By Kendra Hill, Alpha Source, Inc., www.alphasource.com

Most business owners know the name Google, but there is more to Google in the form of free and useful Google Applications (Apps).  Google Apps can be fun, creative and great for personal use, but there are also specific applications that can help small businesses work smarter and leverage the benefits of collaboration through information sharing.

After conversing with a couple of business owners, I learned that it was not necessarily common knowledge that Google supplied free applications to help small business communicate and do business.  I have written this article to share four Google Apps: Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Reader, and Google Voice.  These four applications are a snapshot into the Google Apps available that can help small business owners become more effective and in some situations save money. 

Google Calendar

For those smaller businesses that do not have a Microsoft Exchange Server that connects Outlook calendars, the Google Calendar is a solution.  The Google Calendar can be customized to upload directly from Outlook, downloaded into Outlook and shared with multiple people.  It can be viewed online and via a mobile phone and is a great way to stay connected.  I currently use Google Calendar for the staff in the marketing department, so we can keep up with important dates relevant to our department. 

Google Docs

Google Docs consist of word processing, spreadsheet and presentation file formats.  Google Docs also offers a form format that can be used to create surveys or polls.  I use Google Docs when I want someone else to easily access, read and possibly edit a shared document at anytime.    Google Docs is a solution to incompatible software on computers and shows edits in real time.  Now Google has made it possible for users to share folders and upload documents of different types.  Businesses can share documents with their clients, sales reps, and team members, keeping it all stored in one location with the latest version accessible at anytime. 

Google Reader

Google Reader can help business professionals stay current and track the buzz about their industry.  Google Reader allows users to keep RSS Feeds in one location and find relevant RSS Feeds to subscribe to using the keyword search tool.  RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and makes it easy to keep track of current and industry news.  If you are brand new to blogging and are looking for opportunities to comment on blogs or do research on other blogs, Google Reader can help you by keeping all of your research in one place for regular reviewing and updating. 

Google Voice

Google Voice is one of the coolest tools Google offers.  It is a great resource for entrepreneurs, small business owners and organizations to catch calls and access voicemails easily.  Google Voice can help with consolidating multiple phone numbers and call monitoring, which can improve voicemail response time.  Using Google Voice with your current number allows you to listen to voicemails via phone, computer, email, or text messages.  You can personalize your voicemail greetings dependent upon who calls or send certain callers directly to voicemail every time they call.  When you use Google Voice with a Google phone number, calls can be forwarded to multiple numbers (home, cell, work, team members, etc.) and based on the caller, the phone that rings can be customized.

Google boasts that more than 2 million businesses run Google Apps and thousands more sign up every day.  Will you be next?

By Brian Kohlmann, The Printery, www.printerywi.com

If you are among the many companies that print large quantities of brochures, envelopes, business cards and other materials in order to get a lower rate only to destroy a large portion of it down the line, you are not alone. 

Print Model of the Past

The print model of the past relied on larger than necessary purchases to drive the cost per piece of a particular item to the lowest point possible.  Although the initial print spend was manageable, the “total cost of ownership” was never recognized.  For example, when you print 10,000 brochures and then inventory them for a period of time – it costs money.  When you throw out those brochures due to obsolescence – it costs money.  In the long run, what you thought was a good deal ends up not being so.

Print-on-Demand

Enter the concept of print-on-demand (POD).  By utilizing a web-to-print tool – often referred to as a store-front (think Amazon.com) companies are able to better manage not only their brand, but their print spending as well.  This tool makes it easy for you to purchase only the items you need in the quantities you need, only when you need them.  Working through a web-to-print system allows you the opportunity to better manage your print and marketing spend as well as the “total cost of ownership” of your projects.  Now more than ever, every penny saved is critical.  Why waste when you can be smart with your money.

The concept is easy to follow.  Once the web-to-print system is in place, you log in like you would any “shopping” Web site.  You place your orders for brochures, business cards, letterhead, coffee mugs, etc…, proof and approve the order in real time, and then check out.  Your order is printed and fulfilled by the printing company hooked to the back end of the system.  They then drop the finished goods into the FedEx or UPS system for delivery.  There is little to no inventory, obsolescence becomes a thing of the past, your brand “look” remains consistent, the accounting function is streamlined, and most importantly everything is tracked in a reportable form for your review.

How to Get Started

So, how do you know if a web-to-print system is right for your company and how do you get started?  Well, look at it this way – if you have branches, divisions, or franchise locations across the country or across the globe – a web-to-print system is a great way to manage your marketing communications resources.  If you have a company with a large number of employees in need of business cards or other stationary products, a web-to-print system might be the way to go.  If you are a company that prints large quantities of material only to keep the cost down, then ends up destroying a large portion of that inventory, a POD solution may be an appropriate way to cut costs.

As for getting started – many of the printing companies in the area have made the investment in the infrastructure and technology necessary to implement print-on-demand store-fronts.  If you want to know if web-to-print is right for your company, contact them and ask for a consultation.  Here are some things the sales representative will need to know to get started:

•    Number of people, divisions, or distributors who will use the site

•    Your current marketing communication spend

•    Type of products you order on a regular basis

•    How much product you inventory or have destroyed in the last year

•    What quantity of product is truly needed

In the end, this technology isn’t for every company, but if the circumstances are right, the money saved can be significant.