What’s The Matter With This Picture? |  |
- What’s The Matter With This Picture?
- New Privacy Laws to Protect Individuals and Businesses on the Web
- Tu Nguyen of Gongshow Gear: Providing Automated Real-Time Customer Service
- It’s A Dog Eat Dog World
- Heineken Changes Its Iconic Bottle
| What’s The Matter With This Picture? Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:00 PM PDT Image Matters. The look and feel of your website says something about you. And so do your headshots and company logo — or the lack thereof. I don't think the impact of image is going away any time soon.
Sure you can get around it, but you have to work harder to convince people that you actually know what you're talking about. When you look the part, however, the battle is a little easier. So, make your company image work for and not against you. You can start by using what you have. Use What You HaveI am a huge advocate of hiring a team and getting some help. But I understand the reality of small businesses — sometimes you just don't have it. It's a classic situation: You need to purchase three items, you only have the money for one. Well, instead of the blow to progress the strain a tight budget can toss your way, you can get busy using what's already in your pocket. In other words, if you have money, then find the right people and pay for their help. But if you have more time than money, then update your skills and do certain things yourself. Every Small Business Needs
People want to see what you have and who you are. The pictures and images associated with our personal and professional brand, effects public perception — and often times spending. If it's that important, then those images need to be crisp and engaging. Consider paying for a quality logo and product images. And if there's no one with a strong eye for photography in your inner circle, then you may need to pay for a quality headshot as well. Once these items exist, then you can add them to your business cards, website, brochures, posters, flyers, catalogs — where ever you need them. It's the digital age and information travels from one side of the planet to the next in seconds. Create the kind of visual message that says what you want it to say. Blank Photo via Shutterstock The post What's The Matter With This Picture? appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| New Privacy Laws to Protect Individuals and Businesses on the Web Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT In the past ten years, the Internet has grown so fast that it’s almost incomprehensible. When something grows this fast—and is at the same time extremely useful to our everyday lives—it’s human nature to start taking it for granted. More specifically, we take our rights on the Web for granted.
When is the last time you thought about law enforcement's right to read your data? What about if it’s legal or not for an app to pull as much personal information out of your phone or computer as it wants? With Congress’ approval rating barely staying in the double-digits, one often wonders if they are planning on doing anything to improve it. It turns out a few of them actually want to pass laws that a vast majority of people will get behind. Seeing as the privacy act that governs our electronic communications is over 25 years old (that sure is some old lingo), some representatives decided to update the antique legislation. Privacy is Currently Lacking, New Laws Aim to Protect Citizens OnlineThe first bill we should discuss comes from Senator Patrick Leahy. He is proposing an amendment to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986. First of all, as the law stands now, our email is almost up for grabs for law enforcement. According to NBCNews, all that is required for law enforcement to read your – or your business’ – emails is to:
That’s it. It “could be useful” and they get to read all of it. The amendment, as NBCNews reports again, will:
It doesn’t matter if the emails are on your own server or stored remotely. Everything will be treated equally and with the strong protection it deserves. Regardless of whether you are doing something wrong or not—and a majority of users on the Internet do nothing illegal—this is good news for privacy. There’s no reason why our property in the electronic world shouldn’t be just as strongly protected as it is in the material world. Mobile and Social Apps a Target tooNot to be outdone with legislation that the public will actually embrace, US Representative Ed Markey has introduced a bill called the Mobile Device Privacy Act. Currently, it’s extremely easy, and legal, for an app or social media platform to simply grab whatever personal information they want from your data. Sometimes they let you know, and other times it’s completely in secret. This is an assault on personal privacy and possibly a threat to businesses that operate online as well. So this new bill, as Ed Oswald at ExtremeTech reports:
Basically, any sort of data snooping or data collection has to stop. If it is to be done, the user must be informed beforehand. Ed Oswald included a wonderful quote from Markey that captures the spirit of this bill:
That pretty much sums up the point of the bill. Whether you have a business online or you personally use mobile apps and social platforms like Facebook and Google+, this means you will have the control over your data and personal or commercial information that you should have had all along. Finally, Legislation We Can Get BehindAfter a year of horrible proposed legislation that would have suspended the prosperity and freedom we currently enjoy on the Internet, we have two bills that pretty much everyone can get behind. Just last year SOPA was introduced and sparked one of the greatest mobilizations of businesses and individuals in opposition. The opposition was a fine display of e-disobedience. Businesses small and large blacked out their sites to raise awareness. Much more was done on other online communities. Even Google got involved to spread information about how SOPA was not what the Internet needed. Eventually, the Web denizens and the businesses that supported them won and SOPA was defeated. We still have other challenges to Internet freedom in CISPA and ACTA, but it’s unlikely they’ll get much traction given the response to SOPA. Ultimately, these privacy bills are good for businesses as well as individuals. As businesses continue to move into the online world, and individuals put more of their info online, they deserve the privacy and protection that we have in the physical world. That way, we can all enjoy the Internet for what it’s meant to be: a platform to communicate and interact, which allows us to grow commercial ventures and improve individually. What do you think of these new privacy laws? Online Privacy Laws Photo via Shutterstock The post New Privacy Laws to Protect Individuals and Businesses on the Web appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Tu Nguyen of Gongshow Gear: Providing Automated Real-Time Customer Service Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:00 AM PDT Many online small businesses generally do not have the resources to keep their business staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, consumers have come to expect immediate customer service solutions. So what’s a small business to do? Tune in as Tu Nguyen, VP of Technology for Gongshow Gear, joins Brent Leary to share how he and his team have been able to provide automated real-time customer service and, in doing so, have increased their sales by 7 to 10 percent. * * * * *
Tu Nyguen: I was studying at Carleton University, studying science back in 2003, and that is where I met my partners Garrett and Craig while they were playing junior hockey at the time at Ottawa Ontario. They were selling hats with “Gongshow Hockey” stitched on front of it. They were selling shirts from the dorm room and also in the back of the van. A long story short, given the initial success, we realized this may be a viable business. Small Business Trends: Can you talk about how the term “Gongshow” is really a part of the hockey culture? Tu Nyguen: Gongshow is a lifestyle hockey apparel brand. The word Gongshow, if you can remember, first originated from a hit TV show back in the 70's. Since then, it has been made popular and adopted by the community of the junior hockey culture and a go-to word to describe the chaotic, crazy situations that can often occur on or off the ice. The word has become, over the years, pretty synonymous with hockey culture. Small Business Trends: What do you guys sell online at Gongshow Gear? Tu Nyguen: We sell hats, tee shirts, and a lot of apparels. We introduced jeans this year and really extended our line and are really growing with the market. It’s typical stuff that hockey guys would wear; hats, tee shirts, jeans, even jackets were introduced this year. It is a full line of stuff that incorporates hockey culture into the fold. So it really pulls sales and slogans, and also low key stuff that you can wear from day to day as well. Small Business Trends: Can we talk a little bit about some numbers? Tu Nyguen: Right now on Facebook we have over 75,000 members. On Twitter we have around 26,000 followers. A lot of the hockey guys are very close knit and they like to share stories. It’s really a great medium for us to showcase their stuff and get feedback from them directly. Small Business Trends: How do you transition those conversations into sales on the website? Tu Nyguen: The thing with this new generation of customers now using social media is that they think differently. All of a sudden, with this new social platform, they're extremely tech savvy. They are very informed and they are very engaging. They like to provide feedback as well. Most of all, they want answers as quick as possible. We have leveraged social model and are able to adapt to that. They want to hear directly from the brand. Small Business Trends: How are you able to leverage newer technologies to get the information to them right away? Tu Nyguen: Back in the day, we'd get a scenario where they were writing in, or phoning in the traditional method and asking something. Whether it's, “I am 6 ft. 190 lbs. Which size shirt should I get?” It’s very non-technical questions really. Or they could be at the last checkout screen and they have a question, “Do you take PayPal? Why isn't my credit card working?” So by the time they ask this question, let's say it was Friday night or on a Saturday, for a small business, we may not have the luxury of weekend staff or night staff to take the calls, or to even email these customers instantly. So it poses a challenge in terms of time to purchase. Because as they are waiting for an answer, they may have lost interest and gone somewhere else to buy something. Nanorep is a cloud-based customer service app we use that fits right into that social model I was talking about. Customers want things quick, and we have to find some way to answer them quickly. So the service is really working well for us. It was really set up for a small business and it is easy to use and maintain. Small Business Trends: How has Nanorep impacted the conversion rate you have on your site? Tu Nyguen: It takes a little while to build a knowledgebase based on the questions coming in from site visitors. But we have seen a dramatic drop in emails. Not only that, the answer rate now is anywhere between 65% to 75%, which is pretty good. So now it is a good day getting, let's say, ten or twenty redundant emails a day. Like this one, “I’m 6ft 1in, 190 lbs. So what size do you have? Or, “Is the credit card working and why not?” Those questions are now being answered automatically per our programming by Nanorep. So over the course of eight months, we noticed an average rate of anywhere between seven to ten percent higher sales generated by customers. Having Nanorep answer questions rather than waiting, and then later returnimg to purchase something. With Nanorep we have these trace snippets that allows us to do an AB test. That is how we were able to see those rates and we are seeing a ten percent higher rate. One thing to observe is the time of purchase conversion. They were on our site, and they are looking for questions and it can be the difference from them buying that day, or the next day, or never at all. That definitely helped in the aspect of receiving that ten percent increase. Let's say if one hundred visitors were to come and engage, at least ten of those buying that day or that hour can stem from weekend sales as well as night sales. So we're definitely seeing some improvement in those areas. Small Business Trends: Where can people go to learn more about you and your Gongshow Gear, and how they can buy stuff? Tu Nyguen: They can go to Gong Show Gear. The post Tu Nguyen of Gongshow Gear: Providing Automated Real-Time Customer Service appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:00 AM PDT
“Dog eat dog” has been used in:
And now it’s a business cartoon to boot. The post It’s A Dog Eat Dog World appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Heineken Changes Its Iconic Bottle Posted: 21 Sep 2012 02:30 AM PDT When sales begin to fall, business owners start looking for solutions. It doesn’t matter whether the business is large or small, dropping sales means something is wrong. Perhaps your business model no longer works, perhaps your product is no longer needed, or maybe the way you market your product is the problem. A decision by an iconic beer maker shows one way to deal with the situation, but below you’ll also find others. Customer DisloyaltyBottled up inside. Heineken dominated the higher-end beer market for decades, but now the brand is in trouble. A perfect storm includes the success of competitor Corona, a decline in beer drinking, and the growth of smaller craft beers. The company’s solution is a new bottle with a different shape, even though the beer inside won’t change. The Wall Street Journal Some experience required. Customer perception of a brand is complex and has as much or more to do with actual experience than superficial perception. For example, 89 percent of customers began doing business with a competitor after a poor experience, and 86 percent will pay for a better experience. Eleventy Changing with the times. You’re not the same person now as you were a few years ago, and neither are your customers. So if your marketing message, branding, and product haven’t changed in all that time, there may be a problem. Marsha Friedman suggests some tips for getting up to speed. EMSI Doors of PerceptionCausing the effect. Of course, when considering why sales are slipping or leads may not be coming in as easily as they once did, it’s helpful to take a thoughtful approach to identify the cause of the problem, says marketing expert Susan Oakes. Avoid reacting prematurely by cutting prices or making other immediate responses which may hurt your business instead of helping. M4B Marketing Riding the bull. You should also examine the way customers interact with your brand. Rachel Parker tells the story of how one particularly skillful marketer for Red Bull got her attention simply by handing her a refreshing can of the beverage in the middle of a thirsty workout. Resonance Persistence of VisionA change in focus. Look for the reasons your sales may not be all you would like them to be by asking yourself some important questions, says blogger Harry Vaishnav. Find out whether you are selling to the right customer, and if you are focusing too much on marketing and not enough on your product. There are some other issues business owners should also consider. Small Biz Viewpoints The secret of staying power. Amazingly, some brands, no matter how long they have been around, demonstrate incredible staying power. Entrepreneurs can learn from businesses like The Becky Thatcher Restaurant in downtown Hannibal, Mo., a business that has had customers coming back for 43 years, says marketer Diana Pohly. Here are some lessons for longevity. Step By Step Marketing The post Heineken Changes Its Iconic Bottle appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
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