In recent articles written through out the media, business communication and technology have crossed paths again.  This amazing strategy has combined emailing and text messaging to close the gap in internal communication between the office and outgoing employees.   Employees within the office are now able to send emails that are immediately converted into text messaging files, which are then received on cell phones.  Instead of having to call your employees all the time, for whatever reason it may be; phone tag, getting important information to them, having to leave thorough messages, than having to listen to those messages, can be extremely time consuming for you and the outgoing employee.   This makes it a lot easier for business owners to send important information without cramping up their fingers or struggling to find the right letter.  Text messaging has become a very efficient communication tool and by simplifying the input process of text it has made it more effective in the long run.   

 Yahoo has just created the same feature in their users emailing accounts.  Yahoo is hoping that the emailing tool will give parents an opportunity to stay in touch with their children (since the new trend is text messaging).

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Many people think that just having a web presence on the internet is all they need to accomplish the goals of advertising.  Now why don’t most people take this attitude when it comes to print?  Well, they realize how important print is when it gets in the hands of their clients or prospective clients.  Let me ask you this question, would you let a brochure go out to your clients or prospective clients, with a static looking text, graphics, and no means to find your businesses’ professionalism?  If your answer is no, then how come you would build a website, that has static information, with static design, that does nothing for your clients, or shows the professionalism of your business.  Remember the internet is the fastest growing advertising method in the world today.  So, why would you not want to make your website as interactive or informative as possible?  Why would you not want your website to be viewed by prospective clients or existing clients on a daily basis?  You paid for your website to be up, why not use it to its fullest abilities. 

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An article written in The Wall Street Journal by Raymund Flandez tackles the issues of companies using part of their websites as training tools for the employees.  In his studies he found sales dramatically increased while cutting training costs in half, from $200/per person to $100/per person.  It also increased the professionalism of these corporations by allowing more people to view training lesson materials online at their own discretion; instead of having to show up, during the work day, late night, and/or on the weekend for training.

Raymund Flandez, researched one major company, Golden Harvest Seeds, Inc.  In the article he interviewed David Dam, head of sales development.  Mr. Dam in Ryamund Flandez’s article said he was ”frustrated with is company’s sales-training program for 250 employees and 2,000 independent crop-seed dealers.  Mr. Dam would rent meeting rooms for 30 people, and only 15 would show up.  He had trouble finding great trainers.  Fuel prices were making travel more expensive, and the session took valuable time out of workers’ days.”  Raymund Flandez is finding the problem does not occur only with larger firms but with smaller businesses’.  Most of these companies would usually cut costs by letting employees go because training costs to much; and maybe at the time, to train more effective workers is not worth their money.  Now websites and online training can cut your costs in half while creating an effective and efficient employee on their time not yours. 

“For some small businesses looking to cut costs and increase efficiency, online training classes and videos are becoming more available-and more attractive.” Raymund Flandez research showed.  Not only are small businesses using these methods, but larger corporations as well have developed effective training packages on their websites. ”Training courses also are available on Web sites of some big companies, such as Microsoft Corp. and Hewlett Packard Co., and Small Business Development centers.” 

As you can see web sites are being used for a vast array of internal and external uses from small businesses to large corporations.  At point2design we help businesses’ use their website to it’s maximum potential; we help businesses create an effective website for their companies’ clients, prospective clients, and employees.  We want our clients to see a Return On Their Investment.  Our professionalism and research of internet media solutions can accelerate your business to the top of your market and beyond your competitors.

Microsoft introduced a technology that gained through an acquirement it made last year called Photosynth which “allows the aggregation of social picture networks (a la Flickr) into a completed image in addition to allowing a level of depth to image browsing previously unavailable.” Essentially taking all of your pictures and assembling them into a video game-like three dimensional environment, allowing you to zoom in and manipulate them at extraordinary levels of resolution. Check out the video, the cool thing is that it is all running over the web.

Websites vs. Consumer vs. Internet Marketing Companies

Websites have become the portal to bringing all things that represent your business together; magazine advertising, giving your website address in big letters for consumers to find more information about the services provided or printing your domain name on business cards, sending consumers to your website for executive background checks. I am pretty sure you have noticed, that the most popular question someone asks after you have introduced yourself and your business is “what is your web address, I will take a look at it.” In that split second, you have sent your consumer to take a glimpse of your business. Besides your individual fist impression, they will be able to sum up your businesses’ services and products, just by your website. Consumers are realizing the plethora of knowledge available on the web and they are not afraid to move onto the competitors, if your website does not grab their immediate attention.

Quick Response to the Problem:

First, if you do not have a website, I would strongly recommend creating one or having someone create one for you.  If you are not on the web, or your business is not represented on the web, you will be lost forever in your market.  And your competitors, well, they are going to have the time of their lives taking advantage of easy access knowledge through trillions of worldwide consumers.

Second, if you do have a website up and running, nice job, you have begun the stages of getting your business known.  However, just getting a website up and running is not enough anymore for consumers.  Here are some questions you might want to think about when reviewing your existing website:  First, can you say your website design is professional enough that it portrays who your business is as a service or product, or can consumers navigate easily through your site, and do you have simple categories that consumer can find what they want, without getting lost.  These are only a few of the basic consumer trends that separates a good business website from a great business website.

Consumers…what do they have to say?

Consumer demand drives the latest trends in marketing on the web.  When a consumer comes to a website, they immediately get an opinion of the business in the first 15 seconds.  If that consumer is not satisfied, they will move on to the competitors.  So, try not to get sucked into the elaborate flash driven site, that takes 30 seconds to load, because you are 15 seconds to late.  Grab the consumer interest with professionalism in constant, imagery, and ease of navigation.  Do not forget that the constant change in website design has given consumers a higher standard of what to expect when being introduced to a new website.

Internet Marketing Companies…What do they do?

The constant change in consumer behavior has given internet marketing companies a new job. Internet marketing companies are constantly keeping up with trends and consumer habits, which has become a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, job.  Then incorporating those trends into their client’s websites, to make them more effective, and creating a new market for consumers to enjoy.Businesses do not have the time or the funds to keep someone on staff watching these trends all the time.  To make your business more cost effective, outsource your internet marketing campaign to a company that specializes in that field.

Quick Qualities to look for in an Internet Marketing Company
There is only one important quality that separates a great marketing company from a good is, do they want to see a Return On YOUR Investment; by creating cost effective web design that works, and represents your business as if it were their own. Or are they keeping you in the dark and sucking more and more money out of your pocket, telling you keeping up with this trend costs “this” amount.

In an article written yesterday, Christopher Lawton tackled the subject “PC Shopping: Online vs. In the Store.” In his article he talked about the recent trends of online marketing and how PC retailers are having trouble keeping consumers buying online. Many of the Retailers have gone so far as redefining their marketing campaigns. “…Buy.com Inc., Newegg Inc. and TigerDirect Inc have launched new ad campaigns and redesigned their Web sites by adding features such as online video and community forums.” said Christopher Lawton.

“The online retailers have also made their sites easier to navigate by adding price comparison features and reducing the number of pages users have to click through to check out…Dell Inc., the top online destination for PCs, earlier this year launched online videos about its computers and other topics and created an online forum to get customer feedback. Dell also started letting users post reviews of its PCs on its Web site.” These are only some of the marketing strategy solutions retailers are using to bring consumers back to online shopping, said Christopher Lawton.

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