A Step-by-Step Guide to Choosing an Online Degree
Online Programs
At one time, online colleges were rarely available – and when they were, the programs couldn’t hold a candle to traditional schools. Today, you can get an online degree in anything from business to history to nursing, and virtual programs provide you with a quality education.
Five tips for donating your car to charity
You’ve probably seen the ads: Donate your old car to charity, help out a good cause and get a tax write-off. It sounds simple, but experts say consumers must do their research before handing over the keys so they don’t get taken for a ride.
If you want to get an unwanted vehicle off your hands while helping families, kids or animals in need, here are five steps you can take to ensure your donation does as much good as possible.
1. Donate directly to a charity.
The ideal way to donate a car is to find an organization that can use the vehicle in their programs, says Daniel Borochoff, president and founder of CharityWatch, a watchdog group that helps donors make informed decisions. For example, he says, Meals on Wheels might use the vehicle to deliver food, a local senior center might use it to drive patients to doctor appointments, or a vocational school might use it to teach students how to fix cars.
Going this route offers two benefits: You might be able to get a bigger income tax deduction, Borochoff says, and you know the organization will be getting the maximum benefit from your donation.
2. Cut out the middleman.
Steer clear of third-party groups that aggressively advertise car donation programs, experts warn. Middlemen often end up keeping large chunk of the proceeds from the car sale, says Sandra Miniutti, vice president of marketing for Charity Navigator, a nonprofit charity evaluator. In fact, a report by the U.S. General Accounting Office reveals that many donated cars are sold cheaply at auction by these third-party groups. After advertising, administrative and towing expenses are deducted, a charity could get as little as $25.
So, even if you can’t find a charity that will use your car in its programs, you might be able to find one that will accept it and sell it directly. You can start by calling your favorite local charities, or even the United Way, which might be able to refer you to an organization in need.
“It’s going to take a little bit of legwork,” Miniutti says.
3. Make sure the organization has a good reputation.
Check out the charity, just the same as if you were donating money to a nonprofit. First, make sure the group is a 501(c) (3) organization so that your donation is tax-deductible. (You can search the IRS website to find out.)
Second, check the charity’s track record at the Better Business Bureau or through the government agency that registers charities in your state, usually either the attorney general or secretary of state. Also, organizations such as GuideStar, CharityWatch and Charity Navigator rate nonprofits based on a variety of factors, such as transparency and expenses.
An example: CharityWatch warns donors that a charity operating as Kars4Kids has been disciplined by several state attorneys general for not openly disclosing that money from car sales goes to support an Orthodox Jewish religious group. The organization, which has raised millions of dollars through catchy radio ads, also had to pay a $65,000 fine in Oregon for not telling donors that the “free vacation” they were promised actually was a timeshare recruitment tool, meaning the car donors sat through a presentation designed to get them to buy a vacation timeshare.
At the time, a spokesman defended Kars4Kids, saying the group simply hadn’t had time in its ads to give full details. On its website, Kars4Kids says donors can choose whether to attend a timeshare presentation during a free two-night hotel stay in a U.S. city. The website says the vacation voucher is offered by a third party and any complaints “will be forwarded to the third party.”
4. Transfer the car properly.
Before you part with your car, the Better Business Bureau recommends you snap a photo of the vehicle for your records. When it’s time to actually hand the car over, make sure the title is transferred from your name to the charity, Borochoff says. That’s because if you unknowingly give your car to a scam artist or even a less-than-responsible charity that keeps the title in your name, it could cause trouble for you down the road.
“Some donors have gotten involved in scary, nightmare situations where their car was involved in a crime or accident and then they’re held responsible,” Borochoff says. “Even just somebody who racks up a lot of traffic tickets could cause you problems.”
It’s also important to notify your car insurance company of the donation right when you relinquish the title, says Brian Rauber, a Farmers Insurance agent in Missouri. At that point, the company will cancel the policy.
5. Know the tax rules for car donation.
The IRS imposes strict rules about the amount you can deduct on your federal income taxes for donating a car, as well as the documentation required. You’ll need to get a letter from the charity explaining its intended use for the car or, if the charity sold it, the amount of money received.
The amount you can deduct depends on whether the organization plans to use your car in its daily operations – in which case you might be able to deduct fair market value of the car – or if the nonprofit sells it.
The IRS outlines what you can deduct in its guide to taxes and car donations. Be careful how you value your donated car on your tax return, Miniutti says, as the IRS scrutinizes car donations closely and any red flags could lead to an audit.
Finally, if you don’t want to go through the hassle of finding a reputable charity that will accept your car, consider selling the car yourself and donating the money, Borochoff says. If you do that, “a lot more of the money would go to charity,” he says.
14 Tips for Selling Software and Services Online
Software--whether sold as a service (SaaS) or via CD or DVD--is a multibillion-dollar business, with new vendors and solutions popping up all the time. In a recent Market Trends forecast, Gartner predicted SaaS and cloud-based business application services alone would reach $32.2 billion in sales by 2016.
But just because you have developed a great app or solution doesn't guarantee success. So how can you increase your chances of getting your software or digital offering purchased? CIO.com queried dozens of marketing and sales pros who know a thing or two about selling software and digital services online to find out. Following are their top 14 tips for how to sell software via the Web.
1. Use a reliable cloud hosting service instead of managing everything in-house. Why spend the time and money on building and maintaining your infrastructure when you can host in the cloud? "In just a few hours, a hosting provider can provision dedicated servers and cloud servers for you, and your business will be up and running with limited cost and risk," explains Emil Sayegh, the CEO and president of Codero Hosting, a provider of dedicated, managed and cloud hosting services.
Other benefits of hosting your software in the cloud: "You can do all your testing and development in their data center and then deploy into production," he says. "Once in production, if the load increases or decreases you can scale your infrastructure on demand without owning a single piece of equipment, or worrying about server maintenance and upkeep."
2. Beta test. "To sell software online it's important to get feedback before investing too many resources into the development of your site or product," says Phil Sharp, senior marketing manager, UserTesting.com. "Mock up the simplest version of what you're offering, get it in front of people and get their brutally honest feedback. This will help you improve your product early and save you thousands of dollars down the road."
3. Offer a free trial. Especially if you are "a small, unknown company, you need to provide something to help potential customers see that your product is not a scam, and it will work for them," says Kelly Wilkerson, cofounder, Decipher Media, which offers desktop solutions for managing iPhone data. "Slightly over half of the 'Buy' button presses on our Web page come through the 'Register' button within our trial software, rather than our regular product page on the site. Testimonials help. Software safety badges help. But nothing helps as much as a free trial."
4. Consider a freemium model. "Another option is to offer freemium versions of your software--free access to basic features with the option to access premium features for an upgrade cost," says Michelle Nerlinger, director of Marketing at SafeNet, a data protection provider. "It's a smart up-sell path that can encourage paid licenses." Adds Ryan Connors, the marketing manager at Apptegic, a customer engagement solution provider, "By breaking down the barriers to adoption, you'll find people more eager and willing to try out your software and service."
5. Include a video of how your product works. "Have a one- to two-minute video explaining your product or service," someplace obvious on your Website, advises Alex Capehart, vice president of Strategic Accounts at hosting service Media Temple. "Animation is great for a simple product breakdown, and a video of employees can give a human side to a technical service folks might not understand. It works great for us and engagement is high!"
6. Show customers you understand their pain. "Whether it's telling stories to highlight how your software makes life easier, or alleviating fearful or cautious emotions that come with a potentially substantial investment by providing valuable information, creating human connections around your product is a powerful way to stand out against the competition," says Seth Lieberman, the CEO of SnapApp, a marketing platform for creating interactive content to drive leads and engagement.
7. Include product feature/benefit comparison tables. Including "product feature and benefit comparison tables, which that show your product in the best light, is essential," says David Howard, a principle at marketing firm Consultiq. "They summarize in an easy to read format the tradeoffs that a buyer has to consider in the purchase cycle. So long as you have a competitive offering, there's no reason to be afraid to do this."
8. Solicit independent third-party reviews. "Anyone can tell you their products are worth buying, so it is best to have an honest third party referral," says Jennifer Borun, senior marketing director, GoingOn Networks, a developer of social collaboration and communication solutions for higher education. "Encouraging your customers to tell their story of why they selected your product and how it meets their challenge is the best way to get your message out and sell your product. You can capture these stories in case studies, an interactive online forum or blog postings."
"try to get a well-respected publication to test your solution/offering," suggests Allan Thorvaldsen, CEO, Panorama9, a cloud-based IT management platform. "This will validate your product (if it is any good) and generate traffic towards your Website for no cost."
9. Offer a money-back guarantee. "Studies have shown that a trusted and well-presented money back guarantee can actually increase sales by up to 40 percent," says Stephen Dodd, CEO of OfficeTime.net, a developer of time tracking software. As for how long the guarantee should be for, Dodd suggests 120 days, which is what OfficeTime.net offers customers.
"A short guarantee makes it more likely the customer will take you up on it," Doddsays. "They feel a time pressure to cash in the guarantee before it's too late. With a long guarantee, the customer feels they have more time to make up their mind." Moreover, he says, "the longer the customer spends using your app, the more time they have to get to know you and fall in love with what you've created--and the less likely they will request a refund."
10. Include a phone number, in addition to an email address, on your Website. "By adding our phone number to our Website, we increased sales and not calls," says John Hurley, the cofounder of the business class file sharing service SmartFile. "Sure an email is easier to administer, but showing people you have a phone number gives potential customers a sense of comfort knowing that you are a real business."
11. Offer 24/7 customer support. "We will never talk to 99 percent of our customers, but letting them know they can contact us any time of day or night goes a long away in developing trust with your potential customers," says Hurley. "If you're not large enough to provide 24/7 support, consider hiring an outside firm to do it."
12. Market across channels. "Effective multi-channel marketing programs can accelerate adoption of digital services," states Singu Srinivas, partner, Waterstone Management Group, a strategic advisory firm.
"For example," Srinivas says, "Netflix has used a mix of marketing strategies--advertising (online, affiliate, TV/radio/print), co-op programs with content developers, consumer electronics partnerships and freemium/trial promotions--to grow its customer base. And over the past decade, Netflix has grown from approximately 850,000 subscribers to over 29 million streaming members, while gradually reducing its customer acquisition cost."
13. Search forums to find prospective customers. "There are a lot of popular, industry-specific forums on the Web," explains Ted Galdi, the cofounder of StadiumRoar activity management software. "To find ones in your industry, do a simple Google search for '[your type of industry] forums.' Then sign up for any forums that seem legitimate and widely read." (Membership is usually free, he says.)
Why search forums for prospective customers? "Forums are great because people looking to buy products often go there to ask questions. You can use the search box to locate prospects that have asked questions about your type of product," he says. "Type in phrases about your kind of offering, and see in the results who has asked questions about it. Respond back to people with advice on how to solve their problems, along with a link for them to check out your product. This technique is effective because of the following:
You are locating people who are looking to buy a product like yours, as opposed to dealing with marketing guess work
You are building trust by responding back to them with honest, personalized feedback."
14. Use metrics--and adjust your marketing accordingly. "When you're selling online software you cannot set your [marketing] campaigns and forget them," says Caroline Cummings, vice president of Marketing, Palo Alto Software.
"It's important to always be testing--headlines, images, videos, links, length of page, calls to action, colors, etc. We have weekly analytics meetings where we're constantly looking at what is performing well and what is not," Cummings says.
By regularly checking metrics, you know what's working and what's not and can adjust your campaigns and minimize losses.
What is the History of Business Administration?
In answering the question of what is business administration, it is important to understand the history of the topic. Higher education in the United States has very deep roots. The history of business administration be traced back to 1911 and Fredrerick Winslow Taylor. In 1911 Taylor published The Principles of Scientific Management. Why is this important? The publication encouraged managers to view employees as specialized and replaceable. In other words, he believed that managers should focus on training workers to reduce inefficiency and to work to grow a corporation. This was a major shift in thinking.
In 1923 Alfred P Sloan became president of GM. As president, he introduced the concept of managing by central executive committee and decentralized each operating division. By giving each division autonomy, they were allowed to grow the business in new ways. This business structure was then emulated by other corporations through the rest of the century.
The National Research Council also contributed to the history of business administrationIn 1927. That year, the Council co-funded the 'Hawthorne Experiments'. The intent of these experiments was to determine what motivated workers. In an era where companies where changing the way they were thinking of employees, understanding worker motivation was an attempt to further increase efficiency. The study determined that workers are not only motivated by financial gain and good working conditions. It was also important to workers that they feel appreciated and were interested in their work.
In 1938 Hewlett-Packard was formed. Why is this important you ask? Some years later, HP introduced the supervisory style of wandering around the offices and chatting with employees. The expected benefit here was to make the boss more approachable and connected to employees. It is believed that this style increases trust, accountability, morale and productivity.
The 1950s brought the concept of 'quality management'. Founded byW Edwards Deming, this concept contains 14 major points. Each of the points were intended to create a more efficient workplace. Points included concepts such as:
Industries and economics are always changing
Communicate to all employees the purpose of the company
On the job training
Focus on morale and trust
Maybe obvious to us in our time, but these concepts were quite new when introduced by Deming.
The Doctrine of Transformational Leadership made it's way onto the scene in 1978. Created by James MacGregor Burns, the works urged leaders to think about how companies and employees could benefit society. This was followed up by the concept of Servent Leadership in 1990. This main idea of this concept was that the main role of a leader is to keep employees happy.
Regardless of the theory or concept, it is clear that the business world is under constant transformation. Gaining a solid understanding of what it means to be successful in the business world may be beneficial to any person looking to work within a corporation or to start a new business. Ready to start a career in business administration? Then check out our business administration online degree options.
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