True Colors Jennings Technologies Online Publication :: Committed to your business success.

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

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