Category: Strategies

Every business wants to provide the best service or product they can. Some are more fortunate than others when it comes to being able to provide them, for whatever reasons. However, for a business to be able to provide something, customers or clients have to want to buy them. If they chose to part with their money, especially via any cashless method, they want to do so with the knowledge that the transaction will be secure. With this in mind, here are some tips on providing improved and more efficient payment services.

Faster Payments

No one likes to be kept waiting, especially when it comes to buying something. It can be frustrating having to wait in a queue, then having to wait for your payment to be processed. Nor is it much fun when you’re attempting to make a payment on a website, and it freezes or prevents payment some other way. 

Studies have shown that customers are less likely to return to a business if it’s slow to help them make a transaction, often opting for others that will do a better job when it comes to financial transactions. This could cost you sales, which will affect your profit and the long-term survivability of your business. With this in mind, it’s integral to have your business able to make financial transactions quickly and succinctly every time a customer purchases something, whether online or actually in your business. It shouldn’t matter how they make a purchase, but that they can do so the same way no matter how they do it. 

Ultimately, you’re in business to make money, so this is one aspect you should always be on top of and always aware of current technological developments that make it easy for both your customers and business. Businesses nowadays need two shopfronts: a physical one and a website, with the latter, often being the more popular choice for various reasons. One integral aspect of a business’s website will be the ability for customers to pay for what they’re selling. 

As a result, electronic money institutions (EMI) are increasing because they, in essence, are able to act as a digital alternative to banks or building societies, holding money in what’s best described as an electronic wallet, operating on an electronic platform. In the United Kingdom, EMIs can only operate once they’ve obtained something called an EMI license UK, and this basically authorizes them to do the above, as agreed by the Financial Conduct Authority. This means you can trust to use them as this regulatory authority has given them permission to do so.

Payment Security

Most of us have earned the money we’re choosing to spend using your payment service, therefore we want to know that when we’re entering into a transaction with your business our details will be protected and not misused. Unfortunately, as soon as a new level of security is added to protect consumers and businesses alike, hackers are often attempting to break it down so that money can be made from your financial details.

In consideration of this, there are more lines of defense used alongside encryption, including multi-factor authentication, which is a method of electronic verification whereby a user has to prove, or validate, who they are based on the information they supply to an authentication mechanism so that they can access a website or app.

Multi-factor authentication can be a combination of security, such as entering your email and password, before being sent a password that code consists of numbers, letters, or both. These passwords could also have time restaurants, so the transaction will need to be completed quickly. 

Most customers expect this type of security to protect their money and financial details. If in doubt, think about the security your online banking has, as well as the online shops that you purchase from. You wouldn’t entrust them with your money if you felt that their security was lax, so it makes sense that your customers would want you to protect their financial transaction details securely when doing business with you. With word of mouth and reviews constantly being relied on as a measure of good business, by potential customers, it would be foolish to be complacent in this regard. 

Centralize Your Accounts

Having your accounting in one place makes it easy to access any financial information you immediately require, which would greatly help with business forecasting and planning. It can help to implement good practice and enables you to quickly respond to unexpected changes in market forces. 

For your financial reports to be of any use, they need to be up-to-date and also accurate. This is the only way you’ll accurately be able to retrieve information to make informed financial decisions. To save your financial department time, there’s a range of software and apps that may be suited to the business needs that you could use to produce these reports regularly. 

Being on top of this important aspect of your business’s operations will allow you to make payments on time, chase late payments and also steer your business in the right direction in times when profits are low. Additionally, you’ll never be late paying yearly rates, which could result in financial penalties or worse, because they’ll remind you of them.

Small businesses may not have financial departments that can shoulder this, so they’ll need all the help they can get. Using software or apps that can automatically generate invoices, receipts, as well as reports that can save time and provide you with important information that can affect how your business grows.

Money is what enables us to survive. It allows us to afford a roof over our heads, food in our bellies and purchasing items, whether it’s a good or service. With consumers increasingly reliant upon reviews, and more willing to opt for a business that can quickly and efficiently allow them to do this, it’s imperative that your business can meet their expectations. 

Failure to do so could lead to poor sales, poor reviews, and a bad reputation. This could take time to improve, during which your business is suffering from a loss in profit. Therefore, ensure your payment services are reliable and secure so that both your business can continue to thrive. Furthermore, keep abreast of current developments in finance and technology, so your business can be a market leader in your sector.

In this day and age, everything can be easily done. A teenager can make a beautiful website, there are virtual accountants, and you can design an entire house through an app on your phone. Still, while most of these look intriguing, most of these areas should be left for the experts.

Most start-ups look for ways to save as much money as possible. This means self-made websites, designing a logo on an app, and so on. But even if this is doable, there are a couple of professionals you shouldn’t “save on”, and one of those is the marketing specialist. As easy as it may seem, marketing is a layered area of work, and while a lot of websites and apps say you can do it on your own, this may not be true. Even if you manage to do it yourself, you’ll end up losing time and energy, which for a start-up equals money.

A marketing manager is in charge of everything that your company is for the consumer. They write statements, press-releases, sometimes they talk in interviews as the face of the company, but mostly they polish your image from posters and logos to written statements. Their job is to attract a wider audience while raising brand awareness by creating marketing campaigns. These campaigns promote products and your image through almost every form of media such as radio, television, print, and online platforms.

There are various types of marketing positions depending on what type of company you have. Some companies focus on social media, while some focus more on public relations and international marketing. Some have a product, therefore they need someone who’s the best in product marketing. There are B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer) businesses, each needing different types of marketing campaigns. B2B marketing focuses more on the economy and society of the demographic, and relies on logical, process-driven decisions, while B2C marketing focuses on emotion-drivel purchasing decisions, and leans on a specific group within customers (some may aim for communication with mothers, while others lean on children or a specific profession, or maybe 5-10 different groups of demographics).

Marketing managers are the main creative, analytical, and managerial outlets in the company. Their position ranges from print to social media, meaning that a good marketing professional can be the spine of all your social media platforms, taking yet another weight off your shoulders. A marketing manager could be the best investment you ever make. The range in which they operate, and the tasks they’re responsible for include everything that your audience sees, and that is the most important thing when talking about a start-up.

Even a well-seasoned company needs constant publicity in order to keep up their image, and for a start-up, it’s the most important thing for staying afloat and introducing yourself. Being a significant figure in the eyes of the public (even if it’s just a tiny demographic) is the most important thing, as companies stay alive thanks to their audience and customers. That first introduction, and the very first campaign strategies can make a huge difference, and for that, people need a marketing manager.

But what makes a good marketing manager? To really get your money’s worth, you’ll need someone with experience, and someone with excellent oral and written communication skills. Furthermore, a good marketing specialist is someone who thinks outside the box, is interested in your area of work, and knows the economy and society you work in. The number one job of a marketing manager is speaking to your audience. So they must know who you are, and they have to know how to speak with your audience. They should be worldly in a way that allows them to attract a bigger audience and know how to reach out to more than a few demographics.

Now, why do you absolutely need a person to do that if you could do it yourself? The reason for that is because you can’t do it yourself. Marketing eats up the entire workweek, every week. It’s loads of research, it’s coming up with strategies, it’s creating entire campaigns, sometimes going to interviews and events as the face of the company, and the head of the company can’t afford to lose all that time and focus on just one area.

The other reason is that a marketing professional knows tactics, strategies, and methods that you don’t. It’s not your job to know everything about every area. Simply put, without a marketing manager, or any type of marketing specialist, companies don’t have a leg to stand on regarding image and public presence.

There are some crucial people that make up a company. Starting with the CEO and COO, the accountant, the product manager, all the way to the marketing manager. Today marketing seems like an easy task. Everyone can handle a few posts on social media. But to save your time, energy, and make more money along the way by using effective methods and strategies, a marketing manager can set you apart and take the business to a whole new level.

Saving and storing data efficiently and safely should be one of the top priorities for all businesses. We have all seen the stories of major data breaches and losses which have cost businesses and their customers a huge amount of money as well as an awful lot of distress. There is so much data produced by modern businesses and a lot of it is extremely sensitive so it needs to be handled with the utmost care. In this digital age, there are many different data storage solutions for businesses to consider so that they can make the right decision about what is best for themselves and their customers.

To help you make the right choice and keep your business and customers safe, here are the top ways to save your business’s data.

1. Cloud Storage

Despite being a relatively new technology, cloud storage has already established itself as the number one way for businesses to save their data, files, and important records. With quality cloud storage, you essentially have unlimited storage space because some offer up to an exabyte of storage (that’s a million trillion bytes!). Cloud storage will enable you to store all of your business’s data in one single place so that it is easily accessible to anyone you give permission to. This means that many people can collaborate on one file at the same time if they have been given access. This is ideal because it means you don’t need to send anything via email or another risky method. 

Cloud storage also has the highest levels of cybersecurity which is very important because hackers and cybercriminals are becoming ever more sophisticated. A major data breach or hack can cause serious damage to your business. If sensitive files or data are stolen then it could be used to sabotage or blackmail your business or your customers. If this happens, you could end up with enormous financial costs and a significant hit to your business’s reputation. There are various cloud options available which offer different features. You can learn about the Dynamics 365 Business Central Implementation to get a better idea of the benefits of one cloud service. The first important thing is to check that the storage capacity is large enough for your business and that there is up-to-date cybersecurity.  

2. External Solid State Drives

Solid-state drives (SSDs) are the next generation of traditional computer hard drives which have been designed to ultimately replace standard hard disk drives (HDDs). SDDs and HDDs work in a very similar way but SSDs have some significant advantages. First of all, they will enable your business’s computers to load up faster and to run quicker even if they are storing a lot of data. You may have previously been put off buying SSDs for your business due to the higher price when compared to a standard HDD. This should no longer be a factor, however, because the prices have come down significantly in recent years. You will now be able to purchase a 2 terabyte SSD for around $250-$300.

3. External Hard Disk Drives

As explained above, hard disk drives were usually the best option before SSDs and they can still provide excellent storage for your business. All your business’s computers will already have their own built-in HDDs of different storage capacities, but when this is no longer enough for your business, you can purchase external HDDs to provide additional storage. External HDDs and SDDs both plug directly into your computers’ USB drives so that your employees will be able to get access to all your files and data no matter what computer they are doing. 

4. USB Thumb Drives

USB thumb drives are just like mini SDDs or HDDs but they generally only have a few gigabytes of storage capacity. This means that thumb drives are not usually big enough for storing all of your business data, unless you have a very small business, but they are excellent for transporting and storing a decent amount of files. Most business owners and employees these days will have at least one thumb drive so that it is easy to take files home to work on or to use for presentations to customers or partners outside of the office. Thumb drives are small, light, and can be carried easily in a pocket, purse, or even on a keychain. Make sure that you always put a password on your thumb drives so that if it is lost or stolen nobody will be able to access your files. 

5. Protect Your Company’s Data From Multiple Angles

Incorporating additional security features to protect your corporate data is essential these days, especially in the wake of high-profile cyber attacks and breaches. One of the most common mistakes companies make is to simply rely on passwords as their primary means of protecting their data. This approach is inherently flawed because accounts can be easily compromised if one password is guessed or cracked. Adding additional security features such as mfa on premise, virtual private network, monitoring and other solutions will significantly reduce the risk of a breach, while also increasing the overall level of protection and the overall user experience.

6. Save Your Data Directly on Your Business Computers

One really simple storage plan is to just save all of the data on your business’s computers’ internal hard drives. This is a very convenient form of storage and will make all of the files accessible to everyone in your office. One major disadvantage of saving the data on your computers is that it could be potentially vulnerable to cyber attacks or viruses. Make sure that you always have up-to-date cybersecurity and virus protection and try not to store anything very sensitive. Always have a secure wifi network in your offices so that nobody passing by can connect to the network and access your computers. 

7. Use SD Cards

In addition to USB ports, your business computers may also have SD slots. If this is the case, you can store and transport your data and files on micro SD cards rather than USB thumb drives. One big benefit of an SD card is that you can use them in other devices such as digital cameras, smartphones and other gadgets. One downside of SD cards is that they are more expensive than USB thumb drives so you may want to take that into consideration.

Deciding on the best way to store your business’s data should always take careful consideration. You need to think about security, accessibility, and the capacity of the different storage options. Remember that you are not only in possession of your company’s data, but often your customers’ data as well. Consider these storage options and you will be able to make the right data storage plan.

Apple Pay and Google Pay are two of the most popular mobile payment providers. It’s not a surprise that so many people want to use these apps because they’re convenient, secure, and easy to use. Adding Apple Pay or Google Pay as an option on your website can be a good idea if you’re looking for more ways to make payments easier for your customers.

With Stripe and MemberPress, it’s easy to integrate either app into your checkout process with just a few clicks (and boost your sales opportunity).

What is MemberPress?

MemberPress is a premium WordPress membership plugin that helps you build an online community and sell digital products. This is a popular plugin that is used by thousands of entrepreneurs and businesses around the world, especially when it comes to building community and a membership site using WordPress.

What is Stripe?

Stripe provides software for running your entire business, from accepting customer payments to managing inventory in the back office. They’re best known for their innovative payment processing, which quickly and securely takes card payments with no PCI compliance required from you.

The integration of Stripe into MemberPress lets your customers pay using a credit or debit card through the website (like they would on any other e-commerce site). A single click will take them to your login page so that they can enter their credentials and make a purchase without ever leaving the MemberPress dashboard!

Advantages integrating Google Pay and Apple Pay into Stripe and MemberPress

Mobile Friendly 

The biggest challenge faced by online marketers is low mobile conversion rates. According to Truelist, the average cart abandonment rate on mobile phones is 85.65 %. This could be because of a variety of factors such as accessibility, screen size, or customer caution.

Apple Pay and Google Pay make it easier to buy things on your phone. They show you a clear page with the payment information for how much money to put in.

Members with an Apple or Google Pay account can now easily purchase a product from their seat without leaving!

Quicker Checkouts

We’ve talked about the advanced security features of both Apple Pay and Google Pay. Security is even tighter because these digital wallets are supported through Stripe’s secure servers, so your members’ sensitive financial information is safe from those trying to steal it.

Stripe is the most stringent level of certification in the payment industry. All transactions through Stripe are SSL/TLS protected, and credit card numbers are stored safely in an encrypted format.

Stripe Checkout is the trusted choice for companies like Amazon, Pinterest, Slack and Zoom — and that’s the exact reasons why you using Google Pay and Apple Pay is an excellent move to grow your membership business.

Growing your membership site with Apple Pay and Google Pay

There are two great reasons why adding Apple Pay and Google Pay to your membership site is a smart move for any business: security and convenience. Stripe has created the most stringent level of certification in the payment industry, meaning that all transactions through Stripe are SSL/TLS protected, credit card numbers stored safely in an encrypted format. That way you can rest easy knowing not only that your members’ sensitive financial information is safe from those trying to steal it but also confident that you have taken every precaution necessary against unauthorized access by cybercriminals.

Not yet using MemberPress? Click here to get started right now!

*P.S. MemberPress is by far the best WordPress membership plugin for WordPress

Anti-Money Laundering is the set of rules, policies, and regulations devised to prevent financial corruption. AML has now become a universal term for the movement against financial fraud, especially money laundering. 

In the past few decades, the menace of money laundering has become quite prevalent. That hits close to home for the corporate sector across the world. You must have heard stories of multi-million dollar companies involved in money laundering and corruption scandals. Therefore, many countries have made it obligatory for corporations to comply with AML regulations. To oversee this process, most companies have designated AML compliance departments. 

To help our readers fully understand the concept of AML regulations, let us first break down what money laundering is. 

What is Money Laundering? 

Money laundering is a criminal offense based on the legalization of money acquired from illegal sources. In numerous cases, this laundered money is used for unlawful activities and to sponsor acts of terrorism. With the constant advancements in technology, money laundering methods are becoming more and more sophisticated. As per the statistics from IMF, the global money-laundering accounts for up to 5% of the world’s GDP. 

To combat this menace, policymakers at the local and international levels are constantly devising new rules and regulations. These rules are known as Anti-Money Laundering (AML). Global authorities like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) have come into existence to formulate AML policies and ensure their implementation. 

The Anti-Money Laundering Process

As per the AML procedure, there are various laws and regulations to prevent global money laundering. As per JD Supra on AML Consulting, these laws apply to a vast category of institutions and organizations, and compliance with them is mandatory. Failure to adhere to them can lead to penalties and legal action against businesses by federal agencies.

Enforcing Criminal Laws 

To combat financial crimes, both governmental and private organizations have implemented strict criminal laws against money laundering, in line with the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. In order to effectively prosecute money launderers, governments are advised to adhere to established protocols. If you’re in need of a reliable Fraud & Embezzlement attorney in Oakland, you don’t have to look further!

Know Your Customers

As per the AML regulations, companies must learn more about their customers by performing background checks. After analyzing this information, company executives can look out for suspicious activities and transactions of their customers. For example, if a customer with a track record of financial crimes successfully carries out a transaction through your firm. It will be recognized as a substantive crime on your company’s behalf, leading to severe legal repercussions. Therefore, companies and other financial institutions should strictly follow the global AML protocol to avoid their involvement in financial crime. 

Transaction Tracking

As we have discussed, knowing your customer is essential for ensuring your company’s compliance with local AML policies. However, you can not be entirely reliant on the information provided by your customers. Therefore, it is always helpful to keep track of customer transactions. That will help your organization identify any suspicious transactions and alert relevant authorities. Recently, companies have become more receptive to AMLTransaction Monitoring Software, helping them detect and stop any unlawful activities happening via company channels. 

Compliance with anti-money laundering is essential to combat financial crimes, monitor potential fraudulent activities, and counter-terrorist financing. Remember, as law-abiding citizens, it is our responsibility to help authorities track down money launderers and their associated culprits to protect our country from corrupt practices and terror-related activities.

The modern internet, though it changes every second, hosts more than 1 billion websites. If this isn’t shocking enough, try to imagine how much activity is conducted through online platforms. What should really take your breath away is the amount of email activity that occurs daily, with some statistics showing that 2.4 emails are sent every second around the world.

Most people are aware of how useful the internet is, covering all services nowadays from our email networking and newsletter delivery to our socializing through various social media platforms. Even though many businesses depend on word-of-mouth referrals from existing or previous clients, today’s businesses are functioning in a competitive global market.

The need for businesses to attract more traffic online has led to a boom in digital marketing, moving slightly away from traditional marketing and focusing on their online presence and campaigns. Through email automation, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and developing their company websites, progressive companies have upskilled their teams and are remaining relevant to today’s trends.

The internet has brought very interesting insights. For instance, did you know that the number of global mobile users surpass desktop users prior to 2014? This would indicate that if your company website isn’t accessible or a good user experience for mobile viewers, you are compromising on client leads and therefore, losing business.

The business population in the U.K. is around 6 million, and growing! And for those businesses to stay online and engaged in productive work, the reliable internet is crucial. Here are some of the top reasons why you should be looking at bolstering your internet and I.T. support this year. 

Increase productivity

While your employees are accessing various online tools throughout their work sessions, they may find that programs like Brightidea or Salesforce are responding slower than optimally due to internal internet speeds. Boosting your internet response time, while supporting your business needs with ample bandwidth, is a great and cost-effective way to reduce downtime online. 

Relook at your server needs

Each business should have a centralized server, or servers, that they use to store larger files, programs, and media. While some companies only have one server and choose to upgrade, scaling horizontally by adding more servers to your network means that your site can stay up if one fails or goes under maintenance.

As most of the data your company needs to run daily operations are kept on the server, making sure your internet is stable, reliable, and fast will maintain a well-functioning network. This will ensure good speed to access files, as well as reducing the overwhelming amount of storage required on your employee’s personal devices. 

Dedicated server protection

A dedicated server is one that exclusively stores your company data. Giving you access to a much greater bandwidth and storage capacity, dedicated servers allow you to internally control the security of your data, as well as restructure your web pages without needing a web hosting company’s input. You may also upgrade any features you’d like, as a dedicated server gives you incredible flexibility in how you’d like to manage your network.

The key thing is that having reliable internet is absolutely imperative if you have a dedicated server, as your files and programs will need to be accessible online at all times. Keep in mind that a dedicated server can be costly, and it’s important to assess your server needs very carefully before investing in this option. 

Reseller hosting

Have you heard of reseller hosting? There are many ways in which this service works, but essentially, these reseller hosting packages allow you to sell monthly web hosting to clients. These new clients would be assumed under your account, making you their web host.

Reseller hosting has been especially useful for web designers, as each new client for whom they build a website will need a web host for the pages. When the client then asks for a recommended web hosting server, it is incredibly convenient to offer them a package in which you can take care of their design and hosting needs – all managed by your business.

What is excellent about reseller hosting is that a good company will provide you with I.T. assistance and live support 24/7. This will put you at ease that if your clients are experiencing any I.T. that is beyond your technical knowledge, that you can successfully navigate your clients through what they need. 

Invest in your I.T. needs

Ultimately, if you are needing to improve your internet output and capabilities, it is best to contact an I.T. specialist who can understand what you’re looking for now. They can also prepare you for future I.T. needs, saving you money in the long run by helping you strategize and forecast where your business growth is heading. The consultant should look at how many devices will be accessing your server, as well as which apps and programs will need to be run through the network.

Hiring a consultant applies primarily to small businesses that do not have an I.T. team, but even if your company does have I.T. staff, outsourcing a consultant can assist your team to explore and learn about some new challenges and how to overcome them internally. If you see this as an upskilling or mentorship process, your investment will save you money in the longer term and create happier, more skilled employees.

Knowing how to navigate your company’s online needs can sometimes be confusing if your I.T. expertise is lacking. But, this is what experts are for. Therefore, it is advised that you hire a consultant who can assess your entire I.T. team and meet your growing business needs. This will be money well spent and invested into your set-up, which is bound to result in a great return for your company. The internet is a fascinating – and ever-expanding platform. The ultimate recommendation is to stay abreast of changing trends, latest advancements, and to upskill yourself personally as best you can. Even if you don’t end up doing the work, you will understand where there are risks involved and be able to know when an expert should be consulted. Plus, having a good foundation will protect you from people who may seek to take advantage of you, ultimately giving you the upper hand in the game of business.