Twitter Accidentally Sends Out Thousands of Reset Notices |  |
- Twitter Accidentally Sends Out Thousands of Reset Notices
- 6 Best Practices Should Be in Your Customer Centric Tool Box
- Employees to Employers: Mind Your Own Business
- This New Online Tool Creates a Picture of Your Cash Flow
- Pole Position Marketing: Creating an Industry of Their Own
- Gmail to Add Unsubscribe Link For Marketing Emails
| Twitter Accidentally Sends Out Thousands of Reset Notices Posted: 05 Mar 2014 02:30 PM PST Twitter sent out thousands of reset notices this week and media sources report users may have had trouble accessing their accounts initially. The problem was not hacking, however, the company insists. Instead, it was simply a system error that caused Twitter to send the notices to thousands of users by accident. At the time, Twitter also said it had reset affected passwords for user protection. In a portion of the initial email reprinted by Naked Security, the company warned:
Then, in a complete reversal, a Twitter spokesperson told The Next Web:
Twitter users, including many small business owners, can at least breathe a sigh of relief. It would seem that their personal and business data has not been compromised this time. It isn’t the first time that Twitter has experienced a security breach potentially putting user data at risk. And, of course, Twitter users, including those with legitimate business accounts, have also endured other problems. Take the rash of Twitter accounts banned in error for supposed spamming back in 2013. If you use Twitter regularly for your business, these problems are just par for the course. But if you run an online business, you’ll also want to think about how such system hiccups make you feel. Try to keep similar problems to a minimum for your users and customers and be sure to make up for mistakes when they happen. Reset Photo via Shutterstock The post Twitter Accidentally Sends Out Thousands of Reset Notices appeared first on Small Business Trends.      |
| 6 Best Practices Should Be in Your Customer Centric Tool Box Posted: 05 Mar 2014 12:30 PM PST What are the best practices that help you succeed, serve your customers and keep up with changing times? If you figure out who your customer is, what they like and need and how they prefer being communicated to, you can build a "customer centric" relationship that can be mutually beneficial long term. This should be a relationship building goal for all your connections. The business to consumer relationship has changed dramatically. I believe the consumer has an edge now. The end user has more choices and is seeking a much higher, better experience with businesses. Businesses that don't provide the value, experience and the service – will lose. My colleague Brian Solis, author of WTF: What's the Future of Business, based his entire book around this idea of the need to create "experiences" that people remember and not transactions. The opportunity we all have right now with digital and social tools to build customer centric relationships is greater than ever before. The ability to respond in real time to customer praise or complaints is transformative in building the B2B and B2C relationship. Based on a survey commissioned by RightNow Technologies and conducted by Harris Interactive:
This should be proof enough to focus on and ramp up your customer centric tool box. Below are six best practices, tactics and experiences that should be in it. Customer Centric TipsBranded, Informative Landing HubsThe saying “you get only one chance to make a good first impression” is truer today then it's ever been. It's expected and the only thing some people will have to make a decision about whether to move forward with you. It's also important to update and refresh your hubs and make sure everything is current and up to date, especially pictures and professional activity. Nothing fares worse than dated pictures, activity and branding. Consistently stimulating what people see and read including your website, blog and all your social media platforms keeps people interested. A branded social media profile, timeline and header can make a big difference in how you are perceived and how you can clearly present what you do. Content Marketing Using Social MediaIf you don't create it, there's nothing to be found. Just Google yourself and you'll see what I mean. What are you creating, publishing and sharing that helps people and positions you? Content marketing has become a premier tool to build credibility, reach and buzz. Are you blogging, using eMarketing, creating video or podcasting and promoting and marketing yourself on social media? Purposeful Networking In Person and OnlineGo out and meet people anytime you can. Balance your face to face and online networking. Use them in tandem and always follow up and thank people you meet that could be direct prospects or door openers to others. Go local, national and international. Amazing how we can do this today. Be an active part of your industry and meet different people doing what you do in different geographical areas. Volunteer and Pro-Bono CommitmentsGetting involved in the community and world that supports you is just good business. Choose some causes, communities and issues you believe in and help them move forward. Most of these organizations have boards with influential people you could meet, not to mention it's good for business in general and the soul to "give back." So many organizations need help and our human capital can impact that. Professional Development, Education, Building Relevance and ValueGrowing and increasing our expertise and adding more value to what we deliver is essential. With technology and trends driving change at a brisk pace, we should be committed to expanding what we know and apply that to our services and relationships. No matter what industry you are in, staying real time with skills, technologies and applications that relate to your business only helps your customers have the best experience with you. 4 R's: Rest, Recreate, Recharge and RelaxI have seen way too many people crash, burn and fail from not integrating balance into their lives. We must step back, get away from and allow time to rest, recreate, re-charge and relax with ourselves and our families. This can only make us better with our clients. Plan that “staycation,” getaway, tech fast or travel vacation into your plans and work it into your business trips too. Business will be there when you return. Below are some great resources and ideas that can help you manage your business and build those solid, long term relationships with your customers and community. What are the best practices, tactics and experiences in your small business tool box that helps you serve customers? Customer Photo via Shutterstock The post 6 Best Practices Should Be in Your Customer Centric Tool Box appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| Employees to Employers: Mind Your Own Business Posted: 05 Mar 2014 10:00 AM PST How much can employers inquire about employees or have a say in their actions on and off the job? The staff of a small business can easily grow into a family of sorts, but this doesn't give the employer the right to act as the patriarch. The trend, as evidenced by laws, court decisions and administrative rulings, seems to be toward less involvement of employers in the lives of their workers. Below are three indications of this trend. Employees Obligations to Employers are Not Personal Ones1. Inquiries About Personal and Family MattersWhen I applied for my first full-time job in 1970, I was asked whether my husband would mind if I worked late and when I was planning on having children. Times sure have changed. It is now, and has been for some time, a violation of anti-discrimination rules to ask job applicants about their personal situations, including marital status, number of children and childcare arrangements. You can inquire about marital status and children only after a favorable hiring decision has been made, but only for purposes of payroll and employee benefits (e.g., withholding allowances; health coverage). Similarly, inquiries about a worker's age are barred. Doing so may violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). And Executive Order 11478 bars discrimination based on sexual orientation. 2. Requests for Credit ChecksAre you interested in an employee's or prospective employee's credit history, especially if the person will be handling money for your company? You may not be able to obtain this information. While federal law currently allows an employer to run a credit check on an employee or job applicant with prior permission from the person (as long as the employer complies with the Fair Credit Reporting Act), a number of states now bar this action. Nearly a dozen states, including California and Illinois, generally bar or severely limit employers from obtaining credit histories, and many other states are considering similar legislation. Check with your state to see whether you can do a credit check if you believe it would aid in your employment decisions. 3. Restrictions on Social Media ActivitiesCourts and the NLRB are increasingly saying that employees' First Amendment right of free speech doesn't stop when they enter the workplace. This means employees who want to vent about the company may not be stifled in most cases. The NLRB has guidelines on social media policies in the workplace. Use these guidelines to craft your company's social media policy. Employers can restrict speech that shares confidential information – about the company, its employees, or customers. Final ThoughtPay attention to changes in employment laws that may impact the practices and policies you use at your company. You don't want to find yourself out of step with the latest trends, a misstep that could result in costly litigation for you. When in doubt, consult an employment law attorney. Stop Photo via Shutterstock The post Employees to Employers: Mind Your Own Business appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| This New Online Tool Creates a Picture of Your Cash Flow Posted: 05 Mar 2014 07:30 AM PST PNC Bank has a new online tool that’s designed to create a picture of your company’s cash flow. Cash Flow Insights is being marketed to small businesses. The tool puts all your financial interactions in a single format and tracks each transaction telling you where money is coming from and where it’s going, the company says. It has three main features:
PNC Bank’s Deputy Manager of Business Banking Troy Baker explained in an official release:
Rather than having a desk full of unorganized paperwork, Cash Flow Insights uses a single online dashboard to display all of your interactions. PNC says Cash Flow Insights can sync with accounting software small businesses already use. The PNC website claims it is compatible with:
PNC says Cash Flow Insights can also speed up your receivables by creating invoices that your customers can pay online. The company says the tool can integrate agreed-upon terms you’ve reached with some customers on when those payments should be made. Cash Flow Insights creates an invoice with your business logo and sends it to your customer, who can make a payment right from the invoice. Of course, just as important as the money coming into your business is the money going out. Cash Flow Insights is also designed to track the money leaving your business. PNC says the tool also allows your business to schedule payments — including recurring payments — as needed. The tool is also designed to offer short and long term financial forecasts for your business based on is monitoring of your company’s cash flow. Here’s more detail on how the tool works: Of course, to use this feature, you need to be a PNC customer. The bank is offering a free trial run to small businesses for their current and next two statement periods. Businesses using Business Enterprise Checking, Industry Solutions Checking or Retail Businesses Checking won’t be billed for the trial period. All these accounts include online banking features. Afterward, there is a $10 per month fee to use the Payables, Receivables, and Accounting Software Sync features. There is also a per-transaction fee that is taken out monthly after the trial, according to PNC’s website. Image: PNC The post This New Online Tool Creates a Picture of Your Cash Flow appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| Pole Position Marketing: Creating an Industry of Their Own Posted: 05 Mar 2014 05:00 AM PST Sponsored Post When Stoney deGeyter started what would become Pole Position Marketing 16 years ago, the industry he works in today didn’t even exist. In a recent interview with Small Business Trends, deGeyter explained:
Once, it was a one man operation run out of a single room. Today, it includes a team of seven specialists. They work in fields like Web development, Search Engine Optimization, analytics and more. About his business’s slow but steady growth, deGeyter recalled:
But ever the cautious entrepreneur, he admits it was quite some time before he hired his first employee. For deGeyter, the odyssey began after reading a book about how to learn HTML (the markup language of the Internet) in 24 hours. Before he even finished reading, deGeyter became convinced he could improve upon the website for his dad’s business, BatteryStuff.com — and did. But, of course, that’s not where the story ended. It wasn’t long before his father was back. This time he was talking about something he’d heard of called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It was (and is) a way to get websites found online. In an effort to help, deGeyter again threw himself into learning new skills. What he would emerge with was an understanding of the principles of a whole new industry. He explained:
Though deGeyter’s father would eventually sell the business, the company remains a Pole Position Marketing client to this day. Not all online marketing companies are created equal. And as deGeyter’s business began to grow, it took on some very unique characteristics that set it apart. Some of those characteristics have remained strong while others have changed with the evolving industry. A Team of SpecialistsOne characteristic that lives on is deGeyter’s concept of a team of specialists rather than online marketing generalists. It’s a way he says his company differentiates itself from competitors in the field. He claims many other online marketing firms have a team who all dabble in a range of online marketing specialties. These include analytics, content strategy, social media, pay per click and more:
He says individual team members at these firms each take on a group of clients. Each member then handles their clients’ campaigns by providing a menu of services. But at Pole Position Marketing, each member brings their own expertise to every client as needed. National and Big or Local and SmallIn the beginning deGeyter, based in Uniontown just outside North Canton, OH, also admits he wasn’t interested much in local clients. The Internet was not local in those days. His best prospects seemed to come from companies that understood what he did and didn’t care where he did it from. They were also large and able to pay big. Though a small business owner himself, deGeyter’s website still describes his firm as an “SEO Company for Enterprise-Level Businesses.” He said recently:
Those big national clients include websites like WinterKids.com and WinterWomen.com, both based in Denver. Other clients include Rawhide Fire Hose LLC of Orville, OH, and Sierra Instruments, a Monterey, California company with offices all around the world. But his company’s view of big national clients over small local ones is beginning to change, deGeyter admits. With increased opportunities created by social media and mobile marketing, deGeyter has hired his first local sales rep and is conducting more local workshops for businesses. The theory is that, with a smaller potential audience, local businesses may not need to do nearly as much to see very profitable returns, deGeyter says. * * * * * iCIMS, a leading provider of talent acquisition solutions for growing businesses, is proud to be the official sponsor of Small Business Trend's "Small Biz Spotlight" of Pole Position Marketing. Like iCIMS, Pole Position Marketing understands the value in a team of specialists rather than generalists to consistently exceed their clients' needs. iCIMS is delighted to have the opportunity to support the passionate drive and dedication of companies like Pole Position Marketing through the sponsorship of the "Small Biz Spotlight." (Visit the "Small Biz Spotlight" series archives and stay tuned for more small business stories there.) The post Pole Position Marketing: Creating an Industry of Their Own appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| Gmail to Add Unsubscribe Link For Marketing Emails Posted: 05 Mar 2014 02:30 AM PST Google recently announced at a live event that it will start placing a prominent unsubscribe link in marketing emails in Gmail. According to PC World:
Companies spend a lot of time and effort building their house email lists. For obvious reasons, no one likes it when people unsubscribe, but it’s a normal part of running an email list. By law in many countries, marketers are required to offer an unsubscribe link, but often subscribers say they cannot find it. So they just hit the spam button in Gmail or Google Apps mail, because it’s quicker and more convenient. One way to look at this situation is that it might cut down on spam reports against your company. Clicking this link will send an automated message by Google to the email sender, requesting that the person be removed from their mailing lists. Of course, whether or not the company complies is a totally different matter. All Gmail can do is make the request. Google is promoting this as something which will benefit companies that send out legitimate mass emails. It’s a common scenario that a person signs up for newsletters, but after a while, gets bored of them. But rather than go through the whole unsubscribe process, they just mark the email as spam. If enough people do this, then the company’s entire emails could have problems. By streamlining the proper unsubscribe process, the idea is that people will unsubscribe properly rather than marking the email as spam. This is just the latest development in moves designed by Gmail to organize Gmail users with their marketing emails. Last year, Gmail offered a new inbox design which included tabs for the various types of email – including marketing emails. However, the reaction to the tabbed inbox design has been mixed. So will the adding of the unsubscribe link make any difference? Ramon Ray, Regional Development Director at Infusionsoft, thinks the impact overall will not hurt marketers:
Ivana Taylor, President of DIYMarketers, agrees:
The post Gmail to Add Unsubscribe Link For Marketing Emails appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
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