Month: August 2012

As more consumers are taking to the internet for their shopping and social media needs, many companies are starting to initiate internet marketing campaigns and digital advertisements to gain this traction and support. Because this form of marketing is so new, it can be hard to judge just how effective it is. But, with the use of analytical data and custom database software, companies can gain clarity into these advertising campaigns.

According to Entrepreneur Magazine, there are a few key statistics that marketing and advertising companies should keep track of that can help them understand just how effective their campaigns are.

One of the most easily understood ways to track how well a campaign is going is by viewing a company's conversion rates. A conversion is when a website viewer converts into a customer, most often through a purchase. Tracking conversions can be done quite easily with analytics software, which can help companies see how many conversions they receive on a monthly, weekly and even daily basis.

In addition, overall engagement is something that should also monitored with database software, as it shows whether the advertisements are actually creating an impact – a reaction – with the audience. Companies can use a custom database to crunch analytical numbers, such as how many Facebook likes a post may get and at what time.

While the economy may be climbing out of the recent recession, many businesses are still looking for effective ways to cut costs. Although some larger companies may have been able to cut major expenses by creating a smaller workforce and moving to a more affordable office, small businesses may not have the resources to make similar moves.

That being said, according to Entrepreneur Magazine, there are many ways for companies to cut costs. These businesses can create policies that limit employee spending on business travel, eliminate overtime pay and, most effectively, move as much of their operations as they can to an electronic platform.

By using custom database software, companies can transfer essential business practices such as bookkeeping, payroll management and tracking employee hours to a digital format, which can eliminate a litany of paper products, binders and office clutter. This can also create a more efficient workforce, as the ease and efficiency of using this software can allow employees to maintain this vital information on their own.

By putting corporate spreadsheets and travel budget expenses in software powered by FileMaker Pro, employees can input their own transactions and budget figures without needing to accost accountants with receipts. In addition, this information can be shared almost instantly with managers and executives.

Furthermore, this software can eliminate the need for creating unnecessary paper documents for meetings and internal circulation. Instead, employees can just upload key data, which can be accessed across all departments.

While it may seem as if this change is only cutting the costs on detail items that are usually in the peripheral of budgets – paper, copies, printer ink and the annoyance of  office clutter – it's these small things that add up quickly and put a strain on a company's bottom line and operating budgets. 

According to FastCompany, "customer experience is how your customers perceive their interactions with your company," and these perceptions have become increasingly important in the age of digital connection. Studies have shown that consumers are more likely to complain on social media about a bad experience than a good one with a company, which could be disastrous for small businesses that may rely on having better customer service than their corporate competition as part of their market niche.

This makes it especially important for companies to do what they can to tackle any issues with customer service.

According to a study by Customer Management Exchange Network (CMEN), the greatest challenge for the respondents – chief customer officers, vice presidents and directors of customer experience in the UK and U.S. – has been managing an effective customer experience.

Although cultural change and centricity has been a topic of heavy debate among business owners of both large and small companies, nearly 50 percent of all respondents to the network's survey cite customer service as one of the greatest three challenges they're facing.

The survey also states that most say this conflict in customer service may come from the need for all business units to "embrace the customer and align business strategies to move into a customer centric environment."

Doing this may require many companies to invest in new technology that can help aid in more effective cross department communication as well as create a stronger liaison between the customer and customer service representatives.

This can be solved by using custom database software to create a customer experience database that will allow employees to make adjustments to critical data that can be accessed across all departments. In addition, this software can help synthesize this raw data so that it is more customer centric and easier for customer service representatives to communicate to clients.

For many businesses today, the terms “big data” and “data analytics” are being used on an increasing basis. This behavior stresses the importance of using database software to compile and analyze all the necessary raw information.

One industry where this may be especially common is healthcare. In fact, consultant Frost & Sullivan projects that the use of “advanced health data analytics solutions” will increase in hospitals by 50 percent by 2016.

Most of these changes, the report says, is from the growing implementation of electronic health records (EHR), which are stored in custom database software.

These EHR systems are still relatively new and, therefore, being improved in efficiency at an increasing rate. While only 10 percent of hospitals used EHRs in 2011, the report predicts that as the industry matures, more providers will realize they need to adapt to technological advances in order to stay competitive in a changing market.

“Hospitals will increasingly invest in advanced data analytics solutions to monitor end-to-end care delivery across a variety of settings,” said Frost & Sullivan health care principal analyst Nancy Fabozzi. “Due to growing competitive pressures, hospitals need to provide comprehensive reporting on performance and quality measures to a variety of stakeholders. Advanced analytics capabilities are absolutely critical for survival – there is no way to avoid it.”

One way for healthcare providers to effectively to analyze data is by investing in custom database software by consulting a FileMaker developer. By acquiring this software, hospitals will be able to implement an analytics program that is customizable to what is important to that specific branch.

In addition, by using custom database software to create an analytics solution, healthcare providers will be able to improve everything from daily operations up. These tools can assist with payroll, hours and scheduling, medical records as well as crunching numbers for more accurate shareholder presentations.

The way businesses have used social technologies has developed and changed over the years. At its inception in the late 1960s, the internet was used as a way for major university departments to communicate more effectively with each other in a small and enclosed network. It has since developed into the World Wide Web that exists today, where nearly 1.5 billion individuals use social networks to share with each other, according to a study by major consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

According to their report, 72 percent of companies use social technologies in some way. While many companies use these technologies as a means to interact with customers and market products. The report also states that more potential value lies in developing tools for enhancing communications and sharing knowledge across company departments then with marketing. By using custom database software to create intercompany file sharing and communication lines, these businesses will most likely see a more effective workflow.

"Two-third of this potential value lies in improving collaboration and communication within and across enterprises," says McKinsey & Company's report. "The average interaction worker spends an estimated 28 percent of the workweek managing email and nearly 20 percent looking for internal information or tracking down colleagues who can help with specific tasks."

In addition, the report explains that a "searchable record of knowledge" can reduce the time employees spend looking for documents and information by as much as 35 percent, promoting better time management and organization.

By consulting a FileMaker developer to create an internal documents database or communication software, companies can greatly improve their overall productivity which can have a direct effect on their bottom line. 

According to a recent Financial Times article on the International Security Forum's new project with supply chain data, consideration of this aspect of business has become critical to operate a competent organization in today's marketplace. But, while many experts in the United Kingdom may be focused on providing additional supply chain security, the Global Market Development Center (GMDC) based in Boston is concentrating on ways a company can improve its overall supply chain management with the use of better technology.

"With so many economic variables outside people's direct control, the best news from the survey is that there are specific actions that companies in the consumer goods supply chain can take today, like modernizing their forecasting tools, to improve their ability to raise profitability and service levels," says Mark Deuschle, chief marketing officer at GMDC.

According to a survey conducted by the group, 74 percent of managers would prefer a bottom-up supply chain forecast deriving from key customer and point-of-sale data. But, more than half of respondents don't actually have a forecast system in place beyond Excel spreadsheets, which may not allow them to effectively plan and coordinate with their partners. Furthermore, 41 percent of respondents said that at least one-third of their volume comes from advertising and trade promotions that will directly impact baseline forecasts.

It's clear that being able to accurately track and forecast supply chain demands requires technology beyond just a standard spreadsheet. In order to keep up with this burgeoning requirement, managers may want to consult a FileMaker developer to create a custom database software that fits their needs.

By maintaining such key figures as advertising and promotions demands, fill rates and in-stock numbers as well as point-of-sale data with a more dynamic database software, companies will gain much more visibility into their supply chain.