Tag: Digital

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Shopping

Physical to Digital… Part 1

So, Bal…. what value do you offer?

Well…. the experience and knowledge I’ve built over the years, by implementing new digital related products, understanding and piloting innovative technologies…. makes me, well placed… to advice and help businesses to move from physical to digital.

What does that actually mean, Bal?

Well… a lot of businesses are not leveraging technology that is available to help increase sales! That’s what it comes down to. Sales. Building the connection with the customer – getting to know them so well, that you should be on first name terms all the time! (And, yes – it doesn’t matter how many customers you have!)

For example – recently I’ve been talking to a local business, and asked him – how he communicates to his customers… and it was all around…. using paper (newsletter or leaflets), or when he meets them.

I then introduced him to Whatsapp for Business. Simple, yet sooooooo effective! For starters – you can have automated messages!

Next up…. quick replies…

There’s so much more… but my favourite, categories for your customers….

And the best bit…. it’s free.

This is what I mean by moving from physical (paper, old methods…) to digital.

This is just one example. There’s soooooo many more ways you can move to digital. For example, I’ve introduced digital signatures! (And they are legally binding).

Want help move to a Digital World? – Get in touch.

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Good news for Travellers…

As you know, I travel a fair amount. To be honest, I’ve cut down a lot in recent years – especially since the time in Atlanta when the border security chap recognised me!

Yep – above photo of the time when I was travelling back from Toronto. But an all familiar site – you check in your luggage – then head over to security.

Where – you take all bits of metal from your body, take everything out your pockets – oh, and don’t forget those liquids and laptops!

What a pain, Bal!? – This has been going on for a while.

It sure has. Limits on liquids have been in place since November 2006 – there was a complete ban on liquids for a while before that date.

But Technology to the rescue!

That’s right – It’s been announced that all major UK airports must introduce 3D baggage screening equipment before the end of 2022.

And these new 3D Scanners mean you can leave your liquids and other certain items in your bags and just let it go through the scanner.

They’ve got them in Paris – and it was brilliant. I was first surprised, when the lady said, no – keep your liquids in there.

Queue time – virtually non existence!

Threw the bags in – walked through – no beeps and happy days.

So the plan is to have these introduced at all airports in the UK. I’m sure there’s many more airports across the World that’ll be implementing these. Not just to make people go quicker – but these scanners can zoom in, 3D rotate particular items of interest and pick up on suspicious items. Much more sophisticated then our current scanners.

So – depending on which airport you fly from next summer… you could be leaving your liquids in, and getting through security slightly quicker!

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5 Stars – Headphones were great!

You may have heard in the news recently, that Which? Review found Amazon to be flooded with fake ‘five star reviews’.

Let’s be honest – are we really surprised?

You may recall – TripAdvisor, and the ‘fake top restaurant’. It’s happening around us – and it’s all too common.

Sellers want to be the best. And there’s easy ways to become one of the top – one of the best – one of the trusted. By reviews.

And anyone – can go online, and share a review. Which? Report found thousands of unverified reviews. Many where sent in a short space of time (meaning they most probably are computer generated).

They said – we should take reviews with a ‘pinch of salt’.

I appreciate it’s going to be harder to realize – what’s fake and what’s real.

They also said – ‘Look to independent and trustworthy sources when researching a product’.

Bal, what do you suggest?

Well…. couple of things;

  1. Use the old traditional method of talking to friends and family – or your social network (and listen to those whom you trust).
  2. When researching, look at a variety of reviews – not just a few. Look for reviews from other sites, other places – and see if they’re exactly the same – or there is variation.
  3. Take your time – often we think, it’s a good deal… don’t want to miss out. Obviously depends on how much money you’re spending but take your time – investigate properly on what you’re buying and then make a well educated decision.

There’s more and more fake reviews, videos, etc… appearing and they don’t help us when we’re buying or looking at something.

Yes, some platforms are tackling this – but it’ll take time.

So when you come to buy something on Amazon and are reading the reviews – make sure you read all the reviews, look at known or reputable brands, and finally- read the returns policy!

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Administration for company that started in 1778…

That’s right folks – another one bites the dust.

Originally started in 1778 by William Clark, then going on to open more shops and re-naming itself Debenhams (because William Debenham became a partner) has entered administration.

This is for sure the end of the high street, big department stores….

People are just not buying from them!

I think the above says everything.

So why is this happening, Bal?

Simple – the answer is Digital.

Customers are buying more and more on-line. In recent blogs, I shared how Amazon have the ‘try before you buy’ option on clothes.

There’s also more smaller and independent clothing stores that are opening with a huge on-line social media following – that encourages people to buy and then take photo’s and share their latest purchase with the world.

Unfortunately – Debenhams have not been able to keep up with trends.

Now, don’t get me wrong – they sure do have a customer base – but not big enough to keep it going – and they are definitely not attracting new customers!

Whilst they did the whole on-line experience, mobile applications etc… they just didn’t get the right attraction.

Anyone can go build a website. Anyone can design a mobile app. Anyone can sell clothes. But it’s how you configure these three elements to give the customer a unique experience.

Is it also – most of Debenhams customers are older and therefore, maybe the app isn’t the right thing for them? Maybe building the app – they hoped for a younger audience?

Unfortunately (for Debenhams) we’re moving to more personalisation and individualisation.

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Tech Talk on BBC Radio

Last Night, I was invited to BBC Radio Nottingham – to provide my usual ‘Tech Talk’.

It usually consists of me talking, about some of the latest tech stories that would have a connection with the local community. Breaking down technical jargon into plain simple English.

In addition to the normal ‘Tech Talk’- I also offered some advice! – Mother’s Day is this Sunday in the UK, and I’ve shared previously on my blog some great presents you could buy.

On Radio, I shared a few more! – Let me know what you think to them…

Here’s a link to the show – I was on just after 7pm

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p072jgjj

Or there’s an audio clip of it below…

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Smart Home

Mothers Day 2019…

It’s fast approaching – Mothers Day in the UK is on the 31st March 2019.

I’ll be appearing on BBC Radio Nottingham on the evening of 24th around 7pm, to discuss the usual technology subjects – but also… to share my top 3 presents for Mothers Day!

Now – whilst I’ll be sharing them, I’ve found an additional 3 that I thought I’d share with you in advance – because then it provides you with enough time to go online – buy – have it delivered – wrap it up and make it that perfect present!

Okay – first up! – We have a Robotic Vacuum!

Let’s be honest – who enjoys doing the vacuum? – Exactly! With prices dropping on the robotic vacuums – my pick is the Mamibot ProVac Plus 2!

Small – but very good! – Gets going around the place and picks up the dust and dirt from your floors!

Coming in at a reasonable £69 – it’s alot cheaper than the bigger mightier versions but allows you to experience what it’ll be like for a robot doing the vacuum! – (Yes – robots are taking over!!)

In at Number 2…. a Vase for the Flowers you’ll buy.

But not any old vase – this is a smartphone holding vase!

So – not only could your mother look at the lovely flowers you’ve bought – but also the messages you’ll be sending her….

You can pick these up for £25 – £50, and you can also get ones for tablets!

That’s right – for when mum is in the kitchen cooking!!

And Finally… a little expensive, but Mum’s are worth it – a Digital Kettle!

I’m sure you’ve already bought her an amazon echo or google home – and/or her smartphone is connected to devices around the home.

This then makes the perfect addition.

That’s right – sit in the living room, and tell Alexa to turn the kettle on is not a dream or a fantasy…. it’s reality.

If Mum prefers a coffee… you could invest in a smart coffee machine!

Again – all connected and compatible to the latest devices.

The kettle comes in at around £130 – so not cheap…. but then, this digital world we live in – we must take advantage of it!

As mentioned – I have another 3 gift ideas for Mothers Day which I’ll share on Sunday – so watch out for that also!

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How old do you feel?

Okay, how old are you?

Well Bal – I’m not going to tell you… but I feel 21!

It’s not fair me asking how old you are. But great to hear you feel 21!

The folk that read this blog – are a great age range! No, honestly, there’s some young folk… and there’s some old folk. And some of the old folk struggle with modern day technology… we’ve seen the video’s, we’ve seen with our own eyes probably…

And let’s be honest – technology has advanced so much in recent years, it can be difficult to keep up on occasions.

But ever thought, how a 17 year old would react to an old device?

It’s funnier than you think! – that’s right… watch this video where two youngster are asked to use an old phone and dial a number… (Finally a chance for the senior folk to laugh at the youngster’s!)

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Lean Process + Digital Enablement = Efficiency!

Efficiency – it’s what we all want, right?

From a customer perspective – we want a quick and easy process. We don’t want to waste time…

From a business owner perspective – where ever we can reduce cost, and save time – it’s only a good thing!

Unfortunately, I feel we don’t do enough of this Lean Thinking.

What does that mean, Bal?

Well – look at a process, understand the steps – and have a look how we can reduce the time from the moment the customer orders to the moment we’re paid.

Take the restaurant industry…

When the opportunity came to introduce digital payments – for example, pay by card – they were able to ‘save time’ by not having to spend time to count the money at the end of the day – ensure the books balanced, etc…

It was easy for the customer. Not having to carry cash. Just tap the machine or put in your 4 digit pin and done.

There’s now – as I’ve shared previously (available at Weatherspoons and many other restaurants), where you can order and pay via the app, whilst sitting at the table! That’s right – taking the whole process and making it even more ‘leaner’ using ‘digital’.

So now you don’t need people to take payments. You don’t need people to take orders. You just need people to bring out the food – and soon, you could have a few robots do that!

I appreciate, there’s some restaurants where the whole experience is based on the people working there… but then there’s times, where you just want to go in… order…. eat…. pay….. and go!

All industries should be doing this. Not ordering at tables…. but looking at the process… and looking at what digital tools are available to make it more efficient! – saving money and time!

And that’s the whole point of this blog of mine… to share experiences and highlight where this could be done.

It could be in the airline industry. It could be in the motor industry. There’s so many industries that can leverage the whole ‘digital enablement’. Have you looked at the processes that surround you recently?… not sure where or how to start?

Start by writing down in steps… what happens.

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His Masters Voice has gone Digital…

Well, Firstly, Happy New Year! – Hope you had a fabulous break over the festive period and were able to do what you wanted to do! – I wanted to relax, spend time with family and eat lots. I did all three – so I’m happy!

Also – I’m hoping you were able to listen to my first podcast, which was titled as… My First Podcast. It’s available on all major platforms – you could open up your podcast app if you have an iOS device, search for Think Lean Get Digital – and my podcast will appear! You can do the same for Google, Spoitfy and many many more.

And on my second podcast coming next week – titled (for the moment) My Second Podcast, I’ll be talking a little more about skills and jobs. How they’re changing – but more so how you don’t have to go down the traditional route – which is usually, school – college – University – Job – work – retire.

And this leads to me how behaviors are changing. Shopping behaviors – but also, our general behaviors for example, how we listen to music.

That’s right – you may have seen or heard, HMV (His Masters Voice)…. is closing.

Why?… well, simple really. When was the last time you bought a CD? When was the last time you went on the high street to buy a DVD?

These habits are changing.

We stream our music. We have so many platforms to do it on. Even YouTube now have a music/stream app – where you can listen to music.

It effectively means – we don’t need to own music. We don’t need to have the space for it. We don’t need to own a physical copy.

Indeed – there’ll be some DJ’s, musicians, etc… experts in the field that will own, that will want the physical copy… and that is absolutely fine – as that is their ‘bread and butter’. But they’ll soon shift to the on-line streaming behaviors of the consumers. Similar to how photographers moved from 35mm film to Digital.

I’ll continue to share updates of the high street – and how digital, how technology and how thinking lean – is changing our environment. I’m sure we’ll have more and more well known names from the High Street disappear over 2019….

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Fax me the details

Now, many folk reading this blog post may not remember the old trusted Fax Machine.

Basically, you’d write something on a bit of paper. Feed it through the machine, dial a number and hey presto – the message would be printed onto paper on the other side.

It’s got a brilliant history…

Now – I was very very young when the fax machines were around – and being honest, never really got to use them. Therefore the process I mentioned above is what I think would’ve happened – any older or experienced folk – feel free to correct me.

The great thing is – technology has helped us to transmit messages so much more quickly, easily and being able to save a few trees!

That’s right – the trusted email was introduced to the masses – computers were more available and the fax machine was no longer.

Or was it….

Well, the Health Secretary in the UK has told the NHS – that they have to stop buying fax machines by March 31st 2020.

The Royal College of Surgeons estimated there’s about 8,000 fax machines being used in the NHS! 

I just can’t believe we’re using them! – let alone saying we’ve got to stop buying them!!

In this digital era we live in… there’s so many options… firstly, the trusted email…

There are so many ways to communicate… digitally! 

Yes, there’s Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, so many more… In fact, many are moving away from email and using collaboration tools such as Slack. 

In a way… I’m glad they’ve finally decided to stop buying them. Any guesses on how long before they’re using an online collboration tool?