Heads up for those of you using Google Forms: The “submit” step isn’t working consistently for users with mobile devices—as of late, nothing submitted from a mobile device is coming through on either The 3/50 Project or RetailSpeaks website. All looks fine from the user end, but nada shows up in the Google spreadsheet. Not even the hint of a form visit.
I ran a little test to see if embedding forms with our CSS was the problem (for those of you who understand geek speak). Doesn’t seem to have any impact, drats.
We just added a note to the top of all forms asking folks to use a desktop or laptop when completing their information. You might want to do the same if you’re using this method to collect user information (mailing lists, registrations, reservations, contest entries, etc.).
Attrition is part of the customer landscape, which means always keeping on eye on the next generation coming up the ranks. How well do you know them? Or, more accurately, how well do you understand them?
The Mindset List is the brainchild of Tom McBride (Keefer Professor of the Humanities) and Ron Nief (Public Affairs Director) at Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin. Annually updated in early August, it provides reference points for faculty as they welcome incoming freshmen, reminding them how different the world looks through a new generation’s eyes.
If you’re a small business owner offering consumer goods and services, the list might be a good reference point for you too.
Or at the very least, a fascinating read.
Check it out here.
From Inc. Magazine:
Experts agree that small businesses are good for the economy. But can they actually improve people’s health? A group of sociology professors from Louisiana State University and Baylor University thinks there could be a connection. The professors say that places with high concentrations of microbusinesses—companies with fewer than five employees—have healthier residents.
The researchers looked at more than 3,000 U.S. counties, using small business numbers from the 2000 census. They then charted the health of residents in 2007, using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What’s the connection? According to Carson Mencken, a sociology professor at Baylor who helped conduct the study, when businesses are locally owned, their owners are more interested in improving their communities by funding local hospitals, health education, and recreational facilities.
Yet again, proof positive that supporting local, independent brick and mortars pays off in spades. Now, whaddaya say we “Pick three, spend 50…?”
Yesterday, the following message landed in my Dropbox RSS feed:
Dropbox is now providing more flexible RSS URLs for everyone! Please sign into https://www.dropbox.com/events and retrieve your URL by resetting your RSS feed link before August 27, 2012.
Given the rash of security hiccups in the news lately, this message seemed odd…even odder when there was no mention of retrieving URLs or resetting feed links on the Dropbox blog or website. [click here to continue…]
The sections of a local business’s website that consumers find valuable:
List of prices: 65%
List of services: 55%
Contact information: 43%
Physical address: 42%
Driving directions: 24%
Customer testimonials: 17%
Photos of the business: 15%
Links to the company’s social media profiles: 5%
So what’s it all mean? [click here to continue…]
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -
Yesterday, I received an email from my friend, Susan, requesting a review of her business on RateStars. Given how supportive she’s been of my efforts with The 3/50 Project, sharing well-deserved kudos was the least I could do.
Oddly, clicking the provided link resulted on a dead end page. I emailed Susan to let her know, expecting a “Thanks, I’ll look into it” response.
Instead, her reply began with the dreaded words, “IGNORE THIS REQUEST!” Turns out, it’s yet another scam looking for LinkedIn passwords. All it takes is one trusting person to start the scam rolling. [click here to continue…]
“It’s our policy.”
Those three words can send a person’s blood pressure through the ceiling faster watching a shopping cart crash into their new car.
The person delivering the line intends it to be a conversation stopper. End of discussion, I’m right, you’re wrong, I win, go away.
The recipient, however, is more likely to see it as a conversation starter (more accurately, a launching pad for an angry debate, or worse, a reason to extend the conversation into blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube…helloooo, United Airlines?).
They’ve had a door slammed in their face, and they know it.
Recently, it was my face in the doorway. [click here to continue…]
I frequently suggest small business owners learn from their customers. Ask what works. What doesn’t. What needs they have that aren’t being met. That kind of end user feedback can be a gold mine for future success.
Uncle Sam agrees.
[click here to continue…]
