Tony Abbott, in turning his back on the $43 billion National Broadband Network will leave Australia languishing in the ‘Dark Ages of broadband’, Comscentre’s Ben Shipley says.

Tony Abbott has committed the Coalition to dismantling Labor’s National Broadband Network if elected in August, leaving the trial NBN sites as the only areas outside of greenfield estates serviced by fibre optic internet capable of 100Mbit connection speeds. Comscentre managing director Ben Shipley has urged Tony Abbott’s Liberal party to spell out its alternative plans for improved broadband services after vowing to scrap the nation’s biggest ever infrastructure project.

“We’ve got a very clear and concise plan from the Labor Party but we’ve got nothing from the opposition except a threat to shut down the NBN,” Mr Shipley said.

“Are they going to throw away the billions that have already been spent and take us back to a Telstra monopoly, or are they going to do nothing and leave Australia like a Third World country?

“Without the NBN, Australia will stay in what has now become the Dark Ages of broadband.”

Mr Shipley said affordable high-speed broadband would decrease business costs, increase productivity and give people the ability to work from home.

“Australia is well behind the rest of the world in relation to broadband affordability and high-speed connectivity and that has huge implications for business,” he said.

Additionally, plans to shift Australia’s growing population away from the cities and into the regions would fail without the NBN, Mr Shipley said.

“The only way to attract the lawyers, doctors, IT professionals, innovators, manufacturers and other professions into the regions is for these people to be able to easily communicate with our cities and the rest of the world, and that means fast, affordable and reliable broadband,” he said.

“Without it, that population plan is a pipedream.”

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A great short interview with Eric Schmidt – CEO of Google.

Who better to hear from, if you are interested in finding out where the future of search is going.

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The future of customer service is here. Technology has made seeking out support faster and easier than ever. But, has your digital age company sacrificed true service in the name of automation?

Today, finding customer support is as simple as writing an e-mail or picking up the phone. But, even though you’re not face-to-face with your customers, you still leave a lasting impression. Do you come across as caring and competent, or menacing and mechanical?

Offering stand-out service on the Internet isn’t as hard as it is rare. Take these simple steps towards old-style service in the digital age:

1. Give Each Customer a Personal Response

2. Be Clear, But Sincere

3. Offer Live Customer Support

4. Make Sure Your Support Reps Have All the Answers

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Give Each Customer a Personal Response

When a customer sits down to e-mail your company, it’s because he needs help. He chooses e-mail because it’s quick, but his request still warrants a satisfying and personal response!

Companies eager to save time and money often take automation too far in their customer support. Each customer has a unique question, and deserves a unique answer. Even if you save time by copying and pasting stock replies, change the opening and closing to make the message sound less robotic.

Be Clear, But Sincere

When responding to customers’ e-mail, be sincere and to the point. Before sending a message, try turning the tables. Ask yourself, “Would this answer satisfy me if I were the customer?”

Take that extra moment to give your customer the help he deserves. It might mean the difference between a satisfied customer and a credit card chargeback!

Offer Live Customer Support

E-mail has become an acceptable form of communication. But, live customer support is still necessary. The plethora of information available online can be overwhelming to customers, especially those new to the Internet!

Single your company out from the crowd by providing customers with a real person to talk to. Live phone support is an invaluable way to foster trust. When your customer has reached the end of his Internet rope, and just needs help, your toll free number is the answer he’s looking for.

Make Sure Your Support Reps Have All The Answers

The presence of phone support will do no good if your staff doesn’t know your product! Customer support reps should be warm and friendly, and willing to help with any aspect of your product.

What a good feeling it is to talk to someone who feels confident in his product. It’s even better if he’s knowledgeable enough to solve your problem without transferring you all around the company!

Provide Stand-Out Service; Gain Lifelong Customers

Too many e-businesses skimp on customer service, hiding behind web sites and message boards. Customer support is an integral part of every company, even those operating solely online. Be one of the few to offer stellar service, and gain customers for life!

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When doing so – I thoroughly recommend you use a professional email marketing program.

I personally use Constant Contact. For as little as $15 per month you can professionally start
your email marketing campaigns.

You can trial Constant Contact for 60 days free – check out Constant Contact here

Enjoy the video!

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We have received outstanding service from the club – Diggers @ The Entrance especially from Emily the function manager.

I would recommend this venue for anyone hosting an event on the Central Coast

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It doesn’t enter the heads of many business owners that unless their company name is a household name, or they have an extremely well known brand that searchers looking for a product will tend to search the name of that product, and not for the name of one of many businesses who supply that brand . If that searcher has not heard of the company , they wouldn’t know to search for it .

A successful SEO (search engine optimisation) strategy incorporates the business’s ability to anticipate the mind of a searcher who might be looking for one of their products.

The key to Search Engine Optimisation is keywords, if your website has had decent SEO applied then it will rank for the terms that are both most highly searched, and most likely to convert into sales or sales leads.

SEO can do wonders for any business on the web, but if these companies think that just ranking for their company name will be enough , they are clearly wrong.

Ongoing education about SEO strategies is important for all business owners. SEO is a continually changing landscape. Learning and understanding the strategies of SEO will hold you in good stead on two fronts:-

1. If you employ a company to perform SEO for your business website – you will not be dumbfounded and blind sided by incompetent companies professing to to be SEO experts. You will be able to talk the talk and will ensure that the company that you employ understands you can not be bluffed
2. You will understand that a number of SEO strategies can be performed in house – if time and resources permit

v-Training are running a series of Online Marketing workshops and seminars throughout the Central Coast of NSW as part of a Federal Government – AusIndustry initiative.

Do it yourself (DIY) – SEO strategies are taught throughout the seminar.

Visit the Online marketing workshops website for dates and venues.

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I have always said to succeed in business – you don’t have to be the best product or service provider – but you have to be the best at marketing your product or service.

I have defined this thinking even further of late – especially for Small and Medium sized business – SME Business.

” You don’t have to be best marketer in the world – you only need to be better than your closest competition!”

David Caruso

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The workshop – “e-Business & Marketing your Business Online” will introduce the principles of Online Marketing and doing business online and is a must attend event for all small businesses who are serious about their online endeavours!

Click here to see an outline of the workshop and program

The seminar will be combined with an online, “self paced” learning program to help reinforce what you have learnt throughout the day.

V-Training has previous experience in delivering this program to Small Business Owners in the
Sydney metropolitan area. The cost of the program to those participants was $1670 per person.

Through the “Small Business Online” Federal Government funding

this program is available to Central Coast business owners

for the investment of only $30 (+gst) per person

UPCOMING SEMINAR DATES
Proudly sponsored by the The Entrance District Chamber of Commerce

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Wednesday 26th May 2010

Venue Diggers @ The Entrance – 215 The Entrance Rd The Entrance

Intermediate Session – 9.00am to 12 noon
CLICK HERE for more information & to reserve your spot

Advanced Session – 1.00pm to 4.00pm
CLICK HERE for more information & to reserve your spot

DO 1 SESSION OR DO BOTH ON THE DAY !

________________________________________

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“When I am Doing – I am not Creating”

David Caruso

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