Tear It Apart And Put It Back Together Again: Critical Thinking |  |
- Tear It Apart And Put It Back Together Again: Critical Thinking
- BlackBerry And The African Market: What Does it Have to Offer?
- Identifying Your Ideal Customer
- Technology Boosts Small Business Efforts
| Tear It Apart And Put It Back Together Again: Critical Thinking Posted: 26 Apr 2012 11:30 AM PDT Every business begins with ideas. But it's the "have to dos" that get done.
When you know that you:
Then you do the work and you tend to find all kinds of creative and effective solutions. But when it's just a wish or a passing thought, then you might not do it. And your team is the same way. Only the things that they/you/we "have to do" get done. So what do you do about it? Create an environment where you "have to do" the things that you say you want to do. Create that environment for your team as well. Deadlines and time sensitive rewards can establish an action culture among your team members. But also pay attention to the way they think and make the most it. Here are 3 kinds of thinkers to watch out for: 1) Dream Thinkers We say you have to "think outside the box" in order to innovate, but for dream thinkers it's possible that there never was a box and never will be. They think across lines and ideas in any industry is fair game to them. For this person the sky truly is the limit. It's the kind of mind that creates other worlds in movies like Avatar or Star Wars, or fresh ideas on work environments, team management or product development. But new worlds are not created by dream thinkers (or dream thoughts) alone. 2) Critical ThinkersThe kind of person that tears an idea apart, and then rebuilds a better version of it is a true problem solver. In business if you intend to be effective, then you have do more than discuss all the reasons why it doesn't work. The next step is to do the work to solve those critical concerns. An effective critical thinker forces your business dream to face reality which all dreams have to do at some point. It's up to you to use that reality check to test and improve on your idea, and to push your team to participate in that process. Reality checks are a good thing, unless you allow the next type of thinker to take over. 3) Fear ThinkersFear Thinkers are often driven by the pain of potential failure and the uncertainty of the unknown. But let's back up a minute. Fear is a common emotion that most of us experience repeatedly, especially as we a face the risk and excitement of the new or the unknown. But the goal is to use fear as a warning sign and an opportunity to get ready and to improve your product or skills. The issue is when the fear controls your decisions. It's a problem when the fear manages your life and your business, instead of you managing the fear. When it's time to stretch ourselves — to expand our dreams — to try something new, we feel the fear. But the dream thinker in you (and on your team) believes you can do it anyway. The critical thinker within (and on your team thinks you better weigh the facts and get ready. The fear thinker is fine with things the way they are. Understand what you're dealing with and keep it moving. After all, your dream, your business, your team won't build itself.
From Small Business Trends |
| BlackBerry And The African Market: What Does it Have to Offer? Posted: 26 Apr 2012 08:30 AM PDT The world of mobile technology has improved greatly over the years. The vast number of brands in the global market today has caused a great variation in the demand of some. One of the greatly affected brands is the BlackBerry, from the Canadian company RIM (Research In Motion).
In the past few years, RIM has experienced a reduction in sales of the BlackBerry that occurred when other smart phones such as the Android and iPhone hit the market. However, RIM experienced this meltdown mainly in the North American market. In the African market, the reverse is the case. Presently, Africa is a ripe market for the BlackBerry. Contador Harrison, a software developer with mobile solutions provider Somocon Oy writes:
He goes on to point out that this is why “over 3,000,000 new business popping up in African provide an ideal market for RIM than other platforms.” This is a viewpoint I agree with. With this in mind, the question here is, "Why is Africa embracing the BlackBerry?" Like every other place, Africans love technology and this is no wonder why BlackBerry has carved a niche for itself in the African market. Like every other mobile device, BlackBerry also has features like gaming and Internet browsing. But it owes its craze in Africa to its BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) and Appworld features. These features are responsible for the viral effect it is creating on the African market. The BBM has this affinity because of its ability to share text and voice messages as well as pictures and video clips. It has become the most downloaded free app from the BlackBerry App world in Africa. BlackBerry provides various advantages for its users, for those active in social media and those in the business world alike. Social interaction is one of the reasons why BlackBerry is found more among youths that any other age group in Africa. Youths use the BlackBerry Messenger service to text messages to one another, share images and connect socially. In my country of Nigeria, almost every household has a BlackBerry. Despite prices of $150 and up per device, people will sometimes sell other belongings to buy a BlackBerry. The BlackBerry gives its user a sense of class and belonging. It is no wonder that school students find it wise to sacrifice their school fees for the purchase of a BlackBerry device. The different BlackBerry plans made available by the mobile service networks are enough to skyrocket the urge to get one. According to Riu Brites, the product director at RIM for Africa, BlackBerry access in South Africa is affordable with flat rate plans. In Nigeria, prices of the BlackBerry plans from the various mobile networks (Airtel, Glo and MTN) are from $5 to $10 per month, giving users the choice to pick what they feel is best. Access to computers is harder to get in parts of Africa than in America and other areas of the world. With the BlackBerry you can stay connected and conduct business without worrying about power or Internet access for a regular computer, and without the inconvenience of going to an Internet cafe to get online. Can the BlackBerry device be as effective in business as it is in social media? Saying that the BlackBerry is enough to replace a personal assistant is an ideal answer to this question. In business, many functions can affect operations. Functions like scheduling of business meetings, electronic filing of important documents, secure online transactions, secure business conference calls, sending of eleventh hour calls-to-action to staff and executives, on-the-go customer support and other functions can not be overlooked. Not long ago in my country Nigeria I saw where a politician had used the Blackberry service to answer the queries of his followers via Facebook (a prompt reply is a great way to show that peoples’ opinions and queries are important to him and there by increasing trust). I use my BlackBerry daily to run my Web-based business. It lets me be out and about, and still stay connected anywhere — in a bus or wherever I may be. With its Messenger and secure email service, business people can handle questions and achieve on-the-go customer support. With its secure Internet connection, online transactions can be made with ease. The BlackBerry was made with security and flexibility in mind and this is sure to increase business productivity when used effectively. In the African market, many new businesses get established by the day which leads to growth of customers. Since the BlackBerry is not only useful for individuals but also for businesses every newly established business becomes a potential customer. As long as a product is a problem solver, then its demand is sure. This is the case with BlackBerry. In the future, RIM should continue to invest in Africa in terms of its BlackBerry product. As long as they keep up with the development of new and better features for later BlackBerry models, the African market will continue to be an ever loyal customer base. From Small Business Trends |
| Identifying Your Ideal Customer Posted: 26 Apr 2012 05:30 AM PDT Who do you think your products or services appeal to?
If your answer is “everyone” keep reading. Businesses with too large a target market (i.e. every household in America) struggle to get any customers at all, and here’s why: not understanding who your customer really is keeps you from being able to better serve that customer. Paint a Picture If you’ve never completed an exercise on identifying your ideal customer, I encourage you to do one now. Grab a notebook or start typing. Answer the questions fully, and get creative if you’re not sure of the answers. The goal is to paint a picture of who your ideal customer is. You’ll likely have other types of customers, but focus on the ones that you enjoy serving, and who you want more of:
Next, take a tip from Ivana Taylor of DIY Marketers, who suggests modeling your ideal client profile on an actual client. Consider what makes this customer perfect in your mind. You can physically draw a person or cut images and words from a magazine to visually define this person. When you’re done, your profile may be similar to this example:
Shedding the Rest The purpose of this exercise is to ensure that all your marketing, web copy and messaging targets this specific type of customer. Again, if your branding is too generic, and you’re trying to be all things to all people, you’ll fail. Zero in on writing your messaging directly to this ideal customer, and you’ll find that you instantly attract more of them. The secondary purpose of the exercise is to get rid of the client types you don’t want. You know the ones – you lose money working with them simply because they take up a lot of your time. Or they try to nickel and dime you on projects. These customers aren’t worth your time, and by better targeting your messaging, you’ll send subtle signals that send them the other way. By properly identifying who your ideal customer is, you set your company on the right track to getting more (and better) business.
From Small Business Trends |
| Technology Boosts Small Business Efforts Posted: 26 Apr 2012 02:30 AM PDT Technology lets small businesses compete. It levels the playing field. In today’s small business round up, we look at the tech tools available to you. Social MediaBig events draw huge Twitter audience. If you want to know where all the tweeting is happening, big sporting events are always a good bet. Are there ways you could leverage this audience for your marketing efforts? MarketingLand.com Why massive marketing may not equal engagement. Consistency in marketing is often more important than the size of your campaign. This may especially be the case with social media, so plan your efforts accordingly. Channelship Alternative WorkspaceNo need to go to the office. Technology is fueling a wide variety of alternative workspace options. How do you work best and what alternative workspace option will work best for you? MarketWatch Barcode MagicQuirky QR codes show breadth of technology. You might never dream of using QR codes for marketing in any of these ways, but if you want to start thinking creatively about the use of this technology for your business, check out these videos. PC&Tech Authority How do barcodes work for small business? The infographic below looks at how barcode readers works and the technology can boost efficiency for any small business. (Be sure to scroll down to catch the rest of our wrap up underneath.) Buzz Small Business Magazine On the WebGetting that perfect domain name. How important is getting the perfect domain name to your online marketing efforts? Should you invest big for that choice name and how much difference will it really make in your business? You’re the Boss Unleashing the power of content curation. If you want to know the best way to create hubs on the Web these days, content creation may not be it. How can online entrepreneurs use content curation to their advantage? Fast Company Video & MobileUnexpected benefits of video marketing. Yep, SEO is definitely a big reason that using online video will help your business. But it turns out there are a lot of other reasons why video is a good idea. Reel SEO Simple resources for mobile app development. How brilliant do you need to be to develop a mobile app for your business? Numerous resources offer the opportunity to get a simple small business app up and running. ZDNet More Technology BenefitsIncrease efficiency with small business tech. Technology has the potential not only to aid your marketing and boost your revenue but to improve your company’s efficiency as well. Here are some tools that may help you. Smallbiz Technology From Small Business Trends |
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The kind of person that tears an idea apart, and then rebuilds a better version of it is a true problem solver. In business if you intend to be effective, then you have do more than discuss all the reasons why it doesn't work. The next step is to do the work to solve those critical concerns.
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