Good IT Habits for 2014
A New Year is a great opportunity to set some business New Year resolutions. Here are my three good IT habits recommendations for 2014:
Use email more effectively
Many people use email, and replies end up ‘Ping-Ponging’ between the two people, dragging out unnecessarily over several days. A more effective solution would be to phone the person, holding a short interactive two-way conversation, which is much more efficient. So IT resolution one is to use email effectively, but sparingly. You can always email the person after the call to confirm who is doing which action, by when.
Update my website more frequently
If you struggle to find the time to update the web pages on your site, why not set up a blog? A weekly blog need only be 50-100 words long, with an image or photo, and a link to further information. This fresh, regularly added content is loved by search engines, and will help improve your web site ranking. Keep articles short and relevant to your product or service offerings, or to your sector. Use them to articulate your passion and interest in your domain and to demonstrate your expertise.
Follow up networking events
Most business people are guilty of this at some stage, so use 2014 to address this. If you go to an event, conference, networking event, exhibition or training course, and schedule the follow-up time beforehand, say one hour the day after the event to follow-up the people you have met.
Keep their business cards in one pocket so that you can find them easily the next day. Send each person a short personal introductory email, perhaps with an attachment or a link to an article on your blog, which may be of interest or relevance to them. Add them to your email marketing contact list and to your CRM system too.