FreeManta.com

Which business information provider hosts information on the smallest businesses? There’s no clear answer. But this much is clear: With subscriptions to four leading business information publishers, Manta is a solid business resource for small business information. Manta has millions of small businesses in its online databases. You’d be surprised how many small businesses are in the Manta database. Check it out for yourself.

Just as you might turn to Manta to get new prospect lists, you want to make sure your own company listing is there, too. Small businesses need all the publicity they can get, especially free or low-cost publicity. Manta uses four leading business resources– D&B, Current Analysis, Datamonitor and Snapdata. Each of these business research databases have their own rules for applying to get in. If you want to make sure your business is listed on Manta, contact each of the above business resources by going to their web sites.

To keep your small business growing successfully, you need a constant supply of qualified sales contacts — without breaking the bank to find them. This is where Manta can help. Manta.com’s online business resource database has millions of company profiles, with up-to-date contact information. For $9.95 per download, you can get instant contact names and numbers for specific companies you are interested in. Or you can troll through industry and geographical listings trying to find new customers. Either way, Manta is a reasonably priced business resource for developing new sales contact information.

Thinking of extending credit to a new customer, bringing in a partner, or hiring a contractor who wants to be paid partly in advance? Check Manta.com’s giant database of business research. Look for your customer’s credit score, a potential partner’s bill paying record, or the contractor’s legal record. With Manta.com’s pay-by-the download plan, you don’t need to invest a lot of money, either. Go online to the Manta site, search by company name or industry, and see what’s available. If you think it might be useful, pay by credit card for an instant download.

Suppliers can be the lifeline of a small business. You can’t run a restaurant without food or a publishing company without paper and ink. With Manta’s tiered pricing plan, it’s easy to do business research on any current or potential suppliers. As a business resource, Manta can help you get an early warning any of your suppliers is having financial trouble. Since Manta only charges by the download, you can use this business resource as you need it, with no extra or hidden fees.

Trying to develop a marketing plan for your small business? You’re going to need to understand your industry, as well as your own business. Turning to a business resource like Manta for help is going to make a lot of sense. Manta has hundreds of industry profiles online from industry leader Datamonitor.

Manta users can easily search the Manta site, drill down to the specific industry they are looking for, and download market research reports. It makes business research easy, and writing solid small business marketing plan a little easier.

Whether you write a business blog or use business blogs as information sources while collecting business intelligence, you need to remember one thing: Business blogs can be great information sources, but they aren’t always reliable or accurate. Business blogs are not held up to the same burden of proof as information published by established commercial providers like D&B, Current Analysis and Datamonitor.

So make sure to pay attention to some good business blogs in your field. But when it comes to solid business research, you still need to pay attention to commercial providers like Manta, which presents reliable and professionally reported and edited information.

One great way to promote your small business is with a business blog. You can use a blog to build a virtual community around your site. Do it right and your blog will become an ongoing information resource, with a regular audience. Of course, you need to be able to fill your blog with solid information about your industry. Consider Manta as a business resource for your small business blog. With no annual or monthly fees and prices as low as $9.95 per download, it’s a solid and reasonably priced information source.

There are plenty of free business information resources out there, from government filings to publicly accessible databases on the Internet. So why should you, a small business owner, pay Manta for business intelligence? Here are three good reasons:

1. Free information isn’t always easy to find. Manta makes all its information easily available in a searchable online database, giving you more time to run your business.
2. Free business information resources are not always the most complete or accurate sources. With providers like D&B and Current Analysis, Manta has information from some of the most trusted names in the business.
3. Free business information resources most often do not cover the spectrum of businesses that Manta has in its online database of private companies and public companies.

Even small businesses need to do business research and develop business intelligence. But with most small businesses, extra cash isn’t easy to come by and must be spent carefully when available. That’s why small businesses looking for a complete and reasonably priced business resource turn to Manta. Manta does not charge monthly or annual fees. Instead, Manta customers pay only for what they choose to download, with per-download prices starting at $9.95.