A Keynote Speaker

7 Ways to Win Back Customers

Scott — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:17:11 +0000

Even your best salesmanship, customer service, friendly attitude and attention to detail will not have every customer coming back to you. There will be incidents where a customer is dissatisfied and no longer makes purchases.

However, they may not be gone forever. In fact, sometimes a customer who goes away because something bad happened may return if the incident is rectified, and the party in question is reengaged in the right manner. Whether the loss occurred due to poor customer service or clients disappeared for no apparent reason, as business speakers and industry experts often note, don’t write prospects off just yet – in many cases, you can get these old customers back.

A study done by Marketing Metrics says you have a 20-40% chance of winning back an ex-customer and a 5-20% chance of turning a prospect into a customer. Therefore, lost customers have more value than stone cold prospects. What follows are seven different methods of getting old customers back. While they may not always work, bringing a loyal customer back into the fold means you have more products that can be purchased, as well as someone telling their friends to try your business.

Call them and Ask “What Happened?”

Quite often, the direct approach is best if that customer was lost because of poor customer service. Remember to be polite, up-front and start off by asking them what turned them off of your business. Although this method may seem rather blunt, one of the biggest issues that turn customers off is the lack of direct communication with the owner or someone who can fix the situation. For example, American Express marketing employee, Lois Geller created a new customer acquisition campaign for a client who had lost 3,700 customer companies. She had their staff get on the phone, and within a few weeks, gained back half of these lost customers. Geller said it would have taken that client a few years, and a lot more money, to gain that many new customers had it not been proactive.

Offer a Special Discount

It may not be practical to offer deals to all of your lost customers, but send the most important ones a discount certificate or a special gift along with your personal letter. In an age of impersonal mass marketing, it’s impossible to overestimate the positive impact that your individual attention and appreciation of their business can make. Through your regular social media channels or email postings, send your most important customers a direct offer that is exclusive to them. For an email, they should see that you sent it to no one else. Such an offer just might be the trick to get them to come back.

Remind Them of the Benefits Your Business Offers

You can also send lost customers a message reminding them of the benefits your company offers today and – most importantly – how you can help them going forward. A gentle reminder of how your company provides much-needed products or services, and is actively working every day to create more value for customers, could be just the thing to jolt them back into making more purchases.

Write a Letter

If a customer has disappeared for no apparent reason, write them a personal letter and send it via snail mail. Be sure that the envelope has a handwritten address so that it doesn’t appear like a typical sales letter. In your letter, offer them a reason why they should try your business again and be sure to follow it up with an email or two – in many cases, a personal touch is all it takes to bridge a seemingly insurmountable communications gap. Geller recommends using snail mail comminuqes because they look and feel more important. You can also back them up with e-mail efforts and perhaps a special Web landing page – but the email, subject line and supporting promotions need to appear highly individualized and personalized, so as not to give the impression of a form letter.

Refer Business to Them

If the customer you lose is in business themselves, consider referring new contacts and or business to them as if they were still your loyal customer. Such an offer will remind them of the appreciation and respect you have for their business and their worth as a customer. Ultimately, this helps trigger their memory about why your company was a valuable partner and asset to their own business, and keeps your brand top of mind. No matter your line of work, whether you’re an accountant, attorney, mechanic, marketing guru or business speaker, cultivating a strong network of referrals creates a virtuous cycle that can benefit all involved.

Provide Access to Special Programs

What win-back offers tend to best entice which audiences? Is a lapsed customer that received special favors and gifts in the past best motivated by a price advantage coupled with special treatment? Testing various offers is key to finding out, as it enables you to understand which factors influence customers to return. If you have a new product or service, consider incorporating them into tests as well. Market your new product with exclusive advance access, special discount promotions and other offers around it and see if customers react. Give customers the chance to provide feedback and respond, refining campaigns as you go – you may be surprised who reengages along the way.

Reinforce Positive Decisions

Research shows that a lost customer’s decision to reinitiate a relationship after a long lapse can result in more discord than it does for those who reinitiate after a shorter lapse. The way a lost customer who comes back handles this dissonance is to engage in post-decision processing that reinforces the new decision that has been made. Knowing this, for customers who do return, it’s important to provide ample messaging and insight that communicates why the decision to return was a sound one. After all, reinstating interaction isn’t just about reengaging customers or reigniting interest in your business – it’s also about building trust, creating positive relationships, and reminding others why it’s a great idea to keep coming back.

SHARE YOUR BUSINESS & CAREER SUCCESS STORIES!

Scott — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:20:42 +0000

Have you ever taken bold risks in your career and succeeded despite the odds?
Overcome professional challenges that once seemed impossible?
Stepped outside your comfort zone to build skills, contacts and opportunities that proved invaluable in business?

HELP OTHERS BE BRAVE AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

SHARE YOUR STORY NOW!

We’re compiling a collection of stories showing how working professionals just like you daringly set aside worries and reservations to create lasting change in their careers and organizations.

TELL US:

How did you succeed and overcome fear to triumph in your career or business?
Why was change necessary?
What made you willing to take risks?
How has doing so changed your professional and personal life?
What can others learn from your example?

Stories will be featured in Influencer Magazine, across social media channels, and throughout a number of new publications. We want to highlight your accomplishments, your organizations and the positive impact you’ve made today.

HELP OTHERS SUCCEED – TELL YOUR STORY.

CONTACT US TODAY!

Inbound Marketing: 5 Mistakes to Avoid

Scott — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 01:43:03 +0000

Inbound marketing is one of the most powerful tools for generating sales today. However this technique – also closely-associated with related forms of promotion such as content marketing and permission marketing – is only as effective as how well it is strategized and performed. All too often, businesses make critical mistakes in crafting and executing supporting programs. What follows are generally considered to be the five biggest mistakes that business make when either creating or executing their outreach strategy.

No Sound Inbound Marketing Plan

“Focus on the core problem your business solves and put out lots of content and enthusiasm, and ideas about how to solve that problem.” – Laura Fitton

Not having a clear idea of what your objectives are before starting an inbound campaign dooms the project from the start. Basically, if you don’t know what results you hope to drive, then you’ll never achieve them. While it may sound rather rigid and time-consuming to formulate a sound marketing strategy first, it is akin to penning a script for a play or movie – it provides a supporting structure that precisely choreographs where you want programs to go. Without going to the trouble to provide prior foundation in the form a solid strategic plan, then programs are unlikely to yield desired results due to a lack of focus. In other words, it’s hard to hit your target when you don’t take the time to aim first.

Lack of Coordination with Alternate Strategies

“You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give it to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.” – Steve Jobs

While inbound programs operating on a different principle than outbound marketing methods, there still needs to be close coordination between the two in order to achieve maximum effectiveness. One fine example is adding a call to action within outbound advertisements – i.e. banner, print or pre-roll ads – that helps drive audiences to dedicated landing pages where more content (e.g. articles, videos and podcasts) can be found and consumed. In essence, this doubles up efforts to pull more people to the website, and stick around once they’ve visited.

Ignoring Consumer Feedback and Analytics

“If you have more money than brains, you should focus on outbound marketing. If you have more brains than money, you focus on inbound marketing.” – Guy Kawasaki

Numbers and metrics are at the heart of the inbound strategy, and should be tracked and responded to routinely. This means that there needs to be key performance indicators (KPIs) in place for your products or services that the inbound marketing plan is focused on meeting. Expectations may include boosting figures or close rates with regard to lead generation, website traffic and sales, and content mapped to best boost these results – ignoring the numbers or failing to respond to customer feedback properly will lead to failure. Clients who use inbound marketing services are looking for clear evidence of their effectiveness such as increased website traffic, rates of conversion, and more leads and sales. Benchmarks need to be noted, and performance results of both overarching initiatives and specific pieces of content tracked to determine whether this particular strategy is working.

Trusting Software to Handle Everything

While there are many wonderful inbound marketing software solutions, even the best tools come with limitations. For example, blogs that use the most advanced traffic- and engagement-generating tools will still have to come up with article topics, create original videos and engage in social media promotions efforts of their own. There is only so much inbound marketing software can do – a human element is also present in these promotions. Those who choose to utilize them should be aware of associated commitments.

Not Staying Current with New Trends

If there is any truth to all forms of marketing and advertising, it is that everything can change on a dime. Sound, proven methods of reaching customers can flip around due to changes in Google algorithms, the rise of fresh technologies and trends, growing emphasis on new social media platforms, and other disruptors. Inbound marketing can be quite complex, but by establishing a strong plan, keeping an eye on the numbers, staying up to date with the times, and coordinating programs to best integrate with other supporting strategies, you can build powerful platforms that drive long-term profits and growth.

Best Free Online Education Sites and Services

Scott — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:05:45 +0000

Like free online learning services, massive open online courses (MOOCs) are among the hottest new trends sweeping schools, colleges and education today. Technology tools that allow students of all ages – even adults – to access classes and lessons via the Internet, all are set to revolutionize learning by providing widespread access to courses from prestigious worldwide institutes.

As the following 20 ways to enjoy MOOCs and free learning options illustrate, it’s now possible for nearly anyone, anywhere to enjoy courses created by top experts. Contributors include professors from prestigious universities such as Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Duke, Vanderbilt, Rice, Columbia, Washington University and more. Admittedly, there are still kinks to be worked out – e.g. whether or not, and how, to allow formal educational credit for participation. But while their ability to convey degrees or compound school curriculums remains yet to be determined, it also means virtually all are currently available free of charge.

In other words, don’t expect to get your MBA by watching a few videos on the Internet. But for those who enjoy a passion for learning vs. those looking to simply accumulate course credit, MOOCs provide an amazing way to learn from the country’s best at zero cost. Think of the opportunity as similar to being able to audit a class in college – only now you can do so wherever you have a laptop or tablet PC handy. Here’s a look at several of the best websites, services and solutions that can help you tap into the benefits these online lectures and lessons offer.

Alison – Alison (Advanced Learning Interactive Systems Online) touts itself as the world’s leading free online resource for basic and essential workplace skills. In addition to free MOOCs, the service also offers paid courses that provide certification.

Carnegie Mellon - Through its open learning initiative, Carnegie Mellon University currently directly offers nearly two dozen courses, ranging from lessons in elementary Spanish to classes on Anatomy & Physiology.

Canvas Network – With an easy to understand interface including a checklist of course requirements and expectations, Canvas Network provides a beginner-friendly option for those looking to explore Internet-based learning. Canvas is built on an educational platform created by a company called Instructure that was originally used for smaller-scale, private lessons, but has since been expanded to include MOOCs.

Coursera – Among current leaders in the field of MOOCs, Coursera features an extensive catalog of classes and lectures from top colleges around the world. It currently partners with more than 60 international universities to offer hundreds of online courses, and claims to emphasize only high-quality programming.

CourseSites – If you’re a teacher or a member of an educational institute looking to share your classes or lessons online, popular service Blackboard’s CourseSites offers a place where teachers can post course materials, communicate with students, encourage collaboration, monitor pupils’ performance, and manage grading.

Curricki – Curricki is aimed at teachers, parents and kids in grades K-12, offering learning ideas and resources from around the world. The site boasts millions of users, and lists MOOCs as just one of many available options for users.

EdX – EdX is a non-profit undertaking started by Harvard and Stanford that has since extended its reach to include courses from top Canadian universities as well as schools such as UC-Berkeley, Rice and Georgetown. Each course is designed to be an interactive online experience to help better educate and inform students.

iTunesU – Anyone that’s bought an iPhone or iPad over the past year already has access to thousands of online courses thanks to the iTunes U app. Although a primary part of the service’s design helps teachers create and manage private courses with students, these classes and lesson plans can also be shared more broadly across the iTunesU network, creating what Apple calls the world’s largest collection of online courses.

Open Learning – This global platform seeks to combine the social elements of Facebook with the user-generated contributions of Wikipedia to create a unique community and gathering where online learning solutions, including MOOCs, can thrive.

Open Learn – As one of the UK’s leading resources for nearly every kind of mass learning solution available, Open University offers its Open Learn program of MOOCs and Internet-based courses to students from anywhere around the world.

Open Yale Courses – Ever wanted to know what it was like to go to Yale? Through its dedicated site, the school offers a variety of courses which include a full set of class lectures as high-quality videos accompanied by suggested reading, exams, and problem sets. These lectures are available as downloads, with audio-only versions also provided, as are searchable transcripts of each lecture.

P2P University – Peer to Peer University offers a chance for community members to create and collaborate on any number of different online educational undertakings on a variety of different topics.

SyMynd – Offering numerous courses from prestigious and accredited universities around the county like Washington University in St. Louis, New York University, Stanford, McGill and more, you can register to enjoy various programs from this online learning provider.

Udacity – Udacity was started after two professors from Stanford offered a course online and more than 150,000 enrolled, offering an extensive list of free classes that can be completed based on your individual schedule. When a course is finished, there are even final exams and testing locations available to help you receive certificate completion.

Udemy – Udemy allows experts to create and share online courses, usually without any formal accreditation or affiliation – in other words, you don’t have to be a formal teacher or instructor to create your own classes. What these MOOCs may lack in prestige, they often make up for in usefulness.

University of the People – This online site calls itself the tuition-free online university, offering programs on a broad range of topics and interest areas, but does charge a one-time processing fee of $50 and a per-course exam fee of $100.

WikiEducator – WikiEducator is a source for many kinds of online learning content, includes MOOCs and more.

MOOC Aggregators

Class Central – Instead of visiting each of the above sites individually, an aggregator like Class Central may help you expedite learning, providing listings and links to classes available from many of the previously listed resources.

MOOC List – Similarly, this one-stop site also collects information from various providers so that you can quickly skim offerings available from multiple services in a single spot, maximizing convenience.

7 Ways to Become a Subject Matter Expert

Scott — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 08:00:14 +0000

Creating a reputation as a subject matter expert in a specific area is both simple and difficult. On the one hand, some say it takes 10,000 hours of study and hands-on experience to become an authority in any given field. On the other, others would argue that all it takes is a little marketing and social media savvy, so long as you’ve got something unique, insightful and important to say.

Astute observers will often note that in the age of disruptive innovation, leaders often boast only two defining qualities – the ability to solve problems and create results. Happily, there’s always room for the ranks to be swelled. Read the books, taken the classes, and watched all the video clips, and feel you’ve got something relevant and singular to add to the conversation? Here are seven ways to establish yourself as a thought leader online, share your knowledge, and let the world know you’re someone worth paying attention to – all of which can help you shave a few zeroes off the time it takes to enter the ranks of the elite.

Publish a Book – Writing and marketing an eBook is a beneficial way to demonstrate your talents, establish credibility in any given topic, and generate interest and awareness. Nor does it have to be a strenuous one: Thanks to the rise of Kindle Singles, short-form works and free giveaways, the average size of these volumes is rapidly shrinking, with some reaching just 20-30 pages in length. Can’t seem to find the time to pen original volumes? Many authors simply anthologize or republish preexisting articles or blog posts into digital or print-on-demand works using services like Lulu, SmashWords and CreateSpace, while services like Hyperink will actually assign journalists to write the work for you. Simply choose your topic du jour, create a title that contains popular search engine keywords, submit it to iTunes, Amazon, Kobo and various self-publishing solutions (total time typically clocks in at under 15 minutes per platform) and you’re off to the races.

Start a Podcast – Dream of starting your own radio or TV show? Podcasting’s just a fancy word for recording audio or video programs and uploading them for sharing onto the Internet. All you need to get started: A smartphone or audio/video recorder, many of which are perfectly capable of taping crisp video dictation or capturing high-definition film clips. A great solution for do-it-yourself aficionados, segments can quickly be recorded and distributed with only an Internet connection and some inexpensive AV equipment. Once you’ve recorded your first few sessions, try sharing them through online aggregators, and promoting them on your website, blog, social media channels and via email – whether you aim for 3 minutes or 30 in length, segments are easy to download, consume, and share at audiences’ leisure. Trade secret: All let you create concise, yet engaging clips that are great for showcasing organizations’ and individuals’ personality – and, since they’re designed for short-form consumption, can often be recorded or filmed in cost-effective batches.

Host a Webinar – Looking to educate audiences, providing teaching and training, or boost awareness for various topics? Webinars let you cram in all the ideas, content and insights viewers would get from learning seminars while eliminating geographical and financial barriers that would prevent them from attending. Since webinars can be cost-effectively produced and streamed online, as well as recorded for later archiving and republishing, they provide a uniquely efficient way to connect with customers. Best of all, they can be attended by anyone, anywhere, whether at home or the office, and provide fans a chance to engage with you directly.

Write a Whitepaper – A white paper is persuasive report or guide from a reputable source designed to educate and inform readers about an issue, give them the information they need to solve problems, or provide the expert learning required to help facilitate better decisions. Usually five pages in length, a white paper is not a direct sales pitch, but rather offers information, ideas and insights designed to deliver audiences with valuable information that can help them craft better solutions. As a marketing tool, these documents often present facts and logical arguments that build a favorable case for the sponsoring company. There are three distinct types of white papers starting with the backgrounder, which explains the benefits of a certain vendor’s product and services. Problem- and solution-oriented white papers, on the other hand, recommend new answers to problems, while a numbered list white paper contains a set of points, questions or tips about certain business issues.

Create an Online Newsletter – Dozens of online email marketing services such as ConstantContact, AWeber and MadMimi let you craft custom communications solutions or draw upon template designs to build unique digital mailers and newsletters. Using these tools can help you provide a one-stop source for information on issues concerning various topics and fields, and establish a regular pattern of communication with readers. Not only do they provide a handy and cost-effective way to compile a variety of thoughts and insights in one single solution, but also curate and aggregate content of importance to your audience. Bearing this in mind, many of the most successful may even contain little original writing – they simply serve as a one-stop shop for the latest details on new topics and trends that save readers the time of separately hunting down each story.

Become a Curator or Connector – There’s an entire community of millions of individuals just waiting to be entertained and informed online – if only someone can help them sift through all the pointless white noise. Thousands of articles, videos and announcements are competing for audiences’ attention daily: Helping them filter out the chaff by serving as a trusted source and aggregator for news, information and opinions presents an opportunity for you to become not only a valued curator, but also powerful connector. Want to quickly gain visibility? Pick a topic that matches your areas of interest, reach out to supporting audiences, and begin sharing links, posts, videos, photos, podcasts and more of pressing interest. Likewise, consider starting your own groups, communities and forums online, where like-minded individuals can congregate and share opinions – all, of course, under your sage oversight and aegis.

Speak Out and Be Heard – Volunteering to speak at conferences, industry events, and other public engagements can help you promote your name and brand as a recognized thought leader. Getting in front of key influencers in the industry and its supporting community consistently not only boosts empathy and awareness. It also lets you put a personal face on your brand, showcase your singular talents and helps prospective clients better comprehend the expertise you bring and values you stand for. The trick in both the online and virtual worlds is to become a trusted, welcome presence that travels wherever your audience goes, and consistently be demonstrating singular insight and worth.

How to Connect with Online Influencers

Scott — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:00:02 +0000

Online influencers consist of the industry lovers, brand believers and avid followers of your business’ products and services. They can easily be detected through their interaction with your brand’s content via comments, links and shares. Because they value what you’re selling, acknowledge you as a credible source of information, and recognize the value you bring to the marketplace, they can ultimately aid others in discovering the benefits of becoming your customer.

Therefore, identifying these key influencers is a paramount, yet straightforward process. First, locate who’s mentioning your brand through social media, blogs, forums, message boards and other websites. Through the power of word-of-mouth online marketing, engaging with these possible customers will reap more benefits than just monitoring their activity.

Next, make a list of those who are constantly sharing and talking about your brand, as well as those who show the most passion. Reach out to them to find out what they value most, what types of content they enjoy, and what they dislike. Services like PeerIndex and Klout help to make locating them easier. Once you’ve found your influencers, it is essential to begin motivating them. Here are five basic ways to encourage influencers to build buzz about your business.

1. Show Appreciation

Be sure to value your customer base at all times. Express genuine care for your influencers by sharing their comments, offering praise and acknowledging their contributions. Be specific about why you think a particular influencer’s comment was valuable, while offering a little bit of extra insight to show that you’re listening. Give a shout out by tagging or tweeting local customers on social media sites. If you are connected on LinkedIn, write a recommendation or endorse their skills. Be the first person to recommend and write about their contributions. Bloggers also love the extra publicity of being added to blog rolls and having their comments and links shared. Plus, nothing gets more attention than kind words and sincere thanks.

2. Offer Something Special

People love a good bargain or promotion and luckily, they are terrific tools in driving revenue and increasing your customer base. Offering unique campaigns or exclusive offers are cost-effective ways to keep your influencers’ attention. They will not only enjoy taking advantage of such special opportunities, but will also remember you for offering them. According to the Small Business Administration, an excellent way to do this is making promotions available exclusively via your social media sites. Large retailers such as Macy’s and Target sometimes offer coupon codes and offers only to their Facebook fans. If your influencers “like” or share these offers, they make your promotion visible to their friends, which will ultimately bring more visitors to your site. Some businesses offer in-store free samples in order to bring customers inside, while others give invitations to industry events. Any of these methods are great ways to provide special services to your influencers.

3. Ask for Opinions

Obtaining customer feedback is an important part of making your business better. The Forum of Private Business suggests including comment cards at the point of sale, sending feedback forms with every purchase, and providing online survey links to all customers. Setting up exclusive test panels or performing consumer studies are additional methods for online influencers to share their thoughts and opinions about your products or services. Oftentimes, consumers relish the chance to feel important, so asking for their opinion is a great way to strengthen your relationship and make them feel valued and understood. In addition, their comments or criticism will give you the information you need to make your services better.

4. Build a Real Relationship

It’s easy to reach out to influencers when you have something to promote. However, by doing so, you’re simply creating a transaction instead of an actual relationship. Chris Brogan, bestselling author of The Impact Equation, advocates talking with your influencers about their interests long before you mention your company. Show that you’re interested in them even when you aren’t endorsing something. Make comments on their new activity posts, share their videos, or invite them to an industry event. Brogan suggests asking new customers if you can follow them on Twitter and suggest they “like” your Facebook page. Invite them to communicate with you through these outposts. To make your gratitude even more personal, reach out privately through email or telephone. During this time, you could also ask if you can add them to your press list so they can receive information on continual basis.

5. Give them VIP Treatment

Add loyalty programs to your company that will pleasantly surprise your best customers from time to time. Offer them a free product or service with their next online purchase. Send free merchandise that promotes your brand – just because. If you receive a great review from an online influencer, feature them on your website, newsletter, or blog. Give your top consumers their 15 minutes of fame by writing up a feature story about them and why they love your product or services. Internet marketer Lynne Saarte gives a unique example of a yogurt company that allowed their clients to “adopt a cow,” which encouraged frequent purchases while providing education and information to children consumers. This process made them feel like they were the real owner of their specific cow who produced milk for the yogurt company. Sales increased and the company received publicity from their VIP treatment. Overall, making your influencers feel very important will maintain their allegiance to your business.

Since you know your influencers already love your merchandise and/or services, giving them the recognition and deals they deserve is imperative in maintaining their loyalty. If consumers are happy, they will reach out to their friends, online and off, to share their excitement. Continue to motivate them on a regular basis by following the above suggestions. Your business will appreciate the results.

Why Digital Learning Matters

Scott — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 08:00:23 +0000

In case you haven’t figured it out already, you need to take everything you know about what school was like when you were a kid and throw it out the window. If the fact that nearly every child these days is individually dropped off and picked up by their parents hasn’t already alerted you to the fact that it’s a different world, well… Let’s just say the growing emergence of schools which have official policies surrounding high-tech concerns like smartphone usage, cyberbullying and social networks should rapidly clue you in that the rules today are different.

Knowing that it’s a brave, new world out there, despite the much-publicized dangers that technology reportedly poses to today’s youth (often unaccompanied by balanced discussion of their equally meaningful upsides), it pays to remember: Digital learning is a key concept that needs to be embraced by educators in today’s classrooms. However, it’s also worth noting that definitions of high-tech, online and distance learning solutions often differ between school and university campuses. For example – digital learning could refer to the use tablets in the classroom. It could mean using online sites, services and programs as teaching tools, or as study aids built for at-home use. Alternately, it could even refer to the practice of using popular apps, social networks and communications platforms as tools to create your own digital assignments and agendas.

Bearing this in mind, the possibilities when it comes to digital and distance learning are endless. Regardless of your personal definition, for educators seeking ways to empower and get the most out of their students, here are five reasons why digital learning is so important, and can no longer be ignored.

Personalization: Digital learning offers an unprecedented ability to provide educational experiences that are tailor-made for each student. As pupils advance in programs on English, math, science, history, art or other subjects, teachers can now track their individual progress, identify specific areas of focus for each student with actual data to back it up, and present solutions that address their specific needs. As has long been established, students thrive most in situations where educational experience has been customized to their unique needs, and digital learning provides teachers with the tools and opportunity to offer individualized learning programs.

Accessibility: By embracing digital devices and connected learning, classrooms around the country and around the globe can not only connect to one another to share insights and boost learning, experience and communications skills. The practice also allows educators to enjoy a level playing field, where inner-city classrooms, charter schools, private schools and even homeschooled children all have access to the same learning and opportunities. Even smaller and less well-staffed or -funded schools can tap into the trend to provide extensive course programming and curricula, as well as insight into non-traditional topics that may not otherwise be accessible for budgetary or resource-related concerns.

Cultural Relevance: Nearly every aspect of the real world has gone digital, including fields such as manufacturing, science and medicine as well as pop culture-related industries such as art and entertainment. Not only are employers increasingly turning to interactive training tools to boost engagement, learning and retention. Even before students enter the workforce, any college experience involves the use of a dizzying array of technological devices and connections. Digital learning in elementary, grade and high schools prepares students for the reality of secondary education and modern careers.

Efficiency: Digital learning solutions also bring to bear a number of key efficiencies, both real and virtual, that can’t be matched by traditional learning techniques. Whether it’s the environmental impact recognized by the need for less paper for handouts and books, time savings provided by pupils’ unprecedented access to information and the ease of research facilitated, or the cost savings to be had due to the multiple functions today’s Swiss Army-like devices offer, realize. Digital learning provides an effective way to cut costs, maximize resources and heighten both reach and impact from myriad angles.

Performance: Studies have shown that students using technology as an education tool become more engaged in the process and more interested in growing their knowledge base – in some cases, to the point that they don’t even realizing they’re actively learning. Likewise, research has demonstrated that interactive solutions boost retention rates and test scores, being far more engaging and memorable than voluminous textbooks or one-sided lectures. Online and high-tech programs not only often provide better context, a greater sense of perspective, and more arresting activities that allow them to better connect with students. They also frequently offer a more interesting and involving way to digest information.

Want to learn more about bringing technology and education together in the classroom? Connect with us on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

Crowdfunding Businesses and Startups: Expert Hints, Tips and Advice

Scott — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:12:02 +0000

Crowd funding and crowdsourcing are among today’s most popular topics with finance, corporate and consumer audiences looking to raise funds for new businesses, startups and projects, whether as non-profits or for-profit ventures. As one of today’s best-known crowdfunding speakers and experts, and the author of The Crowdfunding Bible, it’s yours truly’s great privilege to serve as a frequent authority and consultant on the topic. Predictably, we’re often called upon by the press and media to offer strategy and insights for those looking to launch campaigns, or provide more effective marketing, public relations (PR) and promotions efforts. Following, we’ve compiled some of our best insights and tips, as well as video seminars and workshops, for your convenience – here’s hoping all prove a great benefit to your efforts to raise money online via Kickstarter, Indiegogo, AngelList and other popular sites, services and social networks.

A Beginner’s Guide to Crowdfunding – http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/blogs/gear-up/a-beginners-guide-to-crowdfunding-20120517

Crowdfunding Businesses & Startups: The Ultimate Guide – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-steinberg/crowdfunding-businesses-a_b_2659523.html

How Musicians Can Raise $1 Million or More Online – http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/blogs/gear-up/amanda-palmer-on-crowdfunding-and-the-rebirth-of-the-working-musician-20120829

Crowd Funding Secrets: How to Build an Amazing Campaign – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-steinberg/crowdfunding-tips_b_1522723.html

Create Great Online Rewards for Fundraising Backers – http://www.inc.com/scott-steinberg/the-crowdfunding-bible-how-to-reward-investors.html

Crowdfunding for Non-Profits: Marketing, PR and Connecting with Donors – http://www.midwestmeetings.com/20/post/2013/01/crowdfunding-for-non-profits.html

10 Secrets of Successful Crowdfunding Campaigns – http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2012/05/10-secrets-of-successful-crowdfunding-from-scott-steinberg.php

Video: Crowd Funding Expert Tips and Insights – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1jcPi9yklI&feature=plcp

Marketing and PR for Crowdfunding Campaigns – http://www.digitalinnovationgazette.com/feature/distribution/a_place_in_the_crowd/index.html#axzz20zpdAsb2

Is Crowd Funding The New Online Gold Rush? – http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2012/06/why-crowdfunding-is-todays-goldrush.php

Podcast: The Future of Online Finance and Innovation – http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2012/05/mediatwits-50-facebook-face-plant-craig-newmark-poynter-crowdfunding-bible146.html

Hints, Tips and Strategies for Crowd Funding Your Business – http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-digital/web-strategy/tips-to-score-crowdfunding-success/article4209513/?service=mobile

Expert Insights from The Crowdfunding Bible’s Creators – http://www.thealistdaily.com/news/exclusive-crowd-funding-gets-a-bible-and-its-evangelists-speak-up/

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Futurist Expert: Designing for Connected Devices

Scott — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 13:45:47 +0000

More touchscreen and mobile devices, including cutting-edge solutions such as smartphones, tablets and hybrid or ultrabook laptops, are connected to the Internet than ever before. According to Harbor Research, in fact, there are now nearly 7 billion connected devices on the planet – almost as many gadgets as there are actual people. Ironically, while all are quickly transforming the way that customers interact with hardware, software and online tools, many so-called “smart” products weren’t designed to handle the growing complexity audiences from them. This presents two key challenges for consumer electronics manufacturers, technology leaders and app developers – the need to not only balance power and performance, but also pair skillful industrial design techniques with uniquely accessible user interfaces. Failure to do so can result in smart gadgets that are actually dumbfoundingly complex to utilize.

In other words, just because we can add new features to devices doesn’t mean doing so always provides the best experience possible, or adds to these gadgets’ appeal. To provide the best customer experience possible, sometimes it pays to keep it simple. As The Daily Mail recently noted, millions of TVs across the world now support Internet access, apps and streaming media. But only a minute percentage of customers actually utilize these options, as they’re used to interacting with devices in passive fashion, don’t recognize the upsides of connected options, and – most importantly – find the features strikingly complex and confusing. The lesson to be learned here: When creating for modern consumers, it’s vital to streamline processes and lighten learning curves, removing the amount of steps, actions and up-front research needed to appreciate such extras. Failure to do so results in a concept we call science friction, where the inclusion of new features designed to be additive to the experience actually detracts from overall usability and consumer enjoyment.

As is growingly obvious, the human elements of technology matter as much as actual devices and feature readouts. Case in point: While less technically capable than many Android-powered rivals, Apple’s iPhone and iPad routinely outsell better-equipped performers, due to their ease of use and acceptable feature set, which provide more practical benefits, less fancy bells and whistles. When creating products, software or services for modern high-tech users, as a business owner, it’s imperative to think long and hard about usage habits and consumption patterns. Before simply adding features for the sake of doing so, ask yourself how they can truly enhance the overall experience of using the device – and how you can create value in such a way that’s intuitive to your audience. Understand that the need for customer education can also have an impact on uptake as well: It’s crucial to convey products’ and services’ core value proposition at a glance, and make supporting features simple to comprehend and access.

Design devices in such a way as to not only showcase key additions, and quickly convey their upsides. Also build them so as to minimize the amount of hassle required to quickly dive in and enjoy these options. Eliminate all non-essential action steps and user requirements from the equation, and focus on rapidly capturing your audience’s attention, prompting it to take desired actions and allowing users to enjoy and interact with key features and benefits with a minimum of fuss. Designing with users’ best interests and impactful additions in mind first, novelties and extras likely to be enjoyed by only a fraction of owners second, and you’ll maximize return on your investment, minimize distraction, and – most importantly – dramatically boost your odds of success.

Turn Customers Into Brand Evangelists

Scott — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 09:00:47 +0000

Having satisfied customers is an admirable goal. However, having customers who love your brand so much they not only keep coming back, but feel so passionate about it that they feel compelled to share its promise with others, is a more fulfilling and potentially rewarding one. As Ken Blanchard explained in his best-selling book Raving Fans, “If you really want to ‘own’ a customer, if you want a booming business, you have to go beyond satisfied customers and create Raving Fans” – i.e. brand evangelists who essentially act as walking, talking billboards. To achieve this, your mission is not simply to satisfy clients – it’s to exceed their every expectation so that they won’t consider going anywhere else. Customers have to be so thrilled with the respect shown and treatment you deliver that they’ll be floored by the prospect, and so enthusiastic about the benefits conveyed, that they simply can’t help but tell everyone else how amazing your business truly is.

Sounds complicated, right? Not so much… this wow factor is actually easier to achieve than you may be thinking. The trick: Always asking yourself what’s in it for them and striving to create massive value for your audience. And, of course, by recognizing the power of your customers and the magnitude of their voice in the age of social media, the world’s largest echo chamber, realizing that the secret to providing great customer service is simple: Spoil everyone. In other words, instead of simply living up to your word, you want to go far above and beyond expectation, providing small touches, signature flourishes and surprising coup de graces that fulfill the promise of the exchange far beyond merely delivering to the letter of formal contracts.This is where the concept of UPOD comes into play. UPOD is a concept described by Wall Street Journal writer Mike Michalowicz which urges businesses to “under-promise, over-deliver.” Given the tightening business environment, customers are increasingly coming to expect underwhelming experiences from enterprises who make little secret of their constant striving to ruthlessly maximize output while minimizing costs. When you go the extra mile, and give them more than they expect, such as faster service, personalized help, more purchasing options or faster shipping, you don’t just reinforce that their business matters. You end up with customers who – more times than not – are unexpectedly surprised and delighted, and more than just satisfied with their decision to buy from you.

This strategy works on the simple premise to change the shape of your promise as a service provider. By modestly setting more reasonable expectations up-front, you not only minimize sources of potential confusion or error. You also allow ample cushioning to account for any steps of the fulfillment process which are inadvertently delayed or stand the potential to go awry. As a business, less lofty expectations may seem like a counterintuitive goal to set. But here’s the key: So long as you’re reasonable and realistic with such repositionings, and make a goal of clearly and consistently outperforming the initial metrics set, delivering far beyond base requirements and exceeding anticipated performance, your organization will just as frequently raise eyebrows, prosper and pique continued interest. Goals such as creating more manageable processes and workplaces, and improving employee retention efforts and associates’ quality of life may come at a short-term profit loss, but provide significant long-term gains. Invest in creating a better business environment and supporting infrastructure, and you actually set your organization and associated up to succeed more frequently, and take a greater sense of responsibility, pride and ownership in their work.

Why do these shifts matter? From their first impression to the end of their purchase transaction, you have several opportunities to encourage your customers to become raving fans of your product. For enterprising companies and workers looking to connect with clients, every touchpoint provides an opportunity to delight and amaze. If you’ve provided yourself and your team greater leeway and latitude to provide more personalized service and a better than anticipated experience or end-result, results can quickly add up. In fact, many of today’s most successful organizations realize that methodologies and processes exist for a simple reason – to solve problems and generate positive results, the best of these providing win-win scenarios for shoppers and businesses. And once a customer knows you’ll go above and beyond what they expect every time he or she orders from you, they become a great candidate for a potential brand evangelist.

But just how do your customers transform from loyal buyers to people who are willing to adopt your brand as part of their personal identity? And how do you inspire such brand loyalty that these individuals won’t just be willing to chat about you on social media services, but potentially wear your logo on their tee shirt or lug around a bag branded with your name on the side? The key is to steadily and surely grow expectations over time, yet universally surpass them.

In other words, you need to understand just what it is your customers expect from your brand or business. To find this information out, you’ll need to inquire, observe and translate their aspirations into actionable responses. Both internal motivators like needs, self-image, wants and external motivators like social acceptance and social status come into play when determining whether a customer will fall in love with your product. Moreover, if you hit the bull’s eye and can transform key tastemakers into vocal fans of your product, chances increase dramatically that others will notice and follow suit. A great example of this principle occurring is when a celebrity – like Duchess Kate of Cambridge, for example – wears a specific article of clothing. Within days, it’s often sold out everywhere because of her status, tacit endorsement and what the article of clothing then comes to mean and represent to the wearer. While you may not get celebrities to fall in love with your brand, you can always focus on courting key influencers that are major fans and keeping lines of communication clear and open.

Another way to turn your customers into brand evangelists is to offer them a completely unique experience. Take the gas station shake beverage brand f’real for example. In consumer taste tests, which the brand often engages in, the product stands on its own, surprising many people who didn’t expect such rich taste. Its machines are also fun to use, featuring customizations that give the consumer some control over the experience and videos to watch while your shake is being made. This adds a fun element to purchasing their product. Their brand experience is then paired with an active social media presence that encourages fans to share photos, testimonials and the surprise messaging the customer finds under the lid of each beverage. In this sense, collecting photos of the sayings almost becomes a game amongst fans, who become eager to share their discoveries.

Lastly, don’t underestimate the power of spotlighting and celebrating your community, core evangelists and repeat customers. This includes rewarding and showing your appreciate for your own employees who vouch for you on a daily basis and serve as ambassadors for your brand through daily customer interactions. If neither of these audiences truly love your company, or are neglected, it’ll be hard for them to convey enthusiasm and promote its value to others. Rewarding loyal fans needn’t be an expensive proposition – sometimes, acknowledgement and letting them know their voices have been heard are enough. Saying thanks with special discounts and vouchers, or asking for active contributions in the form of product suggestions or feedback are just a few of many ways to make them feel loved and appreciated.