Turn Virtual Negativity Into Real Loyalty

Turn Virtual Negativity Into Real Loyalty
Flipboard App Reports Half-a-Million “Magazines” and Counting
Summer Hiring Heating Up, Steps to Improve Your Hiring Process
National Small Business Week Two Months Away
Washington, D.C. Could Help Small Business by Doing Less

Posted: 15 Apr 2013 04:00 PM PDT

reputation management

Last week I spoke to a business group about the power of Facebook. During the conversation, someone asked me about reputation management and dealing with negative comments. My belief is that we should embrace negative comments and be glad people are sharing.

When they tell us about their experiences, they give us a chance to appreciate the good ones and fix the bad ones. Negative comments aren’t bad when we are aware of them. They're only bad when we don't hear them. When someone has a bad experience, chances are they are going to tell someone. If the experience is really bad, or they are really upset, they will probably tell a lot of people.

If they aren’t telling us too, we are giving them the upper hand. They now have influence over what people believe about our company.

When they share their thoughts with us as well, we now have the chance to address the situation and fix it. And, when they share on social media, we have the chance to show everyone else how we handle adversity. We can increase the loyalty of our clients, including that person, when we openly address difficult situations.

People want to be heard, and they want to be validated. Acknowledge their experience, apologize and repair the problem. They will thank you and everyone else will see how much you value your clients and connections.

So you see, how we deal with negativity can make the difference.

After my presentation, one of the audience members asked to speak with me about this subject. She works for a nonprofit and they were disparaged on their Facebook Fan Page by someone who was very upset. She was wondering what to do about it. After talking with her for a little while, I came to understand that she had tried several times to address the situation and get resolution.

Unfortunately, the individual could not be satisfied. This woman was concerned about the impact that thread could have on others. She really felt that the organization was being slandered.

What would you do in this circumstance?

Reputation Management

I told her that in this case, I would call the individual to try talking to them. And then, I'd remove the thread from my Fan Page. There is a point beyond which you can't positively impact an outcome. If you hit that point, don't be afraid to remove the situation from public view. You don't want to say anything bad about the person who complains. Just remove the discussion.

If anyone asks about it, you can politely explain that resolution wasn't realized through the online exchange so you moved it to a private conversation. Then emphasize how much your company values it's clients and feedback. They know you well so they will understand.

When you are providing a valuable service and customer care, the majority of your contacts will respect and value you. They will understand that sometimes a problem occurs. And when you deal with it head on, their respect will increase.

At the same time, if you have an untenable situation, they will understand that too. We all know there are people who you just can't please. Most people are reasonable and understanding. So, don't avoid the negative; embrace it.

You can actually increase loyalty and connection through negativity.

Like Unlike Photo via Shutterstock

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Flipboard App Reports Half-a-Million “Magazines” and Counting

Posted: 15 Apr 2013 01:30 PM PDT

flipboard app

The team responsible for the popular Flipboard app reports half-a-million new “magazines” and counting have been created since a new edition was launched two weeks ago. Observers are already saying the tool could become a unique way for businesses to promote themselves.

Flipboard offers an iOS app, also soon to be updated on Android, that turns Twitter, Facebook and other news feeds into a magazine-style format.

The news suggests that a lot of Web readers may be trending toward an even more visual and tactile experience online. An infographic posted on Inside Flipboard, the Official Flipboard Blog, indicates that users are clearly taking to the new concept. There are now 53 million Flipboard readers, including an additional 3 million added in the last two weeks. In that time, users have created more than 500,000 “magazines” and the visually-appealing are the most popular in two weeks.

In the new Flipboard app, users come across content they find interesting that they’ve read or things they plan or want to read in the future and curate that content into “magazines.” Flipboard largely organizes the content that’s stored and creates a layout. These “magazines” can be read privately or shared with other Flipboard users. Users can integrate their own social network feeds onto Flipboard, too.

The Flipboard app team says the “most flipped” content on the new service includes pages of photos, travel and food pieces.

A recent update on the new Flipboard app from Forbes tech columnist Jason Evangelho suggests the new service could be a good promotional tool for personal and business needs. The key, he says, is not just to promote yourself but also other related content. “A good rule of thumb: If it interests you as it relates to your specialty, chances are good it will interest your intended audience.”

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Summer Hiring Heating Up, Steps to Improve Your Hiring Process

Posted: 15 Apr 2013 11:00 AM PDT

hiring process

Is your small business planning to hire hourly summer workers?

If so, you'd best get hopping. Snagajob's annual summer hiring survey found that more businesses are planning to hire hourly workers than last year, and they're also planning to pay them more.

According to the poll of more than 1,000 hiring managers nationwide, 19 percent plan to hire more summer employees this year, up from 9 percent last year. In addition, wages are at their highest level since the survey launched six years ago. For the first time in two years, hourly wages are projected to rise, from $10.90 last summer to $11.50 on average.

The number of hiring managers who don't plan to hire any summer workers dropped from 45 percent in 2012 to 31 percent this year. Why are some companies not hiring? The biggest reason, cited by 36 percent was budget concerns. That's up 9 percentage points from last summer. And while 36 percent plan to give current employees more hours this summer, that's down 11 percentage points from last year.

Businesses expect just 55 percent of their summer hires will be returning from years past, down from 65 percent last year. That means it will be a good time for new employees to get a foot in the door. Similar to past years, the majority of summer hiring managers expect most of the applicants to be high schoolers or college students.

As in most years, the survey found most hiring will take place in April and May (24 percent and 30 percent, respectively), and 77 percent of all hiring will be done by the end of May. Just 11 percent will still be hiring in June.

Clearly, if you need hourly workers this summer, you shouldn't delay. Below are some steps to speed and improve your hiring process.

Steps to Improve Your Hiring Process

Create a System

You probably hire for the same types of positions each year. So if you haven't already, create a job description for each position that includes the duties to be performed, hours needed, skills or experience required and anything else that candidates need to know.

It's simple to update these annually to add new requirements.

Maintain Records

Keep contact information for past seasonal workers whom you liked and get back in touch with them in advance of your hiring season. It's always preferable to hire a known quantity than start from scratch.

Note what websites or job boards got good results in the past and use them every year as well.

Put the Word Out

Many good hires come from word-of-mouth, so let your social media friends, family and business contacts know you're hiring.

Chances are everyone's got a niece, nephew, son or spouse looking for a seasonal summer job.

Hire for Personality

Skills are important, but attitude is more so. You can teach someone to operate a cash register, but you can't teach them to be friendly or energetic.

Put reliability, a positive attitude and friendliness above all and, in most hourly positions, you really can't go wrong.

Do you hire summer workers, and what are your plans for it this year?

Summer Heat Photo via Shutterstock

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National Small Business Week Two Months Away

Posted: 15 Apr 2013 08:00 AM PDT

small business week

An event meant to focus the nation’s attention on the importance of the small business community will focus events in five cities across the country this year. The U.S. Small Business Administration is holding its annual National Small Business Week from June 17-21, 2013.

This will be the 50th anniversary of the event, which the government organization uses as a chance to highlight the impact small businesses have in the U.S.

More than half of all Americans work for or own a small business in the U.S., according to the SBA. As a result, small businesses are responsible for about two in every three new jobs created in the U.S. on an annual basis.

This year’s National Small Business Week will feature events coast-to-coast, on each weekday, starting in Seattle on June 17, Dallas on the 18th, St. Louis on the 19th, Pittsburgh, on the 20th and finally in Washington, D.C., for the final day.

Each city will host forums for small business owners to discuss the small business landscape, business coaching services, networking events, and various awards ceremonies. The 2013 National Small Business Person of the Year will be announced at the end of the week in the nation’s capital.

Event details for each of those host cities have not yet been announced through SBA.

National Small Business Week will also feature daily online forums on topics important to small business owners and entrepreneurs including access to capital and and exporting. The SBA will also be live streaming events throughout the week at SBA.gov.

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Washington, D.C. Could Help Small Business by Doing Less

Posted: 15 Apr 2013 05:00 AM PDT

washington dc small business

Washington wants to be seen as helping small business. With approval ratings hovering around 25 percent, Congress wants to associate itself with one of America's most popular institutions – small business – which 95 percent of Americans report viewing positively in a November 2012 Gallup Organization survey of 1040 randomly selected adults.

To aid small business, Congress has established small contracting set asides, written legislation to facilitate small company access to credit, sought to protect small business owners who use consumer credit products in their business operations, and put in place a number of other policies to support small business.

Small business owners don't want to sound ungrateful. But they'd prefer something else from Washington.

The vast majority of small business owners would gladly trade Washington's help for more policy predictability. The 4th quarter 2012 Small Business Outlook Study – a survey of approximately 1,500 small business executives conducted every three months by Harris Interactive on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – revealed that nine out of every ten small business leaders would prefer less assistance and more certainty from our federal officials.

Small business sees much of what Washington does as harmful. For example, as part of the January 2012 Wells Fargo Small Business Index – a survey of a representative sample of 600 small business owners conducted by the Gallup Organization – 80 percent of respondents said that federal taxes are hurting their small businesses. Similarly, 72 percent said government regulations were having an adverse effect on their companies' operations.

The pattern is repeated with other surveys. More than three quarters of small business owners surveyed by Harris Interactive said that federal regulation, taxation and other legislation are holding them back from hiring. Nearly three quarters reported that the Affordable Care Act deters them from hiring.

Assistance is usually most valuable when the helper does something that the recipient finds useful. Our elected officials might want to think about that the next time they are looking to "help" small business owners.

Washington DC Photo via Shutterstock

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