Nov 3, 2016
On Wednesday, November 2nd 2016 the Staten Island Small Business Development Center (SI SBDC) hosted “The Evolution of Marketing: A Small Business Seminar” as well as a Preparatory Small Business Saturday Discussion.
This event was in cooperation with the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, Casale Jewelers, Valpak of Staten Island and Greater Brooklyn, Staten Island Media Group (Staten Island Advance/SILive.com), FerryAds, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the College of Staten Island’s Continuing Studies & Professional Development and Technology Incubator.
SI SBDC Director Dean Balsamini and Office Manager Megan Ernst started the event by introducing the various resources available to entrepreneurs and local small business owners. Whether you are looking to create a new website, build your email marketing connection, test your mobile optimization, or strategize your holiday marketing, the SBDC has you covered. One of the new partnerships with the SBDC highlighted was with Google My Business; Megan addressed the importance of getting your business on the map and the simplicity of the process. The Staten Island Media Group covered the “bigger picture” of marketing’s evolution. Ellen Hebaj, Brant Levine, and Kara Scandaglia spoke about customer evolution from print to radio to digital, the micro moments in business and the customer’s “path to purchase.” By highlighting achieving “big goals in small moments” and going over digital solutions for your business, this was a great transition into the next presentation. Valpak’s team highlighted the importance of branding, having a consistent image and a mobile optimized website, and overall thinking like a consumer. With a tip from each of the team members (Brian Conaghan, Bianca Cardaci, Deanna Graziano, and Rob Loughlin) the audience had great takeaways of what they should do to amp-up their social media and overall image. The duo Teresa and Dave Rampulla of the FerryAds contributed to the conversations by discussing AIDA – attention, inform, direct benefit, and action.
After extremely informative presentations, the experts formed together in the Q&A Panel Discussion. Meagan Devereaux, Director of Business Development for SI Chamber; Dan Ryan, Digital Advertising Specialist of Staten Island Media Group; and Sean Conaghan, President of Valpak Staten Island & Greater Brooklyn also joined in to share their opinions and expertise. Excellent questions were raised and addressed in regards to social media, advertising, tourism, and the popular thought of “what is the biggest challenge for a small business owner and how do you combat it?” By covering price points, competition, advertising sources, and many other challenges, our panel and insight from the attendees discovered great practices to rise above the struggle and succeed.
Cory Schifter, owner of Casale Jewelers, engaged the conversation of preparing your business for Small Business Saturday. Cory has lead Casale Jewelers from an average small business to now competing with the big-box names. As Brian Conaghan of Valpak said, “You’re not Coca-Cola, but you should sure act like it.” Cory is an excellent example of thinking outside of the box and creating a great brand for yourself. If you would like to register your business for Small Business Saturday and receive a supply of promotional materials, you can do so here.
Mark your calendars for November 10th at 3:00pm, as the SI Chamber of Commerce will be holding an official Small Business Saturday Press Conference at Hall of Frames (2112 Clove Road, SI NY 10305). Contact the Chamber at 718-727-1900 for more information. Don’t forget to take photos and use #shopsmall and #shopsmallstatenisland on your posts to connect on Nov. 26th!
The SI SBDC would like to thank all of the participating local resource partners and small business owners for their attendance, insight, and expertise.
Did you miss out on attending this event? Email sbdc@csi.cuny.edu to learn more about the presentations and what resources are available to you.
To learn more about opportunities to start or grow your business, one-on-one business advisement, services and programs, and upcoming events and seminars, stay connected with the SI SBDC. www.sisbdc.org | www.facebook.com/sisbdc | www.twitter.com/sisbdc 718-982-2560 | sbdc@csi.cuny.edu
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