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We have created a few infographics comparing SMS to e-mail. These will show how ineffective     e-mail is at reaching your audience and why using SMS is quicker and more effective.

How often do you check your text messages compared to e-mails? Most likely 2:1. Our first infographic displays “How to reach your audience on the go”

Check back for another ‘Why Email Sucks’ infographic to be posted soon!

Tatango’s CEO, Derek Johnson was recently interviewed in a video tilted, “Using Key Club Skills in Real Life”.

While attending Sehome High School in 2003, Derek used his strong motivational and management skills in his local chapter to increase the number of members from around five to over one hundred.

In case you are not aware of Key Club, it is an International student-lead organization that develops leadership skills through volunteer services. Derek definitely used the skills gained through Key Club which lead him to entrepreneurial success. He still believes service to the community is substantially important which is why Tatango donates both time and money to local organizations.

Key Club is yet another organization that could benefit tremendously by using Tatango’s SMS service.

Here is the video interview of our CEO, Derek Johnson and a glimpse into the Tatango office.

We have had customers try other group SMS services, just to come back to Tatango because we are so simple to use and focus on doing ONE thing really well – providing simple group SMS. Just see the e-mail as an example of this. I’m going to be dissecting the e-mail to show why focusing on one product provides the greatest benefits.

When you sign up for Tatango, you know what you are getting. We have made our service straightforward, with providing a how it works page showing all the features of Tatango: how to send messages, add members, view sent messages and managing contacts. Here you can see how our website works and how simple it is to manage your group(s). You will also see that messages you send do not include any advertisements from us or other companies. We want to make all 150 characters available for you to use Read more…

I realize the green movement is basically a fashion statement now and it seems like everyone is telling you to “go green”. You probably recycle your papers, take the bus to work and have a few re-usable grocery bags, and that’s great. But being environmentally friendly is not a choice anymore, it is a responsibility and there is much more you can do to make your home and business eco friendly.

GO PAPERLESS- By using Freshbooks.com, “The Leader in Online Billing and Bookkeeping”, you can save time and paper. They offer all kinds of helpful resources to help your business run smoothly.

BUILD GREEN-Approximately 17.5 percent of the nations CO2 emissions through heating and power consumption come from commercial buildings. Save the planet and earn tax credits. Just go to Boreggosolar.com, they provide a free site evaluation and can have the solar updates installed in a matter of days.

Here are some other adjustments to reduce the impact of your company’s carbon footprint. Read more…

In response to a blog post asking what problems are faced by organizations, one individual answered, “Workplace diversity”. Similar to last blog’s topic of ethics, workplace diversity is a concept we are all advised to embrace, but we sometimes forget.

By hiring a diverse team, you will be able to take advantage of a range of opinions which you can consider when debating important issues. This will result in balanced decisions all around. Your company will better understand the demographics of the customers you serve and you will be able to advantageously address employee satisfaction and retention issues.

Peter Drucker, the man who basically invented modern-day management, always said employees are assets and not liabilities. Think of your assorted employees as different facets with which to view your operations, like a kaleidoscope.

Here is a link to a website that provieds a detailed synopsis of the benefits and challenges on this issue. Enjoy

In these technologically dependent times, social media is becoming people’s main form of communication. Although it is so convenient in our on-the-go, fast paced world, it is critically important to be comfortable communicating in person and through social media. And in this recession, a personal touch makes you and your firm even more engaging.

When you hear, “networking”, you may think the best technique would be to hand out as many business cards as possible and shout out a monologue about how you can make their lives easier.

Even better, focus more on getting to know people in order to pave a way for a long term business relationship.

A Networking event is definitely professional and business-oriented, but the overall vibe should be relaxed. This is not a competition to see who can sell the most, it’s an opportunity to make friends. When you are not directly focused on making a sale, it puts everyone at ease. Learn as much as you can about others by asking plenty of questions and talking very little about yourself. This is always a good approach because it allows you to see who might make a good connection, and it relaxes them because everyone’s favourite subject is themselves.

Be genuinely interested in what they have to say.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is a fantastic book with lots of great ideas. I would recommend this book to anyone who deals with people, a.k.a, everyone. It was published in 1932 and since his advice has endured the test of time, I would say, “Read it!”

So if you are more comfortable dealing with avatars instead of real humans, that is a bad sign. A strong handshake goes a long way; ask someone how they’re doing and learn some good jokes.

It’s not rocket science, but Accounting does have the potential for a plethora of mistakes that could really harm your company. If you forget a decimal or just record the depreciation amount incorrectly, it can cost any enterprise a bundle of time and money. Some companies have a private accountant on staff and others hire a public accountant during tax season and at the end of accounting periods. Whatever you choose, just know that obtaining accurate financial statements is priceless.

For example, if the ending inventory was overstated in 2008 by $10,000, that value carries over to the next year. Even if the financial statements were prepared correctly in 2009, the mistake made in 2008 would carry over and continually create an imbalance in the statements. Sometimes inventory mistakes self correct in a few years, but you can see the impacts of a simple mistake can be quite harmful to the company.

On a more positive note, according to USA Today, firms are making fewer accounting mistakes than in previous years. Just 630 U.S. companies reported accounting problems serious enough to warrant a restatement. This is a 24 percent decline from the number of companies with accounting problems in 2008.

Here is a link to a helpful article about how to recognize discontinuities in your finances.

Infographs are becoming a hot social media tool in presenting statistics. We created this one about how much leverage Political SMS has when running a campaign.

With a 98% open rate and almost 152B messages sent/ month, how could you not incorporate SMS into your campaign? It proved to be successful for Scott Brown and it can for you as well. Lets get you set-up with a Tatango account and start adding to the monthly SMS messages sent!

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[Infograph design by Derek Media]

The Golden Rule has been embedded in our minds since we managed to speak our first words. As we have grown, it has been stored in the back of our minds for occasional reference. I would like to remind everyone of the importance of ethical behavior. And though it may not seem paramount, honorable decisions can place you ahead of the game.

Whether it is through price fixing games, crooked accounting principles, or fraud of any kind, those who try to prosper by cheating only bring long term damage to themselves and often to those around them.

Hopefully by now you have heard about the Enron Scandal and the effects on employees and corporate America. Enron traders collaborated with California’s power plants and caused blackouts over the entire western power grid whenever demand decreased. When everyone was begging for energy, Enron would “come to the rescue” with higher prices. Traders saught out every loophole in order to profit from California’s misery. They had absolutely no interest in providing energy, they just wanted to make an obscene amount of money and needed a cover under which to operate. They were beyond unethical. Kenneth Lay, founder and CEO, died before he received his sentence. And the president, Jeffery Skilling, was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in prison. He will finish his sentence in 2030. Read more…