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Very good intro video on how you can use LinkedIn to get things done and grow your business.  Enjoy!

Posted under digital marketing

If there is a statement that will upset experienced Digital Marketers it is this, “Google AdWords are a Ripoff! We tried this once and didn’t get any business.” When we talk to these people we generally find they lack a clear understanding of how AdWords work and how they can use Pay Per Click advertising to generate revenue for their business.

Now, I do not believe that AdWords (aka Pay Per Click) is the correct tool for every business that wants to market online, but Google is certainly not trying to ripoff their customers.  What they are trying to do, however, is make a profit.

A Myth Dispelled

Almost seven years after Google changed the Pay Per Click auction model, some people still think winning at AdWords is all about bidding the highest cost per click. Many business owners shy away from pay per click advertising because they don’t understand how it works or don’t want to pay for the highest rankings.  The fact is, AdWords ads are positioned based on a variety of factors:

1. A good landing page - the page a user is directed to when they click on your ad.
2. A good click through rate - the number of people that click your ad.
3. A relevant advertisement - Google’s bread and butter!

Your bid is only one of many important factors. Your position is determined more by the relevance of your ad to the keyword search and by the click through rate the ad receives than by your bid. This is because Google makes more money the more your ad is clicked!

Show Me the Money

For example, let’s assume I own a store that sells used golf clubs and I am paying $1 per click for the keyword phrase “used golf clubs”.  The myth many people believe is that a competitor can pay $2 for the same phrase and be ranked much higher.  This is just not true.

If my ad generates 50 clicks a day versus 20 clicks for my competitor (because my ad is more relevant and my landing page is properly optimized) I will be ranked much higher. Why?  Two reasons.  Because Google deems my ad more relevant to the users search and thus more beneficial for them.  Second, because I made more money for Google! My 50 clicks for a dollar each earned Google $50.  My competitors 20 clicks at $2 only generated $40 for Google. I win.

And you can win too!  Google AdWords can be extremely profitable for your business, but there is much more to the process than choosing keywords and determining your bids. If you are serious about growing your revenues via the Internet then be sure to reach out to a qualified professional for help.

Please comment on this blog or email me at stephen@jngstech.com if you have any questions concerning your company’s technical needs.  Hope this tip finds you well.  Have a fantastic day!

Posted under Make Money!

So I am gonna keep my post short and sweet this week. I want to address the issues of businesses losing existing clients and having trouble driving in new ones! Now I could talk or write forever and a day about all of the things I as a technology professional can do with digital marketing to help you improve your business, but I want to approach these topics from a different angle. And I am going to dare to say that there is plenty YOU can do on your own to improve the picture that is your business…here goes:

Kindness is Free

It can be easy to look at every business issue your clients have from a selfish place and think: “How can I help and how much do I charge?” As a business owner myself I understand this thinking and know that it is a natural and fine way to approach business. You want to help your clients solve their problems and you also want to see your business flourish; this is great, but there can be trouble if you don’t occasionally ask yourself: “What can I do for free to make my clients lives better?” I am not suggesting that you turn yourself upside down and lose your very important revenues; I am only suggesting that you at least ask yourself this question, because often times you will find that there is plenty you can do to improve your worth with clients and it can be free. Sending a simple “thank you” email every once in a while can help brighten your clients day and let them know you appreciate their business. Writing a blog like this and letting clients know what’s on your mind can give valuable insight into things and often the information and tips can be of value to someone; even if it’s one person. You can give your client two cherries on top of their ice cream sundae instead of one. You can chop an hour off of an invoice if you know you can afford it and your very loyal client could use the break. You can vacuum the floor of the car after you change the oil. You can offer up referrals to other businesses you trust if you know they can help your client save money and get trusted service in one area or another. You can offer a choice of paper or plastic. You can let them keep the pen. You can ask them how their day is going. You can update them on the status of a project. YOU can figure out something…

I appreciate my clients….very much! Thank you for being you.

-Justin

Posted under Uncategorized

The general thought many business owners have concerning IT support is that there is a single cost to fix technology related issues (cost of their vendor to fix the problem).   They believe money will be saved by paying a few hundred dollars here and there when things go wrong on a time and materials basis instead of a monthly fee to prevent issues from occurring in the first place.  This thinking has proved itself to be wrong in many cases.  In fact, many business owners fail to realize…

It is more expensive for you to call us than it is for us to respond!

Let me explain.  Let’s say your business has 15 employees and each costs the company around $20 an hour to employ.  For every hour of downtime you experience your hard costs are $300.  So if it took your IT vendor 1 hour to respond to your call and another hour to fix the problem your hard costs would be roughly $125 for the service call and $600 in lost productivity (plus an unknown number in soft costs considering lost sales, angry clients, etc).  So this one issue alone cost you approximately $725.   As you can see the cost of the support call at $125 was much cheaper than the cost of lost productivity at $600.  

So what can business owners do to protect themselves against downtime and minimize risk?  The answer is Flat Rate Managed IT Services.  

So what are Managed IT Services?

Managed services are defined as monitoring, maintaining, troubleshooting and upgrading your IT infrastructure remotely, or on-site, for maximum reliability. It is a proactive service model which focuses on preventing problems before they occur to increase productivity and reduce operating expenses.  

Are Managed IT Services Right for My Business?

Ah, the million dollar question!  And the answer is…..It Depends.  Numerous factors come into play such as the size of your business, budget, expenses, how critical technology is to your business, and the level of risk you are willing to accept. With that being said it generally makes sense for companies with 10 or more PC’s and a server to take a hard look at Managed IT Services.     

Many business owners are hesitant about moving from a “pay as you go” plan to monthly subscription fee as paying a few hundred dollars to fix a PC problem here and there, can seem easier to swallow than being locked into a monthly “all you can eat” plan for thousands of dollars per month.  

 What are the Benefits of Managed Services?

•  You’ll eliminate expensive repairs and recovery costs. Network monitoring and maintenance will save you money by preventing expensive network disasters from ever happening in the first place.

• You’ll avoid expensive trip fees while receiving faster support. Remote monitoring software enables IT firms to access and repair most network problems right from their offices. No more waiting around for an engineer to show up!

• Faster performance, fewer “glitches”, and practically zero downtime. Some parts of your systems will degrade in performance over time, causing them to slow down, hang up, and crash. Preventative maintenance and network monitoring will make sure your computers stay in tip-top shape for maximum speed, performance, and reliability.
  
  
• ALL of the benefits of an in-house IT department WITHOUT all of the costs. With most IT firms you will have access to a knowledgeable support staff that can be reached immediately should you have any kind of problem or question.
  
  
• You’ll receive substantial discounts on IT services that you are already buying. Most IT firms will nickel and dime you over every little thing they do.  With Managed Services you pay one flat, affordable rate and get all of the technical support you need. No hidden charges, caveats, or disclaimers.

• You will never have to fear a big, expensive network repair bill. Instead, you can budget for network support just like rent or insurance.

• You’ll sleep easier knowing the “gremlins at the gate” are being watched and kept out of your network.

• You’ll safeguard your data. The data on the hard disk is always more important than the hardware that houses it. If you rely on your computer systems for daily operations, it’s time to get serious about protecting your critical, irreplaceable electronic information.
  
• You’ll finally put a stop to annoying spam, pop-ups, and spyware taking over your computer and your network.

• You’ll gain incredible peace of mind. As a business owner, you already have enough to worry about. We’ll make sure everything pertaining to your network security and reliability is handled so you don’t have to worry about it.

Making the switch from the traditional “Break-Fix” model of support to “Managed IT Services” can be confusing for many business owners.  If you should have questions about the types of support available and which one makes the most sense for your business feel free to reach out to me anytime at stephen@jngstech.com.

Posted under Save Money

Ok, so we have clients on the fence about things like: LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs, and other forms of social media. The most common hang-up lies in a lack of understanding of just what these tools are good for; hence the title of this post. So let me clear a few things up.

Closing the Gap

Remember when the free world relied on television, radio, and snail mail to communicate ideas on a large scale? In those days it took a great deal of effort to market your products and services to consumers, and it also took a sometimes hefty investment. Marketing has never been the only thing a business needs to grow; there are a ton of other techniques that need to be used, like networking for example. Well, the cool thing about this technology driven reality we find ourselves in now is businesses of all types and sizes can do what it takes to communicate on a large scale and a lot of it can be free.

Let me give you an example of how I recently “closed the gap” while using Twitter. Some of you may find it hard to believe but I am a geek on various levels. I love video games. So recently I was reading an article on a major technology related website and a regular author posted some negative comments about a game I am excited to purchase once it is released. The thing is, the game is not yet released and I was offended that the author was essentially giving the game a bad rap before it even has a chance to see a release! So naturally I hopped on my Twitter account and sent out a “Tweet” concerning my outrage that this website was trashing a game I was so excited for. Within minutes of my post, the author himself responded to me explaining his actions. Imagine mailing the author an angry letter via snail mail and waiting for a published response in a magazine or newspaper…probably going to take a minimum of weeks and maybe not worth your precious time, but with Twitter I was able to reach my target and receive a response within minutes! That is truly closing the gap.

Small World

Imagine the business opportunities you can expose when the decision makers your company needs to reach are within a few keystrokes and their accessibility lies in your willingness to try new things like social media. Decision makers are doing it, and so should you and your business.

When you’re ready to learn more or take the social media plunge, contact me @ justin@jngstech.com or read more about Jennings @ http://www.jngstech.com

Posted under Uncategorized

Great video explaining Twitter.  Enjoy!

Posted under digital marketing

I’m sure you’ve heard the news. Businesses in the US are hurting and the economy is experiencing a bad spell the likes of which we have not seen in a long time. So, the obvious question for business owners is “What can we do to recession proof our business?”. While this is a complicated question with no sure answer, there are definitely steps you can take to ensure survival during these tough times.

Out with the old, in with the new!

Most business owners are very familiar with the traditional steps needed to keep the revenue stream steady while driving more business through the door. There are very specific things that are done to advertise and establish a brand in the real world which include: creating printed materials like business cards and brochures, purchasing advertisement space on television, radio and billboards, and hiring staff to perform sales calls and setup sales meetings. These are very true and proven methods of marketing and that’s fine and dandy, but should you still be investing the same amounts in these things to keep your eggs in one basket? The answer is no.

In a world where digital technology and digital advertising is everywhere from your home computer to electronic coupons at the grocery store; the question you should be asking yourself is “How does my business stack up within the digital landscape?”. Digital marketing is a must for companies who expect to weather the growing financial storm.

Top Analysts Rank Search Engine Marketing in Top 3 out of 10 Ways to Generate High Quality Leads

It’s true; people would rather use a search engine when looking for goods and services. Not only are Internet based Ads and Websites a “greener” approach to marketing due to the lack of ink and paper that magazines and postcards require, but consumers of all types find it easier to shop and compare when using Internet Search Engines like Google and Yahoo. On top of this a Digital Marketing Strategy can save your business thousands of dollars. We all win.

Things you need to do to stay competitive:

1. Get an Attractive User-Friendly Website
2. Get Your Website Listed with Google (this is a necessity..compare the stocks of Google(GOOG) versus a top competitor like Yahoo(YHOO) http://www.nyse.com/)
3. Drive High Quality Leads to your Website through precisely targeted Pay Per Click Ads
4. Consider Blogs, Newsletters, and Email Marketing
5. Close your Sales and Stay Competitive!

Contact me at justin@jngstech.com for more information!

Or visit us on the web: http://www.jngstech.com

Posted under digital marketing

I have fielded many questions in the past few months by clients, prospects, and the business community in general about cutting costs in their business, specifically IT costs. As a business owner myself I fully understand this.  The one thing we must keep in mind is being careful not to cut muscle while in the process of trimming the fat. So how do we know what is fat versus muscle? 

The key is “The Line”  (thank you Kent Erickson! http://www.pointivity.com)

Draw a line on a piece of paper.  Now think of all of the systems, applications, etc you use in your business.  If it is strategic to your business write it above the line.  If not, put the item below the line. 

Once you identify what is below the line do everything you can to drive down costs and focus on efficiencies (within reason and without hurting your business!)  Typically items in this category include things such as IT support, hardware costs, routers, switches, etc.  While these items are essential to your business they are not strategic (more to come on this topic in a future post).

Once you identify the items that are above the line you know what is strategic to your business.  Continue to invest, improve, and expand on these items as they help fuel growth, value, and competitive advantage.  Items such as Digital Marketing, CRM Systems, Line of Business Applications, and Data Mining fall into this category. 

The final step is to reallocate funds that may be budgeted for items that are not strategic to your business.  By taking these funds and investing them into Digital Marketing, for instance, you should see a far greater return than if you had invested them elsewhere.  For more information feel free to post a comment or email me at stephen@jngstech.com. 

Posted under Save Money

Ever see pop-up ads that offer a free scan of your computer for infections? Ever see a pop-up that says your computer is infected with hundreds of spies, viri, and hijackers? Ever see an informational balloon appear in the bottom right corner of your screen warning you that your computer is infected and to click here for the fix?

You are not alone. Millions of people get these ‘come-ons’ every day.

BUT…BEWARE!

They are the very source of the infections, spyware, pop-ups, and viri they warn you about! It is an electronic version of the old protection racket.

If you click on the messages you infect your PC with software that can take over your web browser (Internet Explorer), disable your anti-virus software, stop or hijack your email, and do other unpleasant things to your PC.

Now comes the panic call to the help desk to fix the mess. Unfortunately, the fix is quite time consuming and therefore quite costly.

Solution:

1. Don’t fall for the come-ons.
2. Keep your antivirus software up to date.
3. Don’t sign up for toolbars, automatic alerts, desktop enhancements.

The trickiest are the ‘pseudo informational balloons’ that pop up in the bottom right corner of the screen. They are designed to look like normal informational balloons, complete with a little red X in the corner.

DO NOT CLICK ON THEM! The whole balloon is the trigger for the infections. The red X is just a part of the balloon and not a cancel mechanism.

Instead, press Ctrl-Alt-Del and choose Task Manager. On the Applications tab, stop the running applications. Then immediately run a virus scan.

As for the other ‘come-ons’, don’t say yes.

The truly free software products out there don’t use ‘come-ons’. You go to their website and deliberately download their software. The racketeers trap you into going to their websites and buying their solution.

Some of the better free pop-up blockers and spyware scanners are:

SuperAntiSpyware, Spybot Search & Destroy, AdAware, Windows Defender.

Posted under Support

In the fourth and final entry into the saving money via technology series, we will take a look at using virtualization to cut down on your IT spending.

First, let us define virtualization.  Virtualization is the creation of a virtual — rather than an actual — version of something.  This can include things like operating systems or harddrives.  For example, we are running a Mac, but we need to use a program that only runs on Windows.  With virtualization software we could virtually start a copy of Windows and use the program we needed.  Essentially, there are two unique “computers” running on the same machine.

Although it’s great to have the ability to use multiple operating systems on the same computer, how does that save businesses money?  Let’s first take a look at where virtualization is in wide use today, servers.  Servers are expensive, power-hungry machines that provide the backbone of most companies’ IT.  Even a small company can have an email server, a SQL server, a file server, and a firewall.  If instead of having those four separate servers we virtualized them onto one, we have already saved money on the hardware costs.  And since we are only running a single server, we are also saving money monthly through decreased energy costs.  Also, if there were ever a need for an additional server, a virtualized server can just be added to the current host server.  Administration of a virtualized server is a lot easier as well.  Basic tasks like restoring can be accomplished faster than on an actual physical server.

Another area of virtualization that has been building up momentum over the past few years is desktop virtualization.  Essentially, desktops are replaced by “smart clients” that connect to a server that does all the work.  When someone is working within’ Microsoft Word on a smart client, the only thing the smart client is doing is providing a way to manipulate the data and display it.  These smart clients save businesses money by first being cheap to install and then having a long product life.  When combined with more inexpensive administrative costs, a “virtualized office” is starting to make cost-saving sense to a lot of companies.

Jennings Technologies is rolling out a new virtualization product soon, please use our contact us form to find out more information.

Posted under Save Money