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Video: Robotics Aid Warehouse Workers

11 Aug

A lot has been written and discussed about the negative impact of robotics on employment. So is there also any good news about robotics and the job market? The answer is yes!

Here is an example, as reported by Jennifer Smith for the Wall Street Journal:

“In the battle of humans versus machines on the warehouse floor, some firms have found common ground. Instead of developing technology to completely replace manpower, these firms are designing robots meant to work alongside people. These robots, for example, can guide workers to items to be picked or can transport goods across a warehouse to be packed and shipped. Deutsche Post AG’s DHL is testing ‘swarming’ robots at a facility in Memphis, Tenn. These machines help workers pick out medical devices that need to be shipped quickly. Quiet Logistics Inc., which fulfills online orders for retailers like Bonobos and Inditex SA’s Zara, uses the same type of mobile robots in one of its warehouses.”

“Known as ‘collaborative’ robots, they are small and relatively cheap — costing tens of thousands of dollars — compared with miles of conveyor belts and automation systems that run into the tens of millions. The new robots are designed with the majority of warehouses world-wide in mind, where orders continue to be fulfilled manually by people pushing carts up and down aisles.”


 

 
(Video from Business Insider)
 

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Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

2 Aug

This post focuses on marketing tips specifically geared to small businesses, a group that often under-appreciates the importance and availability of marketing practices.

As Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead notes for Small Business Trends:

“You’re a small business owner. You don’t have an endless marketing budget, or an abundance of time that you can spend doing the marketing yourself for the that matter. You do, however, need to market your products or services so as to remain competitive. What do you do? Fortunately, there are plenty of marketing approaches that small business owners can adapt to successfully market their businesses without breaking the bank!”

 
Click the image to read 25 marketing strategy tips for small businesses that are proposed by Pickard-Whitehead.


 

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SEO FAQs: An Infographic with 16 Tips

1 Aug

For many firms, search engine optimization remains a challenge. After all, it can be hard to land on page one in a Google search.

Consider these observations from SEO Jury:

“When was the last time you checked out page three of Google search results? That’s right – never! The majority of users never even go to page two, let alone beyond that. This is why every Web site owner’s dream is to get to the top of the Google search results.”

“New search engine optimization (SEO) strategies are being developed constantly, and the rules of SEO keep changing. This can make it difficult for those new to SEO to keep up with the developments in this area and figure out what the best SEO strategy for their website is. While the history of SEO starts a while ago, we still see millions of people searching for ‘SEO’ every month, which means that there are still plenty of confusing things about SEO that most users are struggling to understand. This is why we bring you this informative infographic about 16 things we still struggle to understand about SEO.”

 


Presented by SEOjury.co.uk

 

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How to Do Better with Online Marketing Content

13 Jul

Globally, an overwhelming number of companies utilize content marketing as part of their online efforts. According to the Content Marketing Institute: “Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” Rather than “sell” goods and services to customers, companies strive to “provide truly relevant and useful content” to both their prospects and their customers — so as to “help them solve their issues.”

 

Take a look at this infographic from One Productions (‘Ireland’s leading video production agency’). It includes a lot of good information on how to do better with content marketing.


 

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Cybercrime Costs How Much?

6 Jul

The extent of cybercrime continues to explode, as we have noted before (see, for example, 1, 2, 3).

Consider the following:

  • Interpol describes the types of cybercrime that exist — “Cybercrime is a fast-growing area of crime. More and more criminals are exploiting the speed, convenience, and anonymity of the Internet to commit a diverse range of criminal activities that know no borders, either physical or virtual, cause serious harm, and pose very real threats to victims worldwide. Although there is no single universal definition of cybercrime, law enforcement generally makes a distinction between two main types of Internet-related crime: advanced cybercrime (or high-tech crime) – sophisticated attacks against computer hardware and software; and cyber-enabled crime – many ‘traditional’ crimes have taken a new turn with the advent of the Internet, such as crimes against children, financial crimes, and even terrorism.
  • David Sun reports that “Just last year [2016], cybercrime cost the global economy over $450 billion U.S., and this number is only expected to grow, with estimates that it will hit $3 trillion U.S. by 2020.” Also, click here for more from Sun.
  •  Verizon has published a 100-page PDF report (“Data Breach Digest”). Click here to access the full report.
  • Europol has published a 57-page PDF report (subtitled “Crime in the Age of Technology”).  Click here to access the full report.
  • Symantec has published a 77-page PDF report (“Internet Security Threat Report “).  Click here to access the full report.

 

 

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How to Utilize Intelligent Engagement

20 Jun

Despite the many recent advances in enhanced customer service technology, many companies are always looking for better ways to engage their customers and gain more customer loyalty. The latest technology is known as intelligent engagement.

Bold360 is an example of an intelligent engagement service provider. It:

“puts your customer insights to work in real-time, across every channel, at the point of engagement. We named it Bold360 because it gives your business a 360-degree view of your customer and guides your agents to the next best action for that customer, in that moment.”

“The Right Insights at the Right Time — With intelligence gained from previous interactions and data from disparate systems, agents are empowered with real-time customer insights for more contextually relevant interactions. Intelligent Automation that Delights — Not every customer engagement is created equal. Bold360 uses customer profile information to automate routine interactions without sacrificing quality and to automate portions of the agent workflow to deliver the next best action. Channels that Work Together as One — Bold360 provides the digital channels preferred by today’s mobile-first consumers and makes it possible to seamlessly move across self-service and live channels with full context intact.”

 
Take a look at the video below to learn more.


 

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Should Salaries Be Transparent?

19 Jun

This is certainly an explosive topic, with great differences of opinion. For example: Yes — This is part of a more open communication style. No — This invades privacy and can cause dissension among employees. What do YOU think?

Recently, Creative Group (a staffing firm) conducted research on this topic:

“Should professionals’ pay be public knowledge? Employers in the advertising and marketing fields don’t think so, according to new research from staffing firm Creative Group. More than eight in 10 creative executives interviewed (82 percent) said their organization refrains from publicizing employees’ compensation. Of those respondents, 61 percent feel pay transparency would decrease staff morale.”

“Is there an upside to embracing an open salary policy? According to the survey, the top benefits of sharing compensation information openly are increasing productivity (18 percent) and boosting recruitment and retention (17 percent). However, more than one-quarter of executives (27 percent) believe the potential risks outweigh any rewards.”

 

Take a look at the following infographic that summarizes that research findings.


 

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