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Small Biz Survival
  • Don stands in front of colorful paint samples.
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural

    RuralOmniLocal: Why local businesses resist selling online

    November 29, 2016November 20, 2016

    What holds local businesses back from selling online? Local retailers have a lot of natural advantages in selling online. It’s part of being  Rural OmniLocal, but several key challenges hold them back. This article is adapted from an interview I did with Bob Dunn. Hear the whole interview or read the transcript at BobWP.com The first…

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  • RuralOmniLocal: Selling virtual products in a bricks-and-mortar store
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural

    RuralOmniLocal: Selling virtual products in a bricks-and-mortar store

    November 21, 2016November 20, 2016

    Jerry Miles, BookFeller.com, wrote in with a great question about making the most of the customers who visit his retail store. I want to be able to sell online products in my bricks-and-mortar store, whether physical or affiliate. In other words, I’d like to sell items listed on Amazon, eBay, etsy, etc., in my store…

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  • RuralOmniLocal: How a local business can sell online
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural

    RuralOmniLocal: How a local business can sell online

    November 14, 2016November 20, 2016

    Have a local business that wants to sell online? Focus first on the existing customers. That’s one of the lessons with Rural OmniLocal. This article is adapted from an interview I did with Bob Dunn. Hear the whole interview or read the transcript at BobWP.com Every independent business has customers right now who visit them…

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  • RuralOmniLocal: the advantage for small town retailers
    customer service | entrepreneurship | marketing | rural

    RuralOmniLocal: the advantage for small town retailers

    November 7, 2016November 20, 2016

      Rural OmniLocal. It’s the new buzzword. I know because I made it up. It means small town retailers using multiple channels to reach their customers. This article is an excerpt from an interview with Bob Dunn. Hear the whole interview or read the transcript at BobWP.com In the world of big retail companies, “omni…

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  • How Siri can help small town businesses make more sales
    customer service | entrepreneurship | marketing | rural | trends

    How Siri can help small town businesses make more sales

    September 14, 2015December 19, 2017

      One-third of American consumers have used virtual-assistant services on their smartphones recently. That will climb to two-thirds of all consumers in developed markets using them daily, by the end of 2016, Gartner estimates. As search engines and intelligent digital assistants have gotten smarter in the types of questions they can answer, people are getting more comfortable…

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  • Subscription box of local foods. Photo by Charlie CEONYC on Flickr.
    customer service | entrepreneurship | ideas | marketing | rural

    How small town stores can start subscription box services and reap extra sales

    September 8, 2015November 20, 2016

      Subscription boxes have become firmly-established as a business model over the past five or more years. I think they are a perfect fit for small town retail stores. What are subscription boxes? Subscription box customers sign up for regular deliveries. Some boxes send the same product each month, like shaving supplies. (Dollar Shave Club…

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  • Monument Market, Georgetown, Texas
    customer service | entrepreneurship | marketing | rural | Small Biz 100

    7 Big retail tricks that small town stores can use

    August 31, 2015January 23, 2019

      Giant retailers like Amazon serve customers with lots of tricks to keep them locked in. But small town retailers can borrow a few of these, and make them into ethical, helpful ways to keep customers coming back. 1. Give a lot of information about your products. Amazon listings usually have a lot of detail….

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