Marketing is becoming increasingly easier for small businesses to execute on, because of the ever-growing use of the Internet and the proliferation of tools. Let’s say for example, Google’s powerful search engine. If you understand how to use Google’s local listings service, which is called Google Places, you can dominate your category for a local area. For example, if you are pizza parlor and you know how to create a local listing by adding reviews, videos, and the correct keywords, you can have a listing that is easily found by many customers in your local and nearby cities. This tool is so powerful that it’s becoming the search of choice for people, outperforming the Yellow Pages and the newspaper.

Another great marketing tool includes the ever increasing pool of online PR services, which are both free and paid. By creating and distributing your own press releases online, you can reach a much larger audience than just your local region. In addition you will reach an audience of patrons who trust press releases over generic search results.

Other small business trends include the use of millions of different types of services now available on the Internet. They help companies reduce their expenses in a myriad of ways. For example, one great service for saving you time and money is one based on the concept of “virtual telephone service.” What does this mean? A virtual telephone service generally means a voice over Internet protocol or “VOIP” system. A virtual phone service allows you to make and receive phone calls, as well as use all of the other telephone services that you are used to such as: voice mail, call forwarding, and three way calling. These services cost a mere fraction of what they used to cost during the monopoly days of the old AT&T.

Small businesses are also getting smaller. What do I mean by that? The overwhelming majority of small businesses are sole proprietorships, which means that they are single individuals who are running the business. This has all become possible because of the availability, flexibility, and increasingly cheap technology. With this technology you can virtually run a business that touches a city, state, country or even the globe without leaving your home.

There are plenty more small business trends that can be harnessed. But the key to success is not just following the trends but utilizing them to your advantage.

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By utilizing widely available Internet tools and services small business owners can market to new and existing customers in ways not available in the past. Traditionally, products were marketed through newspaper ads and classifieds, yellow pages and even radio spot and TV commercials. Generally these marketing mediums are called “offline” marketing. Tracking offline marketing campaigns were difficult and often downright impossible. There was really no “direct” way of measuring success, except through surveys and inserting ad response codes. One of the problems is that people forget ad response codes and surveys do have a high percentage of related errors.

New Internet / online small business marketing strategies incorporate such concepts as social networks, online PR and the newly renamed Google Places. Let’s dissect these strategies to see how they fit within any small business’ overall marketing campaigns.

Google Places is essentially a local listing within your demographic area, whether it is a county, city or borough. With Google places, small businesses can list their company utilizing words that people type into Google search when looking for a service or product. For example, when someone searches for a “tailor” in Manhattan, New York, Google would serve up a list of tailors in that area. These listings appear even before the traditional top 10 organic listings that Google services us. It’s imperative to understand how to utilize Google Places in order to maximize your potential customers.

Online social networking complements offline networking with business associates. Think of online social networking as joining your local Chamber of Commerce or socializing at the office water cooler. Through online social networks, such as Facebook, Linkedin, and MySpace, small businesses can reach out to many more potential customers than they could ever have achieved through using offline networking avenues alone. Learning how to navigate these online social networks is critical to reaching new customers, as well as maintaining existing ones.

Small business marketing strategies should also include online PR. Small businesses are used to guerrilla type marketing. Think of online PR as another way of getting your message across to your market through free and cheap publicity. Generally there is a section in newspapers and magazines for announcements, such as a staff promotion, a new product, education and things like new partnerships. By issuing an online press release, you can reach thousands of viewers without alienating them through a “sales” pitch. Press releases are generally viewed positively and “trustworthy” by consumers.

Incorporating these new marketing strategies will help small business owners maintain their market position, as well as grab new markets. This is especially true during this period of transition as offline marketing reach through print, radio and TV declines and gives way to online marketing through the Internet and mobile devices.

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As technology progressed so did the fax machine and its limitless possibilities. I was recently reminded of the reason why faxing to a dedicated fax machine is virtually a thing of the past when I was asked to send some documents to an “old school” attorney recently. The first thing he told me was to “wait … don’t send anything until I can switch on my fax machine.” Of course, being the polite person that I am, I said “sure.” He called me back in about 5 minutes to tell me that the machine was on and to proceed with the fax transmission. On my end, I pressed the send button on my computer and waited patiently for him to call me back to inform me that he’d received my fax. 10 minutes … 20 minutes … 1 hour. Finally, 2 hours later he called me back and said that he had to use the “fax machine” to take a call. In other words, the fax was on the same line as his phone number. Over the course of 5 days, we played this game of fax tag.

Let’s fast forward to the 21st century. On my end, I’ve been able to send and receive faxes by email for years. But, then again, I’m a technology geek, so I tend to adopt technology early. Mind you, though, sending and receiving faxes by email is not rocket science stuff. If you can turn on a computer, open your email and attach a file, you can send a fax via email. Those are literally the steps you take to do this 21st century task. And, the receiver of the fax has no idea that the fax was not sent via a regular fax machine. Conversely, receiving a fax to your email is just as easy. The fax is sent by the sender to your “fax number”, which essentially turns it into an email attachment. If you can read an email and open an attachment, you’ve just figured out how to get a fax by email.

What are some of the benefits of a solution like this? Let’s see let me count the ways. Firstly, I’m a big proponent of everything virtual … virtual phones … virtual office … virtual assistant, and yes, virtual faxes. One of the biggest benefits of getting your fax via email is saving on the massive amounts of paper faxes generate. Virtual faxing is good for your pocket book and good for our planet. In other words, print only what you need. Another great benefit is the ability to be anywhere on the planet. You can literally be on the beaches of Hawaii and receive your faxes. Isn’t that a lovely thought? Finally, and this is by no means an exhaustive list, you don’t have to hang up on the person you’re talking to in order to send or receive a fax … keep on talking!

What are the downsides to receiving faxes via email? For one thing, there is a monthly fee associated with it. But, the costs are minimal, some as low as 7 bucks a month. What about signatures? I’ve scanned my signature into my computer. So, I simply cut and paste my signature onto a fax document and voila, I’m done. I hate paper and love the freedom to be anywhere I want to be, unshackled by a physical device. Now, isn’t that worth the prices of a couple of What are the downsides to receiving faxes via email? For one thing, there is a monthly fee associated with it. But, the costs are minimal, some as low as 7 bucks a month. What about signatures? I’ve scanned my signature into my computer. So, I simply cut and paste my signature onto a fax document and voila, I’m done. I hate paper and love the freedom to be anywhere I want to be, unshackled by a physical device. Now, isn’t that worth the prices of a couple of Starbucks Frappachinos a month?

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Some of the services small business firms should consider trying are those that they already use on a daily basis. For example, at a minimum, every small business needs telephone service, accounting for income and expenses, advertising and marketing and, increasingly, some type of web or social media presence. There are plenty more services small business owners can expand into as their business grows, but this a good start.

Telephone service is a basic necessity. You can’t conduct business without being able to communicate with your customers. Some business owners will opt for the “traditional” services of AT&T, Comcast or other standard telephone providers. Others might forgo a separate line and just use their mobile phone as the “business” number. While these options make sense for many, there are a number of other great alternatives which work really well and are downright cheap.

These telephone services small business firms should consider work on a concept called VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). Basically, they run using your existing Internet connection just like the old telephone companies worked using old telephone lines. In fact, in my business we use several different VOIP services from Skype to MagicJack to RingCentral.

We use different services for different reasons. Skype is great for calling people within your sphere of contacts that are already using Skype. Calls made to and from users who both use Skype are free. Calls made to a land line or mobile phone costs money but is relatively cheap on a per minute basis. MagicJack is great because you get a dedicated phone number from your choice of area codes. It has advanced features for voice mail, call forwarding and even three-way calling for $39 the first year and $19 per year thereafter. While it works by being plugged into your computer, you don’t have to have it plugged in for the features like call forwarding or voice mail to work.

Slightly more advanced telephone services small business owners should consider fall under the category of virtual PBXs. They allow you to have multiple extensions, custom greetings per extension, call transfer voice mail, “hunting”and a whole lot more. The service we use is called RingCentral. It’s great for us because we literally have a virtual team that reside all over the world. We give our customers an 800 phone number and / or a local number if they desire. The client calls in, enters an extension, and voila is then connected to one of our staff. For what this service provides the value can’t be beat.

Accounting is surely one of the basic services small business companies need to have. Some really small companies might use Excel to track their income and expenses. However, another great FREE option to Excel and other Microsoft Office products come from OpenOffice.org. Their productivity tools compete very effectively with MS Office, but don’t cost you a dime. More complex accounting needs, though, can be easily accomplished with Quicken’s online QuickBooks service. You can use this service for as little as $7.96 per month. Not exactly free, but darn near  for such a sophisticated and battle-tested service.

And, what about web site services small business owners should consider? The traditional print ads from newspapers to brochures and flyers are increasingly moving online. The number of people who search for companies through the yellow pages has dropped off precipitously. Replacing this advertising / marketing model is the search and discover mode of And, what about web site services small business owners should consider? The traditional print ads from newspapers to brochures and flyers are increasingly moving online.

The number of people who search for companies through the yellow pages has dropped off precipitously. Replacing this advertising / marketing model is the search and discover mode of Google, Yahoo and Bing search. If you don’t have a website to direct people to, you’ll be a big disadvantage compared to your competition. There are a plethora of free or downright cheap services that allow you to build a simple web site, including one from Homestead, which is now owned by Intuit. I used this product for many years until we hired our own in house website developers. It’s as cheap as $5 per month.

As explained, services small business companies can use today vary from sophisticated accounting systems to telephone service to web site design and hosting. There is simply no better time to be a small business entrepreneur like today … technology is abundant and prices have never been better.

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One of the keys to success for any business is constant communications with your client. If you’re in sales you know all too well the importance of picking up the phone and calling your client on a regular basis. Of course, it’s also useful to drive or fly to meet your clients in person, as well. But, with the high cost of travel these days and the amount of time out of the office, sometimes you can accomplish an “in person” meeting by going online.

Online meetings are so easy and cost-effective these days, that it should be part of every small business’ toolkit. Here’s an illustration of how they work. Essentially both you and the client meet at a designated web “space.” This web space is a private area that only you, the client and other designated parties have permission to enter. Any of the parties can display their screens, collaboratively navigate web sites, share documents and even draw on the screen. In fact, you can also give control of your computer to the other party(ies) in order for them to point to something on your screen and vice versa.

Online meetings can also be useful for working with your team members or employees. Let’s say that you are working on spreadsheet budget and one of your employees lives an hour from the office or perhaps even in another state. With online meeting software, you can both be looking at and modifying your budget in real time just as if that person were sitting right next to you.

Online meetings can also be useful for training purposes. In my small business, I have team members in northern and southern California, as well as a few abroad. Every week, we all get online to train each other on new research techniques, marketing tools and even technical support.

Speaking of technical support, one of the side benefits of some of these tools is the ability to support someone remotely. On occasion one of our colleagues has a problem with email access or similar problems. We are able to join a meeting, have that person give the keyboard and mouse control to one of our technical staff and voila … problem solved. This is remote access feature is extremely valuable.

The cost of one online meeting will literally pay for itself by saving you the cost of travel. This is easily illustrated by how much it cost just to go from northern California to southern California, not even including hotel and meals. If you were to drive from San Francisco to LA for example, you could easily spend $200 in gas alone. Alternatively, flying might cost you about $300 and then add another $150 or so for hotel and then meals.

If you are a small business and you work with others; whether clients, employees, partners, etc., you cannot afford NOT to investigate using online meetings, especially if you can try them for free!

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The best small business tips come from careful planning. What do I mean by this? I don’t necessarily mean writing detailed business plans and complex spreadsheets, but really understanding the market you’re trying to address. How large is the market? Who are your competitors? Where can you find customers? I find it funny when people tell me of their next great idea and say that there’s no competition out there for their product. To me, that’s a bad sign. No competition could very well also mean nobody wants your product or service.

So, careful planning involves researching the viability and desirability of your product or service. The great news is that with the Internet, you’re able to dig pretty deep to find answers to your questions. For example, very few people realize the power that is at their fingertips with Google’s search engine and its advanced search options. In addition, Google has several tools that allow one to see “trends” and anticipate what people might be interested in. This tool is found at www.google.com/trends.

Other small business tips related to planning are creating proformas. A proforma is essentially a listing of all your sources of income and your expenses. This is where most small businesses fail. They (and I count myself in this category at times) put their rose colored glasses on and think that “all is good.” I’m going to sell TONS of this stuff and get rich. But, the devil is in the details. For example, how long will it be before you get paid? Do you have to extend credit or cash before you get paid? If you’re not paid for 30 days and you have to pay to get product immediately, you could have a cash flow problem.

A proforma does not have to be complex. In fact, the simpler, the better. As your company matures, it can get more sophisticated, of course, to keep up with the dynamics of your business. The most important small business tip here is to really look at and manage your expenses.

I was with a small startup company in the Valley that raised an astronomical $100 Million, while I was with them. Within a few years or so, the company had less than a tenth of that amount left. The reason? Virtually no sales, high payroll and expensive offices.

Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong! Have you ever heard of that phrase? My advice is to always have a contingency plan. If this product or service doesn’t fly, do I have enough cash to try another approach or how can I jettison a bad idea for another?

There are many more small business tips that I’ll share in the next article, especially as they relate to small business tools that will save you money.

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There are a number of reasons why web site advertising is so effective. The most compelling reason is that the way people find businesses today has shifted dramatically over the last few years. It’s estimated that 70% or more of people now search for local businesses through online search engines, rather than the traditional methods.

Previously, people searched local listings in the newspaper and the yellow pages. These forms of discovery used to be very effective, especially since there really wasn’t much competition. However, the Internet and search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo have changed the game dramatically. These changes are not just about a local company listing, but also about the company’s listing in context to another company’s listing.

Here’s an example of context-related web site advertising for local businesses. Someone looking for a “Turkish restaurant in NYC” would likely key that phrase into one of the major search engines. Google might display 7 or more restaurant profiles matching those criteria. But, in addition to the restaurant profiles, there would likely be links to their websites, restaurant reviews, and perhaps even 3rd party websites offering discount coupons. This is an example of how the search engines provide substantially more value than a static “print” advertisement.

Website advertising for local businesses also has the distinct advantage of precise marketing analytics. Small, local businesses don’t have the luxury of wasting advertising dollars guessing which of their campaigns was successful. With website advertising, every click and ultimate purchase can be tracked right down to the exact wording that drove the customer to the company’s website. In addition, company’s can rotate ADs to determine which one motivates the most number of people to “click through.”

By now, many people have heard of the phrase “getting on the first page of Google.” Statistics suggest that 80% of people searching on the Internet do not go past the first page of search results. These results include both the “paid” advertising slots and the “free” or what is typically called “organic” slots / results.

Just as in the traditional advertising world (print, radio, TV), website advertising for local businesses requires a thoughtful approach to strategy. For example, in the old cable TV world, one might ask “How large of an audience will see my AD?” or “Can I target only three metro cities, instead of the whole county?” The same thought process is necessary for website advertising. The differences; however, are mind-boggling.

For example, with website advertising you can literally put an AD up “on demand.” No more back and forth negotiating or proofing / re-proofing with the cable company. You can precisely target your ADs to a county, city or even zip code. And, you can turn an AD on or off in seconds.

This is just a primer on why website advertising for local businesses is so compelling. There are a thousand more examples of the advertising power of this new channel. The $64,000 question is “Are you ready for the Internet?”

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