Boost Your Profits by Adding Customer Testimonials

The following guest post is brought to us by the Internet Marketing Center.

Did you know that your customers’ successes, triumphs, and positive results can make more money and sales?

It’s true! Even if your website is full of great salescopy and photos that illustrate all the fabulous features and benefits of your product or service, your potential customers still need to know:

“What do people who have actually purchased and used your product or service think about it?” Continue Reading…

Candy and Biz Cards – Changing Up Your Marketing Strategy

This guest post is part of our ongoing Small Business Perspective series, and is written by Audrey Clarke, owner of Professionals Now, LLC in Tampa, FL.

Are you a new business owner? Are you trying to determine how to get the word out about your business but understand you have a lot of competition?  How do you make your business card or your business stand out from the rest? Continue Reading…

Social Networking Groups and Small Business

With the state of the Internet today, the old adage that it’s not what you know but who you know has never been more relevant. Creating profiles and fan pages on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook will help expand your reach to customers and potential employees, but will it help you expand your business? We’re not talking dollars and cents but rather advancing the business in the latest trends and connecting with businesses in your industry or other local business owners? Continue Reading…

Bad Customer Reviews Could Boost Your Biz

In the past we’ve written about online review sites like Yelp, and how you should not only pay attention to them, but interact with the customers on them to effectively handle complaints and gain valuable feedback about your business.

But what about actually allowing customers to review your products and services on your site, or better yet, soliciting reviews to be seen on your site by everyone who visits?  Amazon pioneered this practice over a decade ago, but since then many others have mimicked the behavior with impressive results.  But is it possible that even not so positive reviews can help your sales? Continue Reading…

Are Small Business Lines of Credit Shrinking?

There is no question that the country has been mired in economic turmoil over the past year.  Despite the conditions, the market is still filled with entrepreneurs looking to launch a business and small business owners looking for a way to get ahead. Many of these individuals (including some of our readers) will be looking for assistance in the form of loans to get off the ground or expand.

In the past, the logical source for these funds would be to turn to the country’s banking institutions; however the loan market for small businesses is quickly drying up. According to a recent CNN Money article, the Small Business Administration’s primary loan program has seen an 80% decrease in loans from 6,100 in FY 2008 to 1,250 during the 2009 fiscal calendar (see lending chart on the right). Continue Reading…