March 29, 2018

7 min read

This story originally appeared on This Dog’s Life

When it comes to figuring out what is happening in a space or what trends to keep your eye on, there is no better place to go than a massive convention. I went to one of the biggest in the dog world, the Global Pet Expo, in Orlando, Florida to see what owners can expect in the years to come – and what companies are betting on.

Similar to SuperZoo in Las Vegas, this is not a small show . . . whatsoever. Held at the Orange County Convention Center, there were more than 3,000 booths, 1,000 exhibitors and approximately 16,000 attendees. Covering 16 football fields worth of products (or about 340,000 square feet), I was foolishly optimistic when I thought I could walk the entire show in one day. (I only made it to the halfway point.)

Image Credit: Global Pet Expo

So, here is my take on the expo – including what I saw, what I hated and what I think owners will see in the coming years. While it wasn’t just about dogs – there were also products for cats, fish, ferrets and even chickens – the majority was devoted to pups. And rightfully, so. There are approximately 60 million households in the U.S. that have a dog, 90 percent people think of their pup as more than a pet (meaning more money to be spent) and dogs are living longer.

Dog food is no joke.

Image Credit: Pet Tao | Twitter

It seems like every day a new dog food company is popping up. And at the GPet Expo, I saw hundreds of companies trying to get Fido to eat their food. Why is it such a big opportunity? Because once a dog food company gets an owner as a customer, it has the person for life. (How often do you switch food?) Needing to feed your dog every day is also, I am guessing, one of your highest expenses, meaning these companies can make a lot of moula off of you. But with all this upside for companies, there is a lot of competition. The companies at the Pet Expo were not just peddling any old dog food. They weren’t even peddling “natural” dog food. Companies were marketing their food using lingo like “single-protein,” “fresh ingredients,” “supplement boosts,” and “human grade.”

Speaking of dog food, it is going to get more and more advanced.

I stopped at the Hill’s Booth to see what its virtual reality experience was about (more of that in a sec.), and while I was there, I talked to one of the representatives about trends in the dog world. Shown to me was Hill’s line of anti-aging dog food called Youthful Vitality. Yep, there is anti-aging products even in the dog world. The company has apparently targeted what dog genes are impacted by aging and determined that by age 7, nearly all dog’s biology changes. So, they created a dog food that helps fight the effects of aging – everything from deteriorating brain function, immune system and energy levels. I am not advocating for Hill’s, as I don’t what the outcomes are and need to look more into the ingredients, but I do think it is fascinating that companies are getting more advanced in food technology.

VR is a thing in the pet world.

As for the virtual reality experience, this is what drew me to Hill’s booth in the first place. I was curious how a pet company was integrating VR into its offering – and was it a PR stunt, or was it something really interesting.

Surprisingly it was the latter. The VR experience showcased what it was like for the beagles that test out the dog food for Hill’s. To be completely transparent, I am skeptical of the big-name dog food companies. Reason? I think a lot of them lack transparency and engage in shady manufacturing processes (just read Truth About Pet Foods to get a better sense). So, when Hill’s VR experience allowed someone to see the facility where these dogs live, I was curious. First, it is on 80 acres in Colorado – and honestly, from the experience it looked pretty nice. The company invests a lot of money in these pups, as they need to be healthy and happy and live just like a dog at home (to gather accurate data of a pet’s natural routine). What this means is they get social interaction, are able to romp around in the sun, choose their sleeping buddies and play with toys. It was pretty impressive.

Related: What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Puppy

What I was not impressed with at all was Purina. The huge corporation used puppies as a ploy to get people to come over to their already massive (and impressive) booth. Why even use puppies? The puppies (8-10 weeks old, according to an employee) were put in these clear, square blocks at hand level. There were at least six per box. With tons of people passing through, the puppies were touched by hundreds of people every single day. Not only is this germ central for dogs who haven’t received all their vaccinations but also super stressful. I give it the thumbs down. 

CBD products were everywhere.

Just like humans are getting in on the cannabis market, so are our dogs. While CBD (cannabidiol) is derived from hemp and other cannibis plants, it does get your dog’s high. (This happens with psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol, not CBD.) Rather, CBD is used to treat all sorts of ailments –from arthritis to anxiety and seizures. I haven’t tried them out for myself, but from the stories at the expo, along with anecdotes on This Dog’s Life, I am not opposed to it.

While it is making waves in the dog world, there are hurdles — one being the name CBD. According to CBD dog-treat company Treatibles, a London business is in the process of trademarking CBD, meaning all these other businesses will need to do a complete overhaul in their branding.

Related: This Gadget Thinks It Can Measure Your Dog’s Emotions With the Wag of a Tail

Dog tech continues to grow.

Just like we are trying to make ourselves, homes and cars “smart” by using technology to improve our lives, companies are doing the same thing in the dog world. It used to just GPS tracking on “smart collars.” Then, companies added cameras, exercise and bark monitoring, diet features and more. Now, businesses are looking to make the entire dog experience high tech.

For instance, Pet Kit has tiny dog beds that can be cooled or heated depended on the temperature in the room. It also has infrared lights to track when your dog comes and goes. Or Petzi Treat Dispenser, which allows owners to give biscuits anywhere by way of an app. People can see their pup’s reaction thanks to the camera on the dispenser, speak to their dog through a microphone or snap a pic.

And then there is the company that wants to do it all. Wagz, which has been in stealth mode for a few years before releasing a smart collar, is getting ready to roll out its line of smart tech. The company’s slogan is “a completely connected pet lifestyle” — and that is what they are planning on doing. Having raised about $6 million, Wagz created a unique ID tag to attach to either their collar or your own and can connect to its water bowls (measure intake, while also providing multi-vitamins), food dispenser (to feed your dog when you are running late), dog door (for bathroom breaks) and we are guessing much more. Besides the smart tech capabilities, Wagz is rolling out dog food, too, delivered in boxes, rather than bags, making it easier (and less costly) to ship.

After the show, it seems like in the coming years there will be a lot more transparency expected for brands, along with owners looking for new, innovative and healthy ways to make their dogs’ life better.

Related: At Launch Event, Startup Nuzzle Shows Off Its Smart Collar – One That Has No Subscription Fee

March 28, 2018

6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

To succeed, a business-to-business (B2B) company needs a lot of sales leads. You will find it difficult to promote your business and services effectively if you’re lacking a solid list of prospects.

Related: 5 Tips for Developing Your B2B Sales 

Sure, you may get lucky and convert a few random prospects into paying customers, but that isn’t a sustainable business model for long-term success. Instead, get to work on your prospects list, because selling in the B2B space is not as different from B2C as some would have you believe.

Businesspeople are just people, after all, with the same problems, apprehensions, feelings and dreams as everyone else. However, B2B buyers are also usually very busy. So, with that in mind, here are several steps you take to amplify your sales to them:

Get visual to tell your story, using videos.

High-quality, well-thought-out videos can give business consumers all the information they need to evaluate your product or service compared to your competitors’. Videos also promote your brand and knowledge, serving as informational and engaging trend pieces.

Videos can be used for various parts of the B2B sales cycle. They can serve as demo videos to accurately show how your service works and why it is beneficial to buyers’ business goals. They can also be used to share client testimonials, showing more personalized results from your product or service.

B2B videos, further, increase your search engine optimization and make it more likely that a B2B purchaser searching for an item will come across your product, as opposed to one offered by your direct competitor.

Related: 6 Fatal B2B Sales Mistakes You Must Avoid

To ultimately be successful with B2B videos, understand how to create high-quality videos that will drive sales. And, here, the first step is to define your purpose or your message:  Your purpose should be as short and succinct as an elevator pitch. Always make sure your video has a purpose in mind and that you follow through with it.

Invest in marketing automation.

According to Position², marketing automation has been identified by 78 percent of high-performing marketers surveyed as a key contributing factor to improved revenue. Automation has been estimated to help B2B marketers increase their sales pipeline contribution by an average of 10 percent. It also help teams generate both more and better-quality leads.

This is where the benefits of the ability to measure and prove a positive ROI come in, for any marketing teams. Marketing automation software can help you monitor responses and tie them back to certain marketing campaigns, as well as monitor your overall expenditure. Using this software is a great way to engage with customers and can be used at many different stages of the buyer journey.

Marketing automation, in fact, can benefit a B2B company in ways ranging from increasing revenue and supporting lead generation efforts, to streamlining processes and helping teams maximize sales opportunities.

Any system you consider should be fully integrative with your existing CRM, so that the workflows your automation supports can be highly personalized and valuable data can be generated.

While it may take some time and a lot of thought to initially set up, marketing automation, once it’s up and running, could be a game-changer for you. And, as the capabilities of the technology continue to grow, so too will the opportunities, so there’s no better time to jump in.

Understand the differences between upselling and cross-selling.

Knowing this distinction automatically puts you at an advantage. Upselling means encouraging the purchase of anything that would make the primary product more expansive. For example, a camera might come with an offer of batteries; a printer purchase might prompt the suggestion for ink.

Here’s a perfect example of how a fashion website handles upselling:

Encouraging your customers to buy more than one product per transaction in exchange for free shipping will increase customer spending.

Cross-selling, on the other hand, suggests that a particular product be purchased in conjunction with the primary product — the suggestion of a scanner when a printer is purchased, or a conditioner when a shampoo is selected.

One of the easiest ways to lose your customers is to offer stupid upsells and cross-sells. So, suggesting a cross-sell or upsell that’s completely unrelated will not only frustrate customers — it could endanger your company’s relationship with them.

That’s why it’s so important to ensure that your suggestion fits the customer’s exact needs at the very moment he or she is discussing them with you.

Pay attention to signals like “I wish I could do X” or “Next we want to try Y”; these are insights into what your customer needs more of to achieve the desired result. Actively listen to people’s needs and desires, determine which of your products or services could help and offer a cross-sell or upsell.

The more open, honest and transparent your sales team members are during the purchase process, while the customer searches for a good fit, the more likely those customers will be to stick around and become brand loyalists.

Recognize that feedback is important.

Your customers are going to share their impressions and experiences with your products and services via any available channel. Wouldn’t you want access to those impressions? Every single instance of feedback offers you relevant information. When properly used, feedback can make the difference between the conversion, or retention — or the loss — of a customer.

Listen to learn better. Learn to improve what you offer. Customer feedback offers a direct line of communication with customers so you can determine if they are unhappy with any aspect of the product or service you are delivering before you lose their business.

A happy customer is a retained customer. By regularly requesting customer feedback via surveys, you can ensure that you keep your finger on your business’s pulse. If a customer becomes frustrated or perceives a competitive offer to be better, he or she will start exploring those other options and cancel your contract or stop doing business with you.

By listening to your unhappy customers, you can use the feedback to ensure that all of your customers have a better experience and continue doing business with you.

Related: 3 Ways B2B Sales Will Change in the Next 20 Years

These four marketing hacks to amplify B2B sales are not the only way to capture your customers’ attention and get more revenue. There are also pros and cons to each of these hacks. But all deserve your attention because all have the potential to significantly increase your sales. 

March 26, 2018

4 min read

This story originally appeared on PCMag

The tragic accident in Tempe, Ariz., last Sunday evening that killed Elaine Herzberg as she walked her bike across the road should have never happened. But the same could be said of the 197 pedestrians struck by cars and killed in Arizona in 2016, and the more than 40,000 people who died in car accidents in the U.S. during the same time period.

Herzberg’s death caused a stir because it was caused by one of the self-driving Volvos Uber was testing in the Phoenix area. Because self-driving tech is new and not completely trusted, this one roadway death out of thousands every year has been intensively covered by media, scrutinized by traffic safety experts and caused considerable hand-wringing among companies that are heavily investing in autonomous technology. It should spur questions about the technology — and government regulators into action.

A video of the accident from inside and outside the vehicle released on Wednesday clearly shows that neither the car’s sensors nor the human safety driver behind the wheel saw Herzberg. The car did not slow down or swerve to avoid hitting her. Even though the Volvo XC90 comes equipped with a range of sensors and driver assist systems — including pedestrian and cyclist detection with auto brake (above) — and the Uber vehicle was outfitted with more sophisticated sensors such as lidar, the vehicle inexplicably never detected Herzberg as she crossed a darkened road.

Her death demonstrates that self-driving tech in its current form isn’t ready for public roads. But it also proves why we desperately need federal regulation to protect people and autonomous vehicle innovation.

Autonomous tech testers flock to Phoenix

Companies like Uber, Lyft and Waymo have flocked to Phoenix because of Arizona’s lax laws on autonomous vehicle testing. That prompted California to relax its regulations last month, although the state requires self-driving vehicles tested on public roads to have safeguards like remote operation.

States like Florida, which has favorable weather, and Michigan, home to the U.S. car industry, have also adopted a laissez faire approach the autonomous vehicle testing in hopes of attracting or retaining automaker and tech company dollars.

Meanwhile, self-driving car advocates have been waiting on Washington to give guidance on autonomous regulation. The Obama administration and former Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx laid the groundwork in January 2016 with a series of voluntary safety guidelines and by offering $4 billion in federal funding to foster the testing and development of self-driving technology.

After power changed hands in D.C. a year later, the federal government and Congress delayed picking up the baton for several months due to partisan bickering and lobbying by special interests. Now, self-driving car policy has effectively stalled on Capitol Hill.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has said that the USDOT won’t stifle innovation but she hasn’t shown leadership on self-driving cars. More than a year into the Trump administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the division of the US DOT that supervises motor vehicle regulation and was tasked under the Obama guidelines to oversee autonomous vehicle policy, still doesn’t have an administrator. Overseas, China and Germany have made development of the technology a political priority.

This will continue to leave states to figure it out for themselves — and in the current Wild West environment perhaps more accidents like the one that killed Elaine Herzberg. Collateral damage will also occurr to self-driving technology and the semi-autonomous driver assistance systems since they’ll likely be viewed with even more suspicion by the public due to this mishap.

There’s little doubt that self-driving cars will ultimately save lives and will need to be safely tested on public roads, but with sufficient federal regulation and oversight of the technology. Until then, more people will continue to die on U.S. roads every day. And that too is a tragedy.

March 25, 2018

1 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

With cryptocurrency growing in popularity, you may want get a cut. But you have to be smart about investing your money in something so risky and volatile.

Related: Watch Out for These Cryptocurrency Scams

As of August 2017, more than $225 million worth of cryptocurrency was stolen, according to research compiled by CryptoGo, a cryptocurrency exchange. In 2013, the total amount of stolen Bitcoin was valued at $3 million, and in 2016 this number reached a whopping $95 million. Phishing, exploitation of software and storage and hacks are the top three ways cryptocurrency is stolen.

So what can you do to prevent yourself from becoming a victim? For starters, do your research on the type of cryptocurrency you wish to invest in. It’s also important to investigate exchanges and storage methods, so you can figure out how to best protect your money. Using antivirus software and multi-factor authentication codes are also things you can do to protect yourself.

Related: 4 Pros and Cons of Investing in New Cryptocurrencies

To learn more, check out CryptoGo’s infographic below.

March 24, 2018

2 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Have you filed your taxes yet? If not, you better hurry — April 17 is just around the corner. With the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was put in place last year, taxes might seem a little scarier than usual, especially for small businesses. However, there’s no need to stress. Payroll and HR solutions service Paychex has come up with a complete tax reform checklist to make sure your business is fully prepared.

Related: 10 Tax-Savings Hacks That Small Business Owners Often Miss

The first step in getting your business ready is simple: don’t panic. To keep yourself at ease, contact a financial consultant or accountant who can help. The next step is to understand your employees’ situations and how the new law affects them. Some impacted areas to keep in mind are individual tax brackets, personal exemptions, standard deductions, itemized deductions and child tax credits. This jargon might sound daunting, but with a few Google searches or the help of a professional, it’s easy to grasp.

Related: 5 Tax-Deduction Changes in the Trump Tax Plan You Need to Know About This Tax Year

Next, it’s vital to keep doing your research and understand your state’s policies and how they’ve been impacted by the tax reform. Make sure to thoroughly review the new policy changes and consult an expert with any questions.

To learn more, check out the infographic below.