a marketing guide for small business
Small Business
Small Business: Are You Becoming Complacent?
May 9th
Is Your Small Business Becoming Complacent?
If so, it may be time to wake up!
Complacency
Several weeks ago, my husband was bemoaning the fall of Kodak, a well respected company and brand for over a hundred years. I still recall my Mom’s Brownie and Instamatic cameras.
As we talked about the demise of Kodak, we both recalled witnessing a similar demise of Zenith and Bell & Howell while we lived in Chicago. Former brand and marketing powerhouses that have all but disappeared in the ether.
Last week we bumped into an old friend that neither of us had seen in awhile. Keith is a fabulous graphic artist. More >
Small Business: What They’re Talking About in DC
Apr 3rd
We’re about Marketing, not Politics
The Marketing Bit is not a political site, however, it is difficult these days – an election year – not to stumble on something that has a political edge. We thought this information would be of interest to our small business readers, so decided to share it on the blog. Hope you find it of interest.
Implications to Small BusinessRegardless of your political affiliation, if you’re a small business you may be interested to know what is currently being discussed in Washington D.C. as a lot of these issues have the potential to impact your small More >
Small Business Alert: Get Your Head Out of the Sand and Take Advantage
Apr 2nd
Google and Intuit Takes a Stand for Small Business
Small Business With Its Head In Sand
I opened this morning’s paper and was stirred to take action. Yes, newspaper advertising can still work.
Headline: Websites are now free for Oregon businesses.
Sub-head: It’s easy. Really fast. And really free.
The only body copy was a url to visit.
I visited the site and was pleasantly stunned. Google along with Intuit, Score, Small Business Development, Portland Business Alliance, MercyCorps and a number of other small business partners in the state have joined forces to help get small business online.
Why? Why would all of these business related partners come together to More >
Marketing Buzz Without a Budget
Mar 20th
Need a marketing buzz but don’t have the bucks?
Get Your Customers Buzzing
Sometimes I’ll walk into a retail store and it can be a downer. The place is dead still. No energy. Worry lines are etched on the small business owners’ face. When I strike up a conversation with them, all they want to do is sell or tell me about the great deal they have. They don’t bother to engage me or other customers. They just want/need to make sales.
Unfortunately, the net result is that even fewer customers want to buy in such environments. Frankly, it’s a turn-off.
The best way More >
Small Business: How Committed Are You?
Mar 19th
Really Committed To Your Small Business?
“Of course I am”, you say. “How could I spend all of my time, my money on my small business and not be committed to its success?”
Allow me to explain why I ask this question.
There are a handful of online marketing bloggers I follow religiously. They never disappoint. Seth Godin is just such a marketing blogger. He is a crisp, no nonsense writer who understands marketing and never ceases to cut to the chase.
He wrote a recent piece entitled “We say we want a revolution…” and as usual, Seth hits the nail on the More >
Small Business: Three Marketing Strategies For More Business
Mar 12th
Is your small business loosing business without realizing it?
Before we answer that question, let me briefly describe a recent incident that reminded me just how much business is ignored by small business owners and how, with a few simple low tech marketing strategies, they can change this fact.
Our laundry machine started spitting water on the floor instead of through the water pipes. The last time this happened, we’re were lucky enough to have a former neighbor recommend a plumber who solved the problem. So, I start flipping through a stack of business cards we’ve collected in a kitchen drawer More >
Small Business Saturday by American Express
Mar 8th
American Express continues it’s Small Business Saturday Promotion
Late last year, American Express rolled out a continuation of its Small Business Saturday promotion to spur people to shop small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. By all accounts, this promotion was a big success. Awareness of the program reached 65%, 2.6 million Facebook Likes were generated along with 195,000 supportive tweets and at the end of the day, 100 million shoppers were motivated to support their local area businesses. You’ll find more about the overall Small Business Saturday results through this link.
Rather than limit the promotion to just the Holiday Season, American Express has decided More >
Small Business: Mobile Apps Are Saving You Money
Feb 10th
Who knew that those all of those crazy free mobile apps could actually be saving small business money? I didn’t. At least, not before reading this little piece from Inc.
Mobile Phone Apps
If you’re a small business, you may want to ask yourself how you could be generate bottom line savings by turning to mobile apps. Check out the article below. I’ve also added a few additional articles that discuss some of the ways small business is cashing in on mobile apps.
As the apps market continues to grow, so do small business savings, finds a new report.
Apps are responsible for allowing More >
Event Marketing & Ham Hocks
Sep 26th
A great tool for small business
Otto's
For us, Saturday is ‘errand day’. You know, the day you do grocery shopping, visit Home Depot for light bulbs, etc. One of our errands this last weekend included getting some great ham hocks for a bean soup we love to make.
So what does this have to do with Event Marketing? Hang on. It will become obvious.
The best place in Portland, OR for ham hocks is Otto’s. There are other places we’ve tried and the ones we like best for soups are Otto’s. It’s a small meat market on the east side of Portland More >
