The start of 2018 is underway and it’s that time to have the annual discussion about the forthcoming year’s marketing and branding trends. This popular program (in its 6th year) will discuss at a high level the industry forecast, provide expert predictions and key trends to look for to adapt into your business. Join us… Read more »

Every year, a small subset of small business owners that I meet lament that they were not prepared for the “holiday marketing season.” That is, they say they were not prepared with their holiday marketing campaign in time to take full advantage of it. Don’t let this be you! Before you know it, the winter… Read more »

This post is written by Bill Reagan, Executive Director of the SBDC and first appeared in the Alexandria Times on August 24, 2017. Holidays are a wonderful time in Alexandria. The area is especially beautiful and festive from Halloween through Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Years and George Washington’s birthday. We have the prototypic neighborhoods and shopping streets that… Read more »

This is the third and final workshop in our Retail Merchandising Series. Your window displays are only the beginning of your customer’s experience into a well-curated retail gallery.  How do you excite their senses and get their mouths watering (and purse-strings loosening) as they journey deeper into your space? And, once a customer enters your space,… Read more »

Picking-up where we left off with “The 11 Basic Rules of Window and Interior Merchandising” (don’t worry if you missed it, there will be a quick review), this presentation will focus on how to keep your store windows relevant and engaging for your customers. This workshop will include: – The nuts and bolts of physically creating… Read more »

Please note: Due to inclement weather, this workshop has been rescheduled to Friday, March 24th, at 8:30 – 10:00 AM (originally scheduled for Wednesday, 3/15). Presented by Heidi O’Leska, President/Founder Vintage Juice Brand Marketing “We spend tons of money on advertising, but we get no results.” “We sent 5,000 post cards, but only got a… Read more »

Several days ago, visual merchandising expert DP Miller presented a workshop at the Alexandria SBDC on the 11 Basic Rules of Window & Interior Merchandising.  The speaker stressed that you must know the rules, and the reasons behind them, before you can “break” them.  This is the first of a three-part series on this subject… Read more »

Recently, the Alexandria SBDC presented their annual Marketing Trends Workshop, featuring Maurisa Potts of Spotted MP (Marketing + Public Relations).  Among the trends that were highlighted for the upcoming year are the following: Interactive Content – Get people participating in your business even before they are a customer. Interactive content includes activities such as polls,… Read more »

Whether in the conference room or conference hall, everyone has at some point in their career had to sit through a bad presentation. There’s nothing more painful than watching a presenter drone on and on as they read a novel’s worth of bullet points to you off of their PowerPoint slides.  Join Belmonster Creative Monster-in-Charge… Read more »

A recent Small Business Roundtable addressed the topic of Branding Your Business. The consensus during this facilitated discussion was that the “brand” of a business is the complete experience that customers or clients have as they interact with the business. It includes visual and emotional components such as in-person and telephone interactions, printed materials, social… Read more »