Tag Archive for: Social Media

Social Media For Business: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Social media has become one of the leading channels for marketing and advertising, and its use has become necessary if you want your business to remain visible and stay competitive.

Social media has changed the way we live and the way we do business today. For businesses, social media provides an opportunity to broaden customer reach, increase sales, advertise and promote products and services, and create brand awareness.

From the customer’s standpoint, social media makes it much easier to communicate with a business about their experiences, good or bad. The business can quickly respond to any feedback and deal with customer problems, as well as maintain, regain or rebuild customer confidence in their brand.

Social media is a great way to increase the size and engagement of your audience, and it can serve as a “point of entry” (especially if you invest in social ads) for new leads and customers. After they start following a company on social, if the content they see is relevant, they may decide to contact your company, and then that person becomes a lead.

How can Commercient help you manage those contacts? With ERP & CRM data integration! Watch this video to learn more about how this integration works:

What is software integration?

Important Social Media Platforms to Consider

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • TikTok
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

There are also various tools that exist to enhance certain features of social media platforms. These tools help businesses market and advertise their brand more effectively.

Examples of Social Media Tools

  • HubSpot Marketing Software
  • Buffer
  • Sprout Social
  • Hootsuite
  • Metricool

The use of social media has relatively low costs, and it can help you reach a large audience almost instantly. But it does have its pros and cons.

Pros of Using Social Media

  • Relatively low marketing costs.
  • Increase brand awareness and sales.
  • Increase website traffic and improve rankings on search engines.
  • Cost-effective lead generation.
  • Opportunity to build customer relationships.
  • Opportunity to conduct market research about your customers.
  • Improve networking.

Cons of Using Social Media

  • Risk of bad publicity.
  • Additional resources may be required to manage your online presence
  • Requires regular monitoring.
  • It will not add value to your business if you don’t actively manage your social media presence.
  • Risk of unwanted or inappropriate behavior from social media trolls.
  • Increasing online exposure has the potential to attract risks, such as information leaks or hacking.

Maintaining a social network requires time, effort and someone to manage your company’s social media presence. If you’re going to put a social media icon on your website, make sure you actively engage with your fans and followers on a regular basis.

Don’t make it all about you. A mistake that businesses often make is to use social media to talk about what is important to them, rather than what is important to the customer. The goal should be to provide content that is compelling and relevant to your followers so that they will want to share it with their social networks.

If you’d like to learn more about Commercient’s data integration apps, contact us today. Please also follow our social accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

About the Author

Anna Kinnear is a Sage Financials Consultant at Edgeware, and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting Science from the University of South Africa. She has always had a passion for reading and writing.

Give Your Small Business A Spring Makeover

The second quarter is here and it’s time to give your small business a spring makeover; it’s a great time to revamp your business to stay ahead of the competition. In this blog, we’ll uncover some steps you can take to give your small business a makeover this spring.

Connect Your ERP To The Internet And 815 Apps

Today the average small business may run several different apps, including ERP software, CRM system, a marketing automation tool, e-commerce system, billing apps, and much more. The problem lies in the fact that separately not all of these apps work together or communicate with each other, leading to undesirable data silos. However, thanks to integration platforms like Commercient IoT Pulse, you can now connect all your business applications to your ERP, and have them communicate with each other seamlessly.

As an example, if you want to connect Sage Live with MailChimp, Dropbox, or Insightly to automate your processes, IoT Pulse will help you do just that. It’s a great way to take your business to the next level in Q2. You’ll be able to connect your ERP system to over 815 other business applications without any coding knowledge. You’ll cut out tedious admin tasks, saving you time and money, and ensuring that you have correct, consistent information right when you need it.

Network With New People

Another way that you can give your business a makeover this spring by networking with new people. There are tons of ways that you can network in Q2. For instance, you can attend the Sage Summit Tour events, in which you’ll be able to connect with and get inspired by business and thought leaders, entrepreneurs, experts, and peers alike. It will open the door for you to talk to highly influential people that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to easily talk to or find.

At some of these events, you’ll be able to meet and network with the Commercient team and our Co-Founders Richard Jenkins and John Angrove. So if you want to understand more about Commercient SYNC, IoT Pulse, or Sync2Pay, you’ll be able to meet with us and learn about our products.

Another great way you can network in Q2 is through LinkedIn, which has a lot to offer small business owners. LinkedIn is the world’s largest and most active professional networking platform. Leveraging the platform, and joining LinkedIn groups in your industry, can help you network virtually, stay on top of developments, and tap into advice and expertise that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to easily get hold of. You can find us on LinkedIn, as well.

Refresh Your Marketing Strategy

In addition to connecting your ERP and apps, and networking with new people, you should also consider refreshing your marketing strategy this spring, especially if your marketing efforts are not working for you.

For example, if you don’t have a blog, now is the time to get started. A blog will not only helps your company get its name and information out through followers, but it is a great way to engage and connect with your consumers more directly. If you have some time, check out our blog and see how we do it.

If you haven’t done so already, another way you can promote and increase the awareness of your brand and your business profile is through social media. You’ll be able to build brand engagement and customer connections at relatively low costs. For instance, you can tie in ads and offers on your Facebook page, and have a direct channel with your customers on Twitter.

You can also send out newsletters, which is a great way for your company to communicate with your customers and prospects – you’ll be able to provide value, beyond sales, by informing your customers with interesting content that resonates with them. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.

Are you ready to give your business a makeover in Q2? Let’s get started in connecting all your apps today.

SYNC ERP and CRM

 

 

Tips On How To Revive Business Growth

If you feel like your business growth has stalled, don’t worry. Through a few tried and proven techniques, you can revive your dream. Here are a few things you can do to keep your business from sinking in the sand, and boost your company’s growth.

Update Your Software

To stay afloat in this digital age, one important thing is to keep up with the latest technology, or else you’ll risk missing the opportunities to decrease costs, improve productivity, and stay competitive. Nowadays, there is great technology available that can help you become more customer-centric, which can help you take your business to the next level.

If your business is running ERP and CRM systems, for example, you don’t have to operate your company with these systems being disconnected, which can give you a cluttered view of your business processes and operations. Instead you can integrate them with the Commercient SYNC Integration Platform, and stay up-to-date with the changes made to your ERP and CRM simultaneously. Your sales and customer service teams will be on the same page. With a SYNC data integration, you’ll be able to give your customers excellent service, and help increase efficiency so you can focus on growing your business.

You can review our all products, including SYNC and IoT Pulse, as a first step toward upgrading your software, and helping your business.

Engage Online

If you haven’t been regularly engaging with your customers online, now is a good time to start. It’s a great way to help your business stay afloat in this digital age. For instance, at Commercient, we can engage with our customers regularly through our website, blog, and social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn. This can help you interact with your customers easily, and can also help you reach new audiences you may not have had the chance to target before. It’ll also aid in showing that you are personable and approachable to your clients and customers.

Put Customers At The Heart Of Your Business

One of the best ways to keep your company from sinking is to put your customers at the heart of your business. When you put your customers first and focus on building long lasting relationships, you’ll have more loyal customers. Once a client has made a purchase, be sure to keep in touch (e.g., regularly send out email newsletters and updates) with your customers, which helps build loyalty. They will be instrumental in helping you spread the word, and can even become your brand ambassadors.

Research conducted by the Gartner Group shows that 20% of your existing customers – the loyal ones – generate 80% of your profits. Therefore, when you truly understand your customers and deliver what they want, they’ll keep coming back, and you’ll be able to keep your business from sinking. At Commercient, we always put our customers first. See what our customers have to say about us on our homepage.

If you need more advice and help with growing your business, contact us here at Commercient today.

What’s Holding Your Business Back?

Are you wondering why your business’ growth is slow right now? Here are four reasons why the your business might be slowing down, plus some tips that you can use to overcome it.

Lack Of Technology

Businesses rely on technology more than ever, and it’s essential for success. By not having the right technology for your business, it can actually slow and hinder growth. For instance, if you leverage CRM and ERP software, you could be holding your business back by not integrating the two systems. Without data being connected between the two, your teams will waste valuable time keeping the two databases synchronized manually, which results in slower operations and an increased risk of database errors. But with a data integration solution like Commercient SYNC, you can see your ERP data in your CRM, and stay up-to-date with the changes made to your sales and accounting systems, simultaneously.

Inactive Social Media Channels

Inactive social media accounts could also be holding your business back. If you’re running a small business, keeping your online presence up-to-date should be a top priority. Having an inactive social media account may send a message to your customers that you’ve gone out of business, or you’re not interested in engaging with your clientele. The bottom line is that social media increases your chances of being found online, so if you’re accounts are inactive, you’re keeping your business from growing.

At Commercient, we’re always active on our social media channels. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Not Asking For Referrals

Referrals are one of the top ways to grow your business. If you’re not asking for any referrals at all, you could be holding your business back from getting new clients. Positive word-of-mouth goes a long way, and the more referrals you ask for, the more you will get.

At Commercient, we love referrals so much that we have a Valued Referral Partner Program that allows you to submit valid leads, and earn money for every closed lead. We’re also on the AppExchange. So, if you know someone who would benefit from using our SYNC app, you can sign up for our Valued Referral Partner Program. You won’t be tied to a contract, and there’s no formal commitment required.

Failure To Innovate

It is especially important for small businesses to innovate and be open to new ideas. There are numerous methods available, including social media channels that enable you to listen to your customers, which can reveal fresh ideas for your business. According to Fortune 100 company consultant and author Maria Ferrante-Schepis in an interview with BusinessNewsDaily, “You can’t innovate from inside the jar, and if you aren’t innovating, you’re just waiting for the expiration date on your business.” Your competitors are keeping an eye out for trends, and so should you.

At Commercient, we are always innovating. Check out IoT Pulse, our recent addition. It allows you to connect your ERP system to the Internet and over 815 apps, and can help you grow your business.

3 Terrific Ways Social Media Helps ERP Users

Did you know that that over 2.3 billion people use social media? Statistics show that social media users have an average of 5.54 social media accounts. So why are so many people using social media these days? For businesses with ERP systems, the answer is  simple. Social media is the most effective tool to communicate with your customers and build continued brand awareness. Here are three ways social media channels help ERP users:

Understand more about your customers

Social media networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter allow you to commune with your customers and get immediate feedback. On Twitter, your customers can post their experiences with your products or ask you questions in real-time. This communication can help you ascertain if you need to make any changes to your products and services to better meet your customers’ needs.

One great benefit of social media networks is positive reviews can be viewed in real time. Outstanding reviews make you appear more trustworthy. This can encourage other businesses to gain interest in your solutions.

Save money in the long run

In addition to helping you understand your potential customers, social media networks can also help you cut costs. For example, Twitter lets you discover your audience’s perception of your products and then make necessary changes accordingly. Social media platforms also allow you to conduct market research at no cost and can provide you with key metrics. You can measure which products are more popular with certain customers and use this data to target your products and services to different customers. Social media networks like Facebook and LinkedIn also give you the opportunity to promote new job opportunities and hire new talent for your organization at little or no cost.

Keep your customers engaged

It is very important keep your customers and audiences engaged. Social media networks allow you to learn vital information about what your customers will find pertinent and interesting. For instance, through a company blog, you can show images, videos, or update the customer about  upcoming events and products. YouTube, which is a top social media venue for showcasing video content, lets you share informative “how-to” videos for free. You can then get your videos ranked in Google’s video search results.

Social media networks help you to understand your customers better, help save you money, and keep your customers engaged. Social media networks can also help you generate leads for your ERP products and solutions. If you would like to find out how to strengthen your experience with customers, contact  us today about SYNCing to your CRM.