Not so long ago, every business assumed that the keys to success were the highest quality product, the best value for the buck, and the best customer service. Now all we hear about is providing the best “customer experience.” Exactly what is that customer experience that every modern marketer is talking about, and how do you measure it?

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review “The Truth About Customer Experience” defines it as your customer’s end-to-end journey with you, not just the key touchpoints or critical moments when customers interact with your organization. Customer experience is the cumulative impact of multiple touchpoints over time, which result in a real relationship feeling, or lack of it.

As always, Geneva has set a benchmark for this year’s list of motor shows. Showcasing the crème de la crème of European motoring, it is the place to be if you want to show off your newest metal, or carbon fibre.

Manufacturers jostle to for prime reveal times at the show, but by the time it rolls around they would already have done a lot of work getting the public and the press excited with teasing images and media releases that aim to excite without giving away too much.

Image: http://motorburn.com 

Businesses that receive mentoring are 20% more likely to grow than businesses that don’t, according to research from the UPS Store. Business mentors are usually more experienced business owners or industry professionals who can provide advice and guidance. But how exactly does mentorship work? And how do you know what to expect from a business mentor? SCORE, a non-profit association focused on business growth and mentorship, offered some insights on the mentorship process in a recent email interview with Small Business Trends.

Image: http://smallbiztrends.com 

Mind over matter is a difficult state to achieve, but according to a new study, meditation might provide some help in getting there. 

Research from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, suggests that 30 minutes of daily meditation may help alleviate the symptoms of anxiety, pain and depression.

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Every day, startups and entrepreneurs across Washington develop exciting new products and services that might benefit consumers. Of course there are no guarantees. Any two-guys-in-a-garage idea could lead to brilliant commercial success or miserable failure, but there is no way to know until the new product or service is tested in the real-world marketplace. All these would-be profitable business owners face a basic problem (unless they are already wealthy) - raising enough money to get started.

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Considering applying to an accelerator? Experts offer these tips to help you decide whether an accelerator is right for your company, and which might fit best. 

Read the term sheet

If you're handing over equity in your company or taking on convertible debt, look for provisions such as anti-dilution clauses that limit your ability to raise more money.

Birmingham, West Midlands (PRWEB UK) 10 March 2014

Venture capital is playing a pivotal role in the resurgence of the West Midlands as the UK’s entrepreneurial “Hub of Enterprise.”

With the proportion of high-growth companies in the region up by 23 per cent in the last 12 months, the Midlands is now home to 317,040 enterprises, the second highest outside London.

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SURVIVAL IN LIFE OR IN BUSINESS HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT THE HUMAN JOURNEY. FIND OUT HOW LEGO AND ITS FOUNDER OLE KIRK CHRISTIANSEN FOUND THE STRENGTH TO REBUILD OVER AND OVER AGAIN WITH PERSISTENCE, PURPOSE, AND REINVENTION.

LEGO has just become the biggest toy company in the world--but it hasn't always been that successful. Throughout the years, it has survived and thrived against all odds, repeatedly.

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ONE OF OUR MOST CREATIVE PEOPLE IN BUSINESS HUNTER WALK, PARTNER AT HOMEBREW VENTURE CAPITAL WEIGHS IN ON IF YOU SHOULD WAIT FOR YOUR BUSINESS TO GROW OR TRY TO RAISE MONEY RIGHT AWAY.

Sometimes coming up with the great idea is the easiest part. Then once you get the courage to strike out on your own, the real challenges begin. One of the most difficult aspects to starting a new business is when (and how) to raise money.

Ask The Experts How Do I Find The Motivation To Get To The Next Stage Of My Career? How Do I Brand My Business To Stand Out From the Competition? How Can I Learn Skills For A New Field Without Going Back to College?

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Airships can patrol the upper atmosphere, monitoring the ground or peering at the stars for a fraction of a cost of satellites, according to a new report. All that’s needed is a prize to kick-start innovation.

The Naval Air Engineering Station in Lakehurst New Jersey must be one of the most famous airfields in the world. If you’ve ever watched the extraordinary footage of the German passenger airship Hindenburg catching fire as it attempted to moor, you’ll have seen Lakehurst. That’s where the disaster took place.

Image: http://www.technologyreview.com 

“Do you think Nas benefits more from this relationship?” asked my seat mate.

The question came midway through one of SXSW Interactive’s featured sessions earlier today. Nas, one of hip-hop’s elite rappers, and Ben Horowitz, the rap-loving co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, were together on stage discussing the parallels of being a rapper and being an entrepreneur. It was a curious sight, but not completely unlikely given the tech world's and hip-hop's recent obsession with other.

Image: Image via The Washington Post 

Starting your startup business is an exciting and empowering venture – and an extremely risky one. Only about 25% of startups successfully pay back their investors, and even those face a 53% chance of failing within five years. And technology startups have the highest failure rate, with Allmand Law’s putting it at 90%.

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To many small and medium business owners, the word “governance” sounds scary and Victorian. However, despite popular opinion, the value the governance process adds to even the smallest of enterprises is fundamentally misunderstood.

Business owners often go into their particular business because they are passionate about it. They may know anything from a little to a lot about actually running a business, the particular industry they are entering and the roles that will be required.

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Last summer, Jennifer Sigler, the Chief Operating Officer at Global Giving, shared with me that her entire staff was reading the Lean Startup by Eric Ries. The idea that a senior manager of a non-profit would have all of her employees read a book about start-up strategy sounded unconventional and fresh. After our meeting, I headed straight to the local bookstore to pick up a copy and quickly realized Jennifer was onto something big.

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It’s no surprise that entrepreneur/Dallas Mavericks owner/"Shark Tank" breakaway star Mark Cuban’s one-on-one conversation with Mac pioneer Guy Kawasaki at SXSW was engaging and entertaining: the 55-year-old is one of those rare businessmen whose energy for making money is both infectious and organic, and this interview proved that if Mark Cuban’s faking his enthusiasm, he’s a damn fine actor.

Image: Mac pioneer Guy Kawasaki throws some balls, hard and soft, at Mark Cuban. (Photo credit: Jeff Miller) 

To celebrate Women’s Day, we hobnobbed with 24 year-old Silicon Valley-based high-tech startup founder Meredith Perry. She’s audacious, persistent, resourceful and a game changer in every sense. Perry’s start-up, uBeam, develops technology using ultrasound to wirelessly charge devices. In 2012, Mike Arrington hailed her demo as the “closest thing to magic” he had seen in a long time. Since, Silicon Valley powerhouses such as Marissa Mayer, Peter Theil, and Andressen Horowitz have invested in uBeam.

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In a recent special issue on digital startups, The Economist writes:

The exact number (of accelerators) is unknown, but f6s.com, a website that provides services to accelerators and similar startup programmes, lists more than 2,000 worldwide. Some have already become big brands, such as Y Combinator, the first accelerator, founded in 2005. Others have set up international networks, such as TechStars and Startupbootcamp. Yet others are sponsored by governments (Startup Chile, Startup Wise Guys in Estonia and Oasis500 in Jordan) or big companies. Telefónica, a telecoms giant, operates a chain of 14 “academies” worldwide. Microsoft, too, is building a chain.

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The President's proposed budget shows how we can strengthen our economy and bring down our deficits while expanding opportunity for every American. Brian Deese, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, took to the whiteboard to show what that looks like. And after that, we've put together a graphic explaining what else the budget does. Take a look, and pass it on.

Mike Neumann lives in the tropical paradise of Fiji and scuba dives with large bull sharks all the time. In addition to having a dream job as a co-owner of a scubdiving company called Beqa Adventure Divers, Neumann likes exposing people to sharks so he can help improve the image of these misunderstood and threatened animals. “It is always inspiring to observe the awe and exhilaration, especially of the newbies once they realize that the sharks are nothing like the negative stereotypes,” he says, “but instead simply awesome and beautiful!”

Image: TIGER BEACH: Tiger beach in the Bahamas is a popular shark diving ecotourism spot. Austin Gallagher, austingallagher.com 

There are two types of procrastination, passive and active. The first is the type our superegos, parents, and significant others are always warning us against: Getting stuck in uncertainty and failing to act quickly. But sometimes, unknown to our internal and external critics, we engage in actively putting things off, writes Anna Abramowski. Although we're fully capable of completing a task quickly, we choose not to, because we're focusing our attention on another goal that's more important to us. —Andy O'Connell

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