2020 has been one of the toughest years for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) in history. Many saw a ray of hope in the U.S. government's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). But when SMB owners called their bankers for assistance in applying, far too many were unable to get the support they needed and expected to keep their businesses...

The U.S. Census Bureau’s May 2020 retail and food service data was released on June 16, and it reveals some impressive gains when comparing May to April of this year. Looking at the seasonally adjusted figures, total U.S. retail and food services sales went from $412.5 billion in April to $485.5 billion in May — a 17.7 percent monthly...

The nation’s 41,000 grocery stores have experienced a raucous 2020, due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic. While grocery retail is a low margin, high volume business, sales surged during the second quarter of this year, driven by panic buying and a resurgence in home cooking.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released their May employment data on Friday, June 5, and there were some pleasant surprises. After March and April’s freefall, employers added a record 2.5 million jobs in May. The unemployment rate fell from 14.7 percent in April to 13.3 percent in May — though that is still a record high level.

On May 29, the U.S. Census Bureau released their advance Economic Indicators Report for April’s imports and exports, and not surprisingly, the numbers were gloomy. Both imports and exports were down double-digits, and overall, the international trade deficit rose to $69.7 billion, which was an increase of $4.7 billion from the March...

I recently attended a Capstone Marketing webinar entitled, “Marketing Your Accounting Firm in Uncertain Times.” The presenter — Capstone’s founder, Jean Caragher — noted that there are lessons to be learned from the past when it comes to marketing during economic downturns. Accounting firms that continued to market themselves during the...

I recently shared the ways in which declining tax revenue is taking a toll on state and local coffers, resulting in numerous job and budget cuts. Sales, gas, hotel, and other taxes and tolls have all decreased dramatically during the COVID-19-related shutdowns across the country.

Across many industries, marketers are consistently asked to do more with less. Oftentimes, when the budgetary belt has to be tightened, marketing’s budget is the first to get trimmed. It’s an ongoing challenge for people in this line of work.

I’ve talked to a lot of Vertical IQ customers lately about what meeting with customers looks like in the COVID-19 era. The consensus is that it is a different world than what they are used to. Many people who call on customers and prospects used to being face-to-face. Being relegated to phone calls and video conferences goes against...