How large telecom has adopted an anti-customer mindset, and how SMB providers are proving their worth to the unsatisfied.

We’ve all been there––on the phone with “Customer Support” only to be told there is no resolution to our problem. People are becoming increasingly frustrated as to that strategic front––multiple layers of so-called ‘Managers’ that have no authority (or reason) to truly resolve your issue.

Find out how SMB-only telecom providers are acquiring and keeping clients by proving that in business size does matter.

✓ The differences between large telecom and SMB telecom customer service.
✓ Why customer retention is paramount to SMB and why large telcos don’t seem to care.
✓ The road to resolution––how flat management structures lead to happier customers, faster.
✓ Leading edge technology and the ability to adapt to SMB business processes.

+Click here to register

Spring—The time of year that represents rebirth, that presents opportunities to grow and to build something new. These sentiments fill the air at Nitro, everyone has so many new and wonderful things to share with their clients.

First, this year itʼs our 25th anniversary. I may sound cliché, but it truly does seem as though it was just yesterday that we were opening our doors for business. Over the past 25 years, the business world has seen many ups and downs, but at Nitro we have always weathered the storms—regardless of whatʼs been thrown at us, weʼve come out on top. Thanks to you, we have been highly successful.

I attribute part of our success to our flexibility, our adaptability; we always strive to deliver unrivaled products and services, concentrating on what will help our clients achieve their goals and objectives. This is what weʼve striven to achieve over the past 25 years; this is what has made us into one of Ottawaʼs most successful companies.

And, of course, thereʼs our recent acquisition. As you may have heard, we have been acquired by TUC™ Brands, an investment firm headquartered in Ottawa thatʼs focused on the managed IT services and cloud computing industry.

Although acquired, we will remain as our own entity while operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of TUC™ Brands. The acquisition will mean substantial growth for Nitro, including a drastic expansion of our professional services team—a tremendous advantage for our clients.

The combination of our two companies will provide clients with a greatly enhanced Help Desk, improved efficiencies, and upgraded support—weʼll have additional highly trained support personnel and a multitude of new tools to assist our clients.

Thus, as you can see, spring is certainly here at Nitro. With new highly-trained personnel, and a focus on Managed Services, we are poised for decades of growth. We are all incredibly busy–– and are all immensely excited about the future of Nitro.

Now itʼs time to plan our 25th Anniversary Party—and to thank everyone who has helped to make Nitro the success it is today.

+Read Elements Magazine

Sincerely,

Larry Poirier
Chief Executive Officer
Nitro IT Business Solutions

Upon reviewing the great articles in this issue of Connect, something dawned on me—do any of us truly realize how much security surrounds us everyday?

To put things in perspective, think of your day in terms of the security we use in every aspect of our lives. Of course, thereʼs the physical security we use, our doors and windows locked at night; our car doors locked to prevent theft, etc. But what of the security that surrounds us that we forget about—the security thatʼs habitual.

How many times a day do you check your voicemail? Iʼm assuming you have a PIN# associated with your phone system at home or work. Then, thereʼs the daily stop at the bank machine / ATM, coffee shops, restaurants—all needing our access codes to move forward.

Now, letʼs look at our work environment. Many of us need ID badges to enter the property or office areas. We have passwords that log us into our computers so that we can do our work. We may even have additional security gadgets to help enforce and protect us and our environment.

It all seems rather extreme doesn’t it…or does it? In todayʼs fast-paced overly connected world, where we haphazardly store our most precious information on any and every device imaginable, shouldnʼt we do our utmost to secure it? After all, before the days of mass-money transactions, file sharing cloud apps, and e- delivery methods we had banks, safety deposit boxes, and Pinkerton guards.

Nothing has changed—at least it shouldnʼt. Since the dawn of time weʼve kept our assets safe one way or another from villainous scoundrels. The difference today is that the brick and mortar of yesterday have been replaced by the walls of cutting edge technology.

Now, if only I could remember my computer password that I changed yesterday to keep my data secure, I could get some work done.

+Read Connect Magazine

Enjoy!

Sincerely,
Robert Beauchamp
Chief Executive Officer RjR Innovations

Friday, March 30, 2012 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM EDT

Healthcare providers are looking to reduce information delays and accuracy problems that create obstacles to optimum clinical decision making. To achieve this, caregivers must access and input patient information in real time at the point of care.

Mobile device technology represents a significant opportunity to achieve these goals. As organizations begin to explore mobility options, the story becomes more complex.

In this webinar, learn about:

- Use cases and industry lessons learned to date
- The importance of the clinical workflow
- Systems integration challenges and proven approaches
- Device management and security
- Device OS vendor landscape

+ Register Now

Date: Friday, March 23, 2012 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM EDT

We live in unsecured times.

In this webinar RjR Innovations will discuss the growing need for seamless security and secure access in todayʼs world of information technology. You will learn the importance of integration of the following solutions:

- End Point Security
- Password Reset
- Two-Factor Authentication
- User Lifecycle Management
- QSignOn Solutions

+ Register Now

]]> http://www.eyevero.com/blog/the-future-of-desktop-security-webinar-from-rjr-innovations/feed/ 0 http://www.eyevero.com/blog/social-media-seo-and-the-future-of-search/ http://www.eyevero.com/blog/social-media-seo-and-the-future-of-search/#comments Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:24:10 +0000 Colin Elliott http://www.eyevero.com/?p=4667 Siri, Apple’s voice-activated intelligent personal assistant, launched with a lot of fanfare and stimulated some response from iPhone’s closest rival: Google’s Android.

The initial discussion was framed around Apple’s and Google’s different and competing visions of a voice activated future. You can compare it to the competition between Star Wars and Star Trek. Apple sounds slightly more human, if sassy and dry—think C-3PO—while Google sounds more like Captain Picard ordering “Tea: Earl Grey. Hot.”

The Missing Choice

While watching the comparison between science fiction movies was fun for a while, very few people picked up on what I think was the much more important conclusion to be gained from thinking critically about voice-powered search. Namely, that search is being mediated and returning with one answer.

Most of us are familiar with Google’s “I’m Feeling Lucky” button,” now a link in the predictive search drop-down, which gives you the first best answer. Well, that’s what Siri is—the first best answer. Therefore, if your entry on the search results list comes second or third, or even further down, then you lose out.

As well, it means that your social media strategy really has to come into play so that your brand strongly relates to the subject of the search.

Connect with your Customers

With this kind of mediated search, the more the search provider knows about the person searching, the more relevant the search results. All those “Likes,” “+1’s,” “ReTweets” and “Checkins” document the relationship between the brand and the person.

As more and more Internet traffic and search comes from mobile devices, network speeds get faster and faster and mobile devices become more powerful; therefore, creating these links to your customers becomes even more vital.

With single answer search requests, there is no paid link advertising and no second place.

The Future is Mobile

Most industry watchers agree that in the near future most people’s primary means of accessing information on the Internet will be through mobile devices. For the most part, this means smaller screen sizes and other constraints; hence, making information relevant, personalized and contextual is the main challenge.

This challenge is what’s going to drive search in the future, and what’s going to change how we think about our relationships with customers.

They’ve met you online, probably through LinkedIn the world’s largest professional network—where your writing speaks for you. You can be well dressed, highly educated and highly skilled with many years of experience, but if your writing has grammatical errors or poorly punctuated sentences you can appear uneducated and unprofessional.

It’s ironic. Today when writing matters, when just about everyone communicates online, writing skills have declined whether it’s knowledge of grammar and punctuation or of writing techniques.

Parallel to this decrease in writing skills, is the increase in the need for good writers. In other words, a decrease in the ability to project a professional and highly skilled online image has occurred at a time when we form new connections and build careers through online interactions.

How do you build a professional online image when you lack the writing skills to do so? You can take an online writing course; read Eats, Shoots & Leaves, a wonderfully funny book about the zero tolerance approach to punctuation by Lynne Truss; pick up The Canadian Style, a guide to writing and editing by Dundurn Press Limited; and study The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr., and E.B. White.

The best way to learn how to write is to write. And then to have your writing critiqued by either a writer or editor. It’s through rewriting, editing and revising that you’ll achieve a well written and professional piece—one that boosts your image and supplements your skill set.

As for relative abuse, I’m referring to “that,” “which” and “who.” Frequently used as relative pronouns to introduce a clause that modifies the noun they follow, they are generally overused, misused and abused.

Yesterday, you made a first impression based on your physical appearance; today you make a first impression based on your online image. And you can make that irresistible. Just learn to write well.

One of the most common mistakes in marketing—and a simple way to tell whether your marketing professional truly knows what he or she is doing—is logo development.

To be clear, I’m not talking about the behavioral science that lies behind graphic design. That’s something I’ll let our Director of Creative Services rant about. I’m simply speaking from a basic, Marketing 101, communications perspective.

Far too often, with organizations large and small, the basics of the marketing message are forgotten or neglected. As an industry, we speak constantly of value propositions, tag lines and elevator pitches—to this day I’ve never pitched to anyone in an elevator—but what about simply explaining what you do in five words or less?

As the title of this article states, is your logo broken? If your logo is without a simple industry positioning statement, you’ve made one of the most common and junior mistakes in marketing. After all, if someone doesn’t know what you do based on your logo—think of your business cards, letterhead and other marketing collateral—how on earth do you expect to market your company successfully?

Your industry positioning statement ties directly to target demographics, vertical markets and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Without it, you are suffering from what I call “The Nike Syndrome”––thinking that if the biggest brands in the world can do it, so can you.

Simply stated, if your company is named “XYZ” and your logo simply states your name, how are your potential clients to know what you do? You could be anything from a restaurant to a computer company, no one would ever know.

Further complicating the issue is the overabundance of clever made-up names, technical terms purposely misspelled, or the ever-popular Latin, Greek, or Oriental terms (I’m guilty as charged). With these confusing company names, you’ll further muddy your message. Why would potential clients hire you if they don’t know what you can do for them?

Thus my advice—before you create your next marketing plan, site redesign, or national ad campaign—is this: If your company creates “Asian Fusion Food,” then your company logo should read “XYZ Asian Fusion Food.”

If you follow my advice, then your logo won’t be broken. It will be whole and will clearly state what your company does and what your company can do for your prospective clients.

 “BFI Canada Inc., Toronto, is very pleased to have partnered with EyeVero Marketing Communications Group for the creation and production of all our digital media content,” said Adrian Dougherty, District Sales Manager. “The service and quality of work I receive from EyeVero I have found to be unmatched in the creative digital space.”

 EyeVero’s CEO and President Scott Williams stated: “With an already long-standing relationship with BFI, this partnership gives us the opportunity to further expand what we can do for the company. As a large corporation, they fit our business model and experience perfectly––thus, we are very much looking forward to creating tremendous results for them in the new year.”

 The partnership between the companies became official on December 1, 2011, with a multitude of campaigns and strategic marketing plans already begun. The program is scheduled to be rolled out in early January 2012.

 About BFI Canada Inc.

BFI Canada Inc. strives to be the premier provider of environmentally responsible waste management services. It has been providing Canadian residences service excellence in waste management for over 25 years. Its ongoing commitment to excellence has led it to invest in new technologies and alternative waste management solutions that streamline waste management.

 BFI Canada Inc. provides complete Waste and Recycling Services—container rental, haulage, disposal—for office, commercial, construction and manufacturing/industrial firms, as well as for home renovation projects.

 As North America’s third largest solid waste management company, BFI Canada Inc. serves its commercial, industrial and residential customers in Canada and the U.S.

About EyeVero Marketing Communications Group

EyeVero Marketing Communications Group provides a targeted approach to strategic branding, graphic and website design, communications plans and new media communications. Its clients range from multi-national corporations to small-, medium- and large-sized businesses.

 Behavioral science lies at the heart of everything the company does. As a result, it understands how people cognitively retain information, emotionally connect to it, and become advocates of it. Since its marketing communications strategies flow from its behavioral science methodology, they are not only successful but also qualifiable and measurable.

 EyeVero also delivers and implements solutions. Its business process assesses the effectiveness of its clients’ marketing communications. It then provides recommendations on how to integrate brand language and how to strengthen and promote brand image. EyeVero ensures improved results because it builds integrated marketing tools that create a demand for its clients’ brands, creating a better brand experience and a higher conversion rate.

 EyeVero’s comprehensive strategic planning methodology not only results in improved efficiency and brand effectiveness, but also results in higher sales through targeted messaging that converts prospects into customers.

Smelly sneaker socks are the equivalent of web copywriting that’s chock full of turgid prose and overflowing with glaring grammatical errors, poor punctuation and spelling mistakes.

I read an article recently on Why Spelling Matters for SEO, source Brandignity. Spelling and grammar matter not only for SEO, but also for communicating clearly and for writing copy that sells. Do you really expect a visitor to appreciate a website that’s written poorly with spelling and grammatical errors? Or, more importantly, does a visitor spend time on a poorly written site? And does that poorly written site motivate the visitor to change from browser to buyer?

If you want to turn your visitors into buyers, grammar, punctuation and spelling aren’t the only factors to consider. To create killer copy you need web copywriting that appeals to the psychology and mindset of the online buyer.

That’s what we do; therefore, our web copywriting speaks the visitors’ language. And it’s polite—we don’t insult them with grammatical errors, poor punctuation and spelling mistakes.

How do you ensure that your web copywriting doesn’t insult your visitors? That’s easy. Just find a writer or editor who understands the English language and the intricacies of marketing and web copywriting. You need a writer or editor who doesn’t mystify your reader and muddle your message through the misuse and abuse of the English language.

We have the writers and the editors here at EyeVero. They are all perfectionists and purists—essential characteristics as they write the words that are read by search engines and website visitors. Words that mean the difference between the success or failure of your website.

If you can’t see the shoes for the old, smelly sneaker socks, then give us a call. And if you want to know what our socks are like, just check out our website.