(BPT) - With over 30 million small businesses in the U.S., it's tough to stand out from the crowd. Successful small businesses turn first-time customers into repeat business, building momentum and growing sales.

How can you achieve this? Marketing. Finding effective, easy-to-execute marketing strategies can boost your business by helping you engage your customers while attracting new ones. Here are some proven ideas to help your business thrive:

Engage first-time customers

Show new shoppers that they matter. Send welcome emails and recommend products to complement what they bought. Offer special deals to keep them coming back.

Utilize positive customer reviews

Did you know over 60% of consumers read reviews before buying? Reviews can include ratings, testimonials, photos, videos and more.

Treat reviews as marketing gold, sharing them with customers and prospects to build trust and increase sales. You can generate and integrate them into your website, on social media and other marketing efforts.

Turn shopping carts into opportunities

Let’s face it, plenty of potential customers add items to their online shopping carts and never check out. While these “abandoned carts” seem challenging, they're an opportunity.

An effective way to convert abandoned carts into sales is by drawing on the power of customer reviews. Adii Pienaar, vice president of commerce product strategy for the email marketing platform CM Commerce, says small businesses can change their fortunes with this approach.

“Our most successful small business customers don’t just send a reminder email to shoppers about items left in their carts,” said Pienaar. “They take it a step further and include positive reviews and ratings about that product with the follow-up, knowing how much importance buyers place on others’ experiences. By featuring personalized product reviews for abandoned cart items, there can be a recovery rate of 5-10%.”

Spark interest with special offers

Entice new and returning business by offering discounts, encouraging shoppers to give your business a try.

Also, if you don’t have one already, create a loyalty program for frequent shoppers, or a referral special for those inviting friends to your website or social media.

Personalization matters

Shoppers don't want mass emails treating them like just another number. Small businesses that tailor emails based on each customer’s shopping experiences and interests are far more successful in driving sales.

Creating customized content may sound complex, but it all comes down to how you organize your customer list. For example, segment your customers by which products they’ve purchased, then use this information to inform them how to best use their products or remind them when it’s time to re-order.

Personalization really pays off when you incorporate dynamic content — information that changes based on a person’s interests — in promotional emails. Use a customer's previous purchases and shopping interests to generate ideas on products to complement items they already bought. For example, recommend a similar flavor of cupcakes to ones they ordered before.

Get started

These proven marketing approaches can springboard your business to success. But, how do you get started?

Marketing has greatly evolved, with many new, easy-to-use tools. You don’t need to be a marketing expert, technical whiz or creative designer to use them.

For example, CM Commerce is an email marketing platform designed for small ecommerce businesses. It can easily create professional email campaigns to enhance and grow your business.

To help small business owners, CM Commerce features pre-built email marketing recipes for everything from welcome emails and newsletters to abandoned cart reminders and more. Business owners can follow these guidelines and put their email marketing plans in place with a single click.

“I always recommend small business owners invest in email marketing,” said Pienaar. “It’s a cost-effective way to establish your brand and regularly reach your customers and prospects. Most importantly, email marketing has the potential for huge returns and can truly make your business stand out.”

For more tips and ideas to grow your business, visit The Marketing Resources Hub.

Being a salesperson has always been a challenging yet rewarding job, but the position is a lot different than it was in the past. Sales positions used to be simple. You had a product, and you found a buyer. Just like that, the commission checks were rolling in. However, in these modern times, sales can be more complex. Here are three ways that sales positions have evolved and how you can adapt your business to account for these changes.

Tech Dependent

With the explosion of technology, there are so many programs and devices designed to enhance the sales experience. In fact, it's rare to find a salesperson that isn't using some sort of technology, such as handheld credit card readers, laptops, cellphones, and more. In order to keep your sales team up to speed, your company should provide access to all of this technology, rather than assuming they will invest in it by themselves.

Perceptions of Salespeople Have Changed

As with any industry, some bad apples in the sales industry caused many negative stereotypes about salespeople. It's like a stain that seems to linger no matter how hard you try to clean it. You must protect your business from these bad apples. There are some attitude and personality traits you can test for. It would be a good practice to test all of your salespeople, so you don't end up with bad apples staining your company's reputation.

More Competition Than Ever Before

Technology keeps consumers connected with each other, but it also keeps businesses connected with consumers. Now advertisements can be tailored to buyers without a salesperson needing to be present. Often, this means that by the time a salesperson gets around to pitching to a potential new customer, this person has been bombarded left and right with competitors. Now salespeople must work harder than ever to gain a customer's loyalty. You can't stop your competitors from advertising, but you can make sure to advertise just as much to bridge that gap between your salespeople and consumers.

It's true that sales positions have evolved over a short amount of time, but your salespeople don't have to be left behind. The three tips above are easy to implement within your business and your sales team. This will help ensure that your business continues to be successful throughout the sales evolution.

Not sure how to transform your business to be more tech-savvy? We recommend reading this article next.

Whether someone is traveling for pleasure or work, they want to be comfortable in your hotel at the end of the day. Not all hotels are built similarly or function the same way. Some are better quality than others. The different features that a hotel provides are referred to as its amenities. These could encompass anything from free Wi-Fi to a hotel pool in which guests can swim whenever they want. Depending on what they’re looking for, amenities will often determine the hotel that people choose, so your hotel should at the very least provide the following basics:

Good WiFi and Cell Coverage

More and more hotels, cafes, and buildings are providing free Wi-Fi to their guests. Just because WiFi is available doesn’t mean it’s of good quality. There are a number of ways that you can improve the technology of your hotel. There are systems that reduce cellular dead zones so that customers can stay connected on your property. There’s nothing worse than a spotty connection that drops out all over the place.

Basic Kitchen Appliances

A small refrigerator can make a big difference in how comfortable a hotel room is. Guests aren’t going to be grocery shopping for the week, but it’s convenient to have somewhere they can store snacks or leftovers from dinner. A microwave allows guests to heat up their food. A lot of people don’t like to eat out the entire time that they are away from home. These small kitchen appliances can make a huge difference for guests.

Gym Facility

A lot of people like to work out on a daily basis to keep up with their fitness level and mental health. When away from home for work or vacation, a gym facility on-site is very beneficial to guests. You don’t need to have a ton of expensive equipment available, but a few treadmills and cable machines can help people get their workout in for the day.

A lot of a hotel’s success relies on word of mouth from previous guests. It is also helpful if people want to return to your facility the next time that they are in town. Having as many amenities for your guests as possible, particularly the technology-related ones, will help increase your positive reputation and bring more guests to stay at your hotel. If people don’t feel like they were comfortable or had enough conveniences available to them during their stay, this is the reputation you will form in the hospitality industry. So to give your hotel the best chance of success, consider including amenities like the ones listed above.

(BPT) - Chances are good that you know at least one woman who runs a small business. She might run a retail shop, own a restaurant or be in charge of a thriving small company — or she may be a one-woman operation providing goods or services via her online or home-based business. Globally, women comprise about one-third of all entrepreneurs, and that number is growing. It is estimated that 1 billion women will enter the economy as employers, employees, entrepreneurs and producers by 2022 yet only 5% of new articles that discuss the economy have women as a central focus.

As consumers we have a massive opportunity to amplify the voices of female business owners in the U.S. and beyond, and to encourage them in their efforts to improve their livelihoods and the lives of their families, here are some simple ways you can show them that their work is important to you.

Boost their social media

For the women business owners you know and support, there’s nothing better than positive reviews and testimonials. Studies show that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family more than any type of advertising.

It’s easy to help boost the social media presence of female entrepreneurs by liking, sharing and posting their events or announcements on any social media platform where you spend time. And if you’ve ever purchased their product or used their service, take a couple of minutes to give them a positive online review. Your voice can make a big impact.

Give concrete support

Take time to research which companies are run by women or have women-in-business initiatives. Then, celebrate these successful female entrepreneurs and their businesses by shopping at their stores, referring others to their business, or by donating to and buying from organizations and companies that champion female-run business ventures.

For example, DOVE(R) Chocolate is empowering female entrepreneurs through a partnership with CARE, the leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. This October, their partnership has helped open a new marketplace for women-led businesses in the village of Gueyo, a centrally located commerce area among the cocoa fields of Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa, where 40% of the world’s cocoa is produced. The new market features space for hundreds of women to sell their goods daily, in much improved conditions that include a reinforced structure connected to the electrical grid, secure sales areas, dedicated vending spots and other infrastructural improvements. This will help support women in Cote d'Ivoire in growing their small businesses, which in turn benefits their entire community.

Increase awareness

Read books and articles written by female entrepreneurs and thought leaders, then recommend and share the best ones with friends and entrepreneurs you know. Nothing is more inspirational than reading about others who have overcome adversity to achieve success.

Celebrate the successes of women in businesses by hosting an event at a women-run business. Invite a local female entrepreneur to come and speak at your school or alumni club, workplace, social club, house of worship or civic organization. Additionally, feel empowered to share your own story, accomplishments and the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Hearing about female entrepreneurs in the community not only builds awareness among your colleagues and peers, but provides great role models for girls and young women just getting started in their own careers.

To support women and their entrepreneurial spirit in Cote d’Ivoire and around the world, visit: www.care.org/dove. To celebrate National Women’s Small Business Month this October, take time to honor all the women who are making an impact on the economy and in their communities by starting and running small businesses worldwide.