Casual Articles - Business

Developing a Business Plan
Developing a business plan is easy once you follow the ground principles laid down by the industry experts. Find here some of the necessary ingredients for a well-developed plan.First and foremost, you must pick the right business. If you choose the wrong line of work, no amount of planning will help you succeed. A sound business concept is essential for developing a business plan. Gain sufficient experience in your chosen field of w

to the response to the relief efforts for Katrina victims. The urgency of this situation may have caused more people to donate online but it is logical to speculate that once the behavior is established, it may become easier for other charities to solicit online donations.

Keeping Customers Loyal
It's a well-known fact that it costs many times more to acquire a new customer than to keep doing business with your existing ones. For this reason, the best way to become profitable is to have loyal customers who keep coming back again and again. It's all about relationship building. So what can you do?Customers Aren't as Loyal as They Used to Be.It used to be that customers would find one service that met their needs and sta

I recently reviewed a random sample of 75 websites of nonprofit organizations. I looked specifically at their strategy for online donations. Here is what we found:

Results of the Survey

Of the 75 organizations surveyed, 59% had some mechanism set up on their sites for receiving online donations. Within that 59%, 65% were using their own systems and 35% were using a third party for online processing of credit card payments.

35% of the organizations recognized at least some of their donors online.

30% had some form of collecting names and email addresses independent of online donations, like newsletter subscription signup or requests for information.

28% had some form of specific strategy or incentive to encourage online donations, such as participation in a specific campaign, membership in a giving club or the offer of a plastic bracelet or pin.

Interpretation of These Results

Let’s look at these results in light of what we know about who is using the Internet. According to www.worldinternetstats.com 68% of North Americans are using the Internet (I focused on North America because the sites I reviewed were all English language sites). Of these users, 89% of people with an annual household income of more than $75,000 are online and 88% of people with a college education are online. 78% of people aged 18 to 29 are online and 74% of people aged 30 to 49 are online. Users are more or less evenly split between rural and urban and male and female.

The point of these statistics is that Internet users represent a demographic charitable organizations should be interested in. According to research done by the Pew Foundation that was released in November 2005, 18% of Internet users report having made a donation online, up from 11% when the last survey was done. This report can be found at ww.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Katrina.DateMemo.pdf. This increase was attributed in part to the response to the relief efforts for Katrina victims. The urgency of this situation may have caused more people to donate online but it is logical to speculate that once the behavior is established, it may become easier for other charities to solicit online donations.

Do You Have Skills To Sell Online?
So, you always thought that it is only material products that could be sold online and for that you needed some capital investment? Right? Well not exactly. Selling services online is perhaps as popular and as paying as selling products and you don't have to invest anything in it. The only thing you need to invest is your skills and time. There are thousands upon thousands of people who make their living with the help of skills they have.st some of their donors online.

30% had some form of collecting names and email addresses independent of online donations, like newsletter subscription signup or requests for information.

28% had some form of specific strategy or incentive to encourage online donations, such as participation in a specific campaign, membership in a giving club or the offer of a plastic bracelet or pin.

Interpretation of These Results

7 Top Questions Job Candidates Should Ask
Preparing for job interviews, candidates try to collect information to formulate their best answers to questions that are most likely going to be asked. Despite this extensive preparation, the actual interview could turn to be boring. Worse still, you could begin to sense the interview’s failure. Unless you do something to turn the situation around, it is going to be a battle lost. So what better way to save the interview than by asking a

t we know about who is using the Internet. According to www.worldinternetstats.com 68% of North Americans are using the Internet (I focused on North America because the sites I reviewed were all English language sites). Of these users, 89% of people with an annual household income of more than $75,000 are online and 88% of people with a college education are online. 78% of people aged 18 to 29 are online and 74% of people aged 30 to 49 are online. Users are more or less evenly split between rural and urban and male and female.

Discontentment in the Workplace
While more people are finding employment, more employed workers are discontent and experiencing frustration. In most cases it can be boiled down to four factors: feeling undervalued, unappreciated and powerless, and world events.You can possess a tremendous amount of creativity and skill, but if you aren’t given opportunities to utilize and express these qualities to their fullest, frustration can quickly set in. For most employees

it between rural and urban and male and female.

Values The Rudder For Successful Leadership Navigation In Making Good Choices And Tough Decisions
Any day we can pick up the paper, listen to the radio or see someone on television and learn about people whose core values have brought their behaviors to local, state or national attention. From the corrupt officials in Corporate America to the equally corrupted politicians, citizens from school age children to adults can see the affect of poor leadership when positive values or ethics are not present.Values are the rudder

Going back to the results of my survey, I made the following observations. If Internet users represent a good target demographic, organizations that do not have an online donations strategy should develop one. Based on my research, only 30% have a strategy and of those 30%, only a few have what appears to be a well thought out strategy.

Their strategy should target a demographic appropriate for Internet users. As an example, I observed of many organizations that had loads of planned giving information on their sites - yet only 25% of people over 65 are using the Internet.

Without a strategy, an online donations form or button is the equivalent of an online coin collection box. It is a very passive form of donation collection that is not likely to result in the opportunity to cultivate a relationship with the donor. Like any form of donation solicitation, developing communication strategies that are designed to form relationships with donors are the strategies that will have the most impact.

If your organization is not soliciting donations online, why not get started? If you are, take a careful look at your online donations strategy and perhaps rethink what you are doing. One great thing about online communications is the ability to easily experiment, review and try something new.

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Leadership: Genuine Service or Ego?

For about a year, I considered applying for a position on the board of a local non-profit organization whose mission I believe in deeply. I felt that my education, skills, and experience would help them. Eventually, I approached one of the board members and expressed my interest. I was excited at the prospect of being involved in good work; I could not stop talking about it. Two of my friends called board members to express their support for my involvement. Here was my chance to engage in community leadership and to honor my belief in the value of service. The eagerly awaited call finally came.

Digital Signage

Traditional forms of out-of-home advertising have become drab, static, and prone to ad-blindness. See how digital signage is changing that, and taking over the world of out-of-home marketing and retailing all over the world.

Cracking Interviews

Have you received an interview call that can lead you to your dream job but are worried as to how you'll get through those stressful rounds and wondering where to begin your preparation for the interview? Here are a few suggestions...

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