New York SBDC Research Network

Obtained From: MarketingProfs For a long time, B2C marketers have dominated video advertising. But the evolving landscape of video advertising has opened up opportunities for B2B marketers, too, driven in large part by a changing demographic of B2B buyers and their video-consumption behaviors. According to a recent Google study , 70% of B2B buyers watch videos along their path to purchase—a whopping 52% jump in just two years. Are you still on the fence about whether to take advantage of video in your marketing program? Consider these five reasons to take the plunge.

Obtained From:  US Economic Census Response for the Economic Census begins on    May 1, 2018 and is available for the following month, up until June 12, 2018 . The data businesses provide is compiled into official statistics that are available for companies to use for planning and decision making. The Economic Census asks for the following information by location:      1. Employer Identification Number      2. Physical Location      3. Primary Business Activity      4. Sales, receipts, or revenue      5. Employment and payroll      6. Industry-specific questions Here is some information to help businesses navigate the Census: How do I get started?  To begin, link yourself to your survey. You link your account to your survey by an authentication code sent to you from the Census Bureau. Once you have this code, click on the “Add Authentication Code” button under “My Surveys.” Enter and submit your unique 12-digit code. After submitting your authentication code, a surve

Obtained from:   Ma rketingProfs Which types of content do consumers of various ages want to see more of from brands? Do some content formats resonate more with certain age groups? To find out,  HubSpot  surveyed 3,010 consumers age 18 and older in Colombia, Germany, Mexico, and the United States. More than half of  surveyed  consumers age 54 and younger want to see more videos from brands they support. Some 47% of consumers age 55+ also want to see more videos from brands they support. There are significant differences in the preferences of various age groups for other content types. Only 22% of consumers age 18-24 value emails from brands they support, compared with 68% of consumers age 55+.

Each year the  New York Small Business Development Center  recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the   Brockport SBDC  appears in our  2016 Annual Report .  Laurie & James Widmaier   The Presentation Source, Inc. Brockport SBDC Laurie & James Widmaier established The Presentation Source in Rochester in 1997. In the early stage of the business, their goals were simply to promote quality color presentations and sell Tektronix color-printers and projectors. However, in the years that followed Laurie and James recognized a significant potential for growth. They paid close attention to the rapidly changing needs and demands of their clients and adapted to those trends by providing advanced product and service technologies.  Today, their company is a $3.7 million company with 15 full- and part-time employees that serves a wide range of markets. Its clients include government agencies, elementary and high schools, colleges a

From the Federal Trade Commission : The Federal Trade Commission is launching a national education campaign to help small businesses strengthen their cyber defenses and protect sensitive data that they store. The FTC will develop and distribute reader-friendly educational materials with information about cybersecurity that small businesses need. The effort grew out of the Small Business & Cybersecurity Roundtables that the FTC hosted last year with small business owners and non-profit organizations, employees, and managers to learn about the challenges they face when dealing with cyber threats and security and ideas for how the government can help them. “Small businesses understand the importance of cybersecurity and the need to protect their networks and data, but many feel overwhelmed about how to address the myriad of cyber threats they face,” said Tom Pahl, Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Our new campaign aims to help these small businesses w

From Gallup : Fear. Anxiety. Stress. Anger. Not exactly the emotions we're hoping to invoke in our employees, right? Not exactly the key to motivational management, anyway. Unfortunately, those are the emotions many people feel when it's time to discuss their work metrics. Employees dread the idea of their manager reducing them to a number. A number that might be accurate and important but doesn't accurately reflect all they bring to their job. And no matter the niceties of how it's all delivered, people get defensive and deflated. Why? "The very act of measuring communicates distrust, power, control and dehumanization." That's what one fellow student said when the topic of performance measurement came up in my Ph.D. class. He was right. And he was wrong. He was right because measurement can be dehumanizing. Managers, intentionally or not, end up using measurements negatively in an attempt to motivate people. But it doesn't work. How

From the Social Security Administration : April is National Social Security Month. Handle your small business needs through the Social Security Administration’s online suite of Business Services. See what you can do online! The Business Services Online Suite of Services allows organizations, businesses, individuals, employers, attorneys, non-attorneys representing Social Security claimants, and third-parties to exchange information with Social Security securely over the internet. You must register and create your own password to access Business Services Online. The Complete Phone Registration option is provided to individuals who began their Business Services Online registration by phone and need to create a password. List of Services include: Request a replacement Social Security card Apply for Social Security benefits Get your Social Security Statement Appeal a decision Find out if you qualify for benefits Estimate your future benefits Get a letter saying you don

From BusinessWire : With... the May 25 enforcement date of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) [looming], NetApp, the data authority for the hybrid cloud, released research findings from a global survey of IT decision makers across the U.S., UK, France, and Germany. The survey shows that these decision makers are still missing an opportunity to transform their business through a holistic data management approach that reduces risk and improves business efficiency. For nearly two years, most organizations have lagged in addressing their GDPR compliance, and in some cases are ignoring the issue completely. In doing so, they are ignoring the benefits to be gained from the compliance effort, including developing a data-centric approach to control, manage, and move data regardless of where it’s stored – on premises or in the cloud. A data-centric approach drives improved efficiencies and competitive advantage and unifies data governance practices across organizations to dr

Each year the  New York Small Business Development Center  recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the   Bronx SBDC  appears in our  2016 Annual Report Dr. Joseph Andrade   Andrade Medical, PLLC Bronx SBDC Dr. Joseph Andrade was born in Chone, Ecuador. He attended the Universidad de Guayaquil for his undergraduate and postgraduate studies and graduated in 1981. Dr. Andrade passed the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) in 1982, and the Federation Licensing Examination (FLEX) in 1983, examinations required to assess the readiness of international medical graduates to enter residency or fellowship programs in the United States in accredited hospitals.  Dr. Andrade trained in pediatrics at Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center from 1983 to 1986, and later trained in internal medicine from 1986 to 1988 at the same hospital. He received his NY medical license in 1986 and is board certified in internal medicine and

From the Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission staff has sent warning letters to six major companies that market and sell automobiles, cellular devices, and video gaming systems in the United States. The letters warn that FTC staff has concerns about the companies’ statements that consumers must use specified parts or service providers to keep their warranties intact. Unless warrantors provide the parts or services for free or receive a waiver from the FTC, such statements generally are prohibited by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a law that governs consumer product warranties. Similarly, such statements may be deceptive under the FTC Act. Each company used different language, but here are examples of questionable provisions: *The use of [company name] parts is required to keep your . . . manufacturer’s warranties and any extended warranties intact. *This warranty shall not apply if this product . . . is used with products not sold or licensed by [company nam

From SBA and SCORE The U.S. Small Business Administration and SCORE Association will host a free, 3-Day Virtual Conference during National Small Business Week. The conference will take place Tuesday, May 1 – Thursday, May 3 between 12:30 pm ET - 6:30 pm ET each day. The Virtual Conference offers all the best parts of an in-person conference, but without the hassle of traveling. Watch 12 educational webinars, get free business advice from mentors, pick up free information and resources from sponsors and network with fellow business owners. The webinars include: Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints & Keep Your Customers Simple Steps to Choosing the Right Financing Addressing Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace Sharing Your Story Through Video Pop & Play: How Opening a Pop-Up Shop Can Help Launch Your Retail Brand How Changing Consumer Behavior Impacts Your Business How to Get New and Repeat Business On Autopilot with Email Marketing Cybersecure You

From the American Institute for Economic Research The legal uncertainties surrounding trade with China have sent people looking for historical precedent for this mess. One jumps out: the targeted trade embargo that the US imposed against Britain in 1807. Let’s look at the parallels and lessons. For months now, the Trump administration has been threatening every manner of taxes on imports from many countries but on China in particular. The policies would directly attack American consumers and producers of goods in which China has some role in the supply chain. China has responded with taxes on imports that would directly hit the economic prospects of Trump’s political base. Most recently, in order to escalate further, the president picked a big round number of $100 billion and sent aides out to round up enough products to meet that target. China, the spokesmen of which cannot say enough how much they would far prefer peace and economic cooperation, has retaliated with promises to

From eMarketer : According to a recent Vision Critical survey of digital buyers in North America, 80.1% of respondents said they would be comfortable sharing personal information directly with a brand for the purposes of personalizing marketing messages. But just 16.7% said they would be OK with sharing this type of information through third parties. The utilization of third-party data has become a hot topic in recent weeks due to Facebook’s ongoing scandal with Cambridge Analytica, in which information was harvested without people’s permission for voter targeting purposes. The growing skepticism toward data collection was reflected in a Gallup survey of 785 Facebook users in April 2018, in which 43% of respondents said they were very concerned about invasion of privacy. That was up from 30% in 2011.

Obtained From:  eMarketer After an unexpectedly strong holiday season closed the door on 12 months of "retail apocalypse" headlines, the retail industry is showing signs of confidence not seen in a year or more. But the confidence stems from something more than Christmas sales. Rather, the industry appears to have embraced the idea of consumer-centricity and moved on from the mindset of forcing a specific purchasing journey. “There is [a] building confidence that the industry is now pivoting” away from separate silos for in-store and digital sales, said Carrie Ask, executive vice president of global retail at  Levi Strauss & Co. , during a panel at Shoptalk in Las Vegas. “We don’t think of it as either/or anymore—it’s just shopping.” This was echoed by others at Shoptalk. Ken Worzel, president of  Nordstrom 's ecommerce site, said the department store is moving away from separating its ecommerce and brick-and-mortar business because the fragmented perspecti

Each year the  New York Small Business Development Center  recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the   Jamestown SBDC  appears in our  2016 Annual Report .  John Lipari   All American Karate School Jamestown SBDC John Lipari came to the SBDC for assistance with opening a karate school after moving to Jamestown from California. John has an 8th degree black belt in karate and owned a karate school in California. After moving, he wanted to keep teaching and open a school in New York. The All American Karate School (AAKS) opened in October 2015 in Ashville in a 4,000 square foot facility. AAKS instructors focus on teaching students a set curriculum of skills and techniques, which are then incorporated into self-defense moves. This base of skills and self-defense, lead to self-control, self-discipline and in turn self-confidence. The school’s motto, “Be Better Than You Were Before,” puts these goals within reach for people of all ag

Obtained From:   Fortune  The U.S. expansion has put millions of people back to work and economists agree that the economy is now at or close to full employment. But what does that mean exactly? When economists talk about full employment, they don’t mean everybody has a job. And they don’t mean that even the rosiest economic health can cut unemployment to zero. If unemployment falls too much, inflation will rise as employers compete to hire workers and push up wages too fast. To economists, full employment means that unemployment has fallen to the lowest possible level that won’t cause inflation. In the U.S., that was thought to be a jobless rate of about 5 percent — above the February rate of 4.1 percent. Is higher inflation therefore on the way? Or is full employment a smaller number than economists supposed?

Obtained From:  Fortune Large digital companies operating in the European Union, such as Alphabet Inc. or Twitter Inc., could face a 3 percent tax on their gross revenues based on where their users are located, according to a draft proposal by the European Commission.  The draft, seen by Bloomberg, was circulated on Friday and outlines how a targeted levy on gross revenues would increase the tax bill digital giants face, as the bloc seeks to raise money from an industry it says provides less than it should to public coffers. EU countries have been looking into methods to tax digital companies, including Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc., in a way that captures the true value created in the region.  The commission’s planned revenue tax, which is expected to be proposed on March 21, would only represent a targeted, short-term solution. The bloc also plans to propose a more comprehensive, longer-term approach that will focus on a digital permanent establishment.  The scope of the

Obtained From:   CNN The crisis unofficially began a decade ago today, with JPMorgan's shocking deal to rescue Bear Stearns for $2 a share after the investment bank suffered deep losses tied to its mortgage investments. Bear was the first major investment bank to fail, but it would not be the last.  Now, with a buoyant economy finally starting to lift some of the United States' most depressed pockets, CNNMoney is taking a look back at the 10 years following the financial meltdown that stretched around the globe — and signs that something similar might again be on the horizon, as Congress and regulators begin to loosen some of the rules they put in place to fix and prevent the problems.  "We're sitting here, 10 years later, with a short-term memory that doesn't seem to recall how we got into that mess," Taylor says. "We got into that mess because of the lack of regulation, and now we're talking about making banks less accountable. It makes no se

From Gallup : Which of your employees are most likely to quit? If you follow Gallup's analytics, you might answer that the least engaged employees quit more often. That is true -- improving engagement among your employees is one of the best ways to slow down turnover. However, there is a group of employees that merits particular attention: your most talented employees. In our recent work with organizations across various industries, we discovered something really interesting and somewhat unsettling: Highly talented employees who are not engaged were among those who had the highest turnover in each organization -- on par with low talent, disengaged employees. In other words, when your best employees are not engaged, they are as likely to leave your organization as your employees who tend to have performance issues and are unhappy. Why do they leave so quickly? We speculate that your most talented employees are more likely to have high expectations of their workplaces... But

Each year the  New York Small Business Development Center  recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the   Queens-York SBDC  appears in our  2016 Annual Report .  Lawrence Thorne   Thorn Electric Inc. Queens-York SBDC Thorn Electric, Inc. was established in 1990 by Lawrence Thorne. After a short time in the private sector, the business was approved by the New York City Housing and Preservation Development (HPD) to provide emergency repairs and apartment and building wiring upgrades. While maintaining the business structure of a small company, Thorn Electric Inc. brings the flexibility and professional approach that is well-suited for the sectors and communities it serves.  Thorn Electric specializes in all areas of electrical installation including: electrical distribution systems, lighting systems, fire alarms, public address and clock systems, surveillance cameras, and emergency services. Thorn’s primary focus is electrical con

Obtained From:   eMarketer A recent  HRC Retail Advisory  survey of consumers in North America found that nearly all respondents (95%) only want help from a sales associate when they need it. Therein lies the issue—how to balance shoppers’ need for self-sufficiency with in-store tech investments meant to help staff on the front lines? More than half (53%) of consumers surveyed ranked the in-store experience as the most important factor while shopping, but what does that exactly mean? A good number of respondents (30%) said mobile checkout was important to them, and almost as many thought apps that would make personalized recommendations were as well. But sales associates who served this same function were less desirable, cited by just 17%.  A separate survey of US internet users by  Zebra Technologies  discovered that the younger the consumer, the more likely they are to be receptive to sales associates using tech for assistance. Indeed, 58% of respondents ages 20 to 36 thought

Obtained From:  United States Census About The Survey The Economic Census is the U.S. Government's official five-year measure of American business and the economy. It is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, and response is required by law. Starting with the 2017 Economic Census, response will be entirely paperless. The Economic Census will mail out information on how to access the electronic instrument in May 2018 to the nearly 4 million businesses, including large, medium, and small companies representing all U.S. and Island Area locations and industries. Respondents will be asked to provide a range of operational and performance data for their companies. Respondent Materials To help you prepare for online reporting, click on the link below and then the appropriate survey questions and instructions (if applicable). (All surveys are in Adobe PDF file format and are for informational purposes only) Preview Survey Questions and Instructions https://bhs.econ.census.gov/o