Jennifer Schiff

Despite the rise of social media marketing, email marketing is still alive and well. And, experts say, if you want to truly optimize your small business marketing, you need to use both methods. Indeed, one of the biggest small business marketing trends predicted for 2011 is the integration of email marketing with social media.   What […]

No matter what the size of your business, if you store your business and/or customer data on a computer (and who doesn’t these days?) you need a safe, secure way to back up and store that data. Indeed, many experts argue that choosing a data backup system or service should be one of the first […]

In the article, A Guide to Data Backup and Recovery for SMBs, we discussed what you need to know about data backup, including cloud-based data backup services. Also known as online data backup, these services provide an affordable way for small businesses to secure their critical business data. If you’re thinking about moving your business […]

In August 2010, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse published its latest Chronology of Data Breaches, which showed that since 2005 more than a half-billion sensitive records have been breached. Of those breached records — which contained such sensitive data as customer credit card or social security numbers — approximately one-fifth came from retailers, merchants and other […]

Why work with one designer or agency and pay thousands of dollars for a logo or web design, when you can work with hundreds of designers and receive hundreds of great designs — for less than a thousand dollars? That is the premise — and promise — behind CrowdSpring and 99designs, two of the most […]

A CRM system can help your sales team convert leads into revenue, but before you jump on the CRM bandwagon, it’s critical to know what questions to ask in order to get a system that works for your needs…and the needs of your sales team. We help you begin your research by going to the […]

More ecommerce businesses are using the crowd (i.e., their customers, Facebook fans and/or employees) to help them develop new products and build brand loyalty — and the strategy seems to be working, at least for some online businesses. But is crowdsourcing a viable marketing and/or product development strategy for every small business? And how do […]

Think that having an eye-catching logo and distinctive online brand don’t matter — or are unimportant if you have a distinctive product or service or low prices? Think again. Both elements play a crucial part of a successful small business marketing plan. “I won’t go so far to say that having a good or bad […]

Engaging customers and involving them in your business as much as possible is a smart strategy. It builds retention, loyalty and revenue. Social media tools are an effective, incredibly affordable way to manage your customer relationships and should be a part of any CRM strategy. These 10 tips, from business folks who use them successfully, […]

Video conferencing solutions have existed for many years. But as Peter Csathy, the CEO of Sorenson Media and the former CEO of Internet video communications company SightSpeed (which was acquired by Logitech in 2008) noted, they “were complicated and expensive, costing thousands or tens of thousands of dollars to use, making them out of reach […]

Email newsletters are an extremely effective small business marketing strategy, but only if your customers actually open the newsletter. If you’re lucky enough to have customers (current and prospective) read what you sent, you need to make sure the content is exciting and relevant. These 10 tips, courtesy of eCRMGuide, cut to the chase and […]

Updated 5/01/2013 –Things have changed a bit since we last took a look at Web hosting for small businesses. For the most up-to-date information you need to consider and questions you need to ask, be sure to read our most recent guide to Web hosting providers. There are few service providers (except perhaps for lawyers) […]