Small Business Ecommerce Link Digest – March 14, 2008

So, it’s slowly becoming official: we’re approaching/in a recession/death spiral. Bummer. Ah, well. It could be worse. You could be Client 9.

We at thinks tend to take the long view on these things. And the long view is good for ecommerce. Without further ado, here is this week’s list of ecommerce links to brighten your spirits in these dark days. They might just help you compete more effectively, too.

• I’ve talked a lot in the past about why small businesses need a website and tools small businesses can use to create a website quickly and easily. Search Engine Land gives a great example of one small business using these techniques to great success. Key quote: “[our website has] been crucial to helping build the business and driving customer growth. The majority of our customers originate through the web.”
• How much should you budget for acquiring those customers, through the web or otherwise? Mike Moran (author of the outstanding “Do It Wrong Quickly”) links to great information about how to effectively budget for customer acquisition.
• Conventional wisdom says capturing new customers requires plenty of work as well as money. Even more so if you’ve gotten a bad reputation somewhere along the way. But maybe conventional wisdom is wrong. Conversation Agent looks at how much 14-year olds love Microsoft and what you can learn from that. Huh. Maybe there’s hope for Eliot Spitzer yet.

That’s it for the week, folks. See you on the other side.