If you make your to-do lists like most people, they probably consist of some low-tech, old-school items like lined paper and a pen.  Don’t be ashamed; many people still make all of their to-do lists this way even if they like to think they’ve fully embraced the computer age.  Speaking from personal experience?  No comment.

However, we live in an era where technology rules.  We communicate through social networking sites, get our news from Twitter, and carry our addresses in a pocket-sized piece of hardware (sorry, little black book).  So with our lives becoming busier and more stressful by the day, why shouldn’t we use software that allows us to make things a bit easier (and reduce clutter and waste)?

Here are a couple of ideas to get your to-do list up to date and help you manage all of life’s impending tasks.

1. Microsoft Outlook. Whether you use it at work or at home (or both) it is an extremely effective scheduling tool designed to help you manage your time and your daily, weekly, and monthly tasks.  Use it at the office to copy and paste job requests from your email to your calendar or set it up to forecast and prepare for personal events (your cousin’s wedding is in three months, so schedule in deadlines to purchase airline tickets, shop for a dress, and order the wedding gift online for delivery before departure), remind you of doctor’s appointments, or set up annual services (air conditioner/furnace cleaning, replace batteries in smoke alarms, etc.).
2. reQuall. This iPhone app is unique amongst its competitors for several reasons.  First off, information can be entered either verbally or through text.  And while you can use it for standard task management, it also has functionality for shopping lists (which, let’s face it, we can all use), recording ideas (hands free!), and a contact list (possibly redundant since your phone already has this feature, but you can tailor it to specific areas like work, groups, etc. associated with your lists), as well as a reminder service and the ability to sync with an online server.  The app is broken into three sections (time, things, and people) to help keep your info compartmentalized.
3. Zenbe. Another one for your phone, this handy to-do app may have simple functionality, but it has two features that others do not: it can sync up with an online account and it allows you to share your lists with others.  Don’t have time to get to the grocery store?  Send your husband a link to the list (while you run to the car) and let him do the shopping.
4. Remember the Milk (RTM). This program is more than just a clever name in the arena of web-based to-do list managers.  While it touts simple and streamlined functionality (create, organize, and complete your tasks), it offers the ingenious addition of integrating outside apps.  You can link it up to your online calendar, email, and even Twitter.  Bonus: it’s free!
5. Ta-da Lists. If you haven’t quite graduated from the tech-lite to the real deal, there’s still something out there for you, and Ta-da is it.  A super-simple program, it is almost like your pen-and-paper list in that it gives you just what you need in an electronic format (no crazy bells and whistles, just the ability to make, edit, and check-off your list).  It also boasts a sharing function that allows you to forward your list to others or simply make it public.

What makes marketing financial institutions very different today than ten years ago?  Trust.

Ten years ago, trust was assumed.  The stock market was booming,successful dot-coms were popping up everywhere and jobs were plentiful. But then September 11^th happened.  And  the dot-com “burst.” And let’s not forget about the stock market crash, the fall of Lehman Brothers, government bailouts, the real estate market hitting an all-time low and the highest unemployment rate in decades. Today, trust is non-existent.

Marketers who focus on regaining trust will make it into the next era.  Companies- especially financial institutions- will start earning trust by reaching their customers exactly when and where they need something.

Simply put, that means better customer service.  But today’s definition of superb customer service goes beyond, “thank you for your business ma’am.”  Customers today expect instant gratification.  Customers want to be seen as individuals.  And today’s customers have bigger problems to solve and bigger voices than ever before.

Old Components of Great “Customer Service Marketing” for Financial Institutions

• A friendly smile and a thank you.
• A fancy lobby, suits & nylons.
• A call center.
• Great interest rates.
• Online banking, conveniently located ATM’s and longer hours of operation.

New Components of Great “Customer Service Marketing” for Financial Institutions

• A totally awesome iPhone app.
• A response from a real person when tweeting a complaint about the financial institution.
• Listening to the blogosphere and making adjustments.
• Creating financial products that offer value, rather than offer high interest rates.
• A customizable online banking interface that allows the customer to create a budget, track investments, create a plan to payoff debt, get financial education and earn rewards that are relevant to their situation.

My online marketing business card says, “get into your customers hands” (yes, it’s a sassy play on another common phrase). Today, customer service marketing is about getting in your customers hands-meaning getting into their iPhone, Blackberry, text messages, emails and social media networks-at the right moment.  It’s about paying attention to individual needs and providing ways to solve their financial problems.

It’s easy for consumers to blame large financial institutions for the economic downturn.  Smart financial marketers should accept this and turn their focus on regaining trust.  Financial institutions in particular should change their definition of “customer service marketing” and prove that they can once again be trusted by providing instant,  applicable and individualized customer service beyond high interest rates.

What do you wish your financial institutions would do differently?  Do you trust financial institutions?  What would make you trust them more?

Iphone and ipod users know how annoying it is to operate your devices during the winter as it requires removing your gloves in the cold! My Mom sent me a pair of these awesome iphone-compatible gloves and I had to share them with you! My gloves are by echo (which has tons of other cool stuff too!) and work like a charm. The magic is in the material on the thumb and index fingers. Check them out here, they are $30.

How annoying is it when you are super excited to upload your pictures from the weekend, and then you can’t find your stupid cord ANYWHERE?  I hate it.  I also hate the times when I avoid uploading pictures for weeks at a time and then have to deal with organizing them and waiting for everything to load.

Well fret no more!  Technology just keeps getting cooler and cooler.  Check out the eye-fi: a new way to wirelessly upload pictures and videos to your computer (Mac or PC) or favorite photo sharing community (like Flickr, Picasaand over 25 others) as long as you are within range of a wi-fi network.  The Eye-fi share is $59.99-79.99.

No worries, the whole world won’t see your pics.  You can easily change your privacy settings to your liking.

To make this product even cooler- and perhaps creepier- the Eye-fi Explore ($99) is also capable of  “geo-tagging” your photos.  In other words, it can tell you WHERE you took the pictures!  No, it’s not equipped with a GPS system the size of a tiny memory card.  Instead it uses WPS technology- which is Wi-fi positioning.  It locates you based on the wireless networks surrounding you. 

Awesome!

You can “cut the cord” for as low as $49.99 with the Eye-fi Home (uploads photos only to your home computer). 

And for you iphone people, there is a free iphone app when you own the Eye-fi too.  (I mean what ISN’Tthere an iphone app for, right?!)

Has anyone tried this yet?  I’m tempted to get it!