that offers a very basic free plan to try it out and this makes a lot of sense before you make an investment in Inventory Tracking Software. It is easy to set up and integrates with most of the popular ecommerce platforms. This is a wonderful way to test it out if you are a smaller company and just getting started.

VAMBOA wants to make the disclaimer that we are providing general information.  We are not endorsing any of these inventory tracking software products and we do not receive any revenues or fees from any of these inventory products reviewed in these articles.  Our goal is always to bring you excellent information to assist you in making good business decisions for your veteran or military small business.

Keep in mind that with a good inventory management system, you can take more control of your business, accomplish more, sell more items, and waste less time and money on your inventory. Stay tuned for the final article in this series on Inventory Management.

To manage your work better, especially now that you and your team may be working more remotely, you may want to upgrade your computers and peripherals.  For this reason, VAMBOA has joined forces with Dell Technologies to offer VAMBOA members and friends significant discounts.

Check them out here: https://vamboa.org/dell-technologies/

If you are not yet a member of VAMBOA, we welcome you and want you to know that there are not any fees or dues.

Here is a link to join and spread the word:

https://vamboa.org/member-registration/

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