Your business collects a huge amount of data about your customers. If you know how to analyze it properly, your can use that information to direct you marketing campaigns. Businesses that make use of their data will find it a lot easier to pick up new customers and maintain a good relationship with their existing ones, but there is a big downside to all of that data. It’s up to you to protect it and a data breach can be devastating for your business. You will lose the trust of your customers and you may find yourself on the wrong side of the law, so it’s vital that you protect it properly. The problem is, a lot of new business owners don’t know where to start with data protection. If you are starting a business, here are some important tips on data protection to help you avoid any disasters.
Know What You Are Collecting
This might sound stupid, but do you actually know what data you are collecting about your customers? You’d be surprised how many business owners don’t really know exactly what information they hold, and if you don’t know what information you are collecting, how are you supposed to protect it properly? It’s important that you have a clear idea of exactly what information is collected, how it is collected, and where it is stored. This will help you to work out which assets are the biggest targets for hackers, so you can direct security resources more effectively.
Hire The Right IT Team
Simply buying and installing some security software is not enough to protect your data. Hackers are always finding new ways around security software and they can easily pick up on any weak points in your system. That’s why you need to hire an IT service provider to manage your security for you. They will monitor systems and patch weak points as they find them, and they can keep your security software up to date so you always have the best protection from hackers. You’re not an IT expert so you are not qualified to handle security on your own. If you want to be safe, it’s best to leave it to somebody that knows what they’re doing.
Be Careful With Emails
Email is a great tool, but it can be a big danger in terms of data security, especially when you are sending mass emails. Hackers may use your mass emails as a way of attacking your customer’s computers, and that will reflect very badly on your business. You also need to watch out for any incoming emails that contain malicious links. If you click one of these links, you open yourself up to attacks. When you are sending sensitive data over email, there is also the chance that it could be intercepted and stolen, so you need to be incredibly careful with your emails. Always make sure that you encrypt and password protect any emails with private data on them, and never open an email and click a link unless you are positive about the source.
You can’t afford to make any mistakes when it comes to data protection, so make sure to follow these simple tips when you start your own business.
Madison Crenshaw is a mother of two and a serial entrepreneur originally from the Southern US. In the last decade, she has made the DC area her home. She is a savvy businesswoman who is always looking for the next big opportunity. She is an expert at networking and knows how to make her presence felt. She is a strong believer in the power of education and has been actively involved in her children's education. In her free time, she loves to travel, explore new cultures, and spend time with her family. She is passionate about making a difference in the world and is always looking for ways to help her community.
https://www.marketmommy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/device-information.jpg8531280Madison Crenshawhttps://www.marketmommy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/market-mommy-header-logo-1030x396.pngMadison Crenshaw2023-01-09 23:51:132023-01-14 18:58:553 Basic Data Security Tips For New Businesses
If you’re running an ecommerce business, then your number one concern should be ensuring that your website is built to make it as easy as possible for your customers to get access to the products that they want. Yet, still, we see countless examples of poorly designed, poorly marketed, and poorly supported websites failing to get the conversions they need. Here are four barriers you should recognize and do what you can to demolish.
No One Can Find Your Online Store
Marketing an ecommerce website is different from marketing any other website. You’re not just trying to give your business the online presence it deserves, you’re trying to extend that presence to your products, as well. When focusing on SEO efforts, make sure you’re focusing on product pages. Make sure your items make it to the Google Shopping search function. Consider PPC ad campaigns based not on your website alone but on specific products or categories that are well-suited to appeal to more niche audiences. Give your product lineup some real visibility, since it’s what’s going to be drawing most visitors in the first place.
If your analytics show that people start the buying process but neglect to finish it, take a closer look why. Streamlining the process and removing some steps from clicking the “Add to Cart” button and finalizing the sale can help. If you can’t shorten it, consider using navigation breadcrumbs so your visitors can at least see where they are in the process and how many more steps they have to complete. You should also consider using automated email marketing that reaches out to customers who have abandoned their shopping cart, encouraging them to pick it up again.
Payment Snafus
If you get common complaints or people asking why you don’t accept certain payments, then you could be missing one of the methods that your particular market prefers to rely on the most. Ensure that your website can accept credit card payments and consider any other methods that you might want to support. PayPal is another of the biggies, and any website that lacks either of these payment methods could risk alienating people who are ready to finalize that sale.
Not Enough Support
Even if your site is well designed and well equipped to handle all kinds of customers, you should expect that some are still going to have some problems and some questions they need help with. Having an FAQ to answer some of the biggest questions might work well enough, but the most effective implementation of support is to have a live chat app installed on the website. As such, you can have members of the team ready to offer support, or even AI-driven bots that can direct visitors to the right pages or content based on a series of questions.
Does your ecommerce website suffer from any of the issues above? If so, it’s time to reel it back, get back to the drawing board, and implement the elements of good design that can turn your business into a success.
Madison Crenshaw is a mother of two and a serial entrepreneur originally from the Southern US. In the last decade, she has made the DC area her home. She is a savvy businesswoman who is always looking for the next big opportunity. She is an expert at networking and knows how to make her presence felt. She is a strong believer in the power of education and has been actively involved in her children's education. In her free time, she loves to travel, explore new cultures, and spend time with her family. She is passionate about making a difference in the world and is always looking for ways to help her community.
https://www.marketmommy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/online-store-with-market-mommy-2.png12801280Madison Crenshawhttps://www.marketmommy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/market-mommy-header-logo-1030x396.pngMadison Crenshaw2023-01-07 19:34:522023-01-14 18:59:00Barriers To Online Purchases You Should Be Busting
Many businesses supply their staff with mobile devices for their work, like laptops, phones and tablets. Once you’ve handed over the devices to the team, you shouldn’t just forget all about them and assume staff will keep everything safe. It’s important to protect your company’s information and data (especially if you store any client data) with proper mobile device security. There are a few ways that you can do this to reduce the risk of breaches, device loss and other security issues.
Security Policy for Mobile Devices
Make sure you have a well-defined security policy in place to protect your devices. Any staff that are issued a company owned device should agree to the policy, including yourself. You can include rules about physical security. For example, make staff agree to never leave any company owned devices unattended or left in the car once they’ve left the office. Include some rules about proper device usage. This could include rules like not allowing staff to download apps that haven’t been approved by the company previously, or not allowing family members to use company owned devices or not using work devices for personal use. These policies protect your devices from malware and from unauthorized persons accessing company data.
Mobile Device Management
Enterprise mobile device management solutions allow you to remotely manage device security for all company owned devices. Whether you use an outside agency for this or manage device security from your in-house IT team, you can use MSM to configure security policies and automatically push these policies to any company owned device, whether they are in the building or not. You can control things like access to applications and block apps that sap productivity, automatically download apps that are required for work, and manage app updates yourself. You can automatically push any security updates to your devices to keep everything safe.
It also allows you to track the physical location of your owned devices, which can help if a device is lost or stolen. You can also track device usage, so you’ll know if any of your staff are using your devices for personal use, or are wasting company time when they should be working.
Track the health of your devices and any warranties that may need updating, enforce data encryption, wipe a device that has been lost or stolen or push out company device policies automatically, without bringing the devices back to the office.
Malware Protection for Mobile Devices
Malware is everywhere. To protect against it, make sure that any company device has strong malware and antivirus protection. Keep this protection up to date. You can use MDM services to update all the devices automatically, wherever they happen to be, meaning that you can’t accidentally forget one. Your malware protection should be maintained in order to protect against a range of attacks.
Offer staff training about how to spot malware online. Make sure that they know not to open suspicious looking emails and not to click on strange links or open unrecognised attachments. Make sure the training includes how to tell if a website is secure, and what to do if they think their device may have been infected. Your IT team should be monitoring device health too, but the main user is likely to spot a problem faster, as they use it everyday.
Authentication Solutions for Mobile Devices
To log into your devices, you want a more secure solution than simple passwords and usernames. Passwords that are used should be secure; don’t allow staff to use anything easy to guess. Ideally, strong passwords should include random strings of letters, numbers and special characters. Require device users to change passwords regularly, so they can’t be hacked.
Use multiple times of authentication. A password is one type, so add a couple more. Passwords are known as a knowledge factor, but you should also use a possession factor and an inherence factor. Knowledge factors are things like PINs, passwords and usernames. Possession factors include things like require you to have the device in your possession. This could be something like confirmation codes or one-off passwords sent via text message. Inherence factors are usually biometric. Requiring staff to use something like their fingerprints to log into a device would satisfy this criteria.
For extra security, you could also add location and time factors. These are not secure on their own, but can add some extra security. Location factors use GPS data to allow or block certain requests. Time factors block access to features between certain hours, such as after work when nobody should be using the system.
Madison Crenshaw is a mother of two and a serial entrepreneur originally from the Southern US. In the last decade, she has made the DC area her home. She is a savvy businesswoman who is always looking for the next big opportunity. She is an expert at networking and knows how to make her presence felt. She is a strong believer in the power of education and has been actively involved in her children's education. In her free time, she loves to travel, explore new cultures, and spend time with her family. She is passionate about making a difference in the world and is always looking for ways to help her community.
https://www.marketmommy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/mobile-device-security.jpg8531280Madison Crenshawhttps://www.marketmommy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/market-mommy-header-logo-1030x396.pngMadison Crenshaw2023-01-05 23:28:402023-01-14 18:59:06Four Mobile Device Security Options For Small Businesses
Today, people are living and working for longer than ever before which mean there is a new challenge for employers for how to effectively support and retain older workers.
If you’re not familiar with the term, the “grey ceiling”; it is a term used to describe the age discrimination that many older job seekers and workers face while they’re searching for jobs or seeking promotions. Although employers aren’t allowed to discriminate based upon age, getting hired can be a challenge when you’re viewed as an “older” worker.
Studies Point to Greater Age Discrimination
Several research studies have shown that older people face discrimination when seeking jobs and a survey of businesses by Capita Resourcing found that three-quarters of HR leaders agree that they still need to address their managers’ unconscious age bias during recruitment processes.
We hear a lot about diversity and inclusion today, but some people seem to forget that this means age, too, and the business case for diversity applies to older workers. New evidence from McKinsey and Co., in their report Delivering through Diversity, shows that the more diverse a workforce, the more productive and more successful the company will be – this includes peoples age! Therefore, retaining older workers makes good business sense.
However, sometimes employers and managers think that age predicates incapability and that older workers are unable to carry out their role effectively when in reality, the benefits of employing older workers are endless but to focus on a few they include dedication, punctuality, reliability, maturity, setting a good example and being a role model to younger workers.
So, what can you do to help promote the benefits of an age-diverse workforce?
You can start by spreading positive messages regarding how age diversity can benefit the workplace. State the business case of diversity and make sure you include age – you know it makes sense, so don’t let any millennials tell you otherwise.
Make Sure Your Skills Are Used Appropriately
If you’re going to be put in charge of Facebook, downloading a free proposal template or setting up webinars when you’ve never done any of this before then that is not a good use of your skills and doesn’t benefit you or the company you work for. Make sure that your wealth of skills and experience, as well as transferable skills, are put to good use. Don’t let anyone put you off for being ‘too experienced’ either. There are many reasons why you might want a job that is at a lower level than you have previously carried out, you may wish to less responsibility but still, want to use your skills in the workplace. This is okay; you would be an asset to any company, so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Positively Enforce Intergenerational working
Remember that older and younger workers can learn so much from each other, so provide opportunities for working together. If your company isn’t doing it then, how about you implement intergenerational mentoring programmes? Find things that you want to learn from the young ones and ask them if there’s anything they want to learn from you – or if you have noticed there are skills they are not particularly good at or are lacking in, then teach them!
Madison Crenshaw is a mother of two and a serial entrepreneur originally from the Southern US. In the last decade, she has made the DC area her home. She is a savvy businesswoman who is always looking for the next big opportunity. She is an expert at networking and knows how to make her presence felt. She is a strong believer in the power of education and has been actively involved in her children's education. In her free time, she loves to travel, explore new cultures, and spend time with her family. She is passionate about making a difference in the world and is always looking for ways to help her community.
https://www.marketmommy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/a-young-workforce.jpg8531280Madison Crenshawhttps://www.marketmommy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/market-mommy-header-logo-1030x396.pngMadison Crenshaw2023-01-03 23:40:272023-01-14 18:57:10The Business Case For an Age-Diverse Workforce
With 28.8 million small businesses in the world, it can be tempting to join the crowd. One big barrier to entry is figuring out what you want to build your business around. For this, you can turn to your natural strengths or areas that excite you.
One area that you may turn to is art! Luckily, the art industry is growing rapidly, with a market value of $64 billion as of 2019. So how do you go about getting into this industry? Here are 4 steps to make sure you start on the right foot.
1. Choose your Niche
Before starting out, niching down will make sure that you avoid as many problems as possible into the future. As a beginner, it can be helpful to try out as many areas of art as possible so you can learn what you enjoy doing and what you are best at. However, if you’re someone who is ready to get paid for your art, it’s best to niche down and specialize in a very specific area. Take photography for instance.
As a beginner photographer, you’ll be taking pictures of everything. But if you’re ready to start a business, it’s important to get really good at one area.
Are you best at shooting professional headshots or candid wedding photos? Or if you’re selling prints, are you a specialist in landscape, animal, street, or architecture photography? Asking these questions early on can help you get really good at one thing, centralizing your focus into getting better. This way, your quality of work is a lot higher, clients will be much more willing to hire you if you specialize in what they want, and you’ll have better knowledge of the industry.
2. Create a Plan
As boring as it may sound, creating a business plan is an extremely important part of building your business. This plan will help you make tough decisions and can be an anchor point for you to turn to when times are rough.
On top of this, your business plan can keep you on track during the good times, allowing you to plan out the vision for your business and set goals to stay focused. Here are some questions to help you get started.
What is the vision/purpose of your business?
What do you want the business look like in one year? 2 years? 5? 10?
Who’s your target market? Who are you selling to?
What does your cash flow look like?
How much art/many clients do you need to stay afloat?
What will you do to scale?
What is your exit strategy?
While these questions might seem trivial, they can prove to be essential to define. Take defining your target market, for example. If you don’t know exactly who will be buying your art, can you be sure that there are consumers out there?
42% of businesses fail due to a lack of an available market, so there’s a lot weight on this question alone. Creating this plan might seem like a trivial “business” task that won’t make you money, but, it might just save the future of your business
3. Manage your Finances
Finances are one part of your business that may fall by the wayside while focusing on your art. However, this can cause a multitude of problems. Knowing your expenses and income for your business can give you an outlook on your financial situation in general, to know if you’re making enough money or if you should consider producing/selling more or raising your prices.
It’s also important to know about any debt you may have or may want to incur to help your business grow. If you have to pay down any debts, you’ll want to use your business funds to pay these off as fast as possible to ensure that you are saving on interest, yet balance it with investing in your business today.
Speaking of which, if you think that your business can benefit from some sort of loan to invest in your business, you need to know what options are out there. Big banks only approved 26.9% of small business loans, leaving the other 73.1% to other lenders. It’s important to shop around for the best interest rates and features, alongside knowing the reason and proof behind why you should get a loan in the first place.
You’ll also want to make sure the legal side of your finances are in check. If you’re working as a freelancer, you have to know how to report your income and expenses on your personal tax return. However, if you have a legal business structure like an LLC or corporation, the way you file your taxes is going to be extremely different.
4. Grow your Brand
Marketing is essential for people to know that your business exists. There are two main areas that you can invest in to get the word out and help sell people on your business.
Word of Mouth
Word of mouth marketing is one of the strongest ways to gain clients. 92% of consumers trust recommendations from family and friends over any type of advertising. So how do you use this to your advantage? Here are a couple of ideas.
Provide stellar work and customer service for current clients
Put customer testimonials on your social media and website
Start a referral/finder’s fee program
Use these to build trust with your customers and to encourage them to tell their friends and family about your art.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is a vast field, including areas such as SEO, PPC, social media, email, and your website in general. Depending on what industry you’re in, you may see success in different areas.
If you’re someone who is selling prints or doing lower-ticket client work, then working on your social media might be the best bet. This allows the platform to put your content out to possible clients, where they might come across your work at no cost to you.
If your revenue per client is higher, then you might be able to afford to spend more money to get your name out to them. You may find success in PPC campaigns like Google Ads, where you could make upwards of a 200% return on your investment.
Go and Build Your Business
Art and creativity are extremely important in our technology-filled lives. When surveyed, 94% of people say that their workplace is made more welcoming with art, with 61% agreeing that it stimulates creativity.
Building an art business to fill the demand for this is a wonderful idea. There are, however, a few items that you need to keep in mind while starting your business to ensure your success. But most importantly, never lose your passion and love for creating something beautiful. Now it’s time to go and build the business of your dreams.
Madison Crenshaw is a mother of two and a serial entrepreneur originally from the Southern US. In the last decade, she has made the DC area her home. She is a savvy businesswoman who is always looking for the next big opportunity. She is an expert at networking and knows how to make her presence felt. She is a strong believer in the power of education and has been actively involved in her children's education. In her free time, she loves to travel, explore new cultures, and spend time with her family. She is passionate about making a difference in the world and is always looking for ways to help her community.
https://www.marketmommy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/professional-photography-business-scaled.jpg10011500Contributorhttps://www.marketmommy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/market-mommy-header-logo-1030x396.pngContributor2023-01-01 23:19:542023-01-14 18:56:10Starting Your Art Business: 4 Tips for Success