Business

It seems like a great idea: Daily deal sites offer customers heavily discounted goods and services to get them in the door of local businesses, and business owners get a boost in sales and—hopefully—grow their customer base. But while the Daily Deal has exploded in recent years (according to Daily Deal Media the industry attracted […]

Email marketing is a tricky art to master. Week in and week out our SPAM folders flood with emails that quickly get deleted without ever being opened, much less read. Other emails that make it to our inbox frequently get disregarded, moved to the trash bin, and soon forgotten about. Clearly, this demonstrates that many […]

While few people actually like being advertised to, there are some forms of marketing that truly get under out skin. Most of us can deal with commercials, billboards, and we have even gotten used to commercials in movie theaters, but sometimes marketers push the envelope a bit too far. When their marketing efforts begin infringing […]

To survive in the business world, you must have an online presence. And for small businesses that thrive on local business, ranking highly in search engines is even more vital to your success. According to research from Webvisible and Nielsen, 63 percent of consumers and small business owners turn to the Internet first for information […]

It is well known that referral marketing is one of the most effective – and inexpensive – forms of marketing. According to the study “Referral Programs and Customer Value,” released by researchers at the Goethe University Frankfurt and the University of Pennsylvania, referred customers tend to have a higher initial contribution margin and tend to […]

The critics just can’t get enough of The Social Network, a movie about how Facebook was created. Rotten Tomatoes (where the movie currently holds a sparkling 97% rating) called it “one of the year’s best”, citing how true to life and realistically portrayed the film is. And startup founders have more to gain from watching […]

Here is some food for thought. The freemium business model is a lot like dating. For those unaware, freemium is a term used to describe a service that can be used for free, but upgraded to a premium membership. Though the similarities may not seem immediately obvious, the steps by which a person becomes a […]

Some online surfers have no intentions of buying anything online no matter what you say to them. These folks are just there for the free content, and this is not a bad thing. Think about how many times you’ve had a question or a concern and did some quick online research for quality, free information. […]

This may be surprising to hear for some, but your best, most loyal customers might be your worst marketers. This doesn’t mean that your best customers aren’t the best–it just means that they’re most vaunted qualities don’t always overlap with those of a bonafide brand evangelist. Here’s why: Your Best Customers Don’t Always Have An […]

Social media is now one of the most important parts of any marketing strategy, with Facebook and Twitter being the most prominent platforms and a great way to continually promote your brand. But for a small business, managing the day-to-day operations can be a full time job, so it can be a challenge to stay […]