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Articles by Jill Schoolenberg
Taking to the web: four ways to build online customer loyalty
With Australian high streets and business districts currently a quiet impersonation of their usual vibrant selves, many small business owners may now be prioritising their online marketing strategy to help them stay operational, even when their physical doors are closed. At a time when every sale, lead and interaction matters, creating customer loyalty is imperative, and for many small businesses, an online presence could be the bridge to help them do so.
How to take the in-store experience online and build customer loyalty
By Emily Bencic on April 14, 2020 in Latest News, Online Retailing Many Australian stores and shopping strips are currently experiencing something drastically different to their usual vibrant, bustling states. With many physical shops forced to shut their doors in response to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s possible that every sale, lead and interaction could have an impact on a retailers’ ability to tackle this current challenge, both now and into the future.
Marketing tips to give your new online business a kickstart
Whether it’s greater autonomy, increased earning potential or just the freedom and flexibility to spend more time doing what you love, there can be a lot of benefits to running your own business. There are already well over two million small businesses in Australia, making us a nation of entrepreneurs and innovators. And according to recent GoDaddy research, a further one in three people are considering starting a new small business in 2020.
How retailers can help maximise their online presence
By Emily Bencic on February 19, 2020 in Latest News There’s no doubt that the internet can present huge opportunities for retailers big and small. While that’s great for customers who enjoy being spoilt for choice when they shop online, for small, independent retailers, it can be hard to stand out in a saturated market. When competition is high and consumers already have their ‘go-to’ brands and websites, engaging customers and encouraging sales can be challenging.
Easy actions to help your online business hit its stride in 2020
The new year is significant for many reasons – one being that, across Australia, small-business owners are setting their New Year’s resolutions and curating their plans to achieve them. While the business world is likely discussing the latest state-of-the-art technologies and industry-changing trends for 2020, some easy-to-action updates may be just as effective for your small business’s online presence.
How to help protect your small business against cyber security threats
We live in an age where so much of our daily lives exist online, which can also leave you vulnerable to damaging cyber-attacks. While you might think, “I’m just a small business in Australia, it’ll never happen to me”, you can’t take the threat seriously enough. GoDaddy research found that six per cent of small businesses respondents reporting having been impacted by a cyber-attack. Though they might not happen often, when they do the ramifications can be devastating.
Three ways to optimise your small business website
The benefits of running your own venture can be gratifying, but the life of a small-business owner can be filled with tremendous responsibility too. From accountant and sales director to administrator and social media manager, it’s likely that you have many job titles. With so much responsibility, wouldn’t it be great if there were a few aspects of your business that you didn’t have to spend quite so much time on? Thankfully, that might be more doable than you realise.
A beginners guide to analytics for your small-business website
Sometimes, all it takes to turn a good website into a great website is simply understanding how, why and – perhaps most importantly – whether it’s working. Simple data analytics can help you look under the bonnet of your website, identify what is and isn’t working, and put in place systems so that your site can work better for you and your customers.
Jawbone to Be Liquidated; CEO to Launch Similar New Startup
The consumer electronics company, once valued as high as $3 billion, has already begun liquidation proceedings, according to sources cited in The Information. Chief executive officer Hosain Rahman has no time for mourning, however; the Jawbone cofounder has moved on to a new company, Jawbone Health Hub. This fresh startup sheds old investors but is otherwise is strikingly similar—indeed, it will even sell original Jawbone products once the original company dissipates into dust and debris.
Techfest Recruiting Event Returns to Toronto on July 27th
Summer is a time of celebration, and we’re confident that you’ll be celebrating the career upgrade that awaits you at our upcoming Techfest, which takes place in Toronto on July 27 at the iconic Steam Whistle Brewery. Techfest is a unique recruiting event that connects the hottest hiring companies with top talent in major cities across North America.
Samsung Expects Record Quarter, Plans to Invest Billions in Next-Gen Components
Samsung has posted guidance for the second quarter of 2017. The company expects profits to jump more than 70% over the same quarter last year, which would place it ahead of analyst estimates. Samsung also expects revenue to be up 18% to 60 trillion won—again, just ahead of analyst estimates. If the company is accurate in its self-assessment, this could be a record quarter for the electronics giant. However, investors remained unmoved by the guidance; Samsung’s stock was stagnant following the news.
Three Hacks to Help Companies Avoid the Summer Slowdown
Between vacations, holidays, and “half-day” Fridays, it’s common for employees to slow down as the weather heats up, with workplace productivity dropping up to 20% between the months of June and August. However, just because it’s hot outside, doesn’t mean you should lose your shirt. If you run a business, here are three tips to maintain efficiency, motivate employees and ensure your team is still working up a sweat over the summer months.
Tesla Lands Historic Agreement with Government to Build World’s Largest Battery in Australia
Tesla has plans to build the world’s largest lithium-ion battery. The battery, which would be 60% larger than any other such storage system, will be located in South Australia. It’s possible thanks to a historic partnership with the government of Australia, Tesla, and a European renewable energy company called Neoen. At 100 megawatts of capacity and 129 megawatt-hours of energy generation, Tesla’s battery will greatly outpeform the current leader, an 80 megawatt-hour substation in California.
Air Canada Streamlines Booking Process with Addition of Masterpass
Mastercard this week announced that Masterpass is now usable for Air Canada bookings. Masterpass stores payment information, including card details from other payment networks, and shipping information in a single location. All information is accessible when shoppers click on the Masterpass button at checkout. “Masterpass will save customers time by enabling them to speedily complete purchases online,” said Duncan Bureau, Vice President, Global Sales at Air Canada.
Google Unveils Blocks, a Virtual Reality App That Allows Anyone to Build 3D Objects
Currently, developing three-dimensional objects on two-dimensional screens is the norm. But as virtual reality technology advances, Google is asking a good question: why not create 3D content while inside a 3D environment? The software giant’s answer to this question is Blocks, a VR app that lets anyone—including non-developers—build 3D objects. “Blocks is simple enough for anyone to use, even those without any prior modeling experience,” says Jason Toff, a group product manager for Google.
Fintech Startup Flinks Raises $500K to Connect with Banks
Montreal-based fintech startup Flinks has raised $500,000 in a pre-seed round to kick off commercialization of its product. Founded in December, Flinks connects applications with Canadian banks. Flinks’ financial API allows users to synchronize their banking information with the app of their choosing in the savings, investment, and crypto-currency sectors. “We’ve been very focused on getting our product to the market quickly,” says Yves-Gabriel Leboeuf, Flinks’ 26-year-old CEO.
Toronto Craft Beer Lovers: There’s an App Just For You
Take a trip to the Brooklyn Tavern, follow the old rail tracks to Junction Craft Brewing, or slide into home at Left Field Brewery to grab 12oz of cold craft beer—for only a toonie. Launched today, the Craft Beer Passport gives Toronto’s beer lovers a new way to sample brews for $2 from more than 35 participating bars and microbreweries. The app helps users discover local breweries on a discount with a custom map that lets beer aficionados plan the perfect pub crawl.
Decline of Combustion Engines: Volvo to Stop Making Vehicles Powered Solely by Fossil Fuels
Volvo intends to phase out all vehicles powered solely by fossil fuels, shifting toward a lineup consisting exclusively of electric and hybrid vehicles. The company says that, starting with new models in 2019, only hybrid or full-electric motors will be available. Existing Volvo models will continue to offer combustion engine versions until the generation dies—typically around seven years. Thus, by 2025 the automaker could be producing zero full-gasoline cars.
Food Delivery Firm Will Attempt to Peddle Ice Cream This Summer
Food delivery is a white-hot market for startups these days, but they’re mostly known for delivering your standard fare: burgers, pasta, sushi. DoorDash, however, will be looking to deliver Baskin-Robbins ice cream this summer. This perilous peddling of quickly melting goodies will span more than 600 stores across the US and provide patrons with milkshakes, sundaes, and cakes following a successful pilot in select cities.
Mylo Launches App to Help Millennials Make Smart Investments Automatically
Mylo Financial Technologies this week launched its mobile app. The iOS app offers a personal finance management platform to help Canadians achieve their financial goals. Mylo‘s service automatically rounds up every purchase users make and invests the spare change through a registered portfolio manager into a diversified portfolio of low-cost Exchange-Traded Funds.
As Amazon Prime Day Approaches, Growth Shows No Sign of Slowing
Next week is Amazon Prime Day 2017, which the ecommerce titan describes as “one of the world’s best days to shop.” It’s the company’s third such day since launching Prime, a membership that, for an annual or monthly charge, promises unlimited two-day shipping on all orders, and other perks like video and music streaming libraries and cloud storage.
France to Ban Fossil Fuel Vehicles by 2040
Hammering another nail into the combustion engine’s coffin, France’s new environment minister this week announced plans to ban all gasoline and diesel vehicles by the year 2040. Nicolas Hulot’s ambitious goal comes as part of President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to make France carbon-neutral by 2040. The announcement came shortly after Volvo unveiled plans to stop making combustion-only motor vehicles.
Is Social Media Good or Bad for Mental Health? For Youth, It’s All Moderation
Social media engagement can benefit children, but overexposure is a slippery slope, suggest the findings of a new study. The report, published by the Education Policy Institute, found that moderate use of social media can possess “a beneficial impact on wellbeing.” However, “extreme internet users”—classified as those spending more than six hours online per day—face increased risk of cyber bullying and exposure to harmful content.
SoundCloud Axing 40% of Staff in Pursuit of Profitability
SoundCloud is cutting almost half of its workforce in order to cut costs and approach profitability, it was revealed this week. The popular music platform, which has 175 million active users, is eliminating 173 positions. SoundCloud is shutting down entire offices in San Francisco and London, the company informed staff in an internal memo, consolidating its workforce to Berlin and New York. “We need to ensure our path to long-term, independent success,” said cofounder Alex Ljung.
Microsoft Cutting Significant Chunk of Sales Team
The company withheld specifics but acknowledged that it is “implementing changes to better serve our customers and partners,” which includes notifying “some employees that their jobs are under consideration or that their positions will be eliminated.” Reports suggest the layoffs could be as many as 3,000, primarily in sales, and mostly outside of the US. If true, that’s around 10% of the company’s overall sales force. “We evaluate our business on a regular basis,” Microsoft stated.
How to Build a Better Website for Your Startup
Canada is a nation of go-getters. Entrepreneurism is in our DNA. In a recent GoDaddy survey, 77% of young Canadians said they would like to be their own boss. Successful businesses all seem to have great websites combined with robust social and digital strategies to help them stand out from the competition, break through the noise, and build a growing company. At the heart of a successful online strategy for any small business is that great website.
Serving 80% of US, Lyft Reaches One Million Daily Rides
Uber’s primary rival this week unveiled a new milestone: Lyft now provides more than one million rides each day. The company says the milestone comes after 48 consecutive months of growth. Rides have grown 100% year-over-year. “This year has been especially exciting for Lyft,” the company wrote online. “In January, we set a goal of launching in 100 new communities across the country by the end of 2017.
Chinese Search Giant Buys AI Startup
The trend of enterprises investing into artificial intelligence is not exclusive to North America. Baidu, a China-based search engine, has acquired Kitt.ai, a Seattle-born startup that offers a platform for developers to create natural language technology services such as chatbots. “Since its inception, the mission of Kitt.ai has been making human machine interaction simple with natural language understanding technologies,” founder Xuchen Yao wrote online.
Baidu Doubles Down on AI Projects Through NVIDIA Partnership
Immediately following the acquisition of a Seattle-based artificial intelligence startup, Chinese software giant Baidu has landed a partnership with chip maker Nvidia. Speaking in the keynote at Baidu’s AI developer conference in Beijing, Baidu COO Qi Lu described his company’s plans to work with Nvidia. Those plans include bringing Volta GPUs to Baidu Cloud, adopting the Drive PX platform for autonomous technology initiatives, and implementing Baidu’s conversational AI system to Nvidia Shield TV.
Uber Faces New Battle in Europe
Uber has not had an easy road in Europe. The most recent roadblock to the company’s ambitious expansion plans hails from an advocate general for the Court of Justice of the European Union. The senior adviser to the region’s highest court issued a nonbinding opinion that recommends Uber’s service be forced to abide by the same rules that govern taxi companies. Maciej Szpunar’s recommendation followed a legal battle regarding whether Uber should be considered a tax service in France.
DeepMind To Open First International AI Research Lab in Edmonton
In an historic move for the AI community, one of the world’s leading AI research companies, DeepMind, will open its first international research lab outside the United Kingdom later this month. Acquired by Google in 2014, DeepMind is an Alphabet-owned artificial intelligence company.
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