The activist investor which owns 10% of Southwest's common stock, has pushed for months to replace some members of the board, oust CEO Bob Jordan, and review its strategy to improve financial performance and boost the share price.

Activist Elliott, Southwest Airlines to begin settlement discussions, Bloomberg News reports

(Reuters) -Elliott Investment Management and Southwest Airlines have begun discussing a potential settlement that would avoid a proxy fight for control of the airline's board, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

(Bloomberg) -- Elliott Investment Management has called for a special shareholder meeting at Southwest Airlines Co., officially kicking off the firm’s first US proxy fight since 2017.Most Read from BloombergHow Mexico City Averted All-Out DroughtDubai’s Allure to Expats Is Weighing on City’s ...

Elliott Requests Special Meeting at Southwest Airlines

The airline is considering making changes to its flight routes and schedules to increase revenue, the report added, citing the transcript of a video message to employees by Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson. Southwest did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Southwest Airlines warns staff of 'tough decisions' ahead, Bloomberg reports

(Reuters) - Southwest Airlines has warned employees that it will soon make tough decisions as part of a strategy to restore profits and counter demands from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday.

Get the latest news and guides for California, the U.S. and international locations including Wine Country, Tahoe, the Central Coast, Mexico, Hawaii and Europe.

Flying from SFO to LA got way worse this year thanks to Southwest

Southwest, which only flies Boeing 737 aircrafts, said the decision is based in part on persistent production slowdowns at Boeing.

Southwest Airlines ends services at 3 airports that have routes out of PHL - 6abc Philadelphia

Southwest Airlines said it will limit hiring and stop service to four airports after losing $231 million in the first quarter of the fiscal year.

Southwest will limit hiring, drop 4 airports after posting 1Q loss - ABC7 Chicago

As investigations into U.S. plane manufacturer Boeing continue, the number of airplanes they’re building is trailing off.

Southwest, United among airlines waiting for delayed Boeing jet orders

The airline&#x27;s promoting a deep discount on reward points as we all learn Southwest is shutting down service out of Houston&#x27;s Bush Intercontinental this summer.

Southwest Airlines perks amid problems: 45% off Rapid Reward points as it cuts service at IAH

Southwest Airlines

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With the aim of supporting disabled gamers, Sony partnered with accessibility professionals to design Project Leonardo, an extremely configurable PlayStation 5 controller. In this Slogging thread, our community discussed about Project Leonardo and other accessibility products for people with disabilities. This Slogging thread by Valentine Enedah, Sara Pinto, Marco Sullivan and Mónica Freitas occurred in slogging's official #gaming channel, and has been edited for readability. Valentine Enedah Jan 10, 2023, 2:11 PM Sony Introduces a PS5 Controller for Disabled Gamers https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64176441 Valentine Enedah Jan 10, 2023, 3:20 PM This customizable PS5 controller, which includes a collection of triggers, sticks, and buttons, will improve the gaming experience for disabled gamers, resulting in more comfortable and longer periods of play. It is also built on over 28 years of design expertise, and the US-based AbleGamers and UK-based SpecialEffect are some of the various charities that have supported this project. What do you think? Sara Pinto Jan 11, 2023, 9:16 AM Valentine Enedah, This is fantastic! It's about time we make games more inclusive and accessible. I believe this simple change will bring more independence and joy to disabled people. This is a win-win situation for gamers and the gaming industry. Valentine Enedah Jan 11, 2023, 9:40 AM Sara Pinto True and one particular thing I love about Project Leonardo is the fact that it is a new gaming controller aimed to be customizable to the needs of any person. Marco Sullivan Jan 12, 2023, 10:07 AM Valentine Enedah This is quite insightful. With regards to the pricing, would they make it accessible to people living in underrepresented communities like Africa? Sara Pinto Jan 12, 2023, 12:12 PM Valentine Enedah, I love how they are putting down barriers like this. This reminded me of . They created a spoon that makes a mundane task easier for people with tremors and mobility issues. Liftware Valentine Enedah Jan 12, 2023, 2:24 PM Sara Pinto This is brilliant actually and solves a lot of problems with eating. I also discovered RELYNC Scooter. It is a cleverly designed, folding mobility scooter, that can be easily carried on a train or plane. Another cool thing is that it can connect to your smartphone's GPS and adapt to different road conditions, boasting a dual-brake system and top-of-the-line suspension for a safe and comfortable ride with a ring of LED lights on the dashboard as visual aids. 🔥 1 Valentine Enedah Jan 13, 2023, 5:15 AM Marco Sullivan To be honest, I cannot say the prices are going to be subsidized. It will still fall along the current price range. Sara Pinto Jan 13, 2023, 9:56 AM Valentine Enedah, Seems quite practical! It would be great if one could carry it next to them on the plane. Unfortunately, I heard stories about people being careless with wheelchairs, the same way they are with luggage. The difference is that it's not just some clothes. This leads to lost wheelchairs, which costs the person's mobility and independence. 💚 1 Valentine Enedah Jan 13, 2023, 10:03 AM Sara Pinto Interesting perspective. It could have built-in features that could help users track the scooter. That should make it easy for it to be found even if it gets lost. Mónica Freitas Jan 13, 2023, 2:24 PM YES INCLUSIVITY! I really hope this impacts sales for better so we start seeing more developments in inclusive technology across gadgets and gaming accessories. I'd love to see what people are saying about this. How the response from actual users has been, so we know how good the controller actually is. 🔥 1 Valentine Enedah Jan 13, 2023, 6:40 PM Mónica Freitas Yes, I can't wait for this. I haven't played the Ps5 yet but this is a very beautiful controller. Sara Pinto Jan 16, 2023, 10:35 AM So far, from what I've heard, people have to worry about buying tracking devices, such as Apple AirTag, so they know where their wheelchair is. They can't fully trust the airport's workers. If this scooter has a feature to track it, I think it would be incredibly useful! Valentine Enedah Jan 16, 2023, 12:03 PM Sara Pinto Yes, this is so true! This reminds me of an Airline company, Southwest Airlines that had issues with scheduling people's flights. Some flights got cancelled and there's this particular family whose luggage travelled to their destination before them. How they knew that happened was they kept Apple AirTags in their luggage.😂 Sara Pinto Jan 17, 2023, 11:23 AM It's lowkey funny, but highkey worrying that we have to go through those measures to don't lose luggage, Valentine Enedah 😂 Valentine Enedah Jan 17, 2023, 2:27 PM Sara Pinto True and Technology is making it easy for us not to lose things. Mónica Freitas Jan 17, 2023, 8:01 PM It really is! And it's about time! Gaming has so many years - how are only now seeing more inclusive alternatives? Valentine Enedah Jan 18, 2023, 2:27 AM Mónica Freitas Well, it is a gradual process right but I found an article about other adaptive controllers and it is so cool: https://lifezest.co/adaptive-gaming-controllers/ You should check this out. 🔥 1

Sony Introduces a PS5 Controller for Disabled Gamers

When you think of a company that you love, who comes to mind? It’s probably a company that you are so loyal to that it would take a seismic shift to get you to move to a competitor. As far as love goes, you probably can only think of a handful of companies that you would describe like that. But have you ever thought about why that is? In this article, we will break down the three levels of customer retention and what every company can do to move closer to the customer. Not so long ago, in a place close to here… You love and are passionate about the companies you have a personal connection with. love as “strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties.” In the age of self-service, it's difficult to remember the days when companies were intensely personal. We used to buy products and services face-to-face with a company’s representative. Often, this individual was already in the buyer’s social circle. This meant that the buyer made their buying decision based on their personal connection, which the company ultimately benefited from in customer loyalty. It is much harder to switch to a competitor when a buyer has to have a conversation with someone they care about. Mirriam-Webster describes When things digitized in the 1980s, companies cut front-line staff and automated their jobs with computers. While this was an effective cost-cutting strategy, building a personal relationship with each customer became harder. Over time, companies lost touch with prospective and existing customers. You can directly correlate the rise of Google and its ads in the early 2000s with companies trying to become top-of-mind again after years of neglecting the relationship with customers. Businesses became removed from people’s social circles, so Google allowed them to do the next best thing: targeted advertising in the comfort of people’s homes. Digital advertising replaced the door-to-door sales force, but within 10 years, ad blockers reduced the effectiveness of ad marketing. Just as ads supplanted local representatives, ads are giving way to the next evolution of ‘relationship building at a distance’: content marketing. Content marketing is and works by building trust between buyers and sellers. Appealing to your logic, rather than emotion, companies can build a connection with those they want to purchase their products. However, just like with digital advertising, there will come a time in the not-so-distant future when content marketing stops being effective. highly effective If introducing new technology to replace old technology to replace interpersonal connections in sales is feeling circular, it is. But no marketing will ever supersede the trust built when people bought products and services from people in their social network. The best this technology can do is come close. The reason is that current marketing (and its supporting technology) takes a cookie-cutter approach to building trust. While scalable, you are only ever creating content that will resonate with a subset of customers. The customer loyalty pyramid We started this article by asking you to identify a company that you love. But now we want to tweak the question - how do you feel about the rest of the companies you frequent or buy from? What emotions come to mind? If you are not feeling anything, that's quite normal, as most companies are so disconnected from their customers, that indifference is the primary emotion. The customer loyalty pyramid has three tiers, divided 80%, 15%, and 5%. The bottom, where most companies live, is the ‘Service’ tier. These companies compete for loyalty based on the service they provide and are the most replaceable. Customers compare these companies with indifference, and the non-existent relationship between them and their buyers is purely convenience-based. Geico is an example of a company in this tier. Buyers decide to purchase from them based on price, which is also the defining characteristic of companies in this tier. Because of the strict transactional relationship between these companies and their customers, as soon as a lower price is available from a competitor, the customer will churn. We reserve the middle ‘Value’ tier for companies that lead with corporate values that align with those of their buyers. These companies have a stronger pull because buyers ‘like’ these companies. Customers prefer to buy from companies that align with their values. There are fewer companies in this tier and those that are, maintain a measure of differentiation between their direct ‘Value’ competitors and those in the lower ‘Service’ tier. An example of a company that now lives in ‘Value,’ but was recently in ‘Service’ is Southwest Airlines. They rejuvenated their corporate brand, which is encompassed in their move from a slogan of ‘THE Low Fare Airline’ to their values-based ‘One Heart.’ By aligning with the values of customers who want excellent service and cheap fares, they have attracted a wide fan base that pays more for their services than their lower-cost competitors. Their retention is much higher and customer lifetime value is longer than other airlines in the ‘Service’ tier. An interesting phenomenon is that while companies can move from the ‘Service’ tier to the ‘Values’ tier, it is extremely difficult to move from ‘Values’ to ‘Interpersonal Relationship’ (it is possible to drop, though). The handful of companies in the top tier started there. A little later in this article, we will unpack why that is. The interpersonal relationship tier is exactly that - buyers feel that they have a personal connection beyond service or values. Another way to think about it is customers who buy from companies in this tier may feel that they have something at stake. Because of that loyalty, customers will stay indefinitely. So how do you get yourself into the top category? Moving toward the customer Jeffrey Hall, a communications professor at the University of Kansas who researches interpersonal communication, calculated just how long you have to spend in the tunnel before you reach the light at the end: On average, it takes about 50 hours of time with someone before you consider them a casual friend, 90 hours before you feel comfortable upgrading them to just “friend,” and around 200 hours of quality time before you’d consider the two of you to be close. These interactions used to be made by the company’s sales representatives, who would build trust over hundreds of hours. We use how normal social interactions work between two people and apply it to building relationships between companies and their buyers. By merely existing, companies are in the ‘Service’ tier. Moving to the ‘Values’ level takes at least 90 highly personalized interactions. As mentioned above, it is almost impossible to move from ‘Values’ to ‘Interpersonal Relationship’ - doing so requires rebuilding the relationship from scratch. What is easier is starting with personal relationships. Machine Learning to Building Loyalty Replicating a face-to-face relationship using digital technology is difficult. Relationships are highly variable, and that variability makes it difficult for most software to adapt to an individual. Salespeople used to have intimate knowledge of someone’s life and with that knowledge, market-relevant products and services to help them. Machine learning (ML) allows us to communicate with customers much the same way as if they had a personal relationship with the company’s representative. Better yet, ML can signal to account managers and the retention desk when a personal touch, in the form of a text, phone call, or in-person visit, is necessary. In that same vein, ML can provide recommendations for what a customer’s real-time needs are, and what messaging would be most effective in addressing their concerns. This technology pays dividends when it comes time for retention. Regardless of why someone buys from you, it's 5-25x cheaper to keep their business than to sell to a new customer. Rather than sending automated, depersonalized communications, further the personal relationship that a buyer has with your company by providing them with relevant and timely information. Conclusion It is becoming harder to compete on service and values alone, as these customers have proven that price sensitivity is their most important consideration. If this continues, companies will be forced to cut additional costs (likely in customer service) in order to offer lower and lower prices. Competing on the personal relationship tier isn't just about building customer loyalty on a more competitive level - it's about building customer loyalty that is out of this universe. Building interpersonal relationships with customers at scale is challenging. It requires a different approach, strategic outlook, and the adoption of novel technology like machine learning. For most companies who are used to competing on cost alone, the investment required to compete in the relationship tier may seem staggering. But for the companies that are already there, the results (and dividends) more than pay for themselves. Also Published Here

‘Maslow's Hierarchy of Customer Retention’: The Secret to Improving Churn

The article is intended for white hats, professional pentesters, and heads of information security departments (CISO). Today, I want to share several methods of social engineering that can be used in targeted attacks, that is, in cases where a specific victim (person or company) is selected. Targeted attacks take a lot of preparation time. During mass attacks, it is easier to make several people click your link, but mass attacks are not well suited for penetration tests. Pentester cannot allow himself to rely on probability theory and distribute his mousetraps to all employees of the organization in the hope that someone will get caught. One or two vigilant users will definitely notify the security manager, and the pentest will fail. Careful preparation is needed for each new company and infrastructure. Methods of a social engineer should be non-standard. Security rules are always written post factum, and therefore they are inert and weakly protect against new threats. The need to rob banks with weapons has already gone. Today email is enough to penetrate most organizations. However, in many, even big companies, old stereotypes are still present. They place great emphasis on physical security, considering digital less important. IT professionals are not tired of constantly repeating that social engineering is the biggest evil in the world of information security. At the same time, many “security guards” continue to believe that certain security software and once written instructions for employees are enough to withstand hacker attacks. Evil @ sign This method of social engineering will not be effective with attentive employees, but if all users were attentive, then social engineering would not exist as such. For those who are used to watching what comes right after https:// when verifying if the URL is safe, a link like this: https://bankname.com@hacksite.com will not lead to anything good. All valid characters for URLs are documented in RFC 1738. The @ character is used in the URL as a special separator when you need to give permission to access the page directly in the URL. It is intended to look like this: https://<login> <password>@<host>. So, you can put anything before @. The browser will still send the user to the host specified after @. Evil encoding Let’s add to our URL several Arabic or Hebrew characters encoded in UTF-8 > HEX so that it begins to look incomprehensible to humans and seems safe at first glance: https://bankname.com@%D0%B9%32%D1%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B9% When you hover the mouse over the encoded URL, desktop browsers decode the characters, but this does not happen with the Outlook email client and browsers on mobile devices. Preview overflow You already probably know that the real file extension can be hidden by using the Windows built-in restriction conspiring the length of the extension line. Something similar may be used with URLs. Evil links, for example, may look like this: https://bankname.com:eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee@hacksite.com/nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.html Instead of eeee and nnnn, you may put different keywords that are usually used on the original site. In Firefox, such long strings get shortened in the middle, and so the part with hacksite.com is not seen. You can see only those many characters that do not look suspicious: https://bankname.com:eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.html Different browsers treat long URLs in different ways. There are tricks for Edge and Chrome. The exact method is selected when the victim’s browser is known. Regular post and social engineering If the victim holds an executive position in the target company, you can try to use his sense of self-importance. A fake site is created that is designed like a conference, business event, business forum, etc. Now you need to make the victim visit that site. Why not sending a paper letter? Here you will definitely get around all the digital protection mechanisms and even the neural network firewall in the form of a secretary because, in her opinion, if she throws such a letter into the trash, her boss will not be happy. The envelope and letter have a professional design. The content sounds very attractive - an invitation to participate in a pathos event as a speaker or jury member, laureate of a prestigious award, etc. At the end of the letter, it is proposed to fill out the participant registration form. There can be a printed QR code or website URL. Personal or public? The following several methods of social engineering relate to attacks on the organization using information about the personal life of a particular employee. Talking about protection against social engineering, all people should follow the safety rules not only for the sake of the organizations they work at but first of all for their own security. If you are looking through a user's accounts on social networks, pay attention to places where he has been relaxing recently. If you spot a hotel name, feel free to write on behalf of the hotel administration and demand a surcharge for the service. In the letter, add a note that this message is generated automatically, and for the answer, you need to use the form on the official website in the customer support section. After giving a fake link, invite the victim to sign in. Who knows, maybe he uses the same loin/password on other sites. If a potential victim prefers to fly Southwest Airlines, write that he urgently needs to activate an additional program of bonus miles to double his total number. Has the victim recently attended an event? You may ask him to sign in (using your link) to get additional important conference materials and a discount on participation in the next even. So, that the victim does not suspect anything after signing in, he can be redirected to the 404 page saying that something went wrong or redirected to the homepage of the real website. Here several phishing methods were described. This is often enough. True mischief, however, will not stop there and will use browser vulnerabilities and malicious files to infect the victim’s device, but that is already a technical part, not a social one. SMS redirects Let’s see how, using phishing, you can get access to the employee’s online services protected by multi-factor authentication. An employee is sent an SMS with a request to do something in his mobile carrier’s cabinet. It is better to choose a scary reason (or play with greed) to make the victim go there right now and not to give time to call technical support. You just need to know which carrier his phone number belongs to and give a suitable phishing link. After gaining access to the mobile account, a person with malicious intent sets his own phone to receive SMS in the section “Message Forwarding.” Most mobile service providers offer flexible rules for setting up redirects. For example, you can specify specific time frames for redirects to happen. Bonus Finally, I will provide some more tips: 1) Send a letter to a targeted company corporate email address, get a response and see how the message is formatted. Then copy this message design for your phishing messages on behalf of this company. 2) Having heard the message of the answering machine that the employee is on vacation, you can write letters on his behalf to other employees (supposedly from a personal, non-corporate email), as well as make posts on social networks from his “secondary account.” 3) A new trend in social engineering is called Find Trap. It is a way when a victim is given an info-bait and starts to search for additional details using search engines. The victim finds your website since everything is designed to display your site on top of search results. Conclusion You probably know a lot about technical protection mechanisms against hacker attacks. Unfortunately, they are not enough. No matter what security technologies you use, everything becomes meaningless if employees open suspicious attachments, click on phishing links, or use weak passwords. So, it is crucial to systematically train your employees not to fall for the tricks of social engineers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About the Author: David Balaban is a cybersecurity professional writing for TechShielder.com . His key competencies include malware analysis, online privacy, and software testing. Additionally, he does his best to stay current with the e-threat landscape and keep tabs on the evolution of computer viruses. With 15 years of experience under his belt, David knows how security works and how important it is to maintain privacy on the Internet.

Several Social Engineering Tricks

Growing a happy, productive tech team (and one that sticks around longer than a year or two) is a balancing act. Because for employees, rising startups and big-name brands are reeling in candidates with value-driven company cultures and incentivizing perks, such as the freedom to work from home, readily available cold (or craft) brew on tap or, in the case of , unlimited flights. money isn’t always a sole motivator Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Along with the perks like flexible scheduling and weekly happy hours you’ll find on , how engineering and product teams operate also plays a big role in attracting and retaining candidates. That said, what kind of environment do tech candidates want? Does team size or team bonding outside of the office matter? career pages actually We surveyed over 25,000 tech job seekers on Seen to find out, plus gained extra insight into what tech workers want using survey data. While some responses shouldn’t come as a shock, others made us do a double take. Indeed.com Startups, plus team and company size Part of attracting great talent and nurturing your team is more than perks and pay—it’s work environment. Your company’s engineering and product team size play a role, too. To discover how non-perks influence a candidate’s decision when considering a new company, we asked if they’d be willing to get on board with a startup and what their ideal team size looks like. The results While a startup company can’t grow into an established brand at the drop of a hat, knowing where candidates stand gives insight into how many are willing to take a chance. More than half of the candidates surveyed (52.3%) don’t swing heavily one way or the other and say sure, why not. Close behind, 41.4% would absolutely take a chance, leaving a mere 6.3% that answer no way, too much risk. Startup: The tech industry is a magnet for budding entrepreneurs, so if you expected candidates to be more receptive to working for a startup company—despite signing the dotted line for a higher-risk role—you’re spot on. Whether a company is a startup, however, doesn’t indicate its size. To find out what company size tech workers prefer, we turned to Indeed.com data. As it turns out, the majority (44.1%) prefer mid-sized companies of 101-999 employees. Next in line, 30.1% say they’d rather work for large companies that have 1000+ employees, while 21.9% lean towards smaller companies of 1-100 employees. The main reasons workers prefer larger companies: Over 40% say it’s because larger companies are more likely to offer job stability, flexibility and work/life balance, higher salary, more career growth opportunities, and better benefits and perks. Ideal team size may vary depending on the company and product, but our results prove that the majority of candidates have similar opinions: 34.2% prefer to work in teams of eight, 26.9% agree on teams of five and 14.3% do their best work in teams of 13. Ideal team size: is living proof of how smaller teams can realize amazing results. The company keeps teams smaller (fewer than 10) in light of its continued growth. As a result, it maintains its value-driven culture and empowers employees to own end-to-end delivery. Whole Foods Perks that bring the team together These days, many tech companies target their recruiting efforts on a younger crowd—primarily Millennials and —thinking they’ll win them over with team-bonding perks from happy hours with beer on tap to onsite foosball competitions and regular outings. Gen Zers In the end, how much of an impact do these types of perks have in swaying talent to say yes to your company? We surveyed candidates on a couple of the most popular extras to find out: happy hours and offsite activities. The results Whether offsite or on, happy hours can give employees a chance to de-stress and network—or head for the hills. As it turns out, a whopping 67.9% prefer to have happy hours . A smaller percentage (21%) would rather rarely go to happy hours, and a very small minority (11.1%) would like to have frequent happy hours. Happy hours: on occasion From offsite training and development to outings dedicated strictly to fun, activities outside of the office can help employees refocus and connect. About half (49%) are indifferent, 35.4% would love to engage outside of the office and 15.6% say no thanks. Out-of-office activities: Just because your company offers perks, doesn’t mean a candidate will say yes to your offer—compensation and traditional benefits, like healthcare and retirement savings plans, are big decision drivers. In fact, according to Indeed.com, pay, financial rewards and benefits are important to 92.9% of tech workers. Extra perks play a major role in the overall culture of your company, however. For instance, employees not only enjoy a benefit that’s uber-attractive to most any candidate—unlimited vacation—but daily lunches, an office bar and game room complete with ping-pong, shuffleboard and board games. Offering benefits and perks that align with its core values, it both attracts great-fit candidates and helps employees see the office as an extension of life. can Atlassian Build your dream team to last Growing a successful engineering team can be a challenge, but it’s not impossible. Sometimes, all it takes is a closer listen to find out what motivates your employees to do their best work, whether that be the occasional happy hour to break away from screen time or a team structure adjustment. In the end, company success relies on creating a positive and rewarding employee experience. In doing this, you’ll not only have a greater chance of attracting the right candidates, but engaging them for years to come.

From Happy Hours to Team Size: What Does Tech Talent Actually Care About?

This article is about influencer marketing. I already know that because I’m going to be distributing this article to a few different communities of readers that I will be getting some mixed feedback on it simply because of the topic. Influencer marketing has come into vogue vis-a-vis the mass adoption of social media. People who were just average, everyday bloggers started garnering enormous followings online and instantaneously had more awareness and viewership on their online profiles than TV, billboards and other types of traditional media. IT didn’t take long for brands to clue into the enormous marketing potential that these influencers had and started paying them huge sums of money to promote their products. Influencers can now receive thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars per post just for supporting a product and telling their fanbase to use and or purchase it. Unsplash The use of social media influencers has received mixed sentiment due to enormous fees paid to individuals and the questionable authenticity of some social media accounts (to be discussed in another article). The use of social media influencers has become so prevalent that it has forced the increased protection of consumer awareness through the mandatory labeling of compensated advertisements (#ad) on social media platforms. The issue with social media influencers is that they are a phenomenon that occurred so quickly, that many traditional marketers had trouble truly adjusting to rapidly changing marketing environment and the way in which to use these influencers to maximize their effectiveness and connect with their target audience without blowing through their entire advertising budget. Even in 2019, we still see many firms struggling with this relatively new concept which leads me to the reasoning behind the writing of this article. Influencer marketing is essential. Why is it essential? is a real thing. Ad blindness A quick google search can show that customers relate to people over brands in . When we look at the reasoning why it all stems from basic psychology. People are able to build meaningful relationships with other people. It’s extremely hard to build an emotional connection or a meaningful relationship with a brand. This is why influencers have become so valuable and why you, as a business — need to leverage them to connect on a more intimate level with your clients. Not to mention that through the use of influencers, you’ll be connecting with your target client on platforms where (social media). almost every single scenario they spend most of their time The evolving marketing landscape is changing at such a rapid pace, businesses have to understand that in-house marketing counsel may not be the best suited to properly leverage these individuals. Trying to do everything yourself (even if you are an established brand) may end up costing you more than it’s worth to find, hire and execute effective campaigns with influencers. Here are the top 5 influencer marketing firms available today to help guide you and your company through the perplexing new world of influencer marketing. In line with the topic, I’m not receiving compensation from any of these firms for writing this article. 1. MediaKix Established in 2011, Mediakix is a leading influencer marketing agency connecting the world’s top brands with passionate socially-engaged audiences through social media influencers, influencer marketing, YouTube influencers, top lifestyle bloggers, and Instagram influencers. They strategize and build high performing campaigns for top brands to engage with their target audiences on YouTube, blogs, Instagram, and emerging social media channels. Mediakix’s influencer marketing campaigns have been among the highest performing campaigns for their clients including Nordstrom, Blue Apron, HauteLook, David Yurman, Birchbox, Indiegogo, Hallmark, NatureBox, Sleep Number, BarkBox, and many more. The Mediakix network of publishers include thousands of blogs, YouTube, and Instagram channels in the fashion, home, design, lifestyle, men’s, travel, photography, and tech space that reaches an audience of over 25 millions fans. 2. HireInfluence HireInflence is an award-winning influencer marketing agency for the world’s most prominent brands. They’ve also been delivering expert strategies and industry-leading results since 2011. They label themselves as a full service influencer marketing agency, specializing in customized promotional campaigns and consulting. Some of their clients include Microsoft, Gatorade, eBay, Warner Bros, Payless Shoes, Oreo, Cosmopolitan, Howard Johnson, Adidas, Southwest Airlines, Vizio, Vanity Fair, NutriBullet and many more. They focus on a holistic strategy, offering the following services to their clients. - All-inclusive content strategies - Influencer casting & placement - Event on-site engagement support - Creative influencer experiences - Ongoing UGC creation & promotion - Influencer marketing consultation 3. Viral Nation Viral Nation has orchestrated some of the most viral marketing campaigns to hit the Internet in the last half-decade. Home to one of the largest exclusive influencer networks in the world, Viral Nation has created meaningful relationships between brands and their consumers to ensure long-term retention and performance-driven results. Led by a team of social media’s top creators, experts, and strategists, our full-service agency is engineered from the ground up to elevate your brand’s image and audience organically. Whether offline experiential events or digital influencer campaigns, they pride ourselves on their diverse brand partnerships that span every sector. They claim to have the largest exclusive talent network in the industry. They include some large, well-known brands in their client lists, including GoPro, Disney, CocaCola, Nestle, and McDonalds. 4. Hello Society A firm initially established in 2011, and acquired by the New York Times in 2016, HelloSociety has been on the forefront of influencer marketing since it became a thing. They have worked with over 500 clients and created over 1500 campaigns, citing them to be trusted industry veterans. HelloSociety boasts some extremely impressive stats, stating that their campaigns deliver a 54% higher engagement rate than the industry average. They also leverage their expertise by achieving a 95% higher average engagement rate on paid campaigns and a 22% higher average engagement rate on organic campaigns year over year. Their client list is extensive, including well-known brands such as Airbnb, CocaCola, Bacardi, Bose, Chevrolet, FedEx, and EY, to name a few. 5. Ignite One of the first agencies, they claim that the best brands have trusted Ignite Social Media since their inception in 2007. They’ve led the way, watching trends come and go, and have been the original creators of some industry practices that are now widespread. Their claim to fame is the Social Media Agency of the Year award which they won in 2016. Ignite has the in-house expertise and relevant experience to deal with end to end influencer campaigns. From content creation to community management, influencer relations to promotions, strategy to reporting, media buying to data analytics, they do it all.

Influencer Marketing: How To Do It Right

Ever-growing business requirements and technology evolution make companies chase sophisticated software solutions that should be both powerful and attractive for end-users. Apart from the need to keep in step with tech trends, organizations also have to take care of their up-and-running systems, as well as ensure the cohesion and integrity of the IT environment. While solutions and IT ecosystems become more intricate, the risk of drawbacks within the software lifecycle augments substantially. As a result, companies constantly face a variety of software-related issues ranging from small bugs to severe code flaws that may harm the entire business. That’s why it is critical for every organization to not only focus on the software development process itself but also prioritize software quality assurance and testing activities that guarantee the following important aspects: · The implemented software performs well and fits business specifics optimally. · The software doesn’t contain vulnerabilities or security flaws, thus ensuring a safe work and robust protection of sensitive data. · The software matches users’ expectations and enables them to fulfill daily activities with the minimum effort. If you are looking for the optimal tech partner with the relevant software testing and QA expertise, here is the review of 30 companies. Each company was ranked according to a predefined set of criteria: online reviews, market presence, geographic strategy, industry experience, customer experience, portfolio. Each provider has its strengths, so you are welcome to find the one that fits your needs and budget best. 1. QualiTest QualiTest is a Software Testing Company that delivers quality assurance and software testing services. Advancing testing methodologies is the distinguished feature of the company. QualiTest strives to provide superior QA solutions and improve their customer’s software quality. 1997 Founded: USA Location: 1000–9,999 Employees: Philips, Microsoft, Intel Major Clients: Mobile Testing Services, Website Testing, Cyber Security Testing Core Services: Website: https://www.qualitestgroup.com/ 2. A1QA A1QA.com has delivered more than 1500 projects to the customers worldwide. Highly qualified staff provides independent software QA and testing services in various industries. The company is constantly improving their automated, manual and security testing methodologies to anticipate any changes in the field. <a href="https://medium.com/media/7403e222cbf5136c6b8f959dc3cd1e6d/href">https://medium.com/media/7403e222cbf5136c6b8f959dc3cd1e6d/href</a> 2003 Founded: USA Location: 250–999 Employees: Adidas, SAP, Acronis, Kaspersky Lab, Pearson, Telekom Austria Group, National Bank of Jamaica Major Clients: Application testing; Cybersecurity Core Services: 25$-49$ Rate per hour: Website: https://www.a1qa.com/ 3. Cigniti Technologies Limited Cigniti is a Software Testing Company with offices in India, USA, UK, South Africa, Canada, and Australia. The company provides enterprises with high-quality expertise and service. Offshore test execution and quality control procedures are the distinguished features of the company. 1998 Founded: USA Location: 1,000–9,999 Employees: Atom Bank, Subway, Southwest Airlines, Bank of America, Snapdeal, Hertz, HP, Ryanair Major Clients: Quality Assurance, Quality Engineering, Digital Assurance, Advisory Core Services: Website: https://www.cigniti.com/ 4. QATestLab QATestLab was founded in 2005 and has been delivering high-quality service for more than 10 years. The professional staff is ready to meet the challenges to ensure the best possible result in a variety of industries including E-commerce, Healthcare, Mobile, Media, and Entertainment, Training and Education. 2005 Founded: Ukraine 50–249 Location: Employees: Jobalign, Bosch, Shell, Snap, G5Games, Sweetrush, Wargaming.net, Cinemagram Major Clients: Manual Testing, Test Automation Core Services: Website: http://qatestlab.com/ 5. Abstracta Abstracta improves customers’ processes by implementing software quality engineering and testing. With 10 years of experience, the company applies cutting-edge tools to its projects in financial, retail and other technology-driven spheres. The agile partnership model is the company’s prominent feature. 2008 Founded: USA Location: 50–249 Employees: PedidosYa, Shutterfly, GeneXus, Republica AFAP, BBVA Major Clients: Test Automation, Mobile Testing, Performance Testing, Software Testing Core Services: $50 — $99 Rate per hour: Website: https://abstracta.us/ 6. QualityLogic QualityLogic combines a flexible service model and software testing procedures to deliver the best services to its customers. Technology experts from the company implement adaptable and scalable engagement model into the working process with in-house customers’ team. 2002 Founded: USA Location: 250–999 Employees: IBM, Broad Vision, Adobe, Riverdeep Major Clients: Automation Testing, Mobile QA, Manual Testing, Security Testing, Performance Testing, API Testing Core Services: $25 — $49 Rate per hour: Website: https://www.qualitylogic.com/ 7. Testlio Testlio is serving its clients by implementing Testing as a Service model. The company helps to launch customers’ products adhering to 4 main principles: devotion to improving QA practices, commitment to consolidate testers community, meeting the highest standards in work and cooperate with reliable apps providers. 2013 Founded: USA Microsoft, Hotels.com, USA Today, OfferUp, Flipboard, Grammarly, GoDaddy, CBS Interactive, Vimeo Location: Major Clients: Mobile Testing, Functional Testing, Localization Testing, Automated Testing Core Services: Website: https://testlio.com/ 8. Ubertesters Ubertesters ensures the best launch of the product by providing mobile and web applications beta testing with a cloud-based, process management tool. Ubertesters professionals help organize and monitor the whole beta testing process for high-quality results and a perfectly working mobile and web apps. 2012 Founded: USA Location: 50–249 Employees: Verizon, T-Mobile, Orange, Houzz, Golf, Intuit Major Clients: Application Testing, Application Management & Support, Cloud Consulting & SI Core Services: $25 — $49 Rate per hour: Website: https://ubertesters.com/ 9. Zymr Zymr offers expertise in product engineering and product support services. The company combines agile development culture with software development standards. Professional staff will the proven previous achievements focus on the customers’ needs and the requirements of end-users. 2012 Founded: USA Location: 50–249 Employees: ILearn2Trade, Vodafone, Nimbler World, FixStream Major Clients: Product Engineering Services, Product Support Services Core Services: $25 — $49 Rate per hour: Website: https://www.zymr.com/ 10. QA Mentor QA Mentor professionals work in all time zones which guarantees anytime customers support. The distinguished feature of the company is a testing laboratory with more than 200 browsers and operating system combinations. The company uses its own special methodologies to ensure the highest quality of software testing. 2010 Founded: USA Location: 50–249 Employees: Zyto, HSBC, Citi, Hitit, Sterling, Morgan Stanley, DivisionOf, GameCloud, Chefmod, GrayHair, Nicopanda Major Clients: Agile QA Services, Automation QA Services, Security Testing Core Services: < $25 Rate per hour: Website: https://www.qamentor.com/ 11. QA InfoTech QA InfoTech is committed to delivering top-notch solutions for its clients. The company applies best practices and strategies to everyday activities and procedures. Client’s needs and goals are their main priority. 2003 Founded: India Location: 1,000–9,999 Employees: Fortune 500s to start-up companies Major Clients: Functional Testing, Automation Testing, Mobile Testing, Performance Testing, Security Testing, Usability Testing, Cloud Testing Core Services: < $25 Rate per hour: Website: https://qainfotech.com/ 12. ThinkSys ThinkSys offers tailor-made solutions for its customers. The company is the place where new software testing methodologies are developed. The professional staff strives to increase the productivity of their customers’ business processes and help to meet their client’s business aims. 2012 Founded: USA 50–249 Location: Employees: Shutterstock, WealthSage, Allegro, BlackBox, BayTech, ProActive Major Clients: Functional Testing, Security Testing, Usability Testing Core Services: Undisclosed Rate per hour: Website: https://www.thinksys.com/ 2012 Founded: USA Location: 50–249 Employees: Shutterstock, WealthSage, Allegro, BlackBox, BayTech, ProActive Major Clients: Functional Testing, Security Testing, Usability Testing Core Services: Website: https://www.thinksys.com/ 13. Testbytes Testbytes is a group of software testers who deliver the best results applying up-to-date software testing methodologies. Reusable automation frameworks, templates, and repositories are the key factors shaping the company’s success. 2011 Founded: India Location: 50–249 Employees: Avalara, Fixle, Taskr, iProgrammer, LearnPick Major Clients: Game Testing, Automation Testing Core Services: < $25 Rate per hour: Website: https://www.testbytes.net/ 14. QASource QASource concentrates on customized solutions and quality assurance services helping their customers’ control the whole process and expected results. Company’s quality assurance services help to anticipate and avoid any risks connected with the testing process. Being among the leading software QA providers, QASource professionals make every effort to deliver high-quality software testing services serving their customers’ needs. 2002 Founded: USA Location: 250–999 Employees: IBM, Broad Vision, Adobe, Riverdeep Major Clients: Automation Testing, Mobile QA, Manual Testing, Security Testing, Performance Testing, API Testing Core Services: $25 — $49 Rate per hour: Website: https://www.qasource.com/ 15. TestingXperts TestingXperts is the company that combines the knowledge of major business processes and the best software development practices. The company strives to exceed the customers’ expectations by providing high-quality Functional and Non-Functional testing and Professional Expertise for Mobile and Cloud Technology. 1996 Founded: USA Location: 50–249 Employees: TestPlant, Query Surge, Smart Bear, Perfecto Mobile Major Clients: Functional Testing, Non-Functional Testing, Specialized Testing Core Services: $50 — $99 Rate per hour: Website: https://www.testingxperts.com/ 16. Testhouse Testhouse has been providing functional and non-functional test services for 17 years. The company specializes in Software Quality Management, Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) and DevOps. Testhouse applies its expertise to a wide range of domains helping its customers to anticipate any risks. 2000 Founded: India, UK Location: 51–200 Employees: Purple Bricks, FlyBMI, DoveTail Services, Emirates NBD Major Clients: Managed Testing Services, Functional Testing, Security Testing, Mobile Testing, Performance Testing, Test Automation Core Services: Website: https://www.testhouse.net/ 17. BugRaptors BugRaptors delivers innovative solutions for obtaining optimal business results. They evaluate the customers’ needs in details before working out the full software development lifecycle. They offer a wide variety of services to exceed the customers’ expectations. 2016 Founded: India, USA Location: 250–999 Employees: the UK and US-based clients Major Clients: Standardised QA Services, Automation Testing Services, Specialized QA Services, Test Consultation Services Core Services: < $25 Rate per hour: Website: https://www.bugraptors.com/ 18. TestArmy TestArmy is a team of professionals offering Quality Assurance Consulting, Security Tests as well as Functional Testing and Performance Testing. Company’s employees support their customers from the start of the project and after launching the product. Certified testers are always ready to find the best solution to the client’s need. 2010 Founded: USA, EU Location: 50–249 Employees: Samsung Electronics, Philips, Yves Rocher, Empik, Nomtek Major Clients: QA Consulting, Functional Testing, Security Testing, Performance Testing, Test automation Core Services: $25 — $49 Rate per hour: Website: https://testarmy.com/ 19. Acutest Acutest pays special attention to customers’ business, technical and user requirements. Software testing, business processes. The company always gives emphasis to the main business activities of its clients for delivering excellent testing service and superior results. 2002 Founded: UK Location: 1–50 Employees: BBC, Costa, Appian, FT, HP, Dell, SAP Major Clients: Managed Testing Services, Specialist and Non-functional testing, Test Automation, Test Transformation Core Services: Undisclosed Rate per hour: Website: https://www.acutest.co.uk/ 20. KiwiQA Being highly experienced in a variety of industries, KiwiQA is a company that not only ensures complete test coverage but also constantly checks the accuracy of software performance. Quality assurance and testing service are characterized by the innovative approach and on-time delivery. 2009 Founded: India Location: 10–49 Employees: Mercury, Lodie, SimpleTix, KPMG, ZingHR Major Clients: Automation Testing, Performance Testing, Mobile Testing, Security Testing, Code Verification, Manual Testing Core Services: Website: https://www.kiwiqa.com/ 21. TestMatick TestMatick provides high standard mobile app and software testing services. Company’s team is ready to solve any existing problem and improve current customers’ processes by performing technical tasks of any difficulty. Flexibility and strive for excellence are the key features that determine their work. 2009 Founded: USA Location: 50–249 Employees: Hubrick, Subscribe Pro, Dahmakan, Improbable Major Clients: Mobile Testing, Functional Testing, Automated Testing, Usability Testing Core Services: $25+ Rate per hour: Website: https://testmatick.com/ 22. CresTech CresTech is a customer oriented software testing company providing functional and non-functional validation for software applications. The company puts stress on effective communication with its customers by identifying their key technical requirements and business needs. 2005 Founded: India 201–500 Location: Employees: Pearson, Adobe, CSC, Siemens, HCL, Intel Major Clients: Test Automation Solutions, Mobile Testing Solutions, Product Quality Management Core Services: Undisclosed Rate per hour: Website: http://crestechglobal.com/ 23. QAwerk QAwerk is a software testing company that applies its experience and expertise to a wide range of industries including electronic government, business automation, and data mining. Professional business analysts and testers guarantee the quality of all the processes as well as bug-free on time and budget work delivery. 2015 Founded: USA 50–249 Location: Employees: Hosting.com, ClearData, Cygnet Cloud, MarketOne, Elsewhen, Unfold Major Clients: Web Solutions Testing, Mobile Application Testing, Desktop Application Testing, Manual Testing, Automated Testing Core Services: $25 — $49 Rate per hour: Website: https://qawerk.com/ 24. TestFort Being the finalist of the European Software Testing awards 2016, TestFort QA Lab complies with the customers’ demand for excellence and professionalism. Its QA engineers have knowledge and expertise in manual and automated testing. The main goal of the company is to deliver exceptional software testing and QA services in different industries worldwide. 2001 Founded: Ukraine Location: 50–249 Employees: The Huffington Post, Symantec, Skype, RebelMouse, Dashlane Major Clients: Manual Testing, Automated Testing, QA Consulting Core Services: $25 — $49 Rate per hour: Website: https://testfort.com/ 25. Global App Testing Global App Testing is known for its customer-oriented approach. Company’s DevOps and Agile teams are in a constantly developing process aimed at improving working process quality and speed. Crowdsourced testing platform for mobile and web apps was created for boosting customers’ development. 2013 Founded: UK 51–200 Location: Employees: Evernote, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, WhatsUp, LiveSafe Major Clients: Exploratory Testing, Test Case Execution, Mobile App Testing, Web App Testing Core Services: Website: https://www.globalapptesting.com/ 26. DeviQA DeviQA is a team of professionals in Quality Assurance and Testing. With over 10 years of experience and more than 100 clients, the company focuses on effectiveness and delivering reasonably priced Quality Assurance solutions. Transparency is their priority in the process of project teams set up. 2010 Founded: Ukraine Location: 50–249 Employees: Sprinklr, CipherHealth, LykeBox Major Clients: Full-cycle Testing, Automated Testing for Web, Test automation for Mobile, Performance/Load and Stress Testing Core Services: $25 — $49 Rate per hour: Website: https://www.deviqa.com/ 27. Codoid Codoid delivers top-level service providing its customers with a flexible team and quality control procedure during the whole process of testing. The company has been working successfully with companies of different sizes for more than 15 years and applied an integrated approach to its procedures. 2012 Founded: India Location: 50–249 Employees: Companies from different industries Major Clients: Application Testing, IT Strategy Consulting, Custom Software Development Core Services: < $25 Rate per hour: Website: https://codoid.com/ 28. Testrig Technologies Testrig works with the companies of different types and sizes. The company combines high-quality service and cost-effectiveness of the delivery process. Company’s employees do their best to simplify all the software testing processes as well as communication with the customer making it transparent and efficient. 2015 Founded: India 10–49 Location: Employees: Invezza Technologies, SEOSitecheckup, Cloudaeon, Avorra, BoardingSchoolReview, CompanyIQ Major Clients: Web and Mobile App Testing, Performance Testing, Security Testing, Automation Testing, Usability Testing Core Services: < $25 Rate per hour: Website: https://www.testrigtechnologies.com/ 29. iBeta iBeta delivers a wide range of software testing services including mobile testing and performance testing, acceptance testing and security testing. The company aims at customers who would like to outsource their testing quality activities and achieve effective results. 1999 Founded: USA 51–200 Location: Employees: Web Testing, Mobile Testing, Security Testing, Assessability Testing Core Services: Website: https://www.ibeta.com/ 30. UTOR The main goal of UTOR is to meet the customer’s needs. They work with companies of different sizes offering software testing services for the companies who do not have an in-house Quality Assurance department. The company is proud of its pioneering solutions designed for a particular customer. 2016 Founded: Ukraine Location: 10–49 Employees: Round Pegs, Itau, Lift and Squat Major Clients: Automation Testing, Performance Testing, Security Testing, QA audit Core Services: < $25 Rate per hour: Website: https://u-tor.com/

Top Software Testing Companies in 2019

With multi-channel becoming the norm, omnichannel a priority, digital transformation not a debate but a necessity, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) having more than a foot in the door, customer empathy and personalization reigning supreme — (CX) has turned into one of the most intriguing phenomenons to have emerged in the last decade, and continues to both confound and fascinate enterprises. customer experience According to Gartner, improving customer experience is one of the top outcomes organizations seek. And that’s for good reason, as customer expectations of companies to has reached whole new heights. comprehend their needs But a question that remains unanswered for many enterprises is how they will measure their CX improvements. Here we look at five customer experience metrics that’ll point you in the right direction, no matter which industry you’re from. 1. Customer Loyalty Information about the average buying tenure, purchase frequency, use of various buying channels, average order size and repeat ordering can help you gauge the likelihood of a customer staying a customer in the long run. On the other hand, churn rate points towards the percentage of customers who either don’t make repeat purchases from the same seller or stop using the service(s) of a company after one use or a few, for good. Although there seems to be no secret sauce for winning customer loyalty except through continually working towards customer gratification, rewards and loyalty programs are one tactic which has stood the test of time as a way to introduce profitability and delight in the buying cycles of loyal customers. In Feb. 2015, as a result of ceaselessly rewarding its frequent flyers, such as the time it with free round-trip tickets home for the holidays. Air Canada was named the top airline in customer loyalty surprised Canadians living in London Of course, rewards and loyalty programs come as an add on, only after the basic tenets of customer experience are met: quality, convenience, value, ease of use and consistency. 2. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Broadly speaking, customer satisfaction can be described as the “fulfillment quotient” of a customer after engaging with a brand. It’s measured through various techniques, often carried out in retrospect, including questionnaires or ratings aimed at surveying how satisfied a customer felt after using a service or buying a product. Questions can focus on factors such as the speed of delivery, query resolution after speaking to a customer rep, the overall experience or service or just the quality of a product or service. Although every small customer interaction matters, a survey by McKinsey & Company found that instead of measuring specific interactions, gauging satisfaction on the entire customer journey is of the overall customer satisfaction. The same survey identified three areas which build a foundation for consistent customer satisfaction: customer-journey consistency (in an increasingly multichannel, multitouch world), emotional consistency (earning trust) and communication consistency (walking the talk). 30 percent more predictive 3. Brand Advocacy Your brand advocates are clearly more than your repeat buyers. These are the people with a deep emotional connection with your brand, which prompts them to willingly endorse or recommend your product, service or organization. Again, it demands great consistency and personalization across all marketing channels and a sprinkle of exclusive attention which the customer receives, that differentiates you in their eyes, as opposed to your competitors. Brand advocates share their thoughts via social media, emails, online chats and forums, ecommerce sites, and through the power of word of mouth (identified by ). Nielsen as the most credible advertising Learning more and more about your customers, not just their needs, but what inspires them, is the lifeblood of advocacy. Being honest, transparent, lending an ear to customers’ needs, adapting to their preferences and quick resolution to their queries can be the starting points. Observing sentiment scores on social media, trust ratings, poll or event participation are a few parameters to judge advocacy among your customer base. Once you identify them, the next thing is to create incentive programs, and empower your advocates to influence their social circles. 4. Customer Effort Score (CES) Customers love finding the easiest possible route to solve their problems or perform a task. From a larger perspective, it can be anything: from making a service request to finding a product. Making your customers struggle too long to achieve their goals and you’ll see them switch loyalties in no time. Customer effort score (CES) typically pertains to customer service and is measured following an interaction via review forms or sometimes even by calling the customer. The rating or review is often taken on a scale of 0 (meaning very dissatisfied) to 5/10 (meaning highly satisfied) and is generally accompanied by an optional comments section. However, despite the best efforts to raise the bar of interactions, companies fail to look at customer service resolution from the customer’s perspective. According to , 95 percent of respondents cited customer service to be a key factor in deciding their loyalty towards a brand. Microsoft’s Global Customer Service Report 5. Employee Engagement (EE) Picture an attendant at Starbucks happily interacting with customers. Now picture that same person serving customers with a blank expression. Employee engagement and customer experience are closely entwined. Think of Southwest Airlines, Zappos, Sainsbury or even Amazon. The contribution the employees of these companies make on their customer experience is nothing short of remarkable. However, despite the obvious advantages — such as higher productivity, better sales and increased employee retention rate — many companies still don’t take employee engagement very seriously. According to a 2015 , only 32 percent of US workers were engaged in their jobs. Gallup poll If personalization and care while dealing with customers holds importance for your organization, then there’s a good chance that happy and fulfilled employees will find it easier than discontented employees to deliver on your promises of quality and value. An Unwavering Commitment to Customer Needs Forrester findings reaffirm the importance of customer experience, with 72 percent of companies naming . Initiatives around customer experience technology and customer experience management have gained importance, making it an integral part of enterprise business strategy to achieve operational efficiency and profitability. improving CX as one of their top priorities Great customer experience stems from unwavering commitment to customer needs. And that includes repeatedly providing clear and memorable experiences, unmatched personalization and intuitiveness. It starts from your own people who deliver the service to your customers, but never ends, even after the customer is long gone (sometimes to never return). Much has been written about the high cost of acquiring new customers as compared with retaining existing ones. Obviously this does not mean you stop looking for new customers, but it’s just one more argument why you should be providing your existing ones with the best experience possible. Make your customer experience best in class, keep measuring what’s most important to them, and turn those metrics into action. Pimcore guest blog published on CMSWire

5 Customer Experience Success Metrics That Never Disappoint

The fact that airlines function at all is incredible for those who know how they work. Airlines are hubs of communication in a way, as they are involved with maintenance, security, reservation details, baggage, flight delays, passenger logistics, and cancellations. They track baggage, travel arrangements, as well as passenger loyalty points. Distributors and tourist agencies, for instance, need to track airline details, too, and if information goes afoul, travelers and airlines can lose hundreds to millions of dollars, at best. At worst, cracks in data protection can lead to a disaster. Luckily, blockchain technology (with its transparent ledger and smart contracts) shows potential in helping each of these different layers of communication know exactly what’s going on moment to moment. It can collaboratively update important information, keep airline and passenger data secure, contract ticket conditions for smooth flow, and refund money if any of the conditions are broken. The Problems Airlines have several problems, foremost of which is that there is no single source of truth about flight data, and the data that does exist is not easily accessible by all parties. This is known as the “flight data problem.” While there are many cases of airlines and airports collaborating to share flight data, this data still resides in separate silos. The result is that when there are flight delays, passenger apps, airport flight information display systems, airline websites, their telephone reservation systems and agents give contradictory information. This may result in a loss to the airline’s reputation, the loss of time and money for that airline, travellers, and stakeholders, and it can result in costly litigations. USA Today, for instance, the database website masFlight.com and highlighted that cancelled flights cost airlines, stranded passengers, and corporate companies millions of dollars. cited The existence of fractured, centralized information also leads to other problems, like websites shutting down or becoming hacked, airlines unable to track their maintenance needs, and the struggle to track passengers and baggage. That’s where the blockchain comes in with its developing technology that’s slanted to help airlines improve customer experience and safety. Blockchain solutions: For the airline With 3.8 billion air travelers in 2016, as well as air travel projected to double over the next 19 years, the airline industry has its work cut out for them. They need to provide maximum security and safety, show responsiveness and care, display efficacy, and communicate with their stakeholders and travelers in a timely manner. according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), And it’s with the following areas where the blockchain is about to take off: Ticketing — Most airlines provide the option of e-tickets in order to smooth over the passenger’s flight. E-tickets are, in essence, the customer’s travel details that are stored in and retrieved from a massive database. The blockchain can use smart contracts to add business logic and terms and conditions around how that ticket is sold and used, which can help the tickets be sold by different partners, and in real time from anywhere in the world. Passenger information — The amount of data shared in real time is enormous. Forget about coordinating flights. Even when tracking passengers on a single flight, each airline has to, at the bare minimum, keep track of when a passenger has checked in for their flights, when their tickets are scanned as they board, and where their bags are in reference to their final destination. Airlines do not want another PR disaster like where a man was forcefully dragged from an overbooked United flight in Chicago. Once the decentralized ledger achieves the same data speed as centralized websites, the blockchain can use its unique qualities of transparency and collaborativeness to prevent overbooking and revenue loss. United’s Dr. Dao incident, Cancelled or delayed flights — Airlines have to notify passengers of scheduled changes at least 14 days before they occur, otherwise passengers receive compensation or a refund. Recently, for flight delays. Understandably, the airlines were none too pleased, but , aside from which flight data resides in different silos (folders, categories, different IT processes or systems) so travelers tend to receive contradictory information. In time, the blockchain could present this single point of truth, with stakeholders providing up-to-date and verified information that saves airlines both money and stress. India proposed higher compensation they are not always able to know or prevent changes in time Maintenance — In 2017, the blockchain as a digital ledger shared by airlines, MRO teams, and OEMs to record flight events, operation conditions, and scheduled aircraft maintenance checks. Airlines have to ensure that all data about the status of an engine or other parts are up to date and securely shared by all interested parties. At the moment, airline maintenance logs are in cumbersome databases or, at worst, in paper binders. The blockchain can collate all of that information and verify that all parts are legitimate, while offering a real-time record of repairs, purchases, construction, and maintenance checks. This visibility can take aircraft security to whole new levels. IBM proposed Security and identity — Airlines have the crucial responsibility of protecting passenger records, flight manifests, and crew information. In May 2018, the digital security company and found that only six scored a perfect ranking. Most airlines, including Delta Airlines and Southwest Airlines, achieved an average rating. Data protection in today’s insecure world cannot be understated. Blockchain technology with its high resilience to hacking can provide a far less risky method of storing and sharing information through the use of authorized access requirements. Dashlane tested the password of 55 airline websites Resilience to hacking and glitches — Because airline industries are centralized, they are vulnerable to hacking, crashing, or computer outage. F . In 2016, more than 650 flights and delaying many more in the US, Japan, Italy, and the UK. With a decentralized blockchain, however, airlines, travelers, and stakeholders can rely on an uninterrupted flow of credible, up-to-date information. or a full five days in 2015, Russia crashed Sweden’s air traffic control system to allegedly test electronic warfare capabilities Delta experienced a computer outage, cancelling Blockchain solutions: For the traveler Airline travelers can find that the blockchain has solutions for them, too, for the following reasons: , offered by frequent flyer programs, save you money on air travel, or they could offer you other rewards. Usually, you have to wait until loyalty points settle in order to use them, and you are limited on where you can spend them. By tokenizing loyalty points on the blockchain, you can get instant value by redeeming them on the spot. Loyalty — Loyalty points — Airlines tag all sorts of fees on top of their already high expenses. Given meager competition, certain companies have a monopoly on the industry and set their own fees. On top of that, airlines charge fees and taxes for the airport, distributors, local, state, and federal governments. Blockchain technology short-circuits some of these fees by bringing other players into the field and eliminating third-party intervention. Cost Since data resides on different silos, passengers tend to get conflicting information on their flights. In 2017, which investigated the potential use of the blockchain for flight information storage and management. It found that since the blockchain presents a single source of truth for flight data, it can save passengers considerable time, stress, and money. The flight data problem — IT firm SITA announced the results of its FlightChain project, In short, blockchain technology can revolutionize the airline industry in four major ways: It provides access to cryptographically fixed updates/information that is distributed to all participants in the network, so everyone knows that the record of transactions (i.e., the details of flight change or cancellation) is true and consistent for all participants. The blockchain provides a mechanism for several people to update a common data set, where that data set is visible to all participants on that ledger (primarily all stakeholders of that particular airline). With centralized systems, you don’t know what to believe aside from what the system could crash or be hacked. The blockchain has the trust aspect since all records are immutably recorded and collaboratively shared, so all participants see them and can contradict them if necessary. A centralized database is controlled only by one authority, which opens it up to mistakes. The ledger, however, works through smart contracts where not only do different organizations share control of the data, but they also implement an approved and shared set of business rules through smart contracts. This gives the data credibility, since it makes errors far less likely to occur. Blockchain Services for Airlines The three blockchain platforms for airlines are , and . Further Network, Fizzy Winding Tree Further Network Further Network is launching a decentralized billing, settlement, and payment (BSP) model for safer and more convenient traveling, as well as other options to meet all travel needs. It achieves these developments through its smart contracts (called Smart Travel Records [STR]) and its digital currency, Aton. Further’s innovations help airline industries improve their services, visibility, and profitability. Airline are barely able to function, let alone innovate, with their 2.5%-5% profit margins. A decentralized BSP model hacks settlement and payment costs, enabling airlines to increase their profits. Further accomplishes this by removing third parties and by accomplishing uninterrupted, real-time P2P communication. Further offers airlines and travelers the following: 1. The decentralized billing, settlement, payment (BSP) process: Further Network helps airlines reduce operational costs (by eliminating third parties), so airlines can focus on customer-centric experiences, consequently increasing their profits. 2. Passenger wallet with biometric ID: Further gives users an Individual Customer Wallet for managing their travel assets and Aton transactions. Also adds the biometric identification to their wallets to help improve the “customer’s journey” by reducing the multiple ID data points into a single point that is under control of the traveler. 3. P2P Travel Product Distribution: Since the International Air Transport Association (IATA) serves as a liaison between airlines and travel agencies, non-IATA airlines lack visibility. Further’s blockchain not only helps such airlines promote themselves, but they also help these companies transmit their inventory over the distributed ledger. 4. The blockchain-based passenger service system: Further’s blockchain gives airlines a secure decentralized data management system. The ticket must do more than just record flight information. It should also be customizable for the travelers’ needs and preferences. Tokenizing these tickets (through STR) help stakeholders and travelers change, sell, add options, and customize their tickets. 5. Open network standards and P2P exchange market: Airlines, hotels, car rentals, cruise and railroad operators, and stakeholders alike could use Further Network’s blockchain to build their own technology, helping them expand and innovate their systems. In short, Further’s blockchain technology helps airlines improve all components of their business including customer service, inventory management, transportation, torage and materials handling, marketing, information processing, demand forecasting, and other activities. Blockchain technology also helps airlines boost their direct channel sales, cross-selling, and dynamic pricing. The shared ledger provides a closed decentralized cloud system for secure data management and cost cutting. With all stakeholders sharing real-time communication through Further’s ledger, airlines can prevent security problems, boost their appeal, and increase their profits. s Fizzy Fizzy, rolled out by French insurance company AXA, is another blockchain platform that promises customers instant and conflict-free refunds on airline delays longer than two hours. Airline passengers subscribe to Fizzy and enter their ticket numbers on Fizzy’s shared ledger. Fizzy’s smart contracts record traveler details and the condition that whenever an airline has at least a two hour delay, payment is automatically triggered and the traveler receives compensation. Fizzy’s smart contracts are connected to global air traffic databases, so passenger compensation is automatic. Customers do not need to file claims and the smart contract minimizes discrepancies between the insurance company and customers. For now, payouts are issued in fiat currencies, although AXA aims to eventually use Ether. Fizzy, too, only covers US transatlantic flights and Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. By the end of 2018, it plans to cover the rest of the world. Winding Tree Winding Tree uses the Ethereum network as a decentralized travel platform that minimizes transaction costs between suppliers and end users, including hotels. Winding Tree levels the field by allowing travelers unmediated interactions with all distributors, not just those who monopolize the industry, so that travelers can get the lowest costs. Since the blockchain is transparent, participants can also follow what’s going on. The platform uses an ERC20 token, Lif. Other benefits include the following: Suppliers distribute inventory directly to points of sale, skipping costly intermediaries and bottlenecks. Sellers access inventory from all suppliers from a single platform with no markup fees and no barriers to entry. Travelers use Lif to directly pay for travel needs. The result? Air travel and airline operations becomes cheaper, smoother, and more reliable for all parties and the airline industry becomes more democratic. , are three of many airlines that use Winding Tree. Air New Zealand Swiss Air, and Lufthansa Conclusion Blockchain technology for the airline industry is a perfect match. Multiple actors depend on timely, coherent, consistent, and thoroughly accurate data for not only making and implementing plans but also for sharing traveler and operation information, among other aspects. At the moment, airlines have a problem with communication discrepancy resulting in impaired airline reputation, costly litigations, and the loss of time and money for the airline, travellers, and stakeholders. The blockchain technology can help solve this problem with its transparent, distributed ledger that is both permanent and secure. Airlines can use blockchain technology to manage their massive amounts of data on flights, baggage, passengers, and weather. They can use it to track maintenance needs and to improve ticketing services by using smart contracts. Passengers can use the blockchain for managing loyalty points, for coordinating their flights, and for cutting costs, among other things. Both airlines and travelers can use blockchain services like Further Network, Fizzy, or Winding Tree to integrate airline touchpoints, get refunds, and minimize transaction costs. By adopting blockchain technology, airlines can create more efficient service models and provide better customer service and security. About the author: — Founder of Geekforge.io and Howtotoken.com. Interviewing the top 10,000 worldwide experts who reveal the biggest issues on the way to technological singularity. Join my . Kirill Shilov #10kqachallenge: GeekForge Formula

Could crypto technology make the future of airlines better?

Venture Capitalist Interview “I’m happy to put time in because I enjoy doing it. If I didn’t enjoy doing it I wouldn’t.” Brad Feld lives in Boulder, runs marathons, loves to read and works as Managing Director at the , a venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage information technology companies. They‘ve popularized “ ” and have a . I have been — learning a ton from his writing — and it was great to finally meet him in person after lunch at . He sounds like the person you read. I think the whole conversation is worth sharing, so I transcribed it, cleaned it up just a bit, and divided it chronologically by subject matter below. Foundry Group thematic Investing remarkable portfolio publishing Brad since June 2016 #Connect17 _David Smooke: I wanted to thank you for contributing to Hacker Noon. Brad Feld: Sure. David Smooke: We've built a…_hackernoon.com (1/8) Writer / Publisher Relations on Medium - Hacker Noon _David Smooke: So today you talked a lot about customer centric. I wanted to start with who's your customer? Brad Feld…_hackernoon.com (2/8) Who's a Venture Capitalist's Customer? - Hacker Noon _David Smooke: I do have thousands of half stories. There's so many drafts, I don't know how you go about- Brad Feld: I…_hackernoon.com (3/8) The Venture Capitalist's Writing Process - Hacker Noon _David Smooke: Whenever you come to an event like this ... So you're an investor in the company, is it like going to a…_hackernoon.com (4/8) The Venture Capitalist at His Investment's First Conference -Hacker Noon _David Smooke: Cool, cool, I'm trying to imagine in your shoes now, it's a little difficult. How did you ... Whenever…_hackernoon.com (5/8) How Brad Feld Realized He Was a Venture Capitalist - Hacker Noon _David Smooke: Where's the most common area that you're working with your investments. Where do people find the most…_hackernoon.com (6/8) What Venture Capitalists Can Bring to Product Development - Hacker Noon _David Smooke: Are there any, investments that particularly stick with you as, I was sure it was gonna work and it didn…_hackernoon.com (7/8) The Nearly 30 Year Quest To Solve The Business Address Book Problem-Hacker Noon _David Smooke: I don't want to keep you too long. But one other thing I wanted to ask you about, 'Cause you do a very…_hackernoon.com (8/8) How Venture Capitalists Market Their Stories - Hacker Noon Special thanks to the #Connect17 team. They threw their first conference last week, helping make this interview happen. Some of the speakers’ stories are still resonating with me: how SumAll CEO correlated limes to revenue and figured out which bartender was stealing from his bar, what Social Media Energy’s CVO learned about social media engagement by surviving a heart attack on Southwest Airlines, and when Black Swan Group CEO explained his approach to business relationships over time: “ .” Full Contact Dane Atkinson Luke Wyckoff Chris Voss your second most important impression is your first impression; your most important impression is your last

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