Key 21st Century Tech For Your Business

September 13, 2018 / nancyrubin

It doesn’t matter whether your small business is focused on importing the latest aerodynamic ball bearing, providing accountancy services to SMEs or building an eBay empire, you will need to move with the times if you are to succeed. One of the main reasons companies fail to expand and instead see their business vision begin to crumble is because they are resistant to change. To thrive, you need to welcome new initiatives, working methodologies, and software. Take a look at these vital pieces of technology that every startup, new or established, should be chomping at the bit to obtain.

The Cloud

Rather than looking up and admiring the cumulus that you see above your head, the cloud that you need to consider is one that will revolutionize your business. Your office should be a digital workplace, where people can upload and download necessary documents, images, and files from the virtual environment; namely, the cloud. This online storage function means that you no longer have to worry about USB sticks or your hard drive. Instead, your staff team can all have access to these documents at the same time from virtually anywhere on the planet. This increases productivity, leads to fewer hardware issues affecting work streams and increases collaboration.

Workplaces are no longer rows of desktop cubicles. They are open plan, foster teamwork and water-cooler moments, and are designed to encourage collaborative ways of working. It makes sense that technology would echo this ethos.

CRM Software

While you are keen to utilize the millennial’s platform of choice and have a well maintained Facebook page, Twitter feed, and Instagram grid, how well do you know the customers that you drive to your site? CRM software or Customer Relationship Management, analyzes the traffic to your website. It will focus on their buying habits, the products they look at most on your site and the referral that led them to your company. This can aid you in constructing a nuanced and targeted marketing campaign when launching a new product. CRM software is the perfect technological solution to try and maintain customer loyalty and expose your brand.

Payroll Automation

While it may seem a little random to include a piece of software that completes a business function that you can do yourself, the automation of payroll can free up a ridiculous amount of your time. At least half a day can be spent on this mundane administrative task. Working out 401(k) considerations and tax allowances can be mind numbing. Instead, you could invest in a software package that periodically sorts out payroll for you. This leads to fewer chances of human error, looks more professional and allows you to work on more pressing areas of your strategic vision.

Being your own boss is thrilling, and you want to become a market leader in your field. The effort you have put into launching your company cannot go to waste. Don’t be one of the eighty percent of startups that fails within the first eighteen months of trading. Welcome change and embrace new technologies and your business will thrive.

3 Things You Never Want to Experience With Customer Relations

October 28, 2017 / nancyrubin / 1 Comment

Nightmares can affect us in many different ways. A recurring nightmare can constantly pester us and force us to wake up worried and in cold sweats, and they can also become psychologically damaging at times. Luckily, this is rare and most of us experience nightmares because we’re worried about something. Whether it’s a phobia of losing your business or being embarrassed during a public appearance, here are some of the customer relations nightmares that you never want your business to go through, and also how to avoid them.

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Injuring a Member of the Public, a Client or a Customer

All hell will break loose if you injure someone in your line of work. When it’s someone in your own company, then it can usually be handled in a professional manner. This is because the employee doesn’t want to lose their job and the employer doesn’t want to create a public outcry or draw attention from the media.

Injuries can happen in a number of different ways, and there’s a huge difference between physical and psychological injuries. For example, specialised services like Elan Law bed bug lawyer may be required if you operate a service such as a hotel or fashion store. Bed bugs can easily transfer between people on their clothes, and it can create widespread panic. No one wants to be told that a customer found a bedbug in one of their packages you sent overseas, and it will create a storm of negative publicity.

In order to prevent situations like this, it’s important to learn everything about your business and plan for any possible failures because there’s no coming back from it. Make one mistake, and you’ll likely lose a huge chunk of your business, if not the entire company.

Going Viral in All the Wrong Ways on the Internet

Going viral on the internet can happen in a number of different ways, but you’ll ideally want it to happen in a positive way. Going viral for negative reasons will get you out there but, contrary to popular belief, not all publicity is positive. The internet is a ruthless and cutthroat place, so if you want to stand out it has to be for all the good reasons and you may even need to learn about how internet culture works if you want to take advantage of going viral. The last thing you want is to have your name associated with an internet meme that mocks your company, because you will forever be branded as a joke business that can’t be taken seriously.

Being Ridiculed by Another Company With No Comeback

And lastly, on the topic of internet culture, it’s important to understand that other companies will try and take advantage of internet trends to bring your business down. For instance, Wendy’s started a social media stir when its Twitter operator started ridiculing other companies and people on Twitter. The Tweets went viral and boosted business for Wendy’s. Although it sounds ludicrous that negative comments directed at paying customers helped to boost their business, it’s one of the quirks of the internet and you need to be ready to appeal to the general audience of social media if you want to remain successful. If you’re on the receiving end of this type of ridiculing, then you need to prepare a comeback or else you’ll be shunned by many young and impressionable consumers.

Know the Value Behind CRM Implementation

June 22, 2015 / nancyrubin

Healthy customer relationships are the key to your business’s success, which is why customer relationship management is so important.

Using CRM software can help your business take sales efficiency and customer satisfaction to all new heights.

Here are just a few of the benefits of implementing CRM software into your business:

CRM in Today’s Business World

Customer relationship management software can help your business manage a number of customer interactions.

From automating and organizing sales to streamlining the customer service, tech support, and marketing process, it’s no wonder more and more of today’s businesses are using CRM.

Among the examples:

Marriott – As one of the world’s largest hotel chains, Marriott was an early adopter of CRM software and still uses it today. In fact, Marriott uses CRM to track and centralize conference room availability across all of its locations. This allows the hotel chain to better market to business groups and conference vendors.
Birchbox – As a leader in personalized beauty boxes delivered to customers’ doorsteps, Birchbox has to have its customer management under control. That’s why the online cosmetics retailer uses CRM to track the contact information of all its customers. By doing so, Birchbox increased subscribers from 600 to more than 400,000 in just three years.
Boise Office Solutions – Information technology and service provider Boise Office Solutions has millions of customers across the nation. In order to keep track of contact information, Boise uses CRM software to combine nearly 2.2 million customer records from different locations into one database. This helps the company serve its clients more efficiently.

As the following article looks at, don’t let CRM implementation killers get in the way of using customer relationship management software within your business.

Besides, the benefits of CRM are well-worth the implementation process.

Better Customer Relations

With CRM software, your business can improve customer satisfaction across all departments. CRM automatically and systematically tracks all your servicing and customer interactions.

This helps your business pinpoint and solve customer issues faster.

Because the CRM process is automated, you can rest assured that no customer is left behind. Customer relations efficiency like this helps increase customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

Improved Sales Management

CRM doesn’t just help improve customer relations; it also provides vast insights on your business’s sales process. With CRM, your business can keep better tabs on your sales teams and their lead generation.

Likewise, CRM can give your business a firsthand look at closing sales statistics, which directly correlates to your customers.

Increased Platform Integration

Most CRM software is compatible with a number of different operating systems and applications. This is a huge benefit considering your business already has an established computer network in place.

CRM software is also able to integrate with most social media sites including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

This makes it possible for your business to track customer and follower responses to your social campaigns. By doing so, your business can optimize its social media outreach.

When your business is ready to automate the customer relations process, consider CRM software.

About the Author: Adam Groff is a freelance writer and creator of content. He writes on a variety of topics including software solutions and customer relations.