सेन फ्रांसिस्को। अभी तक गोपनीय
‘प्रोजेक्ट स्पार्टन’ के नेपथ्य में रखने के बाद माइक्रोसॉफ्ट ने अपना नया वेब ब्राउजर एज पेश किया है जो अंतत: इंटरनेट एक्सप्लोरर की जगह लेगा।
माइक्रोसॉफ्ट के
अधिकारियों ने कहा कि एज इंटरनेट एक्सप्लोरर की तुलना में हल्का और तेज है और यह
एक बिल्ट-इन नोशनल टूल एवं कोरटाना से वेबसाइट सूचना जैसी कई खूबियों से लैस है।
माइक्रोसॉफ्ट में परिचालन प्रणाली समूह के कॉरपोरेट उपाध्यक्ष जोए बेलफियोरे ने कल
‘बिल्ड 2015’ सम्मेलन में कहा कि माइक्रोसाफ्ट एज एक ऐसा ब्राउजर है जो विंडोज 10
के लिए बना है और यह विंडोज 10 की व्यापक रेंज के उत्पादों पर उपलब्ध होगा
Students are under a lot of pressure –
pressure to perform academically, pressure to be popular, pressure to
ultimately, make a good life. The one thread that touches upon all these
is the choice of one’s career. It is a decision that is often taken
under parental or societal duress. However, one must seek proper career
counseling and guidance to make the right decision. Career counseling is
really beneficial for students, and there are many reasons it is
imperative: 1. Spot an Aptitude:
Career counseling helps a student realize true aptitude. While at a
junior level, most students perform evenly across subjects. Aptitude
tests, conducted by counselors, bring out clearly the strong
intellectual areas of a particular student. This empowers the student to
make an informed decision when choosing future studies and making
career choices. 2. An Objective Guide:
Many times, students grow up with preconceived notions – “I must become
a doctor, since my father is one”. Good counseling can quell these
notions, and help the student view himself for the individual that he
really is. After all, the doctor’s son can actually be more suited to,
and more interested in, being a musician! 3. Evade Confusion:
Often, students haven’t developed a clear idea of what they’d want to
study by the time they’re due to make those choices. This isn’t
necessarily due to any lack of interest; one is simply too young.
Seeking career counseling leads to clarity of thought in a student,
helps to identify interests, pick the appropriate subjects, and finally,
make the choice of the right career. 4. Career Relation to Education:
It is also likely that a student has decided on a particular career,
but is not sure of how to qualify for it academically. Seeking
counseling helps to put things in proper perspective – the student
chooses the right higher education for the chosen career, and likewise,
is able to land safely on the career track, due the interest,
motivational factors and the chosen stream of education. 5. What’s Out There: Perhaps the most important facet of career counseling is to simply know what
career options abound today. Say, a student has great flair for
writing. It is important that the student or individual is well informed
about the prospects of taking writing as a career. Lack of information
on the will let the individual or student abandon his talent and
intellect. Sadly, career counseling is often
overlooked by students, institutions and parents alike. It is a mistake
that can prove costly, for it is sound counseling that leads to
well-informed, correct career decisions!
Customer
service managers can provide all the training and incentives they want,
but if they don’t have an effective method of monitoring their customer
service staff, they may see the same mistakes arise in their department
over and over again. Monitoring methods ensure consistency in customer
service and offer important feedback on problem areas that need to be
addressed. We have five effective ways to monitor your customer service
to raise the bar on your service level. Reviewing Written Correspondence
All types of written correspondence, including letters, emails and
live chat records, can provide important information about how your CSRs
are handling customers. Let your employees know that their interactions
could be monitored prior to doing so, which will ensure a better
attitude from your staff about the process.
Collect these pieces of correspondence weekly or monthly, and create a
chart for results, so you can easily compile relevant data. Use your
results to identify potential problem areas and train your employees in
more effective service methods. Monitoring Phone Calls
Everyone has called a business, only to hear, “Your call may be
recorded for quality purposes.” This mode of monitoring customer service
is a common one that can be highly effective in teaching employees
better service techniques. When CSRs actually hear how they sound to
customers, they can use that knowledge to make corrections to their
service methods in the future. Asking Customers for Feedback
Some managers find that simply asking customers what they think of
the service is an effective way to pinpoint potential problem areas. You
can apply this technique casually, chatting with a customer after a
transaction is complete. A more formal approach is to call a customer
after the fact with a scripted questionnaire, or ask customers to
complete a survey form that gives information about the quality of
service they received. Use Mystery Shoppers
Some companies employ mystery shoppers to perform transactions and
then report on the level of service they received. The advantage of this
monitoring technique over customer feedback is that the mystery shopper
knows what to look for the moment he sets foot in the business. These
shoppers typically complete a questionnaire right after their
transaction that provides specific, measurable information about the
transaction. Looking at the Numbers
Another way to measure service is by looking at the sales numbers –
whether you want to measure by first purchases, subsequent visits or
cross sales. Keep in mind that while the numbers do provide valuable
information about your customer service, they can fail to offer the full
picture of service quality that some of the other monitoring techniques
provide. However, if you are currently focused on using service to make
cross sales or encourage customers to return, these numbers may offer
the data you seek.
Measuring customer service is an important part of any business. When
employees know their work is monitored, they are more likely to bring
the same quality of work to the front counter every day. Monitoring also
provides valuable information that can be used to more effectively
train customer service employees and teach them to bring their service
to the next level.
Customers
expect certain things when they walk into a business, and those with
the highest level of service will know how to identify those
expectations and meet them to the customer's satisfaction.
However, this process is not as easy as it sounds – customer
expectations are a dynamic feature that ebbs and flows regularly in
accordance with a wide range of factors. However, when expectations are
not met by the performance of your customer service representatives,
customer dissatisfaction is the result.
This article will delve into the importance of meeting customer
expectations, as well as how to identify and meet them through your
customer service. Customer Expectations + Service Performance = Customer Satisfaction
The quality of your customer service is almost wholly determined by
your ability to meet your customer expectations. You can have the
greatest service team, but if your customers perceive their needs are
not being met, your service reputation suffers.
By the same token, companies that don’t spend much time worrying
about customer service – but manage to meet customer expectations
consistently – are perceived as offering good customer service.
Service quality is largely determined by customer's perception, which
is why meeting customer expectations is an essential part of the
process. Identifying Customer Expectations
Because customer expectations are an ever-evolving process, it can be
very challenging to know precisely what those expectations might be.
The best course of action is to take the question directly to your
customer base through a variety of customer service research techniques.
Have customers complete surveys about your products and service.
Provide incentive for them to complete that survey, such as entry into a
drawing for an enticing prize. Next time you see a customer, ask if his
expectations of your business are being met. If not, find out why and
what you can do to make your service better. Common Expectations to Consider
Some of the most common and basic expectations customers have for most businesses include:
• Fast, efficient and accurate service • High quality products at a competitive price • Friendly, helpful service staff to provide information and answer questions • Prompt responses to their inquiries, whether online, by phone or in person • Sufficient stock to meet their needs without long waits • A trained staff that can handle their questions without referring them on • A clean facility or easy to navigate website
All of these expectations comprise the minimum of what your top-notch
service should look like. Additional expectations may arise from your
customer research, which you can address on an individual basis. Benefits of Meeting Expectations
When you are able to accurately identify and adequately meet your
customers' expectations, your customer service reputation will
automatically be enhanced.
Some of the benefits of meeting your customers' expectations include:
• Customers that transform from first-time visitors to loyal clients • Increased sales as customers feel more comfortable doing business with you • More referrals from satisfied customers who bring in additional business by word of mouth
There is no doubt that adequately meeting customer expectations is an
essential part of a robust customer service department. By accurately
identifying those expectations, and meeting or exceeding them
consistently, your company is likely to enjoy happier customers and a
healthier bottom line.
Quality
customer service is the key element required for a successful business.
In this customer driven market, where competition is becoming stiffer
day by day and critical deadlines are rife, one cannot think of business
growth without exceptional customer service. A number of organizations
underestimate the importance of customer satisfaction, while laying the
foundation of their business. They focus on the quality of services,
organizational infrastructure but often overlook the fact that it is
consumers who can make or break a business.
Quality customer service can benefit your business in countless ways
and by observing the importance of customer service you can take
measures to provide your consumers with a positive experience.
Here is a quick look at some of the many benefits your business can
reap by taking good care of customers’ satisfaction and providing them
quality customer service:
Business Promotion
The best way to promote your business products and services is word
of mouth marketing. When customers receive satisfactory and quality
services from an organization, they tend to discuss it in their social
network, which leads to direct publicity and increased popularity of an
organization. Satisfied Shareholders
Satisfactory response from consumers means increased sales, which
ultimately leads to increased satisfaction of shareholders. They tend to
invest more in your organization, which can dramatically improve the
ROI of your business. Increased Business Growth
Quality service can boost your business growth. Quality services can
help you expand your client base but great customer service is the key
to retain your clients and stand out of the crowd. Successful Business Strategies
Encouraging consumers for feedback and comments is an integral part
of quality customer service. Following consumers’ feedback for analyzing
the strengths and weaknesses is probably the best way to understand the
expectations of consumers and adopt successful business strategies. Critical Learning Experience
Customer service can provide business owners a critical learning
experience to understand the dynamics of the corporate world and keep up
with the latest business trends. Reduced Risk of Business Failures
Understating the expectations and mindset of consumers can considerably reduce the risk of business failures and losses. Consumer Satisfaction
If your customers are happy, your investors and business partners
will be happy as well, and this ultimately leads to higher profits. With
a strong client base you can win the trust of investors and make the
most of every viable business opportunity. Reduced Employee Turnover
With increased sales and higher profits, you can offer employees good
salary packages and additional bonuses, thus reducing employee
turnover. Employee Motivation
Client satisfaction directly influences the working environment of
business organizations. With decreased pressure of meeting targets and
financial stability, employees can work in a comfortable corporate
atmosphere, thus encouraging them to work to their maximum capacity. Increased Efficiency
The above mentioned benefits lead to overall increased productivity of the organization.
Now that you are familiar with the ways through which quality
customer service can benefit your business, implement creative and
innovative strategies to value your customers.
You probably have at least one computer networked in your home. Your
ISP gives you a router (either DSL or cable) and your computer connects
to that router to gain access to the Internet. This is a very basic form
of a network. It’s just one computer connected to a router. You could
even have several devices in the home connected to this one router.
What makes your network any different than any other network? If you
think about your setup, it’s just a bunch of computers that share
resources. This type of network topology is a peer-to-peer structure.
There isn’t much security, because you don’t need it when the network
comprises of your own computers. However, when you own an office, you
need security to protect certain sections. You do this with a
client-server network. Servers control access and place security on each
client computer, printer or other hardware resource. An Introduction to a Windows Domain
The type of client-server network you implement depends on your
operating system. Windows environments are called domains. The server
runs the Windows Server operating system, and the client computers run
client operating systems such as Windows 7, Vista or Windows 8. The
first Windows domain was Windows NT and 3.11 client machines.
The Windows Server software controls the domain. The primary domain
controller keeps track of all network resources. Each user and client
computer is controlled on the domain controller using Active Directory
(AD). AD was first introduced in Windows 2000 and it’s still a part of
the latest server operating system, which is Windows 2012.
Even if you have experience working with local peer-to-peer networks,
there is a bit of a learning curve when you need to configure and
maintain a Windows domain. Windows also uses Access Control Lists (ACL)
to control client desktop computers. Access Control sets everything from
what a user can change on the client computer to what applications the
user can access on the desktop. New to Windows Server 2012? Take a class at Udemy.com and learn to work with your server. Client-Server Networks Roles and Groups
The client-server network security is based on roles. Roles define
the type of access the user has on the network and if the user can
change configurations or users. It’s important that the network
administrator keep track of users with elevated roles, because this can
lead to a hacked network. It can also lead to some users gaining access
to certain documentation and network resources that aren’t supposed to
have access.
Most users are placed into a group. These groups are assigned access
rights and permissions. Windows includes certain groups as a default
after you install the operating system. However, the administrator can
make additional groups and assign certain permissions to that group.
The highest level role is the administrator. Windows also has an
administrator group. When you install the operating system, you’re asked
for an administrator account password. After the installation, you can
change the administrator account name, which adds some security to the
network. The administrator has full control of the network. This means
that no user can lock you out, you have full control of the server and
you can configure the network any way you want.
You can also control the way users access files. Access control
rights include view, edit, create and full control. This list of
security protects documentation and directories. For instance, if you
give a user view access to a file, they can view the file’s content but
they can’t edit the file’s content. Full control lets the user view and
edit the file as well as change the security settings on the file. Types of Servers on Your Network
You can configure several types of servers on your network. They
don’t all need to be physical machines either. You can have virtual
machines that host several types of applications, except take note that
virtual machines still share physical resources on the server including
the hard drive, CPU and memory.
The first common server type is an application server. An application
server hosts executable files users can either run directly from the
server’s hard drive or download to the local computer’s directory. The
application also hosts updates that developers promote and distribute to
each client computer. With cloud applications becoming more popular,
application servers are slowly being replaced. They are still popular
with proprietary client computer applications and legacy software.
File servers are also common in enterprise networks. File servers
allow users to upload documents. As a network administrator, you give
each user their own directory, so only that particular user can access
files contained within. When you centralize where users store files, you
can not only control security and access to those files, you can also
make it easier to create backups. With a central file server, all you
need to do is back up that particular server’s hard drive.
Web servers are probably the most popular servers known even to new
network administrators. Web servers can host a public website or an
intranet. Intranets are web servers that are only accessible to internal
employees. These servers make it easier to disseminate company
documents and give you the ability to automate certain HR and
administrative tasks. You probably already know what a public-facing
web server offers.
These three server types are probably the most common ones you’ll
come across while you learn computer networking. However, you might run
into other types. DHCP servers control IP assignments. Routers can also
serve as DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol) servers, but bigger
enterprise networks often use a physical machine. DNS is another type of
server. You can use your ISP’s DNS servers, but bigger networks often
have their own DNS servers. These name servers translate a friendly
domain name to an IP address for users’ browsers. For instance, if you
have an intranet server set up, you probably want a DNS server also
configured so that users can type a friendly name into a browser to
access the main company intranet site. When Do You Know It’s Time for a Client-Server Network Setup?
If you already have a small network set up, it’s hard to decide when
to make the move to a client-server architecture. It’s more expensive,
takes up more resources, and it guarantees some downtime for users as
you add the servers, change client settings and get some of the bugs off
the network. However, when you need better security and resources, it’s
time to make the move.
Consider the cost before you switch and if you have time to manage
the network. A client-server network usually requires someone full time
to maintain it. You also need to buy the hardware to support the
architecture. Enterprise operating systems and software is usually more
expensive, especially if you decide to work with a Windows domain.
You don’t have to work with Windows. Linux is also a common
environment, but it’s usually considered a more difficult environment to
work with if you are new to networking. You can also have a
heterogeneous environment, which means that the network has multiple
operating systems. For instance, you can have a Windows domain that also
has Linux and Mac client computers that connect to it.
Make sure you understand the changes you make to the network, so
you’re able to not only manage resources but quickly identify issues
when something goes wrong. A client-server network is much more scalable
and useful for the enterprise, but it can be frustrating if you don’t
know how to work with it. Take a course at Udemy.com and understand how to work with the Windows Server operating system.
Feedback can help guide your decision-making and point out subtle tweaks that may benefit your product. It’s also essential for measuring customer satisfaction among your current customers.
Getting a handle on how customers view your product, support and
brand is invaluable, so today we’re going to look at the best ways you
can gather insights from the current and prospective customers who visit
your site.
Improving Each Customer Feedback Channel
Before you begin collecting feedback from customers, you need to make sure you have clearly defined why you are seeking feedback.
Outlining the process as well as desired outcomes is essential for
gathering customer feedback the smart way; otherwise, you may be blindly
asking for feedback that will only muddy your understanding of your
customers.
Before you start, consider:
What part of the user experience do you want to improve?
What will you do with the data you collect?
Which channel works best for your goals?
We will be addressing this last question in the rest of this post—a
complete breakdown of the most effective ways to gather feedback from
current and prospective customers.
Let’s begin!
1. Email/Contact Forms
There is no question that email is one of the most valuable ways to gather candid customer feedback.
However, there are a few ways you can improve the way customers reach
out to you via email to maximize this channel’s effectiveness ... and
all of these changes will create a better experience for customers, as
well!
The three main elements you should focus on for soliciting feedback via email are:
Assuring customers of a speedy response
Creating an organized customer feedback system
Sending candid follow-up emails
A. The Importance of a ‘Speed Assurance’
Recent research published by a United Kingdom-based customer experience group reveals two very startling statistics about customer feedback.
Forty-three percent of those surveyed stated that they don’t complain/leave feedback because they don’t think that the business cares. Is it any wonder that most companies don’t hear from unhappy customers?
Of those same customers, 81 percent said they would be willing to leave feedback if they knew they would get a fast response!
As shown by these statistics, if you want to ensure that you’re
hearing candid feedback from customers, the simple addition in your
email of “We’ll get back to you ASAP!” will go a long way.
B. Keeping Email Feedback Organized
In an earlier post covering our workflow for managing feedback, I discussed how to use tools like Trello to create “boards” that your whole team can access and contribute to, ensuring that no good feedback slips through the cracks.
That post covers our method in detail, but the takeaways are:
Create boards within Trello titled “Product Ideas” (feature
requests), “Up Next” (what’s being worked on) and “Roadmap” (what you
plan to work on).
Create individual cards within each board to categorize requests.
For our Product Ideas board, we use sections like “Inbox” (new ideas),
“Rejected” (discarded ideas), “Someday/Maybe” (good ideas, but not
urgent), and “Apps” (integration requests).
Add email addresses within cards for the people who requested the idea. For instance, anyone who asked us for reports
upgrades will be added to a list within a card so that they can be
notified when the upgrade is complete. Here’s an example card (with
emails blocked out for privacy):
This system lets you keep tabs on what’s being requested and by whom,
as well as tracking ideas you’ve already passed on. This also gives
employees a clear roadmap for future customer interactions.
C. The Power of a Personal Email
Sometimes the best way to get a candid response from a customer is to simply ask for one.
When customers sign up via email to access information on the site,
you have the opportunity to send out an auto-responder email that asks a
single question. You can inquire about what customers are struggling
with, what feature they’d like to see the most, or simply ask why they
signed up.
At the end of the email, you should ask them to reply to you;
many will, and their responses will be candid. Since this channel is
not public (like social media) and because the method is personal
(unlike a survey), it can allow you to start some pretty interesting
conversations with customers.
Just make sure you actually reply to these emails, or you’ll be letting people down and they won’t want to email you again!
2. Surveys
Crafting a useful customer survey is no easy task. There are so many
potential questions you could be asking customers, but you have to be
careful in your approach.
One way the web has made collecting surveys easier is to let you test
a longer, more traditional survey versus a shorter, “slider” survey
that appears onscreen as a customer browses your site:
For these short surveys, you can use tools like Qualaroo
(featured above) to ask a simple question or conduct a brief poll, with
the goal of generating responses from customers who are active on your
website.
The most popular platform for conducting traditional, full-length surveys is Survey Monkey, which can be customized to host any question type. Remember that if you want to create a customer survey that works—as in, one that customers will actually complete—you need to make sure your survey follows these proven guidelines:
Ask only questions that fulfill your end goal
Construct smart, open-ended questions
Ask one question at a time
Make rating scales consistent
Avoid leading and loaded questions
Be sure to check out our full coverage of this topic by reading this post.
3. Usability Tests
Usability testing requires more upfront planning, but far and away
delivers more insights than any of the methods listed here. It uncovers
things customers sometimes don’t even know they are thinking about or struggling with, and usually provides you with a clear path to make the experience better.
At Help Scout, we regularly turn to usability testing to get the
design details for a specific process or feature just right. It may be
90% finished, but well-run tests guarantee that we get the final (most
important) 10% right. We’ve been working for months on a new feature
that will launch in the coming weeks, and did extensive usability
testing with customers in order to get the details perfect. It went so
well that we re-designed the whole thing to better align with customer
expectations.
User testing is common for websites and web-based products, but the
fundamentals are applicable in any business. Let’s say you run a gym.
Give someone a free month to go to the gym 5 days a week and keep a
diary about their experience. Seeing the business through a different
lens uncovers little things that can make a huge difference.
To get started with usability testing, we highly recommend Rocket Surgery Made Easy by Steve Krug. For web-based testing with people that are unfamiliar with your business, UserTesting.com does an outstanding job.
4. Exploratory Interviews
Can direct outreach really be beneficial in getting feedback from customers? Absolutely—especially when you conduct it the right way. Truly understanding your customers is often as easy as talking to them directly.
This direct outreach can also help fill in the gaps that less
personal forms of feedback tend to create. For instance, as Lars Lofgren
highlights in this article,
if you provide an app that creates invoices, and customers have
repeatedly told you that they want to customize the design, a few things
could be going on here:
Your customers are mostly designers, and this customization aspect is important for branding.
Your current design options just plain suck.
They really only need to tweak a few minor sections.
There are a couple important things to note when conducting these sorts of interviews, and the following tips from the Nielsen group can help you get started:
Focus on user attitudes. Explore how users think
about a problem. Asking them what a button color should be will get you
nowhere, but understanding their impressions (“This feature is too
complicated”) will allow you to alter features to address the problem.
Use the critical incident method. Ask users to
recall specific instances in which they faced a particularly difficult
usage case or when something worked particularly well.
Inquire about habits. Asking users how they
normally do a task can reveal problems they didn’t even know were there.
If a user is jumping through four menus to do something that they could
do with a shortcut, then you now have something to fix.
Since you can get face-to-face online with programs like Skype and even share screens during an online meeting with tools like Join.me, don’t let distance stop you from having one-on-one interviews with customers.
5. Social Listening
Listening through social media can prove particularly useful for
gathering candid feedback from customers. I refer to this method as
“social listening” because direct comments or mentions on social
networks aren’t the only way for your business to get responses.
Consider this quick poll conducted on Facebook:
In this instance, a short poll on a highly popular social network
makes plenty of sense; it’s too short to include as a separate survey,
and asking this question on-site would distract from far more important
goals.
You know from my take on brand loyalty that I feel engagement on social media can be overhyped, but in this instance social platforms can be utilized successfully and get customers involved with your page.
6. On-Site Activity (via Analytics)
What are your users telling you without telling you?
Sometimes the best feedback is found when users are candidly using your product (and not being asked how they use it). To get a peek at these sorts of insights, you should turn to analytics that showcase how users are interacting with your site.
For example, let’s say you are using content as a form of customer service. You might see that thousands of people are visiting your content to get their questions answered ... but have you looked at how they are using it?
If your FAQs section has a 0:09 average on-page time and an awful
bounce rate, you know something is not being communicated clearly.
People are visiting your support content but obviously not utilizing
it.
In other instances, you might want to track how users who did not sign up for your product behaved. Brennan Dunn, founder of Planscope, recently discovered a weakness on his site by using the analytics tool KISSmetrics:
Without on-site data like this, it is very unlikely that a browser
would come forward and explain why they abandoned the site (after
clicking through on other pages). It’s sometimes necessary to see how
people view your site when they don’t know anyone is watching.
7. Comment Boxes
Speaking of KISSmetrics, one of the more creative ways we’ve seen for
measuring user satisfaction with a particular page can be found in how
they implement feedback boxes at the bottom of particular pages.
KISSmetrics product manager Jason Evanish says pop-ups and live chats often interrupt the flow of whatever a customer was doing (and live chats require an employee around).
Instead, he’s found that strategically inserted comment boxes at the
end of pages draw candid feedback that doesn’t require employee
monitoring or interrupt a user while they’re browsing the page:
he days where marketers simply fill the sales funnel with names must
end. This quantity-over-quality approach to lead generation has fueled
the longstanding tension between Sales and Marketing. One way to resolve
this tension is to have Marketing–not Sales–take point on telephone
lead qualification.
A Marketing-led team of telemarketers that qualifies leads can make
Sales more efficient, improve lead nurturing effectiveness, and create a
beneficial feedback loop for marketing strategy. It will also help
Marketing demonstrate its contribution to company growth. Here’s why.
Sales Teams Are for Closers
Companies should reserve their Sales teams for what they’re best at:
closing deals. As Derek Grant, Senior Vice President of Sales at Pardot
says, “Salespeople live quarter to quarter, so they tend to go after
the low-hanging fruit or big deals.” As such, salespeople don’t want to
deal with the hassle of verifying that a Marketing-supplied lead is
qualified. In fact, a SiriusDecisions report found that Sales only follows up with 20 percent of all leads.
As Chris Selland, VP of Marketing at HP Vertica,
notes, “there is rarely an overlap between individuals that are good at
qualifying a lead (telemarketing) and individuals that are good at
closing deals (inside sales)."
And Sales might not be doing a good job of sorting out who is or
isn’t qualified. Even though they’re cherry-picking leads, Sales still
disqualifies 70 percent of them. The SirusDecisions report found that 80
percent of the leads Sales disqualifies go on to buy from the
company–or a competitor–within 24 months.
Marketing is Better Positioned for Lead Qualification
Marketing has a critical advantage over Sales in lead qualification:
Marketing doesn’t have a near-term quota to close deals. This allows the
marketer to engage a prospect in a more open and honest conversation
about their needs, purchase timeframe, budget and other factors that
comprise typical qualification criteria. That’s good information for
Marketing to have first-hand, anyway.
In fact, a recent Aberdeen survey
conducted by Trip Kucera, Senior Analyst of Marketing Effectiveness
& Strategy, found that best-in-class companies use a team of
telemarketers within their Marketing department to qualify leads. These
companies saw a 22 percent year-over-year increase in Marketing’s
contribution to revenue. This is significant when compared to the
average of a seven percent increase for companies that didn’t rely on a
Marketing-led qualification team.
Jordan Brannon, Director of Marketing at Coalition Technologies, claims to have seen several benefits since setting up a Marketing-led qualification team 10 months ago, including:
The percent of leads that progress to proposal is up seven percent;
The close rate for the Sales team is up by four percent;
The average value per lead is up 11 percent; and,
Customer satisfaction responses regarding his Sales team are up 10 percent.
Although Brannon does not attribute all of this improvement to the
Marketing-led qualification team, he believes that an improvement in
Marketing-delivered lead quality has played an important role.
Putting the Plan into Action: Four Areas to Focus
The results above are great, but they don’t happen simply by moving
the qualification process over to Marketing. Here are four key areas to
focus on when developing a Marketing-led qualification team.
1. Hiring
You want to hire lead qualifiers who are energetic, competitive and
willing to spend hours on the phone. You also want to hire individuals
who have yet to attain a senior Sales or Marketing role, but are
interested in moving in that direction.
Beyond that, you want someone who knows how to skillfully ask
difficult questions that prospects may be hesitant to answer openly and
truthfully, such as how much budget they have allotted, or who the
decision makers are. While this is difficult to screen, you can pick up
on their natural intuition during the interview process by gauging what
kind of pointed questions they have for you and whether they’re able to
keep you talking about the role.
2. Compensation
You want your lead qualifiers to share in the upside if a deal they
qualified turns into a sale. The easiest way to do this is to start them
at a base salary–similar to a sales role–and then pay them a commission
based on the total value of revenue closed. To start, set comp at a
higher base with less bonus potential until they can get used to the
role. Then offer lower base in exchange for higher bonus potential.
Additionally, you also want to reward the qualifiers for
qualification accuracy. One way to do this is to implement a metric for
Sales-accepted leads. If the qualifier’s leads never or rarely get
rejected, offer a fixed or sliding-scale quarterly bonus.
3. Lead Routing
You should bucket your leads into three categories:
Qualified leads. These leads meet all the qualification criteria and should be handed-off to Sales.
Disqualified leads. These leads are not qualified, and have
no hope of becoming qualified. A flower shop will never represent a
viable lead for a large enterprise software company.
Leads to be nurtured. These leads do not meet all your
qualification criteria today but may become viable prospects in the
future. The real opportunity of creating this role is that you will now
have a dedicated person there to check in with prospects frequently and
nurture these leads with a human touch.
You’ll also want a process for fast-tracking leads that should be
immediately routed to Sales. For instance, if Sales has a “top 10” list
of customers they wish they had, any leads from those organizations
should bypass the qualification process.
4. Feedback Loops
There needs to be a continuous feedback loop between Marketing and
Sales. Sales should know why Marketing is disqualifying certain leads
(and double-check that they’re not disqualifying a few hidden gems), and
Marketing should know from Sales whether the leads they’re handing off
are truly viable.
To manage this, it’s a good idea to have Sales and Marketing meet
periodically (perhaps start at once a week, then move to once a month)
to review progress throughout the sales funnel and refine lead
qualification criteria, if necessary.
By having Marketing own lead qualification, you can both drive more
sales and create a Marketing team that’s more accountable and better
able to see its contribution to revenue.
What are your thoughts on this strategy? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
6 Technology Gurus IT Managers Adore Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology
These leaders are acclaimed for their contributions in the world of technology. However, many of them are good business leaders too, who took their businesses to the next level with their astute business acumen.
Steve Jobs is the man who embodies many qualities --vision, innovation, understanding of consumer, and an indomitable spirit. His innovations rule personal computing space today with many imitating his visions.
These
leaders are acclaimed for their contributions in the world of
technology. However, many of them are good business leaders too, who
took their businesses to the next level with their astute business
acumen. - See more at:
http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
These
leaders are acclaimed for their contributions in the world of
technology. However, many of them are good business leaders too, who
took their businesses to the next level with their astute business
acumen. - See more at:
http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
N. R. Narayana Murthy, the Indian IT industrialist, is idolised by many as one of the doyens of Indian IT industry. The famous IT czar is credited with forming India’s second largest software services company.
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Steve Jobs' exceptional vision and direction saved Apple and to its position as the world's most innovative technology company. The digital era we all are part of today was defined by the products that Jobs envisioned.
S Ramadorai, who is currently the adviser to the Prime Minister of India in the national council on skill development, was the CEO and MD of TCS in 1996-2009. He is one of the pioneers of Indian IT.
From phone to cell phone to feature phone to smartphone. Jobs' focused vision brought the iPhone, a revolution, back in 2007. The touch screen, native apps, and the App Store to buy third-party apps, transformed the pocket computer.
Steve Jobs not only revolutionized computers, he innovated entertainment, mobile, and telecommunications that led others to follow.
Sundar Pichai, the SVP at Google -where he oversees Android, Chrome, and Google Apps, is touted by many as an innovative product manager. Pichai earned BE from IIT Kharagpur in the year 1993 from the Department of Metallurgy.
"Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact --everything around you that you call life, was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it," said Steve Jobs in an interview for PBS.
"Life
can be much broader once you discover one simple fact --everything
around you that you call life, was made up by people that were no
smarter than you. And you can change it," said Steve Jobs in an
interview for PBS. - See more at:
http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-8
Satya Nadella's much talked about 'mobile-first, cloud-first' ambition appears to be the right strategy in the world ruled by mobile devices.
The success behind Steve Jobs' initiatives is not only because of his brilliance, he truly could foresee what people wanted. And that made him a true trend setter.
Larry Page who co-founded Google with Sergey Brin is on the mandate 'organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.'He is the man behind products we all use today.
Satya Nadella, the then cloud chief of Microsoft, envisions to take the Redmond based titan to the next level with his mobile-first, cloud-first strategy.
Steve Jobs is undoubtedly one of the top IT leaders who revolutionized the IT industry with creations one after the other that everyone on earth uses today.
Includes
tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of
technology. - See more at:
http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes
tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of
technology. - See more at:
http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-
Includes tech geniuses with Indian origin who helped shape the world of technology.
- See more at: http://www.itnext.in/articles/1002520/6-technology-gurus-it-managers-adore-slideshow#slide-0
Recently I decided to start my own
event management company. I’ve worked in events for more than ten years
and I thought, hey why not starting my own business! Well after that,
things became a bit difficult because I did not know how to start an
event management company.
So I decided to have a look around. Bought few books, saw few
websites of famous planning agencies and tried to put few ideas down.
After that I thought that my blog could have been of great use to help
me in organizing my thoughts and maybe share some tips. UPDATE: This is a brainstorming article I wrote in
2007. My career evolved differently but it is still a valid roadmap for
those who want to start
Therefore here are the thirst thoughts I had about running an event management company:
I need to find my specialty. I’ve organized disco nights and
congresses with up to 300 delegates. These are my specialties.
Nonetheless, I am really interested in wedding planning as I see big
potential in the sector. Plus the region where I live in Italy would
really fit for this kind of business.
I read somewhere during my MBA that small business need to focus on
few specific core competencies and in this case my core competency
would be conferences.
I need people around me able to do what I am not. I am a marketing
person and an advanced control freak. In an hypothetic event management
business I’d need to cover:
Creativity skills. For Event Design
Accounting skills. For Budgeting
Control skills. For logistics
Risk Management skills. For security purposes.
Computer Skills. For ad materials (eg. Brochures, Flyers) and online production (websites)
Marketing Skills. For pricing, promotion and event delivery
Selling Skills. To find new clients.
I am positive I could manage few aspects of the above, but what
happen to the rest of them. I decided that while I’ll have some time
I’d look for quick education with short focused courses. If the areas
are particularly delicate, such as accounting, I’ll outsource the
function or hire a part time, or better I’ll look at local universities
for some student willing to help out.
Well these are my starting thoughts. Any other suggestion?
Last year was an exciting year for interior design. 2014 saw a flourish
of bright jewel tones, chevron patterns and ikat prints introduced into
the home, with matching furniture and bright colours incorporated into
the most stylish properties.
However, this year’s forecast is set to be quite different, moving away
from overused prints and saturated colours to feature an array of
exciting possibilities. Here at Redrow London, we’ve put together 5 of
the best interior design trends, so you can redesign your home with the
most stylish designs in mind.
Bold Wallpaper Patterns
Many people associate wallpaper with 1970s retro styling, with garish
orange and brown hues mixed with eclectic geometric shapes. However this
year, wallpaper is without a doubt making a comeback.
This classic decorating material will be appearing in living rooms,
bedrooms and kitchens to replace the saturated colour schemes of the
previous year. In 2015, you can expect to find unusual textures and new
materials, with embossed decorations featured. Embossed wallpaper works
well on large areas, and can become a feature within the room, while
textured accent walls with bold prints are also set to become a popular
choice.
You can also expect to find wallpaper in the bathroom, with designers
decorating walls with humidity-resistant papers and non-woven fabric
arrangements that enhance the space with new dimensions and textures.
Blue Tones And Hues
Traditionally recognised for its calming properties and tranquil
elements, the colour blue is not one widely associated with many rooms
outside of the bathroom.
However, with the year ahead encouraging change and dramatic new
designs, you can expect to see a vibrant array of blue tones and hues
incorporated into many new trends this year. In particular, cobalt blue
was extremely popular throughout the autumn of 2014 and in 2015, it’s
here to stay.
A bold tone that will refresh your living space no matter how you
choose to decorate, cobalt is a fabulous colour to combine with other
blue hues too. For those who normally decorate with black and dark
colour palettes, then this might be your year to experiment with blue
tones.
This deep shade of blue will be appearing in a wealth of designs,
whether you want to incorporate the colour through fabrics and
furnishings or ornamental decorations throughout each room, the ability
to use this exciting new shade is definitely going to be one to welcome.
Nature Themed Interiors
Oversized interior landscaping is looking to become a huge design trend
in 2015, with salvaged wood and rustic metals also making a bold
appearance. . Embracing organic elements inside the home is a great way
to celebrate nature and incorporate refreshing styles in new ways, even
by adding just a few houseplants.
Photographic imagery and large canvas prints of natural wildlife is
another strong theme that will be present within the interior design
trends of 2015 and can be continued onto pillows and cushions if you
prefer to enhance a room with soft furnishings instead.
A ‘green wall’ is an exciting way to add natural elements in your home
and will make for a fantastic feature if you include the bold statement
of floor-to-ceiling plants. If this might be too extravagant to your
tastes but you would still like to incorporate the modern theme of
nature to your decorating, then layering up on potted plants with
different shapes and heights is a fantastic way to add a similar
dimension to your living space.
Combine interior landscaping with indoor water features and team them
with fresh shades and colour palettes for an instant nature inspired
design. If you are looking for something a little subtler, then simply
adding a few floral prints and patterns into your decor can also
transform your home in an instant.
Gold Fittings For A Touch Of Opulence
The New Year is seeing the back of Eastern-inspired textures and
prints, which are now being replaced by rich and warm tones of gold.
From light fittings, taps and embellished decorations to furniture and
fabrics, the colour gold is making a striking appearance and adding an
opulent glow to every room it touches.
Bright gold tones with sleek finishes will be a popular theme within
bathrooms, especially as you can mix and match the warm tones of rose
gold, brass and copper to evoke a warm and inviting design. Make a
statement with gold furniture and feature walls, which will lend a new
gleam to every inch of your home. Replacing ordinary door handles with
opulent gold doorknobs or adding gold lampshades and accessories to
existing living spaces is an alternative way to still include design
trend if you want to incorporate a golden glow without completely
redecorating your home.
Dark bronze colour schemes and bright golden tones compliment each
other beautifully and help to create a glamorous and opulent interior
that is right on trend.
Fusion Styling
One of the most dramatic style changes this year will be the use of
combining old and new interior design ideas and mixing them together to
create interesting and modern living spaces. By incorporating a fusion
of styles into the home, you are not only re-using and recycling
previous furniture and accessories that you might not want to throw out
yet, but you are also creating brand new designs.
The use of organic shapes, curved lines and contemporary furniture
that’s been paired with rustic accessories and out-of-date colour
schemes will be a popular trend this year, and will be a great way to
slowly add new and daring designs into your home. Fusion styling is all
about mixing and matching, so if you want to make the most out of this
trend, then you might need to mix it up a little by adding colour
schemes and furniture that you wouldn’t ordinarily put together.
Ultimately, 2015 is all about sophistication, so whether you are
looking to redecorate your entire home with bold statements and new
designs, or you want to slowly incorporate just a few style ideas, there
are certainly plenty of ways to include the interior design trends of
2015 into your home.
After all the hard work, goal setting and focus, you were passed over for promotion you thought would be coming your way.
Now you’re sitting there wondering what your next move is and whether
or not any move would make a difference. This has rocked your world
and has left you with more questions than answers.
There are some things for you to do immediately and other things best left to later in the week or next week. Things to do now if you were passed over for promotion: 1. Stay cool. The worst thing you could do after
being passed over for promotion is stomp into the boss’s office and
throw what feels like a well-deserved fit. Even if their decision was
biased and unfair a rampage from you won’t make your case. It could
even be career limiting. If you need to vent, pick someone outside your
company who will just let you be however you need to be. 2. Don’t make any big decision. When we’ve been hit
with a big, negative event, our brain isn’t functioning too well.
Simply dig back into your work and let that be your focus for the next
week. If you move into action too quickly, it might not be well thought
out which could result in regret. Pick a day for reentering into the
decision and action space. You need time to pull yourself together. 3. Don’t vent to your peers. While venting does
have its merits, right now you shouldn’t vent to anyone at work about
being passed over for promotion. It seems that those conversations have
a nasty way of making their way to the boss regardless of how close a
work peer they might be.
Things to do later if you were passed over for promotion (a.k.a. like a week from now): 1. Clarify the message. Chances are good that your
brain shut off the listening function when you heard the message you
didn’t got passed over for promotion. The boss did probably give you
some important information for you to use. Circle back around to any
notes or even the boss for a quick, clarifying conversation. No debate
just gather information. 2. Move into problem solving. You have a problem. You had expectations of a promotion and you didn’t get it. This means one of the following:
Expectations of you/the promotion changed and you didn’t know it.
You weren’t communicating well with the boss on what it takes and how well you were doing.
The decision was arbitrary.
3. You can’t solve a problem you don’t fully understand.
You also may not be objective enough to completely assess the problem.
If you have a work mentor, now is the time to get with them. You need
to make sure that whatever action you take will truly address the
underlying problem. If you executed the previous step you should have
some good information that will shed light on the problem you need to
fix. 4. Get the right attitude. You aren’t “owed” a
promotion. You need to take the approach that you will make adjustments
that will put you on the right track. Don’t over compensate, simply
resolve that this is a problem to solve. It also doesn’t mean that you
aren’t worthy of a promotion so don’t act like a whipped dog. 5. What if this is impossible? If this isn’t the
first time for being passed over, then it is time for you to rethink
your future at this company. If you are being realistic about your
performance and capability; if your promotion is long overdue it’s time
to leave. Sometimes we don’t mesh with what the company values. You
might be a great performer but you aren’t material for upper levels with
this company. That’s okay to know. You will do better somewhere
else. It doesn’t mean you’re not worthy. You are; just not here. Time
to move on.
Don’t let getting passed over for promotion derail you or your career
goals. Learn from this situation and take the right actions that will
get you where you know you can go.
I still get skeptical comments when I tell people about what I do,
from “Can you really make money online at home?” and “I don’t think I’d
be disciplined enough to work from home” to “What exactly do you do each
day?” and “You’re probably the exception to the rule, right?”
Even among fellow freelancers, some uncertainty exists about how to
make a “career” out of freelancing. Sure, it’s easy to get a few
projects here and there. But how is it possible to build an income solid
enough to support your family? Here are a few tips that helped me build
a full-time oDesk career.
Goal-Setting vs. Wishing
When I was a kid, I was confident that I’d grow up to be a
professional baseball player. In fact, as a teenager, I had heard that
if you really wanted something to happen, it was important to write the
desired outcome on paper and look at it each day. So, I decided to tape a
poster on my bathroom mirror that read: “I WILL play Major League
baseball.”
Looking back, it seems that I was simply wishing for an outcome,
instead of actually setting goals. As an adult, I now realize that goals
must be attainable and measurable, and you must have a specific plan of
action for achieving them. My baseball aspirations were hampered
because I never wrote out a specific game plan. Also, the goal may have
been unattainable from the get-go, given how few people make it past
high school or college baseball (although I did bat .381 my senior year in college).
Why Goals are So Important
Goals bring us clarity. Stating a desired outcome is the first step
in the goal-setting process. In fact, if you’ve read Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you know that one habit is to “begin with the end in mind.” Visualizing a successful outcome will help you understand what steps should be taken to realize the goal.
So, if each of us desires to have a more successful oDesk career,
what should we do next? What specific actions should be taken? Let’s
take a closer look.
Start by Dreaming Big…Crazy Big
Once you’ve landed a couple steady oDesk clients, it’s time to start
dreaming big. I’m not talking about vague ideas, such as “being
successful on oDesk.” I’m talking about things that will keep you
motivated for the long-haul. Sure, desiring to be successful on oDesk is
admirable. However, such success is often a byproduct of something much
deeper.
To help you consider these types of “big” ideas, I’d like to offer the following rubric (which I outline in my book):
What is something that is possible, yet not likely? (Hint: some of
mine include paying off our house in less than 5 years and going on an
all-inclusive Caribbean vacation soon).
How can you make this happen?
What deadlines can you set to achieve this?
Three Goal Types for Every oDesker
Once you’ve got some big motivators in mind, it’s time to devise a
realization plan. My virtual career is a manifestation of the following
three goal types:
Annual goals: These are goals for the immediate
year. I typically dedicate a full day in late December to do this type
of goal-setting, when I can go “off site” to do a review of the previous
year and build a projection for the coming year. During this session, I
take a look at the average number of hours I worked for each client,
what succeeded, what failed, and what I can do next year to provide even
more value. I then layout a “forecast” by determining expected revenues
from each client.
Weekly goals: Based on your defined annual goals,
you need to have a weekly game plan that helps you track your progress. I
use a simple spreadsheet that lists all clients and hourly rates on the
left side of the page and each day of the week across the top. As the
week progresses, I update the spreadsheet to track my desired income
versus actual.
Daily goals: Based on your weekly goals, you should
already have a good starting point for each day’s work. Obviously,
things change from day to day. However, if you are intentional about
allocating your time, you can usually be successful in predicting the
amount of time you will spend for each client. At the beginning of each
day, I usually open my weekly tracking spreadsheet and figure out how
many minutes I’m going to work for each client. Based on this, I write
out each hour of the day in a notebook and decide which client will get
that hour of my time. In addition, I like to write each client’s name
and list out a few goals. As the day progresses, I am able to cross off
each hour and goal from my notebook.
For these short surveys, you can use tools like 
Without on-site data like this, it is very unlikely that a browser
would come forward and explain why they abandoned the site (after
clicking through on other pages). It’s sometimes necessary to see how
people view your site when they don’t know anyone is watching.
After all the hard work, goal setting and focus, you were passed over for promotion you thought would be coming your way.
