Consumers may lament that the cost of goods keep going up. While that may be true in some cases, the buying public has it better than ever before with more options to find a single item at the cheapest price possible.

These new windows of opportunity to save a buck have been hitting brick and mortar businesses through a practice known as showrooming - the act of scoping out products in stores before searching online for a better deal.

Most modern businesses have by now caught on to the power of social media as a marketing tool. Some have begun augmenting their web campaign with mobile SMS marketing. To have a really successful campaign, the key is to link each marketing channels in a way that serves their mutual advantage. The web has a huge potential reach, while a good text contact list offers targeted opportunities to engage with customers on a more personal level.

When we go to a dealership to splurge on a well thought out investment, we hope that it will be a smooth process. Unfortunately, a car dealership may set us on a rough ride because of their inefficient communication and customer service.

Despite the overall steady economic growth since the 2008 financial crisis, events like the recent bankruptcy of Detroit remind us that the real estate industry is still fragile. As realtors may struggle to put up “sold” signs, a new wave of innovations have surfaced to give a helping hand to the market--cloud telephony solutions.