Tech Thursday (1/24): Ooma Business Phone Solution * Nimble Expands Apps Marketplace * YouSendIt Acquires Found * New Publishers Join SinglePlatform

Ooma® Small Businesses Phone Solution

Nimble Expands Apps Marketplace 

YouSendIt Acquires Found

Four New Publishers Join SinglePlatform 

Ooma® To Provide Small Businesses With Affordable Big Business Phone Solution

Ooma Office Delivers Advanced Features Typically Found in Far More Expensive Solutions

 

Ooma, Inc., the leader in smart home and business communication systems, today announced the launch of Ooma Office, its first product specifically designed to address the needs of small businesses. Ooma Office, shipping Q2 2013, delivers a big business phone service to small businesses with advanced features and quality of service typically found in far more expensive options.

Today, small businesses spend upwards of $100 a month for each line of phone service. In contrast, Ooma Office costs just $19.99 per line each month for unlimited calling in the U.S. and Canada.

Ooma Office helps small businesses communicate more effectively through features that inspire confidence and professionalism. Key features of Ooma Office include:

• Virtual Receptionist
• Big Business Feature Set
• Wireless Workplace
• Unparalleled Voice Quality
• Easy Line Expansion
• Compatibility
• 24/7 Customer Support

Read more about Ooma Office and it’s features here.

Nimble Expands Apps Marketplace Adding Zapier, Freshdesk, Import2 to Empower Social Selling

Integrating Nimble Social Relationship Management With Salesforce.com, QuickBooks and GoToWebinar to Streamline Customer Engagement

 

SANTA MONICA, CA - Nimble, a pioneering social relationship management platform, announced a new set of business productivity apps including Zapier, FreshDesk and Import2, has been added to the growing Nimble Apps . Nimble is internationally acclaimed for empowering business teams to collectively engage with customers and turn social conversations into business opportunities with its simple web-based solution.

The Nimble Apps Marketplace now hosts an expanding collection of third-party tools, empowering Nimble users with lead capture and analytics, email marketing support, and more. These new Nimble add-ons, available immediately to the Nimble community, give businesses even more ways to close the social marketing and sales loop.

Read more about these great add-ons to the Nimble product here.

YouSendIt Acquires Found, Finds Cloud-nostic Platform

YouSendIt has announced the acquisition of Found Software, Inc., a US-based software company that enables users to instantly find and discover their files, documents, and data across devices and cloud services. With the acquisition, YouSendIt will gain powerful technology capabilities, enabling data from email to desktops to cloud services to be instantly accessible and manageable. Found also offers impressive mobile capabilities as increasing amounts of data flow through mobile devices.

Users today are constantly forced to navigate cloud and device boundaries to make use of their cloud data. Aging file sync and enterprise content management systems, built on file and document-centric architectures, move data around but do not solve the significant challenges of discovering information and collaborating across devices and cloud services as well as outside the firewall.

The acquisition of Found enables YouSendIt to take search and discovery to a powerful new level, making content that exists in different platforms easily accessible and shareable, without requiring the user to hunt for information across these multiple clouds and devices.  YouSendIt fundamentally embraces the idea of helping users access and manage their data regardless of platformâ€"a cloud-nostic future.

You can read more about the acquisition of Found by YouSendIt and the benefits it provides here.

 Four Major New Publishers Join SinglePlatform

 SinglePlatform Digital Storefronts generated more than 100 million consumer views in 2012

 For small businesses, it’s now even easier to get found by consumers looking to shop or eat at great local businesses. SinglePlatform, a division of Constant Contact®, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTCT), announced that The Washington Post, WhitePages, Infogroup, and Acxiom Corporation have all joined SinglePlatform’s publishing partner network. In 2012 alone, SinglePlatform’s digital storefronts had more than 100 million consumer views from across their publisher network. These new publishing partners extend the reach of SinglePlatform’s small business custoers even further by adding some of the most used consumer sites on the Internet.

Together, the new publishing partners give SinglePlatform customers reach to millions of additional consumer views. SinglePlatform has relationships with more than 100 publishers, including the top three business directory sites, the top three ratings and reviews sites, and dozens of other sites and apps that reach more than 200 million consumers per month. In return, publishers using SinglePlatform’s data report that adding rich content like menus contributes more than two minutes of additional engagement time on their sites.

Read more about this announcement here.

5 Online Marketing Myths Businesses Believe

Below are 5 myths I hear on a regular basis from businesses. If you have some common myths to share, please do so in the comments.

1). All Websites are Created Equal

Not all websites are created equal and your goal should be to have good/safe hosting, good code, good optimization and a design that meets the needs of your target audiences.

It is never good to rush into having a website or hiring the company that can get it done the fastest. A good website design should be thought about and planned. Make sure the usability for your audience is good, the design is pleasing and you have everything you need to keep the website going.

The information that the reader needs to see for you to make a sale should be easy to find on your website, easy to read and easy to understand. Design and planning are critical.

2. Cheap Websites Will Get You Found

False. I see all the commercials from online businesses offering websites for really cheap and saying:

“Get found.”

You can’t get found unless your site is optimized. You can’t be optimized without good coding, SEO, a marketing strategy and content that supports the strategies put in place.

Cheap is never a good idea for a business. Don’t waste your time on cheap websites. Remember, time is money.

3. Social Is Easy

Social is not easy. Social takes a ton of researching, planning, daily time and monitoring. A successful social campaign is not sticking things on Facebook or randomly tweeting something and never looking for responses. It also isn’t having a lot of friends on Facebook.

Social media is all about strategy. These questions are just the start of social:

• Which social media platform will work best
• Which audiences are you targeting
• How will you reach your audiences
• Who will interact with your social audience daily
• How will you measure the effectiveness of a social campaign
• What is the ROI
• What are competitors’ doing What is working or not working for them

4. If We Fet More Website Traffic We Will Make More Money

This is false. Traffic is just traffic. What you want is to reach the audience(s) that needs your products and/or services. Random traffic makes you no money, so it is essentially useless. I will give you an example.  When I first started blogging for business, I had a picture of Yoda on my contact page. I named the picture “Yoda” and Google Images picked it up and it was the 3rd image out of all of them for “Yoda.”

I was getting tens of thousands of visits each month to the contact page and not one of those visits made me any money. In analytics, I could see they were searching for Yoda. So traffic was great, but it made me no money.

The goal of website traffic is to make money. Focus on ROI with Web traffic and if what you are doing is not giving you a return - you need to try a different strategy.

5). If Our Website, Online Marketing and Content are Perfect, We Will Make Money

This is false. Everything online can be perfect, but if the service people receive when they call and/or email your company is not good you will not make money.

We had a client with a perfectly coded website that was optimized and ranking well. They were getting great traffic and had many new contacts in their contact form daily. But they complained business wasn’t getting better. We couldn’t figure it out.

Then both myself and a colleague, without knowing it, referred friends to the business. They both came back saying the same thing:

“They won’t answer the phone and it just rang and rang.”

They also said they called after 5PM and left messages and no one returned their call. Both people claimed they called the business multiple times and never got a response. About 9 months later, I referred someone else to them and they said the people were so rude they refused to use the business.

You have to make sure that your staff is as perfect as you try to make your website and online marketing if you are hoping to make money. Both online and offline you have to give your very best.

Unicorn Photo via Shutterstock

Tech Thursday (1/24): Ooma Business Phone Solution * Nimble Expands Apps Marketplace * YouSendIt Acquires Found * New Publishers Join SinglePlatform

Ooma® Small Businesses Phone Solution

Nimble Expands Apps Marketplace 

YouSendIt Acquires Found

Four New Publishers Join SinglePlatform 

Ooma® To Provide Small Businesses With Affordable Big Business Phone Solution

Ooma Office Delivers Advanced Features Typically Found in Far More Expensive Solutions

 

Ooma, Inc., the leader in smart home and business communication systems, today announced the launch of Ooma Office, its first product specifically designed to address the needs of small businesses. Ooma Office, shipping Q2 2013, delivers a big business phone service to small businesses with advanced features and quality of service typically found in far more expensive options.

Today, small businesses spend upwards of $100 a month for each line of phone service. In contrast, Ooma Office costs just $19.99 per line each month for unlimited calling in the U.S. and Canada.

Ooma Office helps small businesses communicate more effectively through features that inspire confidence and professionalism. Key features of Ooma Office include:

• Virtual Receptionist
• Big Business Feature Set
• Wireless Workplace
• Unparalleled Voice Quality
• Easy Line Expansion
• Compatibility
• 24/7 Customer Support

Read more about Ooma Office and it’s features here.

Nimble Expands Apps Marketplace Adding Zapier, Freshdesk, Import2 to Empower Social Selling

Integrating Nimble Social Relationship Management With Salesforce.com, QuickBooks and GoToWebinar to Streamline Customer Engagement

 

SANTA MONICA, CA - Nimble, a pioneering social relationship management platform, announced a new set of business productivity apps including Zapier, FreshDesk and Import2, has been added to the growing Nimble Apps . Nimble is internationally acclaimed for empowering business teams to collectively engage with customers and turn social conversations into business opportunities with its simple web-based solution.

The Nimble Apps Marketplace now hosts an expanding collection of third-party tools, empowering Nimble users with lead capture and analytics, email marketing support, and more. These new Nimble add-ons, available immediately to the Nimble community, give businesses even more ways to close the social marketing and sales loop.

Read more about these great add-ons to the Nimble product here.

YouSendIt Acquires Found, Finds Cloud-nostic Platform

YouSendIt has announced the acquisition of Found Software, Inc., a US-based software company that enables users to instantly find and discover their files, documents, and data across devices and cloud services. With the acquisition, YouSendIt will gain powerful technology capabilities, enabling data from email to desktops to cloud services to be instantly accessible and manageable. Found also offers impressive mobile capabilities as increasing amounts of data flow through mobile devices.

Users today are constantly forced to navigate cloud and device boundaries to make use of their cloud data. Aging file sync and enterprise content management systems, built on file and document-centric architectures, move data around but do not solve the significant challenges of discovering information and collaborating across devices and cloud services as well as outside the firewall.

The acquisition of Found enables YouSendIt to take search and discovery to a powerful new level, making content that exists in different platforms easily accessible and shareable, without requiring the user to hunt for information across these multiple clouds and devices.  YouSendIt fundamentally embraces the idea of helping users access and manage their data regardless of platformâ€"a cloud-nostic future.

You can read more about the acquisition of Found by YouSendIt and the benefits it provides here.

 Four Major New Publishers Join SinglePlatform

 SinglePlatform Digital Storefronts generated more than 100 million consumer views in 2012

 For small businesses, it’s now even easier to get found by consumers looking to shop or eat at great local businesses. SinglePlatform, a division of Constant Contact®, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTCT), announced that The Washington Post, WhitePages, Infogroup, and Acxiom Corporation have all joined SinglePlatform’s publishing partner network. In 2012 alone, SinglePlatform’s digital storefronts had more than 100 million consumer views from across their publisher network. These new publishing partners extend the reach of SinglePlatform’s small business custoers even further by adding some of the most used consumer sites on the Internet.

Together, the new publishing partners give SinglePlatform customers reach to millions of additional consumer views. SinglePlatform has relationships with more than 100 publishers, including the top three business directory sites, the top three ratings and reviews sites, and dozens of other sites and apps that reach more than 200 million consumers per month. In return, publishers using SinglePlatform’s data report that adding rich content like menus contributes more than two minutes of additional engagement time on their sites.

Read more about this announcement here.

5 Tips to Help Your Loyalty Program Succeed

If your small business is still issuing punch cards for your loyalty program, you’re already behind the competition. Thanks to easy-to-use software like Perka Flex Points, small businesses can launch an app-based loyalty program as sophisticated as their larger competitors.

“For the typical merchant, the cost and complexity of operating a true loyalty program can be prohibitive, often requiring integration to a POS system,” said Alan Chung, CEO of Perka. “Flex Points will let a business owner quickly set up a seamless, sophisticated loyalty rewards program as easily as offering a punch card.”

But before you launch your first digital rewards program, here are a few basic suggestions from small business experts.

• Use your loyalty program to differentiate your brand. Like everything else your small business does for customers, your loyalty program only brings the customers in. It’s your job to give those customers an additional incentive to keep coming back. By offering personalized service or fun, unique rewards, your small business will set itself apart from the competition. There are plenty of businesses nearby, so it’s important to show that you appreciate your customers by rewarding them.
• Be relevant. While points-based loyalty programs can be versatile and flexible, it’s important to keep in mind that your customers want rewards that are meaningful to them. You know your customers well, so be sure to tailor rewards to their individual needs or, if that isn’t an option, provide a variety of choices for cashing in rewards.
• Offer a unique or highly-coveted top-tier reward for VIP customers. If an extremely valuable reward is given to customers who earn the most points, customers may strive to reach that number. The more points they earn, the more they’ve spent in your location.
• Learn about your customers. This is the prime opportunity to learn more about the customers who frequent your business regularly. Loyalty programs like Perka Flex Points provide analytics to help business owners track the behavior of customers. This not only gives businesses information about the effectiveness of the program, but also gain detailed insights into customer purchasing habits and preferences. This information can be used to improve your business model and your rewards program to better serve your most loyal customers.
• Keep it simple. Your rewards program should be as straightforward as possible, devoid of tricky fine print. Minimize rules and restrictions and allow your customers the freedom and flexibility they need when they’re choosing how to cash in those points.

By choosing a loyalty program that can easily be stored on a user’s smartphone, small businesses will equip customers with the easy-to-use interface they need. Perka Flex Points provides easy setup and interactivity with POS systems, helping them implement a program that works with their existing setup.

For more information on Perka Flex Points, visit the company’s website. The app is free to customers, but merchants will pay $50 per location per month.

5 Tips to Help Your Loyalty Program Succeed

If your small business is still issuing punch cards for your loyalty program, you’re already behind the competition. Thanks to easy-to-use software like Perka Flex Points, small businesses can launch an app-based loyalty program as sophisticated as their larger competitors.

“For the typical merchant, the cost and complexity of operating a true loyalty program can be prohibitive, often requiring integration to a POS system,” said Alan Chung, CEO of Perka. “Flex Points will let a business owner quickly set up a seamless, sophisticated loyalty rewards program as easily as offering a punch card.”

But before you launch your first digital rewards program, here are a few basic suggestions from small business experts.

• Use your loyalty program to differentiate your brand. Like everything else your small business does for customers, your loyalty program only brings the customers in. It’s your job to give those customers an additional incentive to keep coming back. By offering personalized service or fun, unique rewards, your small business will set itself apart from the competition. There are plenty of businesses nearby, so it’s important to show that you appreciate your customers by rewarding them.
• Be relevant. While points-based loyalty programs can be versatile and flexible, it’s important to keep in mind that your customers want rewards that are meaningful to them. You know your customers well, so be sure to tailor rewards to their individual needs or, if that isn’t an option, provide a variety of choices for cashing in rewards.
• Offer a unique or highly-coveted top-tier reward for VIP customers. If an extremely valuable reward is given to customers who earn the most points, customers may strive to reach that number. The more points they earn, the more they’ve spent in your location.
• Learn about your customers. This is the prime opportunity to learn more about the customers who frequent your business regularly. Loyalty programs like Perka Flex Points provide analytics to help business owners track the behavior of customers. This not only gives businesses information about the effectiveness of the program, but also gain detailed insights into customer purchasing habits and preferences. This information can be used to improve your business model and your rewards program to better serve your most loyal customers.
• Keep it simple. Your rewards program should be as straightforward as possible, devoid of tricky fine print. Minimize rules and restrictions and allow your customers the freedom and flexibility they need when they’re choosing how to cash in those points.

By choosing a loyalty program that can easily be stored on a user’s smartphone, small businesses will equip customers with the easy-to-use interface they need. Perka Flex Points provides easy setup and interactivity with POS systems, helping them implement a program that works with their existing setup.

For more information on Perka Flex Points, visit the company’s website. The app is free to customers, but merchants will pay $50 per location per month.

Signpost Shifts Focus to Marketing Campaigns and Promotions

More and more small businesses have begun questioning the validity of daily deals services like Groupon in recent months. But many local businesses still need a way to boost sales and get customers through the door in a tough economy.

Enter Signpost, an online advertising startup that used to offer deals similar to those found on sites like Groupon, but now offers a different way for local businesses to run promotions and manage their marketing efforts.

Signpost used to offer local business deals that were ongoing and didn’t expire. But toward the end of 2012, the company shifted its focus to software that helps businesses automate and run marketing campaigns and promotions. Said VP of Marketing at Signpost Jacco de Bruijn:

“Our distribution of campaigns is not focused on reaching deal seekers that signed up for a deal email, instead we work with web and mobile partners that feature a local business as part of search results, local content or business listings.”

To use the marketing tool, you simply provide some information about your company and allow Signpost to put together a marketing campaign that is automatically syndicated to search engines, local media sites, directories and mobile apps. Signpost partners with other sites and services such as Google and eBay in order to reach consumers. Across all of Signpost’s partner sites, there are about 75 million consumers that can be reached through these marketing campaigns.

The photo above shows how businesses can track their marketing campaigns and statistics. It shows how many consumers are viewing and taking advantage of an offer, and also where deals are being seen and which of Signpost’s partner sites are featuring the offer.

De Bruijn said that this type of promotion can help businesses both gain and keep more high quality customers - those who are more likely to become loyal customers rather than those who are just searching for easy deals.

In addition to helping local businesses reach new customers and run ad campaigns, Signpost also gives mobile and online publishers access to relevant ad content from local businesses.

Signpost originally launched at the end of 2010, and the company raised $4 million during a Series A funding round with Google Ventures and Spark Capital. The company currently works with 6,000 clients in the U.S. and is headquartered in Manhattan, with an additional office in Austin, Texas.

5 Tips to Help Your Loyalty Program Succeed

If your small business is still issuing punch cards for your loyalty program, you’re already behind the competition. Thanks to easy-to-use software like Perka Flex Points, small businesses can launch an app-based loyalty program as sophisticated as their larger competitors.

“For the typical merchant, the cost and complexity of operating a true loyalty program can be prohibitive, often requiring integration to a POS system,” said Alan Chung, CEO of Perka. “Flex Points will let a business owner quickly set up a seamless, sophisticated loyalty rewards program as easily as offering a punch card.”

But before you launch your first digital rewards program, here are a few basic suggestions from small business experts.

• Use your loyalty program to differentiate your brand. Like everything else your small business does for customers, your loyalty program only brings the customers in. It’s your job to give those customers an additional incentive to keep coming back. By offering personalized service or fun, unique rewards, your small business will set itself apart from the competition. There are plenty of businesses nearby, so it’s important to show that you appreciate your customers by rewarding them.
• Be relevant. While points-based loyalty programs can be versatile and flexible, it’s important to keep in mind that your customers want rewards that are meaningful to them. You know your customers well, so be sure to tailor rewards to their individual needs or, if that isn’t an option, provide a variety of choices for cashing in rewards.
• Offer a unique or highly-coveted top-tier reward for VIP customers. If an extremely valuable reward is given to customers who earn the most points, customers may strive to reach that number. The more points they earn, the more they’ve spent in your location.
• Learn about your customers. This is the prime opportunity to learn more about the customers who frequent your business regularly. Loyalty programs like Perka Flex Points provide analytics to help business owners track the behavior of customers. This not only gives businesses information about the effectiveness of the program, but also gain detailed insights into customer purchasing habits and preferences. This information can be used to improve your business model and your rewards program to better serve your most loyal customers.
• Keep it simple. Your rewards program should be as straightforward as possible, devoid of tricky fine print. Minimize rules and restrictions and allow your customers the freedom and flexibility they need when they’re choosing how to cash in those points.

By choosing a loyalty program that can easily be stored on a user’s smartphone, small businesses will equip customers with the easy-to-use interface they need. Perka Flex Points provides easy setup and interactivity with POS systems, helping them implement a program that works with their existing setup.

For more information on Perka Flex Points, visit the company’s website. The app is free to customers, but merchants will pay $50 per location per month.

Family Businesses Gear Up for Growth, But Stumbling Blocks Remain

After a few years of caution, U.S. family businesses are feeling optimistic and ready to grow again, according to PwC U.S.’s third Family Business Survey. Some 93 percent of U.S. family business owners feel confident about their future growth prospects, compared to 81 percent of family business owners globally.

That’s not to say it’s all smooth sailing.

The economy is still a key issue for family businesses in the coming year, with 68 percent saying market conditions are a primary concern. However, that’s down from 88 percent who were worried about market conditions in the prior survey two years ago.

In addition to greater optimism about external factors, family businesses in the U.S. also feel more confident about their internal operations, with more than three-fourths saying they plan to pass their business on to the next generation (up from 55 percent two years ago).

Although family businesses are planning growth, they’re not rushing into it but instead taking a long-term view. The majority (82 percent) say they plan to grow steadily over the next five years. Just 11 percent of businesses say they will grow quickly and aggressively.

Overall, however, family businesses are taking a more proactive stance seeking opportunities for growth. Companies in the study were focused on investing in innovation and expanding to international markets. More than half (58 percent) see innovation as key to growth, while almost half (47 percent) are expanding overseas, and 54 percent expect to do so in the future. This is a significant increase from the 30 percent who had plans to sell internationally two years ago.

What are the biggest challenges for family businesses, and how can they overcome them PwC identified two key areas:

Talent Shortage - Both Internal and External

More than half (52 percent) say it’s hard to find employees with the skills they need to compete. Within the family, succession planning is a concern, with 50 percent worried that the next generation doesn’t have the skills or drive to lead the business going forward.

What can they do

Focus on grooming successors now. Succession planning is still a stumbling point for family businesses, with 38 percent of the survey respondents saying this is a major challenge for them. Develop a plan and work to ensure your family members will be ready to move into key positions when the time comes. If they don’t have the aptitude or desire, your plan should involve developing talent among non-family key employees or bringing in outside expertise.

Even among those family business owners who plan to pass ownership of the business on to their heirs, 24 percent say they will bring in outside management to help run the business.

Technology Changes

Family business owners see technology as a double-edged sword. While technology has enabled many family businesses to scale and thrive, the rapid pace of change makes it hard to keep up. More than one-third (39 percent) say the need for new technology will be a substantial challenge for them over the next five years.

What can they do

Take advantage of the younger generation’s natural relationship with technology. Groom in-house talent to keep up with technological change and learn the IT skills that will be needed to keep your business competitive in the future. Then give the younger family members the freedom to make real changes in how your business is run.

What challenges is your family business facing this year and beyond

Farming Couple Photo via Shutterstock

5 Tips to Help Your Loyalty Program Succeed

If your small business is still issuing punch cards for your loyalty program, you’re already behind the competition. Thanks to easy-to-use software like Perka Flex Points, small businesses can launch an app-based loyalty program as sophisticated as their larger competitors.

“For the typical merchant, the cost and complexity of operating a true loyalty program can be prohibitive, often requiring integration to a POS system,” said Alan Chung, CEO of Perka. “Flex Points will let a business owner quickly set up a seamless, sophisticated loyalty rewards program as easily as offering a punch card.”

But before you launch your first digital rewards program, here are a few basic suggestions from small business experts.

• Use your loyalty program to differentiate your brand. Like everything else your small business does for customers, your loyalty program only brings the customers in. It’s your job to give those customers an additional incentive to keep coming back. By offering personalized service or fun, unique rewards, your small business will set itself apart from the competition. There are plenty of businesses nearby, so it’s important to show that you appreciate your customers by rewarding them.
• Be relevant. While points-based loyalty programs can be versatile and flexible, it’s important to keep in mind that your customers want rewards that are meaningful to them. You know your customers well, so be sure to tailor rewards to their individual needs or, if that isn’t an option, provide a variety of choices for cashing in rewards.
• Offer a unique or highly-coveted top-tier reward for VIP customers. If an extremely valuable reward is given to customers who earn the most points, customers may strive to reach that number. The more points they earn, the more they’ve spent in your location.
• Learn about your customers. This is the prime opportunity to learn more about the customers who frequent your business regularly. Loyalty programs like Perka Flex Points provide analytics to help business owners track the behavior of customers. This not only gives businesses information about the effectiveness of the program, but also gain detailed insights into customer purchasing habits and preferences. This information can be used to improve your business model and your rewards program to better serve your most loyal customers.
• Keep it simple. Your rewards program should be as straightforward as possible, devoid of tricky fine print. Minimize rules and restrictions and allow your customers the freedom and flexibility they need when they’re choosing how to cash in those points.

By choosing a loyalty program that can easily be stored on a user’s smartphone, small businesses will equip customers with the easy-to-use interface they need. Perka Flex Points provides easy setup and interactivity with POS systems, helping them implement a program that works with their existing setup.

For more information on Perka Flex Points, visit the company’s website. The app is free to customers, but merchants will pay $50 per location per month.

5 Things Small Businesses Can Do to Improve Customers’ Online Experiences

I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. 

Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner’s success. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa’s small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit http://visa.com/business.

The small business world is increasingly told that online presence is essential to a person’s online experience. But a website is only as good as its usability and, if a site is too hard to use, a customer will leave and never come back.

As a business works hard to put together a website, there are a few things that can be done to improve the experience for its visitors. Today’s successful websites focus on accessibility across multiple platforms and ease-of use. To create an experience that makes your customers glad they came by, follow these five helpful tips.

• Simplify. Resist the urge to add fancy graphics and unnecessary extras like Flash players. The key to keeping customers around is providing quick load times and straightforward menus. Ask yourself what the average customer would want when visiting your site and address those needs with navigation that easily helps them find it.
• Update regularly. If your news section was last updated in early 2011, you may as well not have a news section at all. Set one section of your site aside for fresh content and make an effort to update it on a regular basis. Include online specials and new product announcements in this section, which will bring people back over and over again.
• Keep it short. Just as useful, relevant, regularly-updated content is crucial, a little goes a long way. Online users grow bored easily, so your copy should be a few hundred words at most. Adding a picture can help enhance the visual appeal of mounds of text.
• Include contact information. Believe it or not, this is a feature that seems to be overlooked far too often. If you rely on local business, include a local phone number and the hours that number is manned. Otherwise, a contact form and toll-free number will suffice. If you choose to take phone contact completely out as an option, be sure you respond promptly to any e-mails or request forms you receive. You’ll quickly lose business if customers find you hard to reach. Increasingly, businesses are finding live chat helpful for interacting with consumers on customer service matters.
• Use analytics. Pay attention to what your visitors are doing. Which sections of your site are most popular If you sell items, are customers abandoning the shopping cart at a certain point This information can be priceless in helping you find out what parts of your site aren’t working.

Whether your website serves as an online storefront, taking orders and payments, or simply as an information resource, your website should reflect those goals. Instead of trying to dazzle customers with how great your site looks, redirect your efforts to providing great content. Give customers the information they seek and an easy, fun experience and, chances are, they’ll stick around to enjoy your site longer.

5 Things Small Businesses Can Do to Improve Customers’ Online Experiences

I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. 

Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner’s success. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa’s small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit http://visa.com/business.

The small business world is increasingly told that online presence is essential to a person’s online experience. But a website is only as good as its usability and, if a site is too hard to use, a customer will leave and never come back.

As a business works hard to put together a website, there are a few things that can be done to improve the experience for its visitors. Today’s successful websites focus on accessibility across multiple platforms and ease-of use. To create an experience that makes your customers glad they came by, follow these five helpful tips.

• Simplify. Resist the urge to add fancy graphics and unnecessary extras like Flash players. The key to keeping customers around is providing quick load times and straightforward menus. Ask yourself what the average customer would want when visiting your site and address those needs with navigation that easily helps them find it.
• Update regularly. If your news section was last updated in early 2011, you may as well not have a news section at all. Set one section of your site aside for fresh content and make an effort to update it on a regular basis. Include online specials and new product announcements in this section, which will bring people back over and over again.
• Keep it short. Just as useful, relevant, regularly-updated content is crucial, a little goes a long way. Online users grow bored easily, so your copy should be a few hundred words at most. Adding a picture can help enhance the visual appeal of mounds of text.
• Include contact information. Believe it or not, this is a feature that seems to be overlooked far too often. If you rely on local business, include a local phone number and the hours that number is manned. Otherwise, a contact form and toll-free number will suffice. If you choose to take phone contact completely out as an option, be sure you respond promptly to any e-mails or request forms you receive. You’ll quickly lose business if customers find you hard to reach. Increasingly, businesses are finding live chat helpful for interacting with consumers on customer service matters.
• Use analytics. Pay attention to what your visitors are doing. Which sections of your site are most popular If you sell items, are customers abandoning the shopping cart at a certain point This information can be priceless in helping you find out what parts of your site aren’t working.

Whether your website serves as an online storefront, taking orders and payments, or simply as an information resource, your website should reflect those goals. Instead of trying to dazzle customers with how great your site looks, redirect your efforts to providing great content. Give customers the information they seek and an easy, fun experience and, chances are, they’ll stick around to enjoy your site longer.

Webroot launches mobile suite of SDKs and APIs

Webroot has launched a portfolio of internet security solutions to offer mobile technology providers easily deployable services for mobile.

Named the Webroot Security Intelligence for Mobile Suite, it said that this allows users to use software development kits and APIs to integrate their own products with Webroot's malware, anti-virus protection, web filtering, app reputation and secure browsing capabilities and to offer users a sophisticated and comprehensive mobile application reputation database.

Drawing on its cloud-based security intelligence service, Webroot Intelligence Network, Mark Hanson, vice president of strategic alliance at Webroot, said that the suite will provide partners with a comprehensive portfolio of security solutions and management tools.

“As threats continue to evolve and mobility becomes a key priority for businesses, our partners must make security a core element in their product strategies,” he said.

Fortinet launches feature-rich security appliance for enterprises and MSSPs

Fortinet has launched a new network security appliance for enterprises and managed security service providers (MSSPs).

According to the company, the FortiGate-3600C, which runs its FortiOS 5 operating system, includes enhanced performance and integrated security functionality such as intrusion prevention, application control and a firewall. It also contains advanced threat detection, which uses behavioral-based detection in conjunction with a cloud-based reputation system that tracks botnets and elements of their threat life cycle, can easily be enabled and configured.

It also said that it can be deployed as an ultra-low latency firewall for enterprise networks, or as a unified threat management (UTM) device for MSSPs or distributed enterprise networks.

Darren Turnbull, vice president of the Fortinet CTO office, told SC Magazine that using its ASIC network, everything is sent via the CPU box to optimise performance. “We need to stop looking at application performance as someone can change it, it doesn't translate into security where A talks to B. The next-generation firewall should be about more security, not less,” he said.

“We don't want to trade of performance for security; these technologies are not cheap to build and with so many features, it is a challenge to configure it.”

Patrick Bedwell, vice president of products for Fortinet, said: “While it delivers outstanding next-generation firewall functionality, this new platform's versatility is equally impressive when deployed as a multi-threat security platform for large distributed enterprises.”

5 Things Small Businesses Can Do to Improve Customers’ Online Experiences

I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. 

Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner’s success. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa’s small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit http://visa.com/business.

The small business world is increasingly told that online presence is essential to a person’s online experience. But a website is only as good as its usability and, if a site is too hard to use, a customer will leave and never come back.

As a business works hard to put together a website, there are a few things that can be done to improve the experience for its visitors. Today’s successful websites focus on accessibility across multiple platforms and ease-of use. To create an experience that makes your customers glad they came by, follow these five helpful tips.

• Simplify. Resist the urge to add fancy graphics and unnecessary extras like Flash players. The key to keeping customers around is providing quick load times and straightforward menus. Ask yourself what the average customer would want when visiting your site and address those needs with navigation that easily helps them find it.
• Update regularly. If your news section was last updated in early 2011, you may as well not have a news section at all. Set one section of your site aside for fresh content and make an effort to update it on a regular basis. Include online specials and new product announcements in this section, which will bring people back over and over again.
• Keep it short. Just as useful, relevant, regularly-updated content is crucial, a little goes a long way. Online users grow bored easily, so your copy should be a few hundred words at most. Adding a picture can help enhance the visual appeal of mounds of text.
• Include contact information. Believe it or not, this is a feature that seems to be overlooked far too often. If you rely on local business, include a local phone number and the hours that number is manned. Otherwise, a contact form and toll-free number will suffice. If you choose to take phone contact completely out as an option, be sure you respond promptly to any e-mails or request forms you receive. You’ll quickly lose business if customers find you hard to reach. Increasingly, businesses are finding live chat helpful for interacting with consumers on customer service matters.
• Use analytics. Pay attention to what your visitors are doing. Which sections of your site are most popular If you sell items, are customers abandoning the shopping cart at a certain point This information can be priceless in helping you find out what parts of your site aren’t working.

Whether your website serves as an online storefront, taking orders and payments, or simply as an information resource, your website should reflect those goals. Instead of trying to dazzle customers with how great your site looks, redirect your efforts to providing great content. Give customers the information they seek and an easy, fun experience and, chances are, they’ll stick around to enjoy your site longer.

20 Tricks of the Trade to Develop Superior Customer Service

Every brand has a mandate to attract new customers at all times. Indeed, attracting new customers is one sure way to guarantee funds without going bankrupt.

Everyone has an opinion about the way their customers feel towards them. The more you show that you care about your customer, the more they’ll likely want to continue patronizing you and recommending new customers.

With that in mind, providing good customer service to your clients should naturally be a major priority in your day-to-day schedule.

Here are 20 “tricks of the trade” to develop superior customer service that will also attract new customers:

1. Respond to Clients as Soon as Possible

Speed is everything, especially when a client is requesting something that’s time sensitive. When you respond to your clients swiftly, they are satisfied and will hold nothing back at recommending your brand.

2. Keep Clients Updated

Let your customers know what you’re working on and how things are progressing, give them reinforcement that they’re involved. Hence, you must bring your customers up to date - always.

3. Show Them You Care

Put your customers first. It’s rare to find good customer support, but you can get a jump on the competition and attract new customers by focusing on this crucial area of your business. Show them you really care and you will earn their patronage.

4. Listen Carefully

Do you clearly understand the needs of your customer Listening intensely to what they have to say creates a great rapport.

5. Understand Your Customer’s Needs and Meet Them

Listen to the “voice of the customer” and take action accordingly. Listening to customers can be done in many ways. For example, using feedback forms and satisfaction surveys. Listen to ensure decisions benefit the customer as much as your company.

6. Be Consistent

Customers expect consistent quality of service. Acting nice today and acting nasty another day will only scare your customers away. Be consistent and follow through. Let them know that consistency is really what you are about.

7. Open Communication Channels

The customer wants to contact you in many ways - face to face, by mail, phone, fax, and email - and will expect all of these communication channels to be open and easily accessible. Therefore, put in place adequate measures to be reached when you are needed.

8. Reward Customers

Put in place an adequate reward system for your customers. When you do this, you increase the confidence customers have in your brand. Reward them adequately and on time for that which you have gained from them.

9. Know Your Customer Value

One way to know this is to interact highly with your customers. When you are close to them, you are able to draw an inference on what they want. Mingle closely with them to gain whatever information necessary.

10. Stay in Contact

Encourage customers by staying in touch with them through a blog, newsletter, or some other means that affords ongoing communication. Just ensure that you keep the conversation going.

11.Don’t Make Promises Unless You Intend to Keep Them

Reliability is crucial to any good relationship and good customer service is no exception. Think before you make promises - because nothing annoys customers more than a broken one.

12. Deal with Complaints

No one likes hearing complaints, so it’s little wonder why many hate when folks complain. Deal with customer complaints maturely and you will reap the benefits of good customer service.

13. Be Helpful - Even if There’s No Immediate Profit

Be open to being helpful at all times. Do not be nice only when there’s a reward in it for you. Helping your clients, even when they least expect it, will impress them and build their trust in you.

14.Take the Extra Step

If you want to provide good customer service, go beyond what your clients want. Going the extra mile surely adds a sense of satisfaction.

15. Stay Loyal

Loyalty is key to attracting new customers. When your existing customers know that you are loyal, they hold nothing back when it comes to introducing new customers to you and your business. This is marketing that is done passively for you.

16. Introduce Promotions

In a bid to get your customers glued to your brand, introducing mouth watering promotions can act like magic. Promotions that provide true savings and value causes current customers to introduce others to you and your business in an effort to pass those savings along.

17. Throw a Party

Here’s a thought. Why not throw parties for your customers It’s an opportunity for customers to meet, for you to cultivate relationships with them, for you to gain an understanding of what they want and why they purchased from you, and it builds a sense of community - they might even bring a friend. Lexus, the luxury vehicle division of Toyota Motor Corporation, has programs such as this in place.  One of them is featured in the video below:

18. Keep Them Up to Speed

If the need for you to raise prices occurs, inform your customers in advance. Their feedback will serve as a good measure to know if they welcome the change or not and it also provides them the opportunity to make purchases prior to the price hike.

19. Be Appreciative

Say thank you at all times for your clients’ patronage. Never feel above being thankful.  After all, you are in business because of them.

20. Build Trust

There are various ways in which you can build trust and providing consistent value is one of them. Decide which works best for you and carve a niche around it.

Master these items above and before long, you’ll be amazed at how loyal your customers become to your brand.  Never forget that more customers, equals more profit. Therefore you have all the opportunity in the world to increase your customer base by putting in place top notch customer service.

NYC Events: Upcoming NYC Business and Technology Events (1/24 - 1/31)

Below is a listing of NYC Business and Technology Events for the upcoming week (1/24 - 1/31) that we thought would be beneficial to our small business community in the Greater NYC area.

Sales and Marketing Clinic - Get More Sales and Loyal Customers

January 24 - 6pm - 8:30pm, Alley NYC, 500 7th Avenue (17th Floor) New York, NY 10018 (Between 37th  and 38th Streets)

In this 2.5 hour clinic, join Ramon Ray, Infusionsoft’s sales & marketing evangelist as he teaches you Lifecycle Marketing. Lifecycle Marketing is a 7 step system which helps you attract traffic, capture leads, nurture prospects, convert to sales, deliver and satisfy, upsell and get referrals.

USP’s Small Biz 2.0: Using the Web to Your Advantage

January 24th, 6pm @ Wix Lounge 10 West 18th St, 2nd Floor, NY.

Small Biz 2.0 is a free workshop hosted by the Union Square Partnership. Led by Ashley Gallman Williams, Client Relations and Event Manager at Wix Lounge.  The workshop is designed to show your business how to get the most out of the web for your business.  Topics will include picking and securing a domain name, email management, and the utilization of social media.

 

Writing Your Business Plan: A Road Map To Success

January 26th, 11am - 5pm @Science Industry and Business Library (SIBL), 188 Madison Avenue, between 34th and 35th Streets New York, NY

Developing a business plan can be a challenge. This seminar is designed to guide you through the process from identifying your customers to financing your business. It will cover why you need a plan, how to think about marketing, setting your business goals and assessing your financial needs. A business plan is a must, whether or not you are seeking financing, and this seminar is a must for entrepreneurs.

 

 

Email Marketing Into Success: A Crash Course in Email For Business Executives

January 29th, 7pm - 9pm @ Ajax Union 41 EAST 11th Street New York, NY 10003

We invite you to join CEO Joe Apfelbaum, a Certified Google Trainer, as he teaches you Email Marketing strategies. This seminar will focus on using the power of effective emails to Located at our cozy Ajax Union office in Union Square, NYC, this event will teach you to build, manage, and grow your business by correctly using these marketing strategies.

 

Search and Social Leadership Forum

January 30th, 8:30am - 12:30pm @ 11 West 42nd Street, Room 421, New York, NY 10036

The social media and search worlds are colliding causing big opportunities as well as major challenges for marketers and communicators. This leadership forum will focus on demonstrating case studies of how leading brands are integrating their social and search strategies and campaigns.

 

Lemonade Heroesâ„¢ Yacht Party and Audition for TV Series!

January 30th, 6pm - 10pm @ Pier 40 New York, NY 10012

Join us for an evening of fun with entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, advisors, media, executives, journalists, young professionals, and our video production crew! With spectacular panoramic views of the Hudson River and midtown, you’ll be in the company of like-minded entrepreneurs, both aspiring and accomplished.

 

EFactor Presents: Harnessing the Power of Big Data for Small Business Using Microsoft Excel

January 31st, 6pm - 9pm @ The NYU-Poly DUMBO Incubator, 20 Jay St - Suite 312, Brooklyn, New York City, New York NY 11201United States

This event will discuss a new field in information technology called “Big Data” and ways small business owners can apply the techniques of Big Data to their own businesses using Microsoft Excel.

NYC Events: Upcoming NYC Business and Technology Events (1/24 - 1/31)

Below is a listing of NYC Business and Technology Events for the upcoming week (1/24 - 1/31) that we thought would be beneficial to our small business community in the Greater NYC area.

Sales and Marketing Clinic - Get More Sales and Loyal Customers

January 24 - 6pm - 8:30pm, Alley NYC, 500 7th Avenue (17th Floor) New York, NY 10018 (Between 37th  and 38th Streets)

In this 2.5 hour clinic, join Ramon Ray, Infusionsoft’s sales & marketing evangelist as he teaches you Lifecycle Marketing. Lifecycle Marketing is a 7 step system which helps you attract traffic, capture leads, nurture prospects, convert to sales, deliver and satisfy, upsell and get referrals.

USP’s Small Biz 2.0: Using the Web to Your Advantage

January 24th, 6pm @ Wix Lounge 10 West 18th St, 2nd Floor, NY.

Small Biz 2.0 is a free workshop hosted by the Union Square Partnership. Led by Ashley Gallman Williams, Client Relations and Event Manager at Wix Lounge.  The workshop is designed to show your business how to get the most out of the web for your business.  Topics will include picking and securing a domain name, email management, and the utilization of social media.

 

Writing Your Business Plan: A Road Map To Success

January 26th, 11am - 5pm @Science Industry and Business Library (SIBL), 188 Madison Avenue, between 34th and 35th Streets New York, NY

Developing a business plan can be a challenge. This seminar is designed to guide you through the process from identifying your customers to financing your business. It will cover why you need a plan, how to think about marketing, setting your business goals and assessing your financial needs. A business plan is a must, whether or not you are seeking financing, and this seminar is a must for entrepreneurs.

 

 

Email Marketing Into Success: A Crash Course in Email For Business Executives

January 29th, 7pm - 9pm @ Ajax Union 41 EAST 11th Street New York, NY 10003

We invite you to join CEO Joe Apfelbaum, a Certified Google Trainer, as he teaches you Email Marketing strategies. This seminar will focus on using the power of effective emails to Located at our cozy Ajax Union office in Union Square, NYC, this event will teach you to build, manage, and grow your business by correctly using these marketing strategies.

 

Search and Social Leadership Forum

January 30th, 8:30am - 12:30pm @ 11 West 42nd Street, Room 421, New York, NY 10036

The social media and search worlds are colliding causing big opportunities as well as major challenges for marketers and communicators. This leadership forum will focus on demonstrating case studies of how leading brands are integrating their social and search strategies and campaigns.

 

Lemonade Heroesâ„¢ Yacht Party and Audition for TV Series!

January 30th, 6pm - 10pm @ Pier 40 New York, NY 10012

Join us for an evening of fun with entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, advisors, media, executives, journalists, young professionals, and our video production crew! With spectacular panoramic views of the Hudson River and midtown, you’ll be in the company of like-minded entrepreneurs, both aspiring and accomplished.

 

EFactor Presents: Harnessing the Power of Big Data for Small Business Using Microsoft Excel

January 31st, 6pm - 9pm @ The NYU-Poly DUMBO Incubator, 20 Jay St - Suite 312, Brooklyn, New York City, New York NY 11201United States

This event will discuss a new field in information technology called “Big Data” and ways small business owners can apply the techniques of Big Data to their own businesses using Microsoft Excel.

Beginner Social Media Tips for Local Business Marketing

Local businesses that don’t use social media platforms are missing out on opportunities that could attract more customers and help them reach new markets. When you want a local business to thrive, you have to include social media in your marketing plan.  Start with these items below:

Keep up With Current Trends

Twitter Photo via Shutterstock

When you look at the number of people using social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, it quickly becomes obvious that businesses need to make this an essential part of their marketing strategy.

A local search study conducted by Localeze, comScore, and 15 Miles shows that 63 percent of the 4,000 people surveyed prefer using local businesses that offer information on social networks.

Websites like Facebook have become so prevalent, that people simply expect to find everything they need there. If they don’t find a business, they simply move on to a similar option that maintains a better online presence.

Establish a Brand Identity

Establish Your Brand Photo via Shutterstock

Local businesses face a lot of competition from larger corporations that often sell products at lower prices. As a smaller business, you have to convince potential customers that it makes sense for them to come to your store instead of that big box store with the big discounts.

Establishing a brand identity can help bring in customers who crave a personal shopping experience. Social media lets you create a personality for your business. Instead of a faceless corporation, you can make your local business seem more organic.

Using Twitter, for instance, gives your business a voice. Choose a voice that targets and motivates your intended audience.

Reach Out to New Customers

Reach New Customers Photo via Shutterstock

Social media lets people share content with each other just by clicking a button. Local businesses can use this trait to reach new customers. To do this, though, you need compelling content.

Shareable content isn’t necessarily as difficult or expensive as you might think. Try using YouTube to let your customers get a behind-the-scenes look at your store. If you have a creative spark, you could even spice things up with music, a plot, or a humorous script.

Get Your Customers Involved

Social Media Deals Photo via Shutterstock

If you’re going to get the most out of Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and other social media outlets, then you have to be social. When you create content about your business, you’re not sending it out to an audience that never has a chance to respond. You’re communicating with people who can offer their own comments and suggestions.

Local businesses have several options that can get their customers more involved. You could set up a contest for people who share a photo or video advertising your business. Those who share the content get a chance to win a gift card.  You can also use services like Twitter and Foursquare to advertise limited-time deals. That can boost business on slow days.

Social media will continue to become more important to businesses of all sizes.

Which aspects of social media serve your business best

ICO fines Sony quarter of a million for 2011 security breach

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a fine of £250,000 to Sony for security failures around its Playstation Network breach in 2011.

According to the ICO, the monetary penalty was issued because of the breach of users of the Sony Playstation Network platform, compromising users' names, addresses, email addresses and passwords.

The ICO said that its investigation revealed that the attack could have been prevented if the software had been up to date, while technical developments also meant passwords were not secure.

David Smith, deputy commissioner and director of data protection, said: “If you are responsible for so many payment card details and log-in details, then keeping that personal data secure has to be your priority. In this case that just didn't happen, and when the database was targeted - albeit in a determined criminal attack - the security measures in place were simply not good enough.

“There's no disguising that this is a business that should have known better. It is a company that trades on its technical expertise, and there's no doubt in my mind that they had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe.

“The penalty we've issued today is clearly substantial, but we make no apologies for that. The case is one of the most serious ever reported to us. It directly affected a huge number of consumers, and at the very least put them at risk of identity theft.”

Security specialist and consultant Bruce Hallas pointed out on Twitter that the size of the fine for three million UK users equated to an eight pence fine per record.

Chris McIntosh, CEO of ViaSat UK, called the news 'wholly positive', but said that this also demonstrates the worrying lack of regard for data protection that exists from a large organisation that should really know better.

“Any organisation trusted with safeguarding the personal details of millions of customers, including payment card details, should ensure it has the most rigorous data security policies in place possible to protect against threats like these,” he said.

“The fact that the data breach could have been avoided by something as simple as a software update shows a worrying lack of regard and a poor perception of the existing threats. The ICO has said one positive outcome of the data breach is it has made consumers more cautious, yet customers should not have to worry about their personal details and the onus should be largely on the data custodian's shoulders.”

Check Point's UK managing director, Terry Greer-King said: “It underlines the fact that companies have to take the protection of customer data seriously, and take steps to prevent that data being accessed.”

Banks faced DDoS attacks in 2012 and prepare for more in 2013

Banks faced the at least one distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack in the last 12 months.

According to research by Corero Network Security and the Ponemon Institute of 351 banks, 64 per cent were hit by DDoS attacks in the past twelve months, while 78 per cent believed that this type of attacks will continue or significantly increase in 2013.

Also, almost half of the respondents (48 per cent) said their banks had suffered multiple DDoS attacks in the past 12 months. Overall, zero-day attacks, phishing and DDoS attacks were deemed to be the greatest challenge to banks.

Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute, said: “It really comes as no surprise that DDoS attacks are one of the most severe security risks cited by the banking industry and these results clearly demonstrate the level to which they are being targeted on a continued basis.

“When such an attack occurs, the time and efforts of IT staff are devoted to dealing with the problem instead of managing other IT operational and security priorities. This leaves financial institutions open to more dangerous attacks that further compromise their infrastructure.”

Traditional firewalls and on-premise anti-DDoS technologies were deemed to be the most popular technologies to prevent and detect these attacks. These are followed by intrusion detection and prevention and anti-virus technologies. However, only 30 per cent of respondents were planning to purchase an anti-DDoS technology in the next six to 12 months.

Marty Meyer, president of Corero, said: “The belief that traditional perimeter security technologies such as firewalls are able to protect against today's DDoS attacks is lulling not only financial institutions but organisations across every sector into a false sense of security.

“Many organisations assume traditional firewalls can provide protection against DDoS and zero-day exploits at the perimeter, yet this is not what they were designed to do and therefore attacks are still getting through. Organisations need to add first line of defense solutions that can provide this protection and are able to remove all of the ‘noise' at the perimeter before it hits the network so that firewalls and servers can optimally work on the functions they were originally designed for.”

BeyondTrust launches PowerBroker for Windows 5.5

BeyondTrust has expanded its PowerBroker solution to support Windows 8.

According to the company, PowerBroker for Windows 5.5 allows users to more effectively manage the risk of their Windows systems with its Retina CS threat management console that provides robust, enterprise-ready analytics and reporting capabilities for PowerBroker Windows deployments.

It said that this new release will allow IT organisations to benefit from system and application vulnerability data to make more informed security strategy decisions based on a system's overall risk and susceptibility to attacks.

Brad Hibbert, executive vice president of product engineering at BeyondTrust, said: “The high velocity of change in today's enterprise infrastructure often means security teams are making critical business decisions based on threats, regardless of the actual context of those threats.

“This new product release allows organizations to make more effective security decisions, by delivering the context that can only be provided by fusing both vulnerability and privileged identity information.”

Kaspersky threat director praises collaboration between researchers

Collaboration between researchers is essential to reverse engineering sophisticated malware.

Speaking to SC Magazine, Costin Raiu, senior security researcher at Kaspersky Lab, said that with threats such as Flame, Gauss and Red October being so large, well encrypted and intelligently coded, a combination of skills is needed to completely give a decent analysis of it.

Raiu said: “We said that it would take ‘ten years to truly understand the Flame code' and people laughed at us, but this was how we put the message out. When we asked for collaboration in understanding Duqu, we got hundreds, if not thousands of replies, and two-thirds of the people helped us solve the mystery.

“There are researchers out there who are amazing and when we announced Red October last week, Seculert CTO Aviv Raff discovered a fourth vector of attack and HD Moore, CTO of Rapid7 and Metasploit project inventor, did a scan of the internet and found a new command and control server (C&C).

“This collaboration sows that people with good skills do help analyse malware threats that are way too complex for one company to analyse.”

Raiu said that with a threat such as Flame, it is so big and complex that it can be a mystery as fragments of code are still unstudied and its purpose is unknown. “There could be more than 20 Flame variants in the wild and the version number is only exchanged in the handshake, but we have seen less than half of them,” he said.

“Also with Gauss, there are two unknown components, and we are talking about not being able to crack them. They are testing the limits of reverse engineering and analysis and the IT security industry. We have a regular resource with the best tools, minds and time.”

Apple Growth Slows Despite Record iPad, iPhone Sales

The most important question you should be asking about your business is what it wants to be when it grows up. Your current sales and customers are the life blood of your company, but you should also think about who will be buying those things from you in the future. Your strategy should always be one of constant growth, seeking to outdistance competitors and discover new markets. Our roundup looks at some ideas to consider.

Survival of the Fittest

Back to the future. Apple has enjoyed steady growth in recent years, but that trend is changing. Numbers show growth is slowing, despite record sales of the company’s top products last quarter. However, it’s not clear where Apple is headed in the future. With no announced plans for new products, the company’s growth path is unclear. The question many ask is where future revenue will come from as sales on current products plateau. Your company must answer the same question. Gigaom

A bigger bite. Martin Lindeskog reviews Stefan Engeseth’s book “Sharkonomics: How to Attack Market Leaders” looking at how smaller “sharks” can attack larger competitors in the deep waters of an ever changing economy. The book also devotes time to how market leaders can defend themselves against these attacks from smaller competitors. No matter what category your business may occupy, there is something here for you. In his review, Lindeskog also pulls out 10 tips smaller businesses can use for attack or defense in a competitive market. Small Business Trends

The Best Defense

From breakdown to breakthrough. No, we’re not advising you to have a breakdown because of the stress of running your business in a highly competitive market.:) Instead, Lew Turnquist explores the need to break down your business model from time to time and find new ways to expand and grow. For example, Turnquist recalls an instance in which a company worried over decreasing profitability despite increase sales. Sound familiar Here’s what a break down found. Kirchner Private Capital Group

A SWOT at the competition. Small business coach Elli St.George Godfrey gives an overview of the SWOT analysis, standing for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. One of the purposes of the SWOT is to look at strategic issues connected with your business, including factors that might impact your company’s strategic future and success. “These are external factors such as obstacles in the marketplace, cash flow issues, new trends, or competitors’ focus,” Godfrey writes. Ability Success Growth

A better workout. Just as exercise is important to keep your body fit, so a business strategy workout can help you get rid of bad habits in your day-to-day operations and make your company more fit and competitive. Business consultant Olwen Dawe takes your business through its paces in this lively post that gives you an idea of how better to create the business you’ve always wanted. The workout includes research, analysis, creating new products and services, understanding what success for your company should look like and more. Start exercising your business today. Tweak Your Biz

The Digital Arena

A face in the crowd. Sometimes the best way to move your business forward lies with your audience or customer base. The people who buy your product or use your service are probably best equipped to tell you what they need next. Blogger Julie Joyce suggests this same crowdsourcing approach can work well for creating your content and telling your company’s story. Here Joyce takes a poll to see what other Search Engine Optimization professionals think of crowdsourcing content. SEO Chicks

The perfect words. With the coming of online marketing, the emphasis on keyword research has totally changed the way we think about the competition and about how to effectively grow a business in a competitive market. Here blogger D. Dixon looks at a new kind of competitor, not a rival company making a similar product, but the competition for a keyword or series of keywords to be used in a cost per click campaign. Here’s how to research your competition correctly. 1 Singular Sensation