Tag: Business Tips

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Taking Care of Business While You’re On Vacation — Cool Things to Check Out

Tech Tips for Vacation from Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics

Like it or not, your work may be going with you on summer vacation this year.

Don’t get us wrong – a little R&R is vital to your physical and mental well-being. If you can completely detach yourself from the office or the warehouse and enjoy your time off, more power to you.

But by the same token, you’re not going to relax very easily if yu spend your vacation time fretting over missing vital messages or constantly phoning in to stay apprised of new order-fulfillment opportunities.

Aware of this conundrum, technology providers have graciously stepped up to create devices, data plans, programs and apps that help you manage your business and your email from wherever you are. They go a step beyond texting and Skype to deliver some rather cool options.

Summer business tips for keeping up while chilling out

Whether you’re hitting the road or hanging out at home, you can enjoy some time away from the workplace without worrying about falling behind. You may find the answer in free apps, or opt to pay a monthly surcharge or subscription rate – but you may discover that the investment pays off in peace of mind.

The Choices Are All Yours

Single-number convenience
If you’re the kind of manager who gets tons of voicemails, there’s no need to subject your fellow vacationers to the sound of a fulfillment or shipping challenge being addressed. Free – at least until the end of 2012 – Google Voice is an app that delivers phone and texting from the same number and, even cooler, voicemail transcription. This means Google Voice lets you download your voicemail and read it like email. The app also boasts of “cheap international calls” outside North America.

Computer access programs
Stuck on the tarmac? Ditch the Skymall magazine and catch up with the folks back home. GoToMyPC is a screen-sharing subscription program that uses the Internet to connect your mobile device (laptop, netbook, tablet or smartphone) to the computer back home. Available in different pricing tiers for individual and multiple users, this program enables full access to the “host” computer, from email to documents to downloads – you can even transfer files between devices. Just remember to keep your work computer running and connected online before you leave, and GoToMyPC will do the rest.

Windows Live Mesh does GoToMyPC one better – it’s free. This app also recreates the host-computer experience, though you do need to have Windows Vista or Windows 7 or above. You’ll also need Internet Explorer downloaded on your computer to make it work – remember that if you’re tied to Firefox or some other browser.

Personal WiFi
The days of ducking into a McDonald’s or parking behind a Panera Bread to score some need-it-now WiFi are over. Now you can tote your personal WiFi hotspot in your pocket with a data-plan-enabled mobile phone. A variety of hardware and software options – at varying price points – can attach your phone to your laptop or tablet and enjoy Internet access anywhere. Just remember to carry a charger with you – WiFi functions are notorious battery-suckers on phones.

If your spouse and kids are similarly tied to the Internet, you can keep everyone happy on vacation using portable devices. Verizon’s Mobile Hotspot connects up to five phones, tablets, game systems, laptops and other devices simultaneously, while Droid Razr Maxx is a tiny powerhouse that fuels up to seven devices and frees you from the slow access and annoying service charges of hotel and airport WiFi.

Email folders
You use email folders at home; now you can use them anywhere. Creating email folders on your smartphone or tablet takes little time and goes a long way toward helping you organize your communications while away from the workplace. Most plans work with the most popular mail servers, like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail and Microsoft Exchange. If you have the iPhone 4, Siri will even transcribe and send your email for you.

It’s Your Time

You earned your summer vacation – make it a meaningful one. With robust technology at the ready, you can keep up at your convenience, return to the warehouse rested, ready – and without millions of emails and voicemails waiting to bury you.

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Google Says Going Mobile is Key to Your Business Growth

Mobile trends aren't like other web trends – because while other trends come and go, mobile is apparently here to stay. So if your business has not yet gone mobile, it's almost as if you have no online presence at all. That's because consumers, clients and everyday users are switching from the big personal computer (PC) monitors to the small screens of convenient smartphones and the versatile tablets – and the numbers bear that out. • By the end of 2012, reported Forbes, mobile devices were poised to outsell personal computers by a 2:1 margin • International Data Corp researchers expect the number of consumers accessing the Internet through PCs to drop from 240 million in 2012 to 225 million by 2016. • Even the more portable laptop computer is not immune: tablets will outsell laptop computers by a 6:1 margin by 2017, according to market researcher NPD. • Over the past two years, notes Google, smartphone adoption in the United States grew from 36 percent to 61 percent. Mobile technology is even overtaking radio and television for entertainment. And the reason for this evolution is not hard to determine: smartphones and tablets accommodate today's on-the-go lifestyle. With Wi-Fi connections and data plans fueling usage, it's now possible to access the Internet virtually anywhere. The Mobile Trends Noted by Google Include These Arresting Statistics: • 94 percent of smartphone users search for location information; • 48 percent called a store; and • 85 percent of mobile search-triggered calls to stores happened within 5 hours of the initial search The biggest names in search engines have acknowledged mobile trends. Google and Bing, for example, "will index mobile content in a different manner than regular search," says e2ideas. "Search engines will serve up mobile optimized websites first over non-mobile sites when a mobile user does a search on a smartphone." No Longer a Novelty – Mobile Optimized Websites Are a Necessity This development is especially important when considering usage on Google, the undisputed leader in search engines. Today, websites that lack a mobile responsive design are going to be at a disadvantage in Google search results – and if your site doesn't make the first page of Google search results, it might as well not exist at all. The good news is that mobile searches are still relatively new – so "people who are first to market have a significant advantage," as e2ideas notes. Retailers are using mobile to their advantage – installing QR codes on shelves to encourage device-holders to scan and find information on the product; creating apps that link to special offers or deals accessed by phone or tablet; and creating virtual coupons good for on-the-spot discounts. Making Mobile Work for Your Own Customers The mobile web has altered the way your business gets discovered and accessed. While a robust, client-focused website is still a must-have, the way that site is designed and programmed for mobile use will make all the difference to your customers. The conventional PC optimized website, optimized for up to a 19-inch viewing screen, are too complicated for mobile use. The image- and text-heavy pages of a PC website are often slow to load on a smartphone, and once all the data transfers to a 4-inch screen, objects look cluttered and hard to navigate. Google reports these very interesting comments from a recent survey: • 57 percent of users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site; and • 40 percent have turned to a competitor’s site after a bad mobile experience Catching the Wave with Mobile Trends Creating a mobile presence from your traditional website presents some challenges. You need to take a step back and view your business and its message the way your customers would. What do they want to know most at the moment they pull out their smartphone? Are they just getting acquainted with your business, or are they ready to consider a purchase? Knowing your customers' buying habits are key to designing a mobile presence that they'll enjoy using. When it comes to the nuts and bolts of mobile sites, you typically have several options, but many businesses find the most success with these three choices: • A responsive design website changes the way it looks and navigates depending on the device. For instance, it will hide some content on a tiny smartphone, but show it on a larger tablet. • A native mobile app developed specifically for a device and is downloaded from app stores like iTunes and Google Play. • Using a DudaMobile automatically created mobile website done with the click of a mouse and a fast installation of a small snippet of code. Getting the Word Out Once you have taken your business mobile, let your customers in on the good news. Use your Facebook, Twitter or other social pages to announce the change; send email to your customers and prospects, and reach out to trade organizations and industry publications to get users interested in your site.

Mobile trends aren’t like other web trends – because while other trends come and go, mobile is apparently here to stay. So if your business has not yet gone mobile, it’s almost as if you have no online presence at all. That’s because consumers, clients and everyday users are switching from the big personal computer (PC) monitors to the small screens of convenient smartphones and the versatile tablets – and the numbers bear that out.

• By the end of 2012, reported Forbes, mobile devices were poised to outsell personal computers by a 2:1 margin

• International Data Corp researchers expect the number of consumers accessing the Internet through PCs to drop from 240 million in 2012 to 225 million by 2016.

• Even the more portable laptop computer is not immune: tablets will outsell laptop computers by a 6:1 margin by 2017, according to market researcher NPD.

• Over the past two years, notes Google, smartphone adoption in the United States grew from 36 percent to 61 percent.

Mobile technology is even overtaking radio and television for entertainment. And the reason for this evolution is not hard to determine: smartphones and tablets accommodate today’s on-the-go lifestyle. With Wi-Fi connections and data plans fueling usage, it’s now possible to access the Internet virtually anywhere.

The Mobile Trends Noted by Google Include These Arresting Statistics:

• 94 percent of smartphone users search for location information;

• 48 percent called a store; and

• 85 percent of mobile search-triggered calls to stores happened within 5 hours of the initial search

The biggest names in search engines have acknowledged mobile trends. Google and Bing, for example, “will index mobile content in a different manner than regular search,” says e2ideas. “Search engines will serve up mobile optimized websites first over non-mobile sites when a mobile user does a search on a smartphone.”

No Longer a Novelty – Mobile Optimized Websites Are a Necessity

This development is especially important when considering usage on Google, the undisputed leader in search engines. Today, websites that lack a mobile responsive design are going to be at a disadvantage in Google search results – and if your site doesn’t make the first page of Google search results, it might as well not exist at all.

The good news is that mobile searches are still relatively new – so “people who are first to market have a significant advantage,” as e2ideas notes.

Retailers are using mobile to their advantage – installing QR codes on shelves to encourage device-holders to scan and find information on the product; creating apps that link to special offers or deals accessed by phone or tablet; and creating virtual coupons good for on-the-spot discounts.

Making Mobile Work for Your Own Customers

The mobile web has altered the way your business gets discovered and accessed. While a robust, client-focused website is still a must-have, the way that site is designed and programmed for mobile use will make all the difference to your customers.

The conventional PC optimized website, optimized for up to a 19-inch viewing screen, are too complicated for mobile use. The image- and text-heavy pages of a PC website are often slow to load on a smartphone, and once all the data transfers to a 4-inch screen, objects look cluttered and hard to navigate.

Google reports these very interesting comments from a recent survey:

• 57 percent of users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site; and

• 40 percent have turned to a competitor’s site after a bad mobile experience

Catching the Wave with Mobile Trends

Creating a mobile presence from your traditional website presents some challenges. You need to take a step back and view your business and its message the way your customers would. What do they want to know most at the moment they pull out their smartphone? Are they just getting acquainted with your business, or are they ready to consider a purchase?

Knowing your customers’ buying habits are key to designing a mobile presence that they’ll enjoy using.

When it comes to the nuts and bolts of mobile sites, you typically have several options, but many businesses find the most success with these three choices:

• A responsive design website changes the way it looks and navigates depending on the device. For instance, it will hide some content on a tiny smartphone, but show it on a larger tablet.

• A native mobile app developed specifically for a device and is downloaded from app stores like iTunes and Google Play.

• Using a DudaMobile automatically created mobile website done with the click of a mouse and a fast installation of a small snippet of code.

Getting the Word Out

Once you have taken your business mobile, let your customers in on the good news. Use your Facebook, Twitter or other social pages to announce the change; send email to your customers and prospects, and reach out to trade organizations and industry publications to get users interested in your site.

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How to Get Customer Reviews

How to Get Customer Reviews

Third-party validation, in the form of customer reviews, can carry a persuasive power that advertising and marketing simply cannot match. According to the marketing site HubSpot, 52 percent of surveyed consumers say positive reviews make them more likely to consider a business (as compared to 28 percent who consider only location and price).

Obtaining customer reviews can be part of your overall web marketing strategy. Fortunately, the reach of the Internet opens up lots of opportunity to connect with your customers.

Engaging Customers for Reviews

Ask nicely. There’s nothing wrong with contacting your best customers and simply asking them to write their impression of your business. Ask them to describe their success stories, or detail how a problem got solved, with the help of your business. But by the same token…

Don’t overdo it. Aggressively soliciting for reviews compromises your credibility and can even make you look a little desperate.

Interview them. Some customers may hesitate to submit reviews or testimonials because they’re not confident in their writing ability. If you suspect this, ask if you may interview your customer. Ask him to speak off the cuff while you take the notes. Then, after the customer has approved the text, you may edit it into a review.

Post some reviews yourself. Not reviews of your own company, of course — but you can review related businesses. Identifying yourself as a business owner yourself can position you as an engaged member of the community and remind people about your company.

Hold a contest. You don’t want to offer free services or other giveaways for reviews– that suggests compensation in exchange for endorsement, which is unethical. But you can create a grand prize drawing for all customers and prospects, with no strings attached. The more happy customers and prospects you generate, the better the chances for customer reviews later.

Thank them. In any interactive forum, whether Facebook comments or a website’s testimonial page, include your own responses and thanks for reviews — even the less-than-glowing ones.

Response Tactics and Media

Go to video.  If you have the time and resources, a short video to post on YouTube, Vimeo or your own site adds sound, movement and engagement to the typical customer testimonial. You can…

Create a call to action. An usual CTA — “Tell us what you think” or “Let’s hear your story” can inspire web visitors to create a review or testimonial. You can include your CTA on blog entries or in your social media pages to accompany relevant articles.

Open up your social media pages to comments.  Facebook comments, Twitter tweets and LinkedIn recommendations can all work in your company’s favor.

Use email or e-newsletters. A well-designed HTML email or e-newsletter can be as attractive as a banner ad. Select a “customer of the month” and interview him or her. The customer will be flattered, and you may net some fine testimonial verbiage.

Add a “testimonial” sub page to your website. Once you have collected a handful of usable reviews, display them in a dedicated sub page. Visitors who read them may be prompted to add their own reviews. Make it easy for them to do so with a link to a submission page.

Dealing with Negative Reviews

Whether they’re on Yelp or through your own Facebook page, negative reviews are one of the risks of opening your website and social media to public comment.  When such reviews appear, it’s your opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction.

First, assess the content of the review. Is it tied to customer service, or a product issue? Or is it something beyond your control, such as a weather event that delayed a delivery? Ask your sales reps or service people about the validity of negative reviews. If you recognize a legitimate problem (and not just a “troll”), you can use respond in kind.

Thank the customer for her feedback. Acknowledge her dissatisfaction and, as appropriate, describe the steps you’ll take to rectify the problem.

After all, even a dissatisfied customer isn’t necessarily a lost one. Even a very angry customer may remain a loyal one after you show that you care about his satisfaction. And doing so in a public forum gives other customers and visitors confidence that they can expect the same considerations.

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Harness the Power of Inbound Marketing to Attract Customers to Your Website

Mobile trends aren't like other web trends – because while other trends come and go, mobile is apparently here to stay. So if your business has not yet gone mobile, it's almost as if you have no online presence at all. That's because consumers, clients and everyday users are switching from the big personal computer (PC) monitors to the small screens of convenient smartphones and the versatile tablets – and the numbers bear that out. • By the end of 2012, reported Forbes, mobile devices were poised to outsell personal computers by a 2:1 margin • International Data Corp researchers expect the number of consumers accessing the Internet through PCs to drop from 240 million in 2012 to 225 million by 2016. • Even the more portable laptop computer is not immune: tablets will outsell laptop computers by a 6:1 margin by 2017, according to market researcher NPD. • Over the past two years, notes Google, smartphone adoption in the United States grew from 36 percent to 61 percent. Mobile technology is even overtaking radio and television for entertainment. And the reason for this evolution is not hard to determine: smartphones and tablets accommodate today's on-the-go lifestyle. With Wi-Fi connections and data plans fueling usage, it's now possible to access the Internet virtually anywhere. The Mobile Trends Noted by Google Include These Arresting Statistics: • 94 percent of smartphone users search for location information; • 48 percent called a store; and • 85 percent of mobile search-triggered calls to stores happened within 5 hours of the initial search The biggest names in search engines have acknowledged mobile trends. Google and Bing, for example, "will index mobile content in a different manner than regular search," says e2ideas. "Search engines will serve up mobile optimized websites first over non-mobile sites when a mobile user does a search on a smartphone." No Longer a Novelty – Mobile Optimized Websites Are a Necessity This development is especially important when considering usage on Google, the undisputed leader in search engines. Today, websites that lack a mobile responsive design are going to be at a disadvantage in Google search results – and if your site doesn't make the first page of Google search results, it might as well not exist at all. The good news is that mobile searches are still relatively new – so "people who are first to market have a significant advantage," as e2ideas notes. Retailers are using mobile to their advantage – installing QR codes on shelves to encourage device-holders to scan and find information on the product; creating apps that link to special offers or deals accessed by phone or tablet; and creating virtual coupons good for on-the-spot discounts. Making Mobile Work for Your Own Customers The mobile web has altered the way your business gets discovered and accessed. While a robust, client-focused website is still a must-have, the way that site is designed and programmed for mobile use will make all the difference to your customers. The conventional PC optimized website, optimized for up to a 19-inch viewing screen, are too complicated for mobile use. The image- and text-heavy pages of a PC website are often slow to load on a smartphone, and once all the data transfers to a 4-inch screen, objects look cluttered and hard to navigate. Google reports these very interesting comments from a recent survey: • 57 percent of users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site; and • 40 percent have turned to a competitor’s site after a bad mobile experience Catching the Wave with Mobile Trends Creating a mobile presence from your traditional website presents some challenges. You need to take a step back and view your business and its message the way your customers would. What do they want to know most at the moment they pull out their smartphone? Are they just getting acquainted with your business, or are they ready to consider a purchase? Knowing your customers' buying habits are key to designing a mobile presence that they'll enjoy using. When it comes to the nuts and bolts of mobile sites, you typically have several options, but many businesses find the most success with these three choices: • A responsive design website changes the way it looks and navigates depending on the device. For instance, it will hide some content on a tiny smartphone, but show it on a larger tablet. • A native mobile app developed specifically for a device and is downloaded from app stores like iTunes and Google Play. • Using a DudaMobile automatically created mobile website done with the click of a mouse and a fast installation of a small snippet of code. Getting the Word Out Once you have taken your business mobile, let your customers in on the good news. Use your Facebook, Twitter or other social pages to announce the change; send email to your customers and prospects, and reach out to trade organizations and industry publications to get users interested in your site.

There’s a new kid on the marketing team and he’s not only changing the rules, he’s playing a whole new ball game. Inbound marketing is leveling the playing field, allowing small-scale entrepreneurs and start-ups to go toe-to-toe with the big leagues and score. Fast, fun and cheap, inbound marketing is an entrepreneur’s marketing dream. Learn to harness the power of inbound marketing and you can quickly move your company from farm team to major league.

Still a rookie in the marketing world, inbound marketing currently accounts for just 10% of most marketing budgets with outbound marketing chewing up the 80% lion’s share of available advertising dollars. Over the next year or two, however, marketing gurus expect that ratio to be turned upside down. The exponential expansion of Facebook (500 million active users and counting) as a primary communication venue and the growing proliferation of mobile communication via smartphones (90% of Americans have cell phone contracts and 60% use smartphones) is driving the shift from traditional outbound to internet-focused inbound marketing.

Inbound marketing — Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs, white papers, eBooks, forums, webinars, RSS feeds — is internet based and search engine driven. Unlike outbound marketing — newspaper and magazine advertisements, television and radio ads, cold calls, direct mail campaigns, email spam, trade shows — that reaches out to consumers, casting a wide net in the hopes of snaring a few paying customers; inbound marketing uses search engine optimization techniques (SEO) to target and pre-qualify consumers who are actually interested in purchasing your product and pulls these potential customers in, directing them to your website.

A successful inbound marketing program is three pronged:

  • Informative and useful content is created and published on your website in the form of website content, blogs, white papers, video clips, forums, webinars, etc.;
  • Search engine optimization (SEO) is utilized to increase the ranking of your content with popular search engines, making it easier for consumers to find; and
  • Social media is used to spread your content to potential customers.

Not only has inbound marketing proven to be more effective in connecting to interested customers and producing useful targeted leads, it’s cost-effective. There is no charge to launch a Facebook page or use Twitter.

According to a Hubspot survey of 231 marketing professionals, the cost of an outbound lead is $332, whereas the cost of an inbound lead is only $134, a 60% reduction. Inbound marketing also has a longer shelf life that outbound marketing efforts. Media ads are only effective during the week or month of publication or airing, pay-per-click ads are effective only as long as you continue to pour money into them; but blogs, white papers and videos live on the internet forever and can be recycled via social media again and again, maximizing your marketing investment.

An added bonus is that inbound marketing removes the interruption onus that burdens outbound marketing. Where outbound marketing interrupts consumers by pushing its message, uninvited, into their lives; inbound marketing attracts interested consumers motivated to embrace its message — and your product.

In effect, inbound marketing shifts control of brand message distribution from your business to consumers. While it can be difficult to relinquish that control, business owners who embrace inbound marketing will find the benefits to be considerable.

Each time your brand is mentioned, recommended, shared or linked to on a social networking site such as Facebook, it carries the personal endorsement of the individual who is passing it along, increasing your marketing impact and, because of the personal connection, making your product even more enticing to the people on that individual’s friend list. Inbound marketing expands the reach and impact of every marketing dollar you invest. Don’t be left in the dust; join the inbound marketing team today.

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Mobile Marketing is Key for 2020

How to Get Customer Reviews

In 2010, no less an authority than Steve Jobs declared, “Mobile device search hasn’t happened. Search is not where it’s at.”

Moral #1: Even the biggest gurus sometime miss the mark.

Moral #2: What a difference three years makes.

Mobile Does Matters

When it comes to marketing, web browsing and searching are here to stay — but search tactics are evolving. Though desktop or laptop computers are the traditional vehicles for starting a web search, they’re no longer the only game in town.

In fact, people on the go are increasingly leaving their desktops to gather dust while they reach for their smartphones and tablets to do everything from stream music to read email — and, of course, search the web with mobile advertising.

• Emarketer.com tells us that while desktops still are the first choice in searches, their lead is shrinking fast.

• Just last June, more than 27% of all U.S. web traffic originated from smartphones or tablets, 20% of that from phones alone.

• Google, the first name in search engines, expects to see more mobile than desktop searches from its users in 2013, and it’s safe to extrapolate that increased usage in the years to come.

So If You’re Not Mobile… You’re Stuck in Neutral

The vast majority of websites are designed, developed and optimized for the desktop or laptop screen. Even if your site enjoys high Google search rankings, you may be missing out on visitors and leads if your site is not optimized for mobile. Adapting your online marketing to the radically different size and shape of smartphones or tablets isn’t just a matter of posting the site to the device.

To implement true mobile advertising, you must provide users with a mobile-optimized site — one that’s easy to see on a small screen, and contains the functionality (like enlarging buttons or images) that help them navigate easily and understand your message.

In many cases, this means rethinking your homepage and landing pages to include only the most relevant and action-oriented content. Mobile users simply won’t tolerate anything less than real engagement and ease of use.

Enhance Your Connections — Free!

Google wants to help you create the ideal mobile site to help you land the best search result rankings and visits possible. They launched AdWords Enhanced Campaigns, which focus heavily on mobile development, encouraging all Google-using customers to integrate a smartphone/tablet-friendly site. By partnering with DudaMobile, Google offers you a free mobile website for one year, with unlimited email and phone support.

It’s a Win-Win-Win Situation
Mobile advertising is both the present and the future of your online marketing — and now you have an opportunity to test the waters risk-free. It’s a win-win-win situation for your business, your customers and even for Google.