tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-279819222024-03-13T11:41:24.090+11:00ActionBitesBlog by Lindy Asimus. Featuring articles on Business and Life Coaching topics, Strategies, Social Media Marketing and Personal Development.
Lindy Asimus is an Australian business coach and social media consultant who works with business owners to improve their productivity, soft skills and marketing. lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.comBlogger281125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-74862130521219790452017-06-13T14:53:00.000+10:002017-06-19T16:15:01.848+10:00Resilience and Self Esteem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today I was looking at an article online on <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-57443316/5-ways-to-show-authority-without-yelling/?tag=nl.e713%20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">5 ways to show authority -- without yelling</a> Interesting stuff. It came on the heels of a video someone posted on Facebook declaring "Feminism of the world has emasculated men!", along with graphics that were supposed to show how this is happening, but really was just a very clumsy attempt to manipulate men who had some bad experiences with women that they could exploit for their own end. <br />
<br />
This got me to thinking about the factors that make for a resilient attitude, and a true sense of self, that does not rely on making others feel weak, just to make us feel strong.<br />
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It's quite hard to visually demonstrate the concept of strength. Most often we see picture of really buff guys who work out and have huge muscles. In reality these men are often not strong as they appear. They can do weights but that's not quite the same as the lumberjack of old who took to the woods with a cross-cut saw and could work all day at his task. <br />
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Authority, strength... any quality that we might hold in high esteem comes from within and is often a reflection of our beliefs, many of them imprinted while we were children growing up. As it happens our weaknesses are also a reflection of these beliefs too. What we believe about ourselves, what we believe about others and what we believe is a reasonable way to 'be' in the world. all affects our perceptions and lead our actions (or sometimes inaction).<br />
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For many men and women too, feeling strong is not something they think applies to them. Of course there will always be someone stronger, but improving physical strength is possible for anyone who is able-bodied, and even for many who are not. Improving strength and stamina are important elements in our overall wellbeing and affect the way we feel about ourselves and strengthening physically, in turn can improve a feeling of confidence and an appreciation of increased competency in some areas. This all adds to our concept of what we can do. The sum total of these elements adds to our concept of self and builds our own self esteem. <br />
<br />
<b>Personal Power</b><br />
Power is often associated with the ability of someone else to 'do' something to us. They have authority of some kind that we don't have but this is often a perception that doesn't really exist, outside of us making it so. When we understand our boundaries around what we will tolerate, what we will accept and what we will not tolerate, then we get a much more well-defined notion of our own strength and personal power. We begin to 'feel the edges' and as we do, so our resolve strengthens. We can change how we respond to intimidation. We can reflect more usefully on when we may be stepping on the boundaries of others, and gain some new respect for them too. <br />
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When we are clear on owning our own power, we can also use that power to be strong when things don't go the way that we might have hoped. In that situation we can rely on the truth that all states - how we feel in a moment - are temporary. The deepest sadness, despair, even elation, have an end. New things happen, circumstances alter and we experience new states. <br />
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Sometimes people give away their personal power because they 'have to'. Those who seek to take power from us are bullies and worse. But no matter how intimidating they present, ultimately we hold our own power and it is a decision that we face, if we allow others to take it from us. We are stronger than sometimes we allow ourselves to be. <br />
<br />
<b>Preparing Yourself To Build Resilience </b><br />
Our body needs to train for our muscles to become stronger and to build stamina. Good food fuels the body and is a joy that junk food and "creamy cheesy" can never bring us. As we stop trying to fill the Void with wishes that things were better and sugar fixes, we may even discover a part of ourselves that we have never met before. Our perceptions change, the world looks better and so too our psychological well-being. <br />
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Healthy thinking, improved attention, memory, recall and problem-solving strategies can be learned. <br />
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Developing our emotional skills and managing our state help us to be more well-balanced and flexible in our disposition.<br />
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Compassion, how willing we are to accept difference and allow forgiveness underpins a healthy happy life and empowers us to let go of those bad feelings that tie us to old problems and prevent us growing in confidence. It opens the door to live with true meaning and purpose and a spirit that nurtures not just others ... but our own Self too. <br />
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<a href="http://pinterest.com/lindyasimus/resilience/" target="_blank"> Check out my Resilience board on Pinterest</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO-DjIbr5uTgH0u7ZAUH9lD6PIrXqdBtUt3ipe9Uw7fRhRNIrf5zdhgsYYve2oOJdJ6pv5OaQKlkV-cdXoFEHy_V8iKu_KM7RsCUjratG1uPXwjJ3cgDA6rhlMD3jp5K-_1sY2Og/s1600/don't+let+your+business+online+look+abandoned+lindyasimus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO-DjIbr5uTgH0u7ZAUH9lD6PIrXqdBtUt3ipe9Uw7fRhRNIrf5zdhgsYYve2oOJdJ6pv5OaQKlkV-cdXoFEHy_V8iKu_KM7RsCUjratG1uPXwjJ3cgDA6rhlMD3jp5K-_1sY2Og/s400/don't+let+your+business+online+look+abandoned+lindyasimus.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Make sure your business is visible online <br />
and exciting for customers to visit and feel welcome.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">It's a source of astonishment to me that so many business owners have not twigged to the fact that their website not being highly visible online and well laid out, means their business is not highly visible and easy for customers to spend money with them.</span>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">That was my comment on a recent Smartcompany article that makes the point that <a href="http://www.smartcompany.com.au/internet-secrets/your-website-is-your-business.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">your website is your business. </a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Let's start at the beginning. We know that businesses have websites now. We can guess that most business owners and managers probably know that a business needs a website. Some may not really believe it ('We only have local customers so it isn't really something we need'.). Some like the idea of having a jazzy website with lots of Flash animation and sound track that blares when you load the page or maybe even a groovy animated video where someone "walks out" and tells you about the business. Unfortunately the reality of this is often that the fancier the website - the less useful it is. The more fancy the website the less visible it may be. The old saying has never been more true than it is for websites. Looks can be deceiving. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><b>First Job A Website Should Do For Your Business</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Your website is effectively your business online. It represents you just the way a shopfront store welcomes customers to your business. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">So the first thing your website should do ... is be visible to customers who might have a need or a want for what you supply. Just like you decorate your shop windows, advertise where you are and what your specials are, your website should do that too. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Search engine optimization is the way that you set up how your website is configured to allow the best possible positioning that can be achieved in search. To do this requires understand the current ways that search engines work and working within the guidelines to achieve the best result you can, and be as find-able as possible when someone is looking for a business to buy from. This is especially important for local businesses and there are ways to make this more effective. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><b>Social Media Should Do This For Your Business. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">While search engine optimization is important to get the best result you can on search, the other way that people find your business now is through comments and recommendations and following on Social Media platforms, like Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook and some other specialty sites. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">While you might think your business is not a fit to be on Facebook, that may not be the case. In any event there may be more appropriate sites to use for your business. You won't know what they are unless you are very much involved in social media in order to understand how this works. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Social media has other benefits over and above getting your business in front of your target market and it is vital to understand the complexities of this new medium and to devise a strategy that lets you harness the advantages that this will give your business. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"><b>Actions:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">At the most basic level and before anything else is considered, </span></span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Ask friends to look for your business online - NOT using your business name. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Implement a plan to get your business visible for the right things. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Set up alerts to monitor what is being said about your business online</span></li>
</ul>
Related<br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/02/developing-social-media-strategy.html">Develop A Strategy For Social Marketing</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/02/check-your-website-for-roadworthiness.html">Check Your Website For Roadworthiness</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2010/12/social-media-no-use-for-your-business.html">Think Social Media Is No Use For Your Business? Think Again. </a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-get-your-business-found-online.html">How To Get Your Local Business Noticed Online</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2010/08/were-in-final-days-of-election-campaign.html">Purpose Then Strategy - Case Study Starting Your Website </a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/03/idea-quick-dirty-business-review.html">Quick And Dirty Business Review</a><br />
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<br />
The recent Paralympic Games have reminded us very well just how much is possible even with what we call a disability.<br />
<br />
Many people have experienced things that have left them in a less than perfect way, In some cases this is clearly visible and easy to see. We compare ourselves to them and if we have all our limbs we look at them as though they be missing something that we have.<br />
<br />
Yet not all situations that leave us less than able can be seen.<br />
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Stroke, brain injury from accidents or other causes. Kidney or liver problems, cancer, mental health problems are just some things we can face that may not show and yet leave us unable to do all that some others can do.<br />
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<b>Even with everything working, we are all different. </b><br />
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Some are good at communicating. Some are not. Some are good at maths while others of us don't process well that way or never really got the knack.<br />
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While technology is improving the abilities of those of us who have been faced with loss of a limb and given back mobility in a way that was once impossible we still look for differences instead of how we are alike.<br />
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The recent interest in Steampunk is fascinating as it looks back to the steam era and imagines a future work born of mechanics and clockwork. The images that are created as a fashion statement don't seek to hide difference but rather to enhance and make a feature of it.<br />
<br />
So we move into a new time where jobs are still stuck in many cases much like in Victorian times even though technology has long moved on. We are capable of doing much more with less and yet we have people with disabilities trying to fit into a system that pretends to need traditional working habits of full time employment, even as the workforce is casualized and benefits denied to those who are willing and able to work full time and in fact would prefer that. At the same time, those who would like a more flexible arrangement are seen as being 'inferior' in some way from an employment point of view.<br />
<br />
Instead of looking for differences from the norm, perhaps it is time to review what we consider to be "normal". The definition that we are using seems to me to be out of date and less than useful in the current environment.<br />
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Disabled, or not disabled the same things apply to us all.<br />
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We need to feel useful. We need to have something that satisfies our need for purposeful living. We need to be able earn money and to fit a life around our working hours.<br />
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We need encouragement when things don't go to plan. When life doesn't work out the way we hoped. Or when other stuff just gets in the way of us operating at full capacity.<br />
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<b>Looking Forward</b><br />
<br />
Do you need some encouragement?<br />
Do you know someone else who could use some?<br />
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You probably do, though you may not have heard it from them.<br />
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We all need something to hope for. Something to push ourselves a little bit harder to achieve. Not because someone else expects it but because we do.<br />
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And that takes a certain amount of confidence to believe that we do - even though we may be less than perfect - deserve that.<br />
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Everyone is entitled to make some plans. Big plans, or small plans, it doesn't matter. Just put it out there in your future and set some memories of things that have not happened yet, that you want to reach.<br />
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Celebrate your difference.<br />
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Related:<br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/life-coaching-is.html" target="_blank">Adding choices to life</a><br />
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Download your free <a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=51483">24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook!</a>
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-3521940654380257872016-09-06T00:37:00.000+10:002016-09-21T15:39:34.401+10:00Idea: A Quick & Dirty Business Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: -1pt; line-height: 115%;">Too Busy For A Proper Business Plan?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">If you are like many business owners, you may be so rushed with filling orders, paying bills and getting through the day-to-day crises, that there is just no time to get organized, and put your thoughts down into a business plan, or even know quite where to start. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">If this sounds like you, then a Fast Business Review might be the way to begin your process of getting control of your business, fix those things that have been left undone that will bring the business fast benefits, and cut through some of the clutter that can turn up in a business, and prevent better results than you could be getting now. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Getting Started</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">To get started on your review, take a few minutes and think about your business and how it operates every day. Think about what issues come up time and again and cause problems, and think about the improvements that you may have considered making in some parts of the business. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Now make a list of the things that you would like in the business to work better, stop irritating you or improve your financial position. Is cash-flow an issue for the business, or is something else holding you back?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Make your Wish List. </b></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Things you’d like more of </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Things you’d like less of</span></li>
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<b><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Look At Your Business Objectively</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Your business has a need to operate efficiently across a range of areas in order to work as effectively (and profitably) as it may. Very often, business owners start out in a business because they have a skill in one area, and may be very adept at performing that technical skill. Of course there are more responsibilities that need to happen for the business to run smoothly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">A good business needs a Vision for what it is to become, so that everything that happens in the business can reflect that and move the business in the direction of fulfilling that ambition. Employees need to know what the owner has in mind, in order to buy-in and help deliver that end result. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">It needs sound financial management and effective marketing so as to drive new business, and great customer service to ensure repeat business and referrals to drive that cash-flow which is the engine of any business. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> A business needs good employees and good employees need good systems to follow, good management to inspire their loyalty, and good standards for delivery of product and services. </span></div>
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<b>In each area of your business</b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">Operations</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">Marketing</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">Financial Business Health</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">Sales</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">Customer Service</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">Service Delivery</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">Product & Service Standards</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">Information Technology</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">Employee Management</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">External Relationship Management</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">Procedures & Policies</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">Workplace Health & Safety </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">*Your business may have additional areas, EG Warehouse, Inventory management, Point of Sale, etc </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Review </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">Write down the top 3 things in each section of the business you’d most like to change. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">Be sure to include all areas of the business. Be sure to include any items that are particularly prone to producing stress in the workplace for yourself, or friction with employees.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Commit</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">Write down the actions for each change that has to happen.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">Write down the deadline for this to be finished. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">Write down who is responsible for making this change happen.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Commit to this undertaking, no excuses. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Look At Your Strengths Objectively</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">As the business owner, the success of your business depends entirely on the quality of the decisions that you make. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">What are the strengths that you bring to the business? What are those things within the business that </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><i><b>only you</b></i></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> can do? What are the things that you do in the business that someone else could do ... possibly better?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">As the CEO of your own business, you understand that the needs of the business are separate from your needs as the Owner. Some things that may be your preference may well be bad for the business. Understanding the clear boundaries here is critical. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_U6ksy-eBOaFi5uk2-ODh-kGu5wQD4zxxj8OH2GNbNTZ8FggO_KN0Hy8TpiQ5VIQmw5cdTWUE_N8dVR1uD8NxNUeKCHgpg2evdO6wgAjfwRZ0foyA5PRS_uBZncWHZGvxwXoAmw/s1600/Green-Apple--NCS--60x50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_U6ksy-eBOaFi5uk2-ODh-kGu5wQD4zxxj8OH2GNbNTZ8FggO_KN0Hy8TpiQ5VIQmw5cdTWUE_N8dVR1uD8NxNUeKCHgpg2evdO6wgAjfwRZ0foyA5PRS_uBZncWHZGvxwXoAmw/s1600/Green-Apple--NCS--60x50.jpg" /></a></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> If you'd like a copy of a form to use for a Quick & Dirty Business Review contact me and I'll send you one by email. </span></div>
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<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-get-your-business-found-online.html">How to get your business found online </a></div>
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-91475674810465198332015-12-30T21:00:00.000+11:002016-09-21T15:36:15.277+10:00Financial Planners - Social Media One Good Investment To Make Now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurTQKG2QrwR8UMmstWAca-sfTLBklAtzjMuahcs_ncqq05A5rXj1RqT9NISGm2h9MjCrMhnPSHRyWV3cbYQZv-ZoqCqZ9yWD-BWZ5wj4XQWGo95zw1UM6v3DsDo-OGZbdFVrSzQ/s1600/financial+planners+will+your+business+walk+out+the+door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurTQKG2QrwR8UMmstWAca-sfTLBklAtzjMuahcs_ncqq05A5rXj1RqT9NISGm2h9MjCrMhnPSHRyWV3cbYQZv-ZoqCqZ9yWD-BWZ5wj4XQWGo95zw1UM6v3DsDo-OGZbdFVrSzQ/s400/financial+planners+will+your+business+walk+out+the+door.jpg" width="303" /></a></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b><i>"The newest paradigm shift in financial planning </i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>is being driven by the emerging trans-generational wealth transfer</i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i> - the largest in history." </i></b></div>
<br />
Some interesting numbers fell across my view this week, which should be of interest to any financial advisor.<br />
<br />
These numbers from the US would probably be a close match for the experience in Australia too, though many US businesses are in front when it comes to client servicing standards by comparison.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>2% of children inheriting stay with the parents' financial advisor</li>
<li>With the death of their husbands, only 45% of women stay with the current financial advisor.</li>
</ol>
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<br />
What does this mean for financial advisors? It's vital to learn to build strong relationships or risk losing out in the coming avalanche of inter-generational transfer of wealth that is about to unfold.<br />
<br />
<b>What we want from our financial advisors</b><br />
<br />
Here's what one recent survey in the US found about clients' views on what's important to them. This is the response according to an article on <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/advisor/2014/03/05/what-clients-want/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Forbes</a><br />
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<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 27px; margin-bottom: 21px; margin-right: 161.66250610351563px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“The CFA Institute & Edelman <a class="exit_trigger_set" href="http://www.forbes.com/companies/investor/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Investor</a> Trust Survey.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The survey asked respondents which of the following factors was the most important to them in selecting an investment manager (while the question in the survey related to investment managers specifically, but I would argue that the results are relevant to advisors and other industry participants as well):</i></span></div>
<div class="asset article_body_ad rec_ad ad_normal" id="article_container_0_rec" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: right; float: right; line-height: 16px; margin: 10px 0px 30px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div id="google_ads_iframe_/7175/fdc.forbes/article-new_1__container__" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0pt none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><iframe frameborder="0" height="250" id="google_ads_iframe_/7175/fdc.forbes/article-new_1" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="google_ads_iframe_/7175/fdc.forbes/article-new_1" scrolling="no" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 15px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="300"></iframe></i></span></div>
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<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: none; line-height: 16px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0px 0px 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20px; margin: 15px 161.66250610351563px 15px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Trusted to act in my best interest – 35%</i></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20px; margin: 15px 161.66250610351563px 15px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Ability to achieve high returns – 17%</i></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20px; margin: 15px 161.66250610351563px 15px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Commitment to ethical conduct – 17%</i></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20px; margin: 15px 161.66250610351563px 15px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Recommended by someone I trust – 15%</i></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20px; margin: 15px 161.66250610351563px 15px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Compliance with industry best practices – 8%</i></span></li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20px; margin: 15px 161.66250610351563px 15px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Amount/structure of fees – 7%</i></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>By more than 2 to 1, more respondents felt that the most important thing to them in picking an investment partner is that they feel that they can be trusted to act in their best interest. Returns were less important, and fees were at the bottom of the list."</i></span></div>
We can see from this that <b>trust</b> is a big factor for clients. That should come as no great surprise and yet if we look at the focus of activity in the financial services industry, there is little that is remarkable in service standards that would lead us to have any great trust in one firm over another. <br />
<br />
Building relationships just doesn't seem to be a priority for financial planners and financial advisors, whose focus is often on rate of returns, fees and commissions. To gain trust, matching priorities needs to be demonstrated.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Doing The Right Thing</b>
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<b><br /></b>
From this we can see that ethics is important to clients. They want to feel that they have placed their trust in someone whose behaviours they can reasonably expect will follow the client's best interests and that the advisor will be sufficiently in tune with their wishes and investment style to recommend products and strategies that take into account the wishes, capacity for financial resilience, temperament, aspirations, wider goals and the risk management needs of the client.<br />
<br />
<b>What does ethical and professional financial expertise look like?</b><br />
<br />
Financial advisors don't just need to be professional and have high standards of ethical behaviour. They need a way to show that. How do customers know how this plays out in your business? How do their friends see that this is an important issue to you and how you run your financial planning business? It is in our actions that our values play out. It is the topics that interest us the standards we hold for ourselves, the public platform we develop to showcase these aspects of our professional and personal identity as well as the services standards that we set in place within the business.<br />
<br />
<b>Establishing Trust</b><br />
<br />
We love to be really heard. Talking less and listening more is a good start. But it is not enough to just listen, we need to also carry that through to understanding how that fits into a broader context. So listening is not very useful if what we are told is not translated into the plan that is to be implemented. This is an element of what we could call 'ecology' and should be consistent not just with the words spoken, but the beliefs and values behind the words. Listening is one step in the process. Clarifying and assuring you know what that means to the customer, is the next step to the really important end stage - understanding.<br />
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<b>We Do Things Differently Now</b><br />
<br />
While conservative establishments like financial planning companies have established ways that things get done, all of which are likely to be convenient for the financial houses, not necessarily so for the customer.<br />
<br />
Customers are not standing still. Technology is putting information as close as their fingertips and they don't want to hang around for yearly statements and feedback when they can now access other things they need in real time. The old business models will have to change and become more convenient and accessible for clients. That's also key to streamlining processes and opening new means using technology to find additional touch points to stay in contact with clients, be of value to clients and establish your relationship with them as being a useful addition to their life.<br />
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<b>Leveraging Time and Information To Create And Post Quality Content</b><br />
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Technology, social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin, blogs, instant message and SMS text services can all help to make life more simple and functional and save time for advisors and clients alike. Maintaining contact in the ways that are most beneficial and wanted by the client is also how you show that you have listened and heard what they want when it comes to how they want to work with you.<br />
<br />
While some aspects of service can be automated and direct, when it comes to public methods for informing and educating around financial matters, this can be in your hands as the trusted advisor, for both clients and others in their network who could become clients in the future. But this can only happen if you have the means and have developed the resources necessary to be a visible as the credible expert and trusted industry authority. When that happens you are placed well for them to turn to you as their first and most reliable source when it comes to matters of a financial and life planning nature.<br />
<br />
<b>Where To Start </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Begin with forgetting your assumptions about what you think you know about your clients. The chances are that what you think about your client base is not right. Those clients you think are your best clients may not be any more. And those "C" grade clients you have not seen for years - could be someone else's "A" grade client ... or will be in the future.<br />
<ul>
<li>Begin with a good analysis and review of your client base. This cannot be just on fees, but needs to be assessed using a range of metrics that are objective and subjective and take into account the lifetime value of a customer to your business. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Audit your current method of servicing customers</li>
<li> Map the current servicing strategy in diagram form </li>
<li>Check metrics on rate of business lost </li>
<li>Identify bottlenecks in the service delivery area </li>
<li>Quantify system for and metrics for new business acquisition </li>
<li>Quantify lost business and system reporting method </li>
<li>Diagram customer feedback system </li>
<li>Review marketing plan</li>
</ul>
<b>Finally</b><br />
<br />
That's a good start. Each of these areas will take some digging to get the information you need to fully understand the present situation.<br />
<br />
The next step from there on is to develop your plan what you want to achieve in the future term and how to go about proceeding to What Happens Next.<br />
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-2068744902352137922015-12-13T19:57:00.000+11:002015-12-15T14:43:58.560+11:00Beware The Doghouse. A Christmas MessageThis post comes as something of a Public Service message I think. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Twivg7GkYts" width="490"></iframe><br />
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This video says in a few minutes what we could not say in a lifetime to our loved ones. For those with a partner who lacks the gift of comprehending social nuance, this is for you. For the sisters and mothers of people who lack this same skills set, please pass it on. To your young men, please pass it on. Fathers with sons... pass it on (but watch it first!). <br />
<br />
A Happy Festive Season To All <br />
<br />
And To All... A Good Night. <br />
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(<span style="font-weight: bold;">Not In The Doghouse!<span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>)<br />
<br />
Enjoy!<br />
<br />
Update: The Doghouse Sequel.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_6D6eP6EMj4" width="490"></iframe><br />
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-6777677730703978212015-12-09T14:34:00.000+11:002015-12-15T15:16:18.019+11:00Working For Promises<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBuCRQKWgxI5IAw9JLVhACXT5tk3b6iKIkkKFqhHjxJhmQrPjwNFZY-817KNFoVanmD8b3bEp-i6hxDg0NnfL7KtAQ-z7OglGR80trYCcXThaJDIrJ_-6Oyvz_ADYiYEMlzPwykg/s1600/working+for+promises.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBuCRQKWgxI5IAw9JLVhACXT5tk3b6iKIkkKFqhHjxJhmQrPjwNFZY-817KNFoVanmD8b3bEp-i6hxDg0NnfL7KtAQ-z7OglGR80trYCcXThaJDIrJ_-6Oyvz_ADYiYEMlzPwykg/s400/working+for+promises.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's an interesting world in which we live.Changes happening every day to the way we work, the way we get remunerated and the way we use media and technology.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While industries employ weasel language to talk about "flexibility in the workforce" what they mean is casual jobs and no benefits. Contracts replace employment and many jobs lack the security of employment that can allow the person to plan ahead, borrow money and invest in a home. This group which is growing by the day has been called The Precariat - for the precarious financial situation in which they find themselves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5;">Millions of people across the world, including many Australians, are living and working in economic and social insecurity, many in casual or short-term, low-paid jobs, with contracts they worry about. Their incomes fluctuate unpredictably, they lack benefits that most people used to take for granted.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5;">No paid holidays, no sick leave, no subsidised training, no worthwhile pension to look forward to, and no assurance that if they lose their job they will be able to rely on state benefits or other assistance." - </span><em style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Guy Standing is the author of The Precariat - The New Dangerous Class (Bloomsbury) </em><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">see more on that <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3820486.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here in this article on The Drum</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
Naturally in such a world, retirement funding is up to the individual and we know from experience in Australia prior to compulsory superannuation and in the US (where retirement benefits were changed in the 80's to allow employers to <i><b>only match</b></i> contributions from employees) that many people will not put enough money aside (nor be able to afford to) nor be able to retire since they will have few resources to depend on, aside perhaps from a windfall legacy when their parents die.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Similarly, the technical world is full of sage advice on the new paradigm and how people will be moving from job to job expressing their skills and running their career as "my personal business". This is an attitude that we will have to cultivate but we're not there yet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Part of that techno wonder is the miracle of the start-up where people can be promised big bonuses when (If) 'the ship comes in' and the company gets bought out by a mega player. Meanwhile they can graft away on a subsistence pay - or work for basically nothing. Since most start-ups are likely to fail, many will put in the time and at the end have a very expensive lesson to show for it. Some interesting perspective on this fact is outlined in this <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130106152612-108843352-advice-for-us-entrepreneurs-who-move-to-europe" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">piece</a> "</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Advice for US Entrepreneurs Who Move to Europe" on</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> the difference between the US and Europe when it comes to start-ups. In Australia you can figure the conditions are most like Europe than the US. Bold highlight is mine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">"Another legal obligation that is very common in Europe and unheard of in the USA is state-mandated severance pay packages. This is a direct impediment to start ups, <b><i>the reason being that most start ups fail and in the USA there is an understanding of this</i></b>. In the USA employees demand stock options as upside should the start up succeed knowing that there will be no severance package should the start up fail."</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then there is the virtual sweatshop model that is growing apace, where you contribute your writing, your creative pieces and don't get paid. Oh, yes you will benefit, you're told, by "all the exposure" you'll get. Meanwhile if the business takes off and the owner sells it for a bundle, that's going in their pocket, but never yours. That exposure? Probably worth very little in real terms. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Illustrators who have been working professionally for decades are struggling to find work. Where then will the work come from for all those following who are studying visual arts and joining the list of people looking for that creative work? Well there are sites that promote "Freelance" jobs - where you can pimp yourself out in competition with those in third world countries where $10 a day is possible to live on. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Harlan Ellison is a very good and famous author who had something fabulous to say on this matter. He's 'paid his dues' and still yet the hucksters will try it on to get work free. Here's what he thought about that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
<object height="270" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mj5IV23g-fE?version=3&hl=en_GB&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mj5IV23g-fE?version=3&hl=en_GB&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="270" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So what is the way forward? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It seems that the system in which we work will need to change to accommodate the new less-that-full-time workplace. Perhaps decoupling benefits from employment so that they accrue the same way that superannuation and retirement savings do, and are portable from job to job. A change in the way that banks approach lending for people in this new workforce and perhaps an additional payment made to those who are not regular employees.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's definitely a topic that needs to be on the agenda for discussion because it is likely to affect every family, and living well in this new environment is going to depend on having a well considered and implemented plan to deal with the issues that pertain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Working for promises? That's a mug's game. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Don't be a mug. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
Update:<br />
<br />
With the growth in social media platforms many have a huge following personally - but that doesn't translate into job offers or financial reward.<br />
<br />
Like this article outlines...<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">"<span style="background-color: white; color: #180219; letter-spacing: 0.4px; line-height: 29.45px;">The restaurant was hosting Buzzfeed’s Golden Globes party. For the past two years, Ashley has been one of the most visible actresses on the company’s four YouTube channels, which altogether have about 17 million subscribers. ...</span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #180219; letter-spacing: 0.4px; line-height: 29.45px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">The awkward part was that Ashley wasn’t there to celebrate with Buzzfeed. She was there to serve them. Not realizing that her handful of weekly waitressing shifts at Eveleigh paid most of her bills, a coworker from the video production site asked Ashley if her serving tray was “a bit.” It was not.""</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #180219; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small; letter-spacing: 0.4px; line-height: 29.45px;">The disconnect between internet fame and financial security is hard to comprehend for both creators and fans. But it’s the crux of many mid-level web personalities’ lives. Take moderately successful YouTubers, for example. Connor Manning, an LGBT vlogger with 70,000 subscribers, was recognized six times selling memberships at the Baltimore Aquarium. Rosianna Halse Rojas, who has her own books and lifestyle channel and is also YouTube king John Green’s producing partner, has had people freak out at her TopMan register. Rachel Whitehurst, whose beauty and sexuality vlog has 160,000 subscribers, was forced to quit her job at Starbucks because fans memorized her schedule.</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #180219; letter-spacing: 0.4px; line-height: 29.45px; margin-bottom: 1.25rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; word-break: break-word; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">In other words: Many famous social media stars are too visible to have “real” jobs, but too broke not to." Read the full story here: <a href="http://fusion.net/story/244545/famous-and-broke-on-youtube-instagram-social-media/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Famous and broke</a></span></span></div>
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-4958250325490432752015-08-10T01:32:00.002+10:002015-09-21T08:00:12.317+10:00Blogging: Try An Ideas Jar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4ICXWJXb9U_sD2rcZFmL9sRxeSr1hMF1KtJFL6kjfW57_VDsCf5gu9vs6gM8IscuKO11KdRU6aokZnAN9L64ge_zstSgz1RwHqvji-vdYck3NnYNDUjmqteHco_WxeBZ64k38A/s1600/blog+jar1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4ICXWJXb9U_sD2rcZFmL9sRxeSr1hMF1KtJFL6kjfW57_VDsCf5gu9vs6gM8IscuKO11KdRU6aokZnAN9L64ge_zstSgz1RwHqvji-vdYck3NnYNDUjmqteHco_WxeBZ64k38A/s320/blog+jar1.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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Here's an idea to help you with saving ideas for writing posts for your blog or other online content.<br />
<br />
I have a dozen ideas a day about a topic for a blog that comes as I am interacting with a client or reading an article or just listening to the radio. Something will be said, and that will lead me into thinking about other things that are like that and suddenly, there's a topic to expand into a long form piece of writing to publish that could be useful for me to remember or revisit, and may be helpful or other people too.<br />
<br />
So I'd scribble that down on a piece of paper.<br />
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But pieces of paper get lost, they get used for other notes, lost at the bottom of pile of paperwork and never make it to the publishing - which is where you could really use it.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Ideas Notes </h2>
<br />
So I thought about a new system to try. Here's how it goes.<br />
<br />
I have printed some points to apply to each post to remind me what the thought was I want to write about.<br />
<br />
In this case:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Idea (summary of what the blog post would be about)</li>
<li>Target audience (who it might interest)</li>
<li>Main Point (The primary take-away idea from the post that distills the whole message)</li>
<li>Category eg #productivity #business #personaldevelopment #marketing</li>
</ul>
<br />
So a template made with the questions, fits 3 per page, can then be printed off a few pages at a time and then cut into single idea notes to fill out on the run when the idea strikes.<br />
<br />
I'll then fill out the details, fold them up and put them into a jar and there you have it. Part of the thinking is already done on the idea note. The topic and the context are clear and defining the main point makes it easier to then work out an image that will fit with the post.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1v_GhZ1DAdrLaQHOBQaDXlImU-ivQgUHyNQ30F4dQsU9J03jY8VeIE2VuERQMjBKhA8US59kzcqZxNTiti13MO-JNsv2aAIOykXuhdYpDoIFX4Kh2ji8JkxVE2OvoImb4EwrBhg/s1600/blog+jar+cropped+idea+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1v_GhZ1DAdrLaQHOBQaDXlImU-ivQgUHyNQ30F4dQsU9J03jY8VeIE2VuERQMjBKhA8US59kzcqZxNTiti13MO-JNsv2aAIOykXuhdYpDoIFX4Kh2ji8JkxVE2OvoImb4EwrBhg/s320/blog+jar+cropped+idea+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<h2>
Moving ideas out into their own space</h2>
<br />
I'm expecting that having the idea notes contained in the jar will help in two ways.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>The thoughts will be captured along with notes to remind me of the context so I understand the context for the idea when I then write the piece</li>
<li>They are stored together safely in one space where they are easily accessible but can't get mixed up with unrelated notes, and </li>
<li>They will build up into a bank of quality topics that I intend to write about and kickstart the process when I am about to write a blog but don't have a particular topic burning right there and then that I want to write about. </li>
</ol>
<h2>
Other Ways To Use An Idea Jar</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I think this idea can work well for creating a bank of ideas for writing blog posts as it allows the sed to germinate before writing and the ideas to percolate and mature before the writing stage. I'll update this post after I've tested it out a while. I like the idea of having a savings bank of ready-to-go starters to use for blogging. It's a little like cooking dinner - often the hardest part is working out what to have. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This would also be a good system to use for planning and before you get to the formal stage of writing a plan for business, or a travel itinerary or even just setting goals for the future. Try some ideas in the jar and see if you still like them later when you revisit. The nice things about goals is that we can try them on and change them if we don't really care for them. Winnowing the ideas down to the goals that really matter to us before setting them fully and mapping them to our life plan means that when we do that we have tested them well and know they are a good fit and fully meet the criterion we have for being ecologically sound. If using this jar idea for goals, maybe check out the cupboards or thrift store and buy a really special jar to use. One you can get your hand into and one that shows off your goal idea within. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h2>
Great For The Not-So-Tidy Deskers</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The jar idea is also perfect for those of us who don't have a desk that is completely clean and bare at all times. If your clutter tends to accumulate on the desk, this could be perfect for you to try too.</div>
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-19156939917206548502015-07-31T13:21:00.001+10:002016-02-18T09:37:12.133+11:00Managing Performance In Your Business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Recently there has been widespread reporting that large organisations are now promoting the idea that yearly or half-yearly performance reviews are best abandoned as not being useful.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It seems that the type of performance appraisal out of favour is one where employees are graded yearly by a manager who doesn't work with them directly and uses the exercise as an excuse to find find fault with the employee. If anyone is still operating this way then stopping such a ritual is probably a good idea. It does seem a strange thing to ever have been doing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, outside of large corporate environments, many businesses have no procedure for managing performance effectively.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Instead of creating a stressful situation, you can make performance management an integral part of the way the business operates, keep productivity high and stop any activity that is not benefiting the business, right where it starts. This is a chance to get the very best from the employees at work in the business.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That means building performance discussions and feedback into the everyday way the company operates. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Making the most of the potential within the workplace</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Done well, it can be an ongoing part of your relationship with employees to track their progress, recognize their accomplishments, notice where they are struggling and provide some remedial assistance as it is needed, to encourage the best performance from those who report to you. This is a fabulous opportunity to develop a winning and supportive culture that generates excellent results. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Good procedures – written – make life much easier for employees to do the right thing and know what that is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For the business owner a documented procedure for managing performance makes life far easier and less stressful around managing employees.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Why manage performance</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Improving operations allows the business to stay competitive and to ensure employees and managers are performing to the highest standards, opens the way to increased productivity, engaged employees who will go 'the extra mile', and ensure that employees want to stay with the company.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Employee turnover is disruptive and expensive. Ineffective employees are also expensive and can erode the profitability of the business.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h2>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Start with an appraisal of the business performance</span></h2>
</div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Before you look at the performance of employees, it is perhaps worth considering the performance of the business as it exists right now. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<h2>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Current Position</span></h2>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Review the current position in your business. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">Are good systems in place already? </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Do they need updating? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">Do employees have the tools they need to do their work efficiently?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">Are tasks and responsibilities for all roles documented? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">Is there a clear and specific reporting protocol that everyone understands exactly who they are supervising and to whom they report? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">Are employees undergoing regular training to develop their skills and allow the business to benefit from this improvement? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">Overall, are the operations being carried out more skillfully and with less disruption than the year before? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "default";"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">Being able to track the progress of the business over time and identify issues that are causing problems, work needing to be redone, or work not being won, means optimizing the potential the business is capable of achieving. And that relates directly to the bottom line profit. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">Employees need clear instructions and boundaries of where their responsibility begins and ends. They cannot be expected to read the mind of the owner of the business, or the manager. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "default";"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "default";"><span style="background-color: white;">Needs of employees and business need to be met</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "default";">
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>Employees also need the right tools to carry out their role and meet their commitments to the job efficiently</b>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "default";"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "default";"><span style="background-color: white;">Waiting around for a computer that has poor memory and a dismal signal on the internet is not helping them be productive. Neither is being forced to use old programs that cannot do what can be easily done now with modern applications in a fraction of the time. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";"><b>Your business needs to be efficient, to be consistent in delivery of your product or service to customers or clients.</b> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">It needs whatever it needs to operate at peak efficiency and effectiveness including well trained employees - and managers and director whose own professional development is keeping pace with this very dynamic marketplace. </span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "default";"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h2>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">Recognition of good employee performance </span></h2>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">While many companies are ready to pounce on poor performance, it is often the employees doing the right thing and excelling at their work who never get noticed at all. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "default";">Adopting a management style set to catch people doing good - and acknowledging it - is a good start to improve morale and gain useful insight into what's happening in the business. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "default";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "default";">Business owners often think that the only reward people want is money but that is shown over and over in studies, to not be the case. A financial bonus or pay rise may be indicated in some cases for continued good performance, but that's over and above the regular recognition and acknowledgment that people appreciate. We hate it when we are dismissed and overlooked. Just as we love it when someone notices that we go the extra mile, or have a willing attitude. Thank you goes a long way and this impresses not just the person involved but also the other employees who see they are working in a business that notices and respects them and their good work. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "default";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "default";">How can you implement a system in your business to give recognition to good employees?</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<h2>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">How well the business performing for the employees</span></h2>
</div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">It's all well and good when employees are doing great work and the business is booming. It's not so good when the benefits are all going out of the business and not improving their lot. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">In some business, owners splash about a lot of cash on personal items that the staff hear about while they are starved of the resources and tools they need in the business, and penny pinching is going on that keeps them from improving their own financial situation. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">That's not a good look and can build resentment and lead to bad attitudes and even misconduct. </span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h2>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">Steps to managing performance </span></h2>
</div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You want your business to operate like the best. Those are the businesses that are constantly improving their operations to stay competitive in their industry. Employees and managers need to be performing to a high standard for that to happen.</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; clear: both; color: #231f20; font-family: default-Regular, Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";"><br /></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">High performance in business means benefits such as:</span></h3>
</div>
<ul style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #231f20; font-family: default-Regular, Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; line-height: 1.5em; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 8px 24px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">increased productivity</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; line-height: 1.5em; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 8px 24px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">engaged and committed employees</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; line-height: 1.5em; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 8px 24px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">good employees are retained</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; line-height: 1.5em; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 8px 24px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">less wasted cost from staff turnover</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; clear: both; color: #231f20; font-family: LiberationSans-Regular, Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Employees performing poorly can result affect the business in many ways, including leading to </span><span style="background-color: white;">unhappy customers or clients, </span><span style="background-color: white;">decreased productivity, </span><span style="background-color: white;">high turnover and even demotivating other employees. </span></span><br />
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; clear: both; color: #231f20; font-family: LiberationSans-Regular, Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Serious misconduct is even worse and can be seen when an employee </span><span style="background-color: white;">causes serious risk to the health and safety of another person or to the reputation or profits of their employer's business or </span><span style="background-color: white;">deliberately behaves in a way that's inconsistent with continuing their employment.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">Examples of serious misconduct include:</span></div>
<div>
<ul style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #231f20; font-family: default-Regular, Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; line-height: 1.5em; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 8px 24px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">theft</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; line-height: 1.5em; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 8px 24px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">fraud</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; line-height: 1.5em; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 8px 24px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">assault</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; line-height: 1.5em; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 8px 24px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">being drunk at work</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; line-height: 1.5em; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 8px 24px; padding: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "default";">refusing to carry out work duties.</span></li>
</ul>
<h2>
<b></b></h2>
</div>
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Create a written procedure for how you will be managing employee performance </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "default";">Work out the business goals for the year ahead </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "default";">Think about individual performance goals for each employee that will help your business reach its goals.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "default";">Prepare a template to use for performance meetings so that you can record the points you want to speak about. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "default";">Engage with each employee to let them know about the new process and to learn more about their personal goals for their job and ensure they are relevant to their job and realistic.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "default";">Record these once you have both agreed upon them and worked through any support you need to provide to help them reach these goals. Training, would be one example. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "default";">Set some realistic time frames for these goals to be achieved. </span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "default";"><br /></span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: "default";">Final thoughts </span></h2>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "default";"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "default";">When you see your role as facilitating good performance, the stress goes out of the process. Suddenly you are all on 'the same side' and when you are all aligned towards a common purpose, magic can happen. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "default";"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "default";">It helps to have a clear vision articulated that employees can buy into. </span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-36558752690803942932015-07-11T11:43:00.001+10:002015-07-13T11:25:55.940+10:00Sending Mass Emails BCC In Linkedin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1gRcHHKVMInRpIQpjMb70jTu2xm2tfmvyaLTvxjFRXArHB6YgvLANMoM_aENMyJ4hO_H17LvAdmoLhImsgOP2l7KUpAZpOxbhsD07veOgIDEe6meaUAtA8-YhSPNj8QuvY3bvWg/s1600/linkedin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1gRcHHKVMInRpIQpjMb70jTu2xm2tfmvyaLTvxjFRXArHB6YgvLANMoM_aENMyJ4hO_H17LvAdmoLhImsgOP2l7KUpAZpOxbhsD07veOgIDEe6meaUAtA8-YhSPNj8QuvY3bvWg/s320/linkedin1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
There are many mistakes to be made with Linkedin but one of my pet hates would be strangers asking for recommendations from people they don't know, have made no effort to connect with in a human way and with whom they've never worked!<br />
<br />
<b>Linkedin Is For Professional Recommendations For People Whose Work You Know</b><br />
<br />
If you get a request like that - that's a good reason to cut them off your contact list.<br />
<br />
Strangers do not have experience of working with someone. Therefor they have nothing to recommend.<br />
<br />
Writing recommendations that are not valid diminishes you and your reputation. It renders every real recommendation you make suspect.<br />
<br />
And it erodes the value of Linkedin as a source of reliable information.<br />
<br />
<b>Bad Habits On Linkedin - Mistaking Connections For Spam Targets</b><br />
<br />
Likewise, if you are being sent spam from anyone on your contact list. It is particularly irksome when it is from someone trying to sell you a service which YOU ALSO OFFER!<br />
<br />
What that tells me when I get this kind of spam from marketing and social media people is<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>They don't target their messages to be relevant and respectful to the receiver</li>
<li>They fail to understand <b><i>the most basic aspect</i></b> of what social media and online marketing is </li>
<li>They do not conduct themselves in a professional manner and </li>
<li>They don't care! </li>
</ol>
<br />
They are also likely to be the people who will connect on Linkedin and think that means it is okay to put you on their mailing list without permission!!<br />
<br />
<b>How To Send Messages To A Lot Of People At Once On Linkedin - The Right Way</b><br />
<br />
The next issue may be partly Linkedin's fault. Once upon a time you could send messages to several people as a BCC (blind copy). That option is not available now in the Inbox section. You need to send emails to multiple people now via the Connections window. What's good about that is you can target your message to go to groups of people for whom the message is relevant (say a local event which they may have an interest in. NOT just an event that you have an interest in them attending!).<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Before you send any mass mailing on Linkedin ask yourself - is this message of value to the recipient and can it undermine my connection with this person if I send this? </i></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<b>Sending Messages From The Inbox - Keep It To Just One Person Or Intros</b><br />
Sending to multiple people from a message you create from your inbox means that all on the list have their contact details exposed. That looks bad and is not something that people want or expect to happen. It's not professional conduct and has no redeeming value. Don't do it.<br />
<br />
The time you might do it is if you are introducing two contacts, one to the other. In that case, it makes sense. It will never make sense to send a mass mailing that way!<br />
<br />
So how do you send a clean message to a group of people on Linkedin? This video shows you how.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PV7x05DRYDU?list=UU-_Gttn7RE2mMpM3OwIztMw" width="490"></iframe><br />
<b><i>Remember UNCHECK the box that allows everyone to see the contact details! </i></b><br />
<br /></div>
Linkedin, like most social media platforms changes the way that functions operate from time to time. If what you've been able to do in the past (like send bcc from your inbox) suddenly changes, there is a good chance that the function will still be available but a different way or from a different angle.<br />
<br />
Consider this the internet's way of keeping our mind agile and learning new things!<br />
<br />
The quality of Linkedin as a professional network is a reflection of the actions of the users. Do be a good Linkedin connection for your people. Not a pest.<br />
<br />
Related post:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://huntersocial.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/why-you-should-join-linkedin-and-what.html" target="_blank">Why you should join Linkedin and what to do next</a><br />
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Like to discuss your business?
Contact Lindy Asimus on 0403 365 855
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<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">What Would You Like To Improve Right Now?
Lindy Asimus
<a href="http://www.designbusinessengineering.com">Design Business Engineering - Business Coaching Services</a>
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-208817404399001622015-06-22T12:14:00.002+10:002015-06-22T12:36:38.272+10:00A Unique Selling Proposition For Your Business USP<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Unique selling proposition (USP), also known as unique selling point, unique service proposition, is a key point of difference, a strategic advantage and an identification of what it is that differentiates your business from all of the others, for your core product or service. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Originally the term USP was coined by Rosser Reeves to use in his advertising work and to sell his book. </span></div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe align="" allowfullscreen="" center="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hch3VzzFKIk?rel=0" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" width="420"></iframe><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="color: #222222;" /><b>Defining Your USP</b><br /><br />Like a competitive advantage it is an element that the business can deliver - that customers value and want. It gives customers a reason to choose your business, in favour of another one, and is like a promise that your business must produce for it to be credible. And your USP should be strong to drive action. These days, the idea is often wrapped up in a sales package as "Positioning" or sometimes tied in with "Branding". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Used in your advertising, your marketing, your sales process and your branding this USP drives the whole focus of the business and lets customers know without any doubt that you can and DO what is both stated and implied. Oh - and it has to be HONEST. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="color: #222222;" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b>Steps to creating a USP for your business</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="color: #222222;" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="color: #222222;" /></span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Identify your customer </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Important question here to answer is this: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Do you serve their</span></span></li>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">success </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">desires </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">both </span></span></li>
</ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">If you were a customer of your business what would you wish from your organisation?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> In the eyes of your ideal customer what are your competitors doing right? (<i>Assumes you know who your competitors are – and if you don’t your customers DO</i>)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> Rate the needs of your customers on the issues important to them (make a list) for LOGICAL NEEDS – and EMOTIONAL NEEDS (give examples of each)</span></span></li>
</ol>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Let's look at some examples: </span></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><b>Logical needs</b> - make a list of all that apply for your customers. Examples of these might be - </span><span style="color: #222222;">Convenience, fast, on-time delivery, your products help me save time or save money, your people are reliable etc, etc </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /><b>Emotional needs</b> - Make a list of these too, just the same as with the logical needs list: </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">You care about me, you understand when I'm in a hurry, you make me feel good about myself, people meet their commitments to me, you make it easy to do business with you.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">This is by no means a complete list but write down as many as you can think of and then work out a priority order from the customer's point of view.<br /><br />Your products may save the customer time (a value to them), but if the price is outside of their budget (a real constraint the customer has) that isn't going to be a value you can use. Keep eliminating until you come up with the top 3 logical and emotional responses and then refine until you have distilled the top values for your customer. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><b>Sorting through the data </b></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">From here you can begin to get a clear focus on what your business can do to lead in your industry for your market by identifying what your business can do that is UNIQUE – not offered by all the others – and what you need to FOCUS ON CHANGING NOW – for that to be true and actionable. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Now you're on your way to defining what your true USP is that you can use in your business. This also helps you stay focused. As you are considering offers and marketing, keep the USP in mind at all times and test your offers against your USP. Does it meet the standard that you have set for yourself? </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Creating a USP based on what you think your customers value won't work if you have not connected with their real priorities. These will change too - and if they valued one thing in 2010, they may have other priorities in 2015. Keep up with them! </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Once you think you have whittled down your list of customer priorities and married them with the service you can deliver, test it out. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Be prepared to spend some time on this to get your USP right. This may take some days to refine to be just the message you can condense into a short sharp phrase. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Summing Up</b></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">As an exercise this is a great way to review how much you know about your customers, and that's a great start to keeping your business fresh and your customers coming in - and coming back! </span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Related post</i> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2015/05/how-data-can-increase-your-sales.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2015/05/how-data-can-increase-your-sales.html" target="_blank">Making the most of data in your business and understanding customer personas</a></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Like to discuss your business?<br />
Contact Lindy Asimus on 0403 365 855<br />
or use the contact form on this page.<br />
<a href="http://www.lindyasimus.com/" target="new">Lindy Asimus Business Coaching</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe to Actionbites Blog</a>
</span>
</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">What Would You Like To Improve Right Now?
Lindy Asimus
<a href="http://www.designbusinessengineering.com">Design Business Engineering - Business Coaching Services</a>
Download your free <a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=51483">24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook!</a>
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-74866815323671891572015-05-21T15:22:00.000+10:002015-12-02T07:59:52.935+11:00How Data Can Increase Your Sales<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h3>
Knowing Your Customer </h3>
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The more we know about our past customers the more we can tailor our marketing to their specific needs and interests. There is nothing that says "I don't know or care about you" than sending marketing messages to people for products and services that they could never use.<br />
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The more quality information you have on customers the more you can tailor our offers and program your future contact with them at appropriate times.<br />
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Collecting all that information means that a highly flexible database for marketing is necessary. This is not your customer list that you may use for your tax purposes, this must have more functionality than that. It should be kept updated with new information added to the file when the client is interacting with the business or buying. While this can seem like a lot of work, it is the key to building a business asset will have the capacity to bring you more sales, more profit and less wasted effort.<br />
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It will also enhance your business appeal when the time comes to sell the business.<br />
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Adding social media to the mix really boosts the range of ways this database can be used effectively.<br />
<h4>
<br />Know Your Prospective Customers Too! </h4>
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Long before they become customers you may have touched on people who will become customers in the future. Creating a database for these people too is a sensible way to collate the historical contacts you have had and each contact puts us closer to a sale.<br />
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<h3>
Profiling Your Customers</h3>
<br />
Taking the time to profile existing and past customers is a good way to deal with the true substance of your customer base. To do this you need to have access to the information that will let you identify key aspects of your customers actual buying history, value of the client to your business over time - Lifetime Value, (dollars they have spent with your business over time)so that your analysis can yield to you quality data that is both objective and subjective. For example Lifetime value is objective (it is a factual data point) and the customer's ability and willingness of referring new customers to you may be more subjective. <br />
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<br />
<h3>
Customer Personas</h3>
<br />
Once you have a review of your customer profiles you can identify different types of customers by their characteristics that they share. This also allows you to analyze how that compares with what you would regard as an IDEAL customer. You may have very few of those and lots of customers who are not yet ideal, but unless and until you work through the process you are just guessing.<br />
<br />
Guessing is notoriously unreliable. Many times the customers who seem to be the most valuable to the business - are not the ones who are supporting us best.<br />
<br />
Now you have your groups of customers separated you can go deeper and create a picture that you build from adding in more common details. Demographic information and income bands and aspiration positions.<br />
<br />
You can name each group so they are easy to bring their defining characteristics to mind when you are creating promotional offers for them that are a good fit for their buying patterns and product preferences.<br />
<br />
More information on setting up <a href="https://blog.bufferapp.com/marketing-personas-beginners-guide" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">buyer personas here </a><br />
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<h3>
The Database</h3>
<br />
Capturing the data helps marketers to:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Recognize who the customers are</li>
<li>What products they have with the company</li>
<li>What products they <b><i>don't </i></b>have with the company</li>
<li>When buying needs might arise</li>
<li>How many times the customer has returned to buy</li>
</ul>
<div>
Smart managers make sure that the company can maximize the potential of the database by treating every customer as an individual. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<h4>
Target Information To Customers</h4>
<div>
</div>
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
While big corporations are investing millions of dollars in fine grain data mining of their customer buying traits, all businesses can at least begin to market smart by collating useful data to drive new business and retain existing customers. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Every contact with a customer is an opportunity to enhance the customer database and to use the information in a timely manner to target messages correctly and to encourage interaction with the customer in a two-way communication. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
This is the beginning of Relationship marketing and where businesses can build on their knowledge of customers to provide them with standards of service that meet their needs and bring them coming back again and again. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
What This Means For Your Business</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's a great jump-off point for generating more referrals and becoming a part of the customers' networks of friends and family who have potential to also become customers. </div>
<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
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<br />
Related posts:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/inbound-marketing-new-old-fashioned.html" target="_blank">Inbound marketing - the new old fashioned service </a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/many-hands-make-social-marketing-time.html" target="_blank">Many hands make lighter work of social media for local businesses</a><br />
<a href="http://huntersocial.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/get-content-written-for-your-web-needs.html" target="_blank">Here's how to save time and get good content for your business online</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/inbound-marketing-new-old-fashioned.html" target="_blank">Inbound marketing the new old fashioned way to do business</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/financial-planners-social-media-one.html" target="_blank">Financial planners: Social Marketing the key to keeping business on the books</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/business-writing-not-just-on-wall.html" target="_blank">Business writing not just on the social media wall</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/what-business-should-know-about-social.html" target="_blank">What every business should know about social media</a><br />
<br />
Like to discuss your business?<br />
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or use the contact form on this page.<br />
<br />
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<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">What Would You Like To Improve Right Now?
Lindy Asimus
<a href="http://www.designbusinessengineering.com">Design Business Engineering - Business Coaching Services</a>
Download your free <a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=51483">24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook!</a>
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-13279665053313342682015-05-05T18:12:00.000+10:002015-07-19T11:42:06.920+10:00 7 Steps To Make Your Business Strong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXla-DWp4SdQ7C1cDo-O5kBFeEkHK5J1rQY7H64MTL9kUSM4M5nkEFecnPr89mrlP4raStlzilIcBxbrpc0q1XQMPYHWYy6iKDZYXOOralqcLGpz4c2aZFo0O1ZGKFFpliw7Iy6g/s1600/7+steps+to+a+strong+business+by+lindy+asimus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXla-DWp4SdQ7C1cDo-O5kBFeEkHK5J1rQY7H64MTL9kUSM4M5nkEFecnPr89mrlP4raStlzilIcBxbrpc0q1XQMPYHWYy6iKDZYXOOralqcLGpz4c2aZFo0O1ZGKFFpliw7Iy6g/s320/7+steps+to+a+strong+business+by+lindy+asimus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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"A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time." <i style="text-align: center;">– Henry Ford</i></div>
<br />
Running a business can be so rewarding... but it can be tough too. Problems are faced in small business and if we are not careful they can be handled emotionally not with a rational approach that the business needs to maintain.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Some of these issues - many of them - are around money. Pays, expenses, things that take money out of the business, but at the end of the day are just elements of The Cost Of Doing Business. </i></b><br />
<br />
When managed well, the issues below can be a productive and rewarding aspect of the business, not just a problem to be avoiding. When managed well, or not managed at all, they threaten the viability and future of the business.<br />
<br />
<h3>
1. Pay employees correctly. </h3>
Every week there are more cases being resolved with small businesses being found to have underpaid employees resulting in this money having to be repaid PLUS the fines and damage to reputation that follows.<br />
<br />
About fifty <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-22/thousands-of-australians-underpaid-denied-entitlements/6189802" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">claims against business are made by the Fair Work commission</a> each year.<br />
<br />
Aside from being fined and having to eventually pay the money anyway, this approach to avoid paying employees fairly has side effects that work against the business and cost the business money and status.<br />
<br />
When you underpay or try to cheat your employees, the business is<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Not making the most of staff productivity </li>
<li>Generating ill will </li>
<li>Encouraging theft. </li>
<li>Making a goose of yourself in the public eye. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
If wages are an issue then the real issue is the business model. Time to revisit that and work out the viability of the business and a strategy that will allow the business to trade effectively AND pay the expenses that the business is responsible to pay.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Current financial position of the business - knowledge is power</h4>
<br />
For some businesses the root of the problem will be a lack of understanding and control of the current financial position. This is why a good bookkeeper and accountant that can help you monitor your costs, income streams, help to set a proper pricing model in place. Tidying up the financial management, together with a marketing plan to generate more sales and repeat business is vital.<br />
<br />
<h3>
2. Respond smartly to reviews or complaints online or offline. </h3>
<div>
There was a time not all that long ago when a business would pay for an advertisement in the Yellow Pages and the phone would ring, and any complaints that customers had would be shared with a dozen of the people they know. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Not today. Today nobody uses the Yellow Pages, and the first place people seek information and resources to access, happens on Facebook or their other social networks. Maybe they use Google too and cross reference what they find with their friends' recommendations. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Complaining To The Many</h4>
<div>
When they complain, customers don't now complain to a dozen people. They complain online and that goes out to hundreds of people, possibly thousands and very likely ends up on a website that Google indexes and stays there for ever and brings up when someone searches for your business. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Sometimes the business owner responds by attacking the customer. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Sadly, it is becoming all too common to see businesses in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. They are in the media because of their bad attitude to customers. <a href="http://www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au/food/news/nz-chef-suggests-child-s-hygiene-habits-were-respo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Here is the most recent example</a> to hit the headlines, but it is a regular story on social media.<br />
<br />
It can be tempting to defend a complaint against a business, if there is something bad posted online or a bad review posted on Facebook, or Tripadvisor or any of the other review sites. Responding defensively is the <b><i>worst possible way to respond!</i></b> The business needs the response to be measured and according to a well rehearsed protocol that defuses the situation and doesn't turn it into a major embarrassment, due to a poorly considered and emotional response taken in the heat of the moment.<br />
<br />
<h3>
3. A Plan For Recruiting And Bringing On New People. </h3>
<div>
It's been estimated that recruiting a new employee can cost in real terms, more than a year's salary. So making a good choice and bedding them into the company well so they can flourish is a responsibility the business owner needs to take seriously and in doing so reap the benefits of a productive employee. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Common problems that new hires face - and that bite the business as a consequence are things like:</div>
<br />
<ul>
<li>No standard policies </li>
<li>No documented roles and responsibilities </li>
<li>No clear job description</li>
<li>No process to hire with well chosen criteria and according to the needs of the role</li>
<li>No induction</li>
<li>No clarity on who reports to whom</li>
<li>No company standard procedures </li>
<li>No buddy for the new hire to find out things they need to know without bothering the manager. </li>
<li>No effective system for managing performance </li>
<li>No training system or budget</li>
</ul>
<div>
Just as having none of these things is detrimental to a business, putting these in place will make hiring new people much more simple, more effective and allow the new person to fit right in without having to guess what is expected of them to please you and fulfill that role to the best of their ability.</div>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
4. Market Consistently Week In - Week Out</h3>
Waiting till the new work dries up and then thinking about marketing is a disaster! When you develop a marketing plan you don't have to guess any more what needs to be done. Once the initial details of the plan, the responsibilities, assigning of staff to carry out the activities and budget allocated, you will have a schedule of activities to follow much like a blueprint of a house to be built, that can be put into place at the times decided on, and the results reported so that you can follow your progress and make adjustments as required.<br />
<br />
<h4>
You'll want to document activities: </h4>
<br />
<ul>
<li>In traditional advertising channels</li>
<li>Clarity of your message </li>
<li>Segmentation of customer personas</li>
<li>campaigns for marketing programs throughout the year</li>
<li>customer nurturing </li>
<li>new client acquisition</li>
<li>developing an online presence and </li>
<li>developing content marketing </li>
<li>updating content marketing to build your network in the social environment</li>
<li>inbound marketing </li>
<li>marketing calendar</li>
<li>social media scheduling </li>
<li>training needed </li>
<li>reporting and monitoring </li>
<li>budget and sales attributed to marketing campaigns </li>
</ul>
<div>
With this in place it is like your business' marketing machine that chugs along 24 hours a day. 7 days a week leading people to your business. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<h3>
5. Expect Good Things To Happen In Marketing Because You Allocated A Budget To Make It So</h3>
<br />
Not allocating a budget for the marketing activities and other essential activities the business needs starves it of the very thing it needs to produce consistent new business and repeat sales.<br />
<br />
What the business needs, requires making available the resources to be dedicated and made available for such purposes.<br />
<br />
<h3>
6. A sales strategy and sales training program</h3>
Sales don’t just happen. Too many businesses have no formal sales strategy or training system in place and no ongoing education to ensure sales staff are developing and improving their sales expertise. When that happens the owner of the business is not doing the business, nor the customers and not even the employees, any justice at all.<br />
<br />
<h3>
7. Your fully functioning marketing database drives profit</h3>
Not building up a customer and prospect database to use for marketing is like paying rent on the premises then keeping the front door locked.<br />
<br />
These are the people who can bring you more sales and without collecting their data you have wasted that opportunity for more sales and more profit and more satisfaction of customers.<br />
<div>
<br />
<h4>
Summing Up</h4>
<br /></div>
Each of these 7 steps are achievable and are the hallmark of a business with plans for a long and prosperous future. Equipping the business with the insulation it needs to weather the stormy economy is number one responsibility for any business owner. If these are not areas that you are confident to improve alone do get some help.<br />
<br />
The strength of any business will be a reflection of the strength of the owner to be willing to make the steps necessary to get the help they need.<br />
<br />
<br />
Related posts:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/inbound-marketing-new-old-fashioned.html" target="_blank">Inbound marketing - the new old fashioned service </a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/many-hands-make-social-marketing-time.html" target="_blank">Many hands make lighter work of social media for local businesses</a><br />
<a href="http://huntersocial.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/get-content-written-for-your-web-needs.html" target="_blank">Here's how to save time and get good content for your business online</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/inbound-marketing-new-old-fashioned.html" target="_blank">Inbound marketing the new old fashioned way to do business</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/financial-planners-social-media-one.html" target="_blank">Financial planners: Social Marketing the key to keeping business on the books</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/business-writing-not-just-on-wall.html" target="_blank">Business writing not just on the social media wall</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/what-business-should-know-about-social.html" target="_blank">What every business should know about social media</a><br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">What Would You Like To Improve Right Now?
Lindy Asimus
<a href="http://www.designbusinessengineering.com">Design Business Engineering - Business Coaching Services</a>
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-5792352285718512662015-04-12T16:55:00.001+10:002015-06-03T02:29:51.563+10:00Pinterest: For Service Businesses <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjilaK_CRE-DbhiaOYehV4f4OcFJxgzO1YplL94mhzOB8mEUIEgrEd95kbE2NydltvaBiaVxbE9tcfCb8HD1hU-qyp17K7vN10RFG2TgaKtxxsq9OIHxR5pnc-fnrxS69rEuVZoqw/s1600/Pinterest+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjilaK_CRE-DbhiaOYehV4f4OcFJxgzO1YplL94mhzOB8mEUIEgrEd95kbE2NydltvaBiaVxbE9tcfCb8HD1hU-qyp17K7vN10RFG2TgaKtxxsq9OIHxR5pnc-fnrxS69rEuVZoqw/s1600/Pinterest+collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Your Pinterest Boards Can Be On ANY Topic! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I'm a big fan of Pinterest and in a post on it to a group over on Linkedin I was asked:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">"<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">Do you have some examples of using Pinterest to market a service?"</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">I made a quick search and came back with these examples. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">Service Businesses Using Pinterest</span></span></h3>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">This is <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/buildingworksau/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a building company</a> that provides new building renovations, new homes and home maintenance. </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">This is a new one I set up for <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lacoaching/" target="_blank">my coaching</a> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">(<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lindyasimus/" target="_blank">my personal Pinterest board</a> is more expansive with a wider range of topics covered on boards</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">)</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/podlegal/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Here is a legal firm </a></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">This is a new one by <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/alaccountants/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">an accountant firm</a> </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">This is <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/plumbette/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a female plumber</a> </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">This is <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/DAGDesigns/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">an architect </a></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">This is one I set up with a home theme and example that would work for anyone in the building and decorating or styling industry -<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lindy4dreamhome/" target="_blank"> Dream Home</a></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">This is <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/walksofitaly/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a tour guide company</a></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">This is<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/BaselineDental/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> a dentist </a></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">This is <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/alchemyorlando/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a hair salon</a> </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">This is <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/amortgagebroker/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a mortgage broker</a> </span></span><br />
<br />
As I went looking for examples a few came readily to mind since I know the businesses personally. What was striking was how few businesses are making good use of this fantastic resource to stand out from the crowd and show some of their personality and importantly - understanding of the topics that are important to their customers and network.<br />
<br />
Pinterest has a lot of uses that can help business with curating their online content and effectively bookmarking and sharing information that is useful in one's own business - and for customers and other members of the community in which one resides.<br />
<br />
Business has to be more than one dimensional. We don't work with "customers" our customers are people and they all have interests and needs, and aspirations that Pinterest can help us learn more about and understand. The more we know about our customers interests the better we can serve them. Pinterest is fantastic for uncovering topics of interest we didn't even know we had!<br />
<br />
Sharing them can be very powerful.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Just opening a Pinterest account is not enough</h3>
Like any social media platform just having an account is not enough. It needs to be active and have something interesting to say. People follow people and that means following those people on Pinterest who have good habits of pinning stuff that is a match with your interests that you want to share.<br />
<br />
When you understand the personas of your client segments then this becomes much easier to fathom how to make your selections of which boards to follow. Sometimes you might want to only follow particular boards - for example, someone might have a lot of craft boards that are not what you like but they also have a good board of quotations, so you might follow that. Keep in mind a lot of people pin quotations that are just bad thinking so pick well.<br />
<br />
The other aspect that many who are using Pinterest have still not yet mastered, is to make their account work for them to drive traffic to their website. You can repin other pins but it is important to also use your own blog posts and articles that showcase your expertise, and optimise these for SEO and link them back to your own website.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Think Niche</h3>
<br />
Pinterest is a great place to find out how to do things. How to learn things, how to save money, how to discover new things you didn't know about. Great for planning trips, or creating boards for a vision or setting goals, or getting some inspiration on what things you might like to set for goals later.<br />
<br />
It is the ultimate window shopping platform that you can "buy" things on without spending money and research against other things in the market. You can save your finds and refer back to them later - and Pinterest will even notify you if something you have pinned with a price, comes on sale.<br />
<br />
And remember, the more niche the interest - the more popular it will be with people who love that topic and find it hard to get good information and resources on it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Work Out A Strategy For Using Pinterest</h3>
<br />
<br />
Again, just like other social media platforms, a business needs a strategy for making the most of Pinterest.<br />
<br />
Spend some time and get help you need to get started the right way. This should be just a part of your overall marketing plan that incorporates your online activity.<br />
<br />
While a lot of what is typically pinned to Pinterest is cooking recipes and handy crafts ( all good skills that can save you money and be useful), it doesn't have to be just about nail polish and fitness articles. Pinterest boards can be just as easily set up for historical notes for academics, stock market monitoring, investment education, sales training, business development, the list is endless and the only real restriction to how useful it can be is our imagination.<br />
<br />
Related post:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://huntersocial.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/using-pinterest-for-builders-architects.html" target="_blank">Pinterest for builders, architects, landscape, designers and tradies </a><br />
<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">What Would You Like To Improve Right Now?
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-73674821901318065402015-03-11T17:57:00.001+11:002015-04-12T16:56:53.760+10:00Lift Productivity In Your Business With This Knowledge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEc-QiabWXEpVk3dVmkjsAsWNFZTTERcT9sKFS1_DZuvWncP1L4ydQnyT9LKKp45BBTXuuctb2TvFrGQbuCY_vKFxN2_oaSjRH8uUONGnfsJQJLt-94TVsnLTSlGtgfF53Tj4igg/s1600/Productivity+wasted+time+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEc-QiabWXEpVk3dVmkjsAsWNFZTTERcT9sKFS1_DZuvWncP1L4ydQnyT9LKKp45BBTXuuctb2TvFrGQbuCY_vKFxN2_oaSjRH8uUONGnfsJQJLt-94TVsnLTSlGtgfF53Tj4igg/s1600/Productivity+wasted+time+.jpg" height="400" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Business owners are always conscious of the money going out in the business. They want to get good value from every dollar spent. When it comes to productivity though, it can be hard to see if the money the business is giving a good return on the expense. They would do well to pay attention to also what the <b><i>hidden cost of not spending </i></b>some money might have in terms of productivity gains being stifled.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>"On average, Australian workers spend 16% of their day </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>on activities that waste their time and effort."</b></div>
<br />
<br />
How do you measure productivity within your team? <br />
<br />
Some statistics I came by recently are from an ongoing series of <a href="http://www.ey.com/AU/en/Services/Advisory/Productivity-Pulse_May_2012_Productivity-factors" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">surveys</a> with responses gathered from 2100 individuals across seven Australian industries. The findings were quite interesting and held what I think will surprise a lot of business owners.<br />
<br />
<b>Top Time Wasters In Business</b><br />
The top three areas where time is lost in business is in these areas:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>People can't get on with their work due to delays waiting for someone with more authority to review their work, or waiting for additional input from other parties. (16%)</li>
<li>Time-wasting emails (15%)</li>
<li>Technology waiting time. (13%)</li>
</ol>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Not All Employees Are Equally Productive</b></div>
<div>
There is a tendency for some business owners to equate time spent on the job with productivity. In fact the survey results show this is quite wrong. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There is no correlation between time at work and productivity. Indeed, the least productive employees often spend the most time at work! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The <b>most productive employees</b> are particularly likely to be wasting time <b>waiting on technology.</b></div>
<div>
The <b>least productive group </b>are wasting their time in<b> unproductive meetings</b>. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Qualities of productive employees and unproductive employees were striking to say the least. As shown in the survey, despite the gender pay gap and the difficulty older people have in getting employment, the most productive workers were more likely to be female and older workers. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTQ4qZaksEyUXcdyc9xkOXdB21EbGdIJCjYNDGtPFwm_SlLUK14fjCX1CnRpg6M4ADzMkF1idbCfozgeAE4m3XCxybmNhS1eCvalNgL3BQEjR-Rp6NdOm9A0rzQ7cCNe83bL8mw/s1600/Productive+workers+exaple+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="productive employees characteristics " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTQ4qZaksEyUXcdyc9xkOXdB21EbGdIJCjYNDGtPFwm_SlLUK14fjCX1CnRpg6M4ADzMkF1idbCfozgeAE4m3XCxybmNhS1eCvalNgL3BQEjR-Rp6NdOm9A0rzQ7cCNe83bL8mw/s1600/Productive+workers+exaple+.jpg" height="320" title="" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Characteristics of Most Productive Employees</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBlvaaZg0Gtc3N0nqoMoRrXiKCE2a5F0kM28roZIb_Psfqh7INIBn-2-8GDVJSKoJjUU5ph2d1VKfYrceCev89KqR9ElEjtkaczUm89_TfwRbA8XfIUtJcxZUA5ReX4dHgK7mOg/s1600/unproductive+workers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="unproductive employees characteristics " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBlvaaZg0Gtc3N0nqoMoRrXiKCE2a5F0kM28roZIb_Psfqh7INIBn-2-8GDVJSKoJjUU5ph2d1VKfYrceCev89KqR9ElEjtkaczUm89_TfwRbA8XfIUtJcxZUA5ReX4dHgK7mOg/s1600/unproductive+workers.jpg" height="320" title="" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Characteristics of Least Productive Employees</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
Yet typically the recruiting processes commonly followed are likely to screen out those very people who are potentially MOST productive employees!<br />
<br />
<b>Productivity By Industry</b><br />
These industries represent those surveyed and this is their productivity ranking.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtBIaA6kEcWPXmC4PWS6o7KIhyrWWSt043xydyh1W_LVBpHuW23b5wMRh7o8BN_rPFotufJZRXqbyb3QQ58upv2ejF67AIZ6k_jO6X6dN17ZWtN9Vlc_FYQEm311ekRUb5kp4HQ/s1600/Most+productive+industries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="productivity by industry australian EY survey" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtBIaA6kEcWPXmC4PWS6o7KIhyrWWSt043xydyh1W_LVBpHuW23b5wMRh7o8BN_rPFotufJZRXqbyb3QQ58upv2ejF67AIZ6k_jO6X6dN17ZWtN9Vlc_FYQEm311ekRUb5kp4HQ/s1600/Most+productive+industries.jpg" height="320" title="" width="228" /></a></div>
<br />
<h4 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
Declining productivity</h4>
Where productivity has declined over time, the reasons employees cite for this are issues controlled by management. While of these four reason given, one is defined as poor management communication, the other three can also relate to a communication issue.<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875em; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 9px; padding: 0px;">
Workers attributed productivity declines to:</div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.4; padding: 0px;">
<li style="background: url(http://www.ey.com/ecimages/blt_gray_md.gif) 0px 1px no-repeat scroll; font-size: 0.875em; list-style-type: none; margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;">Poor management</li>
<li style="background: url(http://www.ey.com/ecimages/blt_gray_md.gif) 0px 1px no-repeat scroll; font-size: 0.875em; list-style-type: none; margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;">Lack of motivation and incentives</li>
<li style="background: url(http://www.ey.com/ecimages/blt_gray_md.gif) 0px 1px no-repeat scroll; font-size: 0.875em; list-style-type: none; margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;">Staff being treated poorly</li>
<li style="background: url(http://www.ey.com/ecimages/blt_gray_md.gif) 0px 1px no-repeat scroll; font-size: 0.875em; list-style-type: none; margin: 9px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;">Poor management communication</li>
</ul>
<b><br /></b>
<b>The Role of Managers In Productivity</b><br />
<br />
While it may be the individual workers' combined efforts that lead to higher productivity, getting the best from the team is a job for and a reflection of the owner and manager.<br />
<br />
<b>Killers of high productivity</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Needless complexity</li>
<li>No environment that values and provides training </li>
<li>Tasks given to employees, but not the authority required to go with the responsibility</li>
<li>No performance management strategy</li>
<li>No vision for the employees to buy into</li>
<li>Time wastage due to inadequate technology</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>Productivity Improvement: The Upside</b><br />
<br />
As you can see from these sets of data, the gains in productivity can be huge by just improving some areas of business.<br />
<br />
That means taking stock of what's happening in the business, and taking steps to improve the efficacy of the business, and the competence of the management, and the flexibility to adapt to a changing marketplace.<br />
<br />
That's good news for those businesses willing to improve their productivity and face their own internal devils.<br />
<br />
Related:<br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/search?q=business+" target="_blank">Business articles </a><br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">What Would You Like To Improve Right Now?
Lindy Asimus
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-79738563226146379722015-01-20T11:48:00.003+11:002015-01-20T11:48:55.048+11:00Marketing For The Year You Live In<div style="text-align: left;">
Gary Vaynerchuk is an interesting character. He doesn't pull his punches and his language can be a bit in-your-face but his thinking is spot on - and contains no fluff.<br />
<br />
Too many businesses are doing 'marketing' that feels good to them - not what feels good to customers. Customers are looking for new things and new ways of getting their information so your marketing should be meeting them where they are not where your head is and what's comfortable for you.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ay7jpEMLxnw" style="text-align: center;" width="480"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
Many business owners are still confused about all the changes that have happened with the growth of online tools and social media.<br />
<br />
These things are not going away. Your business needs you to understand the new business marketplace and customer needs so you can address them in a practical way and be relevant - and proximate - to your customers.<br />
<br />
This is a basic requirement for business now. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
Related posts:<br />
<a href="http://huntersocial.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/how-do-i-start-blogging-for-business.html" target="_blank">How to start blogging for business - and what to write about</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/09/10-steps-to-local-marketing-online.html">10 Steps To Local Marketing Online</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/08/social-media-marketing-dirty-secret.html" target="_blank" title="Lindy Asimus business coach article on social media secrets">The Dirty Secrets Business Needs To Know About Social Media</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2010/07/building-your-mailing-list-for-business.html" target="_blank" title="business coach Lindy Asimus article on building a mailing list">Why You Need To Build Your Mailing List And How To Do It</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2010/07/building-your-mailing-list-for-business.html" target="" title="business coach Lindy Asimus article on getting your local business found online">How To Get Your Local Business Found Online</a> <br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/02/developing-social-media-strategy.html">How-To: Developing A Social Media Strategy For Marketing</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/03/idea-quick-dirty-business-review.html">Quick & Dirty Business Review</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/02/check-your-website-for-roadworthiness.html">Test Your Website For Roadworthiness </a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-you-should-know-about-social-media.html">What You Should Know About Social Media For Business</a><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">What Would You Like To Improve Right Now?
Lindy Asimus
<a href="http://www.designbusinessengineering.com">Design Business Engineering - Business Coaching Services</a>
Download your free <a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=51483">24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook!</a>
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-75101088165003912482015-01-05T13:18:00.000+11:002015-04-12T17:02:04.999+10:00Resolutions Versus Goals: The Difference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5AJqsEonZJE3b2XrFilN15OTe3zG-NyyfAXvrSeOy3J8oa906l_SyyfS7cZXSaHuNDnn3fyF_JGpMNZ4sJUQeH27UFZ4AmAMaEdTUhz8LRPQql8BxsPBh-Hq2HaHaYhSPBcktTw/s1600/Resolution+graphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5AJqsEonZJE3b2XrFilN15OTe3zG-NyyfAXvrSeOy3J8oa906l_SyyfS7cZXSaHuNDnn3fyF_JGpMNZ4sJUQeH27UFZ4AmAMaEdTUhz8LRPQql8BxsPBh-Hq2HaHaYhSPBcktTw/s1600/Resolution+graphic.jpg" height="640" width="385" /></a></div>
<h4>
Resolutions Not The Same As Goals </h4>
These terms are often confused, and many think that making a resolution is the same as setting a goal. Worse - these resolutions are often made without a clear understanding how to make them work effectively, and precisely what they are an undertaking to do. So when they fail ... it firms up any belief that we might have or secretly suspect, that "Goals/Resolutions don't work".<br />
<br />
People work.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Goals and resolutions</i></b> both, are just <b><i>methods used to facilitate a desired outcome</i></b>. One in the longer term (future) and one that happens right now!<br />
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So goals and resolutions are not the same thing. But how do they differ?<br />
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To make a resolution is to decide right now to do something or stop doing something. It takes no planning - any consideration is already done.<br />
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Setting goals effectively requires planning, determining the ecology of the goal - so that you achieving one goal doesn't cost you in other ways you didn't expect.<br />
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Goals should ideally be part of a comprehensive plan to improve all areas of life so that they are compatible and not counter productive.<br />
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That means attention to detail on:<br />
<ul>
<li>What you want to set as a goal and achieve</li>
<li>Time frame in which to do it </li>
<li>That it is reasonable and has some capacity to be achievable</li>
<li>That you have the resources available to achieve the goal</li>
<li>That you have a way to know when you have achieved the goal and </li>
<li>HOW you will go about achieving the goal - the steps needed. </li>
</ul>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2f62C4qqLe2zf43XvQexj3hxAtNalYKDZXYwjccCmCMMeC60nPr4LXHx5k6jTCpgxMtWRW1CqVn5L5VWIJVxkc1YMCbvvYchYTLIYJPZeMxA8HFF9Cz5jIedzhqbjRC9IuS28fQ/s1600/resolve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2f62C4qqLe2zf43XvQexj3hxAtNalYKDZXYwjccCmCMMeC60nPr4LXHx5k6jTCpgxMtWRW1CqVn5L5VWIJVxkc1YMCbvvYchYTLIYJPZeMxA8HFF9Cz5jIedzhqbjRC9IuS28fQ/s1600/resolve.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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By contrast a resolution we can decide to do right now.<br />
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It is a determination to stop doing something we are doing now. Or start doing something we are not doing now.<br />
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Resolutions work hand-in-hand with goals.<br />
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Here's an example. We may have a goal to makeover our home in a new design. But we don't have the money to do everything at once so we may work on the goal and in the process <b><i>resolve to</i></b>:<br />
<ul>
<li>Get rid of old boxes from the garage that have been there since the last move. </li>
<li>Throw out or give away clothing that is in the closet that does not fit any more. </li>
<li>Ensure that everything we keep has a place for it to be stored easily and make that space for it.</li>
</ul>
<div>
By following through on these resolutions that we can do right now, we are also working toward making our goal happen. </div>
<div>
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<div>
Another example might be to set a goal to lose weight. That's not going to happen all at once and will need some planning and goals set to formulate a way for this to be achieved. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But in the meantime we can <b><i>resolve to: </i></b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Stop buying packets of snack food at the supermarket (reduce temptation at home)</li>
<li>Have three meals a day</li>
<li>Keep some nuts or carrot sticks in the refrigerator in case you feel like a snack</li>
<li>Cook meals </li>
<li>Not buy takeaway dinners </li>
<li>Buy vegetables and fixings for making meals from scratch. </li>
<li>Learn how to cook 3 new recipes to empower us to have healthy meals (if we have not been cooking until now)</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/LAcoaching/photos/a.166109606109.151801.166022691109/10153518022711110/?type=1" target="_blank">More on resolutions here </a></div>
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<b>Resolutions - Make Them Easy To Be Good At! </b><br />
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Resolutions don't have to be hard. Make them easy things that you can see work and get practice at achieving the things you promise yourself when you resolved to do that thing, (or to stop doing that thing).<br />
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<b>Small Changes Big Impact </b><br />
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It is amazing how much progress we can make to improving our life just by starting with a resolve to tidy up all those easy things that are just minor annoyances in life or subtle changes in our habits that have been stopping us from having our life be the way we would prefer.<br />
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Sure there may be big things too. A resolution carried out gives us confidence in our ability to do what we say we will do. That's important to maintain our credibility with others but perhaps even MORE important that we know we can rely on our word to ourselves.<br />
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So - what's the easy thing you can resolve to do today that will make a difference to your success this year?<br />
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Related articles on Goals
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/goal-checker-make-sure-you-make-right.html" target="_blank">Goal Checker - A Tool To Use</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/beliefs-goals.html" target="_blank">Beliefs and Goals</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/how-to-set-goals-you-can-reach.html" target="_blank">How To Set Goals You Can Reach</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2010/01/focus-before-goals.html" target="_blank">Focus Before Goals </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2009/02/steps-to-creating-achievable-outcome.html" target="_blank">Steps To Creating An Achievable Outcome</a></div>
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-80073846891889261622014-12-20T15:35:00.000+11:002015-05-06T14:02:54.509+10:00This Help All Business Needs On Social Media Marketing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Many business owners are active online to some degree. They have listened to a webinar about online marketing or attended a workshop or some other event where the idea of being on social media for marketing has been the topic pushed at them.<br />
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Then they come to this point, which was explained very succinctly recently in an email I received.<br />
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<i>"<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">Generally I am finding that there is so much information out there, it's hard to figure out where to concentrate on for small wins, where improvements can be made with the website/ social media channels etc, marketing plan and so forth</span></i><br />
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<i>As mentioned I am really trying to read and read and read when possible but some guidance / coaching is probably going to help me reach my goals a lot sooner"</i></div>
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Points for this business owner being perceptive enough to know that trying to do it all alone can be both a false economy <b><i>and</i></b> a source of needless confusion and frustration. </div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">
Are you feeling lost in the maze? </div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">
<b>What all business needs to know on using social media marketing </b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Integration</b></div>
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Your website is integral to your business presence online. That means that it must be effective not just on the page for visitors but also "in the back" where Google reads it. </div>
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Your efforts to promote your business online can't be spent all on promoting online properties you don't own. If you want to promote Facebook, get a job there, don't do your work for them on your business Page free and imagine that they can't take it away in a moment. They can and they might. Meanwhile you can use it all you like but don't build your whole presence on a rented platform. </div>
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Integrating your website with your social media platforms means that your social efforts are captured with your website and customers can find their way to your site for more information, to check you out and to see that you are the real deal! Trust is a high value commodity online and one of the things that you and your business needs is the means to develop trust. That's where social media can help. </div>
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<b>Audience (Really Your Online Network)</b></div>
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Well let me start by saying "audience" is definitely the wrong word for what you are building. It's wrong because at the most basic level, broadcasting to your online network is not the thing. </div>
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Before you can occasionally broadcast a promotion, you need a network of people who are willing and interested in following you and receiving your updates, and people are interested in people who are interested in them. That comes way before you can effectively build your useful network of eyes (people) to see your offers. </div>
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There is no shortcut to this. Engagement is essential.</div>
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If you have a high level of traffic into your business then you can begin to build your online network with those who are already familiar with and like what you do. </div>
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<b>Message</b></div>
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Knowing clearly what the single message is that you want people to know about your business is vital to being able to create the types of content and target that message to get to the people who want to know about it. </div>
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If your products and services are geared to satisfying customers who are male, 30 - 50 and single then your message is going to be significantly different and needs to be in front of another set of people than if you were looking to develop a network of senior citizens with an interest in buying a retirement unit. </div>
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For social media your business can use successfully, you need a clear message and a clear persona of who your content is meant to delight and help solve their plight. </div>
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<b style="font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">Content </b></div>
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It's fantastic that we all have cameras with us now everywhere we go. What's not so good is the confusion that this can bring about. Your products and services need more than just Instagram photos to show them off well. Some products are easier than others to capture well in an image. Professional images need to be a priority for some uses online. That's your website, your promotional material and some other work you might want to share as a template that you can adapt and re-use. If you are selling meals, professional product photography is an art form. Not an iPhone filter. </div>
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Building trust is not what you get with stock photos on your website of people who don't work there. It's like a high resolution statement that your business is not to be trusted. </div>
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Graphic design in the form of banners and marketing collateral will make you stand out as well prepared and fastidious, and your own photos taken through the day supplement these to show you as being real. </div>
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The topics you will write about, the articles that you curate and share with a comment, all of these add up to elements of your content and context marketing. This is a critical part of your online marketing strategy and needs proper resourcing and skills, and experience to do well. </div>
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<b style="font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">Platform</b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 12.666666984558105px;"><br /></b></div>
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Don't like Twitter but like Facebook? That may be irrelevant. If your people who love what you do and are potential customers love Instagram, you better learn to like it too. Remember this social thing is not about playing on Facebook, it is work and it is about having your business in the right place at the right time for the right people. I notice that when people tell me they don't like a platform, it follows that they don't understand it and have no idea how to use it properly. Opportunity, once it is seen, is hard not to like. </div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">
<b>Online is alive too. </b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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No matter how much we might like being online, many times the people we would like to get to know and develop some influence with are not online. Or not yet on the platforms that we might prefer. Consider how you will bring people online from offline so they can follow you and make your business updates part of their day. Enrolling people to your online properties, signage, promoting online profiles offline... all of these are part of your online business marketing.</div>
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<b style="font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">Research</b></div>
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It doesn't matter what you know today, there is much you don't know about how to make this work for your business. Whatever you know today, be sure, that it will not be the same a month from now. This online environment changes by the hour. What tricks some are using to work today, will work against businesses tomorrow. Count on that. What won't change is a good strategy. Your tactics might flex, but the strategy will see you through that in good health Staying up-to-date with these changes is a full time job and not one that many businesses have either the time or the understanding to manage well. </div>
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Research is an ongoing facet of the online marketing space and this must have a place in your marketing process. </div>
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Each of these topics above mean hours and hours of work to prepare, to promote and to get really good at in your business. </div>
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You can try to cover off on all of these things alone, or you get some help to do more and get to your goals faster, and with less hassle. One more thing help buys us is a fresh set of eyes. That can be just the thing we need to find our way out of the maze that is social marketing. </div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">
<b>Money for jam</b></div>
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Once you have established your working network online, you have the basis of your own business sales channel. You can then feed it and help it grow. </div>
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That's something you can't buy ... but you can fund. </div>
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And it can be amazing!</div>
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Related posts:<br />
<a href="http://huntersocial.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/how-do-i-start-blogging-for-business.html" target="_blank">How to start blogging for business - and what to write about</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/09/10-steps-to-local-marketing-online.html">10 Steps To Local Marketing Online</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/08/social-media-marketing-dirty-secret.html" target="_blank" title="Lindy Asimus business coach article on social media secrets">The Dirty Secrets Business Needs To Know About Social Media</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2010/07/building-your-mailing-list-for-business.html" target="_blank" title="business coach Lindy Asimus article on building a mailing list">Why You Need To Build Your Mailing List And How To Do It</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2010/07/building-your-mailing-list-for-business.html" target="" title="business coach Lindy Asimus article on getting your local business found online">How To Get Your Local Business Found Online</a> <br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/02/developing-social-media-strategy.html">How-To: Developing A Social Media Strategy For Marketing</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/03/idea-quick-dirty-business-review.html">Quick & Dirty Business Review</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/02/check-your-website-for-roadworthiness.html">Test Your Website For Roadworthiness </a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-you-should-know-about-social-media.html">What You Should Know About Social Media For Business</a><br />
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-35753149972500927062014-12-03T17:06:00.000+11:002015-04-12T17:03:30.693+10:00New Habits Feed Motivation For New Behaviours<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiokOgXC-MBVjvY569-G1BJHCLBWUu5Kwj7y64sLfwdasVFDAnsO4GJNEcf7CNwFcQhqaO66Y-qU4Ltl-5hlaehbOCvWhwhS4IHd322WLhcseO0DMX6BIwyoe4WNVY60UIapOZ-g/s1600/Snap+2014-02-20+at+16.54.47.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiokOgXC-MBVjvY569-G1BJHCLBWUu5Kwj7y64sLfwdasVFDAnsO4GJNEcf7CNwFcQhqaO66Y-qU4Ltl-5hlaehbOCvWhwhS4IHd322WLhcseO0DMX6BIwyoe4WNVY60UIapOZ-g/s1600/Snap+2014-02-20+at+16.54.47.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Want to get motivated? Try some new habits!</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Here's something that might surprise you. What you think motivates you... probably doesn't.<br />
<br />
We have a lot of ideas about who we are, what drives us. What prevents us from doing the things we profess to want to do. The sobering truth is that we people are really not that good at separating what we think we do and our actual behaviour. Some social psychology studies reveal interesting myths we tend to believe and it is far different than <a href="http://lindyasimusabetterlife.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/changing-behaviour-that-works-and-it.html" target="_blank">what actually changes behaviour</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Goals and Motivation</b><br />
<br />
Some look at motivation as something that we go to a workshop or seminar to 'fill up our tank' with motivation. The problem with that is that after the expensive seminar, we are back home and leaking motivation till the tank is empty again.<br />
<br />
Rather than look outside ourselves for motivation, it is more useful to find that essence inside that connects with that is truly of value to us at a core level.<br />
<br />
Setting goals for things that don't matter is pretty pointless. If it is just stuff that has no meaning, put it on a shopping list or drop it altogether. Pretending to set goals we have no intention of changing our habits in order to achieve just trains us to be unreliable, untrustworthy and all that does is erode self esteem. If you are not going to do something, own it. When we make promises we have no intention to honour we erode our self respect. Whether we know it or not.<br />
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Be clear on what it is you want<br />
Be clear on what purpose having what you want achieves for you.<br />
Be clear on what not having this will mean for you and those around you.<br />
Be clear on the steps that need to happen and the order in which you will carry them out in order for this to happen.<br />
Budget for whatever resources you need to make this happen. That might be in money or time, or both.<br />
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<b>Set Your Expectations And Make New Habits.</b><br />
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If you are setting out to achieve a change in your behaviour then you will be looking to <b>isolate</b> the current habits that you have which are preventing you from getting the results that come with the new behaviour. Once you have identified the habits that are stopping you - then you need to identify a <b>new set of habits </b>that underpin your new behaviour and assist you to reach your intended outcome. Work this through to make sure this new habit has the potential to do what it needs to do for you. That taking on this new habit will achieve the resulting behaviour but won't create unintended downside effects that make problems or add stress to your life or for those around you.<br />
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Let's look at an example.<br />
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Say you feel pudgy and tired all the time and stressed out. You want to get more physically active but time is a pressure for you. You don't feel like you have any time to yourself and if you take time to go for a walk or other activity then you will be putting pressure on your partner to manage the household alone. <br />
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<b> New Behaviour</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
You want to walk for half an hour<br />
Take time to meditate for ten minutes<br />
Get ready for work without being rushed.<br />
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The Why - Purpose: Is to feel better, less stressed and more in control of life.<br />
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New habit: Set the alarm for an hour earlier and take this time to do whatever is required for your new behaviours.<br />
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Previously, you set the alarm for 6.30 am.<br />
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Now you set the alarm for 5.30 am. And you get up when it goes off.<br />
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Feel like you are missing out if you don't get a bit of a sleep in? Set it for 5. 10 and be up and out of bed by 5.25 am. Refreshed.<br />
<br />
Sabotaging Your Adult Self<br />
<br />
Now what happens, some people will look at the idea of getting up at 5.30am as a kind of punishment. Something that your parents might make you do, like you are a little kid. Like a little kid you might be tempted to "cheat" and oversleep. <br />
<br />
But there is nobody to cheat. Only you.<br />
<br />
<b>New Habits</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Now you are walking each morning<br />
Taking time to meditate and reflect on life<br />
Clearing the time to get ready for work at a leisurely pace<br />
Not taking time away from your other commitments<br />
<br />
<b>A Gift To Yourself </b><br />
<br />
Getting an extra hour a day just for you, is a long way from a punishment. It is the greatest gift that you can give yourself. A whole hour to just do your thing without being required to do anything else for anyone. No obligations, no expectations from others, just a set of things for you to do, that gets you the results that you want, and makes life easier and your energy more abundant.<br />
<br />
Now that's something to get you motivated, and rewarded!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/resolutions-versus-goals-difference.html" target="_blank">Resolutions - They are not the same as goals! </a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/how-to-set-goals-you-can-reach.html" target="_blank">How to set goals you will reach</a><br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/new-habits-feed-motivation-for-new.html" target="_blank">When you want to be motivated - use your habits to help! </a><br />
<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">What Would You Like To Improve Right Now?
Lindy Asimus
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-63723596060789996602014-11-17T16:13:00.000+11:002015-07-26T17:15:47.914+10:00Set Up Policies & Procedures For Small Business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKBiaYvWbpw8k1gY0iwCt_rqDUyf1DQUpdyXEExemudTov9PrUJrgp3Aj9YbjulAkvd9ZQUZF-aDqaTvOEsOh-iSTi4CXit3gzWVCSIBENE7qjsegxbB_ykIwK32d2A6KKGNvYg/s1600/Testimonials-applause.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKBiaYvWbpw8k1gY0iwCt_rqDUyf1DQUpdyXEExemudTov9PrUJrgp3Aj9YbjulAkvd9ZQUZF-aDqaTvOEsOh-iSTi4CXit3gzWVCSIBENE7qjsegxbB_ykIwK32d2A6KKGNvYg/s320/Testimonials-applause.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Update:<br />
<br />
<i>I wrote this a while back and reading it again I was wondering what I'd change. Not much but I would add that the technology to manage this is so much more accessible now. That means that there is no excuse for businesses to be struggling through poor attention to creating efficient systems to use for repetitive tasks. Too often poor systems translate into work billed not being paid, and extra cost for business that it doesn't need to spend. And no money going where it can bring in new business. </i><br />
<br />
Documenting your tasks in the business and producing well-written accurate procedures and policies is your key to a well-run business. This allows you to systemise your business and that means managing your resources and your compliance obligations efficiently.<br />
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The spin-off advantage - your employees know what they are supposed to be doing - and how - and also why it is important. That saves you time, ensures consistency and that makes good financial sense. <br />
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It reduces stress and lets employees function at high performance and be more productive and happy at work. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYh_FlOle6I6W_wmWoBAMBIijmvpT07IuI1eVmO9FNpxlwad0OffJA3PIXM2q9UUHFCuw-EbajuH19WsF-G3r-UmcIK4uG_w6X5z8WswAqQXMT7FmEJls5t8mkwJnZQhmpFXReA/s1600/Tasks+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYh_FlOle6I6W_wmWoBAMBIijmvpT07IuI1eVmO9FNpxlwad0OffJA3PIXM2q9UUHFCuw-EbajuH19WsF-G3r-UmcIK4uG_w6X5z8WswAqQXMT7FmEJls5t8mkwJnZQhmpFXReA/s400/Tasks+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Tasks To Be Performed</b><br />
<br />
Start by capturing every duty within the role for that job. This is a great time to assess if this action is still working effectively, or if there are modifications that can be made to streamline and more efficiently cover that activity.<br />
<br />
Starting with tasks means that those doing the role now can take responsibility for completing the tasks and documenting them as they exist. It also allows you to see if some tasks are better assigned to a different role, or perhaps delegated to a new role as the business grows. Of course for new businesses you may be carrying out ALL of these tasks yourself!<br />
<br />
<b>Policies and Procedures</b><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3Nvm_KGDeWEwQujNRWBmTFULtm__0KmzW5sSztNP1S56VJS2uLi594wDzJpZuwu41pkIzasfJgVZg1r5SwxCn-9qxjfoEnZDJ2uadE6bgdWnyeYUu5KgByuyDI6T-WMXGMlveg/s1600/procedures+and+policies+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3Nvm_KGDeWEwQujNRWBmTFULtm__0KmzW5sSztNP1S56VJS2uLi594wDzJpZuwu41pkIzasfJgVZg1r5SwxCn-9qxjfoEnZDJ2uadE6bgdWnyeYUu5KgByuyDI6T-WMXGMlveg/s400/procedures+and+policies+.jpg" width="380" /></a></div>
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Some policies and procedures centre around obligations that a company has to ensure compliance with work health and safety. Others are just good management devices that ensure things get done on time and in the right way. Part of your role as owner or manager of the business is to make it easy for your employees to do the right thing the right way. They should never have to 'guess' what you want or how you want it done to your company specification. Getting this right can be tricky, but this is where you need to be very clear in your instructions and cover every section!<br />
<br />
<b>The Employee Manual </b><br />
<br />
Creating a manual for employees gives you a head start when you want to hire a new person for a role and lets them 'hit the ground running'. You can include your vision and cultural statements and history of the business to date, as well as policies they are to follow and a clear diagram showing to whom they report, their duties and he standard that they are to perform.. Issues around uniform, behaviour and pay dates as well as holiday protocols can all be set out, as well as any drug and alcohol policy, etc. Awards that apply and any additional opportunities for training or career development that may exist can also be included. Also induction procedures. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Organisation Chart</b><br />
<br />
A well articulated heirarchy showing to whom each employee reports does several things. One it shows clearly to whom the employee should go for instruction and to report - <u>and who not to! </u><br />
<u><br /></u>
This also serves to clarify to those people to whom the person reports, just where their obligations to the employee reside and makes it easier to recruit new employees if someone leaves or the workload grows and requires more employees to be added.<br />
<br />
<b>Training & Testing Knowledge</b><br />
<br />
Having policies and procedures documented is a great start, but it is up to management to ensure that employees - and managers including the owners - understand what the policies mean and that they comply with them. It isn't enough to have a policy and then for the managers to ignore them.<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Performance Management</b><br />
<br />
When management and employees have a clearly stated case for what is expected, managing performance becomes simple. You can see if the policies and procedures are being adhered to and should this not be happening, remedial action can be taken as it happens, to correct the behaviour, add any resources that prevent the processes being followed and get everyone back on track.<br />
<br />
<br />
Getting this all happening can take some time but it is well worth it. Once policies and procedures are set up you can keep them up-to-date and manage the business more efficiently and without the headaches.<br />
<br />
If you need help in getting started, get help.<br />
If you would like me to work with you on this, you can contact me at the address below.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://huntersocial.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/get-your-business-on-google.html" target="_blank">Get your business on Google ...free!</a><br />
<a href="http://birdsontheblog.co.uk/5-tips-to-improve-your-website-performance/" target="_blank">5 tips that will improve your website performance </a><br />
<a href="http://birdsontheblog.co.uk/local-business-steps-to-online-marketing/" target="_blank">Local business: Tips to online marketing </a><br />
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<a href="http://huntersocial.blogspot.com.au/p/sm-packages.html" target="_blank">Social media help for your business</a><br />
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-74744421354296854722014-10-20T12:43:00.000+11:002015-08-11T17:21:37.915+10:00Step One For A Business Online<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0506ib2ke0y518aliREHLJAEAUSZqGUDOyGirOu-XVm0Cv4CSzrY_-OJttUn_w2cJibFYtXQXPbJkC44ZHkmlP4SktSgd1Q4mUAQn839RpqrqzqSZdOx1KYDdcFcCee1z-j0k-w/s1600/Be+visible+online+is+your+first+business+job.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0506ib2ke0y518aliREHLJAEAUSZqGUDOyGirOu-XVm0Cv4CSzrY_-OJttUn_w2cJibFYtXQXPbJkC44ZHkmlP4SktSgd1Q4mUAQn839RpqrqzqSZdOx1KYDdcFcCee1z-j0k-w/s400/Be+visible+online+is+your+first+business+job.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Be visible online so we can find you when we want to buy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Before you worry about ROI online, businesses need to come to grips with their first level of attainment - Visibility online.<br />
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So what's it take for a business to get into shape online? What are the steps for a business online to make the most of the opportunity the internet brings to business?<br />
<br />
Let's start with a look at why that matters.<br />
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In the old days, businesses would book an advertisement in the Yellow Pages and they were set. Customers looking for a tradesman or a professional would pick up their book from Yellow Pages and find someone in the local area to call.<br />
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That's not what happens now.<br />
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Now they go to Google.<br />
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Unlike the Yellow Pages, though we customers don't just look for strangers in your line of work. We may look for a service in the area, but that's not where it ends. We may know of your business and look for a number or other details about what services you provide. But we'll also check out any other information about you that we can find.<br />
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If we know of you, and can't find anything about you online, that's a worry.<br />
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If we know of you and can't find anything useful about your business, that's a worry too.<br />
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If we know of you and can find information about you that isn't good then that's an even bigger worry.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<b>So what should a business do in the first instance to be showing well online?</b></h4>
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Start with your website.<br />
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Your website needs to be high on search when the people who can be your customers look for someone in y your location who provides the product or service that you provide.<br />
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Your website should have clear and easy to find contact details. Your phone number should be easily visible on the first page. Nobody wants to go hunting for basic contact numbers.<br />
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Your website should be easy to find out what you do and what you are good at.<br />
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Your website should make it easy for we customers to know if you can do what we need and how we can buy from you.<br />
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<h4>
Other Online Properties </h4>
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Linkedin<br />
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You should have a professional profile on Linkedin that shows your area of expertise and with a link back to your website. This helps you with search, and also provides peace of mind for those looking for you that you are a professional in your dealings and read any recommendations that you have from satisfied customers.<br />
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Google+ Local<br />
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For local businesses it is important to ensure that your Google+ Local profile is completed and your entry on Google Maps is updated and shows your business in a good light. Your Google+ Local profile also is where you can have customers who want to write you a review to put their recommendation. This is valuable in many ways as we trust those recommendations from people we know much more than any other kind.<br />
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Your Blog.<br />
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A blog is an excellent addition to your website and an easy way to update your articles and interesting information for customers and a sure way to show off your expertise in your specialty area. Connect this up with your website and you can use the articles in many different ways over a period of time. This is especially valuable when you add social media platforms for marketing.<br />
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Social Platforms<br />
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Facebook and Twitter and other social platforms can be a good way to connect with your customers and local network. Making the most from the social sites is the next step in increasing your visibility online and requires a strategy.<br />
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We are really talking about building your online base. This is like creating infrastructure and is a critical step in promoting your business online.<br />
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Long before you need to consider ROI on your online marketing, you need to build that infrastructure well, and have a platform from which you can launch a marketing strategy.<br />
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<h4>
<b><span style="color: #38761d;">Action</span></b></h4>
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<ol>
<li>Review what you are doing online already and what results you are getting. </li>
<li>Be honest as to the effort and resources that you need to commit to getting your business visible online. </li>
<li>Start to develop a strategy and steps to work through to cover off on the basics so that you are in good shape to then implement your next steps into social media marketing. </li>
</ol>
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Take care of the basics, and your online base will reward you into the years ahead.<br />
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If you need help with this you can contact me directly.<br />
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~ Lindy Asimus<br />
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-8198745566967079942014-08-30T19:07:00.000+10:002015-03-11T12:50:43.884+11:00How To Set Goals You Can Reach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrxRLjLxSlAoMHg3fHlXUTwqohsdlZDbi_4OxUHD3BWcTmLUvPCxja46zt1v9iHD5_GTVr5B3vBiq4FrbpCa8JKbp9mwN72U7ekOJDkg8WwvWbpLR6o_6kUksCjLKpC0YKnEAJwg/s1600/goals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrxRLjLxSlAoMHg3fHlXUTwqohsdlZDbi_4OxUHD3BWcTmLUvPCxja46zt1v9iHD5_GTVr5B3vBiq4FrbpCa8JKbp9mwN72U7ekOJDkg8WwvWbpLR6o_6kUksCjLKpC0YKnEAJwg/s200/goals.jpg" height="200" width="158" /></a></div>
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Setting goals is a common topic especially around each New Year but of course the best time to set goals and start making them happen is NOW. Learning how to set goals you can reach is vital.<br />
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<b><br />
Start With A Process </b><br />
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Have a process that will let you take the steps to help you achieve what you want. It seems odd but sometimes people set goals that they don’t want – because it will mean they have to give up something they won’t give up. And sometimes people set goals they achieve, without understanding that in getting that goal – they have put something else in jeopardy that they didn’t intend. <br />
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<br />
<b>Ecology Is Important. </b><br />
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Ecology isn’t just about conditions in the environment. Our personal ecology - internally and how that creates action in our external environment – is important to remember. Be very clear and remember, just as you learned in high school science class – actions have equal and opposite reactions. For example ... You get in control of your weight – that might not please an insecure partner who shows love by giving you food. <br />
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<b>Congruency</b><br />
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Your alignment between your stated ambitions and your personal actions need to be aligned. When you are congruent in your thoughts and actions, you are on target to achieve your ambitions. <br />
Get Your Unconscious Mind On The Job Too!<br />
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Congruency needs help from the less-than-conscious mind too. It is the You which breathes for you and goes on doing all the things on autopilot so you don’t have to worry about them happening on time. Help train your unconscious mind to track opportunities and keep you on target by telling it exactly what you want in line with your goals and a great way to do that is to write your goals and creating a mind map or visual representation too is an even bigger help. <br />
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<br />
<b>Put Your Goals Into Your Future</b><br />
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Take yourself forward to a time when you have achieved your goals. Picture what is happening in your life now that you have achieved them. What do you see, what do you feel, what has changed in your life now? What other things are you able to achieve beyond this now you have arrived here? Bring it to life in your imagination and feel it and see it and deepen the image and the feeling and you will know ‘when you get there’, and reach it next time for real. <br />
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<b>Get Accustomed To Delaying Gratification</b><br />
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If you want to lose 50 pounds and you want to eat that chocolate bar, then you have a choice. Which impulse is going to win? The one you want or the one that you don’t bother to shutdown and choose and just let “happen”? You may not know it, but you choose either way. If you choose the one you “don’t want” then guess what. You’re kidding yourself. Make up your mind. If you want to pile on more weight (or whatever self sabotaging behaviour you pick) you are entitled to do so. Just own it, and don’t be pleading for sympathy while you sabotage yourself. That short-term gratification is killing your chances of a gratifying life. But hey, it’s your choice. Going without can seem like a punishment. Here’s news. Submitting to every impulse to feel good for the moment is the real punishment. You are what you ate. You are right now, living in the sum total of all the decisions you’ve ever made. If you would like something different for your life then your actions have to be different. <br />
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<b><br />
Give Yourself Some Treats</b><br />
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Mark your progress with some treats to show for your good habits. Make a list of things you have not done that you’d like to do and make them a part of your routine as a reward. Maybe a hike somewhere that you like or a drive to somewhere you don’t often get to for a weekend away. <br />
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<b><br />
Plan Goals For All Parts Of Your Life </b><br />
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Setting goals for only part of life can leave us neglecting other areas that need to be in balance too. We can sometimes focus on just one thing, while we fail to see that other elements in our life are leaving us hungry for something we haven’t considered. <br />
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<i><b>Think about making goals for all these areas:</b></i><br />
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Health<br />
Relationships<br />
Career or Business<br />
Education<br />
Financial Wellbeing<br />
Spiritual<br />
Contribution<br />
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<b>Self Care</b><br />
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What would you like more of in these areas? What would you like less of? What actions might you be taking in all these areas that you’ve not spent time on thinking about, but would enrich your relationships and your life in general, both now, and in the medium and longer term. <br />
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<b>Summing Up</b><br />
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Remember ... we are all a work in progress. <br />
That’s a good thing. It means that we hold the key to the future that is most in line with what we’d really prefer. Knowing ourselves well, helps us know what that is. <br />
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If you have some thoughts you'd like to share please add your comment.<br />
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And if you'd like a copy of the worksheet to go with this post go <a href="http://www.box.net/shared/o5oms1ngof">here</a><br />
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<br />
<br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-set-goals-you-can-reach.html" target="_blank" title="Lindy Asimus business coach on goal setting">How To Set Goals - And Reach Them</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2011/08/social-media-marketing-dirty-secret.html" target="_blank" title="Lindy Asimus business coach article on social media secrets">The Dirty Secrets Business Needs To Know About Social Media</a><br />
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<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2010/07/building-your-mailing-list-for-business.html" target="_blank" title="business coach Lindy Asimus article on building a mailing list">Why You Need To Build Your Mailing List And How To Do It</a><br />
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<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/2010/07/building-your-mailing-list-for-business.html" target="" title="business coach Lindy Asimus article on getting your local business found online">How To Get Your Local Business Found Online</a><br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">What Would You Like To Improve Right Now?
Lindy Asimus
<a href="http://www.designbusinessengineering.com">Design Business Engineering - Business Coaching Services</a>
Download your free <a href="http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=51483">24 Page Action Plan Marketing Workbook!</a>
<a href="http://twitter.com/lindyasimus">Follow Lindy Asimus on Twitter</a>
Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-62002567554292300572014-08-28T14:03:00.000+10:002015-01-14T01:12:52.241+11:00Social Media Content Optimization Survey Results And What They Mean For You!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;"><b>Here's What Marketers Are REALLY Doing With Social Media!</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px;">Recently I retweeted a post with results of a survey done to measure business responses to issues around social media. The purpose of the survey, was to better understand which strategies marketers are currently using to optimize social media content (</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial; line-height: 23px;">and to gauge the effectiveness of these strategies) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Software Advice, a social CRM </span><a href="http://www.softwareadvice.com/crm/social-crm-comparison/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank">consultancy group</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">, partnered with Adobe to create the first-ever </span><a href="http://www.softwareadvice.com/crm/industryview/social-media-content-optimization-survey/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Social Media Content Optimization Survey</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">I thought this survey was worth looking at in a bit closer detail. When it comes to businesses using social media to promote what they do, we have a wide range of businesses from the micro-business working out of home to big businesses with fancy budgets and a whole team of people dedicated to running the social media marketing. Getting some insight into what other marketers are doing can give us a kind of benchmark to compare our own activities against and perhaps see some things we are not doing that could be beneficial to include. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;"><b>Planning Ahead Can Save Time On Social Media And Make Us More Efficient</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">While social media is not about broadcasting and does require an effort to engage with people, scheduling critical posts can be an effective way of getting the timing right and in effect, being 'in two places at once'. There are applications that can allow us to schedule posts and selectively send the right post to the appropriate platform. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">Some people push the same posts out to all platforms at once. Personally, I don't find that a good method since whenever I see that from someone I follow in different platforms, I do make a judgment about their judgment and it isn't usually favourable. Different platforms have different settings on what is appropriate. Sure that fun post on Facebook might be hilarious - but it might not be suitable for posting on Linkedin. Similarly, something just right for connections on Linkedin, might be just too dry for Facebook. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">Those using applications that show their branding on posts, just tell me the person is not spending time to post to me on that platform, so why should I spend my time to read the thing they didn't see worthwhile spending their time on to show me? </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 23px;">Nevertheless, by using it well, scheduling can mean that the most important (to us) posts - those we write ourselves or relate to an offer we are making, etc can be loaded up in advance and in a rotation that is getting those posts out there on time and letting us spend the time that we do have to be online, in a more social and sociable way, engaging and responding and sharing other quality information that makes our activity feed more interesting for those following, and not all about us. </span></span></div>
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Scheduling posts - how long before posting social media updates are posts set up on a schedule?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUcGl-w2vnVm8Ay6JmxFhinJfQo-IvTENV7PZFxgR47OoUPuu7BW4tjlk7fx0HPQSJg2oEqsoVLdabjKrVYuMCaV6xoUbr40zSyBaNBhrkr1_4lbkYv7nsTXcZ6XfjFdxd6hKSA/s1600/social-content-post-planning.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUcGl-w2vnVm8Ay6JmxFhinJfQo-IvTENV7PZFxgR47OoUPuu7BW4tjlk7fx0HPQSJg2oEqsoVLdabjKrVYuMCaV6xoUbr40zSyBaNBhrkr1_4lbkYv7nsTXcZ6XfjFdxd6hKSA/s1600/social-content-post-planning.png" height="184" width="320" /></a></div>
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Scheduling - how many posts scheduled in advance?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHzpJKV1JGgq6VFiBNYctrTdBpRK_EbGRXNWJjGJ9Rh7uqIzaoi2VLS0e0AsQVBN9UocHmg-m3swV8SzditkkVAqU-TVljxgpvVD_CR3w18exLjq_GbeGXK7owgp_yN7Wy6sO_ig/s1600/social-content-post-frequency.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHzpJKV1JGgq6VFiBNYctrTdBpRK_EbGRXNWJjGJ9Rh7uqIzaoi2VLS0e0AsQVBN9UocHmg-m3swV8SzditkkVAqU-TVljxgpvVD_CR3w18exLjq_GbeGXK7owgp_yN7Wy6sO_ig/s1600/social-content-post-frequency.png" height="184" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you can see very few are scheduling a month or longer ahead. To do that would require a paid application but essentially could be a good thing to consider doing. If you have a lot of evergreen posts - posts that are not time sensitive and provide some kind of useful information to the people you want to reach, by scheduling a month ahead you would be planning the order of posts and the spread of posts to incorporate all of those evergreen posts, so they all get an outing on a semi regular basis. That doesn't always happen if you are scheduling just a few days at a time.<br />
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Evergreen posts are worth mentioning, and are the lifeblood of your business blog. Evergreen posts will be the accumulated wisdom that you have to show and be a worthwhile body of work for readers to access who have an interest in your topic.<br />
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Here's the thing. We hope that people will interrupt their day to read our posts - so it is incumbent on us to make that time they give us, time well spent. Be known for writing quality posts that relate to what they promise in the headline. That way people <b><i>stay willing to click on your posts</i></b> - instead of being 'burned' by posts promising one thing and for the reader, clicking on the link, turning out to have been a waste of their time.<br />
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<b>What's The Purpose of Your Social Media Activity?</b><br />
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Why post to social media for your business? Goals for social media </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsVRwrpMOZR0f7pExy6DBbC1R7gpnre61_1tyU6Yuz36QsdPcZwZ5-mMXiQwEDFIvi5wrXAgRAiHJUExVM05eheon3IA60Gu4vDZq5vmyudYwOdhWsdjHYbiiKIAq27mZbNQPAPw/s1600/social-content-survey-goals.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsVRwrpMOZR0f7pExy6DBbC1R7gpnre61_1tyU6Yuz36QsdPcZwZ5-mMXiQwEDFIvi5wrXAgRAiHJUExVM05eheon3IA60Gu4vDZq5vmyudYwOdhWsdjHYbiiKIAq27mZbNQPAPw/s1600/social-content-survey-goals.png" height="268" width="320" /></a></div>
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Some people think posting to social media is all about leads. Leads are not sales and leads are not always the only or even most desirable thing to come from your activities on social media. Imagine you get leads and they are for some minor thing you sell, not the main product you want to sell. That's not what you want. Ultimately you want sales and to get sales you need credibility and visibility. So your content needs to work towards building credibility which leads to trust and to selling the thing you do want to sell. </div>
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<b><i>Social media marketing is like a good healthy approach to eating. Not a crash diet. </i></b></div>
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As you can see in this result, the marketers surveyed had a range of goals for their posting and activity, with a variety of results. We cannot tell from this why some experienced success while others didn't but it is reasonable to assume that it related to both the content, the context and perhaps how realistic the expectations were, of the marketers. </div>
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Posting a few low quality posts to social media platforms is not going to return any investment. You need to actually invest in the process before you can expect return. This is something that is often not well understood by business owners. Before you have an audience that loves your content and wants to share it and act on what you say ... you need to create the environment and build that group of followers - or you have nobody to see what you post anyway! </div>
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That takes time and investment. But here's the thing. Unlike all your advertising that stops playing once the TV or radio commercial is over, or the newspaper is out of date - your <b>social media footprint </b>has a life. It stays and grows over time and <b>when done right, it endures</b> and doesn't go stale. </div>
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<b>Types of Content Posted </b><br />
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Content posted to social media platforms, and perceived importance to marketers<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdxnvfl3lNE8xiahjaZbJxndnoPNx0N9sm8Y5LpC5CyGQlYbYVwL4tIN3LsJspvpmPq4mDYu-tyjhIgY9SO5wqtLD5qdJ95bELj8-gqfOYNyrwh4-sxEq4E4lpal3xN6Lhvej-A/s1600/social-content-survey-tactics.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdxnvfl3lNE8xiahjaZbJxndnoPNx0N9sm8Y5LpC5CyGQlYbYVwL4tIN3LsJspvpmPq4mDYu-tyjhIgY9SO5wqtLD5qdJ95bELj8-gqfOYNyrwh4-sxEq4E4lpal3xN6Lhvej-A/s1600/social-content-survey-tactics.png" height="208" width="320" /></a></div>
Some great hints here at the context and thinking that marketers have going on when composing their posts and HOW they will set them up. This is part of the process that business owners often don't appreciate. They see the post on their feed, but don't understand that it is a lot like the duck on the pond. It just looks like a duck calmly sitting on the pond but underneath, where you don't see, there is a lot of activity going on!<br />
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That's why 'learning as you go' can be the most expensive way to do social media for your business. Without that stuff you can't see... you will get nowhere.<br />
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Because we don't know what we don't know and when we start learning about social media marketing we don't know how much there is to know that is outside of our thinking. Business owners easily fall into the trap of thinking that because someone is young and post party pictures on Facebook that they also know how to market online. That's a costly fallacy to believe.<br />
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Importance of understanding how social works and testing what we think we know<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJ2Uw07w8ayucaJmpx_FxpE8tZwniJiZiN6SJvJhyphenhyphenpwn0YsfksUscGATK1o4xbu3ZKuXA4l8mamjIXPQh-oysW86zHfZUBSPnc0X1CPbLqidqwvZ7jXIfPEti9dyiycdPejPZnw/s1600/social-content-survey-time-to-post.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJ2Uw07w8ayucaJmpx_FxpE8tZwniJiZiN6SJvJhyphenhyphenpwn0YsfksUscGATK1o4xbu3ZKuXA4l8mamjIXPQh-oysW86zHfZUBSPnc0X1CPbLqidqwvZ7jXIfPEti9dyiycdPejPZnw/s1600/social-content-survey-time-to-post.png" height="166" width="320" /></a></div>
I would read this to say that the marketers undertaking the difficult and demanding issues around verifying what is happening and developing a scientific process to their marketing, are the ones who are doing it.<br />
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If you are not doing it then you're guessing. Guessing is usually not so useful in business as Knowing. That's how we learn and develop expertise in any subject.<br />
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<b>Is Social Media Just Too Hard For Business? </b><br />
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How hard is it for businesses posting to social media?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguIovfynvNNQD2iPdoHftO6z8lyg9xx4R-HmpEM6GysNE3rVy4yR1fg1y_9uwhbVej_46zJ-FAyVCpm9UldChVAJ6BvqreYgceDXZusqAvOrpF3h6yk8JEP73KdEKR4dN3kuv_vQ/s1600/social-optimization-difficulty-all.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguIovfynvNNQD2iPdoHftO6z8lyg9xx4R-HmpEM6GysNE3rVy4yR1fg1y_9uwhbVej_46zJ-FAyVCpm9UldChVAJ6BvqreYgceDXZusqAvOrpF3h6yk8JEP73KdEKR4dN3kuv_vQ/s1600/social-optimization-difficulty-all.png" height="78" width="320" /></a></div>
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The marketers who are finding social media relatively easy, could be those who fully understand what they are doing, why they are doing it and have the skills to put that all together to generate the right kind of quality content they know - because they have tested it - what works. </div>
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Or they could be posting cat meme pictures to Facebook and thinking that this is marketing... </div>
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The greater likelihood is that the other group of marketers who don't find it easy are like most businesses with no real plan for what they are doing and no way to gauge the usefulness of their activity. You know... Much like people still buying Yellow Pages ads for years without having been measuring any sales that result. </div>
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What's not in the statistics are those businesses - and there are many, many of them, who are not even online much less actively using social media. While that's the case it makes it much easier for businesses to get online and get that toehold on prime location on Google for what they do and where they do it. That's a fantastic opportunity at the moment, for anyone serious about making the best choices for their business.<br />
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<b>Social Media Marketing: There's A Tool For That! </b><br />
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Do people think tools make it easier for business to post to social media?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WUmTWqJTDzn5gFYQQvzUXlopDGZ4XzYmIMh8XxEsX1NAEzUFuCp437QcLO5VxZij6sTYu8aRp0hkd7gxOrb6a2JrTd_TP-ycY05BWoOmRTTW-ZwcY8jVAPszjYX2JUakzhk7HQ/s1600/social-optimization-difficulty-by-tools.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WUmTWqJTDzn5gFYQQvzUXlopDGZ4XzYmIMh8XxEsX1NAEzUFuCp437QcLO5VxZij6sTYu8aRp0hkd7gxOrb6a2JrTd_TP-ycY05BWoOmRTTW-ZwcY8jVAPszjYX2JUakzhk7HQ/s1600/social-optimization-difficulty-by-tools.png" height="100" width="320" /></a></div>
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We see here where those not using tools, underestimate the value of using tools with their social media and so are putting themselves under more stress and possibly spending more time for poorer results as a consequence. </div>
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For those using tools and still finding it difficult, they could be new to the tools, or more likely, have not been well trained in how to use them and how to gain a personal advantage by using them well. That's a common situation in too many businesses - owners will pay for the tool but fail to pay for the training so it can be used to do the thing the tool was bought to do. </div>
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<b>Who Is The Social Media Marketer In The Business?</b><br />
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Survey respondents do these jobs in their business<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_68Xw-QBc8f-KzwWD3mmbhmfja58LRBjISXgZA-VU0-BLjSbSys_GPijwE8Pp1yGNnp9QwEZsDG-rat8Uvt4AvxrwW7TWcpaBrCLaOPamltnLPZlDWbTziKrxFcVeufgOydQPyw/s1600/social-content-survey-respondent-titles.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_68Xw-QBc8f-KzwWD3mmbhmfja58LRBjISXgZA-VU0-BLjSbSys_GPijwE8Pp1yGNnp9QwEZsDG-rat8Uvt4AvxrwW7TWcpaBrCLaOPamltnLPZlDWbTziKrxFcVeufgOydQPyw/s1600/social-content-survey-respondent-titles.png" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
This is quite an interesting data set. We can't know but we might suspect that some of these Owners, Managers and Directors could be the same. Small business owners use these titles interchangeably, but those in corporate jobs are easier to spot.<br />
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Having a dedicated staff or contractors doing the bulk of the work for the business when it comes to managing social media makes a lot of sense. This should be in collaboration with the owner or director's goals and working closely to monitor performance, devising a strategy and testing and tweaking where necessary to improve results, consistent with the original purpose.<br />
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<b>The Real Purpose Of Social Media For Business</b><br />
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Social media marketing is - and should be - integral to the rest of the business and the outreach function for the business to draw in and engage with customers and encourage and make it easy for new customers to find the business. That's a full time job getting that right. The business owner, manager and director, or the C-Suite probably have other things they could be focusing on, that nobody else can be delegated to do for the business.<br />
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-46311335042227131392014-08-17T15:34:00.000+10:002015-04-12T17:05:06.869+10:00Are Your Business Advisors Telling You All You Need To Know To Keep You Safe?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Small business owners face many challenges when running their day-to-day operations.<br />
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Being profitable, of course, is the objective in delivering their goods and services and businesses have a range of costs associated with the running of that business.<br />
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Some expenses that businesses need to cover are easy to see - things like rent and plant and equipment, wages for employees, costs for utilities, fuel and vehicles etc. The list seems to go on and on.<br />
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These costs are a basic part of running a business. Other costs are less easy to see the value in but are necessary for the business to go. Insurances, professional fees, payments to advisors and external service providers, and marketing.<br />
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To look for ways to not spend the money on them would be like buying a car ... but not being willing to pay for fuel to make the car go.<br />
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What is often less well appreciated is the cost that businesses can face if they miss out on keeping their compliance obligations met and up-to-date.<br />
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While many businesses may have an attitude that desires the business to be a safe workplace, many small businesses particularly, are not well organised when it comes to documenting the procedures and policies they need to make a standard part of "how we work".<br />
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These procedures can seem like an unnecessary complication for businesses which don't have staff allocated or even the skills and time necessary to undertake this role. And very few businesses have even assigned set roles and responsibilities in a formal way, detailing all the tasks that are carried out in the business.<br />
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If there is no guide to tasks, it follows there is no procedure for them and no training standard for that task... no documented safety protocols for all the jobs that get done.<br />
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This is problematic in several ways.<br />
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Firstly, without accounting for every task, new staff can be left without a concise standard to use when carrying out their work. Which means that the owner of the business can be left dissatisfied with their performance.<br />
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These gaps in documented procedures mean that there is potential for gaps in training. That can lead to gaps in safety protocols being maintained. This lack of standard in how work gets done may go on without a problem for a long time. When they show up typically, is when there is an accident.<br />
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When that happens, the business faces two problems: The accident itself and all of the repercussions that flow from this; and no way to prove that the business was aware of and followed good safety practices.<br />
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Secondly the business can be exposed to financial penalties, increases in workers compensation costs and legal action from the person injured.<br />
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This is an issue that is as much risk management responsibility, as it is a potential threat to the profitability of the business,<br />
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Getting caught up in such an incident on the job can affect the bottom-line of the business, the reputation of the business and open up the business to months or years of disruption and stress for the business owner and the injured employee.<br />
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Another aspect of this lack of documented procedures and standards is that the business may be locked our of opportunities to bid for work that they could do profitably, but are unable to tender for because they don't meet the requirements for the job due to their lack of procedural documentation and systems for the workplace.<br />
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This can be a handbrake on the progress the business could be making and costing the business significant profit not realized.<br />
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<b>Advisors - Your Duty Of Care </b><br />
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One would hope that Accountants working with small businesses would be making clients aware of their obligations around these issues and reviewing the needs of the business regularly to ensure that they were not exposing the business to unnecessary risk.<br />
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Unfortunately this doesn't always happen.<br />
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For those who are working with small businesses part of our role should be to ensure that any issues we notice may not be happening in the business, should be made clear to the client. If the small business owner chooses to ignore that information then that is up to them, to accept that risk.<br />
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When we work with businesses and fail to communicate the issues that we see are a problem, we let our clients down. They often believe that if there is something amiss in the business, that their advisors will surely let them know. They are well entitled to think that would be the case. Sadly, it often is not.<br />
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If the client buys a website they should be able to assume that the website is capable of doing the thing they bought it to do. Many, many don't.<br />
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If the client has an accountant who sees that there is insufficient money being allocated for fundamental expenses, they would draw attention to this. Many, many don't.<br />
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Those professionals who do work with small business need to have a selection of good people around them who are committed to serving the client with all care and due diligence in their dealings and who can do what they profess to do, in getting the client into the best position possible for that area of their business.<br />
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Accountants can be directing small business clients to help with accessing industry standard procedures that can be customised for the business, help with promoting the business and providing good strategy for marketing, and so on and so forth, for all the different segments of the business.<br />
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<b>The Good News For Accountants Is Good News For Business Too</b><br />
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When working with businesses actively and showing the care and attention to detail that you would want in your own business, you become a value to the business, not a cost. And in so doing, assist your business clients to avoid unnecessary costs, be able to access good opportunities and grow the business in a sustainable way, while developing the business as an asset that is optimal for pricing when the time comes that they might want to sell.<br />
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Accountants - If you don't have a plan to make a strong network of associates to whom you can actively refer, then this is a good time to develop this as a strategy as part of your business plan. Just "anyone" won't do. Without driving it, that network just won't work. Hire someone to drive it for you as their primary objective.<br />
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Business owners - Review the service that you get from your business advisors and service providers. Are they proactive in letting you know what you need? Are they giving you the quality attention you need to make the best you can from your business?<br />
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We put our heart and soul into building a business - and our financial security too. That's a huge commitment and we need all the help we can get. Make sure you are surrounding yourself with service providers who take an interest in your success and the health of your business too.<br />
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Not all businesses work from the same ethical perspective. Some advisors just want to be in a transactional relationship with clients, just do the thing they do now and not stretch themselves to be of more value to clients. In the workforce, this is known as "presenteeism" - unlike absenteeism, the employee is at work, even if they are not doing much more than they absolutely have to, to keep their job. So too it is with service providers.<br />
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When you have identified your trusted advisors for your business, it is up to you as the business owner with the wellbeing of the business in mind, to listen to their advice and act on recommendations that keep your business safe. Whether that be safety procedures or other risk management issues, or business development processes.<br />
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We must choose the kind of business we want to work with, and the kind of business we want to either be... or become.<br />
<br />
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<i>Related posts</i><br />
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<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/your-reputation-is-another-asset-of.html" target="_blank">Our reputation online is our reputation - manage it. </a><br />
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<a href="http://huntersocial.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/good-news-and-bad-news-for-accountants.html" target="_blank">Good news and bad news for accountants</a><br />
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Like What You See?<a href="http://actionbites.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default">Subscribe To Posts</a></div>lindyasimushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00831813305006476734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27981922.post-78688834928365701282014-07-09T17:50:00.002+10:002015-04-12T17:06:01.635+10:00Your Reputation Is Another Asset Of Your Business. Manage It!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Way back I did a presentation on <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/lindyasimus/your-secret-business-asset" target="_blank">The Greatest Asset In Your Business</a> - an asset that is very often overlooked. It was about the customer database and of keeping in touch with customers. Many times this is the biggest asset a business has to leverage. Too often though, it is not treated as even an item - not configured within a marketing database that can be effectively used to generate more sales, with too little information saved that could be creating more sales, more referrals and higher profits for the company.<br />
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In the short time since I wrote that the world has changed and I would now give equal weight to an allied aspect of any business, which is reputation.<br />
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Nowadays, reputation is not just an issue relating to people who are familiar with your business, but can also be a factor that determines new business that you do - or won't - get. Yes, it is that important. Your business can be under discussion far and wide on social media channels online and offline too. Yet too many businesses have no way to know what is being said about them, be it good or bad. While other businesses are getting uplift - these businesses are not even in consideration. And every customer who wanted to complain but didn't say anything is saying plenty to their friends and network.<br />
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We like to think that we have control over what happens around communications about our business but in truth, that isn't always the case. It rarely is.<br />
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Many businesses are still not actively engaged online and for some there is a mistaken belief that not being active online somehow prevents anything "going wrong" for their business online. They can't make a mistake and say the wrong thing. They may believe that the business not being online means that others can't talk about it.<br />
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Of course that's not the case at all.<br />
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For any business using the internet to advantage their business, it is important - but not always the reality - to be well trained in the use of platforms and really understand the nuance of communicating effectively online and not just learning as you go along without guidance. Things can go pear-shaped rather quickly. How you get that training is another issue. To get proper training look for real engagement online. Don't be fooled by the advertising they are doing, or the poor quality posts they put online. Look for some personal expertise in their writing, not just banal auto posted quotes and cute pictures. Look for engagement and association with knowledgeable people in the industry.<br />
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For a business not using the internet to advantage their business, the chances are they are uninformed about the traps that they can still fall into, even though they are not participating online. In other words, they are not getting any benefit for the business by using the internet in their marketing - but can still be subjected to the downside risk.<br />
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<h4>
Things To Keep In Mind For Your Business In The Online Space</h4>
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Just because you are using the online networks to promote your business, does not mean that every comment on your page will be favourable. Learning how to manage potential friction online is important.<br />
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Posting topics on your Facebook or Twitter wall, is not a guarantee that everyone will either agree or like what you post.<br />
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There is a view that some business owners online seem to have that anyone commenting on their posts should only say something that agrees with them. That is not only unrealistic, it also shows a lack of understanding of how the online environment works in practice.<br />
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Some people are prone to posting hostile comments. Learning to deal with those situations is part of the training you need to have. Managing online communities is not a casual business and is a skilled ability. It seems easy enough when only your close friends and family are engaging but that's not what will always happen.<br />
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Other people may post comments that don't agree with your view. They may not be hostile but the unwary business owner or account manager may not know how to defuse that situation. Not agreeing is actually a potential starter for a good discussion on your page. While things are kept civil agreement does not always need to happen. Keep in mind that some platforms - the best ones - do not allow you to remove bad reviews but you can respond to them. This can actually work in your favour in the long run. It shows the reviews to be more 'real'. False reviews are also now illegal, which is something to keep in mind if you are tempted to game the system.<br />
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Our impulse can be to jump to a defensive posture and not really understand the comment, and assume it is hostile when this was not intended. Some delete comments and reviews they don't like. That's no way to run a business account on social media,.<br />
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Deleting comments we don't like. Attacking those who don't agree with us. These are just two ways not to be tempted to use when managing social media accounts. <br />
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<h4>
Monitoring Your Reputation Online </h4>
Knowing what is being said about the business online is part of managing a reputation for a business.<br />
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To know what is being said, alerts can help and monitoring your brand online is essential. Those deleting comments they don't like or even deleting their own business page (which happens!) is no protection and can make you and your business even more of a target for comments against you.<br />
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Just because you don't have a place online for people to complain about your business, does not mean that complaints can not be made on other platforms, websites and discussion groups.<br />
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It is all too easy to confuse social media for business with 'playing on Facebook'. Social media is the best opportunity business has ever had access to use to improve their reach for new business. It is not a game, and it requires a professional approach, a steady hand and respect as part of the essential operation divisions of the business.<br />
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<br />
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