Posts Tagged ‘communication’
Your trade secrets? I don’t think so.
This post serves to present a case for buying locally and offers a buy beware:
I just had a tail-spin conversation with a company by the name of Egumbull. I am representing Mr. Collins, a 18-year small business owner of an auto shop in Durham, North Carolina. He is located on one of the most heaviest traffic intersections in they city. After explaining to Mr. Collins that I show small businesses how to improve their SEO using Google products that are free to them and how to make their branding more consistent, he asked me to Google the phrase “auto repair.” He did not show up.
Mr. Collins, a well read, slow spoken man from Orange County, North Carolina describes himself as a “country boy.” Tonight he told me, “I know I’m country, they just don’t know that.” As Mr. Collins said “they” he pointed to the phone’s receiver.
Mr. Collins owns Collins Exxon, is a busy mechanic, 48, and trying to understand social media.
After slowing down, and listening to Mr. Collins, I was able to understand that Mr. Collins paid for a service to boost his SEO and needed his contract to know why his business name wasn’t showing up in Google. He had agreed to pay $155.00 for 12-months and needed some answers. Mr. Collins also needed way to see monthly progress.
In exchange for changing the air-filters on my car, I agreed to sit in on a call with Mr. Collins, representing him as his communications person, with the Californian company he is paying to improve his SEO. The work he performed, at what I was quoted equates to my regular small business rate. Not a bad barter.
The California “dudes,” not understanding his slow, country-boy, southern accent, rushed Mr. Collins as he tried to explain himself. I patiently waited while Mr. Collins explained his problem in every detail to the impatient customer service reps. After they bounced him around, I offered to handle the call. I explained to the reps Mr. Collins did not have a copy of his contract and would like to understand what he is paying for.
After the reps picked up on my online communication and social media savvy, they grew suspicious. I simply went through the routine of asking questions. Questions facilitate conversation.
Egumbull, already accused of scamming businesses according to Ripoff Report, accused me of wanting their trade secrets. I don’t think so. I know I have a model that works. I am very confident in it.
After what I went through tonight, Egumbull, you helped confirm my model works. You didn’t take time to listen, nor to communicate. Furthermore, I witnessed you treat Mr. Collins, your customer, very poorly. You hung up on him multiple times, bounced him around and made snide remarks. The “customer service” was simply deplorable.
To SEO companies: work with small businesses in regions where you understand the language and vernacular of the people. You aren’t helping small businesses succeed by not understanding their communication needs, you’re hurting them — in the pocket.
To small businesses: do not hire “SEO consultants” who are not from your region, nor take the time to listen to your true business needs. Make sure the company you choose will communicate in your language in real time. If you communicate best with a consultant at a coffee shop, in your hair shop, or in your auto repair shop, hire them. Hire a consultant that will listen to what you want to accomplish with your business.
Choose a consultant that will help you realize your dreams. Hire consultants that will educate you in social media, teach you how to use it, how their children use it, how their customers use it and then, how networking helps bring people into your store. Do not trust consultants that will just say “they’ll increase your SEO and get you topped ranked in Google, here’s a pen, sign this contract.” Lastly, choose consultants with a positive reputation and track record. All my business is based on referrals.
I believe in small business, and I believe in free Google products for small businesses. I believe in communication and I believe in the beauty of words.
I don’t need your trade secrets.
I grew up on the West Coast (from Portland, Oregon) and spent many summers in Orange County, California.
After spending six years in North Carolina, I am continuously learning how to COMMUNICATE with people in the southeast. This is a must for me because I am choosing to grow my business here. To add, I made a choice to Marry Durham.
I am very invested in the local economy — I am choosing to grow a consultancy that helps elevate small businesses by telling their stories and their rich histories in the best electronic communication format that will reach the customers they serve.
Today, I sat in Mr. Collins shop to get an understanding of his client base. I watched a video he took and uploaded to YouTube of people playing the blues and making fun of Elvis in his auto shop. What other auto shop have you been to where you can sit and listen to blues live?
Your can see videos of Mr. Collins’ church services and a basketball team he coaches. This is a small business owner and a community member that can benefit most from a someone who truly understands the community and small business owners’ needs.
Communities of Practice: the missing link for KM on implementation issues in low-income countries?
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Communities of Practice: the missing link for KM on implementation issues in low-income countries?
The implementation of policies remains a huge challenge in many low-income countries. Several factors play a role in this, but improper management of existing knowledge is no doubt a major issue. In this article, the authors argue that new platforms should be created that gather all stakeholders who hold pieces of relevant knowledge for successful policies. To build their case, they capitalize on experience in their domain of practice, health care financing in sub-Saharan Africa. They recently adopted a community of practice strategy in the region. More in general, they consider the platforms as the way forward for knowledge management of implementation issues.
Knowledge Management for Data Use and Decision Making in International Public Health
“Knowledge Management for Data Use and Decision Making in International Public Health” captures strategies that facilitate sharing knowledge, building skills and using data for decision making. This topic paper is intended for international health program managers and researchers whose role includes a communication or knowledge management component.
Anna Schurmann, Lisa Mwaikambo, and I examine ways in which knowledge management can increase engagement between research, policy-making and public health practice to close such gaps. We base our understanding on the notion that improved knowledge sharing will lead to wider understanding, enhanced cooperation, more effective use of good practices and better health outcomes. KM is important as it can provide cost-effective ways to access knowledge and engagement between different stakeholders—therefore making knowledge sharing more possible.
Examples of communication platforms used as part of larger KM strategies presented in this paper come from organizations such as Nike Foundation, Measurement, Learning and Evaluation project, USAID, WHO, Population Reference Bureau, Intrahealth, K4Health, AIDSTAR-One, MEASURE Evaluation and many others.
About the Authors:
Anna Schurmann
A maternal and reproductive health consultant.
Leah D. Gordon
Lisa Mwaikambo
Free Web-Based Applications For Business
I had such a good time with my good friend @nkanagat during our recent photo shoot. I recently received a request for photos to be posted to a conference website. I scrambled, looking for photos, and to no avail had none that were up-to-date. Luckily, photog extraordinaire, @nkanagat was available.
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| Leah’s professional photos |
We both value web technology, cloud computing, new gadgets and most importantly free web-based applications. During our photo shoot, we pretty much had a mini-dance party, while we streamed a Pandora station I shared called, “Leah’s Dance Mix.”
Using Picasa, we warmified the photos and made other very minor adjustments (extraordinaire). The photos were then uploaded to Dropbox, which we absolutely love for file sharing, as we both travel domestically and internationally for work.
I emailed three photos in .jpg format to the person who initially requested them using gmail, shared the photos with my Facebook friends, tweeted them and shared the Picasa Web album and am now blogging for you! Wah la! Free file sharing and business has been conducted!
This file sharing process was so quick, low cost and fast! All of the communication and file sharing platforms are free and available for us to use! I encourage you to continue to use applications to carry out your work that are web-based and low cost.
I incorporate these platforms into my work so that I am able to keep my overhead costs low and offer competitive pricing to my clientele.
Enjoy the photos, and if you need to use any, please send a quick email for permission to leah [at] leahdgordon [dot] com.
the six word challenge
i will be attending “exposure,” a speed-networking event at world overcomers christian church tonight at 6:30pm to meet local business owners and professionals!
i’m not too sure what to expect since this is my first “speed-networking” event, so i tried to prepare as much as possible. i have a ton of business cards ready and i nailed down a description of my consultancy down to six words: “i create PR and communication strategies.”
i may just borrow #3 from a list of responses to a recent challenge to describe advertising agencies in six words.
in the spirit of being concise and to the point, i challenge you to describe your blog, company, consultancy or whatever you are/do in six words!
the link 