A $10 app saves hours of commuting

Great story from CNN. If you are spending hours in the car commuting from job to job, then consider the Pixetell app. It allows "...last year, when Galloway got his hands on software called Pixetell -- a sort of 'e-mail meets voicemail meets Web conferencing' tool. Now, for $720 a year, Galloway and five of his top employees can send detailed multimedia e-mail messages. They can shoot video and photos and describe them in a voiceover, and motion with a mouse to highlight key points in architectural drawings and spreadsheets. Project managers in the field often take snapshots of what they're working on and send them to Galloway along with their comments." This app means less time physically visiting onsite projects and more time traveling to meet with new customers.

 

Advanced Media Solutions - Specializing in CD and DVD Replications

7 Steps to Small Business Marketing Success with PRWeb

Are SBA Loans Really Growing Like Gangbusters?

A recent Growthink blog post titled “SBA Loans Are Growing like Gangbusters” included reference to SBA administrator Karen Mills’ statement that average weekly SBA loan approvals have gone up 86 percent since the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act became law. Similarly, an SBA fact sheet reported that “From Feb. 17, 2009 to Apr. 16, 2010, weekly SBA loan dollar volumes rose more than 90 percent in the 7(a) and 504 programs, compared to the weekly average before passage.” These numbers give the impression that the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act has put a lot of SBA loans in the hands of America’s small business owners. But how do loan volumes compare to anything other than the nadir of a frozen small business credit market in late 2008 and early 2009?" Click Here to View SBA Loan Graph

Things to Consider When Placing your Ad

There are many pieces to consider when building a marketing campaign. As Practical Discussions of Marketing points out: "...Here’s what gets missed by some marketers/advertisers. If you aren’t doing a full-page ad, there will be stories and other ads next to yours. Know what they are going to be! Here are the things you will want to avoid: * Being next to stories/articles about something negative, devastating or horrific. It happens all the time in consumer-based publications and newspapers. So marketers…do you really want your ad next to the story about the cheating politician or worse…a story about a company that cheated their clients out of millions? * Being next to a competitor (with a better ad). Nothing like having your boss open the publication only to have him/her see your crappy black and white ad next to a competitor’s full color, high impact ad. " This advice is commons sense, but often overlooked!

Creative Financing Options

Whether you are a new business or have been in business for years, there always a need at one time or another for financing.  "While traditional lenders have been sticking to their strict underwriting guidelines here are several creative business financing options that may just help get you the funds you need:"

Merchant Cash Advance
Social Lending
Vendor Lines of Credit
Equipment Leasing

Click Here to Read Full Article on Creative Financing Options
 
 

 

Video Blog: Take a Risk with your Communication

Check out the Video Blog Take a Risk with your Communication

Tax Workshop

The Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop is composed of nine interactive lessons designed to help new small business owners learn their tax rights and responsibilities.

For more audio and video presentations, visit the Small Business Video and Audio Presentations.

Shoppers Seek Coupons and Free Shipping Offers

Did you know one of the biggest reasons people will not buy from your website is because you don't offer free shipping?

"Among a variety of holiday specials and shopping tactics, store coupons and free-shipping offers were the two incentives most used by shoppers during the fourth-quarter 2009 holiday-shopping season, according to a survey from MARC Research.

Nearly one-half of shoppers surveyed said they took advantage of store coupons (46%) or free online shipping (45%) when they shopped for gifts in the fourth quarter."

Click Here to Check out More online shopping trends.

Making Ideas Happen Podcast

Making Ideas Happen chronicles the methods of exceptionally productive creative leaders and teams – companies like Google, IDEO, and Disney, and individuals like author Chris Anderson and Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh – that make their ideas happen, time and time again.

Click Here to listen to the "Making Ideas Happen Podcast"

Marketing at it's Best?

Watch below and let us know what you think.

Recommended Book Reading

The New Rules of Marketing and PR shows you how to leverage the potential that Web-based communication offers your business. Finally, you can speak directly to customers and buyers, establishing a personal link with the people who make your business work.

This new second edition paperback keeps you up-to-date on the latest trends.

* New case studies and current examples are included to illustrate the very latest in marketing and PR trends.
* Completely updated to reflect the latest marketing and PR techniques using social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube
* Includes a step-by-step action plan for harnessing the power of the Internet to communicate directly with buyers, increase sales, and raise online visibility
* David Meerman Scott is a renowned online marketing strategist, keynote speaker and the author of World Wide Rave, from Wiley

The New Rules of Marketing and PR, Second Edition gives you all the information you need to craft powerful and effective marketing messages and get them to the right people at the right moment-at a fraction of the price of a traditional marketing campaign.

Effective Customer Testimonials

Customer testimonials are a great way to let your potential customer know about your services.

The Secret Life of Testimonials gives some tips to presenting great customer testimonials. Including a popular technique called the "reverse testimonial."

"Traditional testimonials start off with praise, then continue with even more praise.

A reverse testimonial talks about doubt. It starts with the skepticism first. It describes the fear or uncertainty racing through the customer’s mind at the point of purchase.

A reverse testimonial works because it speaks to us in the way we speak to each other. When we’re recommending a restaurant or a movie to a friend, we naturally lace our recommendations with doubt.

We say things like: “You know that seedy-looking restaurant, and how you don’t really feel like going inside? They’ve actually got the most amazing food.”

Or we say things like: “You know that fancy looking restaurant that you think may be over-priced? Well we went there last night, and we had the most delicious food, and the bill was far less than we expected.”

You can view the entire "Secret Life of Testimonials." here