The COVID-19 pandemic forced many small business owners to move online in order to keep up during the shut down. However, some small business owners have avoided making real strides in developing an online presence because of uncertainty about how to design a website or use social media in a meaningful way for your business.

But, you can't afford to put off going online any longer!

2017 is upon us! That means now is the time to develop your marketing plan for the new year, so you can hit the ground running on January 1st. We’ve put together some tips for creating your marketing strategy.

LinkedIn is a powerful tool for working professionals and business owners looking to network. In fact, it’s the biggest online social media tool created exclusively to help grow your professional reach. There are several networking best practices you can use in order to maximize your exposure, including specific LinkedIn tips that we know work very well on the platform. Here, we’ll discuss five LinkedIn tips for networking so you can make the most of your experience.

Congratulations! You completed your LinkedIn profile. Now all you have to do is sit back, relax and let the job offers roll in, right? Wrong! There are scores of qualified job candidates out there. To be successful, you need to leverage your LinkedIn network to attract new job opportunities. Here are five LinkedIn tips for professionals to use to be sure you get noticed.

Digital marketing can be a dizzying arena when it comes to the amount of tools, systems and platforms available to businesses. The moment you think you’ve seen one platform that can literally “do it all,” two or three others spring up with more functionality or the same feature set at a cheaper price.

Keeping up with the latest in digital marketing tools might seem like an impossible task, especially for small businesses. How exactly is one to supposed to find the best digital marketing platforms for small businesses?

It goes without saying that customer service is vital. More than 75% of consumers see customer service as representative of how much a brand values them. Another 70% say their experience is defined by how they feel they're being treated. What you may not realize is that delighting your customers takes more than just standard customer service — it's not enough to give them a smile and a can-do attitude.

In today's post, we'll discuss three of the biggest factors in how to delight your customers.

Social media can be a confusing topic these days, especially for small business marketers. With so many websites, platforms and avenues for social media it’s hard to know where to focus your efforts.

Aside from your regular marketing efforts, you’re trying to manage multiple accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc... as best you can. And how do you determine what’s working and what’s not?

As a small business owner, you're sure to know that your storefront is important. But do you realize just how important it is? Everyone's heard the adage, "don't judge a book by it's cover," but the truth is, customers make judgments about what they're interested in or what seems most likely to meet their needs in the first 15 seconds. Your storefront is the first impression you can make on a customer, and depending on their reaction, you may not get another chance to capture them.

The PCC CLIMB Center is a proud sponsor of Portland Radio Project's Biz503 show - the new Portland-centric startup and small business talk show on PRP.fm.