Between product improvement, employee training and customer service you probably don’t have time to search for tips on how to improve your online presence.
Well, look no further you have found the place! Check out our how-to-guides, or (guest) post on the holy grail that is social media & online marketing.
Maeve on February 2nd 2012 in Work
Having a business strategy is very important whether you are a small, medium or large company. Part of this strategy must relate to IT, especially in today’s market.
IT support companies not only look after all your IT equipment, they support any software you have and are also responsible for your all-round online security from viruses. Having an efficient IT function looking after you will ensure that any interruptions in your services are swiftly taken care of.
All SME’s should at least consult with and IT support company, even if they cannot afford to proceed with on-going support from the off.
Choosing the right IT function to support your business is equally important. You need to consider the services that they offer, the costs involved, the levels of support that they offer, their reliability and their location in respect to your place of work.
Here are my top 5 tips on choosing the right IT support company for your SME …
1) Check the company’s location – Your IT support company’s location is the most critical factor in determining whether they are suitable for your business. Their location will dictate how fast they can respond to you if you urgently require an engineer to be onsite. Keep in mind that although their office may be based far away from yours, they may have mobile technicians that cover your area. Although onsite visits are rare nowadays, with programs such as LogMeIn and Team Viewer allowing many faults to be resolved remotely; computers, servers and printers do break and therefore sometimes an onsite visit will be needed.
2) Think about the market you are in – Do you use bespoke software? Do you work unusual hours? Choosing an IT function that has previous experience within a similar industry can save time explaining exactly what your business does and what support you need day to day.
3) Look at their current clients – Have a look at their client portfolio to see who they are working for and what those businesses do. If they don’t have testimonials on their website give them a call and ask if you can speak to some of their clients. Try to ensure that your IT support company fits you and your business. As an example; companies looking after large blue chip organisations might not be the right fit for you if you work alone, while someone who deals with micro enterprises might not be able to handle you if you have 20 remote employees.
4) Check out their services – Once you feel comfortable that they could be right for your needs; have an initial conversation with them regarding the services that they offer. Remember that every company has different needs depending on their size, budget and business activity. Do they really offer a package that suits you?
5) Read the small print – When the time is right to sign on the dotted line, be careful not to get locked into a lengthy or complex contract. What happens if your situation changes, will they accommodate you? The IT market is as crowded as any other so you can dictate flexible terms. After all, if your chosen provider is as good as they will promise they are; they should have not have an issue with this!
Of course price is a factor, but I didn’t think it should be one of the top 5 tips as only you know what you can afford and what you can’t. Having an IT support company is important, but not to the detriment of your business.
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Ben Weinberg: Technical Director, Prime Networks
Ben Weinberg has over 12 years’ industry experience, is a Microsoft Certified Professional and the co-founder and Technical Director of Prime Networks.
Prime Networks are a London based IT Support company who specialise in servicing businesses with 15-150 users. Their team of technicians support all aspects of IT, communication and technology for their clients. Ben believes IT systems should be reliable, support the businesses goals and deliver a real return on investment.
To find out how Prime Networks can help your business contact Ben on bweinberg@prime-networks.co.uk
archit on February 2nd 2012 in Work
Do you have a Social Media Strategy for your business? There is no point in jumping onto the Social Media bandwagon just because everyone else seems to be doing. Too many small businesses are opening up Twitter Account, LinkedIn Profiles and Facebook Pages without a clear idea of what they want to get out of Social Media.
One of the most precious resources for small business owners is time. If you don’t know what you want to get through using Social Media, you could be wasting your time.
Social Media can have a great impact on your business. Customers who engage on Social Media spend on average 20% to 40% more than customers who aren’t engaged. The average cost per lead generated by social media is less than those generated by traditional marketing methods. Yet, if you go into Social Media without a clear strategy, you could be spending a lot of time, doing the wrong activity in the wrong place.
Step 1: What is your biggest priority for your business?
For many small businesses, your priority will be to gain more awareness. More awareness will generate more sales, but your focus should be on generating awareness. Social Media is not free advertising space to bombard your readers with sales pitches and marketing messages. Most small business will achieve greater success by not selling directly, but by paying attention to what their customers want and giving it to them.
Step 2: Have a clear idea of what your business is about
There is no point in in embarking on Social Media if you haven’t got the fundamentals of branding your business sorted. And branding doesn’t mean having a fancy logo. Can you explain clearly to a stranger what your business is about in 1 sentence?
At a networking meeting, you get a minute or two to introduce your business. Have you sometimes been puzzled about what someone does even after they have spent a minute talking about their business? Using Social Media, you only get 120-160 characters!!
That is how many characters you get in a LinkedIn Headline or your Twitter bio.
Your headline or bio may be the only thing people ever know about you and they might decide whether they follow you or not or look at your Profile based on those few words.
How clear are you about who you are, who you help and how you help them? If you can’t express it clearly, how do you expect other people to know?
Step 3: Know your audience
Who are you ideal customers and where are they hanging out? There is no point in using LinkedIn if your customers are hanging out on Facebook, just because you are comfortable using the platform.
Knowing who your customers are and doing some research into which Social Media platforms they are most likely to use, will save you time in the long run. If you have a very niche product, your customers may be hanging out in a particular forum or LinkedIn Group. It is worth finding out where they are likely to be. You need to be where your customers are. Your aim should be to build a quality network of the right people for your business.
Step 4: Know what you want to achieve through Social Media
Step 5: Commit the time and take action
To be successful on Social Media, you need to be consistent. Social Media is a marathon not a sprint, little and often will pay higher dividends than a burst of activity and then nothing. If you consider that Social Media can be a marketing , public relations and customer relationship tool for your business , isn’t it worth committing time to doing it well? I suggest to people that I am working with to commit at least fifteen minutes a day. Most people can find fifteen minutes a day if they believe it is important. Make Social Media your daily habit.
It is always worthwhile to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?
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Nicky Kriel: Social media coach, trainer and speaker
www.nickykriel.com
www.nickykriel.com/blog
Nicky Kriel, Guildford’s Social Media Queen, is passionate about empowering small business owners to use Social Media to grow their business. Her background is in Marketing and Sales and she is a Master NLP Practitioner. As a Communication Coach, she helps people remember the “Social” aspect of Social Networking: It is not all about tools and technology, but about people and human relations. Aside from her private coaching clients, she runs Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook workshops for business owners and bespoke courses for SMEs. Nicky really enjoys helping business owners to level the playing field by harnessing the power of social media.
Like her Social Media for Newbies Page on Facebook and follow @Nickykriel on twitter
archit on January 18th 2012 in Work
Video not only increases your visibility on Google and aids overall engagement but it’s a great way to tell your story and connect with potential customers. Courtesy of yourBusinessChannel, listen to top industry experts including Mishcon de Reya, Cisco and Comedy Central featured viral video expert Tim Washer here:
After watching the above it will have become clear that online video is not something to be missing out on nowadays! read more »
Guest Blogger on October 27th 2011 in Work
These days, it’s common knowledge that running a successful business requires having an active online presence. Regularly updating a business website, writing a company blog and running social media networks are now seen as an everyday part of an effective marketing strategy, one which combines both online and offline brand promotion.
However there is a huge difference between running a website, and running a successful one. It’s a bit more complicated than throwing keywords onto a webpage and hoping your site will appear at the top of the Google list. One term small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to be familiar with when working online is search engine optimisation or SEO. read more »
Guest Blogger on October 27th 2011 in Work
