Don’t Get Burned by the Home Depot Credit Card Breach

Headlines have been full of company's who data systems have been hacked and customer credit card information stolen. Most recently it has been Home Depot customers that have been compromised. Below is a  timely blog from a colleague, Matt Pearce, Rome, GA Small Business Development Center, that addresses how this recent breach can impact small business owners:

As I was driving home yesterday, I heard radio host Clark Howard mention a couple of numbers related to the Home Depot credit card breach:

• Approximately 56 million credit and debit cards may have been compromised.
• 40% of these may be small businesses, contractors, etc.

Clark made the point that business credit cards do not get the same fraud/theft protection that consumers enjoy.  It got me thinking about what this meant for business owners and independent contractors who have done business with Home Depot during this time period.  So, I called a banker I had previously done business with to get his perspective.

Generally, a business has 30 days to report fraudulent charges to its bank.  Consumers have 60 or more.  If you see fraudulent or questionable charges on your business credit or debit card, contact your bank to start the process of disputing the charges.  In this way, it is similar to the fraud protection you have on your personal credit and debit cards.

The main difference is that there is an expectation that a business will exercise more “due diligence” in monitoring its banking activities, compared to the typical consumer.  If you haven’t been doing so already, go back and check your credit card and debit card statements for any unusual, unexpected, or just plain weird, transactions.  If you have employees with business credit or debit cards, make sure you check those statements too.

Home Depot says this was going on for five months – so go back to April 1, 2014.  In theory, if you did not have any Home Depot charges on your account during this five month period, you should not be at risk for this particular fraud.

Next, you should continue to check your credit and debit card statements on line at least once a week for the next couple of months.

Your bank may issue you a new credit or debit card.  J.P. Morgan Chase and Capital One have already indicated that they will be issuing new cards to customers, according to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal.

I mentioned above that you should check your bank statements on line weekly.  This would be a real good habit to get into permanently.  It is part of what accountants call “Internal Controls.”  Internal controls simply mean that you, the business owner, are making sure that you know where your money is coming from and where it is going.  It starts with reviewing your bank accounts on a regular basis.

Good advice to take! Questions, comments or concerns? Please leave me a post!

Laura Katz, MBA, is a Consultant at the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center and specializes in marketing and business development. Ms. Katz can be contacted at: 706.542.7436 or lkatz@georgiasbdc.org.

SBA information on Small Business Certifications

Are you a small business owner interested in making the federal government one of your next customers?

Then you can benefit greatly from certifying your business first.

Many government agencies require that a certain percentage of its work is  set aside for small businesses (and woman-owned, veteran-owned and more), so certifying your business can help you successfully compete for government contracts. These resources can help:

• When and How to Register Your Business as a “Small Business” – Get the scoop on small business certification from this blog post.
• Am I a Small Business? – Make sure you meet the qualifications for "small" before you certify and register your business.
• Register for Government Contracting – As you register for government contracting, you'll also be "self-certifying" your business as small.  

You can also read up on additional certifications that can give your small business a competitive edge when pursuing government work. These include programs designed to help small businesses in historically  underutilized rural and urban areas (HUBZone Program), socially and economically disadvantaged businesses (8(a) Business Development Program), as well as Woman-Owned or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned businesses.

How to Develop a Content-Marketing Strategy

The buzz word these days is Content Marketing. But what exactly is it and how can a business implement its use to bring value to their customers?

Basically, content marketing is publishing information through various media outlets that will educate your customers. The benefit of publishing good content is that your targeted audience will come to rely on you as an information resource to base their decision making upon.  It is important to understand that content marketing is more than just information about your products or services, but relevant and useful information that will be used to develop opinions about your business and help to build a relationship with your customer. Think about how often you search for information before making a purchasing decision? Your customers do the same, so it is important to position yourself to be a credible resource for your customers. 

I am sure you are thinking “sounds like a great idea, but how do you go about publishing relevant content”? As usual, it takes some planning and the first thing you need to do is develop your content marketing strategy. There are four main areas to consider when doing so:  Audience, Media, Timing and Topic.

Audience:

Who is your intended audience? This relates back to who your target customer is. You need to understand your customer, what their needs are and their purchasing patterns are. I tell my clients that you need to know your customer like you know your mother. What do they like and dislike? Who do they go to for an opinion prior to making a purchasing decision? Where are they located? What is their age, income and education level? Once you understand your target customer, it is easier to determine what media to select, when you should publish content and what topic would be of benefit to your customer.

Media:

Where does your target customer go for information?  Would they read a newspaper, look for on-line reviews, articles, videos or blogs? Do they reach out to their friends and families for recommendations? Would they like to get their information delivered to them in an on-line newsletter? If you are not sure, ask them when you see them or send out a small survey. Or, just research the various social media resources and see who are using them.  By “googling” the various types of social media for statistics on who is using them you can determine the best media to publish content on for your target customer. 

Timing:

How often should you publish? Depending on what medium you are publishing to will dictate how often you need to publish your content. Twitter and FaceBook could be several times a day, blogs at least weekly, LinkedIn can be every couple of weeks, and on-line newsletters can be monthly or quarterly.  Realistically, think about how often you can develop content and publish it? This is a big task and often it needs to be delegated or shared among several people.  Starting a weekly blog may seem like a good idea at first, but remember there are 52 weeks in a year!

Topic:

Most importantly, where are you going to find relevant content? After publishing for a while you can run out of ideas to write about. Places to look for content are trending topics, newspapers, blogs, or your customer’s tweets and posts. What are they talking about and interested in? This is where you can find topics to publish content on that will be of interest to your target audience.

Remember, developing and implementing a content marketing strategy is a lot of work, and requires planning, but the rewards can be tremendous! If you would like more information on how to develop a content marketing strategy, call the SBDC to schedule a consulting session or look on our FaceBook page www.facebook.com/AthensSBDC for up- coming classes, tips and trends for business owners.

Laura Katz, MBA, is a Consultant at the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center and specializes in marketing and business development. Ms. Katz can be contacted at: 706.542.7436 or lkatz@georgiasbdc.org.

How to Successfully Manage your On Line Reputation - Free SBA Webinar

SBA & Yelp Team Up to Present Webinar Series on How Small Businesses Can Successfully Engage and Manage Online Reputation 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration is teaming up with Yelp to present the first of a free, two-part webinar series to help small business owners engage with online reviewers and manage their online reputation.  The first webinar will take place on Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. EST.  The second webinar will be held Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. EST. 

Results from a recent consumer study indicated that 85 percent of consumers read online reviews about local businesses. The webinars will help small business owners adapt to the new realities and challenges of online “word-of-mouth” reviews and successfully capitalize on opportunities to address them.  

The hour-long webinars will cover: 

• Best practices for getting started with online review sites
• An overview of how small businesses can join the conversations that are happening about their businesses online
• Tips on how to handle critical feedback and respond to reviews
• Ways to generate more buzz by creating exciting promotions and monitoring customer leads 

Click on this link to register for the Feb. 11 webinar:  https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/668501351.   This webinar will feature a home service industry business that is adept in building a strong online reputation. 

Click on this link to register for the Feb. 25 webinar:  https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/917749319.  This webinar will feature a food-based business that is adept in building a strong online reputation. 

On Jan. 13, the SBA and Yelp visited the New York Stock Exchange to ring the closing bell and highlight the new partnership.  In the coming months, the SBA and Yelp will conduct “local expert” workshops in various cities around the country.  For more information about the SBA and Yelp partnership, visit:  www.sba.gov/onlinereviews. 

WHAT:                 “Success With Online Reviews”

WHEN:                 Tuesday, Feb. 11 & Feb. 25 – 2 to 3 p.m. EST

HOW:                   Registration is free, but required.  Click on the above links to sign up.