Sponsored by Salesforce
Understand how your customers think to improve sales
Tracking data leads to informed decisions, which leads to better success in the long run.
Start your free trial →
Tough job market? College grads should look at SMBs. That’s the latest advice from star entrepreneur Mark Cuban, and this week we look at why he’s betting on AI to bring together small business owners and those just entering the workforce. We’ll also dive into what business owners using both personal and B2B media channels means for those seeking or selling new services.
But before we get into it, check out the latest short film from AT&T’s small biz series “Wake Up With CrAIg” starring the cast of “The Office.”
[ FIRST GLANCE ]
[ THE TOP LINE ]
Mark Cuban to college grads: SMBs are a great place to work
“Shark Tank” investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban is all in on AI. He posted on X recently that small businesses generate about 60% of new jobs annually, a figure he thinks that AI can help increase, given how few SMBs have implemented it across their organizations so far. He argues that a small business is the perfect place for college grads and first-time job-seekers with AI expertise to start, agreeing with one commenter who noted that working at a small business gives employees five years of experience in 14 months.
Why this matters: It might take a celeb mogul with a huge reach to connect the dots, but small businesses should be sought-after places to work, and tech-savvy college grads should be one of the hiring pools they look to first. (Yahoo Finance)
B2B buying behavior shifts as line between channels blur
Small business owners are consuming business and personal content in many of the same places, forcing advertisers to rethink how and where to reach B2B audiences. A new eMarketer and Intuit survey of 614 operators found that small business owners visit online news sites and digital publishers more often than industry-specific trade publications (36.6% vs. 29.2%) as work-related research becomes part of their everyday media habits. YouTube (35.7%) and Facebook (34.9%) are the platforms they use most, reflecting changing research habits and growing trust in peer recommendations and creator content.
Why this matters: You’re now just as likely to discover new services or vendors on social media as you are in a trade pub—important considerations when shopping for your business and marketing yourself to others. (eMarketer)
[ THE LOWDOWN ]
[ THE THINK TANK ]
Your small biz banker can help with more than just loans
Steffen Stowell, business banking team lead at KeyBank in Idaho, believes small business owners should view their banker as a resource for expertise in payments and receivables, invoicing, liquidity management, process automation, fraud protection and cash flow management. You should be having conversations with them about assessing the health of your business, how to improve cash flow and even how to attract and retain employees.
“The challenge is that financial operations is a bridge typically not crossed together. And this is a mistake, for the business … and the bank. In fact, the shift to a more consultative approach to business banking falls more on the bank than the business. Banks thrive when their clients thrive." - Steffen Stowell
Why this matters: Your banker should work as hard (if not harder) as you do to make sure your small business thrives. Shifting your mindset to a consultative instead of a transactional relationship not only gives you more confidence about your business, but it also improves your bottom line. (Idaho Business Review)
[ THE DOWNLOAD ]
The recruiting software that makes hiring easier for SMBs
Why does hiring seem harder than it used to? AI is changing the game for better and worse: candidates and employers who are overly reliant on it for applying and screening can lead to plenty of mismatches. The June 4 National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Jobs Report found that 29% of small businesses have job openings, with 84% of those actively hiring saying there are few or no qualified applicants. An AI-powered recruiting platform can help with job description templates, post to job boards like Indeed, LinkedIn and ZipRecruiter, and help you with interview prep and feedback, but be wary of whom it may be surfacing and also screening out.
Why this matters: Prolonged job vacancies can strain profit margins and morale, so subscribing to recruitment software to help speed the process can be a wise investment, but don’t let it be your only pathway to hiring. (Forbes)
[ POLL ]
Thanks for reading today's edition!
You can reach the newsletter team at [email protected]. We enjoy hearing from you.
Interested in advertising? Email us at [email protected]
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to get this newsletter.
The SKUpe is curated and written by Marcy Medina and edited by Bianca Prieto.
