Online trading has proven to be both a blessing and a curse for the investors all around the world. By enabling them to acquire and sell financial assets from virtually anywhere on the planet, it has effectively revolutionized the way business is done in the 21st century, although this does not come without its own share of troubles. Trading has become faster and more available than ever, albeit at a great cost in terms of security and finances.

Advantages of Online Trading

Of all the advantages online trading has brought to the table, what stands out the most is the sheer convenience that comes with being able to trade at one’s leisure. At last, traders are no longer bound to their brokers. As the 21st century connectivity kicks in, one no longer has to stay within running distance of a landline so they can phone orders to their brokers, hoping they get lucky. Nowadays, market opportunities can be exploited in real time, without having to make direct contact with the broker – thanks to online trading. Aside from that, online accounts keep getting easier to open and manage, making brokers all but redundant, for the most part. In fact, since online trading is controlled by the computers, online accounts can be accessed at any given moment. Furthermore, online safety has reached a point where traders no longer have to worry about a teenager with a laptop ruining their entire portfolio; in fact, savvy traders can amass a sizable fortune in a relatively short amount of time, without ever having to worry about online safety. In addition, online trading actually rewards zealous traders with lower commissions, costs and various perks. The best part is that virtually anyone can join in on the action – all it takes is some spare money to get started, the desire to invest and a computer with an internet connection. Users can get an update on a daily basis on the brand’s social pages. Optionsxo is sharing knowledge on their twitter page  every day on the beginning of the trading day.

Disadvantages of Online Trading

As convenient as online trading gets, people often neglect the fact that there is a price for convenience – any convenience. In this particular instance, the convenience is the price; or rather, it can make traders prone to risks they might not otherwise take or even have access to. The costs of doing business are lower indeed, but people often forget that they are risking real money, instead of playing a fancy video game. Make no mistake, there is a degree of risk to any trade, online or otherwise, but this way traders can make more of them and that means more risk by default. And since the broker’s involvement has been reduced to a minimum, there is no one to hold your hand out there. Furthermore, by relying on all this technology, online traders leave themselves open to all sorts of mechanical failures and software glitches that can be quite costly. To make the matters worse, there is no meaningful way a trader can influence these things. Besides, as critics love to point out, the old dependency on phones and landlines has been replaced by a similar dependency, albeit on another medium – the Internet. The connectivity itself has been improved, but now there are even more things that can go wrong: from failures to malicious attacks to outright sabotage, the sheer number of factors means online safety should never be taken for granted.

To Summarize:

While online trading certainly has its flaws, the numerous advantages make the future of said trading all but assured. In fact, online trading continues to grow and develop as a concept faster than ever. Yes, this will inevitably involve some growing pains, but in the end, savvy traders will carry the day, while those less able will have to rely on their good fortune. After all, the convenience and versatility that online trading has introduced cannot be negated that easily; being able to trade on the go – quickly, efficiently and (relatively) safely will always trump the occasional mishap or a rash judgment. And even if said flaws are not being rectified fast enough, the ease with which virtually anyone can join in will supply a steady influx of newcomers that outpaces the loss of disillusioned traders who have learned a valuable life lesson – albeit the hard way.

Article Contributed by Beata Green

Today, internet access is essential if you are running a business. So is being accessible to the world with your own website. Web and mobile device applications can ensure that you are always reachable, no matter where you or your customer may be.

Why Your Business Needs a Web or Mobile App

Having an app for your business offers a multitude of benefits. First, it is highly likely that your customers are busier than ever and as such, are using apps to help them get things done. That’s because apps allow them to have all the information they need the second they need it.

Having an app can not only help you to attract customers, but it can also help you to retain them. Customers search for products and services online before going any other route. Businesses that have an online presence as well as an app that customers can download are companies that understand today’s consumer culture.

Apps can also help you to reinforce your brand, increase visibility and build customer loyalty. For your customer, your app can give them instant access to your products or services, as well as help them to find and contact you instantly.

If you want to start developing an app for your business but aren’t sure where to begin, you may get some inspiration from the following mobile app trends.

Photos and Videos

Videos are a popular way for millions of people to pass the time. In America, roughly 30 minutes a day is spent watching videos on mobile devices. An app that provides information about your company via video, or one that allows the user to play videos with useful information that’s relevant to them may be something to think about.

Location-Based Apps

Apps that assist customers with navigation are becoming more popular by the day. An in-store app that directs customers to the products they are looking for can increase convenience, thereby increasing the likelihood of a sale.

Comparison Apps

Showrooming is a trend that is showing no signs of stopping. This phenomenon occurs when a customer visits a store and takes pictures of products with their mobile device. This is done so that the customer can compare the price of the product at different stores. Showrooming is looked down upon by many stores, but you can embrace the trend by developing an app that allows customers to compare your product prices with competitors.

Cloud-Driven Apps

Offering an app that customers on all devices can access can be of big benefit. Not only do cloud apps offer a rich user experience, but they also allow developers to be instantly notified about the experiences customers are having. This allows for real-time improvement and development to occur. 

Optimising Your Web Site for Mobile

A question often asked by businesses is whether they should optimise their website for mobile users instead of developing an app. This may be the ideal option for a new business with a low marketing budget, as it can help the business to ensure that customers have direct access to products and services without the financial outlay that app development requires.

A mobile-friendly website can be created to respond to different mobile platforms accordingly, which can cost more than traditional website design. However, doing this and then developing an app that provides users with a shortcut to your site can save a lot of money.

When trying to decide on app development for your company, considering which route is the better investment for your business over time should be the primary consideration.

About the Author

Beata GREEN is Managing Director of HeadChannel Ltd., London based bespoke software development company. She is responsible for overall strategic direction and overseeing the company’s continuing growth, building closer client relationships and maintaining best working practices. She enjoys brisk country walks with her red fox labrador and then relaxing in front of a TV crime drama with a glass of red wine.

Gamification is a buzzword everyone is talking about, but not many professionals actually have an idea about its application in real life. While we easily imagine a large corporation introducing a pricey gamified platform for boosting employee productivity, for small businesses gamification seems to be out of reach. Gartner predicts that by 2016 gamification will become a standard practice for building consumer loyalty and driving marketing – spread all over the market. Here are 5 key tips to help you leverage gamification in your small business.

1. Know your game

In its essence gamification is based on application of game mechanisms onto non-gaming contexts ranging from project management to marketing or recruitment. Managers use game props like points, badges and levels in order to make their projects more competitive and fun. Gamification can be played on the corporate intranet or online. An example of online gamification is rummy games – click here to play rummy online and see the difference.

Gamification will work for every area which to some degree depends on motivation and engagement. That’s why gamified strategies can be used both internally, in relation to employees, and externally – to boost consumers’ engagement, inspire them to perform specific tasks and build brand loyalty.

How does gamification work? Basically, organizers reward talented players and publicly recognize their achievement by granting them points or badges through tournaments which allow to enter new levels that showcase their professional excellence. Names of the top players are displayed on social leader boards, motivating others to work harder for achieving a higher position on the board and making their success visible to others.

2. Employee motivation

As you can imagine, in the context of a small business where roles are flexible and there are always too many things to do, keeping employees motivated is a challenge. Small businesses rarely splurge on expensive integration days, so gamification can easily become your tool for maintaining a high level of productivity and motivation.

By raising the bar and offering incentives or rewards, you’ll inspire your team to use their time at the office in an effective way and have lots of fun at it.

How to start a gamified process? Think about a typical day at your office – are there any tasks your employees do that are repetitive and boring? Well, gamification strategies are there to help you make them interesting again. To improve collaboration and communication, as well as give your employees a boost of energy, divide them into groups of 2-4 that will compete against each other in the number of completed tasks.

Always give feedback in real-time and accurately recognize top talent – you don’t want to risk gamified activities ruining your internal structure. Have a look at this list of the essential gamification techniques you can use to easily spice up the daily life at your workplace:

• assign points to tasks
• reward players in real-time
• rewards should be given after achieving certain stages in the game
• when players reach a level, unlock additional rewards
• recognize the most talented players on a leader board – free social platforms like Yammer can be a great help in showcasing the weekly or monthly results of your game.

3. Customer engagement

Gamification can also serve as an excellent strategy for building a loyal community of consumers around your brand. If you do it right, you’ll generate a powerful marketing machine where consumers will be telling each other about your brand, some of them becoming your brand evangelists. We all know that for small businesses word of mouth is the single best marketing strategy – especially in the age of social media.

One of the meeting points between you and consumers are trading shows and events where small businesses market their offer and interact with potential customers. If you’re planning to attend a trade show soon, don’t hesitate to try out some gamified tactics to engage with consumers.

What exactly can you do? Reward attendees with points for listening to your sessions or by visiting your booth and completing specific tasks (for instance leaving their contact information). After the show, consumers will login to your website, fill in all points they gained during the show and get coupons or discounts for your products or services.

Another important platform for engagement are mobile apps you can use to spice up your social media channels. By granting users access to such apps, you’ll not only spread brand awareness and build a positive image of your business, but also gather key data on customer behavior, such as what kind of products they buy, when they make a purchase or even their contact information for further marketing activities.

4. Customer service

Customer service is another area that can greatly benefit from some gaming. Gamification applied to the following sections of customer service will help you to revamp it and make contacting you exciting for customers.

First, there’s waiting on hold. Reward your customers for waiting on hold – you can use a simple application like the one developed at AMEX, “Tweet Your Way to Savings”, where you send key messages and hashtags to customers who are waiting on hold. When customers tweet something using those hashtags, you can reward them with points or special discounts.

Self-service channels could use some gamified treatment as well. If you think customers could easily solve some non-urgent issues by themselves – with the use of your FAQs, website, or forums – encourage this kind of behavior by giving rewards for their effort.

The last point is again about your employees – specifically those responsible for flawless customer service. If you’re interested to see who is the most productive customer service representative, you can use gamified software to gain lots of data and analytics. Such programs will show you the time it takes to assign a support ticket and for your employees to react and send a response. Sometimes, such apps will publish a weekly or monthly leader boards featuring names of the most efficient employees.

5. Consumer loyalty

Finally, there’s an important point that small businesses often struggle with – consumer loyalty. Loyalty is built on exchange – as a business, you need to give something really special to your customers for staying loyal to your brand. Most of the time, small businesses are at a loss as to what could be that exchange object.

Gamification can help you to build a truly efficient reward system for the most loyal customers. Using apps or special software, you’ll give consumers points for their purchases, which shared on social media will in turn grant them discounts and special offers. Customers engaged in point games will be thrilled to compete against each other, boosting their brand loyalty and adding a sense of excitement to your product or service.

As you can see, gamification is absolutely within the means of small businesses – considering the kind of benefits brought by gamified tactics to both employees and consumers, there’s really no other way than to enter the game and start playing right now.

 

Article contributed by Greg Dastrup

Changes in Brand Marketing Strategies

Following the increased business expansion trends of brick and mortar businesses following their customers online, web-based marketing and the consequently higher profit potential have significantly altered the ways in which brands market to customers, forever changing the traditional consumer experience with acquiring information about new and existing products and services.

Web Content & Visuals

Web content has become increasingly more important to business marketing efforts. Customers have become accustomed to finding brand information by web searches and through reading blogs and specialty websites.

It’s become increasingly important to understand the research trends of customers in online markets. Online customers demand quick answers to their queries. Online articles need to support skimming, and quick informational searches for targeted keywords.

In 2014 and even more so in 2015, brands used visual content to increase brand loyalty, conversion and retention rates. Frequently updated ,micro videos with amplifying captions and which tell a story drew higher visitor return rates and longer first time visitor interaction times.

Omni-Channel Marketing

Today’s connected customer has a mobile device, a desktop, a laptop, visits websites, signs up for emails, researches brands online and less frequently in retail outlets. Omni-channel marketing utilizes an approach which targets its marketing efforts at customers through multiple, ideally every conceivable, channel(s). The goal of which is to harmonize the various exposures a customer has to a product to create a series of seamless positive product impressions, with the ultimate goal of higher sales.

Social Media Efforts

Given recently released figures that 5 new social media profiles are created per second and 4.5 Billion user ratings are generated each day on Facebook.com alone, the biggest and potentially highest impact change in the way brands are marketed involves the use of social media platforms to create brand loyalty and inspire a culture of brand followers and enthusiasts.

Brands create Facebook and Twitter pages, albums, invite friends and followers, and specialty brand newsrooms with real-time updates and feedback, all targeted to the end result of promoting their brands to consumers. Social Media allows brands to create storytelling content, which encourages users to return to their pages for updates and increases the emotional investment of their customers, resulting in increased brand loyalty.

Starbucks ran several highly successful campaigns by expanding their social media efforts.

Feedback and Online Reviews

Today’s customers are highly social and want to make choices that fit in with what the rest of the crowd is doing.

Recent studies have shown that upwards of 80 percent of consumers do some form of product research at least once a week, with 70 percent of those who consult consumer reviews stating that they rely on the information that is presented.

The importance of online reviews has reached levels requiring that brands address product quality and consumer experience issues at levels and in ways previously considered impractical. Customer service has become a major brand focus consideration as a result.

Increased Productization

Productization is the marketing process of packaging business offerings, including services, in a packaged form which simplifies consumer purchase decisions. Brands have increasingly productized their offerings to improve consumer satisfaction metrics and sales. To be sure, brands still offer additional features, but as upgrade options.

A familiar example would be the services offered by carpet cleaners that offer a basic service, stain removal, and add on options such as drapes and furniture cleaning.

Today’s customers have largely migrated online and have high interaction rates with their peers before making purchase decisions. Online customers are extremely sociable and utilize social media sites as part of the purchase experience. Millennial customers require visual and concise content relevant, ideally tailored, to their individual demands. They further require that content be entertaining and updated frequently. Brands have responded by changing their marketing efforts from traditional approaches to online methods as well as combining efforts across channels accessed by their customers.

Search engine optimization (SEO), is obviously one of the most effective marketing strategies available to online marketers. It is perhaps one of the reasons why companies such as SEO Vancouver, are way ahead of the rest, in this business.SEO however, is a technique that frequently changes with subsequent changes in technology. As time goes by, so does the technological innovations in SEO .This evolution in SEO should essentially act as a marker for any online marketer who wants to keep the traffic coming to their website over time. They need to stay on toes as a result.

Obsolete Techniques are harmful

One of the chief realizations for the marketers is that outdated SEO skills are a serious killer to the viability and vitality of any website. It essentially proves to be the decider between which website is visited, and which is not. It is more like an hour glass; a marketer that uses outdated and obsolete methods stands a very serious chance of losing customers and potential clients, to the other competitors who might be using a more updated system.

Updates on SEO usually happen, mostly on yearly basis, as dictated by Google. However, at this point this year, there is still no sign of changes. This tends to create anxiety on the side of marketers, as they might ponder about what changes would be made by Google. However, amid the numerous number of speculation currently on the minds of most marketers, this paper is going to look at a few of the most likely changes that are likely to be seen in the year 2016.

Mobile Telephony will dictate the game

It is very obvious that the number of people using smart phones is increasing on daily basis. This s a direct pointer to the number of people accessing the internet through their mobile phones .Basically, the amount of traffic generated by mobile access is going to surpass that of desktop access in the next one year. This trend is also likely to continue over the next many years, as the present technology points towards that. The reasons for this are obvious; the phones are easy to use and easy to carry round. This convenience points to the fact that more and more people will use phones.

Voice search

It is just inescapable that versatile ventures would involve voice seeks too. Consider how these progressions the way inquiries are created and how inquiries were organized. Content based pursuit is somewhat shortsighted with the client basically writing “Handyman shop” into the inquiry box and tapping on a location to discover its area. Voice search is more confounded as individuals will probably structure complete inquiries rather than keywords. Indeed, voice search is checked by the utilization of inquiry words. These inquiry terms will characterize how advertisers ought to change their search designs on cell phones.

Patterns INCLUDE STRUCTURED DATA AND DIRECT ANSWERS

Demonstrating direct answers are Google’s endeavor to show clients the definite solution for their inquiry inquiries at the highest point of the search page.

Lamentably, this was not initially planned in light of cellular telephones, but rather the necessities and confinements of portable inquiry have pushed its development.

So keeping in mind the end goal to adjust, online advertisers ought to give organized information to everything that they can. It may sound somewhat off putting; however it’s a method for labeling the information in pages so that web crawlers can without much of a stretch comprehend the information utilization.