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Don’t Just Know Your Customer, Be Your Customer

Posted: 15 Aug 2019 10:00 AM PDT

There are a lot of reasons startups fail. It may be a lack of funding or a lack of talent. Or sometimes a startup simply can't execute on the products or services they are trying to build. But the number one reason? Most would agree that it's a lack of understanding about the actual customer we want to buy our product.

Anyone who tries to start a business inherently knows that it is a fundamental requirement to understand the target customers, their needs and their motivations. But sometimes we entrepreneurs are so blinded by the brilliance of our own ideas that we believe "if we build it, they will come." Other times, we consider paying for expensive or time-consuming market research but ultimately pass on it. And so, we take shortcuts when it comes to understanding the customer.

Recently, a group of high schoolers reminded me that there is one indisputable way to truly know your customer. Be your customer.

Five great ideas with a common thread

A few weeks ago, a group of 15 students from The Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts, came to the San Francisco Bay Area to meet with some Silicon Valley leaders who had attended the school. Given the important role the school played in preparing me for my future, I was happy to host them.

So, I gathered some of our experts at my app development company ArcTouch and we put on a two-day hackathon. We challenged the student teams to define an app idea, build the business case for it and create interactive prototypes to demonstrate some of the functionality. The event culminated in a Shark Tank-style presentation, which we dubbed ArcTank, where the teams presented their ideas as if they were pitching investors.

The presentations were remarkably polished, considering the short timeframe the students were given. Their app ideas included:

  • A homework management app: To help students manage their entire workload across all classes, and offer teachers and parents visibility on their progress.
  • A classroom roll-call app: For students to self-check-in to class using their phones, allowing teachers to spend more time teaching and less time taking attendance.
  • Uber for tutors app: To deliver a tutor when a student needs one the most – even at 1 a.m. on the day before their math final.
  • A student app store: To centralize all school-approved apps – and make it easier for teachers and students alike to find them.
  • Sneaker-sharing app: For teens to get access to the newest stomps. Think Turo for sneakers.

I spotted a common thread in all the presentations: The students were building products for themselves. They were their own customers.

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Four ways being your own customer can help your business succeed

There are a lot of great stories about startups that begin when founders solved problems they were experiencing. While attending a conference in Paris in 2008, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp couldn't get a cab – which reportedly served as the inspiration for Uber. And when Nick Swinmurn couldn't find the Airwalk desert boots he wanted in the local mall, he got the idea for an online shoe store and started Zappos. 

And as the founder of an app development company that has helped build over 400 products in 10 years, I've seen first-hand that the most successful ones are those that have a clear understanding of the customer. Many times, the inspiration for those products was born out of personal experience. Even ArcTouch itself was originally inspired by Apple's introduction of the App Store, as my business partner Adam Fingerman and I were intrinsically motivated to create great iPhone apps that we would personally enjoy.

Here are four ways that being your own customer can help entrepreneurs:

  1. You'll save on market research. One way to understand a target customer is through market research – such as one-on-one interviews, focus groups and quantitative surveys. These can be immensely valuable, but also immensely costly. And while there's always a lot of insight to be gained, it can't replace knowing, inherently, what your customer needs because you are your own customer.
  1. You'll be a better salesperson. Any startup founder will tell you that you need great sales skills for your business to have any chance of success. You have to sell your idea to investors, team members (to acquire talent), business partners and eventually customers. And to do that, you need unwavering confidence and authenticity. Building a product that you know you'd buy will give you confidence you can't acquire any other way. And your founder story will be authentic because it's really your story.
  1. You'll be more resilient. You'll need passion to go along with confidence, to sell your business idea to different audiences. But you'll also need resilience to fuel your perseverance. In any startup, you'll encounter challenges and roadblocks – and resilience will help you push through any resistance. Naturally, your resilience will be stronger if your idea is grounded in your own authentic personal experiences.
  1. You're more invested in the future success of your business. I'm a firm believer that startup founders need both financial and sweat equity to build a successful business. Meaning, they need to put up some money but also invest a lot of time and energy into solving the problem they are trying to solve. If your business idea is coming from your own experiences, you've already invested some of that sweat equity. It's pre-existing. That doesn't mean you can coast your way into business success, but it does mean you're way ahead of someone who is simply starting with a perceived market opportunity.

Steve Jobs built the iPod for himself

Given our company's history in mobile, Steve Jobs comes up often. He was legendary for his laser focus on building what he personally believed were great products.

My favorite example of a product that Jobs built for himself was the iPod and its companion digital music store, iTunes. As Walter Isaacson detailed in the Steve Jobs biography, Jobs was a huge music aficionado. He was frustrated by the difficulty of creating and managing digital music collections, as caused poorly-designed first-generation MP3 players, flaky software and complicated DRM technology. So, he built the iPod and iTunes, a combination that many credit with springboarding Apple into the tech titan it is today.

Jobs relied on his own instincts, which were built upon his own experiences. He was, in many ways, his own customer. And likewise, the next generation of entrepreneurs, represented by the high school students at The Rivers School, envisioned products that would make their own lives better and easier.

How to Keep Your Online Store's Rewards Program Secure

Posted: 15 Aug 2019 06:00 AM PDT

Fraudsters who attack e-commerce merchants aren't always focusing their nefarious efforts where you might think. Instead of trying to steal products or services, sometimes they're seeking access to retailers' online rewards programs, either to use the points in hijacked customer accounts or to steal personal data. The lengths criminals have gone to for loyalty program information may surprise you.

When you review the facts about rewards programs, it's a little surprising it's taken so long for fraudsters to target them on a large scale. Eighty-seven percent of US consumers are members of at least one loyalty program, with the average consumer belonging to six, according to a 2019 report by Blackhawk Network Research. Nearly half of US business surveyed by Blackhawk offer loyalty programs because they encourage repeat business, increase revenue and raise the lifetime value of customers who are members. 

Here's more about why loyalty programs are such a tempting target, what the risks are for merchants and consumers, and how to protect your rewards program.

Valuable accounts, weak security

Rewards programs are popular with businesses and consumers, but there's not a lot of discussion about the fact that these programs are a repository of two things criminals want: points that can be used to make purchases or converted to cash and data that can be sold and exploited for account takeover attacks. In the US, the total value of rewards accounts is $60 billion, according to Loyalty Fraud Prevention Association co-founder Peter R. Maeder. Maeder told PYMNTS that the global value in these accounts is $250 billion.

Despite all that value, security around rewards programs is often less than robust. And as point-of-sale and card-not-present fraud become harder to commit, fraudsters are turning to rewards accounts as a new revenue stream. One security expert described rewards program security to the New York Times as "the path of least resistance," due to simple signup procedures and lax password requirements. Simple passwords are easy for bot-assisted fraudsters to crack, and the 4-digit PINs that protect many loyalty accounts are even easier. 

Loyalty program fraud is expensive

The cost of rewards program fraud is high, and it's rising. PYMNTS reported that attacks on loyalty accounts rose nearly threefold from 2016 to 2017, at a global cost of $2.3 billion. Remediation often includes the cost of replacing stolen rewards. One case, reported by the New York Times, involved a Hilton Honors member who lost 80,000 program points (worth an estimated $400) to hackers. Hilton replaced the points after the man reported the theft. Those reimbursements add up, and there are more costs to consider.

Loyalty program breaches generate bad publicity that can contribute to customer churn. Marriott has been in the headlines periodically since November 2018 because of a huge breach in Starwood's loyalty program, which wasn't discovered before Marriott acquired Starwood. Around the same time, Radisson Hotel Group reported a breach in its Radisson Rewards program that affected an undisclosed number of accounts. 

Since the initial report, Marriott has rebranded its rewards program. That's a wise move, because research shows that consumers are wary of brands that have been breached. A 2018 Ping Identity study found that more than three-quarters of consumers stop engaging with brands that have been breached, and 49% won't join or use online services that have been breached. 

There are also regulatory penalties. Marriott faces $123 million in GDPR fines, based on the loss of personal data for an estimated 37 million customers in the UK and European Economic Area. As more states and nations enact data protection laws, like the California Consumer Privacy Act that takes effect in 2020, companies may face a growing list of penalties and fines for loss of their loyalty program data. 

Criminals are willing to work for rewards program data

It's clear that, although rewards programs can be good for businesses and consumers, the consequences of breaches can be severe. What's recently become obvious is just how big a target loyalty programs are for organized criminal hackers. Even when the accounts aren't easy to crack, fraudsters may be willing to work hard to breach accounts at scale.

In April of this year, a breach was reported at Wipro, one of India's largest IT service companies. Wipro has major retail, government, and industry clients around the world, and at first, it appeared that the goal of the breach was to gain access to Wipro customers' systems. Investigators found that hackers had been in Wipro's systems for about three years. The sophistication of the attack raised the possibility that it was state-sponsored, perhaps an espionage campaign. 

That idea was largely discarded when investigators found that the intruders were after loyalty and gift card programs run by Wipro's clients. Recently, cybersecurity firm RiskIQ published a report of its investigation of the Wipro breach. It says the breach was part of a much larger campaign against dozens of firms in different industries. The "gift card shark" group's motive was to phish their targets' employees, access the targets' networks, and steal data from customer loyalty, employee rewards and gift card programs. 

In all, RiskIQ uncovered five separate attack campaigns by the gift card shark group since 2016. Four of them targeted loyalty and rewards programs. RiskIQ found evidence that Best Buy, Staples, GameStop, Darden Restaurants and Expedia were among the dozens of companies targeted by the group. The group also went after money transfer, prepaid services and payment services providers, along with a large group of targets that couldn't be identified.

Why did this group target loyalty and gift card programs so extensively? The investigators think the goal was to convert rewards points to gift cards and gift cards to currency, then find a way to "transfer funds to more traditional institutions." What was the plan for that money? How much was stolen? Who's behind the crimes? Security professionals still don't know. 

The time for better rewards program security is now

The lesson of the Wipro breach is that every merchant with a loyalty program needs to take steps now to make the program more secure. As with online card fraud prevention, layers of security are the best defense against rewards program hackers. 

One step is to tighten the password or PIN complexity requirements for your reward program accounts. A four-digit PIN is not complex enough. Although it takes as long 111 hours to brute-force a random four-digit PIN, 20% of PINS are 1234, 0000 or 1111, which can be tested manually in seconds. Rewards program members should also be encouraged to create a unique password for their account that they don't re-use anywhere else.

Encrypting rewards' program member data can reduce the damage done if there is a breach. Although more than 9 million of the payment card numbers exposed in the Marriott-Starwood loyalty program breach were encrypted, more than 5 million customers' passport numbers were not encrypted, leaving them vulnerable to identity theft. 

It's also worth considering just how much data your rewards program needs to collect. That's because you must protect it whether you're using it or not. And in the wake of so many breaches, consumers are more wary about sharing information for rewards. A recent Harris Poll found that 76% of US consumers are more likely to join a loyalty program that only requires their name and phone number. Seventy-one percent said they'd be less likely to participate if they had to share account information or "other sensitive data." 

Finally, it's a good idea to monitor rewards account activity the same way payment card activity is monitored for suspicious activity like purchases close together in time but in different states, or a series of unusual redemptions that don't match past accountholder behavior. When you can identify hacked accounts quickly and alert the customer, you limit the damage to their account, protect your relationship and safeguard your bottom line. 

 

The Only Resume Cheat Sheet You'll Ever Need

Posted: 15 Aug 2019 05:35 AM PDT

Writing a resume is a complicated and often frustrating process. Every detail counts, and there is no shortage of conflicting information on what employers actually want to see, like an objective statement, your college GPA, hard and soft skills, or hobbies.

While you probably won't be rejected because you mentioned a love for knitting, it is true that what's on your resume can make or break your candidacy. To help you out, this infographic contains everything you need to know about producing an impressive resume.

((ImgTag|https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/images/i/000/005/880/i02/resume.jpeg|true||Anita Rahman |))

Need some more guidance? Here's a breakdown of some important elements you should (and shouldn't) include on your resume, as well as a few other dos and don'ts.

Job skills you should list

Communication: writes clearly and concisely, speaks effectively, listens attentively, openly expresses ideas, negotiates/resolves differences, leads group discussions, provides feedback, persuades others, provides well-thought-out solutions, gathers appropriate information, confidently speaks in public

Interpersonal skills: works well with others, sensitive, supportive, motivates others, shares credit, counsels, cooperates, delegates effectively, represents others, understands feelings, self-confident, accepts responsibility

Research and planning: forecasts/predicts, creates ideas, identifies problems, meets goals, identifies resources, gathers information, solves problems, defines needs, analyzes issues, develops strategies, assesses situations

Organizational skills: handles details, coordinates tasks, punctual, manages projects effectively, meets deadlines, sets goals, keeps control over budget, plans and arranges activities

Management skills: leads groups, teaches/trains/instructs, counsels/coaches, manages conflict, delegates responsibility, makes decisions, directs others, implements decisions, enforces policies, takes charge

A survey by OfficeTeam, a Robert Half company, says that if you are going to use any of the following terms, you must be sure that they say something valuable about your skills or experience.

Highly qualified: Job seekers should describe what they bring to the role. Highlight your accomplishments in previous positions, emphasize specific skills, and note any certifications you earned. 

Hard worker: Give details on how you've gone the extra mile. Have you regularly met tough deadlines, handled a high volume of projects or tackled tasks outside your job description? 

Team player: Working well with others is a must for any role today. You should provide examples of how you have partnered with colleagues or individuals in other departments to meet an objective. 

Problem-solver: People love others who can help them out of a pickle, but be specific when describing this quality. Highlight a difficult situation that you encountered and how you handled it. 

Flexible: Hiring managers seek candidates who can adapt quickly to new situations. You should describe how you responded to a major change at work or dealt with the unpredictable aspects of the job. 

People person: Employers want professionals with strong communication skills who can build camaraderie with internal and external contacts. Provide an example of when you won over a challenging customer or co-worker.    

Self-starter: Companies seek individuals with initiative who can contribute immediately. Explain how you took action when you saw an issue that needed fixing.

Resume action words to include

Using strong words to describe your job duties helps a hiring manager quickly see what the focus of your job duties was and what impact you had at your company. You should choose your words carefully and avoid overstating your duties or trying too hard to be creative, as this can turn off the recruiter.

  • Influenced
  • Invented
  • Guided
  • Ordered
  • Trained

See the full list of resume action words.

Words to leave off your resume

A good rule of thumb is to avoid anything that does not serve a purpose, like cliches, buzzwords or filler phrases. You should also stay away from putting down skills that have become expected workplace norms, like proficiency in Microsoft Word.

Anne Grinols, assistant dean for faculty development and college initiatives at Baylor University, also said that candidates should avoid listing skills that could backfire or give employers the wrong impression. Grinols has conducted extensive research on why multitasking in particular is a poor skill to list on a resume.

"Employers are more interested in outcomes than efforts," Grinols said in a statement. "Multitasking refers to the latter."

Buzzwords and filler phrases like "highly qualified," "team player" and "problem-solver" say nothing valuable about you (unless, as noted above, you back them up with specific examples) and take up precious space on your resume.

"A resume full of cliches but short on specifics won't be memorable to hiring managers," said Robert Hosking, senior vice president and managing director of search practices at Lee Hecht Harrison Knightsbridge. "Employers want concrete examples of professional achievements as well as descriptions of any transferable skills that can be applied to the open position."

A good way to make yourself memorable to the interviewer is to supplement your skills with descriptions that illustrate those qualities. For example, if you want to put "strong leadership qualities" on your resume, you can write it as "Strong leadership qualities – led a team of 50+ in a yearlong rebranding project by delegating tasks, monitoring progress, and guiding team members through discussion." This empowers your skills by demonstrating why you believe you have that skill and how you've used it.

See the full list of resume words to avoid.

Best resume fonts

Your resume only has seven seconds to make a positive impression on the hiring manager, so font, insignificant as it may seem, actually plays a large role in determining your candidacy. Recruiters spend most of their day looking through resumes, and using a bad or inappropriate font can throw them off and send your resume to the bottom of the pile.

Be sure to use a font with adequate white space both on screen and in print, and avoid trying to stand out with anything kitschy like Comic Sans or Papyrus.

These are some of the most recommended resume fonts:

  • Arial
  • Calibri
  • Century Old Style
  • Garamond

See the full story on resume fonts.

Helpful resume hints

There are plenty of ways to help your resume stand out that won't annoy a hiring manager. The key is to keep the focus on your experience and accomplishments, not go overboard with trying to be different, and put half of your effort into making sure your resume is absolutely free of grammatical, formatting and spelling mistakes. Nothing can derail your candidacy faster than a hard-to-read and poorly formatted resume. Keep these tips in mind as well:

  • Write a "career snapshot" summary.
  • Watch your keywords.
  • Go beyond your job tasks.

See more helpful resume hints.

Resume mistakes to avoid

Resume best practices and norms change quickly, so it's a good idea to do your research before you update your resume. For example, the objectives section is now considered superfluous and outdated, so you shouldn't include one. Make sure your resume is free of spelling and grammar errors, and that it matches your cover letter in terms of formatting. It can be helpful to send your resume around to friends or family to get fresh eyes on it. These are some basic mistakes to watch out for:

  • Including an objective
  • Listing obvious duties
  • Providing outdated contact information
  • Using poor formatting

See the full story on resume mistakes. 

Additional reporting by Sammi Caramela.

How To Build A Customer-Centric Culture For Your Small Business

Posted: 15 Aug 2019 05:00 AM PDT

Thanks to e-commerce, people now have the freedom to pick and choose where they shop and who they give their money to. Before, the options were limited; now, the marketplace is overflowing with new businesses ready to set up shop and make sales.

With so much fierce competition, how can you guarantee you'll attract people in your target market? What sets you apart from the rest when there are so many options out there?  The answer is to become a customer-centric brand.

When your business is customer-centric, it means the customer is at the heart of your business model. Customers are the most crucial aspect of any business because, without them, companies don't stand a chance. You need customers to have a growing, thriving business, and being able to acquire and retain them so they're loyal to your brand is essential. 

For customer-focused businesses, every decision begins and ends with the customer and how you can add value to the buying process that's simple and easy to navigate. It isn't just about improving your customer service practices. There's less focus on numbers and more on customer needs and concerns to generate sales and reach goals. Your strategy steers away from outbound marketing and adopts inbound practices that bring people to you.

When you have a business culture that focuses on the customer, you're in tune with their needs, pain points, interests, and more. You're one step ahead and you know what they're looking for even before they do. You're focused on creating solutions to their problems rather than trying to sell them a product.

As a result, you build brand loyalty and a positive relationship with consumers. Putting their needs first and showing them they're your number one priority establishes a connection built on trust. This helps your business increase sales and create a positive reputation for your business. When your current customers have a positive experience, they'll spread the word to their loved ones about it. 

Nielsen reports that 92 percent of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family above all other advertising. So, not only are you able to acquire new customers, but you also retain the ones you already have.

Having a customer-centric business also helps you improve your products and services because it's easier to collect honest and constructive criticism. When your audience wants to see you thrive, they'll tell you what you need to do to grow and improve. This type of business model aims to address each customer's needs, which gives you more information about your target audience. As a result, you cater to them better and give them what they want.

There are a few ways you can work towards creating a strong customer-centric culture for your business, including:

  • Hiring for a customer-focused culture

  • Listening to customer feedback

  • Being easily accessible 

Here are more specifics on each.

Focus on your team

The culture you create for your business begins with your employees. Starting these practices as early as the interview process saves you time, money and resources you would otherwise have to splurge on later. By including your values in the onboarding process, you're ahead of the game in establishing the kind of culture you want to adopt and hiring the right employees.

Make it part of the hiring process to establish a customer-centric culture. Use interviews to ask questions regarding how potential candidates view this type of business model and if they have the qualities and attitude to help it grow. 

You could ask questions like:

  • How would former employees describe your work style?

  • What was the company culture like at your previous position? How did you feel about it?

  • If there's one thing you could do to improve that culture, what would you do?

  • Describe your ideal company culture. What does it look like?

  • Talk about a time you delighted a customer. How did you solve their problem?

You need to hire someone who's good with people and understands why your business operates this way. If not, they won't be a good fit and it's unlikely they'll add to the culture you're looking to sustain.

Gather customer feedback

Every business should collect customer feedback regardless, but this is especially true for those building a culture centered around its customers. Communicating with customers is key to building a customer-centric company that tends to their needs and relieves their pain points. It lets you assess how your brand is performing and where it needs improvement. It also helps your employees prolong and sustain this type of culture because they're at the forefront listening to feedback and heightening their awareness.

Staying in contact with customers during all stages of the buying process is essential if you want to put them first. You have to engage with them about their purchases and their buying experience, among other things.

There are several ways to get in touch with your audience and collect feedback:

  • Email 

  • Social media

  • SMS text

  • Live chat and chatbots

  • Phone calls

People are usually willing to give honest feedback to brands, especially those they invest money in. In our technologically advanced world, it's easy to connect with customers and learn what they think.

If you want honest feedback, consider:

  • Sending customers an online survey or poll

  • Posting to social media

  • Searching branded hashtags and keywords on social media to see what people are saying about your brand and its products

  • Emailing customers encouraging them to share their opinions

  • Allowing customers to review and rate their experience directly on your website

Practice open accessibility

You can't just say that you're a customer-centric brand; you have to show it. How do you do that? By being easily accessible.

Brands that care the most about the experience they provide customers are easy to reach and get in touch with. According to Sprout Social, 64 percent of consumers want brands to engage with them, but for some reason, many don't. Have you ever tried to contact customer support only for them to leave you on hold for twenty minutes? You're not the only one. It creates a weak relationship between brand and customer and tells them that their issues and needs don't matter.

You can prevent creating a negative customer experience by being present and focusing on providing solutions. If it's difficult for people to contact your customer service department or get in touch with a representative, your brand lacks customer-centricity.

Make it easy for customers to reach you. Set up a separate contact page on your website where they can submit support tickets, inquiries and suggestions. Add a FAQ page to your website so those 53 percent who prefer to solve brand issues on their own have the opportunity to do so. Be active on social media where people regularly engage with brands and discuss their opinions on products and services. Respond to messages and emails promptly.

If you want to create a culture for your business that revolves around the customer, you're already on the way to success. With so many options for customers to choose from both online and in brick and mortar stores, it's essential to set yourself apart and stand out from the competition. When you focus on customer needs and how to make them happy, you'll create a customer base that's filled with loyal people.
 

Unhappy Employees Affect Hiring Efforts

Posted: 15 Aug 2019 04:01 AM PDT

  • 69% of job candidates will reconsider a company's offer if there's high turnover or the risk of burnout.
  • 64% of survey respondents are likely to leave a job following a negative onboarding experience.
  • 32% of respondents said they look at a business's website to learn about its company culture, while 29% said they contact current employees.

When trying to bring new talent on board, few things matter more than showing your company in a favorable light. With millennials embracing a job-hopping culture and with a job market that favors workers, it's become easy for people to change their minds about an employer. In a newly released study from Hibob, researchers found that a company's culture is a major factor in whether your business entices people to stay or experiences high turnover.

Conducted through a national online survey in May 2019, the survey examined potential dealbreakers for job hunters. It asked 1,000 American employees, age 18 and older, how they research a potential new employer and what existing employees want that could address any company culture concerns.

Considering how the average full-time employee spends 90,000 hours at work in their lifetime, it's not surprising that company culture matters to workers.

"In order to thrive in today's quitting economy, companies must create workplace experiences designed to retain today's workforce by promoting a clear work-life balance," said Ronni Zehavi, Hibob CEO. "While popular trends in perks have come and gone, culture and opportunity are key drivers of employee happiness and support collaboration and productivity."

Why candidates reconsider job offers

It's common knowledge that most industries have a probationary period for new hires. What companies may not realize is that they too are on a sort of probation as newcomers get acclimated with an office culture that may or may not make them want to stay. Regardless of any opportunities to move up in the company or how much the annual salary may be, researchers found that companies must continue making a strong impression if they want to avoid fast turnover.

According to the survey, a good company culture is so important that 69% of respondents said they would reconsider a job offer – even if they were offered a high salary – if current employees don't look satisfied with their positions or there is high turnover. Similarly, 64% of respondents said they were less likely to stay at a job if they had a "negative onboarding experience."

Other things that made new employees want to leave their new job were "competitiveness among team members or a boring culture," which both made up more than 30% of respondents' reasons for wanting to quit. The threat of burnout at work, however, remained the top concern for newcomers.

Learning about a company before accepting a position

Tech-savvy job candidates arm themselves with information about a company before they sit down for an interview. If your company is known for high turnover and burned-out employees, candidates can find that information online without much effort. While it may be tempting to whitewash your online presence, such a move could be even more detrimental to your search for new employees.

Researchers found that most job seekers base their opinions of a company on the information it provides online. Approximately 32% said they looked at a business's website, 29% said they reached out to current employees, and 19% said they searched a company's social media pages to learn more. According to respondents, 30% of them were "misled by the way a company presented itself online."

"With only one-fifth of candidates using information from sites like Glassdoor to inform their search, the responsibility of managing expectations falls into the hands of the organizations themselves," researchers wrote.

Meeting the needs of current employees

Even though a recent Conference Board survey showed 51% of people said they were satisfied at work, there are still plenty of things businesses can do to improve their company culture.

One of the things employees want most from employers is the opportunity for growth. In fact, researchers said that 56% of respondents ranked growth opportunities as more important to them than salary.

A good work-life balance is just as important to job seekers as it is to existing employees. They said the amount of vacation time offered (45%) and the potential commute distance (35%) were important considerations in evaluating a company.
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