BusinessCast Podcast » Event

Lessons from Retail

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 20:39:34 +0000

Every industry has important lessons for entrepreneurs — and one industry that often goes untapped, because of its complexity, is retail. That’s why for BusinessCast #159, we interview Lloyd Perlmutter — former Canadian President of retail giants including, The Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy as well as EVP for Indigo Books and Music.

Lloyd cuts through the clutter associated with industry-specific dynamics and shares his insights about how the retail industry successfully tackles key business challenges such as integrating new technology, recruiting staff and harnessing the “customer mindset”. Listen to BusinessCast #159 and you’ll get some nuggets that you can use to ensure your business’ success — regardless of your industry.

Lloyd also shares his wisdom about the retail industry regularly on his blog: www.theretailthereapist.wordpress.com.

**Recommended event for business leaders/managers: Online Marketing Summit (in Houston on July 23).**

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The BusinessCast Top 10 in 10

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 22:07:16 +0000

When we chat with North America’s business leaders, we’re always focused on identifying guiding principles and practical tactics that you, as an entrepreneur, can apply to enhance your own business success. But, our guests always have unique definitions of current success and predictions for future success.

That’s why for BusinessCast #158, we launch the first in a new series: “The BusinessCast Top 10 in 10“. In each BusinessCast Top 10 in 10, two of our guests answer 10 critical business questions in the span of just 10 minutes! For the first in this new series, we turn to two recent guests: Carl Yankowski — former CEO of Sony Electronics, Reebok and Palm as well as Steve Smith, former CEO & President of WestJet and Zip Air.

**Recommended Event for business leaders/managers: Online Marketing Summit (in Chicago on June 30).**

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LinkedIn: Lessons for Entrepreneurs

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 16:49:50 +0000

Robert and I were recently asked by some of the organizers of Canada’s web conference – Mesh 2010 – to get involved in this exciting event . So, for BusinessCast #156 we sat down with one of the conference’s most anticipated keynote speakers, Arvind Rajan, Vice President, International at LinkedIn.

Of course LinkedIn is a tremendous business success story as well as a critical tool for all business managers and leaders. In BusinessCast #156 Arvind shares key business lessons that LinkedIn learned while managing its fantastic growth. At the same time, he shares insights about how entrepreneurs like you can leverage LinkedIn to build business, recruit key staff and stay ahead of the competition.

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Improving Customer Experience

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 20:31:06 +0000

Just like very entrepreneur, you strive to deliver exceptional customer service. But, are you creating and sustaining the right customer experience — you know, the one that truly wows your new and existing customers? To tackle this critical question — and provide some practical tips — we sat down for BusinessCast episode #155 with Stephen Smith (former President and CEO of WestJet and Zip Air).

Stephen is obsessed with ensuring that leaders cost-effectively establish and strengthen long-term profitable relationships by creating positive and consistent customer experiences. So, its no surprise that he is a strong advocate of using technologies, work processes, training and customer engagement strategies to help companies understand just how effective they are at creating positive customer experiences. Listen to BusinessCast episode #155 and build the customer experience that will be the envy of your industry and ensure your continued success.

Tools You Can Use Now: Scattered throughout BusinessCast episodes, we`ve identified several easy-to-use tools to help you get a sense of what your customers are saying about you and the experience you create for them. For example, begin by setting up a Google Alert with the name of your company. Also, set up a Social Media Alert (from SocialMedia.com) which is just like a Google Alert but taps into the Internet`s prominent social media sites. Finally, use free Twitter search tools (e.g Twazzup) to get a read on your company in real time.

**UPCOMING EVENT FOR ENTREPRENEURS**: MarketingSherpa and MarketingExperiments are hosting a series of one-day seminars across North America. Check out the Online Marketing ROI conference (coming to Toronto on June 10) where you can also win an iPad.

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The Lean Enterprise: Improving the Performance of Your Work Processes

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 30 May 2010 19:16:22 +0000

Six Sigma. Process Re-engineering. Continuous Improvement. Total Quality Management. Entrepreneurs have been hearing about these involved methodologies for years. And yet, many entrepreneurs are very successful without implementing any of these structured approaches for improving the performance of work processes and productivity. So, why should entrepreneurs care? We answer that question in BusinessCast #154 — The Lean Enterprise.

We sit down with Richard Shaw of the EnPower Group (enpowergroup.com) as he shares with us some guiding principles (and practical tips) that all entrepreneurs can apply for developing and honing “lean” work processes — i.e. those that are as productive as possible. Since every entrepreneur wants to minimize inefficiencies, lessons from BusinessCast #154 are business essentials.

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A Notable Entrepreneur

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 16 May 2010 22:32:29 +0000

After gathering some key insights into today’s broad entrepreneur landscape from Intuit’s recent study in BusinessCast episode #151, Robert and I wanted to connect with a new and innovative entrepreneur to get a sense of their specific challenges. So, for BusinessCast #152, we connected with Julian Brass — the brains behind one of Canada’s fastest growing and most innovative digital businesses — Notable TV.

In BusinessCast #152 Julian shares his secrets to success and advice for budding new entrepreneurs.

**UPCOMING EVENT FOR ENTREPRENEURS**: While Julian has a handle on how to leverage online marketing to grow his business, many entrepreneurs still struggle with determining the best combination of online marketing tools for their business. To help, MarketingSherpa and Marketing Experiments are hosting a series of one-day seminars across North America. Check out the Online Marketing ROI conference (coming to Toronto in June).

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eMetrics for Entrepreneurs

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 19:18:48 +0000

As business complexity increases so do the tools for measuring business success. Nowhere is that more evident in marketing — the area that remains either a measurement mystery or nightmare for most entrepreneurs. That’s why in BusinessCast #148, we sat down with Jim Sterne.

Jim is a wildly successful entrepreneur and the brains behind the eMetrics Summit. This event, now hosted in nearly a dozen countries, is regarded as the event to help entrepreneurs get a handle on online metrics. Given the importance of every entrepreneur’s online marketing efforts (i.e. email, websites, landing pages, social media, blogs, banner ads, search engine marketing, etc.), entrepreneurs deserve a resource that provides practical insights. Jim shares with us his entrepreneurial story and why the eMetrics Summit can help every business person market smarter.

**Special for BusinessCast Listeners**: You can get 15% off the attendee cost if you use the following purchase code: BCAST15. See you at the event!

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PR For Entrepreneurs: Finding The Value

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 23:46:53 +0000

Many entrepreneurs struggle with knowing if, when and how to engage a Public Relations company. That’s why in BusinessCast #147, Robert and I sat down with Sylvain Perron, the General Manager of Edelman Digital Canada. With over 130 employees, Edelman has grown rapidly to be one of Canada’s most respected and innovative P.R. firms.

Sylvan shares with us some key tips and insights to help leaders of growing Canadian companies truly leverage one of their most important assets — their P.R. firm.

Of course, if you’re trying to get a handle on social media as a tool for P.R., you’ll need to measure its effectiveness. The eMetrics Summit is a world-class event to help you tackle this challenge. And, the event is coming to location near you. **Special for BusinessCast Listeners**: You can get 15% off the attendee cost if you use the following purchase code: BCAST15. See you there!

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Six Pixels of Separation, Groundswell & eMetrics

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:57:55 +0000

Mitch Joel has accomplished something that few others have: he has made the fundamentals of digital marketing and social media easily accessible. In his book, Six Pixels of Separation, Mitch makes the intersection between digital marketing, social media, personal branding and entrepreneurship digestible for nearly everyone. In BusinessCast #146, Robert sat down with Mitch to talk about this book — which is one of the few sources that we recommend for entrepreneurs getting a bearing on social media.

Once you’ve been inspired by Mitch’s book, the next step is developing the right social media strategy for you, your business and your audience. Without a doubt, Charlene Li’s Groundswell remains the most well-researched and practical book that we’ve found. Listen to the conversation that we recently had with Charlene, in BusinessCast #101, Leveraging the Groundswell.

Of course, if you’re trying to get a handle on social media, you’ll need to measure its effectiveness. The eMetrics Summit is a world-class event to help you tackle this challenge. And, the event is coming to location near you. **Special for BusinessCast Listeners**: You can get 15% off the attendee cost if you use the following purchase code: BCAST15. See you there!

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Fotobabble – A Social Media Innovation

Andrew - BusinessCast Co-Host — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:55:39 +0000

We continue to talk with entrepreneurs and thought leaders about why, how and when to leverage social media. Now, we’ve got something special: In BusinessCast #145 — Fotobabble, we get the inside scoop from an entrepreneur who is actually launching what could be the next social media tool.

And, while there are several common themes whenever you’re developing/rolling-out a product or service, bringing a new social media tool to market has some unique business lessons and challenges. Listen to BusinessCast #145 and find out what you can take away from Fotobabble’s innovation in action.

Reminder: Next month, the world class event, eMetrics Summit, is coming to Toronto. If you’re a leader or manager looking to truly leverage your online presence, you ask yourself the following questions:

What online metrics should we collect?
When should we collect them?
Where should we collect them?
Who should collect/interpret them?
How much time/effort/resource should we spend on online metrics?
How should/can these metrics integrate with offline metrics?
What do these online metrics truly mean?
How can we apply the learnings from these online metrics?

The eMetrics Summit helps you get a handle on answering all of these critical issues.

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