Posts Tagged ‘Small Business’


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Google Chrome: No Shine For Small Business

September 17th, 2009 by Erin Posted in Small Business, Technology | No Comments »

Google Chrome.

The browser everyone was super duper excited about a little more than a year ago – appears to be sitting stagnant.

Sure, its third iteration was just released – but as a devoted Chrome user, I see no improvement in its functionality.

It appears small business owners aren’t getting any sparks from Chrome either.

In fact, small business owners are being warned to steer clear of Chrome altogether.

Sure, it has speed that far surpasses the likes of competitors Firefox and Internet Explorer, but it lacks what small business owners really need: compatibility.

Certain advanced web applications (Microsoft)  simply don’t work with Chrome - and the browser’s sparse user base only compounds the problem. Web developers are not designing apps with Chrome in mind.

Nevertheless, Google has made strides in trying to maintain Chrome’s edge, adding improved Javascript performance and HTML 5 support.

Can Chrome eventually cut it in the small business world?

Perhaps, but it has a lot of catching up to do.

I’m a big proponent of Chrome because of its small user base . I can browse quicker and surf safer – but I sure get annoyed when it can’t support a simple app.

It might be fledging, but we shouldn’t lose hope in Chrome. After all, it was developed by the world’s search giant.

And think of the alternative – Internet Explorer.

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Moonit: Magic Or A Mockery?

September 2nd, 2009 by Erin Posted in Technology | No Comments »

I love water cooler stories.

I love hearing them. I love reading them. I love writing about them.

This one, though, takes the cake – but I couldn’t resist.

Enter Moonit.

This is a startup website that claims to measure your compatibility with other people – professionally, romantically, and for friendship.

It was demo’d recently at TechCrunch50, both for entertainment and business purposes.

But, here’s the rub.

Moonit uses the science of astrology to deliver it’s compatibility ratings.

The site explains:

“Moonit is a social compatibility tool that is rooted in astrological and psychological underpinnings. We use thousands of years of data from the stars to help determine whether two people are compatible from a romantic, platonic and professional perspective. Then we track your relationships to help you learn from them over time so that you never make the same mistake twice, kinda like a virtual relationship therapist. We know you could probably figure out if you’re compatible with someone after a few interactions, but we can save you some of that time so you can spend it doing fun things instead.”

Is it hokey?

Sure, but I just had to try it out.

I entered my name, email address, and birthday – along with my boss’s name and birthday. One click and the astrological results revealed that yes – we are indeed compatible.  In fact, we received a 76% compatibility rating and along with this blurb:

“Issues will always come up during the course of any long-term partnership, but the two of you have the good sense and peace of mind to find a viable solution to any problem at hand and can see it through while others might resort to finger pointing and name calling.”

Yada, yada, yada… yeah right.

Will Moonit add any value to your small business or office?

Unless you’re a new agey kind of person – probably not.

This is a site that’s fun to use once and move on.

Although, I have to say it was spot on about most of the people in my life – enemies included.

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Want To Hear About Your Business Complaints? There’s An App For That.

May 29th, 2009 by Erin Posted in Business, Small Business, Stature Projects, Twitter | No Comments »

We live in an app-crazed, social networking world folks.

I thought I had heard it all last week when the “drunk dial” app was unveiled for the Apple iPhone. Now comes word of a yet another new app –  one that could really help small businesses.

Introducing “Salesforce CRM for Twitter.”

When people talk about you and your business – Salesforce let’s you know.

Here’s how is works:

Salesforce plugs into the Twitter API, and customer care reps can start Twitter searches from within Salesforce’s service, bypassing search.twitter.com. If a company discovers someone tweeting about them (good or bad), a button click can import the entire Twitter thread into Salesforce’s software. From there the Twitter user is notified via software, giving them the precious opportunity to respond to the original Tweet.

This is a brilliant idea, given that Twitter users can’t possibly monitor what is being said about them in real time and respond to people’s questions. Twitter is just too large now. Too powerful.

Thankfully, Salesforce can help business owners sleep at night by giving them the tool they need to track complaints – and compliments.

This is beyond better customer care. This is could very well be the life jacket that saves many of our small businesses.

Twitter.

What would businesses do without it?

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CRMs – A Blessing For Small Business

May 8th, 2009 by Erin Posted in Small Business | 1 Comment »

It’s a dog eat dog world out there and small businesses are doing just about anything they can to save – and build – their client base.

While various cost-cutting measures have hurt some business-customer relationships – CRM applications have taken some of the edge off in at least a portion of the business sector.

Small businesses have embraced these applications and, for some, they’ve become their bread-and-butter.

Stefania Viscusi of TMCNet.com writes that CRMs are the key to success simply because they can leverage overall benefits of better customer relations. CRM applications, like Highrise and Kapture, can also help sales professionals target potential customers, and help them keep track of their interactions with customers.

Bottomline: CRMs save time. They save money. And, even better – their user-friendly interfaces make data entry a breeze. 

Customers want loyalty, quality and personalized service.

With CRMs, small businesses can give them that.

Seriously, they’re all that – and a bag of chips.

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Small Business Finance | Banks Dig Deep For Insight

February 26th, 2009 by Erin Posted in Small Business | 2 Comments »

Is it an act of desperation?  Or a sign of the times?

Some banks – Fortune 500’s mind you – are embracing the world of social networking to finally gain insight into the financial needs of small business owners.

Banks like Bank of America, Capital One, and Visa, Inc are barrowing a page from Facebook to really get at the heart of their small business customers.

B of A – a leader in the banking world of social networking – launched its Small Business Online Community web site in October ‘07.

There’s no advertising – no user fee – just a good old fashion forum on all things small business finance. Kudos to B of A for not trying to generate revenue here.

While business owners won’t find a “status update” feature, the site does give them a place to get tips and feedback from their counterparts.

Some of the more popular topics include: how to start a home-based business, how to convert online traffic to sales, and how to develop successful marketing plans.

The other guys are using their social networks a bit differently.

Instead of just one site, Capitol One has created a network of sites as a way to reach more small business owners online.

Visa, Inc has even gone so far as to set up a Facebook business network. And get this – as part of the effort, Visa promised to give away $2M of Facebook advertising to small-business owners. 

I checked the Visa Business Network this morning. It has nearly 23,000 active monthly members – no telling, though, which of them won the $2M in advertising.

It seems to me some of these banks may be grasping at straws here.

You would have thought they had this small business insight already –  right?

Banks – I offer you this one piece of advice:

Loosen up the purse strings and start lending again.  Small business owners – and the economy – will thank you for it later.

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