■  Message from the COO
■  Best IT Practices
■  Business Value of
    Social Media Part 2
■  Are You an E-Mail Addict?
■  Meet the Staff
 

Message from the COO

Providing products as a service to you. . .

Over the past several years, Radical Support has maintained a 'vendor neutral' position when it comes to hardware and software. As many of you know, we act on your behalf as your IT department and evaluate the best solution to meet your business objectives. To maintain this position in the past, we have always steered clear of actually selling the products, rather choosing to assemble the product information in a 'cart' and sending the link to you for purchase. However, what we have heard from our customers is that it is more helpful for us to provide any hardware and software they might need. Some reasons cited are project coordination associated with the receipt of product, configurations in advance before onsite arrival, and better payment terms than might be available from an online retailer.

While we have provided hardware and software in the past when asked to do so, we wanted to make you aware that we are very willing to help you procure technology for your business needs as an additional service to you. Whether it is simple licensing, replacement computers, or complex server technologies, we are ready to assist you in every way. If you are a 'Care' customer and would still like help facilitating purchases direct from on-line retailers, we are glad to help do that as well. Please contact your dedicated Solutions Advisor to help you with your needs. If you are unsure who to contact, just call our main line and press '1' for Sales.

John Mamon
Chief Operations Officer
jmamon@radicalsupport.com
770-542-0042

In today's competitive market, small businesses need every advantage they can get. Many are looking for new ways to improve the bottom line, as well as protect their existing business.

One area you might not have looked at is the experiences of larger businesses. With their greater resources, it's easy for them to "test drive" new ideas and strategies - which you can then borrow and apply as needed. Take a look at these four best practices borrowed from successful enterprises and try to put them to work in your business today.

Get plugged in to social media
According to a new study by marketing agency OgilvyOne Asia Pacific, over 456 million users in Asia - almost a third of the world's population - are using social media. Japan, for example, has the highest blog readership in the world.

Read more

Business Value of Social Media
Part 2: Blogging
reprinted with permission from the HP Small Business Center

No doubt, you've heard the term web log, better known as blog, but you may not know how blogging can actually benefit your business. By definition, a blog is a website that hosts entries-or posts - of commentary, descriptions of events, graphics, videos and more. No longer just a way for controversial thoughts to be heard, small and large businesses everywhere have begun to blog to build brand awareness, interact with their customers on a more personal level, and elevate their status in the industry as a thought - leader

In part one of this article, The Business value of Social Media Part I: Online networking, we explored how free networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin are crucial to helping your business thrive. Here, we'll show you how blogging has gone from being an online diary of sorts, to an online marketing tool that helps you gain credibility and position yourself and your business as leaders in your industry. We'll also provide a few tips for getting started, should you decide what millions of others already have-that blogging is good for business. 

To blog or not to blog?