By now you may be asking yourself, “What is Unified Communications?” For starters, it’s a technology that brings together your phone, conferencing and messaging capabilities in a way that allows you control of them from any device, anywhere.

Our featured guest in this Episode of The Small Business Trends Radio is Geoffrey Baird, Vice President and General Manager of Avaya. Unified Communications means business - and Geoffrey explains why. This technology can save you money, prevent lost productivity and give you a leg up on your competitors.

Topics include:

• What can Unified Communications do? — Examples of the convenience it provides would include turning your cell phone into your office phone, checking your email from your cell phone, using your laptop to initiate a conference call or responding to an instant message via video.

• What size business will this work for? — Every business can benefit, even companies with as few as ten employees. And for small business in particular, there are different capabilities for your specific needs and they are ever evolving for additional future conveniences.

But that’s just a small portion of what Unified Communications has to offer to small business and in this interview, Geoffrey explains them all. He also explains how these services can assist those in a work from home environment as well.

Would you like to learn more? To hear about all of the many different functions, services and pricing click the red and yellow player below to listen to Geoffrey’s full interview.

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 Unified Communications: What's In It For Small Business? [30:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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If your methods of advertising and marketing are missing their mark, why not spruce things up a bit and step into the modern world by incorporating new technology into the mix?

Our featured guest in this Episode of The Small Business Trends Radio is Derrick M. Guest, CEO of Griot’s Roll Film Production & Service, Inc. Derrick says it’s possible to improve your sales margins — all through the power of video.

Derrick elaborates on the following topics:

• How does video assist small business owners? — By connecting emotionally to customers. An important and often overlooked factor. Video brings your personality and integrity to the forefront and boosts your professionalism and credibility.

• How can video be used in small businesses? — Well, in many different ways. But reality video, testimonials and sharing stories are just a few that allow the customer the ability to connect visually. Visual impressions create lasting impressions and assist in emotional connections.

• What are the important basics of creating a successful video clip? — That’s simple. People like stories. Telling them, sharing them, hearing them. Convey a story - professionally and with technical expertise.

• What are the benefits of video over print and direct marketing ads? — To name a big one - customer response. Derrick discusses the differences between customer responses generated by video as opposed to direct and print ads.

As CEO of Griot’s Roll Film Production & Services Inc., Derrick discusses the benefits of video for small business and how to make use of that technology for your own business. Griot, which means storyteller in Swahili, is a maturing company specializing in video marketing, multi-media, production, post-production and web distribution.

Not sure how you can make video work for your small business? Would you like to hear the suggestions Derrick has? You can do so by clicking the player below and listening to Derrick’s interview.

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 Increase Sales Through The Power Of Video [24:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (12) | Permalink

There’s a lot of technology out there today to aide our daily business and personal lives. But is it really necessary to own all of it? What proves useful and what is simply an unnecessary luxury? What technology is worth it’s weight in gold?

Tech gurus Ramon Ray, Editor of Small Biz Technology, and Brent Leary, Host of Business Technology Radio, outline the hottest trends in technology for your small business in 2008.

Together, Ramon and Brent explain which technology to spend your precious time and money on – and which technology is best to avoid.

Here is a sampling from this special edition:

• Where are we headed with wireless services? — Many are finding wireless services such as Bluetooth very useful. And we’re going to see many more wireless services such as dashboard printers, smartcards, hand held devices and data access devices in 2008.

• What is happening with the PC? — As Broadband increases, it’s possible that, at least for business, computers will become somewhat disposable in the future. As content is pushed off the hard drive and onto the Internet, we will come to rely less and less on a PC.

• What’s happening with software as a service? — Online data backup, blogging services and collaboration services are all in demand right now as many small businesses are finding them useful. We will surely be seeing more of these services in 2008.

• What about virtual phone systems? — Many of these services are perfect for small businesses with 10 or less employees. They are cost effective, easy to use, give a professional impression and offer a lot of flexibility with regards to services that are available. This market will increase in popularity with small businesses in 2008.

Ramon and Brent touch on many more technologies in this interview and share a wealth of insight and information. Unfamiliar with new technologies? Want to learn more about existing technologies? Then be sure to listen to Ramon and Brent by clicking the player below.

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 The Technology You NEED in 2008 (and the stuff to avoid) [50:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (2) | Permalink

VoIP – a term that, by now, I’m sure all of you have heard, or are hearing. And I’m sure you’ve asked yourself. . . what is VoIP?

For starters, VoIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. So now that you know what VoIP is you might ask, “How are businesses using it and what are the cost advantages of switching to VoIP?”

Ginny Hutchinson has joined us as our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio. As CMO of Speakeasy, Ginny sheds some light and takes the mystery out of this thing called VoIP.

Ginny provides detailed answers to these questions and more:

• How does it work? — It’s simple. It literally uses your Internet connection as opposed to a phone jack. All you need is an Internet based phone line.

• What’s the cost advantage? — Phone systems are expensive and some require an IT manager to oversee them. Real savings are seen in local, toll and long distance fees and most customers generally see a cost savings of 50%.

• How does the connection work? — It’s simple. Plug it into your internet jack and your ready to go. There are no interruptions when downloading, surfing online, etc. And a nice business advantage is that voice mails can be sent to others as email. Those who “need to know” can now be easily informed.

• How much does it cost? — Ginny provides some detailed figures during this interview for the features available. But the choice is yours based on your needs.

Ginny is proud of the rave reviews received by clients on Speakeasy’s services, quality and customer satisfaction. They’ve done so well that they have recently been acquired by Best Buy. So is VoIP right for you and your company? Listen to Ginny by clicking the player below to find out.

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 Internet Phone Calls - VoIP's Impact On Small Business [25:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Many of us are always looking for ways to achieve a better web presence while avoiding overpaying for it. But how do you decide what’s an improvement? How do you know what’s effective and what’s not? And what are some ways to drive traffic once you have a great website?

Our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio is John Munsell, CEO of Bizzuka. For the past 12 years John has been helping companies market their goods and services or streamline their internal communication processes by leveraging the Web. And in this episode - he’s going to help YOU.

Here is a sampling of topics discussed during this show:

• Did you know — that statistics state that 90% of initial customer interactions come through websites? And that potential customers will size up your website within first 52 milliseconds - the blink of an eye, literally.

• Websites are not — simply ads or billboards for your company. Visitors are coming to you to receive something - information, assistance, education, services, etc. It’s gone far beyond advertising or an electronic brochure so make sure you’re giving them what they are looking for.

• Don’t Make the mistake of — using splash pages with animations and a button to bypass or “Enter Here.” When you visit a company, you don’t have to knock on the door to get in - why knock on the door of a website to enter? It’s best not to place another barrier in front of them. Just open the door and let them in.

• Think through the purpose — of your website. Hold a strategy session if necessary. What are customers looking for? Place yourself in their shoes and immediately give them what it is that they want. Is it time for a redesign?

• Every 12 to 18 months — you should redesign your website and rid it of certain elements that are outdated such as flash animation, blink art, clip art, overwhelming colorful text, splash pages, etc. Clear navigation and legible text is still “king.”

Remember that technology is always changing, growing and evolving. Your website should also be living, breathing and ever-evolving in order to keep up.

John offers a lot of great advice and concepts to take into consideration when designing your website. Want to hear them all? Click the player below to listen to John’s full interview.

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 10 Things CEOs Should Know About Web Design [27:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (5) | Permalink

In this age of speed and instant communication small businesses of all types regularly have the need to send large files such as digital images, audio, video, PDFs & more on a regular basis.

Many times when we send a large file we experience email bounce-backs or have no idea if the file successfully made it to the intended recipient. This then means we have to manually follow up to insure receipt and doing so cost time and money to the business. It would be a great help if this waste of time and effort could be eliminated.

Luckily there is a secure and convenient way to send, receive and track your digital content.

Our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio is Ranjith Kumaran, Founder of YouSendIt. In this show you will learn how to avoid email bounce-backs and gain insight to a solution that can replace the use of FTP sites and help avoid overnight courier services for physical media like CD’s and DVD’s.

Here is a sampling of topics discussed during the show

• Digital, Audio and Video Content — is becoming increasingly popular on the Internet. And following that trend is the growth in the storage requirements and file size of audio and video files.

• Files Don’t Get to the Destination — A common problem with these larger files is that you may send digital content to clients, co-workers and other recipients that may not have the capability to retrieve it due to email system limitations. Using an online service such as YouSendIt can help remedy this problem.

• Send, Receive and Track — large, multiple files up to 2 GB each with YouSendIt. Send entire folders, create zip files, create a dropbox, use plugins and password protection, control access, expiration and more.

• Brand Your Large File Distribution — Small businesses can gain the benefits of incorporating their brand and messaging within the file distribution emails. You can send bigger files to more people and take advantage of long term file storage and improve your business efficiency.

• Plugins — YouSendIt also increases the efficiency for small business by making Pugins that integrate the online service into Outlook, Photoshop, PaperPort, and more. Now there’s no need to leave your normal desktop applications environment to send or receive files.

Learn more about the benefits of YouSendIt to small businesses and as a bonus hear some details on how Ranjith started the business in Silicon Valley, obtained venture capital and is planning for future growth.

To listen to Ranjith’s full interview, click the player below.

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 Eliminate the Hassles and Expenses of Sending Large Files [25:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (4) | Permalink

It’s not uncommon for a business to be run virtually these days. Meaning that employees are in different geographic locations collaborating via the Internet. However, there are times when it may be necessary to be in “the same place at the same time” so-to-speak, and times when it’s necessary to view information simultaneously.

Our featured guest in this episode of Small Business Trends Radio is George Langan, CEO of Expresso. With humor and interesting anecdotes, George sheds light on how to collaborate with others in multiple locations over a single Excel spreadsheet so you always have the most up-to-date version.

Here is a sampling from the show:

• It is now possible — to collaborate with others by uploading spreadsheet documents into online software and sharing it with others in various locations.

• Data security — with online services obviously an issue that is top of mind for many. With a service like Expresso, a number of securities are in place such as data encryption, password protection, authorizing specified users, etc. Many tools are in place to protect your data and maintain your security and privacy making your online experience worry free.

• Customization — is available for additional security measures, superior control and convenience. You can give people the ability to “view only” a spreadsheet, edit a spreadsheet, and/or download and copy a spreadsheet — you are in complete control of how much access you wish to give someone to your spreadsheet. By setting alerts that notify you when someone has downloaded the spreadsheet, you can now be made aware that your data has been removed from the system and when. Watching, tracking and tracing are additional security measures that give you peace of mind when utilizing the system.

George is an insightful guest and shares many suggestions and tips for making the most out of your online collaboration experiences while protecting valuable data and information when doing so.

Click the player below to listen to the full interview of George Langan, CEO of Expresso.

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 Stop Spreadsheet Anarchy [27:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted by Staci Wood | Comments (3) | Permalink