Saturday, January 31, 2009

Best Anti Spam Software - Spamwasher Review

Many people today are using electronic mails (e-mails) to send and receive messages with others as it is the fastest way possible. With businesses getting their hands involved in the internet and most specifically, e-mail, our e-mails tend to receive lots of spam messages advertising everything from discount electronics to male enhancement products.

Its purpose is to get you attracted to anything they sell. It is prohibited under the Can Spam Act and is an abuse of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages currently known as spam and its most widely known form is the e-mail spam.

Spamming cost your e-mail accounts memory space that can make you unable to receive new e-mails, due to lack of memory space. It has become a major problem for internet users.

Email and internet service providers also encounter problems and the solution that they come up of is to increase the memory space allotted for users' e-mail so that spam will not occupy that much space. Some providers do provide web based anti spam services however, it is unable to completely eradicate the email spamming problem.

There are many anti spam software on the market that provides the ability to stop spam before it reaches your inbox. One of these is Spamwasher, one of the best anti spam software I have used.

Spamwasher is suited for new internet users who want to stop spam and phishing emails from reaching their email inbox without the technical difficulties of setting up. It is easy to use and works well to block 99% of all spam emails. The default automatic spam rules setup is pretty efficient and works well right out of the box.

Spamwasher anti spam software has an update feature that regularly updates it's anti spam engine without user intervention. Currently, it works with any POP3 account such as outlook, fedora, mozilla and netscape. It also works with any webbased email clients such as hotmail, yahoo Mail.

Ricky Lim


Friday, January 30, 2009

Email Marketing Software - Tips For Maximizing Your Campaign

Email Marketing Software Strategies and Tips

You want your email marketing campaign to be successful. Email marketing software will only get you so far. It will streamline your business processes and perhaps attract new clients. You have to maximize your marketing campaign however in order to ensure your email marketing software is put to good use. How do you do this?

Here are some steps you can follow to maximize your email marketing software campaign.

  1. Set measurable goals for yourself. This is the first step of any marketing campaign process. You should think about the goals and objectives you want to accomplish so you have some tangible level of success you can measure as you continue your email campaign. You should also develop certain tactics and strategies that will help you realize these goals.
  2. Pay attention to non-responders. Most online business owners tend to target people who open, click and buy. There is however an even larger group of non-responders that you can nudge into paying customers. You should ensure that your emails are being delivered, then either change your message or phase out non responders to ensure you are targeting people that will become paying customers and not wasting your time.
  3. Confirm and then re-confirm email addresses. You should come up with a system for reconfirming your regular subscribers email addresses over time so you don’t lose anyone.
  4. Automate Your Programs and Routines. To optimize your email marketing software efforts you should automate processes including subscriptions, unsubscribe, monthly newsletters and more.

Frank Owen

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Email Marketing Software Keeps Taxi and Limo Services Ahead of the Competition

Email marketing software will help your taxi and limo service stay ahead of the competition in a very competitive industry. By using email marketing software you will be taking advantage of a cost-efficient and effective method of targeting frequent customers, weekend party goers and vacationers. By signing up frequent users of your company and occasional users to your email marketing software newsletters and promotions, you will attract more consistent business to your limo or taxi service, and therefore increase cash flow. The more clients that you sign up for your email marketing newsletter or promotions, the higher the potential will be for greater revenue, and the more your brand name will gain strength within your target market.

There are three key audiences you should be targeting when aiming to grow your contact list. First, and most important, are the "frequent flyers" and business taxi service users. These people should be addressed as preferred clients, which means giving them frequent user discounts. You can easily offer them discounts through email marketing software. Therefore, you need to collect these customers' email addresses. These valuable clients truly appreciate this type of promotion, and it doesn't cost you much to do so.

Email marketing costs as little as $10 for sending one thousand emails. Also, the "frequent flyer" portion of your clientele is constantly networking with people in the business sector, so you can imagine that word of a good deal will get around. Top-notch email marketing software companies will offer a free "forward to friends" option. This will allow you to garner greater business and frequent flyer business with a preferred client email marketing software promotion.

The second group to target is weekend party-goers. These people are probably in your taxi or limo on their way to or from a fun event. This means it's not a good idea to bug them by asking them to write down their email addresses. However, there's a really easy way to get around this and quickly collect new readers for your email marketing software promotions: next time you have a group of party-goers in your taxi or limo, ask these customers to give you their business cards, and let them know you'll send them coupons for future discounts. For customers, there are so many options when it comes to choosing a taxi or limousine company. By using email marketing software to stay in touch with your clients, and by offering them incentives to use your services in the future, you will generate unparalleled customer loyalty for an incredibly low cost!

Another way to grow your mailing list is through your website. The best email marketing software providers will support your emailing endeavors with a free web sign-up box. These sign up boxes will encourage your website visitors to sign up for promotions. In this case, you can target vacationers looking for a taxi to the airport by offering discounts for upcoming travels.

Remember: when sending out your email marketing campaigns, you don't want to send them once a week, or twice a week. That's too frequent, and would simply annoy your customers, provoking them to "unsubscribe" from your mailing list - and that's the last thing you want. Instead, you should spread out your email marketing software campaigns to once every two weeks, or once a month. This will keep your brand awareness up-to-date and therefore keep you one step ahead of the competition.

The more people you are able to sign up for email marketing software newsletters and promotions, the higher the percentage of your returning customers will b, and the higher your sales will be. Frequent flyers, business travelers, party goers and frequent vacationers compose a lucrative market that will keep your sales and brand recognition ahead of the competition. Using web sign up boxes and collecting business cards can facilitate this advantage that email marketing software will provide you as a taxi or limousine service owner or operator. Drive away the competition, and chauffer in the revenues with email marketing software!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Email Marketing Software - Better Marketing Through Electronic Mail

Marketing your products and services is never an easy task so you need to use all the necessary means you can to do so. Every entrepreneur knows how powerful the Internet can be when it comes to selling or promoting their products and services. However, only a few possess the skill of making the most out of that kind of technology. You, too, can do this with the help of email marketing software

What is it?

It is used for managing mailing lists and for sending promotional and marketing emails to your large group of clients. Usually designed for mass emails, it is used by online businesses for promoting their products. This is a great cost-effective tool because you can save on expensive advertising costs.

The types

You can choose from a desktop email or a hosted ASP email marketing software. The desktop software gives you complete control on all the marketing strategies for your email. However, it requires necessary computer hardware to successfully set up your email marketing campaign, it can be expensive, and it requires a large initial investment. Still, its advantages include subscriber privacy and it can send unlimited number of emails to groups and recipients, which allows you to build a clientèle without any limitations.

The hosted ASP software provides limited control over the marketing strategies. With this, you invest in a web host for delivery of certain number of emails to specific recipients and clients. Although less expensive, its subscription and membership fees increases as the list grows. However, it requires little maintenance on your part because the host performs the back-end maintenance.

Buying tips

When buying your email marketing software, check on its features and the minimum system requirements. New to email marketing? Go for a free trial version first.



Ilse Hagen

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Email Marketing Software

If utilized properly, email can become a powerful marketing tool for increasing brand recognition, boosting sales, driving traffic to your web site, and building and maintaining relationships with customers. In addition, email marketing is inexpensive and fast. Using email, you can send personalized messages to a targeted audience and verify customer responses.

Email marketing software efficiently manages a web site by organizing bulk e-mail address lists. It is capable of locating and collecting targeted e-mail addresses. Moreover, email software automatically subscribes web site visitors, replies to e-mail inquiries, removes unsubscribed visitors from the list, checks email addresses and removes invalid addresses. It can schedule mailings, and also collect data from files or databases.

Utilizing email software can give you a number of benefits depending on the nature of your business and that of the software. These benefits include much better communication with prospective customers and subscribers, closer ties with prospects and customers, improved sales, retention of clients, better organizational awareness, and cost-effective targeted marketing.

Of course, these are just some of the benefits that you may achieve by using email marketing software for your business enterprise. As there are many e-mail marketing software packages available, you should decide your e-mail marketing requirements first, and implement a trial version before finally selecting your e-mail marketing software solution.

You will come across many products and services that can help you manage your email marketing. Auto responder is one such product, used to instantly send an automated message to customers who are on your email list. It is also capable of dispatching repeated email messages over a specified time to your customers. Publishing and tracking systems enable you to easily manage multiple email campaigns and verify their results.

You should settle for a system that tracks all the metrics, enables you to send email attachments, and also offers free technical support over the phone.

Kevin Stith


Monday, January 26, 2009

Email Marketing Software Helps You Keep Track of Your Marketing Campaign

For an advertising or marketing campaign to run smoothly and effectively good organization is required; for larger emailing campaigns this usually requires some kind of email marketing software. However, email marketing software has a lot more to offer than you would probably imagine.

Prospect Finder

Finding prospects can be a very time consuming activity. Some email marketing tools allow you to collect targeted email addresses from visitors to your web site. Creating a newsletter for visitors adds value to your site and keeps your company in front of your prospects.

Autoresponders

Responding to your prospective clients with a well-written and partial sales email is vital to winning business and gaining repeated business. Using email-marketing software you can set up autoresponders that will send these emails for you as soon as your visitors or customers complete certain actions, which are predefined by you.

Verify, Verify, Verify.

With modern legislation on spamming it is common practice to verify email addresses; getting prospects to click on a verification link makes them an opt in lead, meaning you can contact them as you will regarding your service or your product. Don’t forget, though, you must always offer them the opportunity to stop receiving communication from you.

Removal Service

Once you have your bulk email list up and running and you’ve been contacting people on a regular basis to forge a good relationship and sell your products you will undoubtedly get emails that become dead links. You should be removing these to save time, effort and space in your email.

Spamming policies mean you should also always offer your prospects the chance to stop receiving your targeted emails. Even though you won’t want to let go, sometimes you have to.

Email

Obviously, email marketing software offers you the capability to send targeted emails to everyone on your email lists. That’s what this software was originally intended for and what it is most commonly used for to this day. You can organize your prospects into categories and even status. You could run several campaigns at once and your email marketing software will keep track of which prospects belong to which campaign and therefore, send the correct email to them.

Most email marketing software will be able to schedule emails for you, so you could for instance send an email to new prospects that contains a link to your catalogue. After a week you may wish to contact them to answer any questions. This technique will put your company name back in their minds and possibly produce more sales. Or, perhaps you sell a consumable good that most people buy once a month. You can set your email marketing software to contact your customers one month after purchase, perhaps offering them a discount for repeated business.

All of these are genuine ways to use email marketing software. Bearing in mind that some estimate as many as 70% of Internet users from the USA have made purchases on the back of an email marketing campaign, most agree they are useful tools to help your website or business succeed.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Know the Right Email Marketing Software For Your Business

Prior to even purchasing an email marketing software, one must first have to make sure that you were able to lay out your business plans well. For one, you ought to determine the goals you want to achieve in your business. By knowing these facts, you'll be able to know what are the tools you would need to forward your business. Having a well-laid out plan will give you a better view of your turf. You would need to gather tips for email marketing. The information you'll get from these sources will surely guide you to the right way of selling through emails.

There are many sources that you grab and learn from. So, don't limit yourself from new ideas. Affiliates are lucky because they can use software for email marketing. There are several softwares that you can choose from. By using these tools, you can improve marketing in emails. An affiliates job can be a bit tasking if you do everything manually. This is one of the reasons why companies produce tools to ease up the lives of online marketers. Find the best software for list building that will be worth your investment. There is a kind of online tool that will enable you to sign up more subscribers to your list.

If you have problems with the number of sign ups you get in a day, you can try out a software that is designed to increase your list of subscribers. Oftentimes, internet users are not so patient in filling out a subscriber's form. But if you can come up with ways to make this an effortless task, then it will enable you to sign up more people. Be warned by those products that offer mediocre services. The main goal of having this type of software is to streamline your online business campaigns. Definitely you will experience a more responsive market when you have a reliable software to back up your marketing by emails.

Many affiliates profit from email marketing since it hits the market right on target. Your promotions are directly read by your prospective customers. Normally, when you are into marketing via electronic mails, you only choose a specific group of individuals whose needs are answered by your products or services. With the help of an email marketing software, you'll be able to catch up with the latest trends in online selling. Your software must be able to assist you in capturing your site visitors' attention. Don't let them go away without taking a look at what you are selling. You should find innovative ways to please them.

Change is a constant thing in this world, so it is only but appropriate that your marketing efforts are dynamic. With the support of the right email marketing software, you can be highly effective at your online business. However, determining the email marketing software that you need is perhaps one of the most crucial stages. Your efforts shall be compensated fairly if you are properly guided by your business plans. Stick with your plans, know what you need, and reach your goal in due time.

Menno Spijkstra

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Email Marketing: Software Solutions

If you wish to provide email marketing as part of your online business plan you might want to look at some of the email marketing software applications available.

Certainly there are sources where you can develop an online group at little or no cost. By following this approach you may be well served at the startup of your online business, but as it grows you may want to invest in software that aids in the effective delivery of your email marketing messages while providing a greater degree of flexibility in the final presentation.

Arial Software

The software application from Arial provides a laundry list of services that include templates for highly developed email messages with photos, logos and headers. The software can be toggled to account for the expertise of the user. Essentially this means that if you are not very skilled at using the software you can select a beginning setting and more assistance is provided to allow you to successfully access the functions you are seeking to use. The cost for the software can range from just under $1,000 to over $5,000 depending on your needs and subscriber base.

PoliteMail

This service was developed to work exclusively with Outlook Express, and works on a ‘per email’ fee. The basic package is free to use and has a maximum distribution capability of 10,000. The caveat is that even the free edition requires a fee for the emails distributed through the system. According to PoliteMail, “"For less than a penny per message, you can send to thousands to customers and prospects."

The professional version of PoliteMail is $495 and it is also subject to fees for each delivered email. It has a larger capacity for subscription and offered additional premium features.

EmailLabs

EmailLabs represents itself as a high-end email marketing solution and unlike other services takes a different approach to service availability, “EmailLabs does not offer a 30- or 60-day free trial account as do many… providers in the industry.” They do provide a demo for clients to tour and their list of clients is impressive. No pricing structure was available for review.

While these three email marketing software solutions are varied in their approach they are also only a small number of potential providers. This article is not an endorsement of any particular product simply a means of alerting you to a variety of possibilities as you consider email marketing as a means of furthering the objectives of your online company.

Scott Lindsay

Friday, January 23, 2009

Desktop Marketer Email Marketing Software

Business is tough enough without having to worry about your sales media never making it to your intended clients. I know I have woken up several mornings after a giant e-mail marketing campaign just to find that the majority of the e-mail that I sent out was undeliverable. I was upset, annoyed and irritated over the entire thing. It was a terrible waste of time for me.

As online business people you and I both know how much money can be generated by the simple activity of sending e-mail or posting and commenting on blogs. But what is the point if no one reads them? I'm glad I found Desktop Marketer Email Marketing Software. I can accredit this software for single handedly turning my e-mail blasting into 100% effective marketing!

I know - 100%! Is that even possible!? Yes, it is - especially this Software. Some of us have become experts in blogging and internet marketing but we still struggle with syndication feeds, blogging and e-mails. Those days are over. Simply put the Desktop Marketer Email Marketing Software makes everything easy, simple and to the point without having to worry about sending out unwanted e-mails.

What the Desktop Marketer Email Marketing Software is exactly is a downloadable program, much like a RSS news reader, that customers to your web site can download that will automatically receive and send out information to you - no more wasted time on your part. The great thing with the software is that there are just four steps to making this work for you:

  1. Create a simple desktop reader that will send and receive e-mail automatically. The Desktop Marketer Email Marketing Software offers a point and click way of creating these and all in under 10 minutes.
  2. Design your own icon. You can pick from templates provided or make your own. This is an awesome added feature because it gives your ads an "identity". When you send out information the software alerts the user by letting a bubble appear over the icon with the subject line.
  3. Convince visitors to your web site to download your reader. Now - this is easier than it seems. You could give it out for free but you could also sell subscriptions to your promotions by having them pay a fee for your reader every month. There are many marketing tricks available to you such as "time sensitive" materials or giving "free reports" etc. etc.
  4. Personalize the messages. Everyone wants to think they are important and if you can personalize each e-mail it makes your customers feel appreciated. This Software makes this very easy for you to do.

If the software wasn't enough they are throwing in many advanced features that you normally had to pay for like expiration dates on offers, sending multiple promotions, set up dates and times for delivery, specific delivery groups and a lot more. If that wasn't enough there are five other bonuses they are throwing in including 68 customized desktop reader icons. This software is priceless for anyone who is trying to make their mark on the internet sales front.



Brian Garvin and Jeff W

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Email Marketing Software Leverages Limited Marketing Budgets

In an era when giant retailers and mega-corporations are pouring millions of dollars into Internet marketing and advertising, owners of small- and medium-sized can become easily discouraged. With limited marketing budgets, can smaller businesses compete in the high-cost world of Internet marketing and advertising? The answer is a definitive "yes." Indeed, one of the best ways to leverage limited marketing budgets is to use email marketing, which can be used to streamline, organize, and enhance customer relationships and communications.

Email marketing is the perfect vehicle for distributing a company newsletter, contacting potential clients, sending offers to existing customers, or simply keeping in touch with an audience about updates and changes to the business. At first glance, it may seem that email marketing is a good idea in theory, but difficult to execute in practice. Compiling and maintaining email lists, composing and keeping track of email messages and offers, and sending out the emails manually or using rudimentary email blast software is difficult and time-consuming. It's also a gamble, since so many blast emails are caught in spam filters and are never delivered to the recipients.

The only way to truly get the message to the customer is through sophisticated email marketing software. Historically, email list management software has had limited features, was unreliable in terms of assuring delivery of emails, and has been cost prohibitive to all but the largest companies. The good news is that new products have entered the marketplace that not only overcome these limitations, but that also offer enhanced affordability.

As a small or medium-sized business, shopping for email list management software can be tricky. Look for the following features:

  • Affordability - Email list management software should allow you to send up to 50,000 emails a month for under $100. There are even some email list management software systems that periodically offer introductory rates of $1 for the first month.
  • An intuitive, Web-based interface - Web-based software is the wave of the future; a Web-based email list management system means you never have to worry about software maintenance or upgrades.
  • Limitless email lists - You should be able to maintain as many addresses as you wish and as many lists as you want without incurring extra expense. Beware of companies that charge based on the number of database entries you have!
  • Rollover credits - If you don't use your allotted number of emails during a given month, a good email marketing package will allow you to roll unused credits over into the next month, or to purchase additional credits on the fly, in real time.
  • Importing lists - You should be able to import entire mailing lists into the online system with a few clicks of your mouse. You should also be able to rent or buy opt-in email lists and migrate them into the system.
  • Sequential mailings - The best email marketing software systems allow you to import a series of messages and set up sequential mailings to be sent at the day and time you desire. In other words, you should be able to implement a six-month email marketing campaign in one sitting.
  • Flexibility - Look for software that allows you to edit your lists and messages right up to the minute your mailing is scheduled to be sent.
  • Automated list management - Email marketing software should automatically handle bounced emails, bad addresses, and requests for removal. It should also allow you to remove any blacklisted addresses and build opt-in email lists. Great email marketing software can be the great equalizer, allowing small- and medium-sized businesses to compete with the corporate giants in the world of Internet marketing and advertising.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

What to Look For in E-Mail Marketing Software

Your hard work and persistence has paid off. You have a successful website, strong sales of your products and services, and a growing database of opt-in e-mail addresses from customers wanting to know more. If you haven't done so already, now is the time to consider e-mail marketing as a means of attracting more business and keeping current patrons happy. To this end, a good bulk e-mail program is necessary send regular newsletters and alerts, so you want to be certain the software you choose functions smoothly and effectively.

When shopping for a potential e-mail program, there are a number of features you should check for before making a purchase. Bulk mailing programs may vary according to price and functionality, but ultimately you will find many contain similar basic commands. All the same, it is important to make certain the program you use employs the following abilities:

Multi-address import: If you have a rather long list of e-mails, you know adding them one at a time to a database is tedious. A good e-mail marketing program will allow you to import directly from a file like Word or Excel and let you use fields for names or nicknames if you personalize your letters.

Filtering: As you progress with building your database, you may come upon a number of bad or duplicate mails. A good software should filter out unusable addresses so you can achieve maximum send percentages and minimal bouncing.

HTML and Text capabilities: Not everybody will want to receive graphics-laden HTML news alerts, so you want to be sure to offer a text only alternative. When you upload your newsletters to your program, you will want one that offers a multi-part option, sending HTML and text mails to those who request them.

Test Function: Before you send out that mail to thousands of your subscribers, you want to be certain it looks right first. Viewing your mail as a webpage may not always be a good indicator, so your e-mail program should allow you to send test messages prior to the big send.

Scheduling capabilities: You may not always be at the office when it comes time to send your regular mails. With a scheduling option, you can set emails to launch any time of the day, even if you're not around. This is a handy tool to have if you plan multiple e-mails to send far in advance.

Tracking: Once the mails are sent, you want to know how effective they are. How many were opened, and how many recipients clicked through to your sites? Choose an e-mail marketing software that gives you this data.

With the proper software, timing, and content, you can create successful e-mail campaigns for your business. Choose the software wisely for smooth delivery of your message every time.



Kathryn A Lively

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

12 Tips For Using Survey Software

I've been on the receiving end of far too many poorly constructed surveys that required way too much time and energy simply to share my thoughts. Even my favorite local brewery failed to retain my interest during their 20 page long saga of a survey. I have come up with my top ten list of how to conduct surveys without losing contact with your customer.

  1. Define the survey's purpose. Figure out exactly what you want your customers to tell you. For instance, you may want to find out if they are satisfied with your service. Then ask them.
  2. Keep it short and sweet. It shouldn't take a respondent more than 10 minutes to complete a questionnaire. Make it 5 or even 2 minutes or less, if you can manage.
  3. Keep it simple. Make sure respondents will understand the questions. Don't use jargon and don't make the questions too complex.
  4. Make demographic questions last. Keep information that is less crucial to your surveys towards the end, as people will apt to lose interest in your survey.
  5. Keep it specific. Don't ask open-ended questions that will give you a wide range of answers. That will make it difficult to analyze the results. Questions should be either yes or no, or multiple choice.
  6. Make it consistent. If the first question asks your respondents to rate your customer service on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being highly satisfactory, make sure that in subsequent questions, 5 always corresponds to being highly satisfactory.
  7. Follow logic. Make sure that one question leads naturally into another. Usually, the first questions will be broader and the follow-up ones will be more specific.
  8. Do a test. Give the survey to a group of employees or customers. This will tell you how long it takes to complete, and also what, if any, questions they find confusing.
  9. Avoid weekends.
  10. Send reminders. If you e-mail the survey, set a deadline to receive the results. A few days before, send a reminder.
  11. Entice. Give your customers a good reason to answer your survey. Offer them a discount or give them a gift certificate. You're asking them to do you a favor, so show your appreciation.
  12. Share. Last, but not least, share the results with your customers and let them know what action you will take. If you need more information, do follow-up surveys. But remember, you're asking them to take the time to help you, so be careful not to abuse that relationship.

Survey software reviews are essential for most businesses. Hopefully this will help those of you conducting surveys to make fewer mistakes the first time you conduct professional feedback for your business...



Brian Henderson

Monday, January 19, 2009

Survey Software – Things You Should Know Before You Buy

The use of survey software in the business world is increasing at a rapid pace and with the increase in scope of application the software developers are innovating new and improved features for this niche segment of software.

As with purchase of most enterprise software for your business it should ideally be a joint decision with buy-in from the affected departments operations.

With the increasing number of products available in the market it often becomes difficult for the non-technical decision makers to judge the features of a survey software, which are necessary and which are not. While there are websites that provide reviews of survey software, it is also important to understand the ramifications of various feature sets that can be decisive in your choice of survey software.

  1. Sample Survey / Question Library – Sample Survey or question libraries are included in all standard survey software. They save a lot of time as you don’t need to create the survey from scratch and in most cases they would not make much difference in price either.
  2. Skip Logic – This logic helps the questionnaire to work intelligently and skip questions based on previous answers. Most basic survey software would allow AND – OR logic for this, however, there are advanced software that allows combination of any logical condition.
  3. Data Piping – This is an extremely helpful feature for personalizing the surveys. In this the application uses answers to previous questions in the following questions. For Example, if someone answers his favourite beer brand to be Budweiser, the next question can be, what do you like most in Budweiser?
  4. Branding – Your survey software might need options to brand your questionnaire with your company logo and corporate colours. Besides enhancing your brand, this gives more credibility to the survey and the response rate is likely to be much higher.
  5. Survey Templates – The best quality survey software in the market comes with pre defined editable survey templates. They also offer options to create new survey templates or customize existing ones. This makes the surveyors work a lot easier; however, this is considered to be a high end feature and can actually affect the cost of your survey software.
  6. Miscellaneous Survey Creation Features – An advanced survey software should have features like spell-check, auto-correct, dictionary, Import form MS Word etc. These features can save loads of time if you send out surveys on regular basis.
  7. Tracking – Tracking systems are available on most survey software however, the level of tracking is what matters. While the simpler ones just track if the mail was delivered or not, the advanced software would track whether the survey was opened, whether the user took the survey, did he click any link and many other minute details.
  8. Survey Analysis – Analysis of the survey results is a mammoth task and advanced survey software can make it look pretty easy. Some software would sort and present the data in tables and graphs which are easy to comprehend and some software even go up to the level of statistical analysis of the collected data.

The above mentioned features are just some of the most important ones that can make or break your survey plan; however it is always wise to check multiple websites and particularly the ones that (http://www.surveysoftwarereviews.com) review and compare survey software before you actually make a purchase.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Online Survey Software: An Effective Tool To Improve Your Business

Polls and surveys have always been the two major views to get feedback from your customers regarding your business products and services. Paper surveys have been very much in vogue till the overgrowing usability of Internet took over everything. The days of paper surveys and poll opinions are forgotten stories now. With the introduction of online survey software into the market, business organizations have found an effective tool to revitalize and upgrade their business products and services.

Online survey software is now being designed by a large number of companies. But it is important to choose the kind of software that best suits your business requirements. In case an organization has hired the services of a software firm, certain factors ought to be kept in mind while designing the software. Factors such as the type of user and their Internet ability, bandwidth of the user, number of questions per page, and overall presentation decide the percentage of responsiveness of your online survey. For instance, a novice user of the Internet will take more time in filling up the survey form compared to others. Therefore, complexity of the form might discourage him to proceed further. Besides, more than 5 or 6 questions per page often lead the users abort the survey. Hence, it is advisable to create different sections and put a maximum of 5 questions per page. This avoids the tedium that the user often feels when filling out numerous queries on a single page. Another important factor to keep in mind is the visual appeal. It’s highly necessary to create a pleasing design and use proper fonts and colors on your online survey page, as users generally tend to overlook a poorly designed web page.

But the mantra to creating effective online survey software does not end here. Effective survey software collects your business data with robust data management and even summarizes results with built-in reports. A number of established software firms use highly advanced features resulting in powerful survey creation and structured data creation. Innovative WYSIWYG style editor, flexible HTML item types, powerful survey scoring engine, hidden items for passing data, API Developers Kit, export compatible with Excel, SPSS are some of the instances to name. All these features and more are now being incorporated to make research work easier and less time-consuming. Gone are the days when surveys were conducted personally that were not only expensive but also tedious. Researches do not need to approach the customers one by one. Rather, the latter find it much easier to fill out an online form than writing on paper.

Glancing at the business organization's perspective, beneficial services offered by online survey software are numerous. It takes only a few moments to launch it and get started. Once the survey is over, results are automatically distributed as a web link through emails. Data collected can also be exported and analyzed. Hence, online survey software definitely scores over the traditional methods of survey. Besides, considering the mounting pressure of workload, online survey software has definitely come as a boon to researchers, making their work easier and systematic.



Suzanne Macguire

Saturday, January 17, 2009

New Online Scheduling Software TotalView WebStation

The TotalView WebStation programmes is developed by IEX Corporation, a sub-division of NICE Systems Ltd. The program has been designed to give call center agents and supervisors access to work schedules and work targets through their own web browsers. It is even possible for agents to trade schedules over the internet (according to the rules you define of course). Many of the scheduling tasks have been computerized improving the productivity of your business and therefore, overall profit. WebStation is very easy to install, use and maintain.

TotalView WebStation not only benefits the supervisors and managers, agents are also benefited so therefore it boosts staff morale and encourages more productivity. The agents are able to give them control over their own schedules and as long as they keep within the rules, they can trade with other agents if their schedule doesn't fit their agenda. The displays are automatically updated and are even available in a number of languages.

Supervisors can oversee a paperless office and can then see their own agents' schedules online and anyone not performing is highlighted. They automatically get told about any changes in the schedule and because of the increase in data received are able to manage a lot more efficiently.

There are a number of excellent features which include the ScheduleViewer which allows agents to view their schedules daily, weekly or monthly. It also allows them to view any changes. They will receive automatic messages when something has changed so there is no excuse for not taking note. There are also pop up messages which remind all agents of any changes they are involved with. In actual fact, the agents are then automatically impelled to view and acknowledge schedule changes.

As a manager, you would use the schedule viewer to see that al of your agents have acknowledged the changes in schedules and also to keep an eye on them. For example if you run a very large company, it is very difficult to personally keep tabs on all of your agents. However, with this feature all of the information you need is right in front of you on one screen, with details literally a click away. If agents call in sick, you can be automatically notified so you can monitor the days off.

Another unique and very popular feature is the StatsViewer. This is a built-in performance management device which displays every agent's statistics both past and present. You can check in real time so you can immediately see whether their performance levels need to improve. There is a reporting function which allows you as a manager to print out reports generated by targets and work performance. This information can then be used in training.

The whole purpose of this program is to streamline you business and get rid of useless paperwork and cut down on data entry time. It will help your agents and the supervisors of your business to be more productive and let you get an overview of your entire workforce.

There are a number of other useful features which help to make this product a necessity for so many businesses. With the development in technology and the advancement of many contact centers, you need to ensure that you stand out for the crowds. Improve customer relations, staff morale and efficiency in one simple to use program.



Remy Na

Friday, January 16, 2009

Use Scheduling Software To Keep Your Work Schedule On Track

Having set goals and working on a schedule increases productivity and prevents burnout. Maintain order and clarity at work by using a scheduling software.

How does a scheduling software work?

Scheduling programs provide companies, businesses and establishments a platform where they can manage and create schedules for their workplaces. Many companies that have used this type of software have noticed increase in work efficiency. A scheduling software essentially automates work shifts timetables, appointments and meetings so that nothing overlap and everything is finished on time.

Types of Scheduling Programs

There are many different types of work scheduling programs.

Among the most popular is the employee scheduling software, which is primarily used for planning and scheduling shifting. This type of work schedule software is perfect for industries that operate on rotational work shifts, such as fire departments, call centers, retail establishments, etc.

Another widely-used rota software is the patient scheduling software which is used in hospitals, clinics and other health centers. This software is designed to aid doctors in keeping track of their patients' scheduled appointments.

Choosing the best software for your needs

When buying a scheduling program for your office, look for a good array of features. A good scheduling program should at least have the following functions:

  1. Printing capabilities
  2. Password protection
  3. Alerts for scheduling conflicts
  4. Data exporting and importing capabilities
  5. Data restoration support

The software should likewise be easy to understand and use. Also make sure that it has reporting capabilities – this provides users a ready reference, and is a very helpful tool in monitoring performance.



Ilse Hagen

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Employee Scheduling Software

If you manage or coordinate people, scheduling software could very well prove to be a very useful tool. This type of software can automatically and efficiently coordinate and analyze your staff schedule. With this software, scheduling errors that result in lost time and money are prevented.

Scheduling your employees’ schedule entails considering a number of factors that do affect how you do your business. Schedule management requires that the chance to commit errors should be very slim. An error in business, no matter how small, can adversely affect your entire business operation. Since there should be no room for damaging mistakes, using software that aids in managing schedules is a smart option for business owners or managers.

The software can keep track of your employees’ activities. This is vital for effective management of the organization. Effective information management cannot be ignored nowadays, and the use of this software will facilitate the owner and manager’s work.

There are times that too much information can become detrimental to the management of your business. It could be the source of lack of understanding of what the information means. Scheduling software will take the information, sort it to prioritize the important from the unimportant, then store and summarize it for you. This function will allow you to access complete information for effective decision-making.

If you are running a business, management of schedules is an important part of maintaining a successful company. The way you manage your information systems will determine whether your company runs smoothly or chaotically.



Kent Pinkerton

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Information On Medical Appointment Scheduling Software

Since there has been much technological advancement in the recent past, jobs that involve handling large chunks of information, keeping track of each and every detail in any field is not difficult anymore. With technological advancement, the invention of softwares makes everything simple for all tasks. These software can take care of everything, making you feel light and less burdened. Even people in the medical field like doctors or office assistants enjoy the facility of medical software. The most critical thing related to a doctor's practice is the appointment book and the medical appointment scheduling software which helps you maintain smooth management of the organization.

Types of Medical Practice

Whether the doctor is a single practitioner or a part of a health organization, appointment medical scheduling software solves all problems related to management. A good and the most suitable software should be able to integrate and work in tandem with other software. Some software products are designed for huge organizations at numerous locations and some are meant for small practices.

Medical scheduling softwares

Medical scheduling software use color coding to indicate when exactly the doctor is available at the hospital. This software is so flexible that it allows to place the pictures of the patients. The doctors and the medical assistants can enjoy the ease of knowing their names and recognize them. These software products have appointment trackers for patients based on the doctors availability at that given point of time. The best part is that free demo is also provided so that the medical practitioner can run it and check it whether he is able to run it comfortably or not. It's only after the trial that the practitioner needs to finalize the choice.

The software can also set the appointment exactly the way you want.

These software products have interesting features like information about referrals, payments and checkout and outstanding balances. You can even set up an appointment waiting list if it is mandatory. This can be integrated into the patients medical record which is part of the software. Let's see how this happens.

First the medical appointment scheduling software are downloaded and then installed on the computer. The requirement needed is a voice modem which most computers have installed be default. The appointments are created by specifying the time duration and phone numbers along with the name of the patient. The time for making reminder calls also would need to be mentioned. When the time is almost reached, the appointment reminder system will call out the appointment. As soon as it detects the call has been answered, the software plays a message specifying the details and the person answering has the option of confirming or canceling it.

With such benefits, you should definitely opt for a medical appointment scheduling software.


Sandra Maria Stammberger

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Medical Office Scheduling Software

For a doctor or a person managing a medical office, his appointment book and setting up tools are the most critical instruments that hold his practice together.

Whether the doctor is a single practitioner with a less complicated schedule or part of a large practice, medical appointment scheduling software helps in making the organization run smoothly. Medical practice management packages include medical scheduling software.

A good medical scheduling software program should be able to integrate with other software and requirements of the medical practice such as sending alerts for duplicate engagement information and balances. Some software is meant for large practices at many locations while others are meant for small practices. Many schedulers come up with color-coding so that the practitioner can distinguish providers, locations and times at a glance.

Office Tracker's software has an easy to use arrangement interface and the capability to plan multiple procedures at the same time. It can allow different schedulers to program for the same group of providers. This makes it a likely choice for the medical office.

Medical scheduling software makes use of color-coding that shows exactly when the doctor is at the hospital making his rounds and when he is back at his office. This new medical scheduling software has room to place even the patient's pictures. Doctors and the medical assistants are able to meet clients with a smile and know their names. This software also ensures that appointments are taken only when the doctor is in his chair. They offer free demo, so that the medical practitioner or organizer can run it before selecting the correct choice.

It is important for a medical practitioner and an organization to make the right choice in selecting the software package. They have to evaluate various software packages, make comparison charts and check prices.



Marcus Peterson

Monday, January 12, 2009

How Does Project and Resource Scheduling Software Work?

What are the processes that your project software goes through to produce a project plan? What information do you need to provide to enable it to work effectively? If your software can schedule resources as well, how does it do that and what data does it need?

Project (or Time) Analysis

Your scheduling software needs some basic data to be able to work out the schedule:

  • The tasks in the project;
  • How they are related - their dependencies;
  • Their estimated durations, which may be calculated from the estimated effort.

You may also want to impose some constraints on the schedule, such as locked target dates (this task must start on or finish by this date, or cannot start before this date), or delays (lags) or overlaps between tasks.

Once it has this information, the software will start at the first task (the one which has no predecessors) and work its way forward through all the links, calculating the earliest start and finish dates for each one.

Having worked out the earliest dates, the software then starts from the last tasks (the ones with no successors) and calculates the latest start and finish dates for each task.

You can see that it makes sense if you can define a single start task and a single end task, otherwise the calculation is made more complex. These can be milestone tasks called Start Project and End Project, if you like, and help to make the whole network much neater. (A milestone task is one which has no duration.)

When all the dates are in place, the software can calculate the total float - the amount of time by which a task can be delayed without affecting the project end date. It may also calculate free float, which is the amount of time by which the task can be delayed such that its succeeding tasks can still start at their early start date.

The tasks which have no float are identified as critical, i.e. delays to these tasks will affect the project finish.

Resource Analysis

If you have limited resources, you may want the software to work out a schedule based on the availability of those resources. This implies that you need to do the following:

  1. Estimate resource requirements - You may have already done this in order to calculate the durations of the tasks, in which case the requirement would be entered as the total effort. Alternatively, if you have specified the duration, you might enter it as so many hours per day or as a percentage of the resource's daily availability.
  2. Allow tasks to slip - Float must be introduced into the whole schedule. You might do this by specifying a target end date on the last task which is considerably later than the calculated latest finish date. Or your software may allow you to specify by how much time the whole project can slip (may be called overrun).
  3. Specify priorities - You might want certain projects, and tasks within projects, to take precedence when resources are allocated to them. There should be a way of indicating the priority at both project and task level.
  4. Allow task splitting and/or variable durations - Your software may let you specify that certain tasks can be split to avoid overloading resources, and/or that the duration of the task can be extended. The minimum permitted duration of the split elements and the amount of time by which the duration can be varied should be specified.

With these elements completed, the software will progressively schedule the tasks (according to priorities) later and later to avoid resource overloads using:

  • Splitting and variable durations;
  • Standard and variable durations plus float;
  • Standard and variable durations plus overrun.

Even after using all these possibilities, there may still be some resource overloading.

Problems with Automatic Resource Scheduling

There are a two main issues associated with using the software to schedule tasks according to resource availability.

  1. Project managers do not like their projects being rescheduled without their direct input.They may prefer to use manual methods of rescheduling to avoid overloads.
  2. A considerable amount of extra information on every task on every project is required to make the process work properly.

If your projects are planned at a very high level, e.g. only one or two tasks per project, then this may not be an onerous burden, but for many project managers the amount of time that would be spent setting up the data on a multitude of tasks in each project is not outweighed by the usefulness of the result.

Conclusion

Scheduling software can be very useful, but you need to know what data it needs to work effectively, and understand how much effort may be required to input that data.


Linda M Russell

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Job Shop Scheduling Software

Job shop scheduling is the process of detailing resources that are allocated for particular jobs, and the most efficient way to do all the jobs simultaneously. With companies taking up hundreds of orders from multiple clients daily, job scheduling can be arduous, given the limitation of resources and time. Job scheduling can be effectively and simply managed by using the right software.

Job scheduling generally requires the creation of complex algorithms and mathematical charts. However, with scheduling software, this can be eradicated as the software tools effectively maintain all the information on a centralized server, for real-time processing. This enables the operator to track each and every job, machine, department and employees by each hour, day, week or month. Each machine can be scheduled individually, or the entire shop can be scheduled at a time. These tools are also smart enough to prioritize the tasks, determine the capacity requirements and schedule them accordingly. They can build schedules based on the real-time capabilities of the resources, people and the machines as well as the current used capacity of the job shop. They can identify WIP, ERDs (estimated release dates), throughputs, backlogs, JIP scheduling, ASAP scheduling, priority scheduling, tandem scheduling, parallel scheduling, fragment scheduling, ship date scheduling, station-specific scheduling, station sequencing and many more.

An ideal job scheduling software is flexible enough to accommodate additional jobs and rush orders. It effectively identifies bottlenecks in the process and seeks to remove them. It keeps you in control by measuring performance on the basis of planned against actual, capacity-driven critical paths, net change effects, pulse rates and others.

Job shop scheduling software should be easy to use, cost effective, and easily coordinate with the existing systems. Simple and easy to use interface, multi-user interface, easy configuration, finite capacity planning, forward scheduling, and direct file linking with other systems are other desirable features. Many also have advanced features like integrated MRP/ERP system, drag and drop scheduling, manufacturing capacity planning tools, integrated job quote modules, multi-cell and multi-plant manufacturing support, lean manufacturing value streams support and others.

There is hundreds of job shop scheduling software tools available. Many suppliers offer additional services such as analysis, modeling, integration, training, data cleanup, customization, implementation, and measurement of benefits as well.



Jason Gluckman

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Grow Your Medical Practice With Medical Scheduling Software

There are many reasons why a medical practice would need to invest in professional medical scheduling software. Here are some common reasons that are cited by medical offices.

Very disorganized.

This is one of the most common reasons that medical offices cite. Medical offices can manage their billing and appointments either manually, or by using some kind of computer software. Those offices that still use manual methods resort to scribbling on forms and filing them away. As you can imagine, this can get pretty disorganized after some time. In addition, as technology continues to evolve, medical offices are expected to adopt more advanced systems in their offices. Otherwise, their image may be adversely affected.

A handful of offices have already adopted computer software. But the problem is, the existing software isn't user friendly, or it's too cumbersome to use. So that doesn't really help. Everything is still rather disorganized.

Then there are medical offices that are without computer experts, so they prefer to leave the challenges to someone else. They choose to outsource all their billing functions. That way, they don't have to deal with any software or hardware issues.

Billing functions can indeed be outsourced. But scheduling appointments still need to be done in-house. There is no avoiding this task. In fact, this is the core function of any medical office. Without medical appointments, there would be no revenue. So keeping the appointments organized is of utmost importance.

So how does medical scheduling software come into the picture?

The right medical scheduling software can actually help overcome many of the above mentioned challenges. Here is what medical scheduling software can do for you and your medical practice.

Allow several staff to access system at any one time.

When your medical practice is packed with appointments, a bottle neck may arise. Staff may need to access important information from the system, and when there is no proper system in place, the situation can be a frustrating one. With a medical scheduling software, anyone who wants to access patient appointments can do so at their own discretion. This will help save time and prevent unnecessary stress on the staff.

Tracking insurance policies.

Sometimes, insurance policies can impede the actual billing process. Patients may be unsure whether the treatments they are receiving are covered by their insurance policies or not. In this case, the software can help. It tracks what insurance company the patient has, and list all the policy numbers. If your medical practice is using a billing service, you can easily pass this information to the service provider. This will help speed up the entire billing process, and patients can proceed with treatments, knowing that everything is well taken care of.

Optional websync feature.

This is a feature that you should look out for. The software enables information to be synced with a password protected website. This means that other doctors can now access up to date information regardless of their physical location. All they need is to do is to login to the website, and get the information that they need. This feature is especially useful for medical offices with many branches.

Of course, there are many other useful features that a medical scheduling software may have. But the above are key features that will help you the most in your medical offices. Once you start using it, you will be thinking how you have gotten on in the past without it!



Darren W Chow

Friday, January 9, 2009

Call Center Scheduling Software

Scheduling in a call center is all about managing assets. Scheduling software produces benefits such as deadline fulfillment, reduced cost of labor, less management time devoted to writing schedules and improved employee morale. This is accomplished by using four basic modules of scheduling software including a Forecasting, Staffing, Scheduling and Reporting Module.

These packages allow managers to explore staffing scenarios through simulation and to make adjustments to schedules in order to improve the utilization of staff and equipment and meet critical deadlines. This combination between simulation and workforce management technologies helps managers to reduce labor costs, while avoiding penalties for failing to meet critical deadlines and can be used both for pure modeling and for production scheduling.

If managers want to validate the optimized schedules to assure employee and equipment utilization, they can export the schedules back and rerun the simulation. The schedules are then automatically adjusted to provide the optimal fit between workload and staffing. Scheduling spreadsheets are used to create rotating or fixed employee schedules. Employee scheduling software is ideal for manufacturing plants, health care facilities, service desks, police departments, fire departments and other organizations that need around the clock coverage. Excel spreadsheets can also be used for scheduling employees daily shifts, daily tasks or daily shifts and tasks. Shift scheduling is usually found in call centers, restaurants and retail stores where more than three shifts are required. Hence, the use of scheduling software packages minimizes the loss of time and enhances management processes leading to companies that run efficiently.



Josh Riverside

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Appointment Scheduling Software

Regardless of the type of business you are in, you will more likely need a software program to schedule your appointments. An error in appointment scheduling can be damaging to your business because you will surely lose time, money, and even worse, clients.

Businesses will find this software to be highly beneficial. Scheduling errors can be avoided using a software program that allows you to coordinate your appointments. Imagine neglecting a very important meeting with a client who could offer you the best business proposal only because you were unable to properly schedule your activities.

Imagine failing to inform a business partner about a change of venue where you are supposed to discuss matters critical to your operations. This is brought about by a mix-up in scheduling your appointments.

Information management and proper coordination with clients and employees are vital to running a successful business. Without these essential systems, the business could fail. The use of necessary tools to maintain all essential data, such as scheduling software, is imperative.

Scheduling software programs are not expensive. The benefits you will derive from investing in this software will far outweigh what you could potentially lose with ineffective scheduling systems.

To learn more about scheduling software programs, go online. Simply type "scheduling software" into your favorite search engine, and you will be supplied with numerous results. Some of these results include Outlooksoft.com, Officetracker.com, and Meetingmaker.com. In order to determine which software program would be best for your business, study the results and weigh the pros and cons of each program.


Thomas Morva

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Scheduling Software

The use of scheduling software is important to all business owners. Why? Errors in schedules could cost you a lot of money. A mishandled schedule can wreak confusion among the employees in any organization and worse, could lead to losing customers.

If you are involved in a business that deals with multiple transactions or employ more than one employee, then using software to organize your schedule is a sound option. The key to running a successful business is the proper management of information, without which valuable time and money may just go down the drain.

An error in scheduling could be an isolated incident in the business operation. However, one small mistake could make a devastating impact on the entire organization. For example, maybe you requested that an employee deliver an item to an important client. However, the employee you assigned with the task went on sick leave, and you failed to update your schedule. Therefore, a substitute was not assigned. Since the product was undelivered, you already lost your customer and an income.

With scheduling software in place, you will unlikely encounter this information management problem. The software will automatically keep track of all the activities of your employees, as well as their whereabouts at all times.

The software automatically analyzes information and automates your business schedules to prevent errors that can cost your precious time and money. The ability to automatically adjust your employees' schedules in no time is not only convenient, but essential to properly and successfully managing your business.

Keeping track of your customers is another software feature that may be very helpful to you as a business owner or manger. To stay in business, it is important that you keep up with your appointments with current and potential clients.



Thomas Morva

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Day Care Scheduling Software

Running a daycare can be difficult and confusing at times. However, scheduling software could make the task much easier.

Knowing when a child will be dropped off and picked up is essential to running a daycare. Losing track of a child while in daycare due to inefficient scheduling is unacceptable if you want to stay in the daycare business.

This business requires that you monitor the comings and goings of many toddlers. The schedule of their parents determines their arrival and departure from your place of business. Since all that is variable, you will need to find a way to consolidate all pertinent information that will allow you to use that information effectively.

Unlike other types of business where a minor scheduling error would mean losing a little time and money, a scheduling error in a daycare can have far more injurious consequences. Daycare businesses cannot afford to lose a child as a result of an error in scheduling.

For example, miscommunications could arise regarding a child's pick-up time from school. The daycare is responsible for supervising the child after school while waiting for him or her to be picked up; however, an error in scheduling can be the source of detrimental confusion. The child may be left alone and scared in school, not knowing what is going on or where to go. This could be effectively prevented by implementing an accurate, reliable schedule that your employees can easily access.

Keeping track of where the children are, as well as when and where they will be picked up is an important feature of scheduling software. An efficient information system is integral to any business, including a daycare business, where the children's safety and security are the foremost concern.



Thomas Morva

Monday, January 5, 2009

Employee Scheduling Software

If you happen to manage or coordinate people or employees, some scheduling software could likely prove to be a very useful and worthwhile tool. This type of software can help you coordinate and analyze your staff schedule. With this software, you can prevent scheduling errors that result in lost time and money.

Planning your employees’ schedule entails considering a number of factors that affect how you do your business. Good schedule management greatly reduces the chances of committing errors. An error in business, no matter how small, can adversely affect your entire business operation. Since there should be no room for damaging mistakes, using a software program that aids in managing schedules would be a smart option for business owners or managers.

The software can keep track of your employees’ activities. This is vital for effective management of the organization. Effective information management cannot be ignored, and the use of this software will facilitate the owner’s and manager’s work in the business.

There are times when too much information can become detrimental to the management of your business. It could be the source of misunderstanding what the information means. Scheduling software will take the information, sort them to prioritize the important ones from the ones that are not as important, then store and summarize them for you. This function will allow you to access the complete information for effective decision-making.

Management of schedules is an important part of maintaining a successful company. Your management of information systems will determine whether or not your company runs smoothly.



Thomas Morva

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Why Bother With Help Desk Software?

MAG studios is a leading custom web development company in India. It has perfected its delivery processes and aims to deliver value to its customers.MAG studios defines the expectations of the customers upfront and custom web development is taken up accordingly. The expectations are detailed in terms of quantifiable deliverables. MAG studios, as a leading custom development company in India, prepares a work plan with appropriate milestones and reports progress against these defined milestones

The primary objectives of MAG studios - as a leading web development company is to use this work as an entry point to take up further work and delivervalue to its customers.As custom web development company in India, MAG studios has perfected the process of working and delivering from the remote (offsite). This permits MAG studios to take up work in an offshore mode also and compete with others

who work in the onsite mode. Thus MAG studios is proud to say that as a leading custom web development company in India it has delivered number ofassignments in US with remarkable success.

As a leading custom web development company in India, MAG studios has prepared a template and has thus structured a highly creative and innovative process This structuring helps MAG studios to deliver consistent quality work as a practice.MAG studios being the leading Outsourcing software Development company in India has number of key differentiators. It offers the cost advantages of outsourcing in India, the quality and consistency as a result of its matured processes and tangible value to its customers.

MAG studios is a leading custom web development company in India with a successful track record with number of overseas customers. Such a strategy has the following twofold benefits It permits MAG studios to fully involve the customer in the assignment.The risks are recognized upfront and risk mitigation strategies have the buy in of the customer.MAG studios undertakes the software development in an Outsourcing application development in India as per laid down and agreed software engineering practices. In cases where the customer has established practices, these engineering practices are followed. Alternately, the engineering practices are discussed upfront and agreed. Next, MAG studios compiles the agreed metrices and compares with the bench mark statistics.

Rohihit Kapur

Friday, January 2, 2009

A Help Desk is a System Designed to Help and Support

A help desk is a system designed to help and support an end-user of a particular product. The help desk system provides information and helps solve technical questions on how to use the product. In today's world, many help desks are web-based. Users can go to a company's help desk website and find answers to a particular question or problem about the company's product.

What is Help Desk?

A help desk is an information and assistance resource that troubleshoots problems with computers and similar products. Corporations often provide help desk support to their customers via a toll-free number and/or website. There are also in-house help desks geared toward providing the same kind of help for employees only.

An easy-to-use help desk that helps organizations automate their customer service and IT support processes to deliver consistent, reliable and superior service to both internal and external customers. A help desk can also be used internally. In all organizations, employees encounter problems with their computers, printers, and other machines. Help desk software helps Information Technology departments manage, sort, and track service requests using the most efficient methods. The results of implementing a help desk are lower overhead costs and higher employee satisfaction and productivity.

Browser based help desk solutions are much less expensive then most existing systems. You can likely purchase a browser-based help desk solution for a price of a single year's maintenance fees of an existing help desk system. When considering purchasing a help-desk solution, it is advisable to establish how long the help desk product has been on the market and how many people are using particular help desk product versions. The other solution is software-based help desk in which the same consideration must be kept in mind.

A help desk solution is becoming a necessary part of business. Whether for a small startup or large Fortune 500 organization, a help desk can support customers, employees, and suppliers. The help desk will ensure the effectiveness of the company and ensure smooth company operations.

Keep in mind several things when looking to a help-desk solution:

  • Who will be your customer on the help desk?
  • What is your help desk budget?
  • How fast do you need a help desk solution?

Qualities of Customer Service

So what does quality customer service involve? The following ten points illustrate the basics of developing good relations with your customers:

  1. Let your customers know that you appreciate their business by thanking them.
  2. Remember: a customer who feels valued is more likely to come back for seconds!
  3. While it is very important that you’re Customer Service Representatives are polite and cheerful. A response of "I know exactly how to assist you" will have a far greater impact than a polite "I don't know anything about that".
  4. Check and be sure that your packages are arriving within the promised time frame.
  5. Customers appreciate honesty. If you promise something, you had better be able to deliver on it. Otherwise, you will be doing your business a great disservice. People are far more likely to repeat stories about poor customer service than top notch customer service. Its human nature -- we expect the best!
  6. If a mistake has been made or a customer is dissatisfied with the product or service they have received, take ownership of the problem and assure the customer that their concerns are valid. Show them that you are willing to work with them to solve the problem.
  7. Be sure that your customers can easily contact you 24 hours a day, seven days a week by phone, fax, or e-mail.
  8. A quick response to a casual inquiry will appear professional and therefore establish credibility. As for responding to customer complaints, think of it as damage control! The faster you respond, the more likely it is that you will be able to both repair the mistake and restore the customer's faith in you.

Overall, your goal should be to create a quality service experience. Help desk is a call center that handles questions about products. The term most often refers to technical support centers for computers/software.

As for the information being available is that when the help desk is accurately and speedily handling all of its calls, the entire business is more productive. This boosts profitability and also promotes customer satisfaction. It is simply not possible to run a help desk efficiently without the use of sophisticated software.

Marketing Team

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Using a Boston Help Desk?

Using a boston help desk? If you operate a large or small business in Boston, help desk services are probably one aspect of operations. If you relay a great deal on computers and the Internet, you may also require the needs of a help desk. Boston, Massachusetts is fortunate to be a center of technology (largely thanks to the presence of M.I.T.), so for businesses in Boston, helpdesk services are never far away.

If your company is computer-oriented, it may have its own help desk; Mass. customers as well as those in other areas of the country and even the world can access this over the World Wide Web or by telephone for advice and troubleshooting their software and hardware issues.

For companies doing business in Boston, help desk services may also be for in-house purposes as a resource to which individual staff members can turn when experiencing difficulties using a computer, communicating through the network or accessing a database.

There are other benefits to operating a help desk mass, Massachusetts software companies employ these for tracking software “bugs” through the use of an incident tracking system (in fact, this is also known as a local bug tracker). Considering that even a simple software program can contain tens or even hundreds of thousands of lines of code and millions of individual characters, such bugs are practically inevitable. Locally-based Boston helpdesk services are therefore invaluable for businesses and their customers and clients alike.

There are many types of software programs that can be used to facilitate the operation of a help desk. Mass. companies and those in other parts of the country have a few options here; usually it’s easiest to simply find and purchase an application. However, every company’s needs are different; an existing software package may or may not be suitable for your business’ IT and technology issues. For many companies in Boston, help desk software developed by a local technology consulting firm or within the company may be the best solution.

It all really depends on a number of things; whether or not your Boston help desk is for customers and clients or for staff – or even for a specific department within the company; the size of the company and the nature of its products and/or services; and the level of complexity of the IT and/or database system.

Regardless of what your company’s technology needs are, it’s good to be able to access a local help desk. Boston Massachusetts companies are definitely in a good position in that regard.

Wayne Hemrick

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