The bMighty Blog -- Sales/Marketing

Should Smaller Businesses Twitter? Some Say Yes

Posted by Naomi Grossman 11:13 AM ET | May 13, 2008

Social networking has met its match in Twitter, whose dedicated users are fixated on SMS-ing or IM-ing their "tweets" in the small space allotted by the messaging service. But what can a smaller business do with the 140 character limit to generate business? Apparently, a lot.

Read all of "Should Smaller Businesses Twitter? Some Say Yes"

Comment on this blog entry
Mobile | Networking & Communications | Sales/Marketing

Stamp Costs Are Up. E-Mail Costs Are Not

Posted by Naomi Grossman 11:33 AM ET | May 12, 2008

The US Postal Service is increasing the costs of stamps again. It'll now cost you 42 cents to mail a letter -- and you'll have to dig deeper to mail other items also. But the price of sending an e-mail hasn't changed.

Read all of "Stamp Costs Are Up. E-Mail Costs Are Not"

Comments(1)
Hardware & Software | Sales/Marketing

Web Text: They're Not Reading Much So Keep it Short

Posted by Naomi Grossman 11:29 AM ET | May 8, 2008

Recent research into the reading habits of the average Internet user reveals what we've all long suspected: those visitors to your site are not reading much. The lesson for smaller businesses is obvious: Tighten up that copy and remember to make those words that you put up there count.

Read all of "Web Text: They're Not Reading Much So Keep it Short"

Comments(1)
Business & E-Business | Internet/Web | Sales/Marketing

Web 2.0: Videos Can Give Smaller Businesses an Edge

Posted by Naomi Grossman 11:41 AM ET | May 5, 2008

On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog, goes the famous New Yorker cartoon. Nobody has to know you’re a smaller business either – and videos are one of the most effective ways to look bigger and impress the search engines, if you do it right.

Read all of "Web 2.0: Videos Can Give Smaller Businesses an Edge"

Comment on this blog entry
Business & E-Business | Sales/Marketing

Seething Booth Envy at Interop

Posted by Benjamin Tomkins 08:37 PM ET | May 1, 2008

The surreal world of trade show meshes effortlessly with Las Vegas' disposable facades. With more than 500 tech businesses shoehorning their brands into artificially constrained spaces, jealously of all kinds oozes through the partition walls over booth size, location, and entertainment spectacle; size matters, but it all comes to down to the realtor's mantra of location, location, location.

Read all of "Seething Booth Envy at Interop"

Comment on this blog entry
Sales/Marketing

Interop Swag Wars

Posted by Benjamin Tomkins 10:13 AM ET | Apr 30, 2008

As at any trade show, there are new products, new services, metric tons of backgrounders, spec sheets, and brochures, buzzwords, and cadres of corporate clans marching along in matching polo shirts. But with all that eye candy to spin your head every stroll across the show floor, it's the take home swag that keeps on giving.

Read all of "Interop Swag Wars"

Comments(1)
Sales/Marketing

Web 2.0 Expo: How To Build A Wiki That Doesn't Suck

Posted by Fredric Paul 07:14 PM ET | Apr 26, 2008

"The Web is littered with dead wikis," admits SocialText CEO Eugene Lee. Here's how to make sure your wiki doesn't add to the junkpile.

Read all of "Web 2.0 Expo: How To Build A Wiki That Doesn't Suck"

Comment on this blog entry
HR | IT | Internet/Web | Management | Messaging | Professional/Creative Services | Sales/Marketing

Web 2.0, Web 3.0: Just Don't Forget Web 1.0

Posted by Naomi Grossman 10:32 AM ET | Apr 24, 2008

There's a lot of talk about how Web 2.0 can help smaller businesses work. And a lot of talk about what Web 3.0 will be able to do for smaller businesses. It's all good -- just don't forget about Web 1.0.

Read all of "Web 2.0, Web 3.0: Just Don't Forget Web 1.0"

Comment on this blog entry
Internet/Web | Sales/Marketing

Latest Winners Live the Small Business Contest Dream

Posted by Benjamin Tomkins 10:05 AM ET | Apr 15, 2008

In our latest check on the never-ending small business awards season, two start-ups walk away with cash for their ideas and another business' lofty aspirations net a haul of tools and supplies.

Read all of "Latest Winners Live the Small Business Contest Dream"

Comment on this blog entry
Company Size: 1-49 | Sales/Marketing

John Jantsch Snowballs To Small Business Success

Posted by Benjamin Tomkins 09:45 AM ET | Mar 28, 2008

Sometimes when you notice a name or concept that's new to you, it starts popping up everywhere. The last two weeks, the clustering I couldn't avoid was contests for smaller businesses. This week, it's John Jantsch, the Duct Tape Marketing maven himself.

Read all of "John Jantsch Snowballs To Small Business Success"

Comments(1)
Company Size: 1-49 | Sales/Marketing

Hey Smaller Businesses, Why Not Try Some Free Love?

Posted by Naomi Grossman 03:06 PM ET | Feb 27, 2008

Everyone, it seems, is getting into the "free" act. Apparently, it's a real trend -- and not just among the big guys. Smaller businesses can get a piece of the "free" action, too.

Read all of "Hey Smaller Businesses, Why Not Try Some Free Love?"

Comments(1)
Internet/Web | Sales/Marketing | Strategy/Analysis/Biz Dev

Media Advice For Entrepreneurs And Others

Posted by Fredric Paul 09:49 AM ET | Feb 27, 2008

How to get your company noticed -- advice from a journalist, a professor, an analyst, and a flack.

Read all of "Media Advice For Entrepreneurs And Others"

Comment on this blog entry
Company Size: 1-49 | Internet/Web | Sales/Marketing | Technology/Telecom

The New Economy of Free (What It Will Cost You)

Posted by Naomi Grossman 12:56 PM ET | Feb 26, 2008

We all know -- or had at least one grandparent tell us -- you don't get something for nothing. But technological advances and new distribution models mean that you can get some stuff for not that much. Oh, and you might want to think about how you can apply that concept to generating revenue for your smaller business.

Read all of "The New Economy of Free (What It Will Cost You)"

Comments(1)
Business & E-Business | Hardware & Software | IT | Sales/Marketing | Strategy/Analysis/Biz Dev

Social Networking To Drive Small Business Into Global Markets

Posted by Fredric Paul 07:53 PM ET | Feb 25, 2008

Forget the weak dollar. Social networking designed to overcome language and other "soft" export barriers is helping to give smaller companies new advantages in international markets.

Read all of "Social Networking To Drive Small Business Into Global Markets"

Comments(1)
Internet/Web | Sales/Marketing

Business Blogging Rules And Best Practices

Posted by Fredric Paul 01:36 PM ET | Feb 20, 2008

I believe in blogging. I have to, I'm a blogger. But blogging can also be a useful tool for small and midsize companies -- if you do things right and avoid the potential minefields.

Read all of "Business Blogging Rules And Best Practices"

Comment on this blog entry
Internet/Web | Sales/Marketing

An Effective Way to Get Your Business Tech Idea Some (Deserved) Attention

Posted by Naomi Grossman 12:00 PM ET | Feb 20, 2008

Smaller businesses often have great tech ideas or great tech products or great tech services that would help the business world -- but getting the word out about those ideas or products or services cost big bucks, right? Not always.

Read all of "An Effective Way to Get Your Business Tech Idea Some (Deserved) Attention"

Comment on this blog entry
Business & E-Business | Hardware & Software | IT | Sales/Marketing

Beware Smaller Businesses: Do Not Anger the Google Gods

Posted by Naomi Grossman 01:01 PM ET | Feb 15, 2008

Getting 'blacklisted' by Google is as scary a prospect as it sounds. Recently, a blogger for HitWise, an online marketing company, demonstrated what happened to a company that got 'blacklisted' from Google. The results are as bad as you would think.

Read all of "Beware Smaller Businesses: Do Not Anger the Google Gods"

Comments(2)
Internet/Web | Sales/Marketing | Strategy/Analysis/Biz Dev

Google Warns Of Search Fraud Surge

Posted by Keith Ferrell 02:54 PM ET | Feb 13, 2008

As search engines become the default starting point for many if not most Web activities, they're increasingly targeted by crooks. That's what Google's finding, and pretty grim findings they are.

Read all of "Google Warns Of Search Fraud Surge"

Comment on this blog entry
Business & E-Business | Internet/Web | Networking & Communications | Sales/Marketing | Security

The $54M Lawsuit -- Or How Not To Treat Your Customers

Posted by Naomi Grossman 12:11 PM ET | Feb 13, 2008

Best Buy lost a customer's laptop, gave the customer the run around, wouldn't fess up, and then, finally made a paltry settlement offer ostensibly in the hope that she would go away. She did -- and then came back with a $54 million lawsuit. That's one way to make them think twice about their customer service.

Read all of "The $54M Lawsuit -- Or How Not To Treat Your Customers"

Comments(2)
Business & E-Business | Retail | Sales/Marketing

Super Bowl Lesson for Smaller Businesses: Marketing on the Internet Works

Posted by Naomi Grossman 12:37 PM ET | Feb 6, 2008

The Super Bowl is long over -- although for those of us in New England, the heartache lingers -- but the staying power of many of its commercials on the Internet should be a powerful message for smaller businesses.

Read all of "Super Bowl Lesson for Smaller Businesses: Marketing on the Internet Works"

Comments(1)
Internet/Web | Sales/Marketing | Strategy/Analysis/Biz Dev

DEMO 08 Showcases Small Business Innovations

Posted by Fredric Paul 01:01 AM ET | Jan 28, 2008

Look for a handful of innovative small-business-oriented product introductions at this week’s Demo08 conference in the California desert. Just don’t count on the products arriving on time or truly changing the way your company does business.

Read all of "DEMO 08 Showcases Small Business Innovations"

Comments(3)
HR | Hardware & Software | Internet/Web | Messaging | Networking & Communications | Sales/Marketing | Services

E-Business Lessons From The New England Patriots

Posted by Keith Ferrell 09:55 AM ET | Jan 25, 2008

No, not the usual "Every business needs a quarterback callings its plays" sort of football=business yada yada. Plenty of those around already -- but there are also plenty of good e-business lessons the Patriots can teach The team is as ready for varying and intense Web traffic patterns as the players are for opposition shifts and shimmies.

Read all of "E-Business Lessons From The New England Patriots"

Comments(1)
Business & E-Business | IT | Internet/Web | Management | Retail | Sales/Marketing | Strategy/Analysis/Biz Dev

Social Networking Has Business Value? Who Knew?

Posted by Naomi Grossman 11:39 AM ET | Jan 8, 2008

I've been scouring the tech predictions lists for 2008 and, along with the obvious trends -- virtualization will be big, more IT managers will be praying that Vista meets an early and painful death -- was one that could be surprising to smaller businesses: social networking is going to start to make business sense.

Read all of "Social Networking Has Business Value? Who Knew?"

Comment on this blog entry
Business & E-Business | Hardware & Software | IT | Sales/Marketing

Online Sales Were Up. Can Smaller Businesses Get a Piece of the Action?

Posted by Naomi Grossman 11:12 AM ET | Jan 2, 2008

E-commerce sales were up 19 percent this holiday season as compared with last year, according to ComScore. That figure is less than the 26 percent increase seen for the same period in 2006, but it's still a lot of sales. Smaller businesses, are you making sure you're getting in on this?

Read all of "Online Sales Were Up. Can Smaller Businesses Get a Piece of the Action?"

Comment on this blog entry
Business & E-Business | Hardware & Software | Sales/Marketing

Blogging and Smaller Businesses: Good for Some, Not All

Posted by Naomi Grossman 10:48 AM ET | Dec 27, 2007

Is your New Year's resolution to start a blog? For many smaller businesses, blogging can be an effective, cheap marketing tool. But for others, it's a waste of time.

Read all of "Blogging and Smaller Businesses: Good for Some, Not All"

Comments(1)
Business & E-Business | Networking & Communications | Sales/Marketing