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:
To say social media has fundamentally changed the way marketers conduct business would be an understatement. Today, nearly 60 percent of U.S. online users are involved in social media in some capacity. Much as it does for customers, social media additionally creates great opportunity for businesses to expand and enhance their online presence. Building a corporate social media profile requires a little work up front, and continued updating and monitoring afterwards.

Author, radio host and small business expert Mark Deo reveals eight opportunities for small businesses to expand their social media reach, and why being “socially enabled” can win over new customers.

Cbeyond SMB Expert Tips:
Even if not currently selling products online, businesses can leverage online payment programs for simpler interaction with customers – and to ensure they receive their money faster!

Reducing the expenses necessary for administration, printing and mailing invoices on paper can significantly boost the overall cash flow while reducing the manpower demands for such processes. Using off-the-shelf programs, such as PayPal or Google Checkout, can help businesses establish a customized merchant account solution for accepting and processing online payments.

Author, radio host and small business expert Mark Deo lists the critical elements businesses must consider when evaluating online payment technologies.

Cbeyond SMB Tip: Small businesses may be able to use some of Steve Jobs’ techniques to improve their marketing strategies, including one of Jobs’ staples: truly believing in the products he sold to customers.

When former Apple CEO Steve Jobs passed away on October 5 of this year, he left behind a profound impact on many aspects of the technology industry.

As friends, colleagues and industry experts discuss his Jobs’ legacy, small businesses may be able to use some of his techniques to improve their marketing strategies. According to Drew McLellan of Business2Community, small businesses should lean on one of Jobs’ staples: truly believing in the products he sold to customers.

Jobs also did not ‘beat around the bush’ when telling people about Apple products, making them easy to understand.

“Take a look at your website, your brochures, your sales proposals and your presentations,” said B2C’s Drew McLellan. “Are you trying to shove five pounds worth of information and bullet points into a one pound bag? At a glance…could I tell you the most important takeaway?”

McLellan added that Jobs stood behind his products, especially in a marketing sense. Small businesses should stand for something, whether it’s their product or service, to differentiate from the competition.

One of the most influential marketing tools has been the use of social media websites like Facebook and Twitter. According to to a recent Technorati.com report, small businesses must interact with their customers and tell a story behind their products and services.

-Cbeyond Small Business Tips

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

Small businesses unsure about switching to a VoIP telephone infrastructure should consider three key benefits, according to industry expert Chris Moody.

A marketing executive with a small business phone system provider, Moody said in a recent contribution to Mashable that small businesses should implement VoIP phone systems for their user-friendly setup, as well as the improvements they can bring to customer support.

However, above all else, the potential to reduce costs on the phone switch required to support traditional phone systems should be a key motivator. With VoIP, small businesses can pocket the money that would have otherwise been needed to set up a phone switch, Moody said.

“Not only are phone switches and their maintenance expensive, but they are also slow and difficult to fix. Your system could be down for a significant amount of time before a technician arrives to diagnose and fix the problem – all the while losing productivity,” Moody wrote for Mashable. “With VoIP, the system is the phone switch. The provider’s network transmits voice data over the internet – like email and web data – and replaces the switch entirely.”

Interest in VoIP among small businesses may be driving overall growth, as the market is expected to reach $74 billion by 2014, according to Infonetics Research.

Cbeyond SMB Tip: Author, radio host, and small business expert Mark Deo reveals the outsourcing basics small businesses need to know and offers tips on the best ways your small business can take advantage of the cloud by customizing outsourced services.

Monotonous daily tasks create a huge burden on small businesses’ employees. Not only does time spent dealing with small details take away from larger projects, but these tasks elevate worker frustrations.

Many businesses are beginning to deal with this problem by outsourcing their server-related tasks.  Not only does this help recapture employees’ time and reduce their frustration, but it can also increase profitability and lower both the costs and stresses of doing business. By leveraging outsourced technologies, including cloud computing, GPS, and web servers, businesses can maintain productivity with less required input and lower overall costs.

-Cbeyond Small Business Expert

Cbeyond SMB News: Jeff Uphues, Cbeyond‘s vice president of cloud solutions and national sales, will moderate a panel discussion on cloud computing featuring local industry leaders. The panel will take place during KPMG’s upcoming Perspectives Conference, to be held Wednesday, November 30, 2011, at the Cobb Galleria Center.  In his role at Cbeyond, Uphues is responsible for leading Cbeyond’s Cloud Services, Solution Advisors and National Sales groups that service more than 60,000 customers across 60 countries.

The event will focus on the operational risks of storing data in the cloud, the ways businesses can benefit from cloud computing, and how the IT community currently perceives the future of cloud computing. More than 600 Atlanta-area finance, tax, technology and business decision-makers are expected to attend.

“As small to medium-sized enterprises look for alternative, secure ways to improve efficiency while reducing costs, cloud computing has emerged as an operational necessity rather than a competitive advantage,” said Uphues. “Business leaders need to ask the right questions to determine how to best leverage the cloud, and I look forward to sharing some best practices to guide smarter IT decisions.”

Other featured panelists will include Tom Money, executive vice president and chief operations officer for Kauffman Tire, and William Hurley, executive vice president and chief technology officer for Westcon Group, Inc.

“Today’s savvy business leaders understand that cloud computing is changing how they work and with whom they compete,” said Greg Bell, principal IT advisor at KPMG. “By offering perspectives from some of the brightest minds in cloud computing, this panel discussion aims to help the local business community take a disciplined approach to realizing the benefits that cloud services has to offer rather than as a disruption to the established workflow.”

-Cbeyond Small Business News

Black Friday may be a traditional shoppers’ worst nightmare, but Cyber Monday is when an influx of online consumers take to the internet in search of the hottest deals.

Small Business Trends’ Lisa Barone recently wrote that small businesses can take advantage of the onslaught of online consumers in a number of ways. Companies are encouraged to offer promotions on Cyber Monday, including through email, mobile devices and online coupons.

“It’s the holidays!” wrote Barone. “What a great time to say ‘thank you’ to your Facebook fans and thank them for their loyalty. And since it’s Cyber Monday they’re even more likely to be trolling their Facebook pages to see what their friends are up to, who just bought what, and whether anyone’s sharing coupon codes.”

Barone also encourages small businesses to offer deals through social media website Twitter and integrate their Cyber Monday strategies with an email marketing campaign. If a consumer makes a purchase on Monday, companies may be wise to send a personal email thanking them.

The holiday season is a great opportunity for small businesses to increase their sales and consumer base. A recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report revealed that companies can enhance their marketing campaign using Twitter and Facebook.

A company’s website is not only a reflection of its brand, but also its corporate culture and values. Visitors want to see how your products can solve its problems in an informative, easy-to-follow manner. So how can businesses ensure their web content and design are attention-grabbing and interactive enough to both draw and satisfy customer interest?

Author, radio host and small business expert Mark Deo shares three basic tips for small businesses to implement the “real world” into their “virtual world” and ensure their websites are current and relevant.