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You will find more info about their products and services at Likno’s Web site and at the Likno Software Blog. You may also want to visit the Photo Frame Show Web site.

Aris Filokostas, the company’s founder and CEO, generously shared with us his views and knowledge on various business related topics. His answers are sure to give you great food for thought:

- What has been Likno Software’s biggest achievement so far?

Likno Software’s initial flagship product has been “AllWebMenus,” a niche B2B product that targets web professionals (i.e. web developers, designers, Web site owners, web marketers, companies that manage customers’ Web sites etc.) seeking to enhance their own or their customers’ Web sites with cross-browser menus. More value-added products have also been developed targeting the same market, resulting in a growing customer base of thousands of paid international users from a variety of sectors, such as private, public, government, military, education, etc. Apart from the paid users, many more thousands of users are aware of the brand LIKNO.COM as we advertise on online services (such as Google Adwords), have presence in download sites and exposure in magazines, perform search engine optimization strategies and many other marketing-related actions through our in-house, highly-specialized web marketing team.

- What has been Likno Software’s biggest challenge and how has it been overcome?

Competition in our niche market has been growing as there are no apparent barriers to entry. More teams/companies are offering similar solutions to ours, especially from low-cost countries such as China and Eastern Europe. We believe that we have been overcoming this challenge through persistence in our customer support efforts (pre-sales and after-sales) and focusing in the usability of our products (rather than on features only). The support efforts are very important, as this is a deciding factor on many end users when comparing products with similar features. We also try to lead through new feature ideas (that competitors do not offer) which we make soon available with frequent releases.

- If you could change one thing in the software development industry, what would it be? Why?

Marketing costs. If you compare the early 2000 years with the present, you will see that we are now spending much more money in marketing with lower ROI. Why? One major reason is the high competition on PPC platforms, mainly Google Adwords. Software developers shoot their own foot by trying to overbid each other, thus making the PPC platforms richer, but not necessarily themselves.

We also notice that there is a lot of click fraud in campaigns which goes undetected; that consequently increases the advertising budget significantly, without return. While the PPC platforms claim that they do their “best effort” to reduce click fraud, we do not believe they are doing so, as they also profit from this situation (it is interesting to read the related Wikipedia article on “click fraud”). Unethical software competitors may also be part of this.

Now, why do I feel that this is important for the software development industry?

We are all forced to increase our prices or reduce our quality (less support for example) to compensate for the higher marketing expenditures. This has a negative impact on the end user while software developers do not generate a higher profit (but PPC platforms do). It appears that the major search engines have made us (advertisers) so dependent on their PPC platforms that whenever we try to reduce this marketing expense and focus somewhere else, we eventually get hit from significantly lower sales.

What I am saying is that the same traffic that used to be generated through free or cheaper means (organic search results, search through download sites only, etc.) now is reverted to an expensively paid traffic source due to the way search engines operate, thus reducing our profit margin.

I would therefore recommend that we (competitors of software products) get into a tighter communication and establish a common voice so that the PPC platforms do not operate without control. As an example, our costs have gone up because one day a PPC platform decided that the minimum bid for given keywords should be “20 cents” instead of “5 cents” that was before. The only 4 software competitors on these keywords had no choice than to accept this 4-fold increase on their marketing expense! The same traffic would still come to their Web sites, same sales, but lower profit now.

What if these 4 software competitors had a common voice (through an agency of international software developers for example) and boycotted these keywords all together? Would this PPC platform try to increase our marketing expenses without any valid reasoning again?

- What effect has the economy had on the company?

We have experienced a slight decrease in sales, mainly from USA which accounts for the majority of sales. We have seen customers telling us that their spending budgets are cut this year and while they do want to renew their Update Plans, they cannot. We believe that this year we will have slightly decreasing sales from existing products, but the new products we are releasing will compensate for this.

- What advice do you have for others starting out in the software development industry?

Focus on rapid application development and frequent releases. Do not try to have all features in version 1. Otherwise, you will be developing the product for “ages” without getting any market signals if this makes sense, plus you may lose significant part of the market from competitors already there.

By releasing soon and often you get a “feeling” on the product’s momentum without spending a lot of capital and you also get significant feedback from customers on what features are important to develop or not.

Do not disregard the value of excellent usability and well-formed GUI. If you only focus on features without paying attention to how you deliver them to the end user, you will have a “powerful” product that nobody wants to use; and a competitor with slightly less features but better GUI will get the customers.

Customer support is very important too. Think of every customer issue as an “opportunity” rather than a “problem.” Opportunity to improve the interface, documentation, processes, examples, blog, videos, anything.

Finally, a good product also needs good marketing in order to sell. Do not think that “if you build it they will come.” At least one in your team should have his mind concentrated on how to constantly increase the targeted traffic to your website and how to convert this traffic into paying customers. Find this person if you cannot do it yourself; it is important.

Mr. Filokostas, thank you very much for your thorough answers! Additional thanks to Natasha Giannopoulou for making this interview possible.

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You can learn more about the company’s creations at its official Web site.

Sensacell’s Leo Fernekes kindly agreed to answer questions about business and the technology industry:

- How has the industry changed since Sensacell was founded?

We have seen tremendous growth in the industry. Products like Apple’s iPhone have significantly raised the level of expectation among the general public—architects and designers are now racing to deliver environments and experiences that live up to this new standard for interactive experiences.

- What is the most rewarding aspect of running your business?

Watching it grow; it’s wonderful to develop a new technology and have it be enthusiastically embraced by the marketplace.

- What is least glamorous part of running your company?

Dealing with the nitty-gritty aspects of manufacturing.

- Where do you see Sensacell three years from now?

Our plans involve opening a factory and headquarters in Thailand to increase our economic efficiency and better serve the Asian and European markets.

- Which steps are taken to set Sensacell apart from its competition?

Sensacell has utilized extensive market and design research in the development of our products and business strategy. The field of interactive technology is young but rapidly gaining momentum. We have designed our technology to be highly flexible so that it can be applied to many different applications—many of which are being developed as I write this.

Our key concept is to be Design Agnostic—our products are designed to seamlessly integrate with architectural surface materials, so designers have free reign to create environments and experiences that are never limited by the look and feel of the core technology itself.

Leo, thank you for the interview!

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In addition to Be Inspired’s Web site, Leila also keeps a blog (a very good one by the way): Inspired By This. You can meet her at Twitter too.

She kindly agreed to answer questions about business schools, the effect of the current crisis over the wedding industry and other topics, as you’ll see below:

- You are a business school graduate from Santa Clara University. This brings up an inevitable question: do what they teach in business schools have anything to do with what actually happens in the business world?

Graduating as a Marketing major from Santa Clara University has undoubtedly given me the tools that I needed to succeed in both my career and everyday life! Whilst courses in ‘Wedding PR 101’ weren’t offered to me, my business school education gave me the foundation and entrepreneurial spirit to go out and conquer the business world. Unarguably no single course or degree can ever wholly prepare you for the real world, yet I attribute much of my leadership, knowledge, and drive to the education I received at Santa Clara.

- How has the wedding industry been affected by the current state of the economy (if at all)?

The wedding industry has without a doubt been impacted by our current economic state. Although many high end luxury weddings are still being booked, the impact is evident in that what was once a $150k budget is now comparably $60k or $75k. Oftentimes I see couples who traditionally had much larger budgets trimming down their expenses to save money; hiring less full service wedding planners and vendors for example. With clients capping their budgets and vendors seeing a decrease in revenue, the trickledown effect is in full force!

Oddly enough, while the economy has impacted my business negativity in some areas, it’s increased my business in other less traditional forms. For example; using advertising placements in wedding publications is an expense that clients have been cutting back on to save money. Yet in response to this, wedding magazines have consulted me to help them find ways to keep the funding from loyal supporters. As an attempt to maintain their business they’ve outsourced ‘Be Inspired PR’ to find innovative ways to provide added value to their advertisers.

- How do seasonal events impact your PR business?

To be honest, seasonal events rarely impact my business, as there is always a service to be offered for new or existing clients. Whether its revamping the foundation of their brand or pitching their venture to existing wedding media outlets—there is never a lack of work to be done.

- Your company has a national presence. Do your procedures vary on a regional level? Or are they always the same across the different US regions?

Every region is most certainly unique and different, that’s the beauty of the US, and one of the aspects of my business that I find most invigorating and challenging! Trends in the luxury wedding industry vary from coast to coast most dramatically; changes in budgets, styles, traditions, and trends in market being most poignantly indicative of this. In order to accommodate these changes, I take into account the local media outlets as well as investigating every wedding market region. This allows me to prepare a comprehensive custom PR strategy that fits their individual needs.

- What were the most rewarding words you’ve heard from a client?

A longtime client of mine has recently had some fabulous media placement and television success through my company, and just a few weeks ago, she shared these kind words with me:

“Thanks for all of your hard work… You have changed my life and the course of my business beyond my wildest expectations! My deepest, sincerest gratitude!” —S.L

Additionally a new potential client, who I spoke with today, validated my purpose in creating this business by saying:

“How is that you understand and can anticipate my needs and goals so quickly. You are exactly what my company has been missing and I am so grateful that I found you.” —J.B

Hearing such feedback is what consistently motivates me!

Leila, thank you for your answers!

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At his Web site UnderstandingMarketing.com you will find several articles about marketing and PR .

In this interview, John talks about the importance of PR for a business, the role played by the Internet and PR mistakes that a small business owner must avoid.

- Why did you write this e-book?

A couple of things inspired me to write the e-book.

First, there are millions of small businesses out there that simply don’t (and may never) have the budget to hire a PR or marketing firm to get their name out there. We’re talking a good $5,000 a month to hire a good PR firm. In this economy especially, small business isn’t writing that check. That being said, I’m a very large believer in small business since my father owned one and my wife currently is starting one. Small business deserves to have a level playing field.

Second, we’ve seen six-plus million people join the unemployment ranks since January 2008. A good majority of these people are going to be the ones to pull us out of this recession since they’ll be starting up their own small business with new goods and services (especially since corporate America won’t be hiring them back any time soon). So I wanted the e-book to help these start-ups as well. For $29.99 you can get basically many of the same results that a PR firm will get for you because it shows you how to get more media exposure.

- How did you condense your nearly 20 years of professional experience in the e-book’s 30 pages?

Well, naturally there are still some secrets I wasn’t able to fit into this edition. And I’ll be planning more toolkits in the future that focus on specific areas of PR and promotions. But it’s amazing how much PR you truly can get for your business just by focusing on the fundamentals—with a few really good secrets sprinkled in as well.

I could have easily had this e-book span 100 pages, but I didn’t want any fluff in this e-book. I can’t stand it when I read a book that says it will show you how to do something, and all it does is talk in circles chapter after chapter. I wanted to get down to business and make it an easy read so that any small business can put it down after 30-45 minutes and be ready to do some really great PR.

- What’s the actual importance of PR for a small business?

PR accomplishes several things. It gets people talking about you, which ultimately increases your sales, revenues and profits. It keeps customers interested so that you can sustain that level of increased profits. It makes you look like a bigger company, especially if The New York Times is talking about you, for example. And it establishes much-needed credibility since other people are talking about how great you are instead of you talking about how great you are. When you take all of this, combined with the fact that you can get it for $29.99 instead of the thousands you’d have to spend on a PR firm or placing an advertisement, it makes great business sense.

- From a PR standpoint, what’s the worst mistake a small business owner can make?

The worst thing a small business owner can do is either not give PR a chance or give up too easily. I want every small business owner to know that they are capable of doing great PR, but that doesn’t mean it comes easy or that it happens over night. You have to work at PR just like you have to work at a marriage because there are many similarities.

PR is about building trust and solid relationships with the media, and that just doesn’t happen over night. Plus, there is an element of sales involved, since you’re basically selling a story idea to a reporter. Plus, since you can’t really control the timing of a story, you have to have patience with reporters. But persistence is as big a part of this game as skill is, and this e-book talks about how to be persistent in all the right ways. Yes, there is a difference between good persistence and bad persistence.

- Which role does the Internet play in a small business’ overall PR strategy?

Like in many other facets of business, the Internet is playing a much larger role today in PR. But that’s a good thing because it’s bringing more opportunity to more people.

From free press release publishing Web sites to reporter resources like HelpAReporterOut.com, the Internet is enabling everyone to be their own PR person. What’s more, social media sites like Facebook.com and Twitter.com are going to change the world of PR and journalism forever. I promise you this. Every small business owner MUST be getting familiar with these Web sites because it’s less the future and more the now.

- How would you feel if you found out that a reader got so excited over the ebook’s content, that he/she decided to start a career in the PR industry?

I’d like to think it wouldn’t surprise me. I wrote this e-book with all the passion I have for PR. If it inspires someone to actually pursue a career in PR then that means that passion came through in those 30 pages. I’d be honored to have that person as a colleague for life.

John, thank you for your answers!

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This article is aimed at those business owners who are determined to hire a social network marketer and need some guidance to find a good professional. If that’s you, please keep on reading. If that’s *not* you, read this post all the same, because you never know when you’ll need these tips.

What should you do before you hire a social networking specialist?

I’m going to write a series of short posts about hiring social media managers. All of my tips will reflect solely my views on the subject, i. e., I’m going to tell you what I would do if I were in your place.

First of all, at the present I’m not in your place. I don’t feel the need to hire a social networking specialist. Do you know why? It’s because I’m familiar enough with social networking sites and tools. Therefore, I don’t need any professional help to use them.

The paragraph above is more important than you may be thinking. It contains my main piece of advice for those who plan to hire social networking specialists.

Here is the first and main thing you must do before you hire someone to take care of your company’s social networking efforts: familiarise yourself with the social media universe.

Why you must get used to social media sites before hiring a specialist

Now you may be thinking that you don’t need to learn anything about social networking sites. After all,  you’re willing to invest your money in a competent social media manager. He/she is the one supposed to be familiar with social media, not you. Right?

Wrong.

I’m not telling you to become a social networking specialist yourself (although that wouldn’t be a bad idea at all). I’m simply advising you to discover what social media is about before you open your wallet.

Why?

Because if you make an effort to at least learn the basics, you’ll be better equipped to find and hire an actual social media specialist. If you don’t know anything about social networking sites, you may end up hiring  someone who doesn’t know much more than you. Or maybe someone who does know much more than you, but is unable to use this knowledge in an effective manner.

So, here’s your homework: take some time to open accounts at LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Play a bit with these sites. If in doubt, ask a friend to lend you a hand. Or leave a comment with your questions, and I’ll do my best to help you.

Soon I’ll publish more suggestions to help you make an informed decision when you hire a social networking specialist. Subscribe to Abaminds Entrepreneurs so you don’t miss any tips.

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Falling Short On Your Freelance Resolutions? Try, Try Again – Consistency and habits can do wonders for freelancers.

Finding new business 9: an alternative to cutting prices – Looks like a good idea. It does make sense and may be worth a try.

Message To New Copywriters – Another great article on the cutting prices issue. It shows you that you don’t need to market yourself/your company as “cheap.”

How I Used Inbound Marketing to Find a Job in a Recession – Even if you aren’t currently looking for a job, read this article and keep its tips in mind, just in case.

Try This: Turn One Edition of Your Print Newsletter into Three Postcards – The article is aimed at non-profits, but the tip can be used by nearly everyone. You will contact your subscribers more often and won’t spend more money to do this. What else could you want?

When freelancing isn’t enough – it’s OK to have another job too – Don’t be ashamed if you need to get a day job to make ends meet. Pride won’t help you pay your bills.

Groups vs. Individuals: Ruining It for the Rest of Us – I won’t make any comments on this one. I’ll just leave the link there for you to read the article and draw your own conclusions.

Are Moms Bad for Business? – I’m surprised that reactions to this article have been so friendly, considering its controversial nature.

Business Blogging: What’s the Point? – What’s the actual purpose of your business blogging activities? Maybe you’ve been paying too much attention to things that aren’t so important for your company.

Will Small Business have Turn at Trough? – What’s better for small businesses now: more loans or less taxes? I’m inclined to agree with Professor Cornwall.

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The company is privately funded and its revenue comes from affiliate programs.

See what Gerhard has to say about his company’s business model, competition and more.

- How did you choose your company’s business model?

Our online shopping service is free and will always remain free. Users should not and will not pay for such a service even though it is valuable and saves money. We want to continue to grow our user base which truly determines the value of our company.

- Your site appeals to all types of online shoppers interested in all types of products. However, many business and marketing specialists claim that focusing on a niche is better than trying to cater to “everyone and their dog.” What do you think?

Yes, Price!pinx can be used by any type of online shopper since we monitor prices on any site for electronics, fashion items, real estate houses, and everything else. But you are correct, from a marketing perspective we focus on different profiles: men that buy gadgets, women shopping for shoes, bags, and dresses, etc.

All groups have one thing in common: they want to get the lowest price and save money.

- How does the current crisis affect your business (if at all)?

We believe that more and more shoppers are finally becoming more price conscious. They know what they want or need but have more patience and don’t buy products at regular price anymore. They want to be the first to know when the price of products they want to buy drops and need to use a service like Price!pinx.

- How do you promote your website?

The best way of spreading the word about our free service is to encourage our existing users to share the savings with friends and family. But of course we also promote our site among bloggers and media editors.

- Why should consumers use Price!pinx and not a competitor’s services?

Our powerful price monitoring engine monitors the price of a product on the actual retailer’s website many times each day. We support any shopping website worldwide.

All competitors rely on product and price feeds from retailers and therefore they can only support a small set of retail sites that have such feeds. They only detect price drops when the retailers actually inform them.

To use Price!pinx online shoppers do not need to change their shopping habits whatsoever. Our main tool is an easy-to-use bookmarklet. All you need to do is shop online as you normally would, highlight the prices of the products you want, and click the Price!pinx bookmarklet.

- Where do you see your business in 5 years?

Our main focus right now is to increase the user base. But we also have many more exciting features on our product roadmap that will allow smart shoppers to get even better deals.

Gerhard, thank you very much for your answers!

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Careful, Your Strategy Is Showing – Your marketing strategy shouldn’t be made public in your ads.

Deadly Freelance Assumptions (Or How To Go Out of Business) – The article lists 6 myths. Believe them and you’ll be guaranteed not to make money as a freelancer.

Distinguish Between Feature and Benefit – The post includes a practical example that will make things clearer for those who still don’t know the difference between these concepts.

How to use social media for lead generation – A company has taken these 6 steps and generated more leads as a result.

Free Guerrilla Marketing Advice – Mike Smith from the Bootstrapping Blog is giving away guerrilla marketing advice to business owners and bloggers.

Nose to the Grindstone: Entrepreneurship in Times of Recession – Hard-working, smart entrepreneurs can keep things going even during tough times.

The Other Side of Freelancing: Keeping Track of Clients – Client tracking is among the most important administrative tasks a freelancer should fulfil.

Free Marketing Opportunities for Your Small Business – The article lists 4 things you can do to promote your company.

The #1 Small Business Marketing Tip for Outrageous Profits – It’s easier than you think. In fact, it’s not a secret. You’ve certainly read about it before. But it can never be stressed enough.

THINK BIG. THINK BIG. THINK BIG. – A motivational post. Because we all need some encouragement from time to time.

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You can view Andrea’s profile at Gotta Mentor here.

She kindly agreed to answer questions about mentoring (of course!) and business advice. Read her tips below:

- Your site specializes in connecting people who need mentors to those who want to guide them. How can these lessons teach entrepreneurs to avoid the pitfalls of the business world?

Entrepreneurs wear many hats, often requiring them to make decisions in areas where they have little or no expertise. Good mentors can help you avoid mistakes and provide critical expertise in your weak areas.

- What was the worst piece of business advice you’ve ever received? What were the consequences if you followed it? If you didn’t follow it, what made you realise you shouldn’t take it?

Here are two examples from different stages of my career:

Example 1. After business school, I was working for an investment bank. After several years I was recruited by another bank which made a offer considerably higher than my current compensation. The firm was very appealing to me on all of the key variables outside of compensation. One of my friends, a fellow business school graduate, encouraged me to accept the offer as given. Another friend, however, advised me to negotiate, and helped me realize that among investment banks, the initial offer is just a starting point. With his counsel, I researched the range of compensation packages at my level at other firms, took my time to negotiate, and eventually hired an employment attorney to review the offer letter. The end result was an employment contract that guaranteed tens of thousands of dollars more in compensation and offered stronger employment protection.

This experience served me well in later job changes. It taught me that looking at the offer compared to my current compensation wasn’t relevant. It didn’t matter that the bank’s initial offer was a lot higher than what I was currently making. What mattered was what was reasonable for that position for someone with my experience. As it turned out, that number was quite a bit higher. That experience also highlighted the importance of negotiating when you’re being offered the job, when your leverage is the greatest.

Example 2. As a sophomore in college, I interviewed for an internship on Wall Street. My parents were a social worker and a doctor, and didn’t have a lot of exposure to business executives. I asked them what I should wear to the interview, and my mom told me to wear a dress that I would wear to church. Investment bankers don’t wear church dresses to work. Thankfully I also asked a friend who had worked on Wall Street the previous summer what was appropriate, and got a very different answer.

I learned a few valuable lessons. 1) Be smart about who you ask for advice; and 2) When in doubt, and even if you’re not in doubt, get multiple opinions.

- How can anyone detect the differences between a good mentor/advisor and a not so good one?

If you’re looking for career advice, the best mentor is someone who has relevant experience, takes time to understand your background and goals, and provides specific, actionable advice. If your mentor lacks one of these three attributes, the chances of getting bad advice increase.

Having all three traits present in a mentor does not guarantee great advice. The best hedge against bad advice from a single mentor, is to engage multiple mentors. In a digital world, it is just as easy to ask one person a question as it is to ask three or more people. Having more than one mentor also gives you the opportunity to get multiple perspectives, and to ask mentors to comment on the suggestions of your other mentors.

Many thanks to Andrea for the detailed answers! And thank you Gina for making this interview possible!

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