How to Use the Competition to Improve Your Business

Originally published on SelfGrowth.com

Whether you are establishing a new business in the industry or trying to promote an already established brand; competition is always prevalent. With the presence of competitors, marketing becomes a difficult task for new-age entrepreneurs. There is no way to avoid dealing with competitors in your industry altogether, but there are ways to develop strategies using these competitive forces to improve your brand positioning.

Gary Brewster of Oneida, Tennessee has spent the last 25 years creating a name for himself in business through dedication, service, and leadership. Below, Mr. Brewster illuminates several ways to turn the competition into an advantage for your business.

Analyze Market Competition

When you stay focused on bringing your business to the top without realizing what your competitors are doing, you cannot achieve the desired goal. It is essential to analyze the competitors to know about their strengths and weaknesses. Go through their newsletters, review their ad displays, visit their business location, buy some products, and communicate with their managers to gain the most valuable insights. As you learn more about your competitors, take some notes and start a brainstorming session with your team on how to distinguish yourself from them.

Outbid the Competition

Once you have collected information about your competitors, it is time to create a user-friendly marketing presentation that can outmatch them and capture the most significant share of the market. By utilizing the ideas collected about competitor strengths and weaknesses, you can prepare a robust strategy to limit their market appeal while boosting your…Read More
Source: https://www.garybrewsteroneida.com/blog/how-to-use-the-competition-to-improve-your-business

Tips to Maximize Communication for Business Networking

Originally published on TheEconomyForum.com

In many business endeavors, the path to success can be achieved through effective and high-quality communication. Communication at a high level is the key ingredient that can help you navigate and facilitate many business relationships. However, communication skills are not always nurtured by professionals in the industry. It is essential to hone your communication skills by adding more features and dimensions to it.

Below, Gary Brewster, Oneida, TN businessmen, explains methods to maximize your communication skills for the business field.

Know and Recognize Your Audience

The first step to improving communication is to identify who your audience is for any speaking occasion. What are their primary interests? Why are they listening to you? What are they looking to hear or not hear? Identifying your audience will bring up questions about how you are going to shape your approach when engaging with them. Details about your audience are not always going to be presented to you right away; it may take multiple exchanges and conversations to obtain and understand these details fully.

Use Many Mediums to Communicate

In today’s media landscape, there is more than one way to talk to someone. You must have the means to be able to transmit your messages so they can be interpreted by people using a diverse range of devices. The way you speak to someone on the internet forum is different than talking to them face-to-face or over the phone. Being adept at using several mediums can better prepare you to communicate and convey the same meaning for your message to different audiences.

Be Honest in Your Approach

Communication is about building relationships and…Read More
Source: https://www.garybrewsteroneida.com/blog/tips-to-maximize-communication-for-business-networking

Three Questions to Ask Yourself Before Making Any Big Business Decisions

Originally published on WordPress.com

Running a business involves making decision after decision. Whether big or small, the decisions have a cumulative effect on the organization’s success. To ensure you make the best possible choices, Gary Brewster, Oneida Businessman, and Investor for over 25 years, believes it’s a good idea to ask yourself the following three questions before making any moves:

 

1. What Is the Worst Case Scenario?

Before you pursue a plan of action, you should always ask yourself what could go wrong. It may be counterintuitive to think of the negative even before you have made a decision, but removing the fear associated with it can work wonders for your thought process. For instance, take a piece of big, expensive equipment that you wish to purchase: Were it not to improve your productivity, what would be the net loss? If the machine is well maintained, you could most likely still recover a large portion of the purchase price. 

 

2. Can It Be Reversed?

If you hire for a senior position or purchase a new delivery vehicle, will it be possible to reverse the decision? In most cases, you will find that you can let go of the new hire or re-sell the delivery vehicle without affecting your company’s bottom line too much. If the decision you have to make can be easily reversed, it is often best to just take a leap of faith rather than waste time deliberating over it. 

 

3. What Data Or Information Are You Missing?

In the real world, it is quite rare to have all of the information you might need sitting in front of you while you make a decision. As such, it is a good…Read More
Source: https://www.garybrewsteroneida.com/blog/three-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-making-any-big-business-decisions

Savvy Entrepreneur, Gary Brewster of Oneida, TN, Shares 5 Tips to Help the Small Business Owner Save Money

Originally published on Blogprocess.com

A great deal of responsibility rests on the shoulders of the small business owner. With finite resources, and with expenses ranging from tax bills to health insurance, the small business owner needs to try every trick in the book to maintain positive cash flow.

No matter what your finances are like, it’s always important to be careful about every dollar you spend. Gary Brewster, Oneida, Tennessee businessman with over 25 years of experience explains below 6 essential areas where a business owner can save money and ensure their company stays in the black.

1. Save money on health insurance

When you’re self-employed, your health insurance premium is one of your most significant expenses. Fortunately, there are ways to save on this business cost. One of the most significant areas of saving comes from your ability to deduct your premiums on your tax returns. There are a few caveats to keep in mind, however, before you attempt to write off a premium:

• Your business must be profitable. You cannot deduct expenses in amounts greater than your profit.
• You cannot put together earnings from other companies that belong to you, in an attempt to appear profitable.
• You cannot deduct premiums for insurance obtained from sources such as your spouse.

2. Set aside dedicated home office space

If you often work from home, you can set aside an area that exclusively serves as your home office. When you do this, you will get to deduct a portion of your mortgage and utilities bills on your taxes, in proportion to the space that you use. Whether your home office qualifies for such a deduction, is a complicated question. Checking…Read More
Source: https://www.garybrewsteroneida.com/blog/savvy-entrepreneur-gary-brewster-of-oneida-tn-shares-5-tips-to-help-the

How to Generate More Word of Mouth Marketing for Your Business

Originally published on industriat.com

When it comes to advertising, it is often said that word of mouth goes further with consumers than any other traditional form of marketing – including commercials, billboards, or radio ads. Customers look to what others have said about a particular brand or service before making the purchasing decision themselves. Generating more word of mouth marketing can have a profound impact on a company’s bottom line, and can be achieved by adhering to the following tips listed by successful businessman, Gary Brewster of Oneida, TN:

 

Build a strong brand 

Brand awareness is a crucial element of successful word of mouth advertising. A successful brand is one that can be recognized easily by consumers, not only because it is unique or distinguishable from other competing brands, but also because it is a trusted brand. Building a strong brand starts with creating a robust ‘unique selling proposition,’ or USP. In a nutshell, this USP is the feature or offering that your brand can provide in a way that your competitors cannot. Once you have determined your USP, try to focus on that in your marketing and packaging. By becoming known as the brand that can do a specific thing, consumers will be much more likely to talk about you with their friends.

 

Foster an active user base

Strong branding also results in an active community around the brand, which serves well in increasing word of mouth. A community allows like-minded people to come together and talk about your brand and the products you release. It can also be a platform for new or prospective customers to be influenced into making their purchasing…Read More
Source: https://www.garybrewsteroneida.com/blog/how-to-generate-more-word-of-mouth-marketing-for-your-business

Tips For Displaying Appreciation To Your Customers

Originally published on theodysseyonline.com

Customer relationships are a core part of your business success. Many businesses that outperform their competitors are just more responsive in this area. By taking a more direct and proactive approach to managing your customers, you can open up a new avenue of success for your business. How can you display genuine appreciation to them? Here are tips and practices from customer service expert and accomplished entrepreneur, Gary Brewster in Oneida, Tennessee that you can adopt.

 

Event Sponsorship 

There are many small signs of appreciation you can show to customers, but hosting an event provides significant evidence to customers that your business genuinely acknowledges and cares for their support. With these events, you can treat customers as guests – which can be a great way to elevate your relationship with them. After these events, you can follow-up with your customers, build upon that relationship, and gain additional insights into their expectations.

 

Customized Products and Services

Customers will be pleasantly surprised to see products specifically catered to their preferences. This shows that you do respond to their feedback and are appreciative of the information they provide. Also, you are reinforcing the fact that your business firmly puts a priority on their needs and is committed to elevating their experience. You can personalize your products through a couple of means, including offering them in certain colors, modifications, labels, and more.

 

Use Handwritten Notes

A handwritten note is one of the best ways to convey authenticity in your messages. When you use this medium for sending messages of appreciation to your customers, it generates a more positive response. In a world saturated with emails, social…Read More
Source: https://www.garybrewsteroneida.com/blog/tips-for-displaying-appreciation-to-your-customers

Protecting Your Home From Winter

Originally published on hometalk.com

The winter season can be tough on your home. Snow and ice accumulation can damage your roof, causing leaks and other serious problems. Road salt can damage your driveway and lead to expensive repairs come spring. Even worse, the fact that we stay inside during much of the season can make it hard to spot issues early when they are small and easy to fix.

 

With winter fast approaching, now is a great time to check your home and get ready for cold-weather hazards. From protecting your pipes to preventing ice dams, there are things you can do now to protect your home all winter long. 

 

A burst pipe could result in thousands of dollars’ worth of water damage and give you a costly repair bill just in time for Christmas. If you will be spending time away from home, placing a monitoring system on your pipes can prevent damage and save you money.

 

For several hundred to several thousand dollars you can install a system that will automatically shut off your water supply if an unusually high flow of water is detected. That might seem like a lot, but it is just a fraction of what damage from a burst pipe will cost to repair.

 

If you have a trusted friend or neighbor, you can install a sensor that detects high water flow and sends an alert to a mobile device. The sensor costs about $100, but you will need someone to enter your home and turn off the water supply physically.

 

Ice damming is another common hazard of winter, but this one is relatively easy to spot. Icicles hanging from your roof and downspouts are a classic symptom. If you suspect an ice dam has formed, it is a good idea to call a roofing contractor. Trying to remove the damming yourself could further damage your roof and result in an even costlier…Read More
Source: https://www.garybrewsteroneida.com/blog/protecting-your-home-from-winter

How to Protect your Gutters and Roof in Winter

Originally published on homebna.com

Can you spot the signs of roof damage on your home or commercial building? One sure way to know that you have at least some damage is to look for icicles in cold weather. While they may look pretty and festive around the holidays, icicles can severally damage your gutters and your roof. The added weight of snow and ice in the cold winter months can begin to erode and impact a reasonably sound roof and critically damage one that is older or already impaired. 

 

Water Damage Due to Winter Weather 

When snow and ice fill your gutters and cover your roof, the heat from your home’s interior can draw water into your home. As it melts, the water takes the path of least resistance, which typically is through your skylights or ceiling.

Water expands as it freezes, which can stretch a full gutter out of shape. As the home’s interior heat melts the ice and snow, increases the water flows, continuing the cycle until eventually, the sheer weight of the ice rips the gutter away from your roof.

 

How to Protect your Gutters and Roof in Winter: 

Cleaning accumulating snow off of your roof can help reduce the risk of damage. “Your gutters should be clear before the cold weather arrives; if they are full of fall leaves and other debris, even a single snowfall or icy rainstorm can damage your roof and gutter systems,” stated Mr. Brewster. Prevent damage by:

• Clean your gutters regularly.  If you see plant debris or notice water falling off of your roof instead of traveling through the gutter system, there is a blockage somewhere that you should investigate.
• Check for overlarge icicles and ice blocks and knock them down if possible. Don’t allow masses of ice or icicles to accumulate.
• The same…Read More
  Source: https://www.garybrewsteroneida.com/blog/how-to-protect-your-gutters-and-roof-in-winter