Just a friendly reminder to join us tomorrow, March 10, 2010 for one or both of the two live, FREE training webinars we will be hosting on Avaya products.

At 9:30 AM, please join us for Avaya PARTNER ACS telephone system training.

At 10:30 AM, please join us for Avaya IP Office telephone system training.

Again, both webinars are free and will cover useful information on how to maximize the benefits of these products.

To sign up, please call 888.280.5799 and ask for Garin or email Info@Bryley.com. We will then speedily send you the link to the webinar.

We look forward to having you.

Web 2.0: first off what is it? Web 2.0 is the term used to distinguish the most recent trends of the World Wide Web from 2004 to the present.  Web 2.0 is most often associated with any application on the web that assists in interactive information sharing: anything from blogs to social networks such as Facebook to video sharing sites.

Malware spread through these latest web applications will become a great risk to information security in 2010. A survey conducted by Webroot, a network security vendor, identified breaches in data security and confidentiality, data loss, and mobile phones and laptops as the top three risks to information security that any business should make top priority to prevent in 2010. According to the survey, roughly 25% of SMBs have been compromised in the past by malware acquired through social networking sites.

Another problem with these latest security threats is that they are much harder to manage than email based threats and avoiding them will require additional network security.  According to Gerhard Eschelbeck, chief technology officer at Webroot, “Because SMBs tend to have fewer layers of protection than large enterprises, we especially encourage them to keep up with the latest threat vectors by using a service that automatically stops Web-based threats, filters Web traffic and enforces Internet use policies."  

Want to learn more? Check out this related article by Mark Cox, “Web 2.0 is top security threat to SMBs” at http://www.echannelline.com/usa/story.cfm?item=25456

Want to learn how to protect your business network from the latest threats associated with Web 2.0? Don’t hesitate to contact Bryley for all the information you need.

Call us at 888.280.5799

Email us at Info@Bryley.com

Visit our website at www.Bryley.com to peruse all of the business technology solutions we provide

With the economy in a downturn, budgets are tight.  The normal reaction for businesses is to cut costs specifically by bringing company spending to a standstill, and while cost reduction is important and a reliable strategy during financial downturns, it can also lead businesses to overlook valuable business opportunities.  And in this time of economic uncertainty, when new business is scarce and aggressively fought for, it is mandatory that your company wins these new accounts while maintaining all current clientele.  It is therefore not only beneficial, but vital, to embrace the current market opportunities as they will place you above the heavy competition of the times. 
 
 It just so happens that many of these opportunities lie right at your fingertips and can be derived from your very own valuable data, free online resources, and preexisting relationships with technology professionals.  These opportunities are not only affordable (and some completely free) but will actually improve total business efficiency, everything from operations to perfecting your brand image, making them cost effective investments with the potential to yield a very valuable return. 
 
Businesses need to invest in the new technologies and business opportunities available to them, advice that is always sound, but in this uncertain economy it now seems downright critical to follow through.  Run through the list and be certain that your company is not making these three common mistakes.

Do not take your existing clients/customers for granted

The last thing any business should do in a slowed economic climate is take their existing clients or customers for granted.  If you are aware that finances are tight, then obviously so are your customers and you do not want them eliminating your services from their budgets or turning to your competition.  You need to adapt your business model to the times, and to the new and specific needs and goals of your clients.  Be sure to know who your top clients are:  First of all you want to keep them, but second they give you valuable insight into the success of your client retention.  Send out customer satisfaction surveys. Consider sending special newsletters to customers only, or white papers or other such valuable information.  Or consider special pricing options for loyal customers such as discounting or extending their credit or more flexible payment plans.   
 
Find out the areas you need to improve upon.  Does your business need to improve upon the speed in which it delivers its products and services to clients?  Do you need to improve upon general efficiency? 
 
The best way to holistically improve operational competence is to incorporate managed technology into your business model.  Managed Service Providers (MSPs) proactively monitor your business network, keeping it up and running and tweaking glitches before they even become problems, meaning no unnecessary downtime, no loss in productivity, and a greater capacity for profit.  Not to mention, the cost of their services are significantly less than the pricing of break-fix projects.

Be sure to capitalize on the latest market opportunities

In this economic climate, businesses need to tighten their purse strings and decrease their business spending.  However, you must remember to still make investments, just selective, wisely thought out, and justified investments.  Consider this: Your existing clients and prospects are also going through this economic downturn.  They are adapting, and their needs and their goals are changing.  They are also tightening their purse strings.  You need to keep up with them.  What do they need now?  Be honest with them.  Consult them on the bare minimum that they would need to purchase from you.  Do your homework.  Your clients and prospects are only making the wise investments themselves nowadays.  What exactly does that entail to them?  How much of their budget can they allot to your products and services?  You need to find a way to be there for your clients and prospects in this economic climate.  You need to adapt yourself.  You need to help your customers save money so that you will continue to make money. 
 
You can make your business more efficient by incorporating Managed Services.  They will make your business more organized, faster in execution, and will proactively prevent technology problems that would cause you downtime.  With Managed Services, you are saving time and money; you are increasing productivity, getting more business done faster, saving money on your technology services, and are now able to pass those savings on to your clients.
 
Inbound marketing, or online marketing, is another new market opportunity that is completely free (save for the cost of allocated time). There has been a drastic shift in marketing over the past few years, and the new paradigm for 2010 revolves around online search.   Be sure that your business is utilizing the power of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, as well as your own website and blog.

Acknowledge and address all operational inefficiencies

You must be sure to diagnose and then correct every problem in your business.  This is smart business in general, but once again in the economic recession you need to be better than all of the competition.  In order to keep the cost of delivering your products and services low and competitive, you must perpetually trim away all operational inefficiencies.  If you allow wastefulness to continue, you run the risk of losing control of your cost structures, and this is not the time for such a problem as most businesses are analyzing their cost structures and gross margins, looking for ways to reduce company expenses and product costs.
 
David Thompson, founder and chairman of The Blueprint Growth Institute, a management consulting firm, has a few ideas.  In his book, “Blueprint to a Billion: 7 Essentials to Achieve Exponential Growth” he acknowledges the fact that the leaders of business carefully manage their expenses in sales and marketing and business research and development. Thompson suggests three ways for your business to manage expenses: sell value to maximize your gross margins, contain expenses so as to ensure a cash flow positive, and reinvest.  I can suggest some examples. An example of adding value to your product would be to offer a compatible service and tie the two together as a package deal.  An example of containing your expenses in the realm of sales and marketing would be to utilize inbound marketing.  As mentioned earlier, inbound marketing is not only the new business generating paradigm, but it is also a very efficient way to manage expenses as it virtually requires no monetary investment and is all return. And finally, an example of reinvestment into your business would be to allocate funding to Managed Services.  Managed Services is not only an investment, as Thompson notes in his book the leading businesses that invested in technology infrastructure also improved their customer management and market intelligence, but an example of expense containment as well, as the proactive strategy behind Managed Services eliminates downtime 

Conclusion

The aforementioned is sound advice, any given business day.  However the current economic climate mandates the business to really stop and take the time to analyze the current state of their business model.  Identifying and solving these three common mistakes will be a giant first step towards holistic operational improvement, making your business impervious to the recession.  Rectifying them will also give you the potential to increase your client base, making you a case study for other businesses that wish to generate greater profits in an economic downturn.

References

1. "Blueprint to a Billion: 7 Essentials to Achieve Exponential Growth" written by David G. Thompson

2. "Six Mistakes Companies Are Making Today and How You Can Avoid Them" a White Paper written by SAP Thought Leadership, to be viewed at http://www.sap.com/usa/search/index.epx?q1=6%20Mistakes

Want to learn more about managed services and how they can help your business during economic uncertainty?

Call Bryley today at 888.280.5799 or email us at Info@Bryley.com for a free consultation.   

Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc. is a market consulting firm based in New York. AMI’s market intelligence of SMB trends and strategies specifically in the realms of IT, Internet, telecom, and managed services has them leading their industry.

Every SMB that relies on information communication technologies (ICT) is obviously aware of the following 2010 trends such as the increase in the use of software as a service (SaaS), managed services (MS), virtualization, and mobile applications.

Well here are 6 more trends for 2010 that AMI has identified while analyzing the global SMB arena.

1.       SMBs will finally loosen up their ICT budgets

The fourth quarter of 2009 showed that SMBs were finally allocating room in their budgets for ICT purchases, and so in 2010 we will see a rise in this trend as SMBs switch from survival mode to business expansion.  ICT technologies obviously facilitate this shift as they all around enhance business efficiency, making it easier to strengthen existing customer relationships as well as generate new ones through referrals and an impeccable image. ICT tools that will assist in employee collaboration, improved customer and prospect networking, and ICT tools for data backup and disaster recovery will become more important to SMBs in 2010.

2.       All SMB ICT purchases will have tangible value in 2010

Due to the economic recession, business decision makers are now completely hands on with regards to their ICT purchases, and now in 2010 these decision makers will need complete justification for all ICT purchases that will guarantee tangible, measurable results.   SMBs will be doing business with ICT vendors and managed service providers (MSPs) that have established themselves as trusted advisors in their field, professionals that can prove with quantifiable data the ROI attached to their products and services. Brand familiarity will also be key in 2010, as SMBs will make ICT purchases from well established leaders in the industry.

3.       Cloud Computing Solutions will struggle to fully capitalize on the ICT industry potential in 2010

This third trend goes hand in hand with the aforementioned trend # 2. SMBs need stronger justification for all ICT purchases nowadays. They need tangible, measurable, guaranteed results from all of their investments.  And with ICT that still appears somewhat ambiguous in the eyes of SMB decision makers, such as Cloud Computing Solutions, SMB decision makers are not only going to require justification for their purchases, but clarification on what these products and solutions entail.  There is still much confusion for business decision makers who are not IT savvy on how exactly Cloud Computing Solutions will benefit their companies.   ICT vendors and MSPs need to be perceived by SMBs as trusted advisors now more than ever, as these Cloud Computing Solutions deliver a tremendous ROI.  They are cost effective, improve all business efficiencies, and now there are data backup and disaster recovery plans as well in case of emergencies. 

4.           Social Media’s popularity with SMBs will continue to grow in 2010, increasing its scope from      just a promotional and networking tool to a source of business intelligence

Social Media obviously has become quite popular over the past few years, first with individuals, and now with businesses.  As of 2009, the primary use of such sites as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn were for brand promotion and business networking.  2010 will see an increase in these prior trends as well as usher in a new era of Social Media for business, where businesses will be monitoring, measuring, and managing their brands, products, and services.

5.       The number of “Total IT Providers” will increase in 2010, putting pressure on IT Specialists

Two factors are responsible for this trend. 1) The consolidation and convergence happening in the IT industry.  The consolidation of leading vendors in the industry in the form of mergers and acquisitions and the convergence between hardware, software, and services translates into traditional value added resellers transitioning into full service, end-to-end managed technology providers.  2) With the economic climate the way it is, SMB are making fewer IT purchases, forcing traditional VARs to seek new outlets of revenue.  What does this mean for the SMB looking for a MSP? It means that they will be adding even more value to their services in the way of product training and constantly available support.

6.       There will be a “capabilities chasm” between MSPs in 2010

Now that the MS industry has matured, those MSPs who are seasoned will pull away from the pack as they will continue to adapt to meet the latest needs and goals of SMBs and a large imbalance of abilities and competence in the MSP realm will ensue. Not to mention, the more seasoned MSPs are more likely to be Partners with the big leaders in the industry, such as Microsoft, HP, and Cisco, and in 2010 AMI predicts that there will be more co-branding to the tune of “our product their service,” again putting the seasoned vets ahead of the pack.  AMI has also noted that SMBs in general prefer one MSP that will provide full, end-to-end IT solutions as opposed to out-tasking different IT needs to different providers.  And so once again, the more seasoned MSPs will be victorious in 2010 as they have been the ones to adapt their business model into one that is “total solutions” to meet their client’s needs.      

Want to learn more about SMB business technology trends?  You can visit the AMI Partner website and learn all about the company and their methods of analysis.

www.ami-partners.com

Want to learn more about managed services and how they can benefit your SMB?  Call Bryley today at 888.280.5799 or Email us at Info@Bryley.com with any and all questions. 

Critical Security Update Regarding Internet Explorer!

Microsoft sent out a critical security update to all of its partners (Bryley included) regarding eight vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer - seven privately reported and one publically disclosed.  According to the Microsoft TechNet Security Bulletin, "The more severe vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer."  It is possible that users of Internet Explorer whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights

Microsoft is rating this security update as Critical for all supported releases of Internet Explorer: "Internet Explorer 5.01, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1, Internet Explorer 7, and Internet Explorer 8 (except Internet Explorer 6 for supported editions of Windows Server 2003)." Microsoft has rated the update as Moderate for Internet Explorer 6 for supported editions of Windows Server 2003 as listed.

Fortunately, the majority of users have automatic updating enabled and will not need to take any action as a security update will be downloaded and installed automatically. Users who have not enabled automatic updating need to check for updates and install this one manually.

For more information, please visit the following link to Microsoft TechNet.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS10-002.mspx

Questions? Concerns?  Feel free to contact Bryley Systems, a Gold Certified Partner of Microsoft.  Call: 888.280.5799 or Email: Info@Bryley.com

When searching for a Managed Service Provider (MSP) be a smart shopper: find the best fit for you and your company.

You want Managed Services that are custom tailored to your company's specific needs and goals.  Be sure to keep yourself and your company in mind while in your consultations with potential MSPs: will their services be able to solve my problems and/or will they create new business opportunities?  

The following 10 questions, provided by Bryley's partner Cisco, will help you figure out which MSP is the right fit for you and your company.

1. Are you prepared to offer only the features and functions that my business needs, instead of the ones that you include in your one-size-fits-all service bundle?

You want a service plan that is custom-tailored to your company's specific wants and needs, so be sure to ask what items come in the standard coverage and what services are optional and can be either added or subtracted from the base package.  Be sure to check out the managed technology packages Bryley Systems offers under Solutions on our site.  At Bryley, we offer flexible agreements and service options to match client preferences.

2. Can you describe the services that you offer-and their business benefits-in terms that I, and the other members of my executive team, will understand?

Do not make an uninformed decision!  If you do not understand what the sales person is saying, ask them to describe it in other ways until you do.  Have them address how their company's services will directly benefit your company and make certain you have them explain any terms that you do not understand. Our sales personnel at Bryley Systems are both personable and relatable.  You can email us anytime at sales@bryley.com or call at 888.280.5799.

3. Will you provide case study materials to demonstrate how you delivered a managed service solution that solved a business challenge similar to mine?

Customer success stories, especially customers that parallel your business - your industry, your size, your needs, your business goals - will help you to better understand the benefits of managed services.  They are also excellent reference checks. Finding an MSP with years of experience under their belt, that can explain their methodology to you in terms you understand, and that have many loyal customers willing to give testimony is what this is all about.  Bryley Systems, now 23 years in business, will offer you case studies and references during your consultation and you can check out client testimonials on our site's home page anytime.

4. What is the depth and breadth of your current managed service portfolio? 

Can the MSP explain to you their service migration path?  Should your company's managed service needs expand, is this MSP prepared to expand with you? And if there comes a time when there is a service that the MSP simply is not equipped to handle, do they have Partners they work with that will take over?  Our service team at Bryley is ready to grow with you: comprised of certified technicians, we are constantly learning about, certifying in, and deploying the latest in proven services and brand-name and cost effective technology. Be sure to check out our service team as well as an all-inclusive list of our partners on our site under About Bryley.

5. How can I be sure you will apply the best people, processes, and tools? Is your company certified by a leading vendor, and are your offerings delivered using industry-leading technologies to meet the highest quality of service?

MSPs should provide you with data on how they are qualified to meet your company's needs.  MSPs are often required to obtain "qualification levels" that are tiered from their vendors and partners.  Be sure to ask!  You can check out Bryley's qualifications at About Bryley under Service Team and Partners.

6. Where are your network management facilities located, and what are the hours of operation? Describe your escalation process, in the event of an outage.

Is the MSP only available to you Monday through Friday, 9 to 5?  Or will they be on call for any IT emergency your company may have?  Where are they located?  Are they close enough to you that you can rely on them to be there for you on site when needed?  Bryley Systems is located at 12 Main Street, Hudson MA 01749.  Our hours of operation are the standard Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 5, but we are on call for our contracted clients.  Check out our managed technology contracts under Solutions or email us at sales@bryley.com or call at 888.280.5799 to learn more about our after hours availability.

7. What are the assurances for levels of availability, serviceability, performance, and operation? What is the process for remedy if and when levels aren't maintained? 

You want to be assured that the level of coverage you are paying for in your contract is met, and when it is not for some reason or another, how it will be rectified. At Bryley, our service contracts will detail the metrics for you, and our references will provide you with their own testimonials and data, proving our efficiency. 

8. What are the type and scope of management capabilities that you routinely offer?

Examples of typical basic management tools include a service desk and management of various activities including assets, configuration, change, release/update, performance, capacity reporting and planning, and trend reporting complete with recommendations for the future.  Call or email Bryley today to learn about the type and scope of our management capabilities.

9. If required, how will you support existing or acquired IT/networking infrastructure?

Service providers could have policies that limit the device types they support or they only support devices that they install and configure themselves. If you are like many managed service users, then you have an environment where a combination of self-managed and out-tasked infrastructure will need to coexist. Service providers should be able to explain how their responsibilities start and end in this case. They should explain their role in the event that they are asked to operate in a multi-vendor or multi-service provider environment. Call or email Bryley today to learn how we will support your company's existing IT infrastructure.  

10. How do you price and deliver professional services, beyond the scope of the managed service contract?

Be sure to ask for examples of non-contracted services that have been provided by the MSP in the past and the associated fees attached. Call or email Bryley today for such examples.

Call or email Bryley Systems today for a consultation.  Learn about our flexible service packages, our capable, certified technicians, our seasoned management, and our strong relationships with our clients, partners, and vendors. 

Want to learn more about Managed Service Providers and finding the right fit for you and your company?  Check out the full article from Cisco. http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns121/ns852/qa_c67-508933.html

Social Media - The Marketing Magnet of the Future

Alright it is time for Lifestyle Change Tip # 3!

Keep your resolution of greater lead generation through the inexpensive and truly effective new wave of marketing: online, inbound, social media marketing. 

Why should Social Media be part of your new year marketing strategy? 

Citing Mike Volpe, Vice President of Marketing at HubSpot, a Cambridge based company specializing in marketing software solutions, the old method of marketing - termed outbound marketing as you and your business are reaching out to your audience - is going the way of the dinosaur.  Why is this so?  When you think of outbound marketing - print ads, television and radio commercials, telemarketers, e-mails - think of how you personally can find this method an annoyance, an interruption.  Mike Volpe compared it to a sledge hammer, interrupting the flow of your work, and honestly who likes a sledge hammer interrupting them while they are going about their day? Now, think of all of the new ways to avoid such interruptions.  We have Tivo, satellite radio, caller ID, Spam filters for our inboxes, and we can simply ignore and throw away any junk mail.  This method of outbound marketing is on its way out, and you and your business need to be aware of and prepared for the evolution in marketing.  Marketing Darwinism has decreed that the "fittest" form of marketing nowadays is inbound; Mike Volpe compared this method of marketing to a magnet, where you and your business are pulling your audience in to you, and the most effective "magnet" so to speak is utilizing popular social media sites. 

Social Media, obviously is media with a social aspect.  It is analogous to the business cocktail party "without the constraints of time or space" (Volpe). Unlike the cocktail party, you can log in to your social media site anytime, anywhere and obtain the same results or better seeing as you have a far greater reach online than you would at a party.  Like the cocktail party, you should use your Social Media sites to listen to what people are saying - learn what your prosective leads might be looking for or are interested in, learn what others in your field are saying -; meet people - maybe people in your industry whom you can begin a symbiotic relationship with, maybe prospective leads -; and start conversations - answer questions, look like an Authority and Expert in your field, and ask questions to see what people are looking for, if they require any of your products or services, if you can benefit from their knowledge. Like the cocktail party, it is your mission to become a true member of this community, adding value to it with your questions and answers. 

What are the most popular social media sites? 

The most popular Social Media site today is Facebook.  If Facebook were a country, it would be the third most populated country today.  If you only have time for the maintenance of one Social Media site, I highly suggest putting your efforts into Facebook. 

Other sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn are highly frequented as well.

The 3 things you should be doing on your Social Media sites

There are three things that you must do with your Social Media sites, and they are:

1. Publish!

Publish all quality content, everywhere that you can.  Facebook, Twitter, your company blog, YouTube, Flickr, anywhere and everywhere to gain as much exposure as you can.  Remember that content is the key!  Only publish quality content that will make you seem the expert in your field, the authority on the subject, a trusted advisor.  Also keep in mind to police what others are publishing about you; if it is positive feedback, then be sure to spread it about and advertise it yourself, and if it is negative then be sure to perform damage control by rectifying the problem at hand and then publishing the scoop that you went out and fixed the sore spot in your otherwise perfect brand.  Don't know where to get started?  See what others in your field are publishing.  This is a perfect way to begin your Social Media efforts.  You will see what is "hot," what people are talking about, and this way you can begin by promoting what the experts are already saying: making you seem the expert yourself and getting you established in the online community. 

2. Share!

Share all of your fantastic content: everywhere and with everyone! Share on such sits as Digg, Del.Icio.us, Slashdot, Propeller, StumbleUpon, Reddit, et cetera!  Sharing basically boils down to promoting your content, getting it out there, exposed, noticed, talked about, making you seem the expert and pulling in leads.  In order to successfully promote your content, to the right audience - targeting your ideal leads - you need to understand where they are "hanging out" online, and what they are interested in reading about.

3. Network!

The two best sites for business networking are Facebook and LinkedIn.  Obviously, publishing and sharing content will help you to network on Social Media sites, but you must also follow what other people are saying.  It cannot be a one way street.  You need to dialogue with people, build relationships.  The best way to start networking online?  Find your existing contacts!  Promote your Facebook page, social media pages, everywhere: in your email signatures, on your website, in your e-newsletters.  Join relevant groups!  Get connected!  It will lead you to leads!

And finally . . .  

Be sure to always measure your results!  Now that you are utilizing Social Media, you must also discover which of your sites are pulling people into your website and generating leads for your company, or else the entire endeavor will be for naught.  Find out what is not working and either ditch or revamp it.  Find out what is working and improve upon that.  How can you measure your results?  There are many analytic tools available to you online.  For example, you can use a free service such as Google Analytics that will inform you how many visitors to your website came from your Facebook page.

So there you have it! 

 Three simple, inexpensive, easy Lifestyle Changes  that will make a world of difference for you and your company in the new year.

Want to learn more about the raw powers of Social Media Marketing?  I truly suggest that you check out HubSpot. Www.hubspot.com - Check out their Marketing Blog, their Marketing Webinars (Under Resources on their Home Page), and subscribe to their e-newsletter "The Magnet."

Webinars are a very inexpensive way to gain exposure and get connected with potential leads!

(Be sure to check out the Bryley Newsletter for January where we will walk you through, step by step, how we put on our most recent webinar on 201 CMR 17.00)

Lifestyle Change Tip # 2: Harness the Power of the Webinar. Webinars are inexpensive to put on, enhance your online presence and reach, build a list of new leads, and begin your creation of content for social media marketing.  

What can a webinar or a series of webinars contribute to your company's marketing strategy?  

A webinar is a perfect tool for your business to build up its social media marketing efforts, lending quality content to your Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn accounts.  Quality webinars will give people a reason to follow you on your social media sites, especially if you cultivate a unique niche for yourself in your field with the information you choose to share; a webinar is a way for you to look like the "Expert" and "Trusted Advisor," especially on specific topics that set you apart from your competition.  Webinars in this way enhance your public image. If all goes according to plan, not only will your immediate audience be impressed with your content, but they will pass on the word to others which will ultimately generate more leads for your company. 

So how do you launch a successful webinar?  Here are a few pointers.

1. The most important thing to always remember, not just with webinars but with all marketing strategies, is that CONTENT IS KEY. You have to provide your audience, your pool of potential prospects, with top notch content: content they want to see, hear, read, information they want to learn about, content that will help them.  It is the difference between an infomercial and breaking news.  No one wants to watch an infomercial, but everyone will stay tuned for the news update. No one wants to hear about what your company does.  No one cares about your company. People only want content that could potentially help them in some way, presented to them in a manner that is intriguing, informative, easy to follow, and fun.  Remember, this is your chance to create your own unique niche in your field.  Find topics that are not really addressed, gaps in information that you could fill in, places of interest where you could become a trusted advisor.  This content is also wonderful PR for your company.  Show everyone that you are not only a wealth of useful knowledge and leading expert in your field, but that you are human as well.  With a webinar, you are literally attaching a face or faces to your business. You are already on the way to making your brand personable.  Go the distance with this; show them that you can have some fun and can empathize with their wants and needs.  Never fear; you will still look professional, but now you will also look approachable and easy to do business with.

2. A series of webinars will always be better than one.  Performing a series of content-focused webinars will bring your company more success.  It gives your audience the chance to start following you as a trusted advisor in your field.  It also gives them the chance to tell others about your series of webinars, building your fan base and potential prospect pool.  It will also give your prospects a greater chance of attendance as they are now able to pick the time and date that best fits into their schedule; here you are catering to their needs, their busy work lives, which will only make you seem more appealing.

3. Consider having a guest speaker for your webinar, someone who does not work for your company.  This will lend your webinar even more credibility, having an expert speak that is not on your payroll.

4. So when are the best times to schedule your webinars?  Do not schedule your webinars for Mondays or Fridays.  On Mondays, people are far too busy beginning their work week, and on Fridays people could be skipping out for an extended weekend or rushing last minute to play catch up.  For the same reasons, never launch a webinar near the holidays, especially the day before or after a holiday. Be sure to hold your webinar between the hours of 11 AM and 1 PM; people tend to watch them during their lunch breaks. 

5. Promoting the webinar!  You must obviously promote your webinars to secure a good audience.  So when do you begin your promotions?  I suggest 30 days prior to the event.  The 30 day mark will give your prospective audience enough time to square away that hour and add the future attendance to their schedule.  Any longer than 30 days, and people might forget to attend or simply lose interest.  Any shorter than 30 days and your prospective audience might not have enough time to secure that hour free, and you will not have enough time to maximize your webinars' attendance. Now, how should you go about promoting your webinar? 

6. Be sure to follow up with your leads after the curtain falls.  Obviously, people had to sign up to attend your webinar.  You have already captured their basic contact information.  Now use it!  Do not bombard them with offers and sales pitches, but be sure to follow up with them, sending them an email on the topic discussed in your webinar and the relevant products and services that your company offers.

Need more information on launching your own webinar?  Check out the following informative links.

"How to Setup and Run a Webinar with DimDim for Free" written by Alexia Petrakos for eHow

http://www.ehow.com/how_5323489_set-up-run-webinar-dimdim.html     

"How to Produce a Free Webinar to Gather Leads and Make Money" written by Marcelo Lewin for Center for New Media Studies

http://www.centerfornewmediastudies.com/2009/12/29/how-to-produce-a-free-webinar-to-gather-leads-and-make-money/ 

It is a new year.  Let's keep our business resolution and generate even more leads in 2010.

But I warn you! No crash diet! Yes, analogous to the crash diet, where one goes out on January 2nd and joins a gym and purchases far too many diet shakes, wasting valuable time and money only to find themselves abandoning the entire endeavour by February, there is the crash marketing strategy, and it is equally as pointless.  Ringing in the new year by spending all of your marketing budget and allocated time on a few flashy, splashy campaigns that, once over will not yield you any further leads is as frustrating and as self-defeating as an unused gym membership. 

So, like the diet gurus recommend, let's make 2010 our year by embracing a "lifestyle change." Instead of starving our marketing efforts for the entire year after a few gorges, let's make small, inexpensive, and effective changes to our daily business lives.  The result will be a steady stream of new leads that do not dry up once your budget does. We shall begin by making our website into a continuous lead-generating machine.     

Part 1: Make your website work for you utilizing the TCM approach!

What exactly is the TCM approach? I was reading this wonderful article by Online Marketing Consultant Bob De Stefano entitled "How To Make Your Website a Lead-Generation Machine" and he cited what he termed the TCM approach: Target, Convert, and Measure. First, you must Target your desired audience, those who would be your ideal prospects and leads, enticing them to visit your website.  Second, once they are there, you must capture their contact information and Convert them into leads.  And third, you must Measure your results, lest you find yourself with an expensive treadmill clothesline in your basement.  Breaking down the TCM approach, we begin with step one.   

Target

In order for your website to work for you, you must first work for it.  You need to make sure that your targeted audience will find and visit your website. Studies show that over 80% of prospective customers begin the process of finding the product or service they are looking for in search engines. Therefore, in order to target your audience, those people who would need your products and/or services, you need to utilize search engine optimization (SEO).  A quick review: SEO is the designing, writing, and coding of your website so that it will get found organically in search engines, preferably at the top of the results page. The top two ways search Engines like Google rank websites is by keyword relevance (how relevant are the keywords used in your site's copy and code) and link popularity (the quantity and quality of third party sites linking to your website). Always remember, when choosing keywords, think of which words your target audience would be searching for, not you the expert in your field.  You can also use Pay Per Click (PPC), where you are only charged when someone clicks your ad on a search engine, delivering them to your website. At only ten cents per click, this method of targeting is quite affordable as well. If your company has social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook this will also help you rank higher organically in the search engine results.  We will discuss in further detail maximizing your social media sites in Part 2 of this New Year/New Leads/"Lifestyle Change" series.    

Convert

Now that you have a steady stream of targeted visitors coming to your website, you need to convert them into real leads you can deliver to your sales team. Do not simply rely on your Contact Us page to do so.  Make Calls to Action available at every turn on your site, but in a manner that does not remind your visitors of the gym game Bombardment. Entice your visitors with valuable information and special offers in exchange for some basic contact information. Examples include ordering online, signing up for upcoming events, and subscribing to a newsletter. 

Measure 

Remember to always measure your efforts, every step of the way.  This is in fact the most important and yet least utilized aspect of the entire marketing process.  If you aren't measuring your results, then how will you be aware of your return on investment (ROI)?  Be sure to measure everything! What landing pages are pulling in the most traffic to your site? What methods are converting the most visitors into leads? You can set up a web analytics system for your metrics.  I suggest Google Analytics.  It is very simple and a free service.    

So remember:

Target the audience that you want and pull them into your website.

Convert your visitors into leads.

Measure the entire process to see what is and what is not working for you!

Want to learn more?  I suggest reading Bob De Stefano's article "How to Make Your Website a Lead-Generation Machine."

www.inddist.com/blog/profile/15176-Bob_DeStefano.php

Now that you have attended our seminar or viewed our webinar on 201 CMR 17.00 . . .

March 1, 2010 is quickly approaching. What exactly is your organization's compliance plan?  How are you going to protect the personal information of your clients and employees? According to Jackie Noblett, a writer for Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology - www.masshightech.com - data breaches affecting Massachusetts residents occur at an alarmingly frequent rate.  According to the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, the state office in charge of monitoring and enforcing state data breach regulations, more than 1 million Massachusetts residents were affected by 807 instances of data breaching between the dates of November 1, 2007 and October 31, 2009. 

How can you begin to comply without hurting your wallet?

Some say we are at the end of the recession and others say the recession is still in progress, but either way finances are tight.  The perceived high cost of the technical aspects of data safety make the March deadline for 201 CMR 17.00 compliance seem difficult, especially for small and medium sized businesses with matching budgets.  So what can your company do to start complying now on minimal spending?  According to the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, a staggering amount of the data breaches occuring stem from human error; of the 807 breaches aforementioned, roughly 300 of them were caused by employees misdirecting personal data, either intentionally or accidentally.  Start by stepping up your employee training on the new state regulation.  If you haven't already, watch the Bryley recording of our 201 CMR 17.00 compliance seminar for ideas. 

Contact Bryley for the rest

As a small business ourselves, we understand that small and medium sized businesses have other things on their plate that they need to focus their time and money on.  However, complying with 201 CMR 17.00 in full is very important to your organization.  If you fail to do so, and there is a data breach it is going to tarnish your image and that is bad for business.  There are also costly penalties in place.  There is a $5,000 penalty plus an additional fine for delaying or failing to notify state authorities and residents affected by a security breach.  There is a $5,000 penalty plus fine for failing to maintain a Written Information Security Plan or W.I.S.P. (to learn more about W.I.S.P.s watch our recorded seminar on 201 CMR 17.00). There are also $100 fines per individual (that can be racked up to $50,000 per incident) for failing to obtain written certification of data safety from third party vendors and the same fines apply for the improper disposal of personal information.  It could actually wind up costing you more in the shorterm as well as in the longterm if your reputation is called into question if you fail to comply and a data breach unfortunately does happen.

Bryley is here to help you with the technical aspects of your W.I.S.P. whether it be data encryption of all personal files or installing a firewall or system security software such as anti-virus, anti-Spyware, anti-Malware, or anti-spam,  or ongoing managed services including automatic patches, updates and scheduled scans 

Contact us for a free consultation. 

Call: 888.280.5799

Email: Sales@Bryley.com

Want to learn more? 

Read a full article on Massachusetts data breaches by Jackie Noblett for Mass High Tech.

http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2009/12/07/daily48-Businesses-still-plagued-by-data-breaches.html

Watch our recorded seminar on 201 CMR 17.00

http://www.bryley.com/201_CMR_17.html