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| Simple Data Tools to Help You Run Your Business Posted: 30 Nov 2019 02:31 PM PST By Marla Keene Information overload, be damned. You need the right information at your fingertips in order to run your business properly. The problem with information for many of us is twofold: One, we don't have a dedicated research department to take care of our backlog of product research, market trend analysis, and other small information needs that crop up on a daily basis; and secondly, we're not exactly sure how to pull all the information we need from the 1.5 billion (give or take a few) websites currently on the world wide web because we're too busy with two dozen other demands to become research experts. The following are six tips on where and how to find information quickly—a crash course in web research—so you can get the information you need and move on to more important tasks. 1. Always know market trends through GoogleGoogle is a powerful indicator of what people are currently searching for. You can access this information by going to trends.google.com where you can either view recently trending terms, or research trending information relating to your own industry. This data can be limited by time, by geographic area, or by subgroup search like image search or news. It can also be compared to a second, third, or fourth term by entering these into the search boxes at the top of the page. 2. Get your keywords for freeWordStream (www.wordstream.com/keywords) allows users to access the keyword search tool more than two dozen times at no charge. Keywords are still very important for optimizing your online content, for driving the right traffic to your website, and for moving your site to the top of search results. But do you know if you're using the right ones? Search terms have become longer as more users search via their smartphones using voice queries. Use this tool to research your keyword use and to tailor your online marketing for better SEO results. 3. Optimize the search on any websiteHave you ever spent valuable time staring at yet another page of a seemingly endless website because they don't have a search option, looking for a piece of information you need but that you forgot to bookmark? Don't ever feel that pain again. Instead, type site:websitename.com search term. Press enter. When I tried this for site:allbusiness.com expert, I was rewarded with 11,300 results in less than half a second. By adding another search term I can narrow down the search results and find exactly what I'm looking for. Incidentally, this works for entire domains as well. If I were to enter site: Edu NC engineering scholarship, I could quickly find every scholarship available for an engineering degree at a North Carolina university. Other Articles From AllBusiness.com:
4. Go back to the futureIt's been said you cannot erase the digital past. In many ways, that's true, but sometimes things happen that make websites go poof, at least on the front side of the web. If that's ever happened to you and you're suddenly left with a void to fill, or if you need to find some market research from a page that used to be there but no longer is, try going to web.archive.org to see if that page has ever been archived. You can enter the web address into the search bar on the page and see if any iterations have been captured in the past. Captures are marked on a calendar that goes back to the beginning of the web, with more complete captures appearing as larger circles and incomplete captures (perhaps only of landing pages) appearing as smaller circles. The archive also holds various texts, images, video, audio, and software, most available free for download. 5. Use a pictureDid you know you can search the web using an image or a graphic just as you can a search term? Click on the camera icon on the Google toolbar; you will be asked to either paste in an image URL or to upload your own image. Why would you want to do this? For many reasons. Maybe you want to see if any competitors have stolen your product images and are using them illegally. Maybe you want to find out more information about the item in question, but don't know what it's called or what it's used for. Maybe you found the image somewhere and need to find if it's a Creative Commons image or if you need to get permission from someone before you can legally add it to your website. 6. Use operators to narrow search resultsIt may be a little reminiscent of seventh grade math, but operators are your friend. These limiting elements will help return the exact information you're looking for. Following is a list of some of the most useful: Intext: Inurl: Intitle:—These search terms will limit your search to results with your search words in the location you've specified. For example, Intext: blue bicycle will only bring up pages with text referring to blue bicycles. Inurl: pdf will only bring up URLs that are also pdfs. Intitle: photography will only bring up pages with photography in their title. Asterisk (*)—An asterisk is a placeholder for an unknown, which is great if you're not exactly sure what you're looking for. "Stop chasing the money * Tony" will be enough to bring back the quote "Stop chasing the money and start chasing the passion." Quotes (“)—Use quotation marks if you know exactly what you're searching for in order to eliminate other options. "The Hard Thing About Hard Things" in quotes will limit your search results to the book by Ben Horowitz and articles relating to the book. Related—Want to know which websites compare to yours in Google? Type related: before your URL. For example, when I run related:www.axcontrol.com (my company) through Google, the search returns fifteen other industrial automation resellers. This is a great way to search out possible competitors you may not be aware of. 7. (A little bonus) Google is a less annoying SiriMany of the things Siri does, Google can do—minus the annoying jokes. Data conversions? Check. Currency conversions? Yup. Check flights or available hotel rooms? Sure. Google will even tell you the time difference between cities. Most of this information is easily had by typing the basic information into Google's toolbar. For example, type "New York Paris time" into Google, and Google will respond with the current time for each city along with a statement that "Paris is 6 hours ahead of New York." This kind of information is typically had by simple search terms, like "Weather *zip code,*" "Time *place,* or "Define *word.*" When it comes to data, it's best to keep your request simple. RELATED: How to Optimize Your Small Business Website for Voice Search The post Simple Data Tools to Help You Run Your Business appeared first on AllBusiness.com The post Simple Data Tools to Help You Run Your Business appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Guest Post.  |
| The Most Important Rule Your Business Must Follow When Going Global Posted: 30 Nov 2019 02:25 PM PST By Valerie Brown Growth beyond U.S. borders is not a hill you want to die on. Yet the global business highway is littered with the remains of deep-pocketed companies with best-in-class talent who failed to successfully expand their businesses into international markets. From consumer goods to the service sector, these death blows have hammered companies' bottom lines with seven- and eight-figure losses, an inestimable loss of face, and reduction in brand equity. In most cases, the businesses made assumptions about the local culture, consumer preferences, business practices, pricing, the economy, product, or marketing strategy. What they failed to grasp during the planning process is you must cast aside all previous notions of how your business works and begin crafting your strategy by assuming nothing. You must start from scratch. Surprisingly, many of the biggest failures have been Anglo-American—U.S. and UK businesses that thought a similar language implied a similar culture and marketplace. Though there are similarities, they are not the same. The size of the U.S. market and regional differences create a further need to cast aside assumptions. DON'T MISS: The Surprising Business Lesson I Learned From Salmon Conservationists [Business Insider] We learned the hard way when Hard Rock Café launched in Europe. As global head of brand, I believe we got the marketing right; but product, service, and location were more challenging. We misjudged food preferences, portion size, and the dining experience. Fortunately, we were quick studies and a small enough organization to be nimble and adapt quickly before too much damage was done. Location was a thornier issue. As a marketer, my top choice was always a high-traffic tourist area. The operations people were more concerned about high rent and usually won the battle, sometimes taking us off the beaten path and in harder-to-market locations. But our takeaway from all this was clear: we had made assumptions and some were wrong. How can you "assume nothing”? Don't rely on in-house talent only—you must work with local consultants from day one of the planning process. Whether natives or long-term expats, it is essential that you take advice from in-market professionals. They will help you avoid these rookie pitfalls: New market risk assessmentLegal, banking, taxation, the economy, political climate, labor practices, and regulations can greatly impact your financial projections and may lead to a decision to stay out of a market. It can be very expensive for a UK company to launch in the United States when the dollar is strong and British pound weak, or unwise for a U.S. company to switch its supply chain to a country where trade relations are shaky or unfavourable. Other markets can be high risk and physically dangerous due to terrorism or unstable leadership. Market research and competitive analysisA CEO dreaming of exciting business travel or a second home in Paris is not a reason to expand into a crowded or otherwise challenging marketplace. Can you compete on price, a unique feature or strong brand equity? If not, how will you differentiate your business, and do you have the significant funds necessary to introduce an entirely new and foreign brand? Product and pricingYou may have an innovative product, but does the local population care? If you're thinking, "I can't believe someone hasn't done this here yet!" there may be a reason why. Check it out—you must spend significant time in a market before pressing play, observing every aspect of a culture's lifestyle and consumer habits. Starbucks retrenched in Australia after an expensive realization that the Aussies did not want to pay more for coffee and preferred home-grown artisanal brands. They now operate primarily in tourist areas. Mattel discovered with their Barbie launch that Chinese parents prefer a doll with a purpose. "Coding Barbie" would have been more successful than a glam clothes horse. Both of these miscalculations were avoidable with the right research. Get pricing right from opening dayThe UK's popular Boots drugstore’s No7 skincare brand is not cheap at home. But they did their research and ended up selling at a much lower price in the United States, where consumers don't expect "drugstore brands" to be pricey. (This London/New York-based consumer noticed, and I pick up my No7 when in the U.S.) Other Articles From AllBusiness.com:
Sales and marketingThe internet has not made all marketing global. One Facebook account does not fit all. You need media and messaging across all platforms to be created for the local culture, in their language, including British or American English for across-the-pond expansion. And beware of repurposing content from other markets with just a tweak. You may need to start anew with fresh imagery and copy that speaks to your new market. Customer serviceWhen Walmart opened in Germany, the Germans were not happy to have their groceries packed for them by (really) cheery American-style bag packers. As I learned when I moved to the UK, we pack our own bags over here. Get your service right from day one. Your best strategy"Assuming nothing" is your best strategy, and whenever possible, "open small." Dip your toe in the market rather than take the high dive. This isn't possible for every type of business, particularly where complex supply chains are involved or there is a need to grab market share quickly, but it mitigates risk and allows you to make relatively inexpensive adjustments for any miscalculations. International expansion is not for the fainthearted, but the rewards can be great. RELATED: Here's How to Make a Great First Impression With Your International Clients The post The Most Important Rule Your Business Must Follow When Going Global appeared first on AllBusiness.com The post The Most Important Rule Your Business Must Follow When Going Global appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Guest Post.  |
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