Verizon
Three Steps to Improved Business Operations [Verizon / Smart Business UPDATE]
by Hope Katz Gibbs
Verizon UPDATE
Cover story
Photo by Greg Pease
IT’S NO SURPRISE THAT TECHNOLOGICAL advancements are permeating the world, from V-chips in TVs, smart cards at the supermarket checkout, and bits of silicon in hotel room keys.
Companies are incorporating new technology into their business practices to save time and money, Large companies have long used Internet technology to integrate front office operations with back office processes. Fortunately, high-tech offerings are not just for large businesses. Smaller companies are increasingly creating intranets, a) extranets, (D and supply-chain management systems to make front and back office operations more efficient and effective.
Harvesting Successful Businesses [Verizon UPDATE]
by Hope Katz Gibbs
Verizon UPDATE
Photo by Steve Barrett
In the competitive marketplace, it’s difficult for small franchise businesses to get ahead. The odds aren’t exactly on their side. Dr. Scott Shane of Massachusetts Institute of Technology surveyed 138 firms between 1983 and 1993 and found that about 15 percent of franchises went out of business within the first four years. Within 10 years, more than 75 percent went out of business. So how can franchise owners avoid being a statistic?
The Importance of Being Earnest [Bell Atlantic UPDATE]
by Hope Katz Gibbs
Verizon UPDATE
Cover story
Photo by Kay Chernush
Kip Jacobs is in the process of taking on different personalities. “Like, dude, I love this hair,” says the 24-year-old, swinging the gray ponytail protruding from the back of a green baseball cap. Jacobs hasn’t gone loopy. He’s at Hats in the Belfry, the land of 10,000 lids. “This place is great,” he says, choosing the Astroturf ensemble as a birthday gift for his dad.
That’s the kind of customer loyalty successful business leaders long to cultivate, for research indicates that it can cost a business up to five times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one.