All Things Business and Tech

Today’s marketing landscape is constantly undergoing change. From changes in traditional approaches to trends in continuously evolving technology, the marketing process has gotten pretty complex. Years ago, the traditional marketing channels were heavily segregated from online marketing but today there really needs to be a comprehensive strategy. This is but one challenge today’s marketers face. What other issues are marketers dealing with?

An exit interview is a useful tool for employers when employees are leaving the organization. This get-together is a final meeting to finalize details and obtain feedback from employees who are leaving their job. Generally, exit interviews are scheduled on the employee's last day or two of work. Image credit: Pixabay  This meeting gives both the employer and the employee to tie up any loose ends such as returning IDs, badges, keys, or any other company property. Also the employer has the opportunity to ask their soon-to-be former employee some questions, and the exiting employee can review his or her file to ensure things are in order. Additionally, both parties can finish filling out any paperwork that needs additional information or signatures. The information provided by employees who are leaving can be invaluable information that can help shape the future of the company or agency. The meeting is a good opportunity for the employer to learn since current employees

Nowadays, mobile is such an integral part of our lives, most people probably don’t stop to think that, in the scheme of things, it’s a relatively new technology. Not exactly brand new, as mobile is clearly well-established in our society, however, it’s not been until the past two decades the technology has really taken off. And, it’s not until the last decade that businesses have figured out ways to use it to market to their customer bases. These days it's hard to imagine a day without mobile. Here is a look at the evolution of mobile marketing.

Mobile has completely transformed society. It used to be people had to wait for a return call after leaving a message, but today’s on-demand culture allows instantaneous connection with people. Accessibility is nearly impossible not to have with all the available ways to connect. If a message isn't answered in a timely fashion, people don't always respond well. Does mobile make us too accessible?

Is resume fraud a big problem for hiring managers? You betcha. Falsified information on resumes is a most definite challenge many employers face and is not as uncommon as you might think. Some applicants feel it is acceptable to not only exaggerate their credentials, but some statistics suggest 53 percent of candidates create flat-out fabrications of their past work experience, skills and/or education on their resumes. Image credit: Pixabay What’s a hiring manager to do? It does take additional effort to thoroughly examine each resume of interest, however, by taking a few extra steps and making additional external contacts to obtain confirmed authentication of information given can help alleviate any potential resume fraud and actually be more cost-efficient. There are many different approaches a hiring manager will take to help determine whether the information presented on an applicant's resume is deceptive. Work experience and skillsets Statistics dating back to

Did you know a positive attitude at work can get you much further ahead than a negative one when it comes to career prospects? Generally, a good outlook can lead to excellent job possibilities because optimistic approaches are more likely to attract positive attention. On the other hand, consistently going through the days with a pessimistic attitude will probably have the opposite effect.

Conflict in the work environment is something everyone faces in their careers at one point or another. It is common to occasionally clash with a co-worker or simply not like dealing with someone working on the same floor. But what about conflicts with the boss? What happens when employees do something that bosses hate?

Business letters are an important part of communication in the professional environment.  Using jargon in a business letter, in most circumstances, is not the best approach to take. The reason for this is the letter may be too difficult for the recipient to understand what is being said if the correspondence is ladled in acronyms and other jargon not commonly known. Image credit: Pixabay The exception to this is if the letter is going to a person who works in the same industry or company. Either way, it is wise to carefully consider your content before you send your letter, be it email or snail mail. Be sure to always focus on your recipient or audience before you hit send or stamp the correspondence. Reasons not to use jargon in correspondence Business or industry jargon, in general, is an efficient way to communicate internally because abbreviated terminology, lingo, and acronyms are often efficient shortcuts, but is often not the best way to send messages external to the o

The headlines scream "CEO Steals millions from employee pension plan", "Company dumps tons of gallons of waste into illegal dump" or "High ranking executive accepting bribes". Over the last several years seems there is often a story in the news or social media that relates to corporate ethics, or in these cases, lack thereof. Corporate ethics can get complicated, but when you come down to the nuts and bolts of the matter, it's not very different from personal ethics. So exactly what is corporate ethics? What is an ethical dilemma? We are presented with ethical dilemmas when faced with a decision where available choices conflict. Sometimes the choices are obvious and we know the right thing to do, but other times we're presented with choices where either or both options contain "gray" areas. It could be in the sense where one of the actions is questionable, or it could be that no matter which we choose, there will be unfortunat

Working from home has become increasingly popular for employers, employees, and self-starters. While there are many great reasons why people choose this option, before making this decision it is also a good idea to evaluate the reasons why it might be better not to work from home. Image credit: Pixabay What works for one person may not work for another and this is why it is important to examine all angles before making a commitment to work out of your own home. Sometimes, the idea initially sounds fantastic but then turns out not to be such a good plan at all. It all depends on your individual situation. Reasons not to work from home could include: Get easily distracted Working from home can lead to many distractions ranging from kids running around, telephones ringing, checking personal email, or peeking in on social media. It also could simply be getting tempted by other alternatives to work such as projects, cleaning, lunch dates, or other invitations. Another issue peop

People look forward to getting feedback after a lot of effort has been put into a project or job. While the hope is to receive positive feedback from a boss or customer, this isn't always the way things go. It can be pretty disappointing when it happens. For many people, the initial gut reaction to negative feedback is not usually good. It's human nature to sometimes get defensive and, when negative feedback occurs, it is sometimes instinctual to have an adverse reaction to this kind of critique. However, it doesn't have to be that way. Image credit: Pixabay Turn a negative into a positive The very heart of the word "negativity" sounds pessimistic and its connotation isn't a feeling people anticipate or usually want to experience. It is often hard to accept negative feedback, even when offered as constructive criticism. If this happens to you, you can either take the negative feedback as a put-down or you can accept it at face value and use it to you

Image credit: Pixabay Some startups start small and rapidly expand, eventually going public. Other business owners prefer to keep things small. While both large and small organizations each have their own distinct benefits and drawbacks, small businesses, because of their size, often have unique opportunities large companies do not necessarily have the luxury of enjoying.  

Image credit: Pixabay Deciding to pursue an MBA degree program is a big decision and one that shouldn’t be made lightly because it is a demanding program. You’ll also have expensive tuition and, more than likely, left with a graduate student loan to consider. Once you’ve made the decision that an MBA degree is the path you want to pursue, you’ll want to pinpoint the degree structure and type of coursework you want to study. Those are the keys to finding the best MBA program for you.

Internet users commit click fraud when they click on ads to intentionally generate payment from a business for a viewed ad. Click fraud can be accomplished by humans physically clicking on ads or by using computer programs (bots) to generate false traffic. While some might think this is not a big deal, the problems caused by click fraud can be long-reaching. Engaging in click fraud is considered to be unethical because of the artificial traffic sent to the website hosting the ads. It has also become a significant problem for businesses that spend large amounts of their budgeted money on web advertising. Artificial click fraud Image credit: Pixabay One way click fraud is done is by individuals or groups looking to inflate ad share revenues on a web page for personal gain or to drive up competitor prices by using human or robotic clicks. There is also wide scale artificial click fraud occurring (in addition to businesses, some writers can likely attest to this one having fallen

Image credit: Pixabay Your resume is essentially your sales pitch to help sell yourself to potential employers. That being the case, you want to be very careful selecting the information to include on your resume. Typically, most employers scan a resume and decide within seconds whether or not the document is worth taking a full look.

Image credit: Pixabay Marketers have long-time considered freebies to be an attractive way to advertise. In marketing circles, this approach is considered a way to allow consumers to have the opportunity to "test drive" products (or services) they want to promote. The advantages of giving away freebies to consumers are many for the business.

Image credit: Pixabay Opportunity cost is an interesting concept of economics because it doesn’t necessarily pertain to money; although it can certainly relate to money. One of the primary principles of opportunity cost is the concept of value.

Image credit: Pixabay Over the last two decades emergency preparedness for business has emerged as a prominent topic. Planning for unexpected emergencies is not a new issue, but it is one that has begun to go beyond the talking stages and brought into action by many organizations. Yet, despite this progress, there is still a long way to go. Many small businesses still do not establish a disaster plan.

A business card is a valuable tool and is useful for both marketing and networking. A professionally designed card with all the right information can be a great portable advertisement for both you and/or your company.

People who do not routinely engage in accounting practices may initially think that financial and managerial accounting are the same thing. On the surface, the actual crunching the numbers associated with financial data has a lot of similarities because both accounting types use much of the same data.

Image credit: Pixabay User experience should always be at the forefront when developing a website. If the experience is poor, visitors will quickly move on, probably to a competitor. According to Hubspot , if visitors leave a site without going beyond the landing page, it suggests they either didn’t find what they were seeking or they arrived on a page where the user-experience was unfriendly.

Image credit: Pixabay Integrity in business is one of those things that shouldn't be ignored. The days of cut-throat tactics with customers (and employees) are gone. The level of integrity a business acts with can be directly correlated with success because those organizations with a strong code of ethics, one that is immersed in their culture, are more likely to shine above the rest.

Live chat features on business websites have grown far past being a nicety. In our fast-paced society where we expect quick results, we've become increasingly inclined to expect a rapid response to our inquiries. Live chat customer service effectively fills this demand. Email is great because it's convenient, and telephone options are also important to offer to those who want a more “personal” touch, but the one thing live chat features offer that their predecessors don't is the combination of convenience, personalization and speed. With live chat options, customers get a combination of all three.

Image credit: Pixabay Social media has become thoroughly integrated into the daily lives of hundreds of millions of people. For personal or professional reasons, a large number of this population chooses Facebook as a network of choice. Every day millions log into Facebook to share information. But Facebook's value is not necessarily all about the socialization, or even the marketing. There are many other reasons why some may find Facebook of use. For instance, many employers seeking to make a hire explore Facebook to get a better look at candidates. Is Facebook the standard screening tool? In a word, yes. In past years, employers used a variety of screening tools but often were unable to find out tidbits of details not shared by potential hires. However, with online socialization so ingrained in today’s society, Facebook has emerged as the new proverbial “background check”. Employers have discovered they can garner a lot of information about people by perusing the pop

Image credit: Pixabay Economic theory contains many laws that pertain to the concept of supply and demand. These two basic components are a strong foundation of economic law and theory. For the demand factor, there are variables within the theory of demand. Demand and quantity demanded can be a confusing concept. The reason for this is partially because they sound so similar and, when many people talk about demand, what they really mean is quantity demanded. Demand The demand segment of economics surrounds the concept of need. Needs are what people see as a requirement in their daily lives. The economic law of demand dictates, all other factors being equal, the more expensive a good, the less of that item people demand. It is this perceived demand that affects the price. When the price of specific goods drop, all other things being equal, people will be more inclined to buy more of those items.  When demand of an item changes, this means the demand curve shifts. There are a fe

Image credit: Pixabay Ever had the experience of coming home so frustrated you fling your possessions on the couch and begin to vent to whoever is around to listen? If so, you aren't alone. Many people bring their work issues home on a daily basis because they’ve either had a bad day, or an unresolved issue or other type of pressure is nagging away at them. Unfortunately, bringing home your work problems can cause negative drawbacks that may impact the quality of your personal life. While it is helpful to talk out your work problems with your spouse, significant other, family member, friend or another sympathetic ear, by doing this consistently you ensure that your work life spills into your home life and, as a result, many other problems can occur. Increased stress levels at home If you are consumed with your work problems when you are out of the workplace you aren’t giving yourself the chance to catch a break. What often happens is the degrees of stress you feel at hom

Online activity is often cited as an issue in the workplace. Each day millions of people have continuous access to a computer or mobile device, and a good percentage of them spend at least some portion of their day putting work aside in favor of other online activities. While many people may only engage in personal business that must be tended to, others intentionally seek out external interests to distract from the workday. Are digital distractions at work a problem? Seems to be a mixed bag. Social Networking In 2014 a survey conducted by Robert Half Management Resources asked the question, “Which one of the following is the greatest time-waster at work for employees?” Thirty-two percent responded non-business related Internet use (this included social media, but did not include personal email). Facebook is likely today's biggest online distraction in the workplace, but it's not the only social network site that draws attention. Other social networks and niche-oriented

If you've worked in the western culture you know professionals tend to operate on a monochronic time philosophy, meaning the work day is dictated by the clock. Appointments are scheduled and are expected to take place on time. Generally, lateness is typically frowned down upon. Image credit: Pixaby

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was a motion made by U.S. Congress in 2002. The proposal was passed into law as a preventative means to increase financial transparency and mitigate fraud in corporate business. This law was a reaction to corporate scandals such as Enron, Tyco and WorldCom. While this law created a huge burden on organizations, many found ways to use SOX and apply it to their business strategies.

Telecommuting is a great opportunity for employees who are offered the chance to do it. Many businesses have realized the benefits of telecommuting and, as a result, offer this option to employees. While it isn’t for everyone, for many it is a great experience. Allowing employees the ability to work from home is often a cost-savings measure for employers because telecommuting often increases productivity and helps retain the best employees. With these cost-effective advantages, employers are passing on the opportunity to their employees and many people are jumping at the chance to work from home. Some of the benefits that come with a telecommuting position are: Autonomy Flexibility Savings on commuting costs Reduction of stress (for some) While there are many pros and cons associated with telecommuting, for many people the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The key to maximizing these advantages is to develop strategies to help you succeed. You can best do this by customizin