Using Hold Music To Influence Customer Behavior

Using Hold Music To Influence Customer Behavior

Feb 8, 2019

Ever been on hold?

Like… FOREVER on hold?

At the time I started writing this article, my time on hold with my bank is 38 minutes, 13 seconds. It’s been a roller coaster of emotions based both on the situation and maybe the music. 

How Much Thought Goes Into Hold Music?

A lifetime ago I was the manager of a large customer support group for a regional ISP (Internet Service Provider). On a normal day hold times were in the low single digits and often were nearly zero.

However, there was a time in the infancy of broadband DSL service where the Code Red virus and other worms caused a huge spike in issues and hold times. Way back then there was no consideration of the types of hold music being played, and the hold times jumped to nearly a half hour. Customers were furious, as were the technicians, who spend the first five minutes on a call calming down a client instead of fixing the issue. (hold time – now 43:06).

But as I sit here on hold and typing this post I started to think, have modern call centers put thought and effort in the hold music to manipulate client behavior?

How Casinos Use Sound, Scent and Sight

It’s a well known fact that casinos have mastered customer manipulation. There are no clocks and minimal windows to make sure you lose track of time. Scents are pumped into the casinos to cause certain reactions. Lighting is carefully controlled to make the machines and other games “pop.”

But sound is a huge part of the “game” as well. An article on how the sound of slot machines can manipulate players was published in 2013 by the Washington Post.  The main theme of the article was how slot machines use sound to think you’ve won when in reality you’ve won only a portion of your wager. You may have bet $1, but maybe you hit a sequence that only paid out $.25, but the sounds are very similar to winning $1 or more. A computer scientist even called the term the “Awww Shucks Effect.”  (Awww shucks, still on hold. Now 51:52).

Do Call Centers Choose Music To Affect Behavior?

Being a DJ for over a quarter century I can attest to using music to manipulate behavior in night clubs and wedding venues. Beats per minute and sound energy can do some amazing things when used correctly.

So doing some very quick internet searches while on hold I was able to find some articles on why you would like “some” music on hold. An article on using music to improve customer retention states 52% of callers hang up with silence within one minute, 13% with just music, and only 2% if there’s music with some information.

In another article on what customers think of hold music a callers stated “I was on hold to Primus yesterday and they were playing LCD Soundstystem… when did corporate music get so cool?” (And… disconnected at 58:15!)

But the same article re-enforces the point that music and other sounds can cause different reactions. One client wanted a way to opt out of “bad” hold music. Another was happy the hold music was the Cheers! theme.

If You Never Answer The Call, Music Means Nothing

But my question still stands… are call centers using hold music to manipulate behavior? No one really comes out and says it, but I did notice a change in the music style and other pieces of the puzzle. The beats seemed to be slower the longer I was on hold, which in a night club is used to calm things a bit with slow songs or just reset the BPM. There were no voiceovers after the first 10 minutes so I didn’t have to listen to “we’ll be right with you” or a sales pitch. The music wasn’t popular music so I could ignore it while still “hearing” it. 

All of this created, I guess, a satisfactory experience. But it still came down to this… THEY NEVER ANSWERED MY DAMN CALL/QUESTION! You  can have all the best music and other behavior modifying features in your technology, website, or call center, but if you don’t handle the customer, it’s meaningless.

I guess I’ll go into the bank building and ask my question when I run to the post office later today. Since I’m doing things from the 70’s today, maybe I’ll grab a newspaper and stop at the arcade for a game of pinball.

 Do you have information on using music to manage call centers? Send them to me @BeBizzy on Twitter!

Run All Your Business Processes From One Tool – Accelo

Run All Your Business Processes From One Tool – Accelo

Jan 30, 2019

Using Accelo To Manage Your Business

Geoff McQueen - AcceloOn this episode of the BeBizzy Break Podcast I interview Geoff McQueen, CEO and Founder of Accelo, on what prompted this wonderful invoicing, time management, ticketing and lead management system to be created and how you can use it to manage your business.

I’ve been a user for a little over a month, and having set it up myself, have seen the good, the great, and the “I should have asked for help” parts of Accelo. Check it out at https://accelo.com and get that free trial started!

Subscribe to the BeBizzy Break Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. 

What is Accelo?

Accelo is a cloud-based “Service Operations Automation” platform. From here you can set up management of : 

  • Leads
  • Projects
  • Tasks
  • Time Tracking
  • Proposals
  • Support Tickets
  • Invoicing
  • … and just about everything else you need to run your business.

Geoff and his team have built a wonderfully useful tool that, while it’s been effective for thousands of businesses, is still customizable to your business needs in nearly all phases. 

Manage All Of Your Client Work In One Place

As Geoff says in the podcast, many of us in small business services have a “cocktail” of software and systems in place to do all of the things needed to run the business. Instead of using Accelo as a hub for everything I was using:

  • Toggl for time tracking
  • Wave Accounting for invoicing
  • Shoeboxed for expense tracking
  • Freshdesk for support tickets
  • And about 10 project and task management systems over the years.

Accelo allows me to do ALL of these things in one place. So I open it in the morning, or on my mobile devices, and I can get to everything listed above. The time savings alone are worth the small monthly fee for the system.

accelo-logoBuilt For Your Service Business

“Easy-to-use, automated and intelligent” is how Accelo describes itself. Unlike very focused software that can only do one thing, Accelo does a great job of making needed systems available in one tool. It breaks down into four or five silos.

  • Sales – A good CRM (customer relationship management) software can cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars just to bring in leads and manage the sales process. Accelo handles an amazing spectrum of sales processes including integrating with your email account to document a stream with contacts, appointments, estimates, billing and invoicing, and more. 
  • Projects – Accelo does a great job of project planning and tracking. There’s a project module that allows a Gantt Chart-like system to be automatically created when planning a project, complete with cost and resource estimates. There’s a wonderful task tracking system as well that is easily managed and edited with smaller sub-tasks. And there’s ways to bring in outside resources and the client when needed. 
  • Service – No one wants to do work without getting paid. Accelo has wonderful time logging, ticket tracking, expenses and billing. So instead of logging time in one place, support tickets in another, and then billing in yet a third you can do everything right here. And each timer can be logged against a project or company making it easy to track time on very specific projects.
  • Retainers – A fairly new addition is retainers. Geoff referenced how it’s good business to partner with some of your best clients by offering them a certain amount of work each month 
  • Integration With Other Big Platforms – Accelo integrates with dozens of the biggest, most popular services in the world. I process payments with Stripe, get email and calendars in GSuite, communicate with vendors and even some clients with Slack. All of these are essentially plug-and-play with Accelo (well maybe not P-N-P, but close!) which only increases the ability to mold the tool to my business, not the other way around.

How To Get Started With Accelo

Accelo is very customizable, so unlike many products it’s easy to make the tool do what you need, rather than change a process to fit the tool. That being said, some recommendations for tasks to complete before starting with Accelo are:

  • Sit down and think through how you server your clients. These are the things that are similar for each client, and here’s what is different.
  • Draw out project and sales process flow on a whiteboard or paper.
  • Accelo offers up some integration services if the scope is too large, or it’s thought best to use the experts to set the system up. 
  • The documentation is wonderful, and support is not instant, but quick enough and the help is always good.

The best way to move forward is simply to go to Accelo.com and sign up for the free trial. Cost is based on what is needed, how many team members will be involved, and how hands-off the setup will be. 

Are you an Accelo user? Let Accelo and I know about it @BeBizzy on Twitter!

Subscribe to the BeBizzy Break Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. 

Optimizing Social Media Posts with RiteKit

Optimizing Social Media Posts with RiteKit

Jan 24, 2019

How RiteKit’s Tools Can Help You With Your Social Media

Most of us in business post to social media accounts, whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and many others. But many of us post on each site individually, and if you do use a management tool like Hootsuite or Buffer are still not using it in an optimal fashion.

RiteKit CEO Saul Fleischman gives us some guidance on how RiteTag, RiteForge, RiteBoost and Rite.ly can make things way easier!

Subscribe to the BeBizzy Break Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. 

What is RiteKit?

RiteKit is actually a collection of four tools:

  • RiteTag – Get instant hashtag suggestions for images and text, anywhere on the web and mobile. Must-have for Instagram and Pinterest.
  • RiteForge – Craft, schedule and publish remarkable posts with the auto-magical Enhance button and many other time-saving tools.
  • Rite.ly – Soft-sell on all links you share. Add self-branded Calls-To-Action on links and track clicks and conversions. Exclusive video CTAs available.
  • RiteBoost – Already got a favorite publishing tool? Enhance posts in Buffer, Hootsuite or anything else. Create Enhanced posts in bulk from RSS, Feedly or Pocket.

Each of these tools can help you increase your response from your social posts by helping you keep in front of them with custom links, get #hashtag help, and more all from your browser with browser extensions and mobile apps.

RiteTag

RiteTag is a hashtag and posting assistance engine that will build a post and suggest relevant hashtags based on the page, titles, images and other factors. These hashtags can be used on any social media platform including Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. The RiteTag tool allows the suggested hashtags to be placed at the end of your posts, or even integrated into the copy. You can even choose which language to suggest hashtags!

RiteForge

RiteForge is a next-level product compared to RiteTag. It still suggests hashtags, but now you can add animated GIFs, emojis, find influencers and even schedule evergreen content multiple times over the course of days, or even months. It’s still a browser extension is easy to use. Simply click the RiteForge button and “enhance.” There are additional options there. Or, you can highlight text, right-click and “Share with RiteForge” and select from a series of options to use special background options, edit the text, add emojis, preview the post, and then submit to a pre-built group of social platforms, or select them individually. Like RiteTag you can also get suggested hashtags that are color-coded as hot, overused, never used, etc.

Finally, RiteForge allows you to schedule when the posts will go out, but also schedule a post to be sent out multiple times.

Rite.ly

Rite.ly is the default short-URL generator has a number of benefits when compared to other short-url’s like bit.ly, goo.gl, and more. The main benefit is for a customizable popup to be seen by your visitors when they go to the linked page. Some of the customizations include a video popup, some text, ads, and just about anything else.

You can even customize the URL to be branded by your own url or a desired URL.

Rite.ly works very well with RiteForge.

RiteBoost

RiteBoost provides the ability to add the Enhance feature across all social media platforms like Hootsuite, Buffer and more. It adds a button on you favorite posting method (Hootsuite for me) that makes it very easy to post and customize your post from your favorite social media program. RiteBoost also provides ways to bring in content from feeds from RSS, Pocket, Evernote, Reddit and many more online properties.

I’m going to start using RiteKit

As mentioned in the podcast, the RiteKit tools solve some huge time-sucking issues faced by many of us that use social media for our businesses. Finding relevant hashtags, making the posts engaging by enhancing with imagery and emojis, scheduling future posts, using multiple social media sites…all are possible using one or more of the RiteKit tools. Listen to the podcast for more great tips from Saul, sign up, use the tools where you are… on the page, in Hootsuite, in Facebook.  

Enjoy and optimize your business social media with the RiteKit tools. 

Have you used any of the RiteKit programs and have some comments or suggestions? Leave them @BeBizzy on Twitter!

Subscribe to the BeBizzy Break Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. 

Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile

Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile

Jan 16, 2019

Donna Serdula of LinkedIn-Makeover.com

Today we are featuring an interview with Donna Serdula.

Donna pioneered the concept of LinkedIn Profile optimization and is the author of LinkedIn Optimization for Dummies. Through her website, LinkedIn-Makeover.com, Donna and her team of 40 writers, help thousands of LinkedIn users strategically write their profile in order to engage with their audience and grown their brand.

So if you’re looking for some tips on building or optimizing your LinkedIn profile, listen to the podcast, then if you think there’s a need for some professional help, engage Donna and her team at LinkedIn-Makeover.com.

Enjoy the interview!

Subscribe to the BeBizzy Break Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. 

Why Should You Be Creating A LinkedIn Profile?

Typically, something happened in your life that prompts the creation of a LinkedIn page/profile. 

  • Looking for a new job
  • Graduating college
  • Start hearing rumbles of a job going away
  • Started a new business
  • Skipped over for a promotion
  • Press releases featuring you
  • Cold calling
  • You lost a big client
  • Going to a conference

Something has happened and people are now going to be looking at you. LinkedIn provides a way for you to feature information you want presented to those looking for you, your name and your company online.

It is often used as an online resume. But if you put some strategic thought into LinkedIn being your career future, not a digital resume. 

People are searching for you all the time. Resumes are for your professional history, but your LinkedIn profile offers a chance to talk about you along with your company or product.

Common Errors on Your LinkedIn Profile

  • Pay attention to your profile photo – get a professional headshot. No partners, kids, annoying backdrop. Smile. No selfies! Use a resource like headshotcrew.com
  • Background Graphic – Replace the default graphic with something that illustrates your brand, your message or your company. Unsplash.com and linkedin-makeover.com has some great images.
  • LinkedIn Headline – replace the default name/company data with a custom message (120 characters) that’s a “tagline” to capture attention. That headline moves all over LinkedIn with you when you recommend someone, search results, activity and more. A better headline will result in more clicks and views. LinkedIn-Makeover.com has a LinkedIn headline generator to spit out an engaging headline that you can copy and paste into your headline.
  • Contact Information – Make sure your email address, your phone number and other information is visible. Also put it at throughout the profile at the end of the profile, at the end of job information, and just about anywhere else. There is a chance you will get some unwanted calls, but weight that against getting valid prospects or leads.
  • Summary – This is where many people copy/paste their resume. Sit down and carefully craft a 2,000 character story that includes relevant keywords, and is about what makes you different. What are you good at, what do you offer, what do you like to do? This is really a great place to work with professional writers like Donna’s company to make this work for you. Finally, don’t brag, just tell the story where a potential client or hiring manager comes away feeling good about you. Finally, keep this up to date. You never know when that new client, new project or new education will separate you.

Other LinkedIn Tips

  • Regular posting shows you are active and engaged – Even if it’s not making profile changes, sharing relevant articles or your own blog posts show you are here and it’s good content. 
  • Paid vs. Free Accounts – There are advantages to premium accounts, it’s important to just start using LinkedIn. For most people the free version is more than enough, but salespeople, recruiters and others can find larger pools of prospects and candidates.
  • Building Your Following on LinkedIn – There are two types of relationships on LinkedIn. The “connection” is where you’ve invited a person to connect and they say yes. These are 1st degree connections and you can see how everyone is connected to 2nd and 3rd degree. A “follower” is where you can see what is being posted on LinkedIn. If you want to find people you should have a good, relevant sized connection network. A good rule of thumb is to make your online network reflect your offline network. Go back in time and connect with past co-workers, friends, classmates because you never know where opportunities will come from. 
  • Are LinkedIn Groups Dead – LinkedIn groups are absolutely worth joining and utilizing. Group members are added to your network so strategically it makes sense to join groups. Find and join groups that are lined with your interests and industry and it will branch out your reach. And LinkedIn is revising how groups are working and things should be improving. 
  • #Hashtags – Hashtags have sort of replaced groups by grouping messages and posts with a common message or theme into a searchable feed. Put hashtags in your posts and search for hashtags to find information 

Setting Yourself Apart on LinkedIn

To set yourself apart on LinkedIn is looking at the platform in a strategic way. Design your images, your headline and your message in a way that answers “Why am I on LinkedIn?” New job, new clients… vanity? Figure out what success on LinkedIn looks like to you. Then figure out who is the target audience? Hiring managers, potential clients, the press? Then determine what keywords will be searched to find you? Finally, write the profile and headline towards that strategy and use those keywords. 

Have any questions or suggestions on using LinkedIn? Leave them below, or send them to me @BeBizzy on Twitter!

Subscribe to the BeBizzy Break Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. 

The “I Need A Website” Scam (and do you accept credit cards?)

The “I Need A Website” Scam (and do you accept credit cards?)

Jan 9, 2019

It’s a scam!

itsascamI received an email through my contact form today from “Carl” or “Amos.”

Hello, how are you doing today? My name is Carl Amos, I wanna know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me… so i can send you the job details.Thanks Amos

Sounds good if you’re a web designer, right? Here’s a tip… it’s a scam.

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Just Like Superman 3

Back a few years ago in December 2016 I received a similar email message, except the website product was gacillia nuts.  They wanted a website, provided very few details at first, and wanted to know if I accepted credit cards.

When you respond that you do indeed accept credit cards, you get some more information. Here’s the email I received:

Thank you for your quick response. I have business which i want to turn into large scale business now it located in IN and the company is based on importing and exporting of Salon Equipment such as Dryer, haircream, Weavon, Hairdressing, Clippers, i need the best of the best layout design for it. Can you handle that for me ?. so i need you to check out this site but i need something more perfect than this if its possible.DEMO_WEBSITE_URL_REMOVED... I have a private consultant that has the text content and logo for the site. the site would only be informational, so i need you to give me an estimate.
1. I want 10pages with the example site i gave you to check excluding videos and blogs.
2. I want only English language
3. I don’t have a domain yet but i want the domain name as DOMAIN_NAME_REMOVED
4. you will be updating the site for me twice in a month.
5. i will be providing the images, logos and content for the site.
6. i want the site up and running before ending of 2 to 3months.
7. My budget is $6,000 to $12,000
8. Give me your personal cell phone number
9. Are you the Owner

office-space-printer-scene-amazonHere’s the flags:

  • Usually an “importer” of products, either hairdryers or gacillia nuts.
  • The scam almost always seems to be 10 pages.
  • Only English language.
  • The sample domain name they send always gets an error that it cannot find the server, even though they say in the email they would like a domain “like XXXXXX.com.”
  • Hint in one of the first emails that they already have a graphic designer or project manager that will need to be paid.

Here’s where it gets weird.

I sent a response back to CarlAmos, asking if I should build a site like this? THIS being a link to a website documenting this exact scam. CarlAmos responded with “Yes, that’s it!” and asked for an estimate. 

If you pursue this little game a little further, the actual scam comes to light. The scammer, CarlAmos in this movie, has an associate who is a project manager, graphic designer, or content developer. CarlAmos will pay you whatever your estimate is, plus a little bit more via the credit card. In turn, you have to write a check to the PM/GD/CD that works for them. They won’t sign a contract, won’t fill out a 1099 as an independent contractor, nothing. Just cut them a check and keep the rest. 

What happens next is how they make their money. You wrote a check to pay their contractor. That check is cashed for real money, not deposited. They will then do a chargeback on the credit card transaction, which withdraws the money from your account, you pay a chargeback fee/fine, and when you try to stop payment on the check (which has a fee associated with it), the check’s already been cashed so they have their money. You’re out the initial payment, the money in the check and the chargeback fee. That might leave a mark…

Luckily I’ve seen this movie before, might have been Superman 3, and knew it was rotten. I’m most likely going to just let this go, and then maybe send CarlAmos this link so they know I’m on to them and they can remove me from the list. 

In the past when I’ve pushed them to get on a call to discuss I’ve gotten a response that they have a hearing impairment and rather than going through a relay service, it’s best to communicate via email or text. That’s B.S., they just don’t want to talk face to face and have the curtain pulled back when you can hide behind email. 

too-good-to-be-trueBut here’s the reason I posted this today… if something seems a little to good to be true, it probably is. I’m a small web design firm in North Dakota. Sure, I’ve done work for companies in New York, San Diego, LA, Boston, Austin and more, but to get a guy from IN (India?) wanting a website built for him, an importer, just triggered a few warning bells.

Take a few moments to qualify your potential client. Get the company name, look everything up, including the content of the email, and see if anything weird pulls up. Sometimes it hurts to walk away from potential business, but in cases like this it’s a good decision.

Have you been sent this scam or something similar? Let me know @BeBizzy on Twitter!

Subscribe to the BeBizzy Break Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. 

How and Why To Use WordPress Plugins

How and Why To Use WordPress Plugins

Jan 8, 2019

What Are WordPress Plugins?

Plugins are a powerful way to add functionality and uniqueness to your website. They range from Free, to free with premium (Freemium), or a paid model.

Most plugins are created by solo plugin developers, but a few are created by large theme and plugin houses. Because of this, expect a wide variety of support models

Some common front-end uses for plugins include calendars, contact forms, social media displays, content display like videos, image galleries and sound, sliders, and much more

But did you know there were quite a few administrative plugins for things like user management, security, SSL migration, analytics, database management, caching and a ton more.

Subscribe to the BeBizzy Break Podcast on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. 

What are the benefits?

  • Plugins are easy to install – Search the WordPress plugin repository, or just click “Add New” in the plugins menu, install, activate and configure. The entire process can take as little as two minutes.
  • Big cost savings on custom development or programming – With just a few clicks something that can take days, or even weeks to develop can be added to a site.
  • Plugins are powerful – CDN plugins can add speed to a website. Contact forms can add lead generation to a site. Calendars can increase engagement and make it easy to distribute events. Social media plugins can bring in posts from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social media platforms, and can make it easy to share on these networks. All of this functionality would take a much greater amount of time to develop by hand instead of using WordPress plugins.
  • WordPress security – WordPress by itself is fairly secure. If you use a good password, have it installed on a decent host with a good username/password there, and take a few other precautions your site will be protected. However, if you really want to lock down admin access, make secure & frequent backups, or really shore up your security, plugins are a great way to do so.
    • Good backups and great passwords are still the best thing you can do, in my opinion.

But what are the possible issues with WordPress plugins?

  • Malware – There are some plugins that have been developed by some programmers with less-than-positive intentions. Backdooors and even malware programmed right into the software do happen.
  • Must be maintained – As you add plugins to the website it’s important to know maintenance becomes more important. Keeping the plugins, the theme and the WordPress core is valuable to keeping the site secure and running as it should. However, sometimes and update to one plugins and conflict with others, so running backups is very important.
  • Can be exploited – If a plugin is “abandoned,” meaning no longer updated, or even if a plugin is poorly programmed it can open a hole to bad actors. Keep you plugins updated to make sure you are as protected as possible and if a plugin has been abandoned for a significant amount of time, try to find a similar solution, or even  try to find a developer to fix or edit the current plugin.
  • Unused or Deactivated Plugins are Still Vulnerable – Just because you’re not using a plugin, or even if you deactivated it, the code is still vulnerable and could be exploited. Once you stop using a plugin, deactivate it in your Plugin directory, then delete it from the server to avoid potential issues.

Tips on selecting good plugins

  • Research the best plugin options – Google has tons of articles on the “Best WordPress Plugins for …” often with the most current year attached. You don’t want a list from 2012, as things have changed quite a bit in the last six or seven years. See what everyone else is using and what the pros and cons are of using each plugin.
  • Review WordPress Plugin repository Information – Each plugin has a page in the repository.  They will have a 1-5 star rating, when it was last updates, how many times it’s been installed, what version of WordPress it’s been test on, reviews, how to install, and links to support. If any of this information causes concern proceed with caution or find a different solution.
  • Be Prepared to Retreat – Sometimes installing a new plugin causes unforeseen issues with your theme or other installed plugins on the website, so be prepared to deactivate the plugins, or in the event of a catastrophic issue, restore a backup. It’s recommended to install in test environments if possible, or on the live site when the site it’s being used at its peak.
  • Try several plugins – Since most plugins are free, it’s ok to try several until you find one that meets your needs. Just remember to deactivate and delete the ones you aren’t using to keep the site safe.

Plugins are a great way to make WordPress a powerful, secure environment. With just a little bit of care, and some selective processes in finding the best plugin you can make your WordPress as good as it can possibly be.

Have any questions or comments on WordPress plugins? Send them to me @BeBizzy on Twitter!

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5 Things You Need To Know About WP 5 – Gutenberg

5 Things You Need To Know About WP 5 – Gutenberg

Jan 3, 2019

WordPress 5.0, or Gutenberg, was finally released on December 6, 2018, just a few weeks before the Christmas holiday, and just in time to say it was released in 2018.

The Gutenberg release is a new page builder that is being designed to integrate with WordPress core. Gutenberg will add content blocks and page builder-like functionality to every up-to-date WordPress website. When in use, it will replace TinyMCE as the default content editor. With Gutenberg, content is added in blocks of various types from the WordPress backend.

You can download an the most recent version of WordPress here, or get access to previous versions here, just in case you need to retreat.. 

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5 Things You Need To Know About WordPress 5.0 – Gutenberg

 

  • Blocks : WP5 is based on blocks, or portions of content. Each paragraph of text is a separate block, as well as images, galleries, lists, quotes, audio videos and more.It even makes it easier to embed objects from YouTube, social media accounts, Google Maps, and just about anywhere else. But the biggest advantage to using the new editor is formatting and layout blocks. Now it’s easier to add columns, page breaks, spacers and other elements to the page that traditionally could only be done easily in certain themes live Divi or Elementor.

 

  • The Classic Editor is still a click away, as well as the Edit as HTML editor in case you want to get into the code. While there are other benefits to using the updated editor and code, those who still wish to use the classic WordPress editor can do so simply by clicking the Classic Editor tab on the editor box. Access to the HTML editor is under the three dot menu, or typing Ctrl + Shift + Alt + M (clicking seems much easier!) on your keyboard. I still see benefits to using the HTML editor when embedding content or doing some special formatting work.Just some fair warning. If you’re going to use WordPress long-term and you don’t use themes that allow you to edit in their environment, you will have to learn how to use the new Gutenberg editor as the classic editor will most likely be phased out eventually.

 

  • Plugins and Themes may not be compatible with Gutenberg. Theme editors and plugin developers have been scrambling for months to prepare for WordPress 5.0.Here’s the problem… while the theme and plugins may work individually, there’s a fair chance that code that used to play well with others could not cause unusual conflicts or even critical failures when several plugins are enabled with your theme. It is highly recommended you 1) backup before updating in case you need to retreat, and 2) test in a staging environment to see if there’s anything that could go wrong and fix it there before making the site live. Use this time to maybe replace some “abandoned” plugins and find newer, better alternatives to your current plugins. Or maybe you don’t even need some older plugins as the results may have been incorporated into WordPress or your themes.

 

  • Faster? While I haven’t seen anything online confirming Gutenberg to be faster than WordPress 4.x, I can give you anecdotable evidence that several of the sites I’ve upgraded saw a noticeable increase in speed. Nothing documented, and these sites are fairly small,  but it’s tangible. I still haven’t updated the largest of my client’s sites, as I’m waiting for a few versions of 5.0.x to come in, as well as some incremental updates to the Divi theme before I jump in.

 

  • This IS an upgrade! Many of the recent WordPress updates were small, almost unnoticeable unless you lived in the environment all-day, everyday. But Gutenberg will change the way most people use WordPress for the better, even if the initial change is tough. WordPress 5.x is faster, will be more secure, have more options, be ready for PHP 7.3 and beyond, and enable theme and plugin developers many more options in the coming months and years.

Here’s the short version of what you just read or heard. Prepare for the WordPress 5.0 update by backing everything up and getting a base to return to in case there’s a big problem. This would be a good time to migrate everything to a staging or test environment if you have access to one. Update your themes and plugins to the most recent version to make sure they can work with WP5. Then run the Gutenberg updater in your WordPress dashboard. Cross your fingers and see what worked and what didn’t. Be prepared to spend a fair amount of time looking at the site and making some changes to some things. After testing, make another backup (don’t overwrite the old one!) and migrate back to the live environment, or run the same sequence of updates there. Pray, test and enjoy your updated version of WordPress. As promised in the podcast, here’s some basic information on the Gutenberg editor.

Run in some issues with your WordPress update? Give BeBizzy a call at 701-214-6271 or contact us through bebizzy.com or our social media channels and we’ll see if we can help you out! Have any questions or suggestions on going paperless? Leave them below, or send them to me @BeBizzy on Twitter!

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Using Mind Maps To Plan Your Business

Using Mind Maps To Plan Your Business

Aug 30, 2018

Mind Maps Make Meetings Better (and more productive)

Every have to take meeting notes?

How about use the meeting as problem solving method? And everyone sits in a room to defend their business silo, but no one wants to talk about the primary issue that needs to be addressed?

Well using mind maps might be the way to draw out the best solutions from the group.

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What is Mind Mapping

  • Way of visually getting ideas you don’t know are in your head or trapped in a team and representing them in an easy to use format of subjects, ideas and sub-ideas.
  • Essientially here’s how it works
    • Start with a main topic or issue, the Subject. Say, SEO for Website
    • Start populating the second level, or Ideas, with possible issues or groupings of drill-down items. In this case. Internal teams, External Resources, Training, Measurement Criteria, Other Items, etc.
    • Then, inside each of these ideas, there are sub-ideas, resource details, questions to ask, action items, etc.
      • All of these can usually be signified in the software with either custom icons like a checkbox, question mark, etc, or with different text colors.
    • Each of the Ideas start a branch of “bubbles” on the mind map, which then branch out again, and even again if necessary. All of this forms an easy to use diagram, which in many cases can be converted to a more traditional outline format if needed. 

Why is Mind Mapping Better Than Plain Old Words?

  • Ever try to add an item in a traditionally list on paper or a white board? Your options are to erase and move items, add it to the bottom and signify it needs to be somewhere else, or draw an impromptu mind map with lines, bubbles and some text anyway.
  • Humans consume visual data quicker and better than plain text. Ever wonder why TV and magazines and of course, the web, have ousted newspapers? Highly visual and easily consumed ideas instead of long, wordy sentences. 
  • Mind Mapping encourages grouping of ideas and expanding on those ideas, whereas simple text can be limited by the format.

How to Mind Map?

  • Start with an idea or subject that is easy to solve. If the subject is too complex, break it down and then build mind maps for an easy to consume part of the mind map, therefore solving the bigger issue by conquering the smaller ones.
  • Use images, hyperlinks, contact information and more to make the document more useful or easy to follow. 
  • Also use different colors for the different Idea branches to make it easy to navigate inside each topic and subtopic.
  • Use short phrases to capture ideas, especially in the brainstorming portion of mind mapping. You can always go back and expand on issues, but capture what you need, and only what you need initially.

Any Pitfalls to Avoid When Mind Mapping?

  • Concentrating on one item too long. Dump ideas and move on, you can sort everything out later.
  • Not having someone leading the mind mapping that knows how to ask for expansion or more creativity. 
  • Capturing vague ideas and not documenting or expanding them.

What Software Can I Use to do Mind Mapping?

  • Mind Meister : Free for up to 3 maps, $5 for personal, $8 for a Pro account and $12.50 for enterprice (all per user, per month)
  • Coggle : Little more bare bones, not the catalog of templates or “flair” but cost : Personal – free, 3 private diagrams, Awesome is $5/month for most of what you will need, and $8 for an “organization” account if more customization needed for teams.
  • Mind Manager : really a virtual whiteboard but it’s by the company I was first exposed to in Mind Mapping, Mindjet. It’s #349 for Windows, $179 for Mac. All have 30-day trials. Full-featured and wonderful software. 

Have any questions or suggestions on going mind mapping? Leave them below, or send them to me @BeBizzy on Twitter!

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Shared Email Inboxes – BeBizzy Break Podcast EP: 71

Shared Email Inboxes – BeBizzy Break Podcast EP: 71

Aug 22, 2018

Does your business have a shared inbox?

Most small, and nearly ALL large businesses have generic email inboxes that are logged into by two or more staff members. Sometimes it can get messy when everyone, or in some cases no one, log into the box to handle customer requests, questions, or just to clean it out.

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Why would you need a shared inbox?

Current and potential clients like to have generic email inboxes they can use to contact your company. Addresses like “info@”, “support@”, and “customerservice@” help them reach the right person. But sometimes it’s never just ONE person, but a group that keeps that inbox monitored. And this can sometimes cause collisions of two people working the same issue, or worse, ZERO people working the same issue because they thought it was being handled by someone else.

Ways to set up a shared inbox

  • Manual – An email gets sent to “info@” and several people all see it in their inbox. Someone has to accept that email, read it, respond back to the sender, then file that email in a different folder or use whatever process is mandated by the business to mark it as complete.The problem arises when the inbox is set up incorrectly and not everyone sees it being read so multiple people start working the issue, or everyone sees it and assumes it will be handled by someone else so no one helps the customer.In this case, there needs to be a documented process of who handles it and when. If rep A is gone, rep B works it. If it sits for more than “x” hours then the manager or someone else is specified to handle it. If there are no documented processes you will have breakdowns or cause extra work on certain issues.
  • Forms on the Website – Putting a form on the website does a couple of things. First, you don’t give out actual email addresses but you can still direct subjects selected by the client to a particular email address. This means all “info@,” “questions@,” or whatever goes to an actual person, not a group of people, but the client doesn’t see who gets it. This also allows some flexibility when someone leaves the company, is on vacation, or is just too busy to handle these types of requests.A second benefit of forms is they allow you to format the information being gathered instead of just letting the sender put whatever information they wish into the form. So you can ask for and even require names, email addresses, phone numbers, subjects, and just about anything else you want or need.Finally, many of these forms can be saved to a database AND sent to a person or persons, so in the event email goes down, a person’s address is terminated for whatever reason, or something just isn’t handled right away, you can look at the data and recover this request and fix the issue.The one drawback is this format requires the user to actually go to the website to submit the form instead of just firing off an email from their phone or email application.
  • CRM – Customer Relationship Management platforms are the next step beyond email forms. They are databases or applications that use form or email information to create tickets that can be handled by one or more people. Some potential CRM platforms in a wide variety of functions and price are Hubspot, Zoho and Freshdesk (what I use at BeBizzy).There are so many benefits to this type of system including:
    • Saved threads of communication with the client
    • Formatted questions that require the sender to provide necessary information to solve the issue like invoice numbers, usernames, phone numbers and more.
    • Many have the ability to add an FAQ, support forum, or other intermediary step where the sender can often solve their own problems or the group can solve it before you can.
    • Most CRM platforms are located off the website network, so it doesn’t affect the traffic or performance of the website
    • It provides an auditable trail to see how long it took to respond, how many interactions did it take before resolution, who handles how many tickets, and more.

Bottom Line

Shared inboxes are a great way to handle client request or questions. They allow your company to respond as a group instead of relying on just one person. But it more control is needed, the first step would be to create some forms on the website that send to specific people and save to a database. If the budget exists, or the need is great enough, a CRM is a great way to handle support tickets, general inquiries or other client requests. If the cost looks too big, weigh the option of what does it cost to lose a current or potential customer because something wasn’t handled right away.

Have any questions or suggestions on going paperless? Leave them below, or send them to me @BeBizzy on Twitter!

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What Are Landing Pages and Why Do I Need One?

What Are Landing Pages and Why Do I Need One?

Aug 8, 2018

Landing Pages

You’ve probably heard of landing pages. You may even HAVE a landing page. But you also might not know why you have it, what it’s doing, or even how to fix it if you’re not seeing results.

On today’s Episode 70 of the BeBizzy Break Podcast we talk with the Landing Page School Podcast host Nicholas Scalice and find out what you might, and might not, know about landing pages.

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First, some tech news

First, two big updates in the last week or so.

WordPress 4.9.8 was launched.  We are getting very close to 5.0, which will include the Gutenberg update to WordPress. Very anticipated version which will bring on a visual editor and promises to change the WP landscape for the better. That remains to be seen with older websites, themes, etc. But the 4.9.8 update does have the “Try Gutenberg” callout. It’s an opportunity to try the Gutenberg editor before it is released in 5.0. I have not doesn’t it yet, but will test shortly.

Also has 18 privacy fixes and a few other improvements. I’ve updated all my sites with not issues, but make sure you back up before you do anything.

Also, Android released it’s Android P (Pie) update for the Google Pixel phones. I updated my Pixel 2 XL on Monday. Small changes in the notifications and menus, but for the most part it was a pretty seamless update. I’m sure there will be more as I use it, including the Adaptive Battery feature, which promises to turn down battery usage on apps that are not in use at the time, but still running.

Finally, Samsung will be announcing the Note 9 tomorrow (Aug 9). Lots of huge improvements for this devices anticipated including a bigger battery, better screen and camera, and the Adaptive Battery. Can’t wait for that announcement. FYI, you can sign up to watch the announcement live at this Samsung website.

Now on to today’s main topic… landing pages. Most of you have heard the term, and maybe even use them on your websites. But I have a couple of sites that are going to be implementing them, and decided now would be a great time to bring in an expert, which is why I called on Nicholas Scalice, the host of the Landing Page School Podcast.  So this is me, and Nicolas Scalice… enjoy.

What are Landing Pages

Landing pages are a page on your website that has a very specific purpose, audience, and/or message. It should be developed to get the visitor to perform one action… purchase something, sign up, request info, download a PDF, contact you… one specific action.

The difference between a home page, or even an interior page and a landing page is on these pages, you are directing visitors to other pages in the website to get more information, and on a landing page, again, you are getting visitors to do that one specific action.

How to Get Traffic To A Landing Page

Most traffic is directed to landing pages through paid marketing efforts. Things like Google Ads and Facebook ads allow you to be very specific to the audience and who you would drive to see the main message on that landing page. It also works if you drive landing pages through traditional means like billboards, radio, tv, print, etc because you are serving a very specific message on both the ad and the landing page. The trick is NOT to drive all of this traffic to the home page, as that has a very open message instead of the message match between the ad copy and the page.

What Should You Have On A Landing Page?

Nicholas gave us six items to have on a landing page which answer certain questions :

  1. What Is It? What is the offer? What is the landing page about?
  2. Can It Help Me? Is it something that can make my life or business better or easier?
  3. Do I Like It? Is the visual design of the page good and trushworthy?
  4. Do Others Like It? Is there social proof that says other visitors and clients like it?
  5. Trust. Is there something on the landing page that says this site and/or product is trustworthy?
  6. How Do I Get It? What’s the call to action? How do I order, sign up, or purchase?

In regards to length of the page, there is not measurement. In fact, it’s good practice to NOT index the page so SEO rules don’t apply. Concentrate on conversion optimization, not SEO optimization. Also keep in mind, where your customers will be viewing the page. If it’s mobile, small images, less text and other mobile tricks should be implemented to work on phones and tablets. Responsive or mobile themes are necessary in today’s business climate!

What Are Mistakes Made on Landing Pages?

The number one mistake made on landing pages is not having a great offer. The site might be awesome, and the ad-spend might be well thought out, but the offer might not be well thought of. Some poorly designed pages do very well, while a well designed site might not convert because the offer is bad.

It’s also a mistake to have incorrect “micro-copy,” the text on your buttons, subheadings, etc that are action focused. If you can build the “value” into the button or other text it will convert better. Try completing the phrase “I want to…” with the button or link text. I want to contact you, I want to download the free e-book, I want to purchase your widget all work great.

A/B Testing

You’re probably never going to develop the perfect landing page on run #1. A/B testing only works if you have enough traffic, and you have a plan on what to test, how long, what are we testing for, etc.

Nicholas suggests testing “bigger things” like the offer instead of button color or text.

How Do I Build A Landing Page

Unbounce : drag and drop builder for

WordPress : Page Builder called Elementor, and other themes make it easy to build quickly and efficiently.

LeadPages : Landing page creator that also interfaces with WordPress and other platforms.

How Can I Contact Nicholas Scalice?

Have any questions or suggestions landing pages or any other technology affecting your business? Leave them below, or send them to me @BeBizzy on Twitter!

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