Email marketers’ practices analyzed

The study sets out to analyze the implementation of the most popular email marketing practices, strategies and trends amongst SMB marketers and to answer the following questions:

– Which email marketing tools are the most and the least popular among marketers?

– How do business units of different sizes implement email marketing strategies?

– What are the major differences in utilization of email marketing strategies by specific industry sectors?

“We asked marketers to answer questions about lead generation, segmentation and list hygiene, newsletter optimization and deliverability. Our overall goal was to find out how many are aware of the various optimization strategies and actually use them,” explains GetResponse Founder Simon Grabowski.

Key findings of the research

– The majority of respondents follow best practices and comply with legal requirements of subscription-based lead generation; (79% respondents use sign-up forms to build lists.) However, only 40% of respondents place web forms on every webpage and 44% on a Facebook profile.

– A large number of respondents declare high deliverability rates (62% claim deliverability at 95%), low complaint ratio (69% claim complaint ratio below 0.02%) and effective delivery to major client inboxes (68%).

– Most respondents realize the importance of regular mailings (70%), personalization (58%), compelling subject line (68%), and stats analysis (61%).

– Only 42% of respondents make use of advanced segmentation strategies and create re-engagement campaigns (36%).

– Over 55% of respondents personalize their messages or follow up leads with automated campaigns; however only 39% do split tests.

Results by Size

– Companies with 0-10 employees

This segment got the weakest results in the area of segmentation (32%) and reactivation campaigns (25%). Only 41% include social sharing icons in their newsletters.

– Companies with 11-250 employees

This segment performs best against other companies in contact acquisition via Facebook (88%). However this group has the lowest percentage in delivering newsletters in all major clients inbox (66%)

– Companies with 250-500 employees

This group stands out in using advanced segmentation techniques (72%) and split tests the most (78%). They performed worst, compared to the other groups, in getting their average complaint ratio below 0.2% (only 62%).

– Companies with more than 500 employees

This group definitely stands out in collecting contacts offline, e.g. at tradeshows, stores, using paper sign-up forms (above 75%). Also almost 90% of respondents check and analyze stats on the newsletters they send.

Results By industry:

Publishing and hi-tech are the top-ranking sectors. They are the most advanced in email marketing and in using best practices in their email campaigns. The lowest-ranking are non-profit organizations.

Report Methodology

The report consists of 3 sections that analyze the results – by marketing strategy, by business size sector, and by business industry – to make scanning and comparative analysis easy. It also includes numerous graphs, presenting the findings in an easy-to-read visual format.

The study was conducted over a period of two weeks: November 14-28, 2011. The research data was provided by 600 respondents classified in 4 groups based on business unit size, and in 13 groups based on industry type.

To download, click this link: http://www.getresponse.com/learning-center/reports/the-state-of-email-marketing.html

About GetResponse

GetResponse is the world’s easiest email marketing platform, designed to increase email marketing ROI faster than any other medium for small businesses and enterprise customers. As the flagship product of Implix and a leading email marketing platform for the past 12 years, GetResponse has collaborated with major ISPs and industry associations to ensure the best in email delivery technology, achieving average 99.3% deliverability rate. GetResponse has grown to over 220,000 active users from 183 countries, delivering 10 billion permission-based emails per year. Learn more at http://www.getresponse.com.

From Small Business Trends

GetResponse Releases Report “The State Of Email Marketing in SMBs – 2011″

“Unrabble is the first solution of its kind to put hiring in the hands of the decision maker and unchain hiring from the traditional paper resume,” said Kevin Watson, CEO and co-founder of Unrabble. “By offering a version of our software for free, we’re giving busy managers the ability to complete an entire hiring cycle using our solution. We believe that once you use Unrabble’s profile-based approach, you won’t go back to accepting paper resumes or legacy applicant tracking systems that just track resumes.”

One of the most noticeable differences in Unrabble’s approach to hiring is the complete shift away from the traditional resume to a new generation of on-line profiles. Using Unrabble, job candidates create an interactive profile that details their entire career history instead of e-mailing or uploading a resume. This gives the candidate the opportunity to do things a traditional resume cannot do such as connecting to their social media profiles, integrating video, explaining job transitions, ranking their skills and bragging about their accomplishments.

“There’s so much more to people these days than what can be summarized in a resume,” said Watson. “Unrabble’s profile allows candidates to tell their story in a way a resume never could. Unrabble also includes a unique feature called Micro-references that allows candidates to have very specific accomplishments verified by their professional network, thus adding more weight and validity to a person’s on-line profile.”

When the rich profile information flows into Unrabble, hiring managers can easily identify candidates that match their needs. Profiles can be analyzed and researched in ways that previously would have typically required significant time and even phone interviews to accomplish. Unrabble automatically ranks job applicants based on an array of criteria including skills, career preferences, and other specializations to quickly identify the most qualified and best fitting candidates as they apply from multiple sources. As a result, hiring managers no longer have to spend countless hours reviewing bad resumes.

Unrabble makes it easy for hiring managers to create a new job posting, instantly broadcast the job to social networks and job sites such as Indeed, StartUpHire and SimplyHired.com, communicate with candidates and include co-workers in the hiring process. Managers can communicate with candidates using built-in messaging functionality that eliminates the need to make redundant phone calls or disclose e-mail addresses and phone numbers. Colleagues can easily view, comment on and rate candidates so that hiring managers can reach a quick consensus.

Pricing and Availability

Unrabble is available for free at www.unrabble.com. The free version can be used for one open position at a time. Customers that need more than one position or wish to use enhanced functionality such as job board integration and a branded landing page can upgrade their account starting at only $29 per month.

The Pro Version, which features additional functionality such as colleague collaboration and a multi-positions career page, is priced at $49 per month.

About Unrabble

Unrabble is a cloud-computing software company that helps businesses make their next great hire. The hiring software saves companies time and money by automating core hiring tasks, automatically ranking top candidates based on skills, verifying claims made through social networks, and providing mission-critical features that help busy managers make sound hiring decisions. Learn more at www.unrabble.com Follow Unrabble on Twitter at www.twitter.com/unrabble and LIKE Unrabble on Facebook at www.facebook.com/unrabble. Unrabble is a trademark of KMC Software.

From Small Business Trends

Unrabble Launches Free Version of Innovative Profile-Based Recruiting Solution

The ClearSync calendar app is ideal for busy individuals, families, small businesses and organizations, medium-sized businesses and even departments within larger businesses and organizations. The program allows users to juggle all aspects of life including professional, social, church, charity work, school and children’s activities via its unlimited color-coded calendars and contacts categories.

The ClearSync app offers five levels of service:

• Free: Ideal for simple sharing, offers one sharing group, two members of groups, sync with Google, forum tech support and a free trial for sync with Microsoft Outlook. This app is supported by occasional advertising popups.
• Individual: Allows greater sharing with four people and everything else included in the free application. This app sells for $4.99 and has no advertising.
• Outlook: Ideal for someone who wants simply to connect their Outlook Calendar data to their phone. Includes all the features of the Individual App, plus allows the user to sync with an unlimited number of Outlook calendars and installations for $9.95/year.
• Silver: Ideal for families, small organizations and offices, offers unlimited sharing groups and members of groups, email tech support, text messaging, and sync with Google and Microsoft Outlook for $19.95/year.
• Gold: Ideal for power users, midsize companies and professionals, offers encrypted communications, unlimited sharing groups, members of groups, phone technical support, text messaging, sync with Google and Microsoft Outlook for $59.95/year.

Advantages of having ClearSync on an Android-based phone include:

• Keep contact information and calendar data safe. Because ClearSync’s data is “mirrored in the cloud,” the information is stored via the web. If users accidentally drop their phone into the pool, the calendar and contacts are protected
• Make appointments quickly with the integrated contacts manager that creates events with contact data preloaded
• Synchronize with the ClearSync calendars and contacts on your PC and/or laptop
• Link or embed calendars to websites
• Publish a web widget for calendar events to keep a group’s website up-to-date automatically

“One of the primary values of ClearSync is the ability to easily manage and share multiple calendars and sets of contacts,” said John Tanner, CEO of Tanner Research. “Years of honing the software have made it a powerful and easy-to-use app for an Android smartphone.” ClearSync software also runs on Windows, Macintosh and Linux PCs and in most web browsers, so users are able to enter information at their desks that, moments later, can be viewed on their phones through the cloud-based sync. ClearSync can also provide the link between Outlook calendars on different machines that are not connected via Microsoft Exchange.

ClearSync is now offering a wonderful sweepstakes to encourage people to try ClearSync. The “Win an Amazon Kindle Fire” Sweepstakes, gives Facebook fans the chance to win a one of two of the popular – new Amazon tablets. Continuing through February 15, consumers are able to enter for a chance to win an Amazon Kindle Fire by “Liking” the ClearSync Facebook page and trying the ClearSync product on the Android or desktop. For additional information, visit www.facebook.com/ClearSync.

ClearSync’s app is available for all Android (Google) phones v.2.2 and higher, including the HTC Amaze and the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic. It also works on tablets running Android 3.0 and higher, such as the Motorola XOOM™. Android users can download the free ClearSync app by going to www.clearsync.com/home/android or by visiting the Android Market on their smartphone and searching for ClearSync. While the ClearSync phone app currently only works on the Android platform, ClearSync calendars can be viewed in any standard, contemporary, phone browsers including iPhone, BlackBerry, and Windows 7 and 8.

About ClearSync

ClearSync is a division of Tanner Research, Inc. of Monrovia, Calif., which acquired the ClearSync software from Palm in 2004. Since then, the ClearSync team has made platform, speed, capacity and reliability upgrades to the service and applications. Because ClearSync’s calendar program is accessed via the internet, users can share multiple calendars and contacts with anyone, anywhere, at any time and be assured that the information is always up-to-date. For more information, visit www.clearsync.com.

From Small Business Trends

ClearSync Releases Upgrades To Calendar Android App

“We’re on a hunt to find the best retail stories in America – from marketing geniuses to customer service superstars to small business owners, who are the fabric of every local community,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “NRF’s This is Retail contest will put a face on an industry that is seamlessly woven into the fabric of America and influences every aspect of our life and culture – from commerce and fashion to real estate and public policy.”

To participate in the contest, retail employees or business owners will submit a two-minute video sharing their retail story – highlighting how their company positively impacts shoppers or the community, their role in the creation of a new innovative product or technology, or how an initiative will generate new jobs to boost the economy – and compete to win up to $25,000. The campaign intends to show the staying power of retail to decision makers in Washington and on Wall Street – illustrating the importance of retail to the U.S. economy and demonstrating the depth and breadth of careers in the industry.

NRF will accept video submissions from March 5-16. After a panel of retail executives narrows the videos down to twenty, finalists will be prominently featured on RetailMeansJobs.com and winners will be chosen based on votes. Winners will be announced during NRF’s Washington Leadership Conference in May. The first place winner will receive $25,000, second place will receive $15,000, and third place will receive $10,000.

For more information on the “This is Retail” video contest, visit retailmeansjobs.contest.

As the world’s largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide, NRF represents retailers of all types and sizes, including chain restaurants and industry partners, from the United States and more than 45 countries abroad. Retailers operate more than 3.6 million U.S. establishments that support one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.5 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy. NRF’s Retail Means Jobs campaign emphasizes the economic importance of retail and encourages policymakers to support a Jobs, Innovation and Consumer Value Agenda aimed at boosting economic growth and job creation. www.nrf.com.

From Small Business Trends

National Retail Federation Announces “This is Retail” Video Contest

The services will be sold through Xerox’s value-added resellers (VARs) and include Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for midrange and Intel systems; Cloud Backup; and Disaster Recovery services.

Xerox’s business cloud services ensure that a company’s applications, data and IT platforms are secure. These services also manage workload demand and are priced to serve SMBs that have annual revenue of $10 million to $250 million.

“Cloud technology is often presented as a complex, ‘big company’ infrastructure solution. But, in fact, managing IT operations in the ‘cloud’ is just as relevant and affordable for smaller companies and can be even more impactful,” said Ken Stephens, senior vice president of Cloud Services. “Expanding Xerox’s IaaS and Backup and Recovery services to SMBs is the next step toward offering a full suite of business cloud services that SMBs can access on a ‘pay-as-you-go’ model.”

“Xerox extending its sales efforts to SMBs through VARs is a smart move, especially in the growing cloud space,” said Ben Trowbridge, CEO at Alsbridge, a global advisory firm. “It’s a logical extension of their longstanding enterprise services, with more opportunities to sell additional Xerox products and services relevant to SMBs.”

The new services include:

Xerox Cloud IaaS for Midrange and Intel systems

• Many cloud providers – for enterprises or SMBs – do not support multiple operating systems, databases, legacy applications and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. The Xerox Cloud IaaS meets the conflicting demands of various operating models.
• Xerox delivers secure cloud services via five global data centers that house multi-tenant technologies and virtualized LANs.
• IaaS is quickly installed and ready to use with an on-demand “click and pick” provisioning process.
• Iaas ensures complete tracking, auditing and reporting capabilities.

Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery Service

• Recovery of data, applications and operating systems – everything on the server and can be restored in less than 24 hours.
• An affordable approach for enterprises and SMBs needing remote backup and disaster recovery at a monthly, utility-based price, meaning customers pay for what they use.
• No long-term contracts required.
• The Business Cloud infrastructure used for corporate enterprises also is available for SMBs.
• Data backup is replicated, secured, encrypted and conducted daily.

“No matter the size, scope or location of a company, there’s a common denominator: how to manage costs and risks. Xerox delivers a utility model approach, intense security controls, systems and data redundancy, even a customized company-wide disaster recovery plan,” added Stephens.

About Xerox

With sales approaching $23 billion, Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) is the world’s leading enterprise for business process and document management. Its technology, expertise and services enable workplaces – from small businesses to large global enterprises – to simplify the way work gets done so they operate more effectively and focus more on what matters most: their real business. Headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., Xerox offers business process outsourcing and IT outsourcing services, including data processing, healthcare solutions, HR benefits management, finance support, transportation solutions, and customer relationship management services for commercial and government organizations worldwide. The company also provides extensive leading-edge document technology, services, software and genuine Xerox supplies for graphic communication and office printing environments of any size. The 140,000 people of Xerox serve clients in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit http://www.xerox.com, http://news.xerox.com or http://www.realbusiness.com. For investor information, visit http://www.xerox.com/investor.

From Small Business Trends

Xerox Expands Cloud Services For Small And Mid-Sized Businesses

“This policy will support IFA’s efforts on behalf of the entire franchising community to educate state legislators about the huge economic impact of franchising to their local economies and that the franchisee/franchisor relationship represents a contractual business relationship, not an employment relationship,” said IFA Senior Vice President of Government Relations & Public Policy Judith Thorman.

Noting the tremendous positive effect business format franchising has on the U.S. economy, the resolution states that any “legislation or regulations which would improperly classify franchisees as ‘employees’ is a misinterpretation of labor and contract policy and deprives franchise investors of valuable economic opportunities.” ALEC further stated its opposition to the “enactment of laws that interfere with business and franchise agreements freely and openly entered into by parties.”

The resolution originated in ALEC’s Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force and passed at the 2011 States and Nation Policy Summit. It was approved by unanimous vote at the ALEC Legislative Board meeting. ALEC previously weighed in on franchising, when in 1996 the group adopted a policy highlighting the negative effects of franchise relationship laws that were being considered by several states at the time.

Comprised of individual state legislators of both political parties, ALEC’s mission is to “advance the Jeffersonian principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and individual liberty.”

About the International Franchise Association

The International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. Celebrating over 50 years of excellence, education and advocacy, IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising. Through its media awareness campaign highlighting the theme, Franchising: Building Local Businesses, One Opportunity at a Time, IFA promotes the economic impact of the more than 825,000 franchise establishments, which support nearly 18 million jobs and $2.1 trillion of economic output for the U.S. economy. IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law and business development.

From Small Business Trends

IFA-Backed Franchise Relationship Policy Adopted by American Legislative Exchange Council

Ifbyphone’s integration with HubSpot solves the problem that occurs when a prospect completes a web form, then waits hours to receive a follow-up response. During that time gap, sales are lost due to eager consumers moving on to competitors or losing interest altogether.

LeadResponder provides a solution by instantly connecting a user’s sales team with qualified prospects by phone while prospects are still actively engaged on the user’s website and thinking about their business. When a qualified prospect fills out a web form, the software automatically triggers a phone call to find an available sales rep. Once one is identified, the sales rep receives basic information about the qualified prospect and is immediately connected to the buyer.

“This latest addition to the App Marketplace offers HubSpot customers the ultimate marketing automation package by combining a leading inbound lead generation tool with voice-based marketing automation technology,” said Irv Shapiro, CEO and Founder of Ifbyphone. “Voice interactions are often a missing link that marketers fail to consider as part of their overall marketing strategy. With Ifbyphone’s LeadResponder for HubSpot, sales representatives close the gap in their lead response time, helping them to more quickly convert qualified leads into sales.”

As an add-on to the HubSpot Marketplace, Ifbyphone LeadResponder for Hubspot is integrated seamlessly into customer accounts. Users simply register and view reports within their existing HubSpot platform.

“The introduction of applications like Ifbyphone’s LeadResponder is just the beginning of how our companies will continue to enhance the marketing automation space,” said Brian Halligan, CEO and Founder of HubSpot. “We recognized that voice-based marketing automation was a critical component to our offering, and we’re thrilled that we can give our customers even better capabilities to manage their inbound leads.”

About Ifbyphone

Ifbyphone is the leading voice-based marketing automation platform that manages, measures and automates voice interactions in the marketing process — including lead capture, lead nurturing, lead routing, and lead analysis. The Ifbyphone suite is a set of software-as-a-service applications implemented easily across an organization for better decision making and improving interactions across the customer lifecycle.

About HubSpot

HubSpot, Inc. offers an all-in-one marketing software platform that has helped more than 4,900 companies in 34 countries increase the number of visitors to their websites and convert more of those visitors to leads and customers. Applications in the software platform include website management, blogging, search engine optimization, lead management, marketing analytics, email marketing, landing pages, and social media monitoring. HubSpot is also the developer of the popular website analysis tool, WebsiteGrader.com, which has more than 3 million users. HubSpot, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Find them at http://www.HubSpot.com.

From Small Business Trends

HubSpot Expands Into Voice-Based Marketing Automation

Small business lending has become such an issue that 90 percent of small employers support community banks and credit unions being able to lend more to small businesses, and 82 percent support more stringent credit card regulations, such as clearer identification of terms and interest rate caps, according to the poll released by the American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority. Additionally, 61 percent say it’s harder now than it was four years ago to get a loan.

The poll also asked respondents about proposals in the president’s American Jobs Act. The vast majority, or 69 percent of small business owners support committing $50 billion to new and existing infrastructure projects that would generate jobs—such as making improvements to road, bridge and water systems. Another 59 percent favor creating a nationwide wireless network and improving the accessibility of high-speed wireless services.

“Loans that will help small businesses grow and create jobs are harder and harder to come by,” said John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority. “With banks’ lending portfolios shrinking and small businesses’ dependence on credit cards growing, lawmakers need to look for smart ways to revamp the credit landscape.”

“Small businesses create 65 percent of the net new private sector jobs in America,” said David Brodwin, co-founder and board member of ASBC. “Our deregulated, damaged banking system isn’t providing the credit they need, and they are calling for change.”

“Small business owners want action from Congress to boost the economy,” said Kelly Conklin, owner of Foley-Waite Associates in Bloomfield, New Jersey and a leader with the Main Street Alliance. “Invest in infrastructure to build the foundation for business success. Take serious steps to deal with the mortgage crisis and restore consumer purchasing power. Put teachers and firefighters back on the job serving our communities and boosting local economies. That’s what small businesses need.”

Additional findings in the report include:

• 52 percent of those surveyed have turned to credit cards to finance their business
• 6 in 10 small business owners support making loans more accessible by reducing collateral requirements
• 77 percent support creating incentives for community banks to lend more
• By a 2:1 margin, small businesses support increasing credit unions’ lending cap from 12.25 percent to 27.5 percent
• 73 percent of small employers believe their business has been hurt to some degree by the drop in consumer demand resulting from the housing and mortgage crisis
• 57% of respondents agree reducing the principal on underwater mortgages to the current market value would boost consumer spending, helping small businesses regain their vigor through increased profits.

For more information on these poll findings, visit:

http://www.asbcouncil.org/poll_access_to_credit.html

http://mainstreetalliance.org/5500/poll-credit-economy/

http://www.smallbusinessmajority.org/small-business-research/downloads/012612_Access_to_Credit_Poll_Report.pdf

Poll results represent findings from an Internet survey of 500 small business owners nationwide, commissioned by the American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority and conducted by Lake Research Partners. The survey was conducted between December 8, 2011 and January 4, 2012. It has a margin of error of +/- 4.4%.

The American Sustainable Business Council is a network of business organizations representing over 100,000 companies and 200,000 business leaders. ASBC advocates for public policies that meet the realities of the 21st century global economy including strategic investments in workforce and infrastructure; standards and safeguards that promote innovation, prevent abuse and protect critical resources; and a new sustainable economic model that fosters a growing, economically-secure middle class. www.asbcouncil.org

The Main Street Alliance is a national network of state-based small business coalitions. MSA creates opportunities for small business owners to speak for themselves on issues that impact their businesses and local economies. www.mainstreetalliance.org

Small Business Majority is a national nonpartisan small business advocacy organization, founded and run by small business owners, and focused on solving the biggest problems facing America’s 28 million small businesses. We conduct extensive opinion and economic research and work with small business owners, policy experts and elected officials nationwide to bring small business voices to the public policy table. www.smallbusinessmajority.org

From Small Business Trends

Opinion Poll: Small Business Owners Say Access to Credit a Problem

When it comes to mobile business applications, 41 percent say they are interested in using apps such as mobile banking, customer relationship management (CRM), risk management, payroll management and insurance policy management. Those in the transportation/communication and financial services industries are the most likely to be interested in using mobile apps to help run their businesses—47 percent.

Small Business Poll Snapshot: Most Common Apps Among Smartphone and Tablet Users

· 93 percent: Mobile e-mail
· 64 percent: Location-based navigation services
· 41 percent: Mobile apps for Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter
· 41 percent: Mobile banking apps

Although the use of smartphones and tablets increases among small businesses with more employees, the younger companies (in business 10 years or less) are more likely (52 percent) to use social media services like Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter for marketing. That’s compared to 28 percent of those in business 11 to 19 years, and 28 percent of those in business 30-plus years. Additionally, among companies using mobile applications, those with the fewest employees (one to four employees) are the most likely to use social media apps—54 percent compared with 46 percent among those with 5 to 19 employees and 24 percent among those with 20-plus employees.

About the Small Business Opinion Poll

The study commissioned by EMPLOYERS surveyed 501 owners or managers of small businesses with 1-99 full-time employees. Data was collected through telephone interviews during the period October 6 – October 13, 2011 at the 95 percent confidence level. The sample is stratified across business size and industry grouping, including manufacturing/construction, transportation/ communication, wholesale/retail, financial services, or personal/professional services businesses. The survey was conducted by ORC International through its Small Business CARAVAN.

About Employers Holdings, Inc.

Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EIG) is a holding company with subsidiaries that are specialty providers of workers’ compensation insurance and services focused on select small businesses engaged in low-to-medium hazard industries. The company, through its subsidiaries, operates throughout the United States. Insurance is offered by Employers Insurance Company of Nevada, Employers Compensation Insurance Company, Employers Preferred Insurance Company, and Employers Assurance Company, all rated A- (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company. Not all insurers do business in all jurisdictions. Additional information can be found at: www.employers.com.

From Small Business Trends

EMPLOYERS National Poll Reveals Small Business Mobile Technology and Social Media Trends

“As awareness about the benefits of cloud solutions gains momentum, these findings suggest that SMBs are beginning to connect the cost-saving potential of these services to their overall mission of reducing expenditures and minimizing TCO,” said Fonality CEO David Scult. “While controlling costs by investing in new technology seems contradictory, cloud-based communications tools, in particular, can be leveraged to drive competitive differentiation and maximize operational expenses. As a result, this technology can help spur growth through enhanced productivity and efficiency.”

Key findings of the study include:

· Containing cost and reducing TCO remains the primary goal for SMBs in 2012
· Education about the capabilities of cloud-based technology has significantly increased and is perceived as a “great equalizer” against larger competitors
· Flexibility and mobility with communications solutions are gaining importance with almost one quarter of respondents
· Need to provide access to communications solutions for remote employees, cited by 85 percent of respondents

“It is encouraging to see that SMBs are taking the initiative to learn more about cloud-based services,” said Steve Taylor, editor-in-chief and publisher for Webtorials. “This is a needed first step for SMBs to realize the tools and solutions available to achieve the goals they stated as unattainable.”

To access the complete “2012 Small and Medium-Sized Business Communications Plans and Priorities State-of-the-Market Report,” visit http://www.webtorials.com/content/2012/01/2012-smb-plans.html.

With system-agnostic solutions designed specifically to meet the individual communications needs of SMBs, Fonality offers VoIP, UC and contact center desktop and mobile solutions that are simple to use, easy to manage and affordable to deploy. The company’s cloud-based model provides the same services of traditional IP systems without costly hardware, infrastructure or lengthy implementation cycles. Total cost of ownership is dramatically reduced by 50 percent, or more, while users enjoy access to powerful communications services usually reserved for the largest of companies. To learn more, visit www.fonality.com/cloud-communication-video/.

About Fonality

Fonality is North America’s fastest growing business communications company and a leading provider of cloud-based VoIP and Unified Communications solutions for small and mid-size businesses. With a unique software model approach, Fonality provides all the features of legacy providers without the cost or complexity. Founded in 2004, Fonality has delivered more than 3 billion phone calls across the cloud while enabling more than 1 million users of open-standard based communications software. Investors include Intel Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Azure Capital Partners. Visit www.fonality.com for more information or call 877-FONALITY.

From Small Business Trends

Fonality Study: Broader Adoption of Cloud-Based Technology Among Small & Mid-Size Businesses