Your Tech Online and VMIX Provide Small Business Solutions

By Terry Brock

Your business is faced with challenges. You try to do as much as you can on your own but if you’ve been in business for a while, you know that you can’t do it all alone. That is where you need a team.

Today, that team can be virtual and you can stretch your ability much farther by building the right team around you. Here are some examples of services that help to stretch your ability much farther than you would be able to before for your small business.

Your Tech Online

Ever have a problem with a computer? It seems to go with the territory. Now, with fast Internet connections you can bring a competent technician to your assistance anywhere you happen to be---as long as you have high speed access to the Net.

I recently used a service called Your Tech Online (www.yourtechonline.com) (We’ll call it YTOL) to check out my computer. Things were going well but I wanted them to tweak and check for viruses, etc. that I might have overlooked. I got an account with YTOL and called for assistance. Eric was the technician assigned to me and I was able to connect with him in about 2 minutes.

Eric happened to be based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and I was in Orlando, Florida, but the distance was irrelevant. He connected me to his computer so that he could control my computer. It was as if Eric had been “beamed” over to my computer for a moment to check it out. I was able to watch everything he did on my computer as he did it. Because he could control it, the process was fast.

Eric went through many features on my computer to get it to run faster. He tweaked and helped with the computer. When finished, I felt better that he had checked out everything to see it was running fine. Also, I did notice a slight increase in speed (always nice for computers).

If you’re a small business and need technical help, this is a viable, cost-effective way to bring in the IT resources you need, when you need them. The services range in price from 30 minutes for $49.00 to 180 minutes for $179.00. Think of the minutes you purchase as minutes in the bank to use as you want. This is a much cheaper approach than hiring someone with the technical expertise needed to fix most computer repair problems.

In business, you need to devote your time, money and effort to those areas where you have a competitive advantage. For many of us, that is not in the technical area of computers. A service like YTOL provides this on an as-needed basis and can be one of the smartest business decisions you’ll make.

(www.yourtechonline.com , pricing varies)

VMIX Leverages Video For You

You have probably seen the rage in video. Knowing how to make video work for you can be a challenge. Recently I had the chance to interview Greg Kostello, CEO of a new service called VMIX. This service provides video on the Net like other popular sites (Youtube, Google Video, Streetfire and more added all the time).

VMIX takes an approach to work with producers of video and help build communities that work in different areas. In my talk with Mr. Kostello, he indicated that they work with communities to put a wide variety of information on the Net. The trend today is for rich media to be available including audio, video, text, graphics that are available from archived information as well as live data streams.

A key factor is the ability for audiences to interact with producers. In the past, the interaction with a TV station, radio station, newspaper or magazine was largely one way---from the producer to the consumer. Today that has turned around so that the consumer of the information has the ability to provide feedback. Now in order to remain competitive, you have to provide the ability for consumers to interact with you.

This has enormous ramifications for the way you advertise and market. You have to provide rich media opportunities for customers to see what you have and to interact with you. Live video adds a rich dimension to the buying experience for your customers.

The really good news is that it is much easier and quite cost effective today. Learn about this and experience it for yourself. To hear the interview I had with Greg Kostello, go to http://snipurl.com/VMIX_Kostello to listen to the full audio interview. Get all your sales and marketing team to listen to this and think about ways you can deploy new media and interaction to reach and better serve your customer base.

Implications For You And Your Business

Looking at these two services provides just underlines the trends in technology and the implications for your business. Instead of hiring a full-time person to support your tech needs, outsource that solution. Pay for what you need, when you need it. This is a smart business decision for many small businesses.

Watch VMIX to keep up with current technology trends and capabilities. Then stretch your mind thinking about how you can enable your community of customers, employees, prospects and others with the power of video, audio and more online. Don’t think you have to do it all by yourself. Leverage the capabilities that others, like VMIX, have already.

This is smart business. It’s also more profitable for your bottom line.

Terry Brock is a marketing coach and regular columnist for The Wholesaler who helps businesses market more effectively leveraging technology. He shows busy professionals how to squeeze more out of their busy days using the right rules and tools. He can be reached at 407-363-0505, by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com or through his website at www.terrybrock.com.

Copyright © 2007, Terry Brock, All Rights Reserved Internationally. No portion may be reprinted or used in any way without prior written permission.