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No federal deal yet: What are the consequences of no stimulus?
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementDiscussions for a new relief/stimulus bill fell apart this week, apparently. It began with tumult, as President Trump, infected with COVID-19 and taking a cocktail of drugs, tweeted on Oct. 6 that federal aid for the economic harm from the pandemic will resume after the Nov. 3 election. He then reversed that position, muddying the waters. Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed a stand-alone bailout of air carriers facing financial distress and making thousands of job cuts.
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Gallup poll: Farming, agriculture receive highest marks from consumers…
Scott E. Rupp Food & BeveragePoliticians, media professionals and lawyers could learn a thing or two about brand management from their counterparts in the farming and agricultural industries. It turns out Americans have the most favorable view of the profession, a recent Gallup poll shows. It's the first time those working the fields and farms have received such high marks in more than two decades of Gallup conducting a poll that registers Americans’ views of various business and industry sectors.
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5 fresh rules for rebooting your brand’s keyword strategy as COVID-19…
Lisa Mulcahy MarketingAs a marketer, you know the crucial importance of monitoring consumer interest on an ongoing basis during the pandemic. One simple way to keep your ad content fresh across your brand's social platforms and in search results is to focus on your keyword choices. The great news is that revamping your keyword strategy to meet your existing and potential customers' needs is easier than ever. Here are five out-of-the-box, highly effective rules you can immediately put into practice to accomplish this goal.
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Stores prepare for the next wave of panic buying
Bambi Majumdar Food & BeverageEvery holiday season, stores ramp up their inventories as shoppers add more items to their lists. This year, that includes more than stocking up for holiday shopping. Stores are also preparing to stock up for panic buying that the next wave of COVID-19 may bring. According to Cornell professor Edward McLaughlin, retailers and food suppliers were caught off guard by pandemic-driven panic buying in March. But they have learned key lessons from that experience and are now sending staple goods to stores even before orders pour in.
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Will Amazon’s new palm recognition technology become a popular biometric…
Linchi Kwok RetailAmazon recently introduced a new biometric payment device, Amazon One, in two of its Go stores in Seattle. Shoppers can now enter and pay at these select cashier-free Amazon Go stores by scanning their palms. The company sees broader implications for Amazon One devices. Places with high foot traffic, such as stadiums, restaurants, retail stores, office buildings, and any gated or secured facilities, could benefit from the technology.
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Survey: Skills shortage forces 31% of organizations to prioritize investment…
Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThe pandemic has forced many organizations to reconsider their projects for the rest of the year — and beyond. While a lot of plans have been put on hold, some companies have elevated IT training to a priority project. According to the 2020 Netwrix IT Trends Report, 38% of CIOs and IT directors now plan to invest in the education of IT staff, compared to 20% who had it on their top five list before the pandemic. We asked Ilia Sotnikov, VP of product management at Netwrix, to discuss this and some of the other IT trends revealed in the report.
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Clear as muck: When the only thing that’s certain is more uncertainty
Linda Popky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementAs we get to the end of what’s been a long and challenging year for most of the world, we can all look forward to … who knows? We are just under a month away from a presidential election that may or may not have a clear winner on election night. We’re expecting an effective vaccine to protect us from the virus in the next month or two — or maybe the next year, or maybe not at all. Virtually none of this is clear. Yet, we need to continue to move forward, run our businesses, support our customers, take care of our families. How do you maintain a sense of balance when nothing is certain? Here are a few suggestions.
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US payrolls add 661,000 jobs; unemployment rate falls to 7.9%
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementAmerican employers created 661,000 nonfarm jobs in September after hiring 1.4 million workers in August, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. September’s jobless rate dropped to 7.9% from 8.4% in August. The jobs numbers reflect in part the easing of social restrictions and reopening of businesses to stem the spread of COVID-19. However, government employment, mainly in public education at the state and local levels, dropped in September from August.
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Study: How ‘empathy lens’ marketing can increase your brand’s…
Lisa Mulcahy MarketingAs a marketer, you know the importance of brand outreach. Yet, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more important than ever for your customers to respect and identify with the "faces" representing your products and services. You want your customers to like the point people they deal with initially and bond with them on a fundamental level. How can you most effectively achieve this goal? A recent study published in the Journal of Marketing may hold the key.
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Not ‘The Jetsons,’ but close: Walmart testing drone delivery…
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied Healthcare"Jetsons"-like technology is coming to healthcare, like it or not. Blame COVID-19. If nothing else, the recent news from Walmart, Quest Diagnostics, and DroneUp is pretty exciting. The three are launching a pilot program that provides drone delivery of COVID-19 self-collection kits to single-family homes in North Las Vegas. Sin City brings us many things innovative — Wayne Newton residencies, the annual blockbuster CES technology conference, and now drone-delivered COVID-19 test kits.
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