Look at any list of the top 10 fears of people and the fear of public speaking will undoubtedly be at the top of any list.  In a world where content marketing is becoming ever more important, the need to not only write the content, but present it, is now even more critical for people looking to develop new business leads and position themselves and their companies as leaders in their respective industry.  In this week’s Marketing Blog, I’ll share some additional tips to giving a presentation. (Cl...

Look at any list of the top 10 fears of people and the fear of public speaking will undoubtedly be at the top of any list.  In a world where content marketing is becoming ever more important, the need to not only write the content, but present it, is now even more critical for people looking to develop new business leads and position themselves and their companies as leaders in their respective industry.  In this week’s Marketing Blog, I thought I would hit on some of the foundational tips to...

This month's issue of IT Informer includes the following articles:

• Happy Holidays from Skoda Minotti!
• The Tablet Revolution and Why it Matters to Your Small Business's Technology Plan
• Five Common Ways Your Employees Put Your Company's Data at Risk Using Mobile Devices
• We've Expanded Our Helpdesk to Support Your Technology Needs
• Skoda Minotti's Brian Rosenfelt Listed as COSE Mindspring Expert
• 3CX Phone System Case Study

Happy Holidays from Skoda Minotti! 

We would like to wish you and your family...

If you haven’t noticed, tablets (like the iPad) are becoming more and more common. And, in my opinion, they are here to stay. This trend is obvious in the consumer space – we are seeing people getting iPads (or similar devices) for use at home on a weekly basis. So how might this affect my business, you ask? The answer: In more ways than you can imagine.

According to a recent Pew Research report, approximately 11% of adults in the United States own a tablet computer – that’s a big number. Of...

We all like Starbucks (well, most of us, anyway).  Personally, I’m a Venti Skim 3 Equal Latte kind of guy.  And along with that Latte, if I find myself in between meetings or out of town, I’ll usually sit down to work for a while.  Connecting to the Wifi network at Starbucks (or any public wifi hotspot) might be one of the biggest (and most misunderstood) security dillemas business users (and the companies they work for) face today.

Smartphone users may not realize it, but they store a ton...

I have a confession to make. I’m not an order taker. If a client or prospective client instructs me to design an ad, a website, a direct mail piece, et al.,  I’m not going whip out my notepad, or iPad for that matter, and start taking orders like a waiter in a restaurant…I won’t be asking “Do you want a side of SEO with that website”?

I’m a branding guy. I believe that before you can expect to get meaningful results from any kind of marketing tactic (i.e., website, brochure, tradeshow display or...

Skoda Minotti has been recognized by Inc. Magazine, CPA Digest and Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management as one of the most outstanding and fastest growing privately held companies in the United States, and awarded the North Coast 99 as one of the best places to work in the Northeast Ohio. The driving force that differentiates us at Skoda Minotti is a passion for helping our clients achieve their goals by providing them with an unprecedented level of service and...

Hiring should be done at the right time (... obviously). But when is the right time to hire new employees? 

Here are a couple of questions to answer to help determine if now is the right time to bring on additional talent:

1.    Am I, my department managers, or staff working too many hours that it is affecting their quality of life?
2.    Are my customers being serviced the way I want them to be?
3.    Do you we have enough people to support this new client/project?
4.    Am I anticipating someone...

August 30, 2011 – CLEVELAND – The Marketing Services Group at Skoda Minotti is pleased to announce that online marketing manager, Robert C. Goricki has successfully fulfilled the requirements needed to become a Certified Search Engine Marketer (SEM), as presented by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO).

Achieving Certified SEM status validates that Goricki understands and adheres to the search marketing industry’s resources, best practices and standards. The certification...

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Skoda Minotti, a CPA, business and financial advisory firm, has been named a recipient of The Plain Dealer’s second annual Top Workplaces 2011 award, for the second year in a row. This honor was given to 132 companies, nonprofits and agencies in northeast Ohio companies this year, based strictly on survey results of their employees.

Survey results were gathered using an independent workplace consultant. Employees were asked to indicate, on a seven-point scale, how much they...

In my 20+ years of assisting companies with marketing, I am continually surprised by the general misconception of what defines marketing.  I also don’t think managers truly see what marketing can do for their business. 

In the purest sense, marketing is the mix of activities required to get a product or service from conception to the end user.  These activities are typically described by marketers as the four P’s of marketing:  Product, Price, Physical distribution and Promotion.  Unfortunately...

July 5, 2011 – CLEVELAND – Skoda Minotti has acquired Cleveland marketing firm Hilty Moore & Associates, Inc. (HM&A) along with the company’s visual marketing division, BrandEyeD. The acquisition enhances the expertise and depth of marketing resources available to serve Skoda Minotti Marketing Services’ growing client base.

In addition to bringing enhanced marketing research expertise, the acquisition of HM&A will complement Skoda Minotti Marketing Services’ ability to provide...

CLEVELAND – Skoda Minotti Marketing Services Group was recently recognized by the Association for Accounting Marketing for outstanding achievements in the areas of accounting marketing and communications. At the Association for Accounting Marketing – Marketing Achievement Awards (AAM-MAA) ceremony in Chicago, Ill., the Cleveland-based marketing services group was honored for its 2010 holiday greeting e-card entry.

Skoda Minotti’s holiday greeting e-card allowed the firm to significantly decrease...

Before I can explain to you how to get your site to the top of the rankings, I think it’s important for you to understand how any site gets to the top of the rankings. Knowing how search engines find websites is crucial to understanding how you can make your website more visible to search engines and, more importantly, to your potential clients.

Let’s say that you type into a search engine the search term, “Cleveland SEO Services”. Almost immediately, that search engine pulls up the web...

CLEVELAND – Skoda Minotti, a CPA, business and financial advisory firm, has once again been named a World Class Customer Service award winner, as presented by Smart Business Magazine. With this year’s award, Skoda Minotti became one of only four companies to have won this award in each of the five years since its inception.

“At Skoda Minotti, a key component of our firm’s vision is to create a culture of continually improving client service,” says Skoda Minotti partner, Mike Trabert, CPA. “This...