Business.com

Business.com

Talking Shop: Business.com CEO Talks Change and Rebranding Focus

Posted: 23 Oct 2019 02:00 PM PDT

One year removed from becoming its own company, business.com is unveiling one of its largest undertakings: a complete rebrand of its flagship website.

Launched today, business.com was redesigned for entrepreneurs and the owners of small and medium-size businesses who want to start, run or grow their business. The website features an active community of 55,000 professionals, and provides the tools, information and services small businesses need, including reviews of products and services, expert insights and original content.

The business.com platform also serves as a digital marketplace where small business owners can directly connect with vendors of the products and services they are looking for. The marketplace generates upward of 100,000 qualified sales and marketing leads each month for those selling into the small business segment.

From transitioning into its own company to its rebranding efforts, business.com has undergone a lot of changes in the last year.

In September 2018, business.com separated from its former parent organization, Purch, which sold its consumer portfolio of sites to U.K.-based Future Publishing. As a newly independent company, business.com has focused exclusively on providing small business owners with the critical advice and resources they need to succeed.

Doug Llewellyn

Leading business.com through this period of change is Doug Llewellyn, the company's CEO. Llewellyn is no stranger to the digital media industry, having worked in the field for more than two decades. Before taking over the reins of business.com, Llewellyn served as president and chief operating officer at Purch, and vice president of corporate and business development and digital media sales for the small business community platform Manta Media. Prior to that, he was with CBS Interactive/CNET Networks for 12 years.

Since taking over as CEO of business.com, Llewellyn has led the company's rebranding efforts. We recently spoke with Llewellyn about those efforts, as well as what distinguishes business.com from other publications in the crowded digital media industry, and what excites him about the company's future.

The business.com brands

Q: Business.com is more than just one website. Business News Daily and BuyerZone are part of the business.com brand. How do these three websites differ from one another, and how do they complement each other?

A: First and foremost, we want our sites to complement each other. Because of that, there are some overlapping aspects. However, as we continue to evolve business.com as our leading brand, the other sister brands will follow that evolution while being distinguishable in their own ways.

Business News Daily focuses on the small business marketplace, providing information for anyone looking to, what I would call, explore their entrepreneurial interests. This could encompass people who work in corporate America but have the underlying desire to one day leave their corporate job and start their own venture.

Business News Daily certainly provides content, information, and resources for people who are already in small business, but more so at the earlier stages, like business plan writing, where there are issues and concerns that are significant hurdles to clear in the startup stage.

BuyerZone is focused on small business purchasing decisions so business owners make the right decision the first time. This includes extensive buying guides centered on questions like "What product should I buy and how should I buy it?" We have similar content between Business News Daily and business.com, because there's a natural flow between different kinds of articles and the products and services that are available in the marketplace. BuyerZone, though, is much more about decision enablement. With BuyerZone, we utilize our quote technology services, plus other tools that connect buyers and sellers.

Q: Business.com just unveiled new branding, including a new website design and feel, as well as a new logo. Why was it important to give the brand a refresh in terms of style?

A: It was two things. One, I felt like we wanted a new front door to our website that, at a pragmatic level, provided greater clarity to visitors about what our value propositions are: our expert community, business advice through articles and what I would call decision enablement content in the form of our product reviews. You could get to all of these elements on our old homepage, but you couldn't necessarily do it easily. I think this new design accomplishes that.

In the process of redesigning the business.com homepage, we modified the look and feel of the brand as a whole. When I think about the future growth of business.com, I look at the "little c" community, meaning the expert Q&A section, as well as the "big C" community, which I think of as everyone who's involved in the marketplace. The new logo, which comprises a chat box, is intended to represent that community interaction among small business owners, vendors and everyone in the marketplace.

Q: There are a lot of online publications serving business audiences. What makes business.com different?

A: It's that combination of peer-led advice, and strong roots in professional journalism and expert advice that differentiates business.com from other online business publications. That's not to say that peers can't be experts from a small business perspective, but that's more experiential advice versus what I would call having an established rubric about what attributes are important for, say, an accounting system, point-of-sale system or other types of technologies that small businesses use. Business.com is a comprehensive resource for small business owners that provides expert knowledge of products and services complemented by experiential advice that entrepreneurs and small business owners need.

Further, we cater to what I call "service journalism" more than "headline journalism," which is what some of the other outlets are serving business audiences.

Q: A key component of the business.com content is reviews of business-related products and services. Why is providing this type of advice important, and how do you remain transparent about your independent reviews process? 

A: In terms of remaining transparent, I think it's a question that everybody, even Consumer Reports, gets. If you're reviewing products, how can you remain independent if you're getting paid to review them? My answer is if we lose that credibility and independence, we won't have an audience, because they won't trust us. Trust is a big tenet of what we have built at business.com and Business News Daily over the years.

Whether you're Wirecutter, CNET, Inc., business.com or any of the other publications, trust is important if you're an independent review site. We have protocols and operations that allow us to maintain that separation. We also have a culture where we don't need to test those boundaries. It's never been an issue for us. The fact that we have millions of people coming to our sites every month is a testament that we're doing it right and people trust us.

As to why we think reviews are important, frankly, most small business owners are really good at their craft – meaning they're good at accounting, being a doctor, being a roofer, baking cupcakes, being a mechanic or being a florist. They need help, though, with running their business. Further, as their business grows, they need tools and services and different types of technology to run the business well. They need a knowledgeable, efficient resource to turn to so they can cut through the clutter and determine what the best service or software is for them. I think offering reviews will always be important.

Q: Business.com offers a community where members can share advice and contribute expert articles. What is the value in people joining the community, and how do you envision the community growing?

A: Being able to get what I would call grassroots experiential advice from fellow business owners, in conjunction with the expert advice our staff members give, is critically important.

Let's say I own a coffee shop in Waltham, Massachusetts, and I'm having trouble figuring out how to get the morning shift to show up on time before commuters walk in the door. That is an issue a lot of coffee shops likely have. In the business.com community, I can ask that question and someone who might own a coffee shop in Chicago, Illinois, or Denver, Colorado, may respond with, "Hey, I had that problem, too. I incentivized my morning shift by doing X, Y, Z." Compare that advice to the counsel you might get from a business expert.

The real-world issues that emerge from our Q&A platform are critically important for business owners as they seek advice.

Q: What are the biggest changes you have seen in the digital media industry over the past two decades, and how is business.com addressing them?

A: The biggest thing is it's super easy to be in digital media. Anybody can have a WordPress blog and be up and running quickly. Some of the challenges are how do you grow at scale? How do you remain trustworthy? There are several brands out there that don't have a high utility value; they're more infotainment. There are services out there that don't have much of a brand, and you're not sure if they're trustworthy, but you can tell they're probably making a lot of money.

What we're trying to build at business.com is that authentic, trusted experience that serves the needs of small business owners with a business model underneath that foundation that helps us invest in how we can help all sides of the marketplace.

The future of business.com

Q: What's next for business.com? Where do you see the company going?

A: We have a lot of growth potential in the community side of the site. I believe we'll see a lot more organic interaction between our professional journalists and experts on staff and our community. There's a lot more room for the community to grow and be very valuable for people.

It's unclear how much more content expansion we'll do. We will always cover important, new categories, but we're at 100-plus categories now. Are we going to reach 300 categories? Probably not. But we'll probably reach 150 over time.

Q: What excites you the most about business.com and its future?

A: We're only at the tip of the iceberg. Let's not forget small businesses aren't solely the property of the United States of America. There are plenty of markets overseas where we can be incredibly valuable as well. I think our brand can go global.

We don't have any plans in the next 12 or 18 months to be in international markets; we're building something that should be valuable not only to small business owners in the U.S., but certainly across the world.

Q: How does your company's culture translate into what business.com does for small business owners? How is that culture evolving?

A: I think we need to be nimble and adaptable. Small business owners figure that out probably five times a day. We've got a bigger operation, but we're still small – less than 100 people. For a digital media company, we are certainly not a big enterprise.

As we see the marketplace changing, our customers' needs changing and the needs of small business owners changing, we can't just say, "Oh, we have a plan, and we're going to stick to that plan." Instead, we have to say, "OK, how does our plan need to evolve?" so we don't get yo-yoed back and forth into changing plans every week.

We need to constantly ask ourselves, "How do we serve our customers on an ongoing basis?" I like to think that we're scrappy and will adapt and continue to help small businesses adapt to the coming changes – technological, economic, governmental and otherwise.

How Can Businesses Thrive in the Age of Digital Demand?

Posted: 23 Oct 2019 09:00 AM PDT

Traditional brick-and-mortar retail is having a turbulent ride in the digital age. Last year, several notable businesses felt the pinch – with brands like Sears and Toys R Us closing some or all of their doors nationwide. Many other companies are reducing their physical footprints in major metro areas.

The effect of online shopping on traditional retail is undeniable. In fact, Forrester Research estimates that digital shopping influences 53% of purchase decisions. The online experience – where information is accessible, ratings are ubiquitous and price-shopping is simple – is shaping customer expectations.

This movement isn't unique to retail, either. The real estate industry has also been affected by the digital wave over the past decade. The National Association of Realtors reports that half of homebuyers find the home they eventually purchase online. However, when Sotheby's International Realty commissioned research by Forrester, we found that 94% of consumers still use agents to complete their purchase.

The agent remains the center of the transaction and a trusted resource that technology can't replace, but the way customers are finding their way to that service is changing. Concurrently, many businesses are realizing that they can make more out of the spaces they have, even when the economy requires them to reduce their physical footprints.

The data points in two directions. Brick-and-mortar will continue to provide an important customer connection point for high-touch, high-service businesses. At the same time, digital shopping trends will demand that brick-and-mortar businesses integrate heightened digital and personalized experiences. The key to business success lies in both elevating the digital experience and enhancing the personal touch.

Anticipating consumers' digital needs

As businesses roll out new technologies to better connect with customers on a digital level, they shouldn't lose focus on what matters most: their customers. Innovative technologies will be useless if they don't fulfill the true needs and desires of customers. The goal should be to enhance the customer experience, not replace it.

When it comes to high-touch, high-service businesses, people still value relationships. You'll certainly find brokerages that are moving away from brick-and-mortar locations, but physical spaces still deliver significant value. Clients still want to meet the salespeople they'll be working with on one of the biggest purchase decisions of their lives.

We know that technology can still be part of that experience. Apps play an important role in establishing customer connections – especially with the emerging affluent consumer – but they can't provide that human touch. Therefore, instead of sticking to the big showroom model that can't compete with the ease of scrolling, we build our physical spaces around interactive technology that can complement face-to-face encounters and stellar service.

Avoiding trendiness doesn't mean ignoring trends. We know that many of our customers are coming to us first through digital channels, and it would be foolish to ignore their experiences. We watch these trends and stay digitally active by building intuitive platforms through which our agents can connect with our clients.

The best of both worlds

There are plenty of companies outside of real estate that are incorporating digital solutions in a way that puts people first. These trailblazers can serve as inspiration for companies looking to expand their digital offerings while supporting their physical locations.

Just look at the Nike House of Innovation, which enhances the customer experience through interactive tools. Shoppers at this flagship store can use their phones to "scan to try." By scanning a QR code, customers can reserve selected styles and sizes that will await their pickup in a designated location or changing room. If customers decide they want to buy the products, they can skip the checkout line altogether by completing the purchase from their phone.

Taking these ideas one step further, brands like Neiman Marcus leverage augmented reality to offer virtual changing rooms. The smart mirror-equipped rooms enable customers to see multiple styles or colors of an outfit – from every angle – without trying on more than one set of clothes.

In both cases, brands are combining the best of the online and physical shopping worlds to enrich the customer experience. What does your brand do well, and how can you remove customer pain points through a digital solution? Making the most of digital connection points can earn you more rewarding in-person interactions.

Finding your synergy

Businesses in real estate, retail, and beyond are finding ways to adapt and thrive by combining brick-and-mortar with digital. And while it may feel like the next digital disruption is right around the corner, your company can prepare by following these four guidelines.

1. Challenge everything so you don't get left behind.

What are your assumptions about your brand, your customers, or your business model? Whatever they are, question them.

For instance, M.M.LaFleur, a stylish clothing brand, shunned the traditional department store model for an inventory-free showroom. Customers visit with stylists, try on sample garments, and eventually order selections, which will be shipped directly to them. I'm not saying you need to create a showroom brand. But this kind of out-of-the-box thinking will open the creative floodgates for your company.

Pay close attention to the trends adopted by friends and family members. If you see that they're starting to shop at a certain store, read on a new platform or use a new piece of technology, ask yourself whether these things could be incorporated into your business in some way.

This is easy for me to remember when I observe my 19-year-old son's digital world. It's primarily visual. He and his peers rely on images, video and even emojis much more than text when they communicate. The customers of tomorrow will exchange information in ways that are totally unique to them. Businesses need to be aware of how their customers are choosing to engage with branded content in order to remain relevant and trusted.

When Google approached us about creating an AR app, we jumped in, knowing it would provide enormous value to our customers and agents. We laid the groundwork in requiring high-resolution photography from agents so they could use this tool in real-time. Virtual staging enables an agent to stand in a home and help buyers imagine how they could make that home their own.

Nothing is too sacred to challenge. In any area of your company, especially those related to your physical spaces, ask yourself: "What would happen if I approached this differently?"

2. Think critically because your customers will.

One wonderful aspect of the digital wave is that it sets you free from business traditions. Gone are the days when you had to have a brick-and-mortar presence simply because you were supposed to. (Conversely, you don't have to avoid it simply because everyone else is trending toward digital.)

Think critically about the design of your space. If you're going to have a physical location, what should the guest experience be? What kind of aesthetic and layout will facilitate that experience? What does an office provide that the digital space cannot?

In real estate, I've seen great examples of fresh, modern concepts that feel relevant to today's clients. Whether offices incorporate wine and coffee bars or other innovative aspects, these concepts serve clients' needs and are far from traditional. Apply the same fresh thinking to your own brick-and-mortar space.

3. Hire well.

Good people aren't a passing trend, and when it comes to adopting a people-centric mindset, your employees should come first. They're the ones who will be interacting most often with your customers. It's vital that you have the right people in place.

Be thorough in vetting potential hires. Take the extra time needed to find the best fits. And once you have them, let them do what you hired them to do: think creatively and continue shaping the customer experience – digital or physical. Investigate their ability to do just that during your interview process.

I like to start interviews with a simple request: "Tell me your story." It's a prompt that allows interviewees to choose how they'll respond. You can learn a lot about people from how they choose to tell their stories. Do they point only to the lines on their resume, or do they explain their motivations, failures and the interesting twists in their careers?

If you can see that they've been willing to take risks and make changes for the better, they're likely to be able to take initiative and improve these integrated customer experiences.

4. Be authentic.

Most consumers can recognize inauthenticity a mile away. They want to do business with people and brands that know who they are and stay true to their heritage and strengths. When you chase digital trends in the name of relevancy, your customers will feel it – it will come across as awkward and insincere.

Before you consider your new space or digital strategy, think about your brand identity, your customers and your audience. Build your online and physical spaces around that. If a piece of technology doesn't fit, it's better to skip it, even if it means taking a more traditional approach.

Bleak predictions for brick-and-mortar businesses are constantly cropping up. But forward-thinking brands will find ways to forge new paths forward, ones that incorporate the best of digital and physical spaces. The customer experiences of the future will benefit from a balanced blend.

4 Growth Tactics for B2B Businesses

Posted: 23 Oct 2019 08:00 AM PDT

As a B2B marketer, I know there's no time for the waiting game when it comes to growth. Your competitors are constantly planning and implementing new growth strategies. You have to stay on top of the trends, too. 

I have first-hand experience deploying B2B lead generation at a number of venture-backed startups in San Francisco. Most recently, I grew a B2B SaaS startup from $20,000 to $300,000 in monthly recurring revenue in 12 months – entirely off of inbound marketing lead generation. 

I was able to achieve this success by utilizing the four lead generation strategies listed below.

1. Create and share content

The cornerstone of any online growth strategy is content. You're going to need some form of content if you want B2B customers, so it makes sense to double-down on this part from the offset. However, generating copy just for the sake of publishing something won't cut it. 

Leverage your various pieces of content (including videos, podcasts and graphics) by marketing them beyond your own website through guest posts and social media content creation. LinkedIn is especially useful for B2B growth, so make sure you are posting valuable content there. 

In general, tailor your content strategy to your brand and business goals. To give you an idea of where to start, here are the three main areas to focus on:

  • High-quality blog posts. By creating exceptional, SEO-friendly, value-driven content, you'll bring in more visitors to your site.
  • Content marketing for lead generation. Create and share content that isn't necessarily self-promotional, but stimulates an interest in your products and services.
  • Compelling sales copy. Develop targeted paid ad campaigns, remarketing banners and landing pages that encourage users to take action.

Entice users to your site with great content and promise to solve one of their problems. Whether you're leveraging SEO, paid ads or affiliates, your B2B customers have pain points you can solve. Offer visitors the solution to their problems in the form of a how-to guide, a checklist or a template in exchange for their names and email addresses. Also, consider utilizing webinar software to host an educational workshop.

From there, enter them into an email series that can deliver the free content. The email series serves to contribute to the number of touchpoints, add other calls to action and drive sales.

For best results, make sure your lead capture forms are prominent and easy to fill out, use exit-intent pop-ups like Hello Bar, and always ask your audience to take a specific action on your blog posts and pages. 

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

 

2. Build trust and resonate with your customer

B2B growth marketing has shifted toward a more personalized approach over the last few years. Get into your customer's frame of mind to better serve them. They want to feel like you really understand their problems – and that you offer a sound solution. 

Build trust with social proof

B2B customers are skeptical of what they find online. Unfortunately, the internet has become a place where untrustworthy folk take advantage of unsuspecting business people. Potential clients are more likely to convert when they have proof you can deliver the goods. 

Social proof is an effective way to grow a business in any industry. Demonstrate social proof by:

  • Showing social likes and shares metrics 
  • Having a testimonial page 
  • Using testimonials from influencers in your industry 
  • Writing up case studies showing positive results 
  • Sharing media coverage and exposure
  • Adding live chat to your site

You might have to create an incentive (such as a discount on your services or a gift card to a popular store) to get the first few testimonials from your customers, but it's going to be worth it in the long-term. Always think about what you can do to demonstrate that you have a valid business.

Segment your audience

Where is your customer in the buying process? Serving up sales pages and ads when a customer is just looking for some information can increase your bounce rate and there's a chance you might lose them forever. 

Whether you have a large email list or you're planning on doing some outreach, one template or sales page isn't going to work for every customer on your journey to B2B growth.

Start by segmenting your audience into cold and warm leads. Then you can funnel them into the appropriate channels depending on if they need to know how and why you can help them or how they can do business with you.

Most email marketing software allows you to segment your audience by preference, interests and roles. This way, you can personalize every email you send to hit on specific pain points and areas of interest.

Small touches like using a person's first name, mentioning something you've researched about the business and offering some value in your outreach will go a long way, too.

Optimize, test and calibrate

Use landing page software to optimize your landing pages for one specific audience or call to action. This may translate into using more sales terms instead of long blocks of informative copy. Remember, this is for B2B growth. You don't need to explain the fine details of a business process that your reader probably already understands. Keep it short and sweet. 

Make the page's purpose clear and test its conversion rates. For one, do you know how many clicks it takes for your potential customer to go from the landing page to a "Thank you for signing up" page? The few actions a person must take to complete your goal, the more likely they are to convert later. 

Use tools such as Google Optimizer or Instapage to run tests and improve the performance of your campaigns. 

3. Get back to basics with your marketing mix

Just because a method is old doesn't make it any less effective. Classic B2B growth tactics still work when you use them right. Target specific potential client groups and use direct mail in unison with display ads and emails. 

After they see your personalized display ads and emails, send your B2B targets pieces of direct mail that include marketing materials such as gift cards, notepads, pens or cool gadgets. 

This method of account-based marketing can help you acquire the clients of your dreams and fuel your B2B growth. 

Utilize LinkedIn

Social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, are great for B2C outreach, but not B2B. Your presence on LinkedIn is what is essential for generating B2B leads.

Create a detailed business profile and make it very clear what services you offer and how you're helping other businesses. Participate in groups and involve yourself in discussions. People love to see a thought leader discussing topics related to their work. But, don't be self-promotional or try to sell in groups. Instead, bring value to the group by being helpful and establishing your expertise.

Make connections and scope out other businesses and professionals. Reach out to businesses you want to work with, and by using the content marketing methods discussed above, you can determine how warm they are as a lead.

Pro tip: Use programs like ContactOut to extract the decision maker's email address. 

Form strategic partnerships

Forming B2B strategic partnerships and aligning your marketing tactics with other businesses that have similar goals to yours is a powerful way to foster B2B growth, but it can be difficult to navigate. Ideally, you want to work with other businesses that are not direct competitors and have good reputations. 

Work with your sales teams to identify your optimal targets, then leverage digital marketing tactics to build awareness. Finish your marketing campaign with a piece of promotional content that makes your prospective customers feel good. Going old school with one piece of direct mail sent to the right person can result in an exceptional connection. 

4. Host high-touch events

Branding is critical to the success of any business, especially in the B2B world. Your brand is what makes that all-important first impression on a new customer, and it determines how people perceive your business over time.

If you want to establish a lasting memory and brand recognition, utilize high-touch events to meet your targets where they're at. Bring out the big guns and set up a puppy-petting pen at your next conference. Invite your clients to a Lakers game. Set up a bounce house or giant ball pit at an industry event. 

It may take up more of your marketing budget, but the lifetime value of the client can far outweigh the initial cost. 

High-touch events are particularly important when growing the B2B element of your business, as other organizations understand branding on a deeper level than consumers. B2B buyers want to work with other businesses that have strong branding and creative marketing mindsets.

Effective high touch events can do wonders for your brand, such as:

  • Build trust and credibility
  • Help you stand out from the crowd
  • Attract the right customers
  • Encourage return customers and earn referrals

Final thoughts

All the B2B growth tactics covered in this post connect. The best way to approach implementing each of these tactics is to build a strategy that centers on a unified process rather than working on each point as a standalone tactic. These are proven methods that help marketing leaders achieve explosive growth and they can help your B2B goals, too. 

With clear branding and a carefully planned content marketing strategy, you start establishing your business as an authority, building trust and forming relationships with other businesses in your industry. 

From there, it comes down to how well you can demonstrate that you understand the needs of your customers. Set some KPIs to measure what's working and what isn't. Then double down your efforts on what's bringing in the most business.

Why Identity Management is Essential for Digital Success

Posted: 23 Oct 2019 07:00 AM PDT

Ask most people what identity management is, and they'll likely say "password management" – but that's just a fraction of what identity management can do. Robust identity management is built to give consumers an unparalleled experience, helping you take your enterprise to the next level.

Why is identity management essential for digital success?

In our far-reaching digital world, the number of devices, logins and channels that customers use is proliferating. As a result, customers often create widely disparate digital identities. This supplies more data to the companies they patronize. In return for sharing their data, customers expect personalized, high-quality communications and services.

That's why, to compete in your industry or market, you need to meet and exceed customer expectations. This can seem impossible in a world of rapid digital transformation. However, identity management is an end-to-end solution that enables you to consistently provide the outstanding experience that your customers demand, and much more. 

Want to know how you can use identity management to achieve all of this? Here's a list of the most sought-after identity and access management features and why they're essential for your enterprise's digital success.

Single sign-on

What it does: Your customers have a lot of passwords to remember, not just across your different channels, but for all of the digital services they use. This is problematic. According to the Ponemon Institute's 2019 State of Password and Authentication Security Behaviors, 51% of people reuse the same password on multiple websites. This is a risky practice for your business. An identity management platform allows a customer to use a single identity to securely connect with your websites, mobile apps and third-party services, including social media logins.

Why it's important: A single sign-on experience will not only reduce the password burden on customers, but it will also encourage customer engagement across all of your digital touchpoints. With identity management, you can relieve customer password issues, increase security and make it easier for customers to keep coming back.

Federated SSO

What it does: While single sign-on gives a customer one account to access everything you have to offer, an identity solution can also allow federated SSO. For instance, with federated SSO, you can link your customers to third-party applications – such as Zendesk for customer support – while syncing this activity within your platform.

Why it's important: SSO and federated SSO allow your customers to enjoy seamless transactions on your website, even if you use third-party applications for these activities.

Unified customer data

What it does: Identity management stores all of your customer information in a single, cloud-based database. This allows you to leverage customer insights in real-time and deliver a personalized customer experience across all of your channels. Being cloud-based means that you have no maintenance compared to on-premises data storage.

Why it's important: Now that each of your customers' multiple digital identities can be combined into one unified identity, you'll have access to a much more complete overview of their relationship with your enterprise. This strengthens your marketing efforts for better conversions and lasting customer loyalty.

Robust account security

What it does: As data breaches, identity fraud and malicious attacks fill the headlines, customers are concerned about the security of their digital identities. That's when risk-based authentication steps in to prevent that. Risk-based authentication is used to monitor each customer's behavior, such as login patterns, IP address and location. Therefore, if anything unusual suddenly occurs, risk-based authentication will recognize this potentially fraudulent activity as it happens.

This allows you to require extra authentication measures to prove the identity of the user or force the bad agent off your site and block them. 

Why it's important: Risk-based authentication gives businesses and consumers peace of mind while offering exceptional ease of use. 

Customer identity management

What it does: Customer identity management allows you to see data on everything your customers have done since they first visited one of your channels, in remarkable detail. This data can include browsing and online purchase history as well as location, age, gender, search history and relevant social media activity.

User identity management also offers anonymous login, assigning an ID to website users before they've ever signed up or purchased anything. This is an effective marketing tool to reach potential customers.

Why it's important: By seeing the complete customer journey – from browsing on your site to online engagement or purchases – you can better serve your customers so that they become your advocates.

Exceptional customer experience

What it does: Whether it's a barista remembering your name in a coffee shop or a digital provider offering a personalized service, customers like to be remembered by the companies they patronize. At the very least, customers want to receive customized communication and marketing materials. But identity management allows you to do much more to improve the customer experience (CX). 

For example, you can personalize loyalty programs to offer customers rewards relevant to their region, browsing history and previous purchases. User management can also ensure that customer service in-store, online and on your app are all coordinated, enabling the customer to move seamlessly between these channels.

Add password-less login to your identity provider for superior CX that keeps customers engaged and loyal.

Why it's important: By leveraging the insights that you collect through consumer identity management, you can give each customer a uniquely tailored experience that exceeds their expectations. Give them no-hassle authentication, and they'll be your customer for life.

Consent and transparency

What it does: As the general public grows increasingly aware of the potential uses of big data, customers are rightly becoming concerned about data security. Customers want clarity and control over how their data is used and by whom, and they want to know that their customer profiles are being stored responsibly. Identity management addresses these concerns by requesting consent to collect data and communicate with customers at registration. 

Why it's important: Identity management offers preference management options, so that consumers have control over the use of their data, and they can change these preferences whenever they want. This transparent approach to consent shows customers that you respect their privacy, that you empower them to control the use of their data and that you provide a secure digital service that they can confidently enjoy.

Privacy and compliance

What it does: As a company handling customer data, you need to comply with privacy regulations governing what you do with that data and how you communicate with customers. The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has garnered significant attention and has paved the way for other similar regulations.  

Depending on the regions that your enterprise serves, there may be other privacy and consent regulations to consider. For instance, the USA also has compliance regulations, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which will affect any business that sells to or handles data about California residents. Proposals for similar consent regulations in other states appear to be gaining momentum as well.

Why it's important: An identity management platform should have built-in features that request, collect and store user consent every step of the way. It also makes data accessible for audits, so that your enterprise meets all applicable regulatory requirements.

Conclusion

Ultimately, successful companies use identity management to give their customers a personalized, exceptional online experience they cannot get elsewhere. With identity management, companies can improve security, ensure privacy and enhance a customer's online experience. In today's digital landscape, this customer-centric approach is the key to digital success.

How to Quickly Boost Website Traffic

Posted: 23 Oct 2019 05:00 AM PDT

Trying to drive traffic to your website can sometimes feel like shouting into a void. After all, with more than 4.4 million new blog posts published every single day, it can be tough to stand out from the competition. 

But there are techniques that can bring your numbers up as fast as reasonably possible. Here at Clever Real Estate, we've deployed several strategies that have resulted in an exponential increase in our traffic in less than a year.  

Just keep in mind that bringing in sustained, organic traffic is going to be a marathon, not a sprint. A recent study of the top-ranked pages on Google showed that the average top 10 page was two-years-old, while the average number one page was just three-years-old.

The upshot? While the tips below will get your traffic up in the short term, you've got to maintain your efforts over the long-term to get where you want to go. Here are the strategies we used to help us get a quick influx of traffic to our website.

SEO optimization

Let's start with the most obvious, and most powerful technique to bring in eyeballs: search engine optimization. To put it simply, SEO is the art of refining your website so big search engines, like Google and Yahoo, will rank it higher. Appearing near the top of the search rankings gets you more visibility and more clicks. So how do you do that?

Choose the right keywords

Using keywords is like a matchmaking exercise. Your ideal customers are out there using search engines to look for you. Incorporating the right keywords on your website is like lighting a beacon, so your customers can find you. This means you have to do your research and try to anticipate your target users' searches. Keep in mind that this is a virtuous cycle; the more effective your keywords are, the more customers will be able to find you, and the more clicks your website gets, the higher it will rise in the search rankings. 

Produce high-quality content

Google doesn't just use initial clickthroughs to evaluate your website: it also measures how long users stay after clicking through. If they bounce back to the search results after a short stay, Google will designate your website as "low quality," and your ranking will decline.

This means that enticing users to click is only half the battle. Once you have their attention, you have to keep it by offering them useful, high-quality content.  

There are no easy shortcuts when it comes to high-quality content, though at this point we know what isn't high-quality content. Listicles, slideshows, and short videos aren't going to get the job done anymore. In 2019, longform content is the new king. 

That may seem surprising, considering attention spans are shorter than ever today, and there's never been as much competition for eyeballs. But think of it this way. Your customers haven't come to you to be entertained or amused: they've clicked through because they want specific answers and information. If they see that you're not going to give them that information, they'll click over to one of your competitors. 

The average length of a piece of high-quality longform content is about 2000 words, but many sites are seeing results with pieces twice as long, or even longer.

Make your site easy on the eyes

If you're producing longform content, it's more important than ever to make your site visually pleasing. 

Think punch sentences and short paragraphs of no more than three or four sentences. Leave plenty of white space on your pages, so your readers don't feel overwhelmed or intimidated. And don't forget about the back end of the site. Make sure your site loads quickly and easily, and is aesthetically pleasing on both desktop computers and mobile devices.  

Build authority with internal linking

Cultivating a high authority rating is another way to rocket up the search rankings. That happens when Google sees users interacting with a website beyond their initial clickthrough, and clicking deeper into the site. The more they click around, and the longer they spend on your site, the higher its authority rating will rise. 

So how do you entice users to click around your site? Well, there's an easy, surface-level answer to that question, and a deeper, more complicated one. 

First, the easy answer. On those popular landing pages, you'll want to provide plenty of internal links to other pages on your site. Don't make them excessive or spammy. The links should be logical and discreetly-placed. You'll also want to provide sidebars of related pages, which leads to the next, more complicated answer to this question.

To really effectively leverage your internal links, you'll need to anticipate your users' subsequent needs. For example, let's say the landing page in question is about how to calculate a mortgage payment. Once the user finishes reading that page, you can make some reasonable assumptions about the next questions: how do they qualify for a mortgage, how do interest rates affect mortgage payments, when's the best time to buy a home, etc. 

If you have pages that address these subsequent questions, placing them in a sidebar can keep the user clicking around your website, and seriously enhancing your site's authority.

Use social media channels

There are more than 3 billion social media users out there right now. That's a massive potential audience. In fact, more people are on social media than watch television. If your website is the library, where all the information is kept, then social media is the party, where all the people are. If you want to connect with them, you have to be on social media too.

Facebook has an ad program that lets you target a precise, specific segment of their users. If properly used, Facebook ads offer some of the greatest market penetration and conversion rates you can get. 

Youtube is another social media platform that can be immensely useful. While you probably know the video platform is hugely popular, did you know that it's also the second most popular search engine on the web? That means Youtube isn't just the fun, peripheral platform many clients think it is. It should be right up there alongside Google as one of your main sources of users. 

Producing video content for Youtube can be a fun, easy, low-cost way to reach hundreds of millions of people. 

Guest blogging

Guest blogging can be an amazingly effective way to get the right eyeballs onto your website. Having a post appear on a popular, respected site lends you immediate credibility, as well as an immediate bump in traffic. Not only that, but a well-written blog post in your area of expertise establishes your authority word-by-word, and line-by-line, to an audience of knowledgeable readers.  

So what should your guest blog posts be about? Obviously, you should write on subjects in your area of expertise. But beyond that, think about what people want to read. A good general rule when brainstorming guest posts is to think about content you wish you'd see, and then write it. And it's always a good idea to think about things in terms of problem-solving. What obstacles have you run into, in your field, recently, and how did you overcome them? Posts that provide answers or solutions are universally compelling, and editors can't get enough of them.

Post on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is basically Facebook without all the static and distractions, and it gives you access to a network of professionals who share your specific interests. Though most everyone is on LinkedIn for networking purposes, it can also be a source of huge traffic. 

Once you've completely populated your personal or company profile, the rules of posting on LinkedIn are a lot like the rules of posting anywhere else. Quality matters: the quickest way to alienate your ideal reader is to waste their time with low quality content.  

LinkedIn is a social platform, too, so engagement counts. Post two or three times a week, so you maintain a familiar presence. Pose questions in your posts, and answer and acknowledge comments. You should also join relevant LinkedIn groups and share your posts there. And don't forget that LinkedIn allows you to share your posts with individuals in your networks, which can be a great way to touch base with important contacts or influencers. Just be sure that you don't abuse this feature, and come off like a spammer. 
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