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Data warehouse simply explained: Definition, advantages & tools 994 537 Florian Friedl

Data warehouse simply explained: Definition, advantages & tools

In this article you will find out everything you need to know about data warehouses. All information about definition, advantages, tools and application.

In this article

  1. What is a data warehouse?
  2. Data warehouse: Components and functions
  3. These are the pros and cons
  4. Data Warehouse vs. Data Lake
  5. Which data warehouse tools are available?
  6. This is how businesses use data warehouses
  7. FAQ

 

The most important in a nutshell

  • A data warehouse is suitable for processing and evaluating company-related data
  • Disadvantages include long loading times and that only structured data can be processed
  • Access to data lake is easier but the method is not useful for processing structured data

Data Warehouse

 

What is a data warehouse?

Data warehouses describe a database which was specifically optimized for analysis. The system collects and processes relevant data from a summary of sources (e. g. apps or internal departments) and provides it clearly for businesses. The goal is to get a general overview of all important data.

A data warehouse is some kind of a data management system which supports business intelligence activities as well as it collects and saves huge amounts of data. The collected data passes through a formatting- and import process which compares existing information of the data warehouse. The following saving process ensures a simple data access. From this page, companies can derive important business data and optimize decision processes.

 

Data warehouse: Components and functions

A data warehouse normally consist of the following four elements:

  • ETL solutions to prepare data for analysis
  • Data mining functions
  • Relational database to save and manage data
  • Analysis applications to evaluate data and to visualize it easily

 

This is how a data warehouse works

Data warehouses don’t have a unified architecture. Instead, the specific requirements of a business determine the structure. When the business requirements are defined, conception follows. This includes the logical design (relationship between elements) and the physical design (best method to save and retrieve data).

During the design process of the data warehouse there are some steps to consider, including the frequency of data update, the supported system environment and the relationships between the different data groups.

The following process, the so-called “data warehousing”, normally takes place in four steps:

  • Data acquisition + integration: Data is obtained from sources and loaded into the data warehouse
  • Data storage: Data is held
  • Data evaluation: Full analysis of structured data
  • Data provision: Data is made available for analysis

Description of how a data warehouse works

 

These are the pros and cons

Businesses have specific advantages when using a data warehouse. The probably biggest advantage is that huge amounts of different data can be analyzed and evaluated purposefully. The data is easily accessible, goal oriented and relevant. That improves data quality and the decision making process within a company. Hereby, flexibility doesn’t get lost and businesses can, for instance, reduce data volume for an accurate verification.

Disadvantages include long loading times for complex data and increasing data volume. Furthermore unstructured data (e. g. audio) can’t be processed and live streaming isn’t possible either.

 

→ The access through a data warehouse is principally uncomplicated but associated with high effort.

 

Data warehouse pros and cons

 

Data Warehouse vs. Data Lake

Data Lake represents an alternative to the warehouse variant for data processing. Data lakes are better for unstructured data such as pictures or live streaming because they are easier accessible and therefore don’t require any expert knowledge. Furthermore, businesses have the opportunity to analyze bigger amounts of data on different ways to win new insights regarding relevant company data.

The data warehouse on the other hand has the advantage that structured data builds a good base for analysis which matches with the predefined business goals. The evaluation also happens much faster. And through the precise data evaluating processes, businesses can trust on the results and make decisions fast.

 

Use the strengths of both methods to bypass disadvantages

You don’t have to choose either of the two methods to evaluate data. Both ways complete each other and in combination provide a goal oriented approach to evaluate data. Data lake has more storage capacity and allows the deposit of big data quantities. The processed raw data can be structured and further processed with data warehouse tools.

 

Which data warehouse tools are there?

  • integrate.io
  • Informatica
  • Oracle 12c
  • IBM Infosphere
  • Amazon Redshift
  • Ab Initio Software
  • ParAccel
  • MarkLogic
  • Cloudera

The tools belong to the ten most known and popular tools for processing data. Each of these tools has its individual advantages and was made for different application areas. For businesses it’s worth it to use at least one of these tools to make processes of data evaluation easier.

 

Cloud data warehouse: Which options do businesses have?

Cloud data warehouses become more popular to collect and process data from different sources. Data warehouses require a lot of effort in administration but cloud solutions provide a user friendly application which doesn’t even stress beginners. Furthermore, a cloud data warehouse ensures advantages regarding costs because there is no maintenance needed and businesses don’t have to invest in additional safety software.

But that doesn’t mean that internal solutions are bad. The opposite is the case. On-premise-servers ensure more safety and businesses have more control over data procession. So whether cloud-based solutions offer a better alternative is a matter of individual consideration.

 

This is how businesses use data warehouses

Businesses have many application possibilities with data warehouses. They primarily use it to provide reports to evaluate processes and to optimize them. This also results in more transparency to provide stakeholders a better insight into business processes. Processed data can also be used to determine information regarding commercial transactions.

Other application areas:

  • Determination of resources and costs
  • Getting information about business related KPIs
  • Evaluation of concrete processes
  • Structuring of data

It’s important to define goals and to know the requirements of users to use data warehouses properly. A data warehouse is a centralized collection of earmarked business data. Furthermore, changing data causes a lot of effort whereby inadequate goal planning may waste resources.

 

FAQ

Lastly, we will answer common questions regarding data warehouses.

 

What is an ETL process?

ETL consists of the individual steps Extract (E), Transform (T) and Load (L). The ETL process ensures that data from different sources is integrated into the data warehouse. It’s used primarily in scenarios with large volumes of data (e. g. big data).

 

What are the primary differences between a data warehouse and a data mart?

A data warehouse is normally larger than a terabyte and ranges across multiple areas. Data marts on the other hand are mostly smaller than 100 GB and are limited to a single purpose for one line business.

 

What does a data warehouse cost?

The costs of a data warehouse vary but typically it is between 350 and 400 euros annually. Cloud services and on-premise-solutions hardly differ in terms of costs.

 

What is the ultimate outcome of a data warehouse?

A data warehouse ensures precise insights into business data which makes decision making easier and therefore helps to save costs. Stakeholders get access to visualized and analyzed data which was evaluated based on business related goals.

 

Sources:

https://www.talend.com/de/resources/was-ist-data-warehouse/

https://www.weclapp.com/de/lexikon/data-warehouse/

https://www.bigdata-insider.de/was-ist-ein-data-warehouse-a-606701/

https://www.oracle.com/de/database/what-is-a-data-warehouse/

What is data management? Strategy, tasks and advantages 779 537 Manuel Renje

What is data management? Strategy, tasks and advantages

In this article, we will answer all your questions about data management. Advantages, examples, data security and best practices for your strategy.

In this article:

  1. Definition: What is data management?
  2. Data management tasks
  3. Three steps to successfully execute a data management strategy
  4. These are the challenges
  5. Advantages of data management
  6. Advice for your data management strategy
  7. Conclusion

 

The most important in a summary

  • Data management provides many advantages such as safety, cost savings and efficiency
  • Innovative solutions don’t cause any problems regarding GDPR
  • Many businesses complain about the missing transparency in data management

Data management icons

 

Definition: What is data management?

Data management belongs to the digital competencies and combines all elements of information transfer within a company. The goal is to establish methods and processes to save, to minimize and to archive data.

Many businesses have already established data management to automate working processes and to relieve staff. Furthermore, they pursue the goal to minimize mistakes and to ensure more transparency. Last is especially important because only when businesses consider current data they have the possibility to optimize processes sustainably.

In this article we will talk further about data management and its tasks. We will show you all pros and cons as well as common challenges. Other than that we will answer questions regarding data security and strategy.

 

Tasks of data management

Basically, the main task of data management is to save business related data transparently. Through that, stakeholders get insights into data and structure to make solution oriented decisions. Furthermore, businesses minimize their error rates and use their budget efficiently.

Data management is not limited to essential operation areas. Many might think of financial stuff and bookkeeping when they hear the word data management, but evaluating marketing KPIs and factors to improve quality management is also considered in the process.

Data management is a holistic process which takes over the following tasks:

  • Easy access to business data
  • More transparency
  • Establish automated and efficient working processes
  • Ensure safety and prevent data loss
  • Comply with retention obligation
  • Eliminate old or not needed data

 

Three steps to successfully execute a data management strategy

To successfully execute a data management strategy, businesses need to consider questions regarding data sets, data structure and data saving. The following three steps help you with that.

 

Know and understand your data sets

The first step of a successful data management strategy requires knowledge about data itself. Without understanding data sets of your business you can’t create a goal oriented strategy. A systematic analysis considers three types of data, namely personal-related, “High-value”-business data and public data.

Personal-related data includes all data sets regarding your target group and other natural persons. This includes name, address and email. For these data sets the requirements of GDPR are to consider.

“High-value”-business data is sensitive business data. This includes bookkeeping data, tax documents and financial data. The encryption of this data is highly important.

Public data is accessible for everyone and concerns the area of marketing. Through transparency regarding marketing KPIs (social follows, website visitors etc.) businesses have easy access to relevant data but they have to consider to avoid intellectual property damages.

 

Structure data properly

Data-lake and data-warehouse belong to the most known methods of data saving. The data lake is a large store of raw data whose use has not been determined. In contrast, the data warehouse is a central collection of business data that is tied to a purpose.

Data lakes are easily accessible and do not require specialized knowledge to modify new data. However, data can only be accessed with specialized tools or by experts (e.g., data scientists). Data access via a warehouse is much less complicated, but data modification requires more effort.

Many businesses use both methods to have more advantages. Data warehouse requires less expertise for data retrieval and is more secure. On the other hand, data lake has advantages in terms of flexibility and data storage.

 

Storage environment

The best-known model of data storage is the cloud. This offers a variety of benefits to businesses, including secure data storage, greater flexibility and resilience. As an alternative, many companies are turning to server-based computing in the form of an internal storage environment. Hard to beat in terms of security, but not accessible to third parties without a cloud service.

To form better interfaces, there are so-called “data fabrics” on the market as storage environments. This concept combines the strengths of cloud services with those of internal storage environments and equips them with additional functions to ensure greater security as well as flexibility.

 

These are the challenges

Data management has many advantages (more about this in a moment!) but businesses face many challenges during the process of implementation. Some of them are:

  • Costs
  • Data volume
  • Requirements of stakeholders

 

Costs

Data administration causes costs. Although data management ensures cost savings, it’s still recommended to carry out a cost-benefit-analysis to invest available budget efficiently. Therefore, it’s less about if a data management strategy is financially worth it, but rather to which extent the budget is invested.

 

Data volume

With too much data volume, transparency might get lost. The usage of data management software reduces this risk but the danger of loss still exists. Without a goal oriented organization and planning, there are also no advantages regarding transparency and efficiency because your business might evaluate the wrong data.

 

Requirements of stakeholders

Data management pursues the goal to establish solution oriented as well as efficient working- and business processes. Hereby the requirements of stakeholders are to consider to evaluate collected data purposefully.

The bigger the company, the more complex are probably the requirements of stakeholders. That possibly aggravates goal oriented data management because wishes and expectations of single persons might go too far apart through which no clear goals can be determined based on the evaluated data.

 

This is how businesses master these challenges

Clarify requirements, knowing goals, planning resources purposefully and choosing high quality software. These four steps build the base for goal oriented data management. Especially stakeholder requirements and data saving are no hurdles with a detailed plan. In terms of costs, there are advantages with a data management strategy anyway, but insufficient calculation of personnel deployment may waste financial resources.

→ Simply explained: Planning is everything!

 

This is how you ensure a GDPR compliant realization

In May 2018, the European Union adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), creating a legal framework for data processing. This legal framework is based on principles such as fair processing, lawfulness, adequacy of data processing, integrity, purpose limitation and accuracy.

Companies have a responsibility to ensure these principles in their data management. But in practice, this is not so easy. Even one incorrect setting in the website cookie banner may already lead to unlawful data processing. Good compliance prevents such difficulties.

Declarations of consent form the basis for DSGVO-compliant data processing. In addition, companies must comply with their administrative obligations and delete data upon request. A regularly changing legal situation complicates this process, so staff and involved stakeholders must be trained regularly.

 

The advantages of data management

Regardless of the mentioned hurdles and challenges, a goal oriented data management has many advantages for businesses. Some of them are:

  • Transparency
  • Problem identification
  • Eliminating disruptive factors
  • Targeted working processes
  • Process automation
  • Better user experience
  • Recognizing customer needs

 

Transparency

The accumulation of big amounts of data are barely overlooked by businesses which is why they often oversee important sets of data. Through a targeted administration, businesses ensure more transparency and can evaluate as well as organize data purposefully.

 

Problem identification

Transparent processes result in better problem identification. Organizations have a lot of interactions going on, whether between software applications or protocols – and good data management helps identify the problems created by processes.

 

Eliminating disruptive factors

Problem identification ensures an uncomplicated solving process of disruptive factors. Besides that, it’s easier for businesses to execute prevention methods to avoid difficulties in the future.

 

Targeted working processes

The main goal of data administration is to optimize working processes. Through transparent data evaluations, businesses recognize their potential and use it. No matter if it’s for marketing, human resources, bookkeeping or quality management. Businesses recognize, for instance, which marketing methods generate the most leads or which benefits motivate employees the most and then can improve existing processes based on that.

 

Process automation

Through performance and process monitoring, business can stop processes and methods which require too many resources. That, on the other hand, ensures possibilities and process automation.

Example: If companies try to implement too many marketing measures, the test phase takes longer and requires many resources. With more transparency regarding the target-oriented marketing measures, it is possible, for example, to optimize and automate lead generation. This is because companies can see what their marketing team is investing time in and thus shift the focus to the processes that lead to the goals.

 

Cost savings

The elimination of non-targeted processes results in financial advantages. Businesses are less focused on such tasks and approaches which don’t promise any success. Furthermore, they reduce the effort for testing phases.

 

Better user experience

The advantages of data management are not only internal to the company. Data administration reveals important information about customer wishes and which advertising works best. It’s also easier for businesses to react to trends. Hereby, there are advantages in the area of user experience and target group approach.

 

Recognizing customer needs

Feedback and ratings are among the most important sources for businesses to get to know their target group better and to identify customer needs. Structured data management helps to evaluate all collected sets of data better and to recognize customer wishes accordingly.

 

Advice for your data management strategy

Data management strategy

 

Develop a holistic and waterproof strategy

A good and goal oriented strategy should be your number one priority. Without knowing the requirements and goals of stakeholders, your business will collect too much irrelevant data. Also, deal in advance with questions regarding storage locations, file formats, monitoring of KPIs and which data protection regulations have to be observed.

A goal oriented strategy considered the following aspects:

  • Clarify roles and responsibilities in the team
  • Consider legal aspects and compliance
  • Determine measures and methods
  • Set up criteria for external business partners

 

Find the right data management software

Only use software which suits your business goals. The offer on the market is growing and there are suppliers for different goals. Clear the following questions to find the right data management software:

  • What are our business goals?
  • What is our budget?
  • Which requirements must a software fulfill?
  • Does the software fulfill legal requirements?

 

Consider changes

In the area of data management a lot of things have happened in the past years. There are different software providers on the market, the goals of stakeholders change regularly and customer needs are in an everlasting change. Data management doesn’t only mean to establish purposeful structures once. Instead, targeted processes require regular optimization to ensure long-term results. 

 

10 best practices for data management

  • Weighing costs and benefits
  • Know your business goals
  • Use databases which fulfill the requirements of your business
  • Centralize communication of involved parties
  • Teach your staff
  • Inform stakeholders and work transparently
  • Use data discovery to track processes and ensure good compliance
  • Act purposefully but thoughtfully when optimizing processes
  • Don’t only think of business processes but also about the effect on your customers
  • Don’t get lost in numbers but orient yourself on the wishes and desires of your target audience

 

Conclusion: Data are digital gold

Targeted data management ensures transparency, process optimization and cost savings. First, you need to clarify questions regarding software suppliers and responsibilities. Data management is a business process, a good strategy is therefore the fundament for a successful implementation.

What is corporate communication? Definition, goals & examples 781 537 Lukas Aumair

What is corporate communication? Definition, goals & examples

What is corporate communication and what measures companies need to take? Everything about definition and goals + examples.

In this article:

  1. Corporate communication definition
  2. Which goals need to be achieved?
  3. Business communication as a part of corporate behavior
  4. Corporate communication examples
  5. Rules of business communication
  6. Business communication checklist
  7. Consider and overcome linguistic hurdles
  8. Corporate social responsibility: An important message for businesses
  9. Our final advice
  10. Conclusion
  11. FAQ

 

The most important in a nutshell

  • Corporate communication considers both, internal and external communication
  • A goal oriented corporate communication improves working climate and the interaction between staff
  • Good communication structures will have a positive impact on your business image and promises competition advantages

 

Corporate communication as a key element to a working business

Efficiency and sales will always be a company’s number one priority. There is nothing wrong with that because only economically strong businesses will survive on a highly competitive market. But it’s about under which circumstances this goal will be achieved. In the past decades most businesses have recognized that employee satisfaction does not only depend on salary but rather on other factors. One of them is corporate communication.

Corporate communication in business

In this article we will talk about corporate communication and how businesses can use it to their advantage. Moreover we will dive deeper into the importance of individual approaches and social responsibility.

 

Corporate communication definition

The term corporate communication sums up all measures to improve the communication within a company. This concerns not only the communication between a company and its staff (internal) but also the interaction between a business and customers, partners or suppliers (external).

 

Which goals need to be achieved?

Corporate communication follows the goal to create consistent dialogue structures between a company and its stakeholders. But there are other reasons which speak in favor of improving communication structures of a business.

A good corporate communication improves working climate and strengthens the trust between a business and its staff. That in turn has a positive effect on productivity. Encouraging the internal dialogue also comes with the advantage that there will be less conflicts and that businesses can react better to the wishes of their staff. That results in a healthy business culture with open dialogue structures and strengthened trust between employer and employee.

In external business communication it’s primarily about such factors which will make a business stand out against its competitors. We are talking about corporate identity. Many don’t associate corporate identity with open dialogues or information exchange but rather with nice looking logos and convincing messages. That is a way to communicate too – corporate communication doesn’t necessarily mean to seek out dialogues because visual elements and messages will also improve business communication.

Therefore, the goal is not only to communicate transparently and openly but also to use the advantages of visual elements.

 

At its core, corporate communication pursues the following goals:

  • Improving corporate identity
  • More transparency for employees
  • Ensuring employee satisfaction
  • Establish a good working climate
  • Reaching business goals
  • Secure competitive advantages
  • Improving business culture as a whole
  • Expanding customer loyalty and customer acquisition as well as improving customer experience
  • Strengthen the business image
  • Cultivating business relationships

 

Business communication as a part of corporate behavior

Corporate behavior is a part of corporate identity and describes the behavior of a business towards its stakeholders. The focus of corporate behavior is on the achievement of goals and whether companies act in the way they communicate to the outside world.

Corporate behavior is seen as a separate area of corporate identity but it also has an impact on reaching goals and therefore on a business’ behavior as well.

One example: Through good communication structures businesses will increase productivity of their employees because open dialogues and information exchange build trust as well as satisfaction. This will ensure reaching goals in the long term.

In general, communication always has a positive impact on corporate business. Possible disadvantages only occur when an information flood limits scope of action and paves the way to micromanagement.

corporate business identity

 

Corporate communication examples

To develop your sense for practical application of corporate communication, we will take a closer look at some examples. Hereby it’s especially important to differentiate between internal and external business communication.

Corporate communication examples internal:

  • Employee interviews
  • Feedback talks
  • Regular trainings to promote knowledge
  • Transparency in information exchange (e. g. through digital signage)
  • Communicating wishes through open dialogues
  • Defining goals clearly and communicating reached goals openly (e. g. through monitoring)

Communication is key. So approach your employees openly and ask for their feedback. Monthly employee interviews help to recognize wishes and to expose possible conflicts. Corporate communication also means to create a good working climate by avoiding conflicts within your team.

Every business ideally seeks out dialogues with its employees to respond specifically to wishes and needs. It’s harder to execute this approach for information exchange regarding events or internal changes. A centralized and automated communication structure will help you hereby. Information terminals for example provide a centralized approach to inform employees about news with little effort. Monthly employee meetings will improve and automate corporate communication as well.

At an external level you need to differentiate between marketing and PR. Companies can increase their positive image through newspaper articles and press releases. Marketing methods on the other hand will help to strengthen the corporate identity and to force customer acquisition.

 

Corporate communication examples external: 

  • Press releases
  • Social media channels
  • Digital advertising
  • Interviews
  • Use cases for more transparency
  • Sponsoring
  • Posters and flyers
  • Content marketing
  • Reports for business partners and stockholders
  • TV spots

Don’t underestimate the effect of sponsoring and press releases. These supposedly old-fashioned PR methods have a strong impact on a business’ image. While they don’t build brand awareness as specifically as maintaining social media channels for example, they do position your company more strongly, especially on a regional level.

 

Rules of business communication

Many businesses primarily focus on external communication because they will win new customers and business partners with it. The key factors for more sales.
But without satisfied and educated employees, productivity will decrease and your company will have disadvantages in competition. Therefore, you should improve corporate communication as a whole. To improve internal communication structures, you can establish rules which equally apply to all employees. Obligatory rules will ensure a better together within the team and help to reach goals.

With the following rules of business communication, you will improve existing structures:

  • Openly talk about conflicts
  • Informing employees about changes
  • Monthly employee meetings (to talk about collective challenges)
  • Obligatory trainings for all business departments
  • Showing appreciation towards your employees

There are two things to consider when executing these rules. On the one hand you should make sure that these rules will become part of the business values. Every team member needs to know about these rules and recognize that they follow a purpose. On the other hand you shouldn’t ignore financial and timely aspects. You better ensure to have enough resources to establish regular employee meetings or employee interviews.

 

Business communication checklist

  • Involve all employees into the process
  • Talk about the current situation and challenges with your team
  • Define clear goals and which tasks need to be done
  • Consider budget and human resources
  • Establish fix days and times for employee interviews, trainings and feedback talks
  • Approach the worries of your employees and convince them with good arguments
  • Consider your customers and your business partners
  • Determine channels to communicate business internal messages
  • Don’t give empty promises but rather set realistic measures
  • Talk regularly about the approached measures and if all employees are okay with it
  • Repeat all the steps and optimize them where it’s necessary

 

Consider and overcome linguistic hurdles

Corporate communication is aimed at different groups of persons but exactly this aspect is often ignored by many businesses.
Law changes in data security need to be communicated differently to human resource employees than to a data protection officer. It’s also pointless to use information terminals as the only source of communication when many employees work at home or in the field service.

Linguistic barriers hinder goal oriented approaches. Ask yourself the following questions to eliminate possible hurdles in internal corporate communication:

  • Do all employees have access to information?
  • Are there linguistic barriers because of different nationalities?
  • Do we use too much professional language?
  • Is our communication directed towards the perspective of our employees?
  • Do we grow faster than we can improve our communication structures?

In external communication it’s especially important to consider the principles of marketing. A basic differentiation between B2B and B2C clients is a good start but a deeper selection will help more in the long term.

Ready for take off?

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Corporate social responsibility: An important message for businesses

In 2023, external communication means more than just good PR and marketing. Businesses show more social responsibility, be it through better compliance, approaches to expand environmentally friendly working processes or more accessibility.

There are laws as a guideline to execute these measures. But there are other objective measures which support the execution too. One of them ist the principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

In the core, CSR describes the voluntary contribution of a business to a sustainable development of the economy. This includes climate protection, measures against corruption or an ethical justifiable business culture. Some guidelines of specific countries (e. g. Germany) force bigger businesses to create reports about their CSR approaches but for other companies the contribution is voluntary.

CSR sends an important message to businesses: Social consciousness and responsibility become more relevant. When thinking of corporate communication, don’t only consider promising messages or convincing marketing but social aspects as well.

 

Our final advice

Take care of executing corporate communication in a holistic approach. Many businesses strongly focus on external communication because marketing promises more sales and a stronger public image. Thereby employee satisfaction and internal conflict mastering have a massive impact on the success of a business as well.

Before you execute measures for a better corporate communication, deal with the question if your team equally builds structures for both internal and external communication to approach a holistic process- and structure optimization. In order to promote corporate communication, your company should also push the development of digital competence in order to create more efficient structures and also keep communication channels shorter.

 

Conclusion: The human being is in the foreground

Businesses face the challenge that a standardized approach through corporate communication is barely possible. Because of the already mentioned linguistic hurdles, businesses can only partly automize their communication processes.

Therefore, it’s better for businesses to follow the goal to establish automated processes which consider individual customer wishes or desires of employees. It’s also important to overcome linguistic hurdles.

 

FAQ

Finally, we will answer commonly asked questions about corporate communication.

 

What is the difference between corporate communication and marketing communication?

Marketing communication concerns commercialization of a product or a service. Corporate communication on the other hand also considers the appearance of a brand and the image of a business.

 

Why is corporate communication important?

Corporate communication does not only focus on the advantages of a product or a service but will ensure the communication of the business image. At an internal level, businesses ensure higher employee satisfaction and increased productivity.

Software marketing: 6 simple steps to generate more sales 994 537 Linda

Software marketing: 6 simple steps to generate more sales

Marketing is one of the most difficult hurdles for IT companies. We show you the six most important steps for successful software marketing.

Table of contents:

  1. Software marketing is not rocket science
  2. 6 simple steps to successful software marketing
  3. Example of a 6-step-plan: How to implement it successfully
  4. Ideas for your software marketing
  5. This is how much marketing budget you need
  6. Conclusion

 

The most important things in a nutshell:

  • Marketing is first and foremost a strategic process
  • Always align your software marketing with the desires of your target audience and identify your strengths relative to competitors
  • Use the strengths of different marketing channels to create content dispersion

 

Software marketing is not rocket science

Innovative ideas pay off and secure you a strong position on the market. That’s one of the reasons why software development has surged in recent years, especially in the area of mobile applications and business process automation (e. g. in accounting and marketing). But just like with any other product or service, software companies first have to find buyers / clients, and this is where one of the biggest challenges becomes apparent.

 

→ Marketing is the be-all and end-all in any industry, because without buyers even the greatest ideas remain undiscovered and the software sector is no exception. 

 

With this article we follow the goal to help IT businesses develop their marketing strategy. Many companies fail to win Clients because they make fundamental mistakes in the marketing process. And we are not talking about too little financial investments or choosing the wrong marketing channels, but about an insufficient strategy, poor positioning and wrong communication with the target group.

Many people think of marketing in terms of search engine optimization, social media or web design but these areas follow only after strategy development.
First, there are six important steps to follow to lay the foundation for successful software marketing. These steps will not only help you target the right audience, they will also save you resources.

 

6 simple steps to successful software marketing

To develop a good marketing strategy, you need to answer the following six questions first:

  • What are my strengths compared to my competitors?
  • Who is my target group and how do I address them?
  • Which communication channels do I use for my marketing?
  • Who is responsible for implementation?
  • What is the best way to spread our marketing presence?
  • How do I measure the results of my software marketing?

The implementation only takes place after you have worked out every single aspect of your strategy. A good marketing strategy will not only help you to plan your resources and approach, but will also give you a better overview of the required effort and the time buffers that need to be planned for implementation.

 

Position yourself

Every software stands out from its competition in its own way but your target audience may not be aware of these advantages. To use channels like social media or blogs effectively, you need to recognize your strengths in order to communicate them. But being aware of your weaknesses also has its advantages because it allows you to recognize potential for improvement and what possible objections your target group raises or what possible disadvantages they see in your software.

But don’t only focus on objective advantages of your software but also on how it meets the challenges of your target audience and what subjective needs your company addresses with its marketing strategy. When analyzing weaknesses, you should ideally consider the opinion of your team because it is often difficult for you to remain objective and even identify possible weaknesses in your own software.

 

Know your target audience

Many software businesses make the same mistake and explain any technical terms on their website or via their social media channels. But why? Your target audience probably are people who are familiar with the application areas of your software.
There are benefits of using a good glossary or encyclopedias to explain certain terms, especially if they are very technical, but don’t treat your audience like clueless people who need a primer on the subject first. Instead, communicate the advantages and which use your software promises. Also, creating informative as well as unique content should help position your company. 

This “I first need to explain everything” mistake is due to poor target audience analysis. Every company has an idea of its persona but still commits communication mistakes. As a result, it’s not uncommon to miss the mark, which means no sustainable growth and no leads will be generated.

Depending on your target audience, you need to consider different criteria when communicating. In the case of a B2C target audience, information regarding price or characteristics such as motives or personal preferences play a primarily role. In the B2B sector, on the other hand, solution-oriented approaches, industry and return on investment matter the most.

It should also be mentioned that every company has several target audiences which in turn are segmented into different subgroups – therefore, you should never focus your software marketing on only one group of people.

buyer persona

Buyer Persona: Profile of a fictive customer who represents the target audience

 

The right communication channels

It’s well known that social media and blogs belong to the best marketing channels. However, this does not answer the question of which exact channels should be used, how often and with which content. It makes a big difference whether your company is targeting a B2B or B2C target audience, as channels need to be selected accordingly.

The following table shows which (social media-) channels are particularly well suited for each target audience:

B2BB2C
Blog
Facebook
Instagram
TikTok
Twitter✗/✓
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Reddit

Consider that the industry plays an important role as well. For example, Twitter is not bad for B2B businesses but it hardly offers any advantages for software companies. On the other hand, the platform “Reddit” has proven to be an insider tip because millions of people search there everyday for advice on different topics – with knowledge of software development, you can position your business extremely well.

But choosing the right channels isn’t everything, because that doesn’t answer any questions about posting frequency or the type of posts. In order to create a working content strategy, you should therefore clarify the following questions in the team:

  • Which channels do we use?
  • What content do we post?
  • When do we start with social media postings and blogging?
  • How often do we post on social media or our blog and what time buffer do we allow ourselves?
  • What are potential challenges? (e.g. copyright in image use for blog articles)
  • How do we achieve broad content distribution through different channels?
  • Are our blog articles and website aligned with search engine optimization (SEO) criteria?
  • How do we use your content to generate leads and retain them?

Are you looking for an exclusive content format that guarantees competitive advantages and triggers a lasting “wow effect” with your target audience? Then you should take a look at the advantages of digital signage!
Our software offers you a wide range of functions, starting with image playback and ending with interesting additional features such as the display of Facebook postings or YouTube videos. Of course, you can also use FRAMR as a presentation medium to communicate the benefits of your software. We promise: Your target audience will be stunned!

 

Internal vs external expertise

Blogs, social media, SEO, SEA (Google ads) – with all the given possibilities it’s difficult to find the necessary expertise internally, even when specifically choosing marketing channels. But that’s not necessary either, because through freelancer portals and Google research you can easily find a freelancer or even a big agency for your software marketing.

Both internal as well as external production of marketing content have advantages and with the following table we draw a comparison:

Strengths internalStrengths external
Faster communicationAgencies/freelancers know best practices
CheaperMore effective
Quicker access to knowledgeSpecialization
Staff is easily availableCan take on more tasks
Change of direction within the strategy is fasterStrategies can be worked out more purposefully

External labor requires good delegation. Don’t get it wrong, you don’t have to control every process in detail but working with freelancers or agencies is only purposeful if good framework conditions are created. For this, the first step is to clarify the following questions: 

  • Who is responsible for which activity and what is the goal?
  • Which deadlines do we set?
  • Which information and materials does the freelancer or agency need?
  • How well does the cooperation work and what can be improved?

 

Scattering

In the third point we have already mentioned content distribution – but why is this important at all? The answer: Many companies fail with implementing their marketing strategy and end up rearranging everything or plan all over again.

For successful software marketing, you have a variety of channels at your disposal, be it social media, SEO, SEA, PR or blogs. But just because you have so many options doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use the advantages of the different channels. Instead it’s better to set up multiple channels right from the beginning to see what content resonates best with your target audience and what content format gets good results. 

But make sure to ask yourself to what extent a good and broad content distribution is possible with the available resources because it doesn’t make sense if you have one person available for marketing, but you want to play ten marketing channels at once.

Content scattering

 

Metrics for measurability

Every company wants to achieve goals but surprisingly, this part of the marketing strategy in particular is treated quite superficially. Common goals are “growth” or “reach,” but no one mentions exact numbers or what metrics are used to achieve them. 

To measure the success of software marketing, you have several metrics at your disposal, be it website traffic, Google Analytics stats, social shares, newsletter signups or number of purchases or bookings. However, don’t make the mistake of focusing too much on the number of website visitors because even if high reach is an indicator of good marketing performance, it says nothing about the quality of your visitors.
Our recommendation: It’s best to use two metrics to evaluate the success of your marketing, for example website traffic and number of newsletter signups.

Don’t forget to use the results as a foundation for further development of your strategy. For example, if Facebook insights show that your target audience is mostly active between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m., these numbers should guide the time of your future posts. Similarly, you should remove content types from your strategy if the metrics show that they are performing poorly.

 

Example of a 6-step-plan: How to implement it successfully

Below, we give you insights into FRAMR’s marketing strategy so that you can get a feel for how to implement the 6-step plan.

  1. Positioning: At FRAMR, we focus on speed and agile processes. This is because the Linux operating system starts even when power is lost and does not require a license. In addition, no complex installation is necessary and our cloud service guarantees permanent availability ofthe services. This flexibility also ensures constant expandability and good runnability on all platforms. We see potential weaknesses in the established market position of our competitors. Since we are competing with big companies like Sony or Panasonic, we have to position ourselves with good content and address our target group effectively.
  2. Target group: We specifically address B2B customers with our digital signage solutions. We don’t discriminate on industry or company size, instead our marketing agenda aims to convince the target audience with the benefits of digital signage and position ourselves as innovative pioneers in entrepreneurship.
  3. Communication channels: Besides our blog, we primarily use B2B channels because they best fit our target audience. We communicate via LinkedIn, use cases, workshops, and the FRAMR blog.
  4. Internal vs. external expertise: We rely on both internal and external expertise. With internal strengths we ensure fast communication within the team and with external marketing support we “buy” the necessary know-how to do so.
  5. Distribution: Two up to three articles are published on our blog every month. In addition, we post one LinkedIn post per week, publish guest posts on other websites for link-building, have already published case studies and regularly participate in knowledge-sharing events.
  6. Metrics: To measure the success of our software marketing, we consider website traffic, number of purchases, and completed subscriptions.

What are use cases? Definition and examples

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Ideas for your software marketing

  • Blog articles on industry-specific topics
  • Use case studies to show results of your work
  • Explainer videos
  • Google Ads campaigns with keywords targeting the search intent of the target audience
  • Free use of your software for a certain period of time
  • Live webinars to explain your software
  • Postings on Google MyBusiness
  • Digital brochures

Looking for more sustainable ideas? Then be sure to read our blog article on the best content formats – you’ll find valuable tips and tricks for implementing your software marketing strategy and which tools will help you do it.

 

This is how much marketing budget you need

The cost of good marketing has skyrocketed. Before digitization, people were less able to get information and it was correspondingly easier to sell products or services. But in the information age, different rules apply and your target audience has several touch points with your offer before they even develop interest. This is partly due to the growing competition, but also because access to information through search engines like Google is now available and your target group uses this offer. Because of that, you need to provide your audience with good content to spark curiosity, answer important questions, and get them to interact with your business.

How much budget you need to allocate to your marketing depends on several factors, including which channels you use or whether you cooperate with a freelancer or agency. Experience shows that the set-up phase with strategy development, setting up social media profiles, web design with texts and logo creation already costs well over 10,000 €. In addition, there are monthly costs for content, SEO and social media, which costs between 2,000 € and 5,000 €, depending on the factors mentioned.

 

Conclusion: Software marketing unfolds your potential

There is no question that marketing is one of the most important areas for the successful implementation of a business idea. There are high investments involved, but the long-term goal is a positive return-on-investment and most companies achieve this by working out a good strategy in the first step.

But that’s exactly the point: The first step requires a good strategy to set the stage for successful software marketing. The six steps from this article will help you establish your innovative idea on the market and set you apart from your competitors.

Pictures: © Canva.com

Chatbots: Virtual salesman or just a better FAQ section? 994 537 Lukas Aumair

Chatbots: Virtual salesman or just a better FAQ section?

Many companies are banking on the strengths of chatbots, but how useful are they in 2023?

In this article:

  1. What is a chatbot?
  2. The B2B sector is not interested into chatbots
  3. Chatbots solve three big problems of businesses
  4. More than 85 percent of users report about good experiences
  5. What are the challenges of using chatbots?
  6. This is how you successfully use artificial intelligence for your business
  7. Conclusion: Are chatbots THE communication tool of the future?

 

The most important information in a nutshell:

  • Chatbots help automize business processes and also use them for lead generation (for example)
  • According to surveys, the use of AI on websites has a positive impact on the user experience
  • Care must be taken to use chatbots in a GDPR-compliant manner

 

Customer service, good communication and user experience – these three aspects are some of the most important competitive factors. In 2022 the main focus isn’t necessarily on the most unique product or the best priced services (although this is important!), what matters is the “How” not the “What”. 

Consumers and B2B clients know that they have a wide choice on the market and they can request an offer with just a few clicks. This is why businesses regularly look for ways to build a communication channel early and to stand out against their competitors. One strategy is particularly popular in the B2C sector: The use of chatbots.

This communication tool has existed since the end of the 1960s, but in its full functional version most businesses have first started to use the chatbot in the past ten years. Reasons for that are the automation of communication processes and the fast execution of customer inquiries.

But are chatbots useful in the first place? And how can businesses take advantage of artificial intelligence? What are possible challenges?
In the following we will take a closer look at these questions and which role chatbots will play in the future of B2B businesses. So much in advance: Chatbots solve three of the biggest challenges of businesses.

Common uses of AI

First, the definition: What is a chatbot?

A chatbot is a text based dialogue system which uses artificial intelligence to communicate in natural language. Users, for example website visitors, can ask questions and the chatbot answers in either text or audio format.
The application areas are diverse. Chatbots can answer questions about products but can also generate leads and communicate with potential applicants. Also for the industries there are no limitations – both the financial sector and personnel service providers as well as software businesses equally take advantage of the possibilities of artificial intelligence.

The emphasis here is deliberately on “artificial intelligence” because there are rule based chatbots with predefined commands as well. Such dialogue systems are based on the classic FAQ format because users can choose a question and the chatbot then displays the predefined answer. Through the use of artificial intelligence the chatbot works independently and is even able to have complex dialogues with users.

 

The B2B sector is not interested into chatbots

A study shows that only 58 % of B2B businesses used chatbots in 2021*. Considering the current development of digital communication, this number might come as a surprise but it does not come from nowhere. Most B2B businesses reach out to their audience and acquire them by phone or by using facebook ads. For this approach the term “Outbound marketing” was invented.

The opposite is inbound marketing, so that interested parties reach out to a business, for example by searching for a specific blog article topic or by subscribing to social media channels. Because of google ads and SEO this became a strongly relevant approach which is supported by chatbots because of their interaction with customers. An example for what the process could look like: Interested parties search for a service and on the website they are provided with help by the chatbot which answers relevant questions regarding advantages and features / characteristics. Afterwards, the chatbot offers an appointment and the potential client then is given the opportunity to leave contact details.

Here it becomes clear that AI is perfect for lead generation and to support marketing strategies.

 

→ But why do only a few B2B businesses use chatbots then?

 

In outbound marketing, the use of chatbots is quite limited. For example, it is possible that businesses win attention for their services by using facebook ads and the chatbot helps to communicate with website visitors which got in touch with the business through these ads. However, the strategy of companies often provides for clarifying important questions directly via the advertisement, so that interested parties get in touch with a Call-To-Action and therefore without even visiting the website.

Marketing via chatbots is also difficult for complex and high-priced services. These require targeted marketing, in which individual questions must be answered and decision-makers must also be convinced on a personal level. This is hardly possible with a chatbot because the AI recognizes customer needs only to a certain extent and therefore can’t respond to individual wishes.

Article → What are use cases? Definition and examples

 

It would be wrong to claim that chatbots are not worth it in the B2B sector. The communicative support of chatbots delps decisively with marketing of products and services because the AI answers about 80 percent of all standard questions regarding usage and features. Lastly, many products or services aren’t only bought or claimed because of their characteristics but also because of good communication which is often a decisive factor for potential customers to start a cooperation.

On top of that, businesses save valuable resources by using chatbots which can be used otherwise – through automated communication, the focus of internal strengths remains on core competencies. Furthermore the functions of AI ensure versatile communication with answering individual questions and therefore, chatbots are much more than a FAQ section which only answers standard questions.

Advantages of chatbots

Since the beginning of our online presence, we at FRAMR. have integrated a chatbot on the website and use it to maintain communication with interested parties. Questions about our offer are answered easily and, above all, individually. Although the software and the functions of digital signage require explanation, we have no problems with communicating via a chatbot. In our case, the concept has even proven itself as a “virtual salesperson” and provided decisive advice to new customers. 

Especially interesting is the combination of digital signage and chatbot for the retail sector. As a virtual assistant, the AI helps with requests on information terminals and navigates customers independently. Thanks to digital signage, customers are provided with a centralized navigation point and the chatbot automizes the support completely. This interaction will digitize customer service as far as possible in the future and businesses will be able to save a lot of costs.

 

Chatbots solve three big problems of businesses

Let’s face it: everyone has heard about the benefits of chatbots. Answering questions, communicating with users in an automated way and freeing up company time are just three of many benefits of the AI. But one issue is rarely addressed:

 

→ What business challenges do chatbots solve? 

 

The change in entrepreneurship comes with many challenges and what didn’t matter only a few years ago, belongs to the basic pillars in competition now. Three of these challenges are accessibility, automated lead generation and cost savings in customer communication through digital applications.

Due to the given possibilities of a chatbot, the individual communication with customers is easier and even complex matters can be clarified. When chatbots got available for websites, applications primarily had the use to answer predefined questions. That might have been a user friendly approach in comparison to a FAQ section but companies weren’t really relieved. But that has changed and in 2023 chatbots ensure an uncomplicated dialogue with (potential) customers through which the personnel expenses are reduced and costs are saved.

In addition, the dialogue with website visitors allows them to query personal data to directly reach out to (potential) customers. If an interested party, for instance, wants to know more about the services of a business, the chatbot can offer an individual calculation in the dialogue. The potential client then provides his e-mail-address or telephone number and companies can create an offer.

Chatbot communication

But it’s not always just the resources that count – especially in online marketing, it plays a decisive role in how intuitive and user-friendly the handling of an application is. Accessibility is therefore focused by many businesses. In addition, barrier-free functions have become a SEO criteria and will also improve the findability of websites.

Using chatbots to support people with disabilities deviates from the classic concept of a dialogue system and provides assistance. Such functions can, for example, expand the size of letters on a website, fade out content on terminals (to reduce distractions), read out loud texts or display graphics more viewable.

 

More than 85 percent of users report about good experiences

Not only do chatbots provide businesses with advantages and chances, they also improve user experience. Statistics / surveys determined the following results:

  • About 30 percent of users are interested into AI based applications
  • One third of all users prefer communication with a chatbot
  • 64 percent of website visitors specify that they like the idea of a 24 hours customer service
  • More than 50 percent of surveyed said that chatbots positively influenced the experience with a business

Source: https://www.smallbizgenius.net/

Due to the growing possibilities with artificial intelligence, it is to expect that user experience will improve further. Customers expect higher and higher standards and everyone wants durable as well as user-friendly support – chatbots meet these requirements. Companies, even in the B2B sector, should keep these statistics in mind because they show the potential of automated communication.

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What are the challenges of using chatbots?

The usage of chatbots comes with many advantages but also challenges. One of them is the aspect of data security. In general, chatbots don’t violate the GDPR but there are important requirements to fulfill to ensure the protection of personal data. Don’t forget: The GDPR compliant use of chatbots is not only in the interest of business security, but also influences the trust relationship with your website visitors and (potential) customers.

Another challenge concerns communication. Chatbots can only recognize human emotions in dialogue to a limited extent and even individual exchanges cannot be compared to personal interaction because the chatbot largely responds with automated messages. While AI enables communication beyond standard questions, it cannot replace one-on-one exchanges. It would be too much to expect the same interaction possibilities from a chatbot as from a human but customers do want eye-to-eye-support. No emotions and limited dialog options make communication more difficult and this can lead to misunderstandings.

However, progress is being made in this area and chatbots can at least partially recognize emotions. A google engineer recently announced that one of the company’s AI systems is sentient and interacts on a human level.

 

 

This is how you successfully use AI for your business

Setting goals is the number one priority. Every business benefits from communication through a chatbot in some way, even when it can only answer standard questions. Ideally, a chatbot is involved in a marketing strategy to generate leads to collect personal data for reaching out to potential customers. Provide interested parties with the opportunity to ask for an individual offer or to send them a free calculation. This causes users to submit their phone number or mail address so that you can contact them afterwards.

Chatbots also come with some disadvantages you should consider. Some users see chatbots as rather critical because they might recognize an approach of businesses to save money and to prevent the individual, personal contact.
Besides that, chatbots don’t work for all kinds of products or services. For instance, luxury goods or high-priced products are difficult to market through AI because the target audience expects individual support to answer specific questions.

Lastly, using chatbots shouldn’t become such a complicated thing. Using AI has equally advantages for all kinds of businesses but not a huge impact on marketing strategies or KPIs. This is why we give you the following advice: Just try it! There is nothing you can do wrong with chatbots and you provide your target audience with an efficient way of communication.

 

Conclusion: Are chatbots THE communication tool of the future?

Chatbots ensure many advantages for businesses, especially in customer service. Software developers recognize this potential which is why the functions of chatbots are regularly expanded and improved. The individual dialogue allows a targeted communication which goes beyond the supporting functions of a FAQ section. Chatbots will not be able to replace human-to-human-interaction in foreseeable time but the progress is noticeable and businesses steadily automate their communication processes.

Especially interesting is the progress in accessibility. Here it becomes clear that chatbots can do more than just answering messages, they are also an interactive system to provide supportive functions.

To answer the first question of this article: Yes, chatbots are useful. They will probably never be a key factor for a purposeful marketing strategy but will definitely support it and facilitate customer communication. One forecast refers to the fact that the cost savings of companies using chatbots will amount to 2.5 billion euros by 2023. In addition, a marketing report by “Drift” found in a study that chatbots are the fastest growing medium for brand communication.

Usage of chatbots

This growth clarifies which role chatbots will play in the future and especially that companies see a lot of potential in automated communication processes. Another mentionable aspect is the cost-benefit-ratio. Chatbots ensure, as already mentioned, cost savings and many advantages, however the costs are only about 150 up to 1.000 euros per year! On top of that, integration and hosting barely takes time.

 

Sources:

*https://outgrow.co/blog/vital-chatbot-statistics

https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/chatbot-statistics/#gref

https://shanebarker.com/blog/challenges-and-benefits-of-ai-chatbots/#

25+ Top Chatbot Statistics For 2023: Usage, Demographics, Trends

What are use cases? Definition and examples 994 537 Christian

What are use cases? Definition and examples

Below you will learn everything you need to know about use cases. Definition, advantages, examples and more.

In this article:

  1. Uses cases Definition
  2. What are the benefits of use cases?
  3. How to write use cases?
  4. Important questions for formulation
  5. These are the advantages
  6. Use cases in practice
  7. Use Case Examples
  8. Final advice for usage
  9. Conclusion
  10. FAQ

 

In a nutshell:

  • Use cases are application scenarios which describe the externally visible behavior of a system from the user’s perspective.
  • There are two known approaches for use case scenarios.
  • The goals of use cases should be specified as good as possible.

 

Use Cases: Build the fundament for your product- or business development

What must a system do? This is a question that keeps many companies busy when developing new products or ideas. The integration of new systems, participants and system borders provide a good overview in the stage of development, even for systems with more complex requirements. This ultimately ensures that there are no unexpected hurdles or even serious errors when using an application.

Discribtion of a use-case

Use cases: Beneficial for a variety of systems | source: canva.com

The opportunities to perform use cases are different but many like to use diagrams because they give a good overview. Other than that, diagrams come with the advantage to give visual insights of details and relevant requirements. That results in the perfect fundament for development of your products or business models. Before that, it’s important to know what use cases are and which benefits businesses have, how the requirements are defined and what use cases look like in practice.

 

Use cases Meaning

Use cases describe the documentation of system functions. It doesn’t matter if the system exists or if it’s still in the stage of planning, because regardless of this, the goal is pursued to describe the externally visible behavior of the system from the user’s perspective.

Users don’t necessarily need to be real persons, even systems and roles can be participants for use cases. These participants interact with a system to reach a pre-defined goal. The process is carried out according to a defined sequence, taking into account alternative sequences.

Originally, use cases were often applied in software development. As the requirements of processes within a system increased regardless of the industry, use cases are applicable in many different areas.

 

What are business use cases?

Business use cases are a specified variety of classic application cases and describe the interaction with business processes or business units. Stakeholders define goals and business use cases help to understand these goals and to elaborate them. One concrete difference between classic application cases and business use cases is the duration – system use cases are normally completed within a short period of time whereas business use cases take between several weeks or even months.

 

What are the benefits of use cases?

Use cases always pursue a goal, mostly the optimization of existing systems. That comes with the danger that the use case might end up in failure or even demolition. The interaction between participant and system pursues the goal to consider all eventualities and possible scenarios within a system in order to determine the necessary requirements. These scenarios aren’t always defined precisely which often leads to interruptions during the stage of testing. That causes higher costs through which use cases are interrupted or only partly completed. Basically, the benefit is to optimize systems from a participant’s point of view but a pre-defined goal isn’t always reachable because a few of the tested scenarios end with the result that not all requirements are fulfilled.

Man stands in front of a visualized business strategy

Use cases: An important part of working strategies for systems of all kinds | source: canva.com

 

How to write use cases?

The original use case concept of Ivar Jacobson, which he created in 1987, can be divided in two different approaches.

The first approach is use case specification, which includes natural language information, so-called “narratives”. This information is written as a textual example and includes the following elements:

  • Name of the use case
  • Participants
  • Trigger event
  • Description of process
  • Detailed description of the single steps
  • Description of alternative processes
  • Conditions, that are relevant before and after the use case
  • Presentation of hurdles and possible mistakes

The second approach is the use case diagram. This approach is systematically the same but diagrams are easier to understand because of visualization. Another difference to use case specification is that descriptions aren’t only related to procedures but to connections between the quantity of use cases and involved participants.

The choice doesn’t have to be either specification or diagrams. Both methods and their approaches complement each other in the use case process and in combination they provide exact evaluation of goals to determine the requirements of a system.

Ready for take off?

Are you looking for an efficient way to improve communication in your company? Then only with the innovative digital signage software by FRAMR! Try it for FREE.

Important questions for formulation

To write a use case properly, you can use specific questions to create the process as effective as possible in order to reach the desired goal.

The following 10 questions help you to create use cases

  • Which participants use the system and what are their goals?
  • How complex are the requirements with which the participants have to deal?
  • Which goal must be achieved?
  • How often is the use case performed?
  • What are the requirements the use case has to fulfill?
  • What are the requirements for a successful execution?
  • Which scenarios are possible and what do alternative scenarios look like?
  • What are the possible mistakes of every step of the application case?
  • What are the different steps a participant has to go through?
  • What are the reactions of a system to the interactions of a participant?

 

What are the advantages of use cases?

First of all, use cases provide clarity. The interaction between participant and system ensures that the system behavior is communicated understandable for users and that the requirements of a system with relations are clear. Use cases are easy to create and understandable for all involved participants. That provides businesses with more flexibility in defining system goals and the following execution.

The good overview also grants insights into details, for example information about a use case or a system. These insights give participants a better orientation through which the requirements are better defined.

The interaction between specification and diagram also allows a transparent mediation of details, which, thanks to visualization, are easy to understand.

 

Use cases in practice

Relations, systems, participants – at first glance, use cases sound very theoretical. Asking for a more practical approach is therefore quite justified here. Principally, use cases always have a practical component because the objective provides for testing functions within a system. Application examples range from using a coffee machine up to software testing, which is why systematic functions fulfill all the requirements for a use case. Your take-away for the practical use is: Use cases always pursue a specific goal which tests the relation between system and participant. As soon as the requirements, so participant and system, are given, a use case is possible.

 

Use Case examples

To give you better insights into the practical side of use cases, we will take a closer look at an example for using a digital signage menu to complete an order in a restaurant.

Name of the use case: Using a digital signage menu in a restaurant and ordering food with it.

Participants: Two test subjects. One regularly goes out to eat at a restaurant, the other one for the first time.

Trigger Event: The digital signage menu is probably not intuitive enough.

Short description: Two participants test the functions of a digital signage menu, of which the operation probably has a mistake or is not intuitive enough.

Description of the single steps: The participant goes to the menu / hardware. He operates the hardware with his fingers and selects the dishes of choice. He reaches the checkout area via a field. He completes the order and pays.  The participant is assigned an order number.

Description of alternative steps: The participant accidentally chooses the wrong meal and has to go back to the start. He wants to leave the checkout area to expand his order.

Pre- and post-conditions: It should be possible to easily and intuitively place an order.

System boundary and mistakes: Touchscreen won’t accept the input correctly.

That was more of a simplified example but that doesn’t matter. With this example you should develop a feeling how use cases work in a practical manner and especially how they work. Particularly complex applications require a detailed description with many participants and pre-defined alternative scenarios.

Try it yourself: Think of a scenario that suits your business and write it down on paper! You will be surprised which alternatives you can think of and how precisely such a process can be described.

 

Final advice for usage

Planning and transparency are important for successful use cases. Provide the involved participants with all the relevant information and involve as many employees as possible. But more employees also means that processes become more complex. However, the results promise a more detailed description of requirements.

Take the perspective of the participants and what goals they pursue. Through that, you will recognize the relation between the involved participants and the system. Furthermore it is important to define the pre- and post-conditions. Here is to be defined exactly, which requirements need to be fulfilled at the beginning and at the end.

The more precisely the working processes are defined, the better. It is not recommended to use automated or standardized processes because they don’t ensure an individual judgment of requirements.

 

Conclusion

Use cases offer a good opportunity to define systems and their functionality and to understand them better. The complex requirements come with danger of failures or unexpected obstacles but with the help of use cases it is possible to foresee these eventualities, test them and optimize the involved processes. Especially the optimization of business processes comes with advantages because companies can consider the wishes and goals of stakeholders more precisely.

 

FAQ

Finally, we will answer frequently asked questions about use cases.

 

What do use cases look like?

There is no specific format which you have to consider when creating a use case. Usually, use cases are shown as diagrams or textual workflows. Both methods complement each other to determine the requirements for a system as accurate as possible.

 

What are the four types of use cases?

There are four different types of use cases: includes, extents, communicates and generalizes.

 

What is the trigger event in use cases?

The trigger event describes what causes the use case to start. There is no guarantee that the trigger event will happen but only an indicator that this event will lead the use case to start.

 

Sources

https://asana.com/de/resources/what-is-a-use-case

Pictures: © Canva.com

Hardware and Software: Differences and connections 1024 576 Christian

Hardware and Software: Differences and connections

Software and hardware – two terms which are often mentioned regarding IT and digitalization. But what do they mean and what are the differences?

In this article:

  1. Hardware and software: Differences and connections
  2. What is software?
  3. The different types of software
  4. What is hardware?
  5. What is the difference between hardware and software?
  6. The difference between hardware and software through the example of digital signage solutions
  7. What are the challenges of hardware and software?
  8. Conclusion

 

Hardware and software: Differences and connections

Software Development

The progress in software development is especially helpful for app founder teams | © Austin Distel

The advance of digital techniques establishes new terms. To be honest, “software” and “hardware” aren’t really new and have already been established in the language use about two decades ago but these terms come with several questions to answer. In the following article we will answer questions regarding hardware, software and their differences as well as future challenges.

What is software?

Most people associate the term “software” with computers and this isn’t particularly wrong. But actually, software is a general term for all executable programs and their associated data. In many cases, software describes a script which on the other hand describes the functions and usage of a software controlled device.

 

The different types of software

The question regarding the definition also comes with the question if there are different types of software. Short answer: Yes, there is, many actually. Following, we will take a closer look at the different types of software.

 

Open Source

Open source is a free to use software. The source of this type of software is freely accessible and can easily be changed or adjusted. Known examples of open source software is LibreOffice.

 

Embedded software

Embedded software is a software which is recorded into hardware. The actual danger here is that once software is embedded it is not possible to change it afterwards. Therefore, the software must be flawless. Good example for this type of software are central heating systems – the software is installed within the hardware and functions are predefined. Updates or individual changes aren’t possible afterwards.

 

Cloud based solutions

The biggest advantage of cloud based software solutions is the independence. Only a few years ago updates and maintenance needed to be done by the business the software was provided for but that has changed thanks to cloud based solutions. Central administration gives businesses the opportunity to be provided with regular updates without having to do them by themselves.

A good example for cloud based software solutions is digital signage – most digital screens are provided with cloud based software. Solutions such as FRAMR make working processes more flexible, individual and centralized. Centralized business processes save a lot of money in the long term and businesses can be sure that processes run reliably in the background and that performance will improve.

 

Packaged software

It’s probably the most known type of software. Packaged software provides the same solutions for every customer and for every business with only a few changes possible. Good examples are Microsoft Word and Microsoft excel. The actual challenge of these programs is to be compatible with many different systems. Everyone knows the regularly required updates of windows which mostly serve the purpose to fix errors or similar problems – the actual goal is to improve performance but also to make adjustments regarding the compatibility of different operating systems.

The separation of the different types of software can be specified further – often the different types of software are categorized into standardized software, industry software and individual software. Standardized software is often used by many different businesses (bookkeeping software for example), industry software mostly provides solutions for niche businesses (commercial sector for example) and individual software is specifically developed for one or only a few companies.

 

What is hardware?

Hardware describes the physical components of a computer system and serves as a “tool” for functionality of software. One distinguishes between internal and external hardware. Internal hardware are the invisible components (the inside of a computer for example), external hardware on the other hand are all devices which are outside of a computer.

Examples for internal hardware:

  • Processor
  • Power Adapter
  • Random access memory
  • Hard disk
  • Drives
  • Graphic card

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Internal hardware is actually physical as well but not touchable from the outside like external hardware. For example, the hard disk is in the inside of a computer and serves the functionality of the device.

Examples for external hardware:

  • Screen
  • Printer
  • Computer mouse
  • Keyboard
  • Fax machine

 

What is the difference between hardware and software?

Software describes the non-physical components and the executable programs of a computer device. Hardware on the other hand helps the functionality of software – hardware itself doesn’t have any impact on the functionality of a program but without hardware it’s not possible or only partly possible to use software. This is where physical components such as computer mouse, screen and keyboard come into play to support the usage of software.

 

The difference between hardware and software through the example of digital signage solutions

The difference between hardware and software is mostly shown through the example of computers but there are several other devices which are perfect examples of the combined usage of hardware and software. This will give you another perspective and further insights into the topic.

Digital signage software describes the usage of digital-visual screens to display video and picture content in a compact form. Mostly, you will find digital screens in malls. The content is displayed through a central source – therefore it’s usual that screens and programs are not provided by the same supplier because software can be installed into any screen device. A good example of the combination of hardware and software.

But one after the other. How does digital signage work if you consider the differences between hardware and software?

In the first step, software is important to display content on a digital screen. Our different FRAMR players fulfill these requirements because you can save, create and display content through them. It’s a cloud based software solution because maintenance and administration in general are executed through the usage of a cloud. FRAMR players are internal hardware devices at the same time because there are no processors and storage devices within the player itself.

What appears to be complicated at first glance, requires many different working processes and a well qualified team of programmers. The requirements of a good interaction between hardware and software comes with many little steps within the working process and the consideration of high technical standards. Optical elements also play an important role when you display content to make a good user experience possible.

FRAMR Directory

 

What are the challenges of hardware and software?

The change and progress in fields such as IT also changes the requirements of hardware and software. Especially the  software area comes with many new challenges – the importance of data security increases and B2B customers especially want data secure solutions. But not only are legal aspects to consider, there is also a lot of work to do in technical fields.

Businesses prioritize individuality and flexibility as well as easy to execute working processes. Here, software providers are responsible to offer centralized solutions which consider individual wishes at the same time.

The area of hardware isn’t directly impacted by technical changes. Technical requirements are to consider but even more important are the wishes of consumers and customers. Take screens as example: No business wants to use hardware which is on the technical level of 2015 – it must be modern but also better. The actual challenge lies within usage based elements (User experience, screen definition and easy usage of hardware for example).

 

Conclusion

The topic of hardware and software is a complicated one, especially because of the changing requirements in IT. There are many different types of software and what businesses want depends on the current events on the market. Currently, cloud based solutions such as digital signage software are highly demanded.

The choice of the right software depends on the goals of a business as well the individual requirements. Cloud based solutions offer the possibility to react fast on changes, packaged software is cheap and individual software solutions precisely fit the wishes and wants of a business (but are mostly much more expensive).

Pictures: © Canva.com

Content formats – Reach your target group with this advice 994 537 Linda

Content formats – Reach your target group with this advice

Content is king, every company is aware of that these days. But how do you use content formats to reach your target group?

In this article:

  1. How content rules the world of marketing
  2. Why businesses should expand their content strategy
  3. Which content formats are there?
  4. The versatility of content using the example of digital signage
  5. Important questions for a goal oriented content strategy
  6. The best content marketing tools
  7. Our final advice
  8. Conclusion 
  9. FAQ

 

The most important facts about content formats summarized:

  • There are a wide variety of content formats that combine their strengths
  • Which content formats companies use best depends on the target audience
  • Special marketing tools help to implement the content strategy

 

How content rules the world of marketing

Different trends dominate marketing depending on time and the circumstances. For a long time, print advertising was considered the best marketing method and every company took advantage of beautifully designed posters and flyers. This trend then was followed by TV commercials as the best advertising medium. Especially on TV shows with high audience ratings, businesses wanted to place their commercials to get more attention. Then there are the timeless advertising methods, such as word-of-mouth or trade fairs. However, during the times of the corona crisis, a rethink took place and trade shows in particular were not possible for about two years or could only be implemented under strict conditions. For a few years now, a new trend has been emerging as a result of digitalization, namely content marketing and because of the pandemic, more companies than ever before are relying on the strengths of dynamic online content.

Sign

Content: Part of every successful marketing strategy

No matter if social media or websites, businesses provide their platforms with content on a daily basis and use different kinds of content formats. Classic marketing methods such as trade fairs and print still belong to their portfolio but in the past years the trend developed in a different as well as clear direction. Blog articles, videos, designs, podcasts – good content has many faces and we will show you how you present content to your target audience.

 

Why businesses should expand their content strategy

A good content strategy has developed into a relevant competition factor in the past years. Companies with a strong online presence, be it through blog articles, podcasts or videos, benefit the most from the advantages of digital marketing. One of these advantages is the desired first page of google and other search engines. For many years it is known that google prefers websites which regularly post new and high quality content. But this rule doesn’t only apply to search engines, even the algorithms of platforms like YouTube prefer channels which regularly publish long and high quality videos. Content isn’t only about regularity, but especially about quality. 

Laptop screen which says

The right strategy ensures versatility when using different content formats

The steadily growing competition makes it kinda hard to establish a business in the digital world. Only about ten years ago there wasn’t any competition on keywords / google search terms and advertising content through paid ads (e. g. facebook) was much cheaper. But that belongs to the past because what matters in 2023 is a good strategy, variety, unique selling propositions and regularity. Businesses are in the position to provide their target audience with innovative content and not only to rely on proven strengths.

Moreover, content is the motor for automated marketing processes. Newsletter subscriptions or bookings for online courses always require content in the first step to build reach and to gain your target audience’s attention. Lead generation without the right content is impossible.

 

Which content formats are there?

Claims of the target audience are growing and businesses are in the position to think about innovative ideas to not provide generic content. The different content formats ensure variety to win over the attention of the target audience and to expand the online performance of your business.

 

Visual content

Nothing sticks in the minds of the target group as well as images or videos. They communicate emotions and the learning effect of informative content is bigger than with texts. The biggest advantage is that pictures are almost always used in combination with  different content formats or are at least useful – only through visualization social media posts unfold their effect, when reading blog articles the target group is provided with viewing material and even boring statistics get a nice optical makeover. The disadvantage of pictures is that content, which requires explanation, can’t be displayed. This is why we recommend a combination of text and pictures to combine the strengths of both content formats.

Videos come with a completely different disadvantage: The effort. Appealing videos require a good set-up, high quality equipment, safety in front of the camera and a final editing.

Advantages of visual content

  • User friendly
  • High learning effect
  • Emotionalizing

 

Disadvantages of visual content

  • Not barrier free
  • Displaying complex content almost not possible in picture format
  • Videos are very time consuming

 

Blog articles and text

When reading about the term “content” most people think of blog articles. That’s no surprise, because especially texts improve performance of a website, thus ensuring a good google ranking. That’s actually the reason why many businesses hire copywriters or even create jobs for that. Blogs are known for being the strongest medium to expand reach because the integration of the right keywords increases visitor numbers on websites and businesses win more customers through that.

An often overlooked advantage of texts is the accessibility of videos and pictures – web builders like wordpress come with the function to enter an alternative text as picture description which is read out in the event of charging difficulties or in the event of impaired vision.

Disadvantages appear with very extensive blog articles with poor content structure. Although search engines like to see informative blogs with good SEO, usability often gets lost when the table of contents is missing or there is no option left to go directly to the desired section. One example for that are websites with cooking recipes: Many bloggers expand recipes to holistic articles but don’t add a table of contents. Readers have to find the recipe by themselves and have to read through the complete text. This increases dissatisfaction with the blog, which in the worst case increases the bounce rate and worsens SEO performance.

Advantages of blog articles and text

  • Informative
  • Barrier free
  • Detailed presentation of complex content is possible

 

Disadvantages of blog articles and text

  • Not emotionalizing without pictures or videos
  • Bad navigation when table of contents is missing

 

Podcast

In comparison to the other content formats, podcasts were added relatively late, but are still part of the marketing portfolio of many businesses. At first, we want to clear up with a prejudice: Podcasts aren’t only good for storytelling or for freetime-stories because they communicate important information and knowledge on a very personal level. The speaker appears to be reachable for the target audience and through interviews listeners gain additional insights and hear different perspectives to a specific topic.

Podcasts are captivating and communicate knowledge in an almost entertaining way but for business growth they are less appropriate. There are exceptions as well but in most cases, a podcast isn’t part of a content strategy because listeners only rarely go from a podcast to the website and take advantage of a company’s offer.

Advantages of podcasts

  • Listeners build up a personal connection
  • Podcasts are entertaining
  • High learning effect
  • Longevity of content

 

Disadvantages of podcasts

  • Bad for conversions
  • High reach primarily in entertainment niches

 

Social media posts (engagement posts)

Social media combines the content formats text, pictures, videos and audio. On the different channels there is one separate content format which promises additional attention, namely so called engagement posts. The goal of these posts is to win the attention of your target audience through interaction. The social media channel instagram, for instance, makes it possible to ask surveys or to let subscribers participate in quizzes. Engagement posts signalize the target audience that you are interested in hearing their opinion. Other than that, you increase the engagement rate which has a positive impact on the social media performance and you get further insights into the wishes and desires of your target audience.

Advantages of social media engagement posts

  • Target audiences recognize that their wishes are considered
  • Good basis for market research
  • Provides for variety and more interaction

 

Disadvantages of social media engagement posts

  • Your target audience might recognizes that you only use engagement posts to collect more information about their user behavior

 

The different advantages of content formats

You shouldn’t start producing content right away, you should rather first think about which target audience you speak to. Blog articles, videos and freebies all work for most businesses but the desired goals are different. Blogs build reach in the first step, freebies on the other hand are for people who have already been in touch with businesses.

With the other content formats, you have to carefully weigh up to what extent they are worthwhile. Live events or webinars are primarily for B2B customers and podcasts are more interesting for a younger audience which place high value on variety in content.

 

The versatility of content using the example of digital signage

How dynamic and varied content is, can be shown on the example of digital signage. The technology of digital billboards ensures the display of different content formats, no matter if it’s audio, video, picture or text. Applications differ and depending on the target audience, there are different opportunities. Restaurants show contents of a menu, clothing stores advertise their products and administration offices provide their staff with information. What matters at the end is the target audience – therefore, it’s less about which content format a business uses, but which persons they target with it.

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Important questions for a goal oriented content strategy

  • Who is my target audience?
  • Is the goal of my company to expand reach or to generate leads?
  • Which content format normally works for my niche?
  • Which personnel do I need for the implementation?
  • With which costs do I have to calculate?
  • Which content marketing tools are used
  • How big is my team and what are its strengths?
  • What are current trends and how can I consider them for my strategy?
  • Does my content strategy consider eventualities and possible changes in trends?
  • How often do we post new content?

 

The best content marketing tools

To provide your target audience with good content, the right marketing tools are necessary. The palette reaches from design tools to applications for keyword research. The diversity of applications is growing and promises businesses the opportunity to execute their plans in content marketing. Following, we have listed the best marketing tools and how they can help you to execute your marketing strategy.

content marketing tools

 

Overview of the best content marketing tools:

  • Canva
  • Photoshop
  • Illustrator
  • Ahrefs
  • Audacity
  • Later
  • Vegas Pro
  • Asana
  • Google Drive

 

Canva: The design tool for everyone

Most design tools require specific knowledge and pose a great challenge, especially for beginners. The developers of the service Canva had an innovative idea: To transmit the concept of a website builder to the creation and design of content. Canva doesn’t require installation and you don’t have to create designs out of nowhere – instead, the application works directly through the website and there are thousands of design templates available for inspiration.

The best thing about the tool: Canva is user friendly and intuitive. Designs for social media posts are provided in the right format and can be shared directly through canva.

 

Adobe illustrator and photoshop: The design tools for pros

Canva is known as a solution for everyone who doesn’t design a lot. The modular format expands regularly, but finds its limit when creating certain content (e.g. logos). The programs of Adobe still count as the biggest challenge for designers and give a lot of space for creativity. Photoshop is mainly used for picture editing, illustrator for logos and vector graphics. At first, these applications require some practice, but once you are trusted with the programs of Adobe, you will create stunning and unmatchable designs.

 

Ahrefs: Keyword research made easy

Experienced texters know that nowadays it’s not enough to choose a topic and work on its content, because it is the keywords which matter the most. Ahrefs is a good solution for that because it’s a user-friendly and professional tool for keyword research. During research you are suggested many different keywords and W-questions, furthermore the tool offers the opportunity to analyze websites and their integrated keywords and to compare the performance of your own website with the one of your competitors.

 

Audacity: Editing audio files uncomplicated and for free

Podcasts inspire people – they communicate emotions, are accessible from everywhere and listeners can expect exciting content about specific topics. There are many programs to edit audio files but one of them has particularly proved itself: Audacity. The application is for free and ensures fast as well as uncomplicated editing of audio files. And don’t you dare to think that a free-to-use program can’t be good – Audacity provides you with all needed functions, no matter if it’s changing volume or reducing background noises. The only weakness lies in editing the details of an audio file (e.g. frequency settings or sound features). Those who don’t want to miss that out rather use a chargeable software such as Adobe audition.

 

Later: Plan your content

A good editorial plan is especially helpful for businesses with a long term and extensive content strategy. To ensure that you don’t lose the overview, a planning tool such as Later is recommended. The application allows precisely timed planning and sends reminders, so that you won’t forget to upload a post on social media channels. The biggest advantage is automation because with a membership you’re provided with the advantage to upload social media posts without having to do it by yourself.

 

Vegas Pro: Videos with style and quality

Among free-to-use software for video editing there is not a lot you can choose from. The well known Windows Player isn’t part of the integrated programs on microsoft computers anymore and doesn’t provide any mentionable editing functions for videos. With Vegas Pro it’s a different story. At first, the tool might cause you some troubles because of all the different things you can do. However, once you get familiar with the program, you don’t want to use a different one to edit your videos.

 

Asana: Organize your team

Complex content strategies involve many different parties – you need someone for design, social media texts, blogs, SEO and websites. To make sure that there are no overlaps, centralized organization through a project management tool such as Asana helps you. The main advantage is that all involved parties can easily communicate with each other, have access to all to-dos and get a precise overview of all the deadlines to meet. For a team of two or three, tools like Asana aren’t really helpful but for bigger projects it’s almost a must.

 

Google Drive: Save your data uncomplicated

Cloud storages such as Google Drive make working in a team easier. Before the times of cloud services, the parties involved in a project had to send the content to each other and save it on their end device. When there were problems with the device, content was gone as the worst case scenario. Thanks to cloud services like Google Drive this isn’t a problem anymore because the content is stored in an area freely accessible to all involved parties and can be accessed from everywhere.

 

Our final advice: Consider the details

Creating content and using the right format is not everything. To produce good content, you need an eye for details – the wrong picture format leads to a loss in quality and if you choose the wrong color channel in photoshop, you show your social media audience group a faded picture. We recommend you to double check your content before you publish it. Not only optical mistakes cause problems, grammar mistakes or maximal lengths of videos might cause trouble as well. It is best to deal with the requirements in advance and finally check everything again.

 

Conclusion

Without content you limit your chances of performing successful marketing. Through social media and the variety of websites, users get in touch with different types of content everyday, which wins over their attention and delivers added value. Businesses are in the position to provide new and innovative content, also to save a better position in search engines such as google and bing. But even in different areas, digital signage for instance, different types of high quality content are the key to win over your target audience.

 

FAQ

Lastly, we will answer some of the most frequently asked questions about content formats and how to attract your target audience with it.

 

What is a content creator?

A content creator handles the creation of content for a company’s marketing. This includes blog articles, designs for social media and videos.

 

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is a branch of marketing and deals with the creation as well as the publication of qualified content. The goal is to get attention of one’s target group through content and to convey added value.

 

What is canva?

Canva is a design tool in a modular format that is used directly from the website. Users have a variety of templates at their disposal that they can use and edit.

 

Pictures: © Canva.com

Software Development: The Future of Marketing? 512 341 Christian

Software Development: The Future of Marketing?

Software development has always paved the way for innovation and new trends. But what influence will it have on marketing in the future?

In the last two and a half years there was a change of direction in marketing and how businesses reach their audiences. I’m not talking about social media or paid ads here (although they did and do matter!) – no – I’m referring to the impact of software development on marketing and customer experience. And if you’re only thinking of mobile games now, you will be surprised which possibilites are there actually and how businesses use them in the “post-covid” era to generate more quality leads and to reach a much broader audience. One thing in advance:

Creative software development solves one of the biggest problems businesses face these days and that is to win over and keep the attention of their audience as well as to improve user experience.

LED Text

© Clark Tibbs

To be honest, digital transformation started long before covid but there are some things that have changed. Almost everyone with basic knowledge in marketing is aware of the impact social media or digital sales funnels have and software development is also involved in those methods. But do you actually know how software development is currently used to reach a broader audience? To generate more quality leads? Or to improve user experience? No? Don’t be worried, I got the information you need!

 

Gamification for active leads

Nobody can’t resist a fun game, right? Sure, in the introduction I mentioned it’s not only about mobile games but we have to take a closer look to see the actual purpose behind this marketing strategy. Gamification isn’t necessarily about playing a game, it’s about creating an experience with a company in a game-like style. Some agencies offer “Software as a service” solutions to let clients create their own games to improve interactions with their target audience. The opportunities range from surveys to personality tests, memory or quizzes. These are excellent ways to generate leads and to keep up the interest of the ones who have already been in touch with a business. Especially small insurance offices or finance companies should take a closer look at gamification to make their services more appealing to a younger audience and to improve interactions with the business.

But not only small businesses take advantage of gamification. In fact, case studies of marketing agencies prove that regardless of niche, size or stage of sales funnel, gamification improves ROI and customer experience.

Web Design Entwurf

© Faizur Rehman

Digital Signage to boost attention and sales

Aren’t you tired of passing by a shop and seeing nothing outstanding or significant? Maybe not but it’s fair enough to say that many shops don’t show anything outstanding when you pass them by. This might not be the case for any modern upcycling shops but definitely for clothes stores which have many competitors around.

Digital signage takes an innovative approach to solve this (and many other) challenges. Seeing a computer screen displaying content with high quality designs/pictures is much more appealing than seeing the products through a window. But this is just one advantage, the actual strength of digital signage is to use the KI to reach a broader audience. 

Times Square

© Mathias Arlund

 

Here is how it works: The attention span of a human being lasts not longer than 7 up to 8 seconds before we get attracted or reach out for something new – with digital signage, the opportunity to display new content after this time span is given and makes the target audience continuously curious about more information. One slide is shown for 7 seconds, then the next for 7 seconds and so on.

But that’s not all: With the right software development, businesses can display content based on data around the target audience. Let’s say, in the morning there are primarily people between the ages of 30 and 35 visiting the shop and in the afternoon there are mainly visitors between the ages of 18 and 20. After getting access to this data (through market research for example), businesses can use digital signage to display content how it suits the customer’s wishes. When a business figures out that they reach a younger audience during the afternoon, they can set up the software to display content which fits the needs of this specific target group. It’s the perfect combination of good appearances and target group oriented marketing. 

 

 

 

Do you want to get further insights into digital signage and how it works? You want to know more about the functions and possible applications? Say no more! Just take a look at THIS page and you will figure out everything you want to know. FRAMR is a high quality software for digital signage and provides all kinds of businesses with functions to improve customer experience. BUT: That’s not all because this is only one way to use the software. Just have a closer look, I’m sure you will be surprised about what you can do!

 

Food delivery apps as USP

Getting your food at home has been a thing long before covid but let’s face it: All of us got their burgers or that nice selection of sushi delivered home in times of lockdown much more often than before. And this is actually confirmed by statistics which prove that big suppliers could raise their sales ever since the pandemic started. (see picture below)

Normally, restaurants use such third party suppliers to deliver their food but to stand out against competitors a new trend is rising: Creating an own delivery app.

Statistik Food Delivery 2020

 

As already mentioned, it’s not new that businesses launch their own apps. However, it’s more common that restaurants rely on third party suppliers for delivering food because it’s easier to reach a broad audience and costs less. But at the same time restaurants look for ways to stand out against their competitors which is why some gastros want to create their own delivery app.

With the rising competition it’s important to find ways to improve customer experience and to boost reputation. Finding an outstanding unique selling proposition isn’t easy for restaurants either, especially for the ones that don’t offer a specific kind of food or unique services. Because of that, they often rely on promises regarding price and good taste. But let’s be honest, these are promises which are given by the majority of restaurants.

Providing an application to deliver food is a great way to create an unique experience which is why some small restaurants already rely on it. Expanding reach and winning over customers’ attention for the app might be hard at the beginning but once you get on track it’s a great way to build customers loyalty and to provide them with special rewards to even compete with big third party suppliers.

Lieferando Werbung

© CardMapr.nl

A future perspective on software development in marketing

Ever since online marketing has been a thing, software development has had an impact. I’m not only talking about trends and the big changes as mentioned in this article, I’m also referring to all newsletter automation services or tools that help to improve customer experience. This is by far the biggest advantage of marketing software: The impact on the customer. If you consider the rising competition and the shortening attention span of people, businesses have no other choice but to find ways to improve customer experience and to win over the attention of their target audience. Social media and a stunning website take care of that too but with the given possibilities in software development there is just much more possible. And good user experience often means getting a good ROI, which is something all businesses strive for.

To answer the opening question about the future impact: Creative ideas will always do something good. No matter if it’s for businesses or their customers. In the next few years we will be introduced to new trends and tools which is why the best advice I can give is to stay tuned and be ready for change. Not all businesses will equally take advantage of all software applications but chances are high that companies which dare to apply new ways of doing things will stand out and ensure a stronger position on the market.

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You think you don’t need those strategies?

You don’t think the mentioned trends won’t help your marketing strategy in any way? Then you better give it a try! It’s easy to say “my clients don’t have any experience with that” or “Nobody needs that” before actually trying it. It’s a common practice on the market to present something and only THEN it will be mentioned. So, who cares if none of your competitors hasn’t used one of the strategies from this article yet? BE THE CHANGE and strengthen your position on the market.

Now get out there and offer (potential) customers something they haven’t seen or experienced before!

Pictures: © Canva.com

What is monitoring? Advantages, requirements & more 890 593 Linda

What is monitoring? Advantages, requirements & more

Monitoring is becoming increasingly relevant for the supervision of business processes. In our article you will find out more about advantages, data protection and co.

In this article:

  1. Monitoring: Supervision of business processes becomes increasingly relevant
  2. What is monitoring?
  3. How does monitoring work?
  4. Overview of the different types of monitoring
  5. What does remote maintenance mean?
  6. Digital signage monitoring: What are the opportunities for businesses?
  7. The advantages and disadvantages of monitoring
  8. Which monitoring software is available?
  9. Data protection: The legal situation
  10. What should be included in a maintenance contract?
  11. Conclusion
  12. FAQ

 

The most important information in a nutshell:

  • Monitoring describes a process of documentation, guarantee of safety and evaluation of data
  • Supervision of these processes is an important indicator to figure out key numbers in business
  • There are different types of monitoring
  • To avoid possible misunderstandings in data security, a maintenance contract is recommended

 

Monitoring: Supervision of business processes becomes increasingly relevant

Thanks to the given possibilities of digitalization, working processes of businesses become more efficient. For example, software automates processes and saves costs. But the advantages don’t only become visible in the usage of modern working methods but in their measurability too. FRAMR gives further insights into the advantages of monitoring and what businesses have to consider when choosing the right methods.

Software monitoring

Not only interesting in the blockchain sector: Software monitoring | © Behnam Norouzi

 

What is monitoring?

The term “monitoring” pretty much means “supervision” and describes all processes to measure and evaluate specific data under use of technical tools.

The controlled processes depend on industry and area of operation. A common goal of monitoring is to capture, measure and observe business related working processes to provide safety and quality standards. Aspects of safety are especially important because a detail oriented supervision of technical processes provides the possibility to prevent software failures and execute updates fastly.

Almost every industry is provided with advantages of monitoring and the possibilities of supervision are broadly diversified. Monitoring is used in the industries of medicine, digital signage, search engine optimization and finances. Usage and goals depend on the industry. Monitoring provides many attractive options in online marketing because businesses get further insights into relevant KPIs and therefore can optimize their processes successively.

 

How does monitoring work?

Basic requirement of monitoring is the connection between software and network infrastructure so that the desired processes can be measured. To guarantee flawless functionality, modern and foremost high quality technique is required.

Through the usage of monitoring software, businesses are given the possibility to collect and evaluate specific data. But in the foreground is not necessarily the evaluation of KPIs but, for example, the supervision of hardware and network infrastructure.

In most cases businesses claim services of third parties of the IT industry. In exchange for money they receive a license which allows them to use monitoring software. As monitoring programs are hard to operate, an induction phase or internal workshop is necessary. Alternatively, there remains the option of remote maintenance, whereby the entire monitoring infrastructure is provided by an external provider.

 

Overview of the different types of monitoring

There are different types of monitoring. Mostly, monitoring is divided into three categories: Business, customer and market monitoring. This separation can be further specified (for example, website monitoring). Following, we will give descriptions of the most commonly used methods.

 

Application Performance Monitoring

The goal of application performance monitoring is to check functionality of applications and programs to improve user experience. Different options are available to achieve this goal. The used tools help to determine flaws and attain important information about data transmission speed.

 

Business Transaction Monitoring

As the name reveals, business transaction monitoring is all about supervising business processes. The goal is to optimize these processes which are directly connected to business transactions. A good example for that is the ordering process of an online shop and online payments.

 

System Monitoring

The goal of system monitoring is to review performance of a computer. Important measurements are determined in the first step, for example the performance of a network or the available amount of storage space. Under consideration of these aspects, the evaluation follows in the next step.

 

What does remote maintenance mean?

In connection with monitoring, another term is often mentioned: Remote maintenance. That means the administration of monitoring software is provided by a central location and external access to software as well as hardware is possible. Good and reliable hosting is essential because technical difficulties and required updates may lead to failures. 

An often used method of remote maintenance is cloud monitoring. The centralized data backup through cloud based solutions comes at lower risk because software and other technical applications work without internet connection as well. Other than that, cloud computing provides high safety standards because administration is provided by a professional protected data center.

Cloud computing

Cloud computing: A meaningful method for businesses – safety and regular updates are guaranteed! | © Caspar Camille Rubin

 

Digital signage monitoring: What are the opportunities for businesses?

Digital signage is often used in marketing and for good reason. The screens, assuming they are used as digital billboards, enable fast reaction times and the flexible customization of displayed content on a changing target group (in shopping malls for example). That creates potential for optimization in marketing based on KPIs.

But the amount of advantages reaches even further: Providing information through a central station and regular updates on a server expand the functions for all screens.

Remote maintenance is particularly useful for digital signage because digitized business processes require flawless functionality. The worst case scenario occurs when someone, for example, uses an information terminal and it doesn’t work or a player / signage device is offline and nobody notices that it’s not provided with new content. Cloud computing eliminates problems like these because regular updates and maintenance are provided by an external supplier who controls the events.

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Our products convince with the following advantages:

  • Maximum performance
  • High flexibility
  • Independency
  • Safety
  • Storage space
  • Connection with leading hardware brands

 

But that’s not all! Our subscriptions promise a huge diversity of functions and modules. Administration and maintenance is provided by a strongly performing as well as GDPR compliant cloud. Updates, troubleshooting and other important changes is what you receive with a license. High quality is guaranteed and you can concentrate on your business.

 

What are the advantages of monitoring?

The advantages of monitoring are better quality and more safety of supervised processes. Other than that, monitoring provides a fast reaction to sudden failures as well as to maintenance and updates. Using monitoring for marketing comes with many advantages too because relevant KPIs are easier to evaluate.

Overview of the advantages of monitoring:

  • Providing safety
  • Evaluate marketing KPIs
  • Recognizing potential for improvement
  • Execute updates
  • React fast on software failures
  • Providing important functions
  • Prevention

Provide safety

With targeted monitoring, necessary maintenance work is carried out while maintaining high safety standards.Monitoring prevents the disruption of internal business processes and ensures smooth processes.

 

Evaluate marketing KPIs

Digitalization creates measurability. Evaluated data and results can be analyzed directly thanks to the usage of monitoring. Measuring relevant data has a significant impact on following events within a company and decision makers can determine important economical steps based on evaluated data.

 

Recognizing potential for improvement

Optimization not only concerns economical factors but also aspects of safety. In fact, businesses have the advantage to optimize all processes, no matter if it’s documentation, expanding technical systems or response time to possible problem fixes.

 

Execute updates

Updates provide better performance of technical processes as well as they ensure keeping up with required standards. For software, functions can often only be used to a limited extent if important updates are not carried out.

 

React fast on software failures

Software failures can’t be prevented completely. Targeted supervision ensures fast reaction and people in charge can get the system running again.

 

Providing important functions

This advantage concerns remote maintenance. When the portfolio of functions is updated, an uncomplicated expansion takes place through a central location. This means that updates do not have to be carried out independently or by an internal team – this is done by an IT service provider.

With remote maintenance, businesses take advantage of financial relief, because there are no additional personnel or training costs for hosting the monitoring software.

 

Prevention

More important than problem fixing is prevention of possible disruptions or obstacles. Problems or shortages in resources should not get fixed when they appear. Businesses rather recognize these problems early and react directly. Problems or failures are often a result of a row of incorrect processes and monitoring provides enough transparency here.

Monitoring

Measurability: One of the most important reasons for monitoring | © REEET Jank

What are the disadvantages of monitoring?

Data security is an important topic to consider and the number of warning letters because of personal data breach has increased in the past years. Monitoring is no gray zone as long as you use personal data responsibly. But that’s exactly the point: To prevent data privacy violations, a maintenance contract is necessary (keep reading!). In many collaborations it is exactly this aspect which is disregarded and ultimately leads to warnings or similar problems.

Another disadvantage is to keep yourself too busy with numbers, data and facts. Evaluations and measurable results are important but if businesses are too focused on determining KPIs and with documentation of relevant numbers then business related decisions might take too long.

For many people this doesn’t make sense because measurable results and numbers normally make decisions easier. But take a look at this from a different perspective: Imagine you have all the relevant data for your business processes and at the same time your team collects different ideas to execute or to improve business structures. The selection is big and that makes the decision harder. Information and measurability are good but too much information slows down the decision making process.

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Which monitoring software is available?

There are many different variants of monitoring software available on the market and mentioning all of them would take too long. Therefore, we will take a closer look at three types of monitoring: Software as service (SaaS), proprietary and open source.

 

Software as a service (SaaS)

Software as a service is defined by external administration of monitoring software through a third party provider. A subscription allows customers access to specific functions. The biggest advantage of SaaS monitoring is the potential money saving for businesses because it’s a remote maintenance through which IT services providers take care of updates, maintenance, installations and safety.

 

Proprietary monitoring

In case that monitoring is not carried out to an external IT service provider, license based options offer a good alternative. Proprietary monitoring means that businesses get access to monitoring software in exchange for a monthly fee. Required updates and problem fixing are ensured by the licensor.

 

Open source monitoring

Open source monitoring is similar to proprietary monitoring but with one significant difference: The provided tools are for free. However, less costs also means less quality. Necessary updates need to be done by businesses themselves and hosting might cause a problem when there is no qualified expert hired. Remote maintenance is highly recommended. That costs money but all in all it’s still cheaper than SaaS monitoring.

 

What is the difference between monitoring, reporting and controlling?

The terms monitoring, reporting and controlling aren’t synonyms although they sound similar.

Monitoring: Monitoring describes supervision of technical processes. It’s actually like a general term for all measurements and observations of processes within a system.

Reporting: Reporting prioritizes collecting and processing business related data such as KPIs. Companies record this data in so-called “reports” and use them to optimize processes. These reports don’t only consider economical factors but general information about a company.

Controlling: Controlling is part of business administration and deals with planning as well as with coordinating a company. It’s distinguished between strategic and operative controlling. Strategic controlling deals with market analyses and potential development of the market whereas operative controlling deals with organizing budget and makes decisions based on determined numbers to use resources more efficiently.

Basically, monitoring describes a general process. The goal is to get access to relevant numbers with support of technical devices. Reporting is more specific which collects information about a company. Controlling on the other hand is all about figuring out economically relevant numbers and making decisions based on that.

 

Data protection: The legal situation

Remote maintenance and connecting technical devices with external IT systems raises the question of data protection. The actual difficulty is that there is no law to specify that.

To prevent possible misunderstandings and data protection breaches, a maintenance contract is recommended. Such a contract not only regulates and determines rights and obligations but data protection aspects as well. The parties are free in creating the contract but some clauses should consider the legal situation and clarify the processing of personal data as well as secrecy about it.

 

What should be included in a maintenance contract?

A legally secure maintenance contract shouldn’t give any space for interpretations and clarifies the most important questions about the collaboration between companies.

These are the most important components of a maintenance contract at a glance*:

  • Maintenance item
  • Rights and duties of the contract parties
  • Contract period
  • Cancellation
  • Scope of services
  • Liability for defects and warranty
  • Maintaining

The components of a legally secure maintenance contract should be determined individually and based on the interests of both parties. There are templates to create such a contract but more efficiently is to talk to a lawyer. Violations against the GDPR cost a lot of money and legal consulting will clear things up. The risks reach much further because the majority of actions on the internet provide consent. With good legal consulting you are safe.

What is data management? Strategy, tasks & advantages

 

Our final recommendation: Use backup software

Using software always comes with risks even when developing teams keep up to high standards and qualified software testers check the end result. Still, we highly recommend performing a backup when using monitoring software. Backup software is an additional storage medium which creates a safety copy of existing data. Especially in monitoring, saving data can be an important factor because many evaluations (KPIs for example) are relevant for economic development of a business.

 

Conclusion

Monitoring makes working processes of companies easier and allows them to focus on their key business. Potential for saving money is especially possible in evaluation KPIs, although businesses shouldn’t focus on these numbers too much. Central administration makes it possible that business required applications are used safely and get updated regularly. In case of remote maintenance, a contract is highly recommended to clear up any misunderstandings regarding data protection.

 

FAQ

Lastly, we will answer frequently asked questions about monitoring and remote maintenance.

 

What are the 3 types of monitoring?

There are many different types of monitoring. The three most common ones are business, customer and market monitoring.

 

What is monitoring software?

Monitoring software helps companies to figure out business related numbers such as KPIs but also to measure technical processes and to prevent risks.

 

*Legal notice: All information in this article is for general information purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice in individual cases and cannot and should not replace such advice. 

 

Sources

https://www.acronis.com/de-de/articles/monitoring-tools/
https://www.juraforum.de/muster-vorlagen/wartungsvertrag

 

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