Small businesses excel at forming connections with their customers and network. Well before the Internet and online social networks, small businesses had real life social networks where they probably knew just about everyone in their town or village. Being part of a community is still important for any small business, but the Internet and online social media allow the reach to be extended to customers and partners that would never have been reached otherwise.
I grew up in a small town. My dad owned a saloon. I’ve been thinking a lot about his social networks and how they relate to what I do online. Truth is what my dad did with his cash register I do with my computer … the biggest difference is the speed and reach of the Internet. And I believe that entrepreneurial view is what gives every small biz an advantage in establishing a web presence using social media tools – Why Small Town Small Biz Has an Advantage at Using Social Media Tools (Small Biz Survival)
Just about every client meeting I have includes the question, “what problem are you trying to solve or what benefit are you offering to your customers?” A lot of the products and services that are for sale do solve a problem or provide a benefit for the consumer, but is that obvious from the marketing material?
Sometimes your customers find you online by commenting on your blog or joining your Facebook fan page. But what if you’re getting started or you’re looking to find other places where your customers hang out? How do you go about finding your customers online?
Does your company have CRM (Customer Relationship Management)? CRM used to be about a business process of managing a relationship with a customer, but now it often just applies to a piece of software that stores customer names and some information about them. During this recession, there is an opportunity to actually form relationships with your customers. As Lee Odden from Online Marketing Blog 
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