Having a business means that you’re likely going to have to keep security in mind. Whether you are looking to increase customer trust or you want to make sure that your own business is secure, having some things in place can make a huge difference if you ever run into any issues with hacking or identity theft. When you are thinking about how you can make your business run more smoothly, you might also want to think about whether you’ve taken the proper steps toward making it secure or not.

Here are some reasons to consider enhanced security for your business. 

It can save you time and money

When your system is compromised, it can end up costing you thousands of dollars and a lot of your working day trying to put it back together. Even then, some customers might want to sue you for not taking care of their valuable information. The truth is, stolen information is a big liability for many businesses, and many don’t know that their information is being shared. It can end up costing you much more money than you might have realized, and you also run the risk of losing customers.

It can help you build customer trust

No one likes to feel as though their information is available all over the web, especially if it contains details that they wouldn’t like to share such as credit card details and personal addresses. This is why encryption is essential for your business, and why virtual data rooms can be an easy way for you to keep clients’ information safe. Customers like to know that everything is in place and that they don’t have to worry about their safety—physical and virtual.

It’s easy to implement

Increasing your business’s security is often much easier than you might realize. You’ll probably want to hire a company to come in and take a look at the set-up you already have so you can make the transition to a more secure software. Sometimes, you can even do it on your own depending how complex the security measures you want to take are and how much information you need to encrypt. You’ll often find that increasing security is much easier than you would realize.

It can easy your mind

Losing clients’ information can cause major problems with your business, and it can cause a lot of stress for you as a boss or manager. If this is the case, having increased security can make all the difference and can help you to feel as though you are taking care of your customers. Knowing that you are less likely to get hacked or lose information that you’re not supposed to can go a long way toward creating a business that feels secure.

Security might not be something that immediately comes to mind when you are planning on running a successful business, but it’s much more important than you might realize. You’re going to want to make sure everything is encrypted properly and that have the right security measures in place.

Finding your first customers is always the easy part of marketing your business. When you have an idea of how you want to present yourself and how you can show off your company’s best assets, then marketing can be an easy thing to do when you are first getting started. However, with more time, finding new clients can be frustrating and might require thinking in some new and innovative ways.

Here are some ways you can appeal to new clients effectively and to encourage them to try out your business. 

Provide them with information

Part of how you can attract new people to your business is by offering ways that they can learn about what you do and why you are the best choice over the competition. Much of marketing is showing customers that you care about their needs and helping them along on their decision-making process. The best way to do this is to provide quality content that reaches customers who still might be on the fence of which company they should use and why.

Nail down who you want to attract

Marketing to everyone might seem like a good idea, but it can often take interest away from the clients who really would use your business. It’s always a good idea to sit down and think about who your ideal customer would be. How old is he or she? What socioeconomic standing does he or she have? Once you know the basics of why this customer would need your business, you can start marketing directly to him or her. Not everyone needs your product or service—as much as you might think that they do!

Promote effectively

Where are you sharing the information you are creating for new customers? If it is only on your business’s website, you’ll probably have to look at some other ways to connect with potential clients. Fortunately, social media makes it easy to reach out to your buyer personas and to target exactly who you want to check out your business. Whether you choose to market through Facebook, Twitter, or Google Ads, you can determine how much you want to pay for advertising beforehand.

Don’t forget local

While much of marketing has gone the way of using social media and the internet, local customers are usually the ones who will end up returning to you again and again. Word of mouth is still a valuable form of marketing, and it’s easy to know your buyer persona because you interact with him or her every day. Don’t forget to include some local advertising, as well, and use SEO as a tool for targeting these specific customers.

Be active

Marketing effectively often means that you spend much of your time being consistent and available to potential clients. By offering to answer any questions that potential buyers might have, you’re do much more of the legwork than you think you are. You want to be available to talk to unsure clients on the phone, email, and through social media. Being active in the marketing process shows clients that you care about what you are doing and helping them.

Appealing to new clients often takes thinking outside the box and how you can represent your business in new ways. With a little thought and knowing who you want to attract, you’ll find innovative reasons to reach customers.

Building trust and knowing how to appeal to various customers is something every business has to deal with at some point. Whether you have taken years to accumulate that trust or you are just starting to realize how important it is to the success of your business and how you can have a strong connection with your clients.

The best way to do this is by showing them that you have their most important information safe and sound. When you are wondering how crucial security is, there are some reasons why you might want to make it tighter. 

Customers don’t share information willingly

Releasing important information is difficult for everyone, and if that information includes credit card numbers, addresses, or emails, it can be difficult to give up. When a client has made a step to give you that info, it means that he or she is trusting you with a portion of his or her life. Taking care that this information is not released is part of your job as a business owner, and you should respect that a client has trusted you with personal data.

Make that information difficult to acquire

When you want to retain that trust, you’ll want to take into account that you will actively need to protect that information. Whether that means investing in a virtual data room, creating multiple levels of passwords, or taking extra steps against hackers, being aware that this information can easily be compromised can help to keep it safe. You might also want to talk to consultants who can help you decide the best route for you.

Assure clients that their information is safe

You might have a number of potential clients who are hesitant to sign up for email newsletters or join your business because of security issues. By letting them know that you have security measures in place and that this is an issue that you care about, you’re informing them that you are doing everything you can to keep their information hidden away and that this is an issue that you care about too. Let potential customers know on your website the measures you’ve put in place so they know beforehand.

Answer any questions

Nothing builds trust more than be available to answer any questions that current or future clients might have about your product, service, or business practices. Part of being a good businessperson who legitimately cares about the client’s needs and wants is being there to offer advice and to help the client receive the information he or she needs in order to make an informed decision. Be active on social media and Tweet or message back. Answer emails directed toward questions about security, and always keep in mind that the customer is entrusting you with some valuable info.

Building trust with clients is something that takes time, but when you have a way to keep information safe and you can easily explain that system to customers, you’re taking steps to making that bond stronger. Your customers are putting their most valuable and personal info in your hands—so you want to make sure that it remains safe for years to come.

Finding new ways to brand yourself on social media has become a major challenge for those looking to brand themselves in a positive way. Knowing how best to represent yourself as a business can take time and putting together a strategy so you know that you are getting your message across as a company. The good thing is that you don’t have to be an expert in order to do a good job on social media.

Here are 5 ways you can come across as a solid, quality brand on social media. 

1. Have a clear image in mind

How do you look to potential customers? Do you know what your logo and website design looks like to customers? Knowing clearly how you look to those who haven’t heard of you and don’t know which industry you are in can help you find any changes you might need to make to your social media pages. If potential customers don’t know what you represent, then it can be almost impossible to market online to the right people.

2. Make sure it looks nice

If you want clients to look at your site, then you want to make sure that it is nice to look at. Design is something that many businesses forget when they are looking to reach customers, but it can be one of the most important aspects of getting your message across. How your information is presented can make the difference of whether a customer will choose your business over your competition.

3. Interact with customers

Unfortunately, sometimes social media serves as a medium for customers to express any issues or problems that they have been facing while using your company. Along with the good, you might also have some negative comments or complaints. The best way to take a hold of the situation is to interact with customers on social media and to answer any questions they may have.

By interacting with customers, you are showing that you care about them and their feedback on your business. It also gives you a chance to provide some information for other customers, as well. Trust is the most important part of appearing positively to clients, and by answering any inquiries, you are showing that you care.

4. Post positive content

What you post can also give curious customers an idea of what is important to you and how you plan on conducting business. Negative politics, contentious issues, and radical posts rarely do well as a business. There’s nothing wrong with having an opinion, but expressing it over your business’s page might not be the best way to encourage new customers to visit your company and see what you have to offer.

5. Be honest

Just as posting negative news might not be the best way to go, posting content that does not express your views can be equally dangerous. You want to be honest about what you believe and why you have faith in your product or service. Branding your company means sharing with your buyer personas exactly what you are trying to accomplish and why that is needed in your industry. If you have any doubt about whether a certain type of content fits with your business’s model, then you should think twice about posting.

Finding the right way to brand your company is an important part of creating an online presence that will appeal to potential customers. When branding yourself, take some time and think about what you want to represent as a company and how you can through various social media outlets.

Once you’ve taken some time to establish your brand and made it available to your buyer personas, you want to know that it will be recognizable across the board. After you have spent so much time forging a brand, you want to know that you will get the results and attention you want from potential customers. The best way to do this is to advertise and make sure that your brand is consistent on all your levels of marketing. 

Consistency in web design and graphics

What is the first thing that you think your customers see when they consider your brand? Most likely, they will have an image of your logo, your overall aesthetic, and how consistent this is with the message you are trying to get across. As a result, you want to make sure that every aspect of your company somehow connects back to the image you have created for your brand.

This means that any web design or graphics should portray this. Find a logo that conveys what and how your business operates. Use that logo in all of your documents, receipts, advertisements, and more. The visuals will definitely help with putting yourself out there to a new client base. 

Consistency in social media

While social media might not have been an aspect of marketing to contend with in the past, it is absolutely necessary for the success of your business in the modern age. The problem is that many companies are unsure about how to properly go about promoting their business and services on social media. This can be a learning curve, especially when you want to make sure that what you are conveying makes sense to potential customers.

The best way to do this is to make sure that everything that you are posting somehow relates back to your industry. Whether it is a retweet from an industry leader or a photograph of your latest company event, using social media as a way to bring clients back to your website to learn more is the best way to keep everything consistent.

Consistency in content

Like social media, content on your blog and website is what is going to draw customers into your business. In order to make sure that you attract customers that are truly interested in what you have to offer, you want to take advantage of your blog and website to educate them on what it is you do and how this is all connected to the services you offer.

Posts on your blog should be related to your industry (just like your posts on social media) and should have a clear message. By providing consistency to your clients, they know that they can come back and revisit your blog on a regular basis to get news about the industry and to make an informed decision in their purchases.

Consistency in your advertising

While simply putting banner up outside your business was enough to gain attention in the past, more and more of advertising is making its way to online ads and Google Adwords. Just as you need to sit down and come up with a strategy for content, design, and social media, you should also make sure that all of your advertising is related to what you are trying to accomplish as a brand. This means knowing your buyer persona inside and out and knowing what kind of ad he or she would most likely click on for more information.

Consistency also makes it easier for you because it allows you to follow a set of guidelines that will appeal to potential customers.

While this might require a bit more work and thought, you’re more likely to get the results you want and the customers that are interested in what you have to offer as a business—saving you money and creating success.

It might seem pretty obvious that you need to keep track of your clients’ information when conducting a successful business. It might not be apparent how much you need to be aware of the security that involves. Even just basic information like credit card info, addresses, and phone numbers can be catastrophic if accessed by hackers or those who should not have access. While it can be a bit more expensive to have extra precautionary measures, it can also end saving your business in the long run.

Here are some ways you can protect your clients’ information.

Make your employees sign an agreement

Most companies are already aware that keeping your employees quiet is a big part of keeping information safe. However, few actually take the time to sit down with them and explain how important it is that they think of the client. You should consider having your lawyer draw up an agreement for your employees to sign so they know what is acceptable to share and what is not.

A confidentiality agreement is usually easy to create and it can ease your mind over how much of your clients’ personal information will be shared from under your own roof.

Consider data rooms

Documents, photographs, and contact info can be shared readily on the internet if there is no form of protection. One way to solve this is to think about a virtual data room and which online software could work best for your company. These virtual data rooms allow you to keep data safe by using complicated passwords and they are difficult to hack. The information can also only be accessed by employees that you deem need to have it.

As everything begins to go online or in the cloud, it can be much easier to access that information from anywhere in the world (and it also saves up space on your computer systems).

Back up the information

You never know when your computer might crash, and no matter how careful you are, hackers can be a real problem depending on which industry you work in. Therefore, it’s important to back up your clients’ information so you know that even if someone decides to delete it, you still have it available. There are a number of companies and software you can invest in to make sure that you don’t have to worry about losing that essential data.

Also remember that a local backup is not enough. It is usually not the most secure option and if you lose the files, it might be impossible to recover. The best way to back up the data is to make sure you have an equivalent online that you can use instead.

Make sure payments online are secure

If you have the option for clients to buy your products or services online, you will have to take extra care to make sure that the information your clients insert into forms is completely secure. It’s worth it to do a little research into which software has been proven to keep clients safe and which your competitors have used. This can be the easiest way to have your clients’ information stolen, so you will need to invest in a software that you feel comfortable with and that you know will do the job.

Also, avoid having your clients make payments through phone calls or through text.

With these precautionary measures in place, you are more likely to appease your clients and ease your mind while dealing with security. For a little time and expense, it’s worth looking into finding ways your clients’ data can remain safe.

Making the leap from a small, local business to a successful international one is never easy. In fact, this is where many businesses find themselves failing when they choose to expand. Growing into an international company requires a new way of thinking and reaching out to customers that you might have done in the past.

In order to find success, you are going to have to consider what your brand means to another type of audience, how to reach customers, and which aspects of your business you want to remain the same. Rebranding can be difficult, but it’s all necessary when you are planning on making the next leap to a new market.

Research your buyer personas

You might have known your local customers by heart. Maybe you’ve been working with the same type of customer over a long period of time. If this is the case, then you are going to have to think in a few new ways in order to reach new customers through marketing.

Before you jump head-long into the process of marketing, however, the best thing to do is know your international buyer personas just as well as the local ones you have been working with. This can require interviews, chatting with customers who have looked to competitors in the past, and running some polls by people who you think might be interested in what your business has to offer.

Once you’ve gathered some basic information, you can develop a market based around your average customers.

Think about how your company looks to an international audience

What might work in one country might not always work in another. Maybe your colorful branding and laid-back content appeals to a market in Brazil—that doesn’t mean it will go over well in Sweden. Like knowing your buyer personas, you should also know what interests your customers in each location you are planning on expanding to. You might also think about hiring a digital agency for each country you are planning to market to.

Mazda doesn’t use the same advertisements in the United States that it does in Japan. Even though it does cost a bit more money upfront, you’re more likely to see a higher ROI when you cater to your well-researched buyer personas. Knowing your audience and what it can get from your product specifically is more than half the battle when you are looking to expand.

Use content and social media the right way

Just like with branding, potential customers aren’t always going to be searching for the same information on Google. Different areas have different problems and often require different solutions. That’s why if you considering on marketing to a number of countries, you should have an expert in each one who can let you know what is concerning potential buyer personas, what trends they are interested in, and how best to educate them on your product.

This also means delivering content and promoting on each country’s social media pages (not just your country’s), providing content that addresses specific problems your buyer personas might be facing, and reaching out to the media in each country.

Know the laws

While you might know the laws that could affect your business in your home country, it’s not always so easy to be aware of the laws abroad. Before you choose to expand, you will want to sit down with some international lawyers and ask them about any complications you might run into if you start to do business on a global level.

Make sure (just like your buyer personas) you know the ins and outs of the rules and how other companies have chosen to expand abroad. You can learn a lot from the competition and how they have approached stepping outside of their home countries.

With a little thought beforehand, you can reach out to an entirely new audience and reach customers on an international level. Rebranding can take a little time and effort, but the added thought and care will eventually make the difference when you choose to expand your company.