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RadioShack is in the midst of a rebranding strategy that it hopes will erase the stigma of the company being out of touch with today's consumers. 

For years, the electronics retailer has suffered from a poor reputation, which ultimately allowed it to be passed by companies like Best Buy or Apple's retail division. But Jennifer Warren, RadioShack's chief marketing officer, hopes that giving the store a facelift will yeild strong results. Warren spoke with the Dallas Business Journal about her company's strategy and suggested that changing the company's customer experience initiative will allow RadioShack to compete with the leaders in consumer electronics retail.

"Right now we're the stop for people to get products so they can go play in life. But with the redesign, in addition to being on the way to play, we'll be a destination for play," she said. "We're going to look to strike the balance between making sure we stay relevant to our current customer base and broadening and becoming relevant to a younger base as well."

A rebranding strategy cannot happen on a whim. It requires a tremendous amount of planning and data analysis. RadioShack executives likely had to examine the behavior of its current customers and compare it with that of those who shop at its competitors. Compiling this information and managing it requires a system that can allow users to properly analyze data. If RadioShack didn't use the right solution, it wouldn't be able to extract the most value from its data, and its rebranding strategy would not live up to its potential.

Implementing a custom database software system can help organizations in a similar area compile data and use it to their advantage, which will help users make smart decisions throughout the rebranding process.

The ability for companies to communicate with customers is crucial, and requires a software system sophisticated enough to manner in which businesses reach their intended target. Organizations use customer relationship management (CRM) solutions to assist with the process, but in the age of big data, new needs are reshaping the basic functionality of these systems.

Custom application development is a high priority for many organizations when it comes to finding solutions to help engage customers. These individuals dictate the success of the business, so it’s crucial to ensure that no shortcomings are experienced throughout the company’s relationship with them. Thankfully, with the help of complex big data strategies, businesses can strategically build systems designed to cater to customers in a way that ensures positive results.

This trend is catching on, according to a report from Gartner. The research firm projects that big data is going to revolutionize the CRM system. In an interview with Computer Weekly, Gartner Research vice president Kimberly Collins said that while data will certainly reshape the way we work with customers, benefits will only be experienced if information is managed properly.

“In many ways there is a huge opportunity,” Collins said. “But if CIOs and business leaders don’t work together and put their arms around it, they will see a lot of renegade, tactical efforts in their organization.”

FileMaker development can help companies obtain the right solutions to manage the data pertaining to their customer interactions. Building a custom database management system will help companies ensure they are using their information to the best of their ability in order to maintain steady relationships with all their customers.

Rebranding is a major venture at any organization but, at times, it is completely necessary. When a company decides its current image has grown stale, or it wants to slightly adjust its offerings to attract new business, rebranding could be in order. However, because this action can make or break an organization, it's imperative that enough effort goes into the project to ensure its success. This includes the collection of a substantial amount of data.

A rebranding effort is designed to change the way a company appears in front of the public. So, it's best to gauge the public's opinion prior to committing to any dramatic change in the tone of an organization. Social media campaigns are popular because they are so easy to manage with today's technology, but there are other ways to reach out and extract data from potential customers as well. The key is to find a way to store and manage that information.

Developing a system designed to pull, sort, view and report on pertinent information can go a long way toward ensuring the success of a rebranding strategy. Suppose an organization wants to change its color scheme and it ran a public poll with three different options to choose from. The company will want to know which scheme received the most votes, so it can incorporate that information into its strategy.

However, it should be noted that information isn't always as cut-and-dry. One color scheme could emerge as the winner of that particular poll, but those who voted on it may not be the target audience. That information will have to be considered as well. 

Ultimately, the amount of data that goes into structuring a rebranding project is vast and it is extremely complex. Using simply systems to manage it won't allow businesses to yield the most value from their information. Using FileMaker to create a custom database software solution, however, will give companies the tools they need to harness the power of their data and orchestrate a truly positive rebranding strategy. 

Communication between businesses and consumers has been increasingly digital since the advent of the internet. Moreover, the shift from in-person to online interaction appears to be accelerating, rather than slowing down. Today, organizations rely on online interaction with consumers to fuel their business initiatives, and any issue that prevents that could lead to major problems.

Companies need solutions in place to monitor Web activity and the successes and failures that accompany the online experience. For example, suppose the website is down for a period of time or a specific function of the site is broken. Those issues must be handled quickly.

In today's big data era, they can be. You've probably seen an application crash and a subsequent popup message asking if you want to restart the program or send information to an admin. When issues are reported, this is data that can be processed to fix these issues quickly without compromising the user experience.

Anindya Neogi, a contributor with Forbes India, wrote a recent article explaining his problems paying his mobile bill online. The payment portal wasn't working and, although Neogi works in IT and has an understanding of how issues like this get fixed, he was frustrated due to the amount of time it was taking to resolve his issue. 

Negoi compared encountering an online issue with calling to file a complaint, and how each is resolved at a different rate. 

"When I lodge my complaint with the call-center and the application support engineer is called in, how does he detect the problem in minutes and not 24-48 hours?" he asked. "The IT systems produce a huge amount of data with wide variety to trace most activities, such as those on the payment transaction flow."

Businesses need a system designed to better process data generated from online issues. A custom database software system will allow information to be found and processed quickly, which will improve the effectiveness of online services.

The driving force behind global software adoption is being led by three different trends, but they are all related to one specific need: better information management.

According to a report from the International Data Corporation (IDC), software adoption and development is growing on a global scale. In 2012, the worldwide software market grew by 3.6 percent, higher than the IDC’s initial projection of 3.4 percent. This is lower than the year-over-year difference between 2010 and 2011, but according to the firm, it shows that organizations have more focused needs. IDC says that adoption is being fueled by greater needs in the areas of big data, analytics and cloud computing.

These three areas each grew between 6 and 7 percent, indicating that businesses are putting a greater emphasis on the three over other software needs. Henry Morris, Senior Vice President for Worldwide Software, Services and Executive Advisory Research, shared his analysis of the findings with the online publication Fin Channel.

“The global software market, comprised of a multi-layered collection of technologies and solutions, is growing more slowly in this period of economic uncertainty,” Morris said. “Yet there is strong growth in selective areas.”

These three needs are closely tied together because they all represent the importance of efficient data management. While big data shows that information must be processed in a way that allows organizations to extract value from it, analytics shows where that value lies. Meanwhile, cloud computing shows that companies need somewhere to store and view their data without having to replace physical machines.

Ultimately, developing a custom database software system can help organizations meet all three important needs. A FileMaker-based solution allows users to manage large quantities of information, analyze and report on it, and even host it in the cloud. Going forward, these three trends of business technology don’t appear to be slowing down, so creating a system now will put businesses in a solid position in the years to come.

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Small business owners tend to have a lot on their plate. Often, in addition to maintaining operations and keeping the business profitable, they are responsible for managing their company's marketing, sales and technology departments. All of these tasks can be extremely difficult to juggle at the same time.

When individuals have to wear multiple hats, they are under a tremendous amount of pressure to maintain a high level of efficiency. Information is coming from every angle and, without the benefit of a full staff to manage it all, small business owners must take on most of the responsibility, which could put their operation at risk.

In this case, technology is the best answer. Investing in solutions designed to spur greater productivity will allow small business owners to maintain their viability. However, as business picks up and it becomes harder to maintain steady workflow, these individuals may need to prioritize what's important and concentrate their efforts in those areas. 

For example, Connie Certusi, a business technology executive, recently spoke with the online publication The Accounting Web about the importance of managing financial data and how small business owners should invest solutions that will assist with accounting needs. 

"It's no surprise that most small business owners wear numerous hats and tend to take a very hands-on approach with managing various aspects of their business," Certusi said, who pointed to a recent survey that stressed the importance of financial apps. "While there's no doubt that those small business owners who don't use accounting software are successful, based on the survey, it's indicative that there are several business activities that they need to be more versed in."

Managing financial data is crucial, but it's equally important to ensure that information fits with all other components of the business. By using FileMaker to develop a custom database software system, small business owners can harness the power of an entire team of workers with custom reporting apps and data management tools that will allow them to integrate financial information in a way that benefits the entire organization.

No organization owns a magic crystal ball, so industry trend predictions, especially in an area as erratic as fashion, will never be perfect. However, using data to forecast both the immediate and long-term future can allow companies to adjust their strategies to comply with any needed future changes.

An article in the online publication Information Age features a number of organizations that are using technology to improve business projections. One of the featured companies is German catalog shopping leader Otto. The clothing distributor is making major strides toward projecting customer behavior with greater accuracy, all with the help of its database software system. By using an analytics solution to determine the validity of its information, Otto is able to gain some crucial insights such as future product demand.

Thomas Friese, senior product manager for forecasting at Otto, spoke with the news source about the benefits of accurate projections, particularly as they pertain to reducing spending. By knowing what clothing items are going to be in demand, Otto can organize cost-effective shipping schedules.

“Many of the clothes we sell are manufactured in China, so a substantial portion of their retail cost is shipping,” Friese said. “If we can order enough in advance, we can ship the items across on cargo ships. But if we need more than we’d bargained for, we have to fly them over, which costs much more.”

As this blog has mentioned in the past, simply collecting data will not give businesses the resources they need to conduct accurate projections. Otto’s success stems from its database system. Companies in a similar situation would be wise to develop a FileMaker-based solution that can effectively collect and organize data, weed out non-pertinent information and present appropriate valuable insights that businesses can use to their advantage.

As companies evolve and adapt to growing data volumes, there are two factors that each organization must consider: how can they use their information to their benefit and how will they store all of it. 

Whether one is more important than the other is debatable. Depending on the business, one might carry greater weight than the other. Companies that thrive on data analytics will want to ensure they are getting the most out of their information. Sales and marketing professionals use data to generate more effective messaging and target more specific audiences.

Meanwhile, companies that process massive volumes of information have to be able to store it all. This is particularly important for businesses in financial industries that process terabytes worth of data each day while trying to maintain compliance with various regulations.

Tom Mendoza, vice chairman for data management firm NetApp, spoke recently with Business Today and said, "Efficient data storage a bigger issue than analytics." Mendoza stressed the importance of proper data storage management. 

"The amount of data has been enormous for a long, long time," Mendoza said. "That's not new. One of the things I'm careful about is when people get behind a buzzword. Storage grows five to 10 times every five years for an average enterprise and it's important to slow that growth. Why? Because for every dollar you spend on one megabyte of storage, you spend $6 to manage it. Even if it's cheap or free, you spend $6."

To slow the growth of data, companies need to manage it more efficiently. This includes finding and eliminating unnecessary and duplicate data files. By using FileMaker to develop a custom database software system, organizations can allow themselves the ability to properly monitor volumes and take appropriate action to alleviate any issues pertaining to data size. Additionally, organizations that place a greater emphasis on data analytics can use a system of this nature to properly monitor information and gain new, valuable insights.

Regardless of how you prioritize usage, having a custom-built system will help all operations pertaining to data management.

Integrated marketing is one of the fastest-growing practices within the industry, mainly because advancements in technology have made it increasingly simple to combine various channels into one focused campaign.

Time once was that marketing campaigns consisted of multiple professionals managing different channels in order to obtain inroads into new industries and marketing mediums. However, that was proven to be a risky venture, as unsuccessful channels were causing companies to waste valuable resources that yielded unfavorable results. Today, many marketing campaigns can be integrated and consolidated, which alleviates the negative ramifications of failed channel campaigns.

According to an article in Customer Think, this will become even more important in 2013. Tony Zambito, the article's author, suggests more organizations integrate their channels to help obtain maximum value from each campaign.

"Campaigns can be costly," Zambito writes. "When they do not add up, this can be painful – in the sense that you have shot your allocated resources on the wrong channels. Look for more focus in 2013 on how to leverage different channels and integrate campaigns. When developing campaigns, how integrating social media, content marketing, mobile, web, and newer emerging channels into the campaigns will leverage cost yet yield more results becomes a key driver."

This practice does have its fair share of new challenges, namely in data analytics. Organizations must find ways to better manage the information they glean from their campaigns, which could become quite the chore if data is all being funneled to one centralized location. Creating a custom database software system will give professionals proper insight into the value of their respective data and make appropriate decisions. By developing a system designed to accommodate their integrated marketing, companies can ensure they maximize the potential of each channel and campaign.