Does Social Networking Bring Business?

Several educational offerings about Social Networking were offered at the 2009 NAHB IBS in Las Vegas this month sharing a wide range of ideas. Many different options were shared with direct examples of builders, real estate professionals and companies marketing via social networking groups. Myspace.com, Ning.com, Facebook.com, Activerain.com, LinkedIn.com and dozens of others portrayed an endless list of options to share a message.

The difficult aspect of social networking in marketing is correlating any resulting leads or sales. Any additional opportunity to reach prospective customers or place an 'online billboard' is beneficial yet there seems to lack a single direct method of converting social browsers to buyers. Most social networking websites are provided free of charge so a return on investment only includes the time required to collect, publish and update the information on each of the portals.

Marketing is either targeted or not; social networking is the new hot marketing idea (even though it has been around for years) though it has not yet been refined to a targeted marketing tool. Anyone considering the launch of a social networking marketing campaign should first start with a Blog followed by one or two of the thousands of other social marketing portals to practice upon. Blogs have always been well liked by the search engines so they are an excellent proven opportunity.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson

BuilderConsulting.com

913-814-8844

Going Green Takes Common Sense & Effort

Going Green is huge these days, though many people fail to realize that living green is quite easy when common sense is used. The Federal Government has been advertising 'unplug to save electricity' for months touting the fact that anything plugged into an electrical outlet draws power constantly even when turned off. The fact that the electricity used amounts to an average of 3 cents per month per item plugged in is not shared because most consumers would simply feel that a few cents makes no difference yet combine 3 cents by millions of people worldwide and it adds up much faster.

Devices such as the Voltbolt (www.TheVoltBolt.com) solved this years ago with a simple power strip that locks to disable all power instantly while also providing security and anti-theft deterrence with a locking key to secure devices to the power strip and disable power instantly at the turn of the key for about the price of a normal power strip. Using reclaimed building products from companies such as Seldom Found Arhitecturals provides unique items to accent home or business while recycling wood, stone, brick and other materials that often end up in land fills.

Electricity costs more during the day so laundry and dishwashers should be run at night or after 6PM when most electric rates go down. Water and other utilities often work in the same method charging more for peak production times (8-6) thus a bit of common sense used can reduce monthly bills tremendously. Builder Consulting utilizes Green Production through working in multiple shifts with staff at the office late into the evening and early morning when power consumption is less costly and more efficient...and it serves customers worldwide from 7AM to Midnight most days improving customer service while working Green.

Use LCD monitors rather than old tube monitors which consume 50% less power and have a brighter, crisper display that is easier on the eyes. Be sure to recycle the tons of wasted paper at offices using it for note taking, internal printing and recycle programs. Rather than throwing away old computers simply upgrade them and donate to charity as Builder Consulting has done for years providing needy or low income families with computers instead of landfills.

Going Green continues at home making sure not to let water run when brushing teeth or turning off the lights when not in use and replacing all light bulbs with those nifty new high efficiency light bulbs that use 70% less power. Little things such as turning off the lights in a bedroom or bathroom when taking a shower during the day make a big difference when millions of people make the effort. During the hot and cold times of the year set the thermostat to an average temperature and do not adjust the settings to wide ranges (no more than 1-2 degrees change) since significant adjustments increases heating or cooling costs by up to 20%. If your home has a garage only open it when required since the heat or cold coming into the garage will creep into your home raising the heating or cooling costs significantly. There are countless common sense ideas for Going Green we may all use on a daily basis to save money and the environment.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson

BuilderConsulting.com

913-814-8844 Offices

The Large and Small of American Business

Think back five years ago and see if you are able to recall what the HOT businesses were or what was popular marketing in America. The enormous HUMMER brand of vehicles were the hot new thing everyone wanted, McDonalds was promoting 'Super Size your meal', the size of homes in America was near the all time largest. Everything was BIG.

I fell into the craze myself and went to look at the nifty new HUMMER vehicles wondering why they did not publish the MPG on the sticker, on any documentation or even on the Internet. When I asked about the gas mileage the dealer smiled and said "If you have to ask you can't afford it" proceeding to explain the HUMMER was an exclusive upscale Sport Utility Vehicle based on the military off road vehicle which could be capable of extreme off road use if I bought the Air Suspension Package, the Luxury Package (so I was comfortable driving over rocks and trees), the 24" Grappler Off Road Tires and the Grill Guard to protect it from damage.

Looking back this seems like a tremendous waste of money but it was HUGE and it was fun. Everything in America was huge, we super sized everything from trucks and SUV's to breakfast, lunch and dinner. Single adults were buying 4 bedroom homes, soccer moms all drove over sized Sport Utility Vehicles to the grocery store and I was getting 8MPG driving to our website company office in the new HUMMER. The perception, marketing and consumption in America was BIGGER, BETTER, MORE! Some of this was alleviated by the health fad leading to the advent of apples and fruit as side order options to replace french fries. There are no more Super Size Menu's today, the largest auto maker who led the way in the SUPER SIZE VEHICLES went bankrupt and a tiny weird looking battery powered car named the Prius is the hot new car to have instead of a HUMMER.

Perception changes then times change and business changes. American businesses adapted to the paradigm shift from large to small in many unseen ways. At the grocery store nearly all ice cream sold has reduced the size of the cartons while maintaining the same price. Go to dinner anywhere and there are 'Two for Twenty Dollars' menu's everywhere providing smaller portions of regular menu items at a smaller cost (the menu does not say the items are smaller, they just are). Everything in America is getting smaller from houses to dinner portions, food at the grocery store and vehicles often times without anyone consciously noticing the change. I will never buy a Prius and DID use the HUMMER to go off road every opportunity that arose. As society changes so does marketing, then marketing and news changes perception for the masses and most people never notice.

Business today has changed, the # 1 place to reach buyers is on the Internet and the Internet is going to put several traditional businesses out of business. Be conscious of change, of customer needs and constantly research where business is headed online. Search Engines change every day, social networking connects over 70 million people worldwide and your business needs to take advantage of change to be successful.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
BuilderConsulting.com - Building Better Websites & Online Solutions since 1995
913-814-8844 Office

Article Marketing Made Simple

Article marketing. Can it really do what everyone says it can? Are you using article marketing as part of your overall marketing strategy? I've been a big fan of article marketing since 2004 when I launched my first marketing web sites.

In this brief video, I show you the effect of article marketing on my overall search engine rankings and traffic for my main web site as well as share my review of top article marketing software packages. If you want to save time and get significant results, than be sure to check out Culzee.com for free article marketing information.

Calls for a Digital Cleanse to Bring in the New Year

When was the last time you corresponded via a personalized letter? Remember when you actually had to pick up the phone and call someone? With texting, Twitter, Facebook and e-mail replacing everyday communication, the New Year may be a time to take a step back from all of today's technology and remember that you can't always express yourself in 140 characters.

Yesterday, John Mayer urged his Twitter followers to take part in a New Year's Digital Cleanse in an effort to "defrag" our technologically overloaded minds. Mayer suggests a one-week cleanse, beginning January 1st and ending on January 8th, which doesn't require you to completely remove technology from your life, only take a step back. Here's the recipe:

• email only from laptop or desktop computers.

• cell phones can only be used to make calls, and no text messages or e-mails are allowed – if you receive a text, you must reply in voice over the phone.
  

• no use of Twitter or any other social networking site – including reading as well as posting.

• no visiting of any entertainment or gossip sites.

Following these guidelines should be manageable for even the most connected individuals. Work commitments may prevent you from participating in the cleanse, but it is still refreshing to think about how far communication has come, even just over the last year.

Timothy Keiningham & Lerzan Aksoy: Why Loyalty Matters - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio

Acclaimed loyalty experts and authors of the thought provoking and insightful book Why Loyalty Matters: The Groundbreaking Approach to Rediscovering Happiness, Meaning and Lasting Fulfillment in Your Life and Work, Timothy Keiningham and Lerzan Aksoy describe why loyalty is important in people's lives and for businesses. The authors share their groundbreaking research and multi-faceted study into the nature of loyalty. They describe what loyalty is and what it is not. They share the secrets of putting the power of loyalty to work in your personal and professional life.

Timothy Keiningham and Lerzan Aksoy are my internet radio show guests on Blog Business Success; hosted live on Blog Talk Radio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, November 24, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Acclaimed loyalty experts and authors of the thought provoking and insightful book Why Loyalty Matters: The Groundbreaking Approach to Rediscovering Happiness, Meaning and Lasting Fulfillment in Your Life and Work, Timothy Keiningham and Lerzan Aksoy describe why loyalty is important in people's lives and for businesses. You will learn:

* What loyalty really means and why it is important today

* How building loyalty will result in a more successful company

* Why engaged and happy employees are more loyal and more productive

* Why building a loyalty society makes the world a happier place for everyone

Lerzan Aksoy (photo left) Lerzan Aksoy is one of the world’s most highly acclaimed loyalty experts. Lerzan is associate professor at Fordham University in New York City.

Lerzan was recognized as the top young scientist of 2007 in Turkey by the Junior Chamber International (TOYP Award for Scientific Leadership). Lerzan and Tim are experienced book authors, having written and edited seven books in total. Tim’s and Lerzan’s prior book, Loyalty Myths, was ranked as the Number 4 best business book of 2006 by The Globe and Mail newspaper (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), one of the 30 best business books of 2006 by Soundview Executive Book Summaries, and was a 2007 finalist for the Berry-AMA Book Prize for Best Book in Marketing.

Lerzan Aksoy lives in the New York metropolitan area.

Timothy Keiningham (photo left) is global chief strategy officer at Ipsos Loyalty, one of the world’s largest market research firms. Tim was recognized as having contributed one of the top twenty scientific papers in the field of marketing over the past 25 years.

Their groundbreaking research on the importance of loyalty has received over a dozen prestigious scientific awards. For their research together, they have been awarded:

* Marketing Science Institute / H. Paul Root Award from the Journal of Marketing for the article judged to represent the most significant contribution to the advancement of the practice of marketing.

* Citations of Excellence “Top 50” Award (top 50 management papers of approximately 20,000 papers reviewed that year) from Emerald Management Reviews.

* Outstanding Paper Award (best paper) from the journal Managing Service Quality two years in a row (2007 and 2008).

My book review of Why Loyalty Matters: The Groundbreaking Approach to Rediscovering Happiness, Meaning and Lasting Fulfillment in Your Life and Work by Timothy Keiningham and Lerzan Aksoy.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.

If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.

To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with acclaimed loyalty experts and authors of the thought provoking and insightful book Why Loyalty Matters: The Groundbreaking Approach to Rediscovering Happiness, Meaning and Lasting Fulfillment in Your Life and Work, Timothy Keiningham and Lerzan Aksoy as they describe why loyalty is important in people's lives and for businesses. The authors share their groundbreaking research and multi-faceted study into the nature of loyalty. They describe what loyalty is and what it is not. They share the secrets of putting the power of loyalty to work in your personal and professional life on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Why Loyalty Matters: The Groundbreaking Approach to Rediscovering Happiness, Meaning and Lasting Fulfillment in Your Life and Work, Lerzan Aksoy, Timothy Keiningham, business and employee productivity, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

Increase Conversion Rate With Keyword Research Software

Every Internet marketer knows the importance of using the right keywords for their marketing campaign. In fact, keyword research needs to be your top priority once you have decided the product that you are selling online.

There are plenty of keyword research software available online, so how do you decide which one is the right one for you? First of all, you have to be honest with yourself and use the software that suits your expertise level because every keyword research software have their unique features that differentiate it from the rest of the tools out there.

The next point that you need to consider will be the price that you have to pay in order to acquire the software for your usage. Some of the keyword software will require you to pay a certain price on monthly basis, while some of them will only require you to make a one time payment for the keyword tool that you purchase from them. Whatever your decision is, you need to start using keyword research tool because you’re putting money on the table if you don’t use it to discover new niches.

If keyword research and PPC campaign management is something that you are doing on daily basis, then you can consider getting the keyword research software with recurring monthly fee. But if you are only starting and need something that can help you analyze your keyword competition and new niches, then you should just get the software that only require you to pay once.

Keyword research software is an excellent tool that every online marketer that uses article marketing strategy and PPC advertising to promote their products and services because it will help you to find out the monthly searches and the competition that any keywords have on the search engines.

You can do it yourself by not relying on keyword research software but it will take you more time to do your keyword research. We all know that time is a very valuable asset that is extremely precious and shouldn’t be wasted on mundane task. I call it mundane task because keyword research is actually very simple but most people decide to spend several hours on it and decide to do nothing with the research that they have done.

The more advanced keyword research software will help you to find the number of monthly and daily searches that every keyword have and also the number of real competition that you have for the keyword that you are using.

You will need to think outside of the box and be creative with the set of keywords that you have gathered. This will make your potential customers to feel more ready to spend money on the products and services that you are promoting.

Learn how to do performance testing and compare the conversion rate that each keyword term brought for you. This way you can identify which keywords to use and which one to ditch. This step will maximize your return on investment because some keywords might not bring the conversion that you desire resulting more money being spent on PPC campaign and also more content creation.

‘Bye Bye’ consultants or ‘Welcome Welcome’ consultants

Today I came across an article about ‘By Bye Consultants’, explaining that consultants are not needed and the internal employees can do the job.
At one point, the author is right, many consultants are too expensive and for the total amount a company spent on consultants, you probably can sent the internal employees to the best courses and train them.

Is this opinion 100% correct? Shall we cancel all contracts we have with consultants?
What is/was the main reason to hire consultants in the first place? (We are not going to talk about the fact of variable cost).
The main reason of hiring Consultants should be: your company is in need for specific tasks, which require a certain level of experience, which your company doesn’t have internally for the moment.

What is happening in the real world:
Companies don’t hire consultants, they sign a contract with outsourcing companies. The consultants sent by these outsource companies are internal employees (for the outsourcing companies).
Why companies do works with Outsourcing companies? The reason I heard several times when discussing with customers, is that the companies don’t know exactly what they are looking for and when the consultant is leaving the company, the outsource company is replacing him/her with another consultant. This way the continuity is guaranteed.

Have a look in your company. Probably you can agree with I wrote before what is really happening.
The company is asking an Outsourcing Company to send some expert consultants. The company get some CV’s, read them, meet with the people they are interested in and then they sign a contract. When the consultant leaves, the whole story begins again, accept the Outsourcing Company is already in. (Cash machine) At the end your company did all the work.

All the work a normal HR department should do together with the manager.

Solution – Proposal:
Consultants are needed if your company needs to accomplish specific tasks where specific skills are needed and which are not available directly with in the company.
Let HR do the search and contact directly the consultants. Contact directly the consultant. Several websites specialized in consultants are available on the net.

Hire the consultant directly, with a limited of time. Also the price can be easily 20% less then you pay now as the middle man has been cut.

Last word
This is not an article against Outsource Companies, as some of them are really given extra value to the companies. They train their employees very well, coach them. But many of them are just body shoppers. There sales people don’t even have a clue what the consultant can offer.

At the end consultants, internal employees and companies should work together with one goal to deliver a project on time that brings values to the company.

 

 By Frederik Van Lierde

Strategic Planning: What to avoid?

Taking advantage of Strategic Planning for clearer direction

Organizations, companies and businesses may have what they call strategic planning, but producing an overall clear direction is very vital for success. Members of these groups need to feel as if they are part of something bigger than themselves. At the same time, they need bright guidance to learn what something bigger they are part of.

Doubts on the effectiveness of business strategic planning may be a conclusion from the fact that strategic planning is not often crucial and most commonly results in pages and pages of plans that sit unused in desk drawers. Another reason is there are many organizations, companies, businesses who fail at implementing their supposedly strategic plans over the years. The reasons why they fail to implement their strategic plans maybe as follows.

Direction
- It is expected to experience a fast moving and fast changing industry and these groups may have not created an overall guide for their direction. Putting together your operational plans and setting your goals could aid this issue. But factors like sales, your competition, your ability and many others make strategic planning useless and so you need to watch out for it.

Priority
- It is very good to have set your priorities but having too many things on your to-do lists makes it ineffective. It's even harder when all of the things listed are important and had to get done. It is just so important to have listed clear priorities and avoid taking baby steps for each of those priorities for the company's success.

Research
- Most of the time, strategic planning sessions are facilitated by a consultant which commonly recommend and request 50-60 pages of research about the competition, markets and other measurements. However, companies barely have all of this data collected nor do they have the ability to utilize it effectively in planning. In that matter, they spent all of the work hours as without value.

Ability
- Your organization, company, or business may have the greatest strategic plan created but then failure to execute it makes another time wasted. Without actions that could make the execution of the strategic plan a success it is always equal to nothing.

Strategic planning is a good thing an organization, company, or business can take and execute for success. However, it's also important to know the pitfalls that could make it ineffective and the necessary things that could make it successful. In that matter, avoiding the pitfalls and maximizing the necessary things for it to work could insure success.