Today, Google announced the launch of Buzz, a new feature set within Gmail that introduces social elements. Some Gmail users have already gotten access and it’ll be rolled out over the next few days. We watched the announcement via the YouTube live stream and got a glimpse of what’s to come. “Soon…we’re committed to doing the enterprise version…” was Sergey Brin’s response to a Journalist wondering when Google Buzz would be available to enterprise clients. Taken in parallel with Google Enterprise President Dave Girouard’s comments earlier this week that Google Voice and Wave will be available to enterprise clients this year, we’re pretty excited about what’s in store. We’ve been using Google Voice for quite a while and have found it to be indispensable in our small business toolbox. On the other hand, Google Wave still remains a mystery that we haven’t spent much time deciphering but it’s still early in the product life-cycle, so we cut them a little slack.

Whether it’s Google Buzz, Voice, Wave or one of the other Google products, small and medium businesses are being given (and rightly so) a unique opportunity to get on the cutting edge. As we see it, Google Apps is being built as the backbone upon which small businesses can build, maintain and scale IT infrastructure without the exorbitant costs typically associated with competing products. Google Apps alone provides a significant value and with over 200 feature enhancements expected this year it’s a suite of tools every small business should seriously consider.

Here’s a quick Google Buzz video in case you missed it.

Initially this post was going to provide a list of ‘I value/like/love/dislike’ features about Google Voice from a few of our clients and colleagues. I was flabbergasted  when my call for quotes turned up “I set it up but haven’t started using it yet”. That said, nearly everyone mentioned that they like the number routing feature, as well as the “click to call” website feature that you can drop on to your website.

Do yourself a favor, take a minute to setup your Google Voice account and to test it out…leave us a vmail or SMS at 650-488-3040 with your website URL and we’ll post a link to your site. Why is that a big deal? The more inbound links translates to more traffic to your site. Think of a link like a fishing with a net…bigger net usually means more fish.

Personally, I value the FREE SMS messages. Paying for SMS messages is akin to highway robbery in my book. We pay for data and voice, WTH do we have to pay for text sent over the same network. Ok, I’m ranting, so moving right along.

iPhone Users

A new option for iPhone users, if you haven’t already heard…get Google Voice on your device (without jail breaking). Here’s how…

1. On your iPhone
2. Open Safari
3. Go to http://m.google.com/voice
4. Enter your Google Voice (Gmail) Username and Password
5. Click the bookmark button on the bottom of your browser
6. Save the bookmark to the Main Page
7. You should have a nice little Google Voice icon on one of your application pages
8. TEST it out….call us 650-488-3040 leave us a voicemail (or SMS) with your name and website and we’ll post a link to your site

Looking forward to hearing from you! Have a fabulous weekend!

There are days when you just have to cut loose and have a few laughs or in the case of the Elgin Area Chamber (EAC) event last week, pick up a laser gun and shoot someone you’ve only just met.

In between rounds of laser tag, we had an opportunity to meet a lot of great new people and even had a moment to chat with the owner of LazerMaxx, Mitch LaFave. In talking with Mitch we quickly understood that the idea for LazerMaxx wasn’t originally born from the vision of a family fun center but really as a response to current economic conditions in the real estate market.

Mitch’s original plan for the site was to develop and lease building space. Unfortunately, dealing with a semi-empty building Mitch had to find a way to drive cash flow for his property. As Mitch pointed out, despite the economic market challenges “the note still needs to be paid to the bank.” So with input from Dave Scott of Archway Real Estate Services, the idea for LazerMaxx was hatched.

There’s a lot to be said for Mitch’s adaptation to the marketplace. Thousands of businesses today are attempting to find or have already found ways to adapt. Chatting with Mitch got us thinking, what are other businesses doing to reinvent, change, or improve their business in order to survive in today’s climate?

Three areas we’re concentrating on this year to help our business manage through the change…

What has your business done to adapt? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or on Twitter.

Last week we attended Daniel Harris’ “Zen and the Art of Selling/Networking” at the Illinois Technology Association sales round-table.  Daniel spent a number of years in Hollywood selling, writing, and producing…he even won a Grammy! It was good to get out and meet a few people in the Chicago tech community and we’re looking forward to more Chicago events this year.

Daniel gave a solid presentation in which he offered a couple very useful tips that we would like to pass on:

Give back to Get – Giving back to get back certainly isn’t a new idea, however, it’s easy to loose focus or to not be genuine in your efforts. One key reminder that Daniel offered was to get involved with a community that you’re passionate about and then identify ways you can contribute. The downstream impact isn’t always immediately apparent but oftentimes will lead to a new contact, opportunity or something totally unexpected experience.  As Daniel aptly pointed out, the Karma of giving tends to find its way back to you in some way, shape or form.

Take the meeting – We’ve all been there before; a friend or business colleague trying to provide a helping hand, refers you to someone that just might be of interest. After a brief email or phone call you realize, for whatever reason, that there’s really no point in meeting in person. Through several real-life examples, Daniel offered a gentle reminder that taking the meeting can oftentimes lead to other interesting opportunities. The next time this happens to you, take a moment to consider the possibilities and remember that the world is a small place…there’s no telling what a few minutes of your time might lead to next.

Here are a few reminders of our own…

Relationships are not built overnight.  Being persistent and having the patients to build solid business relationships has allowed to us to secure many great clients.

Be prepared. Take the time to do research and perform due diligence prior to taking a meeting.  We find the level of conversation is greatly improved and clients/prospects usually recognize the fact you have taken the time to do a little research.

Do what you say you are going to do.  If you say you will follow up, then do so.  If you say you are going to send information, then do so.  This seems basic but a comment we hear from our clients often is that we do what we say we are going to do and that quality is greatly appreciated and helps build strong relationships.

If you have a few sales or networking reminders that you’re focusing on this year, we would love to hear them in the comments below or on Twitter.

Daniel Harris currently works for SKC – Smart Communications a teleconferencing and collaboration solutions provider.

In Chicago last month, Google announced a new Google Analytics feature that will allow you input annotations on a specific date (coming in January). The feature functions very similar to commenting on a section of a document in that you’re able to select a specific date and enter a bit of text explaining what occurred on that particular day. This is a handy little tool that gives you the ability to explain why your site suddenly increased or decreased. Say for instance, you started a web marketing campaign for a new product offering and the campaign leverages Google AdWords, your company blog, and YouTube videos. Over a few days you see an increase in the traffic to your site and since it’s fresh in your mind you can easily pinpoint the stimulus. However, what about 3 months later when you’re developing a new web marketing campaign and you go back to look at the previous results? Do you remember which campaigns started on a particular data? What was it about a campaign that seemed to work well? Annotations in Google Analytics is similar to a sticky note that helps remind you of what was going on a particular date. The annotation feature also gives you a way to share comments with other users within your organization.

If you’re already using Google Analytics take a look at the 1 minute video below. If you’re not using Google Analytics and want to learn more about setting it up on your website, feel free to drop us a note.