Another round of blogs that I read focused on the business side of SMB IT consulting. Some of these are not direct answers to your business problems, but ideas for future directions you might want to take.
BlogStorm Online Marketing is one of those. This site talks about how to use your website to get higher rankings with the various search engines. Customers that already know you and your products will likely know where your website is. However new customers won’t and this is where Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) comes in. There’s some interesting ideas here in this site, so if you are considering an online presence then check out this blog.
SmallFuel Marketing Blog today talks about the value of having a good business card. One of the things I am understanding here in Taipei this week is just how respected a business card (or name card) really is. Different cultures value them differently, but many SMB IT Professionals think that printing them up themselves on their laser printer is acceptable. Guys – this is ONE piece of your company that you will leave behind with the customer after you leave. Make sure it’s a great example of the quality that you intend to deliver to the customer. A cheap serrated edge card that you’ve printed yourself does not do anything for your image. Take the time and get a professional to help design it. There are many online services that can do this cost effectively and give you a really professional image.
Duct Tape Marketing Blog talks today about your marketing strategy and in particular the importance of writing down your plans and then reviewing your actions with them to determine “is this part of the plan or a distraction”. I know I’m guilty of not doing this all the time and it leads to large amounts of wasted time – time that can’t be recovered at all. They focus on the ways that small business owners can do marketing easily and effectively.
I hope these are useful. If you have some useful blogs that you read yourself, please let me know.
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