Category: General

An effective growth strategy can enable you to expand your business, increase your market share and accumulate more wealth. However, successfully growing any business can be challenging. In a competitive marketplace, you’ll need to ensure you have a fool-proof growth strategy that will deliver an impressive return on your investment.

Fortunately, data gives you the opportunity to grow your business using accurate, verifiable insights and information. To learn more, take a look at how you can unleash the power of data to grow your business:

1. Acquire More Customers

Customer acquisition is an excellent way to grow your business and the right data will enable you to understand the market more effectively. With quantifiable and qualitative market research, for example, you can learn everything you need to know about your target audience. From this, you’ll have the knowledge required to implement successful marketing campaigns and prompt engagement before turning prospects into sales.

In addition to this, data can give you immediate access to members of your target audience. With data from Lead Lists, for example, you can use specific criteria to create a database of targeted prospects. This allows you to fast-track your marketing and engage directly with the people who are most likely to convert, thus increasing your customer acquisition rate.

2. Set Realistic Goals

When you’re expanding a business venture, it’s vital to set realistic and achievable goals. Going from a start-up straight to an enterprise level business might be an admirable objective, for example, but it’s going to be virtually impossible to achieve. By using the data your company generates, you can set SMART goals to fuel your expansion plans. When you set targets that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based, you give yourself the opportunity to achieve goals that will deliver genuine value and successfully grow your business.

3. Increase Personalisation

Personalisation has been a top trend over the past 12 months, and it’s not going anywhere. In fact, personalisation is likely to become even more important as new tech increases the accuracy and relevance of tailored content. Publishing personalised online content can drastically increase conversions and boost your customer retention rate, which makes it a great way to expand your business. However, to determine what is relevant to a user, you’ll need to analyse data and put the insights to good use.

When you can identify a user’s location, their previous purchase history and track the way they navigate your website, for example, you can use this data to identify the needs of this particular user. In response, you can release personalised content that will entice them to act, thus increasing sales and optimising their lifetime value.

Using Data to Achieve Commercial Success

As Big Data becomes more accessible and useable, all businesses can benefit from making data-driven decisions. By collating and analysing data in the right way, you can ensure that your growth strategies are destined to succeed and get your plans for expansion underway.

Keeping up with the vast array of IT complexities can prove to be a struggle for many businesses, especially for smaller operations that may feel the monetary burden of hiring full-time employees to consistently monitor the situation.

Thankfully, there are some fantastic IT solutions that can help your business to succeed and thrive among the competition.

In the digital realm of today’s business climate, a streamlined IT division can be an integral, essential part of an efficient business. Here are some great reasons why outsourcing your IT services could be the best way to move forward.

Saving Money

The aforementioned monetary concerns that a small business owner can often find themselves dwelling over is no small issue. Keeping a keen eye on finances can be an important part of the establishment process, so managing to save money wherever possible can be greatly rewarding in the long-term.

Outsourcing your IT solutions to a team of reliable experts can ensure that you save a huge amount of money on staffing costs, which, as many first-time hirers will know, can be the making or breaking of a company’s positive growth.

By saving on an entire IT department, you can direct your funds elsewhere, perhaps giving your company a chance to develop in other vital areas such as marketing and product manufacturing.

Furthermore, for the more established businesses looking to cut costs but save on quality, this could be the route to explore.

Safety and Security

If the threat of cyber-crime continues to rise throughout the next few years, an insufficiently protected network could cause major damage to your business in a multitude of forms. From digital assets such as documents and images to any sensitive data you might have accumulated over time, an insecure network can leave valuables open to malicious attacks.

Online security is vital, yet it can be difficult to keep up to date with on a regular basis, especially if you are constantly busy with the daily hardships of running a business. Outsourcing this aspect to reliable managers can ensure that your network stays secure and monitored, hopefully allowing you peace of mind in the digital era.

A Clear and Effective Strategy

IT experts can also be consulted on business propositions in regards to the digital side of the operation, helping you to create an effective strategy that can help realize your vision in the virtual world, alongside the material.

This makes it a great option for those of you with a clear goal who do not yet possess the means of making that milestone a reachable reality.

Saving Time

Time is perhaps one of the most valuable luxuries for a business owner, as having to maintain and grow a business in modern society can undoubtedly take a great deal of commitment.

Sometimes, finding a few spare hours to check out the digital imprint of the company can be impossible, and when there is so much to consider, having a reliable IT management solution to fall back on could save you that extra time you need.

With so many more businesses using cloud computing, no wonder safety has become a major trending issue and a hot discussion topic. Your data is being saved somewhere else by someone else; its safety must be one of your main concerns. Below are five tips that can save you a great deal of stress with regard to your business Cloud safety.

1. Have a Responsible Person

There should be one responsible person for your business Cloud computing and company or customer data that is stored in the cloud.  Data should be audited and checked regularly. Document what is stored in the cloud and be aware of the risks associated with its loss. This person must also be aware of the regulations and guidelines for storing customer and company data online. Lastly, this key person should also be the main point of contact for any managed IT services that the business has.

2. Choose your Host with Care

They must be trusted providers in the field, known by your business stakeholders and partners. There are a  plethora of choices, and rather than choosing based on a whim, have a professional advise you in this process. The host must be compatible with your business needs and supply chain stakeholders. Go with a firm that is flexible and possibly provides a full IT managed service. A great example of a fully managed IT service is USWired, #1 in the San Jose and greater Bay area.

3. Secure End-User Devices

With more and more people working from home, there will be a proliferation of devices accessing your shared drives, shared software, and data on the network. Firstly, make sure that only known devices supplied and checked by your company have access to the network. Secondly, these devices must have end-user security installed to protect the network from external threats. Lastly, all devices, smartphones, tablets, and laptops, must be taken into account. Mobile phones are the most porous surface of the company’s IT security, and to protect your cloud space, make sure that you pay attention and train staff on the safety requirements related to remote access. All company hardware must be protected to in turn safeguard your data in the cloud.

4. Passwords

It seems a simple thing, and most people make them as basic as they can to avoid forgetting them or use the same password for several applications and log ins. This is incredibly unsafe in an age where data fraud and theft are so rife. Insist on secure or long passwords and check with your provider to see if a password manager service is included in your contract, as this will prove safer than storing these on your web browser.

5. Back-Up Regularly

Make use of the storage and security in the cloud by ensuring that your company files are backed up on a regular basis both automatically throughout the day and then checked and audited regularly. Insist on having cloud storage and a Network Attached Storage (NAS)  device or external hard drive on-site.

The cloud is an endless opportunity for business growth, increasing reach, and improving communication; make sure your business is safe out there.

If your business operates in multiple languages, or perhaps produces content in several languages then you will realize the importance of accurate and correct translations. Accuracy is necessary to your business and you need to ensure that you get the right service provider that ensures you receive top-quality results each and every time. There are lots of services out there that claim to provide accurate language translations, but, do they actually? Lots of services are cheap and cheerful, perhaps only providing you with around 75% accuracy, which is simply not enough. If you are trying to run and grow a business that requires media and content translating into several languages then you need a provider who guarantees accuracy and strives for perfection. You don’t get another chance to engage or impress potential customers, so get it right first time with correctly translated content. Here are some tips on how to do this.

Choosing Your Provider

Poor translations will end up costing you time and money. Inaccurate translations can also lose you customers, who may choose to go with another business that offers more accurate and engaging content, so, with this in mind you need to make the right decision for your business. You need to utilize reviews and recommendations from other users and then also contact providers directly to ask further questions if you are still unsure as to which provider to use. Getting first-hand information and knowledge will allow you to make an informed decision.

Starting Your Search: Questions To Ask

When you begin your search for multimedia translation services it is essential that you know what questions to ask. From cost to accuracy, the more information you gather will ensure you get the best provider for your business, so start by finding out the following:

• How accurate are the translations? Ideally you will look at translation services that are checked by human translators as well as by artificial intelligence, just to ensure that important/essential information or data has not got lost in translation as can sometimes happen.
• What is the turnaround time? How long until you have a translation sitting waiting to be uploaded to your site or platform? Does the turnaround time change depending on whether it is an audio file or a video file? If translation time is longer than a day you should probably be looking at other providers.
• Can captions and transcriptions be added on? Do they offer this, and if so, at what cost? Captions can help content feel more user-friendly and can help reach users you may have missed before.
• Do they speak your language? This is very important; for example, do they cover the local language that you want to use and are the results just as accurate?
• Finally, what file type is the translation returned to you in? Can they accommodate the file type that you use? It may sound trivial, but time spent changing file types around is time that is lost and missed on growing, and running your business.

Follow the above advice in order to successfully run and grow your business.

As a digital entrepreneur, you cannot be adept at every aspect of the world of business, especially when you are dealing with the struggles of the internet and running a business. Then, when you are starting up an e-commerce store, certain professional services can help your storefront thrive, and this guide will detail some of these.

1.   SEO Agency

Digital marketing is core to the success of your business and your ability to attract and maintain customers. However, it can be difficult to succeed in your digital marketing campaigns, especially when you are trying to manage different aspects of your business at once. It would then help if you considered hiring an seo agency that can help direct traffic to your website and ensure your marketing is targeted toward customers who are already on the lookout for businesses like yours.

2.   Website Analytics

Running a website for your e-commerce store can be incredibly stressful, and many entrepreneurs struggle to know whether their website is popular or not. Then, hiring a website analytics firm can help you acquire data that will allow you to understand what you need to do to improve your website and acknowledge that it will enable you to realize your customers’ behavior and adapt your website to accommodate this.

3.   Graphic Design and Brand Identity

However, to make your website as professional and engaging as possible, you should consider hiring a graphic design team who will be able to develop your logo and the brand identity that you display on your website. Not only this, but website designers can also make your website exciting as well as easy to navigate for your clients.

4.   Customer Service

When you own an e-commerce store, it is more difficult to communicate with customers than when you own a physical location, and this can cause issues when your clientele has queries or complaints. It would help if you considered hiring a customer service company that can answer phone calls, deal with live chat queries, and reply to the many emails that enter your inbox each day.

5.   Translation Services

The internet is a vast place that speakers of many different languages use. Whether you want to translate your website or the communications between you and different clients or suppliers, you should consider using translation services. These will ensure that you can maintain clear communication at all times and that you will be able to branch out your business worldwide.

6.   Order Fulfilment and Shipping Services

Once your e-commerce store starts to grow, it can become more difficult to store your inventory within your home or office and complete orders on time. Then, many e-commerce store owners decide to invest in a remote order fulfillment and shipping service where your orders can be packed and sent straight to customers from a warehouse location. Although this gives you less control of your orders, this can ensure that your customers can receive their products quickly and efficiently.

Everyone is happy to see the back of 2020 after what was a disastrous year due to the pandemic. While things are looking better for 2021, it will still be a challenging year for businesses that will be desperate to bounce back despite the pandemic continuing and the long-term implications to consider. So, what should businesses be doing this year to manage during this tricky year and hopefully find some success? It will depend on your situation and the industry you are in, but here are a few tips that will hopefully come in useful and help you manage.

• Maintain Visibility

It is very easy for a business to fade into the background if they are not careful in the current situation. Even if your business is currently unable to operate, you still need to maintain communication with your target customer to stay in their mind and maintain solid relationships during this period. Digital marketing is critical in a time like this to stay relevant, plus you should be using social media to communicate and engage with your target audience. This could include creating relevant content that your target market will find useful in a time like this.

• Reduce Costs

Cash flow is a major issue for many right now due to the pandemic, so reducing your costs is a smart way to improve cash flow and help you when there might not be as much money coming in as you are used to. It would help if you were careful when cutting costs not to negatively impact the quality of the product/service that you provide or to put too much strain on your team, so a few good ideas include:

• Switching to alternative energy
• Remote work
• Energy-efficient equipment
• Renegotiating with vendors
• Second-hand equipment
• Open-source software
• Embrace Remote Work

Remote work could be here to stay, and many plan to continue with it even after the pandemic ends because it benefits both parties. It is certainly worth embracing for the time being, which will involve making sure that you know how to manage a remote team, supporting your staff, and making sure that you have the best equipment, tools, and software to overcome remote work challenges.

• Step Up Cybersecurity

As if the pandemic has created enough difficulties for businesses in 2021, it has also created a surge in cyber attacks due to staff working remotely and advanced new Phishing attacks being developed. Therefore, businesses need to invest in the best cybersecurity to prevent these attacks and to keep the operation running smoothly.

• Be Flexible

Finally, flexibility is critical in times like this, where the situation changes so quickly. Businesses that are flexible and able to adapt to what is happening will always come out on top, which means that you need to be willing to take risks and think creatively. It is also helpful to consider different outcomes in the short and long-term and create plans for all of them.

Hopefully, these tips will help your business to manage during what is sure to be a challenging year ahead for all.

If you are new to remote working, whether it is a result of the current pandemic or whether your company has switched to remote working opportunities, it can feel a bit of a challenge to know how to work from home most productively without getting distracted. A new working environment and having more responsibility of your own routine can actually lead to lack of motivation in some people – which is why these 7 productivity hacks for home working are here to help you.

1. Set Up Your Working Space

First and foremost, you need to have the perfect spot to do your work at home. Ideally this should be a home office, but that is not always possible, especially if you have a smaller home. What matters is being able to set up a comfortable spot where you will not be disturbed and where you can sit comfortably.

2. Have Set Working Hours

Working from home easily leads into working more hours than you would do when you are in a workplace. However, a working day is still the same, which means stick to set start and finish hours to make sure you do not overwork yourself and can remain focused.

3. Let Others in the Household Know Your Schedule

If you do not live alone, working from home can be tricky. It is easy for others to speak with you or interrupt you simply because you are at home, but your work schedule needs to be treated in the same way as if you were at the office.

So make sure you tell those you live with the hours you are working and cannot be disturbed during, and the time you will be clocking off.

4. Choose the Right Software and Systems to Keep You Connected

Staying connected with others in your company is key when you are working from home, so that you can make sure communication is effective and that you have access to everything you need. Team software, like that from ovatiotech.com, can really help remote team members to work from the same information, connect through video chat or messaging and align all their communication.

5. Make Sure You Still Take Breaks

Because you are at home, you may think that you do not need a long lunch break, or perhaps forget about breaks throughout the day. No matter where you are, breaks are still important for your health and productivity levels. So be sure to schedule in breaks like you normally would.

6. You Can Still Leave the House

Working from home does not mean you have to be stuck to your desk all day. You can choose to work in the garden if you have one, or take a walk at lunch time to get out of the house. This will help you to feel focused and refreshed. Some people like walking first thing in the morning – to simulate a morning commute to the office and signal the start of the workday.

7. Position Yourself in Natural Light

Natural light can be one of the biggest productivity boosters, so making sure that you are working in an area that has plenty of natural light will help for a more positive mentality and more work motivation.

Working from home can be a success with these 7 productivity hacks.

When fundraising for a political campaign or simply driving to get the message out about your candidate, SMS marketing is one of the best ways around. If you are thinking of trying to promote your political message through SMS marketing or looking to ramp up your existing SMS plans, this guide has been designed to provide the crucial information as to why it is so effective. Read on now to learn about four reasons why every political campaign should be using SMS marketing.

It Captures People without Internet or Smartphones

Not everyone has a smartphone or reliable internet connection. Nonetheless, nearly everyone will have some kind of working phone with an SMS connection. That’s why it makes sense to develop your SMS marketing, collecting people’s numbers while going door-to-door. This means that you will be able to pick up on people from a lower-class background or of an older age and let them know all about your campaign. If you are not sure how to develop your mobile fundraising campaign, why not consider trying mobile fundraising with Anedot, a respected company with plenty of experience in this field.

It’s Direct

SMS marketing is direct, which is what political campaigns need if they want to thrive. People value communication that gets to the point, is short and concise, and quickly conveys the message. It also serves as a crucial reminder to people who may have forgotten about you, conveying the fact that you care about their opinion and want to hear more from them. Just remember to get the name of the people you collect these phone details from, so when you address them:

It Feels Personable

People value communication that feels personable. This shows that they are not another voter to win over, but someone important in their own right. A way to make it really feel like you are talking to the person who you contact is to allow them to reply to the text so you can get a conversation going. You’ll be surprised by the amount of undecided voters who may change their affiliation if they feel that they can actually have a proper conversation with campaigners. One by one, you will find that you can slowly swing the favor of the vote your way.

It Allows You To Collect Data

As both the 2016 and 2020 national campaigns have shown, data is the secret weapon for winning an election. By using text marketing, you are able to build metrics that can then be converted into crucial campaign data. The more you know about your prospective voters — and their breakdown by race, age, and gender — the more you can tailor your messages to truly resonate with them. Make sure that when you are using two-way marketing to ask lots of questions of the person who has replied in order to get a full picture of their concerns and to then use that data to your advantage later on.

It is so frustrating when you get lots of traffic to your website, but it just does not seem to result in sales. However, traffic is a great place to start, and there are lots of things you can do to bring those conversion rates up.

Here are some simple tips to improve your conversion rate and get more sales.

Quality Copy

Copy is the writing on your website that is designed to get people to act. The better your copywriting is, the more likely it is people will take the actions you want them to take on your page.

This is where you must be investing in quality on your website, taking the time to craft the right messages, and guide people through the sales process using calls to action.

Create More Touchpoints

Improving conversion rates is about getting more out of the traffic you already have, and one of the ways to do this is by creating more touchpoints.

People might be coming to your website and enjoying the content, but once they leave your site, you may never see them again. You need to use your great content to get people to give you a way to reach them consistently.

Contact forms are an important part of your website’s weaponry, so make sure you are using them to good effect.

Email Marketing

Once you have someone’s contact details, you can start leveraging email marketing to boost your conversion rate. However, just sending out hastily crafted emails is not going to get the results you want.

Your email marketing campaigns need to be highly focused and personalized towards your customers. Your email autoresponder will have good segmentation options to make sure you’re reaching the right people with the right messages, and tools like rocketseed.com can help add that personal touch to your emails.

Ensure you are offering value to your subscribers, which will lead to more engagement and better conversion rates.

Shipping Policies

If you are selling a physical product, then it is important you clearly outline your shipping policies.

When customers add a product to their basket, it is part of a complicated decision-making process. If people have made that decision, only to find out further along the line that there is an additional cost, then they have got to go through the whole process again, and they might come up with a different answer this time.

Being clear about shipping policies will help you reduce abandon cart ratios, helping you make more sales.

Checkout Process

When someone is decided to buy your product, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to pay. When you look at some of the biggest e-commerce brands globally, they allow you to buy products with so few clicks – there are no barriers to a sale.

However, smaller sites sometimes make you jump through hoops, and every hoop you have to jump through makes you less likely to follow through with your purchase. Do not let this be your website.

Cyber attacks are on the rise, and surveys show that there is a security breach every 39 seconds on average. Hackers are becoming more sophisticated and using increasingly complex methods to steal sensitive data. A data breach can destroy a company’s image and result in substantial losses. It is therefore essential that businesses protect their digital assets by implementing effective security solutions. With this in mind, here are four ways to improve your network security:

1. Provide cybersecurity training

A recent study found that 95% of successful cybersecurity breaches are due to human error. Human error is described as accidental actions that cause or allow a security breach to occur. A common example of this is when an employee unintentionally releases a virus by opening an email attachment from an untrustworthy source. Employers need to provide their staff with sufficient training on cybersecurity. This will help employees recognize a potential cyber threat and take action to minimize the risk. Cybersecurity training should cover various aspects of network security, including how to prevent sql injection attacks, phishing scams, and other malware. Offer regular training sessions to refresh your team’s knowledge of cybersecurity threats and the associated risks. You should also encourage your employees to report any suspicious activity immediately.

2. Protect your company’s Wi-Fi

An unsecured Wi-Fi connection can make your network vulnerable to cyber attacks. Employers should take steps to secure their Wi-Fi router and ensure that their network is protected against hackers and malware. Firstly, make sure that your Wi-Fi has a solid password that is updated regularly. It is a good idea to have a separate Wi-Fi for visitors so that you can limit your network access. Remember that you should also keep your Wi-Fi router in a secure location like a locked cabinet. Avoid leaving your Wi-Fi router in the office or out on display.

3. Create a backup plan

Your network will still be at risk of a cyberattack, no matter how many security measures you take. This is why you must create a data backup plan to recover valuable data in the event of a breach. A data backup plan will help minimize losses and ensure business continuity if you ever fall victim to a cyber attack. The goal of a data backup plan is to get your business back operating if data is stolen is compromised. You can create a data backup plan yourself or partner with a specialist IT company to create a customized backup strategy.

4. Outsource your network security

IT security experts have the skills and expertise to improve your network security. They will identify vulnerabilities and create strategies to enhance your network security. An IT security company can also monitor your digital systems 24/7 and act quickly in the event of a network breach. Outsourcing your cybersecurity to experts will give you peace of mind knowing that your network and data are secure. This means that you can focus on growing your business and achieving your strategic objectives.