LinkedIn: Use It or Lose It to Grow Your Business
June 30, 2009
Of all the social networking websites out there, LinkedIn is perhaps the most focused on business networking. It stands apart from the other sites such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace in a much bigger way, too, and the strategies that you might use to make the most of these other non-business sites couldn’t be further from LinkedIn’s ways.
LinkedIn isn’t about “friends”, “followers” or “fans”, many of which you may meet online. LinkedIn is more focused on your existing real-life network and introductions from people you really know to others you’d like to know.
So how do you make the most of LinkedIn?
Why Being The Low Price Leader Won’t Work
June 29, 2009
Not a day goes by that we don’t hear about a business owner who is complaining about a competitor lowering their prices and causing them customers. It is always tempting to follow suit and match the lower prices. However recent business history has clearly shown that reacting by meeting or lowering your prices to match your competitor does not always work.
In the end most businesses can’t sustain their operations using this tactic. Lowering prices too much will eventually affect gross margins and the overall profitability of the organization. So how can a small business deal with a market place where it appears that competitors are dropping their prices daily and undercutting margins?
The Future and Power of Online Retail Sales
June 27, 2009
The media these days continues to pound out large amounts of bad economic data. However, even in the mist of all the turmoil there are positive signs that need to be acknowledged. Of course, this is not to say that all is well and that we simply throw caution to the wind. Rather let’s take a moment and see where the opportunities are developing in this economy.
Recently, eMarketer forecasts that US retail e-commerce sales (excluding trav
el) will total nearly $132 billion in 2009, down 0.4% from 2008.
Bay Area Mastermind Networking Mixer a Hit!
June 26, 2009
Last night, we had a great networking event at the Decathlon Club in Santa Clara! Thank you for joining us for an evening of networking and a presentation on what’s been happening in the economy and 7 Tactics for Marketing in a Recession.
Robert’s insight into the economy and the current market conditions was well received and Jeremy’s tactics for marketing in a recession sparked many an idea in the group.
Practical Tips For Handling The Gatekeepers
June 23, 2009
As a small business owner many times the buying decision for your product or service is often a person who is at the C-level. Unfortunately getting to these influential executives is not easy due to the gatekeepers that work for these executives. However, successfully meeting with these executives can have a pay off that is often worth the effort.
So here are a few ideas to help you deal with gatekeepers.
Where Does The Best Word of Mouth Advertising Come From?
June 22, 2009
Everyone that is in business will always state that the best customers are the ones that come by way of a referral. In fact the least expensive type of advertising that any business can do is word of mouth advertising. So what about word of mouth advertising on the web?
New Study Shows The Real Story of Videos Online
June 20, 2009
Many of us have heard that video is the in thing these days if you are going to be trying to captivate visitors on your site. A recent study is showing that on average Americans are spending as much as 9 hours in front of some screen per day.
The question then is are they viewing videos, movies and the like or just spending time on the computer.
Why Some people May be Opting out of Your Email List
June 19, 2009
It is no secrete that E-mail marketing is one of the more effective and less expensive ways to retain and get customers.
In fact, a recent study by comScore found that e-mail had a 4.4% sales conversion rate in the US.
Similarly in a survey conducted by MarketingSherpa and ADTECH, 44% of marketers said that e-mails to house lists had “great return on investment”
When it comes to a preferable way of marketing may companies claim that the last thing they would cut out of their marketing is email marketing.
However that does not mean that customers feel the same way about the emails they receive from marketers.
Some Financial Ideas for Money Smart Entrepreneurs
June 10, 2009
As the economy changes there are many opportunities that surface that can allow us to move ahead financially. In this post we wanted to share a couple of ideas that can help our members take advantage of these ongoing changes.
The Online Power of Mothers
June 8, 2009
34 Million Moms Are Online
Keeping up with their children keeps moms on the leading edge of new technologies and online activities. In fact, they are among the most savvy of all online users.
They are also one of the larger user groups online.
eMarketer estimates 34 million mothers in the US go online at least once a month.
Moms are the key decision-makers for many family purchases, and increasingly the information they obtain and activities they engage in online affect those decisions.
They shop for their kids–and themselves, and when they find something great for their family, they talk about it, not only with their family and friends, but often with a much broader online audience.