CPA Software Wars – The Battle for Less Marketing

November 13, 2013 Accounting, Advertising, Business, Marketing No comments

Written by Margaret Spencer (Certified Public Accountant)

quickbooks conferenceYes, I crunch numbers for a living – an accountant.

Yes, I also use applications to-do my work but it’s only one of many tools in my personal toolbox. The main tool I have is my capability to interpret information (data sets mainly).

I assist my customers either lower their taxes or develop their company through financial efficiency and organization.

I am far more than a simple bookkeeper, I am a trusted adviser and ‘business partner’. Their business is my business.

A Message to the Pushers

Your (proverbial software company) applications accounting program (in the cloud or not) actually has a small effect on my own customers or me.

Don’t tell me you are finished with customers providing you details this means. Everyone knows many CPAs consider advice via Excel and control it in ways they could use it. When they don’t need to transform, we won’t take them as a customer.

Now, granted, the information we enter must be right so that we may obtain an entire and exact group of financial reports. Consequently, the software product-we choose must function well and our customers need manage to utilize it effortlessly and correctly. Bells and whistles only increase my efficiency – - and I have with my customers; it enhances the cooperation in the event the tool is really in the cloud, even better.

It’s no doubt most software companies in the marketplace are vying for the top position, attempting to be the supplier with the finest tools. Whatever happened to addressing particular needs by selecting the remedy that’s the very best match for your customer?

However, I know we aren’t the normal accountants. We aren’t part of the mass accounting industry. We are special.

CPA’s Need to Understand Their Role

In addition, I understand most accountants let their customers to take the lead within their association when it actually should be the other way around. I understand many customers who aren’t effective at performing any accounting and actually don’t want considerably more then invoicing.

I still have several clients using the applications.

The Bookkeeping Wars – What Happens Next?

Because the “bookkeeping wars” play out, I’ll sit back and observe. I can’t help but believe our top software providers behave like children because they battle for their merchandise to conquer the marketplace. I find as an excellent thing this competition; I am delighted that finally there’s some actual competition in an area which has also long been monopolized by one business.

If I were to offer some advice to the “software pushers”, it would be this; Stop worrying so much about advertising and who has the upper hand with gimmicks and gadgets. Understand what the job modern CPA is and make a straight forward effective tool. Do this and you will have my business, and my respect.

Besides, we all know accounting software is moving to the cloud anyway.

Matomy on the Rise

November 6, 2013 Business No comments

Israeli digital marketing business Matomy Media Group has got Adquant’s social marketing company, that was once called Adotomi, to improve its Facebook offering, the organization said on Thursday. Financial details weren’t revealed.

matomyaduant

The Background

Adquant, an Israeli social advertising software business, will now concentrate on supplying the technology for the Facebook marketing system. Its social marketing agency group, in addition to its customers, will be incorporated within Matomy’s social advertisements unit, that’ll use Adquant’s technologies.

It gets a fee for each transaction to ensure companies pay just for results in what’s known as operation – based advertisements finished through its platform.

Social media will probably be very much part of the scheme,” Matomy Leader Ofer Druker told Reuters.

Just like Matomy, advertisers advertising on FB using Adquant’s system just cover outcomes, Druker said. Matomy stated there’s really a growing demand among advertisers to get and keep customers via FB.

The acquisition also improves Matomy’s growing mobile advertising practice by providing advertisers the capability to utilize FB’s targeting features and push customers to mobile software.

Last month Druker said business Matomy is looking into a stock exchange flotation abroad or perhaps a private placement to finance its increase.

Walmart Goes to China

October 30, 2013 Business No comments

WalMart Stores Inc, the planet’s largest retailer, is expanding its China business-as it attempts to increase profitability in a slowing retail sector. Walmart wants to make money from China’s shifting retail landscape by adopting e-commerce, which is anticipated to report 32% complex annual increase between 2012 and 2015, based on Bain & Co.

wallmart

The Changes

WalMart has closed 11 shops and wants to close 15-30 others on the next 18 months, said Greg Foran, ceo of WalMart China, in what he called a part of the rationalization process.

The U.S. business is tackling rough global economic conditions along with a simple change in China’s retail sector, as yearly revenue growth slows and customers shift towards buying online.

“Customers are employing technology more, and particularly within China,” said WalMart Ceo Mike Duke.

“We love customers to know cost, along with the security of the merchandise they are buying. Ecommerce is a fantastic enabler allowing Wal-Mart to develop internationally.”

Duke said Wal-Mart’s ecommerce business grew about 30-percent in the very first half of the full year, which the organization is aligned with China’s authorities strategy that encourages an emerging middle income and urbanization.

WalMart declared last week it was shutting 50 unprofitable stores in Brazil and China since the retailer attempts to ensure revenue growth outpaces operating costs.

WalMart purchased control of its own Chinese online shop Yihaodian, which supplies sameday shipping services to clients and claims 24 million users, this past year.

Indian TV Channel Shows How To Do It!

October 24, 2013 Advertising, Marketing No comments

sony maxIn a time when every business is gradually waking to the blessing that’s electronic marketing, Sony Max has had great success within the area within the past couple of years. In both most widely used electronic platforms – Twitter and FB Max has noticed a humongous hop in the amount of followers and enthusiasts. It immediately jumped to 5, 50, 000 in 2012, during 2011 its Facebook enthusiasts were 15, 000.

How Did They Do It?

The main reason for this accomplishment is a basic change in strategy. Max decided that it was time it altered its focus from only focusing on films to really being the ‘heart’ for everything related to Bollywood.

“Digital is a really significant portion of our strategy. It’s a means to speak with our crowd and join with them in a special way. It’s an interactive tool, changed to satisfy the advertising needs,” said Vaishali Sharma, VicePresident, Selling, Max.

Movie festivals were promoted by max greatly during the very first year. For the Rajnikanth and James Bond films, some animated movies were created and placed on Youtube.com. Film premieres of Paan Singh Tomar, Aarakshan and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan were enormous properties for the station and they used media to participate together with the audience and produce competitions.

“Max includes a threepoint technique. First was to reinforce the trade name ‘Max Deewana bana de’. Second was to push individuals to the channel; and third, to be viewed as an important harbour for all-things Bollywood. Using these measures we were able to get there,” added Sharma.

Max also produced particular items after reading to the character and extent of pictures. November 2012 found their social networking sites asking opinions and more likes, therefore raising involvement.

“We as a nation are so much into Hindi movies which they’re very much part of our DNA. The brief was to incorporate that with the manufacturer considered ‘Deewaana bana de’.

To increase Max’s achieve, the ‘Sirf dekhne ka nai’ effort was started online. IPL across the growing season was well-promoted, therefore assisting to organically develop an immense fan-base. Max Fb enthusiasts crossed the 1 million mark for now. Live tweets during Extraaa Innings, unique hashtags produced like #EIT20 all assisted in this aspect.

2013 was the season when Max chose to expand the brand logic of ‘Deewana bana de’. Wahaan Deewana’. The ‘deewangi’ or ‘insanity’ variable is proven throughout the humourous TVCs. A police inspector is shown by the third TVC considering films even in a serious crime investigation.

IPL 2012 was greatly marketed in the platform. As premieres for Rowdy Rathore and Ek Tha Tiger went alongside with Twitter competitions films weren’t disregarded.

The Twitter account raised phenomenally to 1,17,314 followers and Fb enthusiasts stood at 12,38,521 folks.

Max has utilized media to the edge and reaped the advantages. When it has an effect in the authentic viewership of the station is currently to be viewed.

Google’s New Approach

October 16, 2013 Marketing No comments

So What is itgoole

Now comes Google, leveraging its tremendous user base to provide a fresh spin to WOM and Buzz marketing — by promoting users’ endorsements of distinct commodities. That’s definitely great news for those marketers of the goods. FB already has an identical advertisement policy set up.

Buzz and WOM don’t occur by accident, as discussed within The Seven Principles of WOM and Buzz Marketing, that I coauthored. Consumers don’t only run-around communicating with several other consumers about every item they buy — just about certain items which stand out of the remains since they share certain characteristics that captivate their heads and hype-up their feelings.

That’s why Google’s new advertising strategy is a huge increase for WOM and buzz marketing and Google’s important thing.

WOM and buzz campaigns entail a whole lot of trust. This is notably the case with advice received from folks we understand or speak to straight, e.g., family members, friends and co-workers. Consumers often believe that info from resources such as these is more dependable and trustworthy than information obtained via the media.

However, what’s inside for Google users? What do they really get from enabling the business to disseminate private info?

Shouldn’t customers be rewarded with this new function? Wouldn’t benefits make customers more nervous to share private content, assisting Google’s new advertising policy become more powerful?

The apparent solution is because they receive a fantastic lookup service via a forward thinking business.

But that’s probably insufficient, since the new plan is asking users to give incremental content to advertising campaigns–in essence, turning users into partners.

Music programs cut from the budget

October 23, 2012 Business, Ethics No comments

music educationThe education system in the United States is arguably in decline. There are many reasons for this. The obvious ones are overcrowding in classrooms, and one of the other top reasons is the elimination for many school programs that we once considered as necessary for a well rounded education, are no longer deemed necessary and are being cut.

One of the biggest casualties in school districts all across the country are the music programs. When did we stop seeing music as essential to a solid education?

Studies have shown that there is direct correlation music and the mental development of school-aged children. It has been determined that listening to music during the developmental years helps children perform better in science and math. Some researchers will confirm that music has a powerful influence on the brain.

Other Music Schools:

http://musiceducation.bu.edu/

http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/music/education/

http://www.audioengineeringschool.net/

Even if one does not believe the studies correlating music and higher academic performance; how can anyone refute the effect that music has a child’s impressions of learning? In every level of education, students view music as fun. Some student see this as the only enjoyable part of school, how are we to deal with at risk students when we are taking away the only aspect that some of them see as an enjoyable part of getting an education.

Researchers say that music is the best group activity at all age levels and for all demographics. Therefore, music is not only fun, it brings the children together. Music is used for language development as well, helping children to listen and learn as they are having fun.

Needless to say, there is a link between primary language skills and music. Music is the glue that holds curriculums together. In preschool, music helps children with memorization, eye hand coordination and basic reading skills. When children are involved in music, there is so much more involved than administrators are able to cut from the budget.

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