Stephen Covey, in his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, describes an important essences to be succeed in business world.
What made us special as a human, is that we have "self-consciousness", ability to think about our way of thinking. That's the reason we have full authority of every single thing in this world. We are not our feeling, we are not our mood, and we are not even our own thinking. Our consciousness about these three things separated us from animal world. It makes us possible to check up our self, our paradigm about ourselves, and it will affect not only our attitude and character, but also how we picture others.
Most of the times, because we lack of "self consciousness", we limited our potency and ability to be able to build good communication and relationship with others. But the good thing is, as a human, we can check up our own paradigm and decide whether it is based on reality or just a function of condition.
One of the popular model by Pavlov is the theory of stimulus/response. It explains that we are put in a certain condition to have a certain respond by certain stimulus. We are often determined by our condition, do not have control of the influence, and admitted the power of condition itself.
The truth is, we have control of our response, we can CHOOSE to decide how things can affect ourselves. We have freedom and power to choose certain respond. Between stimulus and response, we have freedom to CHOOSE.We can choose to be Reactive or Proactive!
Reactive person is very dependable on situation and mood. Weather condition and how people treat them can greatly affect their behavior. They are moved by feeling, emotion, situation, and condition.
In other way, Proactive person is moved by VALUE. Value that has been carefully selected and considered. Hat happened around them and how people treat them will have less impact into their behavior. They can control their response from certain stimulus by value, not by emotion.
Changed need to be from inside-out. Proactive person understand the value of this statement. They focused on how to changed inside first, things that they have full control of. They don't blame others and release their responsibility, they always start from the inside, what can they changed to make things work out. They always evaluate, learn, and changed to be better person. They understand that nobody can have access to hurt them, unless they themselves give a permission. For example, if your boss didn't treat you right, you can choose to be hurt or not. If you hurt, you just lose your chances. But if you learn from that, you can choose to understand what is your boss will and it can motivate you to do things above the line.
In business world, we always faced by tons of choices. We can choose to be reactive or proactive. We can choose to blame or learn. We can choose to be controlled by condition or we can control our condition. Be wise with your choice.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Business Value: Win the Heart Share!
In Business, we all familiar with market share and mind share. Strategy is being used to win mind share and Tactic is being used to win market share. However, these two aspects are not strong enough to build long term customers. The most vital aspect in marketing is to win heart share! Why heart share?
In year 2000, SQ airplane experienced fatal accident in Taiwan airport. The plane routed from Singapore to Los Angeles hit the contruction equipment, including excavator and buldozer, when they were about to take off. There are 83 person died in this accident and others experienced injuries. It was the first accident ever for Singapore Airlines!
Soon after incident, CEO of Singapore Airlines, Dr. Cheong arranged a press release and expressed his apology for the accident. He said that no matter what caused the accident in the field, it is still SQ airplane and SQ is fully responsible for that. He's not trying to blame anything. Soon after, SQ was offered a kind of "Condolence Fund" for the family of those who are victims. They gave $400,000 for the family of those who died and $20,000 for those who experienced injuries.
The way of SQ handling the problems received many praises from everywhere. People called this as "Nothing Short of Outstanding". And now on, we can see the result of this, Singapore Airlines is still the number one airline in the world! This proved that they won the heart of customers despite of its failure. They focused on creating customer value for long-term relationship. Even though market share and mind share are important in the business competition, but Value Share is matter the most.
In year 2000, SQ airplane experienced fatal accident in Taiwan airport. The plane routed from Singapore to Los Angeles hit the contruction equipment, including excavator and buldozer, when they were about to take off. There are 83 person died in this accident and others experienced injuries. It was the first accident ever for Singapore Airlines!
Soon after incident, CEO of Singapore Airlines, Dr. Cheong arranged a press release and expressed his apology for the accident. He said that no matter what caused the accident in the field, it is still SQ airplane and SQ is fully responsible for that. He's not trying to blame anything. Soon after, SQ was offered a kind of "Condolence Fund" for the family of those who are victims. They gave $400,000 for the family of those who died and $20,000 for those who experienced injuries.
The way of SQ handling the problems received many praises from everywhere. People called this as "Nothing Short of Outstanding". And now on, we can see the result of this, Singapore Airlines is still the number one airline in the world! This proved that they won the heart of customers despite of its failure. They focused on creating customer value for long-term relationship. Even though market share and mind share are important in the business competition, but Value Share is matter the most.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
KFC and McDonald's — a model of blended culture
CEOs of America Tricon Global Restaurants, the group that owns KFC and Pizza Hut, promotes Traditional Peking Chicken Roll at a KFC restaurant in Shanghai.
At present, there are more than 1,000 KFC restaurants in China, and they are increasing at annual rate of 200. A new KFC restaurant opens every other day. Western counterpart McDonald's also continues to expand its premises.
Having arrived on the mainland in the early 1990s, McDonald's has more than 600 restaurants in nearly 100 cities. Although there have been fewer golden arches in America, its native country, in the past two years, China's McDonald's have grown at a rate of 100 restaurants per year.
The total income of fast food restaurants in China now stands at 180 billion yuan RMB, and KFC and McDonald's account for eight percent. What kind of magic has brought them such success in China? How do they sustain growth rates? Their standardized business operation apart, the key is excellent inter-cultural management.
Western Fast Food — Chinese Style
Alluring the captious customers is a hurdle every foreign fast food restaurant must clear. The novelty of these fast food restaurants initially won many customers. Although cheap and commonplace in America, at the time the Chinese government's opening-up policy was newly enacted, fast food was exotically foreign enough to whet Chinese people's curiosity about the outside world. Managers took advantage of this by charging the relatively high prices of 10 yuan for a hamburger, and 5 yuan for a Coke.
By the mid-1990s, there were 100 fast food restaurants around Beijing; the convenience, efficient service, comfortable environment, pleasing music and jovial atmosphere garnered fans. Office workers enjoyed grabbing a quick bite on their way to work, and friends enjoyed relaxing over a Coke. However, certain eagle-eyed managers noticed that some people never dropped in when they passed by. Some customers complained that fast food was not as good as their Chinese cuisine, and that it lacked variety. McDonald's and KFC restaurants were almost empty during the traditional celebrations of Spring Festival and Mid-autumn Festival, while Chinese restaurants were heaved and bustled.
The reason? Cultural differences. Fast food restaurants like KFC and McDonald's are distinct American brands. Differences between China and US politics, economics, social development and ideology became obstacles to international enterprises operating in China. Corporate culture could not be understood or accepted here, especially in the restaurant field, where culture plays a crucial role.
McDonald's at full sail on the Huangpu River.
So the solution was to adapt: when in Rome, do as the Romans. Deep-rooted in the Chinese consciousness is the traditional culture of food and drink that features color, fragrance, flavor and variety. Fast food simply does not compare. Now that curiosity had faded, people returned to their own more extensive cuisine. Under such circumstances, the only way out was to combine the two different cultures. Fast food restaurants have been learning to absorb elements of Chinese culture.
Since the summer of 2001, KFC has introduced many Chinese items onto their menus. Preserved Sichuan Pickle and Shredded Pork Soup was one of the first. Consumers felt their traditions were being respected when they could taste Chinese cuisine at a foreign restaurant. The soup proved a success, and Mushroom Rice, Tomato and Egg Soup, and Traditional Peking Chicken Roll were soon added to the menu. KFC also serves packets of Happy French Fry Shakes that contain beef, orange and Uygur barbecue spices.
Not content to lag behind, McDonald's Vegetable and Seafood Soup and Corn Soup were introduced, and the company worked to modify the restaurants' design. During the 2004 Spring Festival, McDonald's on Beijing's Wangfujing Street attracted many people with a traditional Chinese look, decorating their interiors with paper-cuts of the Chinese character Fu (Happiness), magpies and twin fishes, all auspicious symbols.
Inter-cultural Management Mode
KFC and McDonald's have absorbed the Chinese cultural elements of showing respect, recognition, understanding, assimilation and amalgamation, while maintaining the substance of the Western culture of efficiency, freedom, democracy, equality and humanity. This inter-cultural management mode, with American business culture at the core, supplemented by Chinese traditional culture, provides reference for international enterprises which need to adjust, enrich and reconstruct their corporate culture to enhance local market flexibility.
There are, however, certain conditions essential to inter-cultural management mode. On the objective side, there must be similarities in environment in order for the two cultures to connect and synchronize. KFC and McDonald's embody an accommodation of the fast tempo of modern life: a product of development and a market economy. Their resultant speed and efficiency are only meaningful in countries with a market economy. China's rapid economic development offered the environmental conditions corresponding to fast food culture. Services offered by fast food chains express their full respect for freedom, an American value, as well as the psychological statement of Chinese open-mindedness that yearns to understand and experience the Western lifestyle. Two cultures proactively crashed, connected, and assimilated. KFC and McDonald's use the localization strategy to re-express American business culture, with profound traditional Chinese cultural emblems, catering to local customs on the basis of standardized management.
Source: China Daily
At present, there are more than 1,000 KFC restaurants in China, and they are increasing at annual rate of 200. A new KFC restaurant opens every other day. Western counterpart McDonald's also continues to expand its premises.
Having arrived on the mainland in the early 1990s, McDonald's has more than 600 restaurants in nearly 100 cities. Although there have been fewer golden arches in America, its native country, in the past two years, China's McDonald's have grown at a rate of 100 restaurants per year.
The total income of fast food restaurants in China now stands at 180 billion yuan RMB, and KFC and McDonald's account for eight percent. What kind of magic has brought them such success in China? How do they sustain growth rates? Their standardized business operation apart, the key is excellent inter-cultural management.
Western Fast Food — Chinese Style
Alluring the captious customers is a hurdle every foreign fast food restaurant must clear. The novelty of these fast food restaurants initially won many customers. Although cheap and commonplace in America, at the time the Chinese government's opening-up policy was newly enacted, fast food was exotically foreign enough to whet Chinese people's curiosity about the outside world. Managers took advantage of this by charging the relatively high prices of 10 yuan for a hamburger, and 5 yuan for a Coke.
By the mid-1990s, there were 100 fast food restaurants around Beijing; the convenience, efficient service, comfortable environment, pleasing music and jovial atmosphere garnered fans. Office workers enjoyed grabbing a quick bite on their way to work, and friends enjoyed relaxing over a Coke. However, certain eagle-eyed managers noticed that some people never dropped in when they passed by. Some customers complained that fast food was not as good as their Chinese cuisine, and that it lacked variety. McDonald's and KFC restaurants were almost empty during the traditional celebrations of Spring Festival and Mid-autumn Festival, while Chinese restaurants were heaved and bustled.
The reason? Cultural differences. Fast food restaurants like KFC and McDonald's are distinct American brands. Differences between China and US politics, economics, social development and ideology became obstacles to international enterprises operating in China. Corporate culture could not be understood or accepted here, especially in the restaurant field, where culture plays a crucial role.
McDonald's at full sail on the Huangpu River.
So the solution was to adapt: when in Rome, do as the Romans. Deep-rooted in the Chinese consciousness is the traditional culture of food and drink that features color, fragrance, flavor and variety. Fast food simply does not compare. Now that curiosity had faded, people returned to their own more extensive cuisine. Under such circumstances, the only way out was to combine the two different cultures. Fast food restaurants have been learning to absorb elements of Chinese culture.
Since the summer of 2001, KFC has introduced many Chinese items onto their menus. Preserved Sichuan Pickle and Shredded Pork Soup was one of the first. Consumers felt their traditions were being respected when they could taste Chinese cuisine at a foreign restaurant. The soup proved a success, and Mushroom Rice, Tomato and Egg Soup, and Traditional Peking Chicken Roll were soon added to the menu. KFC also serves packets of Happy French Fry Shakes that contain beef, orange and Uygur barbecue spices.
Not content to lag behind, McDonald's Vegetable and Seafood Soup and Corn Soup were introduced, and the company worked to modify the restaurants' design. During the 2004 Spring Festival, McDonald's on Beijing's Wangfujing Street attracted many people with a traditional Chinese look, decorating their interiors with paper-cuts of the Chinese character Fu (Happiness), magpies and twin fishes, all auspicious symbols.
Inter-cultural Management Mode
KFC and McDonald's have absorbed the Chinese cultural elements of showing respect, recognition, understanding, assimilation and amalgamation, while maintaining the substance of the Western culture of efficiency, freedom, democracy, equality and humanity. This inter-cultural management mode, with American business culture at the core, supplemented by Chinese traditional culture, provides reference for international enterprises which need to adjust, enrich and reconstruct their corporate culture to enhance local market flexibility.
There are, however, certain conditions essential to inter-cultural management mode. On the objective side, there must be similarities in environment in order for the two cultures to connect and synchronize. KFC and McDonald's embody an accommodation of the fast tempo of modern life: a product of development and a market economy. Their resultant speed and efficiency are only meaningful in countries with a market economy. China's rapid economic development offered the environmental conditions corresponding to fast food culture. Services offered by fast food chains express their full respect for freedom, an American value, as well as the psychological statement of Chinese open-mindedness that yearns to understand and experience the Western lifestyle. Two cultures proactively crashed, connected, and assimilated. KFC and McDonald's use the localization strategy to re-express American business culture, with profound traditional Chinese cultural emblems, catering to local customs on the basis of standardized management.
Source: China Daily
Monday, May 25, 2009
In-N-Out Burger's six secrets for out-and-out success
On the heels of mounting cynicism generated by Wall Street bailouts and the perception that corporate leaders are gaming the system to make a profit, at least one American company is proving that businesses can survive and even thrive while sticking to traditional values.
In-N-Out Burger, the iconic West Coast hamburger chain frequented by celebrities, is not slashing jobs or making major cutbacks during this recession. In fact, the regional chain, which has 232 locations in California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah, took in an estimated $420 million in revenues in 2008, and claims per-store sales of about $1.94 million. So how is this mom-and-pop burger joint pumping out per-store sales numbers that are better than Burger King and a host of other competitors?
BusinessWeek writer Stacy Perman has penned a book (In-N-Out Burger: A Behind the Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules) that chronicles how In-N-Out Burger founders Esther and Harry Snyder built the foundation for a business that has performed well since it debuted in 1948. Here are the six principles she says have made In-N-Out Berger an out-and-out success:
Keep a Relentless Focus on Quality -- Perman says that the Snyders were "micro-managers" from the beginning, insisting on only using the highest quality beef, produce and other ingredients at their stores.
"Harry would go to the meat purveyors, and stand over the butcher's shoulder to make sure that he got the meat that he paid for," she says, adding, "In the 60s, at a time when the fast food industry had turned to using frozen beef patties and French fries, [Harry] began hiring butchers so that he could maintain the quality of his beef. His own butchers would prepare the beef patties, and that continues to this day, but on a much larger scale."
Listen to Your Customers -- One of the company's mottos is "Our customer is everything." Applying that belief led to the company policy of preparing burgers just the way customers asked for them. Some of the customer favorites became popular and were eventually adopted as the restaurant chain's "secret menu." By listening to their customers, In-N-Out created menu choices other stores couldn't duplicate.
"So now you have three or four generations of people who grew up on In-and-Out Burger who have this very special relation ship to the chain," says Perman. "It's very authentic -- you can't buy that. It's very organic and they've been very careful never to commercialize that."
Treat Employees Well -- The Snyders always held their employees in high esteem, paying them higher wages than competitors and calling them associates to make them feel more connected to the franchise.
"They believed in sharing their success with their employees," says Perman, noting that In-N-Out associates make $10 an hour working part-time and starting store managers make $100,000, plus bonuses tied to store performance. The company benefits package is also generous. Such treatment engenders loyalty from workers.
"They have the lowest turnover rate in the fast food industry, which is notorious for turnover," says Perman. "They say that the average manager's tenure is 14 years, but they have managers who have been there 30 or 40 years."
Keep Things Simple and Consistent -- Another of Harry Snyder's mottos was, "Keep it real simple, do one thing and do it the best you can." That theme runs throughout the business.
"People get cynical about changes at different companies, but they always know that In-N-Out doesn't change," says Perman. "In and out stands for something and they've stuck to it and their customers really see that."
Expand Slowly and Only Under the Right Conditions – In-N-Out has strict guidelines that limit the growth of stores, but ensure each store's success.
"They don't open a store outside of a 500-mile radius of the commissaries where they get their fresh beef patties, their buns and other products because they want to maintain freshness," says Perman. "They make deliveries daily or near daily."
She also points out that, "They never open a new store unless they have management strength in place. They have very rigorous training procedures."
Define Your Own Level of Success – In corporate America, where success is sometimes defined as rapid growth at any cost, In-N-Out has, as the title suggests, made its own rules.
"If the customers and the employees were happy and they were making the best product they could, they were successful," she says, "and they have maintained that philosophy."
Source: Dailyfinance.com
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Adding Value in Modern Business
Adding value in Modern Business is not necessary means adding high cost in our side. In fact, many companies has implemented low budget-high impact strategy. Let's say Shell Petroleum, their price are relatively higher than Pertamina. But they proved themselves as a tough competitor of Pertamina which statisticly has more experience and strong brand image in Indonesia.
When you fill up your fuel in Shell, you can ask them to clean up your mirror. It's simple thing, but it added an important value through it. Many customers are choosing their gas station because of this simple stuff. In this case, gas is the main product and in my opinion, its product value are exactly the same (or maybe a little better?)between Pertamina and Shell.
Another example, Wal-Green, one of the best convenient store in US that has more than 3000 stores around North America. Most of their stuff are relatively higher in price compared by its competitor. But they keep growing and growing in market share, profit, and amount of new stores opened every year. While I was work there few years back, I realized that one of their strength is company culture (besides its strategic location). In Walgreen, employees HAVE TO treat customers as best as they can! They need to greet each customers, offer an assistance, pick up the phone at third ring at most, and so on.
It's all a simple stuff that doesn't cost a penny! But it has a positive impact, it can build relationship between shoppers and employees, and indeed it strengthen their loyalty to the store. In general, Wal-Green store are small to medium sizes, which means it's much easier for them to show hospitality to their customers rather than big stores such as Wal-Mart. This way, they can both reap a good margin and win customer loyalty.
When you fill up your fuel in Shell, you can ask them to clean up your mirror. It's simple thing, but it added an important value through it. Many customers are choosing their gas station because of this simple stuff. In this case, gas is the main product and in my opinion, its product value are exactly the same (or maybe a little better?)between Pertamina and Shell.
Another example, Wal-Green, one of the best convenient store in US that has more than 3000 stores around North America. Most of their stuff are relatively higher in price compared by its competitor. But they keep growing and growing in market share, profit, and amount of new stores opened every year. While I was work there few years back, I realized that one of their strength is company culture (besides its strategic location). In Walgreen, employees HAVE TO treat customers as best as they can! They need to greet each customers, offer an assistance, pick up the phone at third ring at most, and so on.
It's all a simple stuff that doesn't cost a penny! But it has a positive impact, it can build relationship between shoppers and employees, and indeed it strengthen their loyalty to the store. In general, Wal-Green store are small to medium sizes, which means it's much easier for them to show hospitality to their customers rather than big stores such as Wal-Mart. This way, they can both reap a good margin and win customer loyalty.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Business Essential Element: IQ, EQ, and SQ
To be succeed in business, IQ and EQ are definitely an essential element. IQ contained knowledge, problem-solving skill, and technical skill whereas EQ talked about emotion, self-control, mentality, and character. Generally speaking, IQ is much easier to be seen by others rather than EQ. However, high quality people with great IQ are not necessary to be succeed or maximized their potential in business area. Business is about making a good relation with others.
EQ can be seen mostly in difficult situation, that's why people with higher EQ have a higher chances to be success. EQ are talking about how a person can understand himself and others. He is able to understand and manage his own emotion so that he can manage and motivate others.
In his book, New Wave Marketing, Hermawan Kartajaya explained that the most essential element to be succeed is SQ (Spiritual Quality). It's not only talking about religion; it's talking about values of life. SQ is talking about deep meaning of life, purpose of life, and highest motivation of human being.
As a highest creation, human have an ability to change his situation, add value to his community, and everlasting creativity to make this world a better living. When IQ is talking about "What I think" and EQ is talking about "What I feel", SQ is talking about "What I am." In this unpredictable situation, only those with great SQ are able to survive and conquer his field!
EQ can be seen mostly in difficult situation, that's why people with higher EQ have a higher chances to be success. EQ are talking about how a person can understand himself and others. He is able to understand and manage his own emotion so that he can manage and motivate others.
In his book, New Wave Marketing, Hermawan Kartajaya explained that the most essential element to be succeed is SQ (Spiritual Quality). It's not only talking about religion; it's talking about values of life. SQ is talking about deep meaning of life, purpose of life, and highest motivation of human being.
As a highest creation, human have an ability to change his situation, add value to his community, and everlasting creativity to make this world a better living. When IQ is talking about "What I think" and EQ is talking about "What I feel", SQ is talking about "What I am." In this unpredictable situation, only those with great SQ are able to survive and conquer his field!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Emotional Business: From Simple Stuff to Serious Business
Recently, there are so many advertisement in television, media, and online ads about registration for any kind of things. Reg_primbon, reg_cinta, reg_jodoh, and so on and on ... The price for that is not cheap. it's about 2000 rupiah/sms as i know. I myself never be interested for that kind of not-so-useful things. But the fact, those not-so-useful things are booming! Just right here, in Indonesia! Some of them can reap millions and millions rupiah each day.
These days, we can find many advertisement on the internet about some emotional offers such as: cara gampang jadi kaya, kerja santai dan kaya, cepat kaya dgn mudah, and so on ... Here is another great examples! I read on some media that spot on these. According to them, some of these are big liar, some are quite good, and some are great. Despite of its purposes and motivation, statistic said that players in this field are earning billion and billion rupiah.
I was wondering what is so interesting with this business. After I spent sometime reviewing, researching, and thinking, I realized that there is a huge and unique potential in Indonesia' business world: Emotion. Everything that has an emotional feeling are HOT business in Indonesia. Simple stuff can be a serious business if you can add emotional spices. Those who can sense and diligently wrap their products with emotional spices, and put effort to work on it, can easily conquer a segment of unique markets.
These days, we can find many advertisement on the internet about some emotional offers such as: cara gampang jadi kaya, kerja santai dan kaya, cepat kaya dgn mudah, and so on ... Here is another great examples! I read on some media that spot on these. According to them, some of these are big liar, some are quite good, and some are great. Despite of its purposes and motivation, statistic said that players in this field are earning billion and billion rupiah.
I was wondering what is so interesting with this business. After I spent sometime reviewing, researching, and thinking, I realized that there is a huge and unique potential in Indonesia' business world: Emotion. Everything that has an emotional feeling are HOT business in Indonesia. Simple stuff can be a serious business if you can add emotional spices. Those who can sense and diligently wrap their products with emotional spices, and put effort to work on it, can easily conquer a segment of unique markets.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Bill Gates on local business advertising: Yellow Pages gone in 5 years!
Microsoft wagered an estimated $1 billion of its competitive kitty that it will loudly beat search nemesis Google in both the mobile search and local business advertising $50 billion challenge, as I report and analyze in What Microsoft is telling Google about mobile search: Tellme Networks, Inc.
In buying Tellme, Microsoft aims to bring the “power of voice technology to everyday life.”
Mike McCue, co-founder and CEO of Tellme on what the Microsoft acquisition means:
This combination allows us to really fulfill our vision and bring it to billions of consumers, literally, on any phone. We love the idea of allowing people to be able to simply pick up a phone, push a button, and say find the nearest Starbucks, and then get a map and driving directions to that location, or be able to push a button and say, give me the latest score on the Yankees.
Bill Gates, Microosft Chairman, has a voice enabled mobile local search and advertising vision, and it doesn't include the Yellow Pages.
In a Q & A last week with Joanne Bradford, Microsoft Corporate Vice President and Chief Media Officer, at the Microsoft Strategic Account Summit 2007, Gates projected a short life span for the Yellow Pages.
GATES: A lot of these interfaces will be mixed voice/screen interfaces. When you have just voice, and you say something, let's say on the other end there's three or four possibilities, that voicing of, did you mean A, B, C, D, that's really slow and kind of painful. If you're just sitting there with your phone with the screen, then it will propose those, and the idea that, okay, if it's the one on top you just press enter, if it's the others you just cursor down, take that, and press enter. Then it's far more natural. And when I call up and I say, what is the movie schedule for this movie, voice has always been super slow, I have to sit there and hope that I'm listening right at the time it says the one thing that's in my lane. If I say that, and it just comes back up on that screen, you know, I may have additional links, get more information, then it's the voice/screen interaction that I believe in because it's far more robust in the face of some uncertainty of exactly what the input is as opposed to a voice/voice interaction that is very limiting.
BRADFORD: There's a big implication that I think about to the local advertising market, and I really think that if you can do those two things in the phone, and in the screen, that you change that. So the Windows Live Local data on the phone, it's a great experience. But I think it's going to be better when I can combine the speech and the screen there. You think that's coming sooner than later, and will it really wipe out Yellow Pages?
GATES: Well, the Yellow Pages are going to be used less and less. We should be able, when you go to the service that's going to take our technology and the Tellme technology that we acquired, when you ay something like plumber, the presentation you'll get will be far better than what you get in the Yellow Pages. After all, we know your location, and so we can cluster around that. We can take the information and show you the names, and then you can expand the information easily.
So, yes, I think that these things always take time, but Yellow Page usage amongst people in their, say, below 50, will drop to zero, near zero over the next five years.
Source: Click Here
In buying Tellme, Microsoft aims to bring the “power of voice technology to everyday life.”
Mike McCue, co-founder and CEO of Tellme on what the Microsoft acquisition means:
This combination allows us to really fulfill our vision and bring it to billions of consumers, literally, on any phone. We love the idea of allowing people to be able to simply pick up a phone, push a button, and say find the nearest Starbucks, and then get a map and driving directions to that location, or be able to push a button and say, give me the latest score on the Yankees.
Bill Gates, Microosft Chairman, has a voice enabled mobile local search and advertising vision, and it doesn't include the Yellow Pages.
In a Q & A last week with Joanne Bradford, Microsoft Corporate Vice President and Chief Media Officer, at the Microsoft Strategic Account Summit 2007, Gates projected a short life span for the Yellow Pages.
GATES: A lot of these interfaces will be mixed voice/screen interfaces. When you have just voice, and you say something, let's say on the other end there's three or four possibilities, that voicing of, did you mean A, B, C, D, that's really slow and kind of painful. If you're just sitting there with your phone with the screen, then it will propose those, and the idea that, okay, if it's the one on top you just press enter, if it's the others you just cursor down, take that, and press enter. Then it's far more natural. And when I call up and I say, what is the movie schedule for this movie, voice has always been super slow, I have to sit there and hope that I'm listening right at the time it says the one thing that's in my lane. If I say that, and it just comes back up on that screen, you know, I may have additional links, get more information, then it's the voice/screen interaction that I believe in because it's far more robust in the face of some uncertainty of exactly what the input is as opposed to a voice/voice interaction that is very limiting.
BRADFORD: There's a big implication that I think about to the local advertising market, and I really think that if you can do those two things in the phone, and in the screen, that you change that. So the Windows Live Local data on the phone, it's a great experience. But I think it's going to be better when I can combine the speech and the screen there. You think that's coming sooner than later, and will it really wipe out Yellow Pages?
GATES: Well, the Yellow Pages are going to be used less and less. We should be able, when you go to the service that's going to take our technology and the Tellme technology that we acquired, when you ay something like plumber, the presentation you'll get will be far better than what you get in the Yellow Pages. After all, we know your location, and so we can cluster around that. We can take the information and show you the names, and then you can expand the information easily.
So, yes, I think that these things always take time, but Yellow Page usage amongst people in their, say, below 50, will drop to zero, near zero over the next five years.
Source: Click Here
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Warren Buffett Way: Principals for Successful Investment
In his Business Investment book "The Warren Buffett Way", Robert Hagstrom outlines 12 principles Warren Buffett follows in his successful investment decision making. This article illustrates these tenets implemented by Buffett when selecting stocks or companies.
Principle 1: Simplicity and Understandability of the Business
Warren Buffett avoided the investment in a business he had no understanding of. This is the reason for which he did not undertake investments on technology stocks. He claimed that understanding a business facilitated the spotting of problems and opportunities.
Principle 2: Reliable Operating History
Buffet studied the history record of a target company. He is well aware of the fact that a past performance is not a guarantee for future success, but he used it to see whether the particular business was able to endure the different market conditions.
Principle 3: Positive Long-Term Prospects
Warren Buffet investing philosophy included the holding of a company over the long-term. Therefore, a clear future was of importance to him. He disregarded the profitability of companies that were about to fall out of taste tomorrow, such as technology stocks or companies that were susceptible to trend conditions.
Principle 4: Rational Management
Buffet placed extreme importance on the management team of the company. He paid attention on the way the management operated with the excess cash generated. In order to construct a shareholder value, the cash that is generated above the average returns should be reinvested. If the reinvestment is not possible the excess cash should be returned to the shareholders in a dividend form or whatever other form the management considers appropriate. Rationality is what should stand behind every decision.
Principal 5: Open Management-Shareholder Relationships
Buffet put a great importance on the open relationships between shareholders and management. This means that the latter should provide information on the activities of the company and be able to admit its mistakes when committed and take its responsibilities in fixing them.
Principal 6: Institutional Imperative Resistance by Management Teams
Buffet is against the acting as the rest of the companies in the industry no matter that sometimes this may mean undertaking out-of-the-ordinary actions.
Principal 7: Return on Equity Importance
Return on equity is one of the basic criteria against which Buffett evaluated a target company. He regards earnings as of less importance. The significance of return on equity is dictated by its defined effect on the wealth of the company over the long run.
Principal 8: Owner Earnings Importance
When evaluating a company Warren Buffet makes estimations that disregard cash flow, but instead focus on future capital expenditures. As a result he gets a more clear view on the value of the company.
Principal 9: Profit Margins Importance
Buffett places importance on the ability of a company to transform sales into profits. A failure on the part of the company to do so discouraged Buffett to invest in it. Additionally, if the expenses of a company are inflated, Buffett considered this as a lack of discipline no matter the level of profitability of the company. Control over the expenditures of the company is what matters.
Principal 10: The Creation of a Dollar Market Value for Every Obtained and Retained Dollar
If the company has failed to do so, then this is an indication of incorrect capital allocation. Thus, the company has failed to create both shareholder and market value. The holding of cash is regarded as pointless by Buffett.
Principal 11: Company Value Importance
Again the long-term focus is present in this tenet. This is so since Buffett uses total net cash flow that is projected to occur over the lifespan of the target company to determine its value. This may seem impossible since it requires you to be able to predict the performance of the company over a too long time period. However, Buffett claims that if all other tenets can be found in the company, this prediction will be of no difficulty.
Principal 12: Company Availability at a Discount
The discounted price of the stock will compensate for the potential downs in the value. This is one of the main tactics of Buffet that provides him with a level of safety.
Source: stock market investor
Principle 1: Simplicity and Understandability of the Business
Warren Buffett avoided the investment in a business he had no understanding of. This is the reason for which he did not undertake investments on technology stocks. He claimed that understanding a business facilitated the spotting of problems and opportunities.
Principle 2: Reliable Operating History
Buffet studied the history record of a target company. He is well aware of the fact that a past performance is not a guarantee for future success, but he used it to see whether the particular business was able to endure the different market conditions.
Principle 3: Positive Long-Term Prospects
Warren Buffet investing philosophy included the holding of a company over the long-term. Therefore, a clear future was of importance to him. He disregarded the profitability of companies that were about to fall out of taste tomorrow, such as technology stocks or companies that were susceptible to trend conditions.
Principle 4: Rational Management
Buffet placed extreme importance on the management team of the company. He paid attention on the way the management operated with the excess cash generated. In order to construct a shareholder value, the cash that is generated above the average returns should be reinvested. If the reinvestment is not possible the excess cash should be returned to the shareholders in a dividend form or whatever other form the management considers appropriate. Rationality is what should stand behind every decision.
Principal 5: Open Management-Shareholder Relationships
Buffet put a great importance on the open relationships between shareholders and management. This means that the latter should provide information on the activities of the company and be able to admit its mistakes when committed and take its responsibilities in fixing them.
Principal 6: Institutional Imperative Resistance by Management Teams
Buffet is against the acting as the rest of the companies in the industry no matter that sometimes this may mean undertaking out-of-the-ordinary actions.
Principal 7: Return on Equity Importance
Return on equity is one of the basic criteria against which Buffett evaluated a target company. He regards earnings as of less importance. The significance of return on equity is dictated by its defined effect on the wealth of the company over the long run.
Principal 8: Owner Earnings Importance
When evaluating a company Warren Buffet makes estimations that disregard cash flow, but instead focus on future capital expenditures. As a result he gets a more clear view on the value of the company.
Principal 9: Profit Margins Importance
Buffett places importance on the ability of a company to transform sales into profits. A failure on the part of the company to do so discouraged Buffett to invest in it. Additionally, if the expenses of a company are inflated, Buffett considered this as a lack of discipline no matter the level of profitability of the company. Control over the expenditures of the company is what matters.
Principal 10: The Creation of a Dollar Market Value for Every Obtained and Retained Dollar
If the company has failed to do so, then this is an indication of incorrect capital allocation. Thus, the company has failed to create both shareholder and market value. The holding of cash is regarded as pointless by Buffett.
Principal 11: Company Value Importance
Again the long-term focus is present in this tenet. This is so since Buffett uses total net cash flow that is projected to occur over the lifespan of the target company to determine its value. This may seem impossible since it requires you to be able to predict the performance of the company over a too long time period. However, Buffett claims that if all other tenets can be found in the company, this prediction will be of no difficulty.
Principal 12: Company Availability at a Discount
The discounted price of the stock will compensate for the potential downs in the value. This is one of the main tactics of Buffet that provides him with a level of safety.
Source: stock market investor
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Crisis is a Season to Start Up New Business
Thinking of open a new business in the crisis season may not sounds like a great idea for most entrepreneur. There are hundreds of reasons backup this statement. Difficult to get funds, high risk of business, need more time to break even, and the list goes on and on ... I believe most people will agree with this.
However, crisis is not just bring a new obstacles for entrepreneur or business, crisis also bring a new OPPORTUNITY in the marketplace.
In crisis season, It will be easier for you to get a GREAT employee with lower fee. Especially those who are laid-off from their old company (some company may close their business or reduce employees). Many experienced-smart-hardworking person outthere are waiting to empowering and add new value to your business.
Based on statistic, crisis is lowering the turnover of employee. They will think twice to move on another job (security of job might become their first priority). In company side, indeed it is beneficial, you can build strong foundation for human resources and their loyalty.
Another significant impact of crisis is lowering intensity and quantity of competition in new business market. It can boost up small or new company to survive and penetrate to the new level.
From financial side, loan money from bank may look risky in crisis situation. But you know what, based on experience, the intensity of crisis will decreasing after one to two year. And it will be followed by GROWTH! Pay back loaned on growing economic season will be very helpful.
However, crisis is not just bring a new obstacles for entrepreneur or business, crisis also bring a new OPPORTUNITY in the marketplace.
In crisis season, It will be easier for you to get a GREAT employee with lower fee. Especially those who are laid-off from their old company (some company may close their business or reduce employees). Many experienced-smart-hardworking person outthere are waiting to empowering and add new value to your business.
Based on statistic, crisis is lowering the turnover of employee. They will think twice to move on another job (security of job might become their first priority). In company side, indeed it is beneficial, you can build strong foundation for human resources and their loyalty.
Another significant impact of crisis is lowering intensity and quantity of competition in new business market. It can boost up small or new company to survive and penetrate to the new level.
From financial side, loan money from bank may look risky in crisis situation. But you know what, based on experience, the intensity of crisis will decreasing after one to two year. And it will be followed by GROWTH! Pay back loaned on growing economic season will be very helpful.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Internet Marketer in Indonesia: Potential Market!
Based on recent statistic, population of Indonesia has reached more than 220 million people and has more than 25 million Internet User! It's not really a great percentage, but still, it's quite huge of numbers! Last few years, Indonesia experiencing rapid growth in Internet User every year. It means that Internet Marketer in Indonesia has more and more opportunity in this field. Every year there are bunch of New Internet Marketer players join into this new world.
Few years back, I'm still thinking it is quite impossible for Indonesia to have such of this market due to many barriers (slow internet, expensive internet, many people do not have computer - or maybe have no idea what is computer look like -, and the list goes on and on ...). As I look the market today, I have to admit that my old perception is absolutely wrong! Lots of people from diverse demographics have used Internet for thousand reasons. Some just used it for fun, e-mail, browsing, chatting, when others used it for business purposes (either individual or company).
Whatever the reason is, the most important thing is that we realize there are lots niche and potential market outthere! One of the tools that is used by most of Internet Marketer is SEO (Search Engine Optimization). These days, many people are very grateful to Google because of SEO technique. It's faster, cheaper, and much more FOCUS and TARGETED!
For example, if you need to advertise your products in newspapers, you need to pay at least few millions dollar just for 2 or maybe 3 short line. And it may not targeted very well into your potential customers. While in SEO, if you put proper keyword on your website, when people search for those things through google search engine and they are able to find your website, they have become your POTENTIAL customer immediately! Let's put it this way, when people try to look for a flowers shop in google, they won't search for pet shop through google search engine.
Few years back, I'm still thinking it is quite impossible for Indonesia to have such of this market due to many barriers (slow internet, expensive internet, many people do not have computer - or maybe have no idea what is computer look like -, and the list goes on and on ...). As I look the market today, I have to admit that my old perception is absolutely wrong! Lots of people from diverse demographics have used Internet for thousand reasons. Some just used it for fun, e-mail, browsing, chatting, when others used it for business purposes (either individual or company).
Whatever the reason is, the most important thing is that we realize there are lots niche and potential market outthere! One of the tools that is used by most of Internet Marketer is SEO (Search Engine Optimization). These days, many people are very grateful to Google because of SEO technique. It's faster, cheaper, and much more FOCUS and TARGETED!
For example, if you need to advertise your products in newspapers, you need to pay at least few millions dollar just for 2 or maybe 3 short line. And it may not targeted very well into your potential customers. While in SEO, if you put proper keyword on your website, when people search for those things through google search engine and they are able to find your website, they have become your POTENTIAL customer immediately! Let's put it this way, when people try to look for a flowers shop in google, they won't search for pet shop through google search engine.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
10 Rules of Sam Walton's
As a business brilliance and genius, Sam Walton is well known for their 10 rules even after he passed away. Most people acknowledge these as his "secret weapons" to be success in Wal-Mart. Today, Wal-Mart is the world's #1 retailer, with more than 4,150 stores including discount stores, combination discount and grocery stores, and Sam's Club. And it's still growing!
No wonder many people who doing business are tyring to grasp some of his principle and technique. Here I share his 10 rules:
Rule #1
Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anything else. If you love your work, you'll be out there every day trying to do the best you can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you - like a fever.
Rule #2
Share your profits with all your associates, and treat them as partners. In turn, they will treat you as a partner, and together you will all perform beyond your wildest expectations.
Rule #3 Motivate your partners. Money and ownership aren't enough. Set high goals, encourage competition and then keep score. Make bets with outrageous payoffs.
Rule #4
Communicate everything you possibly can to your partners. The more they know, the more they'll understand. The more they understand, the more they'll care. Once they care, there's no stopping them. Information is power, and the gain you get from empowering your associates more than offsets the risk of informing your competitors.
Rule #5
Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune.
Rule #6
Celebrate your success and find humour in your failures. Don't take yourself so seriously. Loosen up and everyone around you will loosen up. Have fun and always show enthusiasm. When all else fails put on a costume and sing a silly song.
Rule #7
Listen to everyone in your company, and figure out ways to get them talking. The folks on the front line - the ones who actually talk to customers - are the only ones who really know what's going on out there. You'd better find out what they know.
Rule #8
Exceed your customer's expectations. If you do they'll come back over and over. Give them what they want - and a little more. Let them know you appreciate them. Make good on all your mistakes, and don't make excuses - apologize. Stand behind everything you do. 'Satisfaction guaranteed' will make all the difference.
Rule #9
Control your expenses better than your competition. This is where you can always find the competitive advantage. You can make a lot of mistakes and still recover if you run an efficient operation. Or you can be brilliant and still go out of business if you're too inefficient.
Rule #10
Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody is doing it one way, there's a good chance you can find your niche by going exactly in the opposite direction
One remarkable way, he uses "associates" and "partners" as interchangeable terms for his employees and vendors. That was he felt about everyone who worked for him or supplied to him was his equal and an expert from whom he could learn. And above all, his customers were everything
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Sam Walton's Way [#1 Company in the World's Founder]
Wal-Mart was one of the Most Successful company and absolutely Biggest Retail Company of our time. Sam Walton was one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time. Even after he passed away, two of his son still in the top 5 of richest man in the world.
Sam Walton was a simple, unique, and and self-made man. Starting from scratch, with a singularity of focus, he built Wal-Mart into the largest and most successful company in the world.
As a continuous learner, Walton was committed to constantly increasing his own knowledge. He challenged existing business theories and paradigms by developing and implementing a new set of rules and used this new information to build and improve every aspect of Wal-Mart.
Here is set of rules that he considered as his entrepreneur key success:
*Motivate yourself and others to achieve your dreams
*Communicate with people and show that you care
*Appreciate and recognize people for their effort and results
*Listen to others and learn from their ideas
*Control expenses and save your way to prosperity
*Swim upstream, be different, and challenge thestatus quo
In leadership aspects, here is what he considered the best:
*Listen to your people and respond to their needs
*Recruit employees who have the capacity to replace you
*Allow people to think and try new things
*Create an environment that allows your staff to comfortably disagree with you
While many leader thinks that what they said is the only one that matter,Walton just did the opposite. He encourages his employee to critize, complain, and disagree with his thought. His eagerness to learn is contagious in his entire company. This is why they always motivated to move forward and take Wal-Mart as their own family.
Sam Walton was a simple, unique, and and self-made man. Starting from scratch, with a singularity of focus, he built Wal-Mart into the largest and most successful company in the world.
As a continuous learner, Walton was committed to constantly increasing his own knowledge. He challenged existing business theories and paradigms by developing and implementing a new set of rules and used this new information to build and improve every aspect of Wal-Mart.
Here is set of rules that he considered as his entrepreneur key success:
*Motivate yourself and others to achieve your dreams
*Communicate with people and show that you care
*Appreciate and recognize people for their effort and results
*Listen to others and learn from their ideas
*Control expenses and save your way to prosperity
*Swim upstream, be different, and challenge thestatus quo
In leadership aspects, here is what he considered the best:
*Listen to your people and respond to their needs
*Recruit employees who have the capacity to replace you
*Allow people to think and try new things
*Create an environment that allows your staff to comfortably disagree with you
While many leader thinks that what they said is the only one that matter,Walton just did the opposite. He encourages his employee to critize, complain, and disagree with his thought. His eagerness to learn is contagious in his entire company. This is why they always motivated to move forward and take Wal-Mart as their own family.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Behind The Scene: Air Asia Success Story!
When Tony Fernandes wanted to start Malaysia's first discount airline a few years ago, he couldn't get a license. Then he heard bankrupt Air Asia, with two Boeing jets and $11 million in debt, could be bought from the government. All he had to do was sell then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on the idea. The two met in October, 2001, with Fernandes, a British-trained accountant, telling Mahathir a discount carrier could revolutionize Southeast Asian air travel and boost tourism at a time when airlines worldwide were struggling from the impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Mahathir was persuaded -- Fernandes only had to pay a token 26 cents for the carrier -- but airline analysts were skeptical. "When we started, they said it wouldn't work," recalls Fernandes. "They said we would die."
Well, Fernandes not only survived, he has thrived. One-way fares as low as $2.50 have persuaded thousands of Malaysians to fly who in the past would have taken a bus, train, or boat. Since its relaunch in December, 2001, Air Asia has bought four Boeing 737-300s and leased 13 more. It now flies to 28 destinations around the region, including Jakarta, Bangkok, and Macau. Fernandes keeps costs low with short-haul flights, a high rate of aircraft utilization, and a fast turnaround rate. He also makes money with a lucrative cargo service, sales of drinks on board, and marketing tie-ups with other companies. Air Asia's planes are flying 80% full on average, and analysts say it will earn $16 million in profits on $120 million in revenues for the fiscal year ending June 30.
Fernandes' biggest achievement has been to turn Air Asia into an international carrier. Before he arrived on the scene, countries in the region never had any kind of open-skies agreement. In mid-2003, Fernandes' lobbying pushed Mahathir to raise the idea with the leaders of neighboring Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. As a result, those nations have granted landing rights to Air Asia and other discount carriers. "Fernandes has had remarkable influence in shaping government and airline thinking in Southeast Asia and beyond," says Peter Harbison, managing director of the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation, a Sydney consultancy. "The Asia Pacific airline industry will never be the same again."
Now, Southeast Asia is buzzing with successful, low-price carriers such as Thai Air Asia, which took off in January, and Singapore-based Valuair, which began flying in May. Asia's big established carriers are responding with cut-rate rivals of their own. Singapore Airlines, for example, is preparing to launch Tiger Airways in late November, while Australia's Qantas Airways is starting up JetStar in mid-November. Even though this means more competition, Fernandes is proud of what he set in motion. "It was the popularity of low-cost carriers like Air Asia," he says, "that forced them to move toward more open skies."
Fernandes learned to think like an entrepreneur from a master. After graduating from the London School of Economics in 1987, he worked as an accountant for Richard Branson's Virgin Records from 1987 to 1989. The amateur guitarist went on to become vice-president for Southeast Asia for Warner Music Group from 1992-2001. But Fernandes says he won't imitate his mentor Branson by branching out into many businesses. "Unlike Sir Richard, I am totally focused on just one thing -- Air Asia," he says. Not that he doesn't have big plans. He wants to fly 6 million passengers annually by 2005, up from 1.8 million last year, and buy 80 new planes to serve them. An initial public offering is looming as soon as September. Whatever he does next, Fernandes is likely to teach his competitors a thing or two about how to push the business envelope.
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_28/b3891409.htm
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
How Significant do Blogging Influence your Business?
Statistics of Technorati said there are 175,000 new blogs being created every day! Can you believe it? Up 'til today, there has been 112,8 million blogs around the world! And there has been 1.6 millios post being published every day! There must be a thousand different reasons for them to create and update blogs. For sure, not all of them used it just for fun. Some, or maybe many, of them, are using this booming tools to do business.
Nowadays, small-medium size business to Giant Corporate Company, are now competing in this new "modern" electronic media (I identified television, newspapers, radion, etc as a "traditional" media). For example, Mark Guim, Nokia "freak" fans, created Nokia Blog, while he's not even Nokia employees or being paid by Nokia. What he's doing is writing a review, new product, and everything related to Nokia that is very popular among Nokia users. Can you imagine how this person (receiving nothing from nokia) affect Nokia Brand Image and Sales? Here is how poweful Internet Marketing is.
This is how New Wave Marketing (quoted from Hermawan Kartajaya) model should be. No more top down (vertical) marketing. Now, everything should be horizontal (communitizing). As a business player, customers are all look at us, our service, integrity, credibility, and reliability. Product is no longer everything (well, it's still important though), our attitude and behavior in doing business will be everything!!
While customers disappointed with our business, they can write everything from A to Z to complain, critize, and destroy our kingdom !!! Just like what Jeff Jarvis did to Dell (click here), that is popular with "Dell Hell", there's actually a lot more happened outthere. We as player in business world, should be careful about this "little-simple" thing that can bring huge impact to our business.
In other side, we can take advantage of this New Wave Marketing, just like what Nokia experienced while out of nowhere, his loyal customer being their "marketer", "dealer", "ambassador", or whatever you want to call it. Believe it or not, nobody can stop "blogger" to write, whether bad things or good things, that can bring either hell or heaven to the business. You better be prepared!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Your Web, Your Way
If the Web's first coming was all about grafting old businesses onto a new medium (pet food! on the Internet!), Web 2.0 is all about empowering individual consumers. It's not enough just to find that obscure old movie; now you can make your own film, distribute it worldwide and find out what people think almost instantly. Big businesses are embracing this new world as well, not just through advertising but also by tapping the expertise of everyone out there to enhance their products.
Here's how to decode the buzzwords and blaze your own trail through the tangle of websites. You Make It Web 2.0 is fueled by an outpouring of creativity from the people formerly known as consumers. From YouTube auteurs to bloggers to amateur photographers competing with the paparazzi, USERGENERATED CONTENT is revolutionizing the media landscape You Name It The sheer mass of information online -- 20 billion Web pages and counting -- should defy organization. Collective intelligence has risen to the challenge.
With users tagging images, text and other forms of content, an organic sort of taxonomy has blossomed, appropriately called FOLKSONOMY You Work on It Why pay a professional when an amateur would do it for dramatically less money? In fields ranging from photography to the sciences, companies are taking jobs once performed by staff and CROWDSOURCING them to the enthusiastic, increasingly adept masses You Find It Wal-Mart can't afford to stock anything that won't sell in volume. But websites like MySpace or Netflix offer an endless array of obscure products, allowing users to forage successfully for Japanese ceramics or old-time bluegrass as easily as they might find the latest John Grisham book.
This business model is known as the LONG TAIL THE ENTERTAINERS The song remains the same, but the way we listen to it is changing. The movie, music, book and video-game industries have all embraced the Internet
• BitTorrent This efficient way of transmitting large files can make anyone a movie distributor • Revver By attaching ads to Web videos, Revver gave stupid pet tricks their first business model
• Second Life An imaginary world built by users spending real money, it has become a nation of nearly 2 million
• YouTube The site that leveled the entertainment playing field. Ask a Ninja outdraws The Daily Show
• Last FM Beyond radio, it's a way to tap into the musical tastes of the crowd and add yours as well
• Netflix With more than 70,000 DVDs available, proof that Keanu and Kurosawa can coexist
• iTunes With a catalog of 3.5 million songs, Apple makes money off the misses as well as the hits
• amazon.com With customer reviews and recommendations, book buying is now a communal experience THE TOOLMAKERS The crowd isn't just expressing itself more; it's also gathering and filtering all those blog posts and photographs and finding an audience for them On the new Web, users are increasingly building their own tools. The result is greater customization and convenience, from maps that can be easily programmed to ads that change with every new blog post
• craigslist The classified-ad service has 23 employees but receives more traffic than all but seven other sites
• Linkedin Social networking for suits. It brings together an elite clientele of global executives
• ebay At the auction site, the users are the police: customer ratings weed out the bad eggs
• myspace.com With 120 million users, it's a whole new society, with features that maximize individuality
• Google Maps Users can add their own points of interest to create mashups like http://www.beerhunter.ca/
• Google AdSense Provides free ads relevant to your website, then pays you if people click on them
• Google The search empire built itself around a social function: counting links between websites THE GATHERERS The crowd isn't just expressing itself more; it's also gathering and filtering all those blog posts and photographs and finding an audience for them
• iStockphoto This photo store taps an army of amateurs, who can sell their shots for as little as $1
• flickr The photo-scrapbook site helped popularize tagging as a way to organize information
• Blogger The popular bloggingsoftware service makes every would-be pundit a publisher
• Bloglines Lets users subscribe to various sites then receive updates from each one on a single page
• Technorati Its search and ranking functions reveal the topics that are burning up the blogosphere
• del.icio.us Allows users to share their Web-browser bookmarks, all organized by tags users provide
• digg The crowd as news editor: readers "digg" stories they like and "bury" ones they don't. Jeff Howe is a contributing editor at Wired. He writes about emerging trends at crowdsourcing.com and is currently working on a book about the crowdsourcing phenomenon
Source: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570815-1,00.html
Here's how to decode the buzzwords and blaze your own trail through the tangle of websites. You Make It Web 2.0 is fueled by an outpouring of creativity from the people formerly known as consumers. From YouTube auteurs to bloggers to amateur photographers competing with the paparazzi, USERGENERATED CONTENT is revolutionizing the media landscape You Name It The sheer mass of information online -- 20 billion Web pages and counting -- should defy organization. Collective intelligence has risen to the challenge.
With users tagging images, text and other forms of content, an organic sort of taxonomy has blossomed, appropriately called FOLKSONOMY You Work on It Why pay a professional when an amateur would do it for dramatically less money? In fields ranging from photography to the sciences, companies are taking jobs once performed by staff and CROWDSOURCING them to the enthusiastic, increasingly adept masses You Find It Wal-Mart can't afford to stock anything that won't sell in volume. But websites like MySpace or Netflix offer an endless array of obscure products, allowing users to forage successfully for Japanese ceramics or old-time bluegrass as easily as they might find the latest John Grisham book.
This business model is known as the LONG TAIL THE ENTERTAINERS The song remains the same, but the way we listen to it is changing. The movie, music, book and video-game industries have all embraced the Internet
• BitTorrent This efficient way of transmitting large files can make anyone a movie distributor • Revver By attaching ads to Web videos, Revver gave stupid pet tricks their first business model
• Second Life An imaginary world built by users spending real money, it has become a nation of nearly 2 million
• YouTube The site that leveled the entertainment playing field. Ask a Ninja outdraws The Daily Show
• Last FM Beyond radio, it's a way to tap into the musical tastes of the crowd and add yours as well
• Netflix With more than 70,000 DVDs available, proof that Keanu and Kurosawa can coexist
• iTunes With a catalog of 3.5 million songs, Apple makes money off the misses as well as the hits
• amazon.com With customer reviews and recommendations, book buying is now a communal experience THE TOOLMAKERS The crowd isn't just expressing itself more; it's also gathering and filtering all those blog posts and photographs and finding an audience for them On the new Web, users are increasingly building their own tools. The result is greater customization and convenience, from maps that can be easily programmed to ads that change with every new blog post
• craigslist The classified-ad service has 23 employees but receives more traffic than all but seven other sites
• Linkedin Social networking for suits. It brings together an elite clientele of global executives
• ebay At the auction site, the users are the police: customer ratings weed out the bad eggs
• myspace.com With 120 million users, it's a whole new society, with features that maximize individuality
• Google Maps Users can add their own points of interest to create mashups like http://www.beerhunter.ca/
• Google AdSense Provides free ads relevant to your website, then pays you if people click on them
• Google The search empire built itself around a social function: counting links between websites THE GATHERERS The crowd isn't just expressing itself more; it's also gathering and filtering all those blog posts and photographs and finding an audience for them
• iStockphoto This photo store taps an army of amateurs, who can sell their shots for as little as $1
• flickr The photo-scrapbook site helped popularize tagging as a way to organize information
• Blogger The popular bloggingsoftware service makes every would-be pundit a publisher
• Bloglines Lets users subscribe to various sites then receive updates from each one on a single page
• Technorati Its search and ranking functions reveal the topics that are burning up the blogosphere
• del.icio.us Allows users to share their Web-browser bookmarks, all organized by tags users provide
• digg The crowd as news editor: readers "digg" stories they like and "bury" ones they don't. Jeff Howe is a contributing editor at Wired. He writes about emerging trends at crowdsourcing.com and is currently working on a book about the crowdsourcing phenomenon
Source: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570815-1,00.html
Monday, January 26, 2009
How Blogging Affects Mainstream Marketing
There has been a lot of buzz around blogging lately, and for good reason. Weblogs or blogs for short, are changing the way people market themselves and their businesses. If you aren't familiar with blogging, the concept is relatively easy to grasp. Blogs first began as a shared online journal. A blogger posts diary-like entries about his or her daily life for others to read.
Recently though, blogging has evolved into a new form of business writting and advertising. Many business owners now use blogs to promote their goods and services. Others use blogs to promote their website and get higher search engine rankings. Some politicians even use blogs to reach voters.
The typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media that is somehow related to the blog topic. Though most blogs focus on textual content, a blogger may include videos, pictures, and even audio in blog posts. A blog comprised of videos is called a vlog and a blog that uses pictures is called a photoblog.
The Benefits of Blogging
By adding blogging to their marketing campains, business owners are able to market their product with virtually no out of pocket expense. In some cases, bloggers may even be able to make large sums of money with their published blog. For example, a blogger who employs the Google Ad Sense program can make money from blog readers. The more readers a blogger has, the more money can be made from the Google ad.
A blogger can also be a guide for shoppers who are looking for specific products and services. This makes blogging an excellent tool for retailers or affiliate marketers. Blogs can also be a source of valuable information and niche industry news.
Because there are virtually limitless possibilities provided by blogging, it is easy to see why blogs have begun to have a significant impact on mainstream marketing practices. Many companies have noticed this and have chosen to hire a blogger to write and post up to date information for customers, shareholders, and employees.
Some blogs now get millions of readers every single day. There are so many blog readers out there, that experts speculate that the world of blogging is rivaling the mainstream media. New blog search engines are also being created to make searching for a blog easier than ever before.
If you have not yet established a blog for your business, you may want to consider doing so as soon as possible. Keep in mind though that it will take work to attract readers to your blog. It must be interesting or valuable to them in some way. A blogger must also concentrate on creating informative pieces that are as honest and up to date as possible. Blogging is serious business and if you make a mistake, it will not go unnoticed by your readership.
If you need help developing your blog, there are many different browser-based software programs on the market that can help you get a start. Blogs can also be hosted by dedicated blogging services or regular web hosting services.
Last, but not least, a blogger must remember to optimize blog writting for search engines. Blogging is an Internet medium and needs to be approached with Internet principles in mind.
Source: http://knol.google.com/k/ruth-carr/how-blogging-affects-mainstream/x3bdn9gq2new/18?domain=knol.google.com&locale=en#
Recently though, blogging has evolved into a new form of business writting and advertising. Many business owners now use blogs to promote their goods and services. Others use blogs to promote their website and get higher search engine rankings. Some politicians even use blogs to reach voters.
The typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media that is somehow related to the blog topic. Though most blogs focus on textual content, a blogger may include videos, pictures, and even audio in blog posts. A blog comprised of videos is called a vlog and a blog that uses pictures is called a photoblog.
The Benefits of Blogging
By adding blogging to their marketing campains, business owners are able to market their product with virtually no out of pocket expense. In some cases, bloggers may even be able to make large sums of money with their published blog. For example, a blogger who employs the Google Ad Sense program can make money from blog readers. The more readers a blogger has, the more money can be made from the Google ad.
A blogger can also be a guide for shoppers who are looking for specific products and services. This makes blogging an excellent tool for retailers or affiliate marketers. Blogs can also be a source of valuable information and niche industry news.
Because there are virtually limitless possibilities provided by blogging, it is easy to see why blogs have begun to have a significant impact on mainstream marketing practices. Many companies have noticed this and have chosen to hire a blogger to write and post up to date information for customers, shareholders, and employees.
Some blogs now get millions of readers every single day. There are so many blog readers out there, that experts speculate that the world of blogging is rivaling the mainstream media. New blog search engines are also being created to make searching for a blog easier than ever before.
If you have not yet established a blog for your business, you may want to consider doing so as soon as possible. Keep in mind though that it will take work to attract readers to your blog. It must be interesting or valuable to them in some way. A blogger must also concentrate on creating informative pieces that are as honest and up to date as possible. Blogging is serious business and if you make a mistake, it will not go unnoticed by your readership.
If you need help developing your blog, there are many different browser-based software programs on the market that can help you get a start. Blogs can also be hosted by dedicated blogging services or regular web hosting services.
Last, but not least, a blogger must remember to optimize blog writting for search engines. Blogging is an Internet medium and needs to be approached with Internet principles in mind.
Source: http://knol.google.com/k/ruth-carr/how-blogging-affects-mainstream/x3bdn9gq2new/18?domain=knol.google.com&locale=en#
Saturday, January 24, 2009
How Blogging Crashed Dell's Reputation?
Few years back, in 2005, Dell's customer named Jeff Jarvis, had launced complain in his blog called "the buzz machine". Over the summer, Jarvis began writing about his lengthy quest to fix a $1,600 computer, an ordeal he said included countless e-mails, some unanswered, and phone calls to Dell's customer-service line. He even called it "Dell Hell" (that is now popular to used by those who dislike Dell) because of his anger.
People's responses about his complain on his personal blog was stunning! Two days after he published his complain on his blog, Business Weeks magazine and New York Times newspaper had published his complaint on its news!!! Guess what next, everybody talk about Dell and their sales has dropped significantly afterward. One complaint in blog (not newspaper or magazine) had destroyed Dell's reputation!
Afterward, Jeff Jarvis has more influence over people’s perceptions of Dell’s customer service than Dell does - so much influence that the paper claims, “Any attempt to redress the public perception of their customer services by Dell will have to pass via Jeff Jarvis’ influence.”
If there was ever a time for Dell to enter the blogosphere, it would be now. But as Clickz.com reports, the company is doing what you should never do in the blogosphere: stonewalling. “Dell shut down its online customer forum shortly after the postings unfolded. The company’s sales have dropped, and in October of this year, Dell issued a profit warning for the year.” (http://blogbusinesssummit.com/2005/12/jeff_jarvis_off.htm)
Isn't that awesome that somebody with his own personal blog, can affect a highly respected company like Dell, turn around customers perception about Dell, and crashed its reputation? Never take your customers complaint lightly, they can crashed your company reputation in just few minutes, even though you had a great reputation in the past, just like Jeff Jarvis did!
People's responses about his complain on his personal blog was stunning! Two days after he published his complain on his blog, Business Weeks magazine and New York Times newspaper had published his complaint on its news!!! Guess what next, everybody talk about Dell and their sales has dropped significantly afterward. One complaint in blog (not newspaper or magazine) had destroyed Dell's reputation!
Afterward, Jeff Jarvis has more influence over people’s perceptions of Dell’s customer service than Dell does - so much influence that the paper claims, “Any attempt to redress the public perception of their customer services by Dell will have to pass via Jeff Jarvis’ influence.”
If there was ever a time for Dell to enter the blogosphere, it would be now. But as Clickz.com reports, the company is doing what you should never do in the blogosphere: stonewalling. “Dell shut down its online customer forum shortly after the postings unfolded. The company’s sales have dropped, and in October of this year, Dell issued a profit warning for the year.” (http://blogbusinesssummit.com/2005/12/jeff_jarvis_off.htm)
Isn't that awesome that somebody with his own personal blog, can affect a highly respected company like Dell, turn around customers perception about Dell, and crashed its reputation? Never take your customers complaint lightly, they can crashed your company reputation in just few minutes, even though you had a great reputation in the past, just like Jeff Jarvis did!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Obama's Viral Marketing Campaign
As eye-popping as Barack Obama's second-quarter fund-raising total was--it raked in $31 million for his campaign for the 2008 Democratic nomination, beating even the much vaunted Clinton money machine by better than $10 million in funds for the primary race--what really has the political classes chattering is another figure Obama reported: 258,000. That's the number of people his campaign says have already donated to him, and it amounts to more than a doubling of his fund-raising base in the past three months. "He's got a much more viral campaign than we do," says an envious Hillary Clinton strategist, using a term for word-of-mouth advertising and marketing techniques. "He's got a real buzz about him."
It's a buzz that Obama is finding new and creative ways to fuel, adapting to a world in which the concept of community has grown to include MySpace and Facebook. No campaign has been more aggressive in tapping into social networks and leveraging the financial power of hundreds of thousands of small donors. Nor has any other campaign found such innovative ways to extend its reach by using the Internet--more than $10 million of Obama's second-quarter contributions were made online, and 90% of them were in increments of $100 or less.
The advantages of Internet fund raising are many. It's quick, cheap and far less intimidating for political novices than writing a big check. Some campaigns have set up systems by which donors can have their credit cards billed automatically in easy-to-budget monthly amounts of as little as $20. "We're seeing the full flowering of the Internet for fund raising for presidential races," says former Federal Election Commission chairman Michael Toner, who is currently advising Republican Fred Thompson as he ponders whether to enter the fray.
In 2000, George W. Bush revolutionized campaign fund raising--and shattered existing records--by creating a muscular network of "bundlers," each of whom committed to bring in $100,000, $200,000 or more from friends and associates. But while Bush's bundlers, whom he designated Pioneers and Rangers, were high-powered CEOs and lobbyists, Obama's bundlers include such unlikely political players as Andrew Nicholas, who tutors refugee students at Denver's South High School; Emily Stanton, a stay-at-home mom in Baltimore; and Jeff Larson, a software engineer in Chicago. They are among the 9,500 volunteers, says the campaign, who have signed up to solicit their friends and families by hosting individual fund-raising Web pages for Obama.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Making Your Online Advertising Works - ADOI report
THE INTERNET, COMMONLY DESCRIBED AS “Online” has already changed the way we do business with one another. We’re still trying to figure out how to effectively use this new medium. One of the major problems in the relation to the online arena is the fact that there are basically no hard or fast rules. The online world is also very different from any other type of media use before. In advertising, it can help advertisers and consumers come together in ways that there are both meaningful and mutually beneficial. The biggest barrier to effective online advertising lies in its strategic planning.
Virtual Consulting, as a leading online consultant, understands the workings and concepts behind online advertising. They initiated a workshop to educate advertisers on implementing successful online strategies. Held at Manhattan Hotel Ballroom on December 3rd, 2008, more than 100 advertisers attended the workshop. Keynote speakers for the workshop included Nukman Luthfie, the Indonesian online advertising guru, Iim Fahima, Founder Virus Communications and Budiman Hakim, Founder & Executive Creative Director Macs909. The discussion centered on strategy, rationale, and case studies. In the first session participants were introduced to various studies on the impact and benefits of going online.
Nukman Luthfie stated that ad clutters on website would decrease the effectiveness of the ad itself. He gave examples of welcoming pages on Kompas.com with 19 display ads, and Detik.com with 15 display ads. This clearly shows that advertising online is not as easy as it seems. Nukman added that rather than prioritizing welcoming pages, advertiser would be better off utilizing contextual ads to grab the attention of specific targets.
Beside strategy considerations, Nukman also elaborated on online measurements to evaluate and built the necessary strategies. Iim Fahima shared her case on the Indonesia society online behavior and responses. Budiman Hakim, on the other hand, presented a review of the arduous journey that this new advertising medium traveled and its vast reach and significant impact on society.
Source: http://www.virtual.co.id/blog/virtual-corner/making-your-online-advertising-works-adoi-report/
How To Sell In Tough Times
But here's some good news for busted Wall Streeters--and any other commission chasers laid low by the latest economic crisis: Salesmanship is a transferable skill.If you can sell stocks, bonds and financial derivatives, you can sell real estate, technology, autos and tooth brushes. That's because the fundamental tools are the same.
Salespeople know how to frame a discussion. They know how to ask the right questions and, with a little discipline, shut up and listen to the answers. They can relate to people. And they have the courage to ask for business and try new things.
So what happens if--and when--you lose your job? First, you go have a martini and a big steak dinner. Then you look for a growing market to attack.My friend Doug, a placement agent, reports that sales gigs at companies heavily dependent on consumer disposable incomes are growing few and far between.
This recession is real. So where's the growth? In tough times, any product or service that promises to boost productivity (or to save money, however you want to look at it) is worth a look.Some promising areas: alternative and sustainable energy sources, such as wind power. (Old company raider Boone Pickens imagines massive fields of wind mills in the western U.S.) Such an infrastructure requires engineering, construction, software, spare parts and maintenance providers--they all need salespeople.
Have questions about how to run your small business? Go to Forbes.com's Small Business Exchange and ask our cadre of experts. The same goes for battery and bio-fuel technologies. We don’t know who will win the alternative-energy game, but we do know there will be plenty of competition for years to come.
Another hot area: software as a service. SaaS providers charge monthly subscription fees, rather than more expensive upfront licenses--a cash-flow booster for small businesses in tough times. Some of the fees are so low you can use a credit card to cover them.Not that you should forget the old standbys: companies that sell to public utilities, educational institutions, health care and infrastructure providers.
We're not talking "credit default swaps" or other sexy doohickeys like that, but you want to put a decent dinner on the table, right?For those still on the payroll, get in touch with your loyal (and solvent) customers. Immediately. Anticipate how the troubled economy might affect them, because it will.Preempt trouble and engender even deeper loyalty by crafting some new pricing schemes. Take another look at long-term contracts. Assuming they haven't fallen on especially hard times, find creative ways to allow valued customers to keep buying.
Worse case scenario, accept products or services in lieu of payment.A final thought in this environment: Watch receivables like a hawk. Your commissions depend on it. You don't have to whip out the bludgeon, but a sales pro should be able to politely squeeze a customer's payables department.
I'm not going to kid you: Things aren't looking good out there. But it doesn't matter. Because no matter what, salesmen do one thing: They sell.So stop reading and pick up the phone.
Source: http://news.alibaba.com/article/deta...ugh-times.html
Salespeople know how to frame a discussion. They know how to ask the right questions and, with a little discipline, shut up and listen to the answers. They can relate to people. And they have the courage to ask for business and try new things.
So what happens if--and when--you lose your job? First, you go have a martini and a big steak dinner. Then you look for a growing market to attack.My friend Doug, a placement agent, reports that sales gigs at companies heavily dependent on consumer disposable incomes are growing few and far between.
This recession is real. So where's the growth? In tough times, any product or service that promises to boost productivity (or to save money, however you want to look at it) is worth a look.Some promising areas: alternative and sustainable energy sources, such as wind power. (Old company raider Boone Pickens imagines massive fields of wind mills in the western U.S.) Such an infrastructure requires engineering, construction, software, spare parts and maintenance providers--they all need salespeople.
Have questions about how to run your small business? Go to Forbes.com's Small Business Exchange and ask our cadre of experts. The same goes for battery and bio-fuel technologies. We don’t know who will win the alternative-energy game, but we do know there will be plenty of competition for years to come.
Another hot area: software as a service. SaaS providers charge monthly subscription fees, rather than more expensive upfront licenses--a cash-flow booster for small businesses in tough times. Some of the fees are so low you can use a credit card to cover them.Not that you should forget the old standbys: companies that sell to public utilities, educational institutions, health care and infrastructure providers.
We're not talking "credit default swaps" or other sexy doohickeys like that, but you want to put a decent dinner on the table, right?For those still on the payroll, get in touch with your loyal (and solvent) customers. Immediately. Anticipate how the troubled economy might affect them, because it will.Preempt trouble and engender even deeper loyalty by crafting some new pricing schemes. Take another look at long-term contracts. Assuming they haven't fallen on especially hard times, find creative ways to allow valued customers to keep buying.
Worse case scenario, accept products or services in lieu of payment.A final thought in this environment: Watch receivables like a hawk. Your commissions depend on it. You don't have to whip out the bludgeon, but a sales pro should be able to politely squeeze a customer's payables department.
I'm not going to kid you: Things aren't looking good out there. But it doesn't matter. Because no matter what, salesmen do one thing: They sell.So stop reading and pick up the phone.
Source: http://news.alibaba.com/article/deta...ugh-times.html
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