SigmaWay Blog

Nowadays, finding a desired job is not easy, but with personal branding, one can find it easily. Personal branding is a term coined by Tom Peters, in his breakthrough article “ A Brand Called You”. Every person is unique in its own skills. There are a lot of reasons why understanding and building your own personal brand will help you achieve success in the future. Some of which are: 1.) Question yourself: Ask yourself  Who are you ? What are you? Once you start identifying the blocks that build your personality, you can find yourself standing out from the crowd. 2.)  Social media: In the  present era you need  not go out to search for a job. What you can do is maintain your social media. A lot of  business partners who are currently running their successful businesses had their first encounter with social media. Does anything get better than this? Read more at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/295522

According to a comparative study, Facebook shows a lead of 110% over the last few months. Dominance of Facebook videos over social media continues to grow. 167000 profiles were examined by the social media analytics and it was found that 47% of those profiles used videos of some sort in their campaigns. The study also said that the 90% of them used Facebook’s native video tool, YouTube was preferred by 30% and 9% used other sources. Some videos on Facebook are shared 4.5 more times than YouTube. Read more at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/facebook-videos-dominate-social-media/articleshow/57686077.cms?from=mdr

Demand for credit is increasing in the cashless economy where there is rise of digital money. Various startups are emerging that allows the user to buy now and pay later. They are targeting those consumer segments of India that does not have access to a Credit Card. Banks take loads of paperwork and much more time while giving loan, whereas these startups determine credit worthiness through social media. Slicepay is targeting college students aged 18-26 who usually don’t have credit cards and this segment of people need small ticket loans which other banks don’t provide. Also, for the loans given, they believe that it won’t lead to debt crisis because i) Credit taken are in small amount. ii) Analysis is secured. Read more at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/295918

HR analytics is a key element in any company’s progress. The slow growth of HR analytics has been a great concern for companies. HR leaders can present analysis in a more impactful manner by using the LAMP framework. 

• Logic- with trends, the logic for the occurrence should also be explained.

• Analytics- provide important insights from data using tools and techniques.

• Measures- verified and accurate numbers should be used in analytics.

• Process- motivate decision makers to act on data insights using right communication channels.

LAMP elements can play a strategic role in the organization and should be utilized to its full potential.

Read more at https://hbr.org/2017/06/hr-must-make-people-analytics-more-user-friendly

LinkedIn is a tool that can be used to build relationships and grow businesses. Dux-Soup , a Chrome plug-in can be used to add tags and make notes and keep track of profiles visited daily. Nimble helps to save contact details on LinkedIn on Nimble account. LeadGrabber Pro is a tool used for web scraping all the information about the customer from LinkedIn and builds a list. Sales Navigator filters the leads that are specific to the industry of the marketer and saves the contact details in business accounts (ABM).These tools would enhance the experience with LinkedIn. Read more at: http://www.razorsocial.com/linkedin-tools/

Goods and Service Tax (GST) is implemented to eliminate the cascading effect of tax and also double taxation. Not only the insurance companies, but also its policy holders will be affected by GST implementation. The 18 % GST rate will apply for insurance sector as per the GST council rates. At present, service tax of 15 % is imposed on the premium cost of the term plans, health plan and motor insurance plan. As per rates declared GST rates will be 18% from July 2017. This means the premium will get costlier by 3 %. Currently, endowment plans attract a service tax of 3.75 % on the premium in the first year and 1.88% in the second , 3.5 % is levied on protection part of ULIPs in the first year and 1.75 % from second year onward and will rise to 4.5 % in the first year and 2.55% in the second under the new tax regime. Read more at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/295143

Cash on Delivery or COD was introduced by Flipkart in 2010 and it contributed to 30% of their top-line. Initially it was offered for free but now the cost is borne by the customers. Card on Delivery comprised of only 1% of the orders. Card on Delivery could not be that popular because of setup requirements whose cost shifted to the eCommerce companies, high transaction fee. Post demonetization, card on delivery, mobile wallet payments picked up. NPCI is coming up with UPI, Adhaar Pay and Bharat QR. E commerce companies are expected to use UPI on Delivery as it will reduce their cost of carrying card machines. UPI payment is a great idea after demonetization as the number of smart phone users are expected to grow from 300 million to 467 million by 2021. Since mobile wallets were launched less than 5 years back, we stand at over 200 million mobile wallet users with 300 million smart phone users in India.  Hence, we can say mobile wallets will stay and COD system will soon transform into MOD system. Read more at:  https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/294888

Salary negotiation is a key to get to the top of the rat race as the World Bank data suggests that 69% of jobs in India are suspected to be taken away by automation. The World Economic Forum predicts 35% of top professional skills today would be replaced in the near future. At present, every person is required to re-assess their skills and re-skill themselves. If automation will disrupt several jobs, there will be technologies like IoT creating many more jobs necessitating critical problem solvers. It is predicted that advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, biotechnology and genomics would be the next frontier of employment. Only with requisite skills in these disruptive fields and a multi-disciplinary approach could empower future job seekers to become critical organizational assets. Read more at : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/in-the-age-of-disruption-what-are-the-new-rules-of-negotiating-salary/articleshow/59047575.cms

One should search himself online and keep track of photos. There has been continuous warnings from the guidance counsellors. Research says that at the time of admissions the profiles of the students are checked by the institutes, which might lead to the revoke of admission. One also shouldn’t post false information about the wrongdoings. Posting forbidden information online is considered illegal as it may violate institutions rule. It should also be made sure that the information entered by the individual is appropriate about name, email address, etc. these information must not be made to look unprofessional in any manner. Also others should be treated nicely on the social media including comments and trolls. Read more at: https://mobile.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/06/19/us/ap-us-college-admissions-social-media-tips.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FSocial%20Media&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=collection&referer=https://www.nytimes.com/topic/subject/social-media

Technology has made innovation easier. Creative dreams can be reality in a short span. Some of the golden innovations are as follows:

1. Digital Camera (1975) allowing us to click pictures without the help of a film.

2. Graphical tablet (1979) which allowed the artists to transfer their drawings to computers.

3. 3D printing (1984) is used in printing houses, castles and prosthetics.

4. Paint (1985) can be used to manipulate 3D objects.

5. `Photoshop (1990) made graphics editing easy.

6. Instagram (2010) made editing and sharing pictures to the world easier.

7. Thermochromic Paint (2016) is an artistic innovation.

Read more at http://mashable.com/2017/06/15/how-innovations-in-technology-inspired-creators/#jd9CE5ptemqu

The idea of getting your online data insured is still an alien concept in India. There are many insurance companies which offer packages with cyber security. In India, it is a relatively new concept. As the numbers of online transactions are increasing, incidents of cyber fraud are also increasing. KG Krishnamoorthy Rao, the MD and CEO of Future Generali India Insurance say, "Even if cyber insurance is not popular now, all it needs is awareness and then there will be a market for this." The banking sector and payment wallets urgently require cyber insurance. Cyber insurance covers economic loss, e-threat and expenses to restore data for an online business. There are not many challenges in dealing with cyber insurance. The only problem is that people don't know what they can claim through this. Read more at:  https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/295471

In describing the key traits that a successful business man possesses, one cannot say who is the best. Just to get the idea while using IBM's supercomputer Watson, online career management website "paysa" analyzed the speeches, essays, books and interview transcripts of today's most powerful leaders. So to do this, it surveyed 8 industries. And in majority of these , Watson discovered "intellect" was the top personality trait for leaders. It also identified other traits, i.e. imagination, cautiousness, assertiveness, adventurous and more. Elon musk scored the highest score for the "most cautious leader". Above all, Bezos, Cook and Meg Whitman each tied for "most altruistic leader" at 98 percent. Whitman also topped the list for the most "achievement-seeking leader." Mark Zuckerberg seemed to exhibit the least amount of top common success traits identified by Watson. Although that doesn't mean much -- the Facebook co-founder and CEO just has his own set of unique traits that make him stand out. Read more at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/295452 and  

https://www.paysa.com/blog/2017/05/24/watson-personality-analysis-by-industry/

With increasing competition, a few ways to become a better marketer are suggested. First, along with authenticity and high personalization, adapting to customers' changing needs is very important. Companies need to impress customers buy their products so that they are willing to advocate. It is necessary to collaborate on defining the same shared target audience for an equal improvement in sales and marketing. Also, marketers need to have knowledge about every customer's lifestyle, their choices, and thus analyze how the company can make profit from them. These will help companies sell products according to customer needs and help them shift to outcome-based marketing, thus generating more profit. Read more at: https://blog.insideview.com/2017/04/28/3-marketing-nation-summit-takeaways-to-make-you-a-modern-day-marketer/

Data can be put to use in many ways and it should be explored. Data should be used to its full potential, this is not about technology but management. A team of data scientists employ a series of various analysis to look into the entire series from data insight to profit. There are 7 methods to put data into work. 1) Use data to make better decisions along the chart. 2) Use innovations in products, services and processes. 3) Making existing products more valuable. 4) Improve quality, eliminate costs and build trust. 5) Sell or license richer data. 6) Asymmetries should be exploited. 7) Connect providers and those who need the data. These help to provide greater value to others. Read more at: https://hbr.org/2017/06/does-your-company-know-what-to-do-with-all-its-data

Technology is making machines faster, smarter, smaller and cheaper. Technology is serving as a smart alternate to humans. Thus, job destruction is very common in all industries at present. Survival will depend on experience, knowledge as well as the capability to adapt and learn quickly, i.e., adaptive quotient and change velocity. Developing skills and adaptability is a must to save your job from technology. Education system should be framed in a way so that the mentality of being lifelong learners and adaptability can be built in children from school itself. Read more at http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/opinion/93663839/when-technology-takes-over-and-your-job-disappears

An earlier group of advertisers targeted Newspapers and TV, but now they have moved into social media. So, money is flowing to social. Spending on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook marketing continue to accelerate as mobile adoption and time spent on internet increases. In this manner, in the coming years Internet ad will surpass television. The shift to mobile and increased time spent with digital is having a major impact on social platforms. More people are engaging with brands on social. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is social now. Even the news is on social now. You can read fastest news on Twitter than on any other websites. Researches show that the consumers who include social media as part of their shopping process are four times more likely to spend more money on purchases. Most of the audience is on social. So, many marketers who've been using social for at least two years say it helped them improve sales. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/social-media/smart-money-moving-social-01863316#LvrcWTpZ5JmxR8qb.97

The entrepreneur's objective is to use the capital and expertise of the PE firm to grow the company in the ways that benefit every involved person. So, for a successful PE partnership here is some etiquette that helps ensure maximum alignment. To do: i) make sure that one fits the firm's funding and investment strategy. ii) Target those firms that have interest and experience in the industry. iii) Understand the PE firm's decision-making process. For this, interview the CEOs of past and present portfolio companies. iv) Find out how the partner is responsible for one's investment gets paid. Not to Do Things are: i) don't go "exclusive" too soon. Always understand the paperwork before signing. ii) Don't be frightened of "thorough" money and beware fast money. iii) Don't Hire an Inexperienced transaction lawyer to avoid cost. iv) Don't be defensive when the PE firm offers operating Expertise. Because it's not interfering, it's a valuable advisory resource. Read more at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/295506

For new Business, it's a challenge to get customers. So, one should incorporate new ideas for marketing. The Internet has widened the option to more affordable and easier option of marketing strategies. Social media like Facebook and Instagram can be used to make the brand viral. Meeting new customers at events or starting a blog may help. Facebook ads can be used to reach out to the customers. Building email funnels, renting a festival booth and attracting customers by giving freebies, volunteering under the brand name, giving samples to product critics can be useful. It can become an effective way to refine or reinvent the product. Offering workshops, posting a video review of the product, running viral contests, building a product page website, sending out press releases are some useful ways to attract customers. Read more at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/294265

Mobile phones act as a connecting device between two points of a transaction. One of the features that majority banks do not offer are cardless withdrawals from an ATM .Mobile banking apps can generate code to enable withdrawals and easy access. Mobile banking provides a platform to innovate and explore new sources of revenue by providing offers and services other than traditional ones such as exchange of foreign currencies. Shared finances is another area which can be easily dealt with by using mobile banking services such as splitting up a bill or making payments on another person's behalf. Read more at : http://blogs.forrester.com/peter_wannemacher/17-03-17-which_nifty_mobile_banking_features_is_your_app_missing

Phishers attack business by collecting customer mailing list, so they can cover-up as your business entity and steal from customers. Scammer’s method is to develop emails or phone scripts to victimize their customers. They steal the data from links where messages directed them. The scammer then disappears and use the customer’s information to purchase for which the customer is unaware. There are 8 common phishing attacks:

1) Whaling/ Cyber whaling, 2) Hapooning , 3) Spearfishing , 4) Fake Phishers, 5) Pharming, 6) Mimic phishing , 7) Nigerian payment for the service and 8) Banking scams. Read more at: https://www.computer.org/web/computingnow/security/content?g=53319&type=article&urlTitle=8-common-phishing-attacks-and-how-to-protect-against-them