SMBLive, developer of the 1StoreFront online social commercial solution for small and midsized businesses, has introduced a new version with enhanced search engine optimization capabilities that result in higher placement in search engines, along with a host of other new features.
The new version, available immediately, now offers community
capabilities, including a Facebook-like facility for connecting with buyers,
identifying and evaluating suppliers, and building relationships.
It also offers individual user profiles, much like Facebook
profiles, in addition to business profiles, public and private online
discussion forums, user-to-user messaging, online presence detection, a contact
management system and a recent activity dashboard.
A new events calendar allows businesses to create and publish a
calendar of events that the company will be attending or hosting, along with
dates of promotions and other important company events.
These features flesh out 1StoreFront, which has been available
since April of 2007. Original features include a point-and-click site builder,
marketplace syndicator, customer surveyor, customer ratings and reviews, an
online catalog, pricing and promotions management, order management and payment
processing.
Currently SMBLive has agreements with several online communities
and telecommunictions vendors, from BTTradespace.com to Mexico’s Telmex.
Although established online marketplace players like eBay and
Amazon offer tools to help SMBs sell online and a host of new players, from
Facebook and Yelp to Hostopia, MerchantCircle, Mojopages and WebSitePros help
SMBs promote online, 1StoreFront is a one-stop-shop, said CEO Matt Howard.
“A small business owner can manage all aspects of their online
business including promoting—establishing a high-quality online presence and
automatically improving search engine rankings; socializing—engaging customers and prospects in online conversations and creating and publishing
a calendar of events; and transacting—creating and managing online catalogs,” he
said.
1StoreFront also integrates web services and telcos, allowing
small business owners to initiate telco-grade voice conversations integrated
with business applications.
1StoreFront is distributed exclusively though large telcos, and
the core solution is free.
