WJR Business Beat

One of the greatest opportunities small businesses have is the opportunity to gain exposure for one's business through the power of the press. Producing and distributing a press release to journalists who cover your field of endeavor, and having them pick up your story and put it in print can be such a huge windfall for small businesses. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.ad...

While CEOs battled their FOMO, that's fear of missing out, of course, their employees are experiencing a different side of the AI revolution. A phenomenon now coined FOBO, the fear of becoming obsolete, driven specifically by the fear that the speed of artificial intelligence development is outpacing the re-skilling of employees. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.co...

small and medium-sized enterprises are among the most trusted institutions in America, w/ 21% of respondents trusting them to tell the truth. Four times the trust level for big corporations. Shahar Silverat, Media Post, explains, Personal engagement defines the trust gap between small businesses and large corporations because small businesses generally operate w/ smaller footprints and more locali...

For AI to be successful, it's not enough for the CMO and CIO to communicate with one another, every member of both teams needs to be in sync on use cases and how they measure success. Structure your AI to fit your marketing goals. Clear data sets, KPI's & metrics are critical for marketing success w/ AI. And take responsible risks, experiment with your use of AI and creatively infuse AI into new a...

Big news when it comes to online sales is heating up as big online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay are making moves to position themselves to be able to play more aggressively in this space by pairing with Hyundai and Carmel selling cars. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2025 Mobile Consumer Insights report from Vibes makes clear that consumers not only like text messages, they want more of them. 13% now want to receive text messages once a day. Try adding text messaging to your marketing mix as a channel to reach and engage your best customers. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of pe...

OSHA reports approx 65% of US workers surveyed have characterized work as being a very significant or somewhat significant source of stress in their lives. Employers can identify someone struggling with stress at work first, it's important for employees to be heard. Show empathy and provide access to coping and resiliency resources, supportive networks, and services they can use to address their c...

Reported in D Business, indicates that Michigan is the third most prolific state in the nation for startup business growth with 325,467 registered new businesses started in 2023. Compared to 298,855 in 2022, that represents an 8.9% increase in new businesses being started between '22 and '23 and puts Michigan at third best in the nation based on the number of new business startups. Hosted by Simpl...

Sally Lyons, Wyatt Global Executive Vice President and Chief Advisor, recent study says this, use of GLP-1 drugs are undoubtedly hurting grocery sales. Higher income households earning over $125,000 a year have reduced their grocery spending by 8.6%, and there's no doubt that as adoption of these drugs continues to grow, there's going to be a greater and greater impact on the grocery business. Hos...

Salesforce reports that holiday retail sales reached $282B in the US. That's up 4% year over year, and $1.2 trillion globally, a 3% rise from last year. Celia Schwartz, Salesforce, Director of Consumer Insights, said in a statement, retailers had a robust holiday season indeed, but issued a cautionary statement that is a 28% increase in returns compared to last year. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWi...

Consumers now check their phones 205 times a day. That's up from 144 times in 2023. According to new data just released by reviews.org. They just completed a study focused on cell phone usage statistics. This data makes clear, it's a powerful opportunity and a prime focus for small business owners as we start 2025. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for informati...

2025 will include sharp increases in consumer mistrust of brands as people navigate the choppy waters of the higher prices they now confront. Consumers attribute constant and unpredictable price changes to gouging and brand opportunism. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Moms make over 70% of all household purchases. Mothers in the US spend over twice as much time on Facebook and Facebook Messenger than they do on TikTok, that according to September ComScore data, 93.3% of US mothers are on social media. Those of us who are in business and are focused on making sales better be focused on getting the attention of moms. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See...

As reported by Axios Detroit, Michigan's outdoor recreation industry pumped $13.9B into the state's economy last year. In addition to the tourism activities associated w/ the state's recreational sector, it's the production, the warehousing, the shipping of outdoor recreation specific goods, the jobs in those businesses, for example, from the manufacturing of boats, outdoor apparel, and even fly l...

While we scramble to make those last minute purchases, retailers will be ringing those cash registers as an estimated 157 million consumers plan to still shop on the last Saturday before Christmas according to the annual survey released this week by the National Retail Federation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of...

The Snowflake Startup Challenge, for early stage startups that are building innovative applications and products, is open. Powered by Snowflake's AI Data Cloud, the winner and finalists receive up to a million dollars in investments from Snowflake and mentorship from industry leaders at New York Stock Exchange. Deadline to apply is March 1st, 2025. Go to snowflake.com/challenge Hosted by Simplecas...

AI is playing a major role this year as Salesforce reports that AI will influence as much as $200 billion in sales as retailers have increased their use of generative AI and chatbot agents, and that's a 23% week over week increase just since Cyber Monday. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertis...

Latest workforce trend known as revenge quitting, when workers who feel particularly burned out or frustrated may be more likely to quit w/ little regard to whether they leave on good terms w/ their employee or not. A recent report on workplace trends for 2025 by Glassdoor noted that a wave of revenge quitting is on the horizon. What's an employer to do? Take extra care to ensure a strong company...

Ryan Goff, Executive VP Chief Marketing Officer and Social Media Marketing Director at MGH said, content creators and businesses alike should take note of the opportunity the TikTok platform presents. The impact of compelling content and reviews have on purchasing decisions as we dive head first into the competitive holiday season. So if you're a merchant looking for a way to create awareness and...

Adobe Analytics measured the impact of marketing investments this season. Consumers spent an overall $6.1 billion online on Thanksgiving Day, up 8.8% year over year. Mobile shopping hit highs on Thanksgiving Day, reaching 59.5% of all online sales, which represents $3.6 billion in online spending via mobile, up 10.5% year over year. The process of optimizing your site on mobile has never been easi...

New data from E-marketer highlights the total return value to reach $931 billion this year. That's a 2% increase over 2023 and 81% of US digital shoppers review return policies before making a purchase with a merchant for the first time, and 73% agree that a poor returns experience impacts their decision to shop with a merchant in the future. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://p...

AAA announced 8 million people will travel 50 miles or more from their homes over the Thanksgiving travel period. AAA predicts that about 1.7 million more people are expected to travel for Thanksgiving than in 2023. 72M people plan to drive this Thanksgiving holiday while gas prices are comparatively lower to what they were in 2023. Air travel is expected to set records as well with about 5.84 mil...

66% of US plan to shop on Black Friday while projections indicate that consumers plan to spend an average of $650 per person this year, up 15% from last year. I. Most will be using creative financing to make many of their purchases. Brian McCarthy, principal of Deloitte Consulting says this about the Deloitte report. This year we have a shorter holiday shopping season w/ Thanksgiving coming late....

Entries must complete eligible courses or events before December 13th, 2024, and you must submit your application on or before December 13th, 2024. This year, the program will award over a hundred business grants as part of their goal to reach 1 million small businesses by 2030. To learn more and apply, go to digitalready.verizon wireless.com/grants. You can also learn more about the program at st...

Edison Research study reinforces radio not just as the leading ad supported audio platform, but as the undisputed champ of all audio in the US from Q4 2023 through Q3 2024, across demographics, young to old, including millennials and Gen Z. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.