On April 21st Google published it's latest program which will penalize web pages that are not optimized for mobile viewing -- and with good reason. Mobile Internet use (i.e., viewing and interacting with pages on smart phones, tablets, etc.) is now more common than going on the Internet on a desktop PC. What's more, the consensus among Google officials, online advertising professionals, and inbound marketing experts is that the update will be a pretty big deal. It is projected to affect many more people than other major updates, such as Panda and Penguin.

What do you need to know before the update? Businesses and web pages are expected to be negatively impacted -- and not for the reasons you think. Sites are not necessarily being penalized because they lack mobile optimization or mobile Web design altogether. Instead, businesses are making small mistakes on mobile pages that can make a big difference and ultimately hurt your search rankings. Here are a few to look out for:

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Product appearance can be the the biggest sales converter of all marketing influencers. Apple has built it's brand appeal and demand on it's product appearance. So much so that people pre-order products months ahead of release. Another brand that hangs it's success on visual appearance is Method. Investing in unique custom bottle, the product package, broke with traditional new product launch accounting. The package was the branding hook. For Apple and Method, product design was the brand elevator and continues to be at the forefront of their business strategy.

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We are not alone in your search for customers. You aren't the only option for consumers and Google makes it easy for your competitors to lure them away. You need a marketing and business plan that includes strategies to increase traffic on website, get the phone ringing and your employees busy. These 8 tips can help with many areas of your business including employee development, evaluating your competition, website design, online marketing, package design and building a customer base of raving fans.

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The two most famous stories about market research are used as arguments against it.

In the first story, Henry Ford famously said that no bit of research or consumer testing would have led him to car production. “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

That may have been true, but Henry Ford wasn’t in the buggy business or even the transportation business. He was a machinist and worked on his family farm. His goal was not to build the first car or enhance transportation; it was to improve car production. Ford neither invented the car nor the assembly line; instead, he improved them so middle America could afford automobiles. He was all about improving efficiency because he knew, from market research, that most Americans didn’t have cars because they were too expensive. His job was to build a car cheap enough for America to buy, not build a faster buggy.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marina Lermolaieva is responsible for marketing of Allinpackaging (allinpackaging.co.uk)

Packaging and plastic containers go hand in hand!

Any packaging is considered to be incomplete without plastic containers. Allinpackaging is the best source for all your packaging needs which offers large and small quantities solutions.

Whether it is packaging for cosmetics, food products, stationery or even medicines, plastic containers are completely indispensable. Have you ever wondered, what makes these plastic containers a popular choice?

Why are they so popular?

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Nearly every business includes social media in their marketing mix. Larger companies have the man power or budgets to allocate to their SMC. As a business owner your goal is to find where your prospects are online so you can be in front of them. A social media consultant can assist with targeting your efforts to get the most from your SMC investment. Every ones customers are active on some social platform even if their age demographic is 55-64. That age group is the fastest growing segment on Twitter.

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Creative packaging design is a surefire way to successfully market a brand in brick-and-mortar stores and online. In order to keep brand imaging fresh and compelling, marketers would do well to incorporate new, custom packaging design trends whenever possible. Here are a few new packaging types and trends that produce promising results:

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