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09/05/2019 By Jason Bean Leave a Comment

Great Marketing Strategy Nag Screen From Avast

When's the last time you were impressed and surprised by a company's marketing strategy towards you?

I'll admit it. If there's a free piece of software that works for me I will use it. And use it, and use it, and then some! I used Microsoft Defender and Windows Security Essentials for forever as my anti-virus and anti-malware services. And yes, they always worked well for me. I've never had a reason to not continue using them as I had been for years.

Well, with Windows 10 at some point I got the Avast free antivirus software installed and as before I've continued to use it because it seems to work fine for me, although I do miss my previous software installs.

Avast software includes them regularly nagging me about my PC running slow and they can improve it and blah-blah-blah. I usually click through the upgrade notifications and warnings and go along my merry way. I'm an above average computer user and can just take care of most of those things myself. It's amazing what regular maintenance activities and being aware of what's getting installed on my machines to begin with can make a difference.

Getting Surprised and Impressed by Avast

This evening though, as I was clicking through the screens to say "No Thanks" the screen featured below popped up.

This is a great piece of marketing strategy work in my opinion. They've taken the usual motivations for "No" and clearly give you reasons to trust them and give them a try while reinforcing the low-risk and zero price commitment barriers.

As you've probably experienced, you'll sign-up for a trial of something and before you know it the trial is over and you just got your account cha-chinged for a charge you really weren't prepared to confirm in the budget that month.

Key Marketing Strategy Points

Here are the key points I believe in this marketing strategy messaging above:

I'm reminded of the issues my PC was experiencing that this software says it will fix. In my case that's 445 performance issues (a personalized total for me as a customer)
Reminder that I can take advantage of the 60-day trial completely FREE
If I like it, on 11/04/2019 I will be charged the 1 year subscription rate (I frequently put reminders in my calendar now a couple of days ahead of these kinds of dates to remind me to take care and cancel it if I don't want it)
Additionally, they're letting me know (because of my behavior in the previous point) they're going to alert me a week before the deadline to cancel so I don't get surprised and irritated at them for automatically renewing my subscription.
Additional reminders via text
Nice comforting green color

I Might Actually Upgrade to the Premium Version

I'm actually pretty close to giving it a try and just seeing how I like it, and most importantly, did it clean-up those 445 performance issues and actually speed up my computer for me? One thing they left off that I think would have been beneficial, and it probably would be included in that email 7 days before! They've got an option to save more if you subscribe for 3 years at a time. It works out to $1.69/mnth billed at just over $60 for the 3 years.

What's not said in this advertisement is that this probably saves Avast a ton of headaches as well. Their customer service reps are probably tired of fielding calls, emails and online social media complaints about getting auto-billed and renewed for services.

When's the last time you put your customer's shoes on and thought about their experience with you and your company? Ask yourself how you'd like to be treated if the roles were reversed?

What would your sales and marketing processes look like then?

03/23/2018 By Jason Bean Leave a Comment

Why Sales Matters For Your Small Business

Keeping your small business ahead of the competition can be a difficult endeavor at times. Though you might feel like you know how to best lead your company towards success, there will definitely be a number of snags you did not expect along the way. To see the right level of success at each turn, you definitely need to take time to think about specific departments within the confines of your small business like your sales team. Sales make a big difference to the overall success of a company and it can be wise to pay attention to this aspect.

To get yourself started, take a moment to think over how you might be able to increase your capabilities by focusing your attention on the sales team. The success of your sales department can make or break your business, so be sure to think over these suggestions to see the best possible results from your efforts.

Problems Solved

A sales team serves a straightforward purpose in a business: the men and women who work in this department are responsible for selling goods or services to prospective or existing customers. While this might seem simple, the members of your team are also responsible for a great deal more. You most likely chose the specific individuals for your team after a long process of interviews. These people probably fit because they were personable and knew how to communicate well and eventually land a sale when speaking with a potential customer.

People who work for sales teams are often also exceptional when it comes to problem-solving. To sell a product, a person must be able to think on his or her feet. The members of your team are good for more than just landing a sale, in most cases they can help you solve problems before they even begin. Expanding the reach of your sales team to include solving common problems around the office is a clever tactic and one successful business leaders like Sudir Raju practice in order to get more from their resources and team members.

Ambition

When going through the process of hiring members for your team, you are going to want to focus on a few key characteristics. For one, it is important to make sure this person is actually motivated enough to be on the team. People who do not have passion for sales are usually not going to get your company very far. You need to have someone around who is going to chase down leads and communicate endlessly with prospective clients until they finally come around and decide to do business with you and your company.

During the interview process, it is very important to look at ambition and motivation. If a person seems like he or she simply needs the job as a stepping stone to another position, then you might want to reserve a decision. People looking to climb the ladder are common in the world of business but you are better off finding someone who is adept with sales and looking to stay in that field for at least the next few years. This will help to make your team into an unbeatable force without a rotating cast of employees.

Taking Care of Business

To see success with your small business, it is very important you take time to assess which departments are the most essential. For many, the sales department is the lifeblood of the company and an area worth a good amount of focus. Paying attention to the sales team can help you to make some significant changes along the way. Find the right people to populate your team and you are going to be on your way to seeing a bright and more productive future in regards to sales.

10/04/2017 By Jason Bean Leave a Comment

4 Reasons Security Cards or Badges Are Essential for Your Business

Every business must maintain control of the movements in and out of its facilities at all times. Most businesses have adopted modern security technologies, especially at the main entrances to secure their assets. Employees are required to key in certain codes or use biological characteristics to access facilities. Some of these technologies have replaced security badges. Many businesses now rely on digital IDs instead of traditional badges. While modern technologies are more reliable than traditional security measures, businesses need to maintain ID badges. Here are the main advantages of security badges.

Enhanced security

The main reason why ID cards were introduced was to improve security in organizations. Businesses can control movements in their premises when employees and visitors display badges at all times. Security personnel can also identify the employees or visitors who have access to different rooms or sections in a day. Most identification badges have magnetic strips that enable employees to access each room. It is easy to track movements when security cards are integrated with other security technologies in the facilities. In addition, the ID cards have photos of the rightful owners, which eliminates the possibility of sharing security badges.

Better customer relationships

Personalized customer service is hard to achieve in large organizations. Such organizations attend to tens of customers every day who have just a few minutes with the employees. In fact, most organizations have replaced face-to-face interactions with emails, phone calls, and chats. Some clients still prefer to the traditional methods of communication and will prefer to speak to the customer service staff in person. When staff members have security badges on them, customers can identify the staff with their name and position.

Improving employee accountability

A business must involve its employees in its efforts to keep all assets secure. Employees organize most of the security breaches in organizations. ID cards make employees accountable for their movements and actions. With enhanced features on the badges, security personnel can track all the movements. Employees are aware of these possibilities and are less likely to access restricted areas.

Building employee relations

In a small business, employees can identify their workmates with their names and positions. The same is impossible in large organizations where new employees are hired every other month. Building employee relationships is harder when employees have different work shifts. However, employees can learn their colleagues’ names from their security badges. The badges are helpful to new employees who may take a longer period to know all the employees in the organization. Managers can also identify employees with their names and departments easily.

New security technologies emerge every year to help businesses secure their facilities and assets. The technologies are more reliable and harder to breach than the traditional technologies. However, some traditional measures such as security badges are still relevant to the modern business world. The benefits of security badges go beyond securing the business. The badges enhance relationships among employees and between employees and clients. Security badges work best when integrated with other security technologies in the business.