Bootstrapping Site Imgur Launches Analytics to Measure Photo Success

Photo sharing site Imgur is scaling up its offerings to users by introducing a new analytics service.

The new service will be available to everyone, but if you are willing to pay $2 a month, pro users and advertisers will have access to additional, potentially valuable, information such as referrer stats.

Imgur has always presented itself as a “bootstrapped business,” meaning that the company relies solely on its own resources, without any investment from VC or Angel Capital.

If you are a user of Reddit, or a follower of memes across the Internet, then it is likely that you will have heard of Imgur, and perhaps even use it on a regular basis.

Built specifically for Reddit photo-sharers back in 2009 (the site is now open to all), Imgur ranks images daily according to how “viral” they are (how much they are being shared online.)

According to Forbes, the site has enormous clout to bring potential traffic to your site, with 120 million unique monthly viewers and 1.4 billion individual images being looked at each day.

The site gives you hosting space for your images, as well as direct hotlinking for use on other sites.

In addition to Reddit, Imgur images are also shared on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest - three other huge sources of traffic generation.

You can fully gauge the popularity of a specific image, by seeing what days the viewing figures spiked, as well as the number of comments, favorites, and views. An Imgur spokesperson told WebProNews recently:

“The analytics platform will show all the top referral sources and respective view numbers from each source simply by moving points on the graph, users will be able to narrow down the dates that they want to get analytics from.”

Imgur Founder Alan Schaaf is also promoting the new analytics service as an opportunity for advertisers. But its only those who have the budget to pay up to $10,000 a day for a temporary advertising slot. Images promoting specific products are forbidden, but you can submit a non-sales sponsored image which will still bring potential customers back to your website.

Database Security Company Imperva Plans to Acquire Incapsula, Skyfence

Database security company Imperva plans to acquire cloud-based security company Incapsula and cloud security gateway startup SkyFence.

The three companies hope to provide a suit of services aimed at the estimated $155 billion cloud security market, expected to grow to $210 billion by 2016.

In an official announcement released by his company, Shlomo Kramer, CEO of Imperva, explained (PDF).

“Our acquisition strategy for Skyfence and Incapsula are very similar. We seeded Incapsula four years ago because we recognized that cloud delivery would change the web application security landscape.”

Imperva says it anticipates a continued migration of businesses of all sizes to the cloud. Mark Kraynak, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for Imperva ads:

“For some time now, we’ve seen our customers take advantage of cloud-based services to reduce costs and increase flexibility. However, moving applications and data off-premise causes new and very significant risk exposure for organizations. The strategy we are unveiling today comprehensively addresses the dangerous security gaps raised by the move to the cloud.”

Imperva, an early seed investor of Incapsula, believes the combined resources of all three companies will fill a vital need for companies moving to the cloud. That’s because the company claims many existing security systems were built for on-premises versus in the cloud applications.

Incapsula started with a small business focus. We here at Small Business Trends use Incapsula, by the way. Chief Technology Officer at Small Business Trends, Leland McFarland, explains:

“Incapsula has been a very good resource. I love that not only does it speed up the site, but it also adds a good layer of protection. It sure has made my life a lot easier.”

With the acquisition announcement, the focus seems to be on enterprise customers. We’re wondering if this suggests a shift in focus.

Imperva markets an integrated security platform currently used by over 3,000 customers in more than 75 countries, the company says.

Image: Incapsula

US debuts cyber security framework to protect critical infrastructure

February 13, 2014

The Obama administration has launched the Cybersecurity Framework, which aims to educate organisations on the risks facing critical infrastructure systems.

The 41-page framework is a result of a year-long project in which businesses and individuals collaborated on the best standards, practices and guidelines to improve critical infrastructure cyber security. These ideas were finalised and bound together by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The Cybersecurity Framework, which formed part of the “Improvement of Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity” announced by Obama at the 2013 State of the Union, is voluntary, but will be promoted by the US Department of Homeland Security's new Critical Infrastructure Cyber Community (c3) Voluntary Programme.

The framework has three components - Framework Core, Profiles and Tiers - and also guides companies on privacy and civil liberties. Furthermore, the framework provides a cyber security roadmap for beginners, while participants will also be able to share lessons learnt and get free tools to improve their security operations.

The Framework Core is essentially a set of cyber-security ‘best practices' and can be called upon by CNI sectors to tackle important stages of cyber defence - from Identity and Detect to Respond and Recover. Profiles are more focused on aligning cyber security measures with business requirements, while Tiers breaks down a company's cyber management practises.

President Obama said that the framework is a “turning point” in the national discussion about cyber security.

“It's clear that much more work needs to be done to enhance our cybersecurity,” he said in a statement. ”Although the threats are serious and they constantly evolve, I believe that if we address them effectively, we can ensure that the Internet remains an engine for economic growth and a platform for the free exchange of ideas.”

Commentators over the pond, however, were mixed on the framework.

"It is great that there is serious work on this topic of cybersecurity for the United States in the form of a document," new RedSeal Networks CEO Ray Rothrock told SCMagazineUK.com. "In the world of actions, it is always great to have a document to react to, and I'm sure many of my cohorts will react, pro and con."

“In Olympic terms, today marks the end of the preliminary rounds, we are on the right track but we haven't won any gold medals for cybersecurity yet,” Internet Security Alliance President Larry Clinton told IDG.

“The most important element of the effort so far is that we have moved away from trying to impose a government-centric set of mandates on industry and instead are attempting to create a programme based on industry-developed standards and practices where voluntary adoption is motivated by market incentives.” 

UK and Europe could get tips

Although this announcement is established primarily for US companies, the framework can be used as guidance by those outside the region.

“Organisations outside the US may also wish [to] use the Framework to support their own cybersecurity efforts,” reads the press release.

And following on from a new UK government research centre designed to tackle the threat against industrial control systems, ESET UK senior research fellow David Harley agreed that such framework could work in the UK, but only after greater structure and detail had been sought. 

“This is a very high-level view, and voluntary implementation would be very reliant on existing standards such as ISO/IEC 27001, COBIT, and NIST's own standards,” Harley told SCMagazineUK.com. “There are some good intentions here, but the organisations most likely to take advantage of it are those who are already familiar with at least some of the standards it is meant to augment. Although it alludes to the importance of critical infrastructure, it doesn't go into any detail about the what and the how. For instance, there is only one mention of SCADA, and that is merely an expansion of the acronym in an appendix.

“There might be a place for such a framework in the UK under the aegis of an organisation like CPNI.”

IBM's global head of cybersecurity intelligence Nick Coleman was more upbeat on the framework, and said that organisations would be better organised as a result, especially in light of the growing number of CNI systems that connect to other services via the Internet. 

"Cyber threats are not just focused on financial services and retail companies.  Attacks are increasingly focused on power facilities and other infrastructure elements that directly affect the nation's economy and security,” Coleman told SCMagazineUK.com.

“While no company or sector is immune to cyber attacks, if organisations take the steps outlined in the framework, they'll be better positioned to protect themselves and their practices.”

13 Creative Ways to Use LinkedIn for Lead Generation

LinkedIn is a great platform for connecting professionally, finding work and sharing content. But have you ever thought of using LinkedIn for lead generation?

We asked 13 members of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) to explain their best tips and tricks for taking full advantage of the career based site:

“What is one creative way to use LinkedIn for lead generation?”

Here’s what YEC community members had to say:

1. Introduce Yourself

“If you feel comfortable enough with the relationship to make a connection with someone on LinkedIn, feel free to go through his contacts. Copy and paste a short list of names you’d like to be introduced to, and message him asking if he would be willing to make a quick introduction for you to each of them. Include a blurb the person can use to do so. It’s a quick way to get warm intros.” ~ Darrah Brustein, Finance Whiz Kids | Equitable Payments

2. Participate in Discussions

“There are targeted discussion groups on LinkedIn for almost every niche imaginable. These are typically full of people looking for support and answers. Give your expert knowledge freely, and start relationships in these groups â€" you’ll quickly become a go-to source and will generate new leads for your business. “ ~ Patrick Conley, Automation Heroes

3. Search for Connections

“A Boolean search on Google is an amazing way to source leads based on keywords in LinkedIn. In the Google search bar, simply type in your string, which could be something like: site: www.linkedin.com AND (“keyword 1″ OR “keyword 2″) AND (Seattle OR Tacoma). Hit search, and all the people on LinkedIn that match those conditions will show up. “ ~ Ronnie Castro, Porch

4. Find Common Interests

“There’s a very cool function within the group settings so that you can send free messages to any member of that group, regardless if you’re connected with them. You can join up to 50 groups, so maximize that limit with groups of people or prospects you want to connect with. Make sure that you provide a mutual benefit for both parties when you message potential connections. “ ~ Andrew Vest, Preferling

5. Use Flattery

“One tactic I used a lot, especially when reaching out to other startups, was to compliment their business. I would say that I thought there were interesting ways for us to work together. It sounds stupidly simple, but it’s extremely effective. I’ve closed hundreds of deals reaching out cold via LinkedIn with this technique or slight variations.” ~ Carlo Cisco, FoodFan

6. Collect Leads

“LinkedIn Ads actually has an optional feature called Lead Collection. This feature allows advertisers to collect leads directly through their LinkedIn ad campaigns. Members who click on your ad are taken to your landing page with a button to request you to contact them. It’s incredibly easy for the user, and it’s easy for you to build up a nice lead gen list. “ ~ Brett Farmiloe, Internet Marketing Company

7. Research Profile Views

“LinkedIn has a feature that shows you people who visited your profile. I’d contact those people, if they’re a connection, by sending a message that says, “Hi, is there anything I can help you with?” If they’re not a connection, then do a bit more research on them, and send a note saying, “Hi, I noticed you recently visited my profile.” Someone who spent time on your profile is likely a lead worth reaching out to. “ ~ Devesh Dwivedi, Idea2Inception

8. Search with Advanced Filters

“One of the best features of having a LinkedIn premium account is being able to use advanced filters in search. Not only can you search by company and relationship, but premium advanced search on LinkedIn allows you to search by function, seniority level and company size, too.” ~ Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.

9. Ask Questions

“Ask questions to the people you’re connected to. Most people connect with great professionals but don’t keep in touch with them. Use your status updates to engage the people that are connected to you so you can stay top of mind. Post about industry trends, motivational quotes and general business questions. You’ll be surprised by how many people start talking. “ ~ Joe Apfelbaum, Ajax Union

10. Stay Active

“I think LinkedIn Today is a great tool to find newsworthy content to share with your target market. Staying active on LinkedIn with at least a weekly post will keep you top of mind with your network. That passive awareness becomes important when you reach out for an introduction or when someone in your network has a need for your specialty. “ ~ Lauren Perkins, Perks Consulting

11. Connect with Twitter

“Chances are you are pretty active on Twitter. If you are, you can amplify the reach of your updates simply by connecting Twitter to LinkedIn. Now every Twitter update will be reposted to your LinkedIn followers. “ ~ Pablo Villalba, 8fit

12. Publish Articles

“We promote our guest contributions on LinkedIn and engage with prospective clients by asking for feedback on the content. If you utilize LinkedIn to educate leads, you’ll provide more value and ultimately form stronger relationships. “ ~ Kelsey Meyer, Influence & Co.

13. Be Aggressive

“I’m constantly checking who has viewed my profile on LinkedIn; it’s one part vanity, another part strategy. I sell to a very niche audience and if I see a target customer sniffing around my profile, I reach out to them to learn what they need. Sometimes it’s just to pick my brain but more often than not, they are looking to hire and because I caught them at the right moment, they hire me.” ~ Maren Hogan, Red Branch Media

LinkedIn Photo via Shutterstock

More in: LinkedIn

NSA \'probably developing Mask-type malware\'

February 13, 2014

"Logic suggests that the NSA is developing its own cyber weapons. It has its own malware, and its own C&C servers" says Sarb Sembhi, Incoming Thought Analyst.

A leading security analyst says that the Mask malware - identified earlier this week as quietly hitting victim company computers for around seven years without detection - may be mirrored by parallel darkware code developed by government agencies like the NSA for use in state-sponsored attacks.

As reported previously, Mask was discovered recently by Kaspersky Lab as hitting targets in more than 30 countries and infecting at least 380 separate organisations. The malware uses several techniques to compromise PCs and servers, reportedly tapping various undocumented vulnerabilities in software to ensure success.

Sarb Sembhi, an analyst and director of consulting with Incoming Thought, says that Kaspersky's assertion that Mask may have been created by a nation state - to assist in spying activities - makes a lot of sense, but adds that it is likely that other versions of attacking malware have almost certainly been created by agencies such as the NSA.

"It stands to reason that, if cyber criminals are developing complex attack code, then government agencies like the NSA are also developing equally powerful invasive programs as well. The key question I would ask is, why is it a surprise that malware like Mask is around?" he said.

"I well remember being infected by the Nimda worm around 2001, even though I had protection in place. That was 13 years ago, so it stands to reason that both black and white hackers will have upped their game since then," he added.

The Nimda worm was one of the first worms capable of executing code  without the user even opening the email. It was also the first to modify websites to inject copies of itself for download - and included a viral component that infects executable files.

Sembhi, a prominent member of ISACA, the not-for-profit IT security association, went on to say that Nimbda was a complex and highly sophisticated piece of code, so it fairly obvious that today's darkware code - as illustrated by Mask - will be even more complex and capable of escaping detection by enterprise security systems.

"There is a clear analogy here between the NSA's use of malware and military commanders in a battle. Both sides of the conflict will be making extensive usage of their available resources, and it is the same between cyber criminals and nation states," he said.

"And it is not just malware that government agencies like the NSA are creating. They will also be mirroring the cybercriminals in harvesting Command&Control servers for their own use. It is clear that NSA will be as innovative, if not more so, than the cybercriminals. The Mask malware is likely to be just one of several attack programs being used by government agencies," he added.

The Incoming Thought analyst backs up his assertion with the observation that the NSA has reportedly refused to agree to a spying technology truce with its allies. 

"Logic suggests that the NSA is developing its own cyber weapons. It has its own malware, and its own C&C servers," he explained.

Magical Marketing Campaigns From 2013

The Business Advertising industry enjoyed an exceptional year of advertising campaigns leaving memorable impact on the thoughts and inspirations of the American public. Several 2013 Ad Campaigns motivated consumers to stop and react emotionally to what they were seeing, then discuss what they’d experienced with family, friends, co-workers, essentially anyone who’d listen. In this article we will share three of these magical marketing campaigns from 2013.

According to Lindsey Wolf, the Marketing Director at Struck, “these are the kinds of reactions marketing mavens dream about, cheer about. It’s the elusive, magical moment when the audience experiences that connectivity, bonding with a message that motivates them to reach out to every one of their social connections, trying to explain what the ad made them feel.”

“The Epic Split” with Jean Claude Van Damme - Volvo Trucks

A perfect example, the “Volvo Globe Trotter Campaign“. Just one of a half dozen or more videos in this campaign series has 68,201,651 views on YouTube.com alone.

Volvo Trucks decided on an advertising campaign series of surreal tests to illustrate some of the features they’ve perfected, such as the “Volvo Dynamic Steering System”. This system increases precision driver control over steering and direction stability by 20 percent. Perhaps not dynamically share-worthy in text format, but take “nothing is impossible” film director, Andreas Nilsson, high caliber advertising agency, Forsman Bodenfors, Sweden, an action film celebrity known for precision face-kicking and full on splits, Jean Claude Van Damme on an airport landing field in Spain - at sunrise - and what do you think you will end up with?

Using extraordinary precision, two professional truck drivers travel down the runway with 53-year-old Jean Claude straddled, one foot on either trucks’ door-side mirrors, the trucks accelerate in reverse and begin to gradually separate and as they get further apart. Jean Claude demonstrates his “mindset to master the most epic of splits” while Volvo affirms their mastery of Volvo’s Dynamic Steering System. Add the synchronized sound genius of Enya’s hit, “Only Time” and it’s a mash-up of epic proportion, that of course, went viral overnight.

Who Would Have Thought a Gum Commercial Could Feel like This?” Wrigley’s Extra

Another ad artfully plugging into the emotional imagination and attention of their target audience, “Give Extra, get extra”, a simple Brand ID, appealing in every possible way. This story-telling work of art, develops empathy with integral timing using snapshots-in-time, a winning dad sharing the milestone moments of a very young daughter growing until she’s packing for college dorm life. In each snapshot, he is celebrating, sympathizing, sharing or just loving her through critical moments, each time sharing a piece of sugar-free gum, and using the silver wrapper to create for her an Origami crane. Only at the end of the 60-second heartwarming scenario of flashbacks, while they have dad’s, daughters, mom’s thinking of their dads, guys thinking “will I be a dad like that?”, you see the moment when this dad accidentally drops a little pink box as he’s packing up the daughters’car - out falls dozens of tiny Origami cranes - she has treasured each and every one. The resulting embrace sys, “Give Extra, get extra“, over two-million views.

“The Mighty Five” Inspires us to live life to the fullest - Utah

Equally infectious, sharp and blazingly passionate,  takes you through “The Mighty Five“, a sixty-second introduction to “Life Elevated”. The viewers minds real with the uptake of endorphins as image after incredible image grabs your focus and creates an emotional fascination with five of the most epic locations ever imagined. The National Parks of Zion, Bryce, Capitol, Canyon Lands and Arches, names forever embossed against the scenes of orange drip castles, white water rafting and starry, starry nights. The voice in the background “you are not dreaming - you will not forget this!” Suddenly, you just long to be in the Utah you have never really known.

Yelp Just Got a Bit More Important to Small Businesses Via Yahoo Deal

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer announced to employees recently that Yelp’s local business business listings and reviews will soon appear in Yahoo’s search results. This is a victory for Mayer, who attempted to buy Yelp for $500 million back in 2009 when she worked at Google.

The deal means Yelp listings and reviews for local businesses will appear in yet one more search engine online and on mobile devices.  Small businesses in industries where customers pay attention to Yelp reviews will want to make sure Yelp listing information is accurate and do the best job possible to encourage positive reviews from customers.

The Wall Street Journal points out that growing numbers of people rely on their smartphones to access information about local services.  The Verge speculates that Yelp listings are likely to appear with information and star ratings inside Yahoo search results and that Yahoo recently made local results more prominent within the Yahoo site.

Local search experts we spoke with differ somewhat on their views of how important this news is.  For the most part, however, they agree that this won’t make a huge difference … at least not for Yahoo.  They point out that Yahoo’s importance as a  local search engine has declined in recent years.

“This is positive for Yelp, and an OK for Yahoo,” said Andrew Shotland, SEO consultant at Local SEO Guide. ”It makes Yahoo’s stale local search service better - but another nice win for Yelp as it embeds their brand in another large local search service that is not Google.  I think we are quickly moving to a world where the majority of non-Google U.S. local search services are powered by Yelp in some way.”

Mike Blumenthal, a local search expert and co-founder of Get Five Stars, believes that the deal will make little difference for Yahoo. “Companies like Yahoo have essentially exited what was traditionally the local search space. It has become a two part world: Google and everyone else. Now they are starting to protect what small part of the market they have with these sorts of sharing deals.  Yahoo hasn’t really had the lights turned on for local for several years so this is really no surprise. Given that they have had so little presence it will have little impact one way or the other,” he told Small Business Trends.

Microsoft’s Bing and Apple Maps each have a similar deal in place with Yelp. Yelp has an API which allows other sites to access a limited amount of their platform, but Bing’s and Apple Maps’ are more elaborate and deeper integrated versions. So one way to look at it is that Yahoo is merely playing catch-up.

According to Comscore, Yahoo’s share of the U.S. search market slipped slightly from November to December last year.  However, to the extent that the public uses Yahoo for local search, the deal places more importance on Yelp data.

Yelp Photo via Shutterstock

Hightened security pressures in most businesses

February 13, 2014

IT Pros are being pressured to roll out new services before their security issues have been resolved

A survey of 800 IT professionals has revealed that both they - and the managers whose security needs they service - are under immense pressure to secure their IT resources against a rising wall of threats.

The report is based on a survey by security vendor Trustwave, to be published next week. It found that 54 percent of IT professionals felt more pressure to secure their organisations in 2013 compared to the previous year - and 58 percent expect even more pressure in 2014.

The key threat identified by the IT pros as worrying them the most was targeted malware - with 64 percent reporting an increase in this category of threats over the last year. Customer data theft was not far behind, and was cited by 58 percent of respondents.

But interestingly, IT professionals said that this issue worried them more than reputational damage, fines and legal action combined.

Commenting on these conclusions, Michael Aminzade, Trustwave's director of compliance, said that the key takeout from the report for him is the senior managers who felt under pressure to roll out IT services before they were ready.

"This raises the issue of security compliance, but it's clear from my observations that many IT professionals have had to undergo a steep learning curve over the last five years. Some 75 percent of respondents told us that they feel under pressure from above," he said.

Aminzade told SCMagazineUK.com that, if we go back 10 to 15 years, it is clear that IT systems - and the security used to defend them - were a lot simpler back then.

He went on to say that, whilst it is also clear that there are range of far more complex threats causing problems for IT professionals today - such as mobile malware up 400 percent in the last year - there are also a great many more pressures bearing down on those managers.

As a result, he says, IT pros have to deal with complex issues such as, stopping malware from breaking into your IT systems and phishing attacks from being effective against employees.

Against this backdrop, Aminzade sees security outsourcing as being critical to the success of security defences, both now and in the near future, with the biggest issue being IT pros failing to plan against a major security problem, rather than "planning to fail" as is often the case in such scenarios.

Trustwave's report finds that, with 85 percent of IT pros saying that a bigger IT security team would reduce their security pressures and bolster job effectiveness, it is clear that management must accept that mounting pressures, like attention from the board and other forms of internal scrutiny, are increasing.

The analysis continues that, with malware being everywhere, there is a need to make anti-malware protection a top priority, as well as a pressing requirement to augment in-house security expertise.

Companies should also perform business-wide security risk assessments and ongoing penetration testing, recommends the report, as well as prioritising security awareness education. Businesses, says Trustwave, should view Web apps as a top target, and stop buying security technologies for their flashy features, especially if IT doesn't have the resources to use them.

Trustwave says that the bottom line is that businesses should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

What You Can Expect to See in the Future of Retail

If your business is brick-and-mortar retail, you already know that more shoppers are going online. In fact, according to the Walker Sands 2014 Future of Retail study (PDF), just 1 percent of consumers never shop online, and nearly two-thirds (62 percent) shop online at least once a month.

Free and fast shipping, free returns and exchanges, and the ability to return items purchased online in-store are among the top factors that are convincing consumers to buy online. In other words, online retailers are making shopping online more like shopping in-store, making consumers more comfortable with it.

What Do Walker Sands’ Findings Mean to Your Business?

If you have both a brick-and-mortar and online component, the key word is “seamless.” Consumers want a simple, unified experience, whether they are buying from you online or off. They want to buy things online and return them in-store, and vice versa.

If your business is brick-and-mortar only, there are still some areas where brick-and-mortar retailers have the edge. Food/beverages and luxury goods are the categories where shoppers feel least comfortable buying online.

In addition, while more people are getting comfortable buying big-ticket items online, the percentage of shoppers who do so is still relatively small. Fewer than half of shoppers will spend more than $500 on an item online without seeing it in person first and fewer than 10 percent will spend more than $1,000.

That’s great if your store sells major appliances, furniture, high-end jewelry, artisanal foods or similar items that consumers want to see, touch and test before the buy it.

But what if you sell apparel, accessories or other products that people feel comfortable buying online?

How to Stay Ahead of the Online Competition

Interact on Mobile

Consumers love using their mobile devices as part of the shopping experience, either before they head out to your store or while they’re in the store. Nearly two-thirds use a mobile device to research products while they’re in a brick-and-mortar store.

They also love getting coupons and offers on their mobile phones.

Use services like TextMarks or EZTexting to send SMS text messages and deals to customers who sign up to receive them.

Simplify Payments

Consumers want options when it comes to everythingâ€"including how they pay. Cash is no longer king: Forty-three percent of consumers haven’t used cash in the last three days, 23 percent haven’t in the last week, and 5 percent never use cash.

You not only need to accept credit and debit cards, but you need to go beyond that to even more convenience.

For instance, more than half of consumers in the study say they’d be more likely to shop at a store offering self-checkout via a mobile device. You may not feel comfortable offering self-checkout, but why not try letting your sales assistants check shoppers out on smartphones or tablets using tools like Square or Intuit GoPayment?

Reward Loyalty

Customers want to feel part of your retail business, and loyalty programs can help. Apps such as Belly or Perka make it easy for both you and your customers to track visits and purchases and manage their rewards.

By using loyalty apps, your salespeople can even get alerted when a “VIP” customer is making a purchase.

Get Personal

Customers love Amazon for many reasons, but one is that it gives them personalized recommendations based on past purchases. Depending on what data you gather about customer purchases, you can do this yourself by sending email offers and alerts.

But take personalization beyond what an online retailer can do. You and your salespeople should work hard to develop relationships with customers, learn their preferences and habits, and make suggestions tailored to what they like.

You can use CRM (customer relationship management) apps to help you keep track of the information. For instance, if you own a wine store and have a regular customer who loves Bordeaux, you can greet them when they come in by letting them know about the new vintage you just got in.

Be Social

Social media is becoming more crucial than ever for both online and offline retailers. Three in five consumers in the Walker Sands survey regularly interact with brands on social media. The most popular channel is Facebook, where 55 percent of consumers engage with brands, followed by Twitter (21 percent) and Pinterest (10 percent).

If you’re not already active on social media, get started with Facebook, since it’s the site most widely used by all demographics. If your target customers are mostly women, mix in Pinterest, since the vast majority of its users are female.

The number-one reason consumers interact with brands on social media is to get coupons and promotions (78 percent of consumers), but they also want to learn about the latest news and new products from brands (65 percent). Encourage fans to share the coupons, news and promotions to spread the word.

Consider Renting

Renting products instead of buying is a growing trend, with rentals expected to grow 46 percent in the coming year. Consumers like renting because it saves money upfront and lets them try new things.

The most popular rental items are books, consumer electronics and tools. But renting can work for other products, too, with formal wear (Rent the Runway) and designer handbags (Bag Borrow or Steal) being just two entrepreneurial success stories.

Consider adding a rental component to your store if it works for what you sell.

SBA Nominee Talks Marketing to Banks, Businesses at Confirmation Hearing

If finally confirmed, the newly nominated chief of the U.S. Small Business Administration promised to do more to promote the agency’s services.

Maria Contreras-Sweet said at her confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship that more must be done to brand the SBA.  ”Understand that this is not your grandfather’s SBA,” Contreras-Sweet told Senators yesterday, February 12, 2014.

Senator James Risch (R- Idaho) asked her views about the SBA’s Office of Advocacy. He cited its need to remain independent so as to be able to address the “crush of regulations” on small businesses.  Contreras-Sweet said she understood what small businesses go through based on her own startup experience.  She said she supported the need for the Office of Advocacy to “provide an ardent voice for small businesses.”

Currently there are about 2,400 SBA lenders, including ProAmérica Bank, the Latino owned community bank that Contreras-Sweet founded with the help of family and friends.

But the SBA nominee said not enough is done to simplify the process for small community banks that want to offer SBA backed loans.  Contreras-Sweet said more must be done to help these banks understand the process so that they actually want to become an SBA backed lender.

After that, Contreras-Sweet says more must be done to promote SBA backed loans and other products to small businesses. She said that this is because when community banks finally do decide to offer SBA backed loans, they often face a daunting task promoting them in their communities.

Contreras-Sweet advocated the same approach when seeking to get more businesses involved bidding for government contracts.  Last July, the Small Business Administration reported that only 22.25 percent of an estimated $400 billion in government contracts went to small businesses in 2012. That’s about $3 billion short of the federal government’s goal. Contreras-Sweet said hitting that goal in the future would require more effort from the agency to explain the process of getting government contracts so that more small businesses would bid.

However, she also said it would require what she called “de-bundling” larger government contracts often given to much larger corporations to be sure that small businesses get their share.

The position of SBA Administrator has remained unfilled since the departure of former Administrator Karen Mills in February of 2013.  President Barack Obama nominated Contreras-Sweet for the position in January 2014.  Contreras-Sweet is considered to be a well-qualified candidate, given her background and experience, especially her experience starting and running a community bank.