How to Rescue your Team’s Morale

At times in any firm, team morale may go down. That is when leaders need to step in and business research has provided with a few steps which can win back team morale. The firm’s corporate strategy must be universally understood across the organization in simple language. Employee of the firm must believe in the product, only then will they be able to sell the same. The focus of all employees must be towards a common good and everyone must be made to chip in with their roles.

Unique & Authentic Experiences

The tourism industry is one the cusp on change in which certain newer concepts are emerging while older ones are getting refurbished. Authentic local food has increased in acceptability while robots are increasingly being used in tourism operations. Newer destinations are emerging such as Okinawa which is branding itself as the ‘Hawaii of Japan’. In this process several new tourism jobs are emerging in Okinawa. Websites such as bookalokal.com and eatwith.com are providing us authentic local cuisine and culture but using technology to connect the right people.

5 Career Lessons from a Startup CTO

A successful CTO has provided us business consulting on ways in which startups must approach work. He feels that while realistic targets are important, one must have a sense of romance and vision beyond banal realities. In case the top management does not have all the information, one mustn’t panic. Risks need to be taken and that implies certain failed attempts which must not be seen as failures but as sort of management training. Whenever crisis is visible, the leaders must take the plunge before the rest of the team in a startup. Even after the organization starts growing, the origins must be preserved.

Tourists are breathing new life into ‘Bucket List’ Heritage Gems

Ireland’s heritage spots are getting reinvigorated by tourism with many travelers wanting to visit and even stay at offbeat locales such as castles, forts and cottages tucked away in rural areas. Most of these are operated by the Irish Landmark Trust which has taken care to conserve these historical / heritage spots. Most of this form of tourism can be categorized on the higher end of the economic scale, yet, they are bringing benefits percolating downwards in society through the generation of numerous travel jobs.

Shopping drives UK Tourism Market

Shopping or the more organized concept of ‘retail therapy’ is proving to be one the biggest money earners for the U.K. Millions of foreign travelers are visiting U.K. every year with the express purpose of shopping. As per market research conducted, an average tourist who has arrived with tourism as one of the driving forces, ends up spending more than four times one who hasn’t acknowledged the role. Women in particular are more likely to be seeking retail therapy in the U.K. Tourists from the Gulf region including countries such as U.A.E., Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia are most likely to spend on tourism with average spends exceeding a whopping £2000 per visit.

To understand Market Research, you must do Yoga

To succeed at market research, number of professionals are turning to yoga. The latter helps in analyzing the body and those strengths comply while conducting business analysis. There exist certain trap questions which the busy mind cannot digest, but post yoga solutions to these can be churned out better. There is a certain ingrained bias that people face, but an objective researcher needs to get rid of these and yoga helps to achieve the same. Most importantly, yoga helps reduce body fatigue by curbing stress, blood pressure, depression, anxiety and insomnia.

Outbound Tourist flows from China Rise

China is now the world’s largest supplier of outbound tourists. As per market research, the numbers crossed the hundred million mark for the first time. Short distance trips though remain most popular with Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Hong Kong, Macao and South Korea being amongst the most popular destinations for Chinese travelers. The USA is also a major destination to travel. Favorable visa regimes with a number of countries has helped this cause. The rate is further set to grow in coming years.

What Business Leaders can learn from Generals

Modern day corporate leaders can take lessons from military generals. The latter are much better at uncertainty management than managing risk. Generals also look at overall strategy rather than individual plight. The 1943 Allied landings on Sicily can be taken as an example where the bigger picture took precedence over individual lives and this is where corporate strategy can reposition itself. Cyber attacks are a constant part of the corporate world yet this is a risk which businesses are usually better positioned to deal with than militaries. The French General Joseph Joffre once sacked a number of senior officers at the height of the war claiming they were better peace time leaders. Similarly businesses need to identify risk-averse as opposed to risk-taking managers.

VFR, a good source of Tourism Revenues

Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) is among the most important segments for international travel. As per a tourism consulting publication, it accounts for about three-fifths of travel to Turkey. Iran is one country with a large Diaspora residing across the world. This has led to Iranians traveling in droves to these places. Even many Iranians travel back home once their credentials get established. Philippines is another country which has developed tour packages for its nationals residing abroad for generations.

The 2 Essential Entrepreneurial Types

Business research has identified two major types of entrepreneurs. Most fall within one of these categories which can be classified as – ‘path finders’ and ‘path creators’. The former always seek to create new things through business innovation. The latter ensure that new developments are scaled best for mass, commercial usage. Path creators value business analysis through extensive usage of big data. Path-finders on the other hand feel that such analysis constrains creativity and reduces unpredictability.

5 Tips for building a Global Workforce 

In order to build a workforce tuned to working in an international environment, certain suggestions have been made by a management consulting publication. Location is critical. While being based at a smaller place might help with employee retention, a New York City office location might be much more conducive for fostering a global workforce. Wherever the firm is located, local employment practices must always be taken into consideration. Local talent must be integrated in offshore locations. Everyone in the team must be given a set of duties to which they are accountable. A typical 9 to 5 working day will not be possible, instead the hours must be kept flexible depending upon the assignment requirements. 

In a Digital World, are Generations Dead? 

A number of definitions are being used to describe today’s youth. However there is almost no consensus in this matter and we are struggling with set of terms such as ‘Generation Z’ or ‘millennials’. We also cannot pinpoint a birth year for them. Thus it is best to simply ignore such definitions as generations are no longer relevant. The new generations are raised by older ones and the earlier trend of youngsters repelling their parents’ dogmas is reducing. This is due to the digitization which is enabling families to share their experiences as one. Instead individual characteristics such as tastes and passions have become relevant. This is what organizations are tapping via digital marketing by targeting tribes which favour particular interest areas instead of going by age groups. 

Geoffrey Kent & the Paradox of Tourism 

Geoffrey Kent, the CEO of Abercombie & Kent recently faced condemnation from a reader for his supposed hypocrisy when dealing with the planet’s problems. He wrote a piece about traveling and conservation but the reader feels that there is instead too much travel these days and people must rather focus on understanding their own communities and preserving the environment. Luxury tourism with which Kent is associated, is getting tarnished by claims of environmental degradation due to excesses such as the use of caviar as an item of consumption. However, Kent feels that tourism is the best way of protecting the environment. African countries such as Kenya and Zambia must protect their wildlife the way for example Saudi Arabia protects its oil. Wildlife must be top priority for generation of travel jobs and national income in these countries of Africa. 

How 114 ideas from Clients helped MYOB become a topmost Innovative Company 

MYOB the Australian tax and accounting services firm, has claimed that it has sourced ideas from various sources to enable its business innovations. Its innovations are such that even blue collared professionals such as gardeners are getting massive practical benefits out of this. It has been involved in acquisitions and partnerships of late. It has tied up with Kounta systems and taken over Ace Payroll with the primary intention of breaking into the New Zealand market. Even its primary tax product Xero has been boosted by its alignment with Dropbox. 

Destination DC underlines centrality of Tourism to local Economy 

The DC region is now getting a facelift with tourism as a top priority among industries. Washington DC attracted around twenty million visitors in 2014 including domestic and international ones. More than seventy five thousand people are engaged in tourism jobs in the region which also generates a tax income of about three fourths of a billion dollars in tax revenues. Majority of international visitors arrived from China, UK, India, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Italy and Brazil.   

Hold on to your Rising Stars & Heroes 

Talent management has become so critical that organizations are putting increased focus on retaining the best employees and reducing attrition rates. As per market research by Halogen and Cranfield University, about a third of organizations polled are set to introduce a talent strategy over the next couple of years. This will include increased emphasis on corporate training rather than on hiring fresh talent to plug gaps caused when employees leave. Succession planning is another area previously ignored but gaining ground among organizations these days. These trends were common across the English speaking world including the UK, Australia and New Zealand. 

Collaboration Catalysts 

With the present trend of co-creation and collaboration not showing signs of abating, key catalysts have been identified using business research to show how the same can be applied to human resources and talent management. HR service may best be improved by applying timely communication and use of videos. Also constant feedback must be encouraged. Greater presence on the social circuit is needed for recruitment and enhancing organization’s brand value. Email dependence must be reduced and the response time on social media must be quickest possible. Instead of a traditional hierarchical structure, firms must shift to networks. Relationships must be developed for long term benefits and connectors within the industry must be engaged with especially on public forums. The employees’ full profile must be understood using 360 degree perspective. Corporate training must be provided specifically on social learning. Also mentor- peer networks must be fostered. 

Tourism New Zealand claims top honours at US tourism Awards 

The New Zealand Tourism Board has been felicitated as the top one by Virtuoso which is a US luxury travel network. The board has been commended for its high level of engagement with customers and other stakeholders. Virtuoso has now inked an agreement with the board where the latter will provide management training to employees at the former to better publicize New Zealand’s luxury offerings. New Zealanders themselves currently make up the top visitors to Australia but this is set to change with newer arrivals from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland soaring year on year. More than a million are expected to visit Australia this year from that region. 

BCG Executive says the best Managers practice these 5 Habits 

As per management consulting giant- BCG- certain habits exist among top managers. The corporate strategy they set includes exact measurable targets as per the ’80-20’ rule. This makes them believe that four-fifths of impacts arise from a fifth of causes. Bureaucracy is kept to a minimum. There is constant interaction with their team members. They are good at talent management and set duties based on individual characteristics of employees. Change is a constant and desirable ones are implemented at rapid pace. 

The Future of Talent Technology 

Digital technology has seeped deep into HRM processes and is being increasingly used for conducting talent management. Employee experience management is being used now similar to CRM is for marketers. One has to make sure the technology used for this is engaging. The technology must also be adaptable enough to integrate unique systems and dimensions. If this does not happen, the human resources department will not be able to extract valuable data for further business analysis. 

4 Quadrants of Marketing to Probe the Consumer Mind 

Marketers are forever at a fix in order to get the exact dimensions of what the human mind is looking for. After much business research, four types have been identified especially relevant for the car and beer markets. The aspirational mind prefers distinctive yet widely available brands such as Mercedes, BMW, Sam Adams and Heineken accounting for over three-fifths of the beer market. Mainstream minds prefer brands that are typical of their respective industries and thus are attracted towards Chevrolet, Ford, Busch or Miller. Customers with unconventional choices prefer out of the ordinary brands such as the Mini or Stella. Peripheral brands are those lacking focus or uniqueness quotient. Brands such as Mitsubishi, Kia or Pabst work best in this segment which still accounts for about a fourth of car sales. 

7 Ways to get your Social Media Audience in a Physical Store 

Some methods have been suggested by a management consulting publication to attract social media followers to the actual company stores. Coupons must be offered that can only be redeemed at the actual store. Special events must be hosted regularly. Local events must also be attended and the designated hash-tag must be used to enable co-marketing. Another way to attract crowds would be to post images of the actual store. Employees’ personalities must be broadcast to wider audience. Peer based reviews on the store and its products must be encouraged on public forums. Fans’ posts must be re-tweeted or shared across social media channels. 

Airbnb jumps into race for China’s Outbound Tourism Market 

With China flexing its economic muscle in the tourism industry, online home rentals giant Airbnb is set to target that market. Initially the outbound market from China will be targeted before eventually entering the domestic segment and taking on local market leader- tujia.com. Business research by the firm suggests that Chinese outbound tourism via Airbnb has increased eight times over the last year. Sequoia Capital’s regional arm is set to partner Airbnb in this venture to eventually get a grip on the Chinese market. 

When to Outsource Tech Training for Employees 

Corporate training for employees working in technology centric roles often needs to be outsourced. Talent management of existing employees often requires specific training which only third parties can provide but saves the effort of recruiting newer faces. The firm must also be innately aware the personnel and their skills already within the firm’s reach before opting for outsourced options. Certain modules and technologies exist where the skill set required is so specific that it is not possible for the firm to provide the training internally, but expert help is necessary. 

The 10 best Tourist attractions in the World 

Tourism consulting by Lonely Planet publication has listed the ten top tourist sites on the globe. The Aya Sofia in Istanbul is listed as tenth. The Alhambra in Spain goes a notch above. The Iguazu Falls in Brazil and the Colosseum in Rome complete the eighth and seventh spots respectively. The come the Grand Canyon National Park and the Taj Mahal in USA and India respectively. The Great Wall of China comes fourth. The mysterious Machu Picchu stands tall at third. Just one spot away from top lies the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Right on top are the temples of Angkor Vat in Cambodia. 

Five better customer Experience Investments than a Social Media Command 

Social media is nowadays being used to broadcast corporate strategy aims across organizations. Yet greater focus and investment at improving customer experience will be a better objective in the long run. Firms should show greater patience towards customer service agents so customers may be serviced best. Such CRM must be developed or adopted which will ensure customers do not need to repeat information at various stages of the buying process. Greater and improved corporate training must be provided to marketers regarding the concept of customer service. Public forums or fan sites must always be kept in the loop regarding product or service updates. Importantly, one must frequently go out for lunch with customers to understand them and their requirements better. 

State Tourism breaks Records for Economic Impact 

The state of Tennessee is experiencing a windfall in tourism revenues. The investment has not been less but nearly thirty million dollars have been earned by the state and local authorities combined. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Blount County have proven to be the best sources of this income. A total of more than one hundred and fifty thousand travel jobs exist across Tennessee. The state is amongst the ten best performing ones in the tourism sector in the USA. 

How we rank the World’s most Innovative Companies 

Market research has been conducted to gauge the level of business innovation at various firms and further rank them in order. A specific formula for the same has even been developed by Credit Suisse called HOLT. The first component in this is to assess the expected cash generation over the upcoming two years. It then analyses free cash flows of the times to come. The company’s overall ROI volatility over the previous five years is then taken into consideration. Finally the percentage of incomes, the company has ploughed back is studied to get the final figure. 

4 Strategies that must be Part of your Marketing to Customers 

As per marketing research conducted, some strategies have been suggested to maximize marketing potential to customers. The campaign especially that for digital marketing must involve frequent yet fresh content for the website, mobile page or app and social media. Push messages must eventually be succeeded by genuine customer interaction. Customer engagement must also seek to provide individualized solutions. Even customers must be encouraged to support common socio-cultural causes. Marketers must let go of assuming that new products will always succeed or that customers are seeking greater number of options. 

What to say during a Confrontation 

During confrontation in professional world, some people get found out while others thrive. A management consulting publication has provided certain pointers, following of which will lead to leveraging conflict rather than suffering due to them. Sometimes staying quiet can help. Conflicts must never be made personal agendas. One must never hesitate from posing questions. In case of a mistake, the professional must acknowledge his / her role in it. Hot tempers must never come in the way of remaining focused at work. Also one must never run away from the conflict and instead develop positive long term solutions via them. 

5 New & upcoming Waves of Innovation in Ecommerce

Some business innovations in the ecommerce sector are in the offing. Mobile locations are being tracked by marketers to conduct their digital marketing and eventual selling. Customers these days want immediate delivery of their products desired. Thus super quick delivery or pickup is set to rise. Ecommerce industry is also looking at increasing integration with the brick & mortar segment. The discovery of options is getting increasingly customized for buyer personas. The concept of co-creation is gaining ground and ecommerce players are getting into the act using social media platforms.

8 Secrets for Internal Startup Success

A business consulting publication has suggested some minimum qualifications entrepreneurs need to posses when they initiate a startup. Their experience must be broad and extensive. They must be willing to take risks. They must have a track record of initiating and actually executing business innovation. The entrepreneurs must possess the ability to negotiate and budget before formulating the corporate strategy. Fruitful relations must be developed across the industry. Thorough business research must be made on success stories of similar startups. The persons responsible must have an awareness that certain competitors will soon attack the organization. In spite of intermittent failure, the persons must be ready to slog it out and stay true to initial vision. Finally when success is achieved, that must be enjoyed and not delayed.

What is better Digital Marketing Strategy

Much has been debated on which is better for digital marketing– mobile ads or mobile apps. Both however, have their own set of advantages. Mobile ads are good for driving traffic to the website. Sometimes people view ads but do not click on them. Even this is good for the firm as at least people are viewing the brand and its name gets reinforced in their consciousness. Mobile apps on the other hand are ideal tool for customer engagement and interaction. Thus there is no clear winner, both have their own set of advantages, it depends on what the firm is looking at.

Cloud Analytics: 6 tips for Success

Business research conducted has provided us with some suggestions which must be adapted to ensure success while using cloud technology. One must start using the Cloud with a clear intent of use in mind. Also the focus must be on end results and not on the fancy features. The approach taken must include interaction and communication. The proper team must be set up to make full use of this technology. To aid this team, adequate resources must be assembled. As the cloud initially is an expensive tool to integrate, the firm must identify an executive sponsor to financially support the initiative during the genesis.

A day in the life of a Digital Marketer

Certain measures are typical taken by digital marketing professionals on daily basis. Consumer experiences must be programmed to give them best options using multiple skill sets. These marketers must act as partners to their respective clients. Thus instead of being mere vendors, they develop long term valuable relationships to get repeat business. Another major challenge is to stay on top of the industry and for that business analysis on competitors is a must. The knowledge level must be developed further.

Are these the biggest Resume mistakes Ever?

A Career Builder anchored business research has found out that increasingly people in the Asia-Pacific region are faking their resumes. Thus some incredible mistakes crop up in these and some of them have been highlighted in order to learn from the mistakes. In work history one wrote ‘whorehouse’ instead of warehouse. One’s personal website was linked to a porn site. Another introduced oneself as ‘hey you’ in the cover letter. Crudely speaking, the funniest was one where the applicant had listed as reference an employer whose money he had embezzled and now faced an arrest warrant from them. This is where recruiters and hiring managers need to be extra vigilant at present times.

3 Strategies for Managing your Team Remotely

Team and talent management have been proven to be amongst the trickiest task of working remotely. Internet connection becomes critical to the entire operation but it allows greater flexibility at lower costs. Even if the leader is beyond sight, he/she must at some stage build eye contact with the team members. Also the team must be kept busy at all times to prevent employees from feeling lost or have time for any confrontation. Employees must feel that chances for growth and development in the firm exist and thus frequent rounds of corporate training help.

How Scotland is championing car- free Tourism

Scotland has developed a sustainable tourism plan which aims to discourage cars as mode of transport. Public transport is being promoted across the region, and smart phones are being tagged with all such route maps. Hiking is also being promoted as Scotland has some of the best possible sites for the same. Tourism consulting agencies state that a substantial percentage of tourists avoid public transport due to fear of getting lost but this trend needs to be downplayed as Scotland has some of the best public transport and most people stay within walking distance of a bus stand.

Why the HR chief of one of the world’s biggest Professional Services firms got rid of Annual Performance Reviews

Management consulting giant Accenture has put an end to annual performance reviews. Instead it will gauge people’s performances and initiate the pay rise based on other parameters. A four pronged study will look to understand expectations, understand niches for growth and build on existing strengths using corporate training. Thus priorities between employee expectations and organizational goals will need to get aligned together. The feedback system needs to be a continuous process rather than annual. The communication needs to be forward-centric. No rankings are to be established as they foster a negative culture as per Accenture’s new policy and decision.

7 Social Media Platforms that could Explode before 2016

A major business consulting publication has suggested seven social media platforms which are sure to rise in usage and applicability for digital marketing by next year. Wanelo is the first one of them and it is a social shopping app. SlideShare allows us to share our PowerPoint presentations and extract content from other relevant users. Shots is an app tied to the camera whose sole focus is to help in taking ‘selfies’. Ello is an all purpose social networking forums which has combined the best from Facebook and Tumblr. Hyper allows us to post and share pictures along with geographic tags. Bebo is actually not new but has reemerged in a different format and allows communication even without the usage of pictures. This is another social networking forum, yet only a single post is allowed per day to reduce the feel of looking cluttered.

An acute need for Leadership on the Supply Chain

A Deloitte anchored business research has questioned the way supply chain firms are being run and many of them violate basic human and environmental norms. Procurement is often done in unethical conditions. Also most supply chain managers feel their team members are not provided enough corporate training to start with. In the UK, dairy farmers and milk retailers are facing major shortage and with food prices at low level. Thus, large organized chains like Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s have been targeted to develop customized procurement conditions to help smaller farmers. There is major need for holistic thinking and strategic leadership in this industry.

Why Entrepreneurs should use the Strategy Plan instead of the Business Plan

Corporate strategy is usually the more practical part and thus must be seen as the benchmark for execution than the often dreamy business plan. Some reasons exist for the same. It helps in determining the company’s vision. Exact goals and targets may then be set. Strategy acts as the glue holding the overall plan together. Execution thus starts based on the final strategy plan and though there may be tactical changes along the way, the business innovation must never be reactionary.

8 Psychological Principals to increase your Up-sells & Cross-sells

Sustaining an existing customer by servicing him / her is usually a much bigger challenge than generating new ones. Similarly it is important for sales teams to encourage customers to spend more on their visits rather than expecting repeat visits. Some ways have been suggested by a business consulting publication. Customers must be induced by describing the compounded value proposition and how costs increase with each visit, thus maximum must be made of the existing visit. It is also more convenient. Incentives must be offered for shopping more at the same time. While too many choices can empower customers, a combination of maximum offers in a package can induce them to actually purchase and thus try them all out. The ego of customers must be targeted to boost sales of high value branded products. The concept of reciprocation must be tried out where stores that give away more freebies are seen with affection by customers who then reciprocate by purchasing from them. Scarcity induces urgency among people to buy. Thus time and stock scarce offers are advertised especially using email and digital marketing. Crucially, social proof via tweets, reviews, blog mentions etc. have become cornerstone in marketing and thus sellers are increasingly attaching their brands to this phenomena.

These 3 Brands will inspire your real-time Marketing Strategy

Real time digital marketing in the past referred to tweets or post about any event trending at the time and leveraging the product/service using the theme. Now the definition has altered and three brands have done wonders to inspire these changing norms. Applebee’s Grill & Bar has such a strong business analysis wing that each of its existing customers get tracked and the location based software keeps alerting the person about the real time offerings for that moment in the store nearby. Netflix takes one time data from the user and each time the person logs in, he/she gets information on TV programmes best suited to his/her tastes. eBay has such grasp on customer touch points that after each transaction, repeated offerings are custom built for the person based on the buyer persona he/she fits into as per the firm’s algorithm.