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If you're not on the VOIP (voice over IP) bandwagon yet, you're likely planning to jump on soon. With Microsoft's entry into the space last year, VOIP has gotten more attention than ever before. Both large and small companies alike are adopting the technology, and the choices---as well as the complexity—are increasing. Here are 10 things to keep i Read More

Small and midsize businesses are increasing their use of Web 2.0 tools as information sources, providing greater opportunities to marketers that are trying to reach this audience, according to a new study from market research company Bredin Business Information. It examined which online tools SMBs use, how they use them to receive business informa Read More

How Much Money Do Retailers Leave on the Table? A 2007 study clearly shows that online retailers are not capitalizing on the customer experience and are overly focused on innovation while ignoring the basics. With all the investments and improvements within the last five years in redesigns, usability, analytics, multivariate testing, and the incre Read More

Data from Nielsen Online sheds some new light on the matter that is so important to merchants—online and offline—during the busy holiday shopping season. In an online survey of nearly 1,000 shoppers, 81% indicated that the ability to shop anytime during the day was why they chose to shop online during the holiday season. With 77% of respondents, s Read More

At last, neuroscience is applying itself to understanding how that extremely artificial endeavor — advertising — engages our basic biological instincts. Two pieces of science news will interest marketers. First, the more we can anthropomorphize products, the better we like them. Second, advertising can take the place of real memory in our beliefs Read More

With 150 million phone numbers now registered on the Federal Trade Commission's Do Not Call list, it seems clear most consumers don't want to receive unsolicited marketing phone calls. But apparently, it's not clear to everyone. The FTC on Wednesday announced multimillion-dollar penalties against three companies -- lender Ameriquest Mortgage Co., Read More

According to the Discover Small Business Watch, reports the DMA, economic confidence among small business owners continued to fall in October as many expressed increased pessimism about both the future of their own businesses and the US economy in general. The monthly survey of 1,000 small businesses with five or fewer employees shows that at 96.8 Read More

According to the latest Annual Holiday Survey commissioned by Deloitte, gift cards are seen as the top gift purchase for four consecutive years, with 69 percent of the consumers planning to buy them this year, compared with only 66 percent in 2006. The respondents plan to buy an average of 5.5 cards, compared with the 4.6 cards last year, at $36.2 Read More

According to the Arketi Group 2007 Web Watch Survey, 84 percent of journalists say they would or already have used blogs as a primary or secondary source for articles. 100% of those (journalists) surveyed say they rely on the Internet to help get their job done. One-quarter of journalists say blogs make their job easier, while 18 percent say insta Read More

Ken Gaebler knows that winning investor money is all in the pitch. A serial entrepreneur, Gaebler has raised $24 million for seven companies since 1995. Now, he sits on the other side of the conference-room table, as president of private-equity firm Gaebler Ventures in Chicago — and routinely watches newbie entrepreneurs present their ideas in a b Read More