There are many free online resources that will allow your small business to test the kinds of e-business cocepts and strategies that big business has been used for years. Here are three of them:
Google News Alerts
It is essentially an online newspaper clipping service that continually browses over 4,500 news sources. You may want to use it to keep tabs on a spcific industry or technology - or even a competitor.
http://www.google.com/alerts
Salesforce
Salesforce.com offers a customer relationship management (CRM) product that is popular with larger enterprises. What many small businesses don't know is that there is a personal edition available for free on their website. And it should provide enough information for you to decide whether you want to upgrade to the full-featured version in the future.
http://www.salesforce.com/products/personal.jsp
Constant Contact
Most small businesses cannot afford to afford to outsource a monthly email newsletter. While there are many web based email marketing services available, Constant Contact seems to be incredibility popular with do-it-yourselfers. Their solution is designed to be affordable for small businesses as monthly fees are based on the number of subscribers on your list.
http://www.constantcontact.com