The Results Company » Business Trends

IT Business Solutions Target Federal Deficit

julie — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:13:52 +0000

The Technology CEO council took to Washington this past week to bring IT business solutions proposals which might provide relief to the Federal Deficit. Samuel Palmisano (CEO, IBM) and Michael Dell (CEO, Dell) collaborated on a Politico.com opinion page last week that described how they propose to streamline and update the Federal Government with the same methods they have applied to their own companies, saving up to $1 trillion over the next decade. Here is an example of business working for America. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

Click here to read more.

Does Wi-Fi on Airplanes Mark the end of an era?

amy — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:54:07 +0000

With prohibited cell phone use and a lack of internet access, airplanes used to be the one place where we were truly forced to disconnect. Being on an airplane meant that no one could call you with last minute projects and you couldn’t be expected to respond to emails immediately. Even if for a few hours, all of your doors of communication were closed.

Southwest is about to join Delta, Virgin and American in kicking those doors open. Today they announced that they have outfitted 13 aircraft with Wi-Fi internet access and plan to add the service to more than 60 by the end of the year. Pricing has yet to be revealed, but it looks like being on an airplane will no longer be an excuse to disconnect. Be prepared to get some work done on your next flight!

Coworking spaces in NC

amy — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:34:18 +0000

I came across this blog post about coworking spaces in New York City recently. Co-working spaces are exactly what they sound like, shared work spaces. They are occupied by multiple companies so they can share resources. People can pay by the day or by the month and get internet access, office supplies, desks, chairs and access to conference rooms. Some offer mailing services as well. It’s ideal for start-ups and individuals working on their own. It saves money, encourages camaraderie and enables people with different professional backgrounds to solve problems. I was curious if there were any coworking spaces in NC and found several:

Carrboro Creative Coworking

Buena Space (located in Wilmington)

Lightbulb Coworking (located in Charlotte)

~~Surprisingly, there doesn’t appear to be a coworking space in Raleigh yet. This seems like a great idea for a local entrepreneur!~~

*EDIT 9/8*

There IS a coworking space in Raleigh that just opened up called Designbox! Click here for more info!

Social Media Users Are More Likely to Purchase and Promote

amy — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:33:45 +0000

A recent study by Chadwick Martin Bail and iModerate Research Technologies has found that consumers engaged in social media are more likely to purchase and promote products. Even more interesting is the fact that more and more people are expecting business to have some kind of digital presence whether it be Facebook or Twitter. With over 400 million users on Facebook, if your marketing department still hasn’t gotten into the social media game, now is the time.

One participant stated “It’s EXPECTED that a company have some digital face – whether it’s on FB or Twitter I don’t know – but they need a strong electronic presence or you doubt their relevance in today’s marketplace.”

Other participants echoed this sentiment, stating that companies without “digital faces” are seen as behind the times and not interested in their demographic. You can read more about the study here.

Show and Tell: Using Your Smartphone in an Elevator Pitch

amy — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:39:16 +0000

We’ve discussed elevator pitches on this blog before, but I recently read this eye-opening article on how smartphones are changing elevator pitches. Smartphones allow us to play videos , visit websites and look at documents. An elevator pitch is supposed to be quick and to the point, but it’s so valuable to have a means of putting our product on display. If you sell a product and have a smartphone, I strongly recommend creating a short video showing your product in action or even record a few customer testimonials. It will prove to be valuable when you can show rather than simply tell.

How Loss Aversion Affects Your Bottom Line

amy — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:29:09 +0000

Loss aversion is a psychological term for the human tendency to prefer avoiding a loss rather than acquiring a gain. This article uses an example of someone offering $100 with no strings attached or the chance to win $200 by betting on a coin flip. Most people choose to take the $100 with no strings attached rather than risk getting no money at all. The loss seems more substantial than the gain.

Unfortunately, this psychological phenomenon can lead to a lot of sunk costs, or costs that cannot be recovered in your business. For example, let’s say your company invested $5,000 in accounting software. The software has so many bugs that the company ends up spending another $10,000 in IT costs and training. Then, a manager finds better accounting software for $2,000. Loss aversion causes the company to stick with the faulty software because they have already sunk so much money into it. Though it would be worth $2,000 to get better software, they don’t want to add to the time and money already invested. As a result, your company throws more money at the problem rather than spending it on a new solution.

Simply being aware of loss aversion can prevent sunk costs. Be sure that your team is looking at the big picture when it comes to spending money. There are many books on the subject, but I recommend Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior.

A Matter of Trust

amy — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:08:28 +0000

A recent study by Ceridian – a large human resources provider, revealed that trust between employers and employees is deteriorating. Erosion of trust can cause loss of motivation and commitment to your company, so it is important to gain and maintain trust among your employees.

Be a Leader
Take the lead in spearheading projects, generating ideas and problem-solving. Your employees look to you as a leader in the field, so be the leader that they expect and need. Defend your team when necessary and let them know that you are on their side.

Listen
Listen to the employees on your team. They are much closer to the clients and deal with procedures a lot more often than you do. They may have insight into the likes and dislikes of the clients as well as ideas on making processes more efficient. Even if they present an idea that will not work, thank them for their efforts and don’t discourage them from speaking up in the future. Everyone likes to know that they have been heard.

Be Fair
Nothing will disintegrate a team faster than playing favorites. Treat your team members equally. Of course, dole out praises and criticisms when it’s appropriate, but avoid giving certain employees special treatment such as extra time off. This could cause resentment among team members and a loss of respect for you.

Distrust among employers and employees causes stress and will distract your team from their goals. Maintaining trust will not only make your workforce happier, they will perform their job better and help your business grow. Your employees will speak positive about the company putting it in a favorable light for PR and recruiting.

Cover Letter Advice

amy — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:48:30 +0000

With so few jobs out there, hiring managers are getting cover letters and resumes in record numbers. An original cover letter can make your application stand out. A hiring manager can be looking at hundreds of cover letters per day and they probably all start out in a similar way:

“Dear Hiring Manager,

Please accept this application for the administrative assistant job . . .”

Here are a few tips on writing cover letters:

Address the Hiring Manager by Name
Unless you are applying to blind ad, you probably know the name of the company. Using LinkedIn or making a couple of phone calls to get the name of the hiring manager can make your cover letter memorable to the hiring manager. Also, the fact that you took the time to find out the name of the hiring manager shows initiative.

Use Keywords
Many companies are working with a skeleton crew and you shouldn’t overlook the possibility that one person may simply be scanning over your cover letter, searching for certain important words. Look at the job description carefully and use the same words.

Follow the Instructions
Look carefully at the instructions given for how to apply for the job. Does it say to put certain words in the subject line if you are applying by email? Does it specify which kind of attachments you should use? Does it specifically say “No Phone Calls”? Not following specific instructions can cause your application to be lost, deleted or tossed aside.

Be Creative
Finally, make sure you aren’t using the same tired clichés in your cover letter. Cover letters can be boring to go through, especially if they all sound the same. Make sure they stand out! For advice on creative cover letters, check out this article.

New Business Card Trend: Quick Response Codes

amy — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:46:05 +0000

I recently read another article about how business cards are changing due to technology and found that people have started using Quick Response Codes (QR Codes) on their business cards. QR Codes are 2 dimensional codes that can be scanned using smartphone cameras to upload contact info, photos, MP3s and more. If you have a QR Code on your business card, someone with a smartphone can snap a picture of the code and scan it using a free QR Code scanning application such as QR by Grip’d. The QR Code will automatically put your info into their contacts, then you won’t have to worry about your business card getting lost or tossed aside. Your info is already in their phone.

You can see examples of business card with QR Codes as well as other new ideas on updating your business card in this article from Mashable.

Apple’s Foray into Mobile Marketing: iAd

amy — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:46:22 +0000

With all of the noise being made about Apple’s recent “Antennagate” fiasco, people may have overlooked Apple’s recent foray into mobile marketing with the iPhone OS 4: iAd. iAd, a mobile marketing service that works through iPhone’s applications. Like Google’s Adsense, the ads are targeting to specific users using location and interests based on what the customer has downloaded.

iAd is sure to be valuable tool for marketing. According to Apple, iPhone users have downloaded over five billion apps and spend at least 30 minutes a day using iPhone applications. iAd also offers metrics, which adds value to marketers seeking to measure their efforts.

For more information on how IAd will affect mobile marketing, check out this blog post from DMNews.