Customer Service - Ignore at your Own Risk

As I mentioned in last week’s post, companies of all sizes are thinking about how they should grow and with President Obama promising incentives to hire new employees, there will be more hands on deck. While growth is generally measured in customers gained, beware of ignoring or forgetting the customers already on board because losing them can be extremely damaging to your organization.

I've been told for years that a happy customer will tell a few friends about your firm, but an unhappy customer will shout from the rooftops to anyone within earshot how bad you are. Take this extreme example; Dave Carroll and his band Sons Of Maxwell were passengers on a United Airlines flight from Canada through Chicago and were forced to watch as his $3,500 Taylor guitar was slammed around by the ground crew. When he asked United for some attention to this matter they basically snubbed him. In this day of viral growth on the Internet, what did he do? He penned a clever little ditty and produced a music video for YouTube!

Cute, eh? But how many people really saw the video? Well, on the first day of posting it received 150,000 views. At last count the "United Breaks Guitars" video has been seen by over 7.6 million visitors! You think any of them might want to take a trip somewhere someday? Not to mention the video and story were picked up by media outlets all over the world, including Fox News, CNN, and even "The View." Now he's a sought-after speaker about customer service and United had to shell out cash to try and safe face.

So the bottom line is find ways to exceed your customers' expectations, or at the very least address a situation before it arises. You never know when you might be the next YouTube parody!

2010 Recovery - What did we learn in 2009?

As the dust settles on the fiscal nightmare that was 2009, we are now three months into what everyone expects to be the recovery of 2010. There are many opinions as to whether there actually will be a recovery, and if there is how fast will it happen? So I ask, what do you expect to see for your own organization in 2010? Some ideas to consider:

1. Great growth and a renewed sense of success
2. Limited but steady growth
3. Pretty much flat, but at least not the backwards step of 2009
4. A little off, but with a sign of life to come
5. A dramatic downturn or inevitable layoffs

Also, what do you think you need to do differently in 2010? How does technology play a role? Check back next week for answers, maybe even more questions!

New Credit Card Rules Effective Today

It seems more and more that this Brian Zalkowski cartoon sums up what is happening in the world of consumer credit. Today marks the official beginning of new credit card rules as a result of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act passed in 2009 and signed in May by President Obama. Here's a general guide to the bill and its effects. So what does this mean? For credit card users there are more protections in place against unfair practices, however many will also face additional, stiffer fees especially if you carry balances or make late payments. Here are a few highlights or lowlights depending on how it affects you:

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  Credit card companies are now required to tell customers when they plan to increase rates or other fees.
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  Standardize payment dates and times to keep companies from tripping you up into late charges by moving your due date.
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  Limit fees on charges for exceeding your credit limit or paying your bills online or over the phone.
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  Monthly statements that clearly show how long it will take to pay down your balance by paying the minimum.
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  Curb interest rate hikes by prohibiting credit card companies from retroactively jacking up rates on existing balances until the customer is 60 days behind on payments.
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  Forbid credit card companies from automatically enrolling customers in often-pricey programs that offer the option to charge beyond credit limits.
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  Crack down on marketing campaigns targeting college students and other young adults, requiring anyone under the age of 21 who wants a credit card to either demonstrate the means to pay down their debt alone, or get an adult to co-sign on the account.
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  Ban the practice of double-cycle billing in which your creditor uses your average balance over the current and previous billing cycles rather than the previous one — a trick that can wind up costing you a pretty penny.

Time Magazine's article that you can find here will have a lot more detail. How does this affect you as a small or mid-sized business? It should make you less likely to pull out your credit card for capital purchases especially for technology. There numerous sources for leasing capital, some with 0% financing, that are far more appealing. It may also make you a bit more wary of accepting payments by credit card from your customers. Read the guidelines and make your own decisions and conclusions. Sure, paying with cash is always preferable, but with the programs available and the tax incentives that may apply you'd be foolish not to take a look.

Beware of viruses!

Not exactly the most earth-shattering charge in the IT world I grant you that, but as I sit here with my head blown up like a balloon from a nasty cold it made me think of the false sense of security that we have when it comes to viruses both personally and in our networks. When it comes to our own health we push too hard, eat poorly, and don't get enough sleep until the body finally says "enough," and we’re down for days trying to recover.

In our SMB world many companies have stopped thinking about the possibility of a network infection or intrusion. They believe they are protected because they've bought anti-virus software and invested in a firewall. There are so many flaws in that line of thinking because:

1. Virus definitions must be kept up-to-date, and the software must stay current. This often slips through the cracks if there's not a full-time IT staffer keeping a close eye.

2. Just protecting against viruses from email is woefully inadequate. There are phishing scams, malware and more that must be identified and targeted.

3. Viruses and malware don't always come through email. What about that corporate laptop that is brought home or on vacation and used by children or other non-authorized personnel? Bring that machine back into the domain and watch what lights up!

4. Using anti-virus and anti-malware software is just part of the shield. Best practices would have your firewall appliance controlling the flow in and out of email, but also keeping unauthorized or dangerous browsing in a restricted zone.

These are just a few of the points you must address. Find a little chicken soup for your network, and boost its immune system with products like CA's Integrated Threat Manager, Cisco's Adaptive Security Appliances or ASA's, Barracuda's Web Filter and more. It just might make you sleep a little better, and keep you from getting sick too!

Super Hangover

Yes, the penultimate contest on the US football calendar was played in South Florida last night, and the New Orleans Saints bucked the experts and defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 to claim their first ever NFL crown. It's been a long time coming for the Crescent City, and personally I couldn’t be happier for the people of the region who are still trying to get out from under the nightmare of Hurricane Katrina almost five years ago.

When I visited New Orleans last summer for the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, I was part of a group that joined up with Habitat for Humanity to spend one afternoon building some houses near the devastated Ninth Ward. In those few hours, I got real hand to hand time with some of those souls who were not forlorn and sad but optimistic, hopeful, and genuinely grateful for our assistance, as little as it was in the overall scheme of things. So I have a special place in my heart for those people who needed something positive and happy to happen, much like my adopted city of Philadelphia and the region needed it when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008.

Yes, I know this is a technology blog, but as the author I retain the right to go off topic from time to time! Ok, if you really want me to track back to the SMB world at least there's one good thing to come from then end of the football season. Your employees will no longer be wasting company time on checking and tweaking their fantasy football team! Of course, with pitchers and catchers set to report in less than two weeks, rotisserie baseball is right around the corner. If that's a concern for you, consider adding content filtering to your security portfolio, either with a firewall software add-on, like the Content Filtering suite on the Cisco ASA's or a separate appliance like the Barracuda Web Filter. As always, consult your trusted technology partner for the best option for you and your situation.

Balancing the Budget

If your company's budget looked like this, would you be able to stay in business? I don't think so!

That's the reality of the national debt today. President Obama is scheduled to unveil the 2010 budget framework today, and while CNN is saying that the deficit will rise to $3.8 trillion dollars there will be some long-awaited good news for small businesses. According to CNN.com businesses will be eligible for a $5,000 tax credit for every new hire in 2010. There may also be other tax incentives that are expected to push the price tag for the measures to over $33 billion dollars.

That said small and mid-sized businesses can benefit from bringing new talent into their organizations. Don't forget, your core infrastructure will have to be ready to handle the influx of new hires. If you don't have a teleworker program already in place you'll have to add office space, and consult with your trusted IT advisor about how the new growth will impact your network. Many companies have experienced growth only to end up without a clear plan or direction. Your IT infrastructure should be planned just as well as your other strategic planning. Take advantage of these benefits now because all too often the powers-that-be won't keep them around long!

Man vs. Technology

Leave it to my stepson to find the coolest, quirkiest shows on television! While enjoying a queso burrito Friday night, Alex commandeered the remote and turned on the Travel Channel. I don't usually watch that channel, but he told me the next show was going to be great. So I put the finishing touches on my respective meal and prepared to be regaled by this hysterical program, "Man V. Food." Now, I can appreciate edible delights of all kinds, but the host Adam Richman comes across some real doozies like a 10 pound stuffed pizza, a 48 ounce steak, and much more. What's even more amazing is his quest at the end of each episode to conquer some of these behemoths like the 12 patty "OMG" burger in Tucson, AZ. I have to admit, I had second thoughts about my own dietary habits after watching this program, and yes, he has visited Philadelphia! Check out the website where I found an old favorite, Tony Luke's on Oregon Avenue as well as a few I'd never heard of.

It sounds like a bit of a digression I admit, but I went from thinking about Adam's challenges on his show, to the small business owner's challenges in adapting to an ever-changing technology landscape. For them, it must feel like man vs. technology! While the business owner is responsible for every aspect of business growth, he or she doesn't have to be a human resource expert, marketing guru, website designer, or IT engineer. The best answer is that they shouldn't be. Even in a small business, the best solution is to compile a team to maximize efforts in growing business and coming up with new ideas. In regard to technology, the most logical direction to turn is to a trusted partner who can look at your business dispassionately and recommend solutions that fit your business and technology goals.

There are many choices that are available to you for assistance, but the key is to find a company that has a reputation for stability and quality. Your brother’s nephew who took a few courses in community college may be able to perform some rudimentary tasks, but can you trust your critical business functions to someone with limited experience and expertise? Look for a partner that possesses top level certifications with best-in-breed industry-leading vendors like Microsoft, Cisco, APC, Citrix and more. Inquire about similar implementations or projects that they have completed, and check their references. Make sure they have a team of engineers that can engage in knowledge-share to give you a wider range of experience to draw from. Where do you look? Most of the vendors like Microsoft and Cisco have a "Find a Partner" link on their main sites. Talk to others in your circle and see who they have had experience with. Lastly, check with your local Chamber of Commerce to see if they can recommend a partner. Don't wait too long because if you do it might be the competition eating you!