by Felicien | Aug 23, 2019 | Education
Are your online reviews killing your website traffic? It’s true — many customers won’t click if they see your reviews are less-than-favorable.
When is the last time you felt strongly enough about a product or service to leave an online review? While some people do it as a matter of course for every restaurant, doctor’s office and retail establishment they visit, most people only take the time to review something when they were either extremely pleased with the service or over-the-top mad about their experience. Unfortunately, this can result in some pretty painful online reviews, but does it really impact the traffic to your website — and ultimately your business revenue? You might be surprised to learn that more than 95% of people aged 18-34 read reviews for local businesses before making a decision and 86% of all consumers do the same. Still think reviews don’t matter?!?
Improving Engagement with Positive Feedback
When customers leave your business, it can be challenging to know if they’re satisfied with their goods and services. It may not be until you read an online review that you find the uber-polite professional who left your office with a smile is now posting to all their friends on social media about the horrid experience that they had. In general, people are not fans of direct conflict and may leave their poor feedback in a very visible and damaging way for your business — through online reviews. Yelp, Google and many other sites provide an easy way to aggregate both positive and negative comments about your business, all of which can be visible from within a Google search of your business. Google adores reviews and according to Moz data, their search algorithm could be impacted by up to 9% by consumer reviews. Google wants to present the most trusted and relevant search results and one of the best ways to do that is to listen to the audience: your consumers.
Offsetting the Damage from Negative Reviews
As you can imagine, if Google takes up nearly 10% of its algorithm to focus on your reviews, a few poor reviews can drop you significantly lower in the all-important search engine results page. Reviews are a vital part of your SEO strategy, and it’s challenging to bounce back from negative reviews in the past. One of the things new customers are looking for is the responsiveness of the business to this type of feedback. If you watch your main review sites carefully and audit for positive and negative reviews, you can offer timely feedback that shows you recognize there are issues and you are taking steps to solve them in the future. This can help turn a negative review into a positive, encouraging new customers to take a chance and click through to your website.
Driving Positive Reviews is a Critical Component in Your Digital Marketing Strategy
Did you know that a Harvard study shows that a one-star increase on Yelp can lead to a 5-9% increase in sales? That’s what you call a direct correlation, and it makes reviews fully relevant and worth working for. Fortunately, those same customers who are ready to spout off about a negative experience are also surprisingly willing to post a positive review — but only if you ask. Up to 68% of consumers will take the time to review your product or service, and all you have to do is ask! Your marketing strategy should include a simple tactic that some of the best businesses in the world use (think Amazon): send a quick followup note via email requesting that customers leave a review on your preferred platform. When you flood the web with positive reviews, your business is more likely to rank higher and receive more high-quality traffic than a competitor who is not focused on improving their online reputation.
The moral of the story is that reputation still matters, even in a world where digital rules the day. In decades past, word of mouth reputation was what needed to be protected and that truly hasn’t changed as we edge into the future. Protecting the online reputation of your business is relatively straightforward and that quick automated email after a sale may be your very best selling tool — and the least expensive marketing tactic that you deploy!
by Felicien | Aug 23, 2019 | Education
Sales Technology Improves Results and Leads to Better Processes
Learn how sales tools that use some of the latest technologies, including automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence, deliver better outcomes.
To remain competitive today, your salespeople need all the advantages they can leverage for prospecting, business intelligence, leads and customer service. Here’s a look at some of the technology leads that will give your sales team a competitive edge.
How Can Technology Help with Prospecting?
Customer relationship management (CRM) software is one of the most important sales tools available. With a CRM, you can track important data about prospects and customers, and use the functionality to find sales opportunities. Sales and marketing teams can use the CRM to track response to marketing campaigns, outreach attempts and contact reports.
The CRM solution you deploy also helps sales managers track progress throughout the sales pipeline. Monitoring helps managers review the stage, probability and velocity of the pipeline for better forecasting.
How Does Technology Help Follow Up with Leads?
Automation tools help to create a persistent sales cadence that leads to more meetings and better outcomes. Automation can generate personalized and customized follow-up letters, emails and texts. One example is Boomerang, a Gmail plug-in that schedules follow-up emails and automates reminders to reconnect with prospects. Hubspot Sales also allows for personalization of emails and other follow-up communication.
For inbound sales, where customers contact your company via an email, phone call or web form, automation, machine learning and bots are a big help. These tools can help with routine inquiries and route leads to the right information while alerting a salesperson to reach out for contact.
Can I Integrate Sales Tech with Other Software?
Your CRM and other sales technologies are effective independently. But when these tools are integrated with finance/operations programs, your entire organization benefits. Having a single source of data, access to integrated reporting and solutions, data transparency and interrelationships, your sales team will be more effective and more collaborative.
Integrated tools also help leverage emerging technologies such as machine learning, big data and data analytics. These tools can collect, analyze, codify and find patterns in your sales data that drive deeper, actionable insights. Unified data also leads to less data re-entry and gives managers greater visibility into the sales information.
What Role Does the Cloud Play?
Cloud technologies provide data security and accessibility to apps, including CRMs and business productivity apps such as Microsoft Office 365, which offers mobile versions of the popular app suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Agility and access lead to more productive outbound sales reps.
Cloud technologies also help your team with videoconferencing tools that allow for web-based communication that helps communication with remotely deployed sales reps, leads and customers. Video has advantages over sales calls, allowing staff to notice body language, visual cues, energy level and facial expressions that can help inform the progression of the call and follow-up.
Your CRM and other tools also provide for a richer understanding of your customer. A 360-degree view of customer order history, payments, credit, maintenance needs and customer service inquiries gives your sales force real-time insights into the customer experience.
What Can Help With Effective Sales Calls?
There are many apps available to help make sales calls more effective. For example, Conference Pad is an app that lets you control multiple iPads simultaneously, ensuring that everyone seeing a presentation is on the same page or slide.
Can Technology Improve Sales Training?
Pages upon pages of manuals, in-person conferences and classroom training sessions are no longer the most effective or efficient ways to teach new skills and hone others. Two technology types — learning management systems (LMS) and virtual learning platforms (VLP) — provide flexible, trackable and accessible training tools. Managers can monitor progress and offer assistance in areas where reps struggle.
How Can Sales Technology Help Our Brand?
The right tools when used effectively will improve first impressions and boost your reputation. That helps not only with landing new business but also with attracting talented sales professionals. Investment in the latest and best technology solutions is a compelling option for salespeople seeking a new opportunity.
Sales technologies can be a boost to all areas of your sales program. The right investments result in better training, more actionable leads, higher response rates and more closed business.
by Felicien | Aug 21, 2019 | Education
Have you heard the news over in Texas?
Over 20 government organizations across Texas were targeted in a coordinated ransomware attack. That’s right… These government organizations have been added to the ever-growing list of major attacks on government organizations in Florida, Albany, Atlanta, and Baltimore.
The threat of ransomware attacks on corporations, government, and yes, even local small businesses is all too real.
Don’t miss our latest video outlining what you can do to stay safe. Click Here or click the play button below.
Be aware that these threats are very serious. Coordinated ransomware attacks are going to get a lot worse before they get better. In many recent cases, following proper precautions would’ve gone a long way towards prevention.
Follow these quick tips below:
Invest in cybersecurity awareness training
Invest in a rock-solid security solution
Speak with your insurance rep about cyber liability insurance
Schedule a cybersecurity risk assessment
Questions? Call {company} at {phone} or send an email to {email}.
by Felicien | Aug 21, 2019 | Education
Shortcuts and Keyboard Tricks Make Navigating Excel Easier
Learn 10 tips to improve your mastery of Microsoft Excel, including tricks for navigating, adding, deleting, renaming and grouping worksheets within a workbook.
Microsoft Excel has become a powerful tool used in businesses of all types. What started (and is still used) as an accounting tool, the product now is ever-present in offices around the world.
Mastering some key functions in Excel can help your users work more efficiently. Here’s a look at 10 top navigation tips.
1. Use the Arrow
If you have lots of worksheets open (Excel lets you have as many as 1,000) in your workbook, it can be difficult to find the one you need. On the bottom left are two black arrows that can be used to scroll through the different worksheets to find the one you need. Click on it and it becomes the active sheet. You can also use the Ctrl key with the arrows to move to the first or last sheet.
Right-clicking on either of the arrows brings up a pop-up window with a complete list of your worksheets. Click on the name and brings you to that worksheet.
2. Use the Shortcuts
The following shortcuts can save you time moving through your workbook:
Ctrl + Page Down: Go to the next worksheet
Ctrl + Page Up: Go to the previous worksheet
3. Right-Click to Manage Worksheets
Right-clicking on any worksheet brings up a list of helpful options. Here you can quickly change the worksheet color, rename a worksheet, or copy or delete it.
4. Insert a New Worksheet
There are four ways to add a new worksheet to your workbook.
Right-click on any worksheet tab and select the Insert option
Shift + F11
Click on the plus sign in a circle on the bottom right of the tab listings
Go to the Home menu, go to the Cells section, click on Insert and select Insert Sheet
5. Delete a Worksheet
Right-clicking provides you with the option to delete a worksheet. If there’s data in the worksheet a warning will appear. You can also go to the Home tab in the Cells group and click on Delete and select Delete Sheet.
A word of warning about deleting sheets. You cannot undo a sheet deletion.
6. Rename a Worksheet
There are three options, from slowest to fastest:
Go to the Home tab, click on the Cells group and the Format option. You’ll see a choice to Rename Sheet. This will activate the name box for the sheet
Right-click on the worksheet tab and choose the rename option
Double-click on the worksheet tab
7. Add a Tab Color
Large workbooks can make it difficult to organize and find a needed worksheet. Adding color tags to the worksheet tabs is a big help. Right-click on the tab, select Tab Color and choose the shade you want.
8. Move a Worksheet
This is a simple tip. To move a worksheet, click the tab and hold. A mouse pointer will appear and you can move the tab to the spot you want.
9. Copy a Worksheet
When you need to copy a worksheet within the same workbook, copying and pasting is not the best option. The copied data often does not look the same and can require a lot of time to fix. Another option is to again click and hold the tab you want to copy, and hit the Ctrl key. Move to the spot you want to add the copied worksheet and a new tab will be added.
To copy a worksheet to a new workbook, first open the destination workbook. Go to the source workbook and the sheet you want to copy or move. Right-click anywhere and select the Move or Copy option. Next, move to the destination workbook and choose the location.
One note: It’s best to copy the sheet you want, even if you want to move it, just in case it gets misplaced. You’ll still have the original.
10. Group Worksheets
When you want to add headers and footers or formatting to multiple worksheets, Excel does not have an intuitive solution. Using the Grouping function lets you handle several key tasks that apply to more than one sheet, including:
Page setups
Printing
Entering or editing data
Formatting
Moving, copying or deleting
To group sheets, select the first sheet you want in the group. Depress the Shift key and you can select consecutive sheets you want to group. If sheets are not consecutive, use the Ctrl key instead.
These tips will accelerate how fast work is done and give your employees more confidence and control of their Excel work.
by Felicien | Aug 21, 2019 | Education
Why You Should Choose a Local IT Services Company
Learn about 6 advantages to hiring a local IT services company to support your technology needs, including knowledge of the local economy and proximity when you need support.
Having a technology partner that understands your business, its needs and its priorities is vital. Technological advantages can differentiate your company from the competition, improve efficiency and improve the bottom line.
One oft-overlooked criterion when choosing a technology company is its location. You want a technology partner that is close to your business and can be available when you need support, guidance or advice.
Here are 6 reasons why choosing a local IT company is the right decision.
1. Faster Response Times
When there’s an emergency, you need to make sure your company’s networks, devices, software, data and connections are available, working and uncompromised. While technology allows many IT issues to be handled remotely, in an emergency, you may want or need in-person expertise to address the issues.
Geographical proximity is also an advantage if you’d prefer someone come on-site to provide an expert assessment.
2. Local Personnel on Your Account
Having a local account manager overseeing your account is a tremendous asset. Having an account manager and other lead staff members locally allows for more physical interactions that allow for better working relationships, strategy development and a stronger long-term relationship.
3. Knowledge of Local Business Market and Climate
By choosing a local organization to support your IT, you’re partnering with a fellow member of your local business community. A local IT services provider knows the makeup of businesses in your area, the strengths and challenges of working in your community and the opportunities available due to location. If your business is in an industry that has many companies working in the same geographical area, your local IT support partner will know about the industry standards and expectations. The local IT company also will be aware of the technology infrastructure available, such as access to the Internet and Internet speed. Armed with that knowledge of the local business scene, your MSP can recommend customized solutions that fully leverage the local characteristics in which you do business.
4. Budget Advantages
Having a local It services provider can save you money. For one, you will not incur large travel costs; usually, the clock starts on onsite service time charges as soon as a tech steps out of the building. Having a long-distance MSP means more downtime for your business while waiting for a technician or consultant to arrive.
5. Same Time Zone
Having a local IT company in the same time zone as your company has an advantage. While ideally, you will partner with an MSP that provides 24-hour support, it’s more convenient to have a partner that has more staff working and available during the same work hours your business is operating. That can make a big difference in terms of responsiveness and resolution time.
6. Peace of Mind
A local IT services company makes life easier on so many levels. With a business partner you can contact easily, can respond to your needs faster, understands your local economy and technical infrastructure and is a member of the same community, you will have more peace of mind. A local MSP provides more reliability and availability when you need it most.
Having a local IT services company as your strategic technology partner is a smart choice.
