If a company hits the point where it becomes so well-known that its name becomes a verb, you know it has made it big. Of course it’s Google, one of the largest and most successful companies in America. Google has an utterly amazing success story, starting small before becoming the most successful worldwide search engine. What has made Google so successful?

Diversification

Google may appear to be only a search engine, but in reality, it is so much more. Google is involved in dozens of industries, including phones, communications, entertainment, artificial intelligence, and so much more. Google's broad portfolio has allowed it to build broad technological synergies, enabling it to become a worldwide leader in technology and innovation.

Becoming Fundamental for Business

Leaders at Google were smart enough to realize that the company had to become an indispensable business tool. All the major analytics tools for SEO look at Google almost exclusively. This means that Google has become its primary data source. In order to get data on their business, people are visiting Google's website. While users are on the site, they’re likely accessing Google's other services, like cloud storage, calendar and email. As such, Google essentially made the use of its services non-negotiable for all businesses, ensuring that users would come to it for a certain reason, but stay for dozens more.

It Didn't Fear Acquiring Others

Google has never been shy about buying other companies, and hasn’t been afraid to spend money in order to acquire its rivals or further diversify its massive portfolio. Indeed, all you need to do is take a look at Google's long history of acquisitions. Over the course of its existence, Google has bought major companies like YouTube, Motorola Mobility, Waze, Nest Labs, and several others. These companies gave Google customers, market share, and technological innovations that allowed the company to continue its massive expansion and further integration into all of our lives.

Google got big because it made the right strategic decisions over the course of its existence that allowed it to continue and grow. The company was never afraid of expanding its reach and digging into new territories. At the same time, Google never lost its focus on its core business model and primary method of success. Google's success is attributable to many decisions, but by having diversification, striving to become a fundamental business, and not letting the fear of acquiring others explains why it has become an indispensable part of our modern life.

Here’s another article you might like: 3 Automotive Companies That Really Revolutionized the Industry

Starting a career in real estate is exciting for various reasons. A career in real estate can be very lucrative, offers you a flexible lifestyle and the chance of helping others find their dream homes. However, being a real estate agent is hard work and can present many challenges. Before deciding to take the dive into a new real estate career, read this first to decide whether this is the path for you.

Profits

Real estate can be very lucrative. However, not all real estate agents make the same amount, so how much you make will ultimately depend on how much time and effort you put into your career, your education level coming in, your motivations and where you live. When you first start out, don't expect to make too much money as you are still learning the business and how to attract clients. However, you can expect established real estate agents to make an average yearly income of $40,000 or more.

How much you earn as a real estate agent is based on how many transactions you complete in a given year, the commissions that are paid to the brokerage, and the split with the sponsoring broker. When you first start out, you will probably be paid through listing agreements. These are signed by the seller and the listing agent.

What You Need

Understanding what you need to start your career in real estate is important for a smooth transition. While every state has different requirements for receiving a real estate license, there are some basic license standards across all states that you should be aware of.

Every state requires some form of education and a test that must be passed. Generally, you must be 18 years old and have a high school diploma or equivalent to enroll in the mandatory real estate courses in your state. The credit hours needed to successfully complete the coursework depend on your state. Additionally, most coursework is available to complete in a classroom or online.

Success Is Up to You

Becoming a real estate agent means you are in charge of your own success and finances. If you're used to a traditional company setting with someone telling you what you need to do, you're going to need to unlearn that way of working. Being a successful real estate agent takes hard work, dedication and discipline. Depending on the area of real estate you're interested in, you may need to commit yourself to weekend hours.

If you think that a career in real estate is the path for you, then you're in for a rewarding and exciting career. However, it's important that you are dedicated to learning and growing and are diligent enough to see your goals through.

Here’s another article you might like: 5 tips to help you make the most of this year's real estate season

Savvy road warriors understand that they will have a more enjoyable business trip if they are equipped with all of the essentials. Before you hit the road, it is important that you have a variety of items necessary to deliver a more seamless business travel experience. If this is your first business trip, here are three things that you will need to get around.

Travel Credit Cards

Using a dedicated travel credit card is a good idea when looking to maximize your money and make it more convenient to track expenses. Having one card for all of your travel expenses will keep you more organized. Travel cards are also known for their extensive rewards systems that allow you to rack up savings with every trip. There are a variety of cards to choose from. Popular choices include branded airline-specific credit cards and any card in the Chase Sapphire family. Be sure to read all of the fine print before selecting a card.

Stylish Transportation

You also need to pay close attention to your transportation options. When traveling for business, you want to make sure that you present a professional appearance and demeanor. Remember that you are representing your company brand when you get behind the wheel, making it important that you travel in a vehicle that suits a professional. Premium cars have plenty of features that make them ideal for business and leisure travel. For example, a premium vehicle is more likely to have built-in navigational services which will help you to find your way around unfamiliar places.

Electronic Devices

When out on the road, you are going to want to remain connected and in control. Having a suite of electronic devices will ensure that you do not lose touch with anything in your business or personal life. The cornerstone of your devices should be a quality smartphone. Other items to consider adding to your list of essentials include a tablet to keep you entertained out on the road and a laptop so that you can do all of your work from wherever your business takes you. Be sure to download documents or entertainment prior to getting on an airplane in case you do not have access to the internet.

Being prepared with this list of essentials will help you to tackle the road with confidence and make the best possible impression. You will enjoy a more successful business trip if you are prepared for whatever might come your way.

Read this one next: 4 Ways Female Founders Turbocharge Their Businesses

(BPT) - With over 30 million small businesses in the U.S., it's tough to stand out from the crowd. Successful small businesses turn first-time customers into repeat business, building momentum and growing sales.

How can you achieve this? Marketing. Finding effective, easy-to-execute marketing strategies can boost your business by helping you engage your customers while attracting new ones. Here are some proven ideas to help your business thrive:

Engage first-time customers

Show new shoppers that they matter. Send welcome emails and recommend products to complement what they bought. Offer special deals to keep them coming back.

Utilize positive customer reviews

Did you know over 60% of consumers read reviews before buying? Reviews can include ratings, testimonials, photos, videos and more.

Treat reviews as marketing gold, sharing them with customers and prospects to build trust and increase sales. You can generate and integrate them into your website, on social media and other marketing efforts.

Turn shopping carts into opportunities

Let’s face it, plenty of potential customers add items to their online shopping carts and never check out. While these “abandoned carts” seem challenging, they're an opportunity.

An effective way to convert abandoned carts into sales is by drawing on the power of customer reviews. Adii Pienaar, vice president of commerce product strategy for the email marketing platform CM Commerce, says small businesses can change their fortunes with this approach.

“Our most successful small business customers don’t just send a reminder email to shoppers about items left in their carts,” said Pienaar. “They take it a step further and include positive reviews and ratings about that product with the follow-up, knowing how much importance buyers place on others’ experiences. By featuring personalized product reviews for abandoned cart items, there can be a recovery rate of 5-10%.”

Spark interest with special offers

Entice new and returning business by offering discounts, encouraging shoppers to give your business a try.

Also, if you don’t have one already, create a loyalty program for frequent shoppers, or a referral special for those inviting friends to your website or social media.

Personalization matters

Shoppers don't want mass emails treating them like just another number. Small businesses that tailor emails based on each customer’s shopping experiences and interests are far more successful in driving sales.

Creating customized content may sound complex, but it all comes down to how you organize your customer list. For example, segment your customers by which products they’ve purchased, then use this information to inform them how to best use their products or remind them when it’s time to re-order.

Personalization really pays off when you incorporate dynamic content — information that changes based on a person’s interests — in promotional emails. Use a customer's previous purchases and shopping interests to generate ideas on products to complement items they already bought. For example, recommend a similar flavor of cupcakes to ones they ordered before.

Get started

These proven marketing approaches can springboard your business to success. But, how do you get started?

Marketing has greatly evolved, with many new, easy-to-use tools. You don’t need to be a marketing expert, technical whiz or creative designer to use them.

For example, CM Commerce is an email marketing platform designed for small ecommerce businesses. It can easily create professional email campaigns to enhance and grow your business.

To help small business owners, CM Commerce features pre-built email marketing recipes for everything from welcome emails and newsletters to abandoned cart reminders and more. Business owners can follow these guidelines and put their email marketing plans in place with a single click.

“I always recommend small business owners invest in email marketing,” said Pienaar. “It’s a cost-effective way to establish your brand and regularly reach your customers and prospects. Most importantly, email marketing has the potential for huge returns and can truly make your business stand out.”

For more tips and ideas to grow your business, visit The Marketing Resources Hub.

Being a salesperson has always been a challenging yet rewarding job, but the position is a lot different than it was in the past. Sales positions used to be simple. You had a product, and you found a buyer. Just like that, the commission checks were rolling in. However, in these modern times, sales can be more complex. Here are three ways that sales positions have evolved and how you can adapt your business to account for these changes.

Tech Dependent

With the explosion of technology, there are so many programs and devices designed to enhance the sales experience. In fact, it's rare to find a salesperson that isn't using some sort of technology, such as handheld credit card readers, laptops, cellphones, and more. In order to keep your sales team up to speed, your company should provide access to all of this technology, rather than assuming they will invest in it by themselves.

Perceptions of Salespeople Have Changed

As with any industry, some bad apples in the sales industry caused many negative stereotypes about salespeople. It's like a stain that seems to linger no matter how hard you try to clean it. You must protect your business from these bad apples. There are some attitude and personality traits you can test for. It would be a good practice to test all of your salespeople, so you don't end up with bad apples staining your company's reputation.

More Competition Than Ever Before

Technology keeps consumers connected with each other, but it also keeps businesses connected with consumers. Now advertisements can be tailored to buyers without a salesperson needing to be present. Often, this means that by the time a salesperson gets around to pitching to a potential new customer, this person has been bombarded left and right with competitors. Now salespeople must work harder than ever to gain a customer's loyalty. You can't stop your competitors from advertising, but you can make sure to advertise just as much to bridge that gap between your salespeople and consumers.

It's true that sales positions have evolved over a short amount of time, but your salespeople don't have to be left behind. The three tips above are easy to implement within your business and your sales team. This will help ensure that your business continues to be successful throughout the sales evolution.

Not sure how to transform your business to be more tech-savvy? We recommend reading this article next.

Whether someone is traveling for pleasure or work, they want to be comfortable in your hotel at the end of the day. Not all hotels are built similarly or function the same way. Some are better quality than others. The different features that a hotel provides are referred to as its amenities. These could encompass anything from free Wi-Fi to a hotel pool in which guests can swim whenever they want. Depending on what they’re looking for, amenities will often determine the hotel that people choose, so your hotel should at the very least provide the following basics:

Good WiFi and Cell Coverage

More and more hotels, cafes, and buildings are providing free Wi-Fi to their guests. Just because WiFi is available doesn’t mean it’s of good quality. There are a number of ways that you can improve the technology of your hotel. There are systems that reduce cellular dead zones so that customers can stay connected on your property. There’s nothing worse than a spotty connection that drops out all over the place.

Basic Kitchen Appliances

A small refrigerator can make a big difference in how comfortable a hotel room is. Guests aren’t going to be grocery shopping for the week, but it’s convenient to have somewhere they can store snacks or leftovers from dinner. A microwave allows guests to heat up their food. A lot of people don’t like to eat out the entire time that they are away from home. These small kitchen appliances can make a huge difference for guests.

Gym Facility

A lot of people like to work out on a daily basis to keep up with their fitness level and mental health. When away from home for work or vacation, a gym facility on-site is very beneficial to guests. You don’t need to have a ton of expensive equipment available, but a few treadmills and cable machines can help people get their workout in for the day.

A lot of a hotel’s success relies on word of mouth from previous guests. It is also helpful if people want to return to your facility the next time that they are in town. Having as many amenities for your guests as possible, particularly the technology-related ones, will help increase your positive reputation and bring more guests to stay at your hotel. If people don’t feel like they were comfortable or had enough conveniences available to them during their stay, this is the reputation you will form in the hospitality industry. So to give your hotel the best chance of success, consider including amenities like the ones listed above.