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Weekly UpdatesIn the "old" days, Anchorage's Pip Printing relied on traditional printing plates, expensive film and face-to-face client contact. Customers had to come into the shop, provide a drawing of what they wanted and proof a hard copy to finalize their job.
Now with technology, that's all changed. Today, clients can complete print jobs with the 26-year-old company without ever setting foot in its Fourth Avenue location. Customers can submit files using popular software like Adobe In-Design, Illustrator and Photo Shop and even Microsoft Word--or by fax. Then Pip Printing electronically sets up the job, sends a proof by e-mail or fax and digitally outputs a final product.
Technology is a "huge" component of operations at Pip Printing, said co-owner Shelley Bramstedt. Just about everything that used to be completed manually is now handled mechanically. "Technology has taken over.... In reality, it is possible to have a full print job done without ever meeting with customers," Bramstedt said.
Pip Printing is among a growing number of small Alaska companies that are leveraging technology to enhance their internal processes. Incidentally, a small business--of which Alaska has about 629,000--is one with fewer than 500 employees, according to the Small Business Administration.
TECHNOLOGY CRUCIAL TO SUCCESS
Technology is an important tool that can help businesses become more competitive, reduce production costs and gain greater control over their operations. It can help companies improve efficiency in just about every area, from customer service to record keeping, said Carolyn Pratt of the Alaska Small Business Development Center. Having computerized operations is especially important for businesses seeking opportunities with government agencies because of the requirement for electronic payments, added Pratt, who serves as director of the Technology Research and Development Center (TREND).
In Alaska, most businesses are using computers and rely on Internet technology as a major part of their operations, according to Pratt. For example, tourism-related companies are using the Internet to market their services. And Native arts and crafts businesses are using the Web to sell a variety of products, from trinkets to fine art.
"I think it's essential for any small business in Alaska to be utilizing the latest, greatest computer software and hardware to improve their business operations," Pratt said.
ONLINE ADVERTISING TOOLS
Alaska is one of the nation's leading consumers of high-speed Internet access, particularly via cable modem. In fact, about 80 percent of households in rural Alaska access the Web through broadband connections, said David Morris, rice president of corporate relations for GCL which provides Internet, telephone and data communication services statewide.
This makes Internet technology a powerful marketing tool for small Alaska businesses wanting to connect with potential buyers throughout and outside the state. Increasingly, Alaska businesses are taking advantage of online marketing through search engines. Gray Line of Alaska, for instance, has fully optimized its Web site to attract "natural" traffic from major search engines.
As a supplement, the company also uses pay-per-click Google and Overture to drive instant traffic to grayline alaska.com. About 5 percent to 10 percent of the site's total traffic comes from paid search results from Google, Overture and other resources, according to Mark Mumm, the director of sales and marketing for Gray Line of Alaska, a smaller Division of Holland America.
Paying for search engine listings gives Gray Line top ranking in thousands of search results for select travel-related keywords. And this, in turn, affords the company an opportunity to get in front of more would-be Alaska tourists. But the ultimate goal, of course, is to convert site visitors into to buyers. "Click to look is great, but we want people to click to book," Mumm said.
Gray Line is among a growing number of businesses nationwide that recognize the value of online marketing as a significant business tool. Leading marketers recently surveyed by Forrester Research said that online advertising channels such as search engine marketing, online display ads and e-mail marketing will continue to become more effective relative to traditional channels. Search engine marketing is projected to grow by 33 percent in 2005 and reach $11.6 billion by 2010, according to Forrester.
Small companies also can capitalize on e-mail marketing to subtly advertise their products and services. Despite the negative attention e-mail has drawn from spam and phishing scams, permission-based promotional e-mails and e-newsletters are popular with marketers and consumers.
"Slightly more than 70 percent of U.S. online advertisers used e-mail marketing in 2004," according to online researcher eMarketer. And personal and commercial e-mail is expected to continue growing at a steady pace, generating 2.7 trillion messages by 2007.
E-mail marketing is an ideal promotional tool for businesses of any size because of the significant benefits it offers. It's a fast, easy and relatively inexpensive way to cultivate ongoing relationships with existing clients, which can enhance loyalty and retention. It also can produce direct response results that can ultimately translate into new customers.
LEVERAGING WEB-ENABLED SERVICES
Internet technology gives small businesses access to a host of Web-based services that can help them maximize their resources. With GCI's new Video Mail, for example, individuals can use their e-mail to send and receive video messages.
Available to GCI residential and business customers, Video Mail allows senders to record their voice and image into a message that can be heard and viewed by recipients. Senders need a Web cam and microphone to transmit messages; receivers need Windows Media Player and computer speakers.
Video Mail can make it easier for employees to illustrate concepts to others within their organization. This can help prevent misinterpretation that can result from e-mail communication. "It's very beneficial to use when you have to show another employee of customer something that is very hard to describe in an e-mail," Morris said. "This way, the end user can actually see what you are trying to describe and can hear your comments as you point to the object."
Video Mail is offered exclusively by GCI, and is the only free service of its kind in Alaska. It's available to all GCI broadband customers who have a current GCI e-mail address.
Business users also can employ the storyteller option to send "narrated" images. They can import digital photos and then insert comments on each photo as they appear. "This makes for a better presentation, instead of just sending an e-mail with photos attached," Morris said.
Video Conferencing also can help small businesses enhance their communications. The service uses video and audio systems to bring groups from different geographic locations together for a meeting or class. It allows participants to communicate verbally, electronically and visually, as well as share documents, computer-displayed information and whiteboards.
Essentially, video conferencing links two of more sites by video and enables people at each site to interact as if they were at one site. To use the technology, participants need a video camera, microphone and speakers connected to their computer. Their voices are carried over the network and delivered to each other's speakers, and whatever images appear in front of the video camera will show up in a window on the other participant's computer monitor.
CAPITALIZING ON CONVERGING TECHNOLOGIES
Internet faxing is another tool that can enable small companies to benefit from advancing technology. Online of IP faxing, as it's also called, is the convergence of the computer, fax and Internet. It represents an ideal alternative to standalone fax machines because it's faster, easier and more cost-efficient than traditional faxing.
Internet faxing simply allows users to send and receive faxes through their Internet service provider and an Internet fax service. IP fax services vary, but here's how they typically work: A full-service Internet fax company, like eFax of InterFax, provides a fax server that customers can access online of on a regular fax machine. The fax server receives transmissions through the sender's ISP and then forwards them to their final destination-whether it's another ISP or a fax machine. Internet fax services enable customers to receive faxes through their fax machine of computer.
Online faxers don't have to worry about tying up their phone line or busy signals, since there is no traditional dialing to be done. Plus, they can save money on ink cartridges and fax paper because they don't have to maintain a fax machine.
Another Web-related service that small businesses can adopt is voice over Internet protocol, more commonly known as VoIP. This technology allows users to make telephone calls through a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line.
Some services using VoIP may only enable calls to people using the same service, but others allow calls to be placed to anyone with a telephone number--including local, long distance, mobile and international numbers. Although many services only work over a computer or a special VoIP phone, some services allow callers to use a traditional phone through a special adapter.
Small businesses are rapidly migrating to VoIP, lured by its lower cost and the ease of having phone service integrated into the network. In fact, 7.3 percent of U.S. small businesses are currently using VoIP, according to the National Federation of Independent Business. Other researchers report higher estimates. The Info-Tech Research Group says that 23 percent of small- to mid-sized enterprises have already implemented VoIP technology and that the number will grow to 50 percent within the next three years.
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