Marketing a new small-business product or service in a highly fragmented media world has become trickier than ever. Relying only on slow-moving, old-school methods such as direct mail and print ads is a thing of the past. Today, success belongs to those who compile the most effective media mixture. more

There’s another wave of health care reform mandates under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly called “Obamacare,” that employers need to know about. more

Although LinkedIn is the world’s largest social media network for businesspeople and professionals, most small business owners still don’t have it on their marketing radar. But that’s changing as LinkedIn itself ads more features aimed at helping businesses market to its 160 million registered users, and more small businesses start taking advantage of this powerful platform for generating leads and making business connections. more

A bit of patience on our parts will be well worthwhile as some of our favorite local restaurants take a break this winter to freshen up and put on a new look. more

When it comes to measuring marketing success, many business owners (and professional marketers) prefer to think that results are more magic than math. But that’s just not so. The digital era – with it’s easy (relatively) access to analytics – has introduced a whole new way of thinking. more

Word of mouth has long been considered the best advertising a small business can get. And in today’s digital world, word of mouth is even more important and effective than ever. But the social media explosion has transformed how word of mouth works. more

Ranking your leads – also called “lead scoring” – is an exercise most small-business owners don’t bother with. At least not in a formal sense. But that may be passing up an opportunity to make follow-up efforts more effective by targeting and nurturing them in different ways based on their score. more

When Donald Perez hits the street in downtown Providence wearing his yellow jacket, a utility belt with an iPhone, flashlight, radio, disposable gloves and dining guides, he’s pretty much ready for anything. more

It seems society is loosening up. The Internet, music, movies, book titles, TV, and texting have created an “openness revolution” not matched since the ’60s. more

Small-business owners are continuing to try social media as a marketing channel. But with so many options – and limited time and resources to use them – which ones are working best? more