Tag Archives: business
10 Reasons to Use CRM software Within Your Business
When it comes to using CRM software, there are a number of reasons why you want to use it. You need to do all you can to give your business the edge within the marketplace. Customer relationship management software allows you to focus more on your customers, which in turn will fuel your business for success.
1. More information. When you use CRM software, you have more information about your customers. This includes learning about where they are, what age category they fall into and much more.
2. More customer details. Customer details can help you reach out to customers at more times throughout the year. When you have their birthday and anniversary dates, you can send them emails and reminders, which will help your business be thought of in a more personable way.
3. Better demographic information. There is a lot of demographic information available within CRM software. You need to know who your target audience is. If you didnt know it prior to using the software, you will by the time you have used it a few times because of the data it is collecting with each order that you take and with each new customer you establish.
4. Create marketing promotions. When you have more information about your customers, you can create more effective marketing promotions. This includes putting specific items on sale as well as deciding how you want to market to your customers be it Facebook, mobile phones, direct mail or some other strategy.
5. Make suggestions. Suggestions can be made to customers when you use CRM software. When you see what the buying patterns are, you can use your inventory of products to determine what it is that they are likely to want. As you make suggestions, you can increase your sales and become more profitable.
6. Sell more. Suggestive selling is a great way to sell more. Just as restaurants use suggestive selling, you can do the same within your own business.
7. Compete with other businesses. You need to compete with the other businesses out there and CRM software helps you do that. Customers will stray to the competition from time to time unless you are doing all you can to keep them focused on you and your business.
8. Stay on the brain. When you send more emails specifically for specific groups of people, you can stay on the forefront of your customers brains. This way they wont drift off to go to other businesses throughout the year.
9. Customizable. When you use CRM software, it is customizable based upon what you need it for. You can even choose software that integrates into your other software, such as Microsoft Outlook. This ensures you arent entering the same information over and over again.
10. Easy to use. Its also a good idea to use CRM software because its easy to use. When its easy, you and your entire staff can benefit from the information housed within the program.
Benefits of Local SEO for Small Businesses
A bulk of revenue for small businesses comes from its local area. Businesses must streamline their marketing strategies and efforts in such a way that the local market is thoroughly covered. Local Search Engine Optimization is a reliable marketing tool that gives business a feasible option to increase sales from its local area.
A study by TMP/comScore has revealed that 61% of local searches lead to a purchase. It was also found that nearly 80% of the customers searching locally, follow up office via a phone call or in-store visit or a purchase. Customers these days are checking the details about products, particularly in their local area before purchasing.
Google, one of the major search engines, knows that customers are looking for products or services in their local area. That is why it makes sure that local results appear above the organic results. In view of these observations, it becomes increasingly important for a small business to be actively present in local searches. Read further to know more about the role played by local SEO in adding value to a small business.
Get brand recognition
Brand recognition is the degree to which your customers are able to recognize your products or services. Local SEO helps in improving the visibility of your brand before the potential customers in your local area. Frequent exposure of your brand to your customers leads to enhanced brand recognition, which may eventually lead the customer to a purchase.
Improves website visibility on local listings
Local SEO attracts potential customers to your website. This is done by ranking your business higher in their local search results. A customer finds it comfortable to deal with businesses in his/her local area. By purchasing products from a local supplier, he/she eliminates unnecessary transportation and middlemen costs. So, when you are found in his/her local search results, chances are more that your business gets a new customer.
Website traffic and leads
According to Search Engine Watch, around 60% of the clicks in Google search results are taken by the results in the top three rankings. By investing in a Local SEO campaign, a business will be promoted higher in the local search results. This causes more number of people to click on the website. With an increase in traffic coming to the website, the number or prospective customers also increases, which may lead to increased sales.
Increases earning potential
Local SEO offers a business tremendous potential to increase earnings. The revenue you generate by using Local SEO will be many times higher than the investment with which you start. The improved visibility that a Local SEO provides will help a business in maximizing sales, leading to revenue generation.
In todays competition, having a website alone does not signify a good online presence. Businesses must take significant steps to reach targeted customers. With a good SEO campaign in place, a small business can get maximum benefits even if it is not nationally well-known. With more and more customers preferring to buy locally, optimizing your website for local searches is one such step, which can be both feasible and effective.
Guarding Against a Network Breach with Security Testing
As people spend more time shopping on the Internet and less time shopping in stores with cash, it is vitally important for a companys data to be well-protected from hackers, data thieves and even security breaches from within. There are two ways to find out if a companys computer network or data server are safe and sound from sabotage. One is to wait and see if it is hacked and compromised. The other is to do security penetration testing and fix any problems before they occur. The second option is a better business practice and, in the long run, less expensive.
Reputation Consumers do not want to do business with a company that will not protect their personal data, such as credit cards, names, telephone numbers and addresses. Even if the data is only used for an e-mail distribution list, customers will hesitate to trust the company in the future. If sensitive data is used to make credit card purchases or compromise the bank accounts of customers and contacts, it wont take long for them to find out. When they do, the business owner can be sure that everyone the person knows – and the press – will probably hear about it, too. Keep in mind that not only will consumers avoid a company that cannot keep information safe, they will not want to make any types of purchases or use its website even after it has been fixed.
Financial Ruin Capturing information from a companys database for e-commerce or even day-to-day operations can force them out of business. Compromising a companys server can not only cause problems with data, the companys bank accounts and online e-commerce user names and passwords can be captured as well. This means that funds can be spent without the companys knowledge until a red flag is raised. For those with loosely structured accounting departments, this is detrimental to a companys financial health.
Solution By hiring a reputable application testing or penetration testing specialist, a business owner or manager can find out whether their applications, database and computer information can be easily hacked. Referred to in the industry as ethical hacking, a series of popular hacking techniques are tested on the website, network or database to see whether the target can be breached. After the test results have been obtained, expert consultation is done to limit the possibility of breaches or future episodes.
Time Frame The process of hacking into a companys database or website may take only a matter of seconds, minutes or days for the malicious competitor or money-hungry thief.. Cleaning up the mess left behind could take the business weeks, months or years. Some companies never recover. Penetration testing by a reputable and thorough penetration testing contractor usually takes one to two weeks. Rather than rush through the process in two to three days, the specialist uses a number of methods and attempts a number of entries before stating whether a business system is adequately protected. Most vulnerabilities can be fixed within a week.