I’m often asked which smartphone is best for small business users.  My gut response from dealing with pretty much every make and model of mobile phone and smartphone is the Apple iPhone.

With that said, there is often a better answer for small business users than simply stating the iPhone is best.  If you are a small business owner or sales person traveling far from major metropolitan areas, the accompanying and mandatory AT&T mobile service may not be the best fit for you due to smaller coverage areas outside big cities and major highways.  If AT&T’s coverage is a deal breaker, then I suggest going with Verizon and one of their smartphone options.  I’ve managed, configured and used Droid phones and am not a big fan of the size of the devices.  There are other smaller, and less expensive mobile device options that will serve the same purpose and more easily fit into your pocket.  I’m several sentences into an opinion on choosing a mobile phone for small business and have nary a mention of the ubiquitous Blackberry; the crown jewel of enterprise business users and the leader of the free world.  I am not a big fan of Blackberry devices.  However, I do see many successful business owners and companies using Blackberries who all love them.  And that is really where the gut reaction of my first sentence could be completely wrong for a particular user.  If you “grew up” on a “Crackberry” then that is likely the best mobile device for you.

As a side note for Blackberry users: If you’ve always wanted the experience of the Blackberry Enterprise Server that large organizations use but didn’t know how or didn’t want to pay for the data plans and licensing you’ve got another option now.  Blackberry offers another option, Blackberry Professional & Express Server.  Get real-time synchronization of mail, calendar and contacts to your company’s Microsoft Exchange mail server.  Here is the best part, though, you do not need the upgraded and more expensive BES (Blackberry Enterprise Server) data plan anymore for all the advanced sync features.  On top of that, the new Blackberry Server option is FREE.  Correct, 100% free licensing for the server and user licenses.  If you want more information on how to sync your Blackberry to your Exchange mail server with no license fees or upgraded data plans just let us know.

If you are open to change and are not put-off by the AT&T iPhone data plans, then I strongly recommend opting for an iPhone.  It does not need to be an iPhone 4 or even the iPhone 3GS.  The iPhone 3G and the newer ones mentioned all provide a large screen to more easily read emails, pdfs, web pages, view pictures, follow the built-in map function and GPS and obviously has a whole truckload of available apps.  Oddly enough, as cool as the multitude of iPhone applications are, and as entertaining as so many apps can be, there are actually many useful iPhone apps available to grow your small business and allow you to be more productive and effective in your daily work.  But, alas, that is for another post.  Cheers.

It seems odd that these same businesses and decision makers would never compromise on their business cards, business suit or other marketing items.  Really, what do you do first after you meet someone, exchange business cards and are looking to do business together?  Do you open a phone book to check out their yellow pages ad, drive by their office…  maybe, but most likely you take a look at their company’s website.  To be clear, I am not suggesting or condoning flashy websites for businesses.  What I am suggesting is the necessity of a clear marketing message that is consistent across all mediums; your personal appearance, print materials and online media such as websites.

This is not a new or revolutionary topic, but I continue to encounter significantly lacking websites and Internet marketing from what appear to otherwise be solid businesses.  The most common reason I hear for these deficiencies is related to budget.  Once a company puts up their website there is no more money allocated to it, ever.  They think it is “good enough.”  I wonder if potential customers think it is good enough?

We look forward to providing continued helpful information and recommendations for small businesses around Indianapolis.

The focus of our blog is to educate and provide relevant information regarding small business marketing on the Internet and computer technology benefits to grow revenue.

Thank you,

Kirk Miller

Senior Engineer at L5 Solutions – Indianapolis IT support provider and online marketing specialist.