These days, the big box chains aren't the only ones using social media to drive sales. Many smaller retailers are trying to keep pace with the way their consumers shop and also trying to understand how to take advantage of these new social marketing techniques.

Today's consumers judge retail brands by how they engage shoppers, whether retailers are listening to consumer preferences, understanding what consumers want to buy and when they want to buy. Consumers want retailers to offer them ideas for future purchases based on their "personal" preferences.

This stream of instant customer feedback via social media is generating a seemingly unmanageable amount of information. We call it big data. It's data about consumers: what they buy, when they buy and how they want to buy. As a result, companies are constantly rethinking the ways they design, produce and market products and services.

New social media sites are being created every day, which constantly change the way consumers stay engaged with retailers. Social media has opened up a direct two-way conversation between brands and their customers, giving consumers an influence never seen before.

Now that big data is placing new demands on the marketing profession, chief marketing officers have the ability to understand each and every consumer, not as a demographic or type, but as an individual. This enhanced understanding of individual consumers enables marketers to adjust campaigns in real-time, and tailor pricing and promotions across thousands of offers for millions of customers, which creates a personal relationship with a brand. These personalized offers make marketing more like a welcomed service, instead of a nuisance.

The question for many retailers, large and small, is this: Are retailers willing to take advantage of the marketing "intel" social media and advanced analytics can provide?

In speaking with a number of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), many of them want to use new analytics capabilities to help better understand their consumers. However, smaller businesses are taking a bit more time when it comes to adopting these advanced capabilities simply because they want to be sure they will see an immediate return on their investment.

Without analytic insight, most SMB owners are just shooting in the dark and relying on their gut feelings to determine their customers' needs and wants. Without a way to accurately measure web traffic generated from social channels in relation to an increased online or mobile presence, there's simply no way to connect the increased number of qualified leads. Without this level of insight, how can a retailer adapt, plan and grow?

Big data is expected to be truly transformative for SMBs by offering insights into business operations, understanding competitive landscapes and driving informed decision-making. SMBs have begun to recognize the competitive advantages big data technology offers. The first to take advantage of this will be in the best position to change the rules of engagement.

Compared to larger enterprises, SMBs typically face three core obstacles: lack of money, time and resources. Regardless of these challenges, SMBs also have substantial advantages over their larger counterparts. They're more flexible, more adaptable and more responsive, if they do it right.

More and more SMBs are turning to managed service providers to manage retail web sites, which are becoming more complex and require interactive applications to target consumer attention. It's these local technology providers who can take on the responsibility to manage the growing amounts of consumer data in the cloud, while also helping retail web site operators to run their sites and scale up with the necessary computing power and data storage.

The greatest marketing challenge is to gather all this disparate data and exploit it in the most cost-effective way, while staying a step ahead to anticipate the future demands of the individual consumer.

Yes, SMBs need to focus on growing their customer base and keeping their customers happy by targeting marketing messages as precisely as possible. In order to attract and keep customers, retailers need to ask customers, "What would you like?" and then provide it.

But smaller retailers also have to understand that customers will not always anticipate their own needs. They don't know what's technically possible or what will be desirable to them as social, cultural and business environments change.

Having the foresight to know what is possible and giving it to consumers before they even ask will be key to set a business' retail brand apart from the competition.

All small retailers have to do is take a step back, look around and gain a little analytic insight to see the next big trend around the corner that will attract the individual consumer.

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Find out more about IBM's CMO study and how that affects midsize businesses.

A small healthcare provider decides to put patient records on the cloud while ensuring that they are HIPAA compliant. A regional bank turns to a managed services approach to host mobile applications and platforms so the bank can create new channels to engage consumers who expect to access their bank information with a few taps of a finger.

No matter how you look at, it's the cloud that is driving the way information and technology is being consumed -- changing the way we work.

Businesses -- driven by consumers -- expect their data to be open, accessible and easily moved between different programs. If somebody wants to connect their customer information to their sales analytics application and have that insight sent to their mobile device -- they don't see why they shouldn't be able to.

The convenience of cloud applications has become so common that we almost take it for granted. Basic email and other cloud applications are used everywhere from small to large businesses around the world. Mobile technology has also tethered us to the cloud in ways that were unimaginable a few years ago.

Increasing Confidence in the Cloud

Today, the cloud levels the playing field for SMBs, helping them compete in today's quickly changing business environment, by spending less time and money on IT and more time focused on their most important priority -- growing their businesses.

While SMBs have expressed their security concerns in the past, they are seeing advances in this space that are changing perceptions and increasing receptivity.

No doubt, security is complex area. But it's specifically difficult for small businesses to keep up with ever-changing and increasing security threats especially when they typically have a small IT staff to focus on it.

Now, SMBs are seeing steps taken to deliver enterprise-level high availability and security to protect their most precious assets -- customer information, intellectual property and most importantly their brand -- in the cloud. This is dramatically shifting the way they think about the cloud with security in the same sentence.

And this increasing confidence in the cloud is opening up new opportunities for many SMBs to use new technologies such as mobile and social channels to better compete and enter into new markets and identify new customers. In fact, according to AMI, SMBs in the United States will spend more than $49 billion on cloud services in 2015, nearly double the size of the market today.

And as mobility will continue to gain in popularity, the demand for smartphone technology and mobile computing platforms on the cloud is only going to increase. In fact, by 2015, nearly three-quarters of the internet-capable devices will be Post-PC devices, (smartphones and tablets). Many SMBs are looking to these devices to enhance the way they to do business such as using a free downloadable mobile app to brainstorm, exchange ideas and collect feedback on client accounts in real time -- the key piece to help win new business.

Whether it's data, mobile or network, security will always be one of the top priorities for any SMB. So how can SMBs maintain a level of control over access to apps and data that they expect behind their own firewall? Seamless integration that connects users and cloud apps to manage access control, auditing and authentication will be key.

So with that said, SMBs will be looking to managed service providers to help them seize this opportunity that cloud can bring, delivering the enterprise level capabilities SMBs never had access to before -- helping to accelerate the cloud adoption for this business segment.

As many SMBs are under intense pressure to build their businesses, reduce costs, eliminate inefficiencies, the one thing they can feel confident about is how the cloud will open the doors to new opportunities and remove the barriers that once prevented them to get on to the path of innovation and growth.

Going to a brick and mortar record store is giving way to downloading music. Making a purchase with physical cash or credit cards is giving way to paying directly with your mobile phone.

The speed with which consumers are buying products and services is dramatically shifting in today's digital era, and businesses who fail to respond quickly enough to keep pace with the evolving consumer are the ones who will be left behind in this new era of computing.

The Big Picture Revealed through the Lens of Innovative Collaboration
With the changing economics of IT, companies now are able to embrace transformative technologies to drive growth without losing sight of day to day needs. So how do companies stay on top of meeting their business goals while keeping an eye on what is coming around the corner - or even risk innovating to stay ahead of the curve?

Confronted with this growing complexity, organizations are finding it nearly impossible to be successful when executing entirely on their own, making partnering and collaboration core strategies that can provide the edge many organizations need to tackle the toughest forms of innovation.

Furthermore, CEOs are establishing more open and collaborative cultures -- those in which employees connect more with each other and the outside world not only to innovate, but also to reinvent themselves. Learning from each other, they stay ahead of the skills curve, remain open to change, and become in effect "future-proof."

In the era of Big Data, what's different now is how much consumers are telling marketers by leaving behind a trail of "digital breadcrumbs." In turn, marketers are sifting through that enormous flood of data to paint a vivid picture of each person as an individual.

A recent survey of 20 leading retail brands on Facebook measured responsiveness to customer questions, comments and complaints. With more than 900 million people using the social networking site, the survey illuminated a more salient reality -- word now travels far more quickly than at any time in history.

To effectively engage an individual consumer, client or citizen, organizations must weave together insights about the whole person -- from sources they likely haven't consulted in the past. They will need stronger analytic insight to uncover trends and answer questions they never thought to ask. In essence, they now must listen to their clients in new ways.

And it's social media that is providing a virtual testing ground for how well companies are delivering on their promises. Marketers must turn their companies into social businesses if they have any hope of establishing a long term relationship with customers.

Business and government leaders are asking for help in dealing with the radical digital changes beyond products and services. They are embracing technology in completely new ways to spot oncoming threats, capture immediate and unexpected business opportunities, and address business challenges with a more simplified approach.

Technology has been and always will be the invisible thread that knits an organization together. It is transforming the ability to innovate, allowing companies to test new ideas at a pace unimaginable even a decade ago. However, the pressures of delivering results at an accelerated pace now requires a new level of computing to turn a strategic vision into a business reality.

Successful companies are asking questions like, "How is technology changing the game in my industry? How is it changing the nature of the way my products and services are delivered to consumers? How are we using new kinds of information to bring a new level of engagement with the consumer?"

The philosophy of seizing opportunities presented by new technologies, rather than fearing or merely keeping pace with them, needs to be integrated into the DNA of every company's business marketing, sales and product design strategies to keep their companies viable and successful for the next generation and beyond.

As market dynamics and technological advances continue to force more organizational change, significantly impacting how businesses engage with customers and employees, CEOs will continue to look to technology not only to make them more efficient, but also to enable increased collaboration and create relationships -- essential connections to fuel creativity and innovation.

It used to be that only people fortunate enough to have ties to the wealthy or socially prominent were "well-connected."

Today, we're all well-connected, thanks to popular social media and delivery methods such as cloud and mobile computing. We can collaborate with anyone anywhere at any time.

Businesses, too, are better connected. Once viewed as a fad for students and teens, social networking has become an important way for businesses of any size to link employees, partners, and clients -- and even go global Through blogs, videos, online forums, Tweets, and Facebook likes, customers from India to Indianapolis are telling retailers what they want and how they want it. And, based on this instant feedback, companies of all sizes can target the right products and services to the right customers and avoid costly design errors.

A social framework is particularly important to small businesses. It can help them deepen customer relationships, generate new ideas faster, and enable a more effective workforce. In short, a social business embraces networks of people to create true business value and helps to level the playing field between them and larger organizations.

Concurrently, the burgeoning mobile workforce is expected to reach more than 1.19 billion by 2013; nearly 1 trillion Internet-connected devices will be in the market by 2012, generating 20 times more mobile data by 2015. Combining the explosion of mobile devices with new cloud delivery models and social networking's profound effect on society, we now have a perfect storm of industry trends -- the ideal time to move social networking from the hands of teens to businesses and for smaller businesses to gain a huge competitive advantage.

According to IBM's 2011 CIO Study, 55 percent of CIOs from smaller and midsize businesses plan to invest in collaboration and social networking to increase competitiveness over the next few years. In addition, 77 percent of these same CIOs are looking to change their internal collaboration processes over the next three to five years. Market research firm IDC estimates the market opportunity for social business software will grow by a factor of 2 billion by 2014.

Among small and midsize businesses, healthier budgets and stronger outlooks have helped companies shift their strategic mindsets from how to cut costs to how to connect with customers and how to innovate. Eighty-three percent of midmarket CIOs surveyed identified analytics as their top priority investment area, while there was a 50 percent increase in the number of midsize organizations that plan to invest in cloud computing, as compared with IBM's 2009 CIO Study.

Becoming social businesses is inevitable if companies want to become more innovative, efficient, and resilient. Organizations that take advantage of a social business culture have the potential to transform themselves and become leaders in their industries. Shouldn't your company be well-connected?

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Business owners are a hardy lot. It takes guts to get any business off the ground. And if you're still in business after the economic turbulence we've been experiencing the last few years, you're obviously made of strong stuff.

But even the toughest entrepreneurs can't do it alone. Corporate America has long offered a variety of programs and products designed to help entrepreneurs and small business owners. Some are substantive, others not so much. But in the last few weeks, I've talked to four corporate marketers who I believe are offering truly helpful programs or other assistance for business owners.

eBay Reaches Out to Brick-and-Mortar Businesses

Here's a startling statistic: As much buzz as there is about e-commerce, only 6 percent of retail sales occur online. In a step to enter the brick-and-mortar marketplace, last December eBay bought local shopping site Milo.com, and is now busy integrating Milo's technology into eBay.

David Ramadge, who heads local business development for eBay, came with the Milo purchase. He explains that currently, retailers using the top three point-of-sale (POS) systems (QuickBooks POS, Microsoft Dynamics RMS, and Retail Pro) can sign up for free at MiloFetch.com. The system then (in minutes) scans your inventory and creates a free Milo.com listing, allowing local customers to see what you've got in stock and how to get to your store. Within the next few months, he adds, Milo will enable local retailers to reach eBay's millions of customers.

The goal is to help local retailers raise their local profiles, and enable them to use online technology to increase offline sales. The system, says Ramadge, is "simple, silent, and seamless." (See more coverage of eBay on AllBusiness.com.)

IBM Offers $1 Billion in Financing

We all know technology drives productivity. But the economy has kept many of us from investing in new hardware and/or software, even though our businesses really need the boost new technology brings. To help, IBM just committed $1 billion in financing to "credit-qualified" small and midsize businesses over the next 18 months (See IBM Unveils $1B Small-Biz Technology Financing Program.)

Andy Monshaw, the general manager of IBM Midmarket Business, says IBM Business Partners, the resellers who actually work with small and midsize companies, told him that the tight credit market kept getting in the way of businesses investing in these new technologies.

So the tech giant ponied up a billion dollars and introduced a new set of software systems and services to help their customers invest in three crucial technologies: analytics, cloud computing, and security.

Intuit "Loves" Local Businesses

It's all too easy for corporate giants to lose touch with their customers. Ed Matlack, who's the social media and advocacy leader for small business at Intuit, says it's "hard to hear every voice out there." But Intuit's founder Scott Cook hasn't lost sight of the questions he started the company with: "How do we hear [small business owners]? How do we continue to innovate?"

One answer was to help local businesses promote themselves in their own communities, so Intuit launched a "Love a Local Business" campaign. Every month Intuit gives away $25,000 to a deserving local business; this month two businesses in two different cities will get an even bigger prize: $50,000. The community votes for the winners, a process that Matlack says helps local businesses raise their awareness on the local level.

Matlack is a former entrepreneur himself, so he understands the value of community, especially for small business owners who can feel isolated. I caught up with Matlack at the America's Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) Conference last week, where he was busy signing people up to join the Intuit Small Business Inner Circle. The idea behind the inner circle is to get input from small business advocates and evangelists about how Intuit can better serve its small business customers. And, yes, he talked me into joining. (See more from AllBusiness.com bloggers on Intuit.)

RatePoint Worries About Your Reputation

We all know consumers increasingly rely on social ratings and review sites before they consider doing business with any company -- including yours. So in addition to running your business, you now have to worry about your online reputation, and frankly who has the time?

You have to make time, says Keith Cooper, president and CEO of RatePoint (and a serial entrepreneur). "The only thing a business has is its reputation," Cooper says.

The importance of these new channels is staggering, considering none of them really existed a decade ago. According to Cooper:

• 76 percent of consumers read online reviews before trying a business.
• Almost as many people (68 percent) rely on online reviews as recommendations from friends (77 percent).
• 66 percent of people are interested in recent reviews.
• Only 14 percent of consumers would go to a business that didn't have any online reviews.

The RatePoint system scans the Web for what people are saying about your company (and your competitors). And the company recently adopted a "freemium" business model to help more business owners assess, monitor, and improve their reputations: You can sign up for a free monthly report, or pay to get more in-depth services.

These four corporations offer very different tech solutions to help you grow your business. But really, what all four are doing is giving you more time to work on what's important to you. As Intuit's Matlack puts it, "Small business owners, by their very nature, are closer to their customers." One key to maintaining those relationships is to let technology work its magic.

Follow Rieva on Twitter @Rieva and read more of her insights on SmallBizDaily.com.

This article originally appeared on AllBusiness.com.

A combination of lingering recession, pressure from big box stores, and extreme weather has forced one independent family-owned plant nursery to shut its doors after 15 years. As a place where neighbors would gather, this is a tremendous loss for its local community.

One medical clinic franchise owner was looking to expand to address a growing demand for affordable healthcare, but since January six banks have rejected his loan requests. Discouraged by the bank process, the owner is now trying to secure capital from a private investor.

The current administration once again stressed the fact that the road to recovery must be led by small businesses and entrepreneurs, doubling Small Business Administration investment funds for small businesses over the next five years.

Why are small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) like the medical clinic or the plant nursery important to our economy? It's because the best small firms become big -- spreading good ideas across the entire economy and creating lots of jobs through growth.

In spite of this conventional wisdom, the current lackluster economy combined with significant long-term concerns over the national debt, the uncertainty of tax increases and lack of access to working capital to expand one's business are currently undermining the entrepreneurial spirit.

Despite the current economic climate, we are well-positioned to get back on track to help SMBs bring the economic stability needed, as many believe they will be the source of new jobs to speed up the economic recovery.

Follow the Money

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the American economic environment is far friendlier than most, to smaller and newer companies.

Looking at the bigger picture, venture capital spending in America accounts for up to about 0.09 percent of the country's gross domestic product -- a higher percentage than any other country the O.E.C.D. examined except for Israel. This spending is vital in order to help SMBs, since venture capitalists and angel investors are known to be crucial elements in spurring the next wave of innovation.

This system works in two parts. First angel networks provide initial funding for newly established firms. Once these new companies prove their profitability, venture capitalists provide a different and greater portion of financing to help fledging firms reach profitability and contribute to the country's economic expansion at a faster pace. Unlike bank loans, funding from angel investors and venture capitalists comes with the expertise and networks that can help SMBs succeed.

Capturing those Big Opportunities When You're Small

Even without the cash to run big research operations, small and nimble start-ups have the incentive to use and understand how technologies can disrupt static and bloated industries.

Cloud computing, for instance, has advanced to the point where tools previously available only to large multinational conglomerates are now widely available, letting smaller companies unite remote workforces with collaboration in the cloud. With the high costs of commuting, one of the greatest benefits of the cloud is anytime, anywhere availability for the workforce. With the cloud, in-person meetings and routine business travel can be kept to a minimum, lowering overall operating costs - which represents a crucial savings for a small business.

Small business owners are also increasingly leading the adoption of non-PC devices such as smartphones and tablets, as on-the-go computing platforms. We are seeing small businesses go mobile to be more efficient in order to meet the demands of their markets with unprecedented reach and flexibility -- creating a situation where small businesses are able to realistically compete against large enterprises.

In fact, those adapting to the new way of conducting business on-the-go are bringing in double the revenue of those reluctant to adopt mobile technology as part of their day-to-day business practices. On average, mobile-fluent firms earn $10.8 million annually, compared with $5.7 million for mobile laggards, according to the survey conducted in early 2011, by The Business Journals

The Mentor: A Sounding Board

This economy has many small business owners shaken up. Every day they are faced with difficult decisions of paying a vendor or making that next mortgage payment -- creating a sense of isolation, that they are going it alone.

The pressures of business ownership can leave small business owners feeling overwhelmed. A mentor can be seem like a life raft during these uncertain times to help business owners stay focused.

A mentor can be someone who has successfully navigated the minefield of small business ownership. A mentor can provide advice, guidance, and even a pep talk now and again with lessons learned. Sometimes it's a matter of getting to know fellow, non-competing business owners, or seeking the free mentoring services of a professional association.

Every day new ventures are created. Some of these businesses will succeed, others will fall by the wayside. The U.S. Small Business Administration shows a consistent rate of well over 50 percent of small businesses fail within the first five years of doing business. Some may be on shaky ground at the start, but need to build the right foundation and obtain the right resources to grow -- and with perseverance and careful planning can prevail in the end.

In this fragile economy, businesses that find the financial, technical and mentoring necessary that will support their innovative ideas, products or services to succeed will be the survivors and will be in the best position to breathe new life to revive this economy.

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