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How SMBs Spend Their IT Budgets in 2019

Posted: 20 May 2019 12:00 PM PDT

Capterra recently surveyed 700 SMBs on their 2019 and 2020 plans for IT purchasing. The top three rankings included cloud computing (48%) and data and information security (47%) for spending priorities this year, preceded only by finance and accounting technology (54%). We are seeing this spending pattern to be accurate in early 2019. These trends are especially evident as we witness a spike in migration to the cloud with solutions like Office 365 and an increase in cloud back-up investments.

Here are three common IT areas SMBs have been spending money on in 2019:

Cloud migration: Office 365

A significant move to Office 365 is one of the biggest trends we are seeing this year. SMBs seemed a little slow last year in regard to implementation but that is not the case for 2019. Most companies upgrading are on legacy versions of Office, but the driving force for the decision seems to be making the move to the cloud due to the many advantages it offers.

Some of the most important benefits include savings on infrastructure costs, maximum uptime and centralized management for applications. Office 365 combines the advantages of cloud technology with the traditional foundation of on-premise software offerings – that is the physical, desktop versions of Office programs. It allows Office applications to be available from multiple computers or devices and also provides storage space on Microsoft's OneDrive. 

One barrier that stops many SMBs from migrating to Office 365 is that they are overwhelmed by the process and potential disruption to emails and other critical processes. In those instances, we recommend using a managed service provider to help with the process. An MSP can handle the entire implementation, allowing customers to focus on their business and day-to-day activities. Implementation timing depends on the size of the business, but our managed migrations average about two to three weeks.

Cloud backup solutions: Finding a safe place for storage

The next trend showing a surge in IT spending this year involves cloud backup and storage. While backup solutions may not be the first things that come to mind when looking at your IT strategy, what you need to realize is that they could very well be the foundation to your success. Think of it this way: You can't build a great building on a weak foundation. You must have a solid foundation to house a strong infrastructure. The same is true for your storage and backup. Storage is the vital base for your cloud and data center. In fact, it truly is the foundation of your business.

Many SMBs that do not have hosted backup services or that are stuck with legacy infrastructures are looking for ways to upgrade without breaking the bank on significant hardware purchases. Cloud solutions provide easy portability and recovery of any on-premise systems or cloud-based workloads to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. The implementation is fairly simple, as well. In just two easy steps, you can maintain business continuity and availability across cloud environments. The benefit of going this route is that it does not require an additional hardware appliance, but keep in mind it does require additional resources on the VM that's running it. However, you have better control of the resources deployed when a restore is required.

Other benefits include agentless backups, deduplication and compression and inexpensive offsite backups. Tools like these can help businesses leverage the growing demand for modern data protection and equip them with the resources needed to reduce expenses, mitigate risk and fully realize the promise of virtualization.   

Investing in new infrastructure


While the first two trends discussed are tied to cloud computing and data security, the third trend is updating outdated IT infrastructures. In some cases, like when updating Office 365, updating certain infrastructure is replaced with a cloud option. Other times, there are many systems that need to continually be upgraded and updated.

And, if updating your IT infrastructure is on your business's to-do list for the new year, you're in good company. According to the 2019 State of IT report, 64% of businesses are expanding their budgets in 2019 to allow them to update their infrastructures. While they may have different reasons for needing that update, 2019 appears to be the year when "out with the old, in with the new" applies to IT infrastructures.

Aging and outdated hardware can lead to a variety of problems. It often causes multiple points of failure within a system's architecture. Such a failure can result in huge direct and indirect monetary losses. Downtime is expensive, and there is a decrease in productivity while replacements are found or fixes are made.

When hardware is aging or outdated, the parts are often difficult to find and often costly. If parts can't be located, you may need to look for a short-term "Band-Aid" that lets you continue operations. However, this could end up costing more in the long run than simply replacing the hardware entirely.

 

In 2019 and beyond, expect to see these trends gain even more traction and continue to offer solid benefits to businesses of all sizes.

How to Set Your Marketing Strategy Up for Success

Posted: 20 May 2019 10:30 AM PDT

After all, considering Pew Research's finding that 9 out of 10 American adults used the internet in 2018, a solid digital marketing strategy is critical for your brand's success.

High-quality content and relevant brand interactions are key to a successful targeted internet marketing campaign. But generating highly effective online campaigns takes more than a good hashtag. According to a recent CMI report, fewer than half of B2B marketers have a written content marketing strategy.

Don't be in that disorganized majority: Create a plan that is a living document. Writing down concrete, measurable marketing strategies makes it easier to analyze your results over time. This living document will allow you to note which parts were and weren't successful and will help you map out any changes you need to make down the road.

Editor's note: Need online marketing help for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you with free information.

 

Now that you've got a plan for documenting your strategy, here are five areas you should focus on for a successful digital marketing campaign moving forward:

1. Optimize your SEO

The importance of search engine optimization is no secret, but maintaining effective practices takes work. Google makes updates to its algorithms hundreds of times each year, and keeping your strategy up-to-date isn't exactly a cakewalk. Keeping your website optimized for search engines, especially Google, means generating unique content that's relevant to your audience and acquiring natural, relevant backlinks.

SEO can have a huge financial impact if it keeps your business on the first few spots of page one. WordStream found that 72% of customers who conducted a local online search ultimately chose to visit a store within a 5-mile radius, and Google research shows that 28% of searches for products, stores, or services nearby led to a purchase.

2. Consider paid social media marketing

Brands with customers who are heavy social media users benefit most from paid social media marketing. Utilizing sponsored posts allows your brand to reach people who might not follow your social media accounts but who are interested in products or services like yours. The audience for a post is targeted by demographic, which increases your ROI. This can work well to introduce social media users to brands around their launches.

Customers are likely to engage with brands relying on social media, too. Lyfe Marketing found that 59% of U.S. consumers think social media has improved customer service, while a study by Sprout Social revealed that 86% of consumers prefer brands with genuine personalities on social media.

3. Look into paid search opportunities

This strategy helps when you're trying to distinguish your page from others with similar content. You can pay a premium to have your site results promoted on Google, Bing and Yahoo when users search for relevant keywords or to have an ad placement appear as a sponsored link on the main search results page. And don't be afraid that people won't click on your ad if it's labeled as such, because 40% of all clicks on Google go to those ads, according to PPC Resellers.

For example, users searching "dentist in Denver" might see dozens of similar pages, but with a paid search strategy, a dentist could appear at the top of the list, receiving a higher click-through rate. With Google Ads serving as one of the internet's biggest advertisers, paid search campaigns can have a big reach.

4. Try reaping the benefits of voice search

Devices like Amazon's Alexa are forcing traditional internet marketing to change, as 40% of adult consumers use some form of voice search daily, according to Location World. Keep local SEO in mind, along with keywords common in voice searches, to help propel your brand's content to the top of a voice search results queue.

Voice searches are usually phrased as questions that fall into one of four categories: general information, personal assistant, local information and fun and entertainment. Your site's content should be able to match a question a user asks as well as a string of words someone might type. If someone in Denver breaks a crown while at dinner, he might ask Alexa to "find an emergency dentist to fix a crown." If the Denver dentist has detailed, original content on her website, she's more likely to be suggested first.

5. Prioritize conversion rate

Once you have all these customers in the proverbial door, you need them to make a purchase – and prioritizing a conversion rate optimization strategy can help do just that. First, conduct research about your audience to find out how and why they might purchase your products. Then, tailor your website and e-commerce experience to meet those needs.

A CRO strategy can be as simple as placing an image of a person smiling next to your call to action or as complex as redesigning full portions of your website. Don't underestimate the importance of marketing research, for once you conduct your research, you can identify website pain points, create a testing strategy, roll out adjustments, and evaluate their effects. Remember that your CRO strategy should be continuous, not a one-time thing.

Internet use is firmly entrenched in modern life, from shopping to social media to research, so a solid digital marketing strategy is critical. In addition to the strategies above, research influencers in your industry and keep abreast of relevant search terms and hashtags to keep your website visible. Use simple CTAs and offer actionable advice in all of your content. And take time once a month to analyze the ROI from your marketing streams.

Regularly creating high-quality content that's consistent with your brand is the most important aspect of a successful internet marketing campaign. You can't leave a campaign hanging if you run out of steam. If you're able to maintain a successful dynamic, you'll be able to gain an edge over your competition and grow your business at the same time.

Hey, Neighbor: Why You Should Be Greeting Your In-Store Customers

Posted: 20 May 2019 09:00 AM PDT

Pet Supplies Plus takes a leaf out of Mr. Rogers' book when they talk about their patrons. Instead of "customers" or "guests," they're "neighbors" – friends coming to shop for a little something for their four-legged pals. In line with being a good neighbor, the store makes it a point to make all who come through the doors feel welcome – and that starts with a greeting.

A fading focus

Many companies are decreasing staff or closing their brick-and-mortar stores altogether in favor of shifting online, doing away with people-focused roles like greeters.

Most notably, Walmart announced in February that it will be replacing its blue-vested greeters with "customer hosts," who will still greet customers but will have other tasks to perform too. Many fear that this change signals a shift away from the human element in physical stores, but Chris Rowland, CEO of Pet Supplies Plus, says there's nothing to worry about. He said the nature of customer service and retail is cyclical and that a personalized experience will always be in demand.

"Retail has always been in a constant state of change, from small businesses to regional malls to giant big-box stores, and now shifting to small local retailers again," he said. "People went from wanting local service to the ease and value of a big box. Now they're demanding all of it – convenience, price, service, social conscience."

Hello, neighbor

Pet Supplies Plus feels that they deliver on all counts. After opening in Redford, Michigan, in 1988, the store grew to include more than 430 franchised locations across the United States. All of those locations strive to offer a warm, neighborly experience to everyone (human or otherwise) who comes through the doors, starting with a greeting.  

"We make [every greeting] unique, personal, authentic and welcoming," said Rowland. "If there's a pet, obviously they need to be greeted as well."

Rowland said that the company makes it a point for their greetings to be genuine, not contrived or forced. Many modern consumers have developed a sense for false friendliness, which is something Rowland actively tries to avoid.

"Virtually every customer acknowledges that they're greeted immediately upon entering," he said. "We don't have a typical 'greeter' role, so they are often pleasantly surprised and [the interaction] feels more authentic."

The importance of a greeting

Pet Supplies Plus feels that a significant portion of their value as a company comes from their employees and how they make their neighbors feel, so they put a lot of effort into training and preparing the team to deliver stellar guest interactions.

"When every team member knows to take care of the customer, they'll want to go above and beyond," Rowland said. "Their role becomes making the shopping experience more enjoyable and positive."

Greeters and engaging staff members have been proven to increase customer satisfaction and reduce the possibility of shoplifting, and they can even help increase online sales.

Retail Dive did a survey that found more than 55% of consumers will visit a physical store before making their purchase online, which means that an effective, high-touch in-store experience will make consumers more likely to click "place order" later.

'Minus the hassle'

Rowland took the idea of an effective in-store experience and formed it into Pet Supplies Plus' motto – "minus the hassle," which means making every neighbor's experience as streamlined and easy as possible.

"It's about helping our neighbors to find better products, services and solutions for their pets," he said. "We do all the heavy lifting, so they have more time to enjoy their pet."

At the end of the day, providing an easy, positive shopping experience that values each individual customer is nothing but good business, and Pet Supplies Plus is committed to retaining the human element of interaction.

Business After #MeToo: What's Changed and What Hasn't in the Business World

Posted: 20 May 2019 09:00 AM PDT

Started by civil rights activist Tarana Burke, the #MeToo movement rocked the business world in 2018 and culminated in, according to The New York Times, 201 men getting fired and replaced. Of course, the majority were replaced by other men, not women, but at least action was taken. Unfortunately, movements are short-lived in the era of the 24-hour news cycle, and many of the men who were publicly accused of harassment are back in the workforce, while countless others were never disciplined at all.

We're taking stock of the effects of the #MeToo movement on workers everywhere, HR representatives and, of course, small businesses.

#MeToo inspiring people to speak out and organize

The most obvious positive outcome of the #MeToo movement has been the platform it's provided for people who face sexual harassment and violence. Discussing traumas, especially when speaking up can jeopardize employment, has always been a huge obstacle to resolving sexual harassment issues. The creation of a shorthand phrase (#MeToo) for such experiences has made it easier for people to share their struggles and connect with others who are in the same boat.

Activists and community organizers have mobilized around the hashtag, too, by creating new outreach organizations, taking to the streets in protest and drawing attention to existing support groups. Heal Me Too is one such organization, which provides people with resources for PTSD following sexual harassment or assault, and works with other outreach groups like RAINN, After Silence and PTSD Alliance.

Positive changes one year after #MeToo

Online movements are often criticized for being all bluster and no bite, but the effects of #MeToo appear to be going strong in real life. The Society for Human Resource Management did a follow-up survey of more than 18,000 workers and supervisors, which showed that 1 in 3 executives had changed their behavior in the workplace following #MeToo and that 72% of employees were "happy with their employer's efforts to stop sexual harassment."

Another follow-up study, based on Meltwater data and publicized by Bloomberg, charted the progress of the #MeToo campaign and posited that it had "created an opportunity for women in smaller, less-well-covered industries to speak up, find each other and effect change." The snowball effect of #MeToo publicity touched industries as varied as publishing, finance, entertainment and healthcare. While formal allegations of sexual harassment aren't new, it appears that the deluge of voices has had a real impact. According to the Bloomberg article, "For many, the past year has brought a reckoning, forcing accountability where social shame, nondisclosure agreements and sealed settlements had previously kept victims silent."

#MeToo criticism and backlash

Two steps forward and one step back tends to be the trend when it comes to civil rights issues, and #MeToo is no exception. The coverage of the #MeToo movement has been criticized extensively for being both too white and too male-dominated.

The #MeToo movement, though started by Tarana Burke, was popularized by actress Alyssa Milano and continued to be largely dominated by white actresses until press coverage began to push Burke back toward the spotlight. In a similar vein of erasure, the actual coverage of #MeToo was male-dominated as well. According to Vice, "The Women's Media Center found that during a 15-month period, 53% of sexual assault story bylines came from men." Another issue many have taken with the movement is its focus on individuals rather than overarching patterns of sexual harassment and the abuse of power.

The other, perhaps not entirely unexpected, result of the #MeToo movement has come in the form of male fear – or, to be more precise, the fear that some men in power feel now that their power is slightly less omnipotent than it was before. The New York Times covered this well by interviewing men at the World Economic Forum, many of whom were so scared of being accused of harassment, they said they would no longer be mentoring women. According to the article, "companies seeking to minimize the risk of sexual harassment or misconduct appear to be simply minimizing contact between female employees and senior male executives, effectively depriving the women of valuable mentorship and exposure."

Independent surveys confirm that this is an actual trend and not restricted to the apparently skittish attendees of the World Economic Forum. According to Lean In's survey, the number of male managers who are uncomfortable working alone with women has doubled; the number of male managers uncomfortable with mentoring women has tripled; and about half of male managers are afraid to work, mentor, or socialize with women on their team one-on-one. There have also been reports from the female side, with some professional women reporting difficulties getting their male peers to meet with them out of fear that they will be accused of sexual harassment for no reason.

HR trends in a post-#MeToo world  

For human resources professionals, the #MeToo movement has been a long time coming. Following the waves of #MeToo in 2017 and 2018, there was an uptick in reports of sexual harassment in the workplace. HR Acuity delved into the details in #MeToo in the Workplace: A Special Report, which revealed that "Fifty-three percent of businesses reported that after #MeToo began in 2017, their reported sexual harassment cases went up. Only 4% saw a decrease." HR Acuity also reported that 55% of companies surveyed were in the process of revising their policies on reporting and responding to sexual harassment, while 72% of employees "have either received new training or will receive training within the next year."

Small business reactions to the #MeToo movement

While examining broad trends regarding sexual harassment in the workplace is important, we also wanted to get feedback from real-world small business owners and HR representatives to find out their take. Here's what some of our readers had to say:

Midge Seltzer, co-founder and executive vice president of Engage PEO, said, "Engage PEO's approach to preventing harassment in the workplace has been consistent before and after the #MeToo movement, because best practices are just that – best practices to keep the workplace free from harassment. This prevention includes looking to leadership to lead the prevention efforts and help to create a zero-tolerance culture, regular training and communication to ensure awareness and understanding, strong anti-harassment policies, reliable complaint and investigation measures, and more."

Gargi Rajan, assistant general manager HR of Mercer-Mettl, told us, "[The] #MeToo movement has become a mandate, bolstering the sexual harassment policies at the workplace to a massive extent. A lot of emphasis is now placed on how hiring is done, what kind of people are brought inside the organization, and to give positions of power to people after their thorough background check and validation. This movement has pushed the use of dark personality traits inventory and tests in the spotlight to a huge level."

Joni Holderman, founder of Thrive! Resumes, said, "As a former HR exec, the biggest change I've seen is that male executives and managers are now listening to what we as HR executives have been telling them since the 1990s […] The only thing that's surprising for a lot of longtime HR execs like myself is that it took this long for many senior executives to start practicing the policies that we've been preaching to midlevel managers in most industries for 30 years."  

Resources

If you are dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace, as an employee or an HR professional, please seek out resources. If you are a victim of domestic violence or sexual abuse, reach out for help now.

Facing the Gender Gap in the Workplace

Posted: 20 May 2019 08:50 AM PDT

Despite increased publicity and discussions surrounding the inequalities women face in the workplace, there remains a tremendous amount of work to be done to close the gender gap.

According to a McKinsey study on women in the workplace, corporate America has made almost no progress improving women's representation over the past four years. The research shows that women are underrepresented at every level, and women of color are the most underrepresented group of all, lagging behind white men, men of color and white women. The study revealed that the underrepresentation of women in high-level roles isn't due to lack of education or attrition rates.

Mandy Price is the co-founder and CEO of Kanarys Inc., a platform that gathers and analyzes cultural and demographic data to help organizations build more inclusive work cultures. At Kanarys, she is witness to the inequality and lack of action that society still suffers from today. Price said that the recently stalled gender gap should serve as a wake-up call to our business leaders.

"It is disconcerting to see that even though the business community is well aware of the benefits of a diverse workforce – such as innovation, employee retention and increased financial returns – there is still a lack of progress in closing the gender gap," Price said.

Gender gap in the workplace

The McKinsey study showcases the drastic comparison between men and women in the workplace. It states that women are less likely to be hired into entry-level jobs than men, even though they currently earn more bachelor's degrees and have the same attrition rate. As employees move up the corporate ladder, the disparity increases. Only 79 women are promoted to manager, compared to every 100 men.

The lack of entry-level women hires results in fewer qualified women to promote from within. This creates a vicious cycle, which McKinsey said will continue until companies take dedicated action toward gender equality.

"Although companies have long pronounced commitments to gender diversity, it's important to remember that only active and intentional actions on the part of employers to enlist women in the workforce, at all levels, will help toward narrowing the gender gap," said Price.

2019 Equal Pay Day

Equal Pay Day, which falls on April 2 in 2019, represents how far in the year women must work in order to make the same amount of money men did in the previous year. Since women typically earn less than men, currently 80 cents on the dollar, they have to work much longer to earn the same amount of money. This wage gap is often even greater for women of color.

Equal Pay Day originated in 1966, started by the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) as an act of public awareness to demonstrate the gender wage gap between men and women. To support the movement, employees are encouraged wear red on Equal Pay Day. This color symbolizes how far women are "in the red" with their salaries.

How to create gender equality in the workplace

Legal changes aside, companies can focus on cultural and organizational changes to reduce gender inequality. It is not enough to simply hire more women, although that is a start. Businesses must focus their efforts to both close the gender gap and create truly inclusive workplaces, since, as a study published in Science Magazine points out, diversity alone doesn't create inclusive workplaces.

Organizational changes

Businesses should focus on hiring more senior-level female workers and promoting qualified women from within. McKinsey's statistics show that men currently hold 62 percent of manager positions, with women only holding 38 percent. In the C-suite, only 1 in 5 executives is a woman, while fewer than 1 in 30 is a woman of color.

According to Price, companies must become assertive about gender diversity and treat it as an integral part of their business strategies. She suggested tying supervisors' bonuses to diversity and inclusion objectives.

"It is important for companies to track, measure and hold managers accountable for diversity and inclusion efforts," Price said. "If this important business metric is not tracked, we may never see any improvement."

Everybody, not just women and minorities, benefits from transparent hiring, evaluation and promotion procedures. Companies can also include comprehensive benefits and more opportunities for better work-life balance, such as better access to child care and greater acceptance of flexible work schedules. This can allow qualified mothers to play a more active role in the corporate world.

Cultural changes

To bridge the gap, companies must create a culture where employees feel a sense of belonging and acceptance. They should focus on improving their cultures to increase inclusion and enhance employee experience and engagement. Along with creating gender equality, Price said fostering inclusivity can spur innovation, retain valuable talent and reduce attrition rates.

Women can also benefit from working with other women. According to McKinsey, 1 in 5 women said they were often the only woman, or one of the only women, in the room at work. This was twice as common (40 percent) for senior-level women and women in technical roles. Women who are "onlys" have a significantly worse experience than women who work with other women, and about 80 percent of them receive microaggressions, which are verbal and behavioral indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative prejudicial slights and insults.  

"Women who commonly encounter microaggressions are more likely to leave the workplace, encounter sexual harassment at work, and have their qualifications challenged," said Price.

Creating a work environment that is not only diverse, but also inclusive, is an integral part of reducing the gender gap. Price said that, for businesses to truly benefit from the myriad backgrounds in the global economy, they must make room for everyone in their companies and empower them to speak up. Companies must take bolder steps to create inclusive cultures so women, and all employees, feel supported at their workplace.

Political changes

Democratic candidate for President, Kamala Harris, has proposed a new plan as part of her 2020 campaign. It would require companies to obtain an "equal pay certification." It would mean companies with 100-plus employees prove that men and women are paid equally. It would need to be renewed every two years. Failure to comply would mean a fine of 1% of the earnings for every 1% of the difference between the genders. The fines would then be used to invest in universal paid family and medical leave.

"As the daughter of a working mother in a male-dominated field, I know the fight to be treated equally in the workplace has persisted for generations," Harris said in a statement. "This plan will finally put the burden of ensuring equal pay on the corporations responsible for gender pay gaps, not the employees being discriminated against. We can finally ensure women earn the wages they deserve by forcing companies to step up, holding them accountable when they don't, and committing as a nation to ending pay inequity once and for all."

How companies benefit from bridging the gender gap

An Atlassian survey about diversity and inclusion revealed that 80 percent of respondents think diversity and inclusion are important to creating a successful workplace. A diverse and inclusive workforce results in greater employee engagement, innovation, financial returns and market share. The key to this being both diverse and inclusive.

"It is time we all acknowledge that having a diverse and inclusive workforce is good for business," said Price. "The numbers simply don't lie."

Low on Funds? How to Market Your Business for Free

Posted: 20 May 2019 07:00 AM PDT

Nowadays, many bootstrap minded business owners have found ways to navigate tackling their marketing details to bring in sales with little to no money upfront. Here are four tips you can use to do the same.

Ask for referrals from your customers and clients

The best form of publicity and marketing is word of mouth. People love hearing first-hand accounts of other people's buying experiences. Consider Google and Yelp reviews. If you leave a review, they'll email you to tell you how much your review is being seen by others. You want your customers to love being a patron of yours so much that they leave honest reviews that help attract you more business.

When you are strapped for cash, the people who do love your products or services can be your walking billboards. Leverage the people you already have connections with to bring in more potential buyers. Offer incentives that entice people to be an advocate for you.

Use your social media platforms to plug your business

For so long, social media platforms were the perfect avenue for marketing small businesses. Due to "friends" and "followers," many new business owners had ready-made pools of potential customers at their fingertips. Now that these social media platforms have found ways to monetize the efforts of businesses who want to advertise, small business owners have had to start investing to get seen.

There is a workaround, however. It centers around you being intentional about every interaction you have on social media. From status updates to commenting or engaging in groups, use every opportunity you can find to let people know what you have to offer. If you run across someone asking a question that your expertise can offer a solution to, answer it.

Also, connect with others in similar industries as yours. Leverage the strength of using other people's platforms to help build your own. But be tactful. You don't want to be known as "that" person who is always selling something.

Use your own platform to provide insightful information

In the seize for mass attention, many new business owners often forsake the power of their own platforms. Your website, social media sites, or business cards can serve as a platform for persuasive conversation.

When potential customers go to your site, they need to see a balanced mixture of visual and written content. The content can be photos of your products, video testimonials, or informational blog posts. If you have a winning personality and are the face of your brand, your platform should show you off in a way that creates the know, like and trust factor immediately. 

Your social platforms should be on brand and also convey the message you want to spread about your product or service. Your focus should be to teach your audience something new and to ask for the sale. Period.

Don't forget about the offline world

Although we live in a highly digital society, there is still a whole world of business that occurs offline. As a business owner, you can't just wait for business to find you. You have to take the initiative and go find the business you need. And if you open your eyes and your mind, you'll see your target market all around you.

A great starting point is local networking events. You'll meet new faces and make connections who may be potential buyers. In addition, attend trade shows, vendor events, and any event that puts you in a space where you can connect with people and do market research.

When there is a lack of funds, creativity can soar. You have to learn how to take your future in your hands and master being in the trenches of doing business. The more you stay consistent and stick with a strategy, the better your chances will be in generating business for yourself.

 

Return to Sender: 3 Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Posted: 20 May 2019 05:00 AM PDT

 A study from Hubspot found that 50 percent of those surveyed in the United States check their email a whopping ten times per day. Overall, it is the preferred way to keep businesses and consumers in touch.

While there are a host of benefits, one of the downsides is that there are hundreds of thousands of marketers using email as a way to communicate with their customer base. Because of the constant bombardment of emails, it can be hard for consumers to keep up with the information being sent to them. A small mistake can cost you the loyalty of your audience and can negatively impact your lead generation efforts. In an effort to ensure you don't get lost in the crowded playing field, here are three email marketing mistakes to avoid: 

Not sending a welcome email

When someone signs up for your website, it's vital you send them a welcome email to thank them for subscribing. This so important because welcome emails have an average open rate of 91 percent and a click-through rate of 27 percent. In other words, if you're not using a welcome email in your marketing campaign, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to potentially skyrocket your conversion rate.

Every good welcome email has three core components:

  • Thank the subscriber for signing up

  • Tell the subscriber a little more about your business

  • Let them know what to expect from joining your email list

That's all there is to it. Forgetting to send a welcome email can seem insignificant, but the impact could ripple down and negatively impact your business.

Editor's note: Looking for the right email marketing service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

 

Starting too late

There is a stigma that you must have a fully featured website and product to begin asking for email addresses for your marketing campaign. It's been proven time and time again that this is objectively false.

If you're creating a product or service that provides value to your customer, you can start asking people to sign up as early as your first "coming soon" page posts while the website is still in development. In many cases, someone interested in what you're offering, or curious about the final design of the site, will subscribe early.

You can offer additional perks such as free content, e-books, newsletters, and more to keep your initial audience engaged while finishing your website. Many businesses make the mistake of waiting until it's too late to start their email marketing push. Don't let this happen to you.

Not following through on promises

Another big issue that people make when designing their email campaign is that they do not follow through on their initial promise to the customer. The guarantee may have occurred during the welcome email, during a live chat, or even expectations that you set for them when you initially asked them to sign up on your website.

When we are talking about expectations, more often than not we are talking about two things: frequency and quality. For example, if you promise to send your subscribers one helpful guide a week to help them grow their business, you should follow through on that frequency. If you promise once a week, but end up sending all the emails in your drip campaign within a week, plus advertising, they are going to unsubscribe quickly.

The goal is to sit down and think about what you want to deliver to your email subscribers and follow through on your plan.

There are plenty of different strategies you can use when you're developing your first email marketing campaign. It's crucial that you develop a plan before you even think about asking visitors to sign up for your email list.

As you're working on your system, think about how you would feel if you were the subscriber. What would you like to receive if you were a customer? How would you like to be treated? What is the value proposition? All of these questions will help you write up a killer email copy and campaign that keeps customers happy for years to come.

How to Choose the Best Live Chat Software Solution

Posted: 20 May 2019 04:51 AM PDT

Adding chat software to your website creates a new communication channel for you to assist customers. Many chat software companies offer this technology to both small and large businesses, and have multiple plans to choose from, each with more sophisticated features and reporting capabilities than the last.  

If your website visitors are primarily potential customers searching for information about your products, consider chat software with co-browsing tools so your employees can guide your customers directly to the products they're looking for. If your customers come to your site for complex technical assistance, chat software that allows them to grant your agents remote desktop access can make it easier and faster to fix problems. Or, if they use your website to consult your business on sensitive matters, such as health, legal or financial issues, look for software that has robust security protocols and allows your customer to switch from text chat to audio or video chat.  

Whether you need a basic or advanced solution, we want to help you choose the best live chat software for your business. Read more below about what to consider when making your purchasing decision, along with pricing information and tips, plus our advice for additional features you should look for as you evaluate chat software.

What Is Live Chat Software?

Live chat software enables businesses to have chatbots on their website. This means companies can provide chat support and help website visitors find the information they're seeking. For example, if a visitor enters the website for an online clothing retailer, the online chat software can pop up with a message asking if the visitor needs help. The customer can respond to either an automated chatbot or an employee managing the live chat conversations and ask questions or make comments. The chatbot or representative is then able to respond in real time to the requests of the customer.

Companies across the globe utilize this technology to better serve customers in a timely manner. Live chat solutions are often automated, allowing businesses to serve customer needs without constantly monitoring the chat feature during the workday. This can save your employees time while also appeasing website visitors.

Why Is Live Chat Software Important?

Live chat software is important because businesses want to cater to customer needs quickly. It can take hours for customer support reps or social media managers to get back to customers through email or social media messages, but live chat solutions provide support in just minutes and in a more conversational way. Reducing your response time to customer concerns or questions can increase your conversion rate. Customers looking to purchase your products may look elsewhere if their email isn't replied to promptly, while other customers may quickly make purchases on your website if they receive a reply from a chatbot within minutes of asking a question.

Businesses invest in live chat solutions and chat support to boost customer satisfaction. Businesses, especially smaller organizations, thrive on creating positive customer experiences. Using a live chat solution can help improve the online experience for your customers by adding a feature that responds in real time. 

State of the Industry

Live chat software makes it easy for businesses of all sizes to provide fast, high-quality customer service. Although some customers still prefer to call a company when they need customer service, live online chat is becoming more popular. Companies with a target audience of millennials (and those who are younger) will find that these customers prefer live chat solutions to calling customer service.

Customers who use live chat are also happier with their experience than customers who call, email or connect with company representatives on social media. A 2015 report by Zendesk relayed that 92% of live chat customers were satisfied with the service they received compared to 88% of customers who called, 85% of customers who emailed and 84 percent of customers who contacted the company via Facebook. These numbers hold up well today, although more website visitors today expect companies to offer live chat solutions. While there were some estimates three to five years ago that overhyped the impending growth of the live chat software industry, it's still a growing industry that offers useful solutions to small businesses. 

In addition to facilitating online communication with your customers, many chat solutions give you valuable insight into your website visitors and their behavior, which can help you market your products and services more effectively or better tailor your business's offerings to your customer base. Most chat software includes the following features:

  • Real-time visitor monitoring. You can see which pages your website visitors access and how long they spend on them. This information can be used with other features, such as routing directs chat requests to agents in departments corresponding to the page the visitor is on when they initiate chat, like sales or tech support.
  • Visitor tracking. Chat software shows where your website visitors are coming from, and which search engines and terms they used to find you. You can also see whether visitors are new to your site or returning guests. This information gives you a better understanding of who your customers are and what they're looking for on your website.

Depending on the industry your business is in and how you intend to use chat software, these are other features to look for:

  • Strong security protocols. If your business is related to healthcare, look for chat software that has HIPAA-compliant security. If your agents accept credit card information, you need financial-grade security to keep your business compliant with PCI data security standards.
  • Mobile app. Are businesses able to monitor the chat program through a mobile app? This might be beneficial if a business ever wants to monitor the live chat feed away from the office. Some companies offer better mobile apps than others. If a mobile app matters to you, ask sales reps to explain the app in detail during your purchasing process.
  • Integrations with the other business programs you use. Many chat solutions allow you to connect the software to Google Analytics, as well as your e-commerce platform, email marketing service and CRM. 

Depending on the size of your business, you may opt for something like a live chat plugin, which doesn't require a monthly subscription and might be an ideal option for smaller businesses. If you're looking for a cheap alternative to a live chat software solution to appease your website's visitors, a chat plugin might be the way to go.

Pricing

Although some chat software companies require you to call or fill out an online form to receive a price quote, most post their pricing on their websites and charge a monthly subscription fee based on how many people will use the program. On average, a single license on a basic plan costs $20 to $40 per month. High tiers are much more expensive – we saw costs up to $150 per user, per month. A few companies offer a basic free plan, but most don't.  

Additional fees for setup and installation are rare, though some companies charge for training and customer support. Besides providing different service tiers, some offer additional services for an extra cost. For example, some charge extra for audio and visual chat capabilities, email or ticket customer support, or a chatbot. In addition to chat software, one of the companies we evaluated offers the option of managed chat service, meaning it supplies the chat agents. This type of service is much more expensive, costing $400 per month.

Negotiation Tips

Even though pricing is straightforward for most chat solutions, it's still important to shop around to make sure you're getting a good value. You need to know how many employees will use the software so you can get an accurate quote, and you need to determine which features are must-haves and which ones would be nice to have if the price is right.  

Once you've narrowed your options to your top two or three picks, take each application for a test drive. Every company we looked at offers a free trial, usually 14 days, though some are 30 days. Often, companies provide their highest-tier service for these trials, allowing you to try out advanced features and see which ones you'd actually use, something that can be helpful as you determine which software at which tier is the best fit for your business.  

Most chat software companies don't require you to sign a lengthy contract, instead of providing their services on a month-to-month basis. However, if you're willing to pay in advance annually, you can usually get a price break. Discounts of 10-15% are common, though the best discounts are equal to two months of subscription fees. If you're confident that you'll be happy with the chat software, this can be a good deal.  

If your business is a nonprofit, ask the company if special pricing is available. You also want to call the company for a quote if you need a large number of licenses, as a sales rep will be able to tell you if the company offers volume-based discounts or runs any promotions that may help you get better rates or additional services.

Enterprise Chat Software: What To Look for

Having customers on hold for long periods or having them talk with an agent who cannot answer their questions is a recipe for business disaster. Such scenarios produce customers who never buy from your company again.

Chat software allows customers to use familiar text messaging and gives them prompt, well-informed help. Not only can your agents answer customer questions in a more modern, timely and personal way, they interface with several customers simultaneously. This is a more productive business model than one-on-one phone calls or emails. It also provides your business with a variety of tools to mine and analyze the derived data.

Enterprise chat services give you the tools you need to build your business, which includes fostering loyalty that turns visitors into lifelong customers.

We used the following criteria in our live chat software review to rank these benefits and services.

Host Environment

In our enterprise chat comparisons, we looked for software that integrated with the applications your business already uses. Customer relationship management (CRM) tools were at the top of our list with integration to social media sites not far behind.

We also checked whether you could route your chats to the appropriate expert or department, and if you could administer your live chat application remotely. We looked at whether the enterprise chat software contained a customizable application interface (API) that could allow your IT department to connect to less popular or internally built applications.

And with the rising popularity of tablets and smartphones, we noted whether mobile platforms are enabled for such devices.

Operator and Customer Chat

The best enterprise chat software lets you see the websites your customers come from, the browsers they use, their geographical locations, their past purchases, their chat histories and other tracking metrics.

Hiring operators that speak languages other than English can also be important, so we also recommend noting if the chat software contains real-time language translation. If your enterprise operates in other countries, our comparisons tell you if the enterprise chat software can be wholly implemented in a different language. And while audio chat is not a time-saver, if you need it occasionally, we also let you know if it's available.

Enterprise Security

Larger enterprises are always concerned with the security of their information. Make special note of considerations like secure connections and the ability to block IP addresses that are spamming or being inappropriate with operators. You can also research to find out which companies have support departments that are available 24 hours a day.

Enterprise Reports

One of the most significant metrics an e-commerce site needs is a chat-to-sales conversion report, which allows you to see if a chat was instrumental in helping a customer complete a shopping cart transaction.

Other useful reports include general customer satisfaction with the chat experience, how individual operators are rated, how many chat opportunities are missed and the needs of the staffing department based on previous chat history.

Live Chat Software: What To Look for, What We Found

To provide a fair comparison, evaluate the basic package from each software solutions. These packages include basic live chat services that are best for small and medium businesses. Finding a solid customer service option is an important consideration that can be easily overlooked.

Administrator Toolset

The tools that you have access to as an agent or account administrator make a big difference in how you interact with your customers, influence them and how you are able to use the data collected by the software to improve your overall business, including your customer service.

Look for a solid, customizable platform. Features to look for include customizable chat windows and buttons, which allow you to choose the look and feel of the chat window that appears on your website. Check into offline messaging options. Many applications let customers fill out a form and submit an email when your operators are not online, assuming you aren't using chatbots. And with the rising popularity of tablets and smartphones, consider whether or not the live chat is mobile-enabled.

One standout feature we found in the administrator toolset is IP address blocking. This feature allows you to block IP addresses from chat when someone is trolling your site and using chat to harass your agents. This prevents your employees from joining an unnecessary chat session on numerous occasions.

Another great feature is agent monitoring, which allows you to see how your agents are handling conversations without peering over their shoulders. This information is valuable for training and creating precise strategies.

Customer Chat

Another important consideration when evaluating live chat support solutions is the services available to the customer. When you chat with customers, you need to be able to do more than just instant message back and forth. Many chat service providers allow you to share documents with customers. The best software offers co-web browsing, a feature that allows an operator to take a customer directly to a web page rather than send a link.

One other unique tool the best live chat services have provides translation services so your communications are not limited by language barriers. Some providers don't offer this, and that's worth noting if you do business (or expect to) with customers who speak different languages.

Integrations

With the right tools, you can see the websites your customers come from. Many customer relationship management (CRM) applications can take the data you gather from your live chat and use it to synchronize sales and marketing with customer service. You can see the browsers they use, their geographical locations, their past purchases and chat histories, and much more. This data is invaluable to your marketing department and helps you build more targeted and effective campaigns.

Integrations help you get the most out of your chat service by making it fit with the rest of your workflow. The best live chat software options integrate with Google Analytics. Google Analytics takes your live chat data and helps you use it for your marketing and keyword tracking campaigns. Another popular integration for helpdesk includes Salesforce, this integration allows you to track leads and integrate chat data with your sales data.

Some services provide Salesforce integration for free, while others at least keep the price to a minimum.

Help and Support

The last area we carefully evaluated in our research was help and support options available to you with each software. While you are providing help and support for your customer base, it is important that you have the support you need to ensure the software is working how you need it to.

Each software application on our lineup offers live chat and phone support – the best companies provide this support 24/7, so you know you can reach something whenever there are issues.

Live Chat Support Software: Our Recommendations

As a customer, there is nothing more frustrating than bad support. Providing inconsistent or poor support is one of the quickest ways to lose customers. Live chat software is the fastest way to connect with your customer base and those visiting your site.

In our research and evaluations, LiveHelpNow, Zopim and Live Chat stood out from the competition for their impressive administrator toolkits and customer chat options.

Other notable companies on our lineup Velaro for its comprehensive help center, which is complete with downloadable PDFs and a regularly updated blog. Another noteworthy software is WhosOn, which stands out for its monitoring and training capabilities.

The best live chat software enables your company and your customer to text in real time by computer, smartphone and tablet. Your staff can answer questions, suggest appropriate purchases and build stronger brand loyalty. Your company can also retrieve statistical data that benefits your corporate marketing strategies. Few endeavors provide both a vastly improved customer experience and a business data goldmine. Live chat software does both.

Additional reporting by Bennett Conlin.

Top live chat services in 2019

Here's a list of the live chat services available to businesses.

Acquire - Acquire is a live chat software program with a user-friendly interface. The company also includes live analytics for your business to get a better idea of how the software functions. https://acquire.io

Boldchat - BoldChat offers innovative, powerful and exceptionally secure enterprise chat software that can be easily customized. https://www.boldchat.com

Casengo - Casengo live chat software is specifically designed for small businesses and is a good choice for customer service. https://www.casengo.com/

Chaport Live Chat - Chaport live chat features standard features of live chat software as well as a sleek modern design. https://www.chaport.com/

Livechat - LiveChat's robust chat and help desk software solution offers corporate-level chat capabilities, customer monitoring and business-building data analytics. It also provides easy integration to other applications like CRM and e-commerce software. https://www.livechatinc.com/

ClickAndChat - ClickAndChat offers easy implementation and integration in a clean and simple live chat interface designed to better serve website visitors. http://www.clickandchat.com

Comm100 - Comm100's impressive reliability and wealth of customizable features offer you and your customers exceptional live chat services. https://www.comm100.com/livechat/

LiveHelpNow - LiveHelpNow gives your business the tools and options you need. As fully customizable live chat support software, it takes your business to the next level. https://www.livehelpnow.net/

Live Guide – Netop's Live Guide is easy to implement and focuses on making the enterprise chat as efficient and simple as possible. https://liveguidechat.com

LivePerson - LivePerson offers convenient, personalized live chat while building a database of valuable business and marketing information. https://www.liveperson.com/

Moxie - Moxie offers unique, timer-based software that helps operators respond more efficiently when chatting with multiple customers. https://www.gomoxie.com/live-chat  

SnapEngage - SnapEngage offers robust functionality at an affordable price by leveraging the expertise of integrated applications. https://snapengage.com/

Provide Support - Provide Support is a website chat and monitoring solution for online support enabling proactive chat invitation, push pages, call transfer, canned answers, chat session logs, encrypted chats, visitor's geolocation, referrer, 100+ languages spell check and more. https://www.providesupport.com/

LiveAgent - A live chat software application that offers several ticketing options, a unique featured compared to competing live chat solutions. https://www.ladesk.com/

Velaro - Velaro offers easy-to-implement chat software packed with features designed to grow stronger enterprise-level businesses. https://velaro.com  

WebsiteAlive - Website Alive offers customers convenient and personalized live chat while providing companies with vital business information. https://websitealive.com/

WhosOn - WhosOn was designed by Parker Software to help you chat with your customers and track valuable statistics. https://whoson.com/

Zoho Desk - Zoho desk is a web-based helpdesk software application with a variety of features like customization and integration with Google Analytics. The company offers three pricing plans: free, professional and enterprise. It's extremely easy to compare the different plans and decide which option is best for you by using Zoho's website. Zoho Desk is one of the few companies offering a free plan. https://www.zoho.com/desk/

Zopim - Zopim is a top live chat software program that delivers its application with a modern look and feel. See what makes this intuitive service a joy for its customers. https://www.zopim.com/
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