WJR Business Beat

Back to School Shopping Impacted by Inflation

August 07, 2023 00:00 - 2 minutes - 1.98 MB

New research from ICSC, a trade organization that represents the shopping center industry. The survey reports about 48% of US adults plan to buy some back to school items this year, spending an average of $969 during the season, an increase of about $911, almost double from 2022.

Data Privacy & Security a Major Business Concern

August 04, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.03 MB

Data privacy & security are major business concerns but you can convey confidence to existing and prospective customers. At a minimum, you need to make it an absolute priority to use the best technology and best practices when it comes to customer data, privacy, and security.

New Study COnfirms Remote Work is Here to Stay

August 03, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.04 MB

2023 Workplace Flexibility Survey underscores that these challenges relating to working remotely continue to play a significant role in how we work. The ASC survey indicates that 82% of Michigan businesses participating in the study are offering some type of flexible work arrangement, including the option to work remotely.

TechTown Detroit Offers New Programs

August 02, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 1.88 MB

TechTown Detroit has announced they are broadening their areas of focus beyond traditional brick and mortar businesses, and will now be offering a retail bootcamp covering e-commerce, home-based and or pop-up businesses to entrepreneurs in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park.

New Study Validates Public Relations as Effective Marketing

July 31, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.15 MB

PR continues indeed to be an effective path to getting your story out into the public eye, and that then can result in consumer attraction, engagement, and loyalty for your business.

Satisfaction of Self Employed is High

July 28, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.05 MB

New research just out from the Pew Research Center makes clear that Americans love having their own business relative to working for someone else. 15 million Americans who are self-employed, and roughly 75% of those do it full time. 62% of those who are self-employed say that they are either extremely satisfied with their choice of becoming an entrepreneur, or at least very satisfied that compared to 51% of those who work for others in that same study.

INC Best in Business Awards Kicks Off

July 27, 2023 07:00 - 1 minute - 1.59 MB

Startup companies are always looking for breakout ways to gain more exposure and notoriety and to build credibility. One way to achieve that is by entering recognized awards programs in order to take a shot to win. One of the best is the Inc. Magazine, best in Business Awards Program for Small Business, which is back for its fourth year this year.

Email Marketing is Highly Effective for Small Business

July 26, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.05 MB

We all know the value of engaging and activating existing customers versus having to go out and pay handsomely to attract new ones. So what's the best way to achieve this? Well, according to the 2023 email marketing survey from UpCity, it's by focusing on email marketing as a primary channel.

Use of Data Analytics Surprisingly Low

July 25, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 1.92 MB

A new study by Axiom known as Customer Intelligence explores how well you understand your customers. In spite of a broad understanding about the value of customer data and customer analytics, many businesses simply aren't paying attention to it, leaving an opening for their competition.

Wallmart Opens Entries for Open Call Event

July 24, 2023 07:00 - 1 minute - 1.5 MB

Walmart has officially announced the application period for its open call event now in its 10th year. The program allows small business owners and entrepreneurs to apply for the opportunity to pitch their products, to have them be selected to be offered on Walmart or Sam's Club shelves, or walmart.com. Program information at [email protected].

Importance of Buying Coffee from a Local Shop

July 21, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.37 MB

A civic economic study indicates that for every a hundred dollars you spend w/ a local business, roughly $68 of it stays in the community as opposed to when it's spent w/ a national chain, only a fraction of this amount does. That means that when they're profitable, that profit stays within the community.

Newest Advertising Industry Data - Trending Up

July 20, 2023 07:00 - 1 minute - 1.82 MB

One can look to various bellwethers and benchmarks to try to glean just where we're headed with the economy and in business. One of the best is to look at the ad market. This is because businesses feel more confident to spend on advertising when the economy is strong and consumer confidence is high.

How Are We Using ChatGPT

July 19, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.13 MB

The most common uses of ChatGPT were for writing code, creating tables, and providing examples. While "make", "create", and "provide" were the most popular ways to start a conversation with ChatGPT.

The Growing Popularity of Side Hustles

July 18, 2023 07:00 - 1 minute - 1.54 MB

How much time are we spending executing these side hustles on average? On average, Americans who have a side hustle spend around 13 hours a week, while about 44% are spending fewer than 10 hours a week and still generating a meaningful amount of income for the time invested.

Wrap Up TO Amazon Prime Day Sales Results

July 17, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.12 MB

Amazon said shoppers purchased more than 375 million items during this year's prime day. That's up from 300 million last year. Home goods, fashion and beauty were among the top categories.

Establish Thought Leadership to Drive Business

July 14, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 1.9 MB

When you establish thought leadership, you attract people. Many of those people become new buyers, new customers for your business, but you also do a much better job retaining customers that you already have, and those are the most valuable because you engage them. And when you engage your customer base with interesting and relevant information, that leads to sales.

New Study Indicates Small Business Optimism

July 12, 2023 07:00 - 1 minute - 1.81 MB

Marketers responsible for creating awareness and leads that a small business needs in order to ultimately enjoy sales are a good barometer of the overall state of small business today because they have direct access to data and metrics that allow them to benchmark and compare expected performance versus actual performance.

How to Shop Amazon Prime Day the Right Way

July 11, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 1.96 MB

Prime Day sales benefit Amazon, but also the small business community of sellers on the Amazon platform.

Venture Capital Funding Data Shows Continued Decline

July 10, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 1.9 MB

The company's getting hit hardest by the reduced action in venture capital: It's the earliest of startups floating seed rounds.

The Widening Danger of Fake News on Social Media

June 30, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.26 MB

Conspiracies and misinformation are thriving on social media as the technologies advance faster than society's understanding of them. It's more important than ever to learn to discern fake information from the truth

61% of Small Businesses Have Been Hit by a Cyber Attack

June 29, 2023 07:00 - 1 minute - 1.75 MB

The biggest impact on the small businesses that experience a cyber attack was business downtime and loss of customer data.

Time Magazines List of Most Influential Companies Today

June 28, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.05 MB

Who among us in Michigan's small business community will emerge one day to make times list of the most influential companies and leaders?

List of Best Companies Providing Customer Experience

June 27, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.24 MB

The U.S. Customer Experience Index rankings are out and we've got the companies at the head of the class that are scoring big on customer experience and as a result, scoring big when it comes to customer loyalty and retention.

Americans Loyal to Grilling Dispite Higher Costs

June 26, 2023 07:00 - 1 minute - 1.67 MB

A recent Harris poll commissioned by Omaha Steaks found 40% of Americans have cut back on other purchases, 55% are unwilling to sacrifice their summer grill outs with family and friends.

The Charles Schwab Survey: What it Means to be Wealthy

June 21, 2023 07:00 - 1 minute - 1.78 MB

Nearly half of Americans say they feel wealthy in spite of not measuring up to what most consider wealthy is defined purely by dollars and cents.

Customer Service Critical to Retaining Customers

June 20, 2023 05:00 - 2 minutes - 2.31 MB

Great products alone are not enough to keep customers loyal. It takes great products and great customer service in order to do so. 60% of Gen Z say they rarely or ever complain to a company when they have a negative digital service experience. Instead, they choose not to do business with that brand anymore.

Travel Sector Demand at Record Highs

June 09, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 1.97 MB

Inflation is hitting all of us, but one thing that isn't down with respect to consumer spending is the travel sector despite higher costs of travel and everything else that we have to spend on these days.

Influencer Marketing Impact Starting to Decay

June 08, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 1.99 MB

86% of consumers are more likely to trust a brand that uses user-generated content to influence their purchase decisions compared to 12% being impacted by a product promotion from an influencer.

REWIND Program to Address Type 2 Diabetes

June 07, 2023 05:00 - 2 minutes - 2.54 MB

The power of how success and business can lead to invaluable contributions to society, such as, tech entrepreneur Peter Thulson and the nonprofit organization he co-founded in partnership w/ the University of Michigan Health system, known as REWIND, dedicated to defeating type 2 diabetes.

E Commerce in the US is Heating Up

June 06, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 1.88 MB

One emerging sector of online retail showing promise as a channel is known as live commerce. Think of it as like QVC or Home Shopping Network, but online.

Michigan Now Lagging Behind in Early Stage Funding

June 01, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 1.96 MB

Michigan is losing significant jobs, talent, and investment opportunities as a result of the lack of the early stage investment capital, which has decreased by more than 40% in the last 5 years.

New Study Supports Podcast Marketing Effectiveness

June 01, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 1.85 MB

Podcasts deliver a high return on ad spend w/ more than two thirds of US marketers saying, for every dollar spent on podcasts, they see a $2 to $6 return.

Consumer Household Debt on the Rise

May 24, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.13 MB

According to the New York Feds quarterly report on household debt and credit, total household debt climbed a 17.05 trillion in the first quarter of 2023. That's an increase of 2.9 trillion since Q1 2019.

Key Digital Drivers of Consumer Purchases

May 23, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 1.99 MB

One of the biggest challenges small businesses face is how to drive attention & awareness to your business. How to optimize discovery. First, knowing where consumers do their research & knowing what they value most: Research is an important first step.

Essential Consumer Digital Shopping Tools

May 22, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 1.91 MB

Shoppers today are younger and more affluent, and they use digital tools to find, review and complete their purchases now, more than ever.

Corporate Buzz Words Which No Longer Should Be Used

May 16, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.07 MB

Jonathan Small published an article on entrepreneur.com that highlights a new study calling out buzzwords that are simply no longer acceptable to use in 2023.

Auto Company Ad Spend Still Strong

May 15, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.2 MB

Ad spend is about on par for as the same period last year. This might be a show of confidence that maybe we're close to coming out of economically challenging times we're currently facing.

Consumer Spending on Media is Down

May 11, 2023 07:00 - 1 minute - 1.8 MB

The state of consumer spending on media, both content & technology, is trending downward these days. According to the latest edition of PQ Media's annual forecast in the US.

When Will Bank Lending Get Rolling Again

May 10, 2023 07:00 - 1 minute - 1.64 MB

Will the banks loosen their purse strings and do more lending in the coming months this year? Specifically small businesses who need it most.

Projections For This Years Mother's Day Spend

May 09, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.25 MB

The National Retail Federation estimates that consumers plan to spend a total of $35.7 billion on Mother's Day this year. That's nearly $4 billion more than last year.

ChatGPT a Threat to Various Businesses

May 08, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.23 MB

The technology could be a threat to many companies those that use the open source access to the base technology and modify it to do very specific tasks will be the companies that ultimately prosper most.

New Data Underscores the Difficulty in Accessing Capital

May 05, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.04 MB

New survey released by Goldman Sachs: 61% small businesses said they're challenged to access affordable capital, due to rising interest rates that are impacting their ability to service existing debt and new debt.

Social Media Remains Hot

May 02, 2023 07:00 - 2 minutes - 2.13 MB

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter are a major part of people's personal lives and there's no question that these channels remain a significant part of a small business' ability to influence, attract, engage, and retain users.

Gov Whitmer Proclaims MI Small Business Week

May 01, 2023 07:00 - 1 minute - 1.77 MB

Governor Whitmer proclaim April 30th - May 6th 2023, Small Business Week in MI. Whitmer declares America's small businesses continue to pioneer innovative solutions to our country's greatest challenges and create opportunities for families and workers.

Episodes