BIG ideas for Small Business
Lenovo is excited to launch a new small business website, www.bigforsmall.com. Lenovo Business Insights and Guidance (BIG) is a web sitelet created especially for our small business customers, with information and insights to help and inform our small business users.
It’s no secret that Lenovo PCs, software and services are designed to help users succeed in business. But, for this project, we wanted to step away from providing information about our hardware and software, and instead provide information and helpful insights that address the many (non-technology) needs of a small business owner. To do this, we decided to reach out to small business owners, authors and experts one-on-one to learn what small business people think about every day. We figured, to learn more about small business, we need to behave like small business. We picked up the phone; we sent personal emails and reached out to small business on a personal level. What are the needs of small business owners outside of PC technology? How do they gauge success? How do they use the web and new media?
What we found was very enlightening and interesting, even for a company who knows business technology inside and out. We found that the needs of small business are as broad and diverse and as the people own them, and the products and services they offer. Some businesses need insurance and postage – that simple. Some need complex web infrastructure support and industry-specific software and equipment. Some have large warehouses, some work from home relying on contract employees in various locations – imagine the variety and the breadth of need in a group this large and this diverse!
So, we thought… maybe some of these small business owners/experts/bloggers/speakers would be interested in talking to our customers. We here at Lenovo knew that we could conduct a study (we’ve done that before), buy a compilation of research (done that too), hire a copywriter (been there) or even purchase syndicated content (we try not to do that) to fill this new website. But, WHAT IF we asked our new friends to help us speak to our customers? We were surprised and delighted with the result. We found small business experts in just about every field who were interested in contributing to our site – completely for free. No strings, just a goldmine of valuable content from people who speak to small business, sell to small business, blog for small business and own small businesses. What a valuable resource for us and, even more so, for our customers!
I encourage you to check out the site. You will notice a diverse mix of voices in throughout the site. And, that is exactly what we are so excited to deliver. This website is as real and authentic as the people who contribute to it and the people who will read and enjoy it. I hope you will be one of those people! Stop by and browse, or submit a comment or question for our experts. If you are interested, submit your business for a case study. We would love to continue the conversation with you and learn about your business.