They were important questions, and robust answers would help bring each opportunity into sharper focus. And the group’s intentions were good — figure out which opportunity was the most attractive so that the company could direct its resources appropriately. |
The problem, though, is what follows “What about…” questions. The next step from almost any discussion like this one is to conduct further research. And, “What about…” questions never stop. Each answer generates questions whose answers lead to further questions. It could become infinite. |
Even if you do analyze your questions, frequently the analytical work, no matter how robust, proves wrong because of something that can’t be anticipated. To borrow a phrase from the great military strategist Helmuth von Moltke: “No business plan ever survived its first encounter with the market.” Read more at blogs.hbr.org |
The 2010 index indicates SMBs are beginning to see the benefits of cloud computing; more than 40 percent of the respondents that use hosted or cloud technology reported revenue rises of 30 percent or more compared with 90 percent of respondents not using hosted technology that saw decreases in revenue. The advantages of hosted or cloud technology are viewed as reduced cost and IT management and maintenance, as well as increased business value, productivity and competitiveness. |
Awareness of hosted services is increasing with 65 percent of SMBs using hosted software to some extent, while 73 percent of the remainder have considered it, compared with only 44 percent in the 2008 Index. |
SMBs are beginning to understand the value of “renting” IT as a service — 36 percent said a pay-as-you-go model would be attractive. Read more at www.microsoft.com |
Great article on state of mom and pop business
Where the independent pharmacist counted pills, we see a CVS employee. Where family livestock farms dotted the landscape, we see immense operations run by Smithfield and Tyson. Where the buttonmakers of New York and Los Angeles sold their wares, we see the imported products of Li & Fung. Where our community bank stood, we see Bank of America. Where the local grocer marketed local fruit, we see Wal-Mart. Where the local general-merchandise store stacked jeans, we see, well, Wal-Mart again.
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The dream of owning a successful small business is still alive in America and remains an essential part of our national self-image. But along the main streets and rural byways of the country today, in place of countless small businesses supporting millions of families in tens of thousands of communities, the banners of a few giant corporations now fly.
Read more at www.washingtonpost.com |
| Small business owners use social media to attract new customers: |
| 75% surveyed have a company page on a social networking site |
| 61% use social media for identifying and attracting new customers |
| 57% have built a network through a site like LinkedIn |
Also from the report, the SBSI found that nearly one out of five small business owners are actively using social media in their business. Small businesses are increasingly investing in social media applications, including blogs, Facebook® and LinkedIn® profiles. The biggest expectation small business owners have from social media is expanding external marketing and engagement, including identifying and attracting new customers, building brand awareness and staying engaged with customers. Sixty-one percent of the respondents indicated that they use social media to identify and attract new customers. Listen to a podcast on how small businesses are leveraging social media for customer engagement at http://bit.ly/JayEhret Read more at growsmartbusiness.com |
| Bolstered by Windows Vista’s travails and the advent of OS-neutral Web apps, the Mac is no doubt on the rise in business. Even IT pros have begun warming up to the Mac. After all, a business-class MacBook Pro costs the same as a business-class Windows PC, so there’s no cost disadvantage to buying Mac hardware. And I hear consistently from IT folks who manage both Macs and PCs that Mac hardware tends to fail less frequently than PCs do and that its OS is more stable than Windows, translating into lower internal IT support costs. (Apple’s support plans cost about $30 more per year than what a Dell, Lenovo, or HP charges, and they require you to bring a Mac in to an authorized repair shop, which can be an issue for IT when the Macs do have problems.)Read more at www.computerworld.com |
 Every year Edelman releases its Trust Barometer report (Executive Summary) to measure consumer confidence in business and, if we’re taking a cue from Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, identify the biggest ‘trust agents’ helping them to make their decisions. This year the findings are getting some people wondering about the overall impact on social media.
Read more at smallbiztrends.com |
Some organisations have chosen to integrate applications such as Twitter, LinkedIn and instant messaging into their daily corporate practices – but for others, the prospect of using such potentially unruly tools has led to them blocking their use. |
Research from Fulbright & Jaworski, the international law firm, supports this divided opinion – the firm’s annual Litigation Trends study* reveals that 52 per cent of UK organisations surveyed restrict access to Web 2.0 tools in the workplace. |
However, with information now widely acknowledged as the most valuable business currency – particularly during tough economic times – blocking Web 2.0 access could seriously damage an organisation’s competitive advantage. Read more at www.ft.com |
This is a well thought out post and good read | Trust in business has stabilized and is trending upward, with a substantial jump of 18 points in the US (from an all-time low of 36% in 2009 to 54% in 2010). Trust in business falls into three categories (High-Brazil, China, India, Indonesia-at 60-70%; Middle-Canada, Japan, US-at 50-59%; Low-France, Germany, Russia, UK, Korea, -at 35-49%). |
| Business tends to be more trusted than Government and less trusted than Non-Governmental organizations. Government trust has risen in the US (substantially), France and Germany, falling in Russia and mostly stable elsewhere. |
| NGO trust has jumped profoundly in China in the past six years, from 31% to 56%, a level comparable to that found in Western Europe, India and the US. About 70% of respondents trust a company more when it partners with an NGO on important social issues.Read more at www.edelman.com |
Creating a social media voice that works for your business  Being social –- and quirky -– is in California Tortilla’s DNA. SmartBrief editor Rebecca Pollack chatted with Marketing Director Stacey Kane to find out what goes on behind the scenes and how the restaurant makes sure its social media activities are anything but conventional.
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| California Tortilla is on Facebook and Twitter, and sends out “Taco Talk” e-newsletters. What advice do you have for complementing your actions across social networks? Read more at smartblogs.com |
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