I had intended that our interviews would happen once a month but based on the amount of interest, I have decided to make it weekly for the foreseeable future. If you are interested - please let me know @ nialldevitt[at]btbtraining.com
The Btb Interview
Joseph Kelly is CEO of the Loopthing, the newly launched social business network, ww.loopthing.com The service provides any business or self employed person with the opportunity to create an interactive profile in addition to forming and joining networks that relate to their area of business. Together with the open application environment that is being created, Loopthing is starting to push the boundaries of business communication and interaction on the web.
Me: As an Irish based start-up looking to grow the Loopthing network both here and internationally how are you finding current market conditions?
Joseph: It is definitely fair to say that current conditions are by far more stable than Q4 2008 and Q1 2009. Towards the end of last year it was extremely difficult for organisations to see over the business horizon, which made forecasting future profitability and even basic inventory requirements very hard.
Within the ICT sector there are some very innovative products and services in development, and it is essential that we as an entrepreneurial nation capitalise upon opportunities that are being created in current market conditions, especially on an international level. Our only concern would be the support available to SME businesses in the current environment. Speaking from our company's personal experience it has been very hard to gain any level of concrete support from the country's enterprise support networks.
Me: "Increasing brand awareness through the web" - Discuss?
Joseph: We believe in today's business environment every single business, no matter what industry they operate in should be in complete control of their web presence. It's basically all about communicating with the widest possible audience and if you're missing a trick on the net, you're basically ignoring a large potential customer base. Check out our blog on what steps you should take - http://blog.loopthing.com/?p=351
Me: What advice would you give to increase sales in the current market environment?
Joseph: To improve sales in any downswing is obviously a very hard task, but our belief is that if you can dramatically increase the information surrounding your products and services, your business will stand much more of a chance of attracting those vitally needed sales leads. Given the product and service is satisfactory, improving the information and transparency associated with your business, in our view carries a high correlation with sales generation. http://blog.loopthing.com/?p=95
In the News
Hi Niall,
We just posted an article, Top 100 Blogs to Boost Your Sales Skills?. I thought I'd bring it to your attention in case you think your readers would find it interesting. I am happy to let you know that your site has been included in this list.
Thanks for your time!
Suzane Smith
