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QUICK QUIZ

What is a business process consultant?

Think of a business process consultant like a doctor for your business operations. Meaning, they get to know how your business does what it does. 

And then, they document that knowledge for you. All while offering recommendations to help make your company run more efficiently. 

I know - can’t you do this all in-house? Maybe. It all depends on if you have someone who's super organized, loves systems, and has experience in several industries. (If yes, you should absolutely do all this in-house!)

But not every small business has that person (most don't). Or, they might not have the bandwidth to do all this. That’s where a business process consultant comes in!

👉  Here’s how to hire a great one!

PRIVACY PLEASE

Google gives up cookies (for good)

Google recently announced that they're taking their hand out of the cookie jar. Meaning, over the next 2 years, the search engine behemoth will phase out 3rd-party tracking cookies. This makes them the last major browser to remove cookies. 

As of right now, Google says it has no plans to build an alternate identifier once it phases out 3rd-party tracking cookies. So, your search results will finally stop following you around the internet. 

But Google Ads accounts for about 80% of the company's revenue. And they still want your marketing dollars. In place of cookies, the company will use a program they call "Privacy Sandbox."

The name aside, this program will use less-invasive APIs that are (supposedly) equally as valuable to advertisers. They'll allow you to target leads by interests - rather than specific actions. 

So, you might not be able to target Michael Scott specifically with your ads. But you can target people who like Chili's (which pretty much includes the whole office). 

👉  Get the full breakdown

THINGS ARE CHANGIN'

What you missed at the Forbes SMB event

Last Wednesday, Forbes gathered some of today’s thought leaders for a casual chat on the recent changes they’ve seen across the small business landscape. (Tinycare’s Michael Lai and Mented Cosmetics’ Amanda Johnson included.)

And the general consensus was clear: business will be anything but usual after the pandemic. And we’re already seeing the proof.

• Brand loyalty is being tested as 75% of customers buy whatever brand is most convenient during the pandemic
• Employee burnout has reached an all-time high since the big push to working from home
• US customers spent $590B more while shopping on their mobile devices in 2020 than the year prior

Meaning, businesses will have to shake up their strategies (again) to stay ahead of the competition. Here are some for sure winners: 

1. Take the suggestions. Customers will tell you how to make their lives easier - even if you didn’t ask. So, might as well put their ideas to good use
2. Normalize mental health check-ins. If someone on your team seems off, initiate the conversation and create a safe space to talk about what's going on
3. Make your mobile experience stellar. Chances are good your leads are looking you up on their phones - so make sure it's a great first impression
4. Quick execution over perfection. Seriously, just get your ideas out there! You'll keep improving them along the way anyway (wink, wink)
5. Stay relevant to your customer. If your offering doesn’t jive with a post-2020 lifestyle, say goodbye to it (you don’t want to be the modern-day Blockbuster)

👉  Catch the full conversation.

FREE WEBINAR

Make your business easier with custom tech

We get asked all the time how Trainual came to be. And if we're being honest, our story isn't super unique.

We were in the consulting game. And sometimes off-the-shelf training tools just didn't do what our clients needed them to do. So, we decided to build them something that would. 

But a lot of small businesses have problems that prescriptive software doesn't fix. And they're forced to create their own. The only difference is not all of them know how to build it - and they end up going about it all wrong (which gets costly quick). 

So, if you're looking to build a custom solution, join us next Wednesday, March 17, at 1 pm EDT. In one hour, we're breaking down exactly how to build your own custom tech. 

And you'll walk away: 

• Understanding how custom apps can streamline your business
• Knowing how to avoid common mistakes when creating custom software
• With an actionable game plan for bringing your software idea to life

👉  Save your spot (space is limited).

NO DANCING REQUIRED

TikTok wants you to take it seriously

With over 20B #smallbusiness views, TikTok is proving to be for more than "just kids."

But most small businesses are still hesitant to add the platform to their social strategy. Probably because the seemingly random algorithm feels impossible to monetize. 

So, TikTok is spelling out exactly how companies are using the platform to effectively reach their target audience with 2 new initiatives: 

1. On March 24, TikTok will host the first-ever Ready, Set, Grow, a conference about all things TikTok as it relates to small biz
2. They just rolled out a Business Profile. AKA the official TikTok account for tips running a business account and creating content that actually converts

All this is part of a recent push to prove that TikTok can compete with the big names in social. And with numbers to prove that they're the most time-consuming app (and among the fastest-growing), you might want to start taking them seriously.