Month: August 2018

Local Branding

Select Custom Designed Lighting Fixtures for Wet, Harsh, and Industrial Locations

on August 8, 2018

The past few years have seen groundbreaking innovations hit the world of LED technology. Recent advancements are bringing about lighting solutions that cut across wet, harsh, and unique industrial settings. Most innovations are largely attributed to the increasing ability to create new form factors when LED technology is been utilized. These recent advancements in the lighting fixtures are bringing a revolution to the lighting world that was not possible with the traditional lighting sources available before this time.

In the past, it was very difficult to achieve significant light output as such a task required big and bulky fixtures, causing a limitation in innovation. Manufacturers have now been gifted with easier ways to develop fixtures that are customized to their specific application needs, as opposed to trying to manipulate an existing design to fit in. Resultant from this, the market has now been saturated with a lot more lighting fixtures products that are application specific, creating a scenario where it is easier to find the right product that will match your environment.

There are a number of factors that deserve consideration when making your choice of the best LED lighting fixtures that will fit into your wet and/or harsh industrial environments. The importance of these varies depending on the application, but here are some important points that should be considered and understood.

  • The first is the IP rating.: IP ratings are units used to define the level of sealing a light fixture has against any form of intrusion. The sealing level is specifically against external bodies like dirt and moisture. The IP rating in most industrial fixtures range between IP65 and IP69 – higher numbers show a higher level of ingress protection. The revolution on LED technology has caused new housing designs to their fixtures equipped with higher IP capability. Industrial settings are quite different, you just simply can’t have a fixture with an excessively high rating.
  • Another major factor that is often overlooked is chemical resistance. This is especially important in high chemical dense areas where wet and hose down applications is required. Polycarbonate has grown into becoming most popularly accepted materials for lenses because of the level of workability they bring and the durability that they offer. Despite its level of durability, Polycarbonate is still prone to minor stress cracks, crazing, and color change when exposed to certain chemicals (especially acid based) for a long period of time. Since exposure to Chemical is a potential risk factor, you should be careful enough to check and be sure of compatibility with the manufacturer.
  • Other important factors of Industrial LED fixtures that deserve serious consideration include lifespan rating and maintenance issues. The lifespan of the LED is a direct reflection of two constituents: the quality of components used and the care paid during construction. The ability to control the level of heat generation by the LED will go a long way to determine how long the fixture will last. Lighting fixtures that are manufactured at the highest industry standard and can control heat are typically rated to last up to 100,000 hours. This extended lifespan generally results in lower stress of maintenance and improved payback over time. Other potential cost reduction maintenance features that deserves been looked out for include: the ability to daisy chain fixtures and quick connect cabling.

With an increased potential go change the definition of energy saving and the increased ability for the development of application-specific fixtures, it seems so obvious that we are in the best time to consider LED lighting fixtures for Industrial Environments.

Digital Branding

How the Cloud is Changing the Marketing Field

on August 7, 2018

 

Data is extremely important to drive decisions in the marketing field. Nothing can or should be done on a whim, so in order to find success, companies look to the cloud to help store and process marketing information. According to Mark Hurd, CEO of Oracle, “All enterprise data will be stored virtually in the cloud.” He adds that “more data is in the cloud now than in traditional storage systems.” Why are so many companies making this switch? Here are a few ways the cloud is helping to change the marketing field for the better.

Content Relevance

One of the most important factors in content marketing is that your content must be relevant to your product or client and to the community you’re targeting. If your content strategy isn’t relevant to your product or your target audience, you’re sure to see your efforts go to waste. According to Oracle, looking at data collected from both clients and audiences can help marketers make connections between them. Collecting information and honing in on specific issues can help clarify the central themes for your marketing campaigns. While this is already important in the marketing field, cloud technologies have revolutionized the way data is collected and analyzed. Now all your marketing information is in the cloud, and your applications can make inferences on their own.

Personalization

Personalization is also a critical element in modern marketing campaigns. Cloud-based data has greatly improved the degree of specificity to which marketing professionals can target their audience with demographic and psychographic details. The immense amount of data out there allows one to get a better picture of their target and deliver more tailored content via personalized ads. It was difficult to personalize anything for larger pools of consumers before the advent of cloud software. Now, this data can even help detect and predict behaviour patterns and anticipate an audience’s readiness something new. This can help marketers to assemble personalized content to win their audience over.

Less Human Participation

Collecting data, tracking feedback, and making inferences for strategic purposes can take a lot of time and energy. Thanks to the cloud, there is now less human interaction needed for marketing campaign production. However, this doesn’t mean the cloud is taking jobs away from marketing professionals. In fact, it frees up time for these professionals to work on more pressing matters. Professionals can use this time they’ve saved to discover insights and focus their efforts on creating better campaigns. In essence, the cloud isn’t replacing jobs, it’s making jobs more efficient.


Data is changing the way marketing works and the jobs the field may require in the future. A growing dependence on software and information calls for more tech-savvy talent. Marketing agencies are now hiring data scientists and tech professionals who better understand the systems in use and can help pull out the whos, whats, wheres, whens and whys the software produces. Marketing is ever-changing, but its end goal has always been making sales, and the cloud can help make that process even smoother.

Digital Branding

What is Information Security? & How It is Important for Your Business

on August 7, 2018

Information Security or InfoSec. Does this term ring a bell? If not, at least you know the word hacking and what it can do to your personal and business data. Information security is all about ensuring the security, integrity and confidentiality of your data. You can be an individual or an enterprise, any digital data that you own must be secured. Information Security deals with the nitty-gritty of securing such data from falling prey to devious cybercrime professionals.

A Quick Brief About Information Security (InfoSec)

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), defines information security as “The protection of information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification or destruction.”

Your information could be the files you store on a cloud server, your email conversations, the files you save offline, or even online transactions that you carry out over the Internet. Thanks to the widespread use of smartphone’s, tablets and personal computers, data is now created in Petabytes and Zettabytes. Protecting such humongous volume of data is not an easy task. And, not all of us can be considered to be cautious when it comes to securing our personal data.

Most users make compromises that make their data easily hackable. Also, hackers are becoming adept at social engineering techniques which makes it possible for them to reverse engineer login credentials and passwords from social media activity. In other words, it is a dangerous world out there.

The Business Benefits of InfoSec Implementation

While it might sound a bit sophisticated and over-the-head for an average user InfoSec is a highly beneficial investment that can bring several economic benefits to your business. Some such benefits are outlined below.

Universal Data Protection

InfoSec helps establish a data protection system for all forms of information. As a running business, your information could exist in diverse forms, ranging from paper records like invoices, vendor agreements, intellectual property documents and so on. The same information may also be digitized and stored on cloud servers from where they can be accessed or accessed from time to time.

The moment they are made into data and stored online, they become exposed to cyber threats. InfoSec helps create a perimeter defence system. It encompasses all the data including those stored on your hard copies.

Enhanced Cyber Attack Resilience

Cybercrime damage costs to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021, reports the 2017 Cybercrime Report by Cybersecurity ventures. In fact, 2017 itself was an eventful year in terms of cybersecurity considering the many outbreaks of ransomware, organized botnet attacks, IoT network breaches and much more.

Digital-age enterprises need to sharpen their cybersecurity resilience by building their cybersecurity defences. InfoSec provides just the concrete foundation and the infrastructure upon which a resilient IT infrastructure can be built. It identifies areas where businesses might want to integrate additional layers of security so that their organizational data remains intact.

A Central Data Management Framework

The challenge in setting up and running a security infrastructure is that data remains siloed across several business functions, systems, data warehouses and so on. Most often business owners have to invest in diverse security systems that are compatible with the diverse forms of data.

InfoSec helps overcome that challenge by creating a centralized data management framework where all systems can be converged and monitored from a single source. It saves time and ensures a uniform way of establishing data security. Further, it also eliminates the inconsistency in data protection measures when several frameworks are used.

A Security-Centric Organizational Culture

InfoSec requires organization-wide participation. It is not possible to draw the maximum benefit out of Information security management unless all stakeholders comprising of employees, users customers and vendors adhere to its protocols.

As a result, InfoSec breeds an organization-wide security-centric culture that ensures data security and confidentiality. In the long-run, it converts into better IT resilience against technology-induced threats and also better response systems in case something is to go wrong.

Improved Customer Confidence

A business that takes data security seriously is one that takes customers seriously. Take for instance Apple. The iPhone maker has always taken a strong stance when it comes to securing its user data from unauthorized access by apps and network carriers. That makes Apple the first choice for most users who put their data security and privacy above everything else.

The same goes for websites as well. Websites that install SSL certificate; and show the green HTTPS bar enjoy a higher level of trust from their visitors than their less secured counterparts. In other words, Information Security helps in boosting customer confidence about a brand. Reputed Certificate Authority like RapidSSL, offers a digital certificate that secures end to end communication point (browser to the server) through 256-bit encryption technology. Encryption secure customer data and build a strong business trust relationship, that indirectly improves sales. For more information about the features of RapidSSL – www.cheapsslshop.com/rapidssl is the best place to learn about the benefits of HTTPS and installation support. Information Security proves to the outside world that the business takes data confidentiality, integrity, and privacy as a serious matter and hence is professional in its dealings with customers.

Summing It Up

Information Security in 2018 is no longer an option. It has become a necessity that will keep cybersecurity threats at bay. As the volume of cybersecurity crimes keep skyrocketing with every passing day, business needs to take measures to protect and make their data immune to unauthorized access.

Information security provides just the right framework for that. It brings with a plethora of benefits like a centralized security management system, improved cybersecurity resilience, enhanced customer confidence and universal data protection. The benefit from an Information Security system may not accrue immediately. But, it gets better with time.

Legal Branding

Dangers of Road Rage

on August 6, 2018

The definition of road rage, per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), includes actions a driver takes that endanger other people or property. It can involve an assault with a motor vehicle or the use of a weapon by either the driver or a passenger in one vehicle against the operator or passengers of a different one. Road rage is against the law, but if your vehicle has been damaged, you’ve been injured as a result, or a loved one’s life has been cut short, Los Angeles personal injury attorneys can help you get maximum compensation.

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 56% of crashes in the U.S. are caused by aggressive behaviour. Also, the NHTSA has found that 66% of auto accident fatalities are caused by aggression and that aggressive behaviour often results in an aggressive response. The organization found half of the drivers on the receiving end of aggression responded aggressively themselves.

What Is Aggressive Driving?

Various behaviours characterize aggressive driving. Road rage is often triggered by anger or being upset. Drivers under stress may exhibit behaviours such as:

  • Illegal passing
  • Tailgating
  • Honking
  • Failure to yield
  • Going through red lights/stop signs
  • Weaving in and out of lanes
  • Speeding
  • Ignoring traffic signals
  • Obscene gestures

However, road rage isn’t always caused by the aggressor. Driving habits that can trigger an aggressive response include using a cell phone, keeping high beam lights on when there’s oncoming traffic, or failing to use a turn signal when changing lanes or turning. Also, check your blind spot when switching lanes. Cutting someone off, even inadvertently, can trigger an episode of anger.

Getting a Handle on Road Rage

If a driver responds to you aggressively, it is important not to escalate the situation. The following tips can help prevent an incident:

  • Do not react or retaliate.
  • Do not make eye contact.
  • Continue to drive safely.
  • Realize the other driver doesn’t handle stress well.

Road rage starts due to emotions and reactions caused by many stressors in life. These can include an argument with a spouse or partner, getting fired at work, or disciplining children in the car. A driver may be late to work or an appointment and be in a rush. Road rage can happen to anyone but is more common in young male drivers and individuals with certain psychological problems.

Why Road Rage Is So Dangerous

Not having a handle on your anger or emotions can trigger the characteristic behaviours of road rage. Aggressive drivers are dangerous because they are not in full control. They may be unable to avoid a direct collision or hitting something head on. An aggressive driver is also more likely to crash at higher speeds, increasing the likelihood of severe damage, injuries, and deaths.

Consequences

If you’re caught being an aggressor, you may face criminal charges. This might mean going to court, paying legal fees, and even facing imprisonment. The potential for physical harm and death to yourself and others is too high.

A personal injury attorney can help if you’re a victim of road rage. Your attorney will offer advice on what to do immediately after the incident. They will provide expert legal help and representation throughout the case to ensure you’re compensated for head, neck, back, knee, and other injuries or trauma.

SaaS Branding

6 Unique Strategies for SaaS Marketing Success

on August 6, 2018

Providing software as a service rather than an installation package has great advantages; it allows clients to use your software from any remote location without expensive hardware. However, there are so many SaaS providers available online that it is vital to have an effective branding strategy to differentiate yourself from the crowd.

Here are some useful tips that can help you to brand your SaaS business communications:

1.      Create a Distinctive Logo

How you design your company logo says a lot about your firm. It acts as your brand identity and builds loyalty amongst your customers. To create a distinctive logo, keep the following in mind.

  • Focus on the message you want to communicate. If your SaaS application is targeted towards small businesses, your message could be focused towards entrepreneurs.
  • A good logo is scalable and easy to reproduce. It should be able to fit on a business card or extrapolated on a large poster without disrupting the picture quality.
  • Your logo can also be used to express the major benefits of using your application. For example, if the main feature of your software service is speed, then a lightning bolt can promote this feature.

Photo credit https://unsplash.com/photos/G9_Euqxpu4k 

2.      Choose Your Brand Colors Carefully

The next step in building a strong brand is to choose the right colors. You don’t need many colors to impress your audience. In fact, some of the world’s strongest brands such as Google and McDonald’s use simple and fewer colors in their business communications. Notice how Salesforce, for instance, uses a logo with just one blue color.

People react differently to different colors. Each color has its own personality and it can help you build an emotional connection with your target audience. The color red captures attention, while yellow, resonates happiness. Hence, a combination of two or three essential colors can help you build a strong brand image.

3.      Focus On What Makes You Unique

Adding a tagline below your logo or on top of your brochure can make your SaaS application more attractive. However, your tagline should be closely related to your business model and reflect every aspect of your service. Always focus on what sets you apart from your competition.

An essential element of creating a unique brand is to focus your business communication towards your target market. You need to be well aware of how your target audience will respond to your branding strategy and choose your themes accordingly.

4.      Use Engaging Imagery

Adding engaging imagery in business communication can help SaaS providers in many ways, including building an emotional connection with clients and helping users retain information for longer periods. Consider making use of infographics; these allow you to communicate complicated information in a way that’s easy to digest. When creating printed marketing collateral, try making use of full-color photography to give audiences a better look at your product or the people who represent your brand. This is especially important for collateral that packages other, less visually engaging materials, such as branded marketing binders. CompanyFolders.com showcases how creative you can be with your design, featuring the large variety of print design options available these days. Taking advantage of different print materials and imprint selections will surely help in crafting the best end result.

5.      Be Straightforward and Honest

One thing your clientele might not tolerate in your SaaS marketing is over-commitment. If your customer feels that your software is not able to deliver what you initially promised them, you might lose them to your competitors. Therefore, it is very important that you are straightforward and upfront about your software service while promoting your brand.

6.      Ensure Consistency Across All Mediums

Ensuring consistency in all mediums of business communication promotes brand recognition. As a SaaS provider, you need to make sure that your logo, color scheme, and taglines are the same across the board. This reflects professionalism and strong business practices—and helps with customer retention, as well.

Having a strong brand is vital for remaining ahead of your completion in the 21st century online marketplace. Apart from developing quality software, SaaS providers can build long-lasting client relationships by implementing these effective business communication strategies.

 

Legal BrandingLocal Branding

Rideshare Scams and How to Avoid Them

on August 3, 2018

Rideshare can be a great tool to get to your destination safely. But, unfortunately, not all drivers have the best intentions. This story comes in two parts but is mainly inspired by a new trend among Uber and Lyft drivers. Drivers are beginning to make live streams out of their passengers.

It all started when it was discovered that at least one driver that drives for both Uber and Lyft has live streamed hundreds of rides over the last few months. The driver resides in St. Louis and has been since dropped from their services. However, two more cases have been uncovered in Wisconsin and California.

Many agree that this was unethical and could have become a serious safety issue for the passengers who have been involved. After all, many of the live streams were said to reveal personal information such as their full name, full appearance, and even their home address.

It is extremely difficult to identify and remove drivers who are contributing to a growing issue that is beginning to appear more widespread. This means it is important to be more aware than ever, before and during an Uber or Lyft ride.

Before you get into the car, look around for stickers that may say something about recording devices being present. Look for any camera pointed to the inside of the vehicle and ask questions if you are suspicious. In some of the previous cases, passengers did not notice stickers disclosing that there is a camera involved. Some even asked the driver about cameras where he lied, saying that they were for safety purposes. Uber and Lyft warn that that is not company policy and if you are not comfortable being recorded or suspicious at all to cancel the ride.

It is also important to report this behaviour to the company and also within your review to warn future passengers. Another reminder is to report any suspicious behaviour at all and if you ever feel unsafe during a ride, let someone know.

Another scam that Uber drivers in Florida are trying to pull is to accuse passengers of vomiting and charging them a cleaning fee when the passengers did not do anything wrong.

It is known that many Uber drivers dread hosting drunk passenger in fear of things such as vomit. This was made known when Uber announced the possible development of detecting drunk passengers before assigning them a driver. Drivers then voiced concern about being paid more for handling passengers who are intoxicated because many of them feel the cleaning compensation is not enough to cover the inconvenience of maintaining their vehicle. Experts believe that it also has to due to the small profits made by driving due to the expenses of gas and Uber coverage.

However, Uber is said to have been looking into it, but it is difficult to pick out the fraudulent charges among the legitimate ones. It is also difficult to classify this under criminal activity due to the unique nature of this scam. But, most people who fall, a victim of this, are people who fail to regularly check emails, bank statements, etc., so make sure to make that a habit if you do not do so already.

There are always new scams and dangers occurring, but the best way to avoid becoming a victim is to stay aware at all times, especially while using rideshare.

Local Branding

Best Ways To Convert Leads Into Customers For Your Healthcare Business

on August 2, 2018

If you want to level up your healthcare business, you’re likely going to focus on ways not just to make it appealing to your general demographic, but to actually try amping up the game to increase your chances of pulling off conversions. This isn’t entirely impossible, however, as there really are ways to leverage on your healthcare business’ marketing in order to get the most conversions – you just need the right nudge in the right direction.

https://pixabay.com/en/woman-person-desktop-work-aerial-3187087/

If you feel as though there’s leads lacking in today’s websites in terms of conversions, you’re not alone – in fact, you’ve got the whole world with you. All websites have conversion problems, but it’s much less about conversions being “out of the trend” but rather about people not being able to get their conversions correct. It’s not as though companies don’t try, though. In fact, only 22-percent of marketers are content with their rates, with 52-percent of agencies and companies testing landing pages they use. The push for better conversions seems to be worth the while, though, especially when considering utilizing long landing pages properly. This can land you with 220-percent more leads than other landing pages with calls-to-action (CTAs) above the fold.

Healthcare Business: Ways To Level Up

If you want to improve your healthcare business, you might want to focus on improving your branding’s overall appearance and recognition, especially in your target market. Part of this is making sure you’re utilizing the best ways to secure conversions for your site, which can then increase returns and give you more opportunities or expansion. Companies such as Studio 56 are actually very capable of providing such assistance for your needs, but here are some methods you can deliberate upon as well:

  • Make sure leads aren’t waiting on you: When you get leads for your healthcare business, don’t keep them waiting. A major rule of thumb is that you should always have mechanisms ready to penetrate through your leads in order to find the switch that flips them into becoming customers. This is also because interest levels for the prospect can actually drop dramatically as soon as an hour passes, and this means they may even have moved on to a competitor. You need to set up a basic infrastructure to handle potential lead overload – for instance, try to avoid your customers to a company email accessed by a variety of sales personnel so someone always has access to an email should leads make contact. Support requests should also be traceable and quickly resolved. Speed matters in terms of establishing trust, and providing quick and efficient means of doing business is a surefire way to retain your leads’ interests.
  • Make sure you qualify your leads first to save time: When you qualify your leads, you can separate marketing qualified leads (MQLs) from sales qualified leads (SQLs). This simply means MQLs tend to rely more on retaining interest due to marketing, while SQL is more inclined to make an effort to do sales. You should try to convert leads into the latter, and you can identify who is which with an assigned coordinator, or even by members of the sales teams. This allows you to properly focus on efforts on the right kind of leadership, whether it’s someone who appears to ready for a sale, or someone who appears to be ready to consume more content and retain interest. You can also make a record of your leads if you have a spreadsheet ready with the kind of metrics you feel your branding needs in order to “qualify” as interests.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/view-of-operating-room-247786/

  • Make sure your teams are structured for more efficient operations: One of the major reasons conversion efforts fail isn’t because your plan isn’t well-thought out. It might be because execution of your plans really does need work – and this can be remedied by the proper structuring of your personnel. What’s more important is the kind of structure you create, which allows everyone in the sales team to move quicker. How do you want to communicate with your contact – via phone or via email? How will you register their data? When do you qualify something as a “sale,” and how do you do follow-ups? Organizing an infrastructure and making sure people are aware of their roles can be a good way of providing better service to customers, and therefore better chances of converting more leads.
  • Make sure you monitor your pipeline carefully: Remember that your sales pipeline allows you to get a good overview of the prospects you’re working to convert as leads and customers. Having a system setup allows you to not only see where your prospects are in the process and what they’ve done, but your team, in general, should be able to see from there the kind of movement you should do in order to motivate your leads to be able to buy from you and your brand.

The Takeaway: Converting Customers For Your Healthcare Enterprise

If you want your healthcare business to build a much better, more powerful branding for your customers, it’s important to remember that making sure your branding sticks is of paramount importance. Likewise, it’s also important for you to be able to find the best ways to convert leads into customers for your healthcare business. With the tips above, you can find many plausible and sensible approaches for your healthcare business to have marketing fit for converting leads into customers. If you have other suggestions or tips for your peers, feel free to chime in on the comments.

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