WordPress Hosting
Checklist To Ask Your WP Hosting Provider
Many Small Businesses need help with the shortcoming of their web hosting provider when a problem arises that affects their business. Choosing the right web hosting plan and provider for your needs is essential to your online presence and should be part of your process before problems arise.
Below is a checklist you can discuss and questions you should ask any provider you are considering.
• What uptime guarantee do you offer?
• What types of hosting are available?
• Is it free to upgrade to a new hosting package?
• What kind of security do you have in place to protect websites?
• Do you offer a free SSL certificate?
• What kind of backup policies do you offer?
• How responsive is your technical support?
Once you have a good idea of the hosting you need for your website, make sure you ask the following questions. In most cases, you can find the answers to these questions on the hosting company's website.
In some situations, you may need to contact the hosting provider's sales team to get an answer. Once you have the answers to this interrogation, you can decide which company offers you the best web hosting services. Let's go through each question one by one.
1. What uptime guarantee do you offer?
Regarding web hosting, nothing is more important than uptime and reliability. Most good web hosting providers offer an uptime guarantee of 99.9%, although some go as high as 99.99%.
2. What types of hosting are available?
There are many types of web hosting available. The following are the familiar types of hosting that companies should offer:
• Shared Hosting
• Virtual Private Server (VPS)
• Cloud hosting
• Dedicated server
3. Is it free to upgrade to a new hosting package?
Most small businesses need simple shared hosting. If you start generating a lot of traffic, you may need to upgrade to a VPS or a dedicated server. If your website reaches that point, you want to be sure that the hosting company can upgrade you to a new type of hosting easily and without downtime.
4. What kind of security do you have in place to protect websites?
Cyber security is critical, and for many companies, it starts with protecting the website. Some standard security features offered by good hosting companies include:
• Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Mitigation
• Virus and malware scanning
• Email scanning
5. Do you offer a free SSL certificate?
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a basic form of security that protects your site and helps keep the users who visit your site safe. Having an SSL certificate is also essential for SEO.
6. What kind of backup policies do you offer?
You always want to keep your website files safe and protected. While website problems are rare, a good backup policy helps ensure you never lose any valuable information.
7. How responsive is your technical support?
If something goes wrong with your website, you want to affix it as soon as possible. Whether the problem is caused by you or your hosting company, contacting the technical support team will be the first step in resolving it. You’ll want to make sure your hosting provider offers 24/7 support.
Resource:
https://digital.com/best-web-hosting/questions-to-ask-to-help-find-your-best-web-hosting-services/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
Below is a checklist you can discuss and questions you should ask any provider you are considering.
• What uptime guarantee do you offer?
• What types of hosting are available?
• Is it free to upgrade to a new hosting package?
• What kind of security do you have in place to protect websites?
• Do you offer a free SSL certificate?
• What kind of backup policies do you offer?
• How responsive is your technical support?
Once you have a good idea of the hosting you need for your website, make sure you ask the following questions. In most cases, you can find the answers to these questions on the hosting company's website.
In some situations, you may need to contact the hosting provider's sales team to get an answer. Once you have the answers to this interrogation, you can decide which company offers you the best web hosting services. Let's go through each question one by one.
1. What uptime guarantee do you offer?
Regarding web hosting, nothing is more important than uptime and reliability. Most good web hosting providers offer an uptime guarantee of 99.9%, although some go as high as 99.99%.
2. What types of hosting are available?
There are many types of web hosting available. The following are the familiar types of hosting that companies should offer:
• Shared Hosting
• Virtual Private Server (VPS)
• Cloud hosting
• Dedicated server
3. Is it free to upgrade to a new hosting package?
Most small businesses need simple shared hosting. If you start generating a lot of traffic, you may need to upgrade to a VPS or a dedicated server. If your website reaches that point, you want to be sure that the hosting company can upgrade you to a new type of hosting easily and without downtime.
4. What kind of security do you have in place to protect websites?
Cyber security is critical, and for many companies, it starts with protecting the website. Some standard security features offered by good hosting companies include:
• Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Mitigation
• Virus and malware scanning
• Email scanning
5. Do you offer a free SSL certificate?
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a basic form of security that protects your site and helps keep the users who visit your site safe. Having an SSL certificate is also essential for SEO.
6. What kind of backup policies do you offer?
You always want to keep your website files safe and protected. While website problems are rare, a good backup policy helps ensure you never lose any valuable information.
7. How responsive is your technical support?
If something goes wrong with your website, you want to affix it as soon as possible. Whether the problem is caused by you or your hosting company, contacting the technical support team will be the first step in resolving it. You’ll want to make sure your hosting provider offers 24/7 support.
Resource:
https://digital.com/best-web-hosting/questions-to-ask-to-help-find-your-best-web-hosting-services/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
30 adminFebruary 15, 2023
Reputation Management
How Much Time Does Reputation Management Require For Your Chicago-Based Small Business
One of the first questions we get from most of our reputation management clients is, "How long does reputation management take for a Chicago-based small business?"
How long does online reputation management take in Chicago?
Short answer:
Content removal ► 5-7 business days
Content suppression ► 1 - 9 months or longer
Online Customer Review Management ► 1-6 months or more
It varies from a straight removal between 1 and 4 weeks to correcting online reviews, which can take over a month. Online reputation management activities take 6 to 12 months to suppress/push negative search results.
Every project is different and with many factors to consider. Some projects are ongoing and never 'finished' but will be improved over time. We use our expertise and experience to guide customers through the process and understand how much work goes into improving online search results.
Your current online reputation is a significant influence on timing
The existing reputation of your business, brand, and even senior people within the company significantly impacts how long reputation management takes and the type of lit-up strategy it creates for you.
If you have a negative online reputation
If search results for your name, brand, and target keywords already show negative links to reviews, fake news, forum threads, and social media posts, or if you're being trolled online, options are to remove or push these negatives down. And out of sight. It takes much work and skill to remove or counteract harmful content with high rankings.
The competition for your keywords also affects how long online reputation management will take:
It is challenging to change your search results if there is a lot of competition for your targeted keywords. Other companies will invest in different SEO-based marketing strategies and link-building, making it complicated.
Google prioritizes the most relevant and high-quality search results for each keyword. It uses over 200 ranking factors to determine the quality and relevance of each keyword. So, if the competition for your keywords is high, you need to outperform your competitors on as many ranking factors as possible - which is a lot of work in terms of time and activity.
Resource:
https://blog.reputationx.com/how-long-does-orm-take
https://www.igniyte.co.uk/blog/how-long-does-reputation-management-take
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
How long does online reputation management take in Chicago?
Short answer:
Content removal ► 5-7 business days
Content suppression ► 1 - 9 months or longer
Online Customer Review Management ► 1-6 months or more
It varies from a straight removal between 1 and 4 weeks to correcting online reviews, which can take over a month. Online reputation management activities take 6 to 12 months to suppress/push negative search results.
Every project is different and with many factors to consider. Some projects are ongoing and never 'finished' but will be improved over time. We use our expertise and experience to guide customers through the process and understand how much work goes into improving online search results.
Your current online reputation is a significant influence on timing
The existing reputation of your business, brand, and even senior people within the company significantly impacts how long reputation management takes and the type of lit-up strategy it creates for you.
If you have a negative online reputation
If search results for your name, brand, and target keywords already show negative links to reviews, fake news, forum threads, and social media posts, or if you're being trolled online, options are to remove or push these negatives down. And out of sight. It takes much work and skill to remove or counteract harmful content with high rankings.
The competition for your keywords also affects how long online reputation management will take:
It is challenging to change your search results if there is a lot of competition for your targeted keywords. Other companies will invest in different SEO-based marketing strategies and link-building, making it complicated.
Google prioritizes the most relevant and high-quality search results for each keyword. It uses over 200 ranking factors to determine the quality and relevance of each keyword. So, if the competition for your keywords is high, you need to outperform your competitors on as many ranking factors as possible - which is a lot of work in terms of time and activity.
Resource:
https://blog.reputationx.com/how-long-does-orm-take
https://www.igniyte.co.uk/blog/how-long-does-reputation-management-take
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
39 adminFebruary 14, 2023
Prototyping
Considerations To Keep In Mind While Designing The Flow Of Your Product
Product development is bringing a new product from an idea to the market. Product development can be a significant and risky investment for businesses. In all the excitement of introducing something new to the marketplace, money and time can be wasted. But this can be avoided if a corporation is aware of some common mistakes during the product development life cycle.
The following things are Considerations to keep in mind while designing the flow of your product.
1. Your product should be relatable:
Be realistic—new product evolution development takes time and money. Trying to get a great product fast and cheap can result in a compromised product that is ineffective in solving any customer problem in the market.
2. Creating minimum viable product (MVP):
A minimum viable product (MVP) can demonstrate an idea without significant financial investment for full-scale development. Once you start generating sales with an MVP, the company has more incentive to invest time and resources into developing additional features in the product.
3. Create a budget:
While preparing the budget, analyze the expected returns from the product and how much the company can invest in the given period. Avoid further funding of "nearly finished products" that will not show a significant return based on the resources required.
4. Develop a Good marketing plan:
Creating the best product does not guarantee that customers will buy it. It is developing a marketing plan along with the product development process. It helps to have an effect with a primary feature focused on a known problem for the customer. Marketing is all about focusing on how they will hear about your product as a solution.
5. Get early feedback from customers:
Many companies fear that negative feedback early in the product development process could derail their carefully planned product development efforts. Granted, it can happen, but it can be a good thing! You can improve the product quickly, so it's essential to get feedback from real customers using the product as soon as possible.
Resource:
https://qubstudio.com/blog/ten-steps-of-the-product-design-process/
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/7-things-to-consider-before-starting-product-development/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
The following things are Considerations to keep in mind while designing the flow of your product.
1. Your product should be relatable:
Be realistic—new product evolution development takes time and money. Trying to get a great product fast and cheap can result in a compromised product that is ineffective in solving any customer problem in the market.
2. Creating minimum viable product (MVP):
A minimum viable product (MVP) can demonstrate an idea without significant financial investment for full-scale development. Once you start generating sales with an MVP, the company has more incentive to invest time and resources into developing additional features in the product.
3. Create a budget:
While preparing the budget, analyze the expected returns from the product and how much the company can invest in the given period. Avoid further funding of "nearly finished products" that will not show a significant return based on the resources required.
4. Develop a Good marketing plan:
Creating the best product does not guarantee that customers will buy it. It is developing a marketing plan along with the product development process. It helps to have an effect with a primary feature focused on a known problem for the customer. Marketing is all about focusing on how they will hear about your product as a solution.
5. Get early feedback from customers:
Many companies fear that negative feedback early in the product development process could derail their carefully planned product development efforts. Granted, it can happen, but it can be a good thing! You can improve the product quickly, so it's essential to get feedback from real customers using the product as soon as possible.
Resource:
https://qubstudio.com/blog/ten-steps-of-the-product-design-process/
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/7-things-to-consider-before-starting-product-development/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
29 adminFebruary 13, 2023
Reputation Management, SEO/SMM
5 SMM-Based Reputation Management Strategies For Your Chicagoland-Based Small Businesses
Did you know that social media is number one among Chicagoland Americans, ahead of time spent on email and Google?
According to sources majority of marketers use social media to promote their business. Social media is only getting big. If you're not marketing on it, you're missing out on a massive chunk of your target customers.
Here are five critical social media marketing strategies to give them a much-needed facelift this year.
Create a Plan & Stick to It: With a strategy, your content is likely to stay on track. Set a limit for published tweets daily and adjust daily numbers, but you have to hit a number, even as small as four tweets per day gives you a benchmark and at least a goal.
Tip: Check how often your competitors post and do industry research to find the right content to publish daily on each channel.
Treat each channel as an Individual Entity: Treat each channel as a separate entity. Content can be spread across all channels. LinkedIn has a more business-focused audience looking for in-depth, educational content. Instagram has an audience likely looking for engaging visual content. Please pay attention to your follower demographics on each channel and publish social media copy and content that appeals to them.
Customer Service: Trust is lost if a visitor tweets to your handle or posts on your Facebook page and has yet to receive a response. Because of your need for more communication, disgruntled potential leads are now turning to your competitors to find answers to their questions.
Negative feedback also needs to be addressed, preferably with patience and respect. But think of your social channels as an opportunity to show how great you are to your customers.
Find distribution channels and critical times to post: You must post on social media when most of your audience is online. The research will show all the social media platforms on which your audience is most active and engaged with your niche and brand.
Your marketing strategy should note your brand's purpose on each social media platform. You can then adapt your content and actions accordingly on each platform.
It would help if you studied your audience and when they are most active on social. Integrating these findings will enable you to identify precisely when your brand should post on each channel to ensure you connect with your target audience.
Track your social media metrics: Tracking is often considered tedious and time-consuming. It can be, but it will only take a few hours per month. Set aside time every month (preferably on the first day of the month) to review essential metrics for your business. Here are some stats to focus on: number of posts, follower growth, clicks to your site/products, page views, post impressions, likes or shares, etc.
Resource:
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/01/09/social-media-marketing-strategies
https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/the-5-step-social-media-marketing-strategy/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
According to sources majority of marketers use social media to promote their business. Social media is only getting big. If you're not marketing on it, you're missing out on a massive chunk of your target customers.
Here are five critical social media marketing strategies to give them a much-needed facelift this year.
Create a Plan & Stick to It: With a strategy, your content is likely to stay on track. Set a limit for published tweets daily and adjust daily numbers, but you have to hit a number, even as small as four tweets per day gives you a benchmark and at least a goal.
Tip: Check how often your competitors post and do industry research to find the right content to publish daily on each channel.
Treat each channel as an Individual Entity: Treat each channel as a separate entity. Content can be spread across all channels. LinkedIn has a more business-focused audience looking for in-depth, educational content. Instagram has an audience likely looking for engaging visual content. Please pay attention to your follower demographics on each channel and publish social media copy and content that appeals to them.
Customer Service: Trust is lost if a visitor tweets to your handle or posts on your Facebook page and has yet to receive a response. Because of your need for more communication, disgruntled potential leads are now turning to your competitors to find answers to their questions.
Negative feedback also needs to be addressed, preferably with patience and respect. But think of your social channels as an opportunity to show how great you are to your customers.
Find distribution channels and critical times to post: You must post on social media when most of your audience is online. The research will show all the social media platforms on which your audience is most active and engaged with your niche and brand.
Your marketing strategy should note your brand's purpose on each social media platform. You can then adapt your content and actions accordingly on each platform.
It would help if you studied your audience and when they are most active on social. Integrating these findings will enable you to identify precisely when your brand should post on each channel to ensure you connect with your target audience.
Track your social media metrics: Tracking is often considered tedious and time-consuming. It can be, but it will only take a few hours per month. Set aside time every month (preferably on the first day of the month) to review essential metrics for your business. Here are some stats to focus on: number of posts, follower growth, clicks to your site/products, page views, post impressions, likes or shares, etc.
Resource:
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/01/09/social-media-marketing-strategies
https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/the-5-step-social-media-marketing-strategy/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
37 adminFebruary 10, 2023
Business Transformation
5 Productivity Transformation Tools For Your Chicago-Based Small Business
We live in an age where time is money. For entrepreneurs, this is even more critical. The faster they can meet the demands of their customers, the more benefits there will be for their business. But what makes service delivery quick and without any compromise in quality? The answer lies in creating and nurturing a productive workforce—the more effective your crew, the better the service.
Productivity tools can be a game-changer for today's highly demanding work culture in businesses.
Here are the top 5 productivity transformation tools for your Chicago-based small business that successful organizations ensure their workforce has access to:
1. Email Management Tools: Email is still the number one communication channel in formal environments for peers to communicate with each other and in Teams. An intelligent email management tool will enable employees to filter important emails more effectively and prioritize responses based on the severity of the content in each email.
2. Task Management: A task management tool is one of the essential tools for an employee to be productive. From recording things as a 'to-do' list to assigning responsibilities and roles to individuals collaborating on a project, task management tools facilitate various activities in the office environment.
They have a highly flexible task management platform that enables organizations to bring out the best results from teamwork and reward performers for their extra efforts when necessary.
3. HR tools: You would need a spreadsheet to manage your accounting, receivables, or taxes, so why should your HR workflow rely on antiquated media and messy documents?
Just Value is like a short book for HR and benefits. It becomes your single management point for all HR needs.
4. Collaboration Channels: In a fast-paced business environment, people from different streams or with other skills must come together and create solutions for challenging customer situations. It requires powerful collaboration channels that offer various features such as innovative meeting schedulers, video or audio conferencing and call answers, access-controlled storage, remote file and media exchange facilities, and virtual workspaces.
5. Engaging Intranet Platforms: There is a need to bring in a social infrastructure where everyone in your organization can connect, learn about workplace events and developments, conduct team building or interactive sessions, and collaborate effectively in your work environment. It is precisely what modern-day intranet solutions offer for enterprises.
You need to develop a social media-inspired platform for intra-organization interaction. An intranet facilitates the creation of a community among your employees where people interact and gain knowledge about everything related to or outside of work.
Resource:
https://www.infince.com/blog/top-5-productivity-tools-every-small-business-needs-today/
https://www.inc.com/drew-hendricks/top-5-business-tools-to-boost-your-productivity-in-2017.html
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
Productivity tools can be a game-changer for today's highly demanding work culture in businesses.
Here are the top 5 productivity transformation tools for your Chicago-based small business that successful organizations ensure their workforce has access to:
1. Email Management Tools: Email is still the number one communication channel in formal environments for peers to communicate with each other and in Teams. An intelligent email management tool will enable employees to filter important emails more effectively and prioritize responses based on the severity of the content in each email.
2. Task Management: A task management tool is one of the essential tools for an employee to be productive. From recording things as a 'to-do' list to assigning responsibilities and roles to individuals collaborating on a project, task management tools facilitate various activities in the office environment.
They have a highly flexible task management platform that enables organizations to bring out the best results from teamwork and reward performers for their extra efforts when necessary.
3. HR tools: You would need a spreadsheet to manage your accounting, receivables, or taxes, so why should your HR workflow rely on antiquated media and messy documents?
Just Value is like a short book for HR and benefits. It becomes your single management point for all HR needs.
4. Collaboration Channels: In a fast-paced business environment, people from different streams or with other skills must come together and create solutions for challenging customer situations. It requires powerful collaboration channels that offer various features such as innovative meeting schedulers, video or audio conferencing and call answers, access-controlled storage, remote file and media exchange facilities, and virtual workspaces.
5. Engaging Intranet Platforms: There is a need to bring in a social infrastructure where everyone in your organization can connect, learn about workplace events and developments, conduct team building or interactive sessions, and collaborate effectively in your work environment. It is precisely what modern-day intranet solutions offer for enterprises.
You need to develop a social media-inspired platform for intra-organization interaction. An intranet facilitates the creation of a community among your employees where people interact and gain knowledge about everything related to or outside of work.
Resource:
https://www.infince.com/blog/top-5-productivity-tools-every-small-business-needs-today/
https://www.inc.com/drew-hendricks/top-5-business-tools-to-boost-your-productivity-in-2017.html
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
53 adminFebruary 9, 2023
Margins
Strategies To Improve Your Agencies Margins
Did you know that the average profit margin of the 50 top-performing marketing agencies in the country is just 10.4%?
Even without adding more clients, there is much room for improvement.
Today, we’re sharing strategies to improve your bottom line and make you more money.
Offer High Value, Low-Cost Upsells, and Cross-Sells:
Getting a prospect to become a client is the hardest part, but offering upsells and cross-selling is accessible once they cross that line. Think about how much extra cash is lost in the grocery store checkout line. You've already bought everything you need, but additional offerings of chocolate, gum, and magazines add to the total purchase price and consistency. The same can happen in your business. We've tested it and made hundreds of thousands of dollars by offering small upsells.
Outsource Manufacturing to Reduce Overhead:
Instead of paying overhead, you need to hire employees, taxes, rent, coffee, or Friday lunch, and you can outsource deliverables for a fixed price and pay your employees to manage the process. It's probably not worth your time to bring anything that isn't your core service in-house (at least not at first), and you may be able to improve your margins by outsourcing dramatically.
Offer Premium Packages:
A certain percentage of your clients will always be willing to pay more for the better service you offer. Time and again, we have been experiencing this in our own business.
When we started our business, our 1st product was $100, and someone bought it. Then we made a version that cost $600"¦ and someone bought it. Then we combined several products and offered a high-end package at $500, and someone bought it. But it would never have happened if we didn’t have the offer. It was relatively easy to execute, but we had to offer it.
Try offering a more Costly, premium package and watch your revenue and margins grow!
Productize Your Services and Create SOPs:
When you customize every product, running a scalable operation that hurts margins becomes increasingly challenging. But if you can productize your services, you can define your processes and scale. It allows you to make more sales, reduce costs and ensure you get what you promised to the client.
For example:
If you run an email marketing organization, you can sell a package of several emails per month.
If you run a web design agency, you can sell websites through multiple pages.
When you manufacture and package your services, you can eliminate all the margin wasted from customization.
If you follow these tips, your margins will increase, and your business will run more smoothly.
Resource:
https://www.woorank.com/en/blog/increase-agency-margins
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
Even without adding more clients, there is much room for improvement.
Today, we’re sharing strategies to improve your bottom line and make you more money.
Offer High Value, Low-Cost Upsells, and Cross-Sells:
Getting a prospect to become a client is the hardest part, but offering upsells and cross-selling is accessible once they cross that line. Think about how much extra cash is lost in the grocery store checkout line. You've already bought everything you need, but additional offerings of chocolate, gum, and magazines add to the total purchase price and consistency. The same can happen in your business. We've tested it and made hundreds of thousands of dollars by offering small upsells.
Outsource Manufacturing to Reduce Overhead:
Instead of paying overhead, you need to hire employees, taxes, rent, coffee, or Friday lunch, and you can outsource deliverables for a fixed price and pay your employees to manage the process. It's probably not worth your time to bring anything that isn't your core service in-house (at least not at first), and you may be able to improve your margins by outsourcing dramatically.
Offer Premium Packages:
A certain percentage of your clients will always be willing to pay more for the better service you offer. Time and again, we have been experiencing this in our own business.
When we started our business, our 1st product was $100, and someone bought it. Then we made a version that cost $600"¦ and someone bought it. Then we combined several products and offered a high-end package at $500, and someone bought it. But it would never have happened if we didn’t have the offer. It was relatively easy to execute, but we had to offer it.
Try offering a more Costly, premium package and watch your revenue and margins grow!
Productize Your Services and Create SOPs:
When you customize every product, running a scalable operation that hurts margins becomes increasingly challenging. But if you can productize your services, you can define your processes and scale. It allows you to make more sales, reduce costs and ensure you get what you promised to the client.
For example:
If you run an email marketing organization, you can sell a package of several emails per month.
If you run a web design agency, you can sell websites through multiple pages.
When you manufacture and package your services, you can eliminate all the margin wasted from customization.
If you follow these tips, your margins will increase, and your business will run more smoothly.
Resource:
https://www.woorank.com/en/blog/increase-agency-margins
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
40 adminFebruary 8, 2023
Competition
Is The Agency Market Saturated?
The answer to this question is trust in the specific market and industry you are referring to. In general, the agency market may be saturated in some sectors and regions, while there may be room for growth and new entrants in others.
In this blog, we are talking about Digital Marketing agencies:
A digital marketing agency is not saturated, but it is highly competitive. With the growing number of online businesses vying for customers' attention, it can be challenging for digital marketing agencies to differentiate themselves and stand out from the competition. However, it also allows digital marketing agencies to be creative and innovative in reaching consumers. Many businesses still need to start using digital marketing effectively to reach their target audience, leaving ample room for the industry to grow.
One way for a digital marketing agency to stay ahead of the competition is to practice in a specific niche or industry. For example, an agency may focus on serving the needs of small businesses or specifically serve the dental industry. By focusing on a specific sector, an agency can understand the unique challenges and opportunities in that market and offer more effective solutions to clients.
Another way to stay competitive is constantly adapt to technological and consumer behavior changes. The digital marketing landscape is continually evolving, and agencies must be proactive in keeping up with the latest trends and best practices. It could include investing in new tools like AI and machine learning or incorporating new channels like voice search optimization or chatbots.
Finally, the digital marketing industry is not saturated but highly competitive. By keeping up with or constantly adapting to changes in technology and consumer behavior, digital marketing agencies can stay ahead of the competition and continue to grow their business.
Resource:
https://www.adlibweb.com/is-the-digital-marketing-field-saturated-heres-what-you-need-to-know/
https://www.rightlydigital.com/digital-marketing-is-a-saturated-field/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
In this blog, we are talking about Digital Marketing agencies:
A digital marketing agency is not saturated, but it is highly competitive. With the growing number of online businesses vying for customers' attention, it can be challenging for digital marketing agencies to differentiate themselves and stand out from the competition. However, it also allows digital marketing agencies to be creative and innovative in reaching consumers. Many businesses still need to start using digital marketing effectively to reach their target audience, leaving ample room for the industry to grow.
One way for a digital marketing agency to stay ahead of the competition is to practice in a specific niche or industry. For example, an agency may focus on serving the needs of small businesses or specifically serve the dental industry. By focusing on a specific sector, an agency can understand the unique challenges and opportunities in that market and offer more effective solutions to clients.
Another way to stay competitive is constantly adapt to technological and consumer behavior changes. The digital marketing landscape is continually evolving, and agencies must be proactive in keeping up with the latest trends and best practices. It could include investing in new tools like AI and machine learning or incorporating new channels like voice search optimization or chatbots.
Finally, the digital marketing industry is not saturated but highly competitive. By keeping up with or constantly adapting to changes in technology and consumer behavior, digital marketing agencies can stay ahead of the competition and continue to grow their business.
Resource:
https://www.adlibweb.com/is-the-digital-marketing-field-saturated-heres-what-you-need-to-know/
https://www.rightlydigital.com/digital-marketing-is-a-saturated-field/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
32 adminFebruary 7, 2023
Margins
Margin Killers To Watch Out For While Running A Small Digital Agency
A business's net profit margin is one of the most important profitability metrics you should track when running a Small Digital Agency. This metric is useful when answering questions like whether your company is making money or whether you are pricing your products correctly.
Generally, the higher your net profit, the better your business is doing. If your profit margin is higher than the industry average, your Agency has a competitive advantage. In other words, your Agency is doing well compared to others running similar operations to yours.
With that knowledge, it's clear why business owners need to create a plan to increase their Small Digital Agency net profit margin.
Here are three tips to improve your Agency's profit margin:
1. Market to your Existing Customers: Did you know that marketing to your existing customers costs much less when attracting new customers? It is because existing customers are already converted, making it easier to upsell and cross-sell them. Maintaining their positive experience and effectively targeting their needs is essential to keep them returning and recommending your brand to others. They are creating an effective loyalty program for your existing customers to encourage them to return or spread the word about your Agency to their circles. Loyalty programs can come from cashback, discounts, or exclusive sales. Offering this to existing customers will increase their chances of converting them into your brand evangelists.
2. Remove Unprofitable Products from The Shelves: Review the performance of your products and determine which ones are generating less profit. It is only possible to continue to produce a particular product if it sells well in the first place. As much as possible, ensure all your products contribute to your profits. Doing so will help you eliminate some costs and improve profitability.
3. Streamline to Reduce Overhead Costs: Streamlining operations is one of Small Digital Agency's most significant drivers of profitability. Review your agency operations and identify areas where you can cut costs.
You can also streamline your digital agency operations by automating tasks. For instance, using a CRM solution to automate sales processes could save your staff time and avoid human errors. Automating aspects of your customer service process can also speed up issue resolution and reveal patterns that inform better services going forward. Marketing teams can use automation to time promotions based on customer engagement, targeting customers more likely to purchase based on their recent actions.
In Summary, having a solid profit margin is a pre-requisite: Whether your goal is to sell your Agency for the maximum amount possible – or to build a business that can provide long-term cash flow and sustainable employment for your team. It's important to remember that measuring performance is a process - not an event. We encourage you to establish a cadence by which you measure these essential agency metrics, thus ensuring that the business is moving in the right direction.
Resource:
https://parakeeto.com/blog/digital-marketing-agency-profit-margin/
https://www.techadv.com/blog/5-strategies-improve-your-small-business-profit-margins
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
Generally, the higher your net profit, the better your business is doing. If your profit margin is higher than the industry average, your Agency has a competitive advantage. In other words, your Agency is doing well compared to others running similar operations to yours.
With that knowledge, it's clear why business owners need to create a plan to increase their Small Digital Agency net profit margin.
Here are three tips to improve your Agency's profit margin:
1. Market to your Existing Customers: Did you know that marketing to your existing customers costs much less when attracting new customers? It is because existing customers are already converted, making it easier to upsell and cross-sell them. Maintaining their positive experience and effectively targeting their needs is essential to keep them returning and recommending your brand to others. They are creating an effective loyalty program for your existing customers to encourage them to return or spread the word about your Agency to their circles. Loyalty programs can come from cashback, discounts, or exclusive sales. Offering this to existing customers will increase their chances of converting them into your brand evangelists.
2. Remove Unprofitable Products from The Shelves: Review the performance of your products and determine which ones are generating less profit. It is only possible to continue to produce a particular product if it sells well in the first place. As much as possible, ensure all your products contribute to your profits. Doing so will help you eliminate some costs and improve profitability.
3. Streamline to Reduce Overhead Costs: Streamlining operations is one of Small Digital Agency's most significant drivers of profitability. Review your agency operations and identify areas where you can cut costs.
You can also streamline your digital agency operations by automating tasks. For instance, using a CRM solution to automate sales processes could save your staff time and avoid human errors. Automating aspects of your customer service process can also speed up issue resolution and reveal patterns that inform better services going forward. Marketing teams can use automation to time promotions based on customer engagement, targeting customers more likely to purchase based on their recent actions.
In Summary, having a solid profit margin is a pre-requisite: Whether your goal is to sell your Agency for the maximum amount possible – or to build a business that can provide long-term cash flow and sustainable employment for your team. It's important to remember that measuring performance is a process - not an event. We encourage you to establish a cadence by which you measure these essential agency metrics, thus ensuring that the business is moving in the right direction.
Resource:
https://parakeeto.com/blog/digital-marketing-agency-profit-margin/
https://www.techadv.com/blog/5-strategies-improve-your-small-business-profit-margins
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
35 adminFebruary 6, 2023
Competition
5 Tools To Increase Productivity, Improve Margins, Finish Projects, And Slay Your Competition.
There are many moving pieces to take care of when you work in an agency.
Think about it; the marketing team generates to go to the sales team. The sales team draws attention to leads and closes them as customers. The finance team takes care of invoicing and ensures that the client pays the bills promptly.
Then the creative work begins. Account managers ask clients to complete briefs, and marketing/digital experts collaborate on the project. Throughout the process, account managers interact with customers and make sure everyone is happy.
It's a lot of workflows going on at once, which means a lot of things can go wrong. Here are the top 5 tools to increase productivity, improve margins, finish projects, and slay your competition.
HubSpot: HubSpot is a comprehensive platform that takes care of your marketing, sales, and service needs. HubSpot CRM gives you a real-time view of your entire sales pipeline on a visual, easy-to-understand dashboard. HubSpot provides detailed reports, making it very easy to check your team's sales productivity and individual performance.
Buffer: Buffer is a social media control platform that allows you to plan and publish your content to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn from a single dashboard. Buffer also comes with a social media calendar to quickly overview all the posts you have lined up and identify and fill any gaps.
Trello: Trello is another project management tool that makes it easy for you to collaborate on projects with your team members. You can start by creating different cards for each project, then slot your cards under other columns.
You can add due dates and checklists within each card, assign and tag team members, add attachments, etc.
Slack: Slack is used to communicate effectively with customers daily. Client-facing channels provide access to business resources at any time of the day.
This tool allows you to set up multiple channels for team members to discuss specific projects or topics, making it easier for everyone to collaborate.
Ahrefs: Ahrefs is one of the most sought-after tools in the SEO space. This tool allows you to uncover your competitor's keywords and increase your website's search traffic. Using Ahrefs to fine-tune your SEO strategy, you can gain visibility and drive more organic traffic to your website.
Resource:
https://www.cloudways.com/blog/agency-tools/
https://www.powtoon.com/blog/5-tools-for-growing-your-business/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
Think about it; the marketing team generates to go to the sales team. The sales team draws attention to leads and closes them as customers. The finance team takes care of invoicing and ensures that the client pays the bills promptly.
Then the creative work begins. Account managers ask clients to complete briefs, and marketing/digital experts collaborate on the project. Throughout the process, account managers interact with customers and make sure everyone is happy.
It's a lot of workflows going on at once, which means a lot of things can go wrong. Here are the top 5 tools to increase productivity, improve margins, finish projects, and slay your competition.
HubSpot: HubSpot is a comprehensive platform that takes care of your marketing, sales, and service needs. HubSpot CRM gives you a real-time view of your entire sales pipeline on a visual, easy-to-understand dashboard. HubSpot provides detailed reports, making it very easy to check your team's sales productivity and individual performance.
Buffer: Buffer is a social media control platform that allows you to plan and publish your content to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn from a single dashboard. Buffer also comes with a social media calendar to quickly overview all the posts you have lined up and identify and fill any gaps.
Trello: Trello is another project management tool that makes it easy for you to collaborate on projects with your team members. You can start by creating different cards for each project, then slot your cards under other columns.
You can add due dates and checklists within each card, assign and tag team members, add attachments, etc.
Slack: Slack is used to communicate effectively with customers daily. Client-facing channels provide access to business resources at any time of the day.
This tool allows you to set up multiple channels for team members to discuss specific projects or topics, making it easier for everyone to collaborate.
Ahrefs: Ahrefs is one of the most sought-after tools in the SEO space. This tool allows you to uncover your competitor's keywords and increase your website's search traffic. Using Ahrefs to fine-tune your SEO strategy, you can gain visibility and drive more organic traffic to your website.
Resource:
https://www.cloudways.com/blog/agency-tools/
https://www.powtoon.com/blog/5-tools-for-growing-your-business/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
41 adminFebruary 3, 2023
WordPress Hosting
5 Hosting Addons Which Will Save Your Agency, and Clients, A Lot Of Heartache
You'll pay more for poor service with the wrong web host. You should get this right because a well-respected web host preserves your site online and helps you avoid downtime.
To help you find web hosting that suits your needs, we compared popular web hosting services on essential criteria like security, uptime, and more.
Hostinger– Best Overall
Hostinger offers reliable web hosting at incredible prices. Split hosting plans start at $1.99 per month. Hostinger offers 24/7/365 support baked into the price of every project. The most popular option is the exceptional shared hosting plan which costs $2.99 monthly. You also get a free domain for a year, and a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate to secure your website. Hostinger uses its control panel - CPanel. It Has eye-catching and well-organized navigation icons and is user-friendly and easy to navigate.
DreamHost- DreamHost is home to over 1.5 million websites. People trust Dreamhost because they provide fast websites at great prices and plain words.
The company provides a 100% uptime guarantee and compensation if your site goes down. With the Shared Starter, you get 50 GB of storage for one website, up to 5 subdomains, WordPress pre-loaded and ready for you, and a domain, SSL certificate, and WordPress builder included for free.
HostGator- HostGator offers all the hosting essentials you need at a great price, plus it comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee. HostGator provides a substantial list of how-to guides for technical support. You can turn to phone, live chat, and email support if you are still waiting for the answers.
In addition to Linux, HostGator offers a variety of options for upgrading, including Windows hosting, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, managed WordPress, and dedicated servers.
Bluehost- Bluehost is one of the finest web hosting enterprises in the world, for the most part among people launching their new WordPress websites.
They offer great rates and a beginner-friendly platform that simplifies every aspect of running a WordPress website.
If you get stuck or need help, Bluehost has 24/7 support via phone or live chat.
Bluehost also offers great analytics and SEO tools to track how well your website is doing for specific keywords.
WP Engine- WP Engine is the best WordPress hosting among many. They provide a great product, which is highly optimized for WordPress websites. If you want all the storage and speed you can get for your WP blog or online store, and this is the host for you.
Resource:
https://www.quicksprout.com/best-web-hosting
https://neilpatel.com/blog/best-web-hosting-services/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
To help you find web hosting that suits your needs, we compared popular web hosting services on essential criteria like security, uptime, and more.
Hostinger– Best Overall
Hostinger offers reliable web hosting at incredible prices. Split hosting plans start at $1.99 per month. Hostinger offers 24/7/365 support baked into the price of every project. The most popular option is the exceptional shared hosting plan which costs $2.99 monthly. You also get a free domain for a year, and a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate to secure your website. Hostinger uses its control panel - CPanel. It Has eye-catching and well-organized navigation icons and is user-friendly and easy to navigate.
DreamHost- DreamHost is home to over 1.5 million websites. People trust Dreamhost because they provide fast websites at great prices and plain words.
The company provides a 100% uptime guarantee and compensation if your site goes down. With the Shared Starter, you get 50 GB of storage for one website, up to 5 subdomains, WordPress pre-loaded and ready for you, and a domain, SSL certificate, and WordPress builder included for free.
HostGator- HostGator offers all the hosting essentials you need at a great price, plus it comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee. HostGator provides a substantial list of how-to guides for technical support. You can turn to phone, live chat, and email support if you are still waiting for the answers.
In addition to Linux, HostGator offers a variety of options for upgrading, including Windows hosting, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, managed WordPress, and dedicated servers.
Bluehost- Bluehost is one of the finest web hosting enterprises in the world, for the most part among people launching their new WordPress websites.
They offer great rates and a beginner-friendly platform that simplifies every aspect of running a WordPress website.
If you get stuck or need help, Bluehost has 24/7 support via phone or live chat.
Bluehost also offers great analytics and SEO tools to track how well your website is doing for specific keywords.
WP Engine- WP Engine is the best WordPress hosting among many. They provide a great product, which is highly optimized for WordPress websites. If you want all the storage and speed you can get for your WP blog or online store, and this is the host for you.
Resource:
https://www.quicksprout.com/best-web-hosting
https://neilpatel.com/blog/best-web-hosting-services/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
44 adminFebruary 2, 2023
Wordpress
Top 5 WP Plugins Your Chicagoland Small Business Should Consider
Are You Looking for the best WP plugins to take your organization to the next place?
One can choose from over 50,000+ WordPress plugins, making it extremely good for a new competitor to find a suitable plugin for their website.
No matter what industry you're in, enabling WordPress with plugins is a tried-and-true strategy. It allows any entrepreneur to balance low investment and efficient results.
With all this in mind, we have set up the top 5 WordPress plugins that are useful for any small business.
WP Forms: Every website needs an exposure form because it makes it easy for visitors to contact you. WP Forms is the most user-friendly contact form plugin for WordPress (WP). This drag & drop online form builder allows you to create contact forms easily, online order forms, payment forms, email subscription forms, and all other online forms.
Yoast SEO: Yoast SEO is one of the powerful plugins for WordPress, which makes it easy to optimize your pages and posts to rank higher on search engines. With Yoast SEO, you get titles and meta description templates, so you can learn how to create this information according to SEO best practices.
Jetpack: Jetpack is a collection of unique tools and features that supercharge your site with tons of proper functionality. Jetpack offers the ability to have multiple plugins in one. The Automattic team behind WordPress also develops it, so you'll get exceptional developers behind the tool. From improving site security to optimizing user engagement, Jetpack provides many features to keep your site running smoothly.
Elementor: Elementor is the leading page builder for WordPress - it allows you to place various page elements with a drag-and-drop interface. That way, building your ideal website is as easy as clicking and dragging the features you want into the builder area — no coding is required.
W3 Total Cache: W3 Total Cache is a useful caching plugin for WordPress. Caching stores website content in a user's browser to provide that data faster the next time they access your website.
Resource:
https://blog.hubspot.com/website/must-have-wordpress-plugins
https://www.leadboxer.com/blog/16-best-wordpress-plugins-for-business
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
One can choose from over 50,000+ WordPress plugins, making it extremely good for a new competitor to find a suitable plugin for their website.
No matter what industry you're in, enabling WordPress with plugins is a tried-and-true strategy. It allows any entrepreneur to balance low investment and efficient results.
With all this in mind, we have set up the top 5 WordPress plugins that are useful for any small business.
WP Forms: Every website needs an exposure form because it makes it easy for visitors to contact you. WP Forms is the most user-friendly contact form plugin for WordPress (WP). This drag & drop online form builder allows you to create contact forms easily, online order forms, payment forms, email subscription forms, and all other online forms.
Yoast SEO: Yoast SEO is one of the powerful plugins for WordPress, which makes it easy to optimize your pages and posts to rank higher on search engines. With Yoast SEO, you get titles and meta description templates, so you can learn how to create this information according to SEO best practices.
Jetpack: Jetpack is a collection of unique tools and features that supercharge your site with tons of proper functionality. Jetpack offers the ability to have multiple plugins in one. The Automattic team behind WordPress also develops it, so you'll get exceptional developers behind the tool. From improving site security to optimizing user engagement, Jetpack provides many features to keep your site running smoothly.
Elementor: Elementor is the leading page builder for WordPress - it allows you to place various page elements with a drag-and-drop interface. That way, building your ideal website is as easy as clicking and dragging the features you want into the builder area — no coding is required.
W3 Total Cache: W3 Total Cache is a useful caching plugin for WordPress. Caching stores website content in a user's browser to provide that data faster the next time they access your website.
Resource:
https://blog.hubspot.com/website/must-have-wordpress-plugins
https://www.leadboxer.com/blog/16-best-wordpress-plugins-for-business
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
40 adminFebruary 1, 2023
Reputation Management
5 DIY Reputation Management Strategies For Your Chicagoland Small Business
Does your business have a reputation policy? You might be wrong if you think only big brands need to worry about their reputation. Today, businesses of all sizes need to be concerned about what their customers are saying about them. Whether you own a restaurant, spa, dental clinic, boutique, or any other business, you must carefully monitor reviews, social media comments, and other content that affects your reputation.
In this blog, I will share some of the best DIY reputation management strategies for your Chicagoland small business.
Find out where your online reputation currently stands.
It would help if you found out how people feel about your brand. Are your customers happy and satisfied?
These points help you identify where your online reputation currently stands:
• Social media posts, comments, and @mentions from customers.
• Online reviews and ratings from third-party review sites
• Mentions in industry blogs.
• Feedback collected from actual customers (think: email, customer surveys, contact forms of the website)
Be Active In Social Media Engagement:
Social media is an integral part of people's daily lives, where 40% of consumers will use social networks to find new businesses or products. Please make sure these people constantly find your brand in their feeds.
It will help if you cast a wide net by becoming an active member of multiple social media platforms. In addition to promoting content, offers, and particular events, it can use social media to answer customer questions or provide customer support.
Respond to reviews as soon as possible:
A survey showed that 94% of customers avoid work because of a negative review, but if you respond to the study and act on the feedback, you can attract customers in the long run. Research shows that responding to gloom-ridden reviews makes 45% of customers more likely to visit a business.
Responding to customer reviews shows that you care about the reviewer's opinion. These customers usually give valuable feedback taking time out of their busy schedules. Make sure you take some time out of your day to acknowledge their efforts and respond to negative and positive reviews.
Claim Your Online Free Listings:
The best way to start effectively monitoring and controlling your online reputation is to claim your listing on search engines and review sites that begin with:
Google My Business
Yelp
Yellow pages and more.
Business listing allows you to update entries with the correct information, including your business name, phone number, and address, hours of operation. Unclaimed listings sometimes have the wrong information in their records, making you look untrustworthy and prompting customers to find another business.
Simply claiming your listing and filling out as accurate information as possible will make it easier for humanity to find you and quickly put yourself ahead of your local small business competitors.
Free Help:
Promoting your products and services on your website, you can also use it to create content that isn't directly related to the brand but more related to your industry.
For example, a dentist might shoot and publish a DIY video on brushing teeth correctly, while a small bakery might list baking ideas for the next big holiday party. These content pieces increase your online exposure and establish the brand as a local thought leader.
Resource:
https://nuundigital.com/5-easy-hacks-for-effective-small-business-reputation-management/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-step-reputation-management-strategy-any-business-can-sam-owande
https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2018/05/30/reputation-management-tips-for-small-businesses
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
In this blog, I will share some of the best DIY reputation management strategies for your Chicagoland small business.
Find out where your online reputation currently stands.
It would help if you found out how people feel about your brand. Are your customers happy and satisfied?
These points help you identify where your online reputation currently stands:
• Social media posts, comments, and @mentions from customers.
• Online reviews and ratings from third-party review sites
• Mentions in industry blogs.
• Feedback collected from actual customers (think: email, customer surveys, contact forms of the website)
Be Active In Social Media Engagement:
Social media is an integral part of people's daily lives, where 40% of consumers will use social networks to find new businesses or products. Please make sure these people constantly find your brand in their feeds.
It will help if you cast a wide net by becoming an active member of multiple social media platforms. In addition to promoting content, offers, and particular events, it can use social media to answer customer questions or provide customer support.
Respond to reviews as soon as possible:
A survey showed that 94% of customers avoid work because of a negative review, but if you respond to the study and act on the feedback, you can attract customers in the long run. Research shows that responding to gloom-ridden reviews makes 45% of customers more likely to visit a business.
Responding to customer reviews shows that you care about the reviewer's opinion. These customers usually give valuable feedback taking time out of their busy schedules. Make sure you take some time out of your day to acknowledge their efforts and respond to negative and positive reviews.
Claim Your Online Free Listings:
The best way to start effectively monitoring and controlling your online reputation is to claim your listing on search engines and review sites that begin with:
Google My Business
Yelp
Yellow pages and more.
Business listing allows you to update entries with the correct information, including your business name, phone number, and address, hours of operation. Unclaimed listings sometimes have the wrong information in their records, making you look untrustworthy and prompting customers to find another business.
Simply claiming your listing and filling out as accurate information as possible will make it easier for humanity to find you and quickly put yourself ahead of your local small business competitors.
Free Help:
Promoting your products and services on your website, you can also use it to create content that isn't directly related to the brand but more related to your industry.
For example, a dentist might shoot and publish a DIY video on brushing teeth correctly, while a small bakery might list baking ideas for the next big holiday party. These content pieces increase your online exposure and establish the brand as a local thought leader.
Resource:
https://nuundigital.com/5-easy-hacks-for-effective-small-business-reputation-management/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-step-reputation-management-strategy-any-business-can-sam-owande
https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2018/05/30/reputation-management-tips-for-small-businesses
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
35 adminJanuary 31, 2023
Agencies_Testing
Mobile Testing Tools for Launching Your Small Digital Agencies Next App Project
The mobile domain is increasing. Mobile applications now include everything from videos to mobile banking apps. We all know that testing a mobile app is a highly complex process.
The picture for mobile applications includes numerous platforms and operating systems, test scenarios, and network connections and carriers.
iOS and Android are the most popular mobile operating systems. Millions of apps designed for this platform need to be tested.
Following is a list of top mobile automation testing tools and their popular key features. The list contains both free and paid Mobile testing software.
Best Mobile testing tools for launching your small digital agencies' next app project:
Kobiton: Kobiton is an easy-to-use platform to access real devices for manual and automated testing. Kobiton supports ADB shell commands, complex gestures, geo-location, and device connection management.
Key Features:
• Kobiton provides entrance to an actual gadget to run manual and computerized tests on native, web, and hybrid iOS /Android apps.
• It is Built on top of the Appium open-source framework.
• The device lab is constantly adding the latest hardware and OS updates.
• Test on all devices without modifying the script.
• Automatically generated activity logs, commands, cinematize, and metadata allow rapid identification of issues.
• Prepaid minutes of trial time that never expire.
HeadSpin: The Headspin allows users to remotely test and debug mobile, web, audio, and video operation on thousands of devices.
Key Features:
• Get AI/ML-based insights to solve problems and ship your products faster in less time to market.
• Test on real devices for 100% accuracy.
• Secure testing and improved performance.
• Model on- and off-prem deployments with single-tenant (dedicated device).
• Headspin Create Your Lab (CYOL) enables companies to use personal devices to get on board.
• Run the headspin platform and automated testing. It empowers businesses to run edge testing where the company is in a specific location and wants to test its apps in that location.
• HeadSpin Regression Intelligence gives you a powerful comparison tool to analyze regressions between new app builds, OS releases, feature additions, locations, and more.
ACCELQ: ACCELQ platform offers AI-enabled codeless test automation and management built on a cloud-native platform. ACCELQ provides an integrated platform for mobile, web, API, database, and packaged apps.
Key Features:
• Design, develop and implement mobile test automation with zero setups and coding.
• This platform is an integrated mobile cloud execution farm with public and private device options w,hich provides cross-device testing in a plug-and-play model.
• AI-powered mobile object handling and self-healing capabilities eliminate test flakiness.
• Sprint automation to align with DevOps and Agile.
• This platform supports a visual application model for business process validation.
Katalon: Eight hundred fifty thousand users trust Katalon Studio, and it also expands web, API, and desktop testing capabilities.
Key Features:
• A programming background is required.
• This tool provides versatile automated test design with record and playback, built-in keywords, pre-defined project templates, and friendly UI.
• This feature supports cross-habitat testing on real devices, emulators, or cloud-based devices with Kobiton, SauceLabs, LambdaTest, Perfecto, and BrowserStack integration.
• Reduce maintenance efforts.
• Advanced graphs (Slack, Git, and Microsoft Teams) to visualize essential metrics and real-time notifications after each execution.
Perfecto: Perfecto is the industry-leading test cloud for mobile app testing.
Key Features:
Inconsistent coverage across platforms and test scenarios
• Intelligent analytics for faster feedback and resolution
• A unified cloud platform for web and mobile app testing
• Same-day access to new devices, OS, and more
• Enterprise-grade security and scalability.
• Support programming languages like Java, JavaScript, C#, Python, and PHP
• Offers various frameworks like Flutter, Xamarin, and React Native.
• Supports continuous testing, mobile application testing, automated testing, interactive testing, web testing, and more.
• Integrates seamlessly with Eclipse, IntelliJ, Appium, Espresso, Quantum, TestNG, JUnit, Jira, slack, Perfecto, and more.
Resource:
https://theqalead.com/tools/best-mobile-application-testing-tools/
https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/best-mobile-testing-tools/
https://www.guru99.com/mobile-testing-tools.html#best-mobile-app-testing-tools-for-automation-testing
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
The picture for mobile applications includes numerous platforms and operating systems, test scenarios, and network connections and carriers.
iOS and Android are the most popular mobile operating systems. Millions of apps designed for this platform need to be tested.
Following is a list of top mobile automation testing tools and their popular key features. The list contains both free and paid Mobile testing software.
Best Mobile testing tools for launching your small digital agencies' next app project:
Kobiton: Kobiton is an easy-to-use platform to access real devices for manual and automated testing. Kobiton supports ADB shell commands, complex gestures, geo-location, and device connection management.
Key Features:
• Kobiton provides entrance to an actual gadget to run manual and computerized tests on native, web, and hybrid iOS /Android apps.
• It is Built on top of the Appium open-source framework.
• The device lab is constantly adding the latest hardware and OS updates.
• Test on all devices without modifying the script.
• Automatically generated activity logs, commands, cinematize, and metadata allow rapid identification of issues.
• Prepaid minutes of trial time that never expire.
HeadSpin: The Headspin allows users to remotely test and debug mobile, web, audio, and video operation on thousands of devices.
Key Features:
• Get AI/ML-based insights to solve problems and ship your products faster in less time to market.
• Test on real devices for 100% accuracy.
• Secure testing and improved performance.
• Model on- and off-prem deployments with single-tenant (dedicated device).
• Headspin Create Your Lab (CYOL) enables companies to use personal devices to get on board.
• Run the headspin platform and automated testing. It empowers businesses to run edge testing where the company is in a specific location and wants to test its apps in that location.
• HeadSpin Regression Intelligence gives you a powerful comparison tool to analyze regressions between new app builds, OS releases, feature additions, locations, and more.
ACCELQ: ACCELQ platform offers AI-enabled codeless test automation and management built on a cloud-native platform. ACCELQ provides an integrated platform for mobile, web, API, database, and packaged apps.
Key Features:
• Design, develop and implement mobile test automation with zero setups and coding.
• This platform is an integrated mobile cloud execution farm with public and private device options w,hich provides cross-device testing in a plug-and-play model.
• AI-powered mobile object handling and self-healing capabilities eliminate test flakiness.
• Sprint automation to align with DevOps and Agile.
• This platform supports a visual application model for business process validation.
Katalon: Eight hundred fifty thousand users trust Katalon Studio, and it also expands web, API, and desktop testing capabilities.
Key Features:
• A programming background is required.
• This tool provides versatile automated test design with record and playback, built-in keywords, pre-defined project templates, and friendly UI.
• This feature supports cross-habitat testing on real devices, emulators, or cloud-based devices with Kobiton, SauceLabs, LambdaTest, Perfecto, and BrowserStack integration.
• Reduce maintenance efforts.
• Advanced graphs (Slack, Git, and Microsoft Teams) to visualize essential metrics and real-time notifications after each execution.
Perfecto: Perfecto is the industry-leading test cloud for mobile app testing.
Key Features:
Inconsistent coverage across platforms and test scenarios
• Intelligent analytics for faster feedback and resolution
• A unified cloud platform for web and mobile app testing
• Same-day access to new devices, OS, and more
• Enterprise-grade security and scalability.
• Support programming languages like Java, JavaScript, C#, Python, and PHP
• Offers various frameworks like Flutter, Xamarin, and React Native.
• Supports continuous testing, mobile application testing, automated testing, interactive testing, web testing, and more.
• Integrates seamlessly with Eclipse, IntelliJ, Appium, Espresso, Quantum, TestNG, JUnit, Jira, slack, Perfecto, and more.
Resource:
https://theqalead.com/tools/best-mobile-application-testing-tools/
https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/best-mobile-testing-tools/
https://www.guru99.com/mobile-testing-tools.html#best-mobile-app-testing-tools-for-automation-testing
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
37 adminJanuary 30, 2023
Cyber Security & Data Security
The Best Cyber Security Software Used By Chicago-Based Companies
Cyber security software is essential for a business or individual's cyber security and privacy. Cyber security is a method used to protect networks, systems, and applications from cyber-attacks. It prevents unauthorized data access, identity theft, and cyber-attacks.
In this blog, we are going to provide the best cybersecurity software used by Chicago-based companies:
1. SiteLock: SiteLock is a leading web security and cyber security software with over 12 million websites under the protection of this solution. From delivering 360-degree security to vulnerability detection, from automatic malware removal to WordPress database scanning, features include web threat management, two-factor authentication, etc. It also enhances security testing for websites and accelerates performance.
2. Log360: Log360 is a log management and cybersecurity device that supports enterprises in keeping their networks and data free from malicious activity. With real-time analysis, correlation, and archiving proficiency, this solution monitors critical changes within groups and tracks suspicious user behavior.
Features: Behavioral analysis, AI/machine learning, incident, management, vulnerability scanning
3. Cyber Control: Cyber security project plan design and framework, fraud detection describing suite, and file security review for data privacy and GDPR. Datplan's cyber control software allows organizations to introduce a robust cyber security risk framework while red-flagging potentially high-risk transactions using anti-fraud detection tools and file security tests to support data privacy and GDPR requirements.
4. Acunetix: Acunetix is one of the leading automated cybersecurity systems designed to combat the alarming growth in web attacks. With a wide range of automatic and manual penetration testing tools, it enables users to gain insight into vulnerability assessments and remediate discovered threats.
Features: IOC Verification, Vulnerability Scanning...
5. AppTrana: AppTrana identifies application risk status, instantly patches vulnerabilities, improves website performance through full site acceleration, and ensures proactive remediation of DDOS/emerging threats through continuous monitoring in one place. This application also helps businesses continue to identify the security status of applications through automated security scans and manual pen testing.
Features: Tokenization, AI / Machine Learning, Behavioral Analytics, Vulnerability Scanning, Allowlisting / Blocklisting.
Resource:
https://www.softwareworld.co/top-cybersecurity-software/
https://www.guru99.com/cybersecurity-software-tools.html
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
In this blog, we are going to provide the best cybersecurity software used by Chicago-based companies:
1. SiteLock: SiteLock is a leading web security and cyber security software with over 12 million websites under the protection of this solution. From delivering 360-degree security to vulnerability detection, from automatic malware removal to WordPress database scanning, features include web threat management, two-factor authentication, etc. It also enhances security testing for websites and accelerates performance.
2. Log360: Log360 is a log management and cybersecurity device that supports enterprises in keeping their networks and data free from malicious activity. With real-time analysis, correlation, and archiving proficiency, this solution monitors critical changes within groups and tracks suspicious user behavior.
Features: Behavioral analysis, AI/machine learning, incident, management, vulnerability scanning
3. Cyber Control: Cyber security project plan design and framework, fraud detection describing suite, and file security review for data privacy and GDPR. Datplan's cyber control software allows organizations to introduce a robust cyber security risk framework while red-flagging potentially high-risk transactions using anti-fraud detection tools and file security tests to support data privacy and GDPR requirements.
4. Acunetix: Acunetix is one of the leading automated cybersecurity systems designed to combat the alarming growth in web attacks. With a wide range of automatic and manual penetration testing tools, it enables users to gain insight into vulnerability assessments and remediate discovered threats.
Features: IOC Verification, Vulnerability Scanning...
5. AppTrana: AppTrana identifies application risk status, instantly patches vulnerabilities, improves website performance through full site acceleration, and ensures proactive remediation of DDOS/emerging threats through continuous monitoring in one place. This application also helps businesses continue to identify the security status of applications through automated security scans and manual pen testing.
Features: Tokenization, AI / Machine Learning, Behavioral Analytics, Vulnerability Scanning, Allowlisting / Blocklisting.
Resource:
https://www.softwareworld.co/top-cybersecurity-software/
https://www.guru99.com/cybersecurity-software-tools.html
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
51 adminJanuary 27, 2023
Competition
What Are Your Agency Competitors Doing? Use These 5 Tips To Find Out
Researching how your competitors operate is the best strategy to grow your business. Competitor - We have them all but knowing who they are is never enough. You can only get new customers if you know what they're doing and exactly how they're doing it.
Below are our top 5 tips and tricks to find out What are your agency competitors doing?
1. Analyze your competitor’s website and SEO strategy:
For competitor's websites you can use:
• SpyFu: This will give you information on the keywords and AdWords your competitors are buying.
• Google Trends: You can stay on top of industry trends and compare your company to others.
• Google Alerts: You can set up alerts for your company and set up alerts for your competitors to find out who is talking about you.
For SEO:
You will need to look at in terms of your site and your competitors:
• Keyword ranking using the (SERP Checker tool)
• Site traffic using the (SiteWorthTraffic tool)
• Website authority using (Website Authority Checker)
2. Look at competitor's social media marketing strengths:
With the rise of social media becoming a powerful tool for business marketing, you'll be able to stay abreast of any exciting updates your competitors share online. By building a list and examining their tweets, Facebook, and LinkedIn posts, you can begin to identify their use of tone and content strategy.
3. Survey your competitor's customers and suppliers:
It may seem obvious, but the most efficient and inexpensive way to gather accurate information is to talk to customers. Once you've won over a new customer, ask whom they used before and why they switched - that way, you can identify what benefits your business.
4. Hire your competitor:
You can hire employees from competing companies and work with competitors' partners. You can then find out how these companies operate and what they are up to next.
5. Analyze Their Rankings Against Keywords:
Once you've determined the keywords your opponent is targeting, use an SEO ranking tool like [AccuRanker] to track your progress against them. You can use this tool to see how your competitors perform against your target keywords if they differ from the above.
If competitors are outranking you, check their website for any supporting material that may help them rank. If so, can you do better?
Resource:
https://articles.bplans.com/10-ways-to-find-out-what-your-competitors-are-doing/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-tips-how-find-out-what-your-competition-doing-beat-mekelenkamp
https://www.convinceandconvert.com/digital-marketing/monitoring-competitors/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
Below are our top 5 tips and tricks to find out What are your agency competitors doing?
1. Analyze your competitor’s website and SEO strategy:
For competitor's websites you can use:
• SpyFu: This will give you information on the keywords and AdWords your competitors are buying.
• Google Trends: You can stay on top of industry trends and compare your company to others.
• Google Alerts: You can set up alerts for your company and set up alerts for your competitors to find out who is talking about you.
For SEO:
You will need to look at in terms of your site and your competitors:
• Keyword ranking using the (SERP Checker tool)
• Site traffic using the (SiteWorthTraffic tool)
• Website authority using (Website Authority Checker)
2. Look at competitor's social media marketing strengths:
With the rise of social media becoming a powerful tool for business marketing, you'll be able to stay abreast of any exciting updates your competitors share online. By building a list and examining their tweets, Facebook, and LinkedIn posts, you can begin to identify their use of tone and content strategy.
3. Survey your competitor's customers and suppliers:
It may seem obvious, but the most efficient and inexpensive way to gather accurate information is to talk to customers. Once you've won over a new customer, ask whom they used before and why they switched - that way, you can identify what benefits your business.
4. Hire your competitor:
You can hire employees from competing companies and work with competitors' partners. You can then find out how these companies operate and what they are up to next.
5. Analyze Their Rankings Against Keywords:
Once you've determined the keywords your opponent is targeting, use an SEO ranking tool like [AccuRanker] to track your progress against them. You can use this tool to see how your competitors perform against your target keywords if they differ from the above.
If competitors are outranking you, check their website for any supporting material that may help them rank. If so, can you do better?
Resource:
https://articles.bplans.com/10-ways-to-find-out-what-your-competitors-are-doing/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-tips-how-find-out-what-your-competition-doing-beat-mekelenkamp
https://www.convinceandconvert.com/digital-marketing/monitoring-competitors/
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
34 adminJanuary 26, 2023
Changing Approach to Content
How Long Should Your Website’s Per Page Content Ideally Be?
We always get this question: Is there an ideal length for website content? The answer is, "Of course not."
The main goal of website content is to effectively convey your message and motivate your reader to act while being concise. You can create a 10,000-word article. But if the range and quality are wrong, the article doesn't deserve to get top-ranked.
VS.
Shorter content is faster and more accessible for people to read.
But do the one-word answers work for what the user is looking for? Sure, some questions can be answered in one word, but that's usually not quality content.
It's a one-word answer with no explanation or sourcing, and Google (usually) knows that more is needed to recognize a piece of content as high-quality, educational, and resourceful.
According to a 2021 HubSpot study, the ideal blog post length should be 2,100-2,400 words. That's much longer than the 200-to 500-word blog posts that most web admins or writers find ideal.
Depending on the inquiry, the search results on page 1 might not be full of blog-style content. However, content considered resourceful by users - and Google - can certainly include well-crafted, thoughtful blogging content that satisfies someone. Search queries, that should be your goal when planning content ideas and article organization for your website's blog and other write-downs of on-site content.
What Does Google Say About Blog Post expanse?
Google insists that word count is not a ranking factor. Here's Google's John Mueller putting a question to it on Twitter. He said: "Word count is not an indicator of status. Some pages have many words that say not a sausage, and some contain very few words that are very important and relevant to the questions. Hopefully, you know your content best and can decide if those details are necessary."
Quality Over Quantity:
Give users what they are looking for and how many words they get hold of to say it. If you feel like you're writing uninteresting copy to increase the word count, know that your readers can sense it too. Moreover, Google can identify content that contributes little to the web without adding value. Long posts can block your site in search if they don't say anything useful.
Your goal shouldn't be to write 2,000 to 2,500 range words on a blog post because that appears like the "perfect distance" to rank well. Your goal should be to provide your target audience with the best, most helpful version of the content that matches their purpose. Your audience will respect it - and your website analytics will reflect it.
Resource:
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ideal-blog-post-length-for-seo/255633/#close
https://www.rickwhittington.com/blog/writing-website-content-ideal-length
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
The main goal of website content is to effectively convey your message and motivate your reader to act while being concise. You can create a 10,000-word article. But if the range and quality are wrong, the article doesn't deserve to get top-ranked.
VS.
Shorter content is faster and more accessible for people to read.
But do the one-word answers work for what the user is looking for? Sure, some questions can be answered in one word, but that's usually not quality content.
It's a one-word answer with no explanation or sourcing, and Google (usually) knows that more is needed to recognize a piece of content as high-quality, educational, and resourceful.
According to a 2021 HubSpot study, the ideal blog post length should be 2,100-2,400 words. That's much longer than the 200-to 500-word blog posts that most web admins or writers find ideal.
Depending on the inquiry, the search results on page 1 might not be full of blog-style content. However, content considered resourceful by users - and Google - can certainly include well-crafted, thoughtful blogging content that satisfies someone. Search queries, that should be your goal when planning content ideas and article organization for your website's blog and other write-downs of on-site content.
What Does Google Say About Blog Post expanse?
Google insists that word count is not a ranking factor. Here's Google's John Mueller putting a question to it on Twitter. He said: "Word count is not an indicator of status. Some pages have many words that say not a sausage, and some contain very few words that are very important and relevant to the questions. Hopefully, you know your content best and can decide if those details are necessary."
Quality Over Quantity:
Give users what they are looking for and how many words they get hold of to say it. If you feel like you're writing uninteresting copy to increase the word count, know that your readers can sense it too. Moreover, Google can identify content that contributes little to the web without adding value. Long posts can block your site in search if they don't say anything useful.
Your goal shouldn't be to write 2,000 to 2,500 range words on a blog post because that appears like the "perfect distance" to rank well. Your goal should be to provide your target audience with the best, most helpful version of the content that matches their purpose. Your audience will respect it - and your website analytics will reflect it.
Resource:
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/ideal-blog-post-length-for-seo/255633/#close
https://www.rickwhittington.com/blog/writing-website-content-ideal-length
Disclaimer: Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
41 adminJanuary 25, 2023
Changing Approach to Content
Questions To Ask Your Content Writing Vendor?
If you want to write good Content for your website, you need a content writer who has a good idea about your industry and trending Content related to your business. In This Blog, we will share a few questions to help you find the right content-writing vendor and trust them to do the job effectively and efficiently. So, before you think about an excellent content-writing vendor, ask:
Have you written for my industry before?
A great content writer doesn't need experience writing in your industry. They know how to find and ask questions that your potential clients might ask. But still, ask for samples. Be prepared to explain your target audience so the writer can create a language for them. Before starting your project, ensure your content writer knows your competitive advantage and customer base well. Please give them a brief idea about your competitors and your target audience.
Can I see your previous projects?
The best way to assess a content writer’s skill level is to review their previous work. Please ask for samples of their work and an example related to your industry or category.
How can you write in my voice?
Hire copywriting experts who understand what your Content needs to do. For example, is it primarily intended to inform current customers or convert visitors? Ensure that the Content the content writing vendor delivers is targeted to your customers and potential customers for your business; It's not about you. Regardless of the topic, it is written in such a way as to increase engagement. The most effective website copy focuses on something other than what your business does but on what it can do for the customer: what problem you solve or fill.
How will I get something I can use?
Researching the copywriter is who they say they are and whether they have done this type of work before communicating clearly and often to ensure writers have what they want and your project is progressing.
Resource:
https://rayaccess.com/4-questions-to-ask-potential-content-writers/
https://thehappybeavers.com/blog/questions-when-hiring-content-writing-services/
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
Have you written for my industry before?
A great content writer doesn't need experience writing in your industry. They know how to find and ask questions that your potential clients might ask. But still, ask for samples. Be prepared to explain your target audience so the writer can create a language for them. Before starting your project, ensure your content writer knows your competitive advantage and customer base well. Please give them a brief idea about your competitors and your target audience.
Can I see your previous projects?
The best way to assess a content writer’s skill level is to review their previous work. Please ask for samples of their work and an example related to your industry or category.
How can you write in my voice?
Hire copywriting experts who understand what your Content needs to do. For example, is it primarily intended to inform current customers or convert visitors? Ensure that the Content the content writing vendor delivers is targeted to your customers and potential customers for your business; It's not about you. Regardless of the topic, it is written in such a way as to increase engagement. The most effective website copy focuses on something other than what your business does but on what it can do for the customer: what problem you solve or fill.
How will I get something I can use?
Researching the copywriter is who they say they are and whether they have done this type of work before communicating clearly and often to ensure writers have what they want and your project is progressing.
Resource:
https://rayaccess.com/4-questions-to-ask-potential-content-writers/
https://thehappybeavers.com/blog/questions-when-hiring-content-writing-services/
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
33 adminJanuary 24, 2023
Cyber Security & Data Security
The Cost Of Hiring A Part Time Cyber Security Officer In Chicago
You probably have some essential items and heirlooms in your home, so you lock your doors and windows when you go out, have two or three locks on your doors, or have an alarm, CCTV, a big dog, or a small dog. Just as you secure your home by latching your door when you pull out, you should also safeguard your association network and computers with a watertight cyber security solution. Here you can find out why cyber security is essential and the cost of hiring a cyber security officer in Chicago.
The Importance of Cyber Security:
The importance of cyber security degenerates to the need and requirement to keep particulars and data safe. Today, people store large amounts of data on computers, servers, and other connected devices. Much of this is sensitive, including personally identifiable information, passwords, or financial data. And then, there is intellectual property (IP).
If a cybercriminal gains access to this data, they can wreak havoc. They can share sensitive information and use passwords to steal your funds. Organizations must have security measures in place that enable them to comply.
In the case of public services or government agencies, cyber security helps ensure that the community can rely on its services.
Benefits of cyber security
By implementing security measures, businesses and individuals (such as MSSPs) can protect themselves and others from a full range of cyber security threats.
With cyber security, companies know that unauthorized access to their network or data is protected. Both end users, organizations, and their employees benefit.
It's not just detection that strengthens cybersecurity but also mitigation and response.
The cost of hiring a part-time cyber security officer in Chicago:
The average annual Part-Time Cyber Security salary in Chicago is $78700. Most pay between $43210 to $113108 per year. According to glassdoor.com, cyber security officer part-time cost in Chicago is- $49.27 - $52.35 Per Hour (Employer est.)
Cyber Security Salary by Position, Low & High
Resource:
https://mondo.com/blog-highest-paid-cybersecurity-jobs/
https://www.logpoint.com/en/blog/what-is-cyber-security/#:~:text=With%20cyber%20security%2C%20companies%20have,it's%20also%20mitigation%20and%20response
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
The Importance of Cyber Security:
The importance of cyber security degenerates to the need and requirement to keep particulars and data safe. Today, people store large amounts of data on computers, servers, and other connected devices. Much of this is sensitive, including personally identifiable information, passwords, or financial data. And then, there is intellectual property (IP).
If a cybercriminal gains access to this data, they can wreak havoc. They can share sensitive information and use passwords to steal your funds. Organizations must have security measures in place that enable them to comply.
In the case of public services or government agencies, cyber security helps ensure that the community can rely on its services.
Benefits of cyber security
By implementing security measures, businesses and individuals (such as MSSPs) can protect themselves and others from a full range of cyber security threats.
With cyber security, companies know that unauthorized access to their network or data is protected. Both end users, organizations, and their employees benefit.
It's not just detection that strengthens cybersecurity but also mitigation and response.
The cost of hiring a part-time cyber security officer in Chicago:
The average annual Part-Time Cyber Security salary in Chicago is $78700. Most pay between $43210 to $113108 per year. According to glassdoor.com, cyber security officer part-time cost in Chicago is- $49.27 - $52.35 Per Hour (Employer est.)
Cyber Security Salary by Position, Low & High
| Position | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Information Security Manager | $150,000 | $225,000 |
| Cyber Security Engineer | $126,000 | $213,000 |
| Application Security Engineer | $130,000 | $200,000 |
| Network Security Engineer | $120,000 | $208,000 |
| Cyber Security Analyst | $114,000 | $160,000 |
| Penetration Tester “Ethical Hacker” | $114,000 | $160,000 |
Resource:
https://mondo.com/blog-highest-paid-cybersecurity-jobs/
https://www.logpoint.com/en/blog/what-is-cyber-security/#:~:text=With%20cyber%20security%2C%20companies%20have,it's%20also%20mitigation%20and%20response
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
30 adminJanuary 23, 2023
Reputation Management
5 Platforms To Maximize Your Chicago-Based Small Business Brand
With the advancement of technology, social media, and internet sites, any business needs the best online reputation management platform to improve its brand.
Online reputation management (ORM) is a critical solution to provide the right strategy to build a brand and simultaneously attract potential customers' interest in choosing your products or services.
Everything a business marketing team does is to influence or educate people by improving and responding to customer reviews or feedback about the products or services they receive.
These brands commonly refer to popular sites or platforms: Google My Business, Angie's List, and Yelp. A significant objective of online brand reputation management is to encourage positive comments from customers.
Top 5 platforms to maximize your Chicago-based small business brand:
1. Local Clarity: Local Clarity is the world's most scalable review, and local search management platform for multi-location businesses, franchises, and agencies to monitor and respond to reviews and improve their online reputation. The platform helps users gain insight into local search results.
Key benefits of using Local Clarity:
• Every day, Google My Business aggregates insights for all business locations into a Local Clarity dashboard that allows users to group, filter, and analyze data.
• The report suite allows users to save, download, share and schedule reports for all locations.
• Users can respond to reviews using pre-written replies or personalized messages.
2. Hootsuite: Hootsuite helps you build your brand, strengthen customer connections, and get accurate business results with social media. With the help of Hootsuite, you can launch brilliant social campaigns, deliver a 5-star social commerce experience, and manage customer conversations in one place.
Key benefits of using Hootsuite:
• Save time by scheduling posts for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube from one dashboard.
• Managing approvals and monitoring team performance.
• Better understand what your customers want with analytics and easily integrate those insights into customizable reports.
3. Google Alerts: Google Alerts is another simple way brands monitor their online reputation.
Key benefits of using Google Alerts:
• Type in the brand name or a phrase related to the brand, and an email will be sent to the brand's company with details of new mentions on the Internet.
• This simple tool from Google makes it easier for brands to easily manage their online reputation as they can instantly identify brand sentiment.
4. Trustpilot: Trustpilot is a customer review management manifesto that helps online businesses establish a trusted brand and connect with customers by collecting reviews and assembly feedback.
Key benefits of using Trustpilot:
• Seamlessly automate the customer review collection process and monitor customer feedback throughout the brand's customer journey.
• Trustpilot helps drive more traffic from both paid and organic search results.
• Connect with favourite third-party tools like Magento, Hootsuite, Salesforce, Zapier, Prestashop, Mailchimp, and more.
5. Marketing 360: Marketing 360 is available for small businesses and offers the following support alternative phone support, email/help desk, chat, and knowledge base.
Key benefits of using Marketing 360:
• Singular platform
• Payments
• Scheduling & Booking
• Invoice
• Modern Websites
Resource:
https://www.getapp.com/marketing-software/reputation-management/org/small-business/
https://www.capterra.com/reputation-management-software/s/small-businesses/
https://www.commsights.com/improve-brand-reputation-with-online-software/
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
Online reputation management (ORM) is a critical solution to provide the right strategy to build a brand and simultaneously attract potential customers' interest in choosing your products or services.
Everything a business marketing team does is to influence or educate people by improving and responding to customer reviews or feedback about the products or services they receive.
These brands commonly refer to popular sites or platforms: Google My Business, Angie's List, and Yelp. A significant objective of online brand reputation management is to encourage positive comments from customers.
Top 5 platforms to maximize your Chicago-based small business brand:
1. Local Clarity: Local Clarity is the world's most scalable review, and local search management platform for multi-location businesses, franchises, and agencies to monitor and respond to reviews and improve their online reputation. The platform helps users gain insight into local search results.
Key benefits of using Local Clarity:
• Every day, Google My Business aggregates insights for all business locations into a Local Clarity dashboard that allows users to group, filter, and analyze data.
• The report suite allows users to save, download, share and schedule reports for all locations.
• Users can respond to reviews using pre-written replies or personalized messages.
2. Hootsuite: Hootsuite helps you build your brand, strengthen customer connections, and get accurate business results with social media. With the help of Hootsuite, you can launch brilliant social campaigns, deliver a 5-star social commerce experience, and manage customer conversations in one place.
Key benefits of using Hootsuite:
• Save time by scheduling posts for Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube from one dashboard.
• Managing approvals and monitoring team performance.
• Better understand what your customers want with analytics and easily integrate those insights into customizable reports.
3. Google Alerts: Google Alerts is another simple way brands monitor their online reputation.
Key benefits of using Google Alerts:
• Type in the brand name or a phrase related to the brand, and an email will be sent to the brand's company with details of new mentions on the Internet.
• This simple tool from Google makes it easier for brands to easily manage their online reputation as they can instantly identify brand sentiment.
4. Trustpilot: Trustpilot is a customer review management manifesto that helps online businesses establish a trusted brand and connect with customers by collecting reviews and assembly feedback.
Key benefits of using Trustpilot:
• Seamlessly automate the customer review collection process and monitor customer feedback throughout the brand's customer journey.
• Trustpilot helps drive more traffic from both paid and organic search results.
• Connect with favourite third-party tools like Magento, Hootsuite, Salesforce, Zapier, Prestashop, Mailchimp, and more.
5. Marketing 360: Marketing 360 is available for small businesses and offers the following support alternative phone support, email/help desk, chat, and knowledge base.
Key benefits of using Marketing 360:
• Singular platform
• Payments
• Scheduling & Booking
• Invoice
• Modern Websites
Resource:
https://www.getapp.com/marketing-software/reputation-management/org/small-business/
https://www.capterra.com/reputation-management-software/s/small-businesses/
https://www.commsights.com/improve-brand-reputation-with-online-software/
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
38 adminJanuary 20, 2023
Cyber Security & Data Security
Top 5 Cyber Threats You Need To Make Your Agency Clients Aware Of
Small businesses are just as vulnerable to cyber security threats as large enterprises. A common misapprehension for small businesses is the idea of safety by unimportance that your business is too small-scale to be a target, but regrettably, that's not the case.
As attackers automate more and more attacks, it's easier for them to target hundreds, if not thousands, of small businesses at once. Small businesses often have less stringent technical defenses, less consciousness of threats, and less time and resources for cyber security. It makes them easy targets for hackers than larger businesses.
For these reasons, agency clients need to be aware of threats and how to stop them. This article will cover the Top 5 cyber threats you need to make your agency clients aware of.
Phishing Attacks: Phishing is one of the most prominent and widespread types of cyber-attacks. The social engineering attack is where the attacker impersonates a trusted contact and sends fake mail to the victim. The victim opens the mail and clicks on the malicious link or opens the attachment of the mail. Phishing attackers gain access to confidential information and account credentials by doing so.
Malware Attack: It is one of the most common cyber-attacks. “Malware” refers to malicious software viruses, including worms, spyware, ransomware, adware, and Trojans. A Trojan virus disguises itself as legitimate software. Ransomware blocks access to critical components of a network, while spyware is software that steals all your confidential data without your knowledge. Malware breaches networks through vulnerabilities. When a user clicks on a dangerous link, downloads an email attachment, or when a contaminated pen drive is used.
Weak Passwords: Another significant threat small businesses face is employees using weak or easily guessed passwords. Many Agencies Clients use multiple cloud-based services, which require different accounts. These cloud-based services can often contain sensitive data and financial records. Using easily guessed passwords, or using the same password for multiple accounts, can compromise or hack this data.
Man in the Middle: A man-in-the-middle attack is also known as an eavesdropping attack. In this attack, the attacker comes in between the two-party communication, i.e., hijacks the session between the client and the host. By doing this, hackers steal and manipulate your data. The client-server communication is cut off; the communication line goes through the hacker.
Denial-of-Service Attack: Denial of service is a significant risk for companies. In this attack, Attackers target systems, networks, or servers and flood them with traffic to exhaust their resources and bandwidth. When this happens, it becomes overwhelming for the server to keep up with incoming requests, resulting in the website it hosts either shutting down or slowing down. The leaves legal service requests need to be addressed. It is also known as a DDoS attack when attackers use multiple compromised systems to launch this Denial-of-Service attack.
Resource:
https://expertinsights.com/insights/the-top-5-biggest-cyber-security-threats-that-small-businesses-face-and-how-to-stop-them/
https://onlinedegrees.und.edu/blog/types-of-cyber-security-threats/
https://www.simplilearn.com/tutorials/cyber-security-tutorial/types-of-cyber-attacks
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
As attackers automate more and more attacks, it's easier for them to target hundreds, if not thousands, of small businesses at once. Small businesses often have less stringent technical defenses, less consciousness of threats, and less time and resources for cyber security. It makes them easy targets for hackers than larger businesses.
For these reasons, agency clients need to be aware of threats and how to stop them. This article will cover the Top 5 cyber threats you need to make your agency clients aware of.
Phishing Attacks: Phishing is one of the most prominent and widespread types of cyber-attacks. The social engineering attack is where the attacker impersonates a trusted contact and sends fake mail to the victim. The victim opens the mail and clicks on the malicious link or opens the attachment of the mail. Phishing attackers gain access to confidential information and account credentials by doing so.
Malware Attack: It is one of the most common cyber-attacks. “Malware” refers to malicious software viruses, including worms, spyware, ransomware, adware, and Trojans. A Trojan virus disguises itself as legitimate software. Ransomware blocks access to critical components of a network, while spyware is software that steals all your confidential data without your knowledge. Malware breaches networks through vulnerabilities. When a user clicks on a dangerous link, downloads an email attachment, or when a contaminated pen drive is used.
Weak Passwords: Another significant threat small businesses face is employees using weak or easily guessed passwords. Many Agencies Clients use multiple cloud-based services, which require different accounts. These cloud-based services can often contain sensitive data and financial records. Using easily guessed passwords, or using the same password for multiple accounts, can compromise or hack this data.
Man in the Middle: A man-in-the-middle attack is also known as an eavesdropping attack. In this attack, the attacker comes in between the two-party communication, i.e., hijacks the session between the client and the host. By doing this, hackers steal and manipulate your data. The client-server communication is cut off; the communication line goes through the hacker.
Denial-of-Service Attack: Denial of service is a significant risk for companies. In this attack, Attackers target systems, networks, or servers and flood them with traffic to exhaust their resources and bandwidth. When this happens, it becomes overwhelming for the server to keep up with incoming requests, resulting in the website it hosts either shutting down or slowing down. The leaves legal service requests need to be addressed. It is also known as a DDoS attack when attackers use multiple compromised systems to launch this Denial-of-Service attack.
Resource:
https://expertinsights.com/insights/the-top-5-biggest-cyber-security-threats-that-small-businesses-face-and-how-to-stop-them/
https://onlinedegrees.und.edu/blog/types-of-cyber-security-threats/
https://www.simplilearn.com/tutorials/cyber-security-tutorial/types-of-cyber-attacks
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
64 adminJanuary 19, 2023
Lead Generation
How Small Businesses In Chicago Can Keep The Marketing Funnel Updated
A marketing funnel is a series of the period that guide a prospect into becoming a customer. These stages range from a prospect's first interaction with your company to their purchase decision. There are four primary marketing funnel stages: Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action.
The Benefits of Having a Marketing Funnel:
• Streamline the customer journey.
• Help to Make analytics easy to track.
• Help to Identify areas that need improvement.
• Help define a sales methodology.
• Reduce costs.
• Increase revenues.
Steps When Updating Your small businesses Marketing Funnel :
There are a few essential things a business should look out for when deciding to update its dated marketing funnel to stay relevant in the modern setting.
1. Your Research: The world is changing fast. More is needed to look at quarterly research. Brands need consistent audits to help inform decisions across all marketing channels.
2. Double Down Your Efforts: There is often a tendency to pull back on marketing during tough economic or uncertain times when, in fact, the opposite should be happening. Refining the marketing funnel process and messaging should be an ongoing process.
3. Look At Changes In Customer Needs: Continuously monitor performance to evaluate success and failure, focusing first on your pain points or problem areas. Evaluate your interactions with your clients to ensure their experience is excellent.
4. Consider Your Key Performance Indicators (KPI): Look at your key performance indicators. KPIs typically help determine a company's strategic, financial, and operational achievements relative to other businesses in the same sector.
5. Make Sure It Reflects The User Journey: Marketing funnels should reflect the user journey rather than being driven by sales cycles, target closing times, and the brand's preferred communication tactics.
6. Look At The Bottom Of The Funnel: Look at the bottom of the funnel. If you can't convert people into customers, provide a great experience, and retain them over time, it doesn't matter how much work you do at the top of the funnel.
7. Focus On-High Potential Audiences: Focus on high-potential audiences who have already shown interest in your brand. Be more specific with your ads and target them based on their audience demographics.
8. Look At Your Competitors: Look at what your competitors are doing. Where are they operating paid traffic? Your competitors may have a better process and system than yours. Go through each of their marketing funnels. Select their content. Check out their Facebook ad library of active running ads. As you improve your process, leverage their strengths because they already carry your customers.
Resource:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/09/25/16-critical-steps-when-updating-your-companys-marketing-funnel/?sh=7ac617de1e3a
https://www.crowdspring.com/blog/marketing-funnels/
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
The Benefits of Having a Marketing Funnel:
• Streamline the customer journey.
• Help to Make analytics easy to track.
• Help to Identify areas that need improvement.
• Help define a sales methodology.
• Reduce costs.
• Increase revenues.
Steps When Updating Your small businesses Marketing Funnel :
There are a few essential things a business should look out for when deciding to update its dated marketing funnel to stay relevant in the modern setting.
1. Your Research: The world is changing fast. More is needed to look at quarterly research. Brands need consistent audits to help inform decisions across all marketing channels.
2. Double Down Your Efforts: There is often a tendency to pull back on marketing during tough economic or uncertain times when, in fact, the opposite should be happening. Refining the marketing funnel process and messaging should be an ongoing process.
3. Look At Changes In Customer Needs: Continuously monitor performance to evaluate success and failure, focusing first on your pain points or problem areas. Evaluate your interactions with your clients to ensure their experience is excellent.
4. Consider Your Key Performance Indicators (KPI): Look at your key performance indicators. KPIs typically help determine a company's strategic, financial, and operational achievements relative to other businesses in the same sector.
5. Make Sure It Reflects The User Journey: Marketing funnels should reflect the user journey rather than being driven by sales cycles, target closing times, and the brand's preferred communication tactics.
6. Look At The Bottom Of The Funnel: Look at the bottom of the funnel. If you can't convert people into customers, provide a great experience, and retain them over time, it doesn't matter how much work you do at the top of the funnel.
7. Focus On-High Potential Audiences: Focus on high-potential audiences who have already shown interest in your brand. Be more specific with your ads and target them based on their audience demographics.
8. Look At Your Competitors: Look at what your competitors are doing. Where are they operating paid traffic? Your competitors may have a better process and system than yours. Go through each of their marketing funnels. Select their content. Check out their Facebook ad library of active running ads. As you improve your process, leverage their strengths because they already carry your customers.
Resource:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/09/25/16-critical-steps-when-updating-your-companys-marketing-funnel/?sh=7ac617de1e3a
https://www.crowdspring.com/blog/marketing-funnels/
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
46 adminJanuary 18, 2023
Scaling Up
How To Scale Your Agency In The New VUCA World
Most industry leaders understand that the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) environment is here to stay and has far-reaching implications across three dimensions: people, process, and technology. In such an environment, digital transformation is an inevitable organizational imperative, so much so that technology strategy has become 'The Strategy' for enterprises.
Even on the ground, change needs to happen faster. Enterprises are plagued with concerns about the effectiveness of their digital efforts. Despite significant investments in new technologies, success in high performance and business impact usually fail to live up to expectations. Companies must find ways to bridge this gap between digital's enormous potential and the current reality of its sub-par impact.
What does VUCA mean?
VUCA defines volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity -- qualities make it challenging to analyze, respond to, or plan for a situation or condition.
Minimizing these traits can significantly improve a leader's strategic abilities and produce better results.
Volatility is the quality of being subject to frequent, rapid, and significant changes. Small triggers can lead to big changes.
Uncertainty occurs when events and outcomes are unpredictable. Cause and effect be better understood, and experience may not apply to the situation. It needs to be made clear which direction events will take.
Complexity involves many issues and factors, some of which may be intricately interconnected. The relationship between things and people is challenging to understand. A change in one place can cause unexpected changes in other things. Multiple layers obscure cause and effect, and it is unclear which factors are important in decision-making.
Ambiguity is a need for clarity and difficulty in understanding a situation. Information can be misread or misinterpreted. In ambiguous cases, not all facts are clear. The goal or intended outcome may only be apparent to some parties involved.
Digital Strategy in a VUCA World:
A digital strategy lays the foundation for delivering the right experience based on real-time intelligence.
There are three impact areas around which companies can align their digital strategy and get the best results:
Customer Experience: Digital transformation allows enterprises to move from creating disparate customer experiences to an integrated, customer-centric approach. With the growing number of options available to do this and the accompanying digital clutter, enterprises need to provide a frictionless and intuitive customer experience. Ensuring a seamless, well-integrated, omnichannel communication strategy enhances the customer experience. Often, customer experiences are determined by how your brand interacts with the customer.
A company's response system can make or break the relationship when customers call, email, or use social media to interact with enterprises.
Acceleration: One of the most significant opportunities in digital technology and accompanying business models is scalability. They can allow you to create and grow new businesses faster. However, you need to find the right product-market fit, develop a suitable business model, make intelligent technology choices, and leverage the ecosystem smartly, where a dynamic strategy, broken down into micro levels, becomes critical to success. Keep in mind that It's a continual change process.
Insight: The speed, volume, and variety of data that is now possible present enormous opportunities for our customers, such as one-to-one personalization on a level, And helping enterprises improve the quality of their decision-making to another level. AI and machine learning bring tremendous opportunities. The opportunities provided by data are unprecedented. It is fair to suggest that digital strategy is data strategy!
A digital strategy stipulation a change in mindset as organizations move from legacy to digital. It is an overall strategy, not just a strategy related to a particular performance or peculiar this is a complete shake-up of the status quo. It is cross-functional. While the system needs to be holistic in a VUCA world, fundamentally, the approach to the process needs to be rethought.
In short, VUCA is accurate, and we're already during massive digital transformation and disruption. Enterprises can step up and leapfrog the competition by adopting ambitious digital strategies.
Resource:
https://www.cioaxis.com/cio-insights/building-scalable-models-in-the-vuca-world-the-cio-view
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
Even on the ground, change needs to happen faster. Enterprises are plagued with concerns about the effectiveness of their digital efforts. Despite significant investments in new technologies, success in high performance and business impact usually fail to live up to expectations. Companies must find ways to bridge this gap between digital's enormous potential and the current reality of its sub-par impact.
What does VUCA mean?
VUCA defines volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity -- qualities make it challenging to analyze, respond to, or plan for a situation or condition.
Minimizing these traits can significantly improve a leader's strategic abilities and produce better results.
Volatility is the quality of being subject to frequent, rapid, and significant changes. Small triggers can lead to big changes.
Uncertainty occurs when events and outcomes are unpredictable. Cause and effect be better understood, and experience may not apply to the situation. It needs to be made clear which direction events will take.
Complexity involves many issues and factors, some of which may be intricately interconnected. The relationship between things and people is challenging to understand. A change in one place can cause unexpected changes in other things. Multiple layers obscure cause and effect, and it is unclear which factors are important in decision-making.
Ambiguity is a need for clarity and difficulty in understanding a situation. Information can be misread or misinterpreted. In ambiguous cases, not all facts are clear. The goal or intended outcome may only be apparent to some parties involved.
Digital Strategy in a VUCA World:
A digital strategy lays the foundation for delivering the right experience based on real-time intelligence.
There are three impact areas around which companies can align their digital strategy and get the best results:
Customer Experience: Digital transformation allows enterprises to move from creating disparate customer experiences to an integrated, customer-centric approach. With the growing number of options available to do this and the accompanying digital clutter, enterprises need to provide a frictionless and intuitive customer experience. Ensuring a seamless, well-integrated, omnichannel communication strategy enhances the customer experience. Often, customer experiences are determined by how your brand interacts with the customer.
A company's response system can make or break the relationship when customers call, email, or use social media to interact with enterprises.
Acceleration: One of the most significant opportunities in digital technology and accompanying business models is scalability. They can allow you to create and grow new businesses faster. However, you need to find the right product-market fit, develop a suitable business model, make intelligent technology choices, and leverage the ecosystem smartly, where a dynamic strategy, broken down into micro levels, becomes critical to success. Keep in mind that It's a continual change process.
Insight: The speed, volume, and variety of data that is now possible present enormous opportunities for our customers, such as one-to-one personalization on a level, And helping enterprises improve the quality of their decision-making to another level. AI and machine learning bring tremendous opportunities. The opportunities provided by data are unprecedented. It is fair to suggest that digital strategy is data strategy!
A digital strategy stipulation a change in mindset as organizations move from legacy to digital. It is an overall strategy, not just a strategy related to a particular performance or peculiar this is a complete shake-up of the status quo. It is cross-functional. While the system needs to be holistic in a VUCA world, fundamentally, the approach to the process needs to be rethought.
In short, VUCA is accurate, and we're already during massive digital transformation and disruption. Enterprises can step up and leapfrog the competition by adopting ambitious digital strategies.
Resource:
https://www.cioaxis.com/cio-insights/building-scalable-models-in-the-vuca-world-the-cio-view
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
38 adminJanuary 17, 2023
Cyber Security & Data Security
5 Reports You Should Monitor On Your Cybersecurity Dashboard?
Many things could be improved in the security area. It is a threat environment that is constantly changing. An organization needs to be alert and understand this ever-changing environment to be an effective security leader.
In an ever-evolving threat space, there are ways to optimize security postures and plans with better, more effective reporting.
A good dashboard is key to summarizing data from a monitoring solution, and here are five reports you should be monitoring on your cybersecurity dashboard.
1. Mean-Time-to-Detect (MTTD) and Mean-Time-to-Resolve (MTTR): How long do security threats go unnoticed? Mean-Time-to-Detect (MTTD) measures how long your team is aware of indicators of understanding and other security threats. What is the average response time for your team to acknowledge a cyber-attack once it becomes aware of it? A better measure of the quality of implementation of your incident response plan.
2. Number of systems with known vulnerabilities: Knowing the number of endangered assets in your environment is a crucial cybersecurity metric for determining the risk to your business. Managing updates and patches is a complex process, but very important to avoid errors in your environment. A vulnerability scan that covers all assets will indicate what needs to be done to improve your company's security posture.
3. SSL certificates: An SSL certificate is a small-scale file that certifies the ownership of the cryptographic keys of the website or company with which the data is being exchanged, guaranteeing the transaction's authenticity. Monitoring the security requirements for each certificate and ensuring that they are correctly configured on the server prevents them from falling into the wrong hands and that your company's digital identity is not used to steal user information.
4. Unidentified Devices on Internal Networks: When employees bring their own devices, they can introduce malware and other cyber risks, as can poorly configured Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which is why a network intrusion detection system is an essential part of organization security.
5. No "Superuser" access level: Best practices in information security management include complete control of user access levels to company resources, requiring employees to access only the data, systems, and assets necessary for their work. Identifying the access levels of all network users allows you to adjust as needed by blocking any superuser or administrator that doesn't make sense.
Resource:
https://valerity.com/2020/10/20/the-5-aspects-your-cybersecurity-dashboard-should-provide/
https://cipher.com/blog/10-cybersecurity-metrics-you-should-be-monitoring/
https://www.upguard.com/blog/cybersecurity-metrics
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
In an ever-evolving threat space, there are ways to optimize security postures and plans with better, more effective reporting.
A good dashboard is key to summarizing data from a monitoring solution, and here are five reports you should be monitoring on your cybersecurity dashboard.
1. Mean-Time-to-Detect (MTTD) and Mean-Time-to-Resolve (MTTR): How long do security threats go unnoticed? Mean-Time-to-Detect (MTTD) measures how long your team is aware of indicators of understanding and other security threats. What is the average response time for your team to acknowledge a cyber-attack once it becomes aware of it? A better measure of the quality of implementation of your incident response plan.
2. Number of systems with known vulnerabilities: Knowing the number of endangered assets in your environment is a crucial cybersecurity metric for determining the risk to your business. Managing updates and patches is a complex process, but very important to avoid errors in your environment. A vulnerability scan that covers all assets will indicate what needs to be done to improve your company's security posture.
3. SSL certificates: An SSL certificate is a small-scale file that certifies the ownership of the cryptographic keys of the website or company with which the data is being exchanged, guaranteeing the transaction's authenticity. Monitoring the security requirements for each certificate and ensuring that they are correctly configured on the server prevents them from falling into the wrong hands and that your company's digital identity is not used to steal user information.
4. Unidentified Devices on Internal Networks: When employees bring their own devices, they can introduce malware and other cyber risks, as can poorly configured Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which is why a network intrusion detection system is an essential part of organization security.
5. No "Superuser" access level: Best practices in information security management include complete control of user access levels to company resources, requiring employees to access only the data, systems, and assets necessary for their work. Identifying the access levels of all network users allows you to adjust as needed by blocking any superuser or administrator that doesn't make sense.
Resource:
https://valerity.com/2020/10/20/the-5-aspects-your-cybersecurity-dashboard-should-provide/
https://cipher.com/blog/10-cybersecurity-metrics-you-should-be-monitoring/
https://www.upguard.com/blog/cybersecurity-metrics
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
35 adminJanuary 16, 2023
Product - Testing
Load Testing And Load Testing Tools
Load Testing:
Load testing is an inoperable software testing process in which the production of a software application is tested under an expected load. It determines how a software application will behave when accessed by multiple users simultaneously. The objective of load testing is to correct performance bottlenecks and ensure software applications' stability and smooth functioning before deployment.
A load test is used to help determine the following:
• Response time returned from critical actions in your application is acceptable compared to specifications, user requirements, or KPIs.
• Does your core business functionality behave properly under heavy load?
The Top Load Testing Tools List:
Load Ninja: Load Ninja by Smart Bear allows you to quickly create scriptless sophisticated load tests, reducing test time by 50%, replacing load emulators with real browsers, and getting actionable, browser-based metrics, all at Ninja speed.
Load Ninja Features:
• Scriptless load test creation & playback.
• Accurate browser load test execution at scale.
• VU Debugger – debug tests in real-time.
• VU Inspector – manages virtual user activity in real-time.
• Hosted on the cloud
• No server machine & upkeep is required.
• They have sophisticated browser-based metrics with analytics & reporting features.
Web LOAD: Web load is the tool of choice for industries with heavy user loads and complex testing requirements. It allows you to load and stress test any Internet application by generating loads from the cloud and on-premises machines.
Web Load Features:
• Flexible deployment: cloud (SaaS), hybrid or on-prem
• Clever scripting based on native JavaScript
• Robust correlation for handling dynamic values
• Rich dashboard for performance analysis
• Excellent customer support
Head Spin: Head Spin allows you to optimize the digital experience with its performance testing capabilities. It can help users monitor, identify, fix, and optimize performance issues across applications, devices, networks, and third-party interfaces.
Head Spin Features:
• Monitor and optimize performance throughout the user journey
• Performance data on real-world conditions
• With AI capabilities to automatically identify performance issues in testing before they impact users.
• Test over a hundred locations on thousands of real devices, including SIM card-enabled devices.
Apache JMeter: The Apache JMeter tool can be loaded into a server or network to test performance and analyze its performance under different scenarios. Initially, it was introduced to test web applications but later expanded its scope.
Apache JMeter Features:
• This free tool does not demand sophisticated infrastructure for load testing and supports multiple load injectors managed by a single controller.
• It is a performance testing tool that is highly portable and supports 100% of all Java-based apps.
• Less scripting effort compared to API performance testing tools because of its friendly GUI.
• Simple charts are sufficient for analyzing critical load-related statistics/resource usage monitors.
• Supports integrated real-time, Tomcat collectors for monitoring.
Resource:
https://testguild.com/load-testing-tools/
https://www.guru99.com/performance-testing-tools.html
https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/performance-testing-tools-load-testing-tools/
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
A load test is used to help determine the following:
• Response time returned from critical actions in your application is acceptable compared to specifications, user requirements, or KPIs.
• Does your core business functionality behave properly under heavy load?
The Top Load Testing Tools List:
Load Ninja: Load Ninja by Smart Bear allows you to quickly create scriptless sophisticated load tests, reducing test time by 50%, replacing load emulators with real browsers, and getting actionable, browser-based metrics, all at Ninja speed.
Load Ninja Features:
• Scriptless load test creation & playback.
• Accurate browser load test execution at scale.
• VU Debugger – debug tests in real-time.
• VU Inspector – manages virtual user activity in real-time.
• Hosted on the cloud
• No server machine & upkeep is required.
• They have sophisticated browser-based metrics with analytics & reporting features.
Web LOAD: Web load is the tool of choice for industries with heavy user loads and complex testing requirements. It allows you to load and stress test any Internet application by generating loads from the cloud and on-premises machines.
Web Load Features:
• Flexible deployment: cloud (SaaS), hybrid or on-prem
• Clever scripting based on native JavaScript
• Robust correlation for handling dynamic values
• Rich dashboard for performance analysis
• Excellent customer support
Head Spin: Head Spin allows you to optimize the digital experience with its performance testing capabilities. It can help users monitor, identify, fix, and optimize performance issues across applications, devices, networks, and third-party interfaces.
Head Spin Features:
• Monitor and optimize performance throughout the user journey
• Performance data on real-world conditions
• With AI capabilities to automatically identify performance issues in testing before they impact users.
• Test over a hundred locations on thousands of real devices, including SIM card-enabled devices.
Apache JMeter: The Apache JMeter tool can be loaded into a server or network to test performance and analyze its performance under different scenarios. Initially, it was introduced to test web applications but later expanded its scope.
Apache JMeter Features:
• This free tool does not demand sophisticated infrastructure for load testing and supports multiple load injectors managed by a single controller.
• It is a performance testing tool that is highly portable and supports 100% of all Java-based apps.
• Less scripting effort compared to API performance testing tools because of its friendly GUI.
• Simple charts are sufficient for analyzing critical load-related statistics/resource usage monitors.
• Supports integrated real-time, Tomcat collectors for monitoring.
Resource:
https://testguild.com/load-testing-tools/
https://www.guru99.com/performance-testing-tools.html
https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/performance-testing-tools-load-testing-tools/
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
33 adminJanuary 13, 2023
Product - Testing
Top 5 Testing Strategies Your Start-Up Needs To Have In Place
A Start-up idea is like a small plan. It has a great chance of becoming a large tree but requires special conditions and a good environment. Once you've done with early founder challenges like documentation, legal requirements, product market fit, etc. The stage of development is ahead of you. Starting software development is always a new part of the challenge. One of them is the testing strategy of your Startup.
Launching a product full of bugs takes additional time in product marketing and costs while pushing back the deadline to fix these defects. It is time and resources that an upcoming start-startup cannot afford.
Here are the top 5 software testing strategies that you can adopt to ensure the perfect product:
1. Align your QA strategy to your business Start Up goals:
A product is launched in the market with specific key achievements in mind. These goals must be communicated throughout the company, including the QA and development teams. This way, developers will have a clear idea of the product you have in mind.
The QA team will strategize based on your needs and test to perfect the aspects critical to your goals. It prevents a lot of post-launch debugging or troubleshooting.
It also makes it easier to strategize for the QA team, who can create a detailed plan focused on your goals, break down tasks as needed, and work with the development team for QA testing and debugging before launch.
2. Create a detailed plan for testing / QA processes:
Documentation is key to maintaining quality consistency. This plan can be divided into four parts:
1. Quality management plan
2. Testing strategy
3. Test Plan
4. Test Case
Each of these documents should contain the focus of the process and the critical elements involved—a standard policy to follow during the process with individuals interested in the trial.
3. A suitable work environment for the team
Here are some steps rules you can take to ensure a healthy team environment:
• Clear demarcation of tasks
• Involvement of the QA team in the development
• increase their knowledge base in terms of the business aspect of production
• Open communication
4. Testing for User Acceptance
A good product is developed with the end user in mind. A QA team can understand the defined user personas for development and test based on these user types.
Here's how you can go about it:
• Define a method for your UAT process
• Conduct the test in an organized way
• Document the process
5. Measuring Code Quality
Here are some metrics that you can use to measure code quality:
Reliability: it defines how smoothly your code can run without fail.
Performance Efficiency: Performance efficiency can be defined by the quick response of an application to any given functionality.
Security: Security can be measured by the application's ability to detect any such problems and the time required to fix these errors.
Maintainability: it depends on the complexity of the code. Maintainability can be measured based on how many lines of code there are and how easy or difficult it is to find and modify a given string.
Rate of Delivery: it is based on how quickly the software is updated and delivered to end users.
Here are some testing strategies your start-startup needs to have to ensure a great quality product that best uses the given resources.
Resource:
https://cloudqa.io/5-software-testing-strategies-to-uplift-business-growth/
https://2muchcoffee.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-best-testing-strategy-for-startups/
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
Here are the top 5 software testing strategies that you can adopt to ensure the perfect product:
1. Align your QA strategy to your business Start Up goals:
A product is launched in the market with specific key achievements in mind. These goals must be communicated throughout the company, including the QA and development teams. This way, developers will have a clear idea of the product you have in mind.
The QA team will strategize based on your needs and test to perfect the aspects critical to your goals. It prevents a lot of post-launch debugging or troubleshooting.
It also makes it easier to strategize for the QA team, who can create a detailed plan focused on your goals, break down tasks as needed, and work with the development team for QA testing and debugging before launch.
2. Create a detailed plan for testing / QA processes:
Documentation is key to maintaining quality consistency. This plan can be divided into four parts:
1. Quality management plan
2. Testing strategy
3. Test Plan
4. Test Case
Each of these documents should contain the focus of the process and the critical elements involved—a standard policy to follow during the process with individuals interested in the trial.
3. A suitable work environment for the team
Here are some steps rules you can take to ensure a healthy team environment:
• Clear demarcation of tasks
• Involvement of the QA team in the development
• increase their knowledge base in terms of the business aspect of production
• Open communication
4. Testing for User Acceptance
A good product is developed with the end user in mind. A QA team can understand the defined user personas for development and test based on these user types.
Here's how you can go about it:
• Define a method for your UAT process
• Conduct the test in an organized way
• Document the process
5. Measuring Code Quality
Here are some metrics that you can use to measure code quality:
Reliability: it defines how smoothly your code can run without fail.
Performance Efficiency: Performance efficiency can be defined by the quick response of an application to any given functionality.
Security: Security can be measured by the application's ability to detect any such problems and the time required to fix these errors.
Maintainability: it depends on the complexity of the code. Maintainability can be measured based on how many lines of code there are and how easy or difficult it is to find and modify a given string.
Rate of Delivery: it is based on how quickly the software is updated and delivered to end users.
Here are some testing strategies your start-startup needs to have to ensure a great quality product that best uses the given resources.
Resource:
https://cloudqa.io/5-software-testing-strategies-to-uplift-business-growth/
https://2muchcoffee.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-best-testing-strategy-for-startups/
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
38 adminJanuary 12, 2023
Competition
Outdo Your Competitors By Using These Customer Engagement Tricks
The right customer engagement strategies can significantly affect your business conclusion. These action plans will result in a better customer experience and higher customer retention rates and help you outdo your competitors by using these customer engagement tricks.
What is a Customer Engagement Strategy?
A customer engagement plan of action organizes interactions and activities into a well-structured plan to create the ultimate customer experience, including pre-and post-purchase. This process includes a variety of communication channels to build relationships, improve satisfaction, and actively nurture your customer base.
The Benefits of Implementing Customer Engagement Tricks:
When customers have a satisfying experience, they are more likely to buy, but it doesn't always happen immediately. Your customer experience is how customers perceive your brand or how it is perceived and received from their perspective. Customer engagement is how the customer experiences and interacts with the brand, including their decisions and how they interact and react to your products and services.
Keep a Customer-Centric Mindset:
The only way to ensure customers are satisfied with the experience is to provide what they want. From data collection (through your CRM, sales engagement platform, etc.) to customer feedback and forums, creating an engagement strategy involves social listening and research, just like brand promotion. The more you know about your customer, the better you can target your message and experience.
6 Proven Customer Engagement Tricks:
1. Share Your Company's Story, Mission, and Vision:
The stories are memorable, and people get to relate to your account. They give customers a reason to trust your company. Humanize your brand with a message highlighting your mission, vision, and story. Help customers understand you're 'why' for business.
2. Practice Active Listening:
Customers are very vocal about what they want, so listen. What are they saying and not saying about your business? How do they contrast you to your competitors? Make it easy for customers to give a reaction, share their experiences, record responses and follow up.
3. Provide Some Free Benefits to Users:
Reward users for being loyal customers with something free: things your customers need. Give them free information on how to get the most out of your product or a resource on cost/benefit analysis. Freebies are a way to attract new customers.
4. Take a Social Approach:
Be active on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. This platform is used for people who want to express their problems with the business or praise them.
5. Address Feedback:
User feedback is one way to measure your customer satisfaction. Collect a mix of technical, quantitative data (through your CRM, sales engagement platform, etc.) and anecdotal, qualitative feedback to understand your customer experience fully.
6. Create a Customer Success Centre:
Set your customers up to win. The Customer Success Centre helps customers access resources and get answers to their questions. The goal is to ensure customers have everything they need to make the right purchase decision or use your products to their fullest potential. With the proper support, communication, systems, and information, your customers may be able to act.
Resource:
https://www.outreach.io/blog/customer-engagement-strategies-for-increasing-conversions
https://www.openpathdigital.com/blog/customer-engagement
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
What is a Customer Engagement Strategy?
A customer engagement plan of action organizes interactions and activities into a well-structured plan to create the ultimate customer experience, including pre-and post-purchase. This process includes a variety of communication channels to build relationships, improve satisfaction, and actively nurture your customer base.
The Benefits of Implementing Customer Engagement Tricks:
When customers have a satisfying experience, they are more likely to buy, but it doesn't always happen immediately. Your customer experience is how customers perceive your brand or how it is perceived and received from their perspective. Customer engagement is how the customer experiences and interacts with the brand, including their decisions and how they interact and react to your products and services.
Keep a Customer-Centric Mindset:
The only way to ensure customers are satisfied with the experience is to provide what they want. From data collection (through your CRM, sales engagement platform, etc.) to customer feedback and forums, creating an engagement strategy involves social listening and research, just like brand promotion. The more you know about your customer, the better you can target your message and experience.
6 Proven Customer Engagement Tricks:
1. Share Your Company's Story, Mission, and Vision:
The stories are memorable, and people get to relate to your account. They give customers a reason to trust your company. Humanize your brand with a message highlighting your mission, vision, and story. Help customers understand you're 'why' for business.
2. Practice Active Listening:
Customers are very vocal about what they want, so listen. What are they saying and not saying about your business? How do they contrast you to your competitors? Make it easy for customers to give a reaction, share their experiences, record responses and follow up.
3. Provide Some Free Benefits to Users:
Reward users for being loyal customers with something free: things your customers need. Give them free information on how to get the most out of your product or a resource on cost/benefit analysis. Freebies are a way to attract new customers.
4. Take a Social Approach:
Be active on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. This platform is used for people who want to express their problems with the business or praise them.
5. Address Feedback:
User feedback is one way to measure your customer satisfaction. Collect a mix of technical, quantitative data (through your CRM, sales engagement platform, etc.) and anecdotal, qualitative feedback to understand your customer experience fully.
6. Create a Customer Success Centre:
Set your customers up to win. The Customer Success Centre helps customers access resources and get answers to their questions. The goal is to ensure customers have everything they need to make the right purchase decision or use your products to their fullest potential. With the proper support, communication, systems, and information, your customers may be able to act.
Resource:
https://www.outreach.io/blog/customer-engagement-strategies-for-increasing-conversions
https://www.openpathdigital.com/blog/customer-engagement
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
37 adminJanuary 11, 2023
Cyber Security & Data Security
What Should Be The Cyber Security Spent In Your Clients’ Maintenance Contract?
Preventing cyber-attacks when they happen is less expensive than repairing the damage. Companies and organizations across industries lose money to cyber-attacks all the time. There are more apparent avenues, such as piracy, data breaches, and lawsuits.
Everything is digital these days, both on-premises and in the cloud. So cyber security personnel and security measures are something you will have to spend money on. But how should your company decide how much money to budget for security? And how should your company decide how to spend it?
Creating a Cybersecurity Budget Breakdown:
All organizations should consider five main categories when allocating their cyber security maintenance contracts.
Compliance: Some compliance ordinances dictate security budgets distribute in the healthcare sector. For example, HIPAA defines data privacy and security obligation to protect individuals' medical records and other personal health information. To meet these obligations and avoid potentially significant fines, CISOs must budget for specific tools and technologies.
Ongoing existing risk assessments: Proactive CISOs must continuously monitor the effectiveness of security controls in their environment and calibrate against prevailing attack vectors. Suppose the risk rises above a previously agreed-upon threshold. In that case, the CISO needs to assess the risk and discuss the risk with management to find another budget or reallocate the budget -- or agree to accept a higher risk level. Tools and services for budgets in this category include cyber insurance, bug bounty initiatives, penetration testing, and incident response.
Ongoing security training: Security training is no longer an event on the annual mandatory compliance checklist. Every employee and contractor must be involved in this ongoing effort. Using public shame or fear to motivate employees is not adequate. Instead, cybersecurity training needs to be memorable.
New business initiatives: A CISO must evaluate any new business initiative adopted within the company and implement a security budget to ensure that the company and its new customers remain secure. For example, marketing departments may outsource content creation to an overseas third-party provider or decide to store all customer support cases in a cloud storage platform. Both of these scenarios have additional risks, which CISOs and security teams should address before implementing.
Business priority shifts: It can be related to people, technology, or revenue. From a public perspective, an example of a business priority shift is the hybrid, or, in some cases, permanent work-from-home model and the adaptation required to maintain cybersecurity best practices. From employee onboarding -- and offboarding -- to employee use of a shared home router, local offline data storage, home privacy needs to personal devices, and video conferencing, all require security adaptation and budget realignment.
What is a typical cybersecurity budget?
While there is no versatile answer when determining what a "typical budget" looks like for cybersecurity operations, some studies can provide some sensitivity.
Recent research by Deloitte and the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Centre found that financial services spend an average of 10% of their IT budgets on cybersecurity. It costs approximately 0.2% to 0.9% of company revenue or $1,300 to $3,000 per full-time employee. For a more significant picture specification, consider that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently disclosed in a statement that the tech behemoth would "invest more than $1 billion annually in cybersecurity for the foreseeable future". Finally, it is worth noting that the US President's 2019 budget allocated $15 billion to spend on cybersecurity, which is about 0.3% of the entire economic budget ($4.746 trillion).
Resource:
https://www.mstech.com/client-contract-includes-cybersecurity-restrictions/
https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/Cybersecurity-budget-breakdown-and-best-practices
https://cybersecurity.att.com/blogs/security-essentials/how-to-justify-your-cybersecurity-budget
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
Everything is digital these days, both on-premises and in the cloud. So cyber security personnel and security measures are something you will have to spend money on. But how should your company decide how much money to budget for security? And how should your company decide how to spend it?
Creating a Cybersecurity Budget Breakdown:
All organizations should consider five main categories when allocating their cyber security maintenance contracts.
Compliance: Some compliance ordinances dictate security budgets distribute in the healthcare sector. For example, HIPAA defines data privacy and security obligation to protect individuals' medical records and other personal health information. To meet these obligations and avoid potentially significant fines, CISOs must budget for specific tools and technologies.
Ongoing existing risk assessments: Proactive CISOs must continuously monitor the effectiveness of security controls in their environment and calibrate against prevailing attack vectors. Suppose the risk rises above a previously agreed-upon threshold. In that case, the CISO needs to assess the risk and discuss the risk with management to find another budget or reallocate the budget -- or agree to accept a higher risk level. Tools and services for budgets in this category include cyber insurance, bug bounty initiatives, penetration testing, and incident response.
Ongoing security training: Security training is no longer an event on the annual mandatory compliance checklist. Every employee and contractor must be involved in this ongoing effort. Using public shame or fear to motivate employees is not adequate. Instead, cybersecurity training needs to be memorable.
New business initiatives: A CISO must evaluate any new business initiative adopted within the company and implement a security budget to ensure that the company and its new customers remain secure. For example, marketing departments may outsource content creation to an overseas third-party provider or decide to store all customer support cases in a cloud storage platform. Both of these scenarios have additional risks, which CISOs and security teams should address before implementing.
Business priority shifts: It can be related to people, technology, or revenue. From a public perspective, an example of a business priority shift is the hybrid, or, in some cases, permanent work-from-home model and the adaptation required to maintain cybersecurity best practices. From employee onboarding -- and offboarding -- to employee use of a shared home router, local offline data storage, home privacy needs to personal devices, and video conferencing, all require security adaptation and budget realignment.
What is a typical cybersecurity budget?
While there is no versatile answer when determining what a "typical budget" looks like for cybersecurity operations, some studies can provide some sensitivity.
Recent research by Deloitte and the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Centre found that financial services spend an average of 10% of their IT budgets on cybersecurity. It costs approximately 0.2% to 0.9% of company revenue or $1,300 to $3,000 per full-time employee. For a more significant picture specification, consider that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently disclosed in a statement that the tech behemoth would "invest more than $1 billion annually in cybersecurity for the foreseeable future". Finally, it is worth noting that the US President's 2019 budget allocated $15 billion to spend on cybersecurity, which is about 0.3% of the entire economic budget ($4.746 trillion).
Resource:
https://www.mstech.com/client-contract-includes-cybersecurity-restrictions/
https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/Cybersecurity-budget-breakdown-and-best-practices
https://cybersecurity.att.com/blogs/security-essentials/how-to-justify-your-cybersecurity-budget
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
37 adminJanuary 6, 2023
Margins
Remembering 80-20 And How It Applies To Your Agency Business
An Italian economist named Pareto proposed the 80/20 rule. According to this rule, 80% of the results come from 20% of the efforts. When applied to the business world, the power means that only 80% of a company's sales come from its 20% customer base.
How Does the 80-20 Rule Work?
This rule often indicates that 80% of a company's revenue is given rise to 20% of its customers.
This way, it can be profitable for a company to focus on the 20% of clients that account for 80% of revenue and market to them. By doing so, the company can retain those customers and acquire new customers with similar characteristics.
How To Appeal the 80/20 Rule in Business:
It will help if you get maximum output from minimum input when running an agency business. Here are how intelligent companies work. So, work on the three things that will provide you with the best results.
1. Be Clear on What You Are Doing: As a business proprietor, you need to understand your job thoroughly. Once you understand each aspect of your service offering and your business, you can identify problem areas and work on these problems will increase your business efficiency.
2. Measure: Everything must be measured using analytical tools. Here is the only method to find out what works and doesn't. Many analytical tools are available online. For web analytics, you can use Google Analytics to set up goals and check your performance.
3. Think Boldly and Work Smart: Working smart requires you to think outside the box. Be brave and take some chances. Remember, take calculated risks only when the odds are in your favor.
How to Use the 80/20 Principle?
1. Look at Social Media Results: Social media is prevalent these days. Businesses use social media for better business leads. It also helps in building brand loyalty. Using social media analytics, you can find out which social media strategy works for you on which platforms. You can use this insight to focus on methods that deliver 80% of the results.
2. Know Your Customers and How They Order: Understanding your customer is very important. So studying how they order and how much they order. This information is essential to find the people who contribute the most to your revenue. Finding this information is accessible using analytics.
3. Budget Efficiency: Both over-budget and under-budget are detrimental to a business. Studies show that most new and small businesses spend 7% of their revenue on marketing. Using the 80/20 rule, you need to figure out the marketing spend that will get the best results.
4. Time Management: Being a business owner, you probably think that you need to work 24/7 to be successful. Streamlining your processes is another way to increase your productivity. The 80/20 rule is everywhere. 20% of the activities undertaken cause 80% of the time wasted. To manage time better, take steps to analyze, understand, and reduce just 20% of activities.
5. Leave That Which Does Not Sell: You may make many products or offer a mix of services in your business. However, you may have noticed that these earn you a different amount. It means that only some of your lines are equally profitable.
It's a good idea to leave behind what doesn't sell. You will get 80% of your high-profit services and 20% of lost revenue. It's a process that constantly needs review and refinement.
As a business owner, it's up to you to use the 80/20 rule to your advantage. This rule is not something pulled out of thin air but a strategic, simple way to see the path to continued growth and success.
Resource:
https://dorksdelivered.com.au/business-tips/how-to-use-80-20-rule-to-your-advantage-as-a-business-owner
https://rockcontent.com/blog/pareto-principle-in-business/
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
How Does the 80-20 Rule Work?
This rule often indicates that 80% of a company's revenue is given rise to 20% of its customers.
This way, it can be profitable for a company to focus on the 20% of clients that account for 80% of revenue and market to them. By doing so, the company can retain those customers and acquire new customers with similar characteristics.
How To Appeal the 80/20 Rule in Business:
It will help if you get maximum output from minimum input when running an agency business. Here are how intelligent companies work. So, work on the three things that will provide you with the best results.
1. Be Clear on What You Are Doing: As a business proprietor, you need to understand your job thoroughly. Once you understand each aspect of your service offering and your business, you can identify problem areas and work on these problems will increase your business efficiency.
2. Measure: Everything must be measured using analytical tools. Here is the only method to find out what works and doesn't. Many analytical tools are available online. For web analytics, you can use Google Analytics to set up goals and check your performance.
3. Think Boldly and Work Smart: Working smart requires you to think outside the box. Be brave and take some chances. Remember, take calculated risks only when the odds are in your favor.
How to Use the 80/20 Principle?
1. Look at Social Media Results: Social media is prevalent these days. Businesses use social media for better business leads. It also helps in building brand loyalty. Using social media analytics, you can find out which social media strategy works for you on which platforms. You can use this insight to focus on methods that deliver 80% of the results.
2. Know Your Customers and How They Order: Understanding your customer is very important. So studying how they order and how much they order. This information is essential to find the people who contribute the most to your revenue. Finding this information is accessible using analytics.
3. Budget Efficiency: Both over-budget and under-budget are detrimental to a business. Studies show that most new and small businesses spend 7% of their revenue on marketing. Using the 80/20 rule, you need to figure out the marketing spend that will get the best results.
4. Time Management: Being a business owner, you probably think that you need to work 24/7 to be successful. Streamlining your processes is another way to increase your productivity. The 80/20 rule is everywhere. 20% of the activities undertaken cause 80% of the time wasted. To manage time better, take steps to analyze, understand, and reduce just 20% of activities.
5. Leave That Which Does Not Sell: You may make many products or offer a mix of services in your business. However, you may have noticed that these earn you a different amount. It means that only some of your lines are equally profitable.
It's a good idea to leave behind what doesn't sell. You will get 80% of your high-profit services and 20% of lost revenue. It's a process that constantly needs review and refinement.
As a business owner, it's up to you to use the 80/20 rule to your advantage. This rule is not something pulled out of thin air but a strategic, simple way to see the path to continued growth and success.
Resource:
https://dorksdelivered.com.au/business-tips/how-to-use-80-20-rule-to-your-advantage-as-a-business-owner
https://rockcontent.com/blog/pareto-principle-in-business/
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
40 adminJanuary 5, 2023
Testing
Setting Up Testing And Quality Benchmarks For Your Small Agencies’ Next Project
In today's business landscape, software applications play an integral role. By receiving application requirements for the first time, Enable's clients can focus on profitable growth, business transformation, and achieving their company's goals.
This article points out the six types of application testing that Competent recommends. By paying attention to this type of testing as early as possible in the perpetration process, applications are more likely to provide high security, reliability, justifiable performance, and usability standards.
1. Identifying And Fixing Bugs Early: The most apparent benefit of application testing is identifying and fixing bugs before releasing the software to users. It will significantly reduce the risk of any potential bugs once the application is used in a 'live' capacity. Enable implements a User Acceptance Testing (UAT) process that allows any bugs to be identified in a test environment that closely matches real-world conditions in terms of configuration and data.
2. Performance: Simulating an application's performance in a live environment without accurate data is extremely difficult. Performance problems are noticed once significant data loads occur, when system parts may become unstable. Able to proactively identify and resolve performance issues by testing data and user volume loads, ensuring that applications can comfortably handle expected data volumes once launched.
3. User Experience: Although assumed by some, user experience (UX) is the essential feature of a system. There are many ways that software can meet a client's needs, but if what is developed needs to be more useful or clear, it can lead to user errors, reduced productivity, or complete failure to meet project goals.
4. Security: Applications have become a common target for attackers. Simple vulnerabilities can access confidential information or complete control over a server environment. Because of the potentially catastrophic damage that an attack can achieve, applications mustn't be susceptible to security breaches.
5. Browser Compatibility: Since there are slight differences in how browsers process and display the same code, our software must be compatible with the preferred choices of all our clients. Enable cross-browser compatibility testing with all major browsers, including Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Opera, to ensure the final product works consistently across multiple browsers, operating systems, and devices.
6. The Power of Automation: Programmatic tests are written to confirm the functionality of a small unit of code, which is usually a component in a more extensive system. Unit testing aims to take these small units of an application, isolate them from the rest of the code base, and determine whether the team behaves as expected.
Resource:
https://enable.com/blog/application-testing-setting-a-new-quality-benchmark-with-every-project
https://u-tor.com/topic/how-to-improve-the-quality-of-software-testing
https://www.headspin.io/blog/what-are-the-11-ways-your-company-can-do-software-testing-more-efficiently
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
This article points out the six types of application testing that Competent recommends. By paying attention to this type of testing as early as possible in the perpetration process, applications are more likely to provide high security, reliability, justifiable performance, and usability standards.
1. Identifying And Fixing Bugs Early: The most apparent benefit of application testing is identifying and fixing bugs before releasing the software to users. It will significantly reduce the risk of any potential bugs once the application is used in a 'live' capacity. Enable implements a User Acceptance Testing (UAT) process that allows any bugs to be identified in a test environment that closely matches real-world conditions in terms of configuration and data.
2. Performance: Simulating an application's performance in a live environment without accurate data is extremely difficult. Performance problems are noticed once significant data loads occur, when system parts may become unstable. Able to proactively identify and resolve performance issues by testing data and user volume loads, ensuring that applications can comfortably handle expected data volumes once launched.
3. User Experience: Although assumed by some, user experience (UX) is the essential feature of a system. There are many ways that software can meet a client's needs, but if what is developed needs to be more useful or clear, it can lead to user errors, reduced productivity, or complete failure to meet project goals.
4. Security: Applications have become a common target for attackers. Simple vulnerabilities can access confidential information or complete control over a server environment. Because of the potentially catastrophic damage that an attack can achieve, applications mustn't be susceptible to security breaches.
5. Browser Compatibility: Since there are slight differences in how browsers process and display the same code, our software must be compatible with the preferred choices of all our clients. Enable cross-browser compatibility testing with all major browsers, including Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Opera, to ensure the final product works consistently across multiple browsers, operating systems, and devices.
6. The Power of Automation: Programmatic tests are written to confirm the functionality of a small unit of code, which is usually a component in a more extensive system. Unit testing aims to take these small units of an application, isolate them from the rest of the code base, and determine whether the team behaves as expected.
Resource:
https://enable.com/blog/application-testing-setting-a-new-quality-benchmark-with-every-project
https://u-tor.com/topic/how-to-improve-the-quality-of-software-testing
https://www.headspin.io/blog/what-are-the-11-ways-your-company-can-do-software-testing-more-efficiently
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
35 adminJanuary 4, 2023
Cyber Security & Data Security
Do You Have A CCSO?
Cloud security has come a long way since initially used in the IT world. It has transformed efficiency by reducing costs and enabling the distribution of IT resources into a faster and more enterprise-oriented system. It allows organizations to efficiently use their resources and leverage the skills of professionals working together to strengthen the overall security level of the enterprise concerning legal, personal, or client data behind secure data vaults.
What does a Cloud Security Officer (CCSO) Do?
Cloud security is a set of policies, technologies, and controls used to protect cloud-based virtual data and services.
Many more companies are moving to cloud-based virtual networks and cloud-based storage solutions that provide a lot of flexibility but have security challenges.
Cloud security officers (CCSO) understand that a virtual environment must be protected from threats with adequate security controls to prevent, control, detect and remediate intrusions and vulnerabilities. They plan, implement and report on their cloud security controls, focusing on 'hardening' the environment through identity management, physical security, employee security, privacy, access testing, access control, data integrity, and encryption….
Job Responsibilities of Cloud Security Officer:
Cloud security officers are involved in various practices related to designing, implementing, and configuring cloud security systems. You will be responsible for the onboard security of the cloud technology and the data contained within these systems.
This job also entails that professionals must work back-to-back with their team of employees. So, the assignment asks the professional to collaborate with the rest of the workforce. In this way, the issue is resolved spectacularly, and the various perceptions jumping on the table from different perspectives can be used well.
Resource:
https://www.cloudinstitute.io/blog/cloud-security-engineer-job-role-and-responsibilities/
https://mile2.com/cloud-security-officer/#:~:text=They%20plan%2C%20implement%2C%20and%20report,%2C%20data%20integrity%2C%20and%20encryption
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
What does a Cloud Security Officer (CCSO) Do?
Cloud security is a set of policies, technologies, and controls used to protect cloud-based virtual data and services.
Many more companies are moving to cloud-based virtual networks and cloud-based storage solutions that provide a lot of flexibility but have security challenges.
Cloud security officers (CCSO) understand that a virtual environment must be protected from threats with adequate security controls to prevent, control, detect and remediate intrusions and vulnerabilities. They plan, implement and report on their cloud security controls, focusing on 'hardening' the environment through identity management, physical security, employee security, privacy, access testing, access control, data integrity, and encryption….
Job Responsibilities of Cloud Security Officer:
Cloud security officers are involved in various practices related to designing, implementing, and configuring cloud security systems. You will be responsible for the onboard security of the cloud technology and the data contained within these systems.
This job also entails that professionals must work back-to-back with their team of employees. So, the assignment asks the professional to collaborate with the rest of the workforce. In this way, the issue is resolved spectacularly, and the various perceptions jumping on the table from different perspectives can be used well.
Resource:
https://www.cloudinstitute.io/blog/cloud-security-engineer-job-role-and-responsibilities/
https://mile2.com/cloud-security-officer/#:~:text=They%20plan%2C%20implement%2C%20and%20report,%2C%20data%20integrity%2C%20and%20encryption
Disclaimer:
Wherever any material is quoted as sourced from the published text with publishing rights vested in an individual, it is stated that it is a pure quotation and has no intention to claim it as our own.
Image Source: www.freepik.com
33 adminJanuary 3, 2023
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