Resources & Insights
Marketing tips, business insights, and community stories from the Indian Lakes Marketing team.
July 8, 2026
·Product·4 min readI learned Euchre at a kitchen table in Fort Wayne. Here is why that turned into a free app built in Wolcottville, Indiana, and what it says about how we build custom software for small businesses.
By Brett Hahn
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July 10, 2026
·ProductWe got tired of ad-cluttered tools that make you sign up for things you don't need. So we built 13 free browser-based tools for small business owners. No ads, no account, no strings.
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July 8, 2026
·AnnouncementChurches need technology help and almost nobody is serving them well. We are launching Freed Church, a technology service line built specifically for traditional churches and ministries.
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June 19, 2026
·AIEvery month we round up the AI developments that actually matter for small business owners. This month: Claude for Small Business, the Claude Design update, Salesforce Agentforce, ChatGPT in your spreadsheets, and the numbers worth knowing.
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June 18, 2026
·AIThe AI conversation assumes you have a CTO, a data science team, and a six-figure budget. Most small businesses have none of those. Here is what custom AI development actually looks like, with three real examples.
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May 27, 2026
·ProductMost retail CRM platforms tell you what already happened, not what to do about it. Here's what real retail CRM intelligence looks like for small and mid-sized multi-location operators.
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May 20, 2026
·ProductThe predictive analytics platform we built for multi-property hospitality operators who got tired of waiting for what's next.
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May 20, 2026
Churches, nonprofits, local ministries, and municipal organizations are the backbone of every community. We are making it easier for them to have a professional online presence with our new Community Impact Rate.
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May 12, 2026
·Local BusinessMost small businesses have no idea where they rank on Google, which platforms are hurting them, or whether AI search tools like ChatGPT even know they exist. Here is what is actually happening and how to fix it.
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May 3, 2026
·AI ToolsIndian Lakes Marketing built Hahny, an AI receptionist that answers texts, calls, and emails for small businesses and books appointments automatically. Here is how it works.
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April 28, 2026
·Web PresenceIf you have ever tried to get a website built for your small business in Northeast Indiana, you have probably been quoted a number that made you close the laptop. Here is what things actually cost and why.
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April 14, 2026
·Local BusinessNortheast Indiana gets overlooked in most business conversations. But for small businesses willing to lean into where they are from, that is actually a competitive advantage.
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March 4, 2026
·Marketing StrategyMost small businesses can't afford a full-time Chief Marketing Officer. A fractional CMO gives you the same strategic leadership at a fraction of the cost. Here's what that actually looks like in practice.
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February 10, 2026
·Marketing StrategyMost small businesses set a marketing budget before they have a strategy. Here's why that's backwards, and what to do instead.
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December 9, 2025
·AI ToolsCustom AI agents aren't about replacing your people — they're about building reliable systems that handle the repetitive work so your team can focus on what actually matters.
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September 23, 2025
·Marketing StrategyRunning a sale feels like a win. But when discounting becomes a habit, it trains your customers to never pay full price — and quietly destroys the brand you've spent years building.
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August 27, 2025
·Marketing StrategySocial media reach can disappear overnight. Your email list is an owned asset — and the most reliable, highest-ROI marketing channel available to small businesses.
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August 21, 2025
·Marketing StrategyMost small businesses focus on getting new customers. The ones that grow sustainably focus on what happens after the first sale — and they map every stage of the customer journey deliberately.
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August 20, 2025
·Marketing StrategyBeing customer-focused means you care about your customers. Being customer-centric means you organize your entire business around them. The difference is the distance between good intentions and transformative results.
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August 13, 2025
·Marketing StrategyStrategy isn't just about what moves you make — it's about understanding the game you're actually playing, who the other players are, and whether competing or cooperating produces the better outcome.
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August 11, 2025
·Marketing StrategyLong before 'content marketing' was a phrase anyone used, Edward Bernays was engineering mass consumer behavior by appealing to unconscious desires rather than rational self-interest. Understanding his methods — ethically — is essential for any marketer today.
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June 16, 2025
·Local BusinessSweetwater Sound didn't grow from a small Fort Wayne music shop into a billion-dollar company by having the lowest prices. They grew by delivering a customer experience so extraordinary that people drove past competitors to choose them.
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May 8, 2025
·Marketing StrategyMost small business marketing struggles aren't about effort — they're about these seven specific, fixable mistakes. Recognize them early and you can save yourself years of wasted budget and missed growth.
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April 17, 2025
·Local BusinessYour Google reviews aren't just social proof — they're a primary ranking signal for local search, a decisive factor in purchase decisions, and one of the highest-ROI marketing assets your business has. Here's how to take them seriously.
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March 3, 2025
·Web PresenceLocal SEO is the process of getting your business found by people searching for what you offer in your area. Done right, it delivers compounding, long-term visibility that paid ads can't match — and it's available to any business willing to invest the work.
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February 10, 2025
·Local BusinessGoogle Business Profile is the most powerful free marketing tool available to local businesses — and most businesses are leaving enormous opportunity on the table by not optimizing it fully. Here's a step-by-step guide.
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January 8, 2025
·Web PresenceYou don't need a massive budget to build a powerful digital presence. Small businesses in Northeast Indiana have real advantages in local digital marketing — they just need to know how to use them.
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