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May 30, 2014 by Vertical Axion
In marketing parlance, it’s called the “up sell” and sometimes the side-sell, and its purpose from your company’s point of view is to do just what the title of this piece says. When your customers open their wallets or pull out their credit cards, you want to see more of those dollars in your cash […]
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May 29, 2014 by Vertical Axion
It’s an interesting question, and one that managers everywhere would love a definitive answer to, because that’s an easy fix. If all it takes to improve performance is a shirt and tie, a quick mass e-mail and you can go take a long lunch, right? Mission accomplished and productivity up 4-6 points. That’s not a […]
May 28, 2014 by Vertical Axion
Entrepreneurs are a breed apart. The entrepreneurial spirit is not something you can teach; you’ve either got it or you haven’t. Having said that, technology can help to sharpen and enhance your natural skills. Below, you’ll find a marvelous collection of apps that, once you begin using them, you’ll wonder how you ever got by […]
May 27, 2014 by Vertical Axion
One of the biggest problems facing any business is how to handle customer support. Most businesses take the wrong approach towards customer support; they treat it as overhead or expense, when it can, in fact, be the core of making money in almost any company. To make your customer support center pay for itself, you […]
May 26, 2014 by Vertical Axion
Attention Target shoppers, we regret to inform you that up to 40 million of you may have had your credit card information stolen, and up to 70 million may have had some, or all of your personal information compromised. Oops. Have a nice day. Five Months After The Target Data Breach – Lessons Learned Despite […]
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May 23, 2014 by Vertical Axion
First things first, if you haven’t heard of hashtag shopping, you’re not alone. A month after its roll out, it had less than four thousand users, so it’s not like it’s an idea whose time has come. It’s an emerging thing that some companies are toying with right now. The reason it’s news is because […]
May 22, 2014 by Vertical Axion
E-Commerce and auction giant eBay confirmed yesterday that the website did indeed take a hit from hackers, and that the database that contains user passwords and usernames was compromised. At the moment, eBay believes that no financial information was accessed. This means that any payment methods, including eBay-owned PayPal services, should be secure. Still, the […]
May 21, 2014 by Vertical Axion
It’s a tough world out there in business today. You work hard at your business, and you value your staff – their abilities, their dedication to their jobs, and their loyalty to the company. You want to reward your staff, but you’re at a loss as to how to go about it. Well, money is […]
May 20, 2014 by Vertical Axion
It may be somewhat more appropriate to call this article, “How Instagram Changed The Internet.” I say that because Instagram’s surging popularity was the primary reason for both the recent FaceBook redesign, and now Twitter’s. Many people will say that Twitter’s redesign is in many ways a carbon copy of FaceBook’s, and it’s true that […]
May 19, 2014 by Vertical Axion
Training is one of those aspects of running a business that never seems to get a lot of attention, and what press it does get is usually negative. Employees do it only grudgingly, and most businesses take a scatter shot or minimalist approach to it. It often seems to wind up being one of those […]
Sometimes, the worst happens. You’ve got a crew of great people and the bottom falls out. If you don’t let some of them go, everybody gets let go when you have to shut your doors. It’s a no-win situation, but business is driven by the market, by demand. If demand’s not there, you do what […]
May 17, 2014 by Vertical Axion
Game theory is one of the most powerful tools a business (any business) can bring to bear on a problem. It doesn’t matter what it is, game theory can help you solve it. Even better, the solutions offered by game theory in general, and gaming in particular can help your company run better, faster, smoother, […]
May 16, 2014 by Vertical Axion
You’ve probably got a good idea who should be looking at your data, the question is, who actually is looking at your data? One would hope that the two lists were close to, if not exactly identical, but what if they’re not, and how could you possibly know? Depending on the line of work you’re […]
May 15, 2014 by Vertical Axion
Develop Clear Policies On Expenses This is the place to start, not the avenue you take after the abuses begin. You can determine these policies yourself, but it makes sense to include a few key staff, especially if you have not been making your own travel arrangements. Pre-trip planning must follow a checklist, such as […]
May 14, 2014 by Vertical Axion
Whether you operate an online retail store, a brick and mortar shop or a combination, it is crucial to review and reexamine your product line at regular intervals. Don’t wait until you see a dip in sales, and never be satisfied with the status quo. Tweaking your product range just a little can encourage sales, […]
May 13, 2014 by Vertical Axion
While most employees are perfectly willing to take incentives and bonuses whenever they’re offered, there is more to motivating your sales force than throwing money at them. Tapping into the more relational elements of personnel motivation can help your team feel more fulfilled in their job and increase their loyalty to the company as an […]
May 12, 2014 by Vertical Axion
The title posts a perfectly fair and legitimate question. With so much in our world changing so quickly, it’s often good to check even our most basic, bedrock assumptions to see if they still apply. To answer the question posed, let’s first look at the “Four P’s” themselves and see what makes them tick. It […]
May 10, 2014 by Vertical Axion
Profiting via giveaways works in retail outlets to this day. Create a “loss leader” to lure people into the store – this would either be a free product or something so deeply discounted that it may as well be free – then once they’re in the store, make strategic recommendations about other stuff they need […]
May 9, 2014 by Vertical Axion
If you get the itch to amble over to the window or wander down to the break room when you hit a creative wall it may be you should give in to the impulse. Far from being off task or a time waster, walking appears to be a critical tool to improving productivity and innovative […]
May 8, 2014 by Vertical Axion
The secret to writing a financial business plan that gets you financed – which is the real measure of its success – is to stay organized and concise. Exactly how to do that and convey all the information you need to convey about your new business idea will be fully explored just below. Here’s what […]
May 7, 2014 by Vertical Axion
It’s a dream come true for every kid who owned a Lego set growing up. The idea of a “modular” phone. Thank Google for it when it hits the market, and make no mistake, it very definitely will. You can put “Project Ara” down as yet another of the whole spate of transformational technologies that […]
May 6, 2014 by Vertical Axion
Procrastination is a tricky habit to break but it is far from impossible. First you need to determine why you put things off. Next you want to develop a plan that will fit well within the matrix of your reasons for procrastination and the tasks you need to complete. Finally, you must trust yourself and […]
May 5, 2014 by Vertical Axion
Information is power, but it is also much more than simply that. It is the first principle of business, and as such, it must form the foundation of all your efforts. Of course, you definitely need to know what your competitors are capable of, but in doing so, never forget that you must also know […]
May 3, 2014 by Vertical Axion
In the 1980′s, outsourcing, “right sizing,” and off-shoring was all the rage, but if you’re currently thinking about locating your Help Desk to India, rethink it. You missed the outsourcing window by at least a decade, and probably closer to two. These days, the trend is for “re-sourcing.” Bringing things we once sent overseas back […]
