Should Your Business Use Niche Software | Business News Daily

July 12, 2018July 11, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When we evaluate software, we consider common use cases, ideal feature sets, ease of implementation, customization options and design. However, competing alongside multi-use CRMs, CMSs, document management systems and e-commerce products are specialized solutions designed with a narrower user-set in mind.

Examples of industry specific solutions include products such as ReThinkCRM, a real estate CRM specifically for commercial brokers; Vinsight, a business software specifically for wineries; mycase, an all in one management solution for law firms; and a bevy of ERPs for everything from food and beverage purveyors to manufacturing companies to design firms. While the starting costs for industry specific solutions vary widely according to feature set and business focus (Enterprise vs. SMB), they generally tend to be more expensive than their broad-use counterparts.

14 Ways to Keep Up with Your Industry | Young Entrepeneur Council

July 11, 2018July 11, 2018 ~ jtweetcustombpscom ~ Leave a comment

reading-industry-news

Industry news is vital for keeping in touch with changes and upcoming trends. What is the best way to stay on top of industry news? Why does it work?

1. Competitors

Most people shy away from having a relationship with their competitors for fear of revealing strategy or even awkwardness. But having an open relationship with them can be one of the best ways to know how other operators are thinking about your industry. Be a yardstick for how you are doing and gut-check your own operation. –Fan Bi, Menswear Reviewed

What Is AI, Anyway? Know Your Stuff With This Go-To Guide | Hayden Field

July 11, 2018July 11, 2018 ~ jtweetcustombpscom ~ Leave a comment

WhatIS_AI

Scenario: You’re a startup office. People in hoodies and graphic tees are throwing the term “AI” around like confetti. You nod and try to play along, managing to churn out a brief mention of Elon Musk and Tesla as you look up the definition of “artificial intelligence” on your phone. You try to translate it into plain English. No luck. Relatable?

Never fear: Our trusty guide is here, no prior knowledge required. Let’s talk about what it is — in layman’s terms — and how it could affect your life.

What AI is

AI is the advancement of computer systems to perform tasks usually limited to humans. Translation: Some things you used to have to do yourself — or call someone about, or visit a physical location for help with — can now be done by a computer.

On Firing Bad Clients: Seven Questions Worth Asking Yourself | marketingforhippies.com

July 11, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

I’d like to suggest ______ questions you can ask yourself in situations like this to help yourself navigate through.

Question #1: What exactly is it that they are doing that is upsetting to you?

It’s important to get crystal clear on the behavior (or lack of behavior) that isn’t working for you. It’s easy to make it personal and imagine it’s just ‘that person’ and ‘who they are’. But it’s never that. It’s always something more particular. If you can’t identify what it is, then you will lack any power to make the particular changes needed to protect yourself from it in the future.

19 Ways to Use Creative Thinking in the Workplace to Up Your Credibility | Life Hack

July 11, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Our world is changing at faster pace than ever. In order to keep up, we are continually adapting to new technology and the changing industries.

Employers are looking for employees who can solve problems, think creatively and be a leader in every situation.

These 19 tips will help you find ways to develop creative thinking and to use it to gain credibility as a leader in the workplace:

1. Set limitations

In order to increase your own creative thinking, it helps to set limits for yourself, so you have to think outside the box to come up with solutions.

Set deadlines, budgets or any other type of limitation to increase your creative problem solving. This will build your credibility as a creative problem solver as you come up with innovative solutions.

Why Ben & Jerry’s has a corporate activism manager | Fast Company

July 10, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

At a time when mainstream corporations and CEOs are increasingly vocal about politics–from United and other airlines denouncing family separations, to Delta cutting ties with the NRA after the Parkland shooting, and companies like Dow Chemical and even Exxon urging Trump to keep the U.S. in the Paris climate agreement–Ben & Jerry’s may still be the only company with an in-house “activism manager” pushing consumers to become more politically involved as they enjoy their pint of Chunky Monkey.

“It’s still much more unusual to see that sort of consumer-facing advocacy and engagement,” says Chris Miller, the ice-cream brand’s social mission activism manager, who previously worked with Greenpeace and Bernie Sanders.

These Startups Are Defying The Status Quo In Crypto And Building Diverse Teams | Forbes

July 10, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In the nascent world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, gender and ethnic diversity are hard to come by. Men dominate “About us” pages of crypto projects across the globe.

The broader tech and finance sectors aren’t known for their diversity—female representation at big U.S. tech companies is roughly 30%, and women only make up about 26% of senior roles at banks—but their numbers are notably better than the status quo in crypto. A recent survey estimated that women make up just 23% of crypto company employees. “Starting companies is male, pale and stale,” says Meltem Demirors, a longtime crypto investor and chief strategy officer at investment management firm CoinShares.

7 Ways to Attract New Readers to Your Business Blog | AllBusiness.com

July 9, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Effective blogging starts by creating an attractive space on your website, then providing interesting content that will keep customers coming back for more. Here are a few things you can do to bring new readers to your blog, which will hopefully then translate to sales.

1. Know your customers

Before you start trying to connect with customers through your blog, make sure they would be interested in reading it. You can tell a great deal about your customers by paying close attention to their preferred method of communication. Some of your clients will communicate with you by email, while others will take conversations straight to a phone chat. If your target audience is constantly on the go, your blog posts will need to reflect that with short, easy-to-digest content that displays well on a smartphone screen.

Apply These 10 Insider Tips for Using Instagram Stories to Make Sales | Small Business Trends

July 9, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Instagram is currently rolling out a new feature within Instagram Stories that lets businesses tag products so that customers can shop directly within the app.

Susan Buckner Rose, Director of Product Marketing, Instagram Business Platform said in an email to Small Business Trends, “The Shopping in Stories feature allows people to shop products directly from their Instagram Stories. Essentially, when you see a sticker with a shopping bag icon, the user can tap on it to see more details about the products in the Story.”

Can cult online brands go mainstream without selling out? | Econsultancy

July 6, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Many brands have bloomed online by forging communities more akin to a subculture of fans than ‘consumers’.

Combining the appeals of ecommerce – low overheads and economies of scale – with an ability to tap incredibly engaged communities using social media and data has played out well for many brands, particularly in the fashion and lifestyle space.

But digital tools aren’t the whole story behind these brands’ success. In fact, for its capabilities in building tightly defined and highly engaged fan bases, digital targeting can wind up creating something of a brand’s own filter bubble – in which the scope of a brand’s potential audience is limited by those it already knows intimately. Of course, sustainable growth may require brands to diversify beyond a purely online strategy.