Siemens is a leading infrastructure solution provider active in areas of Energy and Environment Care, Healthcare, Automation and Control, Industrial and Public infrastructure, Lighting, Automotive, and Information Technology.
Siemens Venture Capital intends to act as a catalyst to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in these sectors in India. It invites business proposals from Indian entrepreneurs and innovators.
Participation requirements:
Competition open to entrepreneurs, innovators
and research scientists
based in India
Product or prototype ready
Focus on any of the specified sectors.
Seven finalists that have innovative and financially viable solutions in these specified sectors will get an opportunity to present at the Siemens Venture Forum in April 2008 in Mumbai.
The top three finalists will receive a token cash prize. In addition to the prize, the winners also will be evaluated for a funding opportunity from SVC and / or opportunities for collaboration with Siemens.
Detail:http://www.siemensventurecapital.com/
Submit plan:http://www.siemensventurecapital.com/india/submit.htm
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Upspring For Promoting Your Company
What Company says:
Upspring is a new network for businesses that’s aimed to help you promote your company through social networking with other businesses.
How It Works:
You bring the products and upspring brings the marketing tools. It’s specifically designed for local businesses looking to leverage the Internet for attracting customers and gaining offline sales. Upspring will essentially provide a space online, within its network and marketing platform, to do just this. By marketing you across search engines, offering web surfers a certain amount of information on local businesses, and offering tools to connect them directly to the businesses, Upspring hopes to bring value to both ends–businesses and consumers.
As a business, you’ll need to first complete the Essential Business Profile and Professional Profile, where you give upspring a plethora of information about what you do and who you are. This information is used to help you promote your products and also build your online network. Now you can chat with other local business owners, see what’s going on at the business chamber, and exchange ideas with others in your industry. Upspring will also offer a space for retailers to promote their products, though there doesn’t seem to be a way to purchase items online. This isn’t surprising, as upspring has determined to help local businesses get offline connections with consumers.
Upspring has a free plan which offers limited features that you can take advantage of for the business you’re promoting. For about $20 per month you can get a premium plan, which lets you do things like offer coupons, embed videos, and send and receive private messages. The Storefront plan for $50 per month lets you display products and offer real time inventory updates for site visitors.
More at:http://www.upspring.com/
Upspring is a new network for businesses that’s aimed to help you promote your company through social networking with other businesses.
How It Works:
You bring the products and upspring brings the marketing tools. It’s specifically designed for local businesses looking to leverage the Internet for attracting customers and gaining offline sales. Upspring will essentially provide a space online, within its network and marketing platform, to do just this. By marketing you across search engines, offering web surfers a certain amount of information on local businesses, and offering tools to connect them directly to the businesses, Upspring hopes to bring value to both ends–businesses and consumers.
As a business, you’ll need to first complete the Essential Business Profile and Professional Profile, where you give upspring a plethora of information about what you do and who you are. This information is used to help you promote your products and also build your online network. Now you can chat with other local business owners, see what’s going on at the business chamber, and exchange ideas with others in your industry. Upspring will also offer a space for retailers to promote their products, though there doesn’t seem to be a way to purchase items online. This isn’t surprising, as upspring has determined to help local businesses get offline connections with consumers.
Upspring has a free plan which offers limited features that you can take advantage of for the business you’re promoting. For about $20 per month you can get a premium plan, which lets you do things like offer coupons, embed videos, and send and receive private messages. The Storefront plan for $50 per month lets you display products and offer real time inventory updates for site visitors.
More at:http://www.upspring.com/
The One Minute Entrepreneur
Author of The One Minute Manager reveals how to turn customers into your big- gest fans
WHAT DOES NORDSTROM know that other department stores don't? The retailer's customers routinely praise it. Wouldn't it be great if your customers did the same--in effect becoming unpaid members of your sales force?
Impossible? Not according to Ken Blanchard, co-author of Raving Fans (William Morrow & Co.), who says just three little steps can transform your business so thoroughly that your customers are sure to become devoted fans.
But aren't all businesses already going full-bore to deliver customer service? "They all say so, but few actually deliver," says Blanchard. "Customers today are thoroughly displeased with the service they get. When you go the extra mile, you'll find you quickly create 'raving fans.' "
Blanchard issues a stern warning, though: In today's market, it's not enough to compete on price and superior product alone. "Someone will always come along who can beat you," he says. "The only way to differentiate yourself and gain lasting success is by creating raving fans."
Blanchard's credentials compel us to heed his advice. He's co-author of a business classic, The One Minute Manager (William Morrow & Co.), and in the years since that book's 1982 publication, he's built his Escondido, California, training and consulting company, Blanchard Training & Development Inc., into a thriving, multimillion-dollar business. Here, he reveals the secrets that helped him create "raving fans"--and will help you do the same.
Entrepreneur: Why do we need raving fans?
Ken Blanchard: You may have competitive prices and good products, but that's not how you differentiate yourself from the competition. The way you do that is by taking care of your customers to the point where they become raving fans and want to brag about you.
Raving Fans is about serving your customers so well, they become part of your sales force. Just satisfying them won't do that. Going the extra mile will.
Entrepreneur: What's the first secret of creating raving fans?
Blanchard: First, decide what you want. The mistake many businesses make is that they start by asking customers what they want, but that is the second step. Asking customers isn't where you start because customers don't know what the big picture is. They only know what they like or dislike about what you do.
Only you can create the picture of perfect customer service for your business. Ask yourself: If I could create perfect customer service, what would it look like?
Jan Carlzon, former CEO of SAS, set the goal of having the number-one business airline in Europe. He decided he would beat the competition in the "moments of truth," which he defined as the times a customer comes in contact with you in a way that gives him or her an impression of your company. "Moments of truth" are the way you answer the phone, how customers are greeted, how invoices look. Carlzon set out to excel in those areas, and that's a good example of building a picture of what you want.
Entrepreneur: Don't you often recognize "moments of truth" when something has gone wrong?
Blanchard: Yes, that's true. Any picture of customer service needs a built-in recovery strategy because one of the best ways to create a devoted fan is to recover from a customer's bad experience. I must say, though, that I am seeing more instances where businesses go out of their way to help customers even when there is no problem--and that creates loyal fans.
Entrepreneur: Once you know your vision of customer service, what's the next step?.
Blanchard: To complete your vision, you need to listen to what customers want. Then go back and test their desires against your vision of perfection to see if you want to include their desires or not.
Entrepreneur: Isn't that where many businesses get in trouble?
Blanchard: It's where my company gets in trouble. When a customer requests something that's not in our vision of perfection, in the spirit of customer responsiveness we may try to take care of this customer but end up screwing up the job because it never was something we were good at or saw as part of our vision.
Don't take on a customer's suggestion that you're not committed to, then do it poorly. Much better is saying to the customer, "Gee, that's an interesting idea. We can't do it, but maybe we can find a company for you that can." Do that, and you will blow the customer away.
Entrepreneur: Yet you also warn that very often customers cannot and will not tell us what they really want.
Blanchard: That's true. You can't just leave "How are we doing?" cards on the table and expect to get useful information. You have to keep after customers in creative ways. The questions you ask are important. If a restaurant manager asks, "How was everything tonight?" what's the answer? "Fine." In that case, maybe it's the question that's not very good.
Instead, we suggest managers say: "Excuse me. I'd just like to ask one ques- tion. What one thing could we have done differently tonight that would have made your time with us even better?" Managers who try that tell us they are blown away by the responses they get.
Entrepreneur: Your last step is "Deliver the vision plus 1 percent."
Blanchard: A lot of companies are much better at talking the talk about customer service than walking the walk. You've decided what you want, you've asked customers what they want, now deliver what you promised--plus 1 percent.
It all comes down to implementation. What do you do every day to prepare your people to execute good customer service? Consistency is what customers will judge you on, and consistency is about execution. Think about McDonald's. The Big Mac tastes the same in Amsterdam as it does in Arizona.
Entrepreneur: What does the "plus 1 percent" mean?
Blanchard: You should always be trying to improve, but don't get carried away. At first, concentrate on what you can do well. Trying to do too much too soon overwhelms your customers and your employees. You are better off doing less, but executing it well, than doing everything without being prepared.
Entrepreneur: Is the "raving fan" strategy a good one for a small business competing against giants?
Blanchard: Absolutely. This is the one way small businesses can clobber larger businesses. In La Jolla, California, for instance, there's a little grocery store that does a fabulous amount of business because they deliver groceries. Grocers just don't do that anymore--but this little store does. It has a vision of serving customers differently than the big stores. Even people from outside the neighborhood go there because of how they treat customers.
Entrepreneur: In seeking to improve your service, should you measure yourself against your competition--or the national sales leaders in service?
Blanchard: I was working with a fast-food company whose president said to his employees, "I don't want us to be compared to McDonald's. I want us to be thought of as in the same league as Disney and Nordstrom." I agree. You are better off comparing yourself to the very best [in any industry] than to your competition because your competition might be nowhere.
Entrepreneur: When does a business achieve perfect customer service?
Blanchard: It's a continually evolving process. And as soon as you get com- placent, someone will come along and beat you. You cannot go to sleep. Delivering excellent service is an ongoing job.
Via-nichegeek
WHAT DOES NORDSTROM know that other department stores don't? The retailer's customers routinely praise it. Wouldn't it be great if your customers did the same--in effect becoming unpaid members of your sales force?
Impossible? Not according to Ken Blanchard, co-author of Raving Fans (William Morrow & Co.), who says just three little steps can transform your business so thoroughly that your customers are sure to become devoted fans.
But aren't all businesses already going full-bore to deliver customer service? "They all say so, but few actually deliver," says Blanchard. "Customers today are thoroughly displeased with the service they get. When you go the extra mile, you'll find you quickly create 'raving fans.' "
Blanchard issues a stern warning, though: In today's market, it's not enough to compete on price and superior product alone. "Someone will always come along who can beat you," he says. "The only way to differentiate yourself and gain lasting success is by creating raving fans."
Blanchard's credentials compel us to heed his advice. He's co-author of a business classic, The One Minute Manager (William Morrow & Co.), and in the years since that book's 1982 publication, he's built his Escondido, California, training and consulting company, Blanchard Training & Development Inc., into a thriving, multimillion-dollar business. Here, he reveals the secrets that helped him create "raving fans"--and will help you do the same.
Entrepreneur: Why do we need raving fans?
Ken Blanchard: You may have competitive prices and good products, but that's not how you differentiate yourself from the competition. The way you do that is by taking care of your customers to the point where they become raving fans and want to brag about you.
Raving Fans is about serving your customers so well, they become part of your sales force. Just satisfying them won't do that. Going the extra mile will.
Entrepreneur: What's the first secret of creating raving fans?
Blanchard: First, decide what you want. The mistake many businesses make is that they start by asking customers what they want, but that is the second step. Asking customers isn't where you start because customers don't know what the big picture is. They only know what they like or dislike about what you do.
Only you can create the picture of perfect customer service for your business. Ask yourself: If I could create perfect customer service, what would it look like?
Jan Carlzon, former CEO of SAS, set the goal of having the number-one business airline in Europe. He decided he would beat the competition in the "moments of truth," which he defined as the times a customer comes in contact with you in a way that gives him or her an impression of your company. "Moments of truth" are the way you answer the phone, how customers are greeted, how invoices look. Carlzon set out to excel in those areas, and that's a good example of building a picture of what you want.
Entrepreneur: Don't you often recognize "moments of truth" when something has gone wrong?
Blanchard: Yes, that's true. Any picture of customer service needs a built-in recovery strategy because one of the best ways to create a devoted fan is to recover from a customer's bad experience. I must say, though, that I am seeing more instances where businesses go out of their way to help customers even when there is no problem--and that creates loyal fans.
Entrepreneur: Once you know your vision of customer service, what's the next step?.
Blanchard: To complete your vision, you need to listen to what customers want. Then go back and test their desires against your vision of perfection to see if you want to include their desires or not.
Entrepreneur: Isn't that where many businesses get in trouble?
Blanchard: It's where my company gets in trouble. When a customer requests something that's not in our vision of perfection, in the spirit of customer responsiveness we may try to take care of this customer but end up screwing up the job because it never was something we were good at or saw as part of our vision.
Don't take on a customer's suggestion that you're not committed to, then do it poorly. Much better is saying to the customer, "Gee, that's an interesting idea. We can't do it, but maybe we can find a company for you that can." Do that, and you will blow the customer away.
Entrepreneur: Yet you also warn that very often customers cannot and will not tell us what they really want.
Blanchard: That's true. You can't just leave "How are we doing?" cards on the table and expect to get useful information. You have to keep after customers in creative ways. The questions you ask are important. If a restaurant manager asks, "How was everything tonight?" what's the answer? "Fine." In that case, maybe it's the question that's not very good.
Instead, we suggest managers say: "Excuse me. I'd just like to ask one ques- tion. What one thing could we have done differently tonight that would have made your time with us even better?" Managers who try that tell us they are blown away by the responses they get.
Entrepreneur: Your last step is "Deliver the vision plus 1 percent."
Blanchard: A lot of companies are much better at talking the talk about customer service than walking the walk. You've decided what you want, you've asked customers what they want, now deliver what you promised--plus 1 percent.
It all comes down to implementation. What do you do every day to prepare your people to execute good customer service? Consistency is what customers will judge you on, and consistency is about execution. Think about McDonald's. The Big Mac tastes the same in Amsterdam as it does in Arizona.
Entrepreneur: What does the "plus 1 percent" mean?
Blanchard: You should always be trying to improve, but don't get carried away. At first, concentrate on what you can do well. Trying to do too much too soon overwhelms your customers and your employees. You are better off doing less, but executing it well, than doing everything without being prepared.
Entrepreneur: Is the "raving fan" strategy a good one for a small business competing against giants?
Blanchard: Absolutely. This is the one way small businesses can clobber larger businesses. In La Jolla, California, for instance, there's a little grocery store that does a fabulous amount of business because they deliver groceries. Grocers just don't do that anymore--but this little store does. It has a vision of serving customers differently than the big stores. Even people from outside the neighborhood go there because of how they treat customers.
Entrepreneur: In seeking to improve your service, should you measure yourself against your competition--or the national sales leaders in service?
Blanchard: I was working with a fast-food company whose president said to his employees, "I don't want us to be compared to McDonald's. I want us to be thought of as in the same league as Disney and Nordstrom." I agree. You are better off comparing yourself to the very best [in any industry] than to your competition because your competition might be nowhere.
Entrepreneur: When does a business achieve perfect customer service?
Blanchard: It's a continually evolving process. And as soon as you get com- placent, someone will come along and beat you. You cannot go to sleep. Delivering excellent service is an ongoing job.
Via-nichegeek
simplyCricket Is social networking site devoted to cricket
What C's :
simplyCricket may be the only social networking site devoted to cricket, so that’s one thing they’ve got going for themselves. Another is the huge forum sections which also includes many sub-forums. It’s truly all-encompassing, you can even find a sub forum devoted to what type of bat you should buy. That’s right, an entire forum, not just a few back-and-forth postings.
How It Works:
It’s basically a social network for cricket fans; you can create a modest personal profile and interact with other members. You can read recent articles about the sport or post one of your own, or hop in a discussion on the site’s forum, which features cricket training tips, suggestions, a question and answers section, an equipment guide, and anything else you’d ever want to discuss related to the sport. You can also follow your favorite teams and see who, when, and where they’re playing. In order to access most of the site’s features, including viewing profiles, you’ll need to register (it’s free). If you make a mistake at any time or perform an illegal action, the site will alert you in that characteristic polite British manner .
More at:http://www.simplycricket.net/
simplyCricket may be the only social networking site devoted to cricket, so that’s one thing they’ve got going for themselves. Another is the huge forum sections which also includes many sub-forums. It’s truly all-encompassing, you can even find a sub forum devoted to what type of bat you should buy. That’s right, an entire forum, not just a few back-and-forth postings.
How It Works:
It’s basically a social network for cricket fans; you can create a modest personal profile and interact with other members. You can read recent articles about the sport or post one of your own, or hop in a discussion on the site’s forum, which features cricket training tips, suggestions, a question and answers section, an equipment guide, and anything else you’d ever want to discuss related to the sport. You can also follow your favorite teams and see who, when, and where they’re playing. In order to access most of the site’s features, including viewing profiles, you’ll need to register (it’s free). If you make a mistake at any time or perform an illegal action, the site will alert you in that characteristic polite British manner .
More at:http://www.simplycricket.net/
TringMe allows your website visitors, friends and customers to call or leave a voicemail to you - directly from the web
What's Company About:
TringMe allows your website visitors, friends and customers to call or leave a voicemail to you - directly from the web. You will instantly receive a call or a voicemail on your existing cell phone, landline Gtalk or via e-mail. It’s pure web-based telephony.
How It Works:
When users arrive at your page, they slick on the widget to call you. You will have specified where you want your calls routed (your mobile device, Gtalk, etc), and your site visitors can either talk to your directly or leave you a voicemail. You do not need to download any software, your callers need none of your information, and if you miss a call or aren’t around to receive a voicemail, fear not: TringMe sends email notifications of all voicemails received while you were offline. Best of all, it’s completely free.
More at:http://tringme.com/
TringMe allows your website visitors, friends and customers to call or leave a voicemail to you - directly from the web. You will instantly receive a call or a voicemail on your existing cell phone, landline Gtalk or via e-mail. It’s pure web-based telephony.
How It Works:
When users arrive at your page, they slick on the widget to call you. You will have specified where you want your calls routed (your mobile device, Gtalk, etc), and your site visitors can either talk to your directly or leave you a voicemail. You do not need to download any software, your callers need none of your information, and if you miss a call or aren’t around to receive a voicemail, fear not: TringMe sends email notifications of all voicemails received while you were offline. Best of all, it’s completely free.
More at:http://tringme.com/
Revyr is a workplace review site were you can search for data on different companies, and leave reviews of your own
What's Company About:
Revyr is a workplace review site were you can search for data on different companies, and leave reviews of your own.
How It Works:
Revyr wants to be a place where you go to find information on a company you may want to work for. So in leaving a company review (which is anonymous), you enter a fair amount of data regarding your experience at the company, from your tenure, age, commute time, pay, and several other rating scales to indicate the company’s culture and such. This data is collected from users in order to provide feedback for those searching for information on a particular compan.
You can read individual reviews and see the overall ranking of various companies. You can also chart different aspects of company life, such as benefits and pay, in a comparative manner, which supports up to 5 companies at a time. Revyr also features a job search, and a personal dashboard where you can mark up to 5 favorite companies that Revyr will track, and a section for recommendations.
How Far It Will Go:
As all the data provided by Revyr is user-generated, there is a large opportunity for information to become skewed, and the system to be gamed. There doesn’t seem to be any way to confirm a user’s employment status or company. The graphical data could probably stand some outside influence, so that graphs can be based on hard facts and not solely from user-submitted content. The job search tool seems rather lightweight as well, and could stand to offer some personalization tools that are tied in with the user recommendations, reviews and tracked favorites. PayScale is another workplace comparative tool.
More at:http://revyr.com/
Revyr is a workplace review site were you can search for data on different companies, and leave reviews of your own.
How It Works:
Revyr wants to be a place where you go to find information on a company you may want to work for. So in leaving a company review (which is anonymous), you enter a fair amount of data regarding your experience at the company, from your tenure, age, commute time, pay, and several other rating scales to indicate the company’s culture and such. This data is collected from users in order to provide feedback for those searching for information on a particular compan.
You can read individual reviews and see the overall ranking of various companies. You can also chart different aspects of company life, such as benefits and pay, in a comparative manner, which supports up to 5 companies at a time. Revyr also features a job search, and a personal dashboard where you can mark up to 5 favorite companies that Revyr will track, and a section for recommendations.
How Far It Will Go:
As all the data provided by Revyr is user-generated, there is a large opportunity for information to become skewed, and the system to be gamed. There doesn’t seem to be any way to confirm a user’s employment status or company. The graphical data could probably stand some outside influence, so that graphs can be based on hard facts and not solely from user-submitted content. The job search tool seems rather lightweight as well, and could stand to offer some personalization tools that are tied in with the user recommendations, reviews and tracked favorites. PayScale is another workplace comparative tool.
More at:http://revyr.com/
StartPix is a new bookmarking tool that offers an online space to save all your links
What Company is offering:
StartPix is a new bookmarking tool that offers an online space to save all your links. These are saved on a grid, which operates like a whiteboard, complete with drag’n'drop technology. The site is currently in private beta, and I took it for a test run this morning.
How It Works:
Your saved links appear on your grid in the form of a logo, or really its th image that displays beside the site’s URL in your browser. These icons can then be arranged, rearranged and organized according to your personal preferences. You can also add what StartPix calls functional blocks. These are like widgets that you can add to your grid, enabling search boxes and RSS feed readers to display on your grid as well.
StartPix is supposed to be social, as grids can be shared with others, but the act of finding others with which to share is not easy or breezy. Getting started with your grid isn’t all that intuitive either, but StartPix offers some help by including starter links on your grid. In addition, the search functionality for StartPix will need to be improved, because looking at a page full of icons can be daunting when you’re looking for something in particular.
More at:http://www.startpix.com/
StartPix is a new bookmarking tool that offers an online space to save all your links. These are saved on a grid, which operates like a whiteboard, complete with drag’n'drop technology. The site is currently in private beta, and I took it for a test run this morning.
How It Works:
Your saved links appear on your grid in the form of a logo, or really its th image that displays beside the site’s URL in your browser. These icons can then be arranged, rearranged and organized according to your personal preferences. You can also add what StartPix calls functional blocks. These are like widgets that you can add to your grid, enabling search boxes and RSS feed readers to display on your grid as well.
StartPix is supposed to be social, as grids can be shared with others, but the act of finding others with which to share is not easy or breezy. Getting started with your grid isn’t all that intuitive either, but StartPix offers some help by including starter links on your grid. In addition, the search functionality for StartPix will need to be improved, because looking at a page full of icons can be daunting when you’re looking for something in particular.
More at:http://www.startpix.com/
SquidBids is a promotional tool for individuals that live and breath eBay, whether they’re regular sellers or have an eBay store
What Company is Offering:
Squidoo has just launched SquidBids. This is a promotional tool for individuals that live and breath eBay, whether they’re regular sellers or have an eBay store.
How It Works:
What SquidBids does is establish a sphere of associated information around you and what you do, kind of like having your own website and company blog. This enables you to establish yourself as an authority, so people will value you for your expertise, thus buying items from you just because you’re you. Branding yourself, essentially, so that you’ll be the trusted go-to person that people pay extra money for.
So tell SquidBids what your specialty is, and it will begin to build your “presence.” It offers a place for you to write blurbs, showcase your eBay items, accept notes from others, cross-promotion with other eBay sellers, Flickr photos, Twitter updates, related Google search results based on your specialty, and a few other features. It also gives you a mechanism to connect directly with your customers so you can give them email updates and newsletters on your items. SquidBids also incorporates its own user rating system that allows site visitors to offer multiple levels of feedback.
Establishing an “authoritative longtail” is what SquidBids is doing, and the result is an integrated network that does for e-commerce individuals what MySpace did for musicians. SquidBids seems to be integrated with Squidoo, and I expect integration with the newly launched SquidWho as well.
More at:http://www.squidoo.com/
Squidoo has just launched SquidBids. This is a promotional tool for individuals that live and breath eBay, whether they’re regular sellers or have an eBay store.
How It Works:
What SquidBids does is establish a sphere of associated information around you and what you do, kind of like having your own website and company blog. This enables you to establish yourself as an authority, so people will value you for your expertise, thus buying items from you just because you’re you. Branding yourself, essentially, so that you’ll be the trusted go-to person that people pay extra money for.
So tell SquidBids what your specialty is, and it will begin to build your “presence.” It offers a place for you to write blurbs, showcase your eBay items, accept notes from others, cross-promotion with other eBay sellers, Flickr photos, Twitter updates, related Google search results based on your specialty, and a few other features. It also gives you a mechanism to connect directly with your customers so you can give them email updates and newsletters on your items. SquidBids also incorporates its own user rating system that allows site visitors to offer multiple levels of feedback.
Establishing an “authoritative longtail” is what SquidBids is doing, and the result is an integrated network that does for e-commerce individuals what MySpace did for musicians. SquidBids seems to be integrated with Squidoo, and I expect integration with the newly launched SquidWho as well.
More at:http://www.squidoo.com/
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