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As Healthcare Evolves, Professionals and Patients Must Too

June 1, 2016 by Thomas

Have you stopped to look at the ever-changing world of healthcare in recent years?

If not, you’ve missed a number of happenings, some of which may very well have impacted you whether you acknowledged them or not.

While many people have heralded Obamacare as being the answer to their healthcare nightmares, others sport a different opinion.

No matter which side of the coin you fall on, it is important to do your best to stay abreast of the changes taking place.

For those who do not stay in touch, it can prove to be a financial and healthcare nightmare for that matter.

Changes in the Making

Given there is an evolving role of transitional leadership in healthcare, both professionals and patients must adapt.

For example, nurses are being asked in many instances to do more than ever before.

From working longer hours to being in on what maybe once were not considered traditional nursing roles, the women and men working in the nursing field have to adapt. Without adapting to the on-going changes in the healthcare field, they can easily get left behind.

As mentioned earlier, the implementation several years ago of Obamacare has changed the landscape not only for thousands and thousands of patients, but also many in the medical profession, notably doctors.

With more and more doctors not wanting to deal with the insurance fallout from Obamacare, the answer for some has been to leave their practices and work elsewhere in the medical field.

Less doctors in practices and for that matter hospitals means nurses are being asked to step up and take on more defined roles.

Demand for Nurses Continues Nationwide

Peruse the newspaper or online want ads on any given week and you will almost always see advertisements for nursing help.

While there are a number of reasons for the demand in nurses, two of them are the critical care that more and more of them are being asked to deliver, along with the fact that Americans are living longer. As the population ages, more of them end up at medical practices and in hospitals for healthcare.

Given that nurses oftentimes serve as a bridge between patient and doctor, it is critical that they have a good relationship with both.

Stop for a moment and think about the last time you were in a medical practice or hospital. What amount of time was spent with the doctor versus the amount of time you had conversations and/or assistance from a nurse? Safe to say, you probably had more time and interaction with your nurse or nurses.

While doctors still take the lead role at both their practices and when caring for patients in a hospital setting, nurses will continue to evolve into more of a leadership role now and in the years to come. This will especially be true if there continues to be shrinkage in the number of doctors practicing nationwide.

For those already in nursing or thinking about such a career, it is important to remember these factors:

Job opportunities – There are no apparent signs of a lessening of demand for nurses across the country. If you have the dedication and skills for this field, there should almost always be job opportunities available;
Increased leadership roles – As more patients come to both medical clinics and hospitals seeking care, nurses will continue to be an important piece of the healthcare puzzle. Along with the necessary medical skills, good communication skills are essential. Given the demands on doctors and/or their absence at times when patients call or stop by a medical facility, nurses must be able to deal with a variety of medical situations. Having the skills and patience to deal with myriad of personalities is nothing short of critical;
Continued education – Being open to continuing one’s nursing education (both online and in-person) is all but a necessity. As medicine continues to evolve, nurses will be asked to do the same. By learning more on-the-job skills, along with additional information in the classroom, nurses will be even better positioned to increase their roles and salaries.

As more changes undoubtedly come in the healthcare industry, those nurses willing to embrace and grow with the changes will more than likely prove successful.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business and medical topics on the web.

Nurturing Business Relationships: Interview with Tej Kohli

May 27, 2016 by Jessy Troy

Business relationship building is art, one you cannot really do without if you are interested in career building, building an effective team, managing your brand, and discovering new growth opportunities for your business.

Blogging is all about relation building too: In fact, it’s more about being social than about creating content, so mastering digital business relationship building is the key to blogging success.

I was lucky enough to catch up with one of the best-known global entrepreneurs Tej Kohli, Chairman of Kohli Ventures, and ask him a few questions about relationship building. I have also added my own tips on how to apply this advice to blogging and the digital world:

Why are good relationships important in business?

Without a good relationship between trading partners, the business will not prosper.

Just like a strong marriage , integrity and expectations of the other party in business are key to a successful and long lasting relationship.

How to develop business relationships? What are the basic principles?

In business, it is important to build up a relationship over time and not jumping straight into the deep end.

Basic principles are to agree on each others expectations and a code of conduct and communication between the parties. Be clear on the financial terms between the parties from the very start, to avoid confusion later.

This is very important in the digital world too: Relationship building should not be measured in numbers and months. It’s a long-term process where, obviously, the rich gets richer. It’s hard to start but it’s well worth it!

How and why to develop global business relationships?

Any start up businesses always has the potential to grow globally whatever the product. If it is run with financial discipline, entrepreneurial flair and vision and a strong work ethic is how to make it globally.

Global growth can give the business a stronger back bone in terms of negotiation power.

Should the team be involved in developing off-company business relationships. If so, how?

For sure, as these relationships lead to creating new business contacts.

The best way of building a strong business is through referrals coming from satisfied customers and partnerships.

There’s has been a lot of debate about intra-company social media policies and I am always saying: If you want your employees or team members to be your company ambassadors, allow them to be on social media!

How can Internet technologies improve business relationships?

With dematrialisation, demorcitaisation and digitilisation we are now able to reach the masses with a click of a button.

Social media, business reputation profiling and marketing with a targeted approach to selected audiences, can all be done through the Internet – it saves time, money and manpower.

We live in the exciting times: We can build global business and international partnerships and events from home. Not leveraging those opportunities means missing out! I want to thank Mr Kohli for setting such a great role model for us all. I hope you are inspired!

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Avoid Missing Out on the Mobile Payments Train

May 27, 2016 by Thomas

Want to set your brand apart from so many other businesses out there?

While there are various ways to do this, one of the top ones is to accept mobile payments.

In doing so, you give your customers the ease with which to make purchases on goods and services from you.

With that being the case, do you want to avoid missing out on the mobile payments train?

Put More Mobility in Your Business

The first step you need to address so consumers see that your business accepts mobile payments is having the necessary technology in place.

If you think that installing such technology will cost you an arm and a leg, stop your worrying right now.

While there are some costs involved in making sure you are technologically adept to accept mobile payments, the payout over time will be well worth it.

In searching to find the right mobile payment vendor for your business, check to see for starters how long they have been around.

Are they someone who comes with a solid reputation in the mobile payments business?

Also look at their interactions with customers.

If you’re wondering how to go about that, checking their social media pages can oftentimes prove fruitful.

Given thousands and thousands of businesses are on Facebook, Twitter and other social mediums, it isn’t too hard to find interactions between companies and consumers.

If consumers are warning fellow shoppers about a certain company, it at least gives you some food for thought.

You should also ask each vendor for a free trial setup when it comes to accepting mobile payments. See which software works best with your business, thereby making your selection easier at the end of the day.

Mobility and Security

Another factor to keep in mind with why you should hop on the mobile payments train is just that, mobility.

Keep in mind that many of today’s businesses are more than just an office space or store on a street corner.

Many businesses are on the move, looking to capitalize on where consumers can oftentimes be found.

This can mean you will find consumers at streets fairs, sporting events, airports and more. By being able to make a few sales when you’re not at your physical store or office location, you avoid being tied down to only sales out of your main operational post.

If you and/or customers have concerns of mobile payment security, brush those concerns aside.

Yes, identity theft thieves are out and about, but you can do all but guarantee they won’t strike your business and/or your customers.

By having the latest in identity theft protection software installed in your business, you greatly reduce the chances of thieves striking. It is also good to assure your customers time and time again that doing mobile payments with your brand is as safe as it gets.

In the event there is a data breach, do everything possible to alert customers that you are on it, doing all you can to fix the problem. This will help ease the fears of customers to a degree, allowing you to not automatically lose their business.

Finally, stop for a moment and think about where your business might be if you simply stood pat and offered nothing more than in-person sales.

Sure, some businesses do just fine without Ecommerce and mobile payment options, but they are becoming a bit of a dying breed to some extent.

As more and more consumers demand mobility in not only their shopping options, but also how businesses respond to those wishes, it just makes sense for your business to be seen as a major player in the mobile payments industry.

If mobile payments have been on your company’s backburner up to this point, change that line of thinking moving forward.

Remember, staying ahead of the competition should always be one of your top goals as a business owner.

One way to do that recently and moving forward is being on the mobile payments train.

By doing so, you set yourself apart from others who have been slow or even resistant to convert.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

How to buy technology without going crazy

May 26, 2016 by Rosemary

Q: How many technology vendors does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A: Depends, what’s your budget?

Technology buyers have changed, and so has the buying process. According to recent research, if you’re a baby boomer, you’re likely to rely heavily on industry analysts for advice in the early stages of the decision. If you’re a Gen X decision-maker who’s about to pull the trigger, you prefer live or in-person demos.

But you may not even realize the generational or experiential biases you are bringing to your purchase decision. You’ve probably formed habits that may or may not be helping you make an effective technology choice.

And you have a LOT of choices. Not to freak you out, but this graphic is just for marketing technology.

Become a better technology buyer

Over the last 20 years, I have talked with hundreds of technology buyers in various stages of the decision process.

One scenario that comes up often is the disconnect between the person who will ultimately use the technology and the person who is procuring it. The most effective organizations put those two people (or teams) in the same room and lock the door, not letting them out until they understand thoroughly what will be purchased.

Another frequent issue is “champagne dreams on a beer budget.” If you’re a buyer on a strict budget, assume that you’re going to need to triage the feature set you’re getting. Figure out what’s a must-have and what’s a nice-to-have, so you can live without paying for expensive customizations.

Don’t start Googling technology vendors until you know your business goals, your budget, and your timeline.

How to buy technology efficiently

Start at the beginning. What business challenge are you trying to solve, what business goal are you looking to achieve? How is your own success measured? If you have answers to those questions, it will be pretty obvious whether a particular technology can help you or not.
Nail down your budget and resources. If you don’t have either of those things, you shouldn’t waste time getting software demos. (Dude, that’s boring anyway.) Knowing how much you can spend, over what period of time, will help you know if you should visit the Ferrari dealership or look at the used cars on Craigs List.
Let the mission drive your feature set, not the other way around. Design mockups and super-detailed feature requirements are fun to brainstorm, but don’t let them drive the whole process. You may discover new ways of achieving your goals if you allow the technology vendor to share their expertise. They are probably talking to others in your niche all day long, trying to solve the same problems, and they may have a fresh take on things. There may be features you didn’t even dream up. If you need to provide a pixel-detailed mockup, expect to make a significant investment.
Know the process. For larger technology purchases, you may need to have legal resources to review the agreement you’ll be signing (particularly if it’s software-as-a-service, where you’re accessing a platform from your browser). Make sure that you have buy-in and participation from anyone on your team who needs to sign off on the purchase.
Establish a timeline. When do you want to start actually using the technology? Will it be available? Do you need training before it’s released into the wild?

It’s easy to see technology vendors as adversaries in the sales process…after all, they want your money, right? However, the good vendors also want to build a strong partnership with you so that you can work together over the long haul. Look for sales teams who treat the purchasing process as a partnership and give you sound advice along the way. That’s probably a good clue as to how you’ll be treated as a customer, too.

What are your lessons-learned for buying technology?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Avoid Falling Behind on Collecting Customer Payments

May 25, 2016 by Thomas

There are various things that can send a business into a financial frenzy.

One of the more frustrating avenues for businesses to travel down is when customers do not pay their invoices on time.

For some customers, it is a simple slip of the mind, something that can be corrected in a short period of time.

On the other side of the coin, some customers will purposely delay paying bills, be it because of financial issues of their own or they simply do not want to pay for the products or services they purchased.

So, what is a business to do when a customer is late with a payment?

Get the Money You Deserve

For your business to stay on top of meeting its financial needs, there are a number of actions you must make sure stay regular and relevant.

These include:

Timely invoices – Are you getting your invoices out to customers on time? If not, why is that? Falling behind on invoicing customers presents several problems, most notably the fact that you are not going to get paid on time. When that happens, it sets your finances up for potential peril. If you don’t have someone in your office dedicated to accounting, invoicing etc. change that moving forward. Some companies will outsource their invoicing needs, thereby leaving them with one less major task to have to perform in-house. While all customers not paying in-person for their products and/or services are expected to meet the payment deadlines, you can’t expect them to do so if your invoicing techniques are less than stellar. Finally, make sure the due day, any late fees that will accrue etc. are clearly spelled out each and every time you invoice a customer;
Seeking help – If you’re finding too many customers are not getting their payments to you on time, you shouldn’t wait for the ship (your business) to start taking on water. There are options out there for you, including receivable factoring companies. For those who do not know, such companies will in essence give you the cash (in advance) you need (the money that the customer was supposed to pay you) up front, in turn “buying” the unpaid invoice. The receivable factoring company then pursues your original customer in order to get them to pay up. In order to find the best factoring company, look to not only word-of-mouth referrals, but also the Internet (see more below);
Surf the Internet – One of the best ways to locate a receivable factoring company to assist you in receiving the money owed you, the Internet. Any company that is of any stature in today’s business world has a website. With that website, companies can provide a laundry list of their services, how they stand apart from others in their line of work, and much more. Visit a number of receivable factoring company websites to see which one or ones might best suit your business needs. You can also look to their social media initiatives on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and others. Some in this line of work will even offer videos on sites like YouTube, explaining and demonstrating what they do to assist businesses like yours;
Reviewing your invoicing process –Finally, when was the last time you reviewed how you go about invoicing customers? If it has been a while now, and if your invoicing operations are cause for concern, step back and review the process. It could be something simple that needs fixing; then again, it could prove to be a major change in the way you go about things. Either way, this part of your business is too important to take for granted. When your customers do not pay their bills on time, you are the one who suffers. Yes, it could end up hurting them over time, especially if they end up being reported to a collection agency, but a fair number of customers probably don’t sweat such details.

So that your company doesn’t develop a sizable financial debt now or in the future, make sure you avoid falling behind on collecting customer payments.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

Has Your Brand Tasted Mobile Marketing?

May 20, 2016 by Thomas

If your brand has been slow to gravitate towards mobile marketing, change that moving forward. As for that change, make it sooner rather than later.

As more brands are discovering, mobile marketing has many positives and few if any negatives.

How you deploy mobile marketing can go a long way in determining the level of success you have with it.

So, is your brand ready to taste mobile marketing if it has not up to this point?

Consumers Want More Mobility

Brands galore are moving forward with mobile marketing plans on a number of fronts.

Whether you are just rolling out a product or service or have been around for many years, you can’t sit back and watch the benefits of mobile marketing pass you by.

Successful brands have everything to gain and really nothing to lose with mobile marketing.

With that in mind, how can you best take advantage of mobile marketing without coming across as too sales hungry?

Among the ways to do this:

Geo-location for on-the-spot sales – Knowing where current and potential customers are shopping at any given time may seem like over-reaching to some, but it actually makes good business sense. For example, say you’re a food brand and you know by tracking shoppers that some customers (ones you have now or ones you hope to add) are out doing their weekly grocery shopping. By pitching them a coupon or two over mobile devices, the consumer is more apt to by your product. With just one simple text, you’ve likely made a sale you might otherwise not have had. When one of the focuses of your brand is providing more affordable options for consumers, especially in today’s challenging economic climate for so many of them, you can hit the jackpot by targeting shoppers in action. Another such example is sporting events, concerts, movies, and more. Just about no one can go to one of these venues without downing a drink or two and getting some food. If you have the data to suggest some of your regular customers will be at such events, text them a rewards coupon they can redeem. Once again, you build up good PR with consumers when making such efforts;
Entertaining Apps for consumers – Another means whereby you can connect with consumers is giving them entertaining short videos to watch. From the vantage point of a beverage company, showing consumers drinking your respective product in a happy and healthy environment is almost always going to go over well. If your product is a drink loaded with healthy ingredients, showcase it. From individuals taking a drink after a workout to mothers seeing the delight on the faces of their children after consuming the drink, you want happy people and positive vibes. Introduce a short 30-second spot that can be easily watched on a mobile device. A consumer who is not a customer presently may see the video and decide they need to try the product. Next thing you know, you’ve registered another sale;
Socialize the mobile experience – Finally, if you’re not already using social media as much as possible that needs to change today and not tomorrow. Social media for the most part is free, so why wouldn’t you take advantage of it? By using your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube accounts, you can let consumers know that mobile marketing is a big component of your overall brand marketing. As an example, remember those short 30-second spots discussed a moment ago? Plugging them on your Facebook and Twitter accounts is great public relations for your brand. Once you upload a 30-second spot on YouTube about your latest product or service, link to it on your Facebook page, and then send out a Twitter post with a correlating hashtag. Many companies are getting creative with their social media marketing. For example, Hampton Creek has a YouTube channel where it posts videos of recipes in action. It then shares those pieces of visual content across its social networks. Target is known to announce which brands are becoming exclusive members of its store’s shopping experience. Next, consumers are passing a link around via their mobile devices. Before you know it, you’ve created a buzz, a buzz that very well can translate into more sales.

No matter what your brand or brands may be, they can get so much more traction when they are given some mobile marketing love.

The question is has your brand tasted mobile marketing?

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.