Richard Tubb's Blog, page 73
April 12, 2018
MYNT ES – Keep Track of Your Things Near and Far
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is MYNT ES – Keep Track of Your Things Near and Far.
What is it?
MYNT ES is the latest version of a tiny, physical Bluetooth tracker.
How can it help me?
The original Mynt – Smart Tracker and Bluetooth Remote Control device is a previous Friday Favourites of mine.
The new MYNT ES is the latest version of this Bluetooth smart tracking device. The MYNT ES is smaller than the original Mynt, lasts a year or more on a single battery and, unlike other Bluetooth trackers, has a replaceable battery.
I’ve written before about the Lessons I Learned from Losing my Laptop Computer and since that time, smart devices like MYNT ES have been important to me.
I have used MYNT ES to keep track of my travel rucksack. It’s so small that it could be attached to any object though — perhaps a keyring, or even a pet!
Once activated within the Android or iOS app, the Mynt App can be used to locate items if you lose or misplace them. If the device is within a 150-foot range, it will chirp to let you know where it is. If the device is outside that range, you will be given the last known coordinates.
The MYNT ES device is also supported by a community that can keep an eye out for your item. For instance, if you had an item stolen, you can flag that item as missing. Other MYNT users will then scan for your MYNT ES and alert you if they find it close to them.
How much does it cost?
The MYNT ES Bluetooth tracker costs from $14.99.
How can I get it?
You can find out more about MYNT at the Myntracker homepage.
MYNT ES is currently available on Amazon.
You can also follow Mynt creators @Slightech on Twitter or visit the Slightech Facebook page.
You Might Also Be Interested In
Tile – A Bluetooth tracker to help you find anything
3 Free Tools for Tracking your Lost Laptop, Smartphone or Tablet
Authy – Protect Yourself from Hackers with Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
The post MYNT ES – Keep Track of Your Things Near and Far appeared first on Tubblog.
April 5, 2018
Foobot – Home Air Quality Monitor
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Foobot – Home Air Quality Monitor.
What is it?
Foobot is a device that keeps an eye on your air quality.
How can it help me?
Foobot sits in your house and constantly monitors air quality. It can help you improve the air quality in your home, places of work or public indoor spaces.
Foobot monitors the invisible, odourless pollutants in your environment and makes them visible through its LED display. You can tell from the colour of the Footbot whether your air is more like a forest glade or the M6 Motorway.
My family has been using Foobot for a few weeks now. As well as the visual LED prompts for air quality, Foobot has an app for Android and iOS which can be used by all members of your family.
I recently wrote about how the Internet of Things is an opportunity for IT businesses and Foobot is another example of a practical device that homes and businesses will be using.
The Foobot app educates you on the causes and ramifications of your activities and how they affect air quality at home. For instance — stuffy air, cooking without ventilation, spraying chemicals when cleaning.
The app provides you with real-time readings and charts of each pollutant over a period of time.
You are also notified of local outdoor air quality. If you live in a particularly polluted part of the world, this can help you understand when it is best to open your windows to let actual fresh air in.
Foobot also works alongside Google Nest, British Gas Hive Home and a number of other Internet of Things systems.
We’ve found that Foobot helps reinforce good habits (such as using an extractor fan when cooking) as you stay informed of what’s going on inside your home in order to be more reactive.
How much does it cost?
Foobot costs £179 in the UK. It is also available for purchase in Europe and the USA.
How can I get it?
You can order FooBot from Amazon.
You can also find out more about FooBot at the FooBot homepage, by following FooBot on Twitter, visiting the FooBot Facebook page, or by following the FooBot Google+ page.
You Might Also Be Interested In
How To Prevent Waste and Be An Extreme Recycler
Mynt – Smart Tracker and Bluetooth Remote Control
How to Ethically Dispose of IT Equipment
The post Foobot – Home Air Quality Monitor appeared first on Tubblog.
March 29, 2018
Receipt Hog – Snap Shopping Receipts from your Smartphone, Earn Money
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Receipt Hog – Snap Shopping Receipts from your Smartphone, Earn Money.
What is it?
Receipt Hog is an app that pays you to photograph your receipts from every day shopping for market research purposes.
How can it help me?
The next time you go shopping, anywhere — for anything — use the Receipt Hog app to take a picture of the paper receipt on your Smartphone.
Receipt Hog will then process this receipt and you’ll be awarded coins, which can later be redeemed for Amazon gift cards, magazines or cash via PayPal.
You can also have some fun by playing the “Hog Slots” and win free shopping trips, take surveys and more.
All the receipts you snap are anonymised, and Receipt Hog use them to inform and influence brands and retailers.
One nice side-effect of using Receipt Hog is that all your snapped receipts are kept within the app. Need to find a receipt for something you bought weeks ago? Receipt Hog will have a copy of that receipt for you to use.
How much does it cost?
Receipt Hog is free to use.
How can I get it?
For iOS devices, download Receipt Hog from the Apple App Store.
For Android devices, download Receipt Hog from the Google Store.
You can also find out more by visiting the Receipt Hog website, visiting the Receipt Hog Facebook page, or by following @ReceiptHog on Twitter.
Thanks to the team at Plum (whose great app is a previous Friday Favourite too! Check it out at Plum – Save Money Automatically using Facebook Messenger) for bringing Receipt Hog to my attention!
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Chip – Save money automatically and feel good about it
Qkr! – Pay for food and drinks from your Smartphone
Google Opinion Rewards – Answer Quick Surveys and earn Google Play credit
The post Receipt Hog – Snap Shopping Receipts from your Smartphone, Earn Money appeared first on Tubblog.
March 26, 2018
Why using email could be killing your business relationships
Have you ever asked yourself why using email could be killing your business relationships?
I’m (sadly) old enough to remember when electronic mail (or email, as the kids now call it) was considered a privilege at work rather than a necessity. Just like back in the day, employers were worried about putting a telephone on every employee’s desk (who knows what they’ll say to clients, right?) so employers were concerned that allowing employees to have their own email addresses would cause more trouble than it was worth.
Of course, email, just like the telephone, is now considered a necessity, and it’s inconceivable that any employer wouldn’t allow their staff to use email.
But do we now rely on email to communicate too much?
Email is not for conversations
Our reliance on email has reached the stage where email is often being used inappropriately.
Do we rely on email to communicate too much?
Many of us now regularly get *so much* email that we often ask ourselves “When did my job become answering email?”.
When somebody external to our business emails us, our instinct is to email them right back.
The trouble is, email does not convey emotion. Email does not convey intent. A badly worded email can, at best, cause confusion, and at worse, cause offence.
A badly worded email can, at best, cause confusion, and at worse, cause offence.
When used well, email is a method of disseminating information in a convenient way across long-distances and different time zones.
Why then does your colleague, who is sat 10 feet away, send you an email asking what you’d like for lunch. Why don’t they then get out of their seat and you know, talk to you?
If you are emailing somebody with a question that is likely to generate follow-up questions, pretty soon you’ll be having a conversation. Email is not for conversations. Why spend so much time writing an email, waiting for a response, writing your own response, waiting for another response and so on, when you could just pick up the telephone and get all the answers you need quickly and efficiently instead?
Why you should use the Telephone, not email
For most IT Solution Providers or Managed Service Providers (MSPs), encouraging your clients to use email is a good thing. Rather than the telephone being bombarded with support requests, and clients being held in a queue, they can email their query across and you can prioritise and deal with it accordingly.
The challenge here is, most clients don’t do a good job of explaining what they want over the telephone, and do an even worse job by email. This isn’t their fault – we’re the IT experts, not them, and it’s often difficult to write down what is going wrong or what you’d actually like to achieve.
So when a support email comes in, members of your Service Desk sending a reply email is more often than not a recipe for frustration. This is a great example of why using email could be killing your business relationships. It’s far better to pick up the telephone, call the individual and ask them to clarify how you can help. Using the telephone takes less time, is more efficient, and gets to the heart of the matter faster than emails back and forth.
Likewise, for those of us in Sales, emailing a proposal to a prospect is a no-no. By emailing a prospect a proposal, we can’t judge their body language or reaction when they read the proposal, and we can’t answer any questions as they crop up. It’s much better to schedule some time with the prospect to deliver the proposal by hand, answer their questions in person and judge their response to your outline. If it’s not possible to meet in person, then schedule a time to be on the telephone with the prospect while you email the proposal to them. You can’t judge body language over a telephone, but you can answer questions and get some gauge of their reaction.
Email begets Email
It’s also worth remembering that every time you send an email, you should expect an email (or multiple emails) in reply. Pretty soon you’ll have a tidal wave of emails coming in faster than you can respond to them.
If you’re at all frustrated with the amount of email you have to process every day, then remember that email begets email. Send less email!
Email begets email. Send less email!
It’s true that while you can use the telephone more and email less, others will be harder to convince. You’ll still continue to get emails and that’s ok, but by using the telephone to respond to emails, you’ll get fewer emails and get more done!
Don’t believe it can work? You can check out my experiment in using the telephone instead of email and see the results for yourself!
Conclusion
An email is a powerful communication method – when used appropriately. I’m by no means advocating we all eschew email and go back to the days of meetings, meetings and more meetings. But we have lost the personal touch now.
Email can be impersonal and cold. With its lack of emotion and intent, badly worded email can damage relationships. A telephone call is often faster than email and with fewer chances of miscommunication.
Consider this when you next receive an email from a client or anyone else, by using the telephone or meeting in person you’ll probably strengthen a relationship, not risk damaging it through miscommunication.
If you want help on how to manage email overload then get in touch. What are your tips for using email effectively? I’m intrigued to hear them. Leave a comment below!
You Might Also Be Interested In
My Experiment in reducing my emails by a quarter
How To De-Clutter Microsoft Outlook
Why You Should Create a To NOT Do List
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March 23, 2018
Earn.com – Earn Money by Answering Messages and Completing Tasks
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Earn.com – Earn Money by Answering Messages and Completing Tasks.
What is it?
Set up an Earn.com profile to receive paid messages from people outside your network. If you choose, you can replace your public email address with an inbox that pays you.
How can it help me?
I’ve written before about my experiment in reducing my emails by a quarter. Email might feel free, but given the amount of time you can spend with it, it most certainly *isn’t* free.
Earn.com allows you to answer paid email messages via a mobile app and the web. You get paid in Bitcoin, so it works in any country.
I’ve used Earn.com to earn Bitcoin answering messages during the otherwise dead time we all experience — queuing at the ATM, while commuting, or when I’d otherwise have been tempted to look at Facebook.
You can earn money by doing surveys. Businesses and organisations pay you for your thoughts on their products and services.
Earn.com has been especially popular with Blockchain-based companies recently. I’ve been paid to accept messages from a number of cryptocurrency providers who want feedback on their offerings. If you’d like to be exposed to more of the Blockchain world, then Earn.com is a great way to get paid while you learn.
If you choose to, you can also connect your Gmail with Earn.com and get paid for any messages people outside your network would like to send you. If you’re bombarded with emails from recruiters, salespeople and PR companies then Earn.com will allow you to be compensated for your time. It’s a bit like LinkedIn InMail — except you get paid! You can keep the money or easily donate it to Charity.
How much does it cost?
Earn.com is free to sign-up and earn Bitcoin through.
How can I get it?
You can sign-up for an Earn.com profile by using my referral link at earn.com/tubblog/referral/?a=xy1ba5gqwasburqj
Once you have a verified Earn.com profile, you can use Earn.com via their website, or their Android and iOS apps.
You can also find out more about Earn.com by following @EarnDotCom on Twitter, or by visiting the Earn.com Facebook page.
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Hunter.io – Find email addresses in seconds
Google Opinion Rewards – Answer Quick Surveys and earn Google Play credit
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The post Earn.com – Earn Money by Answering Messages and Completing Tasks appeared first on Tubblog.
March 20, 2018
How IT companies can sell themselves better – TubbTalk20
Richard speaks with Bob Kocis, Chief Revenue Officer of Continuum, an outsourced Network Operations Centre (NOC) provider for IT Managed Service Providers (MSPs).
An Interview with Bob Kocis
Who is Bob Kocis?
Bob Kocis is Continuum’s Chief Revenue Officer. As well as having over 20 years’ experience in global sales leadership and management to the IT industry, he has a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology Systems from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and is a graduate of the General Dynamics Nuclear Engineering School.
What does Continuum do?
They support their Managed Service Provider (MSP) clients or partners. With 5,800 clients around the globe, Continuum provides best-in-class software, including an RMM (remote monitoring and management) platform supported with a fully-integrated NOC (network operations centre), along with a BDR (backup disaster recovery) solution.
Their helpdesk provides a white label helpdesk service to their end clients and their single IT management platform focuses on supporting low-class MSPs. Not only that, but they offer white label content that partners can use to onboard a new client, as well as training courses as part of ‘Continuum U’ to help MSPs position the clients in the right way, sell the helpdesk and take things to the next level.
If you’re considering a service such as Continuum for your business, check out my article on How to Choose an MSP NOC Provider.
What has Stayed the Same in Sales?
Throughout his career, Bob says the key is to care about and listen to your customer, you understand their pain points and challenges, and you’re being empathetic to what they’re going through.
MSPs are solving a business problem and making their customers’ businesses better, rather than pushing a product on them. Focusing on this instead of the features and functions of your services means you have more integrated customers who’ll stay with you longer.
How IT Companies can Sell Themselves Better
There needs to be consistency in the sales culture, and Bob says it’s vital to give the in-house sales and technical teams the right content. If you ask two people what the company mission is and they give two different answers, that’s a problem.
Everyone in the company needs to use the same messages and value propositions. As the business owner, it’s easy to forget about those details, so they don’t become a priority. That is a critical item that needs to happen. Staff also need a uniform way to solve the most common objections that end users have to the business services.
How Social Selling can Help Your MSP
Bob worked with LinkedIn on sales processes and noticed that B2B companies were increasingly making decisions based on social media. Furthermore, this was affecting not only his sales team and the wider industry, as people researched solution options and formed opinions about the providers.
This led to Bob pivoting his teams to become ‘social sellers’ – engaging on social platforms with the company’s content to demonstrate thought leadership, recommendations from other companies and professionals. He admits that small businesses are getting better at this, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.
The customer is inundated with so many messages that they become confused, so they go to the people they talk to on a routine basis, and consider them to be thought leaders. It’s vital that your business is the one they see as the expert, and they choose to work with you.
How Continuum Guarantee Excellence
Bob says they spend a lot of time bringing a new customer in, as the onboarding process is designed to get the customer to leverage Continuum’s solutions the right way, to ensure they’re happy with what they’ve bought and they can see how this will improve their processes.
They focus on this phase so they can be more proactive and less reactive, and get it right at the start so there are fewer problems later on. They have their best people in customer support to manage any issues that do occur.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Learn more about Continuum: https://www.continuum.net/
Follow them on Twitter: @FollowContinuum
Find Continuum on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/continuum-managed-services-llc
Connect with Bob Kocis on LinkedIn
Email Bob: bob.kocis@continuum.net
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March 19, 2018
Dealing with Customer Objections to Outsourced Services – TubbTalk19
Richard speaks with Michael George, the CEO of Continuum, an outsourced Network Operations Centre (NOC) provider for IT Managed Service Providers (MSPs).
An Interview with Michael George
Who is Michael George?
Michael George is the CEO of Continuum, which supports Managed Service Providers (MSPs) around the world, providing them with software, network operations and disaster recovery, as well as white label services they can offer to their clients.
Who is Continuum for?
Continuum offers a scalable model to support IT business owners to grow and develop their offerings and become MSPs. Their partners range from those new to the business to industry big hitters (see my article on How to Choose an MSP NOC Provider to see if a service like Continuum is right for your business).
Their services are designed to give partners the level of support usually limited to bigger businesses, so people typically join Continuum when they’re trying to grow but are constrained by their current software or platforms. MSPs can onboard new customers without the need for additional staff due to the tools available from Continuum.
Michael explained that the goal is to: “make our partners successful in all aspects of business, from sales to delivery, and everything we do is geared towards that growth and success.”
How Michael Manages a Global Workforce
Although Michael has a fantastic team of managers, he made a personal commitment to go around the globe and shake hands with each of his 1,400 employees.
It takes him about five weeks to visit the company offices in each country, but Continuum believes that it’s important for their growth and strategy to have an open book policy, and meet with teams on a quarterly basis to involve them in business decisions.
Michael explains that there are two tenets observed by the senior management team, which were agreed when the business was founded and resonate today: “To focus on our team and talent management by providing resources for them to develop” and to “care about our partners”, which is why Continuum provides local support in each country they work in.
What’s Stayed the Same in a Fast-Changing Industry
Anyone working in the IT industry needs to understand that while you need to understand and care about what you do, it’s not just technology for its own sake, it’s about solving an important business challenge.
To make an impact on people’s businesses, you need to help them to see that IT is an asset, not a liability and that it can be used to give them a competitive advantage. Security, protection and continuity are what matters to your customers so they can grow.
The combination of technology and people, and the engagement model was true 25 years ago when Michael first joined the industry, it is today, and it will be true in 25 years. It doesn’t make sense to assume that technology will get cheaper and easier – for MSPs to succeed, they need to move quickly and make good investments for themselves and their customers.
The Biggest Surprise for Michael Since Becoming CEO
An unexpected benefit for Michael of being CEO of Continuum is “The pleasure and enjoyment I get from engaging with the small business owners we work with. I spend as much time as I can out in the field to learn about the challenges MSPs face.”
He’s been able to develop a personal and professional connection with partners, which he believes allows him to help them better. Indeed, he’s been told by partners that Continuum has changed their lives and made them successful, which is very rewarding.
How Vendors can Deal with Customer Objections to Outsourced Services
When a customer says they don’t want to outsource, they’re really saying ‘lower my rates’. They want better technology, more services and they want it cheaper, and MSPs shouldn’t be subsidising their customers.
What Continuum offers is a local service in a global economy, and many partners don’t advertise the fact that they use outsourced service providers. In fact, the end user can’t tell that they’re not dealing directly with their MSP, so it shouldn’t be an issue.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Continuum: www.continuum.net
Autotask: www.autotask.com
ConnectWise: www.connectwise.com
Kaseya: www.kaseya.com
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March 16, 2018
Pouch – Never Search for a Voucher Code Again
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Pouch – Never Search for a Voucher Code Again.
What is it?
Pouch is a free web-browser extension that automatically finds the best voucher codes while you shop online.
How can it help me?
When you visit an online shopping website, Pouch automatically shows you any available voucher codes so that you never overpay for the things you are purchasing.
Pouch currently features over 3,500 retailers (including Amazon, Argos, eBay and other popular online shops) and saves you from ever having to leave their website to find a voucher code.
I’m a big fan of FinTech and being financially savvy online (for instance, see my article for IT Consultants – Get cheaper car insurance online) and I’ve used Pouch for a few weeks now. I have found it seamlessly helps me get the best deals when buying online.
How much does it cost?
Pouch is free to download and use.
How can I get it?
Pouch is available as an extension for the Google Chrome or Apple Safari web-browsers.
Visit www.joinpouch.com and click “Add to browser” to install.
You can also visit the Pouch Facebook page, follow @JoinPouch on Twitter, follow Pouch on Instagram, or follow Pouch on LinkedIn.
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The post Pouch – Never Search for a Voucher Code Again appeared first on Tubblog.
March 13, 2018
Where MSPs go wrong with Customer Feedback – TubbTalk18
Richard speaks to Brad Benner, founder of Berlin-based SmileBack on how MSPs can improve their customer feedback.
An interview with Brad Benner
About Brad Benner
Brad Benner is the founder of SmileBack, based in Berlin, Germany. A client service experience product, users say it helps them build better relationships with customers and set value-based prices and it’s used by over 600 IT providers around the world.
Brad sold his Managed Service Provider (MSP) business in Seattle and founded SmileBack on the basis that that customer service is the only sustainable competitive advantage to grow revenue.
Why Brad set up SmileBack
Brad explained that he was inspired by his own experiences as a small business owner, and his attempts to understand his clients better. One experience really affected him: a company decided to part ways with his MSP and he was distraught that he’d done something wrong and should have done better.
This was pivotal, because he realised he hadn’t paid enough attention to the customer journey, and issues had built up over time without him knowing about them.
Looking for clues in the regular customer feedback questionnaires they sent out, it became obvious that the surveys themselves were part of the problem. Brad concluded that this was an issue other companies were having too and made it his mission to find a solution to improve customer response rates.
Why SmileBack is Different
SmileBack is designed primarily to improve feedback response rates, and the platform uses a simple but clever design to do this: they don’t use the word ‘survey’ and let respondents click on smiley faces to answer basic questions about business performance.
As the brain processes these in the same way as a human face, there’s little effort from the end user, who simply chooses the face that matches their satisfaction level. Using this method, SmileBack customers get an average 39.1% response rate, sometimes up to 65%. Traditional ways of gathering data give a response of between 1 and 5%.
Where Businesses go Wrong with Customer Feedback
Brad says that while MSPs believe they’re giving good service, they don’t listen to clients or actively measure satisfaction. They need to be able to back up their claims. The customer journey starts much sooner than companies realise, and they need to acknowledge this.
The feedback system MSPs have in place tends not to work – either they don’t get replies to their surveys, or if they do they don’t have a practical way to analyse the results and identify ways to improve their processes.
Statistically, a customer complains one out of every 20 occasions when they’re not happy, but while they might complain to their friends, the MSP is none the wiser. Having a system in place allows the business owner to address problems, turn the situation around and make the customer satisfied. I’ve written before about the difference in responding and reacting to angry customers.
It can be hard to hear negative feedback, but it really gives MSPs the opportunity to fix problems. And Brad adds: “Most of the responses are positive and appreciative. When there’s criticism, being aware of it means the MSP can address it immediately and not lose a customer.”
Mentioned in This Episode
SmileBack: www.smileback.io
Zapier: https://zapier.com
ConnectWise: www.connectwise.com
Dropbox: www.dropbox.com
Autotask: www.autotask.com
Slack: https://slack.com
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First Name Email Address We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer. Send me the transcript We don't spam! Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit /* Layout */ .ck_form { /* divider image */ background: #fff url(data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQADAIABAMzMzP///yH/C1hNUCBEYXRhWE1QPD94cGFja2V0IGJlZ2luPSLvu78iIGlkPSJXNU0wTXBDZWhpSHpyZVN6TlRjemtjOWQiPz4gPHg6eG1wbWV0YSB4bWxuczp4PSJhZG9iZTpuczptZXRhLyIgeDp4bXB0az0iQWRvYmUgWE1QIENvcmUgNS41LWMwMTQgNzkuMTUxNDgxLCAyMDEzLzAzLzEzLTEyOjA5OjE1ICAgICAgICAiPiA8cmRmOlJERiB4bWxuczpyZGY9Imh0dHA6Ly93d3cudzMub3JnLzE5OTkvMDIvMjItcmRmLXN5bnRheC1ucyMiPiA8cmRmOkRlc2NyaXB0aW9uIHJkZjphYm91dD0iIiB4bWxuczp4bXA9Imh0dHA6Ly9ucy5hZG9iZS5jb20veGFwLzEuMC8iIHhtbG5zOnhtcE1NPSJodHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvbW0vIiB4bWxuczpzdFJlZj0iaHR0cDovL25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wL3NUeXBlL1Jlc291cmNlUmVmIyIgeG1wOkNyZWF0b3JUb29sPSJBZG9iZSBQaG90b3Nob3AgQ0MgKE1hY2ludG9zaCkiIHhtcE1NOkluc3RhbmNlSUQ9InhtcC5paWQ6MUQ5NjM5RjgxQUVEMTFFNEJBQTdGNTQwMjc5MTZDOTciIHhtcE1NOkRvY3VtZW50SUQ9InhtcC5kaWQ6MUQ5NjM5RjkxQUVEMTFFNEJBQTdGNTQwMjc5MTZDOTciPiA8eG1wTU06RGVyaXZlZEZyb20gc3RSZWY6aW5zdGFuY2VJRD0ieG1wLmlpZDoxRDk2MzlGNjFBRUQxMUU0QkFBN0Y1NDAyNzkxNkM5NyIgc3RSZWY6ZG9jdW1lbnRJRD0ieG1wLmRpZDoxRDk2MzlGNzFBRUQxMUU0QkFBN0Y1NDAyNzkxNkM5NyIvPiA8L3JkZjpEZXNjcmlwdGlvbj4gPC9yZGY6UkRGPiA8L3g6eG1wbWV0YT4gPD94cGFja2V0IGVuZD0iciI/PgH//v38+/r5+Pf29fTz8vHw7+7t7Ovq6ejn5uXk4+Lh4N/e3dzb2tnY19bV1NPS0dDPzs3My8rJyMfGxcTDwsHAv769vLu6ubi3trW0s7KxsK+urayrqqmop6alpKOioaCfnp2cm5qZmJeWlZSTkpGQj46NjIuKiYiHhoWEg4KBgH9+fXx7enl4d3Z1dHNycXBvbm1sa2ppaGdmZWRjYmFgX15dXFtaWVhXVlVUU1JRUE9OTUxLSklIR0ZFRENCQUA/Pj08Ozo5ODc2NTQzMjEwLy4tLCsqKSgnJiUkIyIhIB8eHRwbGhkYFxYVFBMSERAPDg0MCwoJCAcGBQQDAgEAACH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAMAAAICRFIAOw==) repeat-y center top; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; overflow: hidden; color: #666; font-size: 16px; border-top: solid 20px #3071b0; border-top-color: #3071b0; border-bottom: solid 10px #3d3d3d; border-bottom-color: #1d446a; -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px rgba(0,0,0,.3); -moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px rgba(0,0,0,.3); box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px rgba(0,0,0,.3); clear: both; margin: 20px 0px; } .ck_form, .ck_form * { -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; box-sizing: border-box; } #ck_subscribe_form { clear: both; } /* Element Queries — uses JS */ .ck_form_content, .ck_form_fields { width: 50%; float: left; padding: 5%; } .ck_form.ck_horizontal { } .ck_form_content { border-bottom: none; } .ck_form.ck_vertical { background: #fff; } .ck_vertical .ck_form_content, .ck_vertical .ck_form_fields { padding: 10%; width: 100%; float: none; } .ck_vertical .ck_form_content { border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa; overflow: hidden; } /* Trigger the vertical layout with media queries as well */ @media all and (max-width: 499px) { .ck_form { background: #fff; } .ck_form_content, .ck_form_fields { padding: 10%; width: 100%; float: none; } .ck_form_content { border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa; } } /* Content */ .ck_form_content h3 { margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-size: 24px; padding: 0px; } .ck_form_content p { font-size: 14px; } .ck_image { float: left; margin-right: 5px; } /* Form fields */ .ck_errorArea { display: none; } #ck_success_msg { padding: 10px 10px 0px; border: solid 1px #ddd; background: #eee; } .ck_label { font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; } .ck_form input[type="text"], .ck_form input[type="email"] { font-size: 14px; padding: 10px 8px; width: 100%; border: 1px solid #d6d6d6; /* stroke */ -moz-border-radius: 4px; -webkit-border-radius: 4px; border-radius: 4px; /* border radius */ background-color: #f8f7f7; /* layer fill content */ margin-bottom: 5px; height: auto; } .ck_form input[type="text"]:focus, .ck_form input[type="email"]:focus { outline: none; border-color: #aaa; } .ck_checkbox { padding: 10px 0px 10px 20px; display: block; clear: both; } .ck_checkbox input.optIn { margin-left: -20px; margin-top: 0; } .ck_form .ck_opt_in_prompt { margin-left: 4px; } .ck_form .ck_opt_in_prompt p { display: inline; } .ck_form .ck_subscribe_button { width: 100%; color: #fff; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 10px 0px; font-size: 18px; background: #0d6db8; -moz-border-radius: 4px; -webkit-border-radius: 4px; border-radius: 4px; /* border radius */ cursor: pointer; border: none; text-shadow: none; } .ck_form .ck_guarantee { color: #626262; font-size: 12px; text-align: center; padding: 5px 0px; display: block; } .ck_form .ck_powered_by { display: block; color: #aaa; } .ck_form .ck_powered_by:hover { display: block; color: #444; } .ck_converted_content { display: none; padding: 5%; background: #fff; }Connect with me
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Using Social Networking to listen to Customer Feedback
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The post Where MSPs go wrong with Customer Feedback – TubbTalk18 appeared first on Tubblog.
March 8, 2018
Emma – The Financial Dashboard that helps you save money
Every Friday I share one of my favourite finds of the week — a website, tool or an app that has impressed me.
My Friday Favourite this week is Emma – The Financial Dashboard that helps you save money.
What is it?
Emma is a financial dashboard that pulls together all your personal financial transactions in one place.
How can it help me?
You can connect Emma to your bank account and credit cards — all using bank-grade encryption — to collect transaction information in read-only mode.
Emma connects to banks such as Monzo – The new UK-based Bank of the Future (which I’m a big fan of!) and is adding new bank connections all the time.
Once connected, Emma helps you by offering advice that can help you avoid overdrafts, find wasteful subscriptions, pay off your debt and start saving money.
For instance, Emma can highlight subscriptions (such as magazines, streaming media, insurances, etc) that you either never asked for or have forgotten about, and help you cancel them to save money wastefully leaving your bank account.
Emma can also help you keep track of debt repayments, and at the end of each month, makes a suggestion on what you can afford to save too.
How much does it cost?
Emma is free to use.
How can I get it?
You can sign up to Emma by visiting https://emma-app.com/
Emma is available as an app for Android and Apple iOS devices.
There is currently a waiting list to join Emma, and I have a small number of Golden Ticket invitations I can share with readers of Tubblog. If you’re interested in jumping the queue and using Emma straight away, drop me a Tweet @tubblog mentioning @emma_finance.
You can also visit the Emma Facebook page, follow @emma_finance on Twitter, or follow Emma Finance on Instagram.
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The post Emma – The Financial Dashboard that helps you save money appeared first on Tubblog.
