Small Business

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• Small-Biz Confidence Higher, but Vacations on Hold
  America's small businesses are more optimistic about the economy: The Discover Small Business Watch, a monthly index on the pulse of small business owners, increased in May 2010 for the ...
  Forecasts, Research Summaries, Small Business
• If We Do Say so Ourselves
  "You might have noticed a trend in more and more marketing," writes Rohit Bhargava at the Influential Marketing Blog, "where large brands are featuring real people and actual employees in ...
  Branding, Creativity, Small Business
• Ginger or Mary Ann?
  In a post at Copyblogger, Sonia Simone put an interesting twist on the perennial question "Ginger or Mary Ann?" by asking whether your blog is the sexy-starlet or the wholesome ...
  Blogging, Marketing Strategy, Small Business
• Freaky Friday
  The editors of Fortune came up with a fun idea for the magazine's "Best Companies to Work For" issue: Invite the CEOs of two employee-friendly retailers to trade places for ...
  Creativity, Customer Engagement, Small Business
• Blogging Boo-Boos
  By now, it's pretty clear to most people what works in the blogosphere—and what doesn't. Not everyone, however, has caught on. Accordingly, Frank Days used a post at Tangyslice to ...
  Corporate Blogging, Marketing Tips, Small Business
• Foolin' Around
  If you use Google on a regular basis, you've seen playful manipulations of the search engine's multicolored logo. The temporary tweaks often appear during holidays—harvest tones and a cartoon turkey ...
  Creativity, Google, Logos, Small Business
• Woman-Owned Businesses Put Customers First, Systems Last
  Most women-owned small businesses say customer service is a top strategic priority—but don't have a formal, companywide customer-service strategy—and many do not take advantage of important marketing channels, such as ...
  Customer Service, Recession, Research Summaries, Small Business, Social Media, Websites
• DIY PR
  If you can't afford to pay for a big-time publicist, or aren't seeing the results you'd like from your own very expensive publicity "expert," blogger Nettie Hartsock recommends seven smart ...
  Marketing Strategy, Public Relations, Small Business
• Small Biz Confidence Improving, Owners Going Social
  America's small businesses are becoming more optimistic about the economy: The Discover Small Business Watch, a monthly index on the pulse of small business owners, increased to 85.1 in April ...
  Research Summaries, Small Business, Social Networking
• Eight Reasons for Small Businesses to Dip Their Toes in the Email Marketing PondWendy Lowe
  When Shop.org surveyed retailers for its State of Retailing Online 2009 report, it found that email was the most-mentioned successful tactic overall. What are you waiting for...?
  Customer Engagement, Direct Marketing, Email Marketing, Small Business, Targeting
• Do You Flickr?
  Most small businesses haven't figured out how to promote themselves on Flickr—and that means you can get an edge on the competition. And in a recent post at the Influential ...
  Brand Awareness, Marketing Smarter, Small Business
• Gaga for GaGa
  In two short years, Lady GaGa has become an international phenomenon—selling millions of albums, breaking Billboard records and earning Grammys. According to Jackie Huba, she has also demonstrated a natural ...
  Brand Loyalty, Community, Small Business
• It's the Same, but Different
  If you want customers or members to fill out a form or volunteer their time, writes Roger Dooley at the Neuromarketing blog, "you will be more successful if you describe ...
  Customer Behavior, Small Business, Writing
• The Devil in the Details
  Since October of 2009, the menus of 1,500 Denny's restaurants have invited customers to join the social-media conversation at Twitter. So far, so good. But there's a serious problem: The ...
  Marketing Tips, Small Business, Social Media
• That's One Small Step for Analytics
  Do you find the thought of seeking useful information from your analytics package an astronomically daunting one? If so, you're not alone. In a recent post at the Online Marketing ...
  Search Engine Marketing, Small Business, Web Analytics
• Small Business Owners Sour on Economy
  America's small business owners say business conditions are getting worse: After some upward trends for most of last summer and into the fall, the Discover Small Business Watch, a monthly ...
  Recession, Research Summaries, Small Business
• Bored to Death
  If it's late at night and you can't get to sleep, try reading this tag line—it just might work better than a sleeping pill: "Combining the strategy, business processes, implementation, ...
  Online Marketing, Small Business, Taglines
• Small Biz Search Spend Surges in 4Q09
  Small business advertisers spent on average $2,149 on search advertising in the fourth quarter of 2009, up 111% from $1,018 spent in the same period a year earlier, and up ...
  Advertising, Keywords, PPC Campaigns, Research Summaries, Small Business
• Business Owners Feeling Increasingly Stressed
  More than one-half (56%) of leaders of privately held businesses globally say their stress levels are greater now than they were a year ago, according to a survey from Grant ...
  Management, Research Summaries, Segmentation, Small Business
• Taken for a Ride
  We've all fallen for something when we should have known better. Gullibility is bad enough in our personal lives—but when it happens at work, jobs and profits might be on ...
  Collaboration, Sales, Small Business