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Cyberattacks are on the rise these days and ill-intended actors don’t seem to hold back. We already know about big companies taking the hit, but there were also attacks on hospitals, healthcare institutions, and governmental facilities. Now, try and imagine how many of these attacks go unreported? 

It may be the pandemic – after all, the lockdowns forced everyone into remote work, whether they were ready or not. Plus, once things get back to normal, it is expected that around 58% of US workers will continue working remotely. 

On the other hand, we can also blame the fast advancement of new technologies. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are amazing tools that can be used to process massive amounts of data in a flash. Such power gives cybercriminals a serious advantage in identifying the most likely spots to hit.  

Regardless, it’s safe to say we are living in unprecedented times. Businesses have to navigate all sorts of risks and threats without having to look twice over the shoulder when using online tools that help keep things going. Still, that’s exactly what you have to do if you don’t want to have a data breach that may lead to corporate and individual ID theft cases. 

Here is why any business and organization must take ID theft extremely seriously:

#1: Business Reputation

Whether you have an online business or a brick-and-mortar store, your customers and leads will come and go based on the reviews they read and the rumors they hear. A brand’s reputation in the market is one of the most valuable assets a business can have, which is why it must be protected at all costs. 

If your database gets leaked and you are the victim of a corporation ID theft, you risk losing the good name of your brand in front of customers, business partners, and suppliers. 

Cybercriminals can use your accounts to:

• Harass partners by asking for loans, payments for items they didn’t order, information, and more
• Post injurious messages on social media channels
• Send annoying emails and messages to your customer base
• Withdraw considerable amounts of money from your bank accounts
• Place orders you cannot honor
• Sign contracts and close deals you wouldn’t have approved of

The list could easily go on, but the conclusion is that anyone who gets hold of your accounts owns your business. Is this something you are willing to risk?

#2: Smarter Attacks

As we already mentioned, advanced technologies help cybercriminals organize attacks that are more efficient and harder to detect. These examples of identity theft show just how much cybercriminals have advanced in their methods and techniques. 

If back in the days data was only available on paper, nowadays most businesses use cloud services or have an internal system of servers that can be accessed online. Plus, you can do almost anything online from paying bills and taxes to signing documents and having meetings. 

This opened a wide door for intruders who learned how to approach the most vulnerable link in an organization’s security system – the human factor. A Kaspersky study from a few years back showed that careless or uninformed staff are the second most likely cause of a serious security breach. Next, is human error. 

In conclusion, businesses must train their staff in basic cybersecurity measures if they want to have an efficient protection system. Plus, trained employees are more likely to follow the security protocols because they understand the risks.

#3: Protect Business Assets

Did you know that small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are ideal targets for cyberattacks? 

This happens because they are not as keen to invest in an advanced security system (due to budget size). Plus, a business that’s just starting to grow is likely to have a few golden eggs hidden in its database. These golden eggs can be anything from a well-developed business plan to the documentation for a new invention. 

That’s why any business should have at least some type of security operations center. It may be an extra cost to your plan, but it’s worth it if you want to keep your assets away from prying eyes. 

In Conclusion

Corporate ID theft and any other form of cyberattack are extremely risky for a business nowadays. Overall, it’s best to take the path of caution and invest in a solid security system. Also, don’t forget to take care of your stuff as well.

There are ways to improve your eCommerce business right now, and some business owners don’t know them yet.  These methods have been used successfully by other successful entrepreneurs and could be used for you too! If you follow them, they will make a difference in your life and also how much money you make with your company. You’ll soon see that it’s worth it to take this time out to read about what these tips entail! Ready? Let’s get started!  

1. Business Optimization

Make your web pages easier to find on search engines with business optimization. You’ll want your page to be easily found on the internet so that people can find it and bring you sales. It will help if you optimize your products and pages for keywords and keep up with the new trends as they come out. You can also consider to invest in Magento performance optimisation to get your website to work faster. This is necessary because the speed is not as fast as it could be, and long load times can drive shoppers away from your page. Customers do not have a lot of patience with slow sites. Another reason why you should optimize your site is that this will help you to increase your conversion rate. Your conversion rate measures how many people who visit your website buy something from you, as opposed to those that just browse or leave. You can look into ways that you can keep them on the page and increase their loyalty so that they spend more time looking at what you have to offer and making a purchase. 

2. E-mail Marketing

Email marketing isn’t going anywhere, so it’s good that you’ve got a handle on it if your business uses it! It can be difficult to make it through the day if you don’t know how to manage your email marketing. Of course, some companies can do it for you, but wouldn’t you rather have complete control over what your business is doing? It’s good that you’ve got this down because it’s a very important part of being successful in eCommerce. It’s important to make sure that you’re creating good email campaigns. Good ideas for email marketing can help you keep up with what is going on in your business and even change the way you do things if needed. You’ll be able to communicate more effectively with your customers, and it will also allow them to get a message from you faster than they would otherwise. Your customers will see that you care about them, and it will help to increase the number of people on your emailing list who are willing to buy from you regularly. 

3. Social Media

If you’ve already got a social media presence, it’s important to make sure that you’re doing it right. Although there are other platforms like Facebook and Twitter, consider other websites that your customers might be using also like Google Plus or LinkedIn. You can spend less time updating all of your accounts by either having other people do the work for you or using a scheduling program. Remember that there are certain days and times during the day when your posts will be seen by the most people, and try to post things at those times. You can even use social media optimization (SMO) to make your website more likeable on social media platforms like Facebook. Social media will help you reach your customer base and know your target market. Also, consider which type of content is doing the best for you and then consider whether to invest in a social media eCommerce shop. This will help your business have more of a presence on social media, and it will also work with actual storefronts so that customers can choose where they want to go to make a purchase. 

4. Partnership

If you’re looking to increase your sales, consider partnering with other businesses. You can do this by joining a program that helps you sell each other’s products or just by linking to them from your site and hoping that people will go and check out what they have to offer. There are many different types of eCommerce programs like Amazon Associates which helps you make a commission when people buy from Amazon.com after clicking on a link from your site. Another option is to partner with other businesses in your area that has the same customer base as you do, and then try to offer them a joint promotion. 

5. Sell Your Products in Person

Consider whether you want to sell your products in person. All of the eCommerce options in the world aren’t going to help you if you don’t have a great product that people want to buy! Having an open shop can help make sure that people are aware of what is available from your website, and it can also lead to more sales. Even if you don’t plan on opening a brick and mortar location, it can help to have a pop-up shop for a limited time only. This will help your business benefit from the exposure that comes with being in a physical location as well as having people see how nice your products look up close. 

6. Improve Your Website

One of the best things that you can do to improve your eCommerce business is to make sure that your website has everything it needs. This means having a good domain name, hosting for your site, and also selling some products. It might sound like these are all easy things to take care of, but there are many people out there who have a hard time trying to get their website finished. If you want help setting up your site, consider hiring a web design company or an eCommerce consultant to help you with the process. You can even ask for advice from other online business owners in forums and groups that are related to your industry.

You don’t have to limit yourself to only one way of improving your eCommerce store. Many different options can help you increase the number of customers that are interested in what you’re selling, and they will also make it more likely for people to buy from you more often. So make sure that you won’t be afraid to try something new if it’s going to help your business, and you’ll see that many options can be beneficial in the long run.

A successful business puts customers at the heart of its operations. But too many businesses overlook the opportunities to impress their customers during the delivery stage of order fulfillment.

If you want to ensure your customers are happy and order with your company again and again, you need to check out the following four helpful tips.

1. Be Transparent About Your Delivery Options

The journey of delivering goods doesn’t begin the moment the items leave the warehouse. It begins when customers place an order.

If you want to impress your customers and therefore potentially increase your sales, you should present customers with two pieces of information at the order placement stage.

Firstly, you should be upfront about your delivery charges. Some studies show as many as 73% of online customers abandon their carts after being presented with the shipping costs at the last moment.

It can certainly help to offer more delivery options, too, such as next-day delivery in addition to standard mail, but the important thing is being transparent about the costs.

Secondly, customer snobbery is increasing, which means many customers prefer to know who will be shipping their goods before placing an order.

So, let your customers know which courier service you will be using or whether you have your own dedicated fleet.

The more information you can give your customers about your delivery prices and methods, the happier and more loyal they will be.

2. Use Route Planning Software to Achieve Greater Efficiency

One sure way of impressing customers is by delivering goods to customers on time.

That can be challenging when your drivers have to deliver to multiple stops each day; when unforeseen variables can occur. You can ensure optimal efficiency by utilizing logistics route planning software to create optimized routes. 

The software uses clever algorithms to factor in variables like distance, speed, and traffic patterns to optimize routes and change them accordingly in real-time.

On average, delivering goods with the help of route planning apps can save couriers at least an hour each day. Furthermore, route planners ensure accurate deliveries.

3. Provide Customers with Order Tracking

With route planning software, dispatchers and drivers are continually kept up-to-date with the status of each order. But if you want to impress your customers, you should ensure they are also in the loop about the statuses of their orders.

Thankfully, it’s easy to send out automatic SMS or email messages informing customers about things like when their orders have been dispatched and when they are expected to arrive.

You can also provide customers with tracking information so they can check the statuses of their orders online at any time.

By giving your customers access to delivery statuses, they don’t have to wait around all day fretting about whether their packages will turn up. But in addition to that, providing customers with order tracking means you show your customers you care.

In turn, that will lead to customer loyalty and satisfaction.

4. Make Sure Your Drivers Provide Excellent Customer Service

Providing excellent customer service is crucial to any successful business. But too many businesses overlook the simple fact that delivery drivers are the only face-to-face contact most customers have with the company.

That means it’s imperative your drivers are trained in how to provide good customer service. They need to be friendly, professional, and helpful. They also need to smile.

If you run your own fleet, make sure all of your drivers are trained well in how to interact with customers and what they need to do to represent your company in the best possible way.

If you use a courier service for your deliveries, make sure you go with a company that has a solid reputation for excellent customer service.

These days, threats to businesses can come in a wide variety of ways, including physical, financial, and electronic. Indeed, the nearly overwhelming array of electronic threats that come from malware, spyware, and viruses can be overwhelming, and all of this means that every business should consider building a security operations center. 

Done right with a trusted partner such as Micro Focus, one of these centers can create a huge boost to your business’s security, ability to ward off threats, and overall reputation. 

What is a Security Operations Center?

An Operations Center can vary depending on how big the organization in question is, but it essentially comes down to dedicated space, equipment, and staff time whose full-time job is to monitor the business’ computer networks for internal or external threats. ‘

This can mean different things to different businesses, and you will have to scale your operations center based on the potential threats to your business, the size of your business, and the available financial resources at your disposal. Furthermore, if necessary, you can outsource your SOC. This ensures that you can be protected, even if it is by outside experts.

The most important thing is that you set up something. Doing so can ensure that your business and information technology are protected. 

The Importance of Building a Security Operations Center

Whether you realize it or not, your computer network is under constant threat. According to multiple studies, malware and cyberthreats to businesses are at an all-time high. Furthermore, these threats can often result in confidential information – like sensitive identification information or credit cards – being compromised. If this is the case, your business may be on the hook for major financial damages.

Furthermore, a cyberattack done right can take your website and entire computer network offline. This is all the more likely if your network is unprotected. As such, making sure that your computer network is protected can save you a small fortune in lost time and money. 

A properly set up center will have a variety of tools at its disposal. This includes well-trained staff, appropriate equipment, and the resources necessary to defend an entire network from a threat. 

As you can see, one of these centers can wind up intercepting computer threats before they truly damage your business. As such, you should not look at setting up one of these centers as an expense – you should look at it as an investment. Setting up such a center can intercept a threat, save you money in recovery and repair, and help to protect your customer’s invaluable financial information. This, in turn, can save you a ton in costs.  

At the end of the day, the right time to build such an operations center is before a major threat cripples your business – not after. Make sure you go through the process of setting up one now so you can be dealing with potential threats in a proactive, preventative way.