www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JyIfL1j4Hw

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.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDB8j4ou-8

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.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKhRUcXAqJk

Professionals face a daily challenge to separate “urgent” tasks from “important” ones. While “urgent” matters are more deadline driven and require immediate attention, “important” ones can be delayed if necessary. However, the longer someone puts off an “important” matter, the greater the risk it will become “urgent”, creating a potential nightmare backup of time-sensitive materials for any individual to manage.

Author, radio host and small business expert Mark Deo reveals four proactive planning tips business professionals should consider to remain productive, schedule more efficiently and avoid “urgent” pitfalls.

According to a recent report from Small Business Trends’ Lisa Barone, there are several ways companies can use email as an effective marketing campaign. Barone encourages small businesses to deliver a compelling offer through their email and, once they are interested, provide them with something extra.

“Sweeten the deal by giving them a little something extra upfront,” said Barone. “Maybe it’s a free download of a white paper you wrote, maybe it’s a tool or gadget they can download, or maybe it’s a coupon to your site or one of your partner’s stores.”

Barone also believes small businesses should show their consumers how their service will be beneficial to them, as well as be open to how their information will be used.

Since most people have an email account, small businesses can still use this platform as a successful marketing tool. According to a MySouthWestGA.com report, regional development director for Constant Contact Lanelle Henderson said that email lets companies present a greater volume and more depth of information than social media.

According to a recent American Express Open Forum, contributing writer Annie Mueller believes small businesses can devise successful marketing strategies to avoid this predicament. Companies should set their own standards and not follow what everyone else is doing to stand out from the crowd.

“Instead, take a step back and a look around,” said Mueller. “Figure out what people aren’t doing. Figure out what need isn’t being met. Figure out what wagon is empty, but is still heading in the right direction, and grab the reins on that one.”

Other ways small businesses can achieve in a competitive market is to offer improved customer service, set the bar higher in all aspects of the company, be innovative and creative and don’t quit in the face of competition, according to Mueller.

Anita Campbell, CEO and founder of Small Business Trends, recently told Forbes’ Dan Schawbel that small businesses can also stand out from their competition by developing mobile applications, composing their own book or adding artistic photography to their websites and postcards.

According to a recent report by Small Business Trends’ Jeanne Bliss, a hospital approached treating their patients in this manner. The facility has now garnered a 99 percent recommendation rate by focusing on the experience of patients, rather than simply executing tasks.

Bliss encourages small businesses to ask whether they have a purposeful beginning and end to their contact with customers and if their customers “rave” about their experience.

“How would you rate your intent and ability to create purposeful moments of customer contact?” said Bliss. “How would your customers say you are doing? What are the marquee moments in your customers’ experiences with you?”

Other marketing experts point to the importance of successful customer service to grow their brand, including through the development of mobile applications.

According to a recent Information Week report, Appsbar founder Scott Hirsch told the news provider that small businesses should focus their efforts for developing customer relationships and market research to help their companies.

According to a recent ecommerce-guide.com report, marketing expert Jeff Judge offered several tips to establish a successful mobile marketing campaign. Judge encourages companies to decide what they want to achieve from their strategy and deliver a simple message.

Since many consumers pay to use text messaging each month, companies are advised not to send too many messages at a time. Judge said the information should include a promotion or contest entry, according to ecommerce-guide.com.

To grow their mobile customer base, Judge said organizations should advertise their mobile subscription service through their website, newsletter and anywhere they do business, the report stated.

A recent Technorati report revealed that 4.6 billion own a mobile phone, compared to 4.2 billion who have a toothbrush. This market is the perfect platform for small businesses to market through.

“Mobile phones, and in particular the smartphones, can and should play a huge role in the local area marketing of small business,” said Technorati’s Quentin Aisbett. “Most of the options available are really affordable and much more effective than traditional advertising mediums.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG2kWxVrb1A

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.

According to a recent Business Insider report, there are certain tips to help small businesses avoid social media marketing mistakes.

“The problem [with social media] is that many users that jump onto these tools are doing very little thinking about their strategies,” said the report. “If you’re a small business owner, you cannot afford to touch these social tools without a strategy.”

Although social media allows small businesses to share an abundance of items, every social activity should revolve around their company brand. According to the report, social media marketing can be implemented quickly, but a proper strategy can make it a successful one.

A recent Noobpreneur.com report indicated that social media is the modern marketing tool for companies. According to the news provider, small businesses can use the platform to help grow their company and increase their staff because of the advertising outreach it offers to find new talent.

According to PostMedia News’ Andrew Duffy, small businesses must map out a strategy or they may actually do more harm than good.  Marketing expert Mhairi Petrovic agreed, saying that although 60 percent of North American companies use social media, few utilize the platform successfully.

“Take a step back and understand who you are trying to reach and why are you using these technologies,” said Petrovic. “Is it to build traffic to a website? Communicate with an existing network? Or reach a new audience? It’s important to understand these things before you start.”

One dangerous situation small businesses may find themselves in is if they establish a Facebook or Twitter presence too quickly and are slow to respond to consumers, said Duffy.

To help boost social media marketing success, small businesses can use free tools to lower their costs and increase their outreach. According to a recent Miami Herald report, Polly.IM, Timely.is and CrowdBooster are low-cost tools to help manage social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter.