What Women Small Business Owners Want

The Small Business Success Index, (a joint effort between Network Solutions and The University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business) put out a recent report on The State of Small Business.

One of the  most interesting parts of the report was about women business owners. the report found that:

women business owners are more likely to view the business as "highly" or "marginally competitive" (61%) as compare to men (50%). This reinforces the trend reported earlier that majority women-owned business are slightly more competitive.

"Women are simply better at running businesses –with the exception of 'borrowing money'"– according to Roy Dunbar, CEO of Network Solutions, the company that co-authored the report.

This seems to coincide with other reports from NAWBO and WPO finding that in the current climate, women business owners are more optimistic about their futures. 

So where are women small business owners looking for help?

The study found one area they want help is in marketing.  Here are the top areas of marketing where they'd like assistance:

   

The other area small business owners are looking for help, especially women small business owners, is in raising capital.

 

Some institutions are actively reaching out to women business owners, like KeyBank.  KeyBank is focused on their Key4Women program, providing 2 Billion dollars in capital to women owned businesses.  This is a smart business move considering the success of women-owned businesses. 

Marketing Your Small Business

As far as marketing your small business, especially if women are your end customers, the Internet holds the most promise.

A professionally designed and strategic website can help you compete with bigger, better funded competition.  You can create a virtual storefront that is just as impressive as a much larger company.  Just make sure your website is female friendly.  If you need a way to test that, I can help with a woman friendly website review.

Identify new prospective customers online.  The first place most people start their search for a product or service is with a search engine. Make sure your online presence (website, blog, videos, etc.) shows up in those searches. 

Convert marketing leads into buyers.  Use the Internet to build relationships with these prospective customers.  Make sure you have a blog, website, email campaign, and are on Facebook and Twitter sharing your knowledge and answering questions about your area of expertise. HINT - talk about what your customers care about, not what you care about.

Find efficient ways to advertise and promote your business.  Again, your advertising and PR efforts can be tracked online.  If you're a small business owner without a huge marketing budget, there are lots of opportunities online to promote your business with your website, your blog, social media and strategic partnerships. 

The key is to have a comprehensive strategy focusing on who your customers are, where they are spending time online, and what their needs/problems/questions are.

As a woman business owner myself, I've seen first hand what works and what doesn't work.

What are your questions/challenges as a woman business owner, or business owner who has women customers?

Watch an interview about the future of small business with Network Solutions CEO Roy Dunbar.

 

 

 

Comments

[Barkri]

Learn Which Businesses to Target and Which to Ignore. If you don't learn early on which businesses to target and which ones to ignore as potential client candidates, your business will suffer. You need to know where to find the best target businesses and know when to say "no" to businesses that come your way that don't fit with your goals and plans.

http://www.clickandinc.com/

[business videos]

its very informative for business developer. And I think video marketing like business videos are also very important for any kind of business large or small

[meme]

Great post for a business owner like myself. I would love to share this on my blog www.Informher.com for women business owners looking for expert advice.

[gowri]

The main problem faced by women entrepreneur in India is?

A) Male Domination

B) Low risk taking

C) Female-Male Competition

D) Family Problems

E) Financial problems

Welcome to Opinion poll!

Hi Friends,You can vote and express your views about this poll by clicking following URL Link:

http://www.opinionpoll.in/AF203
(If the link doesn't work while clicking, please copy the above URL and paste it in your web browser address bar.)

For More Polls Visit : www.opinionpoll.in

Your Opinion Matters...........

[Tara Business Coach]

As one of many women business owners and a business coach myself, I'd like to contribute that despite all the good points mentioned here, success doesn't come as easily to some women. Maybe you can make use of some issues I have pointed out in my write up on why some women entrepreneurs fail at their businesses. http://www.femmebusinesscoach.com/small-business-coaching-how-to-avoid-the-plague-that-is-killing-women-entrepreneurs