The latest resource for small business owners that want to get a leg up on social media is here.. it’s called UpHype, and they’re a marketplace for those who offer small businesses their marketing services. Because most of the services are bundled as $8, $16 or $24, it’s very affordable for even the smallest business.
After having spent a couple of hundred dollars buying various services, the most popular service packs seem to be – Continue reading
It happens more and more each day. Whether it’s a restaurant on yelp or a pediatrician on DoctorBase – customers are beginning to leave online reviews about local small businesses. While this can be irksome or an ego boost to an owner, let’s think about the social implications of this – Continue reading
Follow these simple steps in order to set up your new Halloo account. You must have your Account-ID, Username, and PIN handy in order to sign in to My.Halloo.Com. If you are unsure of this information, please visit My Halloo and click on “Sign-in help” to retrieve your PIN.
In a deal highlighted by the Wall Street Journal today, a small sports equipment manufacturer in Pennsylvania has signed the first endorsement deal with Michael Vick since the controversial sports superstar was released from prison.
Is this the face of your small business?
Which begs the question – was this a brilliant move by a small business taking a big chance with a small marketing budget, or a flash-in-the-pan PR move that will eventually dilute their brand?
The initial evidence – a 1000% jump in online sales – would indicate that the move has paid off. But the owner does state there’s a chance that large sporting goods chains may refuse to resell their merchandise on store shelves in fear of a public backlash.
What would you do?
Is this a sign of things to come?
The buzz in Palo Alto is that Facebook is already testing their payments system that will compete with Paypal. While Paypal today dominates the small business market for payments made electronically, Facebook hopes to overtake the industry by allowing payments from its users to merchants – and from merchants to users!
Other than cheaper rates (which won’t affect small business owners greatly) Facebook is perfectly poised to dominate this market, and here’s why –
Your most loyal customers are starting to let their friends know they are at your business
Recently I started getting asked by more small business owners – “What’s a check-in?”
Companies like Foursquare and Gowalla have made the concept of smart phone users “checking in” to let their friends & family know they are in a certain location has been growing rapidly. So rapidly in fact, that Foursquare recently turned down a reported $100M offer from a major Internet giant. So what gives, and how does this affect small business owners?
Q: When the Halloo system forwards a call to my cell or home, is there a way to know that it is a Halloo call as opposed to say my grandmother calling in?
A: On the “Forwarding” page of “User Settings”, click “Use my Halloo number for Caller-ID” and “Save Changes”. Your caller-ID will show your Halloo toll free number instead of the original caller.
I’ll get straight to the point – it’s Google. Or Yahoo. Or Bing.
There are a variety of companies like Hoovers or D&B who have been selling leads for decades, and even folks like SalesGenie and JigSaw let small business owners “cherry pick” lists to buy at small volumes. But do they work?
Maybe it’s time to take a step back and define what “does it work” means. Continue reading
