7 biggest benefits of CRM platforms

There are??numerous benefits of CRM platforms that can help you better organize your business operations. From increasing productivity to providing a better customer experience, many companies use these systems to improve daily workflow. It allows them to systematically organize data and numerous reports in one central hub and easily access all relevant information. On top of that, you can track innumerable metrics to see if additional aspects of your business require improvements.

What are the most significant benefits of CRM platforms?

CRM platforms are a??great option when you need solutions that can be used across several departments. To start with, CRM can collect a large amount of important information about your audience. With access to customers' preferences, demands, and activities, you will know precisely how to establish and maintain relationships and??improve your business. Also, CRM provides you with the correct data about your internal operations so you can analyze and improve them.

Even though the benefits may be different depending on the industry, there are seven major benefits of CRM platforms, in general:

1. CRM improves efficiency
2. Offers deep reporting and analytics
3. Makes collaboration easy for team members
4. More efficient data visualization
5. Better customer segmentation
6. Helps you personalize the outreach
7. Improves customer relationships

1. CRM improves efficiency

One of the most significant advantages CRM platforms offer is automation.??Many tasks and daily routines can be automatized to create an easier and more efficient workflow. Of course, not every niche is the same, and some focus on different tasks more. For example, CRM solutions, like??MoversTech CRM, are specialized to improve the efficiency of moving businesses. They focus on providing a better customer experience and improvement of often complex day-to-day operations. On the other side, other companies may focus more on outreach improvements and require CRM specific for their industry. Regardless, CRM improves the handling of countless smaller tasks, otherwise conducted manually.

CRM is essential to make multitasking more efficient.

2. Offers deep reporting and analytics

Most businesses use numerous reports from different sources, like Google Analytics,??social media, and analytical software, on a regular basis. But, without a central hub of information like CRM, it's easy to lose touch with reports from all over the place. You need to??organize everything in one place??to make sense of it one way or another.

This is where using quality CRM solutions becomes crucial. Its most significant benefit, in this case, is to collect, sort out, and organize reports, collected data, and results of different metrics. An advantage that CRM platforms offer is that they go deeper from an analytical standpoint as well. You can later use these reports to check if there is a possibility to improve certain operations like customer service, lead acquisitions, sales, and more.

3. Makes collaboration easy for team members

Every business collects data like contact information, customer interaction, numerous instructions, and many more. However, sometimes it can be challenging for each team member to find the correct information at a given moment. Not to mention how it increases in difficulty when the entire team needs to collaborate. This is why a??CRM platform can be a perfect solution for serving relevant information when needed. With the current state of development, many platforms allow members to simultaneously work on the same documents. Simply put, this is essential for any business because it keeps all information in check, up-to-date, and accessible for everyone in your company with credentials.

Collaboration will be much easier, especially for remote positions.

4. More efficient data visualization

Without CRM, it can be difficult to visualize all the data and records in your possession. You would have to manually process reports and find a way to create graphs and charts. Luckily, a CRM platform can complete most of the work for you. You can use the CRM dashboard without much effort and??configure how you want your data to be represented. It can do it separately for any metric or the conditions you set up. As a result, every team member will get what they need in an organized manner.

You can easily visualize any type of data with CRM platforms.

5. Better customer segmentation

In a customer-oriented world, much attention is directed toward the classification of customers. This is often regarded as customer segmentation. Companies often have thousands of contacts, and organizing everything in a meaningful way is time-consuming and overwhelming. This is another section where CRM is an irreplaceable solution. You can set different criteria, and??CRM will automatically complete the segmentations the way you want. Whether it's grouping contacts by name, age, preferences, or any given combination.

6. Helps you personalize the outreach

Another benefit of CRM platforms is that you can personalize the outreach for manual and automated campaigns. Without much effort, you can??set up countless automated tasks to target a specific audience. It will be conducted in a more personal way that triggers when criteria are matched. However, you can also use it to exclude some of your contacts from your campaign if it's not intended for them. In other words, depending on the tasks you want to accomplish, there are situations when it's??not good to automate.

7. Improves customer relationships

Without a doubt,??CRM platforms are great tools that can help you improve relationships with your customers. Besides making routine tasks easy, you can use it to provide a more personalized experience. CRM can help you analyze and connect customers with specific requirements and needs with the most suitable agents. Thanks to the excellent segmentation and quality reports, your team members will know exactly who needs to answer, how to approach the situation, and what solutions to offer. Giving this kind of attention to customers and making them feel like individuals will increase their satisfaction.

More personalized approach improves customers??? satisfaction

CRM platforms have become an essential tool for any business.??From organization to automation, there are numerous benefits of CRM platforms. In general, they are a central hub of organized information available at any moment, which can help you establish better communication with your potential clients. Additionally, it can also improve communication and information flow for your teams. As a result, teams that utilize CRM demonstrate increased efficiency and help your business succeed.

Meta description: Read about the 7 biggest benefits of CRM platforms that can help your business operations and increase the number of satisfied clients.

How social media can move your moving business forward

Find all about how social media can move your moving business forward. What are the points you should focus on and how to overtake the competition

These days, social media is a proven and vital part of society. It's no longer if you want to be on it, but you need to. People can't imagine the world without platforms that help them get connected. No one has time to share their images through email or reach their friends by phone. This, of course, has an impact on businesses also. So, today, we're talking about how social media can move your moving business forward.

According to surveys, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are the three platforms you should focus on as a marketer. With these, you can extend your reach, get to your target audience, and engage with them. And not only that. If you're trying to get your home-based business off the ground, you can't do without these.

As you can see, you shouldn't underestimate the influence and reach of social media. So, let's talk about ways these networks can help you propel your business forward and how you can utilize them.

These three social media networks will give you the most for your effort.

Increasing exposure, creating brand recognition and loyalty

If you're running a moving business, the first things you should focus on are raising awareness and building brand recognition. People love to get services from brands they recognize and trust.

Social media is perfect for this for a couple of reasons. The most important among them is that it's easy to put your brand in front of your target audience. In fact, this is one of the most significant benefits of using it. Now, there are plenty of ways to get a bigger audience. Basically, if you want to increase your social media following, you need to be worth following. You should create quality platform-specific content to connect with your audience. Focus on the visual elements through the images and videos. Tell stories and offer advice about what interests your target audience. This way, they'll trust you, and that's what you need to build loyalty.

Social media can drive traffic to your website

Although organic site visits are important, you shouldn't focus solely on them. In addition, use social media to drive traffic to your website. More than 80 percent of the business do this, so it obviously works. In fact, as little as an hour a day spent on social media can boost your website quite a bit.

Having a strong presence on social media can also boost your organic traffic. Social media helps with brand awareness. If you bring value to their lives, people will talk about you with their friends. And you can be sure that the people who hear about what you do for the first time will visit your website.

However, to make sure your audience talks about you, your content needs to be unique and sharable. The more you're mentioned, the more people will go through your lead funnel, and more of them will reach your service offering page. So, always make the share button visible and prominent.

One of the best examples of how social media can move your moving business forward is by increasing your website visits.

You'll be able to keep an eye on the competition

Although this may not be the first thing that springs to your mind when you think about how social media can move your moving business forward, getting insights from the marketplace is another upside we want to talk about.

We all know that in the moving business, competition is fierce. So, it pays out when you can monitor and learn from their performance. This process is called competitive analysis, and it's all about learning from the successes and mistakes of your competitors. However, you'll also get a chance to see where you are compared to your competition.

You can look into how they interact with their followers, what kinds of things they post, and if they're offering something you're not. You'll quickly figure out where they outperform you and what are the areas in which you're ahead. There's a chance you need to update your services, or maybe improving the visual aspect of your branding strategy is all you need. Whichever problem there is with your business, social media will help you put your finger on it more quickly.

You'll generate more leads

If it's not obvious by now, social media does help with generating new leads. However, you can get leads using many methods. So, you might wonder why this one is different. Well, the leads you acquire from social media are generally of higher quality. And the reason for this is advanced targeting.

When you're promoting something on social media, you get to choose who you want to promote it to. Therefore, these are excellent tools for collecting top-of-funnel leads. Here, we're talking about people in the awareness and consideration stage of their buyer's journey.

Make an eBook explaining how to pack some of your belongings, or even better, an explainer video about it. Then share it with your potential customers. Here are some basic guidelines you should stick to.

• Create content that your followers may be interested in. It should be straightforward and easy to understand.
• Include images that are on-brand. They should be visually appealing but also relevant to the content.
• Finally, make a call to action that creates a sense of urgency.

Leads and connections are the two most important things in the moving business, and social media helps you create plenty of quality ones.

Social media will help you establish your brand as a leader

It's not a secret that moving companies that establish themselves as leaders in the niche get the most calls. This is business 101, so there's no surprise here. The best thing about it, however, is that social media can help you do this.

It won't be easy, but with the right tactics, you can get there. In essence, you need to regularly post content in which you'll showcase your expertise, opinions, and thoughts. Coming up with great ideas for blog posts constantly isn't something anyone can do. But you can outsource this part of the job. This way, you'll have time to focus on more important things, like providing your customers with the quality service they deserve.

With time, your website will gain authority, and you'll become a top mover in your area because of it. This is not a quick process, but it will be worth it. As you can see, there are many ways how social media can move your moving business forward. So, don't wait and miss the opportunity that is in front of you the whole time.

Top Cybersecurity Mistakes to Avoid in 2021

Visit cryan.com for the latest in tech news, developments, and resources.

Top Cybersecurity Mistakes to Avoid in 2021

With technology expanding by leaps and bounds every day, it's no wonder that small business owners want to make use of innovations that allow their businesses to thrive. Unfortunately, as reliance on technology increases, so do the risks. Cyber threats are a growing issue around the world, and without proactive measures, businesses face the potential for significant damage that could be irreparable. With this in mind, it???s critical for SBOs to take a proactive approach when it comes to cybersecurity.

Thinking You???re Not a Target

According to Microsoft, small businesses are at an exceptionally high risk of a cyber attack. 43% of all data breaches are committed against smaller companies. With an average loss of more than $180,000, many of these companies ??? 60%, to be exact ??? go under in six months or less after an incident. The single most important thing you can do is to accept that your business is at risk and take steps to prevent your data from becoming vulnerable.

Assuming Remote Employees Have a Secure Setup

Now that you understand the threat, it???s critical to be proactive. If your systems aren???t fully protected against security threats like malware, phishing attacks, ransomware and other issues, you could easily become the victim of a cyberattack that could bring your business to its knees. The best way to protect your company and your data is to have a strong IT infrastructure in place, as well as a disaster recovery plan that you can quickly execute in the event of an attack. Make a plan to partner with a data protection solutions company to protect your digital assets. The ideal firm offers a robust data management program with continuous monitoring and expedient disaster recovery protocols to ensure your assets remain secure.

Relying Solely on Antivirus Software

If you choose not to outsource protection, you may think that installing antivirus software on each machine is enough. It is not. Inc explains that antivirus software fails for a number of reasons. One is that it only tests for known viruses. Just as alarming, most companies forgo scanning because it bogs computers down. Another significant concern with trusting antivirus software is that criminals know how the software is written and they can design their attacks around it. While using antivirus software is a smart move, this must also be supplemented by things like firewalls and employee training, as well as teaching your staff how to recognize social engineering attacks.

Creating Weak Passwords

Bad passwords can negate monitoring, training, and antivirus software. LastPass explains that hackers can easily find passwords by using bots that test common combinations. ???Password??? and ???12345??? might be easy to remember, but these and other single words and number combinations are the worst possible digital lock you can put on your accounts. Create stronger passwords ??? and insist that your employees and customers do the same, by having a different password for all of your accounts, both personal and professional. You could also use a password manager or create a long-form password that includes numbers, letters, special characters, and unusual spellings.

Understand that cybersecurity threats are real. Even if you are a company of one, if you have customers, bank information, or sensitive data, you are a target. Hackers know that you likely do not have the same financial and technology resources as large companies to protect yourself, and they can exploit all of your weaknesses. While the above will not guarantee that you won???t become a target, rest assured that failure to implement these and other cybersecurity measures will greatly enlarge the bull???s-eye and make you more susceptible to digital damage.

Image via Pexels

Mobile Apps and the Pandemic

Mobile Apps playing a huge part during the Pandemic

How The Mobile App Development Industry Remained Resilient During the Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic changed the lives of many around the globe in an instant. The speed of spread and exponential mutation made the outbreak impossible to predict and governments and health organizations didn't have time to adapt. Some companies wound up in bankruptcy while others let some staff go to stay afloat. Many others resorted to remote work and relied on digitization to keep their companies running. However, the mobile app development industry remained resilient during the peak of the pandemic. How did it happen?

Digitization Became Essential

To cope with the disruption Covid-19 caused, individuals, companies, organizations, and the government moved to digital platforms to adhere to social distancing guidelines. Mobile apps took center stage as the number of globally downloaded applications per quarter doubled in five years. This reflects the powerful roles of apps as well as increased smartphone penetration in the market. There was a sharp spike in application downloads in the first and second quarters of 2020.

User Spending on Apps Rose Exponentially

By 2024, user spending on mobile applications is expected to surpass 171 billion dollars globally. The number is a result of the steady growth of 18 billion annually for the past 5 years. The impact of Covid-19 on spending habits isn't quite clear yet, but it appears that more people are spending money on mobile apps. It doesn't look like it is going to change in the next five to six years. So far, Google Play and Apple's slowest growing regions are estimated to see revenues that surpass their 2019 levels by 2024. In the next five years, different app stores are expected to reach milestones such as hitting $100 billion on user spending.

Mobile App and Web Developers to the Rescue

With a large number of people switching to digital platforms and mobile apps, the demand for app developers grew. They are needed to build platforms for easy communication and more responsive apps since physical offices are closed. E-commerce stores needed apps to get necessities in the easiest ways possible to people stuck indoors. Many countries have engaged these developers to create apps to ease the Covid-19 testing process. There are also fitness apps for others who cannot go to the gym. The apps help them to keep fit until they can resume regular life again.

Video calling apps also became more popular during the lockdown as families and businesses use them to keep in touch with staff. Chatbots also became essential for companies that could no longer take calls in the office. The chatbots act as virtual assistants and try to solve the problem of the customer to decongest the customer care line. Mobile payment gateway apps were also in high demand for stores that were not able to collect payment for services physically.

Developers Stayed Afloat by Providing Digitization Services to Individuals and Businesses

The mobile app development industry stayed resilient during the pandemic by providing essential services to other businesses and people that needed it most. Aside from creating apps that generate revenue, developers must test the apps before releasing them. Maintaining the app is important as well. Phone manufacturers upgrade their operating systems from time to time, so developers must also maintain apps to ensure that they are up to the current standard requirements of the app store. Obsolete apps are always deleted from app stores.

Some hard-hit companies like the travel industry have benefited from these apps as well. Contact tracing apps and other safety apps were introduced in 2020 to mitigate the effects on the industry. The pandemic heightened the need for systems that allow people to execute any operation remotely. Though the climate has been unpredictable, it is clear that the dependence on mobile apps for communication, commerce, education, entertainment, and shopping will continue to grow.

Conclusion

Mobile apps played a large role during the peak of the pandemic in 2020 by helping individuals to adhere to social distancing guidelines. In some cases, it also helped facilitate contact tracing. The most important role they have played is allowing people to keep in touch with colleagues, friends, and family. The mobile app industry experienced sharp growth due to the increased demand for digitization, and this move makes it a promising industry. If you are interested in mobile app development, you can learn more about how to become a web developer on Computersciencehero.com and Bootcamprankings.com.

30 Ice Breaker Questions

Add some fun in your weekly meetings

Ice Breaker questions are a great way to break the silence in meetings. They also help employees learn more about their coworkers.

We use ice breakers in our Zoom meetings to lighten up the meeting a bit. It helps lighten the mood a bit.

Here is my personal list of thirty ice breaker questions. Feel free to use them in your next team meeting.

1. What's your favorite hometown resturant?
2. What store has closed that you wished you go visit again?
3. What's your favorite movie snack?
4. What's a useful Chrome Extension that you love?
5. On your commute, what do you listen to in the car or train?
6. What???s the best sports stadium that you watched a game from?
7. What restaurant do you wish was still open from your childhood?
8. What movie have you seen on opening night?
9. Have you ever met a President or a top leader?
10. Where is the best vacation spot?
11. What food did you try once and vow never to try again?
12. What was your first computer?
13. Have you ever appeared as a background on a live news story?
14. What is the most famous place you visited? (Whitehouse, Graceland, Buckingham Palace etc)
15. Have you ever done a DIY project - how did it turn out?
16. Do you remember your science fair project?
17. Have you gone camping? If so where?
18. Have you ever run a 5k, 1/2 Marathon or a Marathon?
19. What???s a classic arcade game that you love to play.
20. Have you inadvertently run into a former coworker?
21. What is your favorite breakfast food?
22. What do you like to do on a long flight?
23. Have you ever gone to a book signing?
24. What???s a good healthy snack that you would recommend?
25. Have you purchased/sold something on eBay?
26. Have you ridden on a Segway?
27. What???s your favorite lunch meal at the beach?
28. What???s your favorite ice cream flavor?
29. What is the longest time you stood in line for a ride at an amusement park?
30. Have you personally watched a Shuttle/Rocket launch?

Halls Christmas Tree Stand

Discovering old Memories on my CDs and DVDs

This weekend I pulled out some old data CDs and DVDs. I was looking around at some of the files that I saved back in 2003. These disks are 17-years old and are at risk of soon being "expired."

CD-R, DVD-R, and DVD+R discs should have a life expectancy of 100 to 200 years or more. However, what is questionable is if the hardware will still be able to recognize the CD/DVD formating.

I found lots of digital photos, taken with my Fuji FinePix A303 camera.

Halls Christmas Tree Stand

I found a bunch of pictures taken at the Hall's Christmas Tree shop in West Concord. These were taken on December 6, 2003.

This past weekend we actually purchased a live tree, but not at Hall's in West Concord. Halls stopped selling Christmas trees in West Concord in 2008.

Toby Hall closed the West Concord Shop because he decided to retire.

If your a really big fan, you can visit the farm at 816 Douty Hill Rd, Sangerville, ME 04479. It's a 4-hour drive from West Concord.

Idylwilde Farms in Acton, is supposed to be selling trees from Halls Farm in Maine.

Now What?

I'll be moving pictures on the CD/DVD to Google Photos so that I can access them in the future.

Disney+ Error Issue

How to fix some issues with the Disney+ service.

Recently we had a problem with getting access to the Disney+ on our Samsung Smart TV. We tried several things to fix it and got it working!

The Problem

When ever we switched over to Disney+ we would get an error:

We search online for other people's solution to this problem:

• We removed the App, and installed it again - That didn't do anything.
• We shut down the TV, waited a minute and tried Disney+ - That didn't do anything.
• We disconnect the power to the home Wifi to recycle the Internet. Turned on the TV, then Disney+ - That didn' do anything.

We also found that we were getting errors on our iPad devices too. The error was related to Error Code 83. (Which is great if you know what Error Code 83 means.)

The Solution

We finally gave in and decided to call Disney+. After being on hold for about 2-minutes, we talked to a technician about our problem.

He told us that our home IP address was marked as suspicious. That's why we were not able to get into the account.

He did some "Disney Magic" and told us to try again. (He probably just removed the suspicious tag on our IP Address.)

It Worked!

Having This Issue?

So if you're having any issues with Error Code 1016 or Error 83, simply call Disney+ to see if there's an issue that they need to fix. (This is true especially if you tried everyone else solution.)

Oh and Disney, please work on a better Error message than "Error Code: 1016 ??? App_Config_Failure."

Zoom Background View

Fixed up my home office background for Zoom calls

Like many Bostonians, I have been working from home because of the pandemic.

Since it looks like I'll be doing this for a while, I decided to fix the background on my desk. This is what it looks like this past week:

Some Interesting Notes

I'll be taking down all the Halloween decorations tomorrow, I just kept them up for one more round of Zoom calls.

Yes there's a real Macintosh Plus. I was able to boot it up. I just need the mouse to use it - which I do have someplace downstairs.

In front of the Macintosh Plus is the original 5G iPod. The battery doesn't work anymore, but if I plug it in, I can play the music that I added to the iPod. This is the Firewire version. So it only works on some of the computers I have.

Next to the computer is some standard floppy disks and some Zip Disks. I have a lot more in the basement. I am only showcasing a few items.

The Apple next to the Macintosh is from a tree in the backyard. It was the only apple to grow on the tree. This was strange since prior years the tree did yield plenty of apples.

The "Hillside Pumpkin Farm sign" (In the center of the picture) is something that I got at Knotts Berry Farm. I remember having this when I lived in California.

The black bear on the Macintosh Plus also came from Knotts Berry Farm. I paid $4.64 for it.

There's a lot of Haunted Mansion items on the various shelves. These will stay around all year long.

This is my Scandinavian Design desk. I have owned this desk since 1998. It looks very similar to the Gammel Desk, but mine is Cherry not white.

Update Your Background

Checkout your Zoom background. Is it exciting? Why not take a few minutes and spice it up so that it's exciting and interesting.

iOS Screenshot on Google Photos

How to find all your iOS video screenshots

Today???s quick tip applies to Google Photos.

Have you ever wanted to find a video screenshot that you have done on the iPhone? Maybe it was a Tick Tok video or some weather info.

How can you easily find it?

Well it turns out that if you search for rpreplay you will get all the video screenshots that you have taken on your phone.

Now it???s a bit easier to find that video that you were looking for.

If you take a lot of iPhone video screenshots, you can always add a date to your query. Example: rpreplay August.

As for regular iPhone screenshots, try IMG_ PNG for your search query.

Get Your Home-Based Business or Career off the Ground

Tips and Tricks on building your own home based business

Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

Resources to Help Get Your Home-Based Business or Career off the Ground

When you???re looking for more independence in your career, working from home might be the perfect solution. Many business ventures and career paths are well suited to working from home, so you have a lot to choose from. If you???re considering launching a business or changing careers, find ideas and inspiration that will help you below.

Challenges of Working from Home

For many people, working out of a home office sounds like a dream come true. While the flexibility and freedom are great, you???ll want to consider these potential drawbacks when deciding if it???s the right path.

• Working from home can get lonely, especially if you don???t meet with clients or attend meetings. It???s important to find a way to feel connected whether you???re a remote employee, business owner or an independent contractor.
• There is also a wide array of distractions at home, such as TV, chores and family matters. However, designating a home office space can help you stay on task.
• Meeting with clients in your home office may be challenging. If your business idea entails working with clients, think about how you can maintain privacy and keep meetings professional.
• Keep in mind some business ventures aren???t allowed in residential areas due to zoning regulations. Make sure you check the rules before getting too invested.

Career and Business Opportunities

Despite the challenges of starting a business or becoming a remote employee, it???s also rewarding. If you know you want to work from home but don???t know how to get started, consider these ideas.

• Freelancing is a great way to get started since you can do it on the side of your day job to test the waters. You can start freelancing with nearly any skill, and once you see success, you can turn it into a full-time career.
• Becoming a home-based entrepreneur is another great idea. Countless entrepreneurs start out of a home office because of the low overhead. And if your business takes off, you can always expand.
• Alternatively, you can snag a remote job with a company that???s hiring virtual employees. Many jobs are perfectly suited to working from home.

Education and Training

Launching a business or entering a new career field sometimes requires a bit of prep before you can get started. Here are a few steps you might want to take to boost your chances of success.

• Getting a business degree online in marketing, business administration, accounting or any other field can be a great way to build out your skillset.
• Find a mentor to help you hone your business idea or launch into your new career.
• Reach out to your local Chamber of Commerce to find business development centers or other similar resources to get your ideas off the ground.

Career and Educational Resources for Veterans

Veterans can benefit from using the same resources as everyone else, but there are also a variety of programs made just for helping vets launch a new career or business.

• Look into scholarships and education grants that are available for veterans and active-duty military members.
• Use career development resources from the VA to get started on a new path or find the training you need.
• Use veteran-focused business incubation resources to fuel the success of your venture.

It can be intimidating starting a business or heading down a new career path, especially if you plan on working out of your home. Working remotely and running a home-based business isn???t easy, but hopefully, these resources can help you rise to the challenge and find success.