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Hunter Hoffmann

Hunter Hoffmann is Head of US Communications at Hiscox insurance and is responsible for media relations, social media, internal communications and executive messaging. Hunter lives in New York City with his wife and two sons - Walker and Otis. In his spare time, he moonlights as Chief Marketing Officer and deliveryman for Junior’s Fresh, a fresh baby and toddler food delivery service and cafe in New York City founded by his wife, Michelle. His passions in life are food, family and the NY Yankees. http://www.hiscox.com/small-business-insurance/

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Spring Cleaning Tips for your Small Business

Hunter Hoffmann

April 11, 2014


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Hopefully your business didn’t hibernate for the winter, but the bad weather across the US certainly caused an overall decrease in economic activity that impacted businesses big and small. Now that the temperatures are finally warming up, it’s a good time to try some new tactics to turboboost your business for success the rest of the year. Here are some easily implemented, low-cost tips on spring cleaning for your small business:

Clean up and enhance your apps: Apps can be valuable and affordable tools to help small businesses owners manage their operations on the go. No, I’m not talking about Candy Crush, this is about apps that actually make you more productive. The Google Drive app lets you edit files across PCs, tablets, and smartphones so you can maintain consistency across devices. Need help remembering everything? We all do. Evernote syncs your notes, photos and documents across all platforms.

Dust off your LinkedIn profile and increase your activity: LinkedIn has a lot to offer small business owners, if you know where to look. Build your network and take advantage of this communications channel to gain exposure for you and your business. Take advantage of joining LinkedIn groups in your areas of interest, then comment and share (but only if you have something worthwhile to say, and never to specifically promote your business. But, before you become more active, revisit your profile. Make sure it’s up to date and you have the right picture, headline and description to represent your business.

Conquer your writer’s block with a newsletter: It’s easy to send out newsletters to customers using simple programs like Constant Contact or Mail Chimp. Your newsletters should include content relevant to your customers (current and potential) that helps establish you as a thought leader in your space. Start by featuring articles that are relevant to your field from other sources and then add some of your own tips. It’ll get easier over time and with link tracking and social sharing you can quickly see which content generates the most interest. Be sure to include a way for customers to get in touch with comments or suggestions – these could provide some good topics for future articles.

Start building an army of brand ambassadors: Brand ambassadors are people who love your brand, and can’t stop telling other people about how good it is. You can start by tracking discussions of your brand, industry and competitors over social media to see who’s already talking about you. The next step is to create relationships that are beneficial for you and your brand ambassadors, and create measurements that connect their activities with sales. Some tactics to turn a fan into a true brand ambassador include friends and family discounts they can share with their network, exclusive blogging opportunities, and targeted shout outs over social media. People want to feel loved and spread that love to their networks – give them the tools to make it happen and your business will benefit.

These tips can help you extend the reach of your business without taking too much time, or investment. Take the time to try these new tactics for yourself and your business and you’ll be in a better position to really succeed this year.