Big Changes: AOL Acquires Gravity, Beats Music Launches

Big Changes: AOL Acquires Gravity, Beats Music Launches
Facebook Tests Running Ads on Other People’s Mobile Apps
How To Integrate Your Remote Office Effectively
Pamela O’Hara of Batchbook: Buying a CRM App Doesn’t Mean You Have a Sales Process
Here Comes the Pain Point. . .Ouch

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 04:00 PM PST

Reading with friendsEDIT

Don’t miss the important news for your business this week. The Small Business Trends editorial team has this roundup to keep you informed

Web Business

AOL acquires Gravity for more personalized content. Gravity helps publishers personalize or customize their content. The company already works for AOL properties like TechCrunch. But it also provides plugins for other online businesses to do the same.

TechMedia buys BuyerZone. TechMedia is a content oriented digital network. BuyerZone is a commerce site that specializes in lead-generation. Together the two offer an integration of two of the most important things an online business needs to thrive. So is this a good match?

DrawQuest shuts down. Of course, no one likes failure. But even when a business doesn’t work, things can be learned. CEO Chris Poole and his team certainly made some mistakes. But one good decision was to share his experiences.

Business Insider is ready to raise more funding. The news site gets about 20 million unique visitors a month. And its founders raised about $5 million in venture funding last year from people like the CEO of Amazon.

Entrepreneurs pick their favorite .net sites. Those who reported the data insist .net sites are growing in popularity. Whatever your opinion, it’s interesting to see the sites that got picked.

Digital Services

Beats Music promotes paid music streaming. Independent musicians are small business people too. And Beats Music seems dedicated to the idea of working with these small businesses to make sure they receive the payment they are due for their hard work.

Spotify introduces merchandise sales. From T-shirts to vinyl records and special box sets, there are many products indie musicians can sell. And now they can promote them on Spotify — even though some of the music is provided for free.

Skype is gaining major ground on traditional phone services. The platform has become a major tool for entrepreneurs and small business people. Without it, many valuable overseas partnerships would probably be too expensive to maintain.

Local University launches Local U Forums. Local University provides in-person information across the country to show local businesses how to promote themselves in the online world. The organization has now launched its own online forum to help participants stay connected.

Social Media

Facebook is testing an app ad network. The social media giant has announced it is working with a limited number of advertisers and publishers on this. The ads won’t be labeled with the Facebook brand but will be served via Facebook technology.

Bloggers are protected by the first amendment. The ruling takes away any ambiguity that may have existed about the rights of bloggers in our society. You may think this only matters to those who ply the journalistic trade online, but there are wider implications.

Smart Devices

Appliances may be trying to hack your business. Does this sound like something out of a science fiction story? It shouldn’t. A security company now says it has proof smart appliances have become weapons in the cyber security war.

Apple has started fixing iPhone 5c displays in the store. Here’s what to expect if you go to have your phone screen fixed or replaced. This isn’t the first time Apple has offered these kinds of services.

Reading with friends photo via Shutterstock

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Facebook Tests Running Ads on Other People’s Mobile Apps

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 01:30 PM PST

facebook

Facebook is testing a way to run some of its ads on other peoples’ mobile apps. Sriram Krishnan, mobile product leader at Facebook, says the company wants to help other app publishers develop a business model for their apps.

In a post recently on Facebook’s official Development Blog, Krishnan explains:

“Monetization is a difficult problem for mobile app developers, particularly as people move toward downloading more free apps and advertising dollars lag behind time spent on mobile. We faced some unique challenges when we first integrated ads into the Facebook mobile experience, and we believe we're now well positioned to help other mobile apps.”

So this suggests that independent publishers would then profit somehow by running the Facebook ads. Krishnan hints:

“In this test, we'll be extending Facebook’s rich targeting to improve the relevancy of the ads people see, provide even greater reach for Facebook advertisers, and help developers better monetize their apps.”

Krishnan describes the new project as essentially a mobile ad network in which Facebook would serve client’s advertisements on the apps of participating publishers.

A spokesman for Facebook told TechCrunch the company would use audience targeting technology based on data collected from its users to serve relevant ads on each app.

The spokesman told TechCrunch the new ads, when they emerge, won’t be labeled as Facebook ads. Rather, the idea is to use Facebook’s targeting technology to bring more relevant advertising to content across the Web.

Krishnan said the test is being run with a very limited group of participants. He said no further participants are being accepted at this time. He also gave no absolute timetable of when or if the new advertising program would be unveiled.

However, he suggested those interested in following the project’s progress should sign up to receive regular updates.

Facebook Photo via Shutterstock

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How To Integrate Your Remote Office Effectively

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST

remote office

Sometimes it just makes sense to hire remote workers, since they can bring invaluable knowledge about diverse demographics to the table. Remote workers have increased flexibility. They can be hired at the pay rates common in their home country, and they can bring localized expertise to the table. Virtual assistants, foreign staff members, telecommuting workers, and freelancers are some of the most common virtual office relationships small businesses are cultivating.

Below are ways to boost productivity, streamline workflows and protect your company’s data while employing remote workers.

Identify Location-Specific Needs

Don’t get too comfortable with your marketing and sales tactics just yet. Just because one strategy is successful in your home location, it doesn’t mean that you should use the same strategy in a remote location. Project managers, leadership, and marketing teams must collaborate with remote workers to identify an area’s needs and develop multilingual content. (The European Lung Foundation’s website is an excellent example of localization efforts. This non-profit is able to disseminate useful health information in eight different languages, increasing their impact dramatically.)

You’ll need to vet your remote workers carefully. Language fluency and cultural awareness are some of the most obvious boons that local hires can provide for a company. Avoid using cookie-cutter strategies when it comes to branding, marketing and customer relations – cultural awareness in remote offices can lead to healthier operations.

Focus on Data Security

Remote and telecommuting workers present unique risks and challenges for data security. Since these individuals are working from home, cafes or community office spaces, it can be difficult to control their access and data traffic. If a virtual worker’s mobile device or computer is lost or stolen, then your company’s sensitive information could be compromised.

IT departments can combat some of these risks by using secure software as a solution (SaaS). Remote workers who have access to CRMs (content management systems), databases should be required to sign in with strong passwords, which need to be changed every few months. Your SaaS sessions should time out after a specific period of time, so that unauthorized people cannot view sensitive data. Streamlining your software can make remote worker collaboration and data security easier to manage.

Use Innovative Communications

1-800 Numbers

When you ask customer or remote worker to contact your company, you can use a single 1-800-number to manage all of your phone calls. This front-facing phone number can forward all calls to your call operator, provided you're using the number correctly. A streamlined phone system can cut your communications costs immensely. Remote workers can get in touch with your main office easily, using a single number. Additionally, a toll-free-number can simplify customer relations, since they have a single point of contact to reach your representatives.

Video Conferencing

Another popular method of remote worker communication is video conferencing. This technology is breaking down distance barriers between remote office locations. Just take a look at Perch, a startup app company that has designed a video portal for employees separated across great distances. Freelancers on the road can mount an iPad onto a wall of their home office. The camera recognizes when someone is making eye contact with the screen, and will automatically switch a microphone on. Two workers can turn to an iPad screen and converse naturally with video conferencing.

It is important to revisit software, localization, and communication concerns as your company hires remote workers around the world. Part of the thrill of expansion is that your company can get familiar with new demographics and offer products to international audiences. Localization efforts and streamlined communications, such as affordable 1-800-numbers, ensure that you are connecting with prospective customers on a global stage.

Global Collaboration Concept Photo via Shutterstock

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Pamela O’Hara of Batchbook: Buying a CRM App Doesn’t Mean You Have a Sales Process

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST

There are still a lot of businesses who feel that writing the check to buy a CRM application is the hardest part of implementing a sales process. Unfortunately, for those who think that way, they couldn't be further from the truth.

Pamela O'Hara, Co-Founder and CEO of Batchbook, discusses why plunking the money down is just one step of many needed to have a chance of attaining sales success in today's market. Pamela also shares info from the new small business sales guide Batchbook has put together.

Below is an edited transcript of the conversation with Pamela. The full conversation can be heard by clicking on the audio player below the transcript.

* * * * *

sales process Small Business Trends: Can you tell people a little bit about what BatchBook does?

Pamela O'Hara: BatchBook is a web-based CRM product designed for small businesses. We really focus our products on businesses that are figuring out what their sales process is going to be. Those that are still experimenting with a lot of different sales and marketing efforts, and really need a CRM to help them track those efforts and keep track of the relationships they’re building.

Small Business Trends: You guys are starting the year off helping out small businesses with a new small business guide to customer happiness and doing sales right. Is it harder or easier for a small business to keep customers happier today?

Pamela O'Hara: I don’t think it’s harder for small businesses, because honestly, small businesses really still have a much more personal, hands-on relationship with their customers in general. A lot of times, that’s why customers will come to a small business. Especially in retail industries or consulting industries. They’re looking for someone who can give them much more personal , hands-on attention. So those are the things that really do make for better relationships.

The flip side of that and the challenge can be that you also have fewer people on your team working with customers. You’re certainly stretching your resources a lot thinner. So whereas in large businesses you can have someone whose entire job description is just making customers happy. In small businesses, generally the same person doing that is also the person doing invoicing, running payroll, and… probably the person that started the company, a lot of times.

So, it can be challenging doing so many different things. But at the same time, I think that’s really the reason a lot of people started a small business. Even if you’re not the owner or the founder, you choose to work at a place that does have that more intimate relationship with the customer base.

Small Business Trends: Batch Book is offering this “Doing Sales Right” guide. Is that something your customers were asking for help with?

Pamela O'Hara: It definitely is something that our customers have been looking for. Every person who signs up for a BatchBook account, we ask them a question at the very end of the signup process. We ask them, ‘What do you want to accomplish with BatchBook?’ Because it’s important for us to understand what our customers are trying to do. Oftentimes, the answer is, ‘I want to sell more. I want to grow my business.’

We actually had someone write in very recently, literally his answer was, ‘I want to grow fast and profitably, but without losing my soul.’ So I think people want to understand how to sell more, but they want to feel good about selling. So for everyone who signs up for an account and shares what they’re trying to do, we have a follow-up. Someone will send an email. We also do phone consultations with all of our customers to help them set up their BatchBook account.

The first question in that process is also, ‘What are you trying to accomplish?’ And again, so many people will say, ‘I want to sell more.’ And we say, ‘Okay, well what’s your plan for doing that?’ And they say, ‘I bought a CRM. That’s my plan.’

So we really want people to understand that BatchBook, or a CRM product, is really a tool that will help you figure out your sales strategy, and figure out how to grow your business. But it’s not a plan. That’s sort of like saying, a hammer is what’s going to help you build an addition to your house. You need the blueprints. A hammer is a tool that will help you get to that new addition, but, you really need to have a plan.

Our entire team was involved in development of this new guide. It was not just the marketing department. It was the product department, it was our customer experience team. We all were involved in putting together a real step-by-step process that will help small businesses, all different types of small businesses, understand what they should be thinking about to put together this sales plan.

Small Business Trends: What percentage of those folks actually have a defined sales process, versus those who don’t have one?

Pamela O'Hara: We actually asked our customer base how many have a formal sales process. It was under 10% who had a process that they refer to more than once. Again, people feel like, ‘Well, you know, I bought a product. That is my strategy.’

Small Business Trends: You detailed about six key areas. That is finding leads, taking the right leads, making the pitch, the follow-up, the hand-off and making friends. If you had to pick the one area where you think people are doing well, and then pick the one area where you think they need the most help, what would they be?

Pamela O'Hara: I think people probably think of sales, and they probably spend most of their thinking in what we’re calling the marketing phase. That’s the social media postings, blog posts, email marketing, newspaper ads, radio ads, all of those things that you’re doing to get your word out. I think people do think a lot about that. What are the right channels? Where is my customer? What newsletters do they read or how are they deciding to buy products?

I think people spend a lot of their thinking on that side of things, and then they just don’t really have a good sense of, ‘Okay, someone’s interested. What do I do with them? I don’t want to be too aggressive. I don’t want to badger them with 60 different automated emails, but I would like them to buy my product.’ There’s a lot of things that are going to happen between that person being interested in your service or your product and that person actually buying it and walking away satisfied with the purchase.

You know, if you’re an Etsy business, there’s the first time they see your products. They may see it on Pinterest, they may see it on Etsy. But how hard is it for them to actually get it and enjoy it at home? They have to buy it. How are they going to pay for it? Are you making it easy for them to pay for it? Can they just do a quick PayPal link, or are you going to make them pull out a different credit card or are you going to invoice them separately… how are you shipping?

These are all part of the sales process. This is all part of that person’s experience with getting your product. And you really should think about all of the details all the way through that process. I think one of the especially hard part for small businesses is they rely on a lot of different vendors, different people in that process. You may not do fulfillment. You may sell T-shirts. But you have a print shop, and you have a separate mail service that does all the deliveries, or you use FedEx or UPS.

What is that customer’s experience with those services? Are you providing enough information? Are they getting the right T-shirt? The right size? Are they getting a nice note from your company with that T-shirt that says, ‘We’re thrilled that you purchased our product.’ That makes a difference. That makes a difference when that person opens that box. What are they’re going to think about your company the next time they’re looking for a T-shirt, or when they’re looking for T-shirts for a friend?

They’re all part of the sales process. It’s not just which social media site should I be posting my Etsy products in.

Small Business Trends: So there’s a lot of great information in here that you walk people through. How can people get this guide?

Pamela O'Hara: It’s available on our website, BatchBook.com. To get directly to the sales guide, you just go to SalesGuide.BatchBook.com.

This interview on sales process is part of the One on One interview series with thought-provoking entrepreneurs, authors and experts in business today. This transcript has been edited for publication. To hear audio of the full interview, click on the player above.

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Here Comes the Pain Point. . .Ouch

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST

pain point cartoon

I don’t know when the term “pain point” entered our communal phrasebook, but it’s a term that’s just positively made for a cartoonist to have fun with.

You could have a doctor pointing at a graph in a meeting saying, “Does it hurt when I point here?”

You could have a company mistakenly install Pain Point instead of PowerPoint.

You could, if it’s an election year, do something with a cam-pain point.

Or you could have a fun afternoon drawing people wincing and writhing, like I did for this cartoon.

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