GoDaddy, Amazon Offer New Resources for Small Businesses

Though online tools have made communicating with customers easier, sometimes a quick phone call is still necessary. That’s where a new service from GoDaddy aims to help businesses.

In addition to GoDaddy’s new SmartLine, Amazon also announced a new series of workshops this week aimed at helping small tech entrepreneurs how to build skills for Amazon Alexa. Read about these updates and more in this week’s Small Business Trends news and information roundup.

Technology Trends

GoDaddy Launches SmartLine, Gives Your Small Business Its Own Phone Number

The smartphone you carry today is more than a personal communications device. it is also fully integrated with the way you do business. For small business owners, having a second dedicated line just for business can have multiple benefits. The new GoDaddy SmartLine service makes this possible on your device, giving you and your company a more professional appearance.

Amazon Creates Alexa Workshops for Small Tech Entrepreneurs

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Galvanize, a 21st-century school for entrepreneurs, engineers, and data scientists, are going to be holding Alexa Skills development workshops to teach developers, designers, and technology buffs how to build skills for Amazon Alexa, the operating system for the company’s smart speaker Echo. Amazon’s Echo has 70.

Yikes! 97 Percent of Your Employees May Not be Able to Identify a Phishing Email (INFOGRAPHIC)

When you think of cyber attacks, you may imagine complex campaigns against major corporations and governments. The reality, however, is far more common and serious – especially for small businesses.

Slow Sites and Extra Fees Responsible for Majority of Shopping Cart Abandonment (INFOGRAPHIC)

A major concern of many ecommerce business owners is shopping cart abandonment. That’s when a customer puts an item in an online shopping cart and never completes a transaction.

Small Businesses Using iCloud Should Watch Out for New Scam

If you are a small business person using iCloud or any Apple device like an iPhone or Macbook for business purposes, beware an aggressive new scam is out to get you. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning of a new scam targeting iCloud users across the United States and Canada.

Animoto  Renews Commitment to Small Businesses After 10 Years and 20 Million Users

Animoto, the company that makes video creation and editing fairly straightforward, is celebrating 10 years since it first launched its video creation platform.

Economy

Strong  Economic Indicators Boosting Small Business Spirits, NFIB Optimism Index Shows

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) recently released its small business optimism index for July, which shows hiring and sales indicators have got small business owners thinking positively. The monthly Index of small business optimism hit 105.2 for July, higher than the 103.6 level in June.

Employment

These High Skill Jobs Are Most In Demand by US Small Businesses

In recent data pulled from Indeed.com, the online jobs site says some of the most in-demand positions at small businesses are in the medical field. Here’s more data that points to the increased demand of small businesses for highly skilled medical professionals.

Marketing Tips

UPS  Store Twitter Chat Prepares Small Businesses for the Holiday Season #HolidayBizPrep

For a small business owner, it’s never too early to start planning for the holiday season. But preparing for the busiest time of the year is not easy – even if you start early.

47 Percent of Small Business Retailers Struggle to Keep Up with Mobile Marketing Trends

A new study (PDF) from Texas-based digital savings company RetailMeNot, Inc., finds almost half (47 percent) of small business retailers struggle to keep up with the latest trends in mobile marketing. Small Business Retailers Struggling with Mobile Marketing There is a continued increase in small retailers’ investment in mobile marketing strategies.

Retail Trends

Declines in Traffic to Your Retail Store May be Slowing – Finally!

U.S. brick-and-mortar stores including small businesses are showing signs of life again. In the retail month of July 2017, in-store analytics company RetailNext found stores’ traffic decline was the lowest since January 2016. Sales also experienced a relatively low year-over-year decline, which is a positive sign for the retail industry as a whole.

Brand Fail: Papa John’s Introduces Gluten Free Pizza Gluten Intolerant People Can’t Eat

Gluten free foods are a huge trend right now. So understandably, restaurants and food brands are trying to capitalize in any way possible. The latest major chain to do so, Papa John’s (NASDAQ:PZZA), might want to rethink its strategy though. The popular pizza chain recently introduced a gluten free pizza.

5 Really Bad Reasons to Put Off Becoming EMV Chip Card Compliant (INFOGRAPHIC)

If you’re like most businesses, you already accept chip-based credit and debit cards. If, however, your business is not EMV compliant yet, there might be some serious consequences in your future. Financial services company TSYS (NYSE:TSS) has created an infographic for the National Federation of Independent Business to explain why companies need to become EMV compliant.

Small Biz Spotlight

Spotlight: This Small Business Teaches Coding Skills to Young People

Coding is a valuable skill. So those who learn young can find themselves with lots of opportunities throughout life. That’s exactly what The Coder School hopes to accomplish. Read more about the business and the story behind it in this week’s Small Business Spotlight.

Small Business Operations

24 Small Businesses Compete at National Truck Driving Championships

Twenty-four small businesses competed at the American Trucking Association’s 80th annual National Truck Driving Championships over the weekend. The event was held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida from Aug. 9-12. Roland Bolduc was crowned the Bendix Grand Champion of the 2017 National Truck Driving Championships.

New Uber for Business Could Handle Your Company’s Travel Needs

Uber has “turbocharged” its business travel platform with the latest release of Uber for Business. The ride share company has expanded on its core services to allow small businesses the ability to have more control over cost and access to features clearly defining how their employees can use the service.

What Is Amazon AppStream 2.0 and Why Might Your Business Need It?

Remote access to digital resources has become one of the most important features of today’s business ecosystem. And with people spending more time working remotely, businesses and individuals are looking for reliable platforms to access said resources. The Amazon AppStream 2.0 application was created with this very goal in mind.

FedEx Won’t Add Holiday Surcharges on Regular Sized Shipments

Appoaching the Christmas holiday season, FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) has announced it will not apply residential holiday season surcharges on regular sized shipments.

Social Media

New Facebook Features Let You Promote Brand Ambassador Content and Posts

Marketing your business on Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) just got easier. The social media giant has introduced some new features that will help marketers amplify brand content and control campaigns with creators.

Business  Networking Platform LinkedIn Adds New Multiple Photos and Sharing Enhancements

LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) has released a couple of new and interesting features that will make it easier for individuals and businesses to share their experiences.

Mobile Technology

82  Percent of Users Want to Know Why Your Business App Is Requesting Personal Information

For mobile app users, security is top priority and this is something you need to know when developing an app for your small business. For example, 82 percent of users want clear reasons why your business app is requesting their personal information, a new study has found.

New T-Mobile REVVL Smartphone Should Fit Small Business Budget

A smartphone for only $5 per month can give your small business an affordable solution to bring your workforce together, which is what T-Mobile (NYSE:PCS) has done with the REVVL. At only $125, the T-Mobile REVVL is a smartphone with features good enough to perform all basic communication, image capturing, conferencing, and storage functions.

LG V30 with World’s Largest Smartphone Lens Represents Game Changer for Small Marketers

LG Electronics Inc. (KRX: 066570) is bringing a new level of photographic innovation to the mobile industry. The South Korean multinational electronics company announced recently it is introducing an F1.6 aperture camera and glass lens in the dual camera of its upcoming V30 flagship smartphone.

Image: GoDaddy

This article, "GoDaddy, Amazon Offer New Resources for Small Businesses" was first published on Small Business Trends