Small Business

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• Tough Love for Tough Luck
  If your company is on life support, don't expect sympathy or gentle encouragement from George Cloutier, the CEO of American Management Services and author of Profits Aren’t Everything, They're the ...
  Management, Recession, Small Business
• Mobile-ity
  "Make no mistake about it," says Christina "CK" Kerley at MarketingProfs, "mobile has arrived—and it's changing how (and where) business professionals communicate with one another and how (and why) they ...
  B2B Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Small Business
• Small Biz Adoption of Social Media Doubles
  Faced with a weak economy and reduced marketing budgets, many small businesses are fighting back with more creative—and less costly—approaches to marketing, including social media, according to a survey from ...
  Research Summaries, Small Business, Social Media
• Meet-Cute
  Few of us look forward to meetings—especially when we consider what we won't accomplish while we spend a depressingly unproductive hour in that conference room down the hall. "Meetings are ...
  Collaboration, Small Business, Time Management
• You Might Get What You Ask For
  It's unlikely that Sound Transit expected a seven-minute video critique when it requested user feedback on its website. But that's exactly what the operator of Seattle's buses and trains got ...
  Customer Engagement, Small Business, Website Design
• Local SMBs Mull Social Media, Online Directories
  Local small and medium-sized businesses are applying social media to their ad plans: Nearly one-third (32%) of SMBs plan to use a page on a social networking site in the ...
  Forecasts, Research Summaries, Small Business, Social Media
• National Lampoon
  Are you on pins and needles waiting for satirists to create YouTube videos that mock your earnest marketing efforts? Probably not. But in a post at his blog, Seth Godin ...
  Humor, Small Business, Videos
• Open Your Fortune Cookie
  When bloggers make predictions about marketing trends in the coming year, writes Rohit Bhargava at Influential Marketing, they often project what's currently happening onto the next 12 months. "I have ...
  Blogging, Customer Evangelists, Small Business
• What Can Celebrities Do for You?
  If you tune in to Access Hollywood or flip through the pages of Us magazine, you'll see features on the clothing, accessories, jewelry and cosmetics favored by trend-setting celebrities. In ...
  Advertising, Marketing Tips, Small Business
• No Clipboards Here
  Let's say you're out running errands and can find what you need at either of two stores. Both are well stocked and conveniently located, and both offer plenty of parking—but ...
  Creativity, Customer Behavior, Small Business
• You'll Be Shocked and Amazed! Or Maybe Not.
  The purpose of a subject line or headline is, obviously, to persuade a reader that she must look inside. But if your tantalizing teaser promises far more than the email ...
  Copywriting, Customer Loyalty, Small Business
• Las Vegas or Bust
  You might travel to tradeshows around the country, but have you ever considered the marketing potential of the journey itself? Consider how Griffin Technology, a maker of iPod accessories, has ...
  Creativity, Small Business, Social Media
• Case Study: SEO and Sex: A Recipe for SuccessKimberly Smith
  How does an SMB owner run a business day to day, do his/her own marketing and promotion, and make sure the biz keeps going and growing? Just maybe, SEO+Sex=Success!
• I'd Like to Talk to the Manager
  If your small business has earned a devoted cadre of loyal customers, you can assume they have a vested interest in your ongoing success. They want uninterrupted, easy access to ...
  Customer Engagement, Customer Loyalty, Small Business
• Eyes Wide Open
  For small and midsize businesses, the advent of social media has created a host of lead-generating opportunities. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media have leveled the playing field for ...
  Lead Generation, Small Business, Social Media
• Peter Shankman: Email, Social Tools, Musings on a Web 2.0 Washing Machine
  In a fun but informative short video, Ann Handley talks with PR guru/gadfly Peter Shankman about how he turned a natural gift for schmoozing into a successful business, why his ...
  Community, Networking, New Media, Public Relations, Small Business, Social Media
• What's the Plan, Stan?
  If you're the owner or marketer of a small business and are trying to make sense of wikis, WOM, blogs and buzz, you know the challenges of creating a social-media ...
  B2B Marketing, Small Business, Social Media
• The Notorious CEO
  When rapper Biggie Smalls released "Ten Crack Commandments," he intended his lyrical advice for entrepreneurs who operate in a niche—and entirely illegal—industry. "The track is meant to be a crash-course ...
  Creativity, Humor, Small Business
• Small Business Marketing in 2010: A Forecast
  Small business owners are planning to engage customers in new ways in 2010, according to an Ad-ology Research study: 28% say they will spend at least the same or more ...
  Customer Engagement, Forecasts, Online Marketing, Research, Small Business, Social Media, Social Networking
• How Small Businesses Leaders Use Social Media
  Small business decision-makers who use social media say they do so because of the convenience and speed with which they can access business-relevant information, according to a study by Business.com. ...
  Research Summaries, Segmented Research Data, Small Business, Social Media