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Why dashboards are vital tools for your businessPeople are visual creatures, which means we interpret visual data better than written words. That’s why most businesses turn to dashboards as a business intelligence tool to present data in a way that’s easy to understand, making dashboards a critical part of the business analytics process. Here are some common uses of dashboards across various […]

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Why dashboards are vital tools for your business

People are visual creatures, which means we interpret visual data better than written words. That’s why most businesses turn to dashboards as a business intelligence tool to present data in a way that’s easy to understand, making dashboards a critical part of the business analytics process. Here are some common uses of dashboards across various business functions.

Marketing insights

An organization’s marketing department analyzes a significant amount of data from various channels. Whether the purpose is to forecast monthly sales, predict trends, or build marketing strategies, marketing specialists use dashboards to compare, sort, and analyze raw data to churn out meaningful information presented in an easy-to-understand format. This helps key decision makers in formulating better marketing campaigns.

Tracking sales opportunities

Sales dashboards are perfect for tracking your organization’s products and services. They help you identify sales opportunities by monitoring top-selling products and comparing the growth in revenue on a regular basis. Sales dashboards sync to your raw data, so your charts are always up to date, thus eliminating the need to spend hours manually entering and preparing sales reports and charts.

Social media management

Social media management is more than just posting statuses on your business’s social media accounts. And in most cases, your social media platform’s default dashboard doesn’t give you deep insight into your social media campaigns. What’s more, managing multiple social media accounts can quickly become a cumbersome process since you have to use several login credentials. Instead, you can manage your accounts all at once through a comprehensive social media dashboard, saving you valuable time and effort.

Financial reports

Presenting financial data is a complex process that it often leads to misinterpretation and misunderstanding of critical data. Dashboards make creating financial reports much easier, and financial analysts can take advantage of dashboards to display sensitive data in a comprehensible graphical format — be it customer invoices, progress toward revenue goals, or business expenses.

Project collaboration

Businesses of all sizes require their employees to collaborate on projects, whether on-site or online. Project supervisors need to get their teams together to give them projects’ requirements, deadlines, and responsibilities, and to get progress updates. With the help of project collaboration dashboards, members will see the complete workflow of the project, allowing for a more efficient and collaborative working environment.

Dashboards eliminate the complications of presenting complex business data and make your team more efficient. If you’re looking to implement dashboards and other cutting-edge tools to make your job easier, contact our consultants today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Windows 10 features you need to knowConfigure Windows 10 to suit your needs with the following tips. These will help raise productivity and improve your overall user experience. Night light This feature lets you reduce the amount of blue light emitted from your screen, which helps reduce eye strain and boost sleep efficiency. Night Light is disabled by default, so you […]

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Windows 10 features you need to know

Configure Windows 10 to suit your needs with the following tips. These will help raise productivity and improve your overall user experience.

Night light

This feature lets you reduce the amount of blue light emitted from your screen, which helps reduce eye strain and boost sleep efficiency. Night Light is disabled by default, so you need to enable it by following these steps:

  1. Click the Start Menu.
  2. Open the Settings app (or press the Windows key + I to quickly open Settings).
  3. Select the System icon followed by the Display option in the left-hand pane.
  4. Set Night light to “On” or “Off.”

Taskbar pin

Opening browsers and typing in web addresses are simple tasks as they were, but Windows 10’s taskbar pin feature makes it even easier than before. This is an essential shortcut for anyone who relies on specific web-based apps such as email or company intranets. Simply right click on the app or document you wish to gain easy access to and choose “Pin to Taskbar".

Organize your open windows

Do you struggle to organize a screen cluttered with open windows? Holding the Windows key and pressing an arrow should solve most of your problems:

  1. Windows key + Left – Resize the current window’s width to half the size of the screen and align it to the left
  2. Windows key + Right – Resize the current window’s width to half the size of the screen and align it to the right
  3. Windows key + Up – Maximize the current window to fit the entire screen
  4. Windows key + Down – Downsize the current window

When none of those keys are enough to set you straight, holding the Windows key and pressing the Tab button will show you all the apps you currently have open.

Focus Assist

Notifications are frustratingly distracting. Windows 10’s Focus Assist feature helps you tackle this issue by customizing which contacts and applications can interrupt you during predetermined periods of time. Try it out by:

  1. Opening the Settings window
  2. Clicking the System icon
  3. Selecting Focus Assist from the left-hand pane
  4. Adjusting the notifications settings based on your preference

If you wish to disable Focus Assist and receive all notifications, simply click Off.

These are just a few of our favorites. For more software and productivity recommendations, give our experts a call today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Why small businesses should consider business intelligenceFor years, big companies have been harnessing the power of business intelligence (BI) to improve business performance. And for them, paying experts to analyze large data sets is no issue. It’s different with small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). SMBs also store large volumes of data, but many are wary of spending too much on BI. […]

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Why small businesses should consider business intelligence

For years, big companies have been harnessing the power of business intelligence (BI) to improve business performance. And for them, paying experts to analyze large data sets is no issue. It’s different with small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). SMBs also store large volumes of data, but many are wary of spending too much on BI. Still, SMBs should leverage BI to gain an edge — fortunately, there’s plenty of budget-friendly business tools and resources available nowadays.

Self-service BI tools are plentiful — and inexpensive

The emergence of self-service BI puts useful business analytics within reach of smaller-business owners who lack the big budgets of larger corporations. In fact, there are numerous self-service BI tools that you can use to get started in this area without even spending a dime. Microsoft Power BI is a powerful and user-friendly application, and most businesses will find the functions they need in the free version. Zoho Analytics has a low entry-level cost, too, and the slightly pricier yet still affordable Tableau is another option worth exploring.

You’ve already got the data you need

It’s easy to underestimate the amount of data your SMB already has at its disposal. In every area of your business, from finance and sales to customer relations and website management, the software packages you use to simplify your everyday operations reap tons of information that most of us don’t even think twice about.

By talking to key stakeholders in your organization’s various departments, you can get an idea of the kind of data you already have, how it’s generated, and where it’s stored. You can then utilize BI tools to transform that information into meaningful business insights that will inform your decision-making. No need for you to invest in time-consuming data generation from scratch!

It’s easy to get started

BI is an intimidating term, especially for the average business owner. But by taking small steps, it’s easy for anyone to get started. Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying the benefits of having data-driven, intelligence-based insights that will enable you to make better business decisions.

Most self-service BI tools come with built-in suggestions for reports that businesses commonly run and find useful. Some worthwhile statistics to explore include the percentage of your clients who cancel within a given period, website landing pages that generate the longest visits, your most profitable individual products or services, the days or months in which you generate your highest revenues, and which of your clients bring in the most revenue and profit.

Harnessing data is the future of the business world — it’s how companies like yours can make smarter decisions that increase efficiency and profitability. And with a trove of self-service tools available in the market, SMBs no longer need a humongous budget to reap the benefits of BI. To find out more about implementing tools that can help you do smarter business, just give us a call.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Here’s why your business needs CRMNo business ever gets very far without a steady stream of customers. They are your primary source of revenue, so taking care of your relationships with them must be your highest priority. To effectively foster customer relationships, your business should leverage customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Imagine buying a product, and it breaks the first […]

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Here’s why your business needs CRM

No business ever gets very far without a steady stream of customers. They are your primary source of revenue, so taking care of your relationships with them must be your highest priority. To effectively foster customer relationships, your business should leverage customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Imagine buying a product, and it breaks the first time you use it. You contact customer support and describe the issue, only to be told to wait for another representative to call you back. You wait for hours, and still nobody calls. After sending an email to customer support, you finally get a call from a customer service representative, but it’s from someone unfamiliar with your problem. You awkwardly explain your problem for the third or fourth time, during which you wonder if the value of your time has exceeded the value of the broken item.

We’ve all been there before, but this scenario can be avoided by having an effective CRM system. Here's what you need to know about CRM systems and how they can mitigate frustration among customers and keep them delighted.

What is a CRM system?

CRM is a system that allows businesses to manage, record, and evaluate their customer interactions to provide better services and boost sales. You can use CRM to store customers’ contact details, accounts, leads, and sales opportunities all in one place.

What are the features of a CRM system?

  • Data management – When customer data is recorded, the CRM system centralizes the data into one file called a master file. Everyone within the company then has access to this data source, preventing confusion from inaccurate or duplicate data.
  • Collaboration – Nowadays, clients demand quick and efficient customer service, so all involved departments must work together to quickly resolve client concerns. CRM systems enable collaboration by facilitating the sharing of customer information among departments. This way, everyone is on the same page about clients’ circumstances and requirements.
  • Customer segmentation – A CRM system arranges your customers into groups based on criteria such as age, gender, location, and even their likes and dislikes. This allows you to target marketing messages to your customers more accurately, potentially increasing engagement and conversion.
  • Task tracking – CRM systems have task tracking features that help your employees stay on top of important tasks, such as contacting customers via email or phone and following up on leads. CRM systems also send reminders to employees about their assigned tasks so that nothing falls through the cracks.
  • In-depth reporting – CRM systems provide a thorough analysis of your customer base. CRM reports give details including an overview of product sales numbers, marketing strategy performance, most successful products or services to date, and even a prediction of whether your sales target will be met at the end of the month.

If you’re looking to improve customer service and increase sales conversion using a CRM system, contact us today!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post Here’s why your business needs CRM appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

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