Generally the most ignored component in any manufacturing industry is the Sales and Marketing process. So obviously the need to automate and transform Sales and Marketing function also comes down in the list of priorities. That is the reason generally manufacturing units don’t focus much on implementing a CRM system for their Sales and Marketing team.

However CRM not only can help Sales team to perform better but its positive effects can be seen over the entire organisation. It’s not only the Sales team that will benefit. We need to deep dive into the topic to understand it better.

How CRM helps

1. Sales are solution for every problem: As the management theory goes, a good Sales figure will take care of many smaller problems in any company. Be it profitability or cash flow or even morale of the team, a good sales figure takes care of all. So, without the dread of being overstated we can say that, Sales is the cure for most of the illness an organisation might have.
2. Measuring efforts and seeing results: Sales figures are results of Sales and Marketing activities done by the team. Results are not in our hands but the activities can be managed. In case of the absence of proper CRM, since activities are not measurable, people turn a blind eye to it. The primary focus hence shifts to the results and then the speculation on the probable causes of not being able to achieve them. This leads to lots of stress and distrust amongst team members.
3. Sales is never done in isolation: Especially in a Manufacturing Industry, most of the times, Sales is not a one man Job (or one meeting Job for that matter). Technical team is involved for showing POC (Proof of Concept) or demo; Finance team may be involved for sending and validating proposals and quotations. So if a proper CRM is implemented it will make managing and validating the entire process of Sales, in different stages and by different team members, a piece of cake.
4. Sales Projections: How can you decide what to produce, if you don’t know what you are going to Sell. CRM helps here in two ways (a) giving Sales Projections based on enquiries and deals/opportunities on hand and (b) understanding trends and customer buying patterns. This can help to formulate strategies for both short and long term.
5. Entire Customer Lifecycle on one platform: Customers’ journey with your company starts much before they buy your solution. The Sale happens, then erection, installation and commissioning is done which is followed by after-sales services. Lots of team members from your company contact lots of different members from the customers’ end. CRM can provide you with the entire history of all the interactions done above.
6. Getting Whole Picture: Nowadays, because of massive use of Mobile technologies in CRM, it is possible to get time and cost analysis of any activities, even Sales efforts. Imagine if you could get the amount of time and efforts invested in Sales, after Sales and post Sales support of any given customer and then compare it against the Sales or Gross Profit. This can enable a company to decide which businesses are profitable and which are not. CRM helps you to get a full consolidated picture which in turn helps in taking decisions based on analysis rather than gut feelings.

CRM is a must for any manufacturing Industry in order to get a 360 degree image of their business as well as the customer behaviour. We have seen many success stories where our clients have not only seen remarkable growth in their Sales figures by using our CRM solution, but have also achieved a higher efficiency in their overall processes, due to synchronised reporting provided by CRM. Recently large scale adoption of Mobile CRM has changed the dynamics to a drastic level. It has almost eradicated data entry or simplified it to a great level and improved real-time reporting and notifications to Sales executives and managers. Mobile CRM is the need of current times, not only for Manufacturing Industry but for any kind of business.

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Mobile is more AVAILABLE as compared to PC

Also, considering that CRM is primarily for Sales & Service (or support), the Mobile CRM is more convenient. Because, most of the time, salespeople, and service staffs are on the move rather on the desk.

Most importantly sales representatives see Mobile CRM as more of an enabler and force multiplier than just a reporting tool. That makes CRM adoption much easier and faster.

Mobility features like Geo-Tagging or auto call/SMS logging which is loved by Sales Executives as well as Sales Managers.

Ten Business Benefits of Mobile CRM

1. Convenient than PC

Of course, Mobile is much more convenient to use as compared to PC. Longer battery life, handy, always with you. Particularly with the advent of inexpensive and powerful smartphones, there is a paradigm shift in how we consume information and do businesses.

2. Relevant information, anytime, anywhere

Mobile CRM is never like Web/PC CRM. Because there is the scarcity of screen space, the information is much more relevant. It is as personal as possible at the same time as much as it is business and enterprise ready. Real-time notifications, add that extra flare to the usage of CRM and increase its effectiveness to a significant level.

3. Mobile Dashboards

Dashboards on mobile give that crucial insight on what needs attention. Urgent and important things are presented much easily on mobile CRM dashboard. Things like upcoming meetings, sales funnel, and overdue accounts make the life of a sales person very easy.

4. Auto Call/SMS Logging

Mobile CRM software provides automatic call/SMS logging. It eliminates the need for data entry and updating the CRM for every activity that is done by Sales Executives. These Mobile CRM Apps don’t log all the Calls/SMS, but when you call somebody for the first time, it asks you whether you want to register it – “Always, Yes, No, Never.” It makes sure that CRM does not log personal calls.

5. Improve data Quality

Since the user doesn’t have to wait till reaching the desk for updating the CRM data, data quality gets improved instantly. Example: Wrong phone numbers or email IDs or even addresses can be corrected on the go, immediately.

6. Single Click Meeting Entries

Making records of a meeting or Minutes of Meeting is one of the most hated task, which is required to be done by Sales Representatives. Mobile CRM makes it incredibly easy by allowing single click meetings, which will log Geographical Locations and time automatically. It also allows attaching audio and image files as Minutes of Meetings.

7. Geo Tagging and coordination

Geo tagging can drastically increase the efficiency of the field force as well as the back office coordination staff also. Example: lead from the website can be assigned to nearest Sales representative immediately, and Mobile CRM notifies Sales Rep by email / Mobile Notification. Thus the lead can be followed up immediately, resulting in more closures.

8. Improves CRM adoption

Mobile CRM naturally increases CRM adoption because of easier operations and simple user interfaces. Also since reporting of activities can be done immediately from anywhere, Sales reps love Mobile CRM.

9. Nearby, Geo Search

Geo tagging allows Sales reps to search people near them. Example: Sales rep can figure out all the Companies/Persons with upcoming deals located near him. It can be a great time saver tool.

10. Audio / Image Notes

Mobile CRM allows attaching audio and images as notes to meetings, contacts, deals or any other module. It serves a great purpose, as it is incredibly easy to dictate a note as compared to writing something. Of course attaching a picture will be worth typing one thousand words.

Don’t imagine contemporary CRM without a Mobile App, it is useless.

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The cloud technology dramatically reduces the time, funds and infrastructure educational institutions require to reach to the new markets. Not only do institutions benefit from the economies of scale, but they can also channelize the savings towards strategic learning initiatives and other revenue streams. Apart from these, institutions will achieve operational efficiency with the centralized control while the students become more engaged with the options available to them. Teachers focus more on learner requirements rather than on mundane admin tasks.

Already, the cloud in education is a huge market worth $5 billion; it is expected to cross $12 billion in 2019, according to a report, Cloud Computing in Education Market – Worldwide Market Forecasts and Analysis (2014-2019) by MarketsandMarkets. Another report from CDW – 2013 State of the Cloud showed that 48% of the higher ed institutions that participated in the survey saw moving to cloud as a top priority, which shows that the cloud finds its benefits in the education sector.

Incorporation of the cloud in education

Cloud is deployed in education is deployed through three service models:

1. Software as a Service (SaaS): This model of cloud computing enables educational institutes to use applications and software through a cloud platform. These subscription-based e learning solutions are available in different variants, giving users the flexibility to scale operations as per their needs.
2. Platform as a Service (PaaS): The educators can create, and customize self-created or acquired applications through programming languages, services, and tools that the cloud platform providers offer. For instance, an educator can design a customized virtual lab for the students using a PaaS. However, for this, they need to possess technical know-how or hire an IT team for application development.
3. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): The service provider enables the educators to deploy and run the software, including applications and operating systems. A provision to processing, networks, and storage is also made available.

Why are educational institutes moving to cloud?

There are a plethora of reasons why educational institutes are moving to the cloud, such as:

1. Real-time instruction in virtual environment

The most significant benefit that cloud offers higher ed institutions and schools is the ability to deliver face-to-face instruction in a virtual environment to dispersed student base. Real-time instruction from anywhere enhances student-teacher collaboration, leading to a more engaging experience. Institutions can utilize their limited faculty and content resources more efficiently by catering to more number of students worldwide.

2. Self-paced distance learning online

Cloud gives educational institutions the ability to offer distance learning online to a large student base without any admin hassles. In fact, they can create a 24/7 open destination where students from across the world can come and take courses anytime. Besides, the cloud diminishes the need to have a dedicated physical to-and-fro system to access sophisticated learning materials. This encourages education providers to reach out to their audience on a global scale on their devices in a perpetually connected set-up.

3. Cost Effectiveness

One of the biggest concerns of the education providers is the infrastructure, and IT cost. The cloud addresses this concern by eliminating the need for an in-house IT-supporting infrastructure. The server-based infrastructure that was initially a prerequisite for educational institutes to carry out online learning operations has become a thing of past. This infrastructural capital expenditure is now converted into a nominal operational cost that is an on-demand, pay-as-you-go model.

This is the hardware story.

A cloud platform also enables educators and businesses to opt for subscription-based software. Since cloud-based applications run on internet browsers, the SaaS (Software as a Service) model has made it inexpensive to deploy the technology. This has further benefited the educators in reducing costs associated with servers, data, and applications.

4. Unlimited Storage

The cloud technology is a boon for educational institutes that offer a large number of courses with tons of learning materials and manage assignments submitted by the students. The SaaS platforms provide practically unlimited and secure storage for courses and student data.Educators are also empowered to share course modules and assignments with the learners across devices. One cloud account can be accessed on multiple Internet-enabled devices that students own from anywhere.

5. Data Security

The cloud, unlike hardware storage devices, is a step ahead when it comes to data security and data recovery. Hardware failures at either the educator’s end or at that of the learner do not result in loss of data given the cloud backup. Also, the content streamed is end-to-end encrypted, ensuring enhanced security. The expiring URLs and conditional access to data make online learning delivery and consumption secure.

6. Flexibility of Customization and Scaling

The educators who deploy cloud technology enjoy the flexibility to customize their online learning portals according to their brand as well as their student-base. Alongside, comes the ease of scaling. The subscription-based cloud platforms offer educational institutes the flexibility to accommodate their increasing student base at any given time.

7. Environmental Friendliness

According to an AWS report, cloud platforms and service providers function on a 28 percent less carbon-intense power mix. Cloud, according to a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory case study, also helps to lower the total energy consumption while running software applications by 87 percent.

Conclusion

The cloud has continued revolutionizing the delivery of education and has made it available to even the remote and the less-privileged strata of the society. According to a UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education report, the global demand for primary and higher education through the cloud would double by 2025.

Given such trends, the need of the hour for educators and organizations is to adopt and adapt to a cloud technology platform to deliver online learning. WizIQ is a SaaS platform and, with its simple-to-use and learning-based approach, stands as one such unique cloud-based platform that encourages even technophobes and technology virgins to access teaching and training modules through their smartphones and laptops.

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According to a recent report published by Allied Market Research, the global market for digital signatures is projected to reach $3,440 million by 2022. The main growth drivers of the market include the popularity of internet banking and e-commerce activities, as well as an increase in internet penetration. The market has been segmented based on the type of components such as hardware, software, and services, the type of deployment such as on-premise and cloud based, and the type of industry verticals such as banking, education, human resource, government, IT & telecommunications and much more.

The growth in the digital signature market is reflected in the recent happenings across the globe. Samsung Electronics along with Wacom is planning to enter the digital signature market with their S-Pen stylus, a signature feature of the company’s note phone. Singapore plans smartphone based national digital identity system to offer digital signatures for paperless transactions. In July this year, Zoho announced the launch of a digital signature app for businesses called Zoho Sign. In April 2017, WISeKey has announced that it has acquired QuoVadis, a leading global Certification Authority providing Trust/Link managed PKI services, including digital certificates for TLS/SSL and a wide variety of end entity uses including eID/authentication, encryption, and digital signature. In August 2017, electronic signature solution industry leader DocuSign announced that it has it has been granted authorization under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP).

Samsung Electronics and Wacom to enter the Digital Signature market

The South Korean giant Samsung Electronics along with Japan-based Wacom is coming up with the S-Pen stylus in order to make a foothold in the digital signature market. At a news conference in August 2017, Samsung’s head of technology strategy Chai Won-cheol said that S-Pen’s digital signature will bring new demands in the B2B market when integrated with Samsung’s authentication solutions such as Samsung Pay, Knox and iris and fingerprint recognition.

Singapore to improve its SingPass Service With a new NID system

Singapore has plans to improve its existing SingPass service with a new smartphone based national digital identity (NID) system to offer digital signatures for paperless transactions in both public and private sector services. Singpass is an existing citizen account used for e-government services. It will be replacing the authentication process of sending one-time passwords via SMS text messages and offer authentication via a smartphone app. Singapore plans to make the NDI platform fully functional by 2020. This initiative is part of Singapore’s Smart Nation push.

Zoho launches Zoho Sign

Realizing the importance of digital transaction management market, Zoho has launched a digital signature app for businesses in July this year. Using the new app called Zoho Sign, users can sign and send legally binding contracts from any location simply by using a signing process.

Zoho Sign is available in both web and mobile versions. It also integrates with other Zoho services such as Zoho CRM and Zoho Writer, thereby enabling businesses to complete their approvals and agreements using the signing feature. Zoho Sign also supports multi-party and individual signatures. It covers a number of use cases, from sales orders and special deal terms to partnership agreements, contracts, invoice processing and more.

Read More: eMudhra to help over 15 Indian states go paperless

WISeKey acquired QuoVadis

In April this year, WISeKey International Holding Ltd has announced that it has completed its acquisition of QuoVadis, a leading global Certification Authority providing Trust/Link managed PKI services, including digital certificates for TLS/SSL and a wide variety of end entity uses including eID/authentication, encryption, and digital signature. This acquisition will place WISeKey as a market leader in this new industry referred to as Vertical Platforms for IoT Security Technologies and allow it to reinforce its IoT PKI offering.

DocuSign granted authorization under the (FedRAMP)

The e-signature and Digital Transaction Management (DTM) industry leader DocuSign recently announced that it has it has been granted authorization under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). The company is now officially listed as a certified federal technology provider and is the first and only digital signature tech approved for use across the US.

Read more about the digital signature market here.

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Not only it is critical to your company’s security and reputation, but archiving is also crucial to making sure you can trace text-based evidence and use it to prove certain cases on the court. And with the data explosion in the recent years, archiving has also come to the forefront as organizations search for a solution that’ll help them maintain and produce diverse types of data without the need to augment their on-premise IT capabilities.

Nowadays, these implications have become much more pronounced since texting, chat apps, and smartphones have become a common part of day-to-day operations of most business across different industries.

To know more about this topic, check out this infographic as we present to you the top reasons why your organization’s text messages need to get archived.

Reposted with permission. The post was originally posted here.

Read More: 5 tools to manage your Mail Subscriptions and Online Accounts better

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Gamification for business app development

First of all, let’s give a definition to the term. Gamification is a use of game mechanics in a non-game context to engage people to solve problems.

Have you noticed how a game can capture you? “One more level, one more level!” A game can have all our attention and make us almost obsessed with it. Wouldn’t it be great if your business application could make people so passionate in accomplishing work assignments? Can gamification do that? Yes! Because it is about changing people’s attitude to the process, making it more relaxed and enthusiastic at the same time!

By implementing the gamification approach you can:

Improve employee job involvement – concentration problems at work is not a secret. But we can continue playing games for a very long time, can’t we? Gamified design and assignments which look like a mission in a game will definitely make your workers’ day!

Promote collaboration – people often take their coworkers as competitors, which is not always good for the atmosphere at work and major achievements. Gamified workflows framed as challenges with rewards for cooperation can make people solve issues together.

Reduce costs – higher results bring benefits to the company. Although, you can add some features to the app which will stimulate the workers to eat healthier and have breaks on time. Healthier workers is a big advantage too!

Lower stress levels –  the gamified workflow doesn’t cause so much stress. Surely, people get upset when they lose a game, but they know they can start again.

Train staff more efficiently – gamification is not just for children! Grownups study better and faster when the process is brighter and more involving too!

If we speak about advantages of gamification for the customers, they are:

Motivation – is generally the main advantage of gamification. For fitness apps, e-learning apps and other kinds, gamification is what makes the process captivating and motivates to continue achieving further goals.

Brand recognition and engagement- thanks to gamification, your app can stand out among others and stick in the users’ memory, making them your biggest fans!

Recruitment – in e-learning apps for developers, you can create a contest where the winners can get a job proposal. Not only can you boost the popularity of an app, but also find a talented employee.

Gamification principles for business improvement

Isn’t it great to get all the benefits listed above? If your answer is “yes”, here are main gamification principles to implement in the app development to get a truly outstanding result.

Create a challenge correctly: Define all the tasks in a concise and logical way, otherwise, a user can quit the game.

Stay connected: Send push-notifications or some kind of messages to remind the user about the tasks to do. Don’t be too importunate, but ping a person often enough to get him back to the application.

Specify failure options: It’s natural that there can be a loss. Make up several options depending on the situation, whether a user can start from the current level or from the very beginning. However, the necessity to start too often can be very disappointing and make a person quit the game.

Give feedback: Comment on the user’s progress and explain all tasks thoroughly, make the person feel like there is a coach 24/7.

Inspire to keep up with the challenge: Use bright pictures, animation, and inspirational quotes to encourage your user.

Remind about the goal: Show how much has been achieved and what the user is going to get in the end.

Determine the reward: It’s very logical that all the efforts to undertake the tasks must be rewarded. That can be something real, a kind of a prize or an award, but it has to be something memorable to make the user really happy after all the hard work.

Here are some optional features which can improve the user’s involvement:

Use badges: Create funny and bright designs for badges to determine the user’s status. This can also arouse a person to be more enthusiastic to get another badge!

Provide with coaching: – Provide with detailed guidelines on how to complete the challenge.  The option can be especially valuable for the newcomers, but surely it’s not a must for experienced users.

Most common missteps in gamification

Regarding how crucial it is for many people to stay concentrated on their goals, gamification is a great way out. The cost to create an app with gamification features can be pretty moderate, but remember about these DONT’S not to waste your investments:

1. Make the gamification features optional. If your audience age is very wide, not everybody will appreciate it fully.
2. Don’t make your users concentrated on the competition only. There is also quality, properly accomplished tasks and the attention to your brand, as well.
3. Don’t give rewards too easy – make people feel they must try their best to complete a certain level, but don’t make it unrealizable too.
4. Don’t make a detective story instead of clear rules – they must be easy to understand, non-ambiguous and possible to perform.

Read More: Zoho gamifies CRM, adds fun to sales team competition

Gamification in app development gives endless opportunities to create recognizable and truly unique, engaging projects. However, don’t forget about the aim of your app itself while thinking about the gamification. It’s just an approach to help people with their routines, but not the final aim of your application. That’s why we advise you to hire a professional team of developers, who can create you an outstanding gamified mobile app and make your users absolutely delighted.

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In Singapore, the fast aging population means that healthcare facilities will soon be tested. It is estimated that 30,000 additional healthcare professionals will be required by 2020 to cater to the rising demand for healthcare services. Transitioning to a technology-driven model may be the most efficient solution to address this manpower challenge. Singaporeans are open to this with a survey conducted by Accenture showing that 57 per cent of the surveyed are willing to adopt technology to improve their healthcare experience.

While the transition towards a future healthcare model—one that embraces a technology-driven approach to better meet the demands of diverse region—bodes well, it is a horror show waiting to happen when seen from a cybersecurity point of view.

According to Frost & Sullivan, Asia Pacific’s healthcare IT market is expected to reach $12.6 billion by 2020, as innovations such as telemedicine, remote monitoring and activity trackers show their value in enhancing the way healthcare professionals meet patient needs. Unfortunately, the significant monetary potential in healthcare IT is also attracting the unwanted attention of cybercriminals who, armed with tricks ranging from phishing schemes to ransomware, are ready to attack.

This shows in the numbers: 89 percent of healthcare organizations have already suffered an IoT-related security breach, while 49 percent of them have struggled with malware. Human error and Distributed-Denial-of-Service (DDoS) also continue to be concerns. As hackers begin to deploy intricately planned targeted attacks, whether by breaching confidential systems or attacking websites, these can cause healthcare organizations to come to a standstill—and in the worst cases, endanger patient well-being.

The repercussions of poor cybersecurity planning can be a bitter pill for healthcare organizations to swallow.

Just recently, the global ransomware attack WannaCry brought down Britain’s National Health Service, as well as hospitals in China, Indonesia and Japan, by preventing healthcare workers from accessing patient records, resulting in canceled appointments and delays in emergency operations.

So how can healthcare organizations protect themselves from cybercriminals? Here are six proactive measures or ‘vaccines’ that healthcare organizations can take to guard against cyberattacks:

1. Know what connected devices are up to

In an environment where patients use mobile devices and healthcare workers track medical processes, having IT know which devices are connected to the network and what they are used for helps to weed out possible vulnerabilities that hackers might successfully exploit.

2. Separate Wi-Fi access for patients and families

As the number of devices connecting to an unsecure network increases, it is important to introduce policies to segment guest traffic from hospital traffic to ensure that data is being accessed by the right people, while at the same time limiting exposure to threats.

3. Improve day-to-day digital hygiene

With the increasing need for digital convenience, users are becoming sloppy with cybersecurity just to save a few extra seconds. Remember that prevention is better than cure; so make sure to perform endpoint health checks and ensure that laptops are fully compliant with internal requirements. In addition, always check for the latest software patches and updates before allowing devices to connect to the network.

4. Have a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity

Accessing patient information on personal or hospital-issued devices is becoming commonplace, so ensuring that these devices are configured with the appropriate permissions are key. Simple parameters such as user roles, devices, location, application usage and time of the day can help manage these connections.

5. Partner with the experts

Any outage in technology can potentially lead to fatal consequences. Having partnerships with the right technology companies will go a long way in building a secure yet comprehensive ecosystem of medical devices and healthcare apps that are always ready for the needs of both patients and staff.

6. Establish a security culture

Even a single user can cause an entire organization to shut down by accidentally giving the wrong people access to the organizations networks. Make sure that all employees are guided on how to recognize suspicious emails, corrupted files, unsecure websites, and other red flags. Equipping everybody with best practices and know-how can eliminate many easy points of entry for cybercriminals.

According to a report by Accenture, cyberattacks could cost the healthcare industry over USD$305 billion over the next five years, with an estimated one in 13 patients’ medical records being compromised. As technology rapidly transforms the healthcare experience into a positive one, the security of devices, critical care applications, and patient data should be prioritized. The above tips can help healthcare companies strengthen their security posture and focus on meeting the needs of those who matter most – their patients.

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So, is Customer Relationship Management really expensive? Not exactly, in fact, Customer Relationship Management reduces overall operating costs drastically. Customer Relationship Management makes sure that no enquiries are missed or skipped, which automatically increases sales. Customer Relationship Management helps decreasing stress between the sales team and sales managers, by giving more clarity about the activities and not just focusing on the results. It’s much easier to sell more to existing customers, rather than sell to more customers. Customer Relationship Management provides detailed analysis and insights on consumer categories and behaviour patterns, which can result in more sale per customer.

With mobile Customer Relationship Management, coming in along with lots of new technological innovations, Customer Relationship Management has become an almost indispensable tool for businesses today. Customer Relationship Management increases customer experience, decreases stress, improves sales and profitability. Above all, it brings stability into organisation against changes in team members, since now the business related information is stored by a system and not by people individually.

Then why do people think that CRM is costly?

Is there any misunderstandings? If we dig down deeper, there is a serious problem in the way people see Customer Relationship Management. Companies are not getting the value for their investment in Customer Relationship Management is due to some hurdles that are faced along the way.

Considering CRM as a software and not a culture

Many times companies think of Customer Relationship Management as a software just like MS Excel or Outlook. They think that they can just install it and then start using it. What eventually happens is that the team is not able to get any tangible business benefits out of the same and then frustration sets in. Such a scenario leads the people into thinking that the Customer Relationship Management solution is costly as they are not getting the expected returns.

Not allocating enough resources for training

There are two kinds of challenges here (A) No training at all, thinking that the users will figure out how to use the software themselves (B) Training only a few members of the team and believe that these people will train others. Both these scenarios give very nightmarish results. There is a mass refusal or reluctance amongst team members regarding the use of Customer Relationship Management. Untrained staff results in its minimal utilisation, which prompts the thought that is is costly.

Planning without preparation

Business processes when automated will be drastically different (and easy) as compared to doing it manually. Companies don’t plan to figure out changes in their procedures. Many times they don’t even have written (even understood uniform) process available. So everybody thinks of Customer Relationship Management system in their ways and plans in own individual ways to take this ahead. Improper planning is the reason there are no improvements in business after Customer Relationship Management, and then we feel that Customer Relationship Management is costly.

Trying Free CRM and then giving up

There are lots of companies which fail miserably while trying free Customer Relationship Management because either that was not the right choice for them or their team did not have the technological capability to implement the same. Instead, consulting an expert would have been a better idea before choosing Customer Relationship Management platform.

Buying off the shelf, Online CRM

Generally online portals selling Customer Relationship Management are suitable for DIY (Do it Yourself) kind of people, who have enough technical and managerial skills to implement entire Customer Relationship Management on their own. There is a huge difference between implementing something by reading documents and getting some consultant (or Vendor) who provides tips and tricks and best practices. Without a proper consultant to help implementation, companies remain unaware of the true potential of Customer Relationship Management with respect to their business. Thus not getting the required returns.

Most importantly, not using it to the fullest

When people buy Customer Relationship Management, it is with the excitement over the possibilities in Customer Relationship Management. These possibilities can be actualized only by the proper collaboration and coordination of the vendor and the customer. The vendor/ Customer Relationship Management cannot fulfil the expectations alone, the support and enthusiasm of the user is must. The efforts taken to monitor and implement Customer Relationship Management with respect to the company’s demands are not recognised by the buyer, thus causing a problem. The Customer Relationship Management platform has tremendous capabilities but companies fail to utilise them just because they don’t put enough efforts to implement things correctly.

How to make sure CRM provides value for money

Plan Properly

Before deploying Customer Relationship Management, plan for selecting a technology, select processes to be automated, who should be involved, what will be the technical and personnel requirements. It is a good idea to get an expert’s guidance. But if it is your first Customer Relationship Management implementation, always go for a Consultant or a Customer Relationship Management vendor who will provide consultancy also. Do not buy online Customer Relationship Management without calculating implementation efforts required from your end.

Drive from Top

Most of the time management team does not give required importance to this. Customer Relationship Management is a cultural change, and it has to be driven from the top. Failure in steering the Customer Relationship Management project by the top management leads to poor adoption and ultimate failure of implementation.

Implementation of Customer Relationship Management is one of the best ideas for SMEs and start-ups. Implementing in phases makes sure that over investment is not done. Phase wise implementation also means lesser and smaller changes which are easy to bring to an organisation. The phased implementation also allows the entire processes to be monitored closely. It will also help measure the ROI of total exercise.’

Hence Customer Relationship Management is not costly if used appropriately and thoroughly. But failure to utilise Customer Relationship Management for business benefits leads to the thought that Customer Relationship Management is expensive. Also, companies don’t perceive Customer Relationship Management as highest priority for businesses. Maybe, that is the reason it seems to be costly.

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In this competitive era, no business or organization can thrive without proper Customer Relationship Management systems. Advent of SAAS technology has made it possible for SMEs and Startups to go for CRM systems, which otherwise was available only to large enterprises with deep pockets. Frantic growth and scalability are the two things that symbolize startups and SMEs, that’s the reason they need to, have a proper mobile CRM strategy more than anybody else.

Mobile market is growing at a much faster rate as compared to PCs. This obviously means that more people will use mobile for doing their business as compared to people using PCs. That is the reason startups and SMEs prefer to deploy tools which are mobile based.

Benefits of Mobile CRM for Startups and SMEs

Relevant Information anywhere anytime

Nowadays, everybody carries a smart phone with them. Having all the information about customer and all interactions with customers in mobile is a huge force multiplier. The sales person on the field can know about history of the customer they are going to meet.

Easier recording of information

Traditionally salespeople had to do calls and meetings entire day and then in the evening or at the end of the week used to make reports for their managers. Lets accept it, no one enjoys data entry. Mobile CRM eradicates this entirely.

Automatic Logging of communications

Calls/SMS/Emails get logged automatically and meetings can get logged with three clicks. Mobile CRM virtually automates the data entry process. Even notes or minutes of the meetings can be photographed and attached to mobile CRM.

Using Mobile specific Features

Imagine taking photographs of notes of discussion during a meeting and attaching to the CRM as minutes of meeting or finding clients and prospects near your location, or tracking your sales executive’s location so that better coordination is possible. These all are mobile specific features which are great efficiency booster, but are not available without mobile technology.

Real-time Alerts and reporting

Right information is great only when it is received at the right time. Mobile CRM enables this in a very efficient and effective manner. A real time notification of assignments or escalations provides very effective edge to the people on the field.

Saves time

This can be the biggest benefit of mobile CRM. Though one cannot get as detailed analysis as a desktop or web app can give, but still mobile CRM always provides relevant and strategic information in time. Also, it saves a lot of time by eliminating or simplifying data capturing.

Employees Love it

Mobile CRM eases life of employees to a great extent by relieving them from the burden of data entry. One of the biggest advantages is reduction of stress between managers and executive staff because of transparent and clear reporting possible with Mobile CRM.

Conclusion

None of today’s businesses can imagine their processes without a proper mobile CRM strategy. It just becomes too much of a hassle. Mobile CRM is possibly the best weapon in the hands of sales executives and sales managers of SMEs and startups.

The post Why startup and SME business needs mobile CRM strategy appeared first on TECHSEEN.

If you are faced with the decision yourself, avoid pitfalls in selecting an encryption product by asking the following questions:

1. Which laptops present the biggest risk; on-site or off-site?

This might seem like a pointless question with an obvious answer; systems are more liable to loss or theft when away from the office, but making this distinction and keeping it in mind is the right place to start and when you have settled on a solution, be sure to test its effectiveness at managing problem scenarios for your remote users.

2. Does the system offer full remote control of off-site endpoint encryption that fits your IT department?

All major Endpoint Encryption products offer the means to manage remote systems, but look carefully at the requirements. Most need either an open incoming connection to a demilitarized zone (DMZ) on your Server, or a VPN connection. All involve a higher level of IT skills and additional costs and may require the user to initiate the connection to function; not much use with a rogue employee or stolen laptop. A well-designed product will give you the remote management necessary without creating additional security problems, requiring specialist knowledge or adding expense to the project.

Why is this important?

Being able to quickly vary security policy, encryption keys, features and operation of endpoint encryption remotely, means that your default policy can be strong and tight. Exceptions can be made only when and where they are needed, and reverted just as easily. If you can’t do this you’ll be forced to leave ‘a key under the doormat’ – just in case, tearing holes in your policy before deployment is complete.

3. Does the solution allow you to remotely lock or wipe keys from laptops?

The answer might be crucial if a company computer with full-disk encryption gets stolen while in sleep mode or with operating system booted up, not to mention those systems with the pre-boot password affixed on a label or tucked in the laptop bag. If a remote lock or wipe function is not available, then the system is either unprotected or secured only by the OS password, with the encryption being bypassed in either case.

Similarly, it is important to know whether the solution has been designed to accommodate the typical use-cases that would otherwise unravel a well-designed security policy.

4. Does the solution secure removable media without having to whitelist each item?

With an array of writeable devices that people use for their everyday work, it is almost impossible for the admins to whitelist each and every one of them and decide if they can be read from or written to.
It is much easier to set a file-level policy – distinguishing between files that need encryption and those that don’t – and keep these protected every time they move from workstation or corporate network to any portable device.

In other words, if you connect your own USB stick, it won’t force you to encrypt your private data, however anything coming from the company system will be encrypted without the keys being held on your device. A simple idea, but one which makes any device safe, without the need for whitelisting.

5. Is the solution easy to deploy?

If the setup of the solution takes hours or even days and needs additional tools for its operation, it might cause new headaches for company admins and create new security risks. Aim for an easy-to-deploy solution that doesn’t require advanced IT expertise, preserving your finances as well as human resources. If the user-experience mirrors that easy deployment, then IT staff won’t be further taxed by user-lockouts, lost data and other frustrations.

Closing remarks: The security was there a long time ago; what will make or break your deployment is flexibility and ease of use.

All validated, commercial encryption products have been more than strong enough for many years, yet a significant proportion of the recorded data breaches involving lost or stolen laptops and USB drives happened to organizations who had bought and deployed encryption products. Reading the case notes for these incidents reveals being able to fit the solution your environment and working practices and making encryption easy for everyday users as the real challenges.

The post Five good questions to ask before buying encryption appeared first on TECHSEEN.