When I received my marketing degree 10 years ago, the coursework did not include classes for the types of marketing media that are available today. Having a website then was not as important as it is today. Although we had computer classes, how to design and build a website wasn’t included in the syllabus. How to create effective e-mail marketing campaigns and design e-newsletters were not being taught. The choice of marketing strategies 10 years ago included distributing fliers, word of mouth, radio and television advertising, posting ads in newspapers, Yellow Page listings, and sales letters. Technology has changed how 21st Century small business owners (SBO) market their products and services, as well as their options of communication tools.
Nowadays, 21st Century small business owners marketing strategies include e-mail marketing campaigns, e-newsletters, Google AdWords, writing articles and blogs, participating in target markets forums, and online networking, to name a few. However, word of mouth is yet the most effective and efficient marketing medium. If a small company has a large enough budget, some of the marketing strategies and media of yesterday can still be used. Technology, however, has leveled the playing field. Small business owners have the option of online marketing, which is less costly than the traditional offline methods.
Technology has also changed how businesses communicate. Ten years ago, the only choices were snail mail, fax machines, and telephones. Now, a 21st Century small business or large corporation choices include Skype, e-mail, digital computer camera (webcam), teleconference or virtual meetings, video e-mails, Instant Messaging (IM), GoToMeeting, and GoToMyPC. Skype is software that allows you to use the Internet, headset or speakers, and a microphone to place phones calls around the world. With e-mail software, documents can be sent between recipients as e-mail attachments. Webcam and the Internet are used to perform teleconferences or virtual meetings between two or several people. Webcam is also used for creating videos for video e-mails. IM is real-time conversation between two or more people using typed text and the Internet. Yahoo and MSN provide the software for instant messaging capabilities. 21st Century small business owners have the ability to schedule and attend online meetings with GoToMeeting software and the Internet. Using GoToMyPC, a business owner is able to access his or her PC from anywhere with a web browser or wireless device. In addition, if the owner has a virtual administrative assistant who needs to access his or her desktop to perform certain administrative tasks, the assistant would be able to with GoToMyPC software.
Thus, technology has made it possible for SBO to have administrative assistance without the person being present in their offices. These administrative assistants are known as Virtual Assistants. Technology allows administrative assistants to provide their services virtually. Virtual assistants are business owners also; therefore, they are able to anticipate the business owner’s needs, which make the working relationship beneficial and viable.
Technology has provided 21st Century small business owners with the ability to operate similarly to large corporations. Now SBO can afford to market their products and services. In addition, their budget can accommodate retaining the services of a Virtual Assistant, which will cost less than hiring an onsite administrative assistant. In the last 10 years there have been a lot of changes in how 21st Century small business owners conduct marketing, as well as the choices of communication tools that are available due to technology.
By: Rita Cartwright
Posts Tagged ‘Small Business Owners’
The Virtual Assistant and the Confidentiality
September 6th, 2009When we say Confidentiality, this has a very huge importance to the small business owners in this technological society. Everyday, there are a lot of secrets that are exposed in online or off, through carelessness or maybe harmful intent. And confidentiality and trust have become the major issues in outsourcing work or almost any kind.
I repeatedly heard the questions, “How will I know that you will not sell the information that I gave to somebody else?”, and “How will I know if you will be careful in protecting my information from exploitation?” These are some valid questions that should be asked by any assistant, weather they are staying in your office or maybe outside your office.
In Virtual Assistants there a re small business owners who really worked hard to get their business off the ground. They are spending hours and hours in researching their industries, in creating a website, creating logos, and marketing just like what you have. And it may take months or even years before their business is thriving. And they also have invested heavily to get the result. This is not just a job for them. This is their passion, their life, and their livelihood. And no thin king business owner will risk the hard work that they did over an issue as important the client as confidentiality. And if an in-house assistant is very careless about the confidentiality, they will surely receive a reprimand or they may lose their jobs. And if VS is very careless, they will surely lose a lot, because they are the most dependent upon the reputation to always secure additional work. But there is no law which says that you cannot just tell to someone that you have fired them.
The information must be protected from the financial loss, and also from becoming very careless and outside threats. A computer virus is very costly for the both of the clients, the virtual assistant, but the virtual assistant will surely lose the most. They may lose time, and they will spend a lot of money just for the repairs, and they will also lose their credibility, and if ever the important data is lost they are required to make restitution to the client. Anti-malware, Anti-virus, and anti-software, software are very essential component in the computer in any virtual assistant. A firewall or an encryption software and security passwords are also the basic elements that the Virtual Assistants installs and uses.
In printing information it is just vulnerable as the technological information. The simplest precaution of shredding and burning all the sensitive documents when the project is finished, it ensures that the information is totally destroyed in a way that it can not be reconstructed. Like sensitive documents can be protected during working a project, for example by storing them in a locked cabinet. The key is kept by the VA.
If ever you have a confidentiality concerns about hiring a VA. Here are some questions that you can ask them:
1: How can you secure confidential information about your computer?
2: How can you secure confidential printed documents?
3: What do you usually do to your confidential documents at the conclusion to your assignment?
4: What can be your policy in regards of sharing the information to you clients?
5: What do you usually consider to be confidential information?
The answer of these 5 questions that you asked will give you very valuable information in regard on selecting a diligent and a very careful assistant. So that you can begin now to build a ling term relationship with a professional who can aid you in growing your business.
By: On Demand Virtual Assistant
