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Why Android App Development Is Beneficial for Businesses Seeking Growth and Visibility

Recent stats about the behavior of customers online have revealed that the use of mobile apps to purchase things and to gather data has increased in leaps and bounds. Today, brands are getting purchase orders through mobile apps and are also able to keep the customers engaged through various ads and activities. Android mobile app development has gained much popularity these days and enterprises are also creating customized mobile apps that solve the customer issues and add value to their business. So, if you are planning to capitalize on the popularity of mobile devices through apps, then Android should be on top of your list.

Developing an Android app can be beneficial for your business if you are willing to reach out to the mass. The smart device and touch screen enabled Google platform is used by more than 80% smartphones and 60% tablets all over the world. So, it can be said that Android is dominating the market with its strong presence. Since the devices running on Android are available at remarkable prices, they are the first choice for the users. It is in fact reasonable to build an android business app for the leading digital market.

Ideal to interact with customers:

Any channel that is adopted to reach the products or services should be open and easy. If users have to purchase devices that are very costly, then your business goals will not be attained. With regular features and upgrades, today’s smartphones offer advanced computing features and are able to match any laptop or desktop in terms of their utility. Since Android mobile users are in large numbers, business owners can often target huge market by creating business apps.

No investment in development tools:

Android comparatively has a low entry cost as it offers Software Development Kits for free to the developer’s community and this reduces the development and licensing costs. Same is with the varied tools and technologies, which are open source and are available for free. Developers are not supposed to charge any fees for the tools that are offered by Google as they are available for free.

BYOD preference:

Android holds over 83% of the market share and this is quite evident. For organizations that are adopting the BYOD policy, it is feasible for them to opt for Android as their enterprise app development platform as it is available for a wide range of devices and business can target users of all economic groups. And overall BYOD environments also require heightened security and Android platform offers high security features, so that users can easily share information and make transactions without any issues.

Smart working:

With Android app development, you can put flexibility and power of the platform to work anytime and anywhere to create best in class productivity apps. Android offers more options for customization that are based on the specific needs of the business and also the changing trends of the market. It is easy for the developers to tweak the existing apps and add more features and functionalities to make them more contemporary. Android is the best mobile platform between process architecture and applications.

Free options to choose distribution channels:

Google offers the freedom to distribute your apps from any medium that you prefer. There are no hard and fast rules that you have to put your app on Google Play for its distribution. You can either distribute it on your own or use any other ad platforms for distribution. In case you want to create an internal enterprise operation and are not willing to launch the app on the store, then you have complete freedom to do so and Android gives you this opportunity. According to your choice of promotional strategy, you can now easily reach your end users through various channels.

Easy adoption:

Mobile application design trends are evolving and this requires that your app is continuously updated. This can only be done by experienced Android app developers. Android apps are scripted in Java language together with the help of rich libraries. So, anyone having knowledge of Java can work on them. Usually Java programmers find it quite easy to adopt as well as develop script code for mobile apps. In case of any crashes or bugs, any developer having Java programming proficiency can easily resolve the errors effectively from the android app.

Thus to conclude, if you are willing to maximize your customer reach through mobile applications, then targeting the Android platform will help you to transform your business into a profitable venture.

MLM Success – Modeling After the Best MLM Businesses

The MLM industry often uses direct sales strategies that allow the business owner to create monthly residual income from their sales volume in their team, but doesn’t necessary get them to do so in order make any profit in network marketing. The MLM success business plan is a very powerful multi-level marketing method and adds its secure structure in the direct sales industry without the high cost of advertisement on television, radio, newspapers, etc.

There are literally thousands of MLM companies out there, also the opportunity to get started in many different ways to get started in this industry. So, first of all, you need to do your due diligence is which options are for you that are available and making sure to see if any of those MLM success business opportunities can make any profit or just another get rich scheme or a scam to avoid. The ones are a legitimate and make a very high profit without requiring too much effort in the comparison to the actual income that the network marketing company provides.

Therefore, you want to find the top MLM business opportunities, also which of those companies you have the best marketing strategies to have any chance to thrive in multi-level marketing. The high-end products at a reasonable price are the only companies that you should have the lookout for and worth checking out if you are willing to do business with them or not. It would be a lot easier to manage a new company that generates fewer sales that are required in order to generate the income you prefer, and you don’t need to promote the products across the board to collect these sales. It is crucial that you’re more focused on the high-end consumers who are willing to buy the top line of products or service to generate sales in their MLM success.

After doing your due diligence to find the perfect MLM business opportunity, then you can get started right away to generate any profit based on your efforts. In reality, you need to get started in a long term MLM success to target right types of prospects into the business and the ability to attract recruits into your team to generate sales within the company.

Therefore, in order to generate sales or recruits into your downline starts with the marketing strategies that is provided by your upline in your network marketing company. To thrive in MLM itself has to do with the information that has been shown through the actual trial and error the direct sales company provides. The work that you will be doing as a business owner is that you don’t have to learn by yourself to get the experience to succeed in MLM. The company and its leaders will train you with valuable training and educate towards your best to your fast track MLM success in starting your own business.

There are many benefits to get in a MLM business opportunity and most companies promise you to get a monthly residual income. To guarantee your MLM success in a home-based business and earning residual income from your efforts, you need to help struggling network marketers to succeed MLM. You just need to teach them a system like the way you did to build residual income. This is what we call leverage, helping other from your efforts then you will make a profit.

How Can Businesses Benefit From a Graphic Designer?

Some people think that since their business is not creative in nature, they do not need a graphic designer. However, they may not realize the benefits their business can get from hiring a professional and might be surprised with the reasons why they need one.

What does graphic design mean, and why is it necessary to hire a professional?

Graphic design is the form of art that communicates messages through visual content. These designers make use of images and text to solve visual problems. They visually communicate ideas to sell products or send out a brand message.

A professional can efficiently get the required graphic design work done. They have enough skills and years of experience to make a project come alive. They are also equipped with the right tools to ensure that the project is professionally done and meet the industry standard.

It will let the business save money in the long run. Though a business owner can try to do the project by himself, it will never be as fast and efficient as a professional designer.

What is the job of a graphic designer?

He/she can produce anything that tells a visual story or communicates a visual message. The description is quite vague since the field of graphic design is very diverse.

This type of professional can address numerous problems, ranging from small tasks to huge projects, including letting a website become more readable or modifying a logo to use on social media. Adding a creative mind to the team will enable business owners to see things in another light and even improve the way to do business.

The work of graphic designers can include the following but is not limited to:

Logo

He/she can come up with a unique business logo. A logo is one way for people to remember a business as well as to stand out from the rest. Though companies can try to design their own logo, they do not realize the impact given by a professionally designed logo. A trained professional knows how to create a design that appeals to a company’s target audience and which can be used in different forms of media such as business cards and clothing, among others.

Branding

Graphic designers can create a brand that will bring a company to life. This brand includes a company logo and so much more.

Business cards

A business card is one way to give a good first impression, which is critical in the busy market nowadays. A graphic designer is the best person to create the business card that complements the branding so that this would let the business leave a lasting impression.

Stationery

If a company uses ordinary letterheads, note cards, envelopes and compliment slips, it is about time to make a switch. Stationery with the name of the company lets the business look more professional. The company should make sure, though, that when the brand leaves the office, it reflects what the business is all about.

Brochures and Booklets

These professionals can come up with the brochure/booklet required by the company in a professional way.

Posters and Flyers

Companies should invest in a professional to design their posters and flyers so that they can be sure to attract their target audience and catch their attention. It is plain to see that a poster that has been designed by an amateur does not relay the right message and its design is not retained in the memory of viewers – businesses should not allow this to happen.

5 Significant Cyber Security Risks Businesses Should Ponder

In the recent years, it has been observed that many businesses have been rapidly affected by various types of cyber attacks. Companies continue to be under great pressure and strive to keep their information safe and secure. Some of the common security risks businesses continue to face have been listed below:

1. Human factor and peoples’ reactive mindset: The employees working in the business could form the major base for cyber threats as they are more prone to open phishing emails or download links that could turn out to be malware. Moreover, the top level management or people at the C level will be less prone to become malicious insiders. Due to this a serious concern of privilege abuse by lower level employees is more common as they become malicious insiders and measures need to be taken to overcome this problem.

2. Password protection measures play vital role: Businesses should be extremely aware that they should maintain all important business accounts with a two factor password authentication such that it may not be easily hacked. This password needs to be changed and maintained effectively once in 30 or 45 days to keep it more safe and away from any security attacks.

3. Aging Infrastructure and drastic Patch Management necessary: In addition to the above security risks, hardware can also be a major issue as lifecycle of most of the devices is becoming increasingly shorter these days. Purchase only new hardware that can uphold updates such that aging factor can be taken care off. Recent attacks such as the WannaCry and Petya outbreaks have underlined the importance of regular software updates that needs to be taken up. Even for Eternal Blue, it allowed the malware to spread within corporate networks without any user interaction, making these outbreaks particularly virulent. The above incidents do show the importance of protecting vulnerable systems and patching is a key way to do it.

4. Difficulty with Data Integrations: It is interesting to note that the amount of data that flows through an organization could for reasons overwhelm anyone as it contains very critical information. This could be about employees, partners, stakeholders, service providers etc. But integrating various data sources is crucial to have a clear understanding of various risks involved within or outside the organization.

5. Lack of a Proper security recovery plan: Most businesses are still unaware of the impounding risks with cyber security and lack a proper plan to overcome such situations. They need to draft a plan that contains the actions that could be taken up when there is a cyber attack and thus can quickly and efficiently minimize the risk and save information or other economic losses.

How Can Businesses protect themselves?

Certain solutions like SecOps provide superior customer experience along with a robust cyber security. This security product has capabilities of secure operations while focusing on delivering a seamless customer experience. This specific Security and Experience go together approach finds the right balance between the ease of user experience and effectiveness of security protection. These solutions cover the entire software lifecycle, from secure design to security testing in development and QA, app self-protection and monitoring in product and patching. Security is an enabler of new business opportunities in addition to helping protect your company’s people, data, and systems. Cloud Security is achieved through following certain cloud adoption strategies with specific focus placed on security and privacy to improve all operations and make them secure.

The Benefits of a Facebook Fan Page for Small Businesses

Setting up a Facebook fan page for your small business can seem like a daunting task. However, with over 900 million active users, the site provides an advertising opportunity that should not be missed out on. This article discusses some of many benefits of setting up a Facebook fan page, including advertising, understanding customer demographics, getting feedback, and driving traffic to your company’s website.

Creating a Facebook fan page for you small or local business can seem like a daunting task, especially when you are trying to keep up with the day-to-day responsibilities of running a company. However, with over 900 million active users, the social network is a valuable free advertising tool that should not be missed out on. Facebook Fan Pages have several important uses:

1. Advertising

Facebook offers a range of innovative advertising options which allow you to promote your products and services with ease. By posting details of new offers and events to your fans, you can build up public interest in your company and reach out to potential customers. Offering unique content, such as vouchers, gives fans a reason to stay up-to-date with your business through Facebook and can help you develop a closer relationship with them.

2. Understanding Your Customers

Facebook Fan Pages give you access to detailed statistics about your followers, including their gender, age, location, and even the language they speak. With this invaluable information you can make sure that your company adapts and develops in a way that meets your customer’s needs.

3. Getting Feedback

Understanding your customer’s opinions is important when developing new ideas. On Facebook, your fans are able to leave comments on any updates you post, making it a completely free way to canvas opinion.

4. Drive Traffic to Your Website

By displaying links to your official website, you can redirects fans who have developed an interest in one of your products to the page where they can buy it.

5. Build up a Relationship with Customers

Being quick to respond to any questions and comments left on your fan page is a good way to build up a close relationship with your customers. However, to maintain a positive bond it is also important to put a good practice into places, such as not bombarding fans with inbox messages which aren’t applicable.

6. Google Ranking

Your Facebook fan page will be visible even to people without an account. Facebook is a popular website that ranks well with Google, so by posting key word optimized content, you can ensure that your company features highly searches.

Creating a Facebook fan page for your small business is quick, simple, and completely free. By taking advantage of this easy advertising solution, you can help to ensure that your business survives and grows for years to come.

Mobile Oil Change Businesses Are Very Hard to Succeed In

There have been many people who have come and gone in the mobile oil change business. It always looks easy from the surface and is relatively inexpensive to start with minimum investment compared to most other businesses. But most mobile oil change operators rarely make it past the first year. In fact most do not make it past the first several months. One has to wonder why such a good idea ultimately ends in failure. Lets take a closer look.

First the profit generated from oil changes is not enough to sustain a healthy business. After you calculate the cost of goods from the total bill there is rarely is more than twenty five dollars net profit made from your typical oil change. And that figure does not include the gas used driving to the actual location. You have to be doing a lot of oil changes per day for you to make a decent profit to support your business and your personal expenses. Most quick lubes make even less due to their substantially higher overhead yet make up for it in large volume. Most successful fixed locations are doing 60 oil changes on a bad day. A mobile oil change company, with most of the time one or perhaps two people working it, does not have that luxury. The most your typical mobile oil change van can do is ten oil changes per day and after that the operator is exhausted. And even if a person could consistently do ten oil changes per day he still has to generate those oil changes from somewhere. They do not magically appear. Do you have a plan how to do that? Most start out thinking corporate campuses will provide tons of business especially if its marketed by the companies there. In reality that rarely works as advertised and you will be lucky if you get 10 customers in one year from a huge corporate campus. The end conclusion is that the net per oil change is just too low to make a viable business from it without a massive amount of volume.

Second, many mobile oil change operators are not very good salesmen. They are usually very honest people and ones who are very passionate about what they do and you gotta love that but I have found that most owners of mobile oil changes are terrible at the sales end. They are usually the type who try to charge way less than the going market rate and think they can tell a few people about their “awesome service” and wait by the phone. That never works. You have to go out and get them. You have to do a copious amount of cold calling. You have to talk to a lot of fleet managers and sale yourself first and then your service. Most in the mobile oil change business do not fully understand this or never really apply themselves to this side of business. Its probably the most important part not just in the mobile oil change business but any business for that matter. I will go out on a limb and say that if you are a great salesmen you will do well running a mobile oil change business or franchise. If you know about cars but not sales then I recommend working for a new or used car dealer for 2-3 months and get the experience. It will be tough and gruesome but that is the quickest way to get good a pure hard core sales without a lot of the “fluff.” Then open your mobile oil change company.

Third, the weather cannot be understated in limiting what mobile oil change operators can do. There are few states that have decent weather throughout the year. Half the states get really cold several months out of the years and the other half get really hot throughout 3/4 of the year. Both are equally discouraging. A fixed location can turn on the air or turn on the heat. Their operators work in a controlled environment. You do not have that luxury. You may have several fleets planned for one day and it can be pouring down rain that day. Have you thought about changing oil in 0 degrees. Your hands will not be able to grip that oil filter or wretch its as hard as a rock or you cannot feel them. Or changing hot 150 degree motor oil in 100 degree humid weather on a vehicle where it’s oil filter is in the middle of a hot engine manifold and you have to burn yourself to get to it? Do you clean it off and skip it or burn yourself to get to it? That will happen.

Having mentioned these three major hurdles, and there are more, I will say that it is not impossible. I have made a success of it. But I wish that someone would have been straightforward with me before me and my partner spent over $80,000 getting into the mobile oil change business. We were sold on a lot of unreal hopes and dreams from Jet Set Life Technologies about great wealth using a flawed model involving oil extreme. They set us up with a nice van and their product is good but their whole system is flawed from the bottom to the top. We found a way to make it work but sadly 90% of the mobile oil change business operators do not. The success rate is very small. Understand whats really involved and if you think you can grind it out and not make any money for 2-3 years, go for it.