Here are six reasons why you shouldn't skip out on sending follow-up emails. Image credit: Guido Mieth | Getty Images A sales follow-up email is for more than just confirming an order: It’s a powerful sales tool that can turn customers into lifelong supporters. After all, it’s not your product that turns customers into supporters and fans. It’s the relationship you develop with customers that does it. The follow-up email keeps the lines of communication open when you’re not busy trying to sell.
So, why do so few companies send out regular follow-up emails? They have the software to do it, since most email marketing tools come with email automation built-in. They just often don’t think about it because they’re too busy searching for new customers. But, according to Profitwell, the cost of acquiring new customers has increased by over 50 percent in the last five years, you have to try something new at some point. Why not go back to the sales follow-up email? If you use it right, you can generate new sales, improve engagement, and get meaningful customer feedback about your products. Here are a few ways why the follow-up email is special and how it can help your company. 1. Follow-up emails create connections with customers. Follow-up emails strengthen the connection between you and your customers. It costs less to keep the customers you have than to find new ones, so you should do everything you can to keep them. Related: The Art of the Follow-Up 2. They build customer trust. Sending regular follow-up emails after a sale will make your brand credible, accountable and trustworthy in the eyes of customers. They’ll see that they didn’t throw away their money and that you’re doing what you said you’d do. Bonus points if you send the follow-up from a real person at your company instead of an email alias like “info@yourcompanyname.com.” 3. They turn customers into loyal supporters. There’s more to email marketing than selling to customers. They don’t want an endless stream of sales pitches — especially if you’re in the B2B space. People want their favorite brands to engage and build relationships with them. Turn these people into loyal supporters by sending educational and valuable content regularly. For instance, a link to a video for the product they just bought, demonstrating how other customers use it, or a blog post about a trending topic in the industry. They’ll see that you care about helping them be succeed and will talk about that with their network. 4. They continue the customer conversation. A follow-up email is a perfect place for customers to send you feedback, questions, reviews, and more. After responding to any questions, you can use the content to create new sales and marketing content, saving your business time and money. Plus, customer reviews and testimonials often speak a lot louder than paid advertising: According to Trustpulse, 83 percent of people trust testimonials over brand messaging. Related: The Simple Email Trick That Makes Following Up Effective 5. They help you improve. As you continue the customer conversation, you’re opening your brand up to feedback. After all, not all responses are going to be positive ones. When you send that follow-up email from a real address, many customers will take the opportunity to tell you exactly what they think of your product. Sending the email soon after the sale is the best way to gather feedback. The experience buyers have with your sales and onboarding processes is fresh, so it’s a prime opportunity to find out what’s working for them and what isn’t. Use their comments to rejig your processes and products to make them more valuable to future customers. 6. They help inspire referrals. If it’s been a while since you’ve reached out to your customers, a follow-up email can spark action. More specifically, it can spark a referral. Give them a reason to want to refer you, such as fantastic service, efficient support or an amazing product. They’ll probably need a little motivation to do it, so offer an incentive, such as a credit, physical gift or monetary reward. Referrals are another easy way to gain new customers, which can cost a lot of time and money, so be sure to provide something equally valuable as a reward. Most companies only send one post-sale email, right after the conclusion of the sale. But they’re missing out on a host of benefits they could provide customers (and a few things that’ll help them in the future too.) Craft a compelling after-sale follow-up strategy to improve your customers’ experience and create a loyal customer base that’ll buy more from you. Read more from Entrepreneur If you have a local business, it’s important to engage in digital marketing to attract more local clients. Many local businesses make the mistake of believing they should only use online advertisements and other forms of online marketing if they have a business beyond their immediate community. However, with online ad capabilities nowadays, it’s easier than ever to target target customers in your local area and help them learn about your business. That said, there are specific realms of digital marketing that it’s important to include in a local business marketing strategy, and others to avoid. Nailing down strategies that can target those in your city should be a top priority for your local business. Here are six ways to grow your local business through digital marketing. 6 Ways To Grow Your Local Business With Digital Marketing - Stephanie Burns DEPOSIT PHOTOS 1. Facebook Ads
Because it’s remarkably easy to create a target audience in Facebook ads by location, many local businesses utilize Facebook advertisements. However, Yael Bendahan, a digital marketing strategist and visibility coach, stresses that the sales funnel attached to the ads needs to be conversion optimized. “Facebook Ads can't fix a bad funnel or offer - they will simply amplify the results you already have,” she noted. You’ll be wasting money if your funnel doesn’t convert. Test out different funnels on smaller audiences, then make adjustments before spending your entire marketing budget. 2. Youtube Commercials YouTube Commercials can also capture your target audience. In fact, Aimee Tariq, COO of WebMetrixGroup, shares that “YouTube commercials are the most effective form of paid traffic advertising because it leverages the search engine history of the user with google AI.” Even better: it’s recommended over Google, because the AI crafts the message to a warm audience at a fraction of the cost of google adwords. Inevitably, that means higher ROI for your business. 3. Instagram Instagram is another ideal place to connect with customers near you, using features such as location tags and hashtags by your city or state. From there, you can message potential customers with large followings and offer a free product or service in exchange for an Instagram post or story. Haley Jean Marie, founder of media marketing and content creation company The Salt Influence, also recommends using Instagram to engage with and support other local businesses. “Yes, it’s social media,” she reflects. “But we need to ground social media back into the human experience - being authentic and making connections with other businesses on social media will help grow an authentic community.” To get started, plug in your city in the ‘locations’ tab and see which small businesses pop up. Recommended For You
4. SEO Engaging on social media through the aforementioned three advertisement types certainly helps with SEO, but bolster your business’s internet presence even more by optimizing your website. Cyle Patnode is the founder of Your Online Advisors and specializes in helping businesses rank well in their local areas. “Regularly post on your Google My Business page and completely fill out the information section inside your Google My Business dashboard,” Patnode recommends. “These two simple actions, in addition to implementing a google review strategy, can place your business on the first Google results page.” The higher your page ranks on the Google results page, the higher the chance of local customers finding out about your business. 5. Content Marketing Content marketing can also assist with SEO ranking. Used to describe adding blog posts to your company’s website to rank higher, this content is a great place to appeal to your local customers. For example: if you run a skincare company and you’re based in Scottsdale, tailor the content to protecting your skin in the Arizona heat. This way, keywords around skincare, Scottsdale, and Arizona will rank you higher. Come up with blog topics that specifically answer your target customer’s problems and questions. Alina Petrov of Semrush advises, “creating content with no understanding of what works for your audience and your brand is a waste of time and resources.” 6. Email Marketing Finally, engaging in email marketing is a great way to keep your current customers coming back. There are a number of creative ways to build an email list of your customers. If your local business is a brick and mortar store, Pam Neely of GetResponse recommends having a tablet for customers to type their email into rather than a signup sheet to appease any hard-to-read handwriting. Other ideas include hosting events in your area and adding attendees’ emails to your mailing list, or asking to email their receipt instead of printing it. Focusing marketing efforts on these six avenues will have more customers coming through your front door - or onto the homepage of your website - in no time. Read more from Forbes ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com FREE DIGITAL TRACKABLE ADVERTISING Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM Why do they call it "public broadcasting" when it promotes actions against the public interest? What do we pay our tax dollars for "public radio" that advocates theft in the midst of rioting? On Thursday, NPR's blog "Code Switch," with the slogan "Race In Your Face," posted an interview promoting a new book titled In Defense of Looting. This tweet says it all for us: By Tim Graham  Publishers Weekly's review sells the book on Amazon: "Osterweil debuts with a provocative, Marxist-informed defense of looting as a radical and effective protest tactic...a bracing rethink of the goals and methods of protest."
NPR's Natalie Escobar summarized author Vicki Osterweil's current take: Now, as protests and riots continue to grip cities, she argues that looting is a powerful tool to bring about real, lasting change in society. The rioters who smash windows and take items from stores, she says, are engaging in a powerful tactic that questions the justice of "law and order," and the distribution of property and wealth in an unequal society. Escobar blandly asks the author to paint a "Marxist-informed" picture of why radicals loot: It gets people what they need for free immediately... It also attacks the very way in which food and things are distributed. It attacks the idea of property, and it attacks the idea that in order for someone to have a roof over their head or have a meal ticket, they have to work for a boss, in order to buy things that people just like them somewhere else in the world had to make under the same conditions. It points to the way in which that's unjust. And the reason that the world is organized that way, obviously, is for the profit of the people who own the stores and the factories. So you get to the heart of that property relation, and demonstrate that without police and without state oppression, we can have things for free. What kind of madness is this? If people just steal everything to "have things for free," how does society function? Escobar asks about small businesses being devastated by looting. Escobar asked about neighborhoods losing essential businesses. There are apparently NO essential businesses. What would you say to people who are concerned about essential places like grocery stores or pharmacies being attacked in those communities? When it comes to small business, family owned business or locally owned business, they are no more likely to provide worker protections. They are no more likely to have to provide good stuff for the community than big businesses. It's actually a Republican myth that has, over the last 20 years, really crawled into even leftist discourse: that the small business owner must be respected, that the small business owner creates jobs and is part of the community. But that's actually a right-wing myth. Marxists don't like small business any better than big business. They just hate business, period. Contact NPR's Public Editor to express your opinion about this unfair and imbalanced interview promoting criminal activity. The form is right here. Read more from News Busters ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM Entrepreneurs take decisive action, but it's essential to balance action with empathy. Image credit: Warner Bros. As an entrepreneur, your company, its projects and initiatives are solving big problems for many people. Of course, every big problem is made up of countless smaller problems. Capital to raise. Margins to increase. Processes to refine. People to hire and fire. Snags to unsnag. You solve all those smaller problems, too, all day long.
The rewards come in many forms. Success. Wealth. Prestige. You’re a fixer. It’s your very own very special superpower. When progress comes to business in the form of success, those who depend upon you are usually grateful for its depth and variety. Then, you get home. You walk in the door and your spouse immediately unloads to you about what broke bad for them during the day. You know how to do this — or do you? You quickly jump headlong into the problem to fix it! You do what you have been trained to do — you offer a solution (and these are very valuable, superpower-solutions). But instead of fawning with gratitude, they give you attitude. Your spouse or partner may feel like you’re saying they weren’t smart enough to figure the issue out on their own. Sometimes, your offering of a simple solution minimized the magnitude of the dilemma they faced. Then, you find your daughter, lamenting that she was not invited to a party with several of her friends. You do what you have been trained to — again. You search for a quick fix, and she, too, gets irritated. “Can’t you hear me, dad?” You don’t understand. She shows you the pictures on Instagram. The pics and comments look a little silly, which you are wise enough not to mention. You suggest she call her best friend to work it out. She looks at you like you are from another, less savvy generation, which of course you are. She drops her head back into her pillow, a clear signal that you and your superpower are no longer wanted there. Your son is playing in the basement and you sit down to play with him. It’s enjoyable — for a few minutes. Then, your mind gets itchy. Restless. What is your mind doing? It’s looking for a problem to solve — but there aren’t really any problems here. He just wants to play with the motorcycle he built. You want to stay there with him, but your mind wants to be somewhere else — doing something. Which is, of course, the problem. Related: Don’t Procrastinate: Teach Your Kids Time Management Skills Your superpower in the world is doing and taking action, but, it has become your kryptonite at home, where you need to balance that superpower with patience and the ability to remain still. Fortunately, there are at least three ways to build the at-home superpower. 1. Practice presence. The practice of presence is foundational to quieting our mind, releasing our thinking and analyzing and fixing and solving, for a while. Practicing presence includes bolstering our mindfulness, which involves closely attending to our experience of the present moment, without any effort to improve it or change it at all. There are all sorts of books and exercises to help you along the way. Wherever You Go, There You Are, by Jon Kabat-Zinn is a classic. You can practice mindful breathing by downloading apps like Headspace, or Calm. You can schedule 10 minutes of meditation every morning and evening. You can retrain your mind. Sometimes, in practice, I call this mind-numbing, because you have to numb your mind to all that buzzing-to-get-busy stuff. You have to pay attention. 2. Engage in empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand someone so thoroughly that you can truly imagine walking in their shoes. It turns out, most of the time, your people at home don’t want you to fix something for them, they want you to feel something with them. You can’t fake empathy, even with your superpower, so don’t try to fake this. Your people want you to feel the weight of a day that broke bad — to feel the rejection of a party that happened without them. They want you to understand how good it feels to simply build a motorcycle. Related: 3 Big Questions to Sharpen Your Decision-Making Skills 3. Ask for accountability. The practice of presence and engaging with empathy are marathons and won't happen overnight. All marathons require training and many months or years of preparation. Running partners help. Think about inviting a friend or colleague into any project you participate in, but especially with an accountability project. Get someone serious about helping you with the empathy project, because presence and empathy work is a true quest to fine-tune the most important superpower you can own. If you can’t think of a good candidate among friends that you trust, there are entire masterminds dedicated to ensuring your power in achieving this kind of balance. It all becomes simpler with help, you are supported in your journey. Being supported by a mentor makes a difference in establishing balance, and balancing action with empathy is the key to making sure you end up with two superpowers, rather than one frustrating piece of kryptonite. Read more from Entrepreneur ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM Your investment and money strategy guide to turning lemons into lemonade. mage credit: Hiroshi Watanabe | Getty Images Chaos followed for most businesses in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic: the stock markets crashed, product demand fell and unexpected losses started to build up. Most businesses did everything they could to batten down the hatches to help them best weather the storm, including stopping all discretionary investments. But, should they have?
Most great investors, like Warren Buffett, have been quoted as saying their highest return investments were made in the middle of economic downturns. So, theoretically, your highest return investments could be made right now, during the peak of the negative economic impact coming out of Covid-19. So, instead of retreating right now, you may be best served long term by accelerating your long term investment efforts, if you have the capital to do so. Allow me to explain. 1. Your vendors are more flexible You are not the only one whose business may be suffering from lower demand right now; most businesses are suffering from lower demand during downturns. Which means they too are struggling to generate revenues. And, when that happens, that is when they start to discount their prices, to try and drum up more demand and revenues. So, if you were normally going to spend $1MM on things for your business, you could now be able to buy those exact same items for $800,000, as an example. That is like adding $200,000 to your bottom line! Related: Fight for Your Franchise Challenge: Money-Saving Efficiency Strategies 2. There is an over-supply of good talent Over 40 million people have lost their jobs in the wake of coronavirus. Most of them are really talented people that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. These people are now looking for new jobs, and there is an undersupply of job openings. This means a couple of things for you: (1) You should have the “pick of the litter” of resumes to choose from; and (2) those candidates may be able to work for lower salaries than they previously worked for. So, your chance to “land the whale” in terms of great people at a great price will never be better than right now. 3. There is less competition during downturns Many undercapitalized companies will not be able to survive an economic downturn. So instead of competing against 10 major competitors, you may only now be competing against seven major competitors. That 30% of revenues is now up for grabs, between you and your other surviving businesses. If you get an equal share of that, your revenues will rise 30%. If you aggressively market your business to take an even bigger share of that, you could position your business to quadruple your revenues, taking the accounts of four companies instead of your one company. Related: 4 Ways for Millennials to Dip Their Toes Into Investing 4. Advertising costs are more affordable The combination of companies going out of business and companies cutting their marketing efforts during downturns means, you should be able to see materially better returns on your marketing spend during downturns. I know that is true for my Restaurant Furniture Plus portfolio company; that business has seen its cost of acquiring a new customer cut in half. That means on the same marketing spend, I should be able to convert twice as many customers! 5. M&A targets are more affordable The same “bargains” can be had in the mergers and acquisitions world, so this would be a great time to try and roll-up a bunch of your competitors at lower than normal valuations. As an example, let’s say a business that used to be generating $2MM of cash flow would have been valued at 6x cash flow for $12,000,000. But, today, they are only doing $1MM of cash flow, and that business may only be worth 4x cash flow, or $4,000,000. That is like buying a business at a 67% discount, when you know the demand and profits should return to historical levels as soon as the market conditions recover. So, now could be the best time to try and find businesses to acquire to scale your business long term, at low valuations today. Related: This $35 Bundle Can Help You Recession-Proof Your Personal Finances Use this time to grow and make more money As you can see, there are a lot of potential reasons you should be accelerating your business investment efforts right now, not reducing them. Hopefully, you have some capital set aside to make these investments a reality. But, if you don’t, this could be a good time to raise some capital, with a clear pitch to your investors that this is the perfect time to be “buying low” and “selling high” at a later time down the road, after the markets improve. A smart investor should understand this concept of turning lemons handed to you by the market conditions into lemonade! Read more from Entrepreneur ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM If you’re an entrepreneur - you’re a sales person. There is no way around it. This can be quite jarring for a lot of brand new business owners. New entrepreneurs typically start a business because they are passionate about the problem they solve and want to work for themselves.  Queasy About Selling? Do These 3 Things Instead | Stephanie Burns LISA SASEVICH What they forget, is that they have to sell. Lisa Sasevich, the author of Meant For More, is an international business coach who has made over $40 million in sales and supported over 15,000 clients across the globe on how to sell and not feel slimy about it. If you are feeling queasy about selling, Lisa is a master at giving you a new lens to look through. Here are her top 3 tips for selling your products and services, while feeling good about it. 1. Focus On Outcomes, Not Deliverables "When it comes time to make the offer, it’s common to switch into “sales mode” and focus more on the deliverables than on the outcome the client will get from saying yes,” says Sasevich. "To make the offer truly irresistible, try focusing 90% of your presentation on the outcome or transformation your client will enjoy and only 10% on the details of the delivery. Always keep in mind, they are buying the destination, not the plane. It’s a mistake to keep selling the plane.” Go through your sales pitch, website copy and marketing materials to see if you are indeed selling the plane. If so, it’s time for a revision. 2. Focus On The Cost Of Not Moving Forward "It’s common practice to focus on features and benefits when selling. But that can quickly turn into white noise in your clients mind as it’s likely they’ve thought these things through and it doesn’t always strike a personal chord. If you want to hit some notes that they’ll take notice of and remember, focus on the cost to your potential client NOT accepting your offer,” advises Sasevich. "Make sure to include financial costs but take it wider too. What are the costs, including time, money, energy, frustration, missed opportunity, vitality… the list goes on. This is the key to high-ticket selling, and of course, it works wonders at lower price points as well."
Opportunity cost is a real thing, so make sure you’re talking about how much it will cost if they don’t do business with you. 3. Put Them In Pursuit Mode "When your offer is truly irresistible, it will invite pursuit instead of putting you in pursuit mode. And let’s face it, pursuit mode is not a powerful position for any of us. So how do you invite pursuit? One strategy is to make sure that you always include a limiter when you make your offer. A common limiter you can use in just about any situation is a time limiter. Time limiters include deadlines like deciding today, this week, this month or by our next meeting,” notes Sasevich. If you focus on the outcome, help them see the cost of not accepting the offer and then add a time limiter that designates a specified amount of time they have to accept the offer and receive special pricing, extra service or some kind of value added bonus that they’re really hungry for, it allows you to stay in service while they sort out their go-forward plan. "The key to using limiters without seeming pushy or salesy is that you always want to justify why you have that limiter with an authentic reason. For example, 'If you’re ready to move forward today I can offer you a fast action scholarship of 20%. I always like to acknowledge my most decisive clients that way. It saves us a lot of back and forth and I’m happy to pass on that savings to you!’” You simply can’t have a business without sales, but selling doesn’t have to feel slimy. With these tips, you can feel authentic and genuine in selling your products and services. Go sell! Read more from Forbes ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM From entertainment to hospitality to real estate, most industries have taken and will continue to take an economic hit due to the COVID-19 crisis. It’s also true that these industries have the potential to rebound even stronger by the time we get over the hump, just as they did after 9/11, the SARS epidemic, and the Great Recession.  3 Business Moves You Must Make Before The Economy Bounces Back | Stephanie Burns HEIDI DECOUX We can’t change what’s happening, and that can be scary—but we can use this unexpected space to make sure we’re ready for the moment we all touch down again. I spoke with Heidi DeCoux, founder of Marketing For Travel Agents, to see how her clientele are faring amidst this pandemic. Heidi has seen the travel industry get hit hard more than a few times and offered up some smart tips on what every business should do before the economy bounces back. 1. Build Deeper Relationships “We talk a lot about the know, like, and trust factor when it comes to our customers and clients. In a time of anxiety and uncertainty, this takes on an even deeper meaning,” says DeCoux. By creating genuine, closer connections with your audience in uncertain times, you’ll be able to develop a pipeline of prospective customers, as well as referrals to other opportunities for the future. To do this, imagine what your customers and prospective customers might be going through right now, what they might need, and what could be of real service to them. This is a chance to design specific, thoughtful offers (free and paid) that will show people you’re paying attention, you care, and you are solution-minded. “I know how hard the travel industry had been hit and how stressed and fearful my community of travel agents were feeling so I reached out to them with a free downloadable marketing blueprint and a free interactive marketing masterclass (held online via webinar) that walked them through the blueprint and answered their questions,” notes DeCoux. “I offered both of these business-saving freebies to my audience of more than 35,000 travel agents, and I also used Facebook ads to share them with travel agents who weren’t yet in my circle. I got a chance to build a know, like and trust relationship with them (and capture their emails) which may lead to working together in the future.”
2. Spring Cleaning Your Systems Be honest now: think of how many times in the last few years you’ve said to yourself, “We really need to get organized, but everything is just too crazy right now.” “A slowdown offers that much-needed space to reevaluate your processes and procedures,” says DeCoux. Identify places where momentum gets slowed or where you might be spending money you don’t need to be spending. Set a time, solo or with your team if you have one, to evaluate in-depth how your systems are flowing - or not - beginning to end. Notice any bottlenecks that get in the way of clarity or productivity. With all the changes, you may need to write up a policy on remote working. You might need to revisit your Standard Operating Procedures for how you take clients from start to finish. Or you could focus on re-writing templates for emails that go out. Or maybe you realize you finally have time to switch up your filing system or habits for analyzing your financial flow. “Getting organized will save you time in the future and help you keep your finger on the pulse of your business’s financial status, which can save you money in the long run,” advises DeCoux. “Also take time to notice what doesn’t feel right for you or your business anymore. Let go of what’s not working. For example, are the social media channels you're spending time on all delivering ROI for your business? Could you scale back your efforts to free up time and energy for revenue generating activities?” 3. Upgrading Your Marketing Strategy What worked a few months ago, may not be relevant now. “That gorgeous marketing strategy you spent weeks refining? It probably isn’t going to work in a pandemic. Not only does crisis change business, it changes us,” DeCoux notes. “Like you, your clients are looking at radically new realities. They’re asking hard questions. They’re facing challenges around finances and homeschooling and health and what the future holds. They’re wondering if they need to re-arrange their lives and their priorities—not just during the pandemic, but after it, too.” So — what are some ways that you can adjust your strategy to fit this new reality? Here are a few of Heidi’s ideas:
With these three business moves and some creativity and innovation, you can successfully navigate this time of upheaval and come out even stronger. You’ve got this. Read more from Forbes ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM It’s hard to imagine, in this age of personal branding, that there are still people who have a hard time stepping into the spotlight when it comes to their businesses. I can remember the feeling when I started up - not wanting anyone to know who I was. I can also clearly remember the feeling of letting that go, showing up, and seeing the positive results from it. 4 Reasons You’re Afraid To Be The Face Of Your Brand | Stephanie Burns LISA FABREGA Lisa Fabrega, a leadership coach and Founder of the Capacity Code, shared the most common reasons so many women are terrified to step into the spotlight for their business—and it all comes down to expanding their capacity. She defines capacity as your ability to hold, handle and receive every next level of your growth. These are must-have skills when becoming the face of your brand. If you want to become the “Martha Stewart” of your business, but something is holding you back, see if it’s due to one of Lisa’s four root causes. 1. You Don’t Have Strong Emotional Or Boundary Capacities As the face of your new brand, the buck stops with you. Instead of people criticizing Company X, they will now be mentioning you by name. “If you know deep down that your boundaries could use some strengthening you might be holding back because you’re worried about suddenly being overwhelmed with people’s requests or receiving direct criticism for expressing your opinions,” says Fabrega. “You’ll need to build your emotional and boundary capacity by getting comfortable saying ‘no’ even when it disappoints others.” You’ll also need to embrace that everyone isn’t going to like your opinions. And that’s OK. If you’re nervous about expressing an opinion, try sharing it with someone you trust first rather than a stranger. It helps to know that even though some people will disagree with you, the people whose opinions you value don’t. 2. You’re Afraid Of Being Seen
Even when we have successes, we’re almost always hiding a key part of ourselves. “The hidden parts of you are often what create the most rewarding and lucrative returns for your business. But we’re scared what our family and friends will think if we reveal, for example, that we filed for bankruptcy years ago or had an experience with domestic violence. Intellectually you know everyone won’t agree with or understand your past, but when it happens...oof! One business coaching client I had was afraid to share with people that she had an intuitive gift. She was struggling to get people to attend a live event that she hosted every year. But once she sent an email to her list explaining that she had these gifts and started incorporating them into her events, she was able to more than triple her attendance rates,” shares Fabrega. “If you’re a person of color, it feels doubly dangerous whenever a person leaves a nasty comment or criticizes you because of real life, discriminatory experiences you’ve previously had. But if you truly want to expand your visibility capacity, you have to show up in full and allow the hidden parts of yourself to be seen.” 3. Behind The Scenes, You Look More “Train Wreck” Than “Swiss Timepiece” Becoming the face of your brand demands order, cohesion and support that’s unique to you and your business. This is structural capacity and without it - once people have higher expectations of you - your business turns into a game of Jenga. “One client I worked with had a million followers on social media, a best-selling book and loads of media coverage—but was petrified at the thought of starting a new company and being the main personality of that brand. She was a jumbled mess behind the scenes because she didn’t know how to deliver her genius or even what role her proprietary process played in her business. But once she started to hone in on her true passion, she was able to get rid of that jumbled mess, simplify her business model, get clear on her messaging and double her revenue in the process,” says Fabrega. “For others, getting to function like a Swiss timepiece might look like getting more support at home so you can focus on your brand, creating a more customized daily work flow (rather than using someone else’s performance hack) or reassessing whether or not the people on your team right now will be able to grow with you.” 4. Your “Inside” Doesn’t Match Your “Outside” “You’ve probably heard this referred to as alignment, and yet there’s more to it than that. Your values are your own personal north star—even if your north star isn’t considered ‘popular’ or ‘sexy.’ Perhaps it’s time to consider the reason you’re so tired all the time is not really due to how much you’re working, but how hard you’re at the grindstone trying to be someone or something you’re not,” advises Fabrega. “Another client I worked with was resisting becoming the face of her brand because she felt like a fraud. Not because she wasn’t brilliant or accomplished, but because she didn’t have enough experience trusting in herself. She wouldn’t be able to hide behind an old, misaligned brand this time. She would be stepping out on her own. When this happens, you may be tempted to give up, further delay your progress or stay ‘safe.’ Don’t. This is the exact moment you need to confidently step forward and shine.” Becoming the face of your brand takes guts, but you’ll certainly reap a lot of rewards. Read more from Forbes ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM It’s easy to buy a new course, invest in a new piece of software or hire a VA. But for most entrepreneurs, it’s not so easy to eat the right things, move our bodies once a day or practice delegation so we don’t over fill our work plate. 5 Reasons You Need To Invest In Yourself As Much As Your Business | Stephanie Burns ESTHER BUTTERY Fern White BDS, a dental surgeon, certified high performance coach, and the CEO of two seven-figure businesses is committed to making sure every high performing entrepreneur is investing in themselves as much as their businesses. Why? Because the ROI is worth it. Here are the five reasons Dr. Fern says we need to be investing in ourselves. 1. Investing In Yourself Has The Greatest ROI Most people easily choose investing externally when it comes to business. They download a new piece of software or hire a social media manager to move their company forward. “While investing externally might solve one or a few problems (like hours lost writing Instagram posts), investing internally solves infinite problems. Investing “internally” means improving your mental acuity, for example, starting your day with a morning ritual that clears you mind, upgrading your physical performance by making time for regular breaks every 15 minutes through the day for movement and hydration or boosting your communication skills by practicing doing Facebook Lives more often,” says Dr. White. Despite a perpetual rollercoaster of changes in any business or economic environment, investing internally means that you focus on the one constant in the company equation: You. 2. Your Business Is A Reflection Of You
You not only set the mission of your business, you also set the values and the tone of your business. If you are frantic and stressed, then these qualities will translate into the vibe of your company. However, if you are calm and collected, your business will mirror this. “Whether you’re hiring, firing, setting expectations or creating boundaries, how you behave is reflected in your team culture. So, if there is drama or gossiping in the office, rather than externalize blame (“it’s because of this person”), ask yourself, ‘What did I do or not do to create this?’ What you ignore, you condone,” notes Dr. White. Partnering with a business coach who holds you accountable, working with a therapist who can help you unravel triggers impacting you or investing in online courses around leadership can help. You’ll be able to be the example of what you want your team and business to be. 3. When You Grow, Your Business Grows Another reason a “You First” strategy is the smartest investment: When you invest in yourself, the challenges that would’ve toppled you months ago are overcome more swiftly and more easily. Think back to the challenges you faced when you first started your business. You can easily see how you would tackle them now had you invested in yourself right from the start by having the right coach or taking the right course. “When you invest in your personal transformation and leadership skills, you also surround yourself with peers who uplift you,” says Dr. White. “This new tribe opens you up to new opportunities, solutions you may never have thought of, possibilities you never dreamed of, or partnerships you never had the courage to pursue.” 4. Running On Empty Is A Recipe For Disaster “While I currently run two successful seven-figure businesses as a medical professional, ten years ago I was in breakdown mode. I thought success was measured in the amount of achievements I claimed—which helped me triple the revenue of my clinic,” remembers Dr. White. “But I had tripled my workload as a result and was pushing my body straight into a breakdown and ended up shaking and crying on my kitchen floor.” Leaders spend a lot of energy and time supporting and serving others. Often, this means you can find yourself tense, overburdened and stretched far too thin. “Living in a chronic state of stress has three negative outcomes,” says Dr. White. “First, it makes you stupid. We make poor decisions as leaders when our brain takes over to survive. The prefrontal cortex, the rational thinking part of us, goes offline. Second, it makes us worry about scarcity. We go into self-protection mode and we worry there is not enough of us to go around. So, we push ourselves and our team harder from a place of fear and panic. Third, we get sick. Bathing in constant stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) takes preference over the processing of all other hormones - our immunity and repair systems - amongst many others - are impaired and we become drained.” The solution is taking time for yourself. You may have multiple businesses in your life, but there is only one you. This is not self indulgent or selfish, it is an absolute necessity - especially now. When you schedule in “me time” for recovery and rest, you fill yourself up with good nutrition, healthy hormones and calm thoughts. You will be able to think with more clarity and direction, make better decisions and create more ideas. You will have the energy to work more effectively. You will have more resilience to weather any business storms. “It was only when I started investing in myself as much as I invested in my business that I was able to take back my health, find that elusive balance we all seek and still increase my revenue. For me, that meant starting a morning ritual, paying more attention to what I ate and incorporating more movement into my daily life,” Dr. White says. 5. It Helps You Live In Your Zone Of Genius “When you don’t know how to delegate, clearly communicate, or train others, that means you’ll be spending a large chunk of your time working on menial tasks, micromanaging employees or, worse yet, re-doing other people’s work,” reminds Dr. White. “Investing in yourself by growing your leadership skills enables you to empower your team. You’ll be able to shift from being the business operator to the business owner. You’ll be able to spend more time in your ‘zone of genius.’ This is where you will create the most impact for your business, your life and all those you serve. It’s where you come alive as a leader, visionary and creator.” Read more from Forbes ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM Breaking out of the cubicle to pursue entrepreneurship has been an intoxicating prospect for so many of us who have an itch for more freedom, fulfillment and impact.  5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Scaling Their Business | Stephanie Burns ELIZABETH HARTKE But after about a decade of mentoring go-getters as a business scaling strategist, Elizabeth Hartke noticed that while the vision of freedom was alive and well, the likelihood of achieving it was not. “If you’re not strategic about how you build your business, entrepreneurship will actually cost you a lot of freedom, time, money and joy due to the following five critical mistakes,” advises Hartke. Here are the five mistakes Hartke says will keep you from scaling effectively. 1. You’re Not Doing Market Research “Never create an offer in a vacuum. Know who you’re speaking to, their pain points, fears and desires and then create something that can be a solution to their problem. This is foundational in knowing what to bring to market,” says Hartke. “Market research is one of the keys to knowing what problem you solve, and if you don’t solve a problem, you won’t be in business very long. Survey your audience, hop on the phone with your current clients and ask them what they need, and engage with your prospects to learn more about how you can be of service to them. Even though that vision for your life is about you, the business you run is about them.” 2. You’re Afraid To Sell “There’s quite the stigma around selling and nearly every entrepreneur I’ve worked with has said, in some way, shape or form, ‘how do I sell without being salesy?’ I get it, because no one wants to come off as the sly salesperson looking to take advantage of whoever has a pulse and a credit card. But when you develop offers or products that actually solve problems, you actually have a moral obligation to sell!” says Hartke. Telling stories is one way to feel less icky and more in line with your mission. People buy because they can put themselves into a story and envision a positive outcome. Using testimonials or your own personal experiences is a powerful selling tool. 3. You’re Trading Time For Money
“Too many entrepreneurs are using a broken formula for success: TIME + HARD WORK = FREEDOM. That math just doesn’t add up. When your business only allows you to earn while you’re working, ultimately you’ll be capped on income potential and time. I see it a lot in service based providers: personal trainers, lawyers, chiropractors, social media strategists, business coaches, consultants, freelancers. Think about the different ways that you can use your knowledge, expertise and passions to craft new monetizable channels into your business through passive, residual and growing income streams,” notes Hartke. Things like online courses, membership sites, virtual and in person events, e-books, physical products, masterclasses, group coaching, masterminds, affiliate marketing, advertising, webinars and other digital products are incredible ways to create multiple income streams that can generate profit while you’re catching up on sleep. 4. You Don’t Have An Email List If you woke up tomorrow morning and Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and any other social channel you rely on were shut down, how would that affect your business? The goal is to build your business in a way that a disruption like that would only be a temporary inconvenience, not catastrophic. You do that by building your email list. “Social media is rented territory, but your list is something you own. Use your social media as a way to drive people onto your list, not as a place where you conduct all business,” advises Hartke. “In exchange for your audience’s email address, offer freebies like videos, webinars, online challenges, e-books, templates, and guides. All that matters is that you’re growing your list with the right people by offering true value in exchange for their email and then nurturing that list with regular value-add emails. “ 5. You’re Not Pivoting With Purpose “All too often, entrepreneurs fail to connect their business actions to the vision they have for their lives. In doing so, they just keep hustling and trying things without actually asking themselves, ‘how will this affect my life?’” says Hartke. Maybe you want to grow your following and your income and you see someone else killing it with monetizing her blog, so you start one. But you hate to write and your original vision was creating more free time in your days, not sitting in front of your laptop doing something you despise. “The pivot is fine. In fact, it’s necessary for evolution and adaptation of business. But the pivot without intention and based on what other people are doing is the death of joy and purpose. Always pay attention, choose what aligns with both your business goals and vision for your life,” suggests Hartke. Read more from Forbes ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM Dr. Alex Osterwalder is one of the world's top management thinkers, a business model innovation expert, CEO, and a multiple bestselling author. In his new book, The Invincible Company, Dr. Osterwalder explains what every organization can learn from the business models of the world's most successful companies.
By Vala Afshar
Dr. Alex Osterwalder, Co-Founder of Strategyzer
Dr. Alexander (Alex) Osterwalder is a leading author, entrepreneur, and in-demand speaker whose work has changed the way established companies do business and how new ventures get started. Ranked No. 4 of the top 50 management thinkers worldwide, Osterwalder also holds the Thinkers50 Strategy Award. He invented the Business Model Canvas, Value Proposition Canvas, and Business Portfolio Map together with Yves Pigneur -- practical tools that are trusted by millions of business practitioners from leading global companies.
His books include the international bestseller Business Model Generation, Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, Testing Business Ideas, and The Invincible Company, to publish in spring 2020. Osterwalder is the co-founder of Strategyzer, a company that provides online courses, applications, and technology-enabled services to help organizations effectively and systematically manage strategy, growth, and transformation.
Osterwalder's latest book is about the invincible company -- how to constantly reinvent your organization with inspiration from the world's best business models. Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneurs' Business Model Canvas changed the way the world creates and plans new business models. It has been used by corporations and startups and consultants around the world and is taught in hundreds of universities. After years of researching how the world's best companies develop, test, and scale new business models, the authors have produced their definitive work. The Invincible Company explains what every organization can learn from the business models of the world's most exciting companies.
The book explains how companies such as Amazon, IKEA, Airbnb, and Salesforce have been able to create immensely successful businesses and disrupt entire industries. At the core of these successes are not just great products and services, but profitable, innovative business models -- and the ability to improve existing business models while consistently launching new ones. To help us better understand how to build the invincible company, Ray Wang, CEO and founder of a Silicon Valley-based advisory firm Constellation Research, and I invited Dr. Alex Osterwalder to join our weekly show DisrupTV. Here are my main takeaways of our conversation with Dr. Osterwalder:
1. To become an invincible company you must constantly reinvent yourself, compete on superior business models, and transcend industry boundaries. "To stay ahead of everybody else and beat disruption, you need to constantly reinvent yourself. Business models expire faster than ever before and you don't want to become obsolete. Leave competitors behind and maximize market opportunities, new customer needs, and emerging technologies by embedding them in a superior business model. And lastly, the most successful organizations are not confined by industry boundaries or forces," said Osterwalder. Success is the beginning of failure, according to Dr. Osterwalder.
"Business models expire like yogurt in a fridge." -- Dr. Alex Osterwalder Osterwalder defines the invincible company as the following: "An organization that constantly reinvents itself before it becomes obsolete. The Invincible Company explorers the future, while excelling at exploiting the present. It cultivates an innovation and execution culture that lives in harmony under the same roof. It competes on superior business models and transcends traditional industry boundaries." Dr. Osterwalder spoke about Tesla as a company that continues to reinvent itself. I have written about the disruptive model and the invincibility of Tesla. 
2. An invincible company is focused on the holistic success of all its stakeholders. Invincible companies create value for society, customers, the team, and the owners. Successful companies provide economic growth opportunities for their communities and society. At Salesforce, we believe that businesses can be the greatest platform for change. To deliver value to all stakeholders, we need management and organizational structure innovation. According to Dr. Osterwalder, the next big wave of innovation will expand from business model innovation to management innovation. We need management innovation to deliver value to all. Organization agility and adaptability will be highly dependent on new management structures and workflows.
3. No company is invincible. "Those that come closest to invincibility are the ones that constantly reinvent themselves in the face of disruption. These companies manage a portfolio of existing business models that they exploit and continuously improve. Simultaneously, they manage a portfolio of new business models that they explore to systematically produce new growth engines," said Osterwalder.
4. Successful companies adopt both explore vs. exploit portfolio management. Explore is about searching. Exploit is about growth. "The explore portfolio is all about the search for new ideas, value propositions, and business models to ensure the future of your company. Search involves maximizing expected returns and minimizing innovation risk. Exploit is all about keeping your existing business models on a growth trajectory. This includes scaling emerging business models, renovating declines ones, and protecting successful ones," said Osterwalder. The invincible company does both -- explore and exploit. Great companies do not separate the great explorers too much from the rest of the company. The moment established companies can figure out how to explore and exploit, they position themselves for long-term success. 
5. The five innovation myths (and the reality): Dr. Osterwalder reminds us that the journey of exploring new business ideas is not a linear one and differs radically from managing an existing business. Here are some innovation myth-busting by Dr. Osterwalder.
6. Explorers must be given the power to influence. The people assigned to identify re-invention must be given power to achieve success. Power means adequate resources and the opportunity to influence the ecosystem. Successful companies are not delivering innovation theater, instead, they have a strong commitment to explore. Dr. Osterwalder gave specific examples of companies that gave innovation power. For example, one company promoted an innovation leader and made her the co-CEO of the company. Identifying new business model innovation opportunities requires grit, persistence, and authority.
7. The problem with re-invention is not creativity, lack of ideas or talent, the problem is not institutionalizing innovation in a way that it can thrive. We have the people, we have the ideas, but what most companies lack is a system where innovators can thrive. Exploring is hard work. This is not easy for leaders to champion because you may be risking your career to explore and exploit simultaneously. I highly recommend that you watch the entire video conversation with Dr. Osterwalder. I also highly recommend that you read his book. I am recommending The Invincible Company as my highest book recommendation of 2020. 
After Wang and I spoke with Dr. Osterwalder, we spoke with professor Paul Sheard, research fellow, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School, about the economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, Sheard was vice-chairman of S&P Global, after serving as executive vice president and chief economist. Sheard also held chief economist positions at Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, Nomura Securities and Lehman Brothers, and was Head of Japan Equity Investments at Baring Asset Management. Sheard is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on the New Economic Agenda (2018-2019). He was appointed twice, by Prime Minister Hashimoto and by Prime Minister Obuchi, to serve on committees of the Japanese Government's Economic Deliberation Council. I highly encourage you to watch our conversation with professor Shear.
Read more from Zdnet ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM That's what we learned when we surveyed 1,200 Americans about their entrepreneurial goals.Clay Routledge and John Bitzan Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth  Image credit: Ben Roberts Photography | Getty Images Are you trying to find the inner drive and inspiration to be become an entrepreneur? We surveyed over 1,200 American adults from diverse backgrounds all over the country, seeking to understand the factors that lead people to pursue their entrepreneurial goals.
Our big takeaway? It isn't all about money, or success, or even business. It’s this: If someone feels that their life has meaning, they’re more likely to become an entrepreneur. And it goes even deeper than that. When we looked at the people who said they want to start a business, we saw a pattern: The most energized, confident, and goal-focused of them all also believe they have the ability to live meaningful lives. In fact, regardless of whether or not they have plans to start a business, survey respondents who believe strongly in their ability to live meaningful lives also had the most positive views about entrepreneurs. In short, meaning in life inspires the entrepreneurial spirit—as well as the public opinions needed to make our society supportive of entrepreneurship. So, what exactly is meaning in life? When we say “meaning in life,” we mean that you feel that you play a significant role in the world. It’s a sense that you have a purpose. To feel meaningful is to believe that you matter, that you can make important contributions to your family, friends, communities, and broader society. It has powerful implications for physical and mental wellbeing, for confidence and motivation, and for optimism about the future. Decades of research in psychology has shown the importance of this feeling of meaning in making people resilient and focused in difficult times. And here’s why this is so important to understand now: If we can take advantage of the power of meaning, then aspiring entrepreneurs can rise up, and provide the resiliency and focus necessary to help us all navigate these difficult times. How entrepreneurs can harness this power No matter where you are in your entrepreneurial journey, start by taking the time to focus on what currently gives your life meaning. Then, think about how your entrepreneurial ambitions build on that. For most of us, meaning is found in close relationships, by connecting with and serving the ones we love. Therefore, it may be helpful when developing a business plan to think about how it will not only help you pursue your own ambitions, but can also benefit those you care about most. For example, are you building a business that can provide opportunities for family and friends? Will your business give you the ability to spend more time with loved ones? Or might it offer new ways for you to be better able to be there for them? More broadly, think about how your future business can help make significant contributions to your community, and perhaps even the broader world. Focusing on the meaningful role you can play may not only help give you inspiration, it may also help you generate novel ideas and innovation solutions to challenges you and your community face. You may be the one that helps make important breakthroughs, the one who finds a way to help vulnerable populations in the community, or the one who finds a new way to deliver goods to meet people’s needs during social distancing. Eventually, when our global challenges have passed, an economic recovery will depend on the entrepreneurial spirit and business innovations to help our society flourish. As people continue, at least in the short term, to reduce their travel, limit their retail shopping and dining out, avoid attending large events and meetings, and continue other social distancing behaviors, businesses will need to continue to explore new ways of delivering and producing goods and services. New opportunities will arise for those that are able to innovate in this environment. In addition, individuals will need to support entrepreneurs and their businesses in order for them to rebuild and thrive. Believing that your life is meaningful, that you have a significant role to play in the world, can help you cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit and innovate in ways that not only help you fulfill your need for meaning but also help shape a flourishing world where others can do the same. Our study was conducted at the The Sheila and Robert Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth. Read more from Entrepreneur ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM Carry back provisions that allow deductions for losses all the way back to 2013 provides new tax relief Image credit: AlexSava | Getty Images Ideally, companies would have taken a pro-active approach during good times, testing their tax situation against an imaginary downturn and taking steps to minimize any potential future pain.
But even businesses that had prepared less well still have a lot of options to reduce their tax burden quickly, especially now that they have greater visibility into their operations for 2020. Related: The 5 Best Tax and Financial Franchises You Can Open This Year For most businesses, the first strategy should be to sniff out any losses in order to maximize tax refunds and get cash in hand. Their scope for doing so has been boosted by the CARES Act, which allows businesses to carry back net operating losses from 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years to the 5 previous years. This reverses a provision in the 2017 tax reform bill that had ended companies’ ability to carry back losses. This is very good news for businesses during these tough COVID-19 times. An added bonus is that tax rates were higher in many of those earlier tax years, so you can get more cashback. To decide on strategies based on these new provisions, businesses will need to weigh how quickly they need cash versus maximizing their overall benefit. For companies that were profitable in 2019 and now need cash fast, it may have made sense to take extra deductions in 2019. But if, for example, you expect a loss in 2020 and are not in as much of a hurry for cash, there are options to achieve savings that could be substantially larger. Related: Tax Lawyers Answer Your Questions About How to Access Your Retirement Account Funds Now The deductions could be pushed into 2020 and that year’s losses can be carried back to 2015 or later years when the maximum corporate tax rate was 35 percent compared to 21 percent now and the maximum individual tax rate was 39.6 percent compared to as low as 29.6 percent now. The urgency of your cash needs should be an important part of the tax strategy. Following are tax steps that business should consider to maximize their losses and deductions. 1. Harvesting losses Find and harvest losses on property or equipment. Examples might include real estate whose value has declined, obsolete inventory that you haven’t deducted for tax purposes, or receivables that may be worth less than what you’re owed. The potential drawback here is this may require physically disposing of the assets rather than just checking a different box on your tax form. That could mean throwing them out, selling them, or perhaps selling them and leasing them back if they’re still required by the business. If losses are directly related to the coronavirus pandemic, an election may be available to deduct these losses in 2019 instead of 2020. 2. Cost segregation study This is a way of accelerating depreciation on real estate assets. In contrast to the standard depreciation over 27.5 or 39 years, a cost segregation study identifies and reclassifies property so you can claim depreciation over a much shorter period. It can also be used to identify assets eligible for bonus depreciation under which up to 100% of an asset’s cost can be deducted immediately. This more aggressive strategy helps ensure you aren’t stuck with excess depreciation in later years when you can’t utilize any more deductions. 3. Real property improvements The CARES Act opened up another depreciation opportunity for companies – qualified improvement property. Businesses can now go back to 2018 and take a 100 percent depreciation on any work done to improve interior spaces of non-residential buildings, with a few exceptions. Under the 2017 tax law, the depreciation could only be taken over 39 years. 4. Fixed asset scrubbing Similar to a cost segregation study, it’s worth sifting through other depreciable assets to make sure that you’ve maximized your depreciation over the years. Maybe you were eligible for 100% bonus depreciation on an item but only took 50% or didn’t claim it at all. Maybe you were depreciating over a 10-year life when it could have been seven. Maybe some assets were actually disposed of in prior years but never got deducted on the tax return. Small changes in depreciation like this across a broad range of assets can add up to big tax dollars. 5. Tax accounting methods There are a lot of rules surrounding the proper timing of assets and liabilities. Opportunities often exist to accelerate these deductions. This includes the cash method of accounting, prepaid expenses, compensation accruals, payroll taxes, property taxes, employee medical expenses, advance payments, and software development costs, among others. In many cases, deductions may be available even if amounts are accounted for differently on the business’s books. This can be a complicated area for tax planning because each item may have a different set of rules that applies to it. However, that also makes it more likely for there to be hidden opportunities as well. Not all of these strategies will be relevant or worthwhile for every business. For businesses still profitable in this environment, the aim of tax planning may be to build up a war-chest to take advantage of opportunities that emerge. For those that are struggling, it will be more about getting cash in hand as quickly as possible. Whatever the goal, existing tax laws combined with any coronavirus stimulus you might have received provide a lot of options to ease the pain from the economic shutdown. Read more from Entrepreneur ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM Looking for a good title to pick up? Here's where to start.  Getty Images Whether you like to listen to audiobooks during your commute or spend your free time gaining new perspectives within the pages of hard copy, voracious readers are always looking for something good to consume. Here are nearly two dozen ideas provided by executives who swear by the wisdom these titles contain.
1. The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni " This book has really guided me with insights and best practices for building teams. The most important thing we can do to drive growth at this stage of our company's evolution is to learn how to effectively work together. Everyone on our team brings something unique to the table and my job is to make sure that all those things jive to create both business value and a productive, healthy environment." --Eric Palm, CEO of Fuzzy Pet Health, a veterinary care telemedicine startup which has cared for more than 3,000 pets since it was launched in 2016 Article continues after sponsored content DELOITTE ROAD TO NEXT SPONSORED CONTENT The Road to Next in the Age of Coronavirus 2. Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, M.D." Before you roll your eyes, let me just say this book is a classic that's still relevant. I find that you can always take away new learnings from this book. One of the mantras I live by is: It is what it is. My philosophy in business--and what I tell my team--is that when things are unfolding, don't spend a lot of time thinking about what happened. When things change (and the cheese moves), focus on solutions. Change is a good thing. In Silicon Valley, we call this 'disruption,' and it's what keeps us innovating and moving forward in business. My advice to anyone looking to disrupt a space is to read this book, then recognize and adopt the portions relevant to your business." --Amit Haller, co-founder and CEO of Reali, a tech-powered real estate company that has raised $10 million in funding to expand service in the Bay Area, Sacramento, and beyond 3. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz" This is the most real book for a CEO or business leader. Oftentimes, the external view of companies is that they are always doing great. However, the reality can be very different--running a startup isn't always easy. I found it therapeutic to read this book and think it's an important read for every entrepreneur because it teaches you how to focus on the road instead of the wall when there are so many things changing internally and externally that impact your company." --Vivek Ravisankar, co-founder and CEO of HackerRank, a technical hiring platform that helps over 1,000 companies--including five of the top eight banks in the U.S. and four of the top seven retail companies--find and evaluate software developers around the world based on skill 4. Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions by John Kotter " I love this book because of its simple and effective approach to getting its message across. Change is something that is constantly needed in any business, and this book provides a practical eight-step process for managing change with positive results. The powerful framework explained in the book is very effective in helping teams adapt to new circumstances. The book does a great job in explaining different behaviors within a team during the change by identifying all the different aspects and it educates the reader on how to manage them effectively, including how to create a sense and need for urgency." --Venky Balasubramanian, co-founder and CEO of Plivo, a communications platform that simplifies how businesses integrate SMS and voice communications into their applications, which has grown to over 70,000 customers with 200 employees across three offices globally and has been profitable since 2015 5. The Four Disciplines of Execution by Stephen McChesney" This book describes the philosophy that was used to transform Washington, D.C., into the vibrant city it is today and what is also our philosophy at Phone2Action. It outlines four disciplines to achieve company success, including focusing on the wildly important (e.g., focusing on less in order to accomplish more) and keeping a scoreboard (letting people know how they are performing on an ongoing basis). The principle I found most useful was 'act on the lead measures.' Success is based on two measures: leading and lagging. We normally pay attention to lagging measures, such as revenue and profit. However, lead measures--the activities team members are doing every day to drive growth--are more important and in the end will drive the growth and revenue. This book has not only helped me prioritize my time but also has made me a better manager and has helped me achieve my desired business outcomes." --Ximena Hartsock, who previously worked for the D.C. government in the Fenty administration and is founder and COO of Phone2Action, a civic technology platform with more than 400 clients and doubling in size each year. 6. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight "This book is written by Phil Knight and documents the story of his creation of Nike. It's an inspiring look at the sacrifice he made to create the company. His respect for his employees' feedback and loyalty to those who partnered with him provides a good roadmap to help prioritize your own employees as the most valuable aspect of your company." --Gabe Winslow, EVP of media for Ansira, a local media buying agency that provides data-driven customer acquisition to over 65,000 retail doors 7. Hyper Sales Growth by Jack Daly "An absolutely vital book for anyone trying to create a business, which is now and remains my foremost passion in life. Daly's book details the forgotten art of sales: not how to convince someone to buy from you, but how to make it so that you never need to. The entire key to maintaining growth is building relationships with your customers instead of treating them like a piggy bank; customers respond to respect more than pressure. I sorely wish I'd had a book like this when I was starting out TransPerfect and hadn't had to learn those lessons the hard way. And everyone thinking of starting a business should start right here so they can learn the critical truth of how to show the customer you care more about helping them than making the sale." --Liz Elting, co-founder and former co-CEO of TransPerfect, a translation solutions company, and named to Forbes' Richest Self-Made Women list for the past three years 8. Bold Leadership for Organizational Acceleration by Jim A. Tompkins "Jim catches lightening in a bottle with this little book. Slim at just a couple-hundred pages, it's a quick read, but don't let that fool you. [The book] hides real wisdom under that admittedly bland title, unfolding a philosophy of human and humane leadership that encompasses your entire life, including everything from forms of self-care to solidarity with your team in a constant effort, not to produce more, but to produce effectively in a way that can be maintained over the long term. No more crunches, no more all-nighters; this book emphasizes the importance of maintaining your relationships, your energy, your enthusiasm--in short, everything that makes your job worth doing. And that's something we forget all too often." --Eric Yaverbaum, president and CEO of Ericho Communications, as well as best-selling author of seven books, including PR for Dummies and Leadership Secrets of the World's Most Successful CEOs 9. The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber "This book taught me the difference and importance of working on your business as an entrepreneur, rather than in your business as a technician. In other words, it highlights the benefits of working on the most important thing, not the most urgent thing." --Kevin Mann, co-founder and chief product officer at CallRail, a provider of call tracking and analytics to more than 90,000 companies and marketing agencies globally that received $75 million in funding last fall 10. Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry "Leaders are not defined by how they feel but how they cope with their feelings in front of others. Emotional Intelligence 2.0 explains how awareness of your and other's behaviors in a given situation, and the motivations behind that behavior, are key to more efficient and effective leadership. Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management are critical to my leadership style." --Andreas Pettersson, CEO of Arcules, a connected intelligent video platform which is Canon's latest spinoff, built on the intellectual property, technology, and expertise of Canon Group company Milestone Systems 11. Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston "It may be a bit of a curve ball, but Barracoon is a favorite for me right now. It's a series of interviews (in 1927) with the last surviving person captured in Africa and transported to the south in a slave ship. It's a harrowing first-hand account of slavery and a study in the best and worst of human nature--always relevant to business, leadership, society." --Bryce Smith, founder and CEO of LevelTen Energy, a renewable energy marketplace which launched in January 2018, is a 2017 graduate of the Seattle Techstars accelerator program and raised $6.8 million in a Series A in October 2017 12. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald "Over the years, this has easily become my favorite book. Fitzgerald's take on the American dream and how the desire for success influences the decision-making process is a valuable lesson for any business leader today. One of the great things about being an entrepreneur is the opportunity to be around highly successful people and learn from them. However, it can also be extremely easy to lose sight of your core values if you're not careful. This book is a good reminder to always be true to yourself and retain your values." --Neill Feather, CEO of SiteLock, a business website security solution which protects over 12 million websites worldwide and was recently acquired by ABRY Partners 13. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg "More than anything else in our lives, our habits determine our destiny. Their mysterious power comes from their automaticity, repetition, and cumulative power. For example, Benjamin Franklin wrote a summary of his day every night before bed. Arianna Huffington begins her days with 30 minutes of meditation. These actions, which seem insignificant on their face, become over time a key to their success. What I learned from this book: The master skill of life is not a specific habit. It's the power to create new habits. Success is largely a matter of creating habits of success. And Duhigg shows us how achieve this habit mindset." --David Maxfield, New York Times best-selling author and VP of research at VitalSmarts, a leadership training company that works with more than 300 of the Fortune 500 companies 14. Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh "It resonated with me unlike any other book while trying to solve the big question of 'How do I keep that same family-feeling I had at my first location as I scale across the country?' At the time, my business was expanding rapidly, but the company was beginning to feel more and more corporate. Each year, additional rules were being put in place to ensure best practices. Tony's ideas ultimately helped me implement a unique company culture that would become one of my company's greatest competitive advantages. If you're tired of building the same old corporate bureaucracy and want to add spice to your workplace then this is a must-read." --David Royce, founder and chairman of Aptive Environmental, recently named the 11th largest pest control company in North America in its second full year in business 15. American Creation by Joseph Ellis "Any time I feel individually challenged, or my organization feels overwhelmed, I think of how the founders of this country won a war of independence and created a unified government without fear of failure, despite the fact that failure was the most likely outcome. I refer to this all the time, as it shows that people can accomplish extraordinary feats when they don't limit themselves to a pre-conceived notion of the way things are done. Especially in business development and sales, where it's all about winning and losing, the differentiator usually comes from being bold and embracing the art of the possible from what is seemingly impossible." --Chris Crowley, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Alorica, the largest customer service provider in the U.S. and third largest in the world, with over 100,000 employees worldwide 16. Ego Free Leadership by Brandon Black and Shayne Huges "In [this book], Encore CEO Brandon Black tells his personal story of professional struggle, and how eliminating unproductive ego habits not only benefited his company during the Great Recession but helped him grow as a person. The story is also told from Black's leadership development coach and president of Learning as Leadership, Shayne Hughes, who discusses techniques to learn and control your 'egosystem.' I was particularly drawn to the vulnerability that Black shows by stepping back and realizing how he has a direct impact on his company's internal dysfunction, and how he and Hughes remedy this by adopting egoless tactics to boost Encore's profits by 300 percent. As I've started and funded several of my own companies, I've found myself looking back to the VEDEC communication model--vulnerable, empathetic, direct, exploratory, and caring--for furthering conversations around corporate development." --Andreas Roell, managing partner for Analytics Ventures, a venture capital fund financing companies driven by artificial intelligence algorithms that supports over 70 employees 17. Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown "As a serial entrepreneur, I've had many low moments when I wasn't sure whether I had the strength to keep going. This book helped me realize that we all flounder and fail--not just us professional risk-takers--and that the power to face hardship comes from embracing the uncertainty that's inherent in bold choices. It helped me see that the downs are just part of the entrepreneurial adventure, and to use them to learn what was needed to make me and my company become that much stronger." --Sheryl O'Loughlin, CEO of REBBL, a plant-based, super herb adaptogen beverage company, former CEO of Clif Bar and Company, former co-founder and CEO of Plum, Inc., and author of Killing It: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart 18. Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham "Growing up, Gilmore Girls was my favorite television show, partly because of the humor and writing, but mostly because of the relationship that was depicted between two strong female leads. Being a strong female and having strong females to look up to is so important to me. Every time I re-read this book I take something new away from it. Lauren Graham makes you feel like her friend while she takes you on her life journey through entrepreneurship, sexism, and self-doubt. Two of her biggest opportunities were given to her by successful women, and this really reinforces the idea that empowered women need to empower other women, something that I try to do every day. Lauren makes having doubt feel so relatable and encourages you to keep going. It's a feel-good book that is written in a way that will leave you wanting to be her best friend." --Lauren Steinberg, the 24-year-old founder of Queen V, a Millennial-focused feminine wellness brand that launched nationwide at Walmart in April and has exceeded $1 million in sales 19. Complexity of Cooperation by Robert Axelrod "I was aware of game theory, but it was always too abstract for me to map it to day-to-day business (and life) situations. Axelrod's book really opened my eyes to how game theory can really make a difference in getting alignment and to win-win with customers, partners, and even competitors. The book is an extremely easy read that looks at winning (and losing) strategies across a variety of competitive domains: business, industry standards, trade negotiations, and even arms control negotiations. Having concrete examples of how the same strategies worked (and didn't work) across so many different domains really opened my eyes to how to build systems and structure programs to get to that win-win." --Ray Ghanbari, CTO at SmartDrive Systems, a provider of video-based safety and transportation intelligence with a database of over 220 million risky driving events, which achieved 30 percent growth in its subscription base in 2017 20. Future First: How Successful Leaders Turn Innovation Challenges into New Value Frontiers by Alice Mann "With her keen business acumen and deep compassion for people who will inherit our successes and failures, Mann has written a book that's one-part business strategy, one-part inspiration, and one-part plea to the leaders of the world to consider the long-term consequences of our actions. With Future First, Mann moves the corporate responsibility conversation forward by positioning social issues and global environmental degradation not as problems but innovation challenges. This is truly a must-read for any entrepreneur interested in achieving lasting and integrated business results and social change." --Kirsten Saenz Tobey, co-founder and chief impact officer of Revolution Foods, which serves nearly three million healthy meals per week to students in 30 cities across 15 U.S. states and distributes a line of retail food products to over 3,000 grocery stores nationwide 21. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman "It's a book about human decision making. This book has helped me think about how people--be they customers, peers, or other stakeholders--process information, make decisions, and the traps that we tend to fall into as humans. The convention of systems, with their unique characteristics, shed a unique light on how our brains work and has helped change the way I think about our interactions with each other." --Riaz Ali, chief marketing executive of SCAN, one of the largest not-for-profit Medicare Advantage plans in the nation, serving over 190,000 members Read more from INC. ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM If you thought Americans had an online shopping problem, wait until you see the latest numbers.  Image credit: Luca Sage | Getty Images According to a recent eMarketer survey, ecommerce is expected to see 18 percent growth in 2020. New consumers joining the online shopping craze and a surge in click-and-collect delivery options, such as curbside, are responsible for the rise.
As expected, businesses across the country have made moves to capitalize on this digital boom. In the past few months, we’ve seen popular distilleries pivot to pumping out hand sanitizer and live entertainment go virtual. With a little ingenuity, it’s possible to keep the lights on and even grow your business in the midst of the pandemic. Use these creative ideas to get the wheels turning and imagine how these innovative solutions could impact your bottom line before the end of 2020. Default to Video In the age of TikTok and live streaming, video is king. Shelter-in-place orders all but shut down in-person activities, so businesses turned to online video options to make their plans a reality. While it might seem less personal, translating live events to video-based ones has many marketing advantages. Digital events allow you to meet consumers where they’re at — their homes — instead of inviting them into your space, which makes them more accessible. Posting the video online gives the event a longer life and expands its potential audience. Hosting a free event offers marketing goodwill, and a paid event could turn a profit. Aside from live events, consider how you could turn the in-person shopping experience into an engaging digital one. One fabric store in San Antonio took its buying experience virtual through Facebook Live video. Each fabric was assigned a number, and during the event an employee showcased each option to viewers. To buy, customers could comment with the fabric’s number and the yardage they wanted. How can you connect with your customers digitally while still providing a fulfilling experience? Take some tips from the entrepreneurs of all industries who have used video to creatively reach their audiences. Virtual conferences are all the rage. Musical artists are using Facebook and Instagram to stream live performances. Bookstores are selling tickets to virtual book talks and mailing hard copies of the books to customers ahead of the event. Ballet companies are streaming performances to YouTube for free and potentially gaining a new following from it. With a little creativity there are tons of possibilities. Related: How Your Business Can Make Professional-Grade Videos on a Bootstrapped Budget Offer Essentials Online Not all businesses need a brick-and-mortar outlet to thrive. Nurx, a telehealth company pioneering user-first, accessible healthcare, has seen a significant jump in birth control requests since early March. After filling out an online intake form and communicating virtually with a medical professional, Nurx patients can receive a variety of prescriptions delivered directly to their doorstep. Eliminating a doctor’s office and pharmacy visit is attractive, especially now that CDC guidance advises utilizing telemedicine and putting off routine care if possible. Despite many cities reopening, consumers might not feel safe venturing out for business as usual amidst spiking case numbers. While your business might not be as suited to the web as Nurx, consider what essential services you could provide online and through video services. Above all, make it a high priority to get your inventory and brand online. Related: Starting a Digital Business? Here Are Common Pitfalls to Avoid Pick a Partner When one Missouri farmers’ market saw a significant decrease in foot traffic this season, the market vendors decided to join forces. Together they launched online orders of curated market boxes that combined goods from a variety of businesses. The boxes were a hit and still regularly sell out. Everyone wants the U.S. economy to have an epic comeback story, and when we work together, both consumers and entrepreneurs win. Consider adding bundles of local goods to your online store. For example, if you sell beer, look into offering a basket that pairs it with local snacks. If you plan to give the video event route a try, see if you can incorporate other local businesses or performers to sweeten the pot. Related: How 5 Entrepreneurs Pivoted To Thrive During the Pandemic Get it To Go National brands have won big this year with their delivery and pickup options. Walmart’s ecommerce sales grew 74 percent in the first quarter thanks to its robust online options, such as grocery pickup and ship-to-store. However, your business doesn’t have to be a mega-brand to capitalize on the click-and-collect trend. Anyone can offer curbside pickup — bonus points if it’s contactless. It doesn’t have to be fancy; you don’t need an app or complicated interface. In fact, you don’t even necessarily need a website. Simply allow customers to call ahead and place an order over the phone. Collect their payment information for easy curbside pickup once they arrive. Take it further and designate an outdoor pickup box or basket that you can place orders in when customers are en route. Before COVID, consumers probably wouldn’t think twice about local pickup or curbside options from their favorite small businesses. Now it’s a critical question they're asking. Providing these services encourages customers to shop local and with you. Offering flexible pickup could be the difference between consumers shopping with you or your competitor. Related: Why Curbside Pickup Is the Right Thing to Do There has never been a more lucrative time for ecommerce. You’re missing out on potential profits by not being present in the digital shopping space. If the movie industry can completely reimagine its business model and capitalize on online, you can, too. Read more from Entrepreneur ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM For senior executives who manage complex issues on a regular basis, COVID-19 has required a rapid response like no crisis before it – here’s what business leaders can learn.By Mark Samuels  From enacting business continuity plans to enabling flexible working and onto transforming business models, digital leaders have had to manage the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their organisation, its employees and its customers. This process has been a tougher challenge for some leaders than others. More than a third (36%) of organisations say they will be looking to improve their crisis management processes post-COVID, according to Grant Thornton's International Business Report. Gifford says responding to the crisis has also reinforced the importance of relentless team communications. Throughout the early days of the pandemic, people in the tech department were always in touch with one another.
"We were constantly realigning what we were doing and how we were treating things. Technology played a massive part in all of that, so we could do things quite quickly," he says. Gifford says the ability to change direction quickly could have a lasting impact on decision-making processes. A CIO suggesting that everybody should work from home 12 months ago would have had to pitch their idea – perhaps unsuccessfully – to an executive committee. This year, companies have simply had to embrace remote working, says Gifford. "We've just done it – and that's more like millennial-type thinking; think something and then do it. I think we're much more like that now, while we still recognise the importance of proper governance. But I think that the urgency and the need to get things done rapidly is now more obvious than previously," he says. 2. Keep everything really simple for everyone Nick Burton, chief information and digital officer at Avon International, says the biggest crisis management lesson he's learnt from responding to the coronavirus pandemic is straightforward: "Be very clear at all times – it's as simple as that." Burton says that the day-to-day focus of the team was usually on three key priorities. Rather than worrying about a range of technology concerns, the team would focus on those priorities. As those priority items were ticked off, other items would be added to the list, so the focus would be tweaked as the coronavirus response unfolded. SEE: Digital transformation: Keeping e-commerce moving even when everyone is stuck at home "But we always kept it really, really simple for people, so that they could absolutely see where we were trying to go, and then they could work out how they could support that priority, rather than me trying to tell them how they should support that work. That's a much better approach than trying to tell them how they should support you," he says. "Your crisis management approach should be really clear to people in your team and how they can support you – and, if it's not, they can ask you. It's like the OODA loop approach to decision-making that the military uses: observe, orient, decide, and act. And then, once you've finished, go around that loop again." 3. Seek the expert advice of your C-suite peers Jason Oliver, director of IT at the University of Sussex, says one of the key things he's learnt from the COVID crisis is the importance of a supportive community. Oliver says CIOs around the UK passed their best-practice advice across the leadership network. He says one of the crucial elements for IT leaders was a crowdsourced remote-working survival toolkit, curated by CIO advisors Chris Weston and Dominic Mason. "Loads of people contributed to that – CIOs from across the country. It's a fantastic document for anyone to pick up at the moment, to give them a little bit of insight into some of the best practices and some of the things that they could be doing to make their life easier," he says. Oliver says this kind of joined-up thinking shows that crises are often best managed collectively: "All the top CIOs have actually come together to put in their own anecdotes and their own ideas around best practice. Chris and Dominic pulled all of that together, so that there is a useful guide now that anybody in our sector can pick up and it will help them." 4. Use the collaborative spirit you've engendered to galvanise teams Hany Choueiri, chief data officer at Aldermore Bank, says that crises often bring out the best in organisations. He thinks back to his time as CDO of the Bank of England during the 2008 financial crisis and how everyone across the business pulled together. It's been a similar story this time – successful businesses create a feeling of togetherness. "Suddenly the silos break down; suddenly everybody's working together. They're working towards this common vision, a common problem, and the crisis seems to create something of a common vision and a problem that needs to be solved by everyone collaboratively. Everybody finding pragmatic solutions; everybody helping everyone else out to achieve that mission," he says. SEE: Big Data: Three ways Chief Data Officers can change the agenda Choueiri says it's heartening to see technology, compliance, risk and data functions work collaboratively and quickly to deliver solutions to business challenges. Perhaps the biggest lesson for executives is to try and find a way to create the feeling of togetherness when there isn't a crisis. Choueiri says business leaders should work to galvanise teams. "It's about how you can create a competitor threat by saying, 'you know, if we don't do this right, if we don't challenge ourselves, innovate ourselves, others will do it to us, others will innovate, and others will disrupt us. If we don't disrupt ourselves, we will be disrupted. So what do you want – to disrupt or sit back and wait to be disrupted?'" he says. Read more from ZdNet ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM 5G is here — but it's also not here. And it is still coming. (VIDEO)
15 Things Every Business Must Know About 5G ADOBE STOCK
This can be a little confusing.
Every U.S. carrier has launched some form of 5G network, and many European carriers have as well, but what exactly is it? And why should we care?
Here are 15 things every business owner must know about 5G as it rolls out into wider availability and use:
It might still be several years before 5G is fully rolled out, businesses would be wise to start preparing for the change today. This might include costs for upgrading hardware, but also potential opportunities that will open up with gigabit speeds. Regardless, the companies that are prepared for 5G will be poised to reap the biggest benefits.
To learn more about 5G, have a look at my conversations with Paul Scanlon from Huawei. In this first video, I talk to Paul about 5G and why it is not dangerous:
And in this conversation, we talk about the business impact of 5G:
Read more from Forbes ## CMS is concerned that this is promoting an enemy to our Nation. We believe it is important to know what they plan and are saying. CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM “Businesses are leaving,” Portland Business Alliance CEO told KATU. “We need to start to turn the corner now, so that this sort of irreparable damage does not last.”By JOHN NOLTE  Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP Between the unnecessary and unnecessarily punitive lockdowns combined with the nightly riots, downtown Portland business owners are not only losing a fortune but fear for their own safety. One business owner claims to have already lost $20 million. “The financial consequences to the downtown corridor are a running calculation that is almost impossible to wrap your mind around. The financial impacts of physical damage is one thing, and that continues to increase,” Hoan explained. “Then the ongoing loss of revenue to the business community who cannot operate their places of businesses is also a number that continues to rise.” Physical damage from the left-wing riots costs money. The stupid lockdowns cost money, keeping customers away. Fear that downtown is no longer safe (a reasonable fear — would you go shopping in downtown Portland?) scares customers away. How can this not be a financial catastrophe? A downtown jewelry store was looted for a cool million dollars. The owner of a Subway franchise added, “Safety-wise, we’re just concerned. Our employees are a little bit nervous being here, especially later in the evenings. We try to have extra people just to make sure that everybody is safe and feels comfortable.” So you not only to worry about the Democrat Party’s Brownshirts storming your business, you have to worry about being assaulted while you walk to your car or to the bus, and you really have to worry about accidentally turning a corner and finding yourself face to face with the mob. These Antifa savages will pull you from your car and beat you within an inch of your life. Hoan said he doesn’t yet know how many businesses have fled, or what the precise reason is from the multiple choices above, but another factor killing commerce is that downtown Portland looks like something out of the third act of a zombie movie. “You have blocks and blocks of plywood. You have graffiti. You have an accumulation of damages that are un-repaired, an ongoing perception that coming downtown is not a safe place,” Hoan explained. The Subway owner says she supports the idea behind the protests but, “We work very hard to build our businesses and be successful and employ people, and when they come in and destroy it by breaking the window and everything else, we’re the ones who have to pay for that.” As you take this all in, the thing to keep in mind is that when Democrats see this their first thought is that everything is going exactly according to plan. This is a violent, socialist revolution disguised as righteous protest. Destroying businesses, destroying peace of mind … that the job of the terrorists.
The job of Portland’s elected officials, like that eunuch Mayor Ted Wheeler, is to use President Donald Trump as an excuse to do nothing, is to claim it’s all Trump’s fault and that federal law enforcement officers protecting federal property caused all this. And then there’s District Attorney Mike Schmidt, who’s created a revolving door. Hardly anyone who’s arrested is prosecuted. So the terrorists all know there are no consequences. And then there’s Joe Biden, whose job is to ignore the riots and the anarchy, is to gaslight (with the help of the corporate media) us into believing it isn’t really happening. Well, it is happening, and it’s moving into residential areas, and if Democrats seize power in a couple months, things are going to get a whole lot worse — and things are already worse than we have ever seen them. At least in my lifetime, I have never lived in a country where one of our two major political parties and all of the establishment media are not only ignoring, but helping to organize and encourage this terrorism. Read more from Breitbart ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM  WASHINGTON, DC: U.S. President Donald Trump holds a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room ... [+] GETTY IMAGES If you have lost your job due to COVID-19 and hoping to receive further unemployment benefits from President Trump’s executive order, you may be ineligible to receive them based on which state you live in. While 11 states have been approved, and more are applying for further aid, some states have decided to fend for themselves. To date, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Utah have all been approved to receive further unemployment aid. The $44 billion in aid will be directed to unemployed workers. The executive order is not without controversy, though, as funding the full $400 weekly benefit would partially fall on each state. Some 75% of the benefit will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), while states are responsible for shouldering the remaining 25% in order for unemployed workers to get the full $400. If states decline to offer a match, the total reward will be reduced to $300. Some states are able to provide this benefit, while others, such as California, say they are unable to because of major deficits. Because of the financial obligation of the memorandum, each state must apply for the aid. This has led to some states bypassing the aid altogether. Here are the states that have either outright declined or explicitly stated they aren’t interested in enhanced unemployment assistance from the federal government. South Dakota
South Dakota was the first state to explicitly decline the assistance from the federal government. Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) announced the decision in an Aug. 14 press release. “My administration is very grateful for the additional flexibility that this effort would have provided, but South Dakota is in the fortunate position of not needing to accept it. South Dakota is the only state in the nation that didn’t have extended benefits kick in because our insured unemployment rate has been the lowest in the nation.” If you are a South Dakota resident and need assistance with unemployment benefits, please visit the South Dakota Unemployment website. New York Residents of the Empire State will not be eligible to receive the extended unemployment benefits as Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) confirmed he will not apply for the aid. “You cannot get water out of a stone, that is a fact and we have a $14 billion deficit, and we can’t pay for it,” Cuomo said in an interview with WHEC-TV on Wednesday. He also expressed his disdain for FEMA, stating that “I'd rather do business with the old time bookie on the street corner than do business with FEMA”. If you are a New York resident and need assistance with unemployment benefits, please visit the New York Unemployment website. Oregon The Oregon state government has been reserved since Trump signed the memorandum. David Gerstenfeld, interim head of the Oregon Employment Department, explained his skepticism of the program. “There are still a huge number of uncertainties about the program that was discussed in that executive order,” he said in a media call on Aug. 12. Since this call, little has been said of their status. If you are an Oregon resident and need assistance with unemployment benefits, please visit the Oregon Unemployment website. Next steps For the states that have not applied, grant applications and completed administrative plans must be received by September 10, 2020. Each state will have a different timeline for dispersing funds based on their ability to adjust their unemployment insurance system, but the average time to start sending out benefits once approved by FEMA is three weeks. These additional unemployment benefits will last until one of the following criteria are met: 1) FEMA expends $44 billion from the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF); or 2) The total unobligated balance of the DRF falls to $25 billion; or 3) Legislation is passed that provides, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, supplemental federal unemployment compensation or similar compensation for unemployed or partially-employed individuals; or 4) December 27, 2020, the end of the federal grant. Read more from Forbes ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM Are you a busy donkey or a productive unicorn? BY LARRY KIM, CEO OF MOBILEMONKEY @LARRYKIM  The quest to be more effective at work has hatched misconceptions about what having a productive workday really means. It has also led most people into thinking that being busy is tantamount to being productive. Here are some valuable insights into what productive unicorns do during their work week, and how they are way different from busy donkeys, inspired by Conor Neill. The quest to be more effective at work has hatched misconceptions about what having a productive workday really means. It has also led most people into thinking that being busy is tantamount to being productive.
Here are some valuable insights into what productive unicorns do during their work week, and how they are way different from busy donkeys, inspired by Conor Neill. Busy people are hell-bent on fitting in more things into their day. Productive people cut their to-do list thoughtfully by 50 percent. Busy people think that getting more things done in the sanctioned eight or nine hours at work is the way to go. They fit in too many tasks in their to-do list only to end up moving most of their tasks the next day. Productive people know too well that they do not need 40 tasks in their to-do list. They take a less-is-more approach when it comes to planning their work day by only accomplishing those that are important. Busy people jump at every assignment. Productive people know the difference between "urgent" and "important." Busy people spend most of their time at work fighting needless fires because they get blindsided by urgent concerns at work that are in essence not that important. In every company, many things can be tagged as urgent, but these are usually established by your colleague or your boss who expects an answer ASAP. Extremely productive unicorns know how to differentiate urgent tasks and important tasks. They focus on getting what matters done instead of dividing their hours into trying to finish different urgent tasks. Busy people are always distracted. Productive people create a system. Busy people have developed productivity-busting habits over the years. They check their emails compulsively throughout the day and get interrupted whenever their phone buzzes. And this can actually make one's brain slower. In a recent study at King's College London University, they found that compulsively fussing with your inbox can lead to a drop of 10 IQ points. Constantly switching between working on your actual task and replying to your emails also alters your brain structure leading to a lesser ability to focus. Meanwhile, productive people create a system for even the most mundane of tasks, such as checking their emails. They reserve a short and specific time slot for managing their inbox, so they can concentrate more on what is necessary to fulfill their goals for the day. Busy people multitask. Productive people focus. Busy people try their best to do 15 things at once. They have several tabs and documents fired up on their computer while constantly checking on their calendar. Productive unicorns place their focus on doing tasks that matter most as efficiently as possible. They multitask effectively by choosing to pair less important task with a complementary important task. For instance, a highly productive person writes notes about ideas on a potential project while waiting for a board meeting to start. Productive unicorns are also aware that they should only multitask if the other less important thing can be accomplished using a very small amount of diversion and energy. If you are one of them busy donkeys who would love to morphed into a productive unicorn, follow the 80/20 rules when it comes to your tasks. Remove the things that are not necessary during your workday provided that they have minimal impact on your productivity. Busy people are the human equivalent of a 7-Eleven. Productive people know when to shut the door. If you are OK about giving your energy and time to different options when you were younger, you might want to think twice now if you want to accomplish any of your goals. For younger people, it is OK to dabble into different things like learning how to code, setting up your own website, living in another country across the globe, and hiking the Appalachian Trail. However, there comes a point in your career and life when you have to be thoughtful about what things to focus on. If you're currently juggling your schedule, time, and money between learning how to code, setting up your website, preparing to live in another country, and planning to hike the Appalachian Trail, be a productive unicorn by ditching the goals that do not matter to you anymore. It is OK to quit strategically and give up on plans that are not exactly feasible and practical at the moment. Instead, focus your energy and resources solely on that one thing that resonates to your core. Busy people are glued into their desks. Productive people know when to take a break. Busy people rarely take breaks; they in fact, hate breaks thinking that breaks are for procrastinators. They are also frustrated when they see productive unicorns who look like they have all the time in the world and who are actually enjoying their work. Productive unicorns know when to give themselves a moment to refresh. They take breaks by going for a walk as they listen to their favorite jam, watching a short comedy sketch, meditating, or getting a snack. They know that they can achieve greater efficiency when they let their brains rest from several long hours of work. Choose to reach peak productivity levels on any given work day by forgetting about looking and feeling like a busy donkey and transform yourself into a productive unicorn today. Read more from INC. ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM  SERGEY TARASOV - STOCK.ADOBE.COM One of the most important reasons business, especially consumer facing business, wants to have lots of data is to know as much about the market, us, as possible. Artificial intelligence (AI) has made that focus on customers more and more accurate. While business has been becoming more invasive, governments have begun to look at and pass regulations that begin to provide certain limits. Privacy matters to the electorate, and smart business looks at how to use data to find out information while remaining in compliance with regulatory rules. Almost ten years ago, Target created an algorithm that figured out if people were pregnant based on purchase patterns, and the company then sent coupons to the addresses of those customers. That kind of predictive action was problematic, especially in an instance when a young woman hadn’t yet told her father she was pregnant, but mailed coupons informed him instead. The choice to send information is an ethical issue, one that business often handles badly. The more important question is what businesses can know about individuals. The EU’s GDPR and California’s CCPA are just the beginning. Neither is perfect and both will evolve, but privacy laws will expand. While each business must look at what to do with legally obtained data according to its own corporate ethics, all must pay attention to legal compliance issues. One of the important areas where the issue of up-front privacy matters is the medical sector. This privacy matters, especially in the US, one of the few nations without universal healthcare and where protections against pre-existing conditions remain fragile. HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) was passed in 1996, and it is the US foundation for defining personally identifiable information (PII) and creating limitations on how PII can be shared. While it has focused on how a company can share data with other medical industry firms, and who in a company can see the information, IT and development teams have often decided they are not part of the ruling. The developers claim to need all the data to make accurate systems. That claim has led, over the last few decades to an evolving set of techniques that allow data to be manipulated in ways that protect PII still leaving data that is still statistically valid for analysis. Their complexity continues to increase, to handle both privacy and analysis, and are, fortunately, beyond the scope of this article. Other sectors, such as finance, life sciences, and government have similar needs to protect PII as information is passed around internal organizations and between companies and governments. AI has made the challenge both more addressable and more of a risk. The ability to train a deep learning (DL) system on large amounts of data has increased the speed of analysis and results, but the need for more and more data increases the risk of lack of privacy. In order to provide processes to handle that challenge in a reasonable time frame, software can again help. Legal and Compliance, Meet the Developers
Every mid- and large-sized company is likely to have legal and compliance teams to manage regulatory and contract risks. They are also involved in privacy issues. However, it’s no surprise that they speak a different language than do developers. Just like between German and Spanish, neither language is intrinsically better, they are different. How can we better translate? The inclusion of legal and compliance teams also means an increased importance of the CxO suite. While all major systems have some involvement at that level, privacy requires heavy involvement for three primary reasons. First, multiple major groups are involved in the decision and use of privacy systems. One of the main purposes of the CxO level is to balance those competing needs and demands. Second, privacy and compliance, as mentioned above, are a direct reflection of a company’s ethics and business practices. Those are set at the CxO level. Third, privacy issues are a major business risk. Lack of a strong privacy policy and process can be a significant cost financially and in reputation, and can even kill a company. In the fast moving world of modern data and business, that translation is critical. Privacy isn’t a technical issue, it’s not a legal issue, it’s a business issue. "Today legal and compliance teams manually manage the increasing complexity of data privacy regulations. Time spent managing this extensive process will create a huge bottleneck for businesses to get access to data, said Che Wijesinghe, CEO, Cape Privacy. “There is a technology gap for lawyers to be able to define and manage privacy policy efficiently. Cape provides an easy to use method to implement advanced privacy techniques for secure and trusted data sharing.” Cape Privacy is a company that states its focus as providing software which integrates into a company's existing data science and machine learning infrastructure, enabling all parties to work together on projects and policies. That is true startup speak, with an initial focus on the implementation of privacy policies at the development level. The company works to help programmers work to oversee privacy policies in the data and between applications. What its link to the legal and compliance groups is more rudimentary, there’s clearly a vision showing intent to improve collaboration as the solution grows. Near-Open Systems Matter One key issue to developing such a system is that of which type to build. Throughout software, the cloud and the increased capacity for interoperation has mean stronger APIs and applications built from open components. A pure open systems won’t work in this any more than they’ve worked in the past. Unix didn’t leave academia until HP, IBM, and Sun bundled their versions of “open” with services and unique updates. Companies such as Cape Privacy are leveraging open components, such as TensorFlow, to help developers. They’ve even created Cape Python, their own flavor of the coding language, to leverage knowledge and enhanced productivity. For you techies, much of what they provide is available on GitHub. “While open source had benefits across industries, it is critical for providing trust in privacy solutions,” said Katharine Jarmul, Head of Product, Cape Privacy. “The ability for regulatory agencies to view the code base and ensure the appropriate tools, and only the appropriate tools, are in use addresses legal and compliance concerns.” On the higher end, they work to ensure that development is open in order to work on multiple cloud infrastructures, providing companies the ability to know that portability exists. That openness is also why deep learning is not yet part of a solution. There is still not the transparency needed into the DL layers in order to have the trust necessary for privacy concerns. Rather, these systems aim to help manage information privacy for machine learning applications. Artificial intelligence applications are not open, and can put privacy at risk. The addition of good tools to address privacy for data being used by AI systems is an important early step in adding trust into the AI equation. Read more from Forbes ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM American Express to Acquire Kabbage Acquisition Will Expand American Express’ Digital Cash Flow Management Offerings for Small Businesses American Express to Acquire KabbageAcquisition Will Expand American Express’ Digital Cash Flow Management Offerings for Small Businesses
August 17, 2020 11:30 AM Eastern Daylight TimeNEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Express (NYSE: AXP) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire substantially all of Kabbage, a leading financial technology company providing cash flow management solutions to small businesses in the U.S. The transaction represents an important step toward American Express’ goal of being an essential partner to small businesses through a broad range of payment, cash flow and financial management tools. “For several years, American Express has been expanding beyond our industry-leading commercial card products to offer our business customers a growing set of payment and working capital solutions” Tweet thisUnder the terms of the agreement, American Express will acquire Kabbage’s team and its full suite of financial technology products, data platform and IP built for small businesses. Kabbage’s products include access to flexible lines of credit, online bill payment, cash flow visualization tools, e-gift certificates, and the ability to centralize funds through the company’s recently launched business checking account. This product suite is integrated into a single online platform that uses real-time data processing to help small businesses better understand, forecast and manage their cash flow. With the addition of Kabbage’s technology, products and people, American Express plans to offer a broader set of cash flow management tools and working capital products to its millions of small business customers in the U.S. “For several years, American Express has been expanding beyond our industry-leading commercial card products to offer our business customers a growing set of payment and working capital solutions,” said Anna Marrs, President of Global Commercial Services at American Express. “This acquisition accelerates our plans to offer U.S. small businesses an easy and efficient way to manage their payments and cash flow digitally in one place, which is more critical than ever in today’s environment. By bringing together Kabbage’s innovative technology and talented team with our broad distribution capabilities and over 60 years of experience backing small businesses, we can better help our customers successfully emerge from this challenging period and beyond.” “At Kabbage, we have always made the success of America’s small businesses our primary objective,” said Kabbage CEO and co-founder, Rob Frohwein. “We have built a technology and data platform that provides them with the kind of capabilities and insights often reserved for larger businesses. By joining American Express, we can help more small businesses succeed with a fully digital suite of financial products to help them run and grow their companies.” The acquisition is expected to close later this year, subject to customary closing conditions. Kabbage’s pre-existing loan portfolio is not included in the purchase agreement. ABOUT AMERICAN EXPRESS American Express is a globally integrated payments company, providing customers with access to products, insights, and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, instagram.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/company/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress, and youtube.com/americanexpress. Key links to products, services and corporate responsibility information: charge and credit cards, business credit cards, travel services, gift cards, prepaid cards, merchant services, Accertify, InAuth, corporate card, business travel, and corporate responsibility. ABOUT Kabbage Kabbage, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, is a data and technology company providing small business cash flow solutions. Its suite of products includes Kabbage CheckingTM, providing small businesses a new way to bank; Kabbage PaymentsTM, helping small businesses get paid and access the money they earn faster; Kabbage InsightsTM, calculating small businesses’ real-time cash flow; and Kabbage FundingTM providing access to flexible lines of credit up to $250,000 in minutes. Kabbage is a 2020 CNBC Disruptor 50 and is funded and backed by leading investors, including the SoftBank Vision Fund, BlueRun Ventures, Thomvest Ventures, and others. For complete product details and disclosures, please visit www.kabbage.com. Information Related to Forward-Looking Statements This release includes forward-looking statements that reflect management’s expectations about future events, including expectations regarding the transaction. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. The words “expect,” “aim,” “plan,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. American Express undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the parties’ ability to satisfy the closing conditions and consummate the transaction, the underlying assumptions related to the transaction proving to be inaccurate or unrealized, and the company’s ability to integrate Kabbage and leverage its capabilities. A further description of these and other risks and uncertainties can be found in American Express’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and its other reports filed with the SEC. ContactsAMERICAN EXPRESS Felicia Mowll 212-640-1709 Felicia.A.Mowll@aexp.com Pedro Nicolaci da Costa Senior Contributor Markets I have been writing about economics, markets and the Fed since 2001.  Virginia Ali, co-owner of Ben's Chili Bowl, one of the many black owned businesses on U Street, sits ... [+] AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES Nearly half of Black small businesses had been wiped out by the end of April as the pandemic ravaged minority communities disproportionately, according to a report from the New York Fed. Black-owned businesses were more than twice as likely to shutter as their white counterparts, the report found. "Nationally representative data on small businesses indicate that the number of active business owners fell by 22% from February to April 2020—the largest drop on record," the report said. "Black businesses experienced the most acute decline, with a 41% drop. Latinx business owners fell by 32% and Asian business owners dropped by 26%." That figure has likely increased substantially as the pandemic has dragged on with a resurgence of cases this summer that has taken the country’s number of infections to a world record of over 5 million. The number of white-owned small firms, in contrast, fell just 17%. Why have Black businesses been twice as likely to close as their white counterparts, just as Black unemployment is often double that for whites? It's institutional racism, obviously—but the New York Fed report analyzes how that manifests itself in banking relationships and lending decisions, in cumulative, generational ways. "Volumes of COVID-19 cases coincide with Black-owned business locations: two-thirds of counties with high levels of Black business activity pre-COVID-19 are in the top 50 COVID-affected areas," the New York Fed said. In the meantime, the coverage gaps in the Paycheck Protection Program left many Black-owned businesses out of the government relief bonanza.
"These loans reached only 20% of eligible firms in states with the highest densities of Black-owned firms, and in counties with the densest Black-owned business activity, coverage rates were typically lower than 20%," the report showed. At the same time, Black-owned firms, already smarting from a Great Recession that hurt them badly, already entered the crisis with "weaker cash positions, weaker bank relationships, and preexisting funding gaps.” "Even the healthiest Black firms were financially disadvantaged at the onset of COVID-19," said the report. Read more from Forbes ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM There has never been a time when customer experience was more important than it is today. Customers expect a personalized experience when they deal with a business, and according to a report from Epsilon, 80% of customers are more likely to make a purchase when businesses provide a personalized experience. Personalization improves the customer’s experience, helps drive sales, and increases customer loyalty. PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK Everybody likes to be recognized as a person, an individual with unique traits, desires, needs, and experiences. We all appreciate it when someone remembers our name, our accomplishments and our choices. Consumers feel the same way, and appreciate it when a business recognizes them and caters to them personally. In a report from Accenture in which they surveyed 8000 consumers around the world, 91% of those polled said that they are more likely to do business with brands that remember, recognize, and provide them with relevant recommendations and offers. In this article, we’ll share 5 things you can do to personalize the customer experience.
It’s All About the Customer Journey The customer journey is all the intersection points that a customer has, that is, every interaction the customer has with a business, from the first time they search for your business online, to their first experience on your company website, on through browsing your products, services or content, though the product selection and shopping cart experience, and then placing and receiving their order. It includes any emails, texts, phone conversations, newsletters or other correspondence a business has with the customer, and also includes any reviews or follow up questions they have, as well as any customer service interactions. In short, it is everything that they experience when they interact with any part of your business or brand. By looking closely at the intersection points in the customer journey, we are able to create a history for each customer, determine future buying trends, make relevant suggestions and recommendations, and personalize the experience a customer has with a business, all of which has the effect of improving the customer experience. The intersection points also reveal any pain points (negative interactions) the customer has had the misfortune of experiencing on their journey. This provides a business with the opportunity to make improvements and adjustments that can improve the experience for every customer. Related Article: Why the Time Is Right for Personalization Segmentation Was Then, Micro-Segmentation Is Now Segmentation used to be enough to deliver a personalized experience that customers appreciated. If a customer bought a shirt with their favorite sports team logo emblazoned on the back, and later received an email from the business that showed the customer various items with a sports theme, the customer was satisfied. Now, however, that email should display shirts that are emblazoned with that customer’s favorite sports team’s logo. The customer no longer wants to be treated as a group of people with similar interests (which is referred to as “audience targeting”), they want to be treated as an individual with very specific likes and dislikes. This is an example of micro-segmentation, and it’s what customers are expecting now. Peter Curran, general manager of digital commerce at Lucidworks. Curran had this to say, “Traditional top-down segmentation is too general and too static. Just because I peeked at a $2000 espresso maker doesn’t mean I’m a big spender, or just because I bought a Mr. Coffee for my son’s dorm room doesn’t mean I’m a value shopper, just because I’m male doesn’t mean I don’t buy gifts for my wife or daughter. None of that is personalization.” The level of specificity for customers has gotten to the point where audience targeting is practically (and appropriately) considered to be spam. “We now have the ability to be way more specific about how products are merchandised because we can combine product purchase and browse history with in-session signals to microsegment a guest.” Harry Thakkar, a partner at Avatria, shared how segmentation can still be effectively used as part of the personalization process, but it must be followed up with specific and relevant personalization actions. “Once the customer data has been collected, it can be analyzed and segmented to help make it actionable. Segmenting is the process of using the data to organize customers with similar characteristics or shopping needs together. After you’ve grouped your customers into different personas or segments, you can then apply specific personalization strategies to them. Note that the more signals you can use to segment your customers, the more accurate your personalization will be–buying diapers once may not mean the customer has an infant, but buying diapers consistently over six months is a better indicator.” Relevance Is Everything Research from a Gartner survey on marketing personalization indicated that brands stand to lose 38% of their customers due to poor personalization practices. Customers are not interested in receiving recommendations that are relevant to people similar to themselves, they want to receive recommendations that are relevant to them, personally. When a customer receives an email from Amazon, Amazon doesn’t show them products that people like themselves would be interested in, but rather, they show the customer products that are unique to their purchase and browsing history — and those customers are likely to visit the product page for those products that have been suggested, and actually purchase the product that was shown to them. Amazon recognizes a customer by name when they visit the Amazon home page and provides the customer with instant access to recent purchases, and showcases products that are likely to interest them, personally. They know the movies the customer has watched, and make recommendations based on their specific interests. Everything Amazon offers customers is uniquely relevant to them. As a result, when a customer gets an email from them, they are more likely to read it and click through to the product page. Customers appreciate the efforts Amazon has made to personalize and simplify the shopping experience. Because of the high level of reliability and personalization they offer, Amazon and other tech giants have raised consumer expectations very high. Customers have used these services extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they have come to expect the same level of personalization from all the brands they do business with. John Nash, CMO at Redpoint Global, spoke with CMSWire about consumer expectations. “Today’s customers have higher expectations than ever for brands. Generic, repetitive, irrelevant messaging leads to fatigue and frustration, whereas timely, personalized interactions reinforce customer satisfaction and maximize lifetime value.” There Can Be No Personalization Without Quality Data Consumers are very concerned about privacy and the potential loss of personal data. Fortunately, a recent report from Formation.ai entitled Brand Loyalty 2020: The Need for Hyper-Individualization showed that 81% of the 2000 consumers that were polled said that they are willing to provide basic personal information in exchange for a more personalized experience. From that group, 28% said they were “extremely willing” to provide that information. Their personal data, however, is not free — customers expect their data to be used to deliver a top-notch personalized experience from any business they have provided their information to. The report also revealed that 83% of consumers are more willing to share their data if the business they are sharing it with is transparent about how they will be using that data. In this age of data privacy, people do not mind sharing their personal information, but only if they have agreed to do so voluntarily, and only if they know how it is going to be used. Thakkar believes that to effectively manage customer data, a data strategy is required. “A data strategy needs to be crafted that identifies the key points about the customer that the business would like to understand,” he suggested. “This will then allow you to begin compiling that information — whether it is via web analytics, customer profile info, surveys/polls, or past purchase behavior.” To gain a deeper understanding of each customer, high-quality data is vital. Nash said that “It’s important to lay the foundation and follow the proper steps. First, gather all data sources, including first-, second- and third-party, unstructured, semi-structured and structured, batch and streaming, as well as anonymous and known data. Detailed transactional and behavioral data is also key. Ultimately, you’ll want to know all that is knowable about each customer, while collecting that data in a respectful and ethical way.” Given the wide disparity of data that Nash spoke of, being able to effectively use that data with relevancy involves a single customer view that entails all of the data that has been gathered. Nash explained that “Once that data has been properly collected, it needs to be accessed and easily understood. A superior, personalized and highly relevant customer experience is only made possible with data that provides the right setting — specifically, a cleansed, up-to-date single customer view that tells you everything you need to know about a customer, or a ‘Golden Record.’” Leverage Artificial Intelligence Nash believes that for effective personalization, AI must be used for real-time decisions, and stated that “Advanced, real-time personalization will also require marketers to embrace machine learning to tap into on-the-fly insights that become triggers for contextually relevant communications.” Orchestrating the engagement of the customer is no easy feat. “This is where effective, real-time decisioning (RTD) comes in, which must yield a synchronous experience across all channels,” said Nash. Real-time decisioning refers to the ability to make a decision based on the most up-to-date data that is available, not data from twenty minutes ago, but data from the current interaction with the business. Geoff Webb, VP of strategy at PROS, gave us his thoughts on the use of AI engines and personalization. He believes that AI-driven personalization helps to create a positive customer experience. “Using AI and machine learning are key to creating personalized offers because they allow vendors to analyze huge amounts of data quickly in order to present the best offer to their customers. That data, on previous interactions and real-time market dynamics, is how businesses unlock the potential of a seamless, personalized, and consistent customer buying experience. And that experience is likely to be the most powerful differentiator for businesses in the future. AI has also been used to develop intelligent chatbots that can enhance the experience that customers have when they are on a website. Chatbots are useful for providing immediate assistance when customers cannot locate something on the website, or if they have questions about the business. Without making too broad of an assumption, most of us have interacted with a chatbot on a business website. Most of the time, the experience was lacking something--a human touch. The problem with yesterday’s chatbots was that they were very impersonal, the exact opposite of personalization. AI chatbots are beginning to solve that problem by using real-time customer data which allows them to add a personal touch to the interaction. They have progressed quite a bit over the last few years to the point where it is difficult to know if one is talking to an AI chatbot or a live person. The personalization that AI facilitates goes well beyond knowing a customer’s first name. Lucidworks’ Smart Answers uses deep learning to enable chatbots and virtual assistants to provide personalized responses to customers. Justin Sears, Lucidworks’ VP of product marketing, reflected that “If you can identify where a customer is on their path to purchase, it enables more appropriate personalization and recommendations.” Smart Answers enhances chatbots with a much greater level of personalization for customers, and can, for example, “detect if customers who recently purchased the same item have similar questions and proactively offer a suggested FAQ answer for that product.” The applications of AI for enhancing customer experience are myriad. Mike Orr, CEO and co-founder of Grapevine6, suggests using AI to enhance the relevance of communications. “The business relationships that matter are built on authentic human connections. Leading organizations like SAP are moving their AI investment from the back-office to the very front where those connections live. They're investing in platforms that enable advisors, salespeople, and relationship managers to be more relevant and add more value in every communication by applying AI to digital engagement data to surface insights and content,” he explained. Omnichannel Personalization: Email, Text, Phone, Web, In-Store The goal of omnichannel personalization is to create consistent relationships with the customer any time they have an interaction with a business. Omnichannel personalization uses data from all channels, including in-store interactions, social presences, phone calls, mobile apps, websites, email, etc. and it extends the experience across every touchpoint between the customer and brand. Sears recognizes the challenges of omnichannel personalization, and stated that “One of the big challenges to providing a connected experience is being able to collect, analyze, and react to real-time data across all of the different touchpoints customers have with a brand — clicking through a link on a marketing email, abandoning a cart on mobile, researching on a PC. A customer’s profile of preferences should follow them on every channel.” There are several omnichannel personalization platforms available that make the challenges of omnichannel personalization easier. Typically they are based around an open infrastructure, which allows them to interact with legacy databases to bridge together the various sources of customer data. Another feature of omnichannel personalization platforms is the ability to make real-time decisions, a function that makes up-to-the-moment personalization possible. Other companies offer what they are calling an “omnichannel personalization engine” to provide similar functionality, and still others recommend using customer data platforms (CDPs) to provide omnichannel personalization functionality. The greatest requirement for a truly omnichannel customer experience is the ability to unify customer data, and that is one of the main functions of omnichannel personalization platforms, omnichannel personalization engines and CDPs. Conclusion Personalization used to be a nice option for marketing, but today it is a requirement for creating a positive customer experience. By micro-segmenting customers, providing them with highly relevant content, using omnichannel data, and leveraging AI, businesses can create a positive, personalized journey for their customers. As Sears reflected, “An effective personalization strategy enriches the customer experience, leading to greater customer satisfaction, increased revenue, and long-term loyalty.” Read more from CMS Wire ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of Business POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM Walid Mohammad, whose convenience store has been looted twice since May, plans to sue the city
Chicago store owner plans to sue city after business is looted twice A convenience store owner in Chicago’s central business district has been looted twice since May and said police took more than ’25 minuets’ to answer his call, allowing looters to break in and destroy his business.
The recent looting in Chicago has devastated local business owners who have had their stores vandalized and robbed. One convenience store owner has suffered this fate not once, but twice.
Walid Mohammad's convenience store has been looted twice since May. Surveillance footage showed looters taking items, breaking into the store's ATM and ‘destroying everything,’ Mohammad told Fox News. COSTS FROM WEEKS OF PROTESTS TAKE FINANCIAL TOLL ON CASH-STRAPPED CITIES ACROSS US “I've been through a lot. A lot of drama, a lot of stress. I don't know what I'm going to do," Mohammad said, whose store is in the central business district in downtown Chicago. He is just one of many business owners reeling with the realities of looters all while dealing with the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus. The store owner said he watched for 25 minutes as looters broke their way through his store’s metal door, but "but no one came to stop them," because police were overwhelmed across the city. Mohammad asserts, “Officers are seeing what is going on but are doing nothing.” CHICAGO ALDERMAN SLAMS STATE'S ATTORNEY KIM FOXX FOR RESPONSE TO LOOTING: 'TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE' “No one responded, nobody to protect my business. That's the first thing I want to know -- who's going to respond for that?” Mohammad said. “I want to see who are responsible for this.” If the widespread looting and unrest doesn’t end soon, the business owner is afraid he may not be able to recover and reopen his store. According to Mohammad, he has spent at least $300,000 repairing his store the first time it was looted and wants to know that the city will keep his property safe before he makes any new repairs again. “I want to know, are we protected or not? I want them to take care of the small businesses,” said Mohammad. On Thursday, the city’s police superintendent said looters in Chicago might have gotten away with a lot of crimes last weekend but that won’t happen again. “We are going to deploy all tactics necessary to prevent and stop looting,” Brown said. “ … We’ve increased our numbers, we have extended our hours that our officers work. There’s an increase of 1,000 officers that would normally be here.” CHICAGO'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENT CALLS FOR 'SERIOUS RESPONSE' AFTER DOWNTOWN LOOTING DEVASTATES BUSINESSES Mohammad questions why his and other local businesses are being targeted when they have nothing to do with this issues that have caused so many to take to the streets. “[I want to know] what my business has to do with it. If you have something against the officers or whatever, then why you come to break in our businesses, why you destroy us for?” said Mohammad. He plans on suing the city of Chicago for taking over “25 minutes" to respond to his call. Read and watch more from FOXNews ## CMS owned www.PayOnlyForSales.com Pay Only For Sales dot com is a network partner of the largest reward network in the USA. PayOnlyForSales.com Call us 631-780-4607 Watch This Video Click Here Restaurants, Retailers & Service Businesses Pay Only For Sales Not You're Advertising Advertise on the best websites & apps FOR FREE and only pay for in-store sales. We Bring ChaChing ©™SM Lower your cost of POS Credit Card transaction fees fast! ChaChingBiz.com ©™SM Accept Credit Cards Every Way Customers Want to Pay Never Miss a Sale Again. Sign Up Now Accept All Major Credit Cards. No waiting to get your money, Get your money daily, yes 7 days a week! We can reverse fees to customers at your option to encourage cash transactions. We are global and part of the largest network of business services in this space, provide direct personal customer service we have what you need for all business types restaurants, gas stations, startups, online, retail, hotel, motel, services business small business, street fair, food trucks, landscaper, contractor, swipe, POS systems for all needs. Cha Ching Biz ©™SM |
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