Data Archives - Business Partner Magazine

Sales Tips: Only Focus on The Sales Metrics You Can Control (Infographic)

April 9, 2018 by Guest Post Leave a Comment

The data-driven world that we now live in as made tremendous advancements in various technologies. This has helped sales managers all over the world in gathering and analysing important pieces of information to make accurate reports and forecasts of the company’s sales standing. Through numerous programs and applications, the painstaking process of identifying key metrics and KPI’s have never been easier.

However, having access to this wide range of data is futile if the sales manager lacks focus on the metrics that matter the most. With so much data in their hands, it’s easy to get derailed and fly off the tangent, entirely missing the statistics that should’ve been the focus instead.

But how can this be counteracted, or avoided altogether? Find out today with this infographic by Kona AU.

Infographic by Kona AU.

Guard Your Secrets Offline and Online

March 31, 2018 by Guest Post Leave a Comment

When it comes to keeping our personal information private, the recent Facebook scandal has shown us that there really is only one course open to us – don’t share any information online.

In case you have been living under a rock and rarely go online, 2018 was the year when we finally understood how Donald Trump became so popular in the presidential election.

Cambridge Analytica, a marketing company, used an app to harvest information about people’s fears and dreams on Facebook. If you downloaded the app, perhaps received compensation for using it. This was in the terms and conditions.

The scary part? The app was downloaded by something like 270,000 people, but the app allowed the company to download data from any Facebook pages related to the user. So, even if you did not download the app, if someone you know did, your data was also collected.

They used this to find information that helped them build campaigns for political candidates. Trump was one of these candidates.

It is a big deal and an example of how damaging it can be to give out personal details online. So, while you might be able to get some reward for disclosing personal information about yourself, it pays to be sure of the company collecting the information first.

Word of caution, many sites and online applications collect data and that’s not illegal. A lot of this data harvesting is happening in your browser, using the right plugins and settings there helps a lot. More malicious data collecting activity might happen through malware though, so always use a strong firewall, decent antivirus and a dedicated malware cleaner.

Better be safe than sorry.

The whole personal data abuse highlights another valid point. It is not only your own personal data that must be considered. You also have to consider the data of everyone that you are linked to online. Just look at it this way – 270,000 people downloaded the app.

It’s not a huge number of users by any standard until you realize that it allowed access to data for 50 million other users.

Now, while you might not be sharing any important information on Facebook or other social media, what about your family and friends?

Would they have legal recourse against you if it was found that you downloaded an app without proper forethought? It sounds far fetched, but think of the society that we live in. It is not out of the realm of possibility.

This makes it essential to take cybercrime seriously. Want to learn how to start protecting yourself? Read through our infographic.

Infographic by BestVPNs

How to Use Sales Forecasting as a Powerful Business Weapon

March 21, 2018 by Guest Post Leave a Comment

The ability to predict incoming sales gives business leaders greater control – and enables them to make better, faster and – most importantly – data-driven decisions. While some may rely on their gut instinct or a crystal ball to see into the future, the most successful businesses use figures and trends to measure potential growth and enhance the sales process to ensure this growth is realized.

It’s impossible to predict what’s coming up with absolute certainty. However, sales forecasts that provide in-depth insights can help you create more informed strategies for not only how you sell, but also how you manage your workforce, cash flow, and resources. It’s a powerful tool that, when put to good use, can accelerate your company’s development and help you outperform rival sales teams.

To simplify the sales forecasting process, we’ve broken it down below into five important steps. Have a look and consider how you can start implementing them in your business.

Match up the figures

Make sure that when you are creating your forecasting plans, they match how you actually measure sales. For example, if you review your sales quarterly per team, ensure your forecast data reflects this.

The simpler the spreadsheets, the better. Or, better still, ditch the stuffy spreadsheets for specialized reporting software that can automate these processes. That way, you’ll be able to identify correlations or gaps at a glance, and act much faster.

Develop key sales projections

It’s important to create the right type of measurement marker – one that suits your business model. If your business measures in units, forecast using units per sale. Your measurement marker really depends on your business so choose what is most relevant for your company.

So, for example, if you are an office products dealer, you may consider measuring the reams of paper sold per month. The measurement marker is a critical element of your sales forecast – it helps you gather, assess and outline the data for optimal insights.

Harness past sales data

The past informs the present – and the future. Knowing what your sales have been to date will give you a good foundation to work from. Any existing sales data is powerful information that you can put to good use as you plot your business’ growth. If, for example, you plan to scale operations, you can use the previous month’s data to help predict next month’s sales figures.

Understand sales factors

There are many factors that influence sales. A better understanding of these factors will help you recognize them and enable you to forecast your sales with greater accuracy. It may not be possible to predict the future, but you can make an educated guess.

If, for example, you manufacture fasteners, then you’ll likely know why people typically buy one range over another. It typically boils down to the combination of affordable prices, quality and aftersales service.

To know how to sell your product, you need to know why people are buying it – you need to know your sales factors.

Manage your profit margins

To forecast sales as accurately as possible, you need to know your profit margins. Clearly indicate your revenue and costs per unit of production so that you can see how much profit you are making per sale. These figures will also vary depending on the product.

In summary…

Once you’ve completed the above steps to develop your unit projections, you can do some simple maths to calculate how much this creates in actual sales. Visualize it in a spreadsheet or even better, use software that does it all for you.

You know your business – and the industry it sits within – best. If you don’t think the data is relevant or helpful, don’t worry. Remember, sales forecasting is not a sure science – it’s a vital, yet flexible, business process. Go back to your reports and amend them until you feel you’re getting the valuable insight you need to make smarter business decisions.

Article by Kevin McGirl, president, sales-i

3 Tips for Targeting the Right Audience at the Right Time

February 21, 2018 by Victoria Howes Leave a Comment

It seems that everyone is talking about digital marketing, website personalization, and the value of big data and the Internet of Things when it comes to getting your customers to buy from you rather than your competition. However, one of the most important things you can do is make sure that the marketing persona you have created is the right one, and that you are targeting the right audience.

Reaching the right audience at the right time (with the right piece of content) is the key to higher conversion rates. Even if your ideal customer sees your ad at the wrong time, when they are rushed or unable to give it the attention it deserves, it won’t have the desired effect on them. An ill-timed blog or social media post can backfire, and even damage your reputation.

So how do you target the right audience at the right time?

1.Do Your Research

The advantage of big data is that your potential customers and your current ones are sharing a ton of data with you every day without you having to ask for it. From social media to wearable fitness technology, data is plentiful. This does not even include the data you can gather from visitors browsing habits when they visit your site and the data available from your industry.

However, the key to research is making this data usable. The easiest way to do this is to categorize what data you need to know to achieve your marketing goals, and only collect and analyze the data that you need.

Gender: Gender equality is real, but men and women do have different buying habits and preferences, especially depending on what you are selling. If you sell shoes online, both users will be looking for different items.
Age: Different generations have different needs and desires, and they also shop differently. Younger generations are more likely to buy online with little support needed. An older audience may need phone support.
Income: Does your ideal customer have an excessive amount of disposable income? Or are they just scraping by? Either way, you will need to know how much price is a factor to them, or if value and quality are more important things to emphasize.
Location: Location matters no matter what you are selling. The same shoes that are popular in New York City will not be as popular in Seattle.

Gathering data and analyzing it is the first step to making it useful. Research gives you an idea of what you are working with. The who, what, where, when, and why if you will.

2.Analyze your Competition

There is no reason to reinvent the wheel. If your competition is doing something well, you should certainly look at how you can do the same thing or something similar. If your competition is doing something poorly, or if one of their digital marketing campaigns has failed, there is no reason for you to repeat their mistakes.

A simple way to do this is through social media mapping and analytics: who are their followers who are engaged, and who are yours? Are they using youtube marketing and you aren’t? Even a few fundamental questions can tell you whether or not you’re putting your efforts in the right place.

Just because your answers are different doesn’t mean either of them are wrong. You may just be reaching a different segment of the market. However, this does not mean that the differences are not worth studying.

Once you determine whether or not you are targeting the right audience, and if you are doing better, worse, or just differently than your competition, you will be able to refine your message.

Don’t copy their strategy, just use their information to create your own theories aimed at similar results.

3. Check the Time

Once you have narrowed down your target audience, then you can look at timing. Timing depends on what you are selling, how you are selling it, and what the goal of your particular digital marketing campaign is trying to accomplish.

If your purpose is simply to create brand awareness, ad timing is more about just getting the users attention and reminding them that you exist. However, if you are looking for them to take action, your timing is vital.

For instance, if you have a restaurant, you might think that timing just an hour before meal times would be ideal, and it can be. However, if your restaurant requires reservation, it is more important for customers to plan ahead, so ads they will see earlier in the week or around Holidays will work better. Your language should also reflect what they need to do: make plans for the weekend, make reservations for that special day, etc.

In many cases you may want to create a sense of urgency with a limited time offer, but the offering must reach the customer at a time when they are able to respond and are willing to do so. An offer for business services will probably not go over well on Monday morning for instance, when your customer just got to work and has a full inbox to address from the weekend.

The same offer will not be welcome Friday afternoon either, when the same customer will probably be in a hurry to clear their to-do list and get home for the weekend. Knowing this timing and planning your ads, blog posts, emails, and social media activity accordingly will make your content much more successful.

Digital marketing is tough enough, so knowing your target and the right time to reach them will make it much easier. Reaching your conversion goals and demonstrating ROI is essential to your success with digital marketing. Luckily, this can be done through analysis, awareness, and quality market research.

About the Author

Victoria Howes is an entrepreneur, traveler, and consultant to multiple brands including Travelocity, Hotels.com, and Homeaway. Follow her adventures at victoriahowes.com.

What It Takes to Understand Your Customers Today

December 21, 2017 by Guest Post 1 Comment

It is a well-known fact among business owners that modern shopping trends all point to the Internet as the epicenter of customer growth. When it comes to attracting and retaining customers, the Internet has provided ample opportunity for businesses both large and small. Google alone handles 3.5 billion searches a day, and a large portion of those searches provides all sorts of conversion opportunities for businesses.

However, business owners need to be aware that customers are mere seconds away from clicking over to a competitor if their experience is unsatisfactory. With that in mind, it’s vital to understand the modern customer in order to succeed in the online marketplace. Here are a few tips on maximizing that success.

Respect (And Understand) The Data

Thanks to the Internet, there is more actionable data at your fingertips than you may know what to do with. Take advantage of it! Research competitors’ sites, services, and products, and take a look at what people are actually talking about in your target market. Browse forums and comment sections, and craft email campaigns and surveys for your own customers. Sharpen your focus on what customers are looking for, and what experiences they expect to have.

A wealth of data is available through customer interactions on your website too. What do your analytics and reporting tools say about customer activity? Is your shopping experience generating conversions? Are customers seeking out the services that you offer? High bounce rates on various web pages may indicate that you need to tinker with your site a little bit to improve the experience.

Reach Out

If you really want to learn more about your customers, you need to interact with them and understand their needs as they occur. Many customers want the instant gratification of person-to-person interaction, without having to walk into a brick and mortar store. How do you do that?

Leading online businesses set up dedicated customer service and technical support channels, so their customers can get the help they need when they need it. Services like live chat systems are excellent for this purpose. Chat systems are available on store pages whenever customers have questions or need help, just like talking to a customer service rep in a store. Customers can solicit personalized help instantly, and on their terms.

If you interact with your customers on a personalized basis, you can provide instant service to improve the customer experience, and then gather essential data for future interactions, which allows you to improve customer experience even more. Through these techniques and services, you will have an important advantage when you compete in the online marketplace.

The longer you wait to do serious research on your customers, and build chat and customer service systems to reach out to them, the easier it is for your competitors to attract their mouse clicks. Get started with a live chat system today!

Lance Waterly is an experienced web marketer, writer, and consultant who loves to share his knowledge with readers across the internet. Jeff is always after the next big trends in marketing and eCommerce technology from innovative live chat software to the latest CRO and SEO strategies.