Small Business Strategies for the New Year with Stephanie Love

Summary

Small Business Quick WINS with Jay Schwedelson: Episode Summary

Episode Title: Small Business Strategies for the New Year with Stephanie Love
Release Date: December 26, 2024
Presented By: Thryv
Host: Jay Schwedelson
Guest: Stephanie Love

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In this engaging episode of Small Business Quick WINS, host Jay Schwedelson teams up once again with Stephanie Love from Thrive to delve into strategic approaches for small businesses as they gear up for the new year. The conversation seamlessly transitions from actionable business strategies to a playful debate on holiday movies, ensuring both insightful and entertaining content for listeners.

1. Preparing for the New Year

A. Refreshing Marketing Materials

As the calendar flips to a new year, Jay emphasizes the importance of updating all marketing materials to reflect the upcoming year. Stephanie concurs, highlighting the need to eliminate any references to the previous year to maintain a fresh and relevant brand presence.

• Jay Schwedelson [00:56]: “If you're not mentioning 2025 and it becomes a negative signal for your brand... it will pull down conversions from potential new customers.”

• Stephanie Love [01:58]: “We gotta make sure that we're not thinking about last year at all. It's time to focus on next year.”

B. Avoiding Negative Signals

Jay introduces the concept of negative signals, explaining how outdated information can harm a brand’s reputation and reduce customer engagement. He warns that maintaining references to the current year past its relevance can inadvertently signal stagnation to potential clients.

• Jay Schwedelson [02:17]: “Negative signal is when somebody goes to your site, they see outdated information... it could become a negative signal for your brand.”

C. Timing Marketing Efforts in January

Stephanie provides insights into consumer behavior in early January, describing how the initial weeks post-holidays can be sluggish as people recover from holiday activities and adjust to New Year's resolutions.

• Stephanie Love [03:09]: “The first couple of weeks might be a little slow, but then after that is when we'll probably start to see a little bit of a pickup of your marketing efforts.”

Jay reinforces this point, advising business owners to be patient and persistent, recognizing that immediate responses may not materialize until the second week of January.

• Jay Schwedelson [03:36]: “They need that second week of January to hit, to really get it all rolling.”

2. Building Customer Loyalty

A. Implementing Simple Loyalty Programs

The discussion shifts to the significance of fostering customer loyalty as a cornerstone for sustained business growth. Stephanie outlines practical ways to establish loyalty programs that encourage repeat business.

• Stephanie Love [04:20]: “End of year holiday deals that bring people back into your business is kind of a great way... refer a friend programs are really easy to build.”

Jay adds to this by suggesting straightforward loyalty initiatives that recognize and reward existing customers, thereby enhancing customer retention.

• Jay Schwedelson [04:56]: “Send out an email and say, just for our VIP loyal customers, and then give them something special. You re emphasize in the subject line... this is a gift to you from us to thank you for your business.”

B. Valuing Existing Customers

Stephanie underscores the often-overlooked value of expressing gratitude towards existing customers, arguing that retaining customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.

• Stephanie Love [05:39]: “Businesses are so focused on just selling and selling and selling, but it's actually less expensive to retain existing customers than to bring in new ones.”

Jay reflects on his personal experience, acknowledging that his own company sometimes neglects existing customers, reinforcing the episode's message on the importance of customer loyalty.

• Jay Schwedelson [06:01]: “That's a mistake. In my own company... we don't focus on our existing customers enough.”

3. Fun Debate: Are These Holiday Movies?

Transitioning to a lighter segment, Jay and Stephanie engage in a spirited debate about whether certain popular movies qualify as holiday films. This segment not only provides entertainment but also subtly highlights the importance of understanding your audience’s preferences—an essential aspect of effective marketing.

A. Die Hard as a Holiday Movie

The debate kicks off with the perennial question: Is Die Hard a holiday movie?

• Stephanie Love [06:30]: “No. The problem is... Die Hard, it's a little too aggressive for me.”

• Jay Schwedelson [06:32]: “The essence of the movie is the holiday party setting. Without it, none of this would have happened.”

Stephanie maintains her stance, preferring more joyful and less aggressive films during the holiday season.

• Stephanie Love [07:20]: “I want something, like, happy and joyful, not like sneaking through air duct vents... not my.”

B. Mean Girls as a Holiday Movie

Next, they tackle Mean Girls, examining its seasonal elements.

• Stephanie Love [07:39]: “Absolutely not. Just because there's one scene in Christmas attire doesn’t make it feel like an appropriate holiday movie.”

Jay disagrees, arguing that key holiday elements are integral to the film's storyline and conclusion.

• Jay Schwedelson [07:57]: “Once again, without that, there would be no ability for it all to come together. So to me, this is the ultimate holiday movie.”

Stephanie remains unconvinced, emphasizing that the holiday setting is not central to the plot.

C. Rocky as a Holiday Movie

The final round introduces Rocky, pushing the boundaries of conventional holiday films.

• Jay Schwedelson [08:53]: “Rocky IV is a holiday movie, so nobody at me.”

Stephanie humorously admits to not having watched the Rocky series, prompting light-hearted banter.

• Stephanie Love [08:54]: “I haven't seen any Rocky movies.”

Jay encourages listeners to engage with classic holiday-themed films, highlighting the importance of tradition and familiarity in audience preferences.

• Jay Schwedelson [09:10]: “Everyone needs to reach out to Stephanie Love on LinkedIn and say, what is wrong with you?”

4. Conclusion and Takeaways

As the episode draws to a close, Jay and Stephanie recap the essential strategies discussed, emphasizing the importance of updating marketing materials, timing marketing efforts effectively, and valuing customer loyalty. The playful movie debate adds a memorable and relatable touch, reinforcing the episode's blend of practical advice and engaging conversation.

• Jay Schwedelson [10:05]: “Stephanie, you're awesome for being here. ... Thrive.com is the ultimate solution for small businesses.”

• Stephanie Love [10:05]: “Yes, Happy holidays everyone.”

The episode wraps up with a call to action, encouraging listeners to subscribe for more insights and to leave reviews if they've found the content valuable.

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Key Takeaways:

1. Update Marketing Materials: Ensure all references to the previous year are removed to avoid negative signals and maintain brand relevance.

2. Strategic Timing: Recognize that early January may be slow due to holiday recoveries, but persistence can lead to increased engagement in the following weeks.

3. Customer Loyalty Programs: Implement simple and effective loyalty initiatives to retain existing customers, which is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.

4. Express Gratitude: Regularly thanking and rewarding loyal customers can significantly enhance customer retention and satisfaction.

5. Understand Your Audience: Engaging in light-hearted debates and understanding audience preferences can strengthen customer relationships and brand affinity.

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Listeners are encouraged to visit Thryv.com to explore comprehensive business management solutions tailored for small businesses, ensuring they have the tools necessary to implement the strategies discussed in this episode.

Transcript

[Jay Schwedelson]

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[Podcast Host]

Welcome to Small Business Quick Wins, presented by Thrive. This podcast is exclusively designed for small business leaders like you. Prepare to get invaluable insights from every episode, equipped with actionable tips made for immediate implementation in your business. Tune in as we teach our firsthand lessons from fellow small business owners and thought leaders. I'm your host, Jay Schwedelson. Over the last 25 years, I've grown multiple small businesses that have generated over $300 million in revenue. Along the way, I've learned pitfalls to avoid and quick wins that can transform your business immediately. I'm excited to share it all. So if you're ready to win on Main street, let's dig into this episode.

[Jay Schwedelson]

We are back for Small Business Quick Wins, presented by Thrive. And I'm excited because we have a friend of the show that is back. We have Stephanie Love. Now, if you don't remember Stephanie, you should. She's one of the amazing content team leaders at Thrive, and she's done a bunch of episodes with me, and she always brings the energy, the ideas, the tips. And today we're going to be talking about ideas heading into the new year for your small business. Stephanie, welcome back to the show.

[Stephanie Love]

Thank you so much for having me back. I always enjoy hanging out with you.

[Jay Schwedelson]

We're gonna have fun. We are. All right, so the two topics of the day are, number one, ideas for heading into the new year when the new year starts, and then number two, more importantly, we're gonna give a breakdown on what is and what is not a holiday movie, because we have definitive information here to end many debates. But let's do the boring work stuff first. We're heading into this new year. What should we be thinking about as small business owners? What's on your mind? Where's your mind at?

[Stephanie Love]

Well, when it comes to, like, thinking about the new year, you know, we gotta make sure that we're not thinking about last year at all. So making sure 2024 is kind of off all of your marketing materials, your website, your messaging, we're over that. It's. It's time to focus on next year.

[Jay Schwedelson]

I couldn't agree more. You know, I don't think that business owners realize there's something called negative signal. Negative signal is when somebody goes to your site, they see outdated information, they get an email, is outdated information or any. Everything seemed a little bit outdated. And even though we're still in 2024, technically right now, it feels outdated. If you're not mentioning 2025 and it becomes a negative signal for Your brand. And we see it in the performance, anytime that you're mentioning the current year, which is 2024 in the month of November and December, it actually will pull down conversions from potential new customers that are visiting your website, interacting with your emails. So there's that. So let me ask you this though. Now then we flipped it, flipped the page. It's now we're in January, that first week of January 2025. What should we expect from our efforts then? Is it a great period or not or what?

[Stephanie Love]

I mean, if you think of it this way, a lot of folks are going to be in a little bit of a holiday hangover at the beginning of the year. So the first couple of weeks they're just getting, you know, they're getting back to work from a holiday vacation. They're kind of getting life together. They're trying to make sure that those New Year's resolutions they made are going to stick for more than three weeks. So the first couple of weeks might be a little slow, but then after that is when we'll probably start to see a little bit of a pickup of your marketing efforts.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Yeah, and that's so true. We see that in all the data and, and, you know, small business owners make the mistake like, oh, wow, we're putting out all this stuff. We're excited for the year to get started. We have all these promotions, ideas, whatever, and they're pushing it, you know, on that January 3rd, January 4th, they're like, well, why isn't everybody fired up? You know, New Year's Eve is over. All that's over. People are still not ready, okay. People are still not ready to react. They need that second week of January to hit, to really get it all rolling, so to speak. And then the other thing to think about as we head into the end of the year is this idea of simple loyalty programs. Stephanie, what is a way that, you know, you can implement maybe a simple loyalty program in your company if you don't have, you know, a loyalty program at all?

[Stephanie Love]

Yeah, a loyalty program is a great way to kind of get those folks to start coming back and building that repeat business. So end of year holiday deals that bring people back into your business is kind of a great way refer a friend. Programs are really easy to build in terms of bringing at least loyalty that first month. For example, a gym that I know does, if you do 12 days in January, you get a discount for your next month. So. So those programs that are constantly bringing folks back into your business are really great.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Yeah. And one other one I would throw out. Especially as you wrap up the year. Recognizing your current customers is really meaningful. And the simplest loyalty program, if you don't have one at all, is all you gotta do is send out an email and say, just for our VIP loyal customers, and then give them something special. You know, a 30% break. If you upgrade this 20% off of this. And you, you re emphasize in the subject line in the headline on the landing pages that this is only for our loyal customers. This is a gift to you from us to thank you for your business. And while that may not feel like a loyalty program, it is because you're showing loyalty to them because they showed loyalty to you. So it's a really simple tactic that actually goes a long way.

[Stephanie Love]

Yeah, I think the value of saying thank you is so often overlooked. Businesses are so focused on just selling and selling and selling, but it's actually less expensive, expensive to retain existing customers than to bring in new ones. And one of the easiest ways, like you just said, is say thank you and here's a discount or a deal that can, you know, bring you into the new year.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Could not agree more. That's a mistake. In my own company that we make, we don't focus on our existing customers enough. So that's. It's really great to kind of laser in on that. All right, let's. Let's go into the more important topic now, which is which of these is or is not a holiday movie? And I have very strong beliefs on all of these things. So let me ask you, the first one, the ultimate one, Die Hard. Is Die Hard a holiday movie, yes or no?

[Stephanie Love]

No.

[Jay Schwedelson]

What's wrong with you?

[Stephanie Love]

See, the problem is, is that for all the reasons in my mind that Die Hard is not a holiday movie are all the exact same reasons that Harry Potter, all of them are a holiday movie. So. But Die Hard, it's a little too aggressive for me. I mean, I know there's a Christmas party involved, but it's a little too aggressive for me.

[Jay Schwedelson]

That makes no sense. He flies out somewhere, wherever, California, from New Jersey, to go to a holiday party. That's the essence of the movie. So if there was no holiday party, if there was no Christmas time going on, he wouldn't get on the plane. None of this would have happened. Nakatomi Plaza would have been taken over, and that's what would have happened.

[Podcast Host]

So I don't.

[Jay Schwedelson]

I mean, Harry Potter, fine, but I think, I just think you're wrong. I think you're wrong.

[Stephanie Love]

I don't know. It's just not a movie that I would ever turn to during the holidays. I want something, like, happy and joyful, not like, you know, sneaking through air duct vents and, you know, I don't know. Not my.

[Jay Schwedelson]

I got another one. Is Mean Girls a holiday movie?

[Stephanie Love]

Okay, you mentioned this pre show, and absolutely not. Like, I love Mean Girls with, like, my soul. I am a millennial, and I'm not afraid to admit that, but just because there's one scene in Christmas attire doesn't make me feel like it is an appropriate holiday movie.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Okay, well, again, you're wrong. So for those who don't remember, the big crescendo of the movie is that the girls do in the talent show. They get the jingle ball dance or whatever, and. And they're in the Christmas outfits, and that's how it all kind of ends. And it's all wonderful and whatever, and it's joyous and happy. So, I mean, once again, without that, there would be no ability for it all to come together. So to me, this is the ultimate holiday movie.

[Stephanie Love]

The ultimate holiday movie. I. I don't know. I don't know about that because it could have been any kind of random talent show. It didn't need to be Christmas.

[Jay Schwedelson]

All right, I know you watch a lot of movies, so this is going to be a disaster.

[Stephanie Love]

Oh, my gosh.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Is Rocky for a holiday movie now? Have you seen any of the Rocky movies? Stephanie doesn't see a lot of movies. So have you seen. You've seen no Rocky movies? Not even 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, whatever?

[Stephanie Love]

No, I haven't.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Rocky is.

[Stephanie Love]

I do know who Rocky is. I do know who Rocky is. There admittedly may or may not be a video that thrive created but has never published that references Rocky. And I will leave it at that.

[Jay Schwedelson]

This is ridiculous. First of all, Rocky IV is a holiday movie, so nobody at me. But more important than that, everybody needs to reach out to Stephanie Love on LinkedIn and say, what is wrong with you? You've never seen Rocky. Your job over this holiday period is to watch Rocky 1 through 4. After 4, it falls off. But 1 through 4, you need to.

[Stephanie Love]

Watch Rocky 1 through 4. Please don't LinkedIn message me that there's something wrong with me, but I would love any Christmas movie recommendations.

[Jay Schwedelson]

There you go. We'll go. We'll leave it there. Well, we've covered a lot today. Really important information. Stephanie, you're awesome for being here. I'm going to drag you back on the show again because you're so great, and everybody go check out Thrive T H R Y D com. It is the ultimate solution for small businesses. Whether it's your marketing, communications, your billing, your everything. It's this. All in one thing. I love it. Thrive.com Stephanie, you're awesome. And happy Holidays.

[Stephanie Love]

Yes, Happy holidays everyone.

[Podcast Host]

Well, that was fun and great news. You got way more where that came from. Subscribe. Make sure you get the latest episodes each week for more actionable tips from today's top small business leaders. And hook us up with a five star review if you've got at least one new idea you may consider using. Lastly, if you want to ensure you never miss a message from your customers Again, check out thrive.com wins to get your free account with Command center today.