Posts Tagged ‘mobile phones’

Run Your Business With Skype

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

Skype is one of the leaders in voice over internet technology, if not THE leader in VOIP. They have some awesome services for businesses who are ready to enter the 21st century. Consider these:

  • Free Skype to Skype calling
  • You can have your own online phone number
  • Anyone from anywhere can call you and it’s local
  • Conference calls through Skype
  • Skype To Go allows you to use Skype on your mobile phone

I realize not every business in the world can benefit from this technology, but many can. In addition, you can use Skype for group calling, video calling, and screen sharing. That makes Skype a useful videoconferencing solution for small businesses. I know some small business owners who have ditched their land lines and have gone completely wireless using Skype and their mobile phones.

Skype is an affordable business solution if you find yourself wanting to ditch that old 20th century mainstay, the land line. Tired of the add-on charges your phone company keeps giving you? Tired of the disconnected service whenever you experience a storm? Skype could be a tool you’ll enjoy having around.

I think it’s just a matter of time before the whole world is connected via VOIP. Skype could be the leader for homes and small businesses when that happens.

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Posted in Tools for Small Business | 5 Comments »

Are You Ready For M-Commerce?

Sunday, September 6th, 2009

With mobile phones thriving, the popularity of iPhone and smartphones, and services like PayPal, you’d think people in the U.S. would be ready for mobile commerce. Not quite. According to Marketing Pilgrim, we’re still lagging behind many countries in the area of mobile e-commerce.

Jordan McCollum points out that there are companies working on providing a secure mobile commerce solution and one of them is Facebook. And she also points out that other companies like Visa, Master Card, and Nokia are moving in that direction as well. But, sadly, there is no mention of PayPal in her article at all. Why not?

You’d think that the leader in Internet pay services would be on the forefront of this emerging technology, but it appears that PayPal isn’t even on the radar screen. And neither are their primary competitors.

It does cause one to wonder just who will emerge the main conduit of mobile commerce – once that is as acceptable as purchasing over the Internet. Even still, there are privacy and security concerns still lingering over e-commerce as a whole. Why should we expect those concerns to falter with M-commerce?

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Posted in Mobile Marketing for Small Business | 4 Comments »

How Mobile Phones Are Changing Local Internet Marketing

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

A story in WebProNews reports that mobile phone usage has increased by 74% in the last two years. This has startling implications for local internet marketing.

First, because your customers are likely as on-the-go as you are, they probably have mobile phones. And when they want to find you they will pick up their mobile phone and perform a local search. Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, and MSN Live Maps are all set to lead people straight to your business location and all a person has to do is perform a search from their mobile phone and drive right to your business front.

Another way local Internet marketing is changing is through direct dialing from the Internet. Sites like Superpages and CitySearch allow businesses to put their business phone number in their directory listings and allow mobile phone users to click a link and dial directly from their mobile phones. That’s a very powerful feature.

Services like Twitter bring social media to mobile phone applications and allow business owners to communicate directly with their local customers in real time. You can actually perform customer service right from your mobile phone without being face to face with your customer.

These are just some of the ways that mobile phones are revolutionizing Internet marketing. I have a feeling it’s only going to get better.

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Posted in Local Internet Marketing | 4 Comments »