In The Media
October 17, 2007
Die Burger, Tuesday 18 Sep 2007
News
October 17, 2007
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8 People, 1 Room, not 1 Phone call
October 17, 2007
Social Networking on the Web is just as much fun as it is easy. With the advent of Web 2.0 and Social Networking websites people across the globe have been able to collaborate and participate like never before. The world has become even smaller and location and time zones have become even more immaterial.
Last week I delivered training on “Using LinkedIn and Facebook for Business” at the Bandwidth Barn in Cape Town. The purpose of the session was to enlighten business people on how to utilise LinkedIn and Facebook as productive business tools. The session went very well (besides for some data projector trouble :)) and it’s every trainer or speakers delight when there’s such a high level of participation.
What’s wonderful is that simply by using Facebook (and not even touching LinkedIn) I was able to get 8 people into a room for 2 hours. And I didn’t have to make 1 single phone call. Someone did query something via email, but the rest was done on Facebook. This is the beauty of Web 2.0, and due to the demand there’ll be another session with the same title in about 2 weeks time, the details will be confirmed.
About the session, Rafiq Phillips (Web AddiCT(s), iDRIVE) wrote: “Shukran for the informative workshop this morning. Will be using some of the info for a white paper im busy writing now ;) Helped alot :)”
Laura Denton (The Performance Network Group) wrote: “Thanks for the interesting workshop this morning – I enjoyed it very much! Now I just need to get familiar with this stuff – and have fun doing it. Thanks again. Keep me posted of any other workshops you may have.”
View the Facebook events page at this link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=6509606807.
Thanks to all who attended, and info on upcoming seminars will be made available soon. Here’s a photo Rafiq took with his mobile…
What is Web 2.0?
October 17, 2007
Many people are still grappling with the term Web 2.0 – What is it? Where did it come from?
This 5min video gives a simple, yet comprehensive, explanation on what Web 2.0 is, and where the Web is moving towards…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsa5ZTRJQ5w[/youtube]
LinkedIn keeps it professional
October 15, 2007
By Michael Estrin
LinkedIn will soon be open to applications from outside developers, but it will never be open for monkey business, according to CEO Dan Nye, who told The New York Times the site isn’t going to be Facebook.
Nye, who recently oversaw a big change at LinkedIn in the form of member pictures, said the site is working to implement Facebook’s application programming interface (API), but it has no interest in mimicking the site’s style.
“We have no interest in doing it like Facebook with an open API letting people do whatever they want,” Nye said. “We’re not going to have people sending electronic hamburgers to each other.”
According to Nye, the insistence on limiting silly applications will help keep LinkedIn focused as a place for professionals to get maximum business value as quickly as possible.
Use email to close the conversion loop
October 15, 2007
By Lee-Ann Vermaak
Companies with contact centers can increase their sales by adding email follow-up to their process. Acceleration’s director of email management explains how.
I travel frequently, and often find myself wondering why hotels — specifically groups — are not taking the opportunity to close the ‘conversion loop,’ as this would increase bookings, and ultimately increase ROI.
As an example, I always telephone a range of hotels prior to my trip, to find out about the best available rates. The contact center agent often asks very precise, helpful questions, I receive the information I want over the phone and move on to the next hotel.
The hotel is missing a huge opportunity by not asking for my email address and sending all the information I have verbally requested, with a link to make a reservation.
This contact center/email integration strategy is not limited to the hospitality industry, but can be implemented in any business where the primary purchasing medium is via a contact center. Wherever implemented, technology integrations that allow for the closing of the conversion loop via automated processes result in greatly improved ROI figures, and customer relationships.
This strategy allows for relationships with existing customers to be strengthened — and the conversion rate of prospective to actual customers to be increased — by integrating contact center functions with email marketing tools.
Any contact center acts as a primary source for communicating with customers, and at times is the only “live” and personalized source as well.
Most contact centers have a large budget to spend on training their agents, and developing their phone and ecommerce systems. Surely it would make sense to add a few extra dollars to this budget and close the conversion loop?
VIP Comment
October 10, 2007
It’s almost 11pm and I’m preparing for tomorrow’s training seminar 
(“Using LinkedIn and Facebook for Business” – see the event on Facebook here) – and to my surprise I just received an approval alert for a blog comment.
Minister Tasneem Essop has commented on the blog post dated 20 September (a photo slideshow of the Minister’s visit to the Bandwidth Barn last month). It brings a good feeling of relief to find that a politician can find the time to comment on a blog – to me that shows commitment and “connection” to the people on the ground.
I had never met the Minister before last month, but had heard about her many times before. Upon meeting her I was assured of 2 things: the Minister knew her role and governmental duty, and this is a real pleasant people’s person.
I don’t believe in flattery so this is not that. I’m just telling it like I see it.
See the Minister’s comment here…
BulkSMS Workshop
October 5, 2007
Yesterday I attended a workshop held by BulkSMS. They were based in the Bandwidth Barn where our offices are, but they’ve recently “outgrown” our hub-in-the-city. BulkSMS is a very reliable text messaging provider – I’ve been using their web sms facility for a few months and I’ve never had any problems. The workshop, however, was more focused on their desktop sms application, which is even more powerful than the web version.
Sms messaging is ideal in 2 areas: firstly, for updating clients about progress in extended business processes – for example, buying a house, servicing a car, etc; secondly, for contacting mobile and contract workers who are not “tied” to a desk.
Something we are all bothered by though, is sms spam. At the workshop we were (kindly) asked to spread the word of a website that helps you block unwanted sms messages. Check it out at www.waspa.org.za.
I attended the workshop (along with a business associate Nur Ahmad Furlong – of Nomad-One) particularly because I was looking for more ideas on how to use sms for our Customer Service initiatives. We provide Customer Service Consultancy and Training, particularly to the Tourism Industry. The Internet and online technologies are crucial in enhancing the “customer experience” – and so few companies are able to create a strategy using readily available tools and resources. Our next phase is to take our Customer Service offering up to Hermanus and then hopefully further than that.
The insight I gained at the workshop deemed the effort worthwhile, so I’m happy! :)
You can view more photos of the workshop on our company Facebook group by clicking here.
For those interested, we will be running a FREE (but limited) workshop titled “Using LinkedIn and Facebook for business” in the middle of this month (Oct 2007). Stay tuned for final details on that.
I almost forgot, just before the BulkSMS workshop I was able to have a good chat about PR with Ronelle Bester of Red Ribbon Communications. We were discussing the possibilities of PR and the fruits of it after consistent efforts and commitment. Red Ribbon Communications handles PR for BulkSMS, and personally I think PR is essential for a company. What came out of my chat to Ronelle though, is that it cannot be started too early – the business first needs to gain some growth and momentum and have enough happening that can be “newsworthy” – well that was my take anyway. Chat to Ronelle if you’re interested!
Training Demand
October 2, 2007
Everyone wants to be successful in their businesses, that goes without saying. But with all the advancements in online technologies people find it hard to keep up. We’re seeing a huge spike in demand for training seminars on different aspects related to the Web – be it Web 2.0, Joomla!, Blogging, etc.
The Internet market is booming and expanding at the same time – and everyone wants to get ahead. South Africans are ready to get their heads into global trends, and make themselves global-trade-ready.
On our end we’ve been hard at work to structure new training seminars that will give businesses the edge in Web-related initiatives. Our seminars are set to start off in Cape Town, and then expand to Johannesburg and Durban. It’s really an exciting time for us and there is so much opportunity for everyone. The learning culture that is being cultivated is a real positive sign for this country and it’s citizens.
