YouTube Paid Subscription Channels Coming Soon |  |
- YouTube Paid Subscription Channels Coming Soon
- Symantec Experts Give Virtualization Technology Advice
- James Wong of Avidian CRM: Turning Outlook Into a Full Featured CRM System
- A Valentine’s Day Business Merger
- Customer Demand Brings Back J.C. Penney Sales
| YouTube Paid Subscription Channels Coming Soon Posted: 01 Feb 2013 11:30 AM PST The amount of videos available for viewing on YouTube is overwhelming. Some of these videos are amateur footage that anyone can upload and hardly anyone cares to watch. And some videos are more artfully created and targeted at a specific group of loyal followers. But these videos all have one thing in common – they're free to watch, at least for now. YouTube has just announced plans to begin developing paid subscription channels, which would cost end users a monthly access fee ranging from $1 to $5.
The site has reached out to a select few channel producers and invited them to submit applications to create paid content channels. The first to develop these channels will probably be media companies that have already gained decent sized followings on YouTube. The new offering will give them a way to monetize their content, other than (or in addition to) ads. These channels will likely consist of professional-grade programs that are targeted to specific demographic groups, such as football fans, gamers, or automobile enthusiasts. There also may be opportunities for individual pay-per-view videos — which may be a more attractive option for smaller content producers that don't have very large or loyal followings. That way, they can selectively offer individual videos for a fee. They don't have to risk losing followers who balk at paying monthly subscription fees. For companies that use YouTube to reach consumers, the new channels have pros and cons. They could lead to more monetization opportunities for content producers and news media, if the paid subscription model catches on with consumers. On the other hand, switching to a paid model could present risks, as fewer viewers are likely to see new content if they have to pay for it. And some loyal followers might even jump ship at the news of switching over to a paid channel. For now, the paid subscription model is being treated like an experiment that may or may not catch on. For users to actually pay for access to certain videos when others are available for free, there will have to be some kind of incentive or proof that the content is somehow worthy of that investment, however small it might be. The paid channels are expected to launch later in 2013, possibly this spring. The post YouTube Paid Subscription Channels Coming Soon appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Symantec Experts Give Virtualization Technology Advice Posted: 01 Feb 2013 10:04 AM PST
Many SMB owners and managers are familiar with the concept of cloud software applications and software-as-a-service accessed through the Internet. But you may not be as familiar with virtual servers and virtualizing your technology. So it was an excellent way for entrepreneurs to better understand virtualization technology. The two Symantec subject matter experts were:
Below are some of the tips they shared during the chat: Q1: What kind of technology can you take virtual? Is it all about servers? Or more? A1: Any type of application (email, accounting, CRM) can be virtualized. SMBs often start with productivity applications. @SymantecSMB Q2: What are the biggest benefits for SMBs of going virtual with technology? A2: One of the best benefits we've seen is an improvement in efficiency because physical IT resources are simplified. – @SymantecSMB A2: The ability to use fewer servers for the same number of applications http://t.co/aPepmHmc – @BE_Elias Q3: What are the biggest challenges of adopting virtual solutions? A3: Security is also a continuing concern for virtual environments just as with physical network components. – @BE_Elias A3: Adoption is THE biggest challenge. Next would be the learning curve – @LBarraco A3: How much IT know-how is required to virtualize on site? - @Robert_Brady A3: It is fairly simple utilizing #VMware or #HyperV, it is a simple installation (in my opinion) -@BE_Elias Q4: Does virtualized technology automatically solve security issues – example: antivirus and firewall in servers? #SMBchat A4: Previously implemented security tools may need to be reconfigured or replaced in order to maintain adequate protection. @SymantecSMB Q5: What steps should small businesses take to secure virtualized hardware such as servers? A5: Consider security solutions needed to secure your virtual environment: firewall, antivirus, and endpoint security. @BE_Elias A5: Update software regularly & secure passwords that are regularly updated. @robert_brady A5: having scheduled password updates (30 days), checking spam folders and out boxs, running virus protection routinely @SoukleATL Q6: What about security of virtualized software such as cloud email and documents? A6 A recent survey shows employees will often go around IT and use cloud apps, exposing the company to high risks. – @SymantecSMB A6: The Ponemon 2011 Cost of a Data Breach Report stated that 41% of breaches were caused by a third party. – @BE_Elias Q7: What about data backup in a virtualized environment? Concerns? Benefits? A7: Carefully consider the user interface. A simpler solution will save a significant amount of time in the long run. @BE_Elias A7: Virtual servers can be way cheaper than having an in-house server grid. – @andrewbamazing A7: Nearly half of SMBs would lose 40% of their data in disaster, acc to Symantec research: http://t.co/aZ4TQAxm - @TJMcCue Q8: What are some best practices if you are considering virtualization but haven't yet jumped in? A8: You can work with a consultant/reseller on a strategy. They can help determine your needs and help with implementation – @SymantecSMB A8: Before going live, perform testing to make sure everything is working as it should. – @BE_Elias A8: Here's a paper on how to successfully implement virtualization in your organization: http://t.co/fF3QlHn7 – @BE_Elias BONUS: For current information on virtualization, check out Symantec's SMB Virtualization Clinic: http://t.co/WEISveKb – @SymantecSMB Many thanks to Symantec for sponsoring this chat and to Dan Nadir and Elias AbuGhazaleh, the Symantec subject matter experts, for being available to the small business community and sharing their knowledge. The post Symantec Experts Give Virtualization Technology Advice appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| James Wong of Avidian CRM: Turning Outlook Into a Full Featured CRM System Posted: 01 Feb 2013 08:00 AM PST James Wong, Founder of Avidian Technologies had a simple goal: how to help sales people who depend on Outlook by adding features to make it a full featured CRM system. That led to his company developing Avidian CRM, which works inside Microsoft Outlook to add robust CRM functionality to an already valuable software program. In this week’s interview, he points out that 600 million people use Outlook each day. Avidian’s Prophet CRM service helps them build upon a platform they are already using in their daily work, and squeeze more productivity out of Outlook. * * * * *
James Wong: I tell people that I am educated as an accountant, trained as an engineer and entrepreneur by fire. Small Business Trends: How did you get involved with the CRM space? James Wong: I had another business we ran for about five years and then we were acquired by a national company. With that company, we were doing a lot of Outlook and Exchange implementations. Because we wanted to get companies to be collaborative and Exchange was the way. When we rolled out Outlook and Exchange to an organization, things that struck us most was that people embraced it — from the administrative assistant up to the CEO. People automatically made Outlook part of their day. With software, the hardest thing about implementing new software is getting people to use it. People just made Outlook part of their day. Then a few months later, after the company got more integrated with Outlook and it became part of their day, they came to me and said ‘Hey James, can you help us customize this?’ We were an e-business consulting company. So when we got acquired, I said to myself, ‘Okay, what am I going to do next?’ And the next thing I wanted to do was to build software inside of Outlook and Exchange. My belief is that Outlook is the largest untapped platform in the world. There are six hundred plus million Outlook users and they are in it all day long, using it. They are emailing their customers, creating contacts, making appointments with their clients or prospects. They are doing a lot of CRM activities already. Put two and two together and it's like ‘Whoa, Outlook! People are in it all day long, they are doing sales stuff, CRM stuff. Why not just turn Outlook into a full CRM system?’ That is why we created Prophet CRM. Small Business Trends: In 2013, with all of this social media, are sales people still living in Outlook? James Wong: I would ask you the question, how many people are in email all day? Small Business Trends: Hundreds of millions. I am on Facebook, I am on Twitter, I use Linkedin. But I do live in email. James Wong: As fast as Gmail and Apple mail is growing, Outlook is still the largest. Small Business Trends: So you went from doing services around Microsoft Outlook and Exchange to baking CRM functionality into Outlook. How did you get started with bringing these two worlds together? James Wong: It just made natural sense. People are already doing 50% to 60% of their customer activities inside of Outlook. They are emailing their clients or prospects, they are creating calendar appointments, contacts, and now with the proliferation of mobile with their phones, with their iPads. Even Apple has to sync with Outlook. Every mobile device out there, what they have in common is that they have to sync with Outlook. Because 90% of your office workers are in Outlook. As a sales person, I know I need CRM. And for my CRM to be successful, I have to create my contacts in that system. I have to email from there. I have to do my appointments from there. It's like ‘Wait a second, you are asking me to change my habits? You are asking me to do something different that I am already doing every single day in email. That does not make sense. Why don't I just do it inside of Outlook?’ And that is the impetus for us for creating Profit. Small Business Trends: What are some of the things that were missing in Outlook? Things necessary to get sales people to adopt CRM within Outlook? James Wong: Outlook was designed as a personal information manager (PIM) of Microsoft. It was never designed as a contact management or CRM application. What we have done in Profit CRM is turn Outlook into a full feature contact management system for your team. Then we added opportunity management. Now that I have contacts and companies, I need to go and manage my sales opportunities, or projects, or customer delivery. I can do those things right inside of Outlook. Then we added reporting. There is really no reporting in Outlook. We provide insights into your business:
Then we link all of that with mobile access. You can take your contacts, your calendar and all of that stuff with you on your phone. So that you don't have to actually go and log into a website to go and grab your information. Small Business Trends: User adoption is one of the biggest challenges to implementing CRM. Particularly getting sales people to use it. James Wong: With CRM inside of Outlook, we completely overcame that obstacle and that objection. People are already doing it inside of Outlook. The problem for a lot of sales people and the users of CRM is that I am already doing my natural stuff one way in Outlook. If you want me to do CRM, I have to create the contact in a whole separate system. Should I update my contacts? Do I put it in Outlook first? I know I need it in Outlook. Or do I put it in a website? Or some other application I have installed on my computer? This has created redundant work and it is troublesome. They have some sort of Outlook integration. They all talk about it because they know it is necessary. The problem is that people don't use it. If they tried, it is very clunky. Small Business Trends: How do you compare and contrast what you do with Outlook to what Microsoft Dynamics CRM does with Outlook? James Wong: Dynamics is an enterprise level application. But we seek to be similar to a QuickBooks of CRM. Most companies don't want the complexity of this massive ERP or CRM system. What they want is something simple and easy, like QuickBooks and like Outlook. So we are all about simplicity. This interview is part of our One on One series of conversations with some of the most thought-provoking entrepreneurs, authors and experts in business today. This interview has been edited for publication. To hear audio of the full interview, click the right arrow on the gray player below. You can also see more interviews in our interview series. The post James Wong of Avidian CRM: Turning Outlook Into a Full Featured CRM System appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| A Valentine’s Day Business Merger Posted: 01 Feb 2013 05:00 AM PST
It’s hard to believe it’s February already. (It acutally kind of snuck up on me!) And that means Valentine’s Day isn’t far off. This business merger cartoon came to me while I was thinking about that standard “Be Mine” Valentine sentiment. Abandoned ideas included a “Leave Me Alone” card, a “Be Mime” card given from one mime to another, and Yoda giving a “Mine, Be” card to. . .well, I don’t know who. Princess Leia? I think we can all agree that this merger cartoon was the one to go with. Although that Yoda one kind of tickles me. The post A Valentine’s Day Business Merger appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Customer Demand Brings Back J.C. Penney Sales Posted: 01 Feb 2013 02:30 AM PST Customer demand is bringing back J.C. Penney Sales. Innovation is great for any business, but when that innovation upsets your customers, it’s time to put customer experience first. Here’s more about the lesson J.C. Penney learned the hard way and the one every business must learn in the end, too. Customer Demand Changes EverythingJCP goes old school. The huge retailer started making changes in its stores nationwide a year ago. Those changes included getting rid of J.C. Penney’s popular sales that numbered in the hundreds each year. Customers were bummed. Sales took a hit, but now, they’re coming back. CBS Money Watch The best is yet to come. J.C. Penney plans to re-introduce many of the sales its customers clearly love. The elimination was originally part of a plan by new Chief Executive Ron Johnson. He felt discounts were costing the business too much money. Customers voted with their pocketbooks costing the stores much more in lost sales. The Wall Street Journal A no-brainer. It may take some time to see whether the return of J.C. Penney’s popular sales will repair the damage done with customers, but Wall Street seems to think so. The company’s stock shares jumped on Tuesday with news of the return to the retailer’s discounting roots. When you make a change in your business, be sure to focus on customers first. Bloomberg Businessweek Customer Demand Guides InnovationKeep an eye on customer experience. Both on your Website and in your store, customer experience can be your guide. Sylvia Rosen explains the importance of this idea when planning what’s ahead for your business in 2013. The trick is to really know your customers and to build the trust they need. BuyerZone Make yourself useful. If you want to improve customer experience online or off, the key is to offer something useful. Beatrice Whelan of Sage Ireland tells Amanda Webb how to add value for your customers in everything you do. See this video interview for more details. Tweak Your Biz You can’t please everyone. It’s one of the hardest things to learn about meeting customer demand. Susan Oakes has this advice. Do some analysis. If the decision is right for your business, don’t mistake a few vocal critics for your customers. M4B Marketing All you need is love. Meet customer demand and they will love you. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Jamie Fairbairn has some suggestions that will help you keep the romance going. Start by doing something special for your customers without expecting anything in return. Read on. SearchBlogger The post Customer Demand Brings Back J.C. Penney Sales appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
Two experts from Symantec recently joined us and over 100 members of the small business community on Twitter, on the topic of virtualizing your technology. Virtualization technology can help you reduce IT hardware costs, maintenance costs and even utility costs – not to mention create efficiencies in your internal processes.
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