FINANCE
TD Insurance | March 20, 2023
TD Insurance announced the launch of TD Insurance for Business, a new direct insurance product offering, tailored for small businesses in Canada. As the #1 Direct-to-Consumer Insurer in Canada, and #1 Affinity Insurer in Canada, TD Insurance is leveraging its leadership position and expanding its services to offer insurance protection to business owners.
The small business market in Canada continues to grow. Ninety-eight per cent of all businesses in Canada are small businesses, representing a significant insurance demand and opportunity for TD Insurance to create a unique value proposition with a customer-centric direct advice-driven experience.
TD Insurance for Business will first be available in Ontario, with other provinces to follow and will provide tailored coverage for micro and small businesses across a number of industries, including retail, contractors, wholesale, business and professional services, and healthcare.
"We are thrilled to launch TD Insurance for Business to deliver legendary experiences to Canadian business owners," said James Russell, Executive Vice President, President and CEO, TD Insurance. "We know there is unmet demand to provide protection to small businesses, and by leveraging our #1 direct-to-consumer operating model and expertise, it allows us to enter this market from a position of strength and extend protection to a new customer segment."
Industry Leading Protection
TD Insurance will harness its competitive strength, top-rated brand and trust of its existing customers to become a leader in the small business insurance market. Strategic investments made across contact centres, digital capabilities, claims and fraud management will benefit business owners with creative products and new services that continue to support TD Insurance's customer-centric philosophy.
The new small business offering is a natural extension for TD Insurance and will meet the needs of more Canadians with advice-driven protection. Customized packages based on the specific industry segment will offer coverage options specific to the business including, Commercial Property, General Liability and Auto Insurance.
"We have become a leader in the insurance industry by offering simplified, tailored advice and coverage that best meet our customers' needs," continued Russell. "As we continue to deliver on our Mission to care for Canadian families, making it easy to get the best advice, protection and support in their moments of need, we are excited to extend our leadership to protect small business owners in Canada."
About TD Bank Group
The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or the "Bank"). TD is the fifth largest bank in North America by assets and serves over 27 million customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Canada Trust and TD Auto Finance Canada; U.S. Retail, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, TD Auto Finance U.S., TD Wealth (U.S.), and an investment in The Charles Schwab Corporation; Wealth Management and Insurance, including TD Wealth (Canada), TD Direct Investing, and TD Insurance; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with more than 15 million active online and mobile customers. TD had $1.9 trillion in assets on January 31, 2023. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.
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MARKETING AND NETWORKING
Nextdoor | March 13, 2023
Nextdoor has recently unveiled a suite of products designed to assist small businesses in growing in the face of increased economic challenges. This suite of free marketing tools, including events, videos, polls, and unlimited business posts, is aimed at small businesses worldwide, finding new approaches to create genuine connections with a high-intent local audience.
The new suite of marketing tools includes a streamlined post composer that allows small businesses to upload engaging content for free as often as they'd like. In addition, the new composer has unlimited access to the following new post formats:
Events: Businesses can create and share events to attract new neighbors and increase foot traffic. Events will be promoted on the Discover page for neighbors within a 10-mile radius, as well as in the newsfeeds of the business's neighbors and those who have Faved the business.
Polls: Businesses may create polls to learn more about their customers’ requirements and discover what neighbors desire. Polls make it simple for businesses to get data from verified locals.
Video: Video content brings businesses to existence by allowing neighbors to see available items or receive a warm welcome from local employees. A survey found that 87% of Nextdoor neighbors are more willing to spend money with a small business if they know anything personal about it, such as its backstory, local history, or individuals who work there.
All small business users worldwide can now access events, videos, polls, and limitless business postings. Small companies wishing to attract local clients may create a free Nextdoor business page to take advantage of the new capabilities and engage with their neighbors via unlimited business postings. Nextdoor Advertising is a simple method to spread the word up to 30 miles for eligible businesses wishing to increase their reach.
About Nextdoor
Nextdoor is a social networking platform that connects people within their local neighborhoods. The platform aims to create more robust and safer communities by providing neighbors with a way to communicate and share information with each other. It offers a variety of features, including a newsfeed, classifieds, and events, and allows users to share recommendations, ask for help, and offer assistance. Additionally, the platform provides tools for local businesses to connect with their community and promote their products or services. With over 10 million registered users in the United States alone, Nextdoor has become a popular way for neighbors to stay connected and informed.
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SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS
BILL | March 15, 2023
On March 14, 2023, BILL, a leading financial automation solutions provider for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), announced new offerings for businesses impacted by the recent events involving Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). These new programs are aimed at helping SMBs remain fully operational during this challenging time.
BILL's new offerings include programs to enable business continuity for existing customers who are also SVB customers. The first program is BILL balance, a secure and convenient way for customers to store and move funds in order to make quicker payments to vendors to any bank in the US with no additional fees. The second program is pre-approval for a Divvy line of credit, which allows small businesses to quickly pay bills using an existing or new Divvy corporate card. The third program is the ability to connect SVB debit cards to BILL Pay By Card, allowing customers to access their funds immediately and use them to pay vendors. For the next 30 days beginning March 14, BILL will reimburse all pay-by-card transaction fees made with SVB debit cards.
In addition to the above three programs, BILL is also offering a new three-month free trial of the BILL platform for any businesses looking to improve control, efficiency and visibility of their financial operations.
BILL's core products and services can also assist SMBs in streamlining financial processes, improving financial controls and visibility, and providing users with access to capital. On the BILL platform, SMBs can automate payables and receivables workflows, manage cash in and out with an array of quick and safe payment offerings, and access business credit and control expenses with Divvy's Spend and Expense Management Platform.
All of these offerings are part of BILL's ongoing commitment to automating the future of finance so that businesses can thrive, particularly during challenging times like those facing SVB customers.
About BILL
BILL is a financial automation software company that provides solutions to small and midsize businesses (SMBs) to streamline their financial operations. The company's mission is to automate the future of finance, so businesses can thrive by providing a platform that simplifies and automates financial processes.It offers a suite of products and services that enable SMBs to automate payables and receivables workflows, manage cash in and out, access business credit and control expenses. These services include ACH, card, and international transfers, as well as the ability to store and move funds securely and conveniently using BILL balance. In addition, it integrates with popular accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, and NetSuite, making it easy for businesses to manage their financial operations in one place.
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