Let’s be honest: most marketing emails never get read. With the average professional sending and receiving nearly 150 emails a day, getting noticed in the inbox is a long shot. For busy buyers, ignoring irrelevant messages isn’t just a habit — it’s survival.

Still, many entrepreneurs treat email as their go-to channel for relationship building, brand promotion and lead generation. But the landscape has changed. Buyers are self-directed, content-fatigued and increasingly numb to outreach that doesn’t add value. If your marketing hinges on the perfect subject line, you’re already behind.

To grow your business today, you need more than email — you need pull.

Related: 4 Content Secrets from World-Class SaaS Companies That Any Business Can Apply

From push to pull

Email is a push tactic. You send a message — solicited or not — and hope it hits the right person at the right moment. Sometimes it works. But more often, it interrupts rather than engages.

Content marketing works differently. It’s a pull strategy. You create something valuable — an article, video or guide — and let your audience come to you when they’re ready. They discover your content on their terms, in their timeline, with real intent.

If your goal is to build trust, credibility and long-term interest, that distinction matters.

What content marketing does better than email

Email has limits. It reaches those you already know. It disappears within a day. And it’s rarely shared or reused.

Content, by contrast, builds momentum. A well-optimized blog post can surface in search results for months. A compelling video can get reshared across platforms. A strong point of view can open doors to podcast invites, speaking gigs and partnerships.

Content gives your message reach and staying power. It doesn’t just deliver once — it works repeatedly, across formats, audiences and buying stages.

The real role of email now

Email isn’t dead. But its job has changed. The most effective marketers today use email to amplify content, not replace it. They send a quick note that links to a deeper idea. They use email as a prompt, not a pitch.

Instead of cramming all the value into an inbox, they use email to guide people to something more meaningful — a resource, an insight, a perspective that sets them apart.

This shift is especially useful for solo founders and lean teams. You don’t need a complex funnel or a massive list. You just need something worth clicking through to.

Making content and email work together

The smartest marketing strategies treat content and email as a system, not separate tactics. Here’s how to make the two work in sync:

• Keep your email short. One message, one link. Get people to the good stuff faster.
• Match tone to content. If your article is thoughtful, your email should be too. Authenticity builds trust.
• Learn from your audience. Every open, click and skip is a signal. Let that guide your content strategy.

Related: 10 Ways to Be an Authentic Entrepreneur and Sell Your Best Self

Better together

Content and email are most effective when they support each other. Content builds your presence, attracts new audiences and establishes authority. Email brings people back, deepens relationships and creates momentum.

But it only works if you lead with value. Email is the reminder. Content is the reason.

So if you’re still relying on inbox tactics to drive business growth, it’s time to rethink the strategy. Don’t just get into their inbox — earn their attention.

Ready to break through your revenue ceiling? Join us at Level Up, a conference for ambitious business leaders to unlock new growth opportunities.

Every business owner hits a point where they think, I just need someone dedicated to me. Someone who gets it. Someone who’s all in on this business. And the natural next thought? It’s time to hire someone in-house.

The logic makes sense. When you’re deep in the weeds, wearing every hat, having someone fully focused on your business feels like the golden ticket to relief. But most founders don’t pause to ask: Can your business actually afford it?

Hiring in-house is a major milestone — and a serious financial and operational commitment. The truth is, a lot of founders make the leap too early, driven by emotion and overwhelm, without looking at the numbers.

As someone who has hired hundreds of team members and has consulted for nearly 500 small business owners, I believe you should start with the numbers when making the decision about how to get support.

Related: 4 Things Every Entrepreneur Must Consider Before Hiring Their First, or Next, Employee.

In-house hiring: Understanding the appeal and the risks

It’s easy to romanticize the idea of an in-house team member. They’re “yours,” right? Ideally, they are fully dedicated to you, and they’re immersed in your brand, in your mission, in your daily operations. If this is how you feel, you are certainly not alone.

There are real upsides to hiring in-house. In-house hires offer more control, greater consistency and deeper investment in your company’s long-term vision. At the same time, hiring in-house is taking on a huge responsibility. You’re now responsible not just for their pay, but for training, managing, integrating and retaining them.

You also take on the heavy burden of finding the right talent, performance management and potentially having to let people go.

Ultimately, the decision of how much support to handle is a quantitative one.

The CEO’s key KPI: Revenue per FTE

One of the clearest indicators that you’re ready to hire is your revenue per full-time equivalent (FTE). This metric measures how much revenue your business generates per full-time team member. Experts recommend that businesses aim for at least $500,000 of revenue per year before hiring a full-time employee.

Let’s break down the math: If you’re making $500,000 annually, at a minimum of 25% margin, that leaves you with $125,000 to pay your employee, which is plenty in most markets.

If you are bringing in less than this, strongly consider not bringing anyone in-house.

Let’s review the options you have before bringing someone in-house.

Related: Starting or Growing a Business? Here’s How to Know When You Should Hire Your First Employee.

Your options before hiring full-time

Before you look at adding team members, take a hard look at how your time is being spent. First, look at either deleting or automating tasks that are time-consuming or repetitive, but can be systemized. Instead of solving inefficiency with headcount, refine your processes before handing them off.

If you aren’t sure where to start with that, bring in a specialist who can help create and optimize your systems. A generalist hire is generally not equipped with the right skills to do optimization work, so investing in a consultant first is a great way to set up your future in-house hire for success, while avoiding committing to a salary.

Once you’re optimized, look at options for part-time support. This support can be either in-house part-time support or outsourced support. For example, this support could look like a freelancer, a project-based consultant or a part-time assistant.

This gives you flexibility and expertise without the long-term financial commitment of a full-time salary. It also lets you test out what kind of support you really need before you build an in-house role around it. Finally, it allows you the ability to flexibly increase or decrease your support without going through the more intensive performance management process with an employee.

When hiring fractional, aim for someone with at least five years of experience in the specific function you’re hiring for. As an early-stage founder, you don’t have the capacity to train someone junior from scratch and don’t have the margin for having someone who isn’t at the top of their game.

Lastly, research shows that looking for attitude and work ethic is more important than experience when it comes to predicting job fit. Look for someone who shares your company values, has a proven work ethic and brings a positive attitude, even if they are just a temporary fractional consultant.

Related: Hiring vs. Outsourcing: How to Recognize the Right Moment to Add Talent to Your Team

Look at hiring in-house once you’re making profit

Remember, this isn’t a firm line. But once you’ve optimized and have gotten your profit flowing, it may be time to look for an in-house hire.

There’s a lot of ego tied up in hiring. We want someone who’s “ours” and who cares as much as we do. But ultimately, the most important question isn’t whether someone’s full-time. It’s whether your business has the structure, profit and direction to support them.

If you’re not there yet, don’t panic. Keep building, simplify and practice outsourcing in small ways. And when the time comes to build your team in-house, you’ll be doing it from a place of strength. That will set up both you and your new hire for success.

Whether it’s earning extra money for life expenses, building an emergency fund, testing out a new business idea or pursuing a hobby, the number of people with a side gig is growing – and fast. In fact, LinkedIn data reveals nearly one-third of U.S. employees have a side hustle.

Whatever the reason for starting one, there often comes a time when that weekend or late-night side hustle is ready for the next level – to evolve into a thriving and lucrative business. According to data from Xero, where I serve as CEO, 60% of small businesses start as side gigs. That trend continues to grow with the next generation of entrepreneurs: more than two-thirds (67%) of Gen Z started their businesses as side gigs, compared to less than half of the Boomer generation (48%).

So, how can you lay a strong foundation for a smooth transition and prepare yourself for financial and business success, while managing your business efficiently?

1. Treat it Like a Real Business from Day One

We have found that nearly half of U.S. small businesses encounter fiscal challenges due to a lack of financial literacy. This can include cash flow problems, a lack of capital, poor budgeting, debt mismanagement and tax issues. It’s crucial to lay a solid financial framework from day one, so when the transition does occur, there is already a system in place.

Related: ‘Revenue Within Days’: A Teenager’s Side Hustle Grew Out of a Video Game Virus — and Into a Multi-Hundred-Million-Dollar Business

As we know, many side gigs start out as a passion and therefore, financial management may not be a strong skill for every founder. As such, it’s important to keep personal and business finances separate, and streamlined (in different buckets) for tax purposes. One option is to set up a corporate entity to keep your side gig separate from your personal affairs.

If finance isn’t your forte, utilizing online accounting software is one way to keep finances in check by creating routines and structure. It can automate invoicing, while providing expense tracking, bank reconciliation and payroll. It can also simplify tax time by improving accuracy and reducing risk, analyzing real-time financial insights and ultimately helping support business growth.

2. Know When to Go Full-time

Every journey, from side hustle to growing your business full-time, is different. Having checklists in place can help assess the risks to determine whether it’s time to make the leap, and also help you explore your intrinsic motivation once this becomes all you do. Consider practical things like:

• What about the business is succeeding and why?
• Is there more demand out there for the service you provide than you can fulfill part-time?
• How do you envision marketing your service and will it require any investment dollars?
• Is your business income consistently replacing or nearing your current full-time job salary?
• Do you have 3-6 months’ savings in place as a buffer?

And deeper questions like:

• If you took this side hustle full-time, would it still be fun? Would it give more or less satisfaction than your current gig?
• What parts of your side hustle give you energy and what drain your energy? How much of each will you have to do if it’s a full-time job?

Answering practical and deeper questions for yourself helps you make a more informed decision about taking a leap like this. Don’t have the answer to the deeper questions? Think about someone who knows you well — a family member or long-time friend — to help you reflect on “you,” and talk things through with, without judgment.

Related: She and Her Sister Started a Side Hustle to Help People Elevate Their Homes — Now Their Brand Pulls In Hundreds of Millions: ‘Get to Work’

3. Develop a Tailored Business Plan

No matter the size of your business, developing an “outside in /market view” of your business category, and then a roadmap can enable entrepreneurs to grow with a sense of purpose. Our research shows that nearly half (49%) of small business owners cite self-doubt or fear of failure as a top challenge when starting out. Building a framework helps to define what success looks like while ensuring systems can support future growth and expansion.

Make sure you start with the market you’re serving and where it’s growing, and how your business fits in. Consider the value a business idea brings to customers, the market demand, and how to differentiate your business from competitors. Then identify goals and key milestones for the next 6 to 12 months. This could include hitting revenue benchmarks, launching a website or gaining your first 10 clients.

An accountant and/or financial advisor can help you build a business plan, including a financial forecast. This is money well spent if you are planning to bet your full-time career on it. Also, seek out friends or acquaintances who are small business owners, too. Their expertise and support can go a long way to ensuring you’ve thought about all angles.

Within that overall plan, entrepreneurs should determine the funding needed to launch a side hustle, where the money will come from and a budget that outlines projected revenue, expenses and profitability over a specific duration of time.

Related: 50 Side Hustle Ideas to Make Extra Money in 2025

4. Prioritize Cash Flow Management Early

Another area to focus on early is cash flow management. Issues can sneak up fast if you’re not prepared or actively monitoring what’s coming in and what’s going out. There is often a gap between spending and making money, especially when there’s a need to invest in new business growth or marketing before seeing any income. Other challenges can include forgetting to account for hidden costs like subscription or website fees, packaging and taxes.

In order to maintain healthy cash flow and build resilience against any future economic uncertainties, small businesses should also prioritize strategies that encourage their customers to pay promptly. Late or missed payments can add up quickly and can significantly impact operations. Offering diverse payment options, adding ‘pay now’ buttons on invoices, and sending timely reminders, are simple yet effective ways to reduce these wait times.

Cash flow management is one of the most critical pillars of a successful small business. It should go beyond just tracking money in and out and focus on setting up the right systems, such as those that streamline invoicing, encourage prompt payments, from the start. There are also tools today to schedule and manage your bills and spend out, giving you flexibility on when and how to pay. Digitizing your business can also enhance operations, boost efficiency, and add value for customers. With the right tools in place, maintaining control over cash flow can provide the stability needed to weather any unpredictable storms and grow with confidence, while enabling you to stay focused on your business and your customer.

5. Grow Smarter, Not Harder

Making the transition from a side gig to a full-time business can sometimes feel like a lonely journey – especially if you’re running your business solo. Leaning on other small business owners, a friend you can confide in, accountants and bookkeepers, technology – and engaging in a community of others facing similar challenges – can allow business owners to grow smarter.

Shifting from a side hustle to a successful business requires careful planning and a strategic vision. By treating it like a real business from the beginning, developing a tailored business plan, prioritizing cash flow, leveraging expert advice, and digitizing your business with the right tools like accounting and payments software, entrepreneurs can set themselves up for a thriving full-time business.

Every entrepreneur has had that moment of inspiration, when an idea begins to take shape. Maybe it’s a new product, a clever app, a unique service model, or even just the perfect name for your business. It’s an exhilarating feeling. But here’s the catch: ideas are easy to admire and even easier to copy — unless you know how to protect them.

As the CEO of an international franchise brand, I’ve had a front-row seat to what happens when innovation meets reality. Over the years, I’ve watched businesses soar because they locked down their intellectual property, and I’ve seen others struggle when they didn’t. So let me walk you through what I’ve learned along the way, not as a lawyer (because I’m not one), but as someone who’s built a company where protecting innovation isn’t just smart, it’s survival.

Related: Considering franchise ownership? Get started now to find your personalized list of franchises that match your lifestyle, interests and budget.

What Is intellectual property (IP)?

Think of intellectual property (IP) as the secret sauce behind your business. It’s the name you came up with in the shower. It’s the quirky logo that somehow just works. It’s your proprietary method for getting something done better, faster, or smarter than everyone else. And it deserves protection just as much as any brick-and-mortar storefront.

There are several primary ‘flavors’ of IP, each serving a distinct purpose. A trademark protects your brand identity: your business name, logo, tagline, and possibly even a jingle if you’re feeling particularly creative. Copyrights cover creative stuff: that killer blog post, your instructional videos, your software code. Patents? Those are for inventions, big or small, from rocket fuel to the rubber spatula. And trade secrets? Well, those are the hush-hush techniques and processes you don’t want to leave your inner circle. Think grandma’s cookie recipe or a franchise brand’s proprietary training manual.

Related: ‘Send a Man Next Time’: How an Entrepreneur and Her Daughters Built a $2.5 Million Franchise in a Male-Dominated Field

Why IP is everything

I get it. When you’re launching or scaling a business, your to-do list is a mile long. But here’s the thing: ignoring intellectual property can come back to bite you. I’ve seen businesses spend years building a recognizable brand, only to discover someone else trademarked the name first. I’ve seen marketing content borrowed by competitors and product ideas replicated without a second thought. It’s not just unfair, it’s expensive.

In the world of franchising, intellectual property is everything. Our proprietary technologies and systems, training programs and digital tools form the blueprint for franchisees across the country. Without explicit protections in place, none of it would work. A franchise is only as strong as the brand behind it — and a brand is only as strong as its IP.

You don’t need to be running a franchise to feel the impact. Maybe you’re a startup founder pitching to investors. If you’ve got a solid product and no IP protection, it’s a red flag. Maybe you’re launching a wellness brand on Instagram. If your logo isn’t trademarked, you could be asked to change it after you’ve already printed materials and built a website.

Related: How I Survived My First Crisis as a CEO — And Rebuilt From Zero

How to protect your ideas

Now, before you start spiraling, let me say this: you don’t need to figure it all out today. But you do need to start thinking like the owner of something valuable, because you are. Begin by researching whether your business name is already in use. If it’s available, investigate trademarking it. If you’ve invented something original, talk to a patent attorney. If you’re creating content, ensure that you keep accurate records and understand the basics of copyright. And if you’ve got a secret recipe or an algorithm that drives your business, treat it like gold: secure it, limit access and have team members sign confidentiality agreements.

Most importantly, get help. IP law is nuanced and while I can speak to it from a business perspective, I can’t offer legal advice. (Here’s the official disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer. Always consult with a qualified intellectual property attorney to protect your unique business assets adequately.) What I can say is that making this a priority early on can save you time, money, and stress in the long run.

Entrepreneurship is a journey of building, brick by brick, idea by idea. But if you don’t guard what you’ve built, someone else might swoop in and stake a claim. That’s not just frustrating, it can be devastating to everything you’ve worked for.

At Anago Cleaning Systems, we’ve spent decades fine-tuning our business model and safeguarding the intellectual property that drives it. It’s one of the reasons we’ve been able to grow, franchise, and innovate with confidence. You don’t need to build a global franchise to benefit from that same protection. You simply need to treat your ideas as valuable assets, and take steps to protect them accordingly.

Because in the world of entrepreneurship, the idea is just the beginning. How do you protect it? That’s what turns it into a business.

Related: Use These 4 Storytelling Strategies to Grow a Loyal Following

Adam Povlitz is CEO & President of Anago Cleaning Systems, an international franchise brand specializing in commercial cleaning. The views expressed here are based on business experience and do not constitute legal advice. For matters of intellectual property, always consult a licensed legal professional.

Adam Brotman and Andy Sack weren’t planning to write a book about AI.

At first, Harvard approached them about customer loyalty, a subject they knew well. Brotman had spent years leading digital strategy at Starbucks, helping build the company’s world-class mobile app. Sack was a longtime technologist and venture capitalist who co-founded Forum3, a digital strategy firm, alongside Brotman.

Then ChatGPT arrived on the scene, and everything changed.

“We had this moment,” Sack says to Shawn Walchef of Cali BBQ Media, “where we looked at each other and said: this is going to be way bigger than anyone realizes.”

Related: Giada De Laurentiis’s Major Deal With Amazon Is a New Frontier for the Chef and Entrepreneur

In that instant, the book they thought they’d be writing—the safe one about digital loyalty—became something else entirely. They were now on a mission to unpack AI: what it meant for business, creativity, and the entire landscape of work.

That kicked off a journey that resulted in AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business and Brand.

Their research involved interviewing some of the most powerful minds in tech: Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI; Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn and OpenAI; and Bill Gates.

They weren’t easy interviews to get.

When they met with Hoffman, he was late. He’d just finished a call with the Pope. That’s how powerful technology companies have become.

He was working with the Vatican to help them understand the societal impact of AI. What caught the Pope’s attention was the idea that a device powered by AI could provide healthcare guidance on par with a primary care physician. At scale. For the entire world.

Bill Gates put his feelings simply: “AI is bigger than the computer.” When asked why, he explained, “This time, the computer understands us.”

Sam Altman didn’t hold back when asked how AI would impact marketing and creativity. He said 95 percent of marketing as we know it would be done by AI within five years. Whole departments would be replaced by agents. Decades-old workflows would be transformed.

That interview, held at OpenAI’s offices in San Francisco, was a turning point. Brotman and Sack left stunned. They walked around the block in silence.

“We were just processing,” Brotman says. “Everything we thought we knew about business and the future had shifted.”

That’s when it clicked: this was bigger than anything they had ever experienced. It was their “Holy Shit Moment.”

Because that’s what it was. And that’s what it still is, for anyone paying attention.

The AI-First Restaurant

For Adam Brotman, the restaurant industry isn’t just another vertical. It’s where digital meets human, where a line of hungry customers can make or break your bottom line. He’s lived it, from his days building the Starbucks app to consulting with some of the biggest names in hospitality.

So when he says AI is a game-changer for restaurants, he means it.

“Restaurants have always struggled to compete with bigger retailers on technology,” Brotman says. “They run on razor-thin margins, always focusing on the guest, the food, the experience. Tech has often been an afterthought.”

Related: Fans Are Tattooing This Pizza Brand’s Logo on Their Skin for a Year of Free Slices

That’s no longer an option. “The playing field has changed,” he says. “You can’t say, ‘I don’t have a tech team or business intelligence.’ You do. It’s called AI.”

So what does that mean? For starters, every conversation matters. Team huddles, problem-solving sessions—record them, transcribe them, feed them into AI. That pile of chatter is now a goldmine of insight.

Customer feedback is no longer just something you respond to. It is data. Use AI to structure that feedback, cross-reference it with your notes, and figure out what’s working and what’s not.

And the data you already have? “You don’t need a massive data warehouse,” Brotman says. “Snapshot it weekly, feed it into AI, and get a clear, real-time look at what customers are buying, what trends are emerging, and where you need to pivot.”

Related: These College Friends Wanted to Sell Better Food. Now, Their Company Is Publicly Traded.

Andy Sack is quick to point out that an AI-first restaurant starts with an AI-first mindset. “You don’t have to be an expert,” he says. “Start with a problem—labor, supply chain, marketing—and let AI help you map out solutions.”

His advice: Don’t overcomplicate it. “Just ask,” Sack says. “Treat it like an advisor. Tell it what’s on your mind and let it help you see what’s possible.”

For restaurant operators who’ve always fought for every inch of progress, that might be the biggest shift of all. The world where you had to choose between hospitality and technology is gone.

And for Brotman and Sack, it all goes back to that first Holy Shit Moment—the realization that AI wasn’t just another tool, but a tectonic shift that would change everything.

“The ground is moving,” Brotman says. “We’re just helping restaurants stand on it.”

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Big Wins. Product launches. Funding rounds. These are the moments in a company’s journey that come with a lot of heavy lifting behind the scenes. You work hard to get to those big moments; don’t let all that effort fall flat once the moment has passed.

Savvy businesses understand that the actual return on investment of effort often comes in the days and weeks that follow, when fresh leads and heightened brand visibility create a prime window to convert interest into lasting impact. From strategic email follow-ups to leveraging public relations to highlight key wins, a strong post-moment plan is essential for turning momentum into measurable results.

Why momentum matters

Many teams get overly focused on short-term goals rather than long-term success. I equate this to the “launch and forget” mentality, where attention quickly shifts from one project to the next. This results in missed opportunities to connect the dots and build on the momentum gained from the significant event. If you don’t have a clear follow-up plan, you risk losing the value that’s just been generated.

A consistent, cohesive program that builds on success helps create a lasting impact. Follow-up strategies that foster continued engagement, lead nurturing and reinforcement of the company’s messaging are key for building momentum and long-term business growth.

Businesses face several key challenges when transitioning from the big moment to the follow-up, including:

• Effectively managing and prioritizing leads generated during an event
• Staying top of mind: sustaining consistent engagement with prospects after the headlines fade
• Maintaining momentum: ensuring follow-up communications are timely and relevant
• Measuring success: accurately measure follow-up impact like conversions, engagement and return-on-investment (ROI).

Related: Successful Entrepreneurs Are Strategically Outsourcing These 5 Tasks

Strategies for managing and prioritizing leads

Effectively managing and prioritizing leads after a significant company achievement can be the difference between missed opportunities and meaningful conversions. Intelligent lead management starts with a lead scoring system that ranks prospects based on job title, buying intent, budget and engagement level. By assigning scores, businesses can focus resources on the leads most likely to convert.

To maintain momentum, immediately import contacts into a customer relationship management or lead management system. This will help you organize, track and manage ongoing communications. Speed is critical. Making early calls or sending prompt emails to prospects captures their interest while it’s still fresh.

Staying top-of-mind

Nurturing hard-won leads is crucial. Targeted email marketing is key in converting leads. First, this maintains personalized, contextualized and relevant communications that reinforce the connections made during the big moment. Address specific interests, challenges or needs in your follow-up emails to nurture relationships and guide leads through the buyer’s journey. Include relevant content and offers to keep the conversation going.

Other effective strategies for nurturing leads include:

• Automated drip campaigns to deliver timely, relevant content that provides value.
• Social media retargeting to stay top-of-mind by serving tailored ads, exclusive content, such as access to a demo, case studies or whitepapers.
• Personalized phone calls or video meetings can add a human touch. This lays the foundation to build trust, nurture and deepen ongoing relationships.

Businesses can also use creative and/or unconventional methods to stay top-of-mind with leads after the fact. Create personalized content summarizing your event or milestone or sharing insights relevant to each prospect’s interests. Curate a customized bundle of resources based on specific interests and focus areas. Content could include eBooks, case studies, webinars or whitepapers that directly relate to the lead’s business challenges or interests.

Turn outreach into a game with incentives for actions like sharing content, completing surveys or interacting on social media. Create a leaderboard with prizes or rewards for the most engaged leads. Post personalized social media shout-outs to leads, thanking them for interacting with you and encouraging them to stay connected.

Related: 8 Effective Ways to Connect With Your Customer

Measuring success

There are six essential ways to measure the momentum success of your efforts:

1. Lead conversions show how effective follow-up is in converting interest into sales.
2. Email open and click-through rates measure the effectiveness of email campaigns in re-engaging leads and driving them to take a desired action (e.g., signing up for a demo, downloading content).
3. Lead engagement shows how well you maintain interest and keep the conversation alive.
4. Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) assess the quality of the leads.
5. ROI evaluates the revenue generated from post-event conversions against the cost of attending the event.
6. Customer retention/repeat business tracks customer retention and repeat sales from leads and can measure the effectiveness of nurturing efforts.

Maintaining momentum

How can businesses maintain momentum to drive long-term growth? It starts with shifting the focus from short-term success to the long game of building lasting relationships and taking a continuous engagement approach. Here are a few specific recommendations.

Provide leads with content that educates, nurtures and positions your business as a trusted resource, not just a vendor hawking its wares. Focus on fostering long-term relationships that can evolve into loyal customers.

Segment your leads based on their stage in the buying process, interests and needs. Then you can deliver more personalized follow-ups that resonate and nurture them more effectively.

Create a community, Customer Advisory Board and/or loyalty program to keep leads and customers engaged. This gives you the best chance of creating advocates/brand ambassadors and repeat buyers. Vendor certification programs are a great example: individuals and partner organizations trained and certified on a specific technology tend to buy that brand. Communities and customer advisory boards are also a source of valuable feedback and insight for product improvements.

Make testimonials, case studies or success stories part of your momentum strategy. People want to buy from people they trust. Social proof like this helps build trust and creates a sense of community around your brand. Track key metrics and continuously optimize your strategies. Adjust your tactics based on this data to improve ongoing engagement.

Work those strategies

To maximize your effort and investment, you need comprehensive strategies for leveraging marketing, PR and lead conversion after significant events and achievements. Use the best practices outlined above to realize ROI as leads become buyers. This will optimize the value of those leads, increase the chances of conversion and create a community of engaged buyers for the long term.

No matter how robust your brand’s customer service is, you can’t avoid negative feedback — noise that can block out all the great things your business offers and does. Social media is rife with videos highlighting incidents where customers feel wronged and the torrent of negative comments that follow. Reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook, Open Table, TripAdvisor and other platforms are filled with dissatisfied customers, and that can upend a business’s good standing.

Sometimes, there are missteps, and the reviews and feedback reflect a breakdown in service or product delivery. Other times, people are venting or trolling with no cause. You can’t take it personally, but don’t ignore what they say. Customers rely on reviews when discovering or purchasing products and services. Bad reviews can turn them away and cause a reputational crisis for your business.

Your online business reputation depends on a proactive, strategic approach for identifying, monitoring, managing and responding to negative reviews. You’ll seize opportunities to build trust, improve customer service and enhance customer relations.

Related: Your Customers Are Talking About You — Here’s How to Turn Their Feedback Into Profit

Identifying customer issues

If a negative or bad comment appears on social media or one of the consumer review platforms, take a breath and figure out what’s behind the review. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes to see if the review or comment was justified. Go beyond the words and anger to determine where things went wrong. Then respond — genuinely and professionally.

Monitoring online reviews

You won’t know customer dissatisfaction exists without monitoring your online reviews. There are various tools and strategies available to do so. For example, you can use Google Alerts or ReviewTrackers to provide you with real-time alerts when new reviews are posted on platforms like Yelp, Facebook, TripAdvisor and Google.

Also, ensure your business is claimed and verified on the major platforms so you can respond to reviews and receive notifications of activities. Optimize your business profiles. You want potential customers to find accurate, useful information when they are looking up reviews about your brand. Make sure photos, location, hours and business description are up to date.

Managing online reviews

Designate a “review response” team or personnel to respond to reviews. Share these tips with the individual or team responsible for handling reviews:

• Don’t let emotions come into play when crafting responses to negative comments.
• Thank customers for their feedback and let them know your intention to do better.
• If the customer is justifiably dissatisfied, apologize and show empathy without overdoing it.
• Make things right if possible. For example, offer an opportunity to revisit your restaurant with dessert on the house. Send out a replacement product that got lost in the mail at no cost. Offer a discount on a future product.
• If all goes well, encourage the customer to modify the comment with an updated review so others can see your good-faith efforts. When you acknowledge customer dissatisfaction and do what you can to turn things around, you’ll find that these consumers will become your biggest champions and cheerleaders.

In some cases, contact reviewers offline to discuss their experience. During the conversation, ask the customers to update their reviews. If they choose not to update the comment, you can respond online that the issue was resolved.

Related: How to Better Manage Your Brand’s Reputation in the Digital Age

Go beyond the negative, highlight the positive

In dealing with bad reviews, in addition to responding and turning dissatisfied customers into advocates for your business, beefing up your online reputation with positive comments and reviews is equally critical. Positive reviews influence buying behavior and help win people over, even if there is the occasional bad comment.

When asking for a positive review, timing is everything. Encourage reviews at the point of purchase, following an event or fulfilling a service. For example, send a quick text or email saying, “Happy you had a great experience. Would you mind leaving us a quick review?” Make it easy for your customers to leave a comment with a link to the review page.

Make getting positive reviews part of your brand strategy

Train your staff to ask for reviews in their communication. For example, recently, my colleague had an issue with a product that was delivered to the wrong house. It was the delivery service and not the retailer that made the error. The delivery service would not rectify the situation; however, the retailer was happy to send a replacement product. My colleague received an email with an invoice ($0) listing the products reshipped to her home and a gentle nudge to leave a review about the service and resolution. She was more than happy to do so and spread the word.

Respond to positive reviews, too. This shows you care about your customers’ feelings and helps build trust with future reviewers. Don’t be shy about sharing great reviews as testimonials on your website and social media platforms. Other satisfied customers on social will chime in and reinforce the great experience your brand delivers, further boosting your online reputation.

Getting some negative reviews is not all bad. They help you pinpoint areas that need improvement. In addition, they help create a balanced, authentic brand profile. While you want most of your feedback to be positive, having occasional negative comments and responding to them builds trust and credibility.

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