In my previous article, Making Money: The Economics of Email, I discussed the customer acquisition cycle and how email marketing fits nicely into that effort, acting as the grease to speed the process along. Email has direct financial benefits, but there are also a number of other benefits that are difficult to track. For example, if your logo appears in an email, you might not see sales from people who drove right over to your store to make a purchase, but it might make your website seem more familiar to a visitor who has seen the email, and that might make her more comfortable making a purchase at a later date.…
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Business and IT – Adversaries or Partners?
Does your company’s Information Technology area act more like competitors rather than partners with the business?
A poor relationship with IT can be extremely detrimental to the efficiency, productivity and cost-effectiveness of your organization.
Watch for some of these warning situations:
“¢ Everyone knows HR cuts payroll checks, and finance pays vendors. IT doesn’t always have the opportunity to regularly show its value and can be taken for granted. People don’t want to talk until something is broken, or frustration has mounted to the point of eruption. IT is regularly in a reactive mode.
“¢ IT helps make operations more efficient, but change in organizations can be stressful and can create uncertainty.…
Continue readingThe “Secret” Customer Service Weapon for Small Technology Companies
Technology companies are, unfortunately, almost as well known for having poor customer service as they are for their actual products. Why is that?
Small business expert Anita Campbell cited poor customer service for web apps as one of three key issues that needs to be overcome before cloud apps can become ubiquitous in small businesses. Shame on us web software companies for allowing an easy-to-fix item like this onto the list!
This truth stings quite sharply, for a couple of reasons:
1. It’s true
2. Most cloud app companies are small companies (not large ones)
Crappy customer service is almost expected from large companies – in software, and beyond. …
Continue readingExpanding On The Grapevine Method
The small business world is collectively holding their breathe in anticipation for what could possibly happen with the health care reform bill. Till that time comes to pass, it is all about communications.
All business sizes rely on the classic concept of communication. The aim of communicating that a business exists involves television, social media networking, Internet advertising, business websites, and a slew of other methods. However, the old ways are still the best ways for small businesses.
The power of communicating, via electronic methods, are well-documented to hold new keys to success. Businesses that have something to offer to the public have taken to the net and expanded mega empires. …
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