Articles

Did you know that your Xerox printer has the ability to print documents only when the intended recipient is standing right next to the printer? This, among other neat features, are often overlooked by office managers. And it’s a shame too, because printer technology has come a long way in the past couple of decades. Xerox multifunction printers (MFPs) are capable of so much more than just printing or scanning documents. You [...]

When you’re vying for the attention of an important client, everything that can give you a leg up over your competition helps. One of the most affordable, effective ways to differentiate yourself from the crowd is to use print marketing. So many young businesses these days cut costs by focusing on digital outreach only. Make no mistake about it, digital marketing is highly effective—but if that’s all you’re doing, you’re selling yourself [...]

Social media is a powerful tool for generating sales. It works to establish your brand, builds trust with prospects before they buy, and amplifies your content to drive traffic to your website, all of which are critical for inbound sales. For B2B, if you’re not on LinkedIn and Twitter at the minimum, you’re missing out. And Facebook is hands down the lifeblood of B2C social. But no matter which platform your audience [...]

From sales to marketing to HR to inventory and everything in-between, managing all the moving parts of your small business can be a challenge, we understand! Social media is one task that often goes undone simply because a consistent time commitment is mandatory in order to drive growth. In the sea of choices for social media amplification tools, we're sharing a few that economically drive more demand for your small business. 6 [...]

Technology has impacted every facet of our lives from how we communicate to how we make purchases to looking for and securing jobs. Today, it's practically an expectation to have a personal brand that reflects your success if you want to be taken seriously and in order to do that, there are several qualities that either signal leadership and capture our attention or make us uncomfortable - depending on how well they've [...]

If you’re a marketing professional, you strive to keep up with the latest and greatest tactics and platforms every day. If you’re a small to medium sized business (SMB), you’re likely wearing many hats from marketing to sales to customer service at any given time and prefer someone deliver a cliff notes version of the trends you need to know. That’s exactly what this article is meant to do! Here are four marketing [...]

In today’s Internet savvy world, everything has changed from the way we buy and research products and services to how we find a mate and when, where and how we look for new career opportunities. Let’s take a quick look at the job search changes and how a few strategic decisions can make or break your ability to find and hire the best talent. Bad hiring decisions happen If you’ve ever been [...]

We all have preconceived notions about social media, the importance of the social platforms for business, and how to use social to drive connections and business outcomes. But once we master a few techniques, the opportunity to close more deals on social is abundant. Chances are if you log onto LinkedIn right now there will be at least one post streaming down your feed geared at keeping LinkedIn “professional.” And by professional users [...]

With so many companies in the digital marketing game, many small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) feel it's too late to start marketing online because they won’t be seen and so they don’t even bother trying. However, new Google search changes have recently created way more opportunities for SMBs to be found. The trick? Blogging. How to get started Before you write a single word, put yourself in the shoes of a Xerox Agent or [...]

10 years ago, what's now referred to as "the buyer’s journey" was completely different. Salespeople had to find you and then convince you to buy their products. In today’s world, buyers can and (and do) simply hop online and self-serve all the information they could possibly want before even thinking about a purchase.  The Internet is now the first impression for almost all buyers looking for a supplier. This truth impacts their entire experience, [...]

Hands up if you attended an unnecessary meeting this week. Happens to the best of us. In fact, the average worker in the US attends about 62 meetings each month, half of which are reported as unproductive. And it all adds up to thirty-seven billion dollars a year wasted in salaries. Ouch. Sounds about right though. The problem is, unless you’re working alone, meetings are needed to keep projects moving along, people [...]

Roughly 1 million tweets per year come from fearless employees openly expressing negative feelings about their work! As a business, that’s quite alarming since employees these days are closely tied to their employers via social media. A yearlong social media study found interesting tidbits such as, 8 out of 10 “job lovers” work in the western half of the USA, technology employees tweet less frequently about job satisfaction than any other industry [...]

For a growing number of people, the question of which Herman Miller ergonomic chair to sit in has become irrelevant. Instead, they’re shopping for a good pair of supportive shoes and a comfortable fatigue mat. That’s because instead of sitting at their desk all day, they’re standing up. Driven by a growing body of research highlighting the dangers of our sedentary lifestyles (and sitting in particular), standing desks have become something of [...]

Talent alone won’t get you very far. The smartest kid in the class might have an easy time getting the grades she needs to get into a top-tier school like MIT. But once she’s there, everyone is at least as smart as she is. Some are much smarter. The only way to stand out and excel in that environment is to work harder than anyone else. In an interview for CBS, Will [...]

We all know that meetings can be tedious, tiring, and ineffective at resolving the problems our businesses are facing. We need creativity and openness, and what we get instead is disinterested yawning and unhelpful criticism. In many cases, however, this unfortunate situation can be improved with some strategic adjustments to our usual meeting routines. Encouraging Participation First and foremost, allow people to share ideas without fear of criticism or interruption. Managers or [...]

The New York Times says that expressing gratitude makes people happier, so we thought we’d provide you with a brief list of wonderful things to be grateful for in Arizona this holiday season. Being a local Arizona company, the amazing winter weather here has to be near the top of the list. While much of the rest of the country is pulling on their long johns and preparing to hibernate, Phoenicians are [...]

Small, local businesses are the heart of the American economic engine. They provide the majority of jobs in the US and play key roles in maintaining and improving the communities we live in. In case that’s not enough, here are five major reasons to make supporting local Arizona companies a personal priority: Supports our local economy It’s a common refrain, but dollars spent at locally owned businesses are more likely to stick [...]

Here at Arizona Smart Document Solutions we focus on office automation for our clients daily. But you may ask, what is Office Automation…really? Smart Office Office automation refers to the hardware and software for your computers, printers, smartphones and other gadget. More specifically it refers to how we use these tools to digitally create, collect, store, manipulate, and relay office information needed for accomplishing basic tasks and saving on time and money. [...]

What is Audience Engagement? According to a study commissioned by The San Francisco Foundation and Grants for the Arts, audience engagement is defined as a creating and delivering experiences that have an impact on the participants. So why is engagement important? If the participant experiences more of your presentation, rather than daydreaming, thinking about problems, etc, the more engaged they are. Seems like an obvious statement right? So what are some tools [...]

We have been hearing this question a lot lately: “How do I get the WorkCentre copier to scan to a gmail account?” First, make sure that IMAP and POP For All Mail are enabled in the settings section of your Gmail account. POP and IMAP is what allows you to download messages from Gmail's servers onto your computer so you can access your mail with a program like Microsoft Outlook or Mac [...]

Here at Smart Document Solutions we like to help keep our clients productive. In case you haven’t noticed, more and more people are working from home or virtually. 10-20 years ago the vast majority of people commuted anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour – or more – one way. Today that is not necessarily the case. Included in the growing numbers of virtual workers are Virtual Assistants. A virtual assistant (V.A.) [...]

Have you opened your email inbox lately? Lord knows there have been days, weeks, and even months where I have avoided my email inbox as if were radioactive. Others, check their email inbox hour by hour or even worse, minute by minute.   Here at Smart Document Solutions – part of our mission is to make you more productive in the office so you can live your life. Email, a tool for [...]

Here at Smart Document Solutions, our goal is to keep you and your team as productive as possible. Although we’d love to earn your business we think it’s important that both our clients and potential clients are aware of trends in getting things done and growing your business. One trend that is getting a lot of press these days is livestreaming. Livestreaming is not exactly a new idea. Skype has been around [...]

  Security is a big concern for most companies. There are many ways your company's private data can be infiltrated, and it is important to always be diligent in protecting your company's data. Xerox PARC has been researching and developing some amazing new technologies that work with your smartphone to ensure you can securely track and even destroy some of your sensitive data after it leaves your physical location. To help businesses [...]

In today’s society, productivity is becoming more and more important. The key reason for this is that effective use of time has become (in many cases) more valuable than money. Here at Smart Document Solutions of Arizona, we want you to be as productive as possible. We offer solutions that promote environmental sustainability, overall office savings and of course, increased productivity, all to help you achieve your goals. That being said, we [...]

With the widespread adoption of bring your own device (BYOD) policies sweeping through the state, and the security threats those devices pose, it's crucial that you focus on the security of your hardware, your network, and your employees understanding of your company's security policies. With 80% of the world's smartphone users now on the Android platform, this makes adopting and understanding a security policy more important than it has ever been. Android [...]

Arizona has some amazing landscapes and opportunities to capture true works of art. Check out these breathtaking captures from some truly inspiring local artists. Remember if you are looking to print beautiful works of art on the highest quality printers, you know where to reach us. Grand Canyon by Ryan Fitzgerald   Usery Mountain by April Goldian   Canyon Lake by Brad Rogers   Red Mountain by Gerry Groeber   Arizona Clouds [...]

Back in the day, working life was pretty simple. You commuted to a job which could take thirty minutes to an hour one way. You worked your eight-hour shift and then you commuted back home. In the mid 90's a thing called the Information Superhighway, or internet, began to get popular. I think Al Gore invented it, or maybe Xerox invented the internet, or maybe it was DARPA. Either way, the interwebs [...]

i·ro·ny noun a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result. Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard (HP) accidentally, and quite ironically, forgot her notes on a printer. The page read: "Hillary Clinton lies about Benghazi, she lies about emails. She is still defending Planned Parenthood, and she is still her party’s frontrunner — 2016 is going [...]

The worldwide enterprise print market is expected to total $172 billion in 2015 alone. Do you understand the total cost of printing in your Arizona operation? Do you have the experience and knowledge to control your print spending? Don’t panic, most companies don’t have these skills or knowledge. The average employee costs a business $520.00 per year in printing costs, so if you have 100 employees that’s $5,200.00 per year in printing [...]

Networking is one of the most essential skills for small business owners. Communication and strong presence in the small business ecosystem are essential and will help you along your way to building what Karen Joseph of Seven Networking says is crucial, strong relationships with other professionals from different groups, nationalities and fields of interest. I remember clearly my first networking event. It was in Dublin, Ohio and I heard about this obscure [...]

One of the most important things you can do when networking is to remember the names of the people you meet. Do you really care if someone calls you John when your name is Mike? Or Joan when your name is Betsy? Well of course you do. It’s been proven several times that one’s own name is one of the sweetest sounds another person can hear. “A person’s name is to him [...]

Your company’s information is proprietary and it’s worth protecting. Many companies spend money on a security system for their building, they backup their data and store it offsite or they pay a company to come in and shred the data for them, in order to keep the information from ending up in the wrong hands. These automated systems are always there to protect your data, but your employees may be unaware of [...]

The Old Town district of Scottsdale is home to many fast growing companies such as Yelp, Weebly, Integrity Engineering & Design (#1050 on the 2014 Inc 5000) and more. Keep in mind Smart Document Solutions will be there to help with any and all of your document and copier needs at a cool and affordable price, But when you just need a break from the 110+ degree heat, rely on this list [...]

We all want to get more things done in less time. With all the distractions we have each day that is an increasingly more difficult aspect of our careers to work on. After having a couple kids and taking on more work than ever before, here are the top 5 things I do each day to ensure maximum productivity and minimum insanity. 1. Stick to a Sleep Schedule We all know that [...]

Allegiance Health is a 411-bed regional health system based in south central Michigan. Like all hospitals, Allegiance Health relies on hundreds of forms to manage its operations and maintain regulatory compliance.   The Challenge Over time, however, these forms began to cause major management problems. Too many forms and form versions were in distribution, so employees often didn’t know which ones to use. And some of the forms were inaccurate or outdated, [...]

Do you think confidential information is protected by your company’s IT security policy? Think again. A new survey commissioned by Xerox and McAfee, reveals that more than half (54%) of employees say they don’t always follow their company’s IT security policies (33%) or aren’t even aware of the policies (21%) — leaving the security of your customer’s data, credit card numbers, financial reports, HR and tax documents, and more at risk. According to the [...]