Marketing Techniques that Small Businesses Should Use

In order to create presence in the market and to secure a wide customer base small businesses have to use different marketing techniques. At each and every stage of their business cycle they have to use tactics accordingly. Companies have to keep in mind whom they want to reach out through their promotional material, especially when they are struggling with budget constraints. It is essential for them to take each step wisely and use inexpensive ways for advertising such as guerrilla marketing. Let’s explore the different marketing techniques that can be of help for them. 

1. Posters and Flyers

When you use a variety of different channels you are able to gain more exposure. While visiting a mall or some other public places, you must have seen free bulletin boards which the brands can use to promote and market their products. Make sure your poster is visible and you use removable tabs so that customers can avail discounts. You can also target your campaigns in the area where most leads were generated. Companies should come up with a poster that is very eye-catching and has vivid images. You should use memorable phrases that people find entertaining and are able to recall when they need something that is related to your product or service or what you are selling. Flyers are another cheap way of advertising your business. Once you are clear about the areas you want to target, you can easily distribute flyers either through mailboxes or by door to door visit. While making flyers keep the content short and add only the relevant information such as the products or services you are offering or contact information. You can offer and mention discounts, free trials or appraisals, coupons or other promotional offers to attract the customers.

2. Referral Networks

Customer referrals are very valuable for a business as it leads to customer retention. This means companies can offer discounts, perks or other rewards to its existing customers for recommending their brand to others through positive word of mouth. This helps them to grow their customer base, increases brand engagement and enhances the reputation of the company when more customers show interest in their product. 

3. Value Additions

The special and improved features that a brand offers along with its product or service are powerful selling points that must be mentioned when coming up with advertising material. Value addition helps companies to deliver value to its customers and increase their level of satisfaction. It also distinguishes you from your competition. Some examples are referral rewards, guarantees, offering discounts or point cards to loyal customers or those who make repeated purchases.

4. Follow ups

Getting feedback from your customers is important to see where you stand and what perception they hold about your products and services. The best way to get their response is to propose follow up questionnaires, ask about how your advertising campaign is going and if it satisfies them or not. Here is a list of questions you can ask:

·       What made them choose your company?

·       How did they come to know about the product?

·       What satisfied them the most?

·       Which alternative companies will they prefer?

5. The Internet

Creating your online presence has become crucial to meet the expectations of your tech savvy customers. Internet technology has made it easier for them to search for a brand, its reviews or the list of products it offers before making a buying decision. Having a website and a social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) will keep you in the eyes of the customers when they regularly see your ad campaigns and your page comes in their suggestion list. Companies also need search engine optimization skills and content management systems to raise their website ranking and to enhance the digital experience of their customers.

The above discussed marketing techniques will surely take your business to an incredible peak if you wisely incorporate them while keeping your goals, budget and target audience in mind. 

 

 

 

The Era of Information Technology

We have grown up hearing stories of struggle from our elders that how they used to toil under the light of the candle to study. This was the time before the internet, electricity and information technology came in. Today's modern generation will find it hard to live and survive without these technologies. If the older generation would have been here to witness these innovations, they would never be able to fathom all these achievements. The age of information technology has brought up a lot of benefits for society but along with that humans are grappling with its adverse effects too. Let’s discuss these in detail. 

The positives

Unlike humans, the tasks performed by machines have resulted in production growth. A number of activities have become automated, precise and flawless with technology. The element of automation has saved our time, helping us to utilize it in a better way. For example, if you do not have time to visit shops to buy clothes you can order it online and it will be delivered at your doorstep. Also, it has become way easier to communicate and provide efficient customer services these days. If your home Wi-Fi is not working and there is a lot of work pending, simply make a call or write an email to the customer representative and tell them about it. Within a few minutes or hours your issue will be resolved. Similarly, if you miss your loved ones who live far away from you, just by making a video call you can sense their presence.

Cybercrimes have increased significantly over the past few years. Individuals and companies’ data or confidential information is more susceptible to attacks but with powerful algorithms and efficient apps, frauds and attacks can be identified immediately. Another benefit is that technology has provided us with safety. The gadgets that you use such as smartphones or laptops have fingerprint, facial recognition and other lock mechanism features that protect your data and other private information (such as documents, files, videos or images). CCTV cameras in homes, offices or anywhere act as surveillance tools to protect your assets and possessions. Any attempt made to steal anything is simply caught on camera and you can trace the culprit easily. Not just this, global trading has become more common with time.

The negatives

The advancements made in technology has made many people jobless. The rise in unemployment is because of the fact that many tasks previously performed by workers have been replaced by machines and computers which complete the work quickly. Data security has become a major concern. Everything personal that you share over the internet can get into the hands of malicious individuals such as hackers, terrorists, criminals and even foreign rivals. There is more possibility of frauds as they can gain access to your systems, networks, business data and even bank accounts. 

People are exposed to massive amounts of information on a daily basis and they get easily distracted because of unnecessary stuff available over the internet. This affects their productivity and causes delays in the completion of work. Children have phones, tablets and laptops so their usage of social media has increased a lot. They waste time on watching games and movies and cannot focus on their schoolwork which affects their academic performance too. Kids are also exposed to inappropriate videos, content and apps that can mislead them. One major drawback is that people are suffering from many diseases such as eyesight weakness, sleep deprivation or obesity which can be problematic in the long run.

Clearly, information technology has raised the standard of living but the growing issue of invasion of privacy continues to prevail and should not be ignored.

 

How Small Businesses can be Successful

Learning the art of selling your product and services in the market has become crucial for small businesses in today’s time where there is cut throat competition. You might be an expert in your field of profession but you will ultimately suffer if you have a lack of business sense. Many startups fail because they do not have an effective marketing strategy or a proper plan to scale up their business. Businesses should see things from a holistic perspective before implementing their ideas. Following are some tips for you to keep your head high and stay at the top.

1. Be Organized

The first step towards business success is to adopt an organized approach. This means all tasks should be performed properly without missing anything. You should automate all the repetitive tasks to save time and enhance productivity. Proper documentation and full record of your business transactions should be kept by keeping multiple copies of the cash payments or invoices. Managing your time efficiently is important so you must set deadlines and use project management software. You need to plan everything beforehand whether it is your social media campaign or employee meetings to get feedback or to assign them tasks. All business data must be kept in a safe repository with a backup such as cloud.

2. In-depth analysis of your competition

For best results and to make huge profits, companies must keep an eye on their competitors. You can learn from the strategies that they are adopting which you can implement in your business if it seems right and fruitful. Collecting competitor’s information depends on which type of business you are managing. If it’s a clothing or a packaging brand then you can keep a track of their marketing campaigns and see how they are adopting sustainable means to save resources and to attract customers.

3. Protection of Intellectual property

Intellectual property includes all the intangible assets of a business for example trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, patents. Small businesses have to protect their logo, business ideas, trade secrets or designs from rivals or competitors so that they do not try to imitate or copy your designs or products. Once this gets copied you will lose your market share and it will even affect your brand image or damage your reputation in the market. You will suffer from losses in the end. The best way is to refer to an attorney for help if you want to register your trademark. This will save you from making mistakes since everything will be done legally. 

4. Customer Service

When a business provides excellent customer service and support it is more likely that those customers will come to you next time to make a purchase rather than going for substitutes or your competitor's products. Customers are attracted towards companies that respond promptly and stick to a personalized approach. Small businesses should know who their target audience is and they should maintain professionalism when dealing with them. Chatbots, FAQs and emails are some best ways to communicate with your customers.

5. Keep your cost low

Cost management and budget control are the most important things to stay afloat, especially if you have just started your business. Start by making a plan of your budget and stick to it. You can find low cost suppliers and vendors through market research to buy raw materials, machines, video editing software etc. Companies can even hire part time staff and start their marketing through online social media platforms.

Every business will experience growth at its own rate but along with the above discussed tips and tricks they have to adapt to the changing marketing trends to reach the heights of success.

 

Top 3 Mind Reading Gadgets

 We Are Duped!

Mind reading gadgets? Yes you heard it right! Technology has already engulfed us with its astounding innovations. Previously, we had a vague gleam of hope that one day our far-fetched dreams will turn into present day realities. Things that we never thought before and previously seemed impossible have now become very common in our daily lives, helping us tremendously in different activities that we perform. But machines articulating your thought process and revealing what you try to hide from others seem very intimidating. The jaw dropping achievements of technology will put us in hot waters someday. Now with these new and amazing mind reading gadgets we might end up in a scuffle, offending others. Imagine your boss is able to read all your intrusive thoughts and whatever is going on in your head. Alas! You are screwed.

There are already some technologies in the market that are able to read your thoughts through the brain computer interface. The mastermind entrepreneur, Elon Musk has put one of his similar ideas into practice through his Neuralink (neural interface technology company). The company is developing a coin sized device that will be affixed into a person’s skull to monitor and record his brain activity and later process it. This chip will wirelessly transmit data to computers so that experts can study and interpret. Now let’s discover some new technologies that are surfacing, some of these gadgets are already available in the market.

1. Necomimi by Neurowear

A Japanese company known as Neurowear introduced a gadget shaped like cat ears that you wear like a headband on your head. This device is known as Necomini and serves as the perfect example of a brain machine interface. The device has sensors that detect human emotions through their brain impulses or waves. With the help of EEG (electroencephalogram) electrical signals are recorded from the brain via a metal disc that is attached to the scalp. When a wearer is stressed or involved in a brain racking activity, these ears turn up automatically and when he or she is in a relaxed state of mind it turns down. This gadget is powered by batteries and works for almost 4 hours.

2. Mindball

Mindball is a game in which the movement of a ball is controlled by both the players through their brain waves. Each player wears a headband that has sensors embedded in them. An EEG monitor helps to detect the electrical signals from their brain and these signals are converted into actionable form later. The player who is more calm and relaxed is able to roll the ball into his/her opponent’s side of the goal.

3. Epoc + by EMOTIV

Epoc is another product created by the company EMOTIV. This wireless neurohead set is designed and created for the purpose of contextualized research, to gain marketing insights and for human computer interaction (brain computer interface). Marketing experts believe that this method is best for marketing research as it gives them accurate and unfiltered opinions of people. Rather than asking for individuals’ perspective you directly get to their unbridled emotions through the headset that they wear. Real time data can be collected in this way as it streams through the device that users put on. You can get answers to your questions such as which product (for example cosmetics) they liked the most after testing from their stores. Epoc + will provide you the exact answers which the customers might not give if asked in the form of a survey.

Humans are still decades away from fully and accurately achieving what they aim for. A lot of work is needed to reach the heights of intellectualism and make flawless mind reading gadgets.

 

 

 

 

Why Digital Immune System is Important for Businesses

Businesses face never ending challenges on a daily basis. They constantly work on providing a reliable client experience by formulating optimization strategies and by practicing resilience. A recent study has shown that enterprises that will invest more in the digital immune system will be able to satisfy their customers and might be able to exceed their expectations. Such companies will be able to minimize their downtime to 80% by 2025. Let’s explore how the digital immune system is helping to reduce business related risks. 

What is a Digital Immune System?

A digital immune system is a comprehensive term which involves a set of technologies, practices and software engineering strategies used for software design and development, automation, data analytics and operations in order to minimize business risks. Having an effective digital immune system means that it will act as a barrier against software bugs or other security related flaws. There are many instances when your applications and services fail to function properly which might affect your business performance. DIS allows these applications and services to be robust, resilient and competent enough to recover from such faults and failures by mitigating business risks. 

Prerequisites for Digital Immune System

There are six prerequisites for an efficient and powerful Digital Immune System as discussed below:

1. Chaos Engineering: In order to identify the faults, weaknesses or vulnerabilities in the complex system, it is essential for businesses to do experimental testing beforehand. This means that the teams can practice and test run safely without any obstructions in a pre-production process. Later, they can implement the lessons that they learnt in the normal operations and proceed towards the right course of action by engaging in the process of production hardening.

2. Observability: The element of observability enhances transparency and allows systems or software to be "seen" or "observed". The data that the system generates helps IT teams to monitor the application performance. This helps them to identify the root cause of the problem and address it. Users’ experience also improves as their behavior is monitored. 

3. AI augmented Testing: This means software testing will be done by businesses without much dependency on humans or requiring their intervention. It automates the planning, creation, maintenance, and analysis of tests, complementing and extending conventional test automation.

4. Auto remediation: This practice involves building context-sensitive monitoring capabilities and automated remediation functions into an application. This enables an application to monitor itself and correct issues automatically, returning to a normal working state without requiring the involvement of operations staff.

5. Site reliability engineering: SRE is a way of managing digital services that focuses on improving the user experience and customer retention. It uses a set of engineering practices and principles to balance the need for speed and innovation against stability and risk. By doing so, it frees up developers to focus on creating a great user experience.

6. Software supply chain security: This is essential to protect against attacks that can happen when software is being created and distributed. One way to improve security is to create a "bill of materials" that lists all the components used in the software, whether they are open-source or proprietary. This makes it easier to track and manage potential vulnerabilities. By implementing strong version-control policies, using trusted artifact repositories, and managing vendor risk, you can help protect the integrity of your code.

 In conclusion, every company should have a Digital Immune System to deal with the growing challenges and risks. This will protect your business from vulnerabilities and attacks. 

The Growing Use of Smart Devices

Comfort and luxury has become the top priority of people. They are now more conscious because of technological evolution. The worldwide demand for smart devices such as smartphones, wearables, smart appliances or tablets has increased and it is rapidly transforming the lives of billions of people. Let’s have a look at how these smart devices are turning the wheels.

The rise of immersive entertainment

Videos are becoming an important part of our digital landscape. People nowadays prefer and demand wireless audio devices and do not compromise on quality and ease of use. Headphones and earphones that are connected through Bluetooth and offer best sound quality are well liked especially by the youngsters. Smart assistants and sensors embedded in the devices such as hearables allow users to control other devices around them and provide a remarkable audio visual experience as they watch videos or make calls etc. Through increased connectivity and the unique features offered by the latest smartphones, gaming enthusiasts can play online games any time they want. New technologies like 5G or cloud gaming is already on its way to provide high quality gaming experience to the gamers. 

Health and fitness related devices

The Internet of Things has already created ripples in the health and fitness niche. We have already used or seen smart health devices and wearables such as the fitness tracker or the smartwatch. Such gadgets have helped us to record the number of steps we take daily and even the amount of calories we burn. This data is then transmitted to an app on your smartphones so that you can improve and take care of your health and fitness. You can even check your heart rate, monitor stress level or keep a check over your sleeping patterns through these wearables. More features are coming in these new devices especially for those who have to work for long hours and feel totally exhausted after office work. Some are already offering you breathing exercises and providing you notifications or reminders to start exercise if needed depending on your body health that the device detects.

Smart working culture

Flexibility in performing tasks is a growing need for businesses today. In the future, companies will prefer more desk-less jobs or mobile workers. Connectivity and reliance on a bunch of different devices is necessary for the accomplishment of remote tasks. To enhance productivity, many different tasks need to be done such as sharing files or using a number of screens to work across different departments. Cohesion between gadgets such as smartphones and mobile PCs is needed to achieve these goals. A fast internet service and well-connected PCs is a must for content creators, influencers, photographers or those who have to constantly post videos or reels on their various channels. 

Smart devices at home

When it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT) people think of gadgets that will provide them with convenience and are easy to use. Smart appliances (air fryer), home security systems, thermostats, and smart televisions are already here. People are also demanding smart speakers because they function as command centers in homes. Also, for your online shopping convenience voice enabled technology has also been introduced.

We are quickly moving towards intelligent living through these smart devices. It has made almost every task seamless and easier for us. Whether it’s about gaming, audio video experience, employee or business productivity, ensuring the health of individuals or about managing household chores all has become fascinating. 

 

 

Hyper Connectivity In Our Daily Lives

Modern technology has lured us with lofty promises. Business world is reaching skyscraping heights by adopting hyper connectivity. As we go back in time, almost two decades ago we did not have access to the internet or devices that connect us today. There was no such impulse to check social media feeds every now and then. But today we can't imagine life without these gadgets and the internet. We can control so many devices from our smartphones such as television or the air conditioning. The internet of things, artificial intelligence and smartphones with advanced features are some examples of hyper connectivity. It is hard to believe that still two thirds of the global population is not connected through the internet. Companies like Google and Facebook are coming up with new ways to deliver internet and connect to the areas where there is lack of internet availability. Balloons in space and solar powered planes are being introduced to provide fast internet services all around the globe. This will be the biggest technological achievement in the coming years. 

What is hyper connectivity?

We are living in a world where almost everything is connected and interrelated, whether it is machine to machine, human to human or human to machine interaction. Likewise, hyper connectivity is a broad term that refers to the interconnection between multiple devices, information systems or the data. This high tech communication ensures that you are always connected to social networks or various other information sources with the help of the internet.

Hyper connectivity has many benefits in our daily lives. If we talk about from a supply chain perspective, it saves money, you can respond quickly in situations that demand your attention and it also increases efficiency. For example a disruption can occur in the logistic process due to several issues such as technical or mechanical faults and failures, weather conditions, political unrest, traffic congestion etc. With a well-connected logistic chain you can track and monitor the changes and communicate with your logistic team so that the best possible route can be taken in real time for the delivery of goods or products. You can make better decisions and improvements can be made accordingly.

Communication adds flexibility in your business processes too. Hyper connectivity enables you to communicate with your customers through multiple ways and have access to massive amounts of their data. This allows you to serve them according to their changing demands. For example you are able to decide what will be the best time for you to launch the product in the market. When your digital infrastructure is connected well and covers all the business data from various aspects, your machine learning system is able to produce more valuable insights. However, when everything depends on a single system you open doors for hackers. When you deal with customer and employee data you have to adopt a comprehensive privacy and security approach.

All in all, the world is moving towards the age of hyper connectivity and it is very clear that this technology has too much potential for individuals and businesses if they adopt it with care.