Here is an excerpt from a guest post that I recently contributed for IsUtility® is a turnkey Houston Computer Services and Consulting solution that brings accountability back to the IT services industry. You can view it at Houston Cloud Computing or read it now directly below…

I am a big fan and user of cloud computing services/providers – of the hundreds that I have tried over the years, only a small percentage of them turned out to be shams or charlatans. Spotting a good or bad provider is a lot easier than you think and I want to share with you a few valuable tips that I have learned which can SAVE you a lot of time, heartache and money.

Beware of “hard sell” websites
Look for websites that DO NOT rely heavily on affiliate marketing and video to promote their wares. This hard-sell, “so-and-so uses us” approach is a sure sign that it is not a reputable company. Pages and pages of sales copy, clichés, crazy low price act-now offers, and “look wait, there’s more” hype says to me that the company is not legitimate.

If a brand is promoting their service heavily through a group of authors and speakers that I know have a tendency to get caught up in high pressure sales and affiliate marketing schemes, I can almost guarantee that the service will not live up to what you have been promised. There is nothing wrong with using affiliate marketing – however, some people do not care what they promote as long as they make a dollar off of it. Beware of marketers who send an email to you every week promoting someone else’s product. I don’t know about you but when I sign up to receive communications from someone it is because I want to learn from their knowledge – not receive an endless list of offers to buy their friend’s latest workshop or book.

Look for sites that follow best practices in layout
There are many cloud sites that are presented well and offer great service. They stand out. I look to these as a guide when evaluating potential new cloud providers. The more time that has gone into clean design and ease of use (navigation), the more confidence you will have in their underlying service.

Security next
Look for safety – assurances that your data is kept safe from hackers. I expect to see seals, guarantees etc. in plain view.

All proof is not created equal
Anyone can claim that their website is “the BEST provider in the world of X” but it’s another thing to back it up with proof. Client testimonials are the most powerful form of proof. I look for real results from real people. “Debbie for Texas said…” doesn’t cut it in my world. Unfortunately, you cannot simply rely on someone’s homepage claim which says how many customers they have – many companies fudge the truth to suit their own purpose and there is little recourse to protect the consumer from false claims.

Do your homework
One of the most valuable tools at your hands for research is Google. When in doubt, I check what others are saying about this service. Charlatans cannot hide forever. You’d be surprised how much is out there on companies who are not good operators. In fact, last year I took on a monthly subscription service with Traffic Geyser who claimed to be able to syndicate my articles and videos to over 100 sites each month. What they neglected to tell me was that over 50% of my attempts to syndicate would ultimately get rejected and that I would have to spend hours to manually chase up all the bounce backs. The ROI on my investment was appalling and their customer service was the worst I have ever experienced online. Bottom line, their software doesn’t work properly and it is just easier to use something cheap or free like Tube mogul.

Conduct a customer service test
Send a note to customer service and see what you get back. Their willingness to answer your questions completely, promptness and attention to detail will tell you a lot about who you are dealing with before you hand over your hard earned money. Also, make sure it is easy to unsubscribe from the service. Cloud services that make it difficult for you to get help or quit, are not to be trusted.

Also remember to verify the claims and credentials of the person running the business – what qualifies him/her to provide this service? Who is behind this company? Is it a one man band? Can you trust them? Do the look like they know what they are doing? Sometimes watching 1-2 videos of them on youtube can give you a very clear perspective on whether or not they are the real deal.

Selecting a vendor online is no different than doing your due diligence off line. Luckily, many cloud services are reasonably priced and you are less likely to get locked into a long term contract with a charlatan. However, the exposure (financial, personal and strategic) is much greater than the actual cost of the service, and therefore, you need to be much more vigilant before you hand over your credit card number.

For those of you who are in the retail industry, you may have noticed a recent trend to clean up in-store environments – reduce shelf heights, remove dense ends and dump bins, widen aisles etc. – in order to increase comfort and make the shopping experience less stressful for customers.

The big question then becomes “does clean make customers keen? According to Walmart, arguably the largest and most successful retailer in the world, clean stores mean fewer beans (on the bottom line).

As reported in the New York Times, Walmart conducted a massive in-store experiment to improve sight-lines, rationalize the overall number of items offered, remove warehouse-like merchandising in centre aisles, and increase the width of core aisles. According to Walmart’s CEO William S. Simon, “(Customers) loved the experience. They just bought less.”

As a result, Walmart reverted back to its original strategy of offering more products, with tighter aisles, more clutter and lots of bargain bins in the hopes that customers would spend more because of a perception “there were bargains to be had”.

If you do a quick search on the internet, there are dozens of experts who subscribe to the view that a larger selection, more bargain bins, and sales signage equates to “better value”. In essence, the more you look like a market stall, the better it is to generate buzz and sales. They argue that if your merchandise is neatly presented on the walls and in well organized aisles, with no point of sale impulse offers and dense ends full of 2-for-1 specials, customers will tend to think your store is expensive (i.e. overpriced) and they will not buy from you.

And if you think about it, you can probably name a whole list of retailers who subscribe to this “clutter is good for business” philosophy and they seem to be successful. But how can we be sure that clutter makes customers keen? Have we been too quick and prematurely jumped to a conclusion that clean is a traffic and transaction turn-off?
Recent empirical evidence from the science of neurology sheds new light on how we think, and more importantly, how we make decisions. In fact, the decision making part of your brain responds strongly to certain stimuli only.

Did you know that your brain consumes 25% of your body’s energy? As a result, you brain wants to conserve energy so you tend to pay attention and be attracted to things that have sharp contrast, high visual appeal, strong emotional cues and a clear beginning vs. end message.

Now what does this mean for you in the context of your shopping environment?

A chaotic, cluttered store is cumbersome for your brain to navigate – you have to work hard mentally to hunt down and search for bargains. It may create some emotional appeal but it is likely perceived as having low contrast, low visual appeal and no clear beginning vs. end. Shopping in this environment takes time and energy and it also forces your brain to go into “thinking” mode. This is a critical point because thinking is counter-productive to deciding. Thinking takes place in one part of your brain (the neo-cortex), while deciding happens much more quickly (and automatically) in your old or “reptilian” brain.

So what does this research mean for the strategy and conclusions reached by Walmart?

Based on science, the strongest buying cue that you can give your customers is this – if your store (or business) has incredible bargains, people will buy (and even sift through a maze of clutter) because something is in it for them. The “what’s in it for me” (WIFM) principle is one of the strongest influences on the part of your brain that decides.

There is no hard evidence to suggest that clutter makes your customers keen.

Walmart and many others have come to a conclusion based on what they THINK people are doing to reach a buying decision in-store. However, neuroscience has empirical evidence to support the opposite conclusion is more probable. Clutter and chaos create an environment where your customers have to think too hard, which is exhausting for the brain. They will do it if they have to, as long as the perceived bargains and value are very high.

Doesn’t it make more sense to find another way to communicate good value and service without exhausting your customers and causing them to waste their time? Wouldn’t you be more likely to get more sales and word of mouth referrals from your delighted customers?

In the end, Walmart may be correct about the fact people buy more in a certain circumstances but they are wrong about WHY that is. The best way to create more excitement and sales is to make it easier for your customers to decide. You need to show them what’s in it for them, increase the contrast between your solution and your competitors and communicate a strong, clean visual message that compels them to say “YES”.

Rhondalynn Korolak, Author of Financial Foreplay® and On The Shoulders of Giants

You may have just heard that Google is adding its take on the “like” button — which it is calling the “plus-one” . The plus-one is Google speak for making search more social and to combat that growing omnipotence of Facebook. This new feature will allow users to vote plus-one on search results they find useful, and to share that preference with their connections in Gchat, Gmail, Google Reader, Buzz and Twitter. Users will be able to view the total number of plus-one votes and the names of their contacts who have posted their preference.

Rhondalynn Korolak, Author of Financial Foreplay® and On The Shoulders of Giants

The restaurants and promenades in the Docklands (Melbourne) were packed on Monday, night with couples. It was after all Valentine’s Day – the day when everyone declares their undying love for each other… well, at least their “commercial love”.

Apparently, if NAB has anything to do with it, February 15^th is now the official day of the year to break off a bad relationship – the “unValentines Day”. I wonder how long it will take for chocolatiers, greeting card companies and florists to create some products to commemorate this special occasion?

The obvious question that no one seems to be asking is “why was the NAB dating both the ANZ and CBA in the first place?”

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7 Marketing Secrets Lady Gaga Can Teach You for FREE

“I’m your biggest fan, I’ll follow you until you love me
Papa, paparazzi
Baby, there’s no other superstar, you know that I’ll be
Your papa, paparazzi”

In today’s challenging business environment, customers demand more from the products and services they buy—they want what they want, when and how they want it.  And if they do not get it from you, they can and will obtain it from one of your competitors. Therefore, creating raving fans—customers who love what you do and are willing to follow, listen and respond to your call(s) to action —can give you a significant strategic advantage and improve your bottom line.

Now some of you may be wondering “what does Lady GaGa have to do with best business and branding tactics?”  She’s never attended business school nor does she have a history of entrepreneurship.  While it is easy to question her outlandish costumes, her repetitive child-like lyrics, and her over-the-top media stunts, it is hard to ignore her obvious musical talent and her ability to be at the right place at the right time with the right tune.  Whether you love or hate her (and 99% of you are definitely in one camp or another), it is difficult to ignore the tremendous achievements of this branding genius.

Less than 18 months ago, she was virtually unknown – and today she has two platinum selling albums and is the envy of artists that have been in the business for decades.

How did she do it? 

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