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Guest Post: 10 Ways to Increase Empathy in the Workplace

Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings and vulnerabilities of those around you. Having a strong standing team that is able to notice when someone may need help, or have a good sense of direction when navigating a tough conversation is key. As your small business starts to expand and more team members start joining your team, exercising this skill is crucial.

Whether you are putting your time and energy towards building a more positive working environment this year, or you’re wanting to grow your client list, empathy is a great place to start. Research shows that over 60% of employees would take a pay decrease to work on an empathetic team—proving that investing in your employee’s well-being should be a top priority for industry leaders.

On the flip side of this, showing empathy for your employees doesn’t just happen overnight. There are a few small changes to be made for a long term impact on your team.

Different Types of Empathy

Empathy has various different pros and cons when it comes to a work environment. There is such a thing as being too empathic, or not showing enough empathy. Educating your team about the different types of empathy and which to portray is a great starting point.

1.Cognitive Empathy

Also known as “perspective-taking,” this type of empathy focuses heavily on understanding one’s emotional state. This empathy type provides a comfortable and flexible company environment to help build your team’s ability, goals, and aspirations for growth.

2. Emotional Empathy

This type of empathy is also known as “effective” or “primitive” empathy as it triggers an emotional feeling on a deeper level, affecting one personally. For instance, if someone got in trouble for a project gone wrong, you might develop fear over losing your job or making the same mistake.

3. Compassionate Empathy

Compassionate empathy is the most actionable of all three. This involves seeing someone go through pain, experiencing it emotionally yourself, resulting in an instant desire to help. For instance, say an account executive isn’t meeting their goals that month and have been put on a performance plan. Compassionate workers will do everything in their power to help direct prospects to that team member, schedule additional educational meetings, or give sales directly to them.

Increasing empathy on your team can have a positive impact on your team’s productivity, in turn, optimize your initial salary investment on your employees. Show your team you care this year with Fundera’s roadmap to practicing proper empathy in your workplace.

Meredith Wood Vice President and Founding Editor at Fundera, Meredith Wood is the founding editor of the Fundera Ledger and a vice president at Fundera. She launched the Fundera Ledger in 2014 and has specialized in financial advice for small business owners for almost a decade. Meredith is frequently sought out for her expertise in small business lending. She is a monthly columnist for AllBusiness, and her advice has appeared in the SBA, SCORE, Yahoo, Amex OPEN Forum, Fox Business, American Banker, Small Business Trends, MyCorporation, Small Biz Daily, StartupNation, and more. Email: meredith@fundera.com.

Guest Post: Ready for Growth? 4 Ways to Expand Your Business Marketing Efforts

Finding new avenues for marketing your goods and services is certainly one way to go about expanding your marketing outreach, but have you considered actually offering a greater diversity of goods and services? For as simple as this marketing strategy sounds in theory, understanding your customers at a deep enough level to know what they’ll want in the future can be challenging to say the least.

Conduct Market Research

You might have been able to see where this was going: to be more sure-footed about whatever marketing direction you take next, consider doing market research. Market research is all about uncovering more information on what your customers’ preferences and their needs. Sometimes only market research can uncover what customers truly want since the product that will fulfill their future needs hasn’t been invented yet!

Tap Existing Customers

You shouldn’t feel bashful about asking your current customers what they like about your current lineup of products and services in order to inform tomorrow’s product lineup and marketing outreach. It’s much more economical to sell trusted and newer products to current customers than go through the ordeal of wrangling new customers into the fold. In other words, marketing to current customers can have a much higher return on investment for your company.

The good news is that you’ve already established rapport with these customers and know a lot of information demographically about them. They might even be willing to share with you what they’re looking for out of your company!

Embrace New Marketing Technologies

The internet is a veritable treasure trove when it comes to expanding our marketing outreach. Between paid-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, and email marketing campaigns the only limitation is the depth of information that you have on your prospects and customers and your willingness to experiment.

You might also want to explore local search engine optimization and app development services in order to capitalize on the fact that your customers are largely online in terms of exploring your product lineup, connecting on social media, setting up appointments, and making online purchases.

Expand into Fresh Markets

The great thing about marketing in new territories is that you don’t necessarily have to open another brick-and-mortar location to be effective. You can use search engine optimization and social media marketing to your advantage and tailor your marketing to a brand-new demographic of customers. Fresh segments, niches, and locations can be extremely exciting. It’s all about bringing more customers into the fold.

Emma Sturgis

Emma is a freelance writer based out of Boston, MA. She writes most often on health and education. When not writing, she enjoys reading and watching film noir. Say hi on Twitter @EmmaSturgis2

Guest Post: Simple Steps to Better Your Brand Building

Successfully building your brand is one of the most important tasks for your business. It can allow you to strengthen customer loyalty, increase your sales and help you stand out from your competitors. On top of this, building a well-established brand around your business is by far the most effective way to ensure its long-term success. However, a lot of businesses struggle with establishing a recognizable brand which is significantly hindering their growth potential. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some simple steps to help you better your brand building.

Have a plan

Every successful endeavour starts with a plan, and the first step you should take towards bettering your brand building is just that. Coming up with a plan of where you want your brand to be headed will firstly have you consider the ultimate goals and vision of your business as a whole. Articulating these will give you something to aim at and turn to no matter how difficult the situation is. This will also help you come up with the message you want your brand to send to potential customers, which is one of the most crucial aspects of a successful brand. In today’s world, people value a vision they can stand behind and a message they can resonate with more than anything else. Because of this, getting this part right will be the most challenging part and it may require you to alter and experiment with your message until you get it just right.

Target your audience

Successfully building a brand will mean constantly absorbing the feedback you are getting. So, the next thing to do would be to research and find out who makes up the majority of your customers. Start by doing surveys and gathering any information that will help you better understand your audience. This will give you the ability to tailor your message towards them, making it a lot more effective.

Focus on customer experience

The best way to promote your brands’ message to other people is through their every-day interactions with your business. The way to do this is by focusing on making your customer experience as enjoyable for them as possible. And, while there are a lot of things that go into improving customer experience, there are a few things that will help you really convey your message and build your brand at the same time.

The main point of interaction between your business and the public is your website. In fact, it’s a direct reflection of your company as a whole, which is why you need to make sure it’s representative of what you stand for. It’s important to keep your website accessible, providing only the information a customer may need while at the same time keeping in line with the branding you’ve decided on.

Customer service is another integral part that goes into making top-notch customer experience and at the same time establishes your brand as one that really cares about making their customers satisfied. There are many approaches you can take when it comes to handling customer service within your business, from live chat to call centres and chatbots, it’s only important to choose something that best fits your business’ needs and possibilities.

There are many other areas where you can easily improve your customer experience. For example, you can introduce financing fees allowing your customers to pay for your services on a monthly basis or in whatever way best suits them, allowing you to implement a debtor management system. Or, you can focus on personalizing the interactions with your customers by sending them offers tailored towards their preferences which will make them form a deeper connection with your business. The number of approaches is endless, you just need to choose one and start implementing it.

Communicate your message

The final part of the brand building process is sending the message you settled on to the public. The best way to do this is through an effective marketing strategy which will integrate your branding in every aspect of it. This is where understanding and targeting your audience will once again prove invaluable as it will help you determine what platforms of communication to focus on as well as increasing the efficiency of your marketing.

Conclusion

While forming an elaborate strategy of where you want to take your brand, what message you want to send and how you are going to achieve those things is important, at the end of the day, all of it will be without a purpose if the product or service you are selling isn’t the best it can be. So, if your branding isn’t fulfilling your expectations, it may be worthwhile to take a deeper look at the products and services you are offering. With that being said, the only way to find this out is by starting to build your brand right now.

Keith Coppersmith is a business and marketing expert who has experienced both the rise and fall of many businesses. As a regular contributor at BizzmarkBlog, he enjoys writing and providing insight of the marketing industry based on both practice and theory.

New Video: Ingham County Health Department – Carry Naloxone, Save a Life.

The use of opioids is growing, and so are the number of accidental deaths related to opioid overdose. To combat this, the Ingham County Health Department is encouraging everyone to carry naloxone in order to prevent overdose and save lives.

For more on the Ingham County Health Department: http://www.hd.ingham.org

#BetterCallPaul February 2019 Recap

This is a Recap of the videos we’ve created in February 2019. For this month, we created videos for the Ingham County Health Department, Re/Max, It’s a Breast Thing, and Mason Area Chamber.

► Subscribe to the #BetterCallPaul Channel Here:
http://bit.ly/2jbP69q

Guest Blog: How to Keep Your Business Production Line on Time

Working in an action-packed factory can be quite a hectic experience. Running one can be just as chaotic and frenzied as well. If you’re a factory supervisor or manager who is looking to achieve and maintain an efficient business production line, there are a number of suggestions that can aid you in lasting and relevant ways.

Communicate with Your Employees

Clear communication is paramount in factories. If you want all of your employees to do their jobs in punctual manners, then they have to be aware of all of your expectations in the first place. Make deadlines 100 percent clear to all of the professionals who work on your production line day in and day out. Leave no room for uncertainty or confusion.

Hire Team Members Who Are in Charge of Time Management

Some of the most successful business production lines out there are the ones that have the supervision of cautious and detail-oriented professionals. If you want to avoid the stresses of lateness and associated hassles, then you should think about a recruiting a designated professional who can handle any and all scheduling and timing matters for you. He or she can help keep the rest of your workers in check.

Focus on Equipment and Tool Maintenance

Faulty tools can lead to delays for business production lines. Equipment breakdowns can lead to major delays that can hurt productivity significantly as well. If you want to ensure smooth functioning and punctuality, then you need to prioritize regular equipment and tool maintenance. Make a point to concentrate on industrial washers, and their replacement as well. Supply replacement is always a major part of regular maintenance sessions. If your production line has an industrial washer that’s on its last legs, then you need to swap it out with a new one immediately.

Practice Organization

An organized and tidy factory can lead to punctuality and dependability. If you want your production line to work well, then you need to emphasize the value of cleanliness and order. Encourage your team members to keep their workspaces meticulous and organized. Make a point to practice organization yourself each day, too. A clean working environment can always serve as a solid foundation.

A punctual business production line can be a wonderful thing for your factory. It can keep your customers content and satisfied as well. You should always think about new methods that can potentially boost production line and warehouse efficiency requirements.

Rachelle Wilber

Rachelle Wilber is a freelance writer living in the San Diego, California area. She graduated from San Diego State University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Media Studies. She tries to find an interest in all topics and themes, which prompts her writing. When she isn’t on her porch writing in the sun, you can find her shopping, at the beach, or at the gym. Follow her on Twitter (@RachelleWilber) and Facebook

Guest Post: From Idea to Execution: How to up the Ante on Your Product Design

Product design is a big part of creating something that resonates with audiences. Compelling product design can take your offering to a new tier. Bland and tasteless product design, on the other hand, can leave it stagnant and hopeless. If you’re passionate about strengthening your approach to product design, there are many options that may help you substantially.

Brainstorm with Your Team Members

Brainstorming sessions can do a lot for people who feel like they’re in the middle of product design ruts. Fresh insight can get your creative juices flowing. It doesn’t matter if you talk with creative types or with administrative employees. Bouncing ideas back and forth can push your product design in a new and potentially thrilling direction.

Hire a Design Agency

Don’t worry if product design isn’t something that comes naturally to you. If you want to invest in product design that’s effective, memorable, and high quality, you should leave things in the hands of capable professionals. Recruit a design agency to take on your requests. Professional product design can make your offering stand out. It can give it more credibility as well.

Assess the Competition Carefully

It’s imperative for businesses to assess competition. Your aim should be to top your rivals in every way. Look at the designs on their products. Ask yourself if they’re doing anything correctly. Ask yourself if they’re doing anything problematic, too. Try to improve upon their strengths and eliminate their weaknesses.

Request Constructive Criticism from Other People in Your Industry

Honest feedback can be helpful to people who want to improve their product design approaches substantially. If you want to determine the positives and the drawbacks of your existing designs, then you should ask for feedback from people who are part of your field. Truthful and comprehensive criticisms from individuals who understand your industry in detail can help in a massive way. They can help you comprehend your target audience members and all they need with much more clarity, too. Constructive criticism shouldn’t sting. It should be something you welcome enthusiastically.

You should never be okay with product design that’s lackluster. Inspired and innovative product design is the key to lasting success in the business world. Businesses need to go above and beyond to assess their product design approaches regularly. They need to do everything they can to better these approaches any time they can as well. A+ product design can make a fabulous starting point.

Guest Post: Best High End Drones on the Market

Not sure where to begin? Don’t worry, we did the research for you!

Over the past years, drones have developed into having many purposes. From being used by hobbyists to being necessary business tools. In fact, the industry has become so diverse that there are even drones for kids available these days.

The market has since grown tremendously and you can find basically any size, shape or feature that you could ever want or need. It can be overwhelming when searching for that perfect drone and figuring out where you should buy it from. To eliminate any headaches, we’ve put together a master list of the absolute best high end drones on the market today.

Autel Robotics Evo Folding Drone

A perfect drone when it comes to transporting and traveling with it! The size is just right to pack up easily and carry. It also has enough density so that it doesn’t get pushed all over the place by winds during flight. It’s quick to setup for flying. The wings simply fold out and all you have to do it place the drone on the ground; you’re ready to fly!

The battery is also a very simple process to switch out. It’s about the entire back half of the drone and it easily slides out with a click. The charge time is quick, at around 1 hour to become almost fully charged. With that, you can get up to 30 minutes of flight time.

Overall, the drone has a very sleek and efficient design. The entire underneath and heat vents are all aimed to cool off the drone during flight and these features do a really great job. It’s obvious that a lot of care went into the creation of the drone’s body.

It’s eye-catching and built extremely well and of quality. It also is equipped with an industry-leading camera that captures 4K at 60 frames per second. The orange color of the drone also gives it a nice trendy feel.

A great feature of the Autel Robotics Evo is actually its ability to sense any danger. If any of its sensors detect an object, it will prevent you from flying forward while giving you a warning. You can also set it to follow you and if it detects anything, it will divert it and then continue following you.

DJI Mavic Air Quadcopter

Second on our list is the DJI Mavic Air and if you know anything about drones, you already know that DJI is the leader in this industry. This drone is equipped with an incredible camera. It offers 4K video recording and the drone is built with a three-axis gimbal for stability. This means that your footage will be extremely smooth.

Similar to the previously mentioned Autel Robotics Evo, the arms are foldable on the Mavic Air. This makes packing and carrying the drone very effortless. It can easily slip into a backpack or even a camera bag.

This drone is extremely well built on the exterior and interior, despite its small size. Because of this, it can reach speeds up to 40mph. Paired with this, the Mavic Air has a transmission distance of 4 kilometers. Or you can connect to a mobile device and get up to 50 meters of distance.

An impressive feature that the Mavic Air offers is the use of HDR photography algorithms. It helps obtain the perfect exposure settings automatically depending on the lighting situations in the environment.

DJI Mavic Pro Quadcopter

I’m sure it’s no surprise the next high end drone on the market is another one from DJI. The Mavic Pro.

If you’ve ever seen any drones from the Phantom series by DJI, you’d know how compact and lightweight they are considering their capabilities. Well, the Mavic Pro’s incredibly portable size knocks them all out of the water. It’s about 1/6th of the size when folded.

You may think that it doesn’t provide the same abilities and features that larger drones have, but this little one sure packs a punch. It features a 4K camera that captures footage at 30 frames per second. The camera is mounted on a small motorized gimbal which is able to make almost instant adjustments to keep itself leveled.

Similar to its cousin, the Mavic Air, it can reach speeds up to 40 mph. And per a full-charged battery, it can endure flight time of around 27 minutes. The battery itself takes about an hour to charge back up and then you’re ready to fly again!

And just when you thought the world of drones couldn’t possibly be better, DJI actually released the Mavic Pro 2 and it is now available for sale. We’re still waiting eagerly to be able to give an in-depth review on it.

Things to Consider Before Purchasing

If you’ve never purchased a drone before, it’s important that you take a moment to read up on federal and state drone laws. If you’re buying a drone soon, you should know that you absolutely must register before you take the first flight. Perhaps some of these drones are out of budget for you or you’re a novice to the flying; this list of drones under $500 may be more suitable.

As you can see, all three of these drones are the top of the industry. While they may offer slightly different features, you won’t go wrong with choosing one over the other. If you’re ready to upgrade to a high end drone, check out one of these today!

Following his passion and ambition for writing and technologies, Chams Edhia Riahi started TheDroneLogic.com, an authority site where he informs people about the best drones; tips to fly them and their main industry announcements.

Guest Post: Creating a Magical Influencer Marketing Campaign

Using influencers to market your business’s products and services is a very lucrative step in marketing. In simpler words, it is your step in the right direction to achieve business growth and reach new heights.

Thousands of brands try to get in touch with influencers and invite/request them to participate in marketing their offerings for hefty amounts of money.

Because of its amazing results, influencer marketing has gained a lot of popularity and the demand for influencers is increasing every day.

A survey conducted by Blogmint concluded that 90% of marketers aim to take-off at least one marketing drive that involves influencers amid the next 12 months.

However, a lot of business owners still don’t have a clear idea as to how they can create influential influencer marketing programs.

If your company is also struggling to develop a good influencer marketing plan or if doing it for the first time, this tutorial will provide you a clear path to follow.

Below are the six important and effective steps to carry out a good influential marketing program.

Like every other thing in management and marketing, the first step to a successful influencer marketing program is to define your goals. You have to set your goals and plainly describe what is to be achieved. In addition, you also have to decide which metrics will be used to measure the success rates. This is important because it gives an idea of the effectiveness on your plan and helps you improve.

The next important step is to get a hold of your target audience. Know your target audience and decide how you will target them. Choose an influencer accordingly depending on the kind of product or service you are marketing.

While the objectives and goals are different for different companies, you should be majorly focused on the following generic ones when working with influencers:

Strong customer relationships
Increased sales and revenues
Quality leads
Upturned brand awareness

2. Find Appropriate Influencers

Not all influencers work for everything. You have to be very specific when choosing an influencer and find one who suits best to your offerings. In fact, choosing and collaborating with a suitable influencer is the ingredient that distinguishes your recipe (plan) from the rest.

Next, you need to research the influencers and their followers before you can reach out to them. Not to forget, influencers are mostly informed of brand promotions and keep an eye on who is interested in hiring them.

When selecting an influencer, consider checking the kind of content they produce. This will tell you a lot about the relevancy between them and your products or services. For example, if it appears that the influencer is more into skincare, they will not be able to get you good results if the products you have are cookies and chips.

Likewise, if you need to promote travel essentials, you will need travel influencers.

3. Content Creation

When we talk about content creation for influencer marketing, there are two options. Either you co-create it with the influencer or trust the influencer to do it on their own. The latter is better though.

In any case, make sure that the content created is able to draw in the right kind of audience and deliver the message it is meant to. This will only happen when you accurately know your audience and goals and tell the influencers about both of these. Whichever of the two ways you choose for content creation, you can also add things or suggest changes to the content created.

If you are leaving it up to the influencer completely, you need to trust them fully. They have been in the field for long and know what type of content should be created to attract different types of audiences for different offerings. Influencers know their followers more than you do and so they know what type of matter will precisely attract them.

Put complete trust in the influencers you choose knowing they can frame the message nicely and in a way that resonates with their audience.

4. Prepping for the Execution

When the content is done and everything has been decided, the next important thing you need to focus on is the execution. Communication plays a very important role in the implementation of your plan and you have to make sure that you are regularly in touch with the influencers you have chosen. Make sure you are available for any urgent issues and questions or comments from the audience or the influencers.

It is also very important to track the results. Track the views on the blog posts and the number of likes, shares, and comments and be prepared to make changes if needed. Check whether or not the influencer’s content is rolling out the results that were expected and ask for changes if need be.

5. Reward the Influencer

Influencers will not work with you just for the sake of a few product samples or free services given once or twice. They need proper compensation or rewards to run influencer marketing campaigns for you.

According to a survey conducted by Crowdtap, one of the biggest misconceptions that brands make is thinking that a few free samples or services are enough to pay off the efforts made by their influencers. In fact, 68% of the total influencers who participated in this survey also affirmed that if the brands fairly compensate them, they would like to collaborate with them again in future too.

6. Quantify the Results

Your job doesn’t end when the program is successfully rolled down; in fact, the real challenge only begins then. Now is the time you take measures to quantify the outcomes you have achieved from your influencer marketing campaign. In this final step, you need to see is the results are what you expected and if you were able to achieve the goals that were earlier defined.

Gather the required data, put it next to the present measure of success, and analyze if the campaign was a success. Alex from VM Interactive says that this is the most crucial step that most people don’t do properly and just go straight away onto the next influencer marketing campaign. Prepare reports comparing the benchmarks set and the actual performance of the program. Some basic figures in analyzing this will be the number of leads generated and the reduction in your marketing costs as compared to the traditional advertising costs.

The results of your influencer marketing campaign will not only affect your brand but also the influencer regarding their popularity and brand image.

Conclusion

If the above-given steps are effectively completed, the results of your influencer marketing campaign will meet the benchmark. The key is to define the goals accurately and not forgetting to measure the outcomes once the plan is implemented. You should know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to marketing your own products and services.

Alex runs his own digital marketing agency called VM Interactive based in London. He has a passion for creating and sharing content that others may find helpful.

Guest Post: How to Increase Sales Using Social Media

Learn how you can better market your ecommerce business through Facebook, Instagram, and Pintrest. These 5 simple tips will teach you how to increase sales using social media.

The Power of Social Media

Cherilyn and I were next door neighbors ten years ago. Since that time, we have both moved–she moved to a different state and I moved to a different city. Despite the distance of two hundred and forty miles between us, I know that Cherilyn recently started her own online business selling beauty products.

How do I know? She announced it to me and all of her other friends on Facebook. In addition, I know when she’s having specials on certain products or running promotions. And it has all been done without a cent of her money being spent on marketing.

What’s the secret? The secret is social media. Viewers of social media know you and trust you because you have a relationship. According to DEI Worldwide, 70% of consumers use social media as often as they use firm websites to gather information about products. In addition, 60-70% of people believe that recommendations from other people online are “valuable, credible, and honest.”

Consumers Online

81% of the developed world now has internet access. Essentially that means that of the countries with expendable income, 81% can be reached from anywhere in the world. Global accessibility has never been greater than it is at this time. But with that accessibility also comes an overload of information and products.

Social media can help shoppers sort through it all. Social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, allows business owners to build relationships with their prospects, as well as use existing relationships to turn friends into customers.

Think about how many adults use social media while at work–just to get a mental break from their jobs. They may be on a coffee break, scrolling through their Instagram feed, when they see your business’s post. With every social media post your business makes, you’re reaching prospects during a time or place that television, radio, and print ads often cannot.

A Boost to Businesses

When a viewer sees a post, it can be almost like magic. According to Forbes contributor Jayson DeMers, “studies have shown that social media has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing.” And an IDC study released in 2014, found that buyers that use social media have 84% larger budgets than buyers that don’t. That’s a powerful formula!

Most of the developed world has internet + social media users have larger budgets + 100% higher closing rate = success!

Social media can bring you more leads and more sales without investing a fortune in marketing. However, social media marketing often falls flat. So I’ve gathered five tricks to help you successfully connect with your customers.

5 Tips to Increase Sales Using Social Media:

Post Often – By spending at least six hours per week, 66% of marketers saw a benefit from social media in lead generation.
Use Images – Place an image alongside your text on Facebook. Posts with images have 2.3 times more engagement than stand-alone text.
Learn to Pin – Pinners spend 50% more on purchases through the social media channel than users of other social media platforms, yet only 40% of marketers use it.
Photograph People – When posting on Instagram, use photos of people. Studies show that photos with faces get 38% more likes than those without. So place your products with a person for a more positive response.
Make a Video – Close to half of all internet users look for product related videos before visiting a store. Even though you may not have a brick and mortar storefront, put this statistic to work for you. Create simple videos about the products or services you sell and place them on your website as well as Youtube. Shoppers who view a video are almost twice as likely to make a purchase than shoppers who did not view a video.

(Thanks Hubspot for these great stats!)

So next time you are searching for a way to boost your sales, take a closer look at social media. It’s a great way to build your brand and boost your sales.

About the Author: Mike Giannulis

I am an entrepreneur & coach specializing in business growth and digital and direct response marketing. I run a small coaching & consulting firm (OnlyOneMike.com) helping businesses achieve maximum profits. In 2012, I was on a weight loss TV show called Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition.

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