Small firms are smart to find new ways to market to clients – but how to do it in a fresh innovative way?

One tack for a small business is to look to newer technologies like smart phones, which can make a small business look as big as its larger rivals.

The iPhone is a good place to start because of its popularity. It has also spawned cottage industries of both application creators and firms created to help others build a presence on the iPhone.

Apple sold 7.4 million iPhones around the world in the third quarter, which pales in comparison to Nokia’s 16.4 million, says a Gartner research report. But it makes more money from the iPhone than Nokia does from its handsets worldwide. Profits from the iPhone were $1.6 billion in the quarter while similar sales at Nokia were $1.1 billion, and Apple shows no sign of slowing.

So, how do you get a piece of Apple’s pie?

Look to companies like Sweb Apps, a small, eight-employee startup that’s been growing like gangbusters thanks to the popularity of its simple templates for non-techy folk to create their own iPhone app.