Three Things You Should Know Before Choosing AdWords Express

Three Things You Should Know Before Choosing AdWords Express

By linda linklink   10:32 AM   No comments:

Online advertising is a powerful, affordable way to grow your business, but you have to start with the right tools. Many small businesses are interested in reaching new customers online, but don’t know where to start, and don’t have much time to spare. As Benoit Ballon – the owner of King Florist in Austin, Texas – puts it, “We just wanted a platform where we would be able to keep it simple. For our small business, that’s a big plus.”

For business owners like Benoit, we recommend AdWords Express, a smart advertising tool from Google that’s designed to manage your ads for you, helping you get the most out of your budget and allowing you to stay focused on your business. A lot has been written about choosing the best product for you, and it can be overwhelming to sift through everyone’s recommendations. So if you’re considering AdWords Express for your online ads, here are the top three things we think you should know:

1. It uses expert techniques to manage campaigns for you.
   AdWords Express is constantly fine-tuning your campaigns. It monitors how often and where your ad appears on Google (and across the web), adjusts spend, and makes sure your ad is placed in front of the right people, to help you maximize the number of clicks or calls for the budget you selected.
2. It’s designed to make setup easy and results clear.
   Setting up your first AdWords Express ad takes just 15 minutes – it’s as simple as answering a few questions about your business. Once your campaign has had some time to run, AdWords Express shows you focused results – including views, clicks, and calls – in an easy-to-read dashboard, available on desktop and in the mobile app. You’ll also get an email of your results every month, so you can keep track of things right from your inbox.
3. It’s improving along with the rest of Google.
   One of the best features of AdWords Express is the work it does on your behalf, and we’re making it even smarter with cutting edge technology from Google Brain. We also recently announced the addition of Google Analytics to help advertisers get even deeper insights into their performance. We’re constantly improving AdWords Express, so keep an eye out for even more features in the coming months.

For Benoit at King Florist, the difference AdWords Express makes clear. “With AdWords Express, we can actually see an increase in business. If tomorrow I turn off the AdWords Express campaign, two or three days later I can feel it. The phone isn’t ringing as much. Our presence online isn't as much. Every day, on one of our campaigns there is an impact.”

AdWords Express is designed to be effective for all types of business and all sizes of budget, so sign up today and get it working for you. To see a full list of features, and more information on choosing between AdWords Express and AdWords (including a detailed comparison), visit our help center.

Posted by Kavi Goel, Senior Product Manager, AdWords Express

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Use Online Reviews to Connect with Back-to-School Customers

Use Online Reviews to Connect with Back-to-School Customers

By linda linklink   2:38 PM   No comments:

It’s time to get down to business for back-to-school. During this time, students, teachers and parents are relying on reviews while searching online for everything from notebooks to new clothes to campus coffee shops. In fact, 3 in 4 consumers say it’s important to read reviews before visiting a business.¹

Business owners like Brian Wood of Sureflow Rooter see the value in customer reviews. “We often ask our customers how they found us: online, word of mouth or advertising? We have been pleasantly surprised to hear them say ‘from Google’ and that they liked our reviews and felt comfortable calling us.”

Small business owners looking to make a good impression on back-to-school shoppers should use tools like Google My Business which allow you to engage with, and manage, customer reviews. Below are a few tips to help you get started:

Tip #1: Just ask
Satisfied customers don’t always remember to write reviews, so it’s important to give them a reminder after they make a purchase or interact with your business – but remember to keep review guidelines in mind. Try including a survey link in your receipts or sending an automated follow-up email, rather than, say, setting up a laptop for reviews in-store, or offering incentives, which violates Google policy.

Tip #2: Be proactive about responding to reviews
It’s important to address both positive and negative reviews, since 83% of customers remember reviews from search results.² When responding to reviews, it’s always good to thank customers. In the case of a negative review, address the issue without getting defensive. For example, try posting a reply describing the steps you took to remedy the situation.

These personalized responses are an opportunity to build relationships with customers. Don’t be afraid to highlight your business’s personality.

Tip #3: Actively monitor your reviews
Managing reviews is an ongoing process, so you should make sure to check in periodically and stay up-to-date with what your customers are saying. You can do this by checking the reviews section of your Google My Business dashboard.

The Children’s Museum of South Dakota noticed that this method helped their business stay in tune with customer interests. Randy Grimsley, the Director of Marketing, told us, “We regularly check on customer reviews. It’s a quick way to discover what’s working and what may need tweaking.”

Your back-to-school assignment? Apply these lessons to your business, and start getting proactive about online reviews.

For more helpful tips on managing your online reviews, check out: gybo.com/review

Posted by Emily Harris, Program Manager, Let's Put Our Cities on the Map

1. Impact Report: How are Customers Discovering Small Businesses?, May 2016
2. Google/ Ipsos, Impact of Search Listings for Local Businesses. Base: Saw Listing (Control=494, Test= 496), August 2014.

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Speed Reading Tips

Speed Reading Tips

By linda linklink   6:58 AM   No comments:

The following speed reading tips were taken from UK speed reading experts Susan Norman and Jan Cisek, you can download their FREE ebook: Spd Rdng Bible, 37
Speed Reading Techniques and Tips - How to read faster. I got a lot from their course and am now giving Amazon a lot of business!

Speed Reading Tips

Preview books

- What are you reading?!

Read with a purpose to find information

- What are you reading for?

Get in a good state

- through the centring exercises that are part of Embodied Management Training for example

Use your finger to help your eyes!

- Simple but helps a lot.

Focus on "hot spots" of information

- Learn to identify the crucial parts of passages (certain eye-scanning patterns help with this)

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Networking Tips and No Nos

Networking Tips and No Nos

By linda linklink   12:03 AM   No comments:

Networking Tips and No Nos

If you're in business you're meant to network, it's in THE RULES or something. Most networking business people do however is a complete waste of time however, and an unpleasant inauthentic crass one at that. Here are my list of networking tips and no nos. Things to avoid:

Being a Selfish Git (a.k.a. a "Netjerk")

Networking IS about getting in touch with certain specific people - your target market and people who may know your target market (in my case training managers in medium to large sized companies in the UK for example). AND while targeting is key, don't just be a blinkered selfish user git. It's networking not getworking or netjerking.

It may be the wife, friend or son of an apparently "useless" person that connects you to a buyer for example. You are also building your public identity with each person you speak with. Note also that effective networking is about giving and being useful to others. The person that is now providing me with web design gave several good pieces of free advice and contacts for other work before we started working together - people reciprocate and cross refer naturally once relationship is built.

Being Boring

Me, me, me is boring, boring, boring. Remember that people's time is precious, listen and get to know people. This is in your interest as well as their as any good sales person will tell you.

Shoulder Gazer

Give people your full attention or none at all, looking over someones shoulder to see if anyone more "useful" around at a networking event is offensive.

Card Thrusting

When you meet someone do not just trust your card towards them straight away - this is definite no no. The card handover should be like a respectful kiss at the end of a first date. You don't even have to exchange cards with everyone you meet.

Being a Networking Fake

Be yourself, you're better that way and most people can smell BS a mile off anyway. If someone asks how business is and it's not great, say "not great". If someone asks how you are answer them truthfully, you will be building trust.

Card Collecting

While networking for me is not about just talking to people I can sell to, it is also worth following-up connections, and getting put in touch with people you can sell to (or buy from). Add people to your database, LinkedIn, Twitter or whatever else the kids use these days, after you meet them. Mail that day or make a note to phone people to continue building relationship and being generous. Just collecting a bunch of cards won't achieve anything.

Being a Networking Tart
Find one or two groups and get to know people within them by building relationships over time.
Groups I enjoy networking with for example are the Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce who are friendly and funky and the local CIPD group (I work in business training so these are my peers and potential customers).

Networking Tips and No Nos Conclusion

I hope you've found these networking tips and no nos useful. Good networking is just being yourself and getting to know people, who you may be of service to, and who may enjoy helping you out. Look for the win-wins and enjoy being yourself.

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Haiti Earthquake Stress Management Tips

Haiti Earthquake Stress Management Tips

By linda linklink   12:41 PM   No comments:

This article by the American Psychological Association includes stress management tips in regard to the Haiti earthquake. It is aimed at those who have friends or relatives there and are suffering form stress.

And here are Integration Training's stress resources and tips.

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How to Manage E-Mails

How to Manage E-Mails

By linda linklink   2:55 AM   No comments:

Often on my time management courses I'm asked, "How do I manage e-mails?" or "My e-mail inbox is overflowing, how do I empty it?!?" It seems like we all have too many e-mails to handle and trying to manage e-mail takes up a good part of most office-workers days.

Here are a few considerations and e-mail tips influenced by Getting Things Done (GTD) and other time management systems:

Pick-Up Time and Breaks
No, not how quickly you can get lucky in a bar but how long it takes to stop doing an activity and then start again because of an interruption. It is much more efficient to e-mail in blocks than continuously throughout the day. It is not efficient to multi-task.

The counter balance to minimising pick-up time is that too long doing anyone activity will lead to a decrease in efficiency and an increase in mistakes, so regular breaks are essential. Even micro breaks where you look out of the window for a moment or sip a drink and savour it will save your heath and increase your productivity.

Tip - Turn off signals that new mails have arrived like Outlook's pop-up notice

Is a new mail actionable?
If not it is either an FYI, junk or reference material. Delete junk immediately (blocking the sender if a reoccurring), read FYI and delete if you are comfortable to or move to storage with reference. Storage areas should be mutually exclusive to make ease of reference later (i.e. a mail couldn't be in either "Clients" or "UK Clients").

Tip - The @ symbol will be above ABC etc in your folders for categories you use often. E.g. @ Important Client

Can you do it in less than two minutes
If you can responds to a mail instantly in less than two minutes you might as well do it now rather than put it off. Two minutes is a shorter period of time than most e-mailer think - it may amount to two lines or less.

Tip: Look out for the crucial request in long e-mails -what does the sender want?

Can you delegate it?
Self explanatory. Declines and requests can also be made upwards ("no I won't buy your wife flowers boss", "I can do X or Y, what is your priority?" and sideways "Bob, would you mind doing this my workload is crazy today) - depending upon company culture (I would suggest the ability to both decline and make requests is a sign of healthy individuals and companies).

Can you put it aside for later?
Putting e-mails that require a response that may take a little while aside to specific "project" folders is useful. You may also want to put a note to respond after a particular time (in your diary) or after something you are waiting for (on a "waiting for" section of a to-do list)

!!!Urgent!!!Mails!!!
Who says, the sender or you? Do you have an ongoing commitment to respond to mails within a certain time frame? Are you working on assumptions in this regard (you might be surprised how long people are happy to wait for a response). Often it is e-mail addiction rather than any real commitment that keeps people checking their Blackberries 100's of times a day (also bad for work-life boundaries and stress management).

Using this method you can empty your in-box. It will take an average of two minutes per mail so book aside as much time as you need to do this uninterrupted. If this amounts to days and you don't have time accept that you may have just dropped some balls and move all e-mails received after a certain date into an @old folder (this just neatens up what you are effectively doing anyway).

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Communication Tips

Communication Tips

By linda linklink   2:20 PM   No comments:

I've uploaded a page of communication tips to the Integration Training website. Influenced by NVC, somatics and ontological coaching these communication tips will be of interest to anyone... who communicates.

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"Communication is a complex context-dependant and highly individual matter making generic communication tips difficult. There are some however some "rules of thumb" which you may find useful - please hold them lightly and not as absolute. So here are our top 15 communication tips - most of which apply to face-to-face communication, on the phone and on e-mail"

Listen First
Breathe
Say "I..."
Avoid Judgement, Blame, Denial of Responsibility and Comparisons
Separate Facts from Opinions
Be Aware of Emotions
Be Careful with "Feelings" and Who Know Causes Them
Be Aware of Needs and Values
Mind your Mood
Ask for What you Want
Make declarations
Have a Look at What You're Saying
Take Individual Differences Into Account
Listen Some More

Full communication tips article

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How to be a Business Bastard

How to be a Business Bastard

By linda linklink   3:00 AM   No comments:

This is an article on how to be an total business bastard and loose money. In a cunning reverse psychology type manner I figure that people generally do the opposite of what they're told so teaching people how to be "Business Bastards" is actually the best way to see growth of the kind of business I would really like...it's also more amusing :-)

Let me stress that all of these will not only result in you being an unpleasant isolated human being but will also mean you lose money. All of these strategies will see short-term gains and long term loss. So here are my:

Top Ten Tips on How to be a Business Bastard!

Deny Your Health and Stress
Being a business bastard begins at home so start by being mean to yourself and denying your own health and well being. Under no circumstances admit to stress or needing stress management - this is weak. Even having a body is weak - it is just a cart for your head - never mind that it is essential for leadership to understand the embodied dimension.

Deny All Emotions!

Emotions are weak, do not let them spoil your day by getting in the way of business. Pretend you don't have emotions and punish those who show them as irrational (they are probably women too)! Never mind that research shows that EQ is several times more important to a manager's success than IQ.

Deny Spirituality
There's no place for spirituality at work! Squash the human spirit and get the job done! Never mind that work is a source of life meaning for large numbers of people, that studies show that what really motivates people isn't money nine times out of ten, or that personal development and leadership go hand-in-hand.

Treat People as "Resources", Superiors and Competitors
If you don't want to see other people as people so you can treat them like a total business bastard, it's best to give them dehumanising labels. Seeing people as disposable "resources" as part of a power hierarchy (inferiors and superiors) or as competitors out to get what you need are particularly good strategies.

Only Accept As Real What Can Be Measured
In order to reduce human beings to cogs in the machine it is necessary to accept as real only that which can be measured. Reduce people to statistics and never mind that much of what makes a business really work are the messy intangibles human factors.

Split Your Home-Self from Your Work-Self

It's professional to be one way at work and another at home. Split your personality down the middle - back-stab, sell cyanide as baby food and act like a soul-less git all day long - then go home and play with your children and kiss your partner. Never mind that you if spend all day practicing to be one way you will get good at that (practice makes permanent).

Deny CSR!
There is only one bottom-line and people and planet are none of your business! Business has no corporate social responsibilities! Never mind the business and PR benefits of having a good CSR policy.

Deny Environmental Issues!
It's not the job of business to look after the environment. Never mind that recent studies show that the most environmentally aware companies are also the most profitable long-term. Never mind that there can be huge cost reductions in environmental measures (e.g. energy efficiency) or that the environmental concerns have forced profitable innovation on stagnant industries.

Advertise and Persuade
People need to be brainwashed and manipulated into buying crap they don't need. Never mind that modern marketing increasingly shows that this approach increasingly doesn't work with savvy (some might say cynical) modern consumers.

Think Short-Term
This is the crux of things really. Top business bastards don't let large long term gains get in the way of smaller short-term profits. Go for the quick-win every time.

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To be clear - I'm not anti-business - I'm a business-man myself. I see business evolving into a beneficial sustainable practice and would like to support this process -this is a light-hearted nudge in that direction - please don't take it too seriously and excuse my French. If you disagree that business can be a force for good that's OK. Most the "New-Agers" I know who hold this view are pretty impotent (see 11 Things That Aren't Spiritual for a balancing article) so I largely ignore them. From the business side ("This is all well and good Mark but in the real world..." being a bastard is just bad business so the best men will win sooner or later :-) For those looking to speed up the evolution of business and lead their organisation with integrity look into the leadership training we provide and get in touch, we rarely swear this much.

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Coaching Tips

Coaching Tips

By linda linklink   1:30 AM   No comments:

My friends at NGO training organsiation IMA have prodiced this list of coaching tips:

Coching excellence is not an accident!

What do all the top sports people in the world have in common? Apart from being very successful, they each have a coach. Why?

The coach is there to help them:

Build on their successes
Work on the details that will sharpen their skills, and improve their techniques
Plan tactics ahead of important events
Stay at the top in a very competitive world

In an organisation, coaching means:
"Improving performance at work, by turning things people do into learning situations, in a planned way, under guidance." Fleming & Taylor 2003

.....

10 Essential Coaching Skills (Tips in full article)
Use the tips below to build your coaching skills and bring out the best in your staff:

Building rapport
Observation
Listening Skills
Matching People’s Worlds
Listening actively
Helping people change
Helping people learn
Planning learning
Developing Trust
Giving Feedback

The GROW Modal for Performance Coaching

IMA uses the GROW model as a framework for Performance Coaching
The aim of this model is to raise the performer's Awareness and Responsibility through the coach’s effective questioning techniques, listening and observing.
AWARENESS - self directed focus to gather appropriate information to a high quality;
RESPONSIBILITY - the performer’s choice to "own" a task and to see it through to completion.

The GROW Coaching Model:

G Goals - what do you want? R Reality - What is happening now? O Options - What could you do?W Will - What will you do?

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Information on Integration Training's own "embodied" approach to coaching is here.

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Team Building Resources

Team Building Resources

By linda linklink   6:43 AM   No comments:

Training Zone has published a good article on free team building resources. In addition here are Integration Training's own free team building tips and free resources for training managers.

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About.com Education
A solid favourite, this site provides a host of original and fun teambuilding and icebreaker exercises.

Brainstorming
A bit of a one-stop shop for brainstorming activities available to download free of charge for 30 days. Includes the manual, how to brainstorm, the rules, benefits and risks. Offers free training in creative thinking techniques and how to extra new ideas.

Building teams
Great for adult team building resources, activities, exercises and ideas.

Businessballs
Well known business site but actually a great find for trainers. In particular there are training two excellent team games, one for identifying leaders, the other a fun game for two teams based on team work. Also available are free handouts on everything from self-discovery, motivation, management and leadership models, sales, marketing strategy, business management and planning and self-publishing.

Complete Trainer
Offers free team building resources, ranging from team building games and leadership activities to icebreakers and communication games. Plus, 63 project management tips, developing sensory acuity and anger management advice.

Dick Barton
Another site offering free downloads – not all for teams but a good smattering. Includes ice-breakers, energisers and more.

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