All businesses most frequently evaluate how they are spending their money. Fortunately, Google has provided us with a great tool to help us do that. Click on this link below to read a blog on Google Analytics and why it should be used: Google Analytics Blog
I recently came across something on Facebook that I thought I would share with you since it is such a great idea. A country market in Michigan called Mildas CornerMarket has setup its own Facebook account that now has more than 1,000 friends who this business interacts with very often. They answer their questions, display products and offer news. It's definitely an impressive number that any business would love to have. One of the other things this business has done is install a cash register cam section on their Facebook account that allows customers the option of having their photos taken with a caption underneath explaining who they are and why they visited the business. This business has made great use of Facebook for marketing and communications purposes as it meets the exact desire of people using Facebook to find new relationships and make 'new friends'. Their cash register cam also offers some fun for customers as well as makes them feel appreciated and shows others who are the people visiting Mildas CornerMarket and why they are visiting. In addition, Mildas CornerMarket specializes in ethnic foods of which much are Lithuanian (the owners have Lithuanian roots) and they attract a large audience from the Lithuanian community who enjoy these products and it is only little bit of what they are doing. As you know, making customers feel appreciated and building relationships that turn into long-term clients is exactly what you want to do in marketing. Mildas CornerMarket has done an excellent job of doing this through Facebook. This effort has resulted in a following in their immediate area as well as abroad who will turn into walk-in clients and clients of their products that can be shipped to other destinations. Facebook is something that has not gone away so it is a reality you need to pay attention to. It is also something that can be adapted to fit the marketing needs of any business. Mildas CornerMarket has done a great job to adapt Facebook to fit its marketing needs and I encourage you to do this as well. The only cost is time and it will pay off.
Please contact me anytime.
Mark Taylor, a public relations specialist, is founder of public relations firm Delora Media. You can reach Mr. Taylor by emailing n solutions@deloramedia.com
You can find out more about Delora Media by visiting www.deloramedia.com
Delora Media will host a special seminar on December 14th in Fredericton. Visit www.deloramedia.com for more details.
Click on this link below to read this blog offering some basic public relations tips for a business of any size:
My name is Joseph O'Donnell and I am excited about the opportunity to share with you on this blog insight on financial planning. Each month, I will share with you my thoughts or an article I think you should read. For my first blog posting, I hope you enjoy this excellent article by David Christianson, BA,CFP,R.F.P., TEP:
Back to School Tax Tips
David Christianson, BA, CFP, R.F.P., TEP
“Dollars and Sense”
We talked last week about tax deductible moving expenses and how they can be claimed by fulltime post-secondary students who move to go to school, as well as all taxpayers who move more than 40 km closer to a new job.
That must have been good timing, as a whole bunch of readers told me it saved them a bunch of dry reading of the Act. They also asked for a refresher on other tax credits and strategies available to students attending university, community college or any other formal post-secondary education.
The tuition tax credit provides a reduction in taxes of about 25% of the tuition & other expenses paid for attending full or part-time post-secondary schooling. Any other fees assessed that must be paid by all students, such as athletic, admission, library fees and lab charges, exam fees and charges for certificates and diplomas are also included. You’ll need an official receipt, called a T2202, from the institution to claim the credit.
The education credit is based on the number of months of full time-equivalent attendance, and it can also be claimed by part-time students at a reduced rate or by disabled part-time students at the full rate. It saves about $116 in taxes per month that you are enrolled in a post-secondary institution, when you factor in the textbook credit. Also keep receipts to claim the transit pass credit, if using public transit.
One problem with tax credits is that you have to be paying tax in order to use them. Starving students are not always paying taxes, as they can earn almost $10,000 tax free the same as anyone else, before using the credits mentioned above. Luckily, unused credits can be transferred to a supporting spouse, parent or grandparent if the full credit is not needed to eliminate the student’s tax bill. Up to $5,000 a year of tuition and education credits can be transferred, which would result in a tax reduction of about $1,250.
A student can also carry the tax credits forward to a future tax year. Note that once a credit has been carried forward, it can’t be transferred to a supporting person.
Most scholarship, bursary or fellowship income is allowed tax-free. This makes it easier for a good student to be self-supporting (which, by the way, I support).
When planning withdrawals from an RESP, remember that the original capital you invested can be withdrawn tax free at any time, and only the growth and government grant portion are taxable to the student. You specify the proportion you want for each withdrawal. Maximize taxable amounts while the student has excess credits and deductions, and save the tax-free withdrawals for years when the student is taxable.
Childcare expenses are tax deductible by students if they are single parents, the lower-income earner of two parents, or the higher-income earner of two full-time students. Deductible expenses include daycare centres, babysitters, summer camp, day camps, sports schools, or boarding schools. Part-time students may also qualify for partial deductions, based on the number of full months he or she was in part-time attendance.
There is also now a tax credit to offset interest paid on federally or provincially-sponsored student loans. Since the credit might not all be needed in a given year, it can be carried forward up to five years.
As we discussed in detail last week, eligible moving expenses are deductible by students who move at least 40 km to attend school full time.
It’s a good idea for parents and students to have their tax returns prepared together, to optimize the different scenarios of transferring credits and claiming deductions.
If you use a professional tax preparer, make sure you provide all the necessary information on all parties.
As an example, claiming an RRSP contribution for the student might be worthwhile, even though the student is not paying tax and therefore the contribution might appear wasted. If the RRSP deduction reduces income to the point where credits are unused and can be transferred to the spouse, parent or grandparent, total family tax may be reduced. RESP withdrawals might be timed to use up credits.
Be creative. After all, it’s a learning experience.
David Christianson is a fee-only financial planner and investment counsel with Wellington West Total Wealth Management Inc., advising clients with $2 to $10 million of investment assets. You can e-mail him at dchristianson@wellwest.ca
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Located in Fredericton, Joseph O'Donnell is a portfolilo manager and investment advisor with Wellington West Capital Inc. You can contact Mr. O'Donnell by calling 472-5482 or 1-888-269-5744, by emailing jodonnell@wellwest.ca or by visiting www.wellingtonwest.com Mr. O'Donnell will offer a guest blog at this time each month
Disclaimer:
The information contained herein is derived from sources which are believed to be reliable but Wellington West Capital Inc. (WW) makes no representation that this information is accurate or complete. The document is delivered by WW on the condition that WW, its officers, directors and affiliates shall incur no liability whatsoever or howsoever arising in connection with the information contained herein or reliance thereon. Any opinion expressed herein is based solely upon WW’s current analysis and interpretation of each information and is subject to change. WW and/or it’s individual officers and/or its directors and/or its representatives and/or members of their families may have a position in the securities mentioned and may make purchases and/or sales of these securities from time to time in the open market or otherwise.
C3581CA
Wellington West Capital Inc., member CIPF.
Please click on this link to read a variety of blogs on various New Brunswick real estate issues:
In this guest blog, Eric Holman offers some advice on how to save money by making smart renovations to your property.
Click on this link to read the blog:
Eric Holman's smart renovation blog
Eric Holman is successful real estate professional, Fredericton first real estate agent to by designated as a Green Shops member by the City of Fredericton and one of only a few Accredited Green Agents (AGAs) in New Brunswick.
Brought to you by www.DeloraMedia.com
You have to ask yourself why so many businesses today still maintain traditional methods when searching for customers. It seems that in a measure to save the much-needed dollar, owners and managers are willing to sacrifice innovation, creativity and even quality when getting the message out to the public.
I believe that our public today are much more in tune with advertising and marketing than any other generation before them. They are quick to question the meaning of an advertisement, they are fast to switch the channel if it sounds ridiculous and they are intelligent enough to know that if it sounds horrible, then you get what you paid for. You, the business owner, are ultimately going to feel the impact of low quality advertising and marketing. Make sure you present yourself the way you want others to see you. You need to pay close attention to what message is going out. A less than professional appearance can leave people thinking your business may not be capable of handling their needs.
Keep the following things in mind as you look at your marketing plan and determine how you want your advertising to appear to your customer base. Do not compromise the quality of printed material; go to a professional to create your marketing materials, especially your logo. Add your website URL to all of your printed materials and make sure all of your links on your website work. This is the most cost efficient way for people to find you. Use comedy carefully, since many people will not share your sense of humour. Larger companies usually poll an audience to ensure results. If you’re not willing to spend polling money, walk with caution.
Let’s face it; the old cliché “Good marketing and advertising isn’t cheap, cheap marketing and advertising isn’t good” stands true to form. In today’s marketplace, you must become creative if you wish to persuade the customer to look to you for products or services.
Gary Brenton, founder of Phoenix Marketing, is a partner in Delora Media. You can contact Mr Brenton at gary.benton@deloramedia.com or visit Delora Media at www.deloramedia.com
Delora Media is now offering one-on-one marketing and communications tutoring for SMEs and not-for-profit organizations. Email solutions@deloramedia.com for more info.
I continue to be amazed at how many poor leaders there are in New Brunswick.
From small businesses to government, there seems to be a real lack of leadership in our province and I find it disturbing.
There are many examples that I could focus on but it would take too many blog postings to cover all these examples. Considering this, I would like to focus on the lack of good communication skills among the leaders of NB.
Good communication is very important for any organization. To operate well and to ensure that the public has the best possible image of your organization, you must communicate well in your organization and to the people on the outside. If you don't, your business will not be on the right track and it will fail.
A good example of what I am talking about is a New Brunswick business I encountered one time that boasted about having a new addition to the staff who was a supposed superstar in his profession. The enterprise planned to change how it did business in way that implemented a brand it believed the public wanted.
Indeed, this person was talented but he failed to communicate with the rest of the staff and his clients. Moreover, the leadership of this business also failed to communicate with clients and this new staff member. They didn't even understand what their customer wanted. The result was that the business suffered a huge drop in the amount of customers coming through the door, the new staff member quit, other staff members quit and the business acquired a poor reputation in its community that it is still trying to recover from. It still amazes me that the leader of this business still has the job and the only reason why it didn't fail is the fact that it has deep pockets.
Every business must make good communication a top priority. This starts at ensuring that staff are communicated with in the way the need to be and it must continue to include communicating well with other businesses and customers. The business I mentioned did not understand this and still does not today because it does not have the right leadership in place.
My suggestion for the business I mentioned would be to fire their leader, re-brand the business, make the appropriate changes to staff to reflect the new brand, setup guidelines for communications, setup the proper internal communications structures, setup the proper external communications structures and then get at promoting the new brand of the business.
Be a good leader and ensure that your business is not like the business I mentioned. Make the effort to understand your customer, take the steps now to get the proper communications structures in place and follow through on those structures. You will be happy you did.
Mark Taylor , a communications specialist, is a partner in Delora Media. Visit www.deloramedia.com
Delora Media is now offering one-on-one marketing and communications tutoring for SMEs and not-for-profit organizations. Email solutions@deloramedia.com for more info.
Please email me your stories and your suggestions for this blog to solutions@deloramedia.com
I'm excited to be launching this new blog that will offer businesses tips on how to grow a business, reach new customers, reengage past customers and deal well with the current recession.
The first thing most business owners do is to cut back, chopping the very things that move them forward. When finances are tight, cutting back the dollars spent might be a necessity but keeping your business in front of people is still a must. Therefore, you must market well and there are many ways you can do that without spending a lot of money.
The year is 2009 yet many businesses still market/advertise their business like it was 1969. Reaching people should be a creative process. Getting people’s attention takes more than simply saying “I’m Here”.
People desire communication and they want businesses to talk to them. They want businesses to find out who they are and they want businesses to explain to them why they should be interested in what the business is all about. This can be done in variety of creative marketing ways which I will discuss in future blog postings.
It’s time to change. It’s time to get to know the customers of the future. The companies that understand this and act will be the businesses that thrive once the economy turns around. Many large companies now understand this and are throwing a lot of money at getting to know the customer of the future. You must do this too but you don't have to spend a lot of money at doing just that. For example, partnering with other businesses or organizations can result in signficant marketing for very little investment and sometimes no investment at all.
The recession is a change in the economy. To survive, without deep pockets, you need to change as well.
Please contact me anytime at gary.brenton@deloramedia.com
Gary Brenton is a marketing and development specialist and a partner in Delora Media. Visit Delora Media at www.deloramedia.com
