The entrepreneurial journey can be a bit of a rollercoaster: you can go from inspired and excited to overwhelmed and tired within a matter of seconds. Hopefully, part one was able to help you narrow down your ideas and give you a feel for the next steps. If you get overwhelmed and confused, it may be a sign to step back and take a deep breath- maybe you just need to work out a slight kink in the plan!
What is your worst fear with bringing your great entrepreneurial idea forward? For many, that fear is failure. The best way to avoid failure is to take your time and doing your research. 30% of startup failures involve selecting the wrong entrepreneurial idea! But thankfully, this doesn’t just mean your idea is terrible- it just means you need to think things completely through and avoid skipping steps. If one angle doesn’t seem ideal after some market research, pivot and try a different angle!
So, we have decided on an entrepreneurial idea and researched it thoroughly. Now we need to work on making the vision a reality!
Business location- Time to consider where you will be operating your startup!
✓Do you need a physical space to run your business? Or can it be conducted virtually? If you require a physical space, is it a storefront or office? How big of a space would be optimal?
✓ Where are you planning to locate your business? If you do everything online, there’s no need to worry about this aspect. But if you have a physical store or office, do you want it in a downtown area? An area with less traffic? Do you need a location with room to expand eventually?
Basic needs- Let’s consider some of the things your business won’t be able to start without having.
✓ Are you a product or service? How will customers buy from you? Will you need an eCommerce site? Shopify is an easy eCommerce solution- they guide you through everything and make it incredibly simple for customers to buy from your shop. It’s okay if you don’t know where to begin because they have themes and built-in tools to help create the site of your business dreams! Otherwise, you may need a custom-built website or build your own on services like Wix or Squarespace.
✓ Can you do everything by yourself? Will you need to hire employees? If you need more people, how many would be reasonable at first? Where will you look to find and hire these employees? What would be their role/title?
You need to think about how to communicate with customers and how to spread the word about your business:
✓ Establish your target audience. We hit on this in our previous blog post, but it’s a key element to successfully implementing your entrepreneurial idea. Who are you trying to reach? Consider age, sex, interests, location, and income. Who is looking to buy your product or service? Where do they go online, or do they even frequently use a computer? Narrowing down a target audience is essential for deciding what tools you use and spend money and time on.
✓Will your product/service translate on Instagram? Is a Facebook page necessary? Is your primary audience more likely to be on LinkedIn? Consider where social media fits into your marketing strategy. This is one aspect where identifying a target audience comes into play- LinkedIn and Facebook generally attract an older demographic. At the same time, Pinterest users tend to be predominantly women in their 30’s or older. Will all the platforms be beneficial to include in your strategy? Will you start with one platform and eventually build to 3 or 4?
✓Do you need to allocate money for advertising? Maybe you will consider a mainly free marketing route, like social media. At what point might you start paying for ads, and what will you use to run ads?
✓ Email is a great way to communicate with customers- whether it be a newsletter or an order follow-up. Interesting fact: Shopify will email shoppers reminders about returning to abandoned carts and completing their order (one less thing you have to worry about)! No matter the approach, an email marketing campaign is a popular and super effective way to stay in touch with customers!
Costs- Ok, we’re starting this business to make some cash, right? Unfortunately, you do have to spend some money to make money. What do you think it will cost to implement your idea and get your startup, well, started? List out all the possible costs you can think of- both upfront costs and costs to maintain the business. Will you have to put money into manufacturing or research and development? Use this post (and part 1) to consider other potential costs you may not have considered!
Financing- How will you pay for your new business? There are a few options, like crowdfunding or small business loans. Fun fact- small banks approve roughly 48.7% of small business loans, compared to only 23.7% being approved by big banks! For a loan, you’ll have to have good personal credit and a solid business plan. Shopify has a helpful article about creating an ideal business plan https://www.shopify.com/blog/business-plan.
We hope this series gets your creative juices flowing and helps you start making your idea a reality. And just remember that Woggle will always be available to lend you some business advice, some needed guidance, or a hug…(Ok, maybe forget that last part)
The world of entrepreneurship is exciting and inspiring- a way to follow your dreams and be your own boss. We all have moments when perusing a store or watching a TV show where we think of a business idea for a startup or a product. We wonder, “why isn’t this already available? I would totally spend my money on that!” - then move on with our day, never to revisit that idea again.
Chances are, that graveyard of business ideas doesn’t see a lot of action. Why is that? There could be many reasons. For instance, many people have a fear of failure when considering starting their own business. Others just get overwhelmed by the next steps. What if we could get you started on the next steps to take? Lend some guidance on how to implement an idea into something palpable? Sound like a plan? Good- we were hoping you’d say yes!
Some people have an idea, and their first instinct is to keep it a secret. We get you don’t want anyone to steal your vision, but the sooner you take action, the better!
So, let’s figure out a few details involving your idea:
Pinpoint your idea- Don’t get overwhelmed by all the possibilities associated with your business idea. For example, say you want to start a pet grooming business. Then you start thinking about offering walking services, pet photography, and even kennel services. All great ideas, but focus on one aspect- your grooming service. Everything else may come later but stick with the basics.
What is the purpose of your idea? Does it solve a problem? Does it address a complaint you (or people you know) have? Is there a need for it?
Has it been done? It’s ok if your idea has already been implemented, but has it been implemented well? Has anyone done it locally? Is your idea bettering an existing product or service? Research online- Google and search on social media. Find out what is already out there and how your vision may be different or better. Look at your competitors! This part can tell you a lot about whether your idea is worthy of pursuit!
Familiarize yourself- Get online and learn everything you can about your idea and the industry it would entail. Find articles, success stories, and any other information relating to your future business. Become the expert!
Look at your market- Who would be your target audience? Conduct a focus group and get valuable feedback. Evaluate what is trending through platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, or even TikTok.
Identify potential challenges- What can go wrong? Try to identify challenges similar businesses have faced. Identify why similar companies may have failed. Consider both long and short-term challenges: What problem could you face six months after starting your business? What problem could you face in 2 years? Try to meet implementation with a somewhat cynical mindset- preparation for what could go wrong is much better than being blindsided!
Look at competitors- We’ve mentioned taking a look at the competition before, and this probably won’t be the last mention of it. Understanding what you are competing against is critical! What exactly do they offer, and what kind of pricing do they have? What (in your opinion) do they do well? Where do you feel they need to improve upon with your idea? Look at reviews- what are their customers saying? This all will offer insight on where to place your focus.
Easy, right? Just kidding, we know there’s no 3-step process to create the best name for your company magically. There’s a lot of pressure in choosing something that fits! And what if you switch gears later on and need to change the name? Here are a few tips to get you started:
✓ Make sure it’s easy to remember and that people won’t have to think too much when pronouncing it.
✓ Make it unique. Again, look at websites and social media to see where your potential name is already in use. Is it overused? Is it used by successful companies selling a completely different product or service? That could get confusing!
✓ Make sure it makes sense. Okay, sure, companies like Apple and Google don’t exactly reflect their services/products in the name. However, as a startup, you’re going to want to choose a name that isn’t entirely off base. Shopify, for instance, is not super literal but relates to what they have to offer: a service where you can set up your eCommerce business.
✓Make sure it isn’t officially taken. Check what domain names are available. There are many ways to check, but if you plan to enter the eCommerce arena, Shopify has an easy and quick search feature for this! Also, check with the US Patent and Trademark Office to see if you can legally stick with your name.
Also not a task you can quickly achieve overnight. But begin to consider: What is your message? What vibe are you trying to convey to your customers? Wix recommends “defining a visual language,” which we thought was a great way to describe establishing a brand. No matter what you choose, you have to apply it consistently so your customers and audience become familiar with your brand. Shopify has a great article on this topic as well.
Hang with us as we continue this process in part 2! Some may say that sequels are never as good as the original, but that’s just not how we roll.
Have you ever temporarily lost your phone and feared all that was lost with it? Did you think about what could happen if the wrong person accessed your applications? When you found your phone (phew), did you start thinking about ways to protect all the cherished photos stashed on it? Or how to increase your data security?
There are about a million examples of why losing data can be detrimental, along with many ways to lose that data. Data is everywhere- from work documents to the games you play on your phone. It is estimated that 7.5 billion people will be creating data by 2030! We often think about what’s next on the to-do list in the day-to-day grind and not about things like backing up our data. But in all honesty, data backup should be incorporated into our daily agenda, especially with the world becoming increasingly digitized.
That’s right, humans make mistakes. Just to be clear, we always make the general assumption that you simply “misplaced” your phone; we won’t talk about the other possibilities (ahem, like giving your phone a first-class ticket to the toilet bowl).
Not only can devices like phones and laptops be lost, but they can be stolen as well. In the United States, a laptop is stolen every 53 seconds. Not only is data lost, but data security is in the hands of a thief.
Then there’s always the scenario where the wrong thing was deleted, or someone inadvertently downloaded a virus. These kinds of things are the reasons backup plans are created!
Cybercriminals are out there, and they are constantly learning new ways to make money. All too often, data is compromised, and businesses have no choice but to pay the criminal who is holding information hostage. Businesses are attacked by ransomware every 11 seconds. By 2031, that number is expected to be 2 seconds. Not sure about you, but we can’t even make a decision about what to get for lunch in 11 seconds, let alone 2 seconds.
Not only is ransomware becoming more and more of a threat, but the cost of dealing with it is also increasing. In 2015, over $325 million went towards dealing with attacks throughout the world. By the end of 2021? $20 billion. By 2031, the cost is expected to increase 13 times the 2021 figure: $265 billion.
Unpredictable and often inevitable problems can occur that can cost you data, time, and money. This can be anything from a power surge or hardware overheating. Hardware failure also includes things like flooding and other environmental factors that could harm your devices (especially at an office). Many random and uncontrollable factors could do more harm if you don’t have a proper backup plan.
Quickly recover and restore: First, let’s talk about the difference between recovering and restoring data. Restoring allows you to retrieve a copy of the data; a recovery is a group of processes that retrieve the data and make it usable. When it comes to your business (and life), you would probably prefer to use data once again (not just have it). The quicker your business recovers the data, the faster things return to normal. A better backup system means less downtime and losing less money.
Audits: Yeesh. Even spelling out the word audits makes us cringe. However, we all have to deal with them. If your data isn’t appropriately backed up, you’re risking losing pertinent documents and databases to show in an audit. Not passing could quickly put you out of business! It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Protect what’s irreplaceable: Let’s refer back to the introduction- losing your devices could mean losing a lot more than money. No one wants to risk losing precious things like family photos and videos. Backing up your data can mean you will have cherished moments for years to come.
In 2020, 1.7 MB of data was created every second! Currently, over 5 billion people use and store data on their devices and in the cloud. Ok, we can throw statistics at you all day, but here’s arguably the most important: Globally, there will be around 200 zettabytes of data stored by 2025! In other words, we create a lot of data. There must be somewhere we keep all this data, which means we need companies that carefully store and manage it.
If this post leaves you wondering why you don’t back anything up besides your car when you awkwardly drive over a cement parking barrier, you’re not alone: 30 percent of people have never backed up their devices! Thankfully, solutions like Skyvia are out there to tackle our backup data fears. Skyvia not only backs up your data daily but will take care of all your CRMS. So instead of stressing about individually backing up all your cloud storage solutions, hand it over to an option like Skyvia.
But in all seriousness, we hope this post has you asking the right questions and thinking about appropriate data solutions. If all of this seems foreign to you, you may be in a little trouble. More than likely, you just need to tweak a few things within your data management. And as always, if you find yourself completely overwhelmed, consider services like Skyvia to take a few things off your virtual plate! Good help isn’t always easy to find, but you have plenty of great options in this case.
We have an important topic to discuss: clutter. No, not the type of clutter that lands you on a TV show with giant garbage bins outside your house. We are talking about something even worse: digital clutter.
How many unread emails are sitting in your inbox? And even more importantly, when was the last time (if ever) you cleaned out that inbox? How many “organization” apps have you downloaded? Are you ignoring any rarely-used apps that take a few bucks from your bank account each month? We know you may have been super triggered by these tough questions- we also definitely know that our inbox does not currently have 1,045 unread emails (insert nervous emoji here).
Sadly, we are not here to help with your inbox issues. We are here, however, to show you the advantages of utilizing a business application suite versus individual applications.
People utilize all types of software to run their businesses, which can involve a number of individual applications. If you think about everything it takes to run your business successfully, that is a pretty long list. Business application suites combine all types of necessary applications and programs in one place. Having all these aspects of your business (whether your business is small or large) under one umbrella is useful for a variety of reasons.
An undeniable fact is that every business has unique needs. Dealing with each need individually/manually is not only time-consuming, but limits growth. For instance: billing, payroll and other financial matters are bound to use a specific application or website. Then there’s the huge marketing realm, which could require several programs on its own. Having a business application suite that integrates all these software solutions into one place increases efficiency and accessibility.
Business application suites can also improve process automation. Automating tasks so that they don’t constantly need attention leads to more time to focus on everything else. Automation means smoother scalability and the ability to run a bigger operation without getting lost in the weeds.
Business application suites like Zoho One not only make things easier by improving accessibility, but they can automate processes that should be automated. Some examples would be:
Not every business will have the same requirements or use the same tactics. Some businesses will emphasize marketing aspects more than others. Other businesses don’t have a huge staff that constantly communicate with one another. Some have no need for fancy presentations or contract creation. Suites like Zoho One allow customization for instances like this, so business owners won’t have to worry about paying for something they won’t use!
One thing is for sure, bundling (especially with the option to customize) will more than likely be the most cost-effective option. Paying for necessary programs and applications individually can add up.
We did some research on popular solutions for everyday business needs. Here’s a list of pricing that we compiled:
Email marketing software: $9.99 a month (increases as the number of contacts increase).
Social media management/automation: $49.00 a month (increases with more accounts)
Team communication: $8.00 a month
Billing/Payment management: $12.50 a month
This list more than likely does not include all business necessities, but you get the picture. So far we have reached $79.49 a month with mostly standard/basic packages. Zoho One includes all four items listed, along with many other options and costs $45.00 a month ($37.00 a month if you sign up for a year).
Utilizing multiple programs and applications from different companies not only clutters any process, but it puts your data and privacy into the hands of a lot more people. Since it’s all under one company, a business application suite gives you much more control of how your data is being used and stored. One company = one data protection policy. A great thing about Zoho is their transparency about data and privacy policies. They prioritize data security and recognize online security challenges companies face every day.
Speaking of data security, how do you keep all your passwords organized and easily accessible? Hopefully your answer to this question doesn’t involve making all your passwords “password123”. Taking some extra steps for better password management (although it may seem insignificant) ultimately leads to better data security. Thankfully Zoho One includes Vault, a safe and convenient feature that manages all those pesky passwords!
Looking to simplify your business routine? Declutter your digital world? Hoping to not be the first person submitted for a digital hoarding show? A business application suite is a great way to accomplish all of these things. Create a more efficient, secure and cost-effective business with just the click of a button.
Our team is here to help answer your questions and get you out of a disorganized rut. Reach out anytime.
What’s one thing that we have seen in headlines more and more? Data breaches. Big companies are coming forward and revealing data breaches where tons of personal information may have been compromised. Who’s personal information? Consumers. And not just specific consumers, but consumers from all over the world. More than 98.2 million individuals were impacted by the 10 biggest data breaches in the first half of 2021. Every person who has any online presence is at risk with these types of incidents!
Data privacy and protection is becoming more highlighted, especially in an increasingly digital world. Hackers are focusing less and less on stealing individual identities and focusing more on what pays the most: ransomware attacks and targeting unsecure databases. The average ransomware payout in 2018 was less than $10,000. In 2020, that figure grew to more than $233,000 per ransomware attack!
Ransomware is hurting individual companies more, but hackers targeting unsecured databases are affecting consumers. By hacking databases, cyber criminals could potentially access social security numbers, login credentials, bank account information and so much more. The bigger the company, the more data that is at risk.
So, what factors can lead to more unsecured databases? There are a few elements to look at:
Consider sources: As companies grow, there are more chances of collecting fake or useless data. This negatively affects any type of marketing analysis from the data, along with increasing disorganization within the database. Increased disorganization = increased vulnerability.
Consider security of stored data: If companies don’t place an emphasis on security measures for their collected data (encryption, firewalls, etc), it’s going to be susceptible to cyber attacks.
Consider data protection laws: Regulations have been put into place to protect data privacy/consumer privacy, therefore impeding cyber criminals. If a company remains cognizant of these laws and regulations while following suggested procedures, the outcome for their data protection will be far better.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was created in Europe to help govern the use of personal data. It’s a set of rules that controls what organizations do with collected data and also offers more transparency about the collection process. GDPR emphasizes securing data, along with encouraging companies to not gather more data than they truly need. Too much data means more to lose, plus less organization and security.
GDPR may be based in Europe, but it applies to any company doing business with European citizens. For instance, if a company based in Texas mainly interacts with Americans, but also has customers in Europe, GDPR applies and compliance is required.
So far in the United States, there are only three states that have created protective regulations involving data/personal information: California, Colorado and Virginia. It’s a good idea for companies to consider regulations like GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act when building their own data and privacy policies. With bigger businesses, there’s going to be customers from Europe and more regulated states. This means rules like the GDPR and CCPA will have to be considered no matter what. Companies should incorporate this into their plan, further progressing along with the ever-evolving realm of data protection.
It is a good idea to create a privacy policy that is not only informative for the customer, but complies with laws like GDPR. Not only will this create more trust, but it can also prevent security issues down the line.
A privacy policy creates more transparency between businesses and their customers. It lets the customer know what data is being collected and what’s being done with that data. It also tends to make it more clear how the data is being gathered, whether through cookies or a pop-up form.
Privacy policies can also describe things like data storage, how long the company will keep the data stored, and who may have access. Next time you go on a website and the privacy notice pops up, take a deeper look into what it involves! There are free privacy policy generators online and the Better Business Bureau is another free reference to get started.
A Customer Relationship Management solution is an important player in the big business and marketing game. CRMs manage customer data, analyzing the customer experience and supplying insight to what marketing tactics are working. They offer information to improve sales and lead acquisition.
What does this have to do with data protection and privacy? CRM solutions like Zoho take data privacy seriously and incorporate it into their business practice. Once GDPR came around in 2018, Zoho has been compliant in all aspects of their services. Zoho also offers much more than just the typical CRM options:
• Zoho SalesIQ: This option tracks and interacts with website visitors while remaining GDPR compliant.
• Zoho Assist: This option helps with remote support and controls remote access to your device. Without your consent, no access will be given.
• Zoho Vault: A secure and convenient way to keep track of company passwords.
The world is becoming increasingly more digital and data-focused. The risks to privacy and data protection are at an all-time high. It is more important than ever to stay ahead of the never-ending changes and developments, especially if you want to continue to grow your business!
Need a hand? Book your free consultation today.
What is a "Qualified Lead"?
Take a moment and think: Have you ever sat down to unwind in the evening, grabbed a cold drink, and pulled out your phone to browse Instagram, Pinterest, or your favorite blogs? Have you ever signed up for a free ebook? Perhaps a free guide? Maybe a coupon? If any of that sounds familiar, you have more than likely been considered a Qualified Lead!
A Qualified Lead (QL) is someone a company has identified as a potential customer. Figuring out who is most likely to buy a specific product or service is key. If companies do not attempt to focus on who actually has the best chance of going from a lead to a sale, they are wasting valuable time and resources somewhere along the way.
A specific definition of a Qualified Lead is extremely important for a sales team, and they should revisit and reconsider it often. According to Hubspot, only 34% of companies with no formal definition were able to advance a lead to a first discussion more than half of the time. When the companies had clear definitions, that percentage increased to 63%!
Every company will define their Qualified Lead differently because each company caters to a unique type of customer. Therefore, individual marketing teams have to consider what criteria will truly give the insight they need. To define the target customer, they may consider:
The marketing team encounters the potential customer first. With a solid digital marketing strategy, companies will attract attention from a variety of audiences. Qualified Leads will distinguish themselves through engagement with anything the marketing team puts out there. This may include podcast subscriptions, watching YouTube videos, or engagement with social media posts and ads . Qualified Leads may sign up for email updates/newsletters as well.
Many marketing strategies are depending more and more on providing free content. What better way to show expertise on a topic? For instance, say you are searching for more tips and tricks on marketing and increasing website traffic. You find a company with a free webinar giving you tons of useful information on the topic. You realize the company offers a fairly priced package with an analysis of your marketing approach and advice to improve your overall strategy. Now that you’ve seen that they know what they’re doing, why not go for the complimentary consultation? You have just become a Qualified Lead for the company, all because they earned your interest and trust through free content.
Customers need to show a certain level of interest in what the company has to offer. If this is not the case, is it truly worth the company’s time? Cold calling and prospecting is still a thing in the marketing realm, but it’s much more time and resource efficient to utilize leads. A Qualified Lead is based on actual market research and shows that the potential customer has already taken a few steps in the right direction. Research shows that people have often already made 50% of the buying decision before even talking to the sales team.
There are different types of Qualified Leads. When the marketing team has identified someone as a Qualified lead, they are decently confident this could convert to a sale. This is a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL).
Once they hold up their end of the bargain, the marketing team hands the MQL over to the sales team. The sales team further evaluates the likelihood of the MQL becoming a paying customer. Sometimes the customer will express specific interest in taking the next step, giving the sales team even more reasons to proceed. Often the BANT system is utilized at this point:
If the sales team decides to proceed with the MQL, the MQL transitions to a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL).
This whole process seems straightforward, but nothing will work smoothly unless the company sales and marketing teams are on the same page. It benefits everyone to agree on the criteria for a Quality Lead. Not only does a company need to establish a definition in general, but marketing and sales need to decide on the definition together. Agreeing on QL criteria will optimize conversion rates and digital marketing strategies. How will any company know what’s working best if sales and marketing function as two completely separate entities?
Quality Leads are important and companies are out there using these QL’s to their advantage! Instead of cold-calling or pursuing just any “potential customer”, consider what your business can offer to entice the customer to come to you. How can you adjust your online/social media presence to attract people seeking certain information? What is in your toolbox that could bring your company Quality Leads? Optimize the time of your sales and marketing teams while still finding the customer that is the right fit!
-Off you go! Your horizon awaits.
You want to take your business to the next level, but it can be difficult to discern where your team should put the bulk of its focus. So, you find ourself wondering about automating your business processes
Enter Zoho One.
Most likely, you’ve noticed the influx of automation platforms businesses are implementing. Technology, no doubt, shifts drastically even within a year. It’s no wonder that you’re receiving targeted ads and emails for new, innovative automation platforms. Many of these companies present tall promises of cutting entire workdays, saving your business tens of thousands in operation costs, and generating triple-digit leads in half of the time.
We’re here to level with you. Your needs and your strategy must be clear before you opt-in simply because a platform looks great on paper.
So, what is the big deal with automation, anyway? Does streamlining your business processes really save time, money, and get you ahead of the competition?
Join us behind the scenes for a moment. We’ll tell you exactly how your business can benefit from automating your business processes.
We may be showing our age, but to use it seems like no time at all passed between the iPod being all the rage to the release of the iPhone 12 Pro. Because technology is always moving forward, companies must educate themselves on the changes and respect that forward motion is the best flow for any business to adopt. Hey, no judgment if you’re still using an iPod, but we guarantee you that your friends that are rocking the newest iPhone have more storage space and less to carry around.
The percentage of companies that have fully automated at least one function, however, has grown more modestly, from 29% in 2018 to 31% in 2020.
Automating processes is an obsession of ours. That isn’t a sales pitch. We’re passionate because we watch it work for client after client. Here are the benefits of moving forward with automating your business processes. Yes, even implementing one fully automated process will produce noticeable, positive changes!
Industries spanning the spectrum and divisions within those industries are beginning to automate their processes. Here are the top trends we see here at Woggle:
Now, don’t ditch this blog post if you’re not in those niches listed. Automation is available and advantageous for any scope of business that you can imagine.
There are so many reasons why you should automate your processes, but we've narrowed it down to our top three. You can reach out, and we’ll give you our complete pros list! (Did we mention we’re obsessed?)
Automating your processes will indeed up-level the efficiency of your business.
For example, HR departments can thrive with AI automation technology that seamlessly scans resumes and pinpoints candidates for consideration based on pre-determined keywords. On a smaller scale, entire departments can easily automate their client management systems. Hence, tasks are dependent on other team members and functions to move to the approval process.
So, how much time can automation save your business? Keep in mind that automation can work when humans can’t. An automated process doesn’t need sick days or the occasional vacation to Disney.
To find out how much time automation can save your business (down to the minute you want to get intense), just follow this formula.
Where did you spend the least amount of time? Now, work your way through each of your business processes and compare. Seeing how much time is spent on any given task will help you to see how automation can save you time in one or several areas of your business.
Once you see where your business would benefit from automation, you’ll be able to recognize areas where processes are bottlenecked. This will guide your team to delegate otherwise mundane, time-consuming tasks to a platform rather than a person.
Even beginning with automating a simple task such as emails to incoming inquiries can offload your team of repetitive, time-consuming tasks. When teams are able to focus on their zone of genius without the distraction of frequent tasks, your business not only becomes more effective; but your team’s morale gets a boost and they put their best work forward.
If you want to know more about how automation can specifically help your business thrive, book a consultation with us.
Instead of reigning in your ads budget just yet, think of how much your business can save through automating processes. Maybe your self-assessment of automated task vs. human performance showed a substantial loss of time responding to initial inquiry emails.
It may be that you have brought in a contractor to help with the influx of inquiries during the holiday season. Your breakdown of time spent may mean that your team can integrate a platform to handle autoresponder emails. The cost per month for the platform almost always much lower than the salary paid to the temp contractor. We’re not saying to replace entire departments with AI or to overhaul your entire company’s infrastructure for the sake of automation. After all, automation can simplify your whole business, even if you just use it in a few select areas.
We’re glad that you’ve made it this far because this is where the magic happens. Our Woggle team has seen automation in action, and it’s transforming businesses by increasing lead generation, improving the client experience, and helping their content be seen by their ideal customer/client.
Zoho One is a robust suite of software that can help you automate anything from task delegation with your team to email campaigns. Oh, and loads of impressive stuff in between. We’ve watched Zoho One make such tangible differences for businesses that we dedicated a whole blog post to it. Check it out here.
We mentioned in the beginning that we see where you are. Automation is such a buzzword these days that you probably know it’s the next best move for your business but aren’t sure where to start. The loads of information out there on automation is overwhelming, but we are here to do what automation can’t--talk you through your current hesitations, and your business goals. Together we'll find the perfect fit for you. We do the full implementation, too!
Woggle is a huge fan of making business simple, and we’re equally as passionate about seeing your business grow! Reach out today, together we'll get everything sorted!
-Off you go! Your horizon awaits.
What is a flywheel? Well, we read the articles and called a few engineers to get to the bottom of this new term in sales and marketing and this is what we’ve come up with:
Flywheel
noun
Someone realized that this technical, and confusing, term would be great for marketing and sales teams. Which brings us to our definition, tailored for the evolving business world:
The point of shifting from a funnel to a flywheel is purely for the sake of the customers.
Customers have power, and they’re tired of being wooed and schmoozed through the sales funnel process. At the end of the funnel, they don’t fall into a hot tub of customer care. They usually fall off the company’s radar except for the occasional dry sales email.
The flywheel provides a different experience. Consequently, when you tie together service, marketing, and sales, you create a robust company with a dedicated and collective focus on the customers.
As the flywheel spins, customers fall into a vortex where they can always:
We’ve established the basis of the flywheel, but there are a few key takeaways to cover about the retiring funnel and the new heavy-weight champ.
1. The Sales Funnel Isn’t Dead (yet)
First, there is still a process needed to connect with and attract new leads. Every lead is at some point cold, or luke-warm and they need nurturing. Over time, we expect the marketing flywheel to take a larger role in this process because companies that use the flywheel will gain a reputation for outstanding customer care.
2. The Flywheel is About More Than Marketing
The idea of the flywheel is to pull in and protect customers. However, it doesn’t directly address the notion of leads because, essentially, you’re treating everyone as customers from the start. It’s 2021, and we’re finally figuring out that we should treat our customers better than our warm leads.
Let’s say someone comes across a company marketing campaign, and they show an interest. Then the sales team reaches out alongside support to learn more about the customer. Finally, marketing, sales, and support work side-by-side instead of pushing customers off of one person’s desk and onto another.
3. The Difference is a Matter of Approach
Customers that are loyal and naturally raise awareness for your brand are engaged, delighted, and constantly attracted to your company. However, most companies think of that situation and put it off because it sounds like a lot of work.
The flywheel allows companies to use their resources with more tact to accomplish these goals efficiently. You’re not asking your three primary teams to run at top speed all the time. Actually, it’s the opposite because using collaboration and proactive work means that customers receive more support and care with less internal effort.
The flywheel isn’t a self-perpetuating machine that will breed customer loyalty with little effort. Companies do have to put the work in and help to avoid flywheel friction.
There is the possibility of friction when:
This last issue is the most common when companies transition to flywheel thinking. Marketing, sales, and service all play a role in keeping the flywheel turning. So, if any section of the flywheel is heavier than the others it will introduce friction and reduce the momentum. This means it won’t turn properly, and will eventually come to stop.
Here is a quick breakdown that can help teams understand their part in the flywheel:
Leverage technology to reduce friction, align your teams, and ensure that your customers (including leads) get the best every time they interact with your company or product. Ultimately, companies can use complete business applications suites such as Zoho to manage customer relationships, marketing campaigns, support contacts, and more.
-Off you go! Your horizon awaits.
We’ve known that remote work has been on the horizon for a while, but the COVID-19 pandemic gave everyone a hard shove into the work-from-home lifestyle. Now that we’re starting to recover a bit, it’s clear that many employees want to stay home, and businesses want to avoid the hefty costs of keeping offices open.
Even if moving your staff to full-time remote work isn’t on the table, having a remote work software suite can deliver massive payoffs. Take a second and think of the companies that were “remote ready" in March 2020. Some companies only had to flip the metaphorical switch and send out a mass email telling staff to stay home.
Remote work offers a unique combination of benefits including raised morale and higher retention rates. So why didn't we all welcome remote work sooner? Companies reasonably were worried that working from home would come with security issues, kill collaboration, and cause communication struggles. In comes tech to solve the working world’s problems.
Now, there’s the issue of being overwhelmed with different tech tools and software that claim to be the key to making remote work, well, work. There cannot be one solution. But there are software suites that offer an array of tools and systems to keep your teams running.
We’re pretty lucky that Zoho has an entirely cloud-based remote system that ensures your team can always access the information and systems they need to get things done. You know, as long as they have internet access.
Zoho knows that you have concerns too. Yeah, your employees can get the information they need, but are they really going to work? Seamless reporting helps leaders know that teams are on track with sales goals and other performance metrics.
Worried about choosing the right combination of Zoho systems? Take a breath because Zoho already solved that problem. Zoho Remotely allows your office to function from anywhere with a winning combination of their best remote work apps.
Zoho keeps going. They connect with nearly all the other apps you need to keep your team working, such as:
If you have apps that you already love, chances are you can integrate them with Zoho while cleaning out the apps and processes that are weighing you down.
Because of built-in analytics, Zoho CRM can measure and manage metrics across all of your business operations. Give your sales team powerful tools with one clear path for customer handling in the CRM. Automate escalations to protect customers and support staff while standardizing approval systems to reduce bottlenecks.
Meanwhile, leaders can use customizable dashboards to track team progress, who is landing the most sales, and which campaigns have the most leads.
Remote work software solutions often focus on the CRM to protect the customers' best interest. But, what about everyone else? Don't worry. Zoho has over 45 applications in their suite, and unlike other unnamed software providers, these applications actually integrate beautifully. It's the software suite with apps that know how to work as a team.
So, what do you need to know about Zoho and its many apps?
It doesn't matter if your top talent wants to move across the country or if you need to work while you're on the go. Leaders and staff can collaborate and crush it without being in the same physical space.
Interested in setting up your company for remote working? We'd love to chat with you.
Schedule a Free Consultation today!
-Off you go! Your horizon awaits.
Is there any hope of tracking every lead while also giving all of your customers the support they need? Most business owners know that customer relationship management is a never-ending journey, but that doesn't mean you have to fumble all along the way. A CRM is a customer relationship management strategy or system.
CRMs don't have to be a fancy software solution, although the technology can certainly make things easier... sometimes. As a buzzword or buzz-acronym, when people say "CRM," they're usually referring to one of the current heavy-weight software options such as Salesforce, Zoho, or Hubspot.
But, in reality, a CRM could be any system or strategy that helps a company manage its clients and potential clients. If you're still living in the 1960s, then that might look like a Rolodex, but for our modern readers, it probably means a high-tech tool or at least a well-crafted spreadsheet.
Typically, CRM software or SaaS solutions will use a database and provide an engaging interface to see leads and customer needs clearly. It can help your staff perform better, and improve your customer’s experience from their first contact with your company. Okay, that sounds nice and all, but what do CRMs actually do?
Because of the big names in the CRM space, it’s easy to set really high expectations and still not be disappointed. But of course, not all software is created equal, and with that in mind, we’ll look at the different tiers.
A basic CRM will stand in place of that glorified Rolodex and offer only a little more than contact information tracking. Essentially, this could be an Excel workbook.
Now, a decent CRM system will do so much more. It’s that one small step which is also a huge leap.
Business owners should expect:
On a day-to-day level, it’s difficult to keep track of who talked to which customers or what information made it to your important leads. CRMs centralize all lead and customer interactions within one system so that any employee who speaks with the client has a complete overview of that person’s experience and expectations.
For some businesses, they get lucky and begin using a CRM before they actually open their doors. But that’s not usually the case.
Most businesses realize that they need a CRM when they have a long list of customers and a disaster of scattered data. Everyone talks about how great CRMs are, but realistically they’re a pain to set up, and it takes patience and careful planning to do it right.
We get it! You don’t have time to spend building a new system from scratch. Most cloud-based CRM systems can begin functioning well as soon as the company loads in their existing customer data. Of course, you might not have time for that either.
At Woggle Consulting, we can coordinate a CRM set up with your internal team, or better yet, we’ll do the whole thing for you!
So, you’re a little suspicious of needing another software, and probably one that comes with a subscription or ongoing costs. We know the struggle. Here are three simple and direct questions to help you decide if a CRM is right for your company.
1. Are you struggling to track and organize your customer data?
We live in a time where data could be the difference between success and failure. But most of us still use spreadsheets, sticky notes, and cluttered apps to track contact information and customer questions. This type of data collection isn’t just disorganized. It’s dangerous. If you’re scrambling to find information, then you’re going to start losing customers.
2. Do you have a flood of new business and can’t keep up?
There’s a shared nightmare among business owners … what if you’re too successful? Entrepreneurs hope for and fear success stories like Death Wish Coffee, who oversold their inventory to the point of almost killing the company. A key part of their bounce-back was careful management of internal procedures through software.
If you have a ton of new business or know that you could soon, it’s better to get organized first. A great CRM will gather vital data and prioritize new leads. They can build a foundation of positive customer relationships and produce long-lasting results.
3. Are you uncertain about how to grow your business?
Okay, maybe the leads aren’t flooding in yet, but you want to get to that point. A customizable CRM can help you automate tedious tasks so your sales team can focus on tasks that make a real difference. The trick is to create a system that doesn’t let anything slip through the cracks while automating as much as possible.
If any of these questions hit home, then it’s time to start looking for the right CRM solution for you. We would love to help you on this journey and can get you started with a free consultation. Schedule a chat with us today to learn more about what a CRM can do for you specifically.
-Off you go! Your horizon awaits.
