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February 2008
In this issue
> Security
Recommendations
> 10 Things Not
to Say
On a Business
Call
> Paperless Office
> Power of E-Mail
Signatures
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How to Unleash the Power of
E-mail
Signatures
By Joanna L.
Krotz
Reprinted with permission from Microsoft Small Business Center
Every time you send an
e-mail message, you have an opportunity to share something personal
or powerful or playful in an "e-mail signature." Yet few people
realize its potential.
E-mail signatures are the
wise or funny sayings and quotations, artwork or animated gifs that
appear at the bottom of messages, following your name. You don't
need to type in words or attach signature files for each outgoing
message, of course. You automate the process with a few simple
selections in your e-mail program .(See below for how to include
signatures in Microsoft Outlook.)
Why make the effort?
Frankly, it's fun. Personal signatures add spice and individuality
to the cold salad of e-mail.
And business signatures
can boost profits, too. Consider a signature of your company's
marketing tag line or a special sales offer or a direct link to the
company Web site or to a registration page so customers can sign up
to get news or offers. These are all extremely cost-effective ways
to build business. Even sending signatures of quotations or sayings
in business e-mail is a way to make you stand out amid the clutter.
The bottom line on this
bottom line: You'll be noticed, remembered and appreciated — if,
that is, you go about adding signatures in the right way.
Read
more
Please forward this newsletter to anyone else in your
organization who might be interested! |
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Ten Security Recommendations for
SMBs
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Small
and mid-sized businesses can be the hardest hit by new
malicious code, spam, and phishing. Disruptions and down
time can be avoided, however, by following the measures
outlined in this article.
Introduction
The
security landscape is constantly changing, so the
threats your business faces today are different from the
threats of a year ago – or even six months ago. The
latest Symantec Internet Security Threat Report gives an
overview of threat activity for the first six months of
2007. Here are a few important trends noted in the
Report: |
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In the
first half of 2007, 212,101 new malicious code threats were
reported to Symantec. This is a 185 percent increase over
the second half of 2006.
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Between
January 1 and June 30, 2007, spam made up 61 percent of all
email traffic monitored at the gateway.
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The
Symantec Probe Network detected a total of 196,860 unique
phishing messages, an 18 percent increase over the last six
months of 2006. This equates to an average of 1,088 unique
phishing messages per day for the first half of 2007.
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Threats
to confidential information made up 65 percent of the top 50
potential malicious code infections reported to Symantec.
What you can do? |
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10 Things Never
to Say on a Business Call
by Joanna L. Krotz
reprinted with permission from
the Microsoft Small Business Center
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| It's the
21st century. Do you know how your employees answer the
phone?
Good phone
manners have always been important, of course. Yet too
few companies make any effort to train employees in
phone etiquette, says Nancy Friedman, president and
founder of the Telephone Doctor, a St. Louis-based
customer service training company. The result is often
lost business, irate customers and squandered
opportunities, she says. |
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Two decades ago,
Friedman and her husband Dick founded their company after
Friedman suffered some particularly bad (and clearly
inspirational) service from an insurance company. Friedman
says she's still amazed at the number of corporations, small
businesses and even call centers that ignore basic phone
courtesies.
Read more |
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6
Tips for a 'Paperless' Office
by Joseph Anthony
reprinted with permission from the
Microsoft Small Business Center
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| Many people
who use computers — whether it's for their home or
business — are moving toward a "paperless" office.
Simply, they are tired and overwhelmed by scraps of
paper, clunky old file folders, envelopes — and they
want to reduce the clutter.
Don't believe
me? Take a look at how many messages are stored in your
e-mail's in-basket. Now imagine how much paper would
have been generated if they hadn't come to you from
cyberspace. |
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Many folks have
made at least a partial move to a paperless office. They're
doing so this way: by using scanners instead of copying
machines, sending electronic faxes instead of paper faxes,
storing information electronically instead of in filing
cabinets, giving friends, clients or vendors information on
CDs or through Internet attachments instead of in bound
folders. In short, they're getting greater return on their
hardware, software and technology investments.
Want to join the
anti-paper campaign? Save a few trees along the way? Here are
six things to keep in mind as you move
toward a paperless home or business office.
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Executive ability is deciding
quickly and getting someone else to do the
work.
-John G.
Pollard | |
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