Everyone, whether a salesperson or CEO, wants to increase sales and achieve higher margins. There are lots of sales methodology nowadays and these methodologies requires changes to the Customer Relationship Management (CRM). A new trend is also coming up- it is to use existing CRM data to predict prospect conversion. This process can be explained as: know who is a good prospect. To know more about how CRM data can predict prospect to customer conversion, follow David Gillman (expert in CRM systems)’s article link: : http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/using-crm-data-to-predict-prospecttocustomer-conversion-62893

Customer Relationship Management is important nowadays. While considering  Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, one has to consider cost, whether the CRM software meets the standards of the users meeting users’ needs, whether it is user friendly or not, and whether the system portrays user feedback.  Price should be the top consideration while purchasing a CRM System. Return On Investment, adoption and feedback are other things to be considered. One has to listen to users and take action based on their suggestions. To know more about CRM, follow Jerri Ledford (writer of business technology)’s article link: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/does-your-crm-make-a-good-first-impression-62894

You Tube has become an important part in our daily life. Over 6 billion hours of video are being watched on You Tube every month. It was found that You Tube reaches more adult viewers in the US than cable TV.  So, companies should think about You Tube as a part of their marketing plan. But, one needs to have the right content and target audience for You Tube. George Mathew (writer), in his article writes about how to find and win over your new audience.  To know about these techniques, follow: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/how-build-audience-youtube

Organizations have numerous options to get answers from customers about their product or services. To get answers they use live-chat, speaking directly to a customer-care agent, and another gradually popular service called self-service. Self-service is becoming an important tool for any business. So, companies should keep in mind some points while implementing self-service. In her article, Jodi Beuder (Customer Experience Advocate at Impact Learning Systems), writes about those points which are to be kept in mind while rolling out self-service. To know more, follow: http://www.icmi.com/Resources/Self-Service/2014/09/The-Roadmap-for-a-Successful-Self-Service-Rollout

Jonathan King (Vice President of Technology at K2) writes in his article that a new group of applications has emerged to meet demands, and therefore, making it easier to support business activities. They are called Smart Process Applications - or SPAs. In a recent AIIM study supported by K2, it was found that information professionals weighed in on the capabilities of SPAs and eighty percent reported that automated classification, recognition and routing of inbound content would helpful for their business. To know about SPAs, follow: http://www.icmi.com/Resources/Customer-Experience/2014/09/Improving-the-Customer-Experience-with-Smart-Process-Applications

According to a recent survey conducted by Insights West and iamota found that people are using their smartphones than before. They also found that people were taking pictures (96%), accessing social media (77%), reading online news (74%), and checking or comparing prices of products while in store (57%). It was also found that 73% people use their smartphones to research products or services and 42% do it weekly. So, now it has become essential for brands to connect with their clients via mobile technologies. To know more, follow: : http://www.smallbusinessbc.ca/growing-a-business/mobile-marketing-you-can%E2%80%99t-afford-not

Nowadays, word of mouth marketing is one of the strongest methods to do publicity for your products and services as it is effective and spreads very quickly. But first we need to know what word of mouth marketing is and how to increase word of mouth marketing for your own company. When someone speaks for your brand, it is known as word of mouth marketing. It can be conversation among friends or in social media.  Zack Fagan (Inbound Marketing Manager, StoreYa) writes in his article some tips to increase word of mouth marketing for your company. Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/6-word-mouth-marketing-tips-get-people-talking-about-you

According to a recent report from Retention Science, 31% of online retailers in the US with annual marketing budgets exceeding $1 million do not personalize their websites, 33% of online retailers with annual marketing budgets under $1 million also do not personalize their websites and of 69% of companies that personalize their sites, 21% offer personalized offers to visitors. The most common website tactics offered by any organization include shopping cart reminders, displaying a customer's name, and social integration. The report also found out that 61% personalize marketing emails by using a customer's name. To know more, read Ayaz Nanji (research writer for MarketingProfs)’s article link: http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2014/25927/how-much-do-retail-marketers-personalize-websites-and-emails

Social, Mobile, Analytic, and Cloud (SMAC) based business models are trending nowadays in digital marketing. SMAC gives you a complete solution in transforming your business as a highly functional and productive entity and also helps in managing future business challenges. Every digital marketer should take into account some key points when designing their own SMAC business model. They are: 1. every business should consider their business objectives and resources. 2. Organizations should implement a more realistic initiative to drive their business marketing strategies. 3. Companies should discover their business capability in using SMAC and explore every aspect of benefits that can be derived from each. 4. Organizations should link with technology partners that can help them manage their SMAC based marketing campaigns. To know more about SMAC, please follow Jason Bowden (Chief Consultant at Digital-Warriors Internet Marketing)’s article link: : http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/how-smac-social-mobile-analytic-cloud-your-business-model-1

Amanda E. Clark (President and Editor-in-Chief of Grammar Chic, Inc.), talks about Professional Presentation in Online Marketing in her article. She also highlighted the fact that without good content, right audience and professional presentation, mistakes are bound to happen in social media management, content marketing, business blogging, boosting brand presence and reaching new customers. To know more about the tricks of professional presentation in online marketing, follow: http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/content-marketing-presentation-everything-01002603

New entrepreneurs must develop an effective business plan in order to manage their costs and achieve their goals. Companies must employ different tactics to control their business expenses effectively. Here are some of the tips which businesses can apply to manage their expenses. They are: 1. Technology Can Simplify Things. 2. Maximize Productivity to Gain an Edge. 3. Delegate Tasks to Cheaper Locations. To know more about these tactics, follow: http://www.smallbusinessbc.ca/growing-a-business/how-businesses-can-better-manage-their-costs

To be successful in any business, you need to understand your competition. We have to think why customers choose one product over another. We have to consider all types of competition to ensure success in business. Competition can be either Direct (competing by selling the same products) or Indirect (competing for the same market). To know about completion, follow Jessica Oman (author)’s article link: http://www.smallbusinessbc.ca/starting-a-business/understanding-your-competition 

Market Research is one of the important tools used in business. But, what is market research? Market research is the process of gaining information about market in which you are doing business. It is the most valuable tool used in business. Market research can be Primary Market Research and Secondary Market Research. Primary Market Research can be done through Focus Group, Customer Surveys etc. and Secondary Market Research can be done through information available on the internet. To know more about market research, follow Tim Berry (founder of Palo Alto Software, co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning)’s article link: http://articles.bplans.com/market-research/

Market research is important for any business. Decisions are taken based on market research. Through market research, one can identify new opportunities, can minimize business risk and also helps to communicate with customers better. There are various stages of market research which all businesses should follow. To know more about the various stages of market research, follow: http://www.smallbusinessbc.ca/starting-a-business/how-research-your-market

Nowadays, Twitter has become an important channel to sell products and services and is very effective for Business-to-Consumer (B2C) companies. A report by eConsultancy revealed that, Twitter has a conversion rate of 2.17% while other social networks such as Facebook have 0.80% and LinkedIn has 0.74% when used by B2C businesses. According to Ray Wang (Marketing Coordinator at SmarttBut), there are three important tactics which are to be kept in mind while using Twitter. To know more about the Twitter tactics, follow: http://www.smallbusinessbc.ca/growing-a-business/how-discover-potential-customers-using-twitter

The scenario in E-Commerce is changing at a fast pace. Patrick Salyer (CEO, Gigya), writes about some key points to be kept in mind while doing an e-commerce business. They are as follows: 1.  32% of online purchases are made over mobile. 2.   89% of consumers began doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience. 3.  91% of eCommerce retailers saw a lift in their SEO rank thanks to social referrals. 4.     73% of consumers prefer to do business with brands that use personal information to make their shopping experiences more relevant. 5.     eMarketer predicts that worldwide B2C eCommerce sales will increase by 20.1% this year, reaching a grand total of $1.5 trillion. Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/5-stats-every-ecommerce-business-should-know-0

Social media is an effectual instrument for managing networking with other business owners, boosting a brand, targeting a specific demographic, and keeping in contact with existing clients. Paisley Hanson (writer and blogger on health and fitness), writes about some social media tips which will be helpful for the growth of any business. They are: Advertise on Social Media, Increase Your Market Share by building audience in social media,Using Social Media for promotions,Finding Joint Venture opportunities, Integrating Social Media with Other Marketing Channels. To know more, follow: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/5-social-media-tips-business-owners

 Internet of Things (IoT) is the new trend in the world of technology. There are three factors which contribute to the growth of IoT. They are: Computer chips with radio communications built in are getting inexpensive, the cost of packaging small quantities of units has dropped with the growth of 3D printing and Sensor Technology has become more advanced, making sensors easy to build.  Recently, a number of groups have been formed in order to define standards for Internet of Things. Also, "Open Interconnect Consortium" standard have been established by various companies. To know about the various standards in IoT, follow this link:  :  http://www.networkcomputing.com/cloud-infrastructure/iot-standards-which-will-prevail/a/d-id/1307046

TechSci Research (a global market research and consulting company), recently published a report called “India Ready-to-eat Food Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2019". The report evaluated future growth prospect of India's Ready-to-eat food market. It provides statistics and information on market structure and consumer behavior trends and also includes projections and demand forecasting. This report will help decision makers to take sound investment evaluation. Besides, it also identifies and analyzes the emerging trends, challenges and opportunities available ready-to-eat food market in India. Read more at: : http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/india-ready-to-eat-food-market-to-grow-at-22-during-2014-19-concludes-techsci-research-study-273568231.html

Social Media Analytics has become important nowadays. But, what is Social media analytics? It collects data from social media platforms and blogs, and do an analysis of the collected data to extract information which in turn will help any organization to take the right step. It also facilitates marketers with a detailed understanding of the consumer and also helps to analyze the sentiment of customers to augment marketing, branding, and customer service. MarketsandMarkets (a global market research and consulting company based in the U.S), have recently published a report about GLOBAL SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS MARKET - MARKET FORECASTS AND ANALYSIS (2014-2019) which will help the market leaders or new entrants in many ways. To know more about this, follow: http://www.fastmr.com/prod/871700_global_social_media_analytics_market_market.aspx?afid=302