The Benefits of Business Networking

When it comes to business, there’s often a huge gap between knowledge and practice. While most people know what they should be doing to improve their business, few are actually making the right moves. For a variety of reasons, such as tight budget, being "too busy", and fear of "wasting time", people just aren’t taking the right steps to catapult their business to the next level.

One overlooked process is business networking. The simple process of meeting with people can transform the value of your business.

  1. Knowledge
    • benchmarking opportunities against competitors and similar-sized businesses
    • comparing and discussing issues of common interest
    • learning from others’ successes and failures
    • getting professional help at low or no cost
  2. Skills
    • developing ideas, converting them into best practices
    • participating in joint development, reducing costs due to economies of scale
  3. Support
    • building self-confidence from outside encouragement
    • recognizing others with your abilities, and a track-record of success
    • empowering yourself and others through a community
  4. Relationships
    • creating, revitalizing, and reinforcing personal relationships
    • accessing decision-makers directly, bypassing assistants and secretaries
    • experiencing the higher level of success through interdependence
  5. Referrals
    • increasing clients by meeting your target audience
    • expanding your network of people who plug your service
    • expanding markets by generating business contacts in non-local regions
  6. Partnerships
    • integrating experts of specific practices into your organization
  7. Suppliers
    • joining with trusted suppliers for your business
    • receiving valuable recommendations for proven services
  8. Profile
    • becoming an established and regular networking member, getting your face (and the business name) known
    • putting a personal face to your widely known products and services
  9. Friends
    • meeting like-minded people can develop non-business relationships as well
  10. Savings
    • accessing to low cost products and services provided by relationships and contacts
    • connecting with several people at once, saving you time and effort

Networking is often compared to advertising, which is clearly an unfair comparison. After all, advertising is like unloading a clip from an automatic weapon, and networking is like installing an undercover agent. Whereas networking involves a bit of time, and can yield big results with a few quality people, advertising is costly, has a narrow scope of purpose, and usually targets as many people as possible and yields small results with a quantity of people. Depending on the nature of your business, advertising may be worthwhile, but networking is almost always appropriate, and often overlooked.

Don’t cheat yourself of this amazing opportunity for your business. Get connected!

Customer Satisfaction Survey Instructions


Customer Satisfaction Survey Instructions

Customer satisfaction is the key to success. You want customers to be happy with the products and services you provide. If they feel they have received good value for their money, your business will prosper. Getting your customers to tell you what’s good about your business, and where you need improvement, helps you to be sure that your business measures up to their expectations.

A customer satisfaction survey is one way to gather this vital information. There are any number of ways to get copies to your customers. Copies can be included with orders, mailed directly at regular intervals, sent and received by fax, whatever is convenient for your particular business. If you’ve dealt with your customers electronically, using a free web survey application may be the way to go. Many won’t be returned, but those that are will make it worth your while.

The customer satisfaction survey below is designed to get your customers to tell you what they really think. No ranking of quality on a scale of one to five, no lengthy questions, just a list of key business activities and space to respond. Limiting the choices to “outstanding” and “needs improvement” sends a clear message that you expect the products and service you supply to be the best available, period. Keeping the survey to a single page makes it more likely that customers will take the time to respond. It also facilitates faxing. Be sure to include instructions on how to return the completed surveys. Give your fax number, include stamped, addressed envelopes, or whatever it takes to make it more likely that you’ll get them back.

Don’t forget to follow up on the comments you receive. If you have to change a procedure, tell an employee how you want things done, pick a new delivery service, do it. And advertise the fact that you did. Send thank you notes to the customers whose comments caused you to make a change. Let them know that you can do an even better job because they took the time to help you improve.

Sample Customer Satisfaction Survey [print on company letterhead]

We are constantly looking for ways to improve the quality of our products and services. To do that, we need to know what you think. We’d really appreciate it if you would take just a few minutes to respond to the handful of questions below. As a valued customer, how you rate our work is the most important information we can get. Please help us do the job you deserve – the best possible!

Please return this survey [describe how you want the survey returned.]

Please circle “Outstanding” or “Needs Improvement” and comment:

Products: Outstanding Needs Improvement

 

 

 

 

 

Services and Support: Outstanding Needs Improvement

 

 

 

 

 

Delivery: Outstanding Needs Improvement

 

 

 

 

 

Ordering and Billing: Outstanding Needs Improvement

 

 

 

 

 

Employees: Outstanding Needs Improvement

 

 

 

 

Doing Business With Israel: a cross-cultural business perspective

Check out this fairly in-depth look at the cultural differences we can all expect to experience with global business in Israel. Even Olim quickly take on the Israeli culture.

http://www.leyden.net/doingbusiness.html

Written by "Leyden Communications (Israel) – a full service, worldwide business to business marketing, media, Internet and e-commerce consultancy organization"

How to submit a video for our PR campaign

First of all, thank you for participating in this important campaign. Our intention is to publicize both the raw Israeli business endorsements, as well as a professionally edited video, highlighting the great things people have said about Israeli businesses. For more information, see the original post.

Although hi-res video is great, we’re welcoming all submissions. If you know how to record and e-mail or upload a video, then don’t bother reading on. Just e-mail zvi @ jobshuk.com with the video or link (file size restrictions may apply).

Recording

If you’re using a digital camera or camcorder, you’ll need to upload the file to your computer as you would with your usual pictures.

If you’re using a webcam, you have 2 options. The first is to use the software included with your camera. Once you launch the program, you might immediately see yourself, with a button to record video, or you might have to click something labeled "Capture". Press Start, record your video, and press Stop. You may then see options to e-mail the video or submit it to YouTube.

If you cannot locate or understand the software included with your webcam, you can record a video directly to YouTube. See here for further instructions. This option may not work if you’re using a slow upload Internet connection (most connections in Israel).

Sending

You can get the video out by 1) e-mailing it to me (see above), 2) submitting it to YouTube, 3) uploading it elsewhere and sending me a link.

See here for instructions on submitting your video to YouTube, if you don’t use the QuickCapture option above.

You can also upload the video using services like this, and then e-mailing me the file URL. Or you can submit the video to our Facebook group here.

If you still need help at any time, please contact me, and I’ll be happy to walk you through the process.

Thanks again! Tizku L’Mitzvot.

PR: Partnerships from Heaven

Shalom,

I wrote a children’s book last year and was looking for two assistants:  an illustrator and someone to translate the book into Hebrew.  I had no idea how I was going to find the right people, but I felt quite clearly that God wanted me to find the people in Israel.
 
So, I was in Israel performing a play about Rahab and after one performance, a man came up to me and handed me his business card which said “artist.”  He explained that the artwork on the walls was his, and that he would like to work with me on a project.  The artwork was exactly what I needed!  Beautiful, graphic, clear, strong, with vibrant colors, very, very alive!  And the pictures told stories …. Perfect for a children’s book.  I met with him later at his home, showed him the book and we discussed details.  Now, we are communicating via email and I will return to Israel at some point to see how the work is going.  I found him amenable, a joy to work with, and also, by US standards, very, very reasonable in his prices.
 
I sent an email to friends and family describing the artist … and an Israeli emailed me and asked if I still needed a translator.  She sent me her resume, and some sample translations.  Now, she and I are working on the project.  An Israeli who lives near me in southern California is editing the Hebrew.
 
It was all so simple.  It was handed to me by God.  I really did very, very little to make it happen.  And with the internet, it is easy to pass completed work back and forth.  Through SKYPE I can see the paintings on the computer.
 
Also, since the Hebrew translation of the book is planned for distribution in Israel, I have found a printer in Tel Aviv. 

Wendy Cohen
Los Angeles, CA

ISRAEL’S ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE FIRST MONTHS OF 2008

           1. Scientists in Israel found that the brackish water, drilled from underground desert aquifers, hundreds of feet deep, could be used to raise warm-water fish. The geothermal water, less than one-tenth as saline as sea water, free of pollutants, and a toasty 98 degrees on average, proves an ideal environment.
          
           2. Israeli-developed designer-eyeglasses, promise mobile phone and iPod users, a personalized, high-tech video display. Available to US consumers next year, Lumus-Optical’s lightweight and fashionable video eyeglasses, feature a large transparent screen, floating in front of the viewer’s face that projects their choice of movie, TV show, or video Game.
          
           3. When Stephen Hawkins visited Israel recently, he shared his wisdom with scientists, students, and even the Prime Minister. But the  world’s most renown victim of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, also learned something, due to the Israeli Association for ALS’ advanced work in both embryonic and adult stem cell research, as well as its proven track record with neurodegenerative diseases. The Israeli research community is well on its way, to finding a treatment for this fatal disease, which affects 30,000 Americans.
          
           4. Israeli start-up, Veterix, has developed an innovative new electronic capsule that sits in the stomach of a cow, sheep, or goat,  sending out real-time information on the health of the herd, to the farmer via Email or cell phone. The e-capsule, which also sends out alerts if animals are distressed, injured, or lost, is now being tested on a herd of cows, in the hopes that the device will lead to tastier and healthier meat and milk supplies.
          
           5. The millions of Skype users worldwide will soon have access to the newly developed KishKish lie-detector. This free internet service, based on voice stress analysis (a technique, commonly used in criminal investigations), will be able to measure just how truthful that person on the other end of the line, really is.
          
           6. Beating cardiac tissue has been created in a lab from human embryonic stem cells by researchers at the Rappaport Medical Faculty and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology’s biomedical Engineering faculty. The work of Dr. Shulamit Levenberg and Prof. Lior Gepstein, has also led to the creation of tiny blood vessels within the tissue, making possible its implantation in a human heart.
          
           7. Israel‘s Magal Security Systems, is a worldwide leader in computerized security systems, with products used in more than 70 countries around the world, protecting anything from national borders, to nuclear facilities, refineries, and airports. The company’s latest Product, DreamBox, a state-of-the-art security system that includes Intelligent video, audio and sensor management, is now being used by a major water authority on the US east coast to safeguard the utility’s sites.
          
           8. It is common knowledge that dogs have better night vision than humans and a vastly superior sense of smell and hearing. Israel‘s  Bio-Sense Technologies, recently delved further, and electronically analyzed 350 different barks. Finding that dogs of all breeds and sizes, bark the same alarm when they sense a threat, the firm has designed the dog bark-reader, a sensor that can pick up a dog’s alarm bark, and alert the human operators. This is just one of a batch of innovative security systems to emerge from Israel, which Forbes calls ‘the go-to country for anti-terrorism technologies.’
          
           9. Israeli company, BioControl Medical, sold its first electrical stimulator to treat urinary incontinence to a US company for $50 Million. Now, it is working on CardioFit, which uses electrical nerve stimulation to treat congestive heart failure. With nearly five million Americans presently affected by heart failure, and more than 400,000 new cases diagnosed yearly, the CardioFit is already generating a great deal of excitement as the first device with the potential to halt this deadly disease.

           10. One year after Norway‘s Socialist Left Party launched its boycott Israel campaign, the importing of Israeli goods has increased by 15%, the strongest increase in many years, Statistics Norway reports.

PR: Highly Professional

As an American resident, I have utilized Jerusalem Property Management Services (http://www.jpms.co.il) for two investment properties (apartments in Jerusalem). The services are top-notch and the staff highly professional.

JPMS coordinated the rehab of one apartment efficiently and economically, supervising the contractors with great results. In the other apartment, JPMS took over from another manager and quickly put the house in order to both my and the tenants’ satisfaction.

In both cases, all invoices have been timely and properly documented. All email inquiries are answered in less than 24 hours, and all requests have been taken care of promptly. JPMS worked closely and efficiently with my attorney in connection with the sale of one of the apartments.

I recommend JPMS without reservation.

Paul H. Schieber | Blank Rome LLP
Philadelphia, PA, USA

PR: results delivered overnight

The first submission of many, hopefully.
See here for more info about what this is all about.
Who are we? I am Co-founder and Managing Director of InfoTollgate Ltd., a US-headquartered company based in Wilton CT. InfoTollgate (www.InfoTollgate.com) offers a software platform and services that let businesses launch powerful, affordable web sites with content management, e-commerce, social networking, subscription/member management, and access control — all without computer programming expertise. Our clients span a range of businesses where proprietary content is controlled and selectively disseminated over the Internet, potentially though purchase, membership, or subscription. Businesses are in the online publication industry, market research firms, advisory/consultancy firms, recruiting firms, and sales training firms (see for example, web sites delivered by us such as www.SiriusDecisions.com, www.ESresearch.com, www.TheInfoPro.net, and www.FTRAssociates.com).
 
We needed a partner to help us design and enhance our powerful software platform. We turned to a small, but highly effective firm in Ashkelon, Israel called Gafnit Information Systems, Ltd. (www.gafnit.net). This team is bright, talented, and very responsive. We sent high level specifications and requests via email, and high quality software solutions were turned around quickly. Communication was conducted in fluent English as well as highly regarded technical quality. Often we sent requests via email during our afternoon or evening, and found results delivered when we got started during our next business morning. The time-zone lag worked to our advantage with 24×7 coverage and support. Competitively-priced, responsive, and technically-savvy, Gafnit Information Systems is a highly recommended partner for any US software company.
Adam
———————————-
N. Adam Rin, Ph.D.
Co-founder and Managing Director
InfoTollgate Ltd.
5 River Road, #208
Wilton CT 06897
Main: +1.203.762.8122
Direct: +1.203.761.0500
www.InfoTollgate.com
———————————-

Participate in a PR campaign for the Israeli Business-person

(Join the Facebook Group too, at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18391277906 )

Once upon a time, the Israeli businessman was known for his rough, take-it-or-leave-it attitude. After 60 years, everything is changing due to increased globalization and Aliya from Western countries. Nevertheless, the stigma remains.

But you can help change the world view!

Would you like to promote a friend’s business in Israel?
Did you work with an Oleh over the phone or Internet?
Have you hired an Israeli (resident of Israel), either from the U.S. or on vacation in Israel, and would like to go on record about the great experience?

I’m working on a social PR campaign to improve the image of the Israeli resident in the business world. We’d like to compile a series of written and video endorsements and testimonials. These would include statements on behalf of a specific Israel-based business and/or the concept of the Israeli businessperson in general.

In your own words, please tell us
* your name and location
* the name of the Israeli business
* the service they provided
* how you were introduced to the business
* your expectations
* the outcome of working with this organization
* will you work with them again, or recommend them to your friends
* have your expectations changed for Israeli businesses, in general?

It would be great if we can get some video, from a webcam or digital camera or camcorder, but a written statement will also be great.

Your submission will be a building block of a larger campaign, compiled and published to show the world how great Israel truly is.

E-mail me with any questions.