I took a little time off from my ‘tactics and tools’ series — no one’s paying attention in December anyway, right? ;-)
Now that everyone’s waking up from the holidays it’s time to get back on track with tactic #8 — using ‘branded’ email. ‘Branded’ email? What’s that? ‘Branded’ email is email that comes from a professional domain and supports your brand. Excuse me for ranting about one of my biases for a sec, but it drives me nuts when I see an entrepreneur using their sbcglobal, att, charter, road runner, etc. isp domains for conducting business — especially when there’s a great tool like Google Apps for Business! Every email is a chance to advertise your business by using a domain that points to your Facebook page or website. Besides, there’s nothing that screams ‘mom & pop shop’ more than using your personal home account to try to bring in that big deal…
Here’s a quick overview of Google Apps:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_TzCpYGpzw
Google Apps hits the ‘good, fast and cheap’ trifecta. Simple, yet powerful! A couple of years ago, I worked with a local entrepreneur in Green Bay that had an office with 7 people. He wanted the benefits of Microsoft Exchange and Sharepoint for his team and spent $35,000 [first year acquisition cost of $5,000 per employee] for the hardware, software, licensing, and labor to acquire those benefits. Here’s the dirty little secret; there was no benefit he acquired that could not have been done better than Google Apps at the cost of $50 per user per year…
Consider the benefits of Google Apps:
“Google’s web-based messaging and collaboration apps require no hardware or software and need minimal administration, creating tremendous time and cost savings for businesses.
End users can use the familiar Microsoft Outlook interface for email, contacts and calendar as they transition to Gmail and Google Calendar. Source: Reduce IT costs, get less spam, and improve productivity – Google Apps for Business target=”_blank”
But wait, there’s more! Benefits include…
- Proven cost savings
- Email, calendar and IM access from any computer or smartphone connected to the internet, regardless of platform…
- 99.9% uptime reliability guarantee
- 50 times more storage than the industry average
- Information security and compliance
- Full administrative and data control
- Helpful 24/7 customer support
Go here to read more…
Wow! A lot of cool features you say, but is it safe?
“Google applications provide a variety of security features, says Eric Ogren, a security analyst with the Enterprise Strategy Group. For one thing, “you have to have authority to get in. Users can determine policies of who looks at a particular document, the amount of collaboration offered, and users have the flexibility to store data on their corporate laptop or have Google do it for them.”
In addition, he voices the security argument most commonly heard about SaaS solutions: “The customer’s IT department doesn’t have to maintain upgrades, so you don’t have to deal with patches with Google Apps, and that’s a nice feature.” Source: Google Apps has its advantages, but is it secure? – SC Magazine US target=”_blank”
Google Apps for Business is THE killer app for entrepreneurs, small businesses, non-profits, schools, and political campaigns. If I didn’t make myself clear, comment, call or contact so we can talk further about your particular situation…
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Bright, shiny objects! 