Leslie Hughes's Open Salon Blog

Cool Communications Tools - Part 1 - Telephony

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:03:49 -0400

I am starting a short series on cool communications tools. There are many options today when it comes to communications tools. Phone services, conferencing, online meetings - each having new and unique ways to connect. Today’s installment will cover some great tools for telephony.

My daughter is living in Thailand. We never pay a per minute fee for calls in either direction regardless of using a landline, cell or computer to handle the call. I can be on the computer, and she on her cell. We both can talk using landlines or our computers. It doesn’t matter.

My business rarely pays per minute charges for long distance anymore. We are considering getting rid of our business account with our phone service provider all together.

Conference calling has been simple and free for years, now there are more and better options.

There are many options on the market particularly well-suited for small business. Not only do these tools provide low cost or no cost options, but they are flexible and easy to use. â€¨

Calling Tools

Most people are aware of VOIP (voice-over IP). Increasingly we are seeing residential and business VOIP services pop up. However, I am most excited by services like Skype, Google Voice and Viber.

Skype

Skype offers a variety of services beyond the most well known, online calling and chat. I have a Skype account and a Skype-to-Go number with an unlimited, worldwide subscription for a monthly fee of 12.95 a month (although the price has risen slightly for new accounts). With this subscription, I am able to call over 40 countries. Any call within the US is included for free. Calls to landlines within these countries are also always included. Where you have to be careful is making calls to mobile numbers. These are free to some countries and not to others. For example, I can call both landlines and cell phones in Thailand as part of the subscription but can only call landlines in the UK for free. If I call a cell in the UK, there is a per minute charge, but it is usually much cheaper than with my traditional provider.

Skype publishes a list of countries which shows if cell phones are included, and the per minute rate for each if not. When there is a charge, the fees are small and competitive with the best international plans.

Here is how it works (for the US anyway). Sign up for a Skype-to-Go subscription. There are different subscription levels:

• Worldwide unlimited currently costs $13.99 per month. This is by far the best deal if you make many international calls. This plan includes calls in over 40 countries.

• US and Canada for $2.99 a month

• North America for $7.99 a month.

• Pay as you go - this is the per minute plan that has been around the longest. You buy credits and then pay the per minute rate.

Once you sign up for Skype-to-go, Skype assigns you a local phone number to call that is your connection point. You can assign up to five phones to have access to this number meaning I can use this number from my cell, my office, my home, etc.. When you dial your personal Skype-to-go number, you are asked for the number you wish to call and are then connected.

A great feature is to set up speed dial options for frequently called numbers. My daughter, of course, tops my list. However, I also have included frequently called business partners in Europe and Asia.

Before signing up for Skype-to-Go, I frequently had long distance bills over $300 per month. Those are now a thing of the past.

The worst thing about this program is that the online information is not terribly well organized. Sometimes getting to the information you want before you sign up can be difficult. However, once you sign up, it is easy.

Goggle Voice

This is a service I signed up for when it came out in Beta. Since that time, they have made a lot of improvements. This service is terrific for small businesses. The premise is that Google Voice gives you one number and one voice mail which will consolidate all your numbers according to the setting you select - for home, work and office. You are now able to port numbers, or you can sign up and select a google voice number from selected options.

Once you have a google voice number, you can add your phones to the service. For example, I have assigned my home, cell and business numbers. However, I have set all calls except family to ring my cel and business number. This means if someone calls my cell, it will also ring my office number, and vice versa. Number I have identified as family will ring all three of my numbers.

I have also activated my cell to use Google voice mail. Once again you can customize your message for different groups. The advantage of using Google Voice’s voicemail is that voice mail messages are transcribed and sent in message form to your cell. More on this later.

Google Voice allows you to call out via VOIP. I have used the call option to call from my computer and using the dialer in the Google Voice App for the iPhone. US calls are free, yet you pay a per minute call for other countries. The rates are competitive and range from .02 to .25 per minute. However, with my Skype-to-go subscription, I don’t use Google Voice for international calls.

We are exploring using Google Voice for business, and getting Google Voice numbers for each of our consultants. The advantage is that these numbers are free, that using a Google Voice number allows the call to find the target whether at the office or out.

We have thus far been reluctant to eliminate a central line. However, I have an associate who’s done just that. His company now uses a central Google Voice number that goes to his assistant’s cell. She takes a message and contacts the appropriate person for follow up. Each person also has a direct line via Google Voice. The downside I see with this could include inconsistency of voice mail messages, the inability to list your company, and the inability to transfer calls that come in to a central number answered. However, there are work arounds for these issues. We are currently looking into reception services which we believe may be cheaper than our traditional business phone service.

I mentioned above that messages are transcribed and sent to one’s cell. I find this incredibly valuable even though the transcription is not yet very good. What I like is that the message includes the number and a play option as well as the transcription. I can usually get a sense of the message from the transcription to determine the importance of the message. I love that the voicemail messages pops up on my cell just like a text.

Viber

I was recently turned on to Viber by a colleague in London. This service is specifically for iPhone users. You can make free calls to anyone, anywhere with the Viber App. What I really like is that Viber reads your contact list and automatically identifies the Viber users. And if you know of an iPhone user that is not connected to Viber, it is easy enough to persuade them to get the App since it will enable free calls.

Conference Call Services

I have been a long time user of FreeConference.com. This service assigns you a conference call number to be used with multiple parties in multiple locations. The company requires a name and email address to sign up for a free account. Once you sign up, you are assigned a dedicated number and access code to use immediately. The service is 24/7 and offers both on-demand and online scheduled conferences. Each conference can accommodate up to 150 callers on an unlimited number of calls lasting up to 4 hours.

There are many services that provide free conferencing. My experience is with FreeConference.com, however, you may want to check into FreeConferenceCall.com which offers a very similar service, or Instantconference.com, tollfreeconferencing.com or a host of other services.

Stay tuned for my next installment. I will review online chat, conferencing video conferencing and broadcast services.

EQi Services is a full service business development and management consulting firm focused on small-to-medium sized businesses. We help companies grow profitably in a fully immersed, digital world. You can follow this series on the EQi Services facebook page or connect via twitter @lesliehughesny.

Social Media Marketing - Part 10 - A Business Imperative

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:02:06 -0500

This series on social media marketing is coming to a close. In the past few months, we have looked at social media marketing on a “micro” level. We started looking at where the dollars are being concentrated, in relation to where customers are spending their time. We explored the new customer in the social media world, and how to better understand them and their expectations. Next, we looked at the importance of creating a conversation and story telling. We then turned our attention to reaching the customer - locations and building a fan base. In the last few weeks, our focus shifted to specialty issues, like avoiding missteps, and net geners. Finally, last week, we outlined the importance of measuring your results and showed how ROI does, in fact, matter with social media marketing.

With social media, buyers are in greater control. They are reaching out to trusted sources to get the information they need, when they want it, to make informed buying decisions. This is a significant shift from the world of “caveat emptor” (buyer beware). Buyers expectations are changing. Social media is fast becoming a requirement to building a trusted brand.

To understand why using social media and building a trusted brand is so important, we have to take a macro view. As the economy struggles to right itself, companies must be more creative than ever growing revenue. Revenue generation is listed as one of the top priorities for business in the US today. Social media is the fastest growing way to connect, to build relationships with customers and to better those relationships. It is also the fastest growing way to promote a business and educate a consumer. Social media is now the fastest growing mobile content category. Additionally and more importantly, the fastest growing companies are adopting social media as a part of their core strategies. Why? Because those companies that do not adapt to this shifting landscape will fail to optimize their revenue potential.

Reigniting growth is the # 1 business imperative. Executives are finally realizing that they cannot cut their way to success. It is clear that profitable growth is the new mandate. To achieve profitable growth and sustainable growth, companies must innovate, control costs and build a trusted brand they can promote. Shifting to an always supportive, always helpful model using social media - becoming more relevant and using this “pull” strategy, becomes a priority for any business looking to grow profitably.

If you haven’t already incorporated social media marketing into your plans, the time is now.

EQi Services is a full service business development and management consulting firm focused on small-to-medium sized businesses. We help companies grow profitably in a fully immersed, digital world.

You can follow this series on the EQi Services facebook page or connect via twitter @lesliehughesny.

Social Media Marketing - Part 9 - Measuring Results & ROI

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:02:26 -0500

Many people seem to believe that there is no ROI with social media marketing. Even more find it very tough to measure results. The reality is that if you are not measuring your efforts or looking for a return, you are at minimum, going to have a hit or miss experience. Businesses must define what they expect to get from their efforts and measure the results. It is no different with social media marketing.

Measuring results can seem difficult or daunting, or both. It doesn’t have to be if you have a well-thought out process that aligns to your specific goals and objectives. The first step is to use analytics and understand the information to which you have access.

Google Analytics is one of the top tools available, and it’s free. With Google Analytics, a company can learn about its traffic - where visitors are coming from (online and off), how long they are staying, key links, keywords used, referring sites and so much more. If you have a site that sells product, you can turn on the e-commerce tool and track sales.

Start by looking at your audience. Who saw the program? Who engaged? Is this the audience you were targeting? By understanding who responded to your campaign, you can determine any changes that need to be made, or better yet, understand what caused the reaction. Comparing impressions and engagement across channels can also provide information to help improve or customize programs for specific targets.

Also look at where engagement is coming from, and actually where there is little engagement. Understanding this will tell you a lot about how your campaign resonates in different places. This will give you perspective on how to optimize your program.

Measuring engagement will require determining what actions you expect and establishing a weighted scale to measure the actual activity. For example, a single impression is probably not as important as someone who comments. A click through may be weighted less than extended time spent with the information. Or perhaps your goal is simply to drive traffic so time spent is less relevant. Determine what the actions are that you want for this campaign and apply a weighted scale to measure them so they tie to your program and goals. An example might be:

Impression 1X
Click through 2X
Comment 3X
Share 4X
Video play 4X

Integrate these programs into your existing research. For example, if you are conducting research on awareness and exploring where someone heard about your program, include options like “from a blog” or “online from a friend.”

Measuring engagement is a critical component of measuring the success of a social media campaign. However, we also need to look at the impact on the company in areas like:

Brand awareness
Customer satisfaction
Marketing & communications costs
Conversion rates
Support costs
Supplier satisfaction
Supplier support costs
Time to market
Speed of knowledge
Operating margins

Looking at benefits means looking at both internal and external needs, as well as hard and soft costs. For example, if the program is directed at enhancing communications, then a company can measure customer satisfaction and knowledge about the company and its products over time. Additionally, it can look at the overall costs of communications and support. Often social media will positively impact satisfaction and reduce costs through call centers and support teams.

Conversion rates can also be measured in relation to social media programs. Social media can be used to build desire, influence buying patterns, and to build trust. With increased trust and knowledge, customer conversions rates are likely to rise. If they don’t, the information gleaned may identify critical information on why they are not.

Most companies are having to learn how to measure results from social media. Measuring engagement is the first step in looking at real ROI. However, looking at the impact on real costs is just as important. Whether the goal is reducing costs, improving margin, or improving sales conversion rates, results can be measured with advance planning.

Any new technology is tested by early adopters who learn to use the tools and then espouse the benefits or flaws. Adoption picks up as others recognize the value. We are moving from the early adoption phase for businesses to the acceptance phase because companies recognize that these programs drive value. This transition is bringing with it an awareness that measuring the outcome and financial impact of these programs on the organization is a critical component of ensuring that real value is gained.

Contact me with any questions or comments. You can follow this series on the EQi Services facebook page or connect via twitter @lesliehughesny.

Social Media Marketing - Part 8 - Net Geners

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:01:51 -0500

The first time I heard the term “net geners” was while reading a review of the book Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World by Don Tapscott. Both the term and the title of the book caught my attention.

I have been a speaker for years on digital media, digital content, online distribution and other similar topics. In the mid to late 90s, I was talking to audiences (primarily publishers and advertisers) that were my age or older who did not understand the “rush to digital.” The internet was interesting and mainly about information. Some were starting to see the benefits to operational efficiencies. But for the most part, there was a resistance to accept where the world was headed. Over time, these same audiences were finding their businesses changing - broadband was more accessible, platforms were appearing that made the internet instantly accessible, and content and products were moving online - FAST. Online became a driving force in many businesses, in great part because of the market movement.

For many years, I have used my kids as examples of a generation that treats digital technology and the internet like a knife and fork - they are simply tools. Through my kids eyes, I saw how very different the world was to them. They have never known a world without the internet. As we entered the new millennium, something happened - something powered by this new generation. These kids began to enter the workplace, began to have buying power, and began to drive a cyber-culture that has resulted in the explosion of social media. Tapscott likens technology for this generation to be like air, necessary but invisible. Now the generation that was changed by technology was maturing and starting to change the world.

Net Geners assume and demand continual, constant access to the internet, information and to each other in some digital form. Whether via social media sites, texting, chat, video conferencing or some new emerging technology. I am sure it will be familiar to some of you when I say that my son finds email terribly old fashioned and inefficient. If I want to get in touch with him, the best way is to text him. He may never read my email. This constant contact and broad global access has brought down borders and created the first truly global generation. According to Tapscott, this generation is one of the most multiracial and tolerant.

Another characteristic of this generation that differs greatly from previous generations is that they are far more adept in a technology driven world. Tapscott says this has produced a “generation lap” where the younger generation must guide and teach the older generations. This is also creating a confident generation.

Constant access has also produced a more engaged audience. Where television created a passive audience, the internet has created a more active one. Net Geners are more pro-active seeking out the news that interests them - reading daily blogs, multiple publishing sources, and often leaving comments and passing on the information (e.g., links). The internet as a tool is, in fact, more than a tool to this generation. It is a place to congregate, create communities; it is even a tool for social action. Because we are becoming a fully immersed digital society, Net Geners have developed an entirely new set of social skills.

So what does all this mean? Tapscott identifies eight norms that bring together this net generation:

Freedom - they expect and demand freedom, choice and variety.
Customization - they demand the ability to express themselves and customize their purchases or even parts of their life, like their jobs.
Scrutiny - having been exposed to so much for so long, Net Geners are more likely to scrutinize information they encounter. They will also eagerly call out a hoax or perceived deception. Honesty and openness is a driving force.
Integrity - increased scrutiny leads Net Geners to demand integrity and honesty from those they interact with. They will forgive mistakes but not dishonesty.
Collaboration - Net Geners have grown up collaborating. In fact, many need to collaborate where previous generations often worked along and reported results. Collaboration goes beyond teamwork and moves toward co-creation.
Entertainment - this generation loves to be entertained on-demand. The line between work and play has become blurred.
Speed - this generation has been accustomed to speed. Access on-demand. Immediate connections, broadband connections. They want to connect with speed and they in turn expect answers, decisions and fast results.
Innovation - Perhaps one of the best outcomes from a fully immersed digital generation (and increasingly, society) is a constant flow of new products and technologies. Net Geners expect change, constant improvement and are engaged in helping create it.

Net-Geners will certainly alter the world - with both practical and social change. If we look at the eight norms listed above and align them with a globally interconnected society, it is apparent that change will come faster and be driven by a more savvy and informed community. Innovation is becoming borderless. Net Geners expect to and will have a say - in political, social or commercial arenas. The sooner we understand and adapt, the sooner we can tap into it. By understanding who they are and what drives them, we can determine the best way to engage. We will be able to respond with the same global view and in a way that answers the need for speed. And the smartest will be able to use these Net Geners to improve, evolve, and innovate across markets.

Stayed tuned for my next installment. I will be writing on how to successfully measure the impact of social media.

You can follow this series on my blog, or the EQi Services facebook page or connect via twitter @lesliehughesny. I would love to hear what you think.

Social Media Marketing - Part 7 - Avoiding Missteps

Mon, 3 Jan 2011 09:01:05 -0500

The social media space is crowded these days. According to MSNBC, Facebook has over 500 million users today, and if it were a country would be the third-largest in the world. Twitter reports that it signed on over 100 million users in 2010. Those numbers make marketing online both an enormous opportunity and a significant challenge. It is imperative that when you create a brand, the focus is on creating a strong presence. In today’s social media arenas, the goal must be getting noticed rather than being lost in the crowd.

I have previously written about the importance of listening and having an authentic conversation with your audience. I have covered messaging and strategy, and the importance of location. All of this can create a wonderfully positive ripple effect. But the ripple effect can turn negative and be devastating to a brand. This post focuses on the most common mistakes and how to put in processes to avoid significant missteps.

1 - Measuring results

One of the most common and significant mistakes companies make today with their social media marketing is forgetting that this is about building and increasing one’s customer base. A company must monitor and measure success both online and offline to understand the impact of any social media marketing campaign. Connecting online is only one step. A company must ensure that the effort being put into those connections are capitalized and result in something meaningful.

2 - Responding quickly to concerns

Listening to customers is as important during the calm as it is during a crisis. Many companies are successfully using social media as a kind of focus group. This can be a powerful way to create a strong connection that can turn into a strong customer relationship. Equally important, however, is responding to concerns. Responding quickly can help a company avoid a negative ripple about a product or their brand.

3 - Monitoring conversion rates

Taking connections to the next level means that a company must convert those contacts into something actionable. Often companies spend time and money to reach customers online but with no measurable goal in mind. The first step is to define the actionable goal. Once done, a company can monitor conversion rates. The higher the conversion rate, the more successful the campaign. When conversion rates are low, it likely means that the message fell flat, did not translate into a call to action or was targeted incorrectly. Understanding who you are connecting to and how well you are converting those connections can define the success or failure of your campaign. Low conversion rates require that a company evaluates what it is selling, how it is presenting its products, and who is finding its products.

4 - Defined organizational management

Avoiding missteps (like failing to act quickly) means that a company must define an organizational structure to support accomplishing its goals. This means understanding that social media marketing will span departments, and involve many different groups. It also means that roles need to be defined. Defining roles and responsibilities up front will allow a company to be more nimble in any crisis. Out side support is also available, however must involve company insiders to ensure an authentic voice.

More practical mistakes include:

Stale content - make sure to refresh content on a regular and frequent basis.
Spamming - don’t send everything out to everyone all the time or you will become SPAM and lose impact.
Being pushy - treat customers online as you would in person.
Inexperienced Reps - you need well written, tactful and knowledgable reps to respond.
“Ghost” friending - only use real people, who can speak honestly and openly to your market. Companies have created firestorms by creating characters to friend would be customers only to have it backfire.
Deleting negative feedback - many companies fear negative comments, however deleting posts often have a greater negative impact because connections can perceive this as censorship.
Overreacting to mistakes - Don’t overreact. Mistakes happen and will usually blow over. Overreacting and taking your posts down, for example, can draw negative attention.
Relax - this too shall pass.

So what does one do if the worst happens?

Mitigation starts with discovery. Listen and learn. Understand the sphere of influence of those making the comments. Create a plan of attack. Unfortunately, the larger the organization, the more time it can take to create a plan. Be prepared so you can respond quickly. While you may not be able to foresee the issue, you can prepare first response steps. The longer it takes to respond, the more out of touch you will appear. Let them know you are on it and will reply. And make sure to respond in your brand’s voice but appropriate for the community with whom you are communicating.

Remember don’t overreact. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has admittedly made mistakes. Facebook’s response to concerns over privacy changes was slow. And they took heat for it. However, in the end, Zuckerberg said they were listening to feedback and trying “to distill it down to the key things they needed to improve.” Had they responded more quickly, they might have avoided a significant amount of criticism.

Next time, I will write about “Net Geners” - those that have grown up with the technology, how they differ, and why they are important to factor in.

You can follow this on my blog, or the EQi Services facebook page or connect via twitter @lesliehughesny.