Over the last few weeks, I have spoken with hundreds of our business coaching clients about the coronavirus pandemic and what it means for their businesses both in the short and long term. Many business owners understandably have questions and immediate concerns, but many are already starting to look for the hidden opportunities within this crisis.
So today I wanted to share with you some of the great ideas our clients have come up with thus far in the wake of Covid-19 in the hopes that it will help spark some ideas for your own businesses.
Turning Opportunity into Profits
The first business I want to highlight is a retail janitorial service. It experienced a boom in clients thus far but were able to see an opportunity to expand its offering in terms of sanitization services.
It immediately began offering shelving and store sanitation services as well as cart sanitation. And it hopes to continue to offer these services not just over the course of the next several months, but moving forward. Many businesses are just thinking about this as a temporary thing; however, you can now go back to your customers and explain this is now the new normal. This is the new standard expectation for your customers. What a great way to take a temporary boost and communicate and use that as an opportunity to make it a permanent boost to the business.
The Time Is Now
Another thing that we have heard time and time again from business owners, is that they now have time to finish that project that they have been putting off for a while. Maybe it's a website overhaul, or putting together your systems and processes. As things slow down temporarily, you have the opportunity to upgrade and refine your systems and do some training internally in those areas that need to be cross trained on.
Or, for many in the restaurant industry, this time means a chance to try out a new product offering like "grab and go meals." The way in which we do business will likely change in the months ahead, but if you look for a way to stay relevant and meet your customers where they are, you will be ahead of the game.
Another example of this was a company that does occupational therapy for school districts. Well, schools are closed. Most of the company's sessions were held on school grounds, which made it difficult for it to provide speech therapy and other things to its clients. So it changed its model and began to offer up remote services to the children that it worked with, so school districts would still be able to provide these services to their students even when distance learning.
Taking Advantage of Remote
Another example is a law firm that took the opportunity to open up multiple satellite offices in its state to help with its particular niche of legal services. What it realized was, now more than ever, people are much more willing--not just the individual clients, but also the courts--to do more and more video-based meetings, which allow them to save on overhead and centralize their legal staff, thus allowing them to still serve the entire state.
Recruiting and Prospecting
Another thing that I have seen a lot of business owners focus on during this time: recruitment. Is there a talent on the market that you could finally recruit that you never could before? Is there a customer that you could go after now that never would have been open, but now might take your call? Now is the time.
So, what for you are the opportunities hidden within this pandemic? How can you double down by serving and creating value for your customers? How can you help your customers seize opportunities?
The destructive impact of the coronavirus has all but frozen commercial activity across the nation.
But it is just the trigger of an even deeper collapse now taking shape behind the scenes.
Even as the pandemic recedes, we could see wave after wave of bankruptcies. Some of the first victims of the collapse include:
Airlines
Energy
Cruise operators
Restaurants
Private equity
Hotel and travel industry
Retail chains
Real estate
Next, as consumers and businesses default on their mortgages and loans, you could see widespread failures of banks, credit unions, insurance companies and other financial institutions.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg because the viral outbreak is only one-half of the damning equation.
The other half is even worse.
The International Monetary Fund predicts the worst downturn since the Great Depression.
The Minneapolis Fed says unemployment could surge to Great Depression levels.
And what’s so frightening about these predictions of “future” is that they are no longer future any more. They are already come true.
Just in the past four weeks, over 40 million Americans have been thrown out of work.
At stake is the very survival of businesses employing tens of millions of people.
These businesses - including some of the biggest corporations in the world - have gambled with insolvency and are about to lose.
Washington and Wall Street have been “cooking the books” for years.
Now, their market manipulations, dishonest accounting and outright lies are about to trigger a chain of economic disasters that will shock the nation.
Unless you prepare now, everything you’ve worked for all your life could be lost forever.
If the new coronavirus causes workers to take sick days; customers to stay home; and officials to order quarantines, it will be hard on all American companies. For small businesses, though, it could be catastrophic.
The Solution
That's why it is imperative for all small businesses (restaurants, auto repair stores, beauty salons, cold storage centers, etc. ) to take the initiative and implement SpotOn unique payment solutions in combination with the 'Talking Business Card.'
Using these two Online services creates an inexpensive and unique way to protect your business. SpotOn reduces costs and generates more business while the Talking Business Card increases customer contact while reducing the need for human contact.
We help you stand out above the rest with an awesome design. - Use our recording software to record your intro video (More WOW power!!). - Include buttons to all your social media sites. - Include a call button, email button, website button, videos and more. -Your digital business card becomes a lead generation system that works better than old fashioned landing pages. Go tohttps://TalkingVcard.infofor today's best deal.
We are delighted to welcome Larry Tyler as one of our most successful Talking Business Card users and promoters.
Larry Tyler has been a proud citizen of Las Vegas for 25 years and an esteemed Member of the Vegas Community.
His goal is to educate the Las Vegas community on Talking Card Technology that will help other executives and Internet Marketers promote themselves, their business, and Las Vegas. Larry promotes Talking Card Technology in conjunction with his functions as automobile executive, advancement of minority-owned businesses, and philanthropist.
To join Larry, as a Talking Business Card member, click here.
The Main Inclusion In the Talking Card Technology Group is The Talking Business Card which presents you and your Business 24/7 to the outside world.
1. Create your Talking Business Card
2. Add your Video to your Talking Business Card with VeMailBlaze
3. Do Webinars with WebinarBlaze to explain how the programs work
4. Send your Video eMail message to your list and prospects,
As many as 79% of employees now “work on virtual teams,” be it by email, online collaboration, messaging, video conferences, or some combination of any of the above. A Pew Research study found “94% of jobholders are Internet users.” This includes full-time, part-time, and freelance workers in technology companies, big corporations, and small businesses, who work in cities, the suburbs, rural America, and everywhere in between. We are communicating more, faster, and better than ever before. And employers have been reaping the benefits. The price we pay, however, is the complete lack of time for us in the workplace or at home. Our Talking Card Technology provides a breakthrough solution conceivably throughout our entire career. It offers a conduit that represents us to the outside world and communicates our information --- while we are not even there!
Get Hired With Your 'Talking Resume'
Succeed With Your 'Talking Business Card!
l. Get Hired With Your 'Talking Resume'!
Breakthrough Tool For Job Seekers and Graduates!You know how to write a resume. You put your contact info at the top and then list your jobs in reverse chronological order, with your education at the end. Done! So what's the big deal? The big deal is that if you write your resume the way countless books and articles have instructed you to, you're going to sound like a Star Wars Battle Drone or a zombie. Standard resume language like "Results-oriented pro fessional with a bottom-line orientation" brands you exactly like every other banana in the bunch. It's excruciating for a hiring manager to read a resume that sounds like it was written by a robot rather than a human being. Your TALKING RESUME Gets You Hired Ahead Of The Pack!So do something new and put your Talking Resume online and let it promote you 24/7 ---- while you do something else! Setting it up is very simple:
Sign Up For Your Talking Resume at Talking Resume
Create Your Resume Video With Our Built-In Video Recorder
Link Your Video To Your Real Resume Online
(You're signing up for our Talking Business Card, but the Talking Resume is the same registration!) And “Voila”, your Talking Resume is now ready to go to work for you! You’re now a "Real Person" presenting yourself PERSONALLY to the Business World. We help you get Maximum Visibility with special marketing tools:
Special QR Code -- We help you develop a QR code you can add to your Business Cards, Special Sign for Job Fairs and Bulletin Boards, as a Bumper Sticker, etc.
eMail Signature Tray -- You add this to all your outgoing eMail messages.
Make Money Promoting The Talking Resume! Let your Talking Resume 'Job Hunt' for you and make money at the same time. With our Affiliate Program you earn 25% per sale. Sign up today! ll. Succeed With Your 'Talking Business Card'
This Talking (Virtual) Card is the present-day business card solution for business people and entrepreneurs who want to maximize their message and present their BEST first impression! It is a form of introduction to potential clients. You get to highlight your personality through video that you CANNOT get from just a picture or traditional business card. You also get to showcase your products and services with just enough information to make potential clients curious about what you offer. AUDIO and VIDEO recording is included free of charge for those who buy the Talking Virtual Card service. When someone asks for your business card, you simply hold up your phone, showing a QR Code that we generate, and they scan it with the cell phone’s camera. That’s really all there is to it, no special software required. Professionals already using the Talking Virtual Card include Realtors,Storage Facility Managers, Financial Advisers, Life Coaches, Work From Home Entrepreneurs, Health Industry Experts, Network Marketers and other industries not mentioned here. Basically, anyone who uses the traditional business card is a candidate for the Talking Business Card. PRICING And SETTING UP
Sign Up For Your Talking Resume/Talking Business card for only $97 at Talking Cards
Create Your Video With Our Built-In Video Recorder
3Link To Your Website (could be FB page, LinkedIn profile, etc).
About
The author is Daniel Prins. He lives in Minneapolis, MN and will showcase the Talking Business Card and Talking Resume at the Accelerated Global Connections meetings. Test our included Audio/Video Recording feature. Please visit our Blog and send us your Video message. Click the green button on the right with the words "Send Recording."
You're signing up for our Talking Business Card Talking Resume is the same registration!
You know how to write a resume. You put your contact info at the top and then list your jobs in reverse chronological order, with your education at the end. Done! What's the big deal?
The big deal is that if you write your resume the way countless books and articles have instructed you to, you're going to sound like a Star Wars Battle Drone or a zombie.
Standard resume language like "Results-oriented professional with a bottom-line orientation" brands you exactly like every other banana in the bunch. It's excruciating for a hiring manager to read a resume that sounds like it was written by a robot rather than a human being.
TALKING RESUME Gets You Hired Ahead Of The Pack! So do something new and put your Talking Resume online and let it promote you 24/7 ---- while you do something else!
2. Create Your Resume Video With Our Built-In Video Recorder
3. Link Your Video To Your Real Resume Online
And “Voila”, your Talking Resume is now ready to go to work for you!
You’re now a "Real Person" presenting yourself PERSONALLY to the Business World and Recruiters.
And the Fun does not stop here!
We help you get Maximum Visibility:
1. Special QR Code -- We help you develop a QR code you can add to your Business Cards, Special Sign for Job Fairs and Bulletin Boards, as a Bumper Sticker, etc.
2. eMail Signature Tray -- You add this to all your outgoing eMail messages.
Make Money With The Talking Resume!
Let your Talking Resume 'Job Hunt' for you and make 25% commission per sale!
The Talking Business Card is the foundation upon which successful Reciprocal Affiliate Marketing campaigns can be built between Affiliate Marketing partners.
The result is exponential growth for both partners generated by bundling the strength of both without incurring expenses. Payment per sale only guarantees that.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a business relationship between your brand and an affiliate. In pay-per sale only marketing, the affiliate is rewarded to promote the brand.
Affiliates are only compensated for each paying customer earned through their marketing efforts. Affiliate program success therefore relies on locating advocates capable of reaching and promoting your product to your target audience. Businesses can employ a range of affiliate partners to bring in robust supply of new customers.
How Does An Affiliate Marketing Strategy Work?
Since affiliate programs are pay per conversion, most focus upon spreading a wide promotional message to consumers. Standardized advertising methods such as SEO optimization, PPC, email marketing, content marketing and display advertising are common. The affiliate shoulders the responsibility of driving sales for your business.
Our Reciprocal Affiliate Marketing Opportunity
We are already working with companies and Internet marketing professionals that are interested in generating more sales through their affiliate marketing program. We fulfill that role by promoting our affiliate marketing partner’s program to our own vast network of potential buyers. In return, our reciprocal affiliate marketing partner promotes our program to their network.
Compensation for both parties is the regular commission structure available in respective affiliate programs.
The cost of the Talking Business Card is only $97 per year and provides an affiliate option that pays out 25% for each $97 sale.
The Talking Business Card program allows both parties to promote each other’s brand through personalized video messages to potential buyers. Users of The Talking Business record the message with the help of the video recording option included in the program.
Details Of Our Affiliate Partnership Offer
We will create our own special Talking Business Card explaining our business to be promoted by our Affiliate Partners to their network, and we will promote our Affiliate Partners’ Talking Business Card to our network.
The extent of our efforts depends of course on the reciprocal options offered by our Partners. They will include specially tailored promotions such as eMail campaigns to our own vast network of connections and prospects, special webinars, QR code marketing, eMail signature tray marketing, news article promotions, selected event representation, etc.
Next Steps
If you’re interested in a Reciprocal Affiliate Marketing Campaign, pleaseSign Up here, or call (612) 353-6484.
About
The author is Daniel Prins. He lives in Minneapolis, MN and will showcase the Talking Business Card at the Accelerated Global Connections meetings.
PS If you want to test our included Audio/Video Recording feature, click the green button on the right of this page with the words "Send Recording."
A company’s email signature is important to its corporate identity. Most businesses understand this and the importance of using a professional one to create the right impression. However, many companies are not aware of the benefits an email signature can have when used to its full advantage.
As the first company to make an email signature management solution, we know email signatures better than anyone.
That’s why we, created the ultimate guide to email signature marketing:Email Signatures for Dummies, and it’s free!
Quick Response codes (QR codes) and other two-dimensional codes are expected to achieve widespread use this year – and for good reason. Consumers want immediate access to what’s relevant and QR codes are being used to make that possible.
QR Codes 101
If you’re not yet familiar with QR codes, they’re similar to the barcodes used by retailers to track inventory and price products at the point of sale. The key difference between the two is the amount of data they can hold or share.
QR code to the Social Media Examiner home page.
Bar codes are linear one-dimensional codes and can only hold up to 20 numerical digits, whereas QR codes are two-dimensional (2D) matrix bar codes that can hold thousands of alphanumeric characters of information. Their ability to hold more information and their ease of use makes them practical for small businesses.
When you scan or read a QR code with your iPhone, Android or other camera-enabled Smartphone, you can link to digital content on the web; activate a number of phone functions including email, IM and SMS; and connect the mobile device to a web browser.
Any of these desired functions are easily achieved by properly creating your QR code. It’s a simple process of entering the appropriate data into the QR code generator, described below, and it all takes just a few minutes.
The ability of QR codes to connect people with each other and to multimedia digital content is very useful for businesses and consumers alike.
The Origins of QR Codes
While QR codes are still considered a novelty here in the United States, they’ve been actively used for over a decade in Japan where they were invented. QR is a registered trademark of Denso Wave, a subsidiary of Toyota. Denso Wave has elected not to exercise their patent rights of QR codes and that has encouraged their widespread use.
There are other software companies that have created 2D codes that work much like QR codes, with Microsoft being the most notable. Microsoft developed their own proprietary software to create codes known as MS tags. Unlike QR codes, which can be read by a number of different readers, MS tags can only be read by the Microsoft Tag Reader.
MS tag to Microsoft Tag Reader app.
Choosing to use QR codes or MS tags is a personal choice. It seems that MS tags presently allow for more possibilities for creative graphic designs, such as incorporating images and logos into the tag. Nevertheless, those capabilities have to be weighed against the reach and ease of use of open-source QR codes.
How QR Codes Work
QR code Generators – There are a number of sites for generating QR codes and they’re all free. An Internet search for QR code generator will offer many choices.
One that has worked well for me is Kaywa, a site created by Datamatrix, which is another pioneer of 2D codes. You can use it to create QR codes that link to a web page, text, phone numbers, or SMS. Another with even greater capabilities, including customizing the color and format of your codes is Kerem Erkan.
QR code Readers – The QR code reader app that works well on my iPhone is i-nigma, which claims to be the most widely used reader in the world. It accommodates virtually any type of camera phone. For the android, you can also try Barcode Scanner. If you already own the popular price-checking app Red Laser, they’ve recently adapted their technology to accommodate QR code reading.
Applications for QR Codes
Sharing – There’s no limit to how, or even how much, you can share with QR codes. While a video or landing page is easily shared, you could go further and share an entire eBook and even multiple pieces of content that share a common link.
This greatly simplifies the process of merging your other communities with your Facebook page – and it is all accomplished in one click.
Additionally, the accompanying signature “thumbs-up” clearly suggests the purpose of the code.
Calls to Action – After building a community, the next logical step is to mobilize them to take action. What are you trying to accomplish? You can alternate special offers by simply linking your QR codes to new landing pages, and you can combine then with email opt-ins to build your list.
The QR code takes visitors to a Facebook page welcome tab where the calls to action are
Liking the page and a list opt-in.
SEO and SMO – Earlier this month I wrote an article on social graphs where I discuss how web objects such as images, music clips, and videos add valuable content to your social graph. QR codes enhance both your search engine and social media optimization. Now you can increase traffic to those searchable objects to further optimize them by encouraging more sharing.
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Social Proof – To help build a community offline, it can be helpful to use your vibrant online communities as social proof of your influence and expertise. As one example, you can use QR codes to link to specific blog posts that have earned an abundance of activity.
Analytics – QR codes most commonly link to urls, which is why link shortening services bit.ly and goo.gl now automatically generate a QR code for sharing your shortened links. Using goo.gl as an example, you simply click on the “more” link after you create your shortened link, where you are taken to a page that not only gives you the QR code, but useful analytics.
MyQR.co is another site that provides analytics and the ability to customize the color of your QR codes
Where QR Codes could be used:
The back (or front and back) of your business card.
Your brochures and other marketing materials.
The sides of trucks and trailers.
Product tags and packaging
Convention and event nametags
Restaurant menus
Event ticket stubs
Point-of-sale receipts
Ask your questions
QR Code at the Naperville, IL Public Library
assists visitors with helpful advice.
What QR Codes could link to:
Installation instructions
Sources for replacement parts and service
Directions to your business
The process for hiring your professional services
Valuable coupons and special offers
Recommendations for complementary products and services
How you can you maximize your effectiveness with QR codes:
Provide explanations about their use and benefits
Encourage actions that support your marketing plan
Assuage the fears of the technically challenged
Give reasons to come back
Experiment with the size, location, and color of your QR codes
Study your analytics
Make the process fun, such as a QR code scavenger hunt
Experiment
Practical Examples
United Airlines – Many of the major airlines are now using 2D codes as digital boarding passes. I recently learned that by the end of 2011 all carriers will be required to provide this service for international flights.
Google Places – When you register your local business with Google Places, you’ll receive a decal for your place of business that includes a QR code to your company website. Be sure that QR code links to the most relevant information that potential customers are interested in – such as hours of operation and current specials and offers.
The Cure Starts Now Foundation – This non-profit foundation is creatively using QR codes in partnership with a local small business, and the results have been favorable for both organizations.
The Cure Starts Now Foundation was started in 2007 by Keith Desserich and his wife Brooke, in honor of their six-year old daughter Elena, who died of brain cancer. They partnered with Graeter’s Ice Cream, based in Cincinnati, OH, who created a special flavor of ice cream for the cause – Elena Blueberry Pie.
The marketing campaign used a QR code linking to the Cones for a Cure landing page, where your contact information is exchanged for a coupon for a free scoop of Elena Blueberry Pie ice cream.
Cones for a Cure billboard with QR code.
The campaign not only surpassed the fund-raising goals, but it also helped to increase revenue and distribution for Graeter’s – who actively participated in the fund-raising on a per scoop basis. The campaign will be rolled out again next year in twice as many cities.
Cones for a Cure billboard with QR code.
The campaign not only surpassed the fund-raising goals, but it also helped to increase revenue and distribution for Graeter’s – who actively participated in the fund-raising on a per scoop basis. The campaign will be rolled out again next year in twice as many cities.
The Future of QR Codes and Tags
The potential for QR Codes is limitless. What’s most exciting is how they take what social media is doing well now, bringing people together with technology, and extending it to enhance the experience.
The next generation of bar codes will hold even more information – so much that an Internet connection will not even be necessary. The content will be effectively embedded in the code. Imagine scanning a digital code to manifest physical reality?
