Australian Business News and Times

Business News ,Reports and Times of Australia

2012

10 Steps To Turn Your Employees Into Brand Ambassadors

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According to a recent research conducted by Gallup, apparently 70% of employees within all organizations are disengaged from their brands. If this is the situation at your organization, you might want to reverse it by turning your employees into brand ambassadors. Here’s how.

employer aemployee relationship

1. Acknowledge

First of all, acknowledge your employees and the very key role they play in cascading brand information. It’s only through fully engaged employees that companies can deliver consistent brand messaging across the market. Pay your employees their due; they deserve to be acknowledged and accepted for their role.

2. Audit

Evaluate all internal communications such as newsletters, your intranet, management emails and so on. Is your brand identity and promise consistent everywhere? Are your employees getting the same message each time, or are they confused as to what your brand represents? A proper audit will put your doubts to rest and help you get the right picture.

3. Train

Train your employees on what your brand represents; let them get thoroughly familiar with your processes, logo, colors, byline, vision, motto, value proposition, brand positioning and so on. Test each employee’s knowledge by asking him or her to train a newbie. Make the training fun and creative.

4. Reinforce

Training them just once will not do; you will have to reinforce your brand messaging by issuing key brand elements printed on wallet cards, stickers and t-shirts. Keep putting your brand in front of your staff; emphasize how you do things, vis-à-vis how your competition does it.

5. Assess

Periodically, assess how well your employees have imbibed your brand promise. Retrain them and reinforce elements that have not been fully assimilated. No need to turn it into a military exercise; make it fun through contests and quizzes.

6. Role-play

Help your staff put themselves into your customer’s shoes. Help them understand the overall customer experience and how each employee can use their brand knowledge to enhance it. Let each employee understand how their job role impacts customer experience.

7. Recognize

Conduct brand contests and quizzes periodically and award winning employees. Publish the profiles of employees who consistently deliver your brand promise to customers on your intranet. Make sure your customers aware of your pride in your loyal brand ambassadors as well.

8. Feedback

Ask your employees for their input and feedback on how best to deliver your brand promise. Let them brainstorm and come up with innovative ideas. Be sure to incorporate these ideas. Let the employees feel a sense of ownership towards your brand; this will make them more inclined to promote it.

9. Empower

Empower your employees to let people know what your company is going to do next. Knowing your business plans and being free to talk about them will be a source of great pride for them. They will feel encouraged to be your brand’s ready ambassadors when you empower them this way.

10. Engage

Let your employees engage with your audience via social media and disseminate brand information. Trust them to deliver the right information. Your employees can become your most ardent brand ambassadors and brand promoters if you train, encourage and empower them properly.

Corrupt PNG politicians steal Australian Aid money

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Australians people are generous in nature when it comes to charity and donating for charity  and to poor countries , including the Australian government that  helps and supports developing countries.

A recent scandal has shocked many Australians, who believe the government  is supporting our neighbours PNG when infact  large sums of aid money is being  swallowed by corrupt  PNG officials , businessmen and corrupt politicians

ausaid png scandal with corruption

Dirty money and corrupt PNG officials

Media agencies  and TV channels have put  a spin on the scandal highlighting banks who have the said  money transferred too  in Australia  as being involved , when in fact  it is the corrupt politicians who have let down the poor people of papa new guinea who actually deserve this AID

Australian foreign aid is being lost to corruption, with an estimated $1.7 billion being stolen from Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) budget annually.

The stolen aid money is said to come back in Australia  via the banks and also the corrupt people investing in property and assets in australia.

 

As per yahoo.com.au

Professor Sharman along with Sam Koim, head of PNG’s Anti-Corruption Task Force, are on a mission to lift the lid on billions of dollars of dirty money leaving PNG to be laundered in Australia.

"Corrupt politicians, and senior officials are buying houses and gambling. Obviously they need bank accounts to do so, and setting their families up here (in Australia) as well," Professor Sharman said.

Mr Koim and his task force informed Australia’s money laundering agency Astrac, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Attorney General’s department in August last year that Paul Paraka – a lawyer who allegedly sent $2.5 million dollars to his family – was a person of interest in their investigation into corruption.

More on this article and dirty money scandal can be found here

Business security | 5 tips for Small business password security

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Losing passwords or getting passwords hacked can be easy  for hackers and bad for business , However lost passwords can be time consuming   to businesses if employees forget passwords  and it needs to be reset

Password security tips for small business

Here are some tips on how to  avoid loss of passwords and work time in your business

reset windows password

1. Use difficult passwords

Know what makes for a weak or bad password.

Because hacking attacks re becoming increasingly more common, you don’t want to use anything in your password that’s personal and easy to guess or remember. Keep in mind the following don’ts:

      • Don’t use only letters or only numbers.
  • Don’t use names of spouses, children, girlfriends/boyfriends or pets ( and if you do mix it up with numbers or something else).
  • Don’t use phone numbers, Social Security numbers or birthdates.
    Don’t use any word that can be found in the dictionary — even foreign words.

 

 

Try and mix up passwords with letters and uppercases and lower cases of possible if case sensitive

[Reset password at http://windowsrecoverpassword.com/ for any forgotten or lost laptop or windows computer password.]

2. Changing passwords at workplaces

To help remember the password at workplaces, use it immediately. Then log in and out several times the first day when you change it .Preferably don’t change your passwords on a Friday or right before leaving for vacation as you can forget it easily, Monday is a good day to change passwords as you will be using it all week , less change of forgetting it later. You could write it out several times on a piece of paper. This helps record it in your mind. Just be sure to shred the paper when done ( but remember to destroy that paper).

3. Use passwords with letters and numbers

Many online password generators are now available online , but also mix it up with some thing that you remember.

The best passwords are at least eight characters in length and use a combination of numbers, keyboard characters and upper- and lower-case letters. The longer your password is, the longer it will take someone or some software to crack it.

4. Change password periodically or on a regular basis

Your network administrator software or company can force your employees to change their password every so often. Microsoft recommends having users change their passwords every 30 to 90 days for added security, but encourages you to go with the smaller number. Some software does not allow you to use the same passwords consecutively

I think 30 days is a reasonable number here. You always want to side with caution when it comes to sensitive information.

 

5. Don’t reuse same passwords for other website

When your employees create weak passwords for their employee accounts and reuse these passwords across other multiple sites, new risks arise for your business.

An employee’s password compromised from another company’s data  or website breach can open up vulnerability on your site and your company.

One option available for higher security is also for Businesses which can look into adopting two-factor authentication whenever possible.

How Small Businesses Can Bring Their Online Marketing Offline

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Before there was Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, there was direct mail. It’s not cool, it’s not sexy, but it works and it works very well. If your printer has been sitting in the corner collecting dust for a while, it might be time to pull it out and put it to good use. With pay-per-click platforms becoming increasingly expensive, it might actually be cheaper for you to physically mail something out to your prospects.

where to get Asus EePC 701

Use QR Codes

QR codes aren’t all that difficult to implement. Most printers can print them – even Lexmark products have this nailed down. How you use it is up to you. Many businesses use a QR code to link to their homepage, a "squeeze" page, or to another promotional page on their site. But you’re not limited to hot-linking.

You can also embed your contact information, order info, a special offer, or anything else you want right into the code. When people scan it with their smartphones, the phone will automatically process the code and do what you want it to do.

Advertise Your Company’s Social Media Pages

You’ve got social media pages – why not use them? Advertising is expensive? Use direct mail. That way, you’re not competing with someone else with a bigger bank account. When you use printed materials to advertise your social media presence, it doesn’t have to be low-tech either. Again, you can embed codes into the link you print out so that you can track everything.

In a sense, you’re merging online technology (tracking) with offline reliability and cost-effectiveness. Facebook, LinkedIn, and even a Twitter presence can be boosted with nothing more than fliers and postcards.

Use Augmented Reality

There are a lot of companies out there that use the same technology but Blippar has pretty much perfected the technology. Basically, you aim your smartphone at a piece of specially printed material, and the camera snaps a photo of that image and adds interactivity through the Blippar app.

It’s an interesting and unique way to add a hidden sales message, special offer or gift, or get people to pick up your flier or postcard and interact with it. The more you get people to interact with your message, the higher your odds are of converting them.

Advertise Your Website

Of course, you can use plain old postcards with a link to your website. A simple "www.yoursite.com" in the body of the postcard, direct mail letter, or flier is enough to get the name of your company out there. Of course, your message should actually say something and entice people to get on the Internet and pay you a visit.

This is probably the most low-tech way there is to transition your online efforts back to offline marketing. Once people are on your website, you can track their movement. Most businesses don’t like just throwing their web address out there because they think they can’t track the user once they’re left. Nothing could be further from the truth. Remarketing allows you to continually advertise to everyone who lands on your site – regardless of how they got there.

Michael Holmes is a business marketing consultant. He enjoys passing on his insights to small businesses through blogging.

TECHNOLOGY FOR BUSINESS

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Did  you ever wonder, that why  doesn’t somebody create a gadget  that just mirrors everything that you can get on your desktop on to your tv , well Google has just come out with a  gadget chrome cast that does that.

google chromecast australia

Now you can enjoy your favourite online shows and music from YouTube, Netflix, Google Play and Chrome on your High Definition TV

Chrome cast App is an new gadget by google that allows web content to be played on your HDTV hassle free. All it needs is the chrome browser on your pc  which is available for free if you don’t already  have it

The program makes use of a “Chromecast device” and your Wi-Ficonnection to send web media content from your computer to your TV.

The Chromecast App makes for one of the easiest ways to enjoy the online media experience on your TV, playing shows and audio streams from online services  and it also has the ability to broadcast a  tab on to your tv. The Google chrome browser uses tabs to open different windows in your browser.

The requirement for this  to function is

· Chromecast device (The chrome cast  gadget)
· Wi-Fi Network
· Internet Connection

-Chrome browser ( with the chrome cast app available free)

Now this isn’t just  “technology for business”, but technology that can be used for homes as well as business and offices. getting this gadget you can get rid of you projectors  and just get any content on your laptop or pc onto that TV screen. Article by digitalfrog for Cool Gadgets Online

TAGS:
broadcast TV | TV broadcaster | Chromecast client | Chromecast | broadcast | broadcaster

Business grants for Tourism industry

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Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) has welcomed new State Government grants to help business ventures related with tourism  get off the ground.

Queensland-tourism-brisbane-goldcoast-government

Australian business grants | Business News Australia | Startups In Australia

This grant from the government  allows Businesses to apply for up to 75,000 in assistance, which can be used to attract financial backers, with a total of $500,000 being made available.

This grant could help in new theme parks or accommodation in national parks and is aid to generate income and employment for regional Queensland

More information on TQUAL Grants including Tourism Quality Projects and Strategic Tourism Investment Grants is available at www.ret.gov.au/tqual or by calling 13 28 46.

Different Australian states Government Grant funding for tourism

Funding Programs – VIC

The following are funding programs that may be suitable for tourism projects.

http://www.tourism.vic.gov.au/

Victorian Government

Tourism Victoria

Event funding is available through the Tourism Victoria Events Program and the Country Victoria Events Program.

 

Destination NSW

Funding and Grants – NSW

Below is a listing of specific tourism funding and grants programs available to NSW tourism businesses.

Two types of funding are available:

  • T-QUAL Grants – Tourism Quality Projects
    Funding of between $15,000 (plus GST) and $100,000 (plus GST) is available on a matched funding basis.
  • T-QUAL Strategic Tourism Investment Grants of up to $1million to fund a small number of larger scale projects to support Indigenous tourism and/or economic development/tourism employment.

2012 applications have now closed.

 

See the Other Government Support External link page for information about other types of services available to boost your business.

 

GRANTS AND FUNDING – Tasmania

TQUAL GRANT SCHEME

Australian Government funded Tqual Grants are competitive grants program to promote strategic investment in quality and innovation in the Australian tourism industry. Tqual Grants will support initiatives that develop innovative product, services or systems within the tourism industry, contribute directly to long-term economic development in the host region or develop or support high quality visitor services and experiences

GRANTS AND FUNDING – NT

The following grants and funding opportunities are available to eligible NT tourism operators.

 

Enterprise connect Funding

Enterprise Connect, an Australian Government initiative in the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education provides just that.

Enterprise Connect offers comprehensive advice and support to eligible Australian small and medium-sized enterprises to help them transform and reach their full potential. Eligible businesses are able to request a comprehensive, confidential and independent Business Review at no charge

Australian business grants | Business News Australia | Startups In Australia

Datsun car by Nissan reborn in India

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Most aussies know  “the datsun brand”  an iconic reliable car  that just worked. It has been an aussie favourite for ages  and now its getting released in india.  In the year 1981 in the U.S. it was badged as the DeLorean DMC-12.

Datsun GO Engine and Performance

Nissan has chosen India to introduce the Datsun Go, a super-inexpensive hatchback. (It will cost just  $7,000. putting this car in the budget affordable category in india). The Datsun Go will go on sale in India early next year, followed by sales in Russia, Indonesia, and South Africa. The four-door hatchback has a 1.2-liter engine and a five-speed manual transmission

The Indian price tag is Rs 4.00*lakh

Datsun was the company’s flagship auto brand in the U.S. until it was killed off in favor of the Nissan name in the U.S. in 1984 (and everywhere by 1986)

 

Datsun (DAT-GO), one of the oldest car manufacturing companies in the world was first started almost a century ago in the year 1914. Nissan changed the name to Datson from DAT-GO, which was later changed to Datsun.

good old aussie datsun

Tata, the Indian automaker, flopped badly with its Nano minicar that sold initially for $2,000.

Wondering if private health insurance is a good investment ?

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Here’s 5 reasons why Private insurance is necessary!

Spending money on private health insurance can often seem like an unwelcome and unnecessary expense, and many are tempted to rely entirely on Medicare for their healthcare needs. What you might not know is that if you choose your policy wisely, private health insurance can be an excellent investment, offering you value above and beyond the insurance premiums you pay. Here are five reasons why private health insurance is a good investment.

getting private insurance in australia

Better access to quality medical care

While Medicare can cover some of your medical expenses, a private health insurance policy can ensure that you are able to get high quality medical care without having to pay in full the high prices you would be subject to if you did not have private health insurance. “Private health insurance” can enable you to seek treatment at private hospitals, consult the doctors of your choice and enjoy the shorter waiting times associated with private medical care. What you pay in insurance premiums can be regained manifold when you make a claim that enables you to afford great medical care.

Prompt medical attention

Relying on the public health system often means being forced to wait in long queues before you can get the medical attention you need. When it comes to sudden or serious medical conditions, having prompt access to medical care can make all the difference. Private health insurance ensures you can obtain medical care when you need it most urgently without having to wait in long queues at public hospitals. This alone makes private health insurance a valuable investment and one that can prove to be a lifesaver.

Broader coverage

While Medicare attempts to provide very general coverage for basic medical care, many people still get private health insurance because it enables you to obtain coverage for a broader range of treatments and conditions that Medicare cannot provide for. Private health insurance can help to ensure that in addition to what Medicare offers, you have sufficient coverage for a range of treatment options and medical services.

Tax advantages

To make it even more evident that your purchase of a private health insurance policy is a sound financial choice, the government offers tax advantages you might be able to benefit from. Check with your insurer to see if you are eligible for private health insurance offset or rebates that can make private health insurance even more affordable and an even more cost-effective investment.

Psychological benefits

A cost-benefit analysis of “getting private health insurance” often neglects to consider the psychological benefits that are present despite not being easily quantifiable. The peace of mind you and your family get from knowing that you will be provided for if you fall ill or get injured is priceless.

Despite the existence of Medicare, private health insurance is viewed by many as a necessity, and for good reason. Private health insurance not only ensures you have easy access to prompt medical attention for a broad range of conditions and treatment options but can also be a very cost-effective investment in the long run.

Who pays a mortgage broker?

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Consumers as well as people who aspire to become a mortgage broker are not sure about who really pays these professionals. While consumers might suspect a mortgage broker to be recommending solutions that earn him more profits, aspiring “mortgage brokers” have little or no idea of how well or how much they can earn in this profession. This article sheds light on this subject!

mortgage australian broker

Much like there are no free lunches, there are no free advices either, much less a financial one. Mortgage brokers are experienced professionals who’re paid for their knowledge and expertise.

There is no way one would spend their time and energy if it were not for the compensation they earn for it. To become a mortgage broker, you have to understand the intricacies of the business. It is downright smart to understand how you would get paid before you venture into becoming one.

Mortgage Brokers earn a commission

It is needless to say brokers are compensated in monetary terms. Mostly, they earn a single-shot commission from the lender. The percentage can be anywhere between 0.5% to about 1.2% depending upon a number of factors like the duration of the mortgage or the lender‘s offering. Say, for instance, a broker is selling a mortgage for 10 years. In this case they would bring home a higher remuneration as compared to a 5 year mortgage for the simple reason that the lender is benefitted from it. In addition, the broker would also be selling one mortgage in a period of 10 years instead of two 5-year mortgages.

The commission earned is the trailer fee in financial terms. It is the lure for the broker to sell the mortgage. The lenders have been paying trailer fees to financial advisors for ages but it has just come into the scene for mortgage brokers. This is actually very important to understand if you want to learn how to become a successful mortgage broker. At the time the mortgage is signed, brokers earn a low percentage but they continue to get an additional percentage every year till the tenure of the deal. This translates into a twin benefit: one it gives them financial sustenance and two it gives them a constant revenue stream over a defined period.

What you, as the broker, have to take note of is this trailer fee. It is what hitches you to sell you the mortgage. Whilst working with a prospective client, you may be able to present a wider variety of offerings as compared to a financial institution as they can only sell certain products their organization has affiliated itself with. This is where the trailer fee kicks in. Combined with a host of other benefits like bonuses dependant on volume of business brokers procure for the lender, trailers can largely influence you in terms of the products being offered as some are more lucrative as compared to others. Bonuses for certain products can mean travel, perks or gifts for you.

Therefore, before you take the road to become a mortgage broker, study the market well as to which products are going to give you the maximum benefits as these will be the ultimate deciding factors in you becoming a successful mortgage broker. Explore the market options and choose the ones that offer you the most perks and bonuses as these are the monetary, or otherwise, gains you are going to derive out of selling a mortgage to a client.

Article by Red Rock Brokers who is an independent mortgage finance company specializing in property finance solutions for investors & borrowers with specialized lending needs.

Making your retirement money work harder

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Falling interest rates have hit retirees hard, and according to forecasters even more cuts may be in the pipeline. Particularly for self-funded retirees, it is now more important than ever to make retirement funds work harder.

banking high returns

Making smart choices about personal savings and savings products is vital, according to Greg McAweeney, Executive General Manager of RaboDirect Australia and New Zealand.

“Take the first step by moving excess money from your transaction account into a high interest savings account,” McAweeney says. “Aussies are losing out on billions of lost interest by leaving their money in low interest accounts. Take control of your money by doing the simple things.”

Generating higher returns

Chasing higher returns can be a dangerous game, particularly when you don’t have another 20 to 30 years of working life to cover any losses.

Instead, set an investment strategy with diversified investments while ensuring optimum tax and social security outcomes. A typical portfolio might comprise 50 per cent Australian shares, with the remainder made up of overseas managed funds, property and fixed interest.

Shares

“Blue chips” such as bank stocks have been popular with investors recently due to their high yields and fully franked dividends. According to a recent study by the Australian Securities Exchange, shares outperformed other investments including residential property, fixed interest and cash over the 20 years to December 2011.

Bonds

Gavin Madson, Director of Infrastructure and Fixed Income Research at FIIG Securities, says the latest cut to official interest rates made most short-term rates unattractive.

“Investors should be out of short-term fixed investments, be they bonds or term deposits, which will reflect the drop in rates fully, and instead invest in bonds around the five-year maturity mark, which are offering stronger returns on the higher base rate,” Madson says.

As well as inflation-linked bonds, he suggested indexed annuity bonds that offer an annuity-style payment stream from infrastructure projects at attractive rates.

Property

It is possible to extract wealth from your home using a reverse mortgage. Generally, the older you are the more you can borrow, with a 70-year-old likely able to borrow around 25 to 30 per cent of the property’s value.

The 2013 Federal Budget also introduced an incentive for retirees to downsize. Under the scheme, retirees can invest up to 80 per cent of the profit to a maximum $200,000 in a special account for 10 years and still receive the pension.

Government incentives

Even if ineligible for the pension, the government offers a range of benefits for retirees covering travel and medicine costs. There are also incentives for working past the pension age, including the mature age tax offset and transition to retirement.

Make sure you don’t run out of money in retirement by maintaining a mixture of income and growth assets. By maximising returns, it can be possible to enjoy the lifestyle you deserve.

This article is presented to you by Australian Business Times in conjunction with RaboDirect. For more information about investing in term deposits or utilising self managed super funds, visit RaboDirect.