When it comes to marketing, many small businesses have trouble measuring their investment. Sure you could always advertise in the local newspaper, or hire someone in a guerilla suit to stand on a busy intersection, but how do you know if your marketing efforts are paying off? This question becomes even more important when you’re a small business with a limited marketing budget.

Small business owners increasingly want to know how they can get the most of their marketing dollars. To answer this question we look at some of the tools Google is offering to help small businesses with marketing – many are free! Here are the top 6 Google tools that can help maximize return on marketing.

1. Ad Words – Allows you to target specific keywords that will appear on the right hand side of a Google search in the sponsored links section. Your ad words will also appear on Google’s partner sites as advertisements.
Google Adwords.

2. Keywords – You want to pick key words that are specific, not overly competitive, and relevant. The Google Keyword tool gives you this information on a local, national or global basis. Google Keyword Tool

3. News and Alerts – If you want information specific to your industry set up a Google alert. These alerts email you a list of news worthy items so you always have content for your social media accounts and so you can stay on-top of your competitors and your brand. Fresh and interesting content can make you a knowledge expert in your industry and may even provide content for journalists.
Google Alerts or Google News

4. Reader – This tool helps you access various blogs in one place allowing you to easily find, read, and comment on them. By commenting on other blogs you can attract readers and get ideas for content.
Google Reader for more.

5. Places – A Google listing helps people find your business online. If you enter the right keywords, people in your area will easily be able to find you through search results. You can also add media to make your listing more interesting.
Google Places

6. Google + Button – This button not only allows users to share content from your website, but more importantly lets people promote your page in Google search results. According to a recent study by HubSpot, websites that use Google’s +1 button got 3.5 times more traffic than websites who didn’t use the button.
Google Plus

For even more information on this topic, attend one of our free small business webinars.
Source: http://www.hubspot.com/

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We often tell small business owners and entrepreneurs that the best practice is to find the gaps and fill the needs. However, it is important to remember what the difference is between what people need and what people want. There is a way to accommodate both and build a business that will be in high demand.
Here are a few examples that should get your gears turning:
Fitness
• People NEED to be active – People WANT leisure, social and fun
Health
• People NEED to eat fresh – People WANT convenience, quality and economical
Fashion
• People NEED basics – People WANT unique, versatile and trendy
Restaurants
• People NEED food –People WANT an experience, variety and full-service
Most people know what they need but a good business should tailor these needs according to the most universal wants. This makes the difference between a product or company that fills a gap to one that creates a demand.

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1. Every small business needs a leader that inspires, motivates, holds people accountable, allows them to try new things, fail and grow
2. Buy a book write BIG IDEAS on the cover and let your employees dream and write their thoughts on how you can grow your small business
3. Help your employees set goals and targets so that they can monitor themselves. Most of us underestimate our employees potential
4. Never under estimate the potential of a motivated employee. Allow your employees to innovate. Innovation is the key to small business growth
5. Teach your employees how to manage their time and set deadlines. Some people have no idea how
6. Return all calls and emails, don’t over promise, never stop selling and show up on time and you will succeed
7. Develop a 1 page business plan and look at it every day. If something’s not working change
8. Listen more than you talk, always say thank you and people will give you the business
9. Bootstrapping teaches you how to manage a business properly. You’ll soon realize many small business owners waste money on stupid things
10. If you can’t link an expense to revenue you’re probably over spending
11. If you’ve never bought stuff online you probably don’t know how to sell stuff online
12. Never put slow learners in charge of your social media strategy. You don’t need to understand social media you just need to do it
13. If you’re training entrepreneurs you need to know how to use technology. The future of small business requires that you embrace technology
14. If you don’t innovate you starve and your economy struggles. To survive in small business you need to learn something new everyday
15. Encourage your kids to become entrepreneurs they’re going to save the world with their innovations

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February 9th, Tuesday, 2PM EST – How to Use Social Media to Market Your Business

February 10th, Wednesday, 2PM EST – How to market Your Business on a Budget

February 11th, Thusrady, 2PM EST – How to Network to Grow Your Business

Click here for more

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Personal concierge service can handle anything

By Small Business Expert Roger Pierce, www.BizLaunch.com

There just aren’t enough hours in the day. Wouldn’t it be nice to get some help at home or work to complete your task list? “We enable our clients to spend more time on the more important things in their lives,” comments entrepreneur Rosie Young.

Young owns Rosie Young Concierge (www.rosieyoungconcierge.com,) a unique concierge service catering to busy families and individuals.

For clients requesting personal concierge assistance, Young will handle tasks such as grocery shopping, event planning, gift giving, pet management and automotive maintenance. If you’re going away on vacation and worried about your home, she’ll stop by to water your plants, pick up your mail and check on things.

Her executive concierge services include schedule management, office organizing, meeting and planning, supplier research and interviewing, business travel planning, and running business errands.

“Our executive service is geared towards busy professionals and small business owners who need a helping hand without the burden of hiring additional staff,” explains Young.

Young believes people crave a dependable, reliable person to help them manage their lives. “Imagine having someone you could trust 100 percent and call on an as-needed basis,” she says. “My clients have enough things to worry about, so we make sure the job will be done in a timely fashion and done right.”

“I tell them, ‘give me your list and consider it done.’”

While there are other personal concierge services in the marketplace, Young differentiates her business by offering a one-stop shop. “Whatever it is, I will take care if it,” she claims. “Organizing a summer dinner party, de-cluttering households, selling unwanted things, picking up the kids from school…we do it all.”

Since launching four years ago, Young says she’s learned to wear many hats. “Most business owners must multi-task marketing, management and finance responsibilities, but in my business I must do all of those things plus deliver a very diverse range of client services,” she comments.

“Every day is different. I love problem solving and am very organized and creative, so the chance to apply those skills in my business excites me.”

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Want to learn how to use social media to market your small business?  Sit back, relax and click here

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How to Market on a Small Budget

Every marketing dollar must work for you. Learn how to build sales and your brand with low cost promotional tools proven to bring in more business.

March 25, 2009 – Vancouver, BC
Presented by Ron Gordon

March 25, 2009 – Windsor, ON
Presented by Linda Lord

How to Get More Sales

In business, it’s all about sales. Learn how to grow your customer base, close more sales, increase your sales volume & keep your customers happy.