BASEMENT TO BOARDROOM  

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse, a leading provider of self-service e-mail marketing, event marketing, online surveys, social media, and direct mail solutions empowering small businesses to create, manage, and analyze their own direct marketing campaigns. The company has more than 100,000 customers and was ranked No. 2,802 on the 2012 Inc. 5000 list. Janine also blogs for the VerticalResponse Marketing Blog for Small Business. @janinepopick


5 Easy Steps to Get Started on LinkedIn

If your customers are other businesses or have specific industry interests, you might want to give LinkedIn a second look.  Read story

3 Types of Poison Employees

Here are three types of employees that drag your company down, and how you can stop their bad behavior.  Read story

Create an Awesome Welcome Email: 7 Tips

That first email is like the all-important first impression on a hot date. Here's how to pique your customers' interest.  Read story

Someone Is Taking Credit For Your Idea! Now What?

Giving credit where credit's due is essential to business success. Unfortunately, it doesn't always happen.  Read story

Why Your Shipping Policy is Losing You Business

If you're a small retailer, you've got it hard enough; don't lose a potential customer because of bad customer service and annoying store policies.  Read story

First-time Managers: Don't Micromanage

If your company culture is all about empowering employees, your managers need to know how to step back and just listen.  Read story

3 Ways to Establish Your Company's Voice

Having a unique personality can help you stand out from your competitors. Here are some tips to spiff up your brand voice.  Read story

3 Easy SEO Tools to Improve Your Website

These companies can help take the mystery out of SEO and get your site on its way to ranking higher in Google.  Read story

How to Get and Cultivate Customer Advocates

Instead of climbing onto a rooftop and shouting, why not have everyone on the street singing your praises?  Read story

5 Things Not to Do in the New Year

Getting rid of old habits and old ways of thinking is just as important as committing to new ones.  Read story

Don't Think You Need Change. Think Again

Just because something's working fine, doesn't mean it can't be even better.  Read story

6 Ways to Spread the Holiday Spirit

Aside from a holiday party, there are lots of creative, inexpensive ways to bring your "office family" together.  Read story

Why You Need to Market to Your Employees

Marketing a new brand and product internally to your employees could be more important than what your customers will ultimately see.  Read story

How to Land a Customer for Life

Here's how one recent experience cemented my loyalty to a chocolate company.  Read story

Proof For Skeptics: Cyber Monday is Huge

Here's the backstory on Cyber Monday and what this year's statistics mean for retailers.  Read story

2 Tools That Turn Customers Into Cheerleaders

Incentivizing current customers to buy more and bring in new business is a huge opportunity you can't miss.  Read story

3 Basics of Facebook Analytics

You've got a few months' worth of Facebook activity under your belt. Now's the time to dig into the data and see what's working.  Read story

Infographics Are Hot, Your Boring Data Is Not

Turn your boring piles of stats, data and other information into an eye-catching infographic using these three steps.  Read story

Where CEOs Spend Their Time (& Money) on Social Media

A new survey shows that more small business owners are not only using social media but they are willing to pay for help.  Read story

5 Baby Steps Toward Going Global

Doing business abroad doesn't necessarily have to take a Herculean effort, especially if you sell your products or services online.  Read story

How to Make Your B2B Content Sexy

Don't dismiss the power of great content. You could be missing tons of new traffic to your website and the sales it will surely produce.  Read story

The One Drawback of Going All Digital

For productivity and collaboration, using digital tools to jot down notes is great. But there's one thing that will surely suffer.  Read story

5 Tips Before You Go Global

Expanding abroad isn't just about changing the language on your website and accepting foreign currency.  Read story

3 Tools That Make Busywork Suck Less

There are lots of apps and software that make administrative work a little easier. Here are three that rise above the crowd.  Read story

Why You Need to Tell Stories

Using stories to describe your product helps employees, customers, and press understand how it works in the real world, not in a presentation deck.  Read story

Using Social Media to Power Community

Social media isn't just a communications tool. According to Doug Ulman of Livestrong, social media done right can propel a community forward.  Read story

How to be Creative When You're Moving Fast

Caterina Fake of Findery shares her ideas on how to be creative when you're a fast-growing, fast-moving company.  Read story

5 Easy Ways to Give Your Office a Makeover

Think outside the box with these fun, creative ways to turn a cubicle office into a place your employees enjoy working in everyday.  Read story

How to Do Social Media Right: 5 Tips

Three Inc. 5000 companies reveal real-life stories about how they've successfully tackled social media.  Read story

'A GoPro Video Is Uploaded to YouTube Every Minute'

GoPro co-founder and CEO Nick Woodman explains how GoPro started and became a viral phenomenon. Plus, how you can do it too.  Read story

Have the Best Trade Show Schwag

Schwag, when done right, can reap big rewards. Here are the three things to keep in mind when preparing for your next conference.  Read story

Make Your Employees Feel Like Winners

Awards can increase employee morale, help you attract top talent and generate brand awareness.  Read story

Why Your Customer Service Policy Stinks

No business is immune to unhappy customers. But making sure you meet customer service expectations can keep them to a minimum.  Read story

5 Reasons to Ditch Your Dress Code

Talented people are as diverse as the clothes they wear. You may be stifling your employees with your dress policy.  Read story

Is Your Business Name Web Friendly?

A company name with a non-matching domain name may spell disaster for your business.  Read story

5 Ways to Get More Facebook Likes

You have to be everywhere your customers are, including Facebook. Here are some easy ways to rack up those "likes."  Read story

Make Sure Your Customers Stay Put

Don't allow new policies to have huge consequences for your existing customers, staff, and your bottom line.  Read story

Why My Company Pivot Scares Me

CEO of Inc. 5000 company VerticalResponse Janine Popick talks about her trepidation leading up to a major shift in the company's business model.  Read story

Secrets to a Successful Social Media Strategy

The secret to successful social media marketing is to use what you've already got. Don't think you have anything? Think again.  Read story

What Makes Customers Tick

Having a frank discussion about what works, what doesn't and what your customers want from you is key to a successful business.  Read story