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Warning signs your computer has malware

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Warning signs your computer has malware

With the rise of eCommerce and online banking, cybercrime has evolved. Like criminals who pull smash-and-grab jobs, they go where the money is. However, unlike bank robbers, cybercriminals do their best to avoid detection by letting malware do the work for them. Viruses and ransomware sneak into PCs to quietly steal passwords, financial credentials, and other personal information to be sold on the black market for profit. Not all malware is stealthy though. Here are some telltale signs.

Slow computer

Are your operating systems and programs taking a while to start up? Is your data bandwidth suspiciously slow? If so, your computer may potentially have a virus.

However, just because your PC is running slower than usual doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s infected, as there could be other causes to your computer slowing down. First, check if you’re running out of RAM. For Windows, open task manager (press Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and go to the Performance tab and check how many gigabytes of RAM are used up under the Memory section. For Mac OS users, you can open the Activity Monitor app and, under System Memory, you should be able to find out your RAM usage.

Other causes could include lack of space on your hard drive or even damaged hardware. Once you’ve ruled out other possible causes, then malware may have infected your device.

Blue screen of death (BSOD)

If your PC crashes regularly, it’s usually either a technical problem with your system or a malware infection. You might not have installed the latest drivers for your device or the programs you’re running could possibly be incompatible with your hardware. If none of these problems are apparent in your PC, then a virus could be clashing with other programs and causing your crashes.
To check what caused your last BSOD, go to Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer and select Windows Logs. Those marked with “error” are your recorded crashes. For troubleshooting solutions, consult forums or your IT department to figure out what to do next.

Lack of storage space

There are several types of malware that can manipulate and corrupt the files saved on your computer. Most tend to fill up your hard drive with suspicious files. Ransomware, for example, is a notorious type of malware that denies you access to your data until you pay a so-called ransom. There are more aggressive forms of ransomware, like NotPetya, known for exploiting security holes to infect computers without needing to trick users.

If you find any unknown programs that you have never installed before, notify IT personnel in person immediately (do not email them) and have them handle the situation for you. Your device might not be the only one in your network that is infected with suspicious programs.

Suspicious modem and hard drive activity

Combined with the other warning signs, if your hard disk is working excessively while no programs are currently running or if you notice that your external modem is always lit, then you should scan your computer for viruses.

Pop-ups, websites, toolbars, and other unwanted programs

Pop-ups come from clicking on suspicious pages, such as those where users are asked to answer survey questions to access a website’s service or install free applications. While they’re inherently harmless, they could be downright annoying. Refrain from clicking pop-up pages and just close them instead. Run malware scans and update your browsers.

You might think that downloading free applications is harmless, but the installation process can inject malware into your device. When you’re installing a program from the internet or even app stores, it’s easy to just skim over the terms and conditions page and repeatedly press next. This is where they get you. In the process of skipping over certain installation steps, you might have agreed to accepting a new default browser and opening unwanted websites and other programs filled with viruses. Be cautious when downloading something for free.

You’re sending out spam

If your friends are telling you that you’ve been sending them suspicious messages and links over social media or email, you might be a victim of spyware. Warn your friends not to open anything that appears to be spam and make sure to reset your passwords across all your devices and enable multifactor authentication.

Knowing how malicious software affects your computer can help you take the necessary precautions and steps to rectify the situation as soon as possible. Regardless of whether or not your system has experienced these symptoms, it’s always smart to perform regular malware scans to ensure your business is safe. To find out more about malware and IT security, contact us today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post Warning signs your computer has malware appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.


Source: Pronto

Boost your new laptop in 5 steps

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Boost your new laptop in 5 steps

Laptops may not be the most powerful computers, but the benefits they provide are undisputable. For one thing, they deliver a similar user experience as your huge desktop PC, but much more conveniently and affordably. But before you reap their many benefits, here are five steps you should take before using them to improve their performance.

1. Update your laptop’s operating system

One of the first things you should do before using your laptop is upgrade its operating system (OS). Assuming you did not purchase the laptop when it was first released, your laptop will still be running an older OS. With important patches and fixes released with each new update, it is recommended that you install the latest one to ensure your laptop is free of any vulnerabilities.

2. Remove bloatware

When turning on your laptop for the first time, you might notice that there are several preloaded software in the system — some of which you will probably never use. These are known as bloatware.

These apps take up a lot of your valuable drive space, so consider getting rid of them. The easiest way to do this is by downloading a bulk uninstaller, which allows you to check all the bloatware apps you don’t want and remove them in one fell swoop.

3. Install protection software

It’s no secret that the world we live in is unsafe. And with so much confidential information nowadays becoming digitalized, it is necessary to protect yourself against losing important data from your computer. The solution to this is very simple. By installing antivirus software that can automatically — or manually — scan your computer at a scheduled time, potential attacks can be thwarted before they become more serious.

Not only is your laptop’s data vulnerable to cyberattacks, but there is always a chance your laptop can get lost or stolen. While there are preventive steps you can take — such as being mindful while using your laptop in public places — another solution would be to install anti-theft software. Security features such as Find My Device for Windows 10 and Prey for other operating systems can help you locate your device if it’s ever stolen or misplaced.

4. Optimize your power settings

One of the most frequent problems that laptop users have is that their batteries run out of juice too fast. However, you can actually extend the battery life by making a few tweaks to your power settings.

Reduce your display brightness, but not so much that it causes eye and mental fatigue.
Use the Sleep or Hibernate mode for your operating system.

5. Set up a backup plan

Imagine spending months working on an important project and suddenly finding it nonexistent the next day just because your laptop crashed. Deadlines will be missed. Profit margins will decrease. Customers will leave unhappy. And if worse comes to worst, you’ll be out of business.

Why add stress if you can prevent it from happening in the first place? By setting up an automatic backup system, you can regularly save all your important files; that way, you’d still be able to recover your data should anything happen to the original file.

You can also store all your important documents in the cloud, which ensures access whenever you need, even if your laptop crashes or gets stolen.

Getting a new laptop can be fun, but the joy might be short-lived if you don’t set up any preventive measures from the start. Call us for information on how we can help you secure your company’s laptops today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post Boost your new laptop in 5 steps appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.


Source: Pronto

Web design trends you should follow today

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Web design trends you should follow today

Many small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) nowadays build and maintain their own website to reach more customers. But because a majority of your competitors also have a website, an underperforming site just won’t do. Follow these web design trends to increase web traffic and boost your bottom line.

Scrolling

Scrolling is a convenient method to navigate a website. Instead of clicking on confusing menus and drop-down tabs, you can just scroll through a one-page site that has a cleaner look and is usually more intuitive to users. This web design style is definitely more important now that people have grown more accustomed to mobile web browsing.

You also have to decide how far visitors will have to scroll to get to know your company. While a long scrolling page gives you more white space and content to work with, a short scrolling page can quickly convey your company’s message and encourages action.

Animations

One way businesses have been setting themselves apart from others is by adding customized animations to their pages. This doesn’t mean you should overload your site with flashy effects that take forever to load. If you want to use animations on your site, give it a subtle twist. For instance, Slack’s loading animation features their logo.

Additionally, animations can be used to increase user interaction and engagement. Hover animations will allow your users to position the mouse over your content and get an immediate response without having to move between pages. Slideshows on your homepage can also showcase what your company is about without throwing too much information at the audience. When deciding to add animation to your page, figure out how a specific effect can enhance the user experience while showcasing your business.

Flat design

To achieve an optimal viewing experience for users, many companies have adopted a flat design for their websites. The flat design style replaces the elements that give an illusion of depth, like shadows and textures, with minimalist typography and colors. For example, Google employed this style to get content to viewers more effectively. The company added flat-design colors and used a sans-serif font. This allows the logo to load faster and makes it easier to read, as well.

Full-screen forms

More websites and apps are using full-screen forms to increase user interaction. Rather than being redirected to another page where your visitors decide to register or login to a website, they are welcomed by a full-screen form right on the home page. This is also especially useful for mobile users since they are less likely to misclick sections of the form.

Customized photos

The next time you want to use photographs to highlight your company, forget about using stock photos. Business websites that exhibit the company’s own photographs on their homepages look more personal and stand out from the competition.

While these trends are popular at the moment, don’t blindly adopt them all because it might end up looking messy. Instead, use the trends that are best suited to your company.

If you want to learn more about current web design trends, give us a call.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post Web design trends you should follow today appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.


Source: Pronto

What goes into a business continuity plan?

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What goes into a business continuity plan?

Events out of your control can disrupt your business operations. While you can’t necessarily control the unexpected, you can take some precautions to prevent most business disruptions. Here are some things to consider when developing a business continuity plan (BCP).

Backup your data, applications, and servers

Today, companies are more dependent than ever on IT and data. If these critical components suddenly become inaccessible, there’s little chance your business will survive. Regularly backing up these elements ensures they can be restored quickly in the event of a disaster, security breach, or damage to IT equipment.

In the past, most businesses would create backups on-site and with tape backups, but today more and more businesses are using the cloud, and here are several reasons why:

  • Cloud backups are affordable and cost much less than onsite backups
    Backups can be automated, therefore saving you time
  • Cloud providers usually back up your data to multiple locations (so if one of their facilities goes down, your backups are still safe at another site).
  • Backups can be accessed from anywhere, whether it’s at an employee’s home or at an alternate office.
  • If you need to access them, backups can be restored quickly

Virtualize servers and desktops

When you virtualize your servers or desktops, they can be used at any location – be it at your workplace, home, or a coffee shop in the Bahamas. In terms of business continuity, this is useful in case your main office suddenly becomes unusable due to hostile weather conditions.

Have a backup power supply

No electricity means zero productivity and money down the drain. Having a backup power supply will ensure that when the electricity goes down, your employees can continue working.

A good solution is an uninterrupted power supply (UPS), which gives employees a fair amount of time to finish their work as if nothing ever happened. Also, if you have a server room, a UPS will ensure your vital servers stay cool.

Utilize social media

Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, or Google+, most people are on at least one social network these days. And if there is any kind of outage or disaster, social media is usually one of the first places customers, colleagues, staff, and vendors will check the status of your business. So when it comes to business continuity, keep at least one social media account active to keep your customers and followers informed.

Implement unified communications

Unified communication (UC) creates a virtualized communication infrastructure. That means instead of your communication tools – like phones, instant messaging, and video calls – all being stored locally at your workplace, you can access them anywhere. So if your office is inaccessible, employees can still use your phones and other communication tools from their homes. What’s more, UC tools can route business calls to your employees’ smartphones. That means they’ll never miss an important call, even if they’re not in the office.

Keep in mind that these are only the first few items you have to address in your business continuity plan. You’ll also need to consider things like training employees and having a communications plan for informing stakeholders. If you want more advice on these areas or need top-class business continuity tools, contact us today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post What goes into a business continuity plan? appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.


Source: Pronto

Make the most out of your O365 subscription

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Make the most out of your O365 subscription

It may seem as if Office 365 is merely Microsoft’s way of joining the online subscription bandwagon, but that’s not the case. O365 is Microsoft’s way of upgrading its ubiquitous Office suite by augmenting it with cloud features.

Office apps and the files you create with them are accessible wherever there’s an internet connection, but that is actually the bare minimum that O365 offers. If you go for either the Premium or Essentials bundle, you’ll gain access to communications and collaboration apps that you can use to increase your organization’s productivity. Here are some of the specific ways you can do this:

Build an engaging intranet using SharePoint

Unlike the internet, which is a megalithic network spanning the entire world, an intranet is basically a private network built for your employees’ exclusive use. It began as a repository for basic company information, then it evolved into a document management system, an HR portal (where staff can file leaves of absence), a platform for knowledge-sharing and discussion forums, and a social media platform where users are both consumers and pushers of company-centric content.

If you use Microsoft Word and Excel to create work files, SharePoint is the platform where your team can keep and share such files. Build forums that bolster collaboration, information libraries that help staff leverage collective knowledge, and message boards that inform and invite staff to engage with the goings-on inside the company.

Enjoy continuous collaboration with Teams

Microsoft brings collaborations up a notch with Teams, a tool that allows you to build shared workspaces. In a Teams workspace, each team member can share files as well as comment on and work on one another’s files. Imagine doing all of that via email — you’ll most likely weave a nightmarish tangle out of multiple threads and attachments.

Additionally, Teams has communications facilities such as web conferencing, group chat, and live online meetings. Since Teams can be used on desktops, laptops, and mobile devices, workers can share information and connect frontline staff such as factory machine operators and sales clerks.

Coordinate your efforts with Planner

If Teams is O365’s communications hub, then Planner is its Kanban board — a project workflow visualization tool that lets you categorize tasks according to their progress status. A physical Kanban board is limited by the size of sticky notes used, but with Planner, you can assign tasks to team members, attach relevant files to them, and discuss tasks without leaving the app.

Automate tasks with Flow

There are tasks that promote critical thinking, but there are also tasks that are tedious and repetitive. An example of such a task is preparing an income statement. This usually involves emailing a finalized income statement to your superiors and archiving it. Automating the archive step alone would significantly ease this workflow.

With Flow, you can easily create detailed workflows that accomplish tasks automatically once you fulfill certain triggers. You can also make different apps “talk” with one another (e.g., have new OneDrive files be copied to your Dropbox account), provided that integrations allow them to do so. Imagine not having to shift between so many apps anymore — this will save your staff plenty of time and mindspace to do more worthwhile tasks that add more value to your company.

Let your staff step up from being mere individual Office suite users to being members of synergistic teams! Contact us to learn more about how you can squeeze every drop of value from your Office 365 subscription.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post Make the most out of your O365 subscription appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.


Source: Pronto

Tips to monitor employee activities online

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Tips to monitor employee activities online

There are a lot of pros and cons when it comes to monitoring your employees online. We’ve put together an honest and transparent list of arguments for and against this practice. And if you decide it is something you want to pursue, we’ve provided some tips for a smooth implementation process.

The case for monitoring

There are a number of reasons why monitoring your employees’ activities on company devices is a good idea. Doing so can help you:

  • Protect your organization from data theft or harm – because careless or disgruntled employees may leak or steal your data.
  • Ensure you have a harassment-free workplace – because cyberharassment (sexual or otherwise) happens among employees.
  • Ensure staff are complying with policies – such as not downloading illegal programs or spending time on websites with illegal or hostile content.
  • Provide evidence in case of a lawsuit – heaven forbid this happens, but if an employee participates in illegal activities using your business’s computers, monitoring can provide evidence of who was involved.

The sad fact of the matter is that many business owners who begin monitoring their employees often end up discovering that their staff members aren’t focused solely on the company’s success.

Arguments against employee monitoring

Of course, there are some potential downsides to monitoring that you should be aware of as well. These include:

  • Productivity loss – monitoring can put a damper on employee morale and you may see the distrust lead to productivity losses.
  • Lost privacy and lawsuits – you’ll likely learn personal details of your employees that you would’ve never known about had you not monitored them. You may discover their political or religious views, sexual orientation, or medical problems. This could potentially open up your business to privacy or discrimination issues if you or your management team acts negatively based on any of this information.

Monitoring guidelines to follow

If you decide to monitor your employees, here are a few tips you should follow.

1. Create written policies
When you decide to monitor your employees, ask yourself: Am I doing this for security purposes? Is it to ensure your employees aren’t wasting time on social media? If your monitoring policies are too strict, you could create an atmosphere of distrust.

Set guidelines for acceptable use of email, social media, web browsing, instant messaging, and downloading software and apps. Also, make sure to include how monitoring will be carried out and how data will be secured or destroyed.

2. Tell your employees
It’s important to inform your employees about the scope of your monitoring policies. If they find out you’re doing it without their knowledge, you could face legal issues. By being transparent and open, you may actually see a boost in productivity by deterring employees from wasting time on the web.

When you tell your employees, explain why you’re doing it and the risks your business faces from misuse of digital assets. Reassure them you’re not doing it to spy on their personal life, but to create a compliant and law-abiding workplace. Because their activities will now be less private, encourage your staff to keep their personal communication to their smartphones. Also, provide a copy of your written policy to employees to read and sign.

3. Get the right technology tools
You don’t need to know every little employee activity, so look for apps and software that alert you of the most relevant problems so you can focus on more important tasks.

If implemented correctly, employee monitoring makes your business more secure and productive. For more information about security and other IT support tools, get in touch with us today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post Tips to monitor employee activities online appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.


Source: Pronto

How to boost your SMB’s social media presence

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How to boost your SMB’s social media presence

Small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) nowadays are more competitive than ever. As an SMB owner, you’re probably constantly looking for ways to boost your social media presence, outdo your competitors, and increase profits. Here are some ways to do that.

Create buyer personas

Social media data is a great tool to gather information about your potential customers, and in doing so, create buyer personas. Buyer personas are comprised of generalized characters that help build an ideal picture of your business in the market. Key demographic information includes age, location, and even reasons for buying and product-related concerns.

Come up with and implement a media crisis management plan

It’s normal for businesses to go through a crisis or two. Avoid embarrassing public relations nightmares by having a social media crisis management plan in place and ready for implementation.

Track the impact of your content marketing

When it comes to content marketing efforts like blogging and social media, it’s essential to have a system to measure results. You can measure how these efforts impact your brand awareness by using metrics such as social media reach, brand mentions, media mentions, and branded searches.

Integrate user-generated content on social media

Businesses can use social media to interact with consumers. This includes sharing some of consumers’ content on your own channels. Not only is user-generated content more cost-efficient, but it also shortens the customer’s path to purchase.

Use Hootsuite to manage Twitter chats

A Twitter chat happens when you use Twitter to talk about a common interest with others during a preset time. It’s like an online chatroom where you add to the discussion by tweeting. Efficiently managing tweets and responses is integral. Fortunately, applications like Hootsuite simplify the whole process. Hootsuite easily monitors, searches, and saves Twitter chats onto the Hootsuite dashboard for future reference.

Create better live broadcasts

Livestreaming on social media platforms such as Facebook, Periscope, and Instagram is quickly gaining popularity. Before starting a livestream for your business, take time out to practice and prepare an outline before you roll the cameras. Don’t forget to promote it prior to the broadcast, and make sure you come up with a short and catchy video description.

All SMBs are fighting for the same thing: the consumer’s attention. Business owners can’t afford to just blend into the background; if you don’t make a good, lasting impression, you might lose out on an opportunity to make money. And if you’re relying on social media and content marketing strategies to help you, make sure you are doing it right. If you have further questions, feel free to contact us!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post How to boost your SMB’s social media presence appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.


Source: Pronto

An SMB’s IT hardware checklist

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An SMB’s IT hardware checklist

Imagine going back to the office after a long vacation, only to be greeted by a messy workstation. Frustrating, isn’t it? If your enterprise wants to start a new year working with clean, organized technology, this IT hardware checklist is just what you need.

✓ Clean up your computer components

Wipe your monitor with clean, static-free fabric; remove excess dirt from your mouse’s exterior; and tidy up your keyboard with compressed air. Don’t forget your computer tower! Dust buildup can block your computer’s air vent and affect its performance. Ensure that your workstation is getting adequate ventilation and isn’t directly exposed to sunlight and other heat sources.

✓ Manage your cables

If you’re not giving your computers’ cables the attention they deserve, now’s a good time to do so. Other than wiping the thick coat of dust off of computer cables, consider using cable management solutions that unclutter and untangle messy wires. These don’t just organize and secure your cables, they also help ensure your PCs run quieter and are less prone to overheating as a result of blocked air vents.

Planning to relocate or upgrade in the near future? Organizing your computers’ cables now makes future relocation and upgrading processes much easier.

✓ Review and update your inventory

Keeping an inventory of all your hardware helps you manage hardware life cycles and purchases, identify items that are near their end of life, and ensure you avoid duplicate purchases of items already in stock.

Your inventory list should include all owned and leased devices: PCs and laptops, printers and scanners, tablets and smartphones, and modems and other network hardware. Update all your assets’ serial numbers and keep track of their respective users and location.

✓ Printer maintenance

Clean the interiors and exteriors of your printers, including paper trays, which are sure to have accumulated dirt from years of use. You should also repair and/or replace parts and accessories such as print heads and cartridges that are no longer in good condition. Should you decide to do a complete printer maintenance, check for the latest software updates for your printers and install them immediately.

✓ Implement a hardware policy

This is also a good time to create a technology guideline that your employees can follow to ensure they work efficiently. These guidelines reduce the need to spend on unnecessary repairs, keeping the succeeding year’s checklist shorter. With clear instructions on the proper use, replacement, and storage of your hardware and devices, you’ll be better able to manage your hardware for years to come.

With a more organized IT hardware inventory, you have one less thing to worry about. Want to get more in-depth hardware management advice? Call our experts today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post An SMB’s IT hardware checklist appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.


Source: Pronto

Best Chrome extensions to install

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Best Chrome extensions to install

Google Chrome is fast, clean, and versatile. It delivers a great browsing experience to users, so it’s no surprise that it has the widest user base out of all web browsers. It’s also expandable and customizable, thanks to the thousands of extensions available at the Chrome Web Store. It can be quite taxing to sort out every extension there is, so to help you save time, we’ve compiled a list of the best Chrome extensions you should install.

StayFocusd

As the name suggests, StayFocusd helps you stay focused. This is a perfect tool for people who work on computers all day to stop themselves from getting distracted by the many wonderful things on the internet. Essentially, it’s an extension that restricts your time on websites that can cause your productivity to dip, particularly social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Once you’ve reached the time limit, StayFocusd blocks access to those sites, reminding you to focus on your work.

AdBlock

AdBlock claims to be the most popular extension for Chrome. It has over 10 million active users, and for good reason. In a virtual world full of advertisements, AdBlock offers a break by blocking most ads from showing on Chrome. It’s also bound to improve your experience and increase the speed of your browser, since it blocks shady advertisements on the web, some of which are designed to trick people into downloading something that could harm their computers.

LastPass

Remembering passwords can be quite a headache; good thing there’s LastPass. While Chrome already has a built-in password manager, LastPass is a better option when it comes to password management. Instead of trying to memorize countless passwords for your online accounts, LastPass can generate new and secure passwords every time you log in to a website and sync your passwords whenever you need them. With LastPass, you can easily gain access to your accounts, enter credit card details, and fill out online forms with just a few clicks.

Evernote Web Clipper

Never lose anything on the internet again by storing web pages on Evernote. While you can mark sites by using Chrome’s built-in bookmarks option, Evernote is a more powerful option. The extension allows you to quickly and easily save web content from Chrome and transfer it straight into your Evernote account. With the press of a button, you can grab an image from the web page, make annotations, create summary links, and save a distraction-free version for later use.

Pocket

Pocket is another way to keep track of your favorite web content. With Pocket, you can save articles, videos, and any other web pages for later viewing. Simply hit the Pocket extension button when you come across something interesting and that page will automatically be synced to all your devices, so you can view it at any time, even without an internet connection. With Pocket, you can set things aside when you have important work at hand. If you can’t read the content now, Pocket it for later.

Momentum

Momentum is an alternative new tab page that replaces the default Chrome landing page. Equipped with a personalized dashboard that features a beautiful scenic background, a daily inspirational quote, the weather report, a to-do list, and quick links widgets for your favorite sites, Momentum could just be the dose of inspiration you’re looking for.

Learn more about the different productivity apps the Chrome Web Store has to offer. Get in touch with our experts today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post Best Chrome extensions to install appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.


Source: Pronto

Productivity tip: Email automation

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If you’ve ever received what looked like a personalized email from a huge corporation, there’s a good chance it was actually written using an email automation platform. This technology saves time and money while strengthening customer relationships, and contrary to popular belief, it is well within most SMB budgets.

What is email automation?

Usually included in customer relationship management (CRM) software, email automation centers around the idea of integrating your business data into emails to customers and prospects. This allows you to draft templates with placeholders for names, addresses, and other variables that the platform will match with individuals from your email list.

What’s more, you can personalize how and when your emails go out to clients. Automatically inserting customer data into an email is great, but it still requires that you draft the content that surrounds it and hit Send. Email automation grants you the ability to create templated emails that are automatically merged with client data and sent when certain conditions are met.

Examples of email automation

To really get an idea of how valuable this solution is, it’s important to see what it looks like in action. Say you own an e-commerce site that sells complementary goods, such as golf clubs and golf balls. You could create a campaign wherein anytime someone buys a set of clubs, pre-written emails automatically go out one month later on how high-quality golf balls improve your handicap.

You’re not limited to two-step workflows either. Take a look at this example:

  • Step 1: Send a personalized email with a special offer on golf balls for existing customers.
  • Step 2: Send a follow-up based on how customers interacted with the offer email:
    • If a customer cashed in on the offer, send a thank you email.
      • Step 3: Follow it up with a similar offer three months later.
    • If a customer visited the promo page but didn’t convert, send a promotional email for another type of product, like golf bags.
      • Step 3: Follow it up with either a thank you email or another promo for golf clothes.
    • If a customer didn’t even open the email, send a survey email asking about their interests.
      • Step 3: Follow it up with email campaigns based on what they selected.

Email automation means there’s no need to micromanage your customer relationships. As long as you define the path to purchase for high-volume products, you can program workflows to nurture customers and prospects automatically.

For as little as a couple of hundred dollars per month, your customer outreach campaigns can compete on the same level as your corporate counterparts with little effort from your team. Throw an expert IT provider into the mix and you have the ability to blow the competition out of the water. To learn more, contact us today!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post Productivity tip: Email automation appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.


Source: Pronto