Inspiration from 101 Small Business Bloggers Part 6

: Create a grid analyzing your business and your competitors. What do you all do similarly? What is the one thing you do that your competitors don’t? Focus on this one thing with your customers for an edge.”
— Kevin Dougan,

46. “Be Consistent: You’ve spent a lot of money on your name, website and logo. Are you using them consistently across your web site, business cards, signage and even in your invoices/receipts? Take a 360 degree view of your business from your customers eyes and make sure you’re hard-earned identity is served up consistently.”
— Kevin Dougan,

47. “Be micro-focused and the search engines will find you.”
— Seth Godin,

48. “Don’t put all your eggs in Google’s basket. Defensible traffic is a must. If you rely too heavily on free Google traffic, you risk losing that traffic next time the search algorithm changes.”
— Matt McGee,

49. “Ask Why, Not What: It might seem like everyone is on Facebook or using Twitter these days. When the latest marketing fads come into view, don’t ask ‘what’ should I do on sites like this, ask ‘why’ should my business be on these sites. If your customers don’t use these sites, should you?”
— Kevin Dougan,

50. “Find your customers online and where they spend time. Once you’ve researched where your customers spend their time, use those venues to converse and collaborate with them toward shared mutual gain.”
— Steve Rubel,

51. “Don’t fear the social media space. Small business do excel in social media, because they understand relationships. Though the Internet is often seen as a place to sell, social media has made it a great space for extending customer relationships. Social media tools also offer great ways to connect with other small business to share ideas, to talk with customers for feedback, to announce special events and to find with new partners to make new innovative offers.”
— Liz Strauss,

, you need to integrate three basic components – research / intelligence, content development, and measurement. Remember that relationships are key in social media, so you will need to expand your thinking to earned direct and indirect links through good content.”
— Valeria Maltoni,

53. “To make participation in comments and social media activities count for you, listen first, be aware of the context – are people talking about your industry in general, a competitor, or your company directly? – and look to engage in an honest, open and helpful manner. Drop the buzzwords, and do a gut check by reading your comment as you would read what someone else left on your blog.”
— Valeria Maltoni,

54. “Find a significant unmet need and fill it well.”
— Anthony Cerminaro,

55. “Use design, service or ambiance to differentiate your product in some unique, even if small, manner. No matter how pedestrian or utilitarian the product, make buying it or using it an experience”
— Alex Tabarrok,

56. “When aligning yourself against the competition, it always pays to be different and take risks.”
— Mike Smith,