3Pointer: Now FREE...BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express!

New FREE BlackBerry software for Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Windows Small Business Server allows companies to empower all employees with wireless access to their corporate e-mail without compromising security or manageability.

Help your employees do more -- with everything from business applications to synchronizing e-mail, calendar events, contacts, tasks, memos, and more, all on a BlackBerry smartphone. Sync up with Microsoft Exchange wirelessly! All you need is the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) Express!

The BES software used to cost thousands of dollars … but now it's absolutely FREE.

Connect people via BlackBerry smartphones and ideas get bigger. Progress happens faster. Answers get smarter. So imagine what happens when you give a business the freedom to connect all its employees.

With so many employees using smartphones, companies will want to have those users on a BES … without paying exorbitant costs for every user. BES Express opens up new doors for these companies, allowing them to connect with tremendous functionality … and yet for the same price – FREE!

Using BES Express, employees of  small- to medium-sized businesses can wirelessly sync e-mail, calendars, contacts, notes, and tasks; remotely manage e-mail folders and search through the mail server; book meetings and appointments; check availability and forward calendar attachments; set out-of-office replies; edit Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files using Documents To Go; and access files stored on the company network or business systems behind the company firewall.

Take a look at these features:

• Runs on the Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft Small Business Server. BES Express is certified for up to 75 BlackBerry smartphone users to be installed and run on the same server that runs Microsoft Exchange 2003 SP2, 2007 SP1, 2010, or Windows Small Business Server 2003 and 2008. This eliminates the need to purchase additional hardware. If you require greater than 75 users, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express has the flexibility to be installed on a separate server, supporting up to 2,000 BlackBerry smartphone users per server.
   
• Support For BlackBerry Add-On Products. Expand mobile functionality with Enterprise IM, social networking, and BlackBerry Mobile Voice System.
   
• Productivity. Help your employees do more -- with everything from business applications to synchronizing e-mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, memos and more, all on a BlackBerry smartphone.
   
• Push Technology. New technology designed to deliver messages and information to BlackBerry smartphones in seconds. This helps ensure that the information on a user’s BlackBerry smartphone is automatically updated with the information on their computer.
   
• Document And File Access. Users can find local and remote files, and open, view, save, or e-mail JPEG, Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint files directly from their BlackBerry smartphone.
   
• Instant Messaging. Take your IM mobile. With presence status, your employees can see who is online and ready for a message and their preferred method of contact.
   
• Collaboration And Social Networking. Networking extends the reach of your employees, allowing them to tap into the expertise of co-workers. Social networking applications are available for BlackBerry smartphones that provide access to Facebook, Flikr, or MySpace on the go.

Watch a demo of BES here!

To learn more about our customized services plans, please contact the 3Points Sales Department today at 708-546-4950.

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3Pointer: Do You "Yammer?"

March 17, 2010

Do internal communications at your company need to improve? Are you looking for a way to build morale and get everyone on your team on the same page? You should know that there's a simple solution…

…and it's called "Yammer," a FREE, real-time communications tool for small businesses that can function as Twitter for your company.

Yammer was created by people who wanted a better way to connect and share with people at work. You can start a Yammer network in minutes and -- best of all -- it's a Free Service! All you pay for is the installation.

Why is 3Points endorsing this product? Because we use it internally … and we’re impressed with how it functions! Here are some great applications:

• Exchange frequent short messages with people at work. You can post information and it can go to your entire company. Or you can ask a question; share news, ideas, documents; and post status updates; and other people within your private network can reply. Unlike e-mail, you choose whose messages you'll receive by "following" specific people and joining groups which creates a custom feed tailored to you. 
   
• Share information about yourself and get to know the people with whom you work. It’s like Facebook for your company. You and the other members of your organization each have a Yammer profile. Your profile information includes your photo, title, contact info, expertise, and background. Yammer makes your organization a better place to work by making it feel smaller, helping people to find and meet each other, and busting silos between groups and departments. Also, because it's a network, it becomes more powerful the more people who join.
   
• Securely collaborate with internal and external groups. Yammer makes it easy for people within your organization to find each other and collaborate on projects. Now, with Yammer Communities, your customers and external partners can use Yammer too! Communities are secure and separate -- and private from your company's Yammer network.
   
• Search a complete archive of messages, profiles, and tags. Discover valuable information in past discussions even if you weren't part of them, and even if the people involved have left your organization. If you're new to your company, Yammer also helps you get up to speed faster because it's likely that your questions have already been answered on Yammer and are therefore searchable. Use Yammer to tap into the power of your organization's collective mind and solicit lots of ideas and solutions quickly. 
   
• Stay connected and informed whether you're at your desk or not. You can easily monitor progress and stay up-to-date on what people are doing and talking about at work either on your computer or on your mobile device of choice. Communicate in real-time -- faster, shorter, and less formally than email -- and rapidly disseminate information to a large number of people within your organization. The app is available through any Windows Mobile device, Blackberry, or iPhone.

Here at 3Points, what we like best about Yammer is that it brings our sales and operations departments closer together and puts them on the same page. When there’s a new technology, our tech people will post information about it on Yammer so that everyone in the company is notified. It’s also great for peoples’ birthdays, engagements, and other events that bring everyone closer together and gets them involved. It’s like a message board for the company!

To learn more about our customized services plans, please contact the 3Points Sales Department today at 708-546-4950.

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3Pointer: The One Question that Can Determine
Your Company's Future...

June 13, 2009

Determining your company’s future in tough times is not an easy thing to do, but there are emerging methods of helping you measure it.  Today we wanted to share one of those methods with you.  The measurement is called the Net Promoter Score (NPS).  It’s the brainchild of Fred Reichheld, a partner at Bain & Co., who is a pioneer in the study of customer loyalty.

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a living view of how likely your clients are to refer someone they know to do business with your company.   In Fred’s world, there are three types of clients.  The first, and most important type of client, is known as a promoter.  This is a client that trusts you so much that they will absolutely refer business to you.  The second type is a passive client.  While they are satisfied with your products or services, they are less likely to refer business to you.  The third client type is a detractor.  This is a client who may or may not be satisfied with your products or services, but one thing is for sure, they don’t trust you enough to refer business to you.

You can implement an NPS program by following these simple steps:

1. Ask your customers the following question, “On a scale from 0 (won’t) to 10 (will), please tell us how likely is it that you would recommend our company to a friend or colleague?”
    
2. Once you have the scores, sort the responses into three groups: Promoters are companies that rate this likelihood in the 9’s and 10’s.  Passives rate the likelihood in the 7’s and 8’s.  The detractors rate the likelihood in the 0’s through 6’s.
    
3. The percentage of promoters, minus the percentage of detractors, equals your score.  As an example, a company with 100 clients, that has 75 promoters, and 15 detractors, would have a Net Promoter Score of 60.
    
4. Once you know the number, find ways to drive it up!  Start by asking this question, “May I follow up with you to discuss your rating?”
    
5. If they agree to a call back, do so within a few days of obtaining the score, and get concrete, constructive criticism about what you can do to improve the likelihood of referrals.  Effectively address those things, and the NPS score should go up.  As the NPS score rises, the likelihood of referrals should rise too.

According to Fred’s research, a company’s promoters (those people who will absolutely refer clients to your business) are responsible for over 80% of new customer referrals.  This is a significant statistic for revenue growth.  Fred’s research has shown that the average U.S. Company has an NPS of about fifteen (15).  An example of an industry whose NPS score should cause real concern is telecom.  According to some industry insiders they have an industry wide average NPS of negative four (-4).  

Today, many businesses feel that the NPS is a significant force, and is driving a real quality revolution.  Countless businesses swear by it because now more than ever, companies need to increase customer satisfaction.  This of course translates into increased customer referrals, and of course growth.

Recently, 3-Points launched our own NPS campaign, and we did so to determine where we stand in your eyes.  Our goal is to continually increase our level of customer service, and wherever possible, to help each of you attain your business goals.  We look forward to talking to you, and getting your honest critique of us, in the near future.