Cheap Printing Alternatives for UK Businesses

As the world gets smaller, entities such as NAFTA, WTO and the EU create a demand for multi-lingual printing products. Many companies have opened themselves to the World Wide Web thus expanding their markets on an international level. Promotional materials such as brochures, company profiles, data sheets and other forms of business communications are now required in an array of languages.

Small and medium businesses find themselves throwing out outdated printed materials due to frequent changes in specifications, contact information and market conditions. All of these demands increase printing costs.

Each year companies in the UK spend thousands to millions of pounds sterling on printed materials. In analyzing the different purposes of printed materials, companies can significantly save time and money by exploiting new online and printing technologies.

Read the Cheap Business Printing White Paper for low cost printing alternatives.

Weddings seem to be getting more and more expensive with each year. Here is an article with some interesting ideas about planning a cheap UK wedding. The author explains how her hectic lifestyle made planning her wedding a challenge. She decides that planning her wedding online will save her money and time.

"When my boyfriend of 4 years finally proposed, the excitement lasted about 5 minutes before I realized how much work I suddenly had to do. My work schedule is hectic and keeps me abroad for most of the week. I decided that I would have to arrange everything I need online, from my dress to the wedding invitations . When I found out that the average cost of weddings in the UK was £16,000 I knew that ours had to be much cheaper."

Read about low cost wedding ideas.

2nd Generation Online Image Editor is integrated with Optimalprint's Online Printing Solution. The new image editor provides a state-of-the-art image and photo editing solution.

Warwick, UK (PRWEB) June 13, 2008 -- Optimalprint, launches a new 2nd generation online image editor. The image editor provides a state-of-the-art image and photo editing solution. The editor simplifies the storage of photos, images and logos online. This unique online image editor enriches the customization of individual and professional print materials with online image editing.

The new online image editor enhances the customer experience and advances Optimalprint's goal to revolutionize the printing industry "Our 2nd generation online image editor strengthens our ambition to be a one-stop shop online printing solution. Customers benefit from the free unlimited storage capacity provided by the image editor. To access the Online Image Editor, simply register for free. Using personal pictures in a variety of top quality print solutions is only a click away", says Henrik Müller-Hansen, CEO of Optimalprint.

Optimalprint is known for providing customers with the printing tools needed to create and edit personalized print materials over on the Internet. "The new online image editor enhances the customer experience and advances Optimalprint's goal to revolutionize the printing industry", says Henrik Müller-Hansen.

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Wedding invitations, birth announcements, christening invitations, party invitations, menu cards, thank you cards, postcards, business cards, letterheads, brochures, flyers, folders and envelopes are only a few of the print items that customers can order with their own personal digital pictures, images or logos from www.optimalprint.co.uk

Optimalprint provides online printing services to all of Europe. Since its launch in March 2007, this online printing company has grown to become one of the most visited sites for online printing services in Europe. Optimalprint is helping to revolutionize the printing industry by streamlining the printing production process. Optimalprint is committed to providing the best online printing experience through innovative online software, customer service, affordable pricing and quality print products. We cater to the needs of individuals and professionals throughout the European market.

Portrait photography is an art and the best portrait photographers spend years perfecting their craft. While the revolution of digital photography has given us more shots than we know what to do with, this doesn't necessarily mean that we always get the results we want. When it comes to selecting a good portrait picture, from the hundreds of shots we've taken, we sometimes still have to settle for less than perfect.

Even if you're not a professional it's easy to start taking great portraits for your greeting cards, invitations, and business material. By keeping a few simple principles and techniques in mind you'll get better results every time.

Of course never forget the amateur’s cardinal rule of portrait photography – take lots!

1. Use portrait mode
Most digital cameras today have a dedicated portrait setting. If you haven't been using this setting for your portrait shots it's time to start. Without getting too technical, the portrait setting on your camera limits the depth of field. This blurs the background while putting the subject in sharp focus, which is what you want when taking a portrait.

2. Zoom for focus [images: compare zoomed and unzoomed photos of same subject]

Again, your digital cameras is likely to have a zoom function. What's important here to distinguish between optical and digital zoom. You only want to use your camera's optical zoom and never the digital zoom! Many cameras will allow you to disable this function (I keep mine off permanently). Pictures taken using the digital zoom usually look terrible and require significant post-editing on a program like Adobe Photoshop to salvage them.

By stepping back and then zooming in on your portrait subject you reduce the depth of field, putting your subject in sharper relief by blurring objects in the foreground and background. This naturally draws attention to your “zoom” subject.

3. Force the flash [image: flash setting icon]

Adjust your camera's flash setting to force the flash to go off, even if the light meter tells you the flash is unnecessary. If your camera has a red-eye reduction mode flash that's even better and you should select this mode.

By forcing the flash to go off you are creating what is known as a “fill” flash. A fill flash helps to eliminate harsh shadows that might fall across your subject's face. It also helps to give your subject a twinkle in their eye (what's known as “catchlights” in portrait photography), producing a more flattering and alive portrait.

4. Think about your lighting [images: outdoor vs. indoor]

For most amateur photographers lighting is more of an afterthought. Ask the pros, on the other hand, and they know that lighting is of paramount importance if you want to achieve good results. You've probably noticed that pictures you take indoors, using only indoor lighting (i.e. no natural, outdoor source) and your flash, usually suffer in quality. The same goes for portraits. Strive to incorporate natural light to illuminate your subject. The direction the light is coming from and the time of day come into play here.

Personally I think that the best time for taking pictures is in the hour or two before sunset, when the sun is low in the sky. Position your subject so the light is coming from behind and sideways.

Don't forget to force the flash to minimize shadows on your subject's face.

5. Best backgrounds [images: show a couple different backgrounds]

If you've followed the steps above regarding framing and zooming to limit depth of field you shouldn't have to worry about the background too much – your subject will be the main point of interest in your photo. The further your background is from your subject, the more blurred it will be and the better your subject will stand out.

It's important to think about how the background gives context to the portrait. Does it add to the picture? Is it distracting? Does it help tell the portrait tell its story?

6. Tell a story [image: show a great 'storytelling' portrait]

A great portrait tells a story about its subject. Think about this when you are composing your portrait. Does it capture who the subject is and how you want to portray them (or how they want/need to be portrayed)? A great portrait photographer has a keen interest in his or her subject and aims to tell a story with each portrait.

Keep some of these easy pointers in mind and you'll be on your way to becoming a great portrait photographer. Happy snapping!

If you are new to Search Engine Marketing and Optimization you might just want to go and get yourself a cup of coffee and take a deep breath. Learning about how to deal with your keywords is necessary!

" Over 80% of all online transactions begin with a keyword search. To compete, you need to target all the relevant keywords." Keyword Discovery

Many of us use keyword research tools in order strengthen our pay per click (PPC) campaigns and improve the website's on-site SEO power. Finding the tool that works for you can effectiviely make your number of visitors grow exponentially.

I have used Keyword Discovery simple because I think that this tool is more European oriented, as it supports many different languages, and it is not so Google oriented, which is important in many countries in Europe with a more powerful YAHOO! and MSN presence. But I have not really done any structured benchmarking between the two most used keyword tools - Keyword Discovery and Wordtracker.

John Alexander from Search Engine Workshop just wrote a great post in which he compares the two keyword research tools mentioned above - Wordtracker and Keyword Discovery - How do they compare?

A third very widely used tool that in addition is free of charge is Keyword Suggestion Tool. "This is a handy little tool which will show you the results of your query from both Wordtracker and Overture for determining which phrases are searched most often. Enter a search phrase below to see how often it's searched for, as well as get suggestions for alternate (but similar) keywords. Then, once you know the keywords you want to target, you can use the free keyword position tracking tool to monitor your placement progress." Keyword Suggestion Tool.

Final Point - My experience tells me that you must combine the more theoretical approach, which according to me is the usage of a keyword research tool, with the real-life data that you get access to via for example YAHOO! Search Marketing (YSM) and Google Adwords. A PPC campaign not only gives you exact data on what your potential customers search for, but also how your webpage convert on every single keyword that you place a bid on.

The reality is, your amazing products or services don't mean that much if nobody knows about them!

Effective marketing can make the difference between success or failure. Your business needs print materials that get noticed and fulfil their purpose – informing customers, building your brand, generating new leads, or whatever goal you've got in mind. Of course, that also means choosing an option for your brochures, business cards and stationery that fits within your budget.


For small and medium-sized businesses, going to a traditional printing company usually means significant design and print costs. Special business printing services – the creation of your marketing materials – are best performed via one of Europe’s online printers. An online print company provides the highest quality at a very low cost; the best return on your business investment.

How does online printing really work?
1. Choose the print product you want to create
2. Customize the design with your own text and logo
3. Pay,... and you're done!

Really no easier or cheaper way to get the printed materials your business needs.

The Advantages of Online Printing

Low Cost
Creating your office stationery and marketing materials through online low cost printers is a lot friendlier to your business's bottom line. Whereas traditional printing companies have to spend significant amounts on overhead, an online printing company can reduce many of these hidden costs, passing the considerable savings on to customers. The money you save can be reinvested back into your business as a further boost to your sales and marketing.

Convenience
Online printing offers no comparison when it comes to accessibility and convenience. Any of your print orders can be placed 24/7. There is no need for you or your marketing staff to spend time on calls to, or meetings with, printing company representatives. Everything can be done online and in a matter of minutes.

Fast
Time is one of those precious business commodities that you simply can't buy. By creating completely customized, high quality marketing materials using an online printing company, time saved can be reinvested in your business – on innovation, customer service and other elements in your marketing mix. Hassle-free online printing let's you do more with your valuable time.

High Quality
By combining small print orders from many customers and producing these with maximum efficiency, an online printing company can produce customer orders on large printing machines that normally cost too much for smaller companies to access. That means that your small or medium-sized business gains access to the same printing equipment as large corporations – at a lower cost!

Deciding how to make your business marketing materials is an important decision. Using an online print company means you can save 30-90% of your time and money while still getting a top quality product.

You actually never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Your business card should be consistent with the image you want to project. A professionally designed and printed business card could assist in landing new customers instead of the junk in the trashcan.

The following blog contains some of the most common business card printing mistakes – make sure you don't make them!

1. Clutter

The most common mistake is creating business cards with too much text or images. Creating a cluttered impression on your card conveys a similar message about you and your business.

Don't try to jam as much information on your card as possible - it's not meant to be a brochure. Likewise, don't let your content run smash right up against the edges of your card. Preserve margins, it helps to maintain an aesthetic balance of space.

2. Omitting essential information

Proofread carefully before submitting your business card design for printing. Make sure you have not omitted any essential information. Is your business's postal code on the card? Does your phone number also have your area code (and country code if your clients are potentially international)?

Make sure you're certain that everything that needs to be there, is there. During the order process at Optimalprint, we present the most common text fields for you to fill out.

3. Including non-essential or unwanted information

On the flip side, including non-essential information on your business card is even worse. Leave company values and slogans to your marketing department. Also, never put elements on your business card that should remain private, e.g. your private email address.

4. Incongruent design elements

Don’t try to combine incongruent design features. Decide on one style that is consistent with your business and the message to your customer. For example, a minimalist, zen-like design theme for a massage studio would probably not suit glaring, fluorescent font colours to use against the background image of a rock garden. The message is simply - inconsistent.

When planning your business card design elements remember unity signals professionalism.

5. Not clearly defining your services or products

A cardinal error in creating your business cards is when you do not incorporate your profession into the graphical design. As a recipient of your business card I should be able to understand your services or products. For example, a business card that reads "JB Services Inc." but lacks a description of services, picture, or slogan indicating the nature its services or products is a poor design.

Just because your card has a picture of a cartoon bee on it doesn't mean that everyone will understand that you sell beekeeping supplies. If in doubt, run the design by your own review panel - a few people who don't know what you or your business does. If they can't tell clearly from your card, rethink your design.


6. Using font sizing that is too small (or too big)

Using a font size that is too small will effectively render your business card unreadable to many; especially people who are in their middle age or older. While you may beam at having fit an 200-word overview of your business's services on the back of your card, if it requires a scanning electron microscope to read it doesn't do you, or your business, any good. In fact, probably the opposite. If it is not easily read it will probably end up in a standard circle file, otherwise known as the trashcan.

Big typefaces are an equally bad practice. Particularly on the address and contact information do not use large fonts, or worse, all capital letters. If you'd rather not come off as sleazy or cheesy, it's best to avoid jumbo fonts or a business card that seems like it's SHOUTING AT YOU.


7. Don’t print your own cards ☺

With this kind of recommendation you might even think I was working in the printing business… Anyhow, the number one rule has to be: avoid printing your own cards. Office printers can’t print on thick card stock. Flimsy cards give a really bad first impression. Skip the dinner out and put the money you saved into using a professional print shop or do both actually if you print your business cards at Optimalprint!

Your consistent use of a well-designed business card is one of the most easy and affordable ways to market your business.

Individuals or companies alike – we all need to communicate our products or services via smart or at least well-liked marketing. One way of coming up with new ideas is to look at some of the best commercial ads ever produced. The commercials - past and present - demonstrate several marketing techniques we can apply elsewhere. Some ads are actually up to 30 years old but greatly appreciated work of art.

FYI Super Bowl advertisements cost about $2.6 million for a 30-second spot (2007/2008) so you might want to consider the sales effect before you decide to go for this audience.

The Introduction of the Macintosh (1984) - Steve Jobs wanted to launch the Macintosh with an inspirational commercial that was as revolutionary to the product itself. Apple turned to its advertising agency - Chiat/Day. The agency hired the best science fiction oriented director they could find, Ridley Scott, whose previous movie Blade Runner, possessed the visionary feel they were striving for. To Jobs’ surprise, the entire board hated the commercial. Panicked Apple ran back to Chiat/Day to try and get them to sell back the ad time. Chiat/Day, still enthusiastic about their ad, was very hesitant, and only managed to sell off 30 seconds. Rather than take a loss on the 60 second ad, Apple decided to go ahead and run “1984.” The spot ran during the Super Bowl and many witnessed the groundbreaking commercial. For the week following the Super Bowl, talk shows and news stations ran the ad dozens of more times, totally in awe of the production and vision. Apple received over $5 million in free publicity from these re-runs of the commercial. The ad was such a big hit that it was ranked as the top television commercial of all time in a 1999 TV Guide survey.

Coke's famous "Mean Joe Greene" (1979) - This TV spot was listed as one of the top ten commercials of all time by "TV Guide" magazine. Chances are you remember every line and camera angle, but can you name the two teams that played the same year? By 1988, Coca-Cola was voted the best known and most admired brand in the world. Still, Coca-Cola did not institute a uniform marketing program in each of its global markets. The company often tailored the flavor, packaging, price, and advertising to match the tastes in specific markets. This ad was replicated in a number of different regions using the same format but substituting famous athletes from those regions (e.g., ads in South America used the Argentine soccer star, Maradona, while those in Asia used the Thai soccer star, Niat).

E*Trade “Monkey,” (2000) - In the glory year of the dotcom ads, the online trader proudly blew $2 million on a spot featuring a dancing monkey. "What are you doing with your money"?

Terry Tate: Office Linebacker by Reebok (2003) - TV commercials created by Rawson Marshall Thurber, for Reebok, based on a short film pilot he created in 2000; Tate was first shown at Super Bowl featuring Lester Speight as "Terrible" Terry Tate, an American Football linebacker who "gives out the pain" to those in the office who are not obeying office policies. It's easy to understand why the company's productivity has increased 46 percent--an extra minute at the water cooler and you're road kill.

Monster.com's "When I Grow Up" (1999) - This commercial was named to Time magazine's list of "The Best Television of 1999" (Dec. 20, 1999 issue). Born in the state of Massachusetts in the year 1999, monster.com is a great, popular website for employers and job-seekers alike.

McDonalds let Michael Jordan and Larry Bird play for a Big Mac (1993). Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is a retired American NBA basketball player, widely considered one of the greatest players of all time. Michael Jordan so dominated the basketball world that, for the second half of a pro career that spanned 1984-98, there was no debate about the game's supreme player. This shoot-out creates a lot of nostalgic feelings but it actually never revels who wins the Big Mac...

Herding Cats ad from EDS (2000) - "This man right here is my great grandfather. He’s the first cat herder in our family. Herding cats. Don’t let anybody tell you it’s easy." - you just read the intro. The producer recruited real cowboys and real cats and took them all to Tejon Ranch, 70 miles north of Los Angeles.

Tabasco smoking up a Mosquito (1998) - another way of telling your customers that your product lives up to the expectation of being HOT. This ad is simple, funny and violent. With no dialogue, no music and only two characters (including the exploding insect)...

Xerox assisting monks (1977) in facilitating copying many many years before you were born... This commercial has won every single award given by the advertising industry, including the Cannes Film Festival's Gold Lion and the first cash prize ever given by the New York Advertising Club. It also was judged by The New York Times to be one of the top 25 commercials of the 20th Century and is in the CLIO Hall of Fame.

The Budweiser Frogs (2005) are three life-like puppet frogs named "Bud", "Weis", and "Er", who began appearing in American television commercials for U.S. Budweiser Beer during Super Bowl XXIX.

Do you agree now that the Super Bowl ads are better than the game?

To wrap up this input session on how to advertise your products or services I would like to end with a great Condom Commercial - Enjoy!

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We will focus on the logistics, transportation, and final delivery of goods to the customer - rethinking these parts of the supply chain can significantly improve your bottom-line result. From the start of our operations Optimalprint has completely changed how we work with logistics, transportation, and final delivery of goods to the customer, decreasing logistic and distribution costs with 60 to 80%! Some of these cost saving actions are non-theoretical and "easy wins" while some requires a lot more work.

This blog-post is written to get your started with rethinking every part of the shipment / distribution process of your goods and services.

Logistics - Input factors in Optimalprint's packaging process

Transportation and Final Delivery

Listen to Steve Jobs commencement speech at Standford

Steve Jobs talks about 3 things. A. "Connecting the dots..." B. Love what you do. C. Death.

"If you live each day as if it was you're last someday you most certainly be right".

Look at the Steve Jobs commencement speech at Stanford University (2005)

Steve Jobs final words of widom - Stay Hungry Stay Foolish.

Steve Jobs is the CEO of Apple, which he co-founded in 1976. Steve is also co-founded Pixar Animation Studios, which has created eight of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars and Ratatouille. Pixar has grossed more than $4 billion at the worldwide box office to date. Pixar merged with The Walt Disney Company in 2006 and Steve now serves on Disney's board of directors.

If you have an eyesight disorder the Optimalprint-team want to do everything possible to improve your online experience. Various browser settings can be done in order to make your life on the Internet better and more fun - here is a quick guide. Drop me a mail if you have comments on this Browser Guide.

Hide Pictures
For some people with eyesight disabilities there exists sensitivity for light, especially blinking light. Here is how to turn these type of images off.
1. Select Tool (ALT+T) > Internet Alternatives (O) in Internet Explorer’s menu.
2. Select the Advance Settings (ALT+TAB) in the pop-up for Internet Alternatives.
3. Under Settings: Multimedia, go to Show Pictures (via keyboard use your arrow buttons.)
4. Select ”Hide Pictures” by un-selecting the checkbox (Space).
5. Click on OK (ENTER) to save your new settings.

Ignore colours, fonts or font size – Set your own formats
1. Select Tool (ALT+T) > Internet Alternatives (O) in Internet Explorer’s menu.
2. Select Tools at the bottom.
3. Click in the squares for ignoring colours on web pages, settings for font size and font types specified by the web pages.
4. You can also choose to format the web browser via your own format template.

Chose colour on text & background
To increase contrast on your computer screen you can select another colour on both text and background. If you chose to ignore colours, font size and font type as was described above you can decide text colour or background in order to facilitate for you when reading on a computer screen.

1. Select Tool (ALT+T) Internet Alternative (O) in Internet Explorer’s menu.
2. Select Color (ALT+O) under General in the pop-up.
3. Chose not to use Window’s colours (ALT+W) this will make the text and the background buttons show.
4. Select Text (T) or Background (B).
5. A colour scale will be displayed.
6. Select a colour. Use the arrow buttons to move around and view the different colours. When you find a colour you like either click on it or press ”SPACE”.
7. Press OK twice or press ENTER twice
8. Close the pop-up for Internet Alternatives by clicking OK or press ”Escape”.

Now use your settings on the web page instead of the settings made by the once that created the site. You can in addition change size and colour settings also on the graphics.

Select link colours
The Optimalprint links that you have visited can be highlighted in a special colour to easily separate them from the Optimalprint links that you have not visited, making navigation on new web sites easier.
1. Select Tool (ALT+T) > Internet Alternative (O) i Internet Explorer’s menu.
2. Select Colors (ALT+O) in the pop-up under General.
3. Select ”Usel inks” or ”Not Use Links” under Links.
4. The colour scale is now displayed.
5. Select a colour either by using your mouse or the arrow buttons. Select by
6. Select OK twice or press ENTER twice
7. Close pop-up for Internet Alternative by clicking OK or press on Escape.

This pop-up also offers the opportunities to display links in a different colour as your mouse hovers above them or points at links which help people with eye sight disabilities to quickly identify links.

Automatic complement
For some people, using the keyboard can be a difficult task. You can then select Complement Automatically filling out personal information such as name, e-mail address, address and so on automatically.
1. Select Tool (ALT+T) > Internet Alternative (O) i Internet Explorer’s menu.
2. Select Content (CTRL+TAB).
3. Once on ”Content” Select Complement Automatically under Personal Information (ALT+U).
4. You can select Complement Automatically for web-addresses by selecting in the pop-up or close the function by deleting the pre-inserted information. You can turn web-addresses on and of by clicking on (A).
5. Close the pop-up for Internet Alternative by pressing OK or click on Escape.

Microsoft Help Files
Microsoft offers help files that show how to change the different settings. In addition Microsoft also offers a help files as text only versions for mouse and keyboard usage. Go to Microsoft Office Support and access text files.

Good luck!

PRESS RELEASE

Oslo, Norway — September 27, 2007 — Optimalprint today announced that Christer Elmehagen, CEO of AMF Pension, a very successful € 28 Billion Pension Company in Sweden, joins Optimalprint as Chairman of the Board. AMF Pension is the seventh largest owner on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

“Christer brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and wisdom to Optimalprint. During the last 30 years, he has held various top-management positions in large multinational companies such as Ericsson AB as well as within the non-profit business community as Vice President of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprises. We are excited and honoured that Christer has chosen Optimalprint as one of his first private sector boards to serve on,” said Henrik Müller-Hansen, Optimalprint’s CEO. “Christer’s extraordinary credentials and broad experience will significantly complement the management team in developing the growth strategy and executing on our aggressive expansion.”

“Henrik and his team have done an amazing job in building Optimalprint, from nothing, to one of Europe’s fastest growing online printing companies in less than 6 months. I have been particularly impressed with how much the team has accomplished with extremely limited financial resources,” said Christer Elmehagen. “The company’s commitment to construct a user-friendly, and fully automated ordering and production process for online printing, results in a fascinating business opportunity and considerable customer growth without increasing the production input factors.”

Optimalprint offers online printing services to all of Europe. This online printing company has since launch, March 2007, grown to become one of the most visited sites for online printing services in Europe . Optimalprint ignites the traditional, and in many aspects, inefficient printing industry, by minimizing human interactions in the printing production process. Optimalprint is committed to bringing the best online printing experience to individuals and professionals throughout the European market, through its innovative software, customer service and Internet offerings.

Press Contacts:
Optimalprint
Henrik Müller-Hansen
The UK: +44 20 8133 2771
Norway: +47 21 30 21 00
info@optimalprint.com

HOLD ON.... this is a longer than average blog, but there is a reason for it - start reading.

A McKinsey survey of marketing executives conclude that companies, around the globe, now more actively include online tools as essential components of their marketing strategies. However, the executives also point out that they use digital tools less frequent than their importance actually suggest. Main reasons for a less active role in the online community than actually preferred are:

The Power of Social-networking!
If you have ever worked with social networking, you know the immense power of blogs, release of online articles, user forums and much more. Economist released an article this week - "Social-networking and video-sharing sites are booming" - in which they state that YouTube has more than 200 copycats only in China (10% of these are backed by venture capital). Here is China's response to YouTube - Todou.

How do you get started with Social-networking?
Well, that's actually a good topic for my next blog, but until then take a look at this Keyword tool supported by Aroon Wall. In Aaron's Keyword tool you type in any word and out comes a VERY info-heavy table with links to all blogs, articles, tagging, forums, news about this subject. Your challenge is now to identify the discussion groups and topics that you want to actively contribute to. You will quickly find that this type of active engagement, not only improves your knowledge about customers, suppliers and investors but you also regain some of the control you feel that you lost with the explosion of social networking.

I will give another example; try Serph and type in your company name. Serph will, within seconds, provide users with a list to all blogs, user forums and you have it, that display what customer all over the world have to say about your services and your brand – pretty intriguing and energizing!

Executives interviewed by McKinsey comments on the Social-networking trend
”Collaborative tools such as blogs, wikis, and social networks are being used in advertising, product development, and customer service. At the simplest level, for instance, 22 percent of the respondents say that their companies host user forums for customers to help one another. Just over a third of all survey respondents—and just over half of those whose companies advertise online—say that their companies use some kind of collaborative or interactive tool to advertise. About 22 percent are using these tools for customer retention, which fits into the common understanding that they help build relationships between customers and companies. More interestingly, nearly as many respondents, 19 percent, use collaborative tools primarily for brand building. The enthusiasm for experimenting with these tools is clear: more than a third of the respondents don’t know what marketing objective their investments in collaboration and interactivity serve, yet some 15 percent of companies’ online-advertising budgets go to such tools.”

All decisions you take in business are faced with basic uncertainty, effective managers approach problems by interlocking probabilities. Your primary goal should be to gather accurate business information and scrutinize it carefully.

The former US Treasury Secretary and Goldman Sachs executive Robert E. Rubin wrote in his memoirs "Once you've internalised the concept that you can't prove anything in absolute terms, life becomes all the more about odds, chances, and trade-offs. In a world without provable truths, the only way to refine the probabilities that remain is through greater knowledge and understanding".

Talking to your customer... is gathering accurate business information directly from the source that is feeding your shareholders.

Since my last post, 4 Rules About Customers, I have been engaged in different e-mail discussions. One e-mail correspondent has been Bruce Judson, author of "Go It Alone" (HarperCollins, 2004), an award winning book for entrepreneurs and has now founded a new service for growing businesses and nonprofits called Free For Today.

Bruce's Comment: Add a rule # 5 - Make your customers feel smart
In my 1st rule, I discussed the need to always (no matter the size of your company) talk directly to your customers. Bruce wants to add a "Rule # 5 - Make your customers feel smart". Agree with you Bruce.... everyone likes to feel smart . But in order to understand what will make your customers feel smart, you must know them. Thus, for us to deliver on rule #5 - Make your customers feel smart, we must talk to our customers.

So, if there are any shareholder-friendly business people still thinking customer service does not need significant amount of attention - here is a final remark - leave this chat and go call a customer!