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The Mini Career Changing Guide You Never Knew You Needed

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Career Change|The Mini Career Changing Guide You Never Knew You NeededThere may be a whirlwind of reasons why you’re considering a career change. Maybe you’re beginning to feel less fulfilled in the work that you do, you’ve grown tired of not being challenged, or maybe the industry you’re working in isn’t what it was cracked up to be. Whatever reason that you may have for wanting to change careers, it’s important to know that it’s all completely valid. So this mini-guide is to help you out with changing careers.

Why exactly are you wanting to change careers?

There are many reasons why you might want to make a career change. Whatever the reason may be, it’s important to think about it thoroughly as this is going to help you think of ways to get out of your old career and into a new one. Since there are many considerations to make before deciding whether or not it is the right time to switch careers, here’s what you should ask yourself.

  • What is your current work situation?
  • Do you have the financial stability to support yourself through this transition period?
  • Is your current job in danger of being eliminated due to automation?
  • Will your current skills still be relevant for any other careers you’d like to get into?

Think about the skills you’ll need in your target industry

Is there a specific industry you’d like to get into? What about a certain role? In both of these cases, you’ll have to think about the skills. In order to have a successful career in the industry that you are targeting, you need to have a set of skills that will help you get there.

So what skills do you have that can be easily transferable? What skill sets do you have that could be in demand in the industry you’re wanting to get into? You should also try to figure out what relevant experience you have in your current job and industry versus what’s relevant in the target industry. For instance, if you’re wanting to get into the healthcare field, do you know about the terminology or the equipment they use like the Philips Lumify? These all need to be taken into account.

What are your goals for getting into a new career?

Many people have a goal of getting into a new career. They might have been laid off, or they may just want to explore new opportunities.

The first goal is figuring out what exactly you’re wanting to do. This might seem like a simple task, but it can be difficult because there are so many different careers out there. You will need to identify the type of work that you enjoy and the skills that you have so far developed. But it’s also important to consider whether your degree, certifications, or any training that you’ve had in the past is transferable or not.

While skills and years of experience are important, there are some employers that also expect the same standards for education as well. It may help to try and network, read some articles, or even do other methods of research such as watching YouTube for getting an idea of what you’d like.

Important pointers for changing careers

Since changing careers may be easier for some than others, it’s helpful to have some additional pointers that you may have never thought about. These can help you out while you’re going through the process of applying for new jobs.

  • Start networking immediately with people in the industry you’re interested in going into
  • Understand that you may need to tailor your resume to fit the role and the industry you’re hoping to get into
  • Do you have a skill that’s highly in demand such as speaking a second language?
  • Attend trade shows and other networking events for getting your name out there
  • If you haven’t already, you should start a portfolio or even set up a blog to let recruiters know about your knowledge

These are just a few tips that could potentially help you out.

Staying Ahead Of The Curve With Software Security How To Protect Your Business Data

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Software Security|Staying Ahead Of The Curve With Software Security How To Protect Your Business DataWe live in a fast-paced and highly competitive world. Businesses need to stay on top of the latest trends and innovations in order to grow and succeed. One such trend that all companies should keep an eye on is software security. However, as with any new technology, it can be hard to know how to best protect your data from security breaches.

The golden rule for staying safe in today’s world is to always update your software, make two-factor authentication a regular part of using your passwords, and use different passwords for different accounts. This guide will teach you how to stay ahead of the curve and secure your business data so that you can build a more promising future for your company.

Why Software Security Is Important

While it may seem like an unnecessary hassle, software security is essential for any business. Whether you’re a freelancer, startup, or global company, there are many reasons why security should be your top priority. It not only protects your reputation but can help your business to grow.

Data is the lifeblood of any business. Without the information stored on your computer or servers, you won’t have anything to sell or offer to customers. With this in mind, it’s important that you take every precaution possible to protect this data from breaches and theft. Hacks can happen at any time, and from anywhere in the world, so you want to make sure that your business data is safe from hackers who might be able to get into your system with one simple password guess.

When people come across a company that doesn’t protect their data or passwords adequately, they may think twice about buying from them in the future. This could hurt your brand reputation and cause potential customers to turn away from your business. Security is a win-win situation. Not only do you get peace of mind knowing that your data will be safe from hacks and theft, but you’ll also build trust when potential customers see how careful you are when it comes to handling their data.

The Basics Of Software Security

Software security is one of the most important things to consider to ensure your company’s data is safe. One of the best ways to protect your data is simply by updating your software. Outdated versions of programs can leave your data vulnerable to hackers since they know what vulnerabilities are available in older versions.

Many programs will automatically prompt you when it’s time to update, and while this may sometimes occur in inopportune moments, it’s best to make sure you update as soon as possible. A second way to keep your company’s data secure is by using two-factor authentication. This means using two different types of information to unlock an account; typically, this is a password and a physical device like an ID card or cell phone. It makes it harder for hackers to break into accounts because they need both pieces of information in order for their login attempt to work.

How To Stay Ahead?

No matter what kind of company you have, keeping data safe is essential. Any company that stores customer information or handles financial transactions needs to protect itself from hackers and other security breaches. One of the best ways to stay ahead is to build a data security infrastructure from the ground up. This includes investing in software that will make your business more secure.

Another way to stay ahead of the curve is to invest in adequate software security testing to ensure that there are no gaps in your software security. When looking into testing methods, it can be a daunting process to find what will work for your programs. However, you can find help and expert advice in this guide to software security testing from ForAllSecure.

The Importance Of Updating Your Software

One of the most important ways to protect your data from security breaches is promptly updating your software. Almost anything can be hacked in today’s environment, and outdated software is a major liability.

A security breach occurs when a hacker infiltrates your network and steals your data. Updating your software makes it harder for hackers to find a vulnerability in the system that they can exploit to get in. If you don’t take this precaution, you leave yourself vulnerable to attack and open to losing all of your company’s sensitive information. In the event of an attack, it may take days before you realize there’s been an intrusion. And by then, it might be too late as the damage could already be done.

Locking Down Your Passwords

Let’s start with the basics. Your passwords are one of your first lines of defense against hacking, and they’re also the easiest to forget about. Unless you want to be embarrassed by a data breach, it’s essential to take precautions. Make sure that you use different passwords for different accounts, including your personal email account, work email account, social media accounts, and bank accounts. If you need help coming up with strong passwords for all of these accounts, consider using a password manager. In general, make sure your passwords are not easy-to-guess words or phrases.

Two-Factor Authentication

Many companies have adopted two-factor authentication for their software, which is a simple and effective way to add an extra layer of protection to your data. With this system, when you want to access a specific account online, you’ll need a password and another form of identification, such as a company smartphone.

This is an excellent measure for securing your company’s data. It would be much more difficult for someone to access one of your accounts with two-factor authentication because they would need both the password and the device.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you should have a few more tools in your arsenal to stay ahead of the curve with software security.

As a business owner, it’s essential to make sure you’re taking a proactive stance on software security. It’s not enough to simply update your software. You can take precautions to keep your data safe and your business protected. Stay vigilant and stay ahead of the curve.

6 Tips to Optimize Your Website for Conversions

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Optimize your website conversions|6 Tips to Optimize Your Website for ConversionsWebsite traffic as a metric is overrated…

Web conversions are where the big boys play!

It doesn’t matter if you have thousands of website visitors. If you can’t convert them into paying customers, your business won’t see the light of day.

The only thing you’ll see on your sales dashboard is “0.” As in, ZERO sales. Ouch!

So your business doesn’t meet its untimely demise, allow me to share with you six tried and tested conversion optimization tips that can skyrocket your web conversions.

Let’s hop right in.

1. Declutter

Remember that your goal is to generate sales, not win the Met Gala award for websites.

While aesthetics is crucial, it’s never the point.

You should always think about conversions with every single element you add to your web design.

Before you add anything, ask yourself this, “Will adding this element influence my web visitors to take action on my offer? Or will it distract them?

If adding an element to your website aids in influencing your web visitors to make a purchase, then go for it.

If not, don’t hesitate to scrap the idea and anything that contributes to why your content isn’t converting (among others).

2. Talk about pain points

“People buy on emotions. They later justify their purchase based on logic.” – Anonymous

You can bet your family jewels that the line above is true.

It’s an established train of thought that most, if not all, conversion optimization specialists subscribe to.

Because emotions lead to sales, you need to evoke emotions out of your web visitors. The more emotional they become, the higher the likelihood they’ll make the purchase.

Talking about their pain points or previous frustrations can do the trick.

When you paint a vivid picture of how frustrating their experience was, they tend to get emotional and make it their life’s ultimate goal not to experience the same frustration ever again.

This compels your visitors to buy your product immediately since you’ve positioned it as the solution to their problems.

Best practices when talking about your customer’s pain points:

  • Use the exact words they’re using to describe their frustrations. Doing this makes your web copy more relatable.
  • Use surveys or talk to your customer service team to learn how exactly your customers are wording their challenges and wins.
  • If you’re a SaaS company, you can visit review platforms, such as Capterra, G2 Crowd, etc., then note the words used by those who left their feedback.

3. Speed up your videos

A slow-loading video is a massive turnoff to web visitors.

Whether they’re looking to buy from you or consume your content, the moment your video buffers, it can easily frustrate your web visitors.

That’s why you need to learn how to speed up your videos.

With a fast-loading video, you give your visitors a pleasant experience while on your website.

They can watch your videos and concentrate on their content without being distracted or frustrated.

Imagine.

If your product videos are wonderfully made and are compelling, can you imagine how much sales you’d get if your videos loaded smoothly?

On the other hand, can you imagine how much sales you’d lose if your videos loaded slowly and a good portion of your web traffic clicked away whenever your videos buffer?

4. Make your website easily navigable

Don’t make it hard for your web visitors to find the products they want to buy by making your website navigation confusing.

Ideally, you’d want them to reach the page they’re looking for within 1 – 3 clicks. The fewer the clicks, the better.

Also, be mindful of where you place your navigation menus, filters, categories, etc.

Your placement needs to be logical and intuitive.

The good news is, some of the best content management software has highly customizable website navigation menus and widgets.

By customizing where and how you place your navigation options to a section of your website that makes sense to your website visitors, it becomes easier for them to navigate your site and find the products or pages they’re looking for.

5. Make your chat support icon highly visible

You need to immediately address whatever barriers will prevent your web visitors from making the purchase.

Whether it’s a question about pricing, product features, or your guarantees, etc., you need to answer within 24 hours. (The sooner, the better.)

When you don’t address your web visitors’ inquiries right away, you allow them to click away, check out your competitor’s website, and potentially buy from your competitors.

What a waste.

After all, they were already on your site, ready to make the purchase.

To address your customers’ inquiries immediately, add a 24/7 chat support feature on your site and make your chat support icon highly visible.

That way, when your customers have questions, they can click your customer support icon, be connected with your customer service representative, and have their inquiries answered.

You can also use robust customer service software with AI chatbots. That way, you can keep the workforce hours for your customer service team from ballooning.

An AI chatbot also gives your customer service team a better work experience since they don’t need to deal with basic, menial, and boring questions.

6. Add one type of call-to-action (CTA) only

Analysis paralysis is real.

There are countless studies made about it, and it proves itself to be true.

That’s why when you design your website; you need to remove whatever elements that will cause your web visitors to experience analysis paralysis.

What’s an example, you might ask?

Adding several types of CTAs is a great example.

If you ask your web visitor to sign up, click your “Buy Now” button, and share your offer on Facebook, there’s a real chance they’ll experience analysis paralysis.

That’s why a rule of thumb that competent conversion rate optimization specialists use is one page, one CTA.

For instance, if you’re offering services to help your clients get content with links, create a landing page with a single CTA.

Doing this keeps your visitors from analyzing anything because there’s only one option.

When the only CTA button on your site is to click your “Buy Now” buttons, your web traffic will have no other choice but to do that.

Get better site conversions now.

Why continue getting abysmal conversion rates when you can apply tried and tested adjustments to get better results?

The strategies shared in this guide might be far from being complete, but integrating these into your web design or marketing campaigns will help you get meaningful and better results.

How to Make Your Entire Supply Chain Greener

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article |Supply Chain|How to Make Your Entire Supply Chain GreenerAs more and more businesses start to pay attention to how they operate in greener and more efficient ways, one of the things that your business can’t afford to overlook is its supply chain. It’s all well and good making your business green, but if the tentier company depends on a supply chain that’s anything but environmentally friendly, it doesn’t mean much. So here’s how to make your entire supply chain greener.

Reduce Distances

Using more local resources is one of the things you can do to make the supply chain of your business a bit greener. When you reduce the amount of distances that products need to travel, it makes it easier for you to reduce your carbon emissions. If you’re supplying items from the other side of the world, that’s obviously going to cause a much greater impact on the planet.

Plan Smarter Routes

The routes you plan can also have an impact when it comes to how green your supply chain is. If you can make sure that you’re taking the smartest and most efficient routes, you should be able to make your supply chain greener than it was before. If you’ve been using the same routes for transporting and distributing goods for a long time, you might not even be aware of how outdated or inefficient they are.

Use Electric Vehicles for Transportation

Another thing to consider when it comes to transportation is using electric vehicles. It’s something that most businesses are now able to embrace. By committing to only transporting goods on the road with electric vehicles, you’ll massively reduce the environmental impact of your business and its entire supply chain. As EVs become more affordable, it’s something more and more businesses are doing. It’s definitely an option for you to explore.

Work with Suppliers That Take a Sustainable Approach

Working with suppliers who are as committed to green changes just as much as you are is obviously something that’s very important. Superior Farms is an example of a food company that’s committed to those goals, and there are similar options in just about every industry and niche. All you need to do is go out of your way to find them and see if you can then work together.

Shrink the Packaging

Shrinking the packaging and making sure that you’re not wasting resources with the packaging you choose is something that’ll be really important. Having green practices in place will be meaningless if you’re relying on tons of plastic to get your products into stores and to customers. So try to find alternative packaging methods and do what you can to shrink the packaging.

It might seem like a lot of work and effort, but taking gradual steps to make your supply chain as green and efficient as it can be will not only help the planet; it’ll help your business too. It becomes a selling point and by maximizing efficiency, you can save yourself a lot of money too.

Don’t sell the steak – sell the sizzle

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Selling|Don't sell the steak - sell the sizzleIn business, it’s all too often too easy to sell the steak rather than the sizzle. That is, to focus on what people are buying rather than why they should buy it.

Most consumers will purchase your product because it’s functional and fulfills a need in their lives. If you want your products to fly off the shelves, you must also give them an incentive- an emotional benefit- that doesn’t come with just any purchase of your product. Don’t just tell them “here is our newest release” or “our product lasts longer”.

Even a humble compression spring has a sizzle to be sold

When you look at humble compression springs it can be hard to see beyond the fact that a spring is springy. How can you look at a spring and come up with a story to sell it?

A compression spring’s history

It’s history for a start. In 1763 by R Tradwell filed the first patent for a coiled spring which was used to replace the leaf spring in automotive suspension systems. Another interesting patent for a compression spring was filed in 1865 when the use of a compression spring in a mattress was patented.

Comfort is the common factor in both patents. So why not build on this history? It’s all about knowing what makes people buy. The proof is in the history books. People want to buy comfort while they sleep, they want to be able to go on a long journey without the fear of their car breaking down, and they certainly don’t want the risk of their body being uncomfortable in any way at home or at work.

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A sizzle to support your steak – ease of use

The next product sizzle that you may be able to build around is easy of use. Ballpoint pens offer writers a clean writing experience that has been improved by the inclusion of a spring that allows the pen’s nib to be stored with the pen ensuring fewer leaks.

As you can see, even a humble spring has features and benefits that can be used to create a sizzle to sell.

Creating the sizzle

To create a sizzle that is going to sell, you must ensure that everyone on the development team, from the marketing and sales teams to the engineers and the QA testers, are all part of the process. If you don’t do this and try it all yourself or go at it alone you won’t be able to build a product with a good enough sizzle.

It’s important to build a product with a good sizzle because in today’s competitive market if you want to succeed you need to stand out. To stand out, you need an edge that is going to make your product sell.

To come up with a good product idea, break down the composition of your product, or the process behind it. From there draw on the history of your business and its products. You may be able to find something that has gone before that can help you create a story about your new product.

Every new product is an opportunity for you to give customers an added benefit that they won’t get from anyone else.