Small Business

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• YourNameMisspelled.com
  When you register a domain name for your company's website, you're typically offered an array of alternatives to augment the usual .com suffix. "Many businesses register .org, .biz, .gov," notes ...
  Google, Naming, Small Business
• Five, Four, Three, Two, Gone
  "You've decided to launch a blog for your business and you're busy laying the groundwork," says Mack Collier in an article at MarketingProfs. "You've selected a name for it, and ...
  Corporate Blogging, Marketing Strategy, Small Business
• Bah, Humbug to the Downturn!
  Few companies have been spared the ravages of the recession, but some strategies seem to be working to help small businesses stay afloat. In a recent article at Inc., Elizabeth ...
  Customer Loyalty, Recession, Small Business
• You Stupid Donkey!
  Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has built a reality-television empire with his abrasive style, ready arsenal of barbed insults and propensity for four-letter words. It all adds up to great television. ...
  Creativity, Marketing Tips, Small Business
• Geotargeted Ads to Reach $1.9B in 2013
  By 2013, the geotargeted display advertising market is forecast to reach $1.9 billion, up from the $879 million spent on banners in 2008—a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16%—according ...
  Advertising, Forecasts, Local Marketing, Research Summaries, Small Business
• This One's For You, Wherever You Are
  We're very proud of the amazing marketing events produced by our MarketingProfs colleagues—they always deliver a lively, insightful experience. If you missed this year's Digital Marketing Mixer in Chicago, Matthew ...
  Branding, Small Business, Social Media
• Worth Every Penny
  Why would anyone drive a BMW or shop at Nordstrom when, for a fraction of the price, they could drive a Volkswagen or shop at JC Penney? "[P]eople make trade-offs ...
  Customer Behavior, Pricing, Small Business
• Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
  "Here's the scoop," writes Greg Verdino in a post at his blog. "I drive a Nissan Altima and I've been reasonably happy with it. It's neither the best car I've ...
  Brand Loyalty, Customer Relationships, Small Business
• So Hot You're Cool, So Cool You're Hot
  "A hot brand ends up in one of two different ways," writes Laura Ries at the Ries' Pieces blog. "It burns bright too fast and fizzles. Brands like this are ...
  Branding, Marketing Smarter, Small Business
• Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum
  Baggage fees have become nearly ubiquitous in the airline industry, and Southwest has capitalized on passenger hostility to the dreaded surcharge with its playful Bags Fly Free campaign. "Some airlines charge ...
  Customer Behavior, Pricing, Small Business
• More SMBs Use Online Media Than Traditional
  For the first time, the number of small and medium-sized businesses using digital/online media has surpassed the number using traditional media, according to the Kelsey Group.
  Advertising, Mobile Marketing, Research, Research Summaries, Small Business, Websites
• Don't Hate the Playa
  Companies in the high-end service industry often do much more than turn a blind eye to the extramarital escapades of their guests. "[T]he owners and managers of the world's most ...
  Creativity, Customer Behavior, Customer Experience, Small Business
• Talk to the Hand
  If you blog, you've certainly encountered your share of bizarre, offensive or spammy comments. It comes with the territory. Each of us has our own standard, and you've probably developed ...
  Blog Comments, Blogging, Small Business, Writing
• Cut the Loopholes
  Knowing that Hilton Hotels offers a best-rate guarantee, Hilton HHonors member Randall Gellens booked a room in Rome at the lowest available rate of €168. When he found a better ...
  Blogging, Customer Satisfaction, Promotions, Small Business, Websites
• SMBs to Boost Twitter Use for Marketing
  Some 9% of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) use Twitter to market their business, and 32% of SMBs say they plan to include social media in their marketing mix over ...
  Research Summaries, Small Business, Social Media, Twitter, Web 2.0
• Don't Leave Me This Way
  It's the bane of every retailer with an online store—somewhere between adding products to shopping carts and finalizing their purchases, some customers vanish into thin air. According to Brendan Regan ...
  Customer Behavior, E-Commerce, Small Business, Testing
• No Escapin' This
  Ask 100 people for their opinion of social-media tools like Twitter and you'll likely get 100 different responses—ranging from extreme enthusiasm to extreme derision. However you feel about social media, ...
  New Media, Small Business, Social Media, Websites
• Yeah, but What Does It Mean?
  "With free programs like Google Analytics," says Corte Swearingen in a post at the SmallBiz Marketing Tips blog, "acquiring data is not the issue—the challenge is finding a way to ...
  Google, Marketing Analytics, Small Business, Web Analytics
• Don't Rev the Search Engines Yet
  As more and more customers use the Internet to research purchases, you might assume that any online marketing strategy requires a significant level of search engine optimization (SEO). But if ...
  Local Marketing, Online Marketing, SEO, Small Business
• Till Death Do Us Part
  If you were to visit the subscription page at The Atlantic magazine's website, you'd find an important note beneath the form for payment information. It reads: "By paying with a ...
  Customer Relationships, Small Business, Websites