Cbeyond SMB Expert Tips:

The growth of social media has provided easily-accessible, widespread avenues to discuss the good and bad of businesses. As a result, it has become more critical for companies to monitor social media sites to check the pulse of their customers.

In doing so, businesses can identify problems faster and show they are responsive and mindful to resolving issues their customers face. Ultimately, how a business responds publicly through social media can carry a great impact than any other marketing effort.

Author, radio host and small business expert Mark Deo reveals the social media tools every business should use to monitor and respond to social media activity, and shares tips to help businesses craft the perfect response to change customer perception online.

Cbeyond SMB Expert Tips:

Communication is a foundation of effective leadership in today’s business environment. While many business leaders view these tactics as second-nature, it can be difficult with the rigors of the day to ensure you are asking the right questions, listening in a fully-focused manner and synchronizing your gestures with your meaning in every conversation. Unfortunately, one misinterpreted word or action can create unintended headaches.

Author, radio host and small business expert Mark Deo reveals the four most common communication pitfalls that plague even the most successful leaders, and shares practical tactics to ensure communication at all levels is functional, intelligent and seamless.

Cbeyond SMB Tip: 90 percent of start-ups fail within their first year because they simply run out of money. In any economic climate, the most critical step a growing business can take to ensure success is to develop a cash management plan early.

Developing an in-depth, intelligent plan for monitoring expenses is of even greater value than profit early on, and most of those 90 percent that did not survive could have improved their chances by having a management plan.

Author, radio host and small business expert Mark Deo provides Cbeyond SMBspot readers with seven proven tactics businesses can leverage to develop and execute a plan to manage their money more effectively, and avoid surprises when reviewing their funds.

-Cbeyond Small Business Expert

Business legend has it that more millionaires emerge in times of economic downturn than in times of prosperity. While the unstable economy of recent years creates greater risks for the adventurous entrepreneur, knowing how to develop an intelligent business plan can inspire both yourself and your colleagues to bring an idea to fruition. In most cases, the first steps to success do not involve a single dollar, but rather a shift in mindset and behavior.

Author, radio host and small business expert Mark Deo shares three tips every entrepreneur can use to increase their chance at succeeding in a down economy.

In times of recession, finding new customers can be challenging. Recent studies show that acquiring a new customer can cost up to five times as much as keeping an existing one. With that in mind, savvy sales professionals should focus on upselling current customers to generate fresh activity. One avenue to do so is through a customer loyalty program that gives your current customers more incentive to spend with you rather than your competitor, while also building long-term revenue and relationships.

Author and small business expert Kim T. Gordon provides six essential steps to building and maintaining a successful customer initiatives program to reward their loyalty and increase your revenue.

For small- and medium-sized businesses, simply targeting a local group of consumers doesn’t always yield successful results.  Some small businesses are popping up to help other small businesses create effective marketing campaigns.

One example of a small business that makes its living advising other small businesses is Coral Creative.  According to a recent Ossining-CrotonOnHudson Patch report, Coral Creative was established by New York resident Cindy Wager earlier this year to help small companies in the area with their marketing strategy.

“We specialize in helping small businesses with their marketing,” Wager said.  “I have over 20 years experience in marketing.”  Coral Creative offers services from writing press releases, hosting events and trade shows and advertising.

“I ask small businesses what [they are] trying to achieve with [their] advertising,” said Wager.  “You can spend so much money but if you don’t know what you are going to do with it, it’s a waste of money.”

Marketing is key for any business, regardless of its size and amount of money available to the company.  According to a Financial Post report, all strategies should be developed for one purpose and one purpose only – to grab the audience’s attention.  Once small businesses have potential customers’ attention, they can concentrate on the sale and delivery of their products and services.

Cbeyond founder and CEO Jim Geiger encountered multiple hardships while seeking investors for the company’s initial public offering (IPO). Despite uncertainties about whether the IPO would proceed, Geiger continued to present his company’s value to a wide range of potential investors. Faced with a challenging audience at one particularly memorable meeting, it was Geiger’s professionalism and desire to follow through on his goal that won over a prominent future investor.

Learn more about how Cbeyond’s mobile voice and data services can help your small business improve its efficiency.

Threatened in its early days by the Dot.com market crash, Cbeyond faced challenges securing investors. To preserve his business and his team, Cbeyond founder and CEO Jim Geiger took unorthodox measures to convince prospective partners that his company was a smart buy. It was Geiger’s persistence and confidence that secured an unlikely meeting with a prominent investor and ultimately saved his company.

In this video, Geiger reflects on the meeting that saved Cbeyond and how remaining dedication to your business and services can create opportunities.

Learn more about how Cbeyond’s mobile voice and data services can help your small business improve its efficiency.

Any successful small business looks for opportunities to improve, and often, the best ideas for change come from close by. An effective corporate culture is one that invites employees and customers to share their desire to make changes through critical or negative feedback. At Cbeyond, an open communication system enables the whole team to evaluate areas for adjustment and determine the best methods to take action.

Cbeyond founder and CEO Jim Geiger shares tips for business leaders to establish a beneficial feedback system within their office and market.

Learn more about how Cbeyond’s mobile voice and data services can help your small business improve its efficiency.

Oakland County (Mich.) Habitat for Humanity explains how an upgrade to Cbeyond’s Beyond Voice VoIP services improved its communication capabilities and overall efficiency.