Among the many headlines that emerged from SMB Digital Marketing 2012 (CRM, digital loyalty, performance marketing), one that caught the attention of most in the room was the research return that social ROI is shifting dramatically toward customer acquisition. In fact, BIA/Kelsey’s LCM 16 survey highlights suggest that 42 percent of SMBs now turn to …

Yodle CEO Court Cunningham, in a well received presentation at SMB Digital Marketing this week in Chicago, told attendees to constantly adapt to actual conditions in the marketplace, not what the “experts” tell us.
The gist of Cunnigham’s comments were that experts are too often conflicted by their limited access to data and doing what …

The “Making Sense of Mobile Advertising for SMBs” panel at SMB Digital Marketing 2012 was aptly named, as the mobile needs of small businesses vary widely by category and level of sophistication, among other dynamics. Dick Larkin (VP, American Marketing & Publishing), Mary Beth Brendza (CEO, App Express) and Henry Tam (VP Self-Serve Advertising, Millenial …

The success of the deals space and emergence of big data has opened the door to transactional marketing that drives new revenue for businesses. Key revenue streams are emerging such as monthly/annual fees, commissions for loyalty business, bounties for new customers and mark-ups on transactional fees. Major tech players and VCs …

While SEO may still have a somewhat murky reputation (many still don’t know what it is), the fact is SEO is now a big business that will only get bigger, and it drives very strong ROI for small businesses, with break event at 3-6 months.
These were key messages from Andrew Shotland, principal of Local SEO …

DemandForce’s CMO Patrick Barry suggested during his keynote address at SMB Digital Marketing in Chicago today that Intuits $434 Million acquisition of his company last year might be meant to connect every small business to any consumer via a single click. That’s the vision of digital marketing, he said.
Currently, there is a blurry world of …

We’re putting the final flourishes on our SMB Digital Marketing conference Sept. 17-19 in Chicago, and they are big ones: top SMB decision makers for Google and Facebook, plus Entertainment.com CEO Dean DeBiase.
These headliners are being added to 37+ speaker lineup that includes Alfred Mockett, CEO, DexOne; Gail Goodman, CEO, Constant Contact; …

The SMB Digital Marketing conference in Chicago Sept. 17-19 is truly shaping up to be a cutting-edge event.
This week, we’ve added a number of top speakers to program that already includes such featured speakers as Alfred Mockett, CEO, Dex Media; Nathan Hanks, President, ReachLocal; Gail Goodman, CEO, Constant Contact; Patrick Barry, CRO, Demandforce;. David Kerr, …

On last week’s Q2 earnings call, local online marketing firm ReachLocal emphasized how its international expansion will fuel its growth. Plus the company offered a glimpse into its efforts to expand into smaller U.S. markets via telesales.
ReachLocal has long been among the most closely watched companies in the local online/SMB space, and its president, Nathan Hanks, will be …

Our inaugural SMB Digital Marketing event keeps building and building. We’re being welcomed to Chicago for the Sept. 17-19 event by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and have already announced key speakers, including Dex One CEO Alfred Mockett, Constant Contact CEO Gail Goodman and Demandforce CMO Patrick Barry.
Now, with early discounts ending

We never get tired of saying it: SMBs represent the biggest marketing segment and the greatest opportunity in the local arena.
We’ve watched the Yellow Pages evolve quickly to reflect this reality; and everyone else joining in: Groupon, Google, Facebook and other leaders are all marketing to SMBs; newspaper companies, digital ad agencies and search engine …