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How can CRM system help you and how to choose the best customer relationship management software?

How can CRM system help you and how to choose the best customer relationship management software?

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You are maybe trying to find the best CRM software program application platform now. But what is the best CRM tool? How to choose the best one? Are the most expensive CRMs the best option for you and what factors you should consider when you pick this new and very very expensive piece of software (which can push your company by many miles further or freeze it for many years)? Is it better to use cloud solutions with the pay-per-user model or free open source?

How CRM can help your company to grow?

Picking the very best CRM software program is critically essential to developing and maximizing sales customer connections. From gathering lead details to handling consumer data, the very best CRM software can assist you to satisfy your objectives. In this overview, I rated and examined the finest CRM software program, together with my top picks, so you can choose the best one for you.

The most effective is an application that can dramatically improve your company’s marketing and whole customer lead generation flow. It affects your marketing process, sales, revenue, costs, and many other areas of your company. So it is a crucial piece of software that can help you a lot (when you choose CRM software wisely and will not get stuck in the implementation).

This article compares several CRM choices to make your selection much easier. I tried to cover the whole pack – like what is the best CRM for freelancers or smaller companies, what free or paid CRMs are best for mid-size companies and what (and why) CRM uses by the biggest companies on the market.

But let’s start with the real basics – what are CRM and this abbreviation means?

CRM abbreviations/acronyms – what does it mean?

CRM means Customer Relationship Management software (this abbreviation term is mostly used all over the world in corporate companies).

CRM represents a set of software programs that let companies keep track of everything they do with their existing and potential customers.

New modern CRM represents a new way of combining technology and age-old business practices to deepen customer relationships. CRM can be defined in several ways, including:

  • A process to manage customer relationships in organized ways.
  • A business strategy designed to anticipate, understand, and respond to the needs of an enterprise’s customers.
  • An internal and external process to capture customer data and place it in a repository where it is analyzed, stored, and distributed to service representatives and customers.

    • At the simplest level, CRM software lets you keep track of all the contact information for the (B2G or B2B) customers. But CRM systems can do lots of other things, too, like tracking email, phone calls, and deals; sending personalized emails; scheduling appointments, and logging every instance of customer service and support. CRM enables companies to optimize their consumers’ experiences, increasing the probability of (re-)purchase, client lifetime value, and lowering costs.

    Some systems also incorporate feeds from social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others.

    The goal is to create a system in which sales have lots of information at their fingertips and can quickly pull up everything about a prospect or existing customer.

    Three acronyms that are synonymous with CRM, the business practice and the related technology, are:

  • CIM: Customer Information Management.
  • CIS: Customer Interaction Software.
  • TERM: Technology Enabled Relationship Management.

    • Gartner, the technology consultancy that coined CRM, defines it as “the concept of moving ownership of the customer up to the enterprise level and away from individual departments.” (TechRepublic is a subsidiary of Gartner.)

    Gartner also calls CRM “the largest grouping of IT concepts to date.” Some current CRM concepts and applications include data warehousing, data mining, e-mail management, sales force automation, and campaign management.

    What kind of CRM systems you can find in the market?

    You can find various CRM systems, some of them are completely free (open source or cloud CRMs which are free until you reach some specific number of users or contacts in CRM), and some are paid and completely in the cloud. The most expensive CRMs are connected also with quite time-consuming and very expensive implementation processes, where the main benefit is – that the CRM is connected with the whole company software ecosystem.

    Most of these “corporate implementations” takes a couple of years to finish and some of them do not end well – the budget runs out or the implementation of the shortcut drags on or does not meet the given objectives (save time, improve processes, save company resources, etc.)

    So the market is quite big, but then you start to digest, you will find out, that there are not as many options as it seems at the first sight.

    So let’s start with the business models of CRMs

    CRMs payment/pricing model explanation and comparison

  • Free cloud CRM – some online CRMs are offering the option to use the software completely for free for smaller teams like Engagebay or Bitrix24. But it depends on what you are looking for and what kind of functionality you need. As you will probably soon find out (as your company business grows) that these free solutions are not fitting your needs or it is quite expensive for bigger teams (where you could save money and have better custom-made CRM solution exactly according to your needs).
  • Free CRM (open source) – you can download the CRM as a piece of software and develop it on your own with your team of developers or hire some implementation partners which are familiar with this CRM. It can be a good start in case you find out the pricing model of actual CRMs is bloody expensive or when you feel you will need a lot of customization (which you will probably need for 100 %). Using free open-source CRM systems can be very tricky in case you don’t have enough experience with software development. Also when you need to start right here right now, it is not a good option either. Because you probably don’t know what functions and features you need and trying to find this by spending your money on functions you will probably never use is not a good idea. I recommend starting with some cloud CRMs, which are completely free for smaller teams (but these missing some features) or try the trial and after the trial sum up what you need.
  • The paid version of CRM – as mentioned several times earlier, you will find various tools, which have a huge difference in functionality, connectivity with other various tools you probably use, and in the pricing or sure. So it depends on your needs. I will in the next few paragraphs try to explain how you should proceed when choosing a suitable CRM solution and factors you probably should consider now – because you will maybe need completely different functionality for a team of 5 people and different needs will be there when you are way bigger (100+ teams).

    • Down there you will mainly find the main areas you should focus on and at the end of the article my personal shortlist of various CRM software divided by company size, functionalities, and many other aspects.

    To select the best CRM software program for little firms as well as startups, we took a look at review internet sites, service internet sites, and other trustworthy online resources. We asked our little service and also start-up customers regarding various other CRMs they checked out and comprehended their needs. The table listed here contrasts top CRMs with each other CRMs as well as discloses the average scores across thousands of examinations so you can pick the absolute best CRM for your little organization or startup.

    In the early days of a company, handling details regarding your getting in touch with as well as customers isn’t difficult. Nonetheless, as your solution grows, you obtain more clients and use even more personnel, as well as details concerning contacts, get distributed across spreadsheets, notepads, sticky notes, and memories.

    Company development is a wonderful point and with it comes the need to organize your info. That’s where a CRM (a Consumer Partnership Monitoring option) helps you save information on clients and feasible communications with workers. Advertising as well as sales touchpoints like email, phone, website, live conversation, and also social networks are tracked to supply your service with comprehensive context on a client’s activity and responses. In general, a CRM aids your group and saves users time.

    However, there are numerous different CRM remedies out there as well as they range from entirely complimentary to plenty of bucks per month.

    To assist you to choose the finest CRM, we have constructed one of the most advised CRMs for start-ups as well as SMBs. We’ve gathered evaluations, highlights, and also loved one feature of each to help you to examine the finest CRM that matches your service’s needs.

    WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A CRM SYSTEM?

    A good CRM system requires to provide you with these advantages:

    Contact info company in one place and also simple to work with

    CRM aids you prepare details concerning all your calls. This permits your group to monitor who a customer has actually spoken with and also what they reviewed. In sales, this information aligns your team so that your sales process runs successfully.

    Sales reporting

    Track allocation achievement, as well as metrics such as e-mails, sent telephone calls made, meetings booked, as well as deals near to comprehend what your team is doing well as well as what you can do to improve.

    Exact sales projecting

    Do not trust complex Excel formulas or back-of-the-napkin mathematics. A great CRM system creates a sales forecast for you, making it simpler to forecast profits and manage your group’s pipe.

    Customer segmentation

    Segment your get-in touches with the house such as location, offer dimension, close day, and much more, to discover the warmest outcomes to focus on.

    Scaling a sales procedure

    A repeatable sales procedure is important for evaluating new sales activities and methods. The information you keep in a CRM system will certainly assist you to locate inefficient and efficient patterns in sales habits.

    Better outcomes as well as more pleasing salespeople/department

    With a lot going on, your sales agents can obtain lost in the sauce. A CRM will improve a great deal of your sales agents’ day by logging notes, playbooks, tasks, as well as recommendations to make sure that your sales associates are organized.

    With a CRM, you can see your get in touch with’s profiles which reveal if they have been connected with you recently. This can be exceptionally valuable if your CRM deals with Advertising and marketing as well as Customer support groups.

    Enhanced income as well as earnings

    This is the one we all dream of. The benefits listed above all add to your business being a lot more effective at shutting deals. Consequently, you’ll obtain ROI on your CRM and also scale your income more than you had been doing formerly.

    What other demands and features should you look for in choosing the CRM for your organization?

  • You can add new contacts and also businesses to your data source in seconds (or automatically).
  • Produce new get-in touches directly from your email with a solitary click or import listings. CRM instantly inhabits an organization and develops test documents for you.
  • Maintained offers, calls, as well as company documents about the day.
  • While a lot of CRMs need you to do by hand upgrade information, CRM instantaneously enriches your data and also keeps records present by syncing with a database of over 20 million firms.
  • Log sales activities promptly.
  • Make calls, send out emails, produce jobs, as well as publish notes. CRM system will log your tasks for you. Goodbye, manual info access.

    • Send improved sales emails in less time

    Email design templates just assume. With CRM, you can likewise arrange your emails for the greatest deliverability. You’ll obtain a sharp as swiftly as your e-mail is opened so you can follow up effectively.

    What should the finest CRM software application remedy?

    CRM should be developed from scratch to be prepared for the contemporary globe.

    Automatic and instinctive where various other systems are made complex and guidebook, the most effective CRM deals with all the little details – logging e-mails, taping phone calls, as well as handling your information – making the most of essential marketing time in the procedure.

    It is regularly rated as one of the finest CRM software program application products for a little company.

    Popular features of the finest CRM software application are these:

  • Meeting scheduler application – you can effectively plan meetings with clients,
  • Connectivity – a very important feature, it allows you to connect your CRM to any other applications without any issues with functionality,
  • Social media tools – almost every business has at least one social media account, for some businesses it is very important to be socially active, the social media tool will help you with maintaining all the social media in one place.
  • Email monitoring software – a great feature for tracking if your client opened your email and reacted in any way or not, it also tracks how many people have unsubscribed from your newsletter or how many people signed up.
  • Sales email automation – if the client buys a product from your online shop or makes a reservation, the sales email automation will send them a confirming email, thank you email, or any other type of mail you want to be sent automatically.
  • Ads software application – Ad application software is a great help in effective promotion of your products.
  • Email marketing software application – Users of email marketing software may develop, send, and track emails to their subscriber lists. Using software makes it simpler to develop effective emails and gives you access to crucial statistics like open rates and click-through rates.
  • Lead management software – it helps you qualify, analyze and nurture incoming leads so they can be converted into new business opportunities. In a typical sales process, leads from different channels enter the lead management system and sales-ready leads are converted into business.
  • Pipeline management tools – Software known as pipeline management solutions enables sales representatives and managers to view all of their active opportunities and their progression through the sales funnel.
  • Sales email templates – An email used by businesses to advertise goods and services and boost sales is known as a sales email. The effectiveness of a sales email is influenced by the offer’s value, the subscribers’ level of brand involvement, the standard of the email design, and email deliverability.
  • Help desk software – very useful feature for good relations with customers, it allows them to get technical support online. Consumers always appreciate the fact that if they encounter a problem, they can address it with someone immediately.
  • Free online type home builder
  • Free chatbot home builder – A tool for building chatbots is a chatbot builder. Its key advantage is that it makes chatbot creation accessible to everyone by enabling you to do it without any programming knowledge. You can construct chatbots for Facebook Messenger and Telegram using a straightforward chatbot builder.
  • Free live chat software – A solution that offers quick customer help and information is live chat software. It functions as an instant messenger where you may have real-time conversations with your clients. The ability of a live chat support to quickly and comfortably respond to consumer queries can increase the conversion rates of your website.
  • Marketing and ads analytics (or at least having connectors to these systems, which can enrich your CRM data by customer behaviour from campaigns or by your website data)
  • Free landing page constructor – A landing page is a stand-alone web page designed expressly for a marketing or advertising campaign in digital marketing. It is the location a visitor “lands” on after clicking a link. Landing pages are created with a single emphasis or purpose, known as a call to action, as opposed to web pages, which often have several aims and promote research (or CTA, for short). Landing page builder is a tool that will help you create an optimized landing page.
  • Free tools – Naturally, we don’t like working in an app that claims to be free but requires payment for important functions. So it’s a good idea to first make sure that the system you want offers what you need. But you can always get by with a slight detour – try checking out our article on great free tools that are guaranteed to give you a boost in efficiency.
  • Website grader – Website Grader examines your website to identify its strengths and highlight any areas where it may perform better in order to gain more search engine traffic. There are plenty website graders you can choose, personally I like Google PageSpeed Insights the most.
  • Make my personality – CRM software allows you to specifically track individual customers, giving you meaningful information about how they buy, why they buy, and where they are in the buying process. This is very important as it offers a way to attract customers to the site and ensure that they keep coming back.
  • Email signature generator – ideally you can send the contract to the client and he can approve it or sign it digitally.
  • Blog ideas generator – this is not necessary, because you can use much better tools for that purpose. But still can be essential if you can mark specific topics to specific clients (for emailing purposes or for website personalization).
  • Billing design template generator – A document style known as an billing design template makes it simple to produce, alter, and customize your invoices. You only need to insert the sale information into a readymade invoice template. The structure and necessary fields have already been made for you.
  • Marketing/business/deal plan generator – Businesses utilize a marketing plan as a strategic road map to plan, carry out, and monitor their marketing strategy over a specific time frame. Different marketing tactics for diverse marketing teams within the organization working toward the same business goals might be included in marketing plans.
  • Complimentary design themes for business – A theme in product management is a broad objective or strategy for the product. On the product roadmap, the theme is located at the very top of the strategic hierarchy. Each theme is constructed around a collection of epics, which are smaller, connected strategic schemes.
  • Market benchmark information – A firm, brand, or product’s performance is measured through marketing benchmarking, either in comparison to its rivals or to industry best practices.
  • Software comparisons library – Software comparisons library help you choose the right system for your needs.
  • Website styles & layout themes – You can easily adjust the design to your need and your CI/corporate design.

    • CRM helps you manage your pipe and also never let an offer slip off

    CRM pipe monitoring tool can help you check your deals so you never miss a possibility once again. You’ll obtain overall existence into team efficiency to evaluate the value and health and wellness of your pipe.

    CRM helps you to concentrate as well as locate on closing the warmest leads

    Do not lose time on poor-quality leads. Infiltrate all your contacts to uncover the most popular leads who are most engaged and also visit your website in real-time. Invest your time shutting down top-quality leads, not going after chilly prospective consumers.

    CRM will allow you to utilize our proven e-mail design templates or produce your very own

    An ideal CRM software program will acquire your access to a library of email-style layouts established for every single action of your consumer’s trip or turn your finest e-mails right into style themes you can personalize. Your templates will constantly be one click away inside your inbox– whether you make use of Workplace 365 for Windows, Outlook, or Gmail. Conserve hrs when you can send out an e-mail in seconds.

    Email combination enables you to use the CRM from your e-mail inbox, and also you can work from one area at all times instead of having to dual log information in numerous locations. I similarly like that you can establish the CRM rapidly to make sure that it deals with your operations. The best CRMs make it fast & very easy.

    Best CRM alternatives require to allow automates all sales-related procedures, as well as saving crucial time at every phase of the funnel. You can use it to automate reminders as well as follow-up emails without being impersonal, as well as turn the most repetitive amongst them right into standardized templates you might, later, utilize to measure the results of your efficiency. Follow-up is relevant as well as timely, as you will right away be informed whenever a client opens up an email.

    CRM SERVICE MIX PARTNERS AND DATABASE

    The finest CRM have likewise a large network of over a thousand agencies and a significant area to aid you to source your marketing approach with your new CRM system. Whether you require somebody to assist create material, setting up advertisements, or building workflows, there’s a partner right here for you.

    You don’t have time to submit an assistance ticket. You’re additionally incredibly clever as well as can find answers by yourself.

    Various rates designs (absolutely cost-free CRM and tailored growth of own solution as well as prepared-made). You can develop your choice without needing to pay any month-to-month costs based on the number of users, so you can take pleasure in countless individuals, information, and as numerous as 1,000,000 contacts with no time at all in all limits or expiration dates and also a whole lot much more, yet you need to your developers and this can be hard service (if you do not have sufficient experience with software application development).

    If you are seeking a CRM system for bigger businesses – after that you will certainly go to CRM systems like:

  • Salesforce CRM
  • Adobe Creative Cloud (is not having just CRM, but it is an overall complex system practically for everything)
  • Hubspot CRM
  • Pipedrive CRM
  • Zendesk CRM
  • NetSuite CRM
  • Oracle Advertising and Customer Experience (CX) CRM
  • Dynamics 365 CRM

    • For smaller or mid-size businesses you will probably try the CRM systems:

  • Monday CRM
  • Freshworks CRM
  • Zoho CRM
  • Act CRM
  • Salesflare CRM
  • Nutshell CRM
  • Nimble CRM
  • NetHunt CRM
  • Keap CRM
  • Quickbase CRM
  • Insightly CRM
  • Sage CRM
  • Insightly CRM
  • Engagebay CRM

    • LIST OF THE FINEST CRM SOFTWARE APPLICATION OF 2022

  • Best for little companies: Salesforce CRM
  • Best for job management: Monday Sales CRM
  • Best for visual sales pipelines: Pipedrive CRM
  • Best for complete client life process: Zendesk CRM
  • Best for e-commerce: Oracle NetSuite CRM
  • Best for ease of use: Keap CRM
  • Best for communication: Freshsales CRM
  • Best for integrations: HubSpot CRM
  • Best for hybrid and remote groups: Zoho CRM
  • Best for cross-platform integrations: Quickbase CRM
  • Best for client assistance: Sage CRM
  • Best for customization: Insightly CRM
  • Best for midsize services: SugarCRM

    • Reviews of CRM systems

    We don’t want to tell you what to use without us trying it first. There are so many CRM systems you could be using, unsure if it really is the one suitable for your business. That is why we`re here to show you the pros and cons, the pricing plans, and the most useful features to help you decide what is best for you and your business.

    Vtiger CRM

    Vtiger is a very good CRM system for a starting or medium-sized business. It has one free plan for starters and two paid plans for skilled businesses. The free plan offers only the very basic features, but it is a great opportunity to get to know how CRM works. Read the review here.

    National Men Make Dinner Day — 3rd November, 2022

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    A partner who can make more than just a tea is practically every woman’s ideal. Even though there are fewer strict gender roles in society today, some men still haven’t learned to cook or believe that it isn’t a very manly activity. This day aims to put an end to all of that by encouraging men to pick up some cooking implements and prepare a satisfying meal for their loved ones. Ideally, they’ll like it enough to prepare meals more frequently than once a year. So guys, put on your apron and start cooking a delicious home-cooked meal for your sweetheart!

    Why is National Men Make Dinner Day named so?

    This day was made for women who needed to unwind as well as for men who are unfamiliar with kitchens and appliances. It’s that one particular day when women can take off their shoes, relax on the couch, and enjoy delicious meals prepared by their husbands or boyfriends. There is also no solid evidence that men are simply worse cooks—some of the best chefs in the world are men.

    When is National Men Make Dinner Day 2022?

    Every first Thursday in November is identified as National Men Who Prepare Dinner Day. For women, it’s a full day off from cooking duties as today is when their husbands take over all cooking duties. This fun-filled holiday encourages men to take charge of the kitchen and cook a delicious meal at home for their loved ones.

    5 rules of National Men Make Dinner Day

    Rule #1: At least four ingredients must be present in the main dish, and at least one utensil other than a fork must be used.

    Rule #2: The man goes grocery shopping to get “all” the ingredients. Bonus points if, prior to purchasing, he inventories the refrigerator and cabinets.

    Rule #3: Neither the partner nor any other family members should be in the nearby area of the kitchen during the entire cooking process.

    Rule #4: The man puts the food and drinks on the table and lights the candles.

    Rule #5: After eating, the man clears the table and loads the dishwasher. The man comes back to the table for a lively post-dinner discussion. The man is now informed of the value placed on his meal. His own account of the experience includes both the pleasures and difficulties it brought. Then his partner embraces him, giving him back his lavish lifestyle!

    And these are the no-nos that the man cooking must under no circumstances use when preparing dinner:

    • cotton candy or any other candy
    • take-out pizza
    • left-overs from last night
    • sandwiches
    • anything barbecued

    History of National Men Make Dinner Day

    Sandy Sharkey, who believed that men can be fantastic cooks and contribute to incredibly delicious meals, was a major contributor to the creation of this day. In Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in 1998, she created this unique holiday.

    Sharkey claimed that she established National Men Who Prepare Dinner Day purely for amusement. She stated: “It first began as a joke. My husband couldn’t cook and didn’t want to, unlike the husbands of my friends. But since he excels in every other area and is very motivated by challenges, I created this day, wrote down the guidelines, gave him a copy of it, and kindly asked him to take part. He agreed.”

    The importance of National Men Make Dinner Day

    While cooking a meal for their significant other is the main focus of this holiday, single men who prepare a meal for their mother, sister, or grandmother can also participate. Nothing brings joy like food that has been lovingly and carefully prepared. Men’s cooking adventures are the main focus of this holiday, after all! Additionally, it’s a fantastic chance to finally resolve to trying out a new skill, which is also very beneficial in everyday life.

    How to celebrate National Men Make Dinner Day

    For men, it’s simple! Cook a meal for your household as a surprise. There are many recipes for quick and simple meals available online and in cookbooks, so if you’ve never learned how to cook, today might be the day to start. You have the option to prepare an easy meal or push yourself by making a more difficult dish. Don’t forget to follow the official rules listed above! Ladies, you can just unwind and enjoy yourself with a glass of wine while reading a good book or watching a new episode of your favourite tv series. To promote the day widely, use the hashtag #MenMakeDinnerDay when posting on social media.

    That isn’t the only way to celebrate, though. See these suggestions! Give your kids the tools they need to survive in the kitchen by letting them help you in the kitchen. Your husband and you can both get inspired by watching cooking shows. With your family, decide on a menu for the coming week that everyone will enjoy.

    Finally, we conclude our article about this magnificent day with a wise saying:

    “Happiness is watching the man of your life cook for you.”

    Halloween — 31st October, 2022

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    Halloween or also less known as Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve is celebrated in many countries around the world on 31 October. Halloween is generally nonreligious throughout much of Europe and most of North America. In the Czech Republic, the equivalent for this holiday is All Souls’ Day celebrated on November 1. But let’s take a closer look at how this holiday is celebrated, because if you think Halloween is a uniquely American tradition, we have a trick for you!

    Why is Halloween named so?

    Halloween’s modern English name derives from medieval Christianity. The term “hallow” comes from the Middle English and Old English words for “saint”. It can also signify holy when used as a noun. The Christian celebration known as All Hallows’ Day was called All Hallows’ Day back then, and the day before it, when evening mass was held, was called All Hallows’ Eve. Halloween was later condensed from the three-word name. The word Halloween itself was popularized by Scottish poet Robert Burns in his poem of the same name in 1785.

    To summarize, Halloween is simply an old-fashioned way of stating “the night before All Hallows’ Day,” also known as Hallowmas or All Hallows’ Day.

    When is Halloween 2022?

    The road to October 31, the Christian holiday known as Halloween, is a little trickier. Early in the 7th century, Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to the saints, which is when the feast of All Saints was first observed. However, this day was May 13. When Pope Gregory III dedicated the chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica to the saints in the following century, he changed the day to November 1. Pope Gregory IV added All Saints’ Day to the Christian calendar a further century later and expanded its commemoration from Rome to churches all over the world. All Saints Day and All Hallows Eve both started being observed on October 31. This might have been an attempt to strike a balance between the religious holiday and the pagan holiday of Samhain.

    History of Halloween

    We’ve already mentioned the Old Celtic festival of Samhain, and it’s with this pagan holiday that we’ll begin our journey through Halloween’s history.

    Samhain

    Halloween derives from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). This day marked the end of summer and harvest, as well as the start of the dark, cold winter, a season that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the line between the living and dead worlds blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when the ghosts of the dead were said to return to earth. Massive sacred fires were built by the Druids to mark this occasion, and crowds gathered there to sacrifice crops and animals to the Celtic gods. The Celts would dress up for the festivities and attempt to communicate with the gods while wearing costumes that typically included animal heads and skins.

    Roman Influence

    By 43 AD. The majority of the Celtic lands had been conquered by the Romans. They had been in control of Celtic lands for 400 years, and they had instituted two Roman holidays: Feralia, which commemorates the passing of the dead, and Pomona Day (the Roman goddess of fruit and trees). The apple is Pomona’s symbol, so the fact that this holiday was celebrated during Samhain probably explains why we still bop for apples on Halloween.

    All Saints’ Day

    Christianity began to have an impact on the Celtic nations in the ninth century, where it gradually merged with and replaced the more ancient Celtic rites. The Church proclaimed November 2 as All Souls Day, a day to remember the deceased, in the year 1000 AD. It is now believed that the Church attempted to replace the Celtic Feast of the Dead with a related, Church-approved holiday. Similar to Samhain, All Souls Day was observed with large bonfires, parades, and dressing as saints, angels, and devils. The day before All Saints’ Day, which was traditionally the night of Samhain in Celtic religion, became known as All-Hallows Eve and eventually Halloween. All Saints’ Day is also known as All-hallows or All-hallowmas.

    Modern Halloween

    By the end of the Middle Ages, the secular and the sacred days had merged. The Reformation essentially put an end to the religious holiday among Protestants, although in Britain especially Halloween continued to be celebrated as a secular holiday. Along with other festivities, the celebration of Halloween was largely forbidden among the early American colonists, although in the 1800s there developed festivals that marked the harvest and incorporated elements of Halloween. When large numbers of immigrants, including the Irish, went to the United States beginning in the mid 19th century, they took their Halloween customs with them, and in the 20th century Halloween became one of the principal U.S. holidays, particularly among children.

    How to celebrate Halloween?

    Even in modern times, Halloween is still widely observed in America, but it has barely made it across the Atlantic. Since the Puritans disapproved of the holiday’s paganism, they abstained from celebrating it. The few Halloween celebrations that did occur in American colonial times included large-scale public harvest festivals, ghost story telling, singing, and dancing.

    The holiday did not become an important part of American culture until the second half of the 19th century, when Irish and Scottish immigrants started to immigrate to the country in greater numbers. The majority of people in North America are thought to have celebrated Halloween by the early 20th century (with candy and costumes).

    Trick-or-Treating

    There are a number of theories about the history of trick-or-treating, but three are the most prevalent. In accordance with the first theory, the Celts used the Samhain festival to leave food outside in an effort to placate nighttime wandering spirits. People started dressing up as these otherworldly creatures over time in exchange for similar gifts of food and drink.
    The second theory, which holds that kids dress up for Halloween and knock on neighbors’ doors for candy, gained popularity in the US in the early 20th century when Irish and Scottish communities revived the Old World tradition of “dressing up.” In most cases, a person would dress up in a costume and tell a joke, read a poem, or do another trick in exchange for cash or food, known as soul cakes. A third theory claims that “belsnickeling,” a German-American Christmas tradition in which children dressed up in costumes and called their neighbors to see if the adults could guess who they were, is the inspiration for modern American carol singing. Children were given food or other treats in one variation of this tradition if no one could recognize them.
    Trick-or-treating for candy became one of the most common Halloween activities in the 1950s. According to the National Retail Federation, Halloween is currently one of the biggest holidays for candy sales in the US, with over $3 billion in sales predicted.

    Bobbing for apples

    Bobbing for apples has long been a tradition at Halloween parties, but its origins actually date back to a time when love and romance were more prevalent. The game has its roots in a Roman festival honoring Pomona, the goddess of agriculture and abundance, which included a courtship ritual. Although there were many variations, the fundamental idea was that young people could predict their future romantic relationships based on the game. Women engaged in rituals on Halloween from the 17th to the 19th centuries in an effort to find a husband. In an effort to spot the initials of their future husband, single women would throw apple peels over their shoulders. At gatherings, they also held apple-throwing competitions with the goal of having the champion be the first to tie the knot. Additionally, some women believed that their future husband’s face would appear in the mirror if they stood in a dark room with a candle in front of it. Who wants a bloody mary?

    Lighting Candles and Bonfires

    Towering bonfires were used to light the path for souls traveling to the afterlife for a large portion of Halloween’s early history. Nowadays, burning candles has largely taken the place of big traditional fires.

    Carving Jack-o’-Lanterns

    The holiday we celebrate today really started taking off in the middle of the 19th century, when a wave of Irish immigrants left their country during the potato famine. The newcomers brought their own superstitions and customs to their new homes, including the jack-o’-lantern. Carving a Jack-o’-Lantern originated in Ireland using turnips or beets instead of pumpkins. It is allegedly based on a legend about a drunkard man named Stingy Jack who repeatedly trapped the Devil in a tree  by hacking a sign of the cross into the bark and only let him go on the condition that Jack would never go to Hell. After he passed away, Jack attempted to go back to his old friend the Devil after learning that even Heaven didn’t want his soul. But all he offered Jack was a burning coal chunk inside a hollowed-out beet. The dead man then started his journey, doomed to wander until he discovered his final resting place. In an effort to fend off evil spirits, the locals eventually started carving ghostly faces into their own turnips. Modern, intricately crafted pumpkin creations are undoubtedly among Halloween’s impressive decorations in many front yards and window displays.

    Halloween Parties

    Halloween evolved into a secular holiday in the 1920s and 1930s, but it remained community-focused and centered around parades and large-scale Halloween celebrations. Despite the best efforts of many schools and communities, some celebrations during this time started to be plagued by vandalism.
    In the 1950s, city officials were successful in reducing vandalism, and Halloween started to become a popular holiday with kids. During the 1950s baby boom, which produced a large number of young children, celebrations were moved from the city’s civic centers to classrooms or private homes where they could be more conveniently accommodated. Young people’s themed Halloween parties are held on a regular basis these days.

    Bonus – best movies to watch on Halloween

    A new sequel to classic “Halloween” franchise —”Halloween Kills” — was released in 2021. “Halloween” is regarded as a classic horror movie, right down to its eerie score, and it served as an inspiration for other well-known slasher movies like “Scream,” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” and “Friday the 13.” More family-friendly Halloween movies include “Hocus Pocus,” ”Casper,” Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” or ”Beetlejuice”. The psychological drama “Split,” which centers on Kevin’s main character, or characters, if you will (twenty-three to be exact), as well as the mystery movie “Old,” are more recent examples.

    VTIGER CRM REVIEW: IS IT THE BEST FREE CRM SYSTEM FOR YOUR COMPANY?

    Vtiger CRM Review: Is it the best free CRM system for your company?

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    Many people think that free systems are not offering enough to work with. Today we are looking at one of the accessible open CRM sources, the Vtiger. Vtiger started in the year 2004 and since then it has had over 5 million downloads. This review will show you if it is the right CRM system for you or if you should switch to a different one.

    Is Vtiger any good?

    Vtiger is a leading Cloud CRM solution architected on an industry-leading Open Source Core. Trusted by over 300,000 companies to drive their core sales, marketing, and support functions. Vtiger has been consistently recognized as a leader in the CRM space by top review sites.

    Vtiger pricing plans

  • FREE PILOT PLAN (forever free)
  • ONE PROFESSIONAL SINGLE APP ($28/user/month)
  • ONE PROFESSIONAL STANDART ($42/user/month)
  • ONE ENTERPRISE SINGLE APP ($42/user/month)
  • ONE ENTERPRISE STANDART ($58/user/month)

    • The paid plans offer 15 days free trial, the free plan promises to be free forever. The Vtiger website also provides a calculator, where you can calculate the final price by adding the number of members, type of billing, and type of plan. You can put up to 999 members.

    What is Vtiger and what can you use it for?

    Vtiger is best for small or medium small businesses. It can help you get closer to your customers and help you grow your business more. Overall It helps to organize and store information on your sales and marketing efforts and successes, automates tasks to help eliminate your to-do list, and can work with customer support in the same platform where client data is stored. Basically, you have everything you need to have for your business all in one place.

    Free Vtiger versus paid Vtiger: The differences

    As we said before, Vtiger offers 3 pricing plans, and one of them is free. Now it`s time for us to compare them.

    As it usually is, the free version of everything offers the least amount of features and useful widgets. The free version of Vtiger called One Pilot is promised to be free forever without any kind of payment in the future. It is an ideal plan for a starting business because there are two limits. The limit of maximum users using the Vtiger which is 10 and the number of records is 3000. Regarding customer support, you are allowed to only use emails. The paid plans do not have any limits when it comes to the number of users or the number of records.

    The contact management section has 6 out of 9 features in the free plan, which is pretty good. The only features you have to pay for are the Engagement Score, Contact Enrichment, and the Best Time to Contact. The feature Best Time to Contact is available only in the most expensive plan, the Enterprise plan.

    The actions centre offers only 3 out of 8 features, the rest is for the paid plans. All the plans have access to one personal inbox per user, there is a difference in the team and shared inboxes, while the free plan only has one, the Professional plan has 3 and the Enterprise plan has 10 available.

    The free Pilot plan has access only to a personal calendar, so if you want a calendar shared with your teammates you have to go for one of the paid plans.

    The free Pilot plan does not offer many features in the Sales process management section. You can do basic activities like making deals, leads, and tax configuration. If you want to go deeper into your sales by making campaigns, having multiple currencies, or forecasting your sales, you have to pay for either the Professional plan or the Enterprise plan.

    Regarding inventory, the free Pilot plan only has access to products and services. Both of the paid plans have access to many more features, for example to vendors, price books, subscriptions, or payment tracking.

    The free Pilot plan also does not include user groups for tasks, and sales insight and limits document sharing to only 5 per month. The professional plan includes 100 shares of documents and the Enterprise plan has an unlimited amount.

    All three plans have access to group inboxes, phone calls, SMS, and direct messages with an attached file. If you`re looking to secure your business online,  you should get the Enterprise plan, it offers SAML Based Single Sign-on, Allowed IPs, and Encryption at Rest.

    What interesting features Vtiger has?

    Besides general features like calendar, inventory, project management, or appointments reminder, Vtiger offers you many excellent features every business will be glad to have. We picked some of the features and we are going to get deeper into their functionality.

    Dashboard

    A dashboard tracks productivity and sales progression. It monitors your team’s performance easily and empowers you with flexibility and different views for sales reps and managers.

    You can monitor your team’s performance and evaluate every member’s performance to take corrective measures if needed. Vtigers dashboard is fully customizable, so you can put the important information to your liking. There are 12 main widgets for your dashboard you can use, for example, average sales cycle, which shows the average time taken to close all the deals in the selected period, or deals created, which shows how many deals were created in the selected period.

    The dashboard also provides a Sales Leaderboard, which also has many widgets you can use for finding out how is your team doing in sales and making deals. The widgets can show what product is the best selling, what deals were lost, or which of your team members is the most active in making sales and deals.

    Contacts manager

    Contact Management is the process of collating and organizing contact information. Tracking customer interactions, increasing conversions, and driving up your sales.

    You can capture contacts by using web forms for website visitors. Contacts can also be imported from third-party apps such as Google contacts or email.

    Vtiger offers lead scores which are calculated from profiles and engagements. Lead scores are used to gain higher conversions.

    Whenever you have to find a contact you have already saved in records, any information will be used for searching through the contact. It includes data on the customer, organization, deals, quotes, interactions, or notes. Vtiger also informs you if the contact is online, idle, etc.

    When it comes to communicating with your chosen contact, you can do it directly from the contact record. You can choose from communication via email, SMS, WhatsApp, or phone call. You can also make your colleagues participate in a particular interaction by mentioning them.

    Sales forecast

    With this feature, you can determine peak and lean periods and manage the sales pipeline better. You can set monthly or quarterly forecasts. You can also specify sales goals for every team member.

    Forecast Categories can be used to represent forecast scenarios. You can add new sales stages to categories and customize forecast scenarios as per your needs. You can export deals, forecast information, or forecast summaries.

    Sales analytics

    It is very important to see how well are your sales doing. Sales insights track and coach your sales teams to achieve goals, gain leads, and convert more deals by generating reports in the pipeline, sales team activities, and performances.

    Viger focuses on visualization. You can make many charts showing your sales, customize them and trace their source to a salesperson. Beneath each chart sits tabular data that breaks down what you see in charts in different ways, painting a clearer picture of how your team, pipeline, and deals contribute to the trends that you see. A range of pre-built charts and tables visualize your sales organization’s health and help you spot opportunities for improvements across all of your inputs and processes.

    Help desk

    When it comes to help desk, case management is very important. Case management is the process that assists support executives in resolving customer issues as specified in the SLAs. It combines automation with the resolution process for efficiency. Vtiger offers to create cases directly from the customers’ email or through a web form. You can also set up a reminder for a deadline of an issue.

    A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is an agreement between a business and its customer. It outlines the services to be delivered within agreed-upon conditions and deadlines. Vtiger allows you to create any number of SLA policies that dictate how you should respond to cases under various scenarios of urgency. You can create separate SLA policies for customers and internal teams based on their priority.

    Vtiger also provides a customer portal, where customers can find answers to their questions. Customers can also share documents directly through the customer portal, it is made to eliminate the need for email threads and manual attachments to contact records.

    Vtiger Pros and Cons

    Pros

    It is a very easy software for your business, easy to learn, easy to use. The free version has many important features and if you don’t shoot for the stars immediately, the free version will be enough for you for a very long time. Vtiger has very clean and clear aesthetics, nothing crazy to look at, you can find everything you need very fast. The prices of the paid versions are very good.

    Cons

    Although Vtiger does pretty much everything you need it to do, it does not do everything very well. Some people might like, that the system is simple, but we think that it is too simple, there is a lot of room for improvement. A very big con for us was, that Vtiger assumes you have one and only mail system and it does not work properly when you have two or more.

    Complaints and praises by some real Vtiger users

    On the page, www.getapp.com has VTiger a rating of 4.3/5 by a total of 314 users, which is quite a good rating. We do not know what pricing the users have chosen. Let`s see what people using this CRM have to say about this.

    Praises

  • An excellent CRM system, able to fulfil all daily needs for our network support desk. Easy to manipulate and implement key fields. (Ruan C.)
  • Overall experience is good. I deployed this system in 2011 in our company and we are still using it. (Waqas A.)
  • User-friendly software, not much effort required to learn. Easy to set up with the help of simple and intuitive customization and implementation tools. (Mujahid P.)

    • We can see that people like how easy it is to use and it has everything you need on your daily business day.

    Complaints

  • Automating the export of data is difficult and painful, and the API is highly limiting in both functionality and usage limits. (David F.)
  • Customer complaints, internal employees issues & gathering customer database. (Sunil K.)

    • There are not many complaints about using Vtiger, only some features require a bit of patience and some features do not work exactly the way they should.

    Is Vtiger really worth it?

    We would say yes, it is worth it. No matter if you`re a starting business with a little budget or a well-working business that just wants more for its customers, Vtiger could be your right hand. You get the most out of it by paying for a paid plan however the free plan offers a very long list of features. It is a solid and affordable system for businesses.

    Zero Trust Architecture

    Zero trust architecture

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    A Changing Cybersecurity Landscape

    The IT world changed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more users working remotely and more devices being used by individuals. At the very same time, companies moved a large part of their work to applications as well as information that stays outside their protected network perimeter. Following the course of information with these varied new modern technologies is rather intricate, developing a difficult environment in which innovation leaders have to take care of customers, data as well as workloads.

    The nature of the data being used has also altered considerably. For many organizations, information likewise resides in “darkness IT” cloud solutions that have been embraced by company systems without the expertise or assistance of central IT teams.

    Most business leaders expect that these modifications are more than passing responses to pandemic workstyles a number of these modifications will continue as users end up being accustomed to brand-new, versatile job patterns. This moves organizations towards flexible strategies to technology that change work in between internal data centres as well as outside cloud atmospheres. Moving data and also applications outside the typical border makes perimeter-focused network protection controls outdated.

    Attackers have actually also expanded more sophisticated in current years. Hazard actors might additionally utilize the cloud to obtain the same adaptability and also price savings that inspire company cloud movements.

    Organizations seeking to thrive as well as survive in this evolving setting should release flexible as well as vibrant protection controls that safeguard both users as well as information in any place they live.

    Drivers for Zero Trust

    The modern risk landscape is innovative as well as progressively diverse, relocating organizations toward zero-trust designs of network safety and security.

    Opponents are now well-moneyed and arranged into extremely skilled groups of professionals. They run with the complete backing and resources of nation-state military units as well as knowledge firms, and also arranged crime distributes.

    Cybercrime is a very profitable business. From ransomware to zero-day exploits, gifted cyberpunks are able to utilize their skills on the underground market, creating solid incentives to proceed with their work.

    Cloud computing offers assailants the same flexibility, agility and economies of range that it provides to company customers. Attackers charge accounts much faster than companies can detect and also remove them.

    Zero Trust Provides Effective Security

    A zero-trust technique to network safety and security shifts away from techniques that unconditionally trust fund particular individuals based on their network area. Instead of developing a single boundary around a company’s entire network, absolutely no trust utilizes micro-segmentation to develop a least-privilege network in which every customer and also system has its own border.

    A zero trust fund brings many considerable advantages to an organization:

  • Builds on software-defined networking technology to flexibly release safety and security plans based upon altering requirements
  • Standardizes safety controls to protect against both known and arising threats
  • Drives culture adjustment toward a security-first state of mind
  • Provides customizable as well as very granular policies that make it possible for least-privilege approaches to protection

    • In enhancement to these clear protection advantages, zero-trust approaches also improve the performance of companies. By carrying out smooth customer gain access to controls, organizations boost the capacity of team participants to accessibility and also make use of information, advancing their goals to adopt a DevOps ideology.

    Accomplishing Zero Trust

    The CISA Maturation Model uses a beneficial framework for zero-trust efforts, yet companies may desire to consider various other advice.

    NIST SP 800-207

    In August 2020, the National Institute of Specifications and also Technology released Unique Magazine 800-207 covering zero-trust design. This document aids companies acquire a far better understanding of no count and also offers a roadmap they can utilize to carry out security controls that sustain a strong zero-trust program. The magazine provides release designs and also makes use of situations defining just how no count can enhance an organization’s security posture.

    NIST SP 800-207 includes complying with crucial elements:

  • Zero-trust fundamentals
  • Rational parts of the zero-trust architecture
  • Implementation of situations and making use of situations
  • Dangers associated with zero-trust architecture
  • Interactions with existing guidance
  • Moving to a zero-trust style

    • NCCoE Assistance

    More support is on the means, as the zero-trust style remains to be an emphasis of academic, federal government and also private-sector research study. The National Cybersecurity Center of Quality (NCCoE) is leading a public-private collaboration designed to execute NIST SP 800-207 utilizing real-world examples.

    The goal of this effort is to reduce the intricacy of zero-trust releases and give organizations across markets thorough recommendations on exactly how they can release zero-trust concepts. The task will certainly develop sample releases that integrate both open-source and also industrial items to serve as sensible designs for cybersecurity experts.

    The Relevance of Analysis

    Among the most essential ways a company can get ready for a zero-trust initiative is to evaluate its present policies and also techniques for handling identification and also gain access. This kind of analysis aids recognize the systems and also processes that the organization can rightly trust. Without this assessment, it’s most likely that a campaign will stop working since it presumes that a process is reliable when, as a matter of fact, it may not be.

    Federated identity administration modern technology aids advance a company’s zero-trust program by giving a consistent way to regulate authentication as well as permission for applications and also the interaction between systems. Specifications such as OpenID and the Safety Assertion Markup Language promote this work by allowing interoperability between inconsonant systems.

    Some of the essential concerns organizations ought to ask as they perform this analysis consist of:

  • What data do we have?
  • Where is our data found?
  • What takes the chance of existence that might impact our information?
  • How does data step between applications and also systems?
  • Do we have proper tracking in the position where our information lives?
  • What patterns exist in exactly how our information steps?
  • Exactly how well have we incorporated identity details into choices regarding data gain access?

    • Zero-trust analyses need to likewise consider the organization’s internal culture. These programs are developed to help organizations believe more plainly and intentionally about protection concerns, and that needs breaking down typical IT silos. It likewise needs an all-natural discussion that treats information as well as safety as an end-to-end concern, involving engagement from cybersecurity, networking, endpoint, application and information administration teams. The first step in a company’s zero-trust journey is to take apart these silos and facilitate interdisciplinary conversations concerning information and access.

    Zero Trust and Data Protection

    CDW provides a range of services that can assist companies to understand the role of absolutely no depend on as well as accelerate their progression in achieving a safe and secure environment aligned with zero-trust principles.

    A preparedness evaluation can help your company evaluate the current toughness of its zero-trust program as well as develop a roadmap for enhancement. CDW’s networking and security specialists will assist your organization to straighten with the sector’s finest techniques and also make certain that it has the best modern technologies in position to support zero-trust concepts.

    Zero-trust workshops will certainly bring together your company’s technology leaders with CDW subject matter experts to recognize the goals as well as objectives of your effort. These workshops will define absolutely no count on the context of your company and set assumptions for zero-trust initiatives.

    Penetration testing includes efforts by CDW protection professionals to validate the results of a vulnerability check by playing the role of an assailant and trying to exploit any kind of vulnerabilities detected. This simulated assault gives a deep understanding of your organization’s safety stance and works as a test of your existing security controls, including those planned to support a zero-trust technique.

    Along with these services, CDW professionals can supply assistance for a variety of cybersecurity campaigns including the deployment as well as the use of identity as well as accessibility administration, prolonged detection as well as response, and also managed discovery and reaction options. CDW’s professionals can also aid with organization connection, administration, danger and also compliance initiatives.

    Why Zero-Trust is important for online businesses and the effectiveness of cybersecurity

    The rise of remote working comes with new cybersecurity challenges that result in less control over an organization’s resources and an increased risk of data leakage. This makes it more important than ever to approach cybersecurity from a risk perspective. The Zero Trust model uses the principle of least privilege to ensure that no one has more access to data and resources than they actually require. This model not only authenticates devices but also verifies identity; authentication is adaptive, contextual and risk-based.

    People are not the weakest link; they are the primary attack vector, which is a compelling reason why access to data must be limited as much as possible. Implementing a Zero Trust security strategy requires months of hard work with hours of monitoring and management; however, this hard work pays off as it serves as a roadmap for future cybersecurity.

    Landing Page - what is it?

    Landing Page – What Is It?

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    A landing page is an independent web page that visitors can “land” on after clicking through from an email, advertisement, or another digital source. In return for something valuable, such as a retail discount code or business-to-business (B2B) insights in the form of a white paper, a landing page seeks to collect contact information from visitors. In contrast to other web pages, landing pages don’t belong in a website’s evergreen navigation. They provide a specific function for a target audience at a certain time during an advertising campaign.

    What is a Landing Page?

    The front page of a website often gives visitors a broad picture of the company. However, a landing page is a useful internet marketing tool that may assist you in achieving that goal in the buyer’s journey provided you have a defined, short-term objective. You have the best chance of converting visitors into paying customers since landing pages are created with a specific target group in mind.

    Landing pages are excellent for digital advertising efforts, but you can also use them as tools to link a QR code on printed marketing materials to a specific website. A landing page’s objective is to convert visitors, making it a crucial tool for all kinds of marketing initiatives.

    An individual “lands” on a landing page when they click through from an email, advertisement, or other digital places. Landing pages should be included in every content strategy to enhance conversions and drive more visitors.

    Once a visitor lands on your landing page, you want them to take some sort of action, like sign up for your list or buy something. Your landing page has been successful in converting users if they do the precisely targeted action.

    Typically, landing pages only persuade visitors to perform one of these actions, such as completing the page’s unique registration form. Why? The “paradox of choice,” as scholars refer to it, is the cause. That basically indicates that the more alternatives you provide individuals, the more difficult it is for them to decide and take action.

    Consider that you are giving away an ebook. However, you also offer visitors to your landing page to read your blog, make a purchase, and browse your social media pages. The likelihood that your readers will download your new ebook decreases with each request since you have diverted their focus from your main goal.

    On the other extreme, having too many options might overwhelm your consumers, prompting them to hesitate and do nothing. This is why it’s crucial to concentrate on only one call to action (CTA), as opposed to three or four.

    This is why a landing page has to be tested for optimal conversion optimization and to have a clear visual hierarchy and value proposition.

    How to tell a difference between a homepage and a landing page

    Home pages and landing pages differ from one another in a few ways. Here are three main points on how to tell the difference between a homepage and a landing page. Homepages tend to have…

  • More links. There are typically at least ten links on a homepage. There are frequent links at the bottom, a navigation menu at the top, and the page’s body. However, you’ll typically find fewer links, and perhaps just one—the link that enables your users to convert—on a well-optimized landing page.
  • Broader CTAs. Your homepage gives visitors an overview of your company and acts as a central point from which they may explore various areas of your website. Your homepage has a lot of responsibilities, thus its content is frequently wide and has less targeted CTAs (e.g. “learn more”). Landing pages have a single objective, hence they feature customized CTAs (e.g. “check out the new features on our website”).
  • A different purpose for different audiences. Many of the visitors to your homepage likely don’t know what they want yet. However, visitors that come to your landing pages have already expressed interest in what you have to offer. They are more prepared to convert now that they have gone further along your customer journey.

    • Not all landing pages are created equal. They may be divided into two main groups, which we’ll go through below.

    Use of Landing Pages

    In terms of design, landing pages often have one of two purposes: either they generate leads or they point visitors to the next action.

    Landing Pages for Lead Generation

    This kind of landing page sometimes referred to as “lead gen” and “lead capture” pages, focuses on gathering lead information. In other words, it gathers data on your clients.

    A form that acts as the CTA is a lead capture page’s distinguishing characteristic. It requests user information such as names, email addresses, and phone numbers in return for a good or service. Even more particular information, such as their ages or jobs, might be requested. In this manner, you may get in touch with leads and foster their interest in your company.

    There is still another use for this information. You may learn about your contacts from the data you gather. Your marketing efforts may therefore be directed at those who fulfil those criteria and are therefore more likely to convert. In particular, if you execute sponsored advertising efforts, this can boost your return on investment (ROI).

    In this way, the information that lead-generating sites gather helps to enhance and maximize the effectiveness of your marketing plan. You may do this to customize your adverts to your target market and save money by avoiding advertising to non-converting audiences.

    Landing pages for lead generation are a great resource for your company since they provide information about your potential clients’ characteristics and communication methods. Consider including one on your website if lead nurturing is a top goal for you or if you need to know your audience better.

    Click-through Landing Pages

    CTA buttons are the main focus of click-through landing sites, as opposed to lead generation pages, which feature forms. Your users are sent to a website where they may carry out the specified action by clicking the button.

    The user may be sent to a scheduling page by clicking a button that says “schedule a demo,” for instance, or to a checkout page by clicking a button that says “buy X now.”

    Click-through landing pages are frequently found on e-commerce sites and other websites that prioritize generating transactions right away above gathering user information. These landing pages typically incorporate compelling content, such as product specifications or user testimonials, in addition to the CTA button to further pique and engage potential consumers.

    Importance of Landing Pages

    Landing pages are distinct from other pages on your website since they concentrate on certain, immediate objectives that will help you achieve your desired outcomes. In addition to raising conversion rates, enhancing paid advertising efforts, and producing fresh audience data, landing pages can:

  • Boost your reputation by using a basic, clear message that emphasizes the benefits of what you’re selling. Users often prefer this kind of marketing. A carefully thought-out landing page demonstrates to your clients that you have their best interests at heart. Additionally, they serve as areas where you may include social proof components such as customer reviews of your goods or services. Conversions have been proven to rise with social evidence.
  • Strengthen your brand. You’ve already worked hard to develop a digital brand; make advantage of what you’ve discovered. This is the outcome of keeping consistency in the look, feel, style, and copy of your website. There are several advantages to having a strong and distinct brand. When users aren’t instantly converted, a powerful brand identity may help them remember you in the future, respond to your remarketing efforts, or promote you to their friends.
  • Both kinds of landing pages may help your company generate leads and boost revenue. Since landing pages are more specifically targeted, they can put more emphasis on conversion rates than on knowledge and content. Instead, you may draw attention to the benefits of your goods and services and increase sales to a niche market that is already interested in what you have to offer.
  • Increase traffic. Using a landing page, you may boost website traffic even if lead generation isn’t your primary objective. This will help potential consumers get more familiar with your brand and your company. Your landing pages may more specifically target organic traffic when they are optimized for SEO, which will boost the likelihood that users will convert.

    • Landing pages are clearly crucial to your marketing plan. And it’s best if you have more landing pages that have been optimized. However, that begs the concerns of how to optimize them and what to optimize them for.

    Best Practices of Landing Pages

    You want your landing pages to be effective conversion tools, of course. However, it’s also crucial that you optimize them for search engines, a process called search engine optimization (SEO). Your pages will become more noticeable in organic search results as a consequence, which may boost traffic and conversion rates.

  • Target long-tail keywords
  • Segment your traffic
  • Improve loading speeds of pages
  • Earn backlinks
  • Make your content more shareable
  • Write an interesting headline
  • The meta title that your users clicked to land on your landing page should correspond to your H1 header
  • Position your CTAs above the fold
  • Use directional cues to guide users to your CTA
  • Show off your product and services
  • Provide social proof
  • Use bullet points
  • Repeat your CTA
  • Provide your contact information
  • Share your message via video
  • Test several variations of your pages
    • How to Create Unique Content Top 3 Ways (1)

    How to Create Unique Content: Top 3 Ways

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    The internet is a huge place and is filled with all of the world’s information that anyone can access from anywhere.

    “ In 2021, the number of internet users worldwide stood at 4.9 billion, which means that almost two-thirds of the global population is currently connected to the World Wide Web.” as per (Internet Usage Worldwide – Statistics & Facts, 2022).

    With many people online, it can be very difficult to stand out from the crowd.

    Creating content is not hard but creating content that is valuable, meaningful, engaging, purposeful, and, most importantly, unique is very difficult.

    This blog aims to cover this topic and give you 3 ways you can create unique content with some additional tips and tricks.

    How to Create Unique Content | Top 3 Ways

    1. Create with User Benefit in Mind

    Unique content is how you can get your brand, product, or service in front of potential customers.

    There is no doubt that content is at the heart of search engines such as Google and Edge.

    Browsers take content very seriously and issue many guidelines that people can use when they are creating content for others.

    Google has issued certain guidelines that help content creators produce content that is according to Google’s specifications.

    Here are Google’s Content Guidelines that must be kept in mind when creating content.

    Basic principles

    • Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines.
    • Don’t deceive your users.
    • Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings.

    A good rule of thumb is whether you’d feel comfortable explaining what you’ve done to a website that competes with you or to a Google employee.

    Another useful test is to ask, “Does this help my users?” Would I do this if search engines didn’t exist? ”

    • Think about what makes your website unique, valuable, or engaging.

    Make your website stand out from others in your field.

    (“Webmaster Guidelines, Google”)

    There is no use for your content if you do not create it with the user’s benefit in mind.

    This is because making content and putting it on the internet is all about making things easier for the average user.

    You must make sure that your content is enriched with the maximum amount of information and value for the user.

    The more valuable, informational, and user-friendly your content is, the more unique and beneficial it is.

    2. Use Tools

    As a content creator, it is important to have the right tools to help you succeed.

    Content writers can use a sentence rephraser to assist them in writing.

    With a paraphraser or rephraser, you can change the words in a piece of text to make it sound different.

    This can help you change the tone, style, context, and other aspects of the content, which can help refine it.

    Many writers have used the rephraser tool because it helps them not only rewrite the content but also avoid plagiarism.

    You can easily reuse old copies, email scripts, descriptions, and any content that you like with the help of this smart tool.

    This is especially useful when you are in a situation where you need to paraphrase something quickly and accurately but do not have time to do it yourself.

    Some content writers even use the tool for their own articles or blog posts.

    This way, they do not have to spend too much time editing the article and can instead focus on the next one.

    This online tool can help you get more done and be more creative. It can also help you make better, more interesting, and original content.

    If you want to be successful in this digital race, make sure you have this tool in your toolkit.

    3. Do a competitor analysis.

    This is a point that is very crucial and makes sense in that way because you are not the only creator on the internet that is making content for general users.

    Whatever your niche or industry, you may not be the only person creating content in that field.

    It is vital that you analyze what others are creating and what your competitors are doing.

    By checking the blogs and other content of your competitors, you can see the way they create content and how they publish it.

    You may also be able to see what templates they use and how they explain certain points.

    This will help you create your own content strategy and will help you create content that is entirely unique and different from what your competitors are doing.

    So do not forget to go through this important step before you start creating content.

    Additional Tips for writing better content

    1. Use short sentences
    2. Write in active voice
    3. Be concise with your words
    4. Limit paragraphs to 1 or 2 sentences

    Conclusion

    Creating content is not hard, but creating unique content is not a piece of cake.

    Content writers face many challenges when striving to produce high-quality content.

    With many people online, it can be very difficult to stand out from the crowd.

    In order to produce your best work, it is important to be aware of some writing barriers and learn how to overcome them.

    By making yourself more productive and learning how to deal with these problems, you can get better at writing unique and effective content and solve any problems that come up.

    Disarmament Week — 24th to 30th October, 2022

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    The goal of Disarmament Week is to raise awareness about nuclear weapons and other forms of armament. There will be serious consequences if nuclear weapons end up in the wrong hands. Hiroshima and Nagasaki served as living examples of what nuclear weapons are capable of. This day serves as a kind of invitation to all gun owners to consider how they have stored and used their weapons responsibly, as without doing so, they are no longer a reliable source of protection for people and property. Instead, they can occasionally cause unfortunate events, which are usually the result of an accident.

    Why is Disarmament Week named so?

    The United Nations established Disarmament Week with the goal of raising awareness of disarmament concerns, their importance across sectors, and how to better comprehend them.

    When is Disarmament Week 2022?

    This year’s Disarmament Week is celebrated from Monday 24th of October to Sunday the 30th of October. The UN is urging its members to do their part to promote world peace and security during this week by getting rid of all nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.

    History of Disarmament Week

    Disarmament Week begins on October 24, 1945, the same day the United Nations (U.N.) was established. However, Disarmament Week was not created until 1978. The Special Session of the General Assembly’s Final Document of that year urged the Member States to forgo using force in international relations in favour of disarmament as a means of achieving security. The UN asked the government and NGOs to actively participate in Disarmament Week in 1995. Since then, the aim has been to improve public understanding of issues related to disarmament. In the year 2019 for the first time, four women led the Conference on Disarmament. More women in positions of leadership in this field could pave the way for greater gender equality in disarmament forums, which have traditionally been dominated by men.

    The importance of Disarmament Week

    The importance of increasing public awareness of the value of disarmament is brought to light this week. Try to persuade nations to only keep the weapons they require for a sufficient police force is a major area of focus this week. Weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, and small arms are the main topics of discussion during Disarmament Week, with the former receiving the majority of the attention. Even though there have been advancements, there are still an estimated 30 000 to 50 000 nuclear warheads in the world, despite the fact that these weapons are extremely destructive. Progress can be made on a global level the more countries that join this effort and agree to uphold their end of the bargain. It is time to focus on the issues that have the potential to influence how the world as a whole develops because national security concerns also have a significant impact on the lives of every citizen of every country. It’s something that matters and is true.

    World peace is frequently discussed, and for many people, it appears to be an unattainable goal. There is still hope that something similar to the idea can be realized with the right steps. After all, before we are citizens or members of communities, we are all human beings.

    How to celebrate Disarmament Week?

    Participating in the week allows you to learn more about the significance of nuclear disarmament. There are numerous resources available, such as documentaries, journal articles, and other forms of media, that can help you become more aware of what is going on in the world around you. This week is an excellent opportunity to delve deeper and go beyond simply reading headlines on Google News to gain a better understanding of the issues at hand. All it takes to join the movement is a little bit of interest and conviction in the idea of building safety and trust among communities.

    To raise public awareness of disarmament and the crucial issues surrounding it, more than just governments and major organizations like the U.N. are necessary. Be active on social media. You can raise awareness for the week on social media using the hashtag #DisarmamentWeek, or you can collaborate with your local school or community centre and be as creative as you can.

    Today, many schools (or student organizations, and there are many in the Czech Republic) run Model United Nations (MUN) programs that mimic how a debate at the UN General Assembly might be conducted. A similar organization or structure could be created to include people of all ages and demographics.

    Arbor Day

    Arbor Day — 20th October, 2022

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    Trees, and the greenery that surrounds us in general, are often seemingly invisible to us, but extremely important to our lives. Not only do they produce oxygen, the presence of trees provides shade, helps cool cities in summer, and the presence of greenery has also been shown to improve people’s mental state. Arbor Day is a reminder of the importance of trees. Let’s find out more about it.

    Why is Arbor Day named so?

    The aim of Arbor Day is to encourage people around the world to recognize the importance of trees, nature and the environment in which we live. Trees are a very important part of life on earth. They make us breathe. The principle of photosynthesis has been around since primary school. Besides photosynthesis, it also provides a great environment for many animals in the forest, from the canopy to the roots. Trees and their living greenery have a proven positive psychological effect on mental health and well-being.

    When is Arbor Day 2022?

    In the United States, Arbor Day is now most commonly celebrated on the last Friday in April, although some states have moved the date to coincide with the best weather for planting trees.  In the Czech Republic, International Arbor day falls on 20 October.

    What is the theme of Arbor Day 2022?

    The theme for 2022 is “Forests and sustainable production and consumption”. The theme is taken from the United Nations Collaborative Partnership on Forests and has been used for this year’s celebration of International Arbor Day.

    History of Arbor Day

    Julius Sterling Morton, an enthusiast of trees, is credited with creating Arbor Day. Many Americans who moved from the East to the barren plains saw the opportunity to have a garden of trees and flowers as evidence that an American-style culture had successfully colonized a new environment. The first Arbor Day was held in Nebraska on April 10, 1872. On that day, it is estimated that close to one million trees were planted. Arbor Day was made a recognized holiday in Nebraska in 1885. In recognition of Morton’s birthday, the event was moved up to April 22. Later, the idea spread to other continents. Only the celebration day varies based on the climate and the best time to grow trees.

    In the Czech Republic the idea was introduced by the “Association of Ornamental Societies,” when the first significant Arbor Day event took place in early April 1906. Václav Větvička, a former director of the Charles University Botanical Garden, reintroduced the tradition in year 2000 after it had been put on hold during the communist regime. The first Arbor Day event was scheduled on October 20, as autumn is a suitable time to plant trees in our land area.

    The importance of Arbor Day

    Arbor Day acts as a reminder to respect human health and grow trees. It inspires people to pause in today’s prosperous society and pay attention to the beauty of Mother Nature by, for instance, just planting a tree. Trees are a vital source of life-giving oxygen in the air we breathe. In addition to offering shade, shelter, and acting as windbreaks, trees significantly reduce the need for heating and cooling throughout the hot summer and chilly winter months. In addition to providing fuel and building materials, trees can also protect crops from erosive weather and excessive sun exposure.

    Trees have a significant role in carbon sequestration. Trees benefit from CO2, which is a significant cause of global warming, rather than harming the ecosystem. According to a recently published assessment by MAAP, the original Amazon forest ecosystem has lost 13.2% of its original area owing to deforestation and other factors. More than 85 million hectares (211 million acres) or almost one-tenth the size of the United States or China are covered by this.

    How to celebrate the Arbor Day?

    This holiday is customarily celebrated by many communities by planting trees and honoring the environment in other ways.

    Look for strategies to improve your garden’s water efficiency. Think about watering plants with rainwater or choosing drought-tolerant plant species. You may also plan a local community nature clean-up day with your friends and neighbors. Additionally, some take advantage of this day to visit an arboretum or botanical garden. You can improve your health by going for a walk in a park while enjoying the beauty of natural greenery. If you don’t have time for either activity, you can at least donate to organizations that are focusing on reforesting the earth. You can buy a tree that they will then plant in the Amazon, for example. There are many ways how to contribute.

    Morton’s words about Arbor Day resonate strongly today, as climate change becomes an increasing threat: “Other holidays lean on the past; Arbor Day suggests the future.”

    It’s an opportunity to protect the trees we have and bring trees to places where they don’t exist. After all, where would we be without our trees?

    How to increase the open rate of your promotional emails

    How to increase the open rate of your promotional emails?

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    Most people will tell you that a good open rate is around 20 per cent. Let’s think about that for a moment. A 20 per cent open rate means that 80 per cent of people are completely ignoring you. Is that really what you want?

    That’s a really hard problem to solve. Here are just a few of the issues that stand between you and a significantly higher open rate:

  • People get tons of emails
  • People are apathetic about your product/service
  • You send your emails to everyone (i. e. to no one)
  • You don’t know your list properly

    • One of the leading companies that know how to increase the potential of its promotional emails is Swedish furniture retailer IKEA. The key is segmentation, data and testing. Let’s take a look at what makes IKEA such a success and how you can achieve similar success.

    Why is IKEA so successful?

    IKEA ranks among the top when it comes to the success of their promotional emails. Let’s take a look at some of the tips that have made them so successful.

    Early segmentation

    IKEA is segmented from the word “go”. Its homepage first allows you to choose your country and language. The gateway to their 2.8million page website is an effort to get the right content to the right people. Clearly, segmentation is a top priority for IKEA.

    Smart questions

    Once customers have selected their location (and this is not optional), they can sign up for the newsletter. IKEA already knows where they are and what language they speak.
    With stores in 41 countries, the importance of location and language cannot be underestimated. How unfortunate would it be if someone signed up for the newsletter but couldn’t read the language?

    During the sign-up process, IKEA asks a series of optional (and very clever) questions.
    Here’s a look at some of the questions and how the answers can affect the emails new subscribers receive:

  • Are you engaged? Sending information about wedding registries
  • Do you have children? Send information about the children’s collection
  • Are you planning to move or have you recently moved? Send inspiration on furnishing your new home.
  • Are you planning a kitchen remodel? Send information about IKEA installation services.
  • Are you a homeowner or renter? Sending information about furnishing your home
  • It’s easy to see how emails can vary based on this information.

    • For example, if the new subscriber has children, it is very important to tailor the emails to the children’s furniture. Children are likely to replace beds and dressers much faster than adults, which means IKEA has several opportunities to sell products. And if they don’t have children, it would be an incredible waste of time to send emails with children’s products. Frequent irrelevant emails could ruin the relationship between IKEA and a new customer.

    Integrate everything with content

    While not directly related to sending super-targeted emails, it’s important to note that… IKEA integrates content into everything it does.

    Take the living room section of their website, for example. As you browse, the products and the content blend together. It looks and feels seamless. The content bridges the path from inspiration to purchase well.

    Another interesting piece of info about IKEA marketing

    “We really look at how people live at home,” says Christine Scoma Whitehawk, IKEA’s communications manager in the US, “so we really start with the customer and try to find out what’s important to them… And how IKEA can help them so that we can be real partners in improving their lives at home every day.”

    They do not only get this information about consumers from surveys and reports. IKEA actually sends design experts into people’s homes to listen to their concerns and give them feedback. This allows IKEA evangelists to make marketing decisions based on people’s actual experiences, not just surveys or data. And what is the most effective way to share this information? Through the power of storytelling.

    “Over the last few years, content marketing has become increasingly important for us in that mix,” Whitehawk said, “because it gives us an opportunity to start telling some of our IKEA stories to really share with people how IKEA can improve their lives.”

    How do I get more emails delivered?

    More than 20% of marketing emails never reach subscribers’ inboxes. That’s more than one in five emails!

    Of course, just like open rates, average deliverability rates vary by region… In Asia, for example, only 66% of emails reach the reader’s inbox, compared to 86% in Europe.

    That’s a huge difference in email open rates!

    So how can you ensure that your emails reach your readers? Here are some tips on how you can increase your delivery rates.

  • Use double opt-in. Double opt-in means that the subscriber verifies that they want to receive emails from your company (even if it’s not a requirement under GDPR). You don’t want to send emails to people who don’t particularly want them; otherwise, they won’t read them and you’ll reduce your open rates.
  • Ask readers to add you to their trusted mailing list. By simply asking readers to add your “from” email address to their contact lists, you can increase your email inbox.
  • Clean up your email list. If a subscriber doesn’t open an email from you three times in a row, chances are they are no longer interested in your company. Gmail and Yahoo Mail are smart enough to understand this, so if you continue to send emails to subscribers who don’t open them, they may be redirected to your spam folder, so consider cleaning up your list (like JD Whetherspoon did before GDPR). The more emails your audience receives, the more likely people are to open them.

    • How do I increase email open rates?

    The name of the sender and the subject of the emails are the most important factors for opening and reading them.

    For example, our own research found that 45% of subscribers say they’re likely to read your email because of who it’s from, and 33% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line.

    What sender name do you use? Are you sending emails from ABCXYZ company or are you using a specific person’s name? Believe it or not, this can make a huge difference! Research by Pinpointe Marketing found that using a specific personal name instead of a generic email address or company name can increase open rates by up to 35%! That’s why it’s surprising that, according to our own B2B email marketing research, 89% of email marketing campaigns are sent from a company name.

    When it comes to email subject lines, have you heard the phrase “you should spend as much time writing the headline as you spend writing the content”? Well, the exact same phrase applies to your subject line. A well-crafted subject line shouldn’t be the first thing that comes to mind. Instead, it should be what takes up your time. And you should be guided by research and data to help you. A report by Retention Science found that subject lines with 6 to 10 words provide the highest open rates, so 8 words are the ideal number for a subject line.

    What does email open rate mean?

    The open rate indicates the number of subscribers who have opened a particular email you sent, compared to the total number of subscribers you have in your mailing list. Suppose you have 100 subscribers on your mailing list. If 70 subscribers open your emails, your open rate will be 70% on average. So to calculate your email open rate, simply divide the number of subscribers who opened your email by the total number of subscribers. Then multiply the answer by 100%. As in the example above: (70 subscribers ÷ 100 subscribers) × 100%.

    The email open rate will give you an idea of how well your email marketing strategy is working. It’s also a good way to see if your emails are getting subscribers’ attention. It’s one of the most important metrics you can use to check if you need to adjust your email campaign strategy. For example, a low open rate means your consumer is not moving through the sales funnel as expected. Don’t take this fact lightly. So let’s take a look at what factors are affecting your email open rates.

    Factors affecting email open rates

    A combination of factors determines whether a particular email letter will be of interest to the recipient. These factors include the relevance of the emails to your subscribers, urgency, word count and the time of day you send them. These factors also determine whether recipients will have a reason to open your emails.

    The five most important factors that influence email open rates:

  • Relevance to Your Target Audience. Individual customers have certain wants and needs. They belong to different categories and are guided by interests that can vary considerably. One of the limiting factors in terms of email open rates is the quality of the information contained in the emails.
    Sending an email that contains poor-quality information or no information at all that would be of interest to the individuals on your list will most certainly cause your other emails to not be opened.
    People like information, but they like it even better when they can use it in real situations. Sending out emails that are of no use to the people on your list is one of the reasons your email ends up in the trash or is reported as spam.
    So it’s important to target a group of people who are interested in what you have to offer. That way they will see the email, like it and open it.
  • Email Content. Another important factor is the content of the email. Is it something your subscribers look forward to? Or is it something they’d rather do without? This skill is taught in storytelling or writing courses. Experts providing “do my essay for cheap” service and helping students with writing assignments claim that less than half of the texts written even by professionals are actually on the topic.
    You should tailor the content of your emails to not only provide your subscribers with useful information but also to entertain them.
  • Email List Quality. If you can convince visitors to sign up for your email list, you can be sure that they are at least mildly interested in what you have to offer.
    On the other hand, if you trick them into subscribing to your emails, it’s easy for your emails to be ignored, sent to the trash or reported as spam.
  • Time of The Day. When is the ideal time to send out emails? The truth is, there is no ideal time. Some people prefer to read emails in the morning, afternoon or evening depending on their lifestyle. Because there is no one-size-fits-all approach, choosing a time to send emails can be difficult. So try sending emails at different times of the day, see which time works best for you, and stick to that.
  • Subject Lines. More than a third of your subscribers will choose to open an email based solely on how the subject line appeals to them. The subject line is your first, and sometimes only, a chance to grab your subscribers’ attention and pique their curiosity to learn more.
    So craft your subject line carefully and remember that it’s responsible for a significant portion of your email open rates. The subject line should be brief but should carry as much information as possible about the content of the email. It should also be able to grab the attention of your subscribers once they read it. Overall, Chillifruit would say that personalization should be the most essential characteristic of any email outreach campaign. I’ve seen a significant increase in both the number of responses and the quality of those responses. It has also helped me build better relationships with people.