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Your Business Success Depends on Protecting Your Assets

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Avoid Mistake words in 3d letters and a green arrow over the worIs there anything truly worrying you about your business?

Some business owners fret over not being able to maintain a regular revenue stream.

Others, meantime, worry that their customer service initiatives will not always please some of their clientele. Still others have concerns over hiring the right talent (for those companies that are more than one person shows).

With those factors in mind, what (if anything) has you concerned about your brand moving forward?

Maintaining a Safe Business Identity

In order to keep your business humming along, it is imperative that you never take for granted how even one episode of identity theft can throw your company for a loop.

Stop for a minute and think about how potentially devastating it would be if an identity theft thief got his or her hands on your personal financial information. Imagine all the damage they could do in such a short amount of time.

Now turn that imagination to your business dealings.

If you think an identity theft thief can’t bring your brand to its knees, think again.

If customers see their data stolen and feel like your reactionary time and/or actions are less than acceptable, your business could suffer greatly.

With that being the case, are you making sure your business data (specifically that of your clients) is safe and sound at all times?

If you’ve been a little lax at times, you need to close those loopholes as soon as possible.

There are a number of ways to do this, so don’t feel like it can’t be done.

To start with, make sure you’re operating with a sound Internet server.

For the company providing you with a server, how thoroughly did you vet them when deciding to choose them as your provider?

Your server provider must be operating with a zero tolerance rule for allowing online mishaps to occur. If the server you are working off of is susceptible to being compromised, your company’s data (both personal and that of your customers) can be compromised too.

Are Company Financial Transactions Protected?

Another of area concentration needs to be on the transmission of sensitive customer data, especially financial transactions.

Whether you operate an online store or need a customer’s financial details for other reasons, make sure such transmissions are securely protected. If the information is exposed for even the least amount of time, it can end up in the wrong hands.

Just as you would use a site such as www.lifelock.org to monitor your identity, making sure it is properly being used, the same holds true for all of your business data.

Speaking of exposed data, it is also important that your employees handle customer data (and business financials etc. for that matter) in a professional and protective manner.

Only those employees that truly need to handle such data (accounting, customer call centers etc.) should he having access to it.

Unfortunately, there have been too many stories of business owners discovering that it was actually one or more of their own (including departing workers) employees caught stealing sensitive data.

One way to nip this problem in the bud is laying out the consequences of such actions the day they are hired.

All employees should know under no uncertain circumstances that your business does not for an instance tolerate identity theft amongst its workers. Anyone caught and proven to be guilty of of such crimes could not only lose their job, but also face criminal action by law enforcement.

It is also critical that your business reacts quickly and decisively to any identity theft breaches of your brand, thereby preventing a major hit against your long-term business success.

While you may lose some business due to such attacks, some customers will be more likely to stay with you if they see you are reacting in a professional and prompt manner, this opposed to being unable to handle the matter and/or looking slow to react.

Given the perils identity theft can cause to your brand, preventing it from happening in the first place is always your best line of defense.

When you take such crimes seriously, you stand to be better prepared against them.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

 

Is Your Data Resonating with Customers?

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Data Analysis Indicates Fact Facts And AnalyseWhen you’re running a business in today’s fast-paced world, how you use and store company and customer data goes far in determining just how successful your brand will be.

Not only do you need data that is up to date and valuable to both your company and your customers, but it also needs to be protected from the ever-growing number of hackers. With more of these criminals seemingly on the attack these days, companies can never be too careful and shielding themselves and customers from potential breaches.

With that in mind, look at the data you currently store and determine several factors in order to stand out from the competition.

When you have a business data center that provides you with current customer information in an easy-to-access setting, you are equal to or even one step ahead of the competition.

Data Delivers Details

To begin with, make sure everyone associated with your business truly understands why your customer data is so critical to the company’s success.

Remind employees that customer data gives your business:

  • A better idea of who the customer is;
  • What their income level is;
  • A glimpse into the products or services they may be interested in purchasing from you;
  • What their shopping history is.

With that information in front of you and your team, your company can then proceed with the necessary marketing campaigns to increase sales.

Start by identifying who the customer truly is.

Are they male or female? Are they in their childhood or teen years, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s or even older? Are they still living at home or are they out on their own? Are they typically purchasing goods and services just for themselves or others?

Customer Incomes Prove Informative

The next area of interest is their projected income level.

Are your customers poor, middle class or doing very well for themselves? Do they have minimal money to spend or can they shop regularly without too many financial restrictions?

For the former group, use the data you have on them and provide them with savings opportunities. Such possibilities include things like rewards cards, coupons, special deals at different times of the years (holidays etc.). While you may think that selling to such consumers at lower prices is not cost-productive to you, these individuals are more likely to keep coming back to you for business, ultimately leading to more sales.

Whether you offer a single product or service or myriad of options, knowing what many of your customers are oftentimes looking for allows you to keep such items well stocked.

For example, if you run a seasonal business, you have to be sure you make up for the slower times of the year.

Trying to sell pool equipment in the wintertime in Buffalo can be quite the challenge. That said it certainly does not mean you have to shut your business down for months at a time until the weather improves.

Survey your customers on what pool or outdoor related items and services they are most interested in. Outdoor pools in colder regions of the country need to be covered in the wintertime, plus you may also have some customers who are fortunate to have indoor pools. Lastly, some or many of your same pool customers could have Jacuzzi’s, something that can be used year-round.

The best way to get such details is by regularly talking to your customers (in-person, over the phone, emails, surveys) etc. and using such data to increase your selling opportunities.

You can also offer them special wintertime deals for the coming pool season, deals that will get them in a buying mood during the slower months.

Know the History

Finally, knowing and understanding customer histories when it comes to browsing and ultimately purchasing is truly valuable.

Face it; many consumers do in fact change their buying habits over time. As a result, you need to be able to adapt to such changes.

While the data you have on customers from the last year or so is certainly valuable, it can’t with 100 percent accuracy pinpoint when and how much of an item or service customers will demand tomorrow, next month, or even next year.

Use the accumulated data as a window in a customer’s buying habits, but always plan on updating it accordingly.

Given the fact that there appears to be no end in sight to the mounds of data out there on consumer buying habits, the key is to make sure you compile it, use it to your advantage, and ultimately make it resonate with customers looking to your brand as the first choice.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business and technology topics on the web.

 

 

Are You Really Protecting Your Customers From Identity Theft?

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According to the 2013 Identity Fraud Report by Javelin Strategy & Research, identity thieves stole more than $21 billion dollars from 12.6 million victims in 2012 — the highest amount since 2009.

Even worse from a small business standpoint, fraud victims tend to become more careful about where they shop after having their identities stolen.

According to the Javelin study, 15% of all fraud victims decided to avoid smaller online merchants after an incident — an even larger number than those who avoid gaming sites or large retailers.

So how can you protect your customers’ sensitive information and avoid taking a major hit?

Review Your Employee Internet Policy

One of the ways hackers can gain access to a company’s sensitive documents is by taking advantage of existing security breaches. Unfortunately, many of these come from employees who aren’t careful enough about their online browsing while at work.

Employees who conduct their online shopping from work computers may be setting their employers up for trouble, since hackers regularly target ecommerce sites. A worker who unknowingly visits a compromised site can introduce malware into your company’s system, granting the hackers access to customer information stored on your servers.

A comprehensive training program about safe browsing and internet security, as well as frequent refresher courses, can help keep your customer data safe.

Encrypt Sensitive Files

Encrypting sensitive information like your customers’ personal and financial information can help protect you, even if a hacker gains access to your system. Make sure any data sorting tools you’re using, such as Syncsort, are protected.

Even with savvy employees working for you, a virus or other malware can get into your system. Encryption provides a crucial second layer of protection for you and your customers.

Limit Your Personal Customer Information

The more personal details you require from customers, the more risk you take on.

This is especially true if you’re using your customers’ social security or driver’s license numbers as account numbers.

If your business requires you to ask for private information, don’t do it in front of other customers, and keep all computer screens turned away from customer view.

Know Vendor and Contractor Policies

It’s not just your internal employees who may have access to private customer information. Vendors and contractors, such as website designers or payment processors, may also be able to get into these private areas.

Talk to these contractors before they do any work for you. Find out what measures they take to protect your and your customers’ information, and lay out terms defining who is going to be responsible in the case of a breach.

Identity theft isn’t just costly for the immediate victim. Exposing your customer information to hackers may leave you open to liability. Even if that’s not the case, your business is going to suffer when word gets out that fraudsters gained access to your customer data.

By educating yourself and employees, and taking steps to keep customer information under lock and key, you can keep both your customers and your business safe.

Photo credit: creditrepair.com

About the Author: Freelance blogger Angie Mansfield covers a variety of subjects for small business owners. From business growth to marketing to social media, her work will give you tips to keep your business running smoothly.

 

Big Data for Bloggers

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Have you noticed? Big data is the new buzzword. Apparently, it’s so hot you should “make out with it,” according to Mitch Joel in his new book, CTR ALT DEL.

But if you’re like most entrepreneurs, bloggers, or small business owners, you have no clue what big data is, or how it might apply to your business.

So here is my all-access definition: “big data” is sets of information that are way too large to be accessed or analyzed on your average computer or set of servers. Think of data being fed from RFID tags globally, or all of the data in Facebook’s open graph, or earthquake sensor networks. You’re probably contributing to big data yourself, whenever you serve up an ad on your site from an ad network.

Big-data-for-bloggers
Perhaps none of these big data sets apply to your blog site, but the wider discussion about how to draw business insights from big data absolutely does apply.

Maybe we should call it “medium data.”

Here are three ways you can use medium data to draw insights for your blog.

Google Analytics

It’s free, and it’s getting deeper every day. If you haven’t signed up yet, here’s a quick tutorial on how to get started with Google Analytics.

At the most basic level, you can draw insights on who is visiting your blog, which content is the most popular, and where you can improve.

Once you dive deeper into the data, you can figure out whether all that time you spend on Twitter is actually driving people to your blog using Advanced Segments in Google Analytics.

Customer Surveys and Interaction

If you’re a blogger, your customer is a reader, perhaps a commenter or member of your community. Maybe they downloaded your eBook or signed up for an online course. Every time you interact with them, you have an opportunity to gather intelligence.

Whether it’s a quick one question “how did you like that book” sent in a followup email, or a more in-depth customer survey, you have the ability to pull together data to feed your future efforts.

John Jantsch said in an article a year ago, “Until a business of any size gets serious about listening to their customers, talking to their customers, and measuring every possible data and touch point, the promise of more data will only serve to distract.”

Accessing Big Data from Researchers

All of the data you use doesn’t have to come from your own blog site or customers. There are myriad free or inexpensive resources out there that can help you build business insights on your subject area.

Organizations like Edison Research, Gartner, and The Social Habit routinely produce scientifically valid research based on a much wider data set that you can access on your own. Find a research outlet that covers your industry or topic, and leverage their reports to come up with blog post ideas, watch for future trends, and increase your own utility to your audience.

Are you using data (small, medium, or big) to draw insights for your blog?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Image: Flickr CC