admin, Author at Winklix - Software Development Blog

September 7, 2020September 7, 2020

Why has it become a must to invest in a CRM system?

It is tough to find customers for your business and it is tougher to retain them. The question is: how to make them an important component of our company? This is where Customer Relationship Management comes into the equation. I think we all have heard about CRM at some point or the other. So, what exactly is this CRM? Customers are critical to businesses as their survival depends very much on the former. The manner in which you are managing the customers determines the success of your business. Hence, CRM is all about managing your customers efficiently for the betterment of your business. These days technology has grown by leaps and bounds and you have software for every solution. The same holds true for CRM as well.

6 CRM benefits to make your customer relationships better

The CRM software is a potent tool used to manage your relationship with customers in an effective and organized way. An ideal customer relationship management software is well equipped to streamline customer information by collecting them at a centralized location to offer a clear view of all the customer data. Through such information it becomes easier for you to reach out to customers anytime via right channels. There are several benefits of having a CRM system in your organization. Let us understand them one by one.

Offers a potent KYC tool

At banks you have Know Your Customer (KYC) option to maintain good relations with customers. This helps banks to know everything about their customers as all the information about the latter will be stored in a computer. This facility of KYC is what you get if you have an efficient CRM system as the information stored on each contact in one place serves the purpose of a robust communication tool. A CRM system offers the business a very competitive edge. Apart from full name, email address, telephone number, postal address, etc, it also offers good insights such as a contact’s vocation, his or her ties with other contacts in your database, the language spoken etc. Armed with such information it becomes convenient to indulge in personalized communication.

Convenient segmentation

Everyone aspires to do business or communicate with a perfect audience not with a faceless soul. This can be facilitated by dividing contacts (customers and prospects) into target audiences. As for segmentation, CRM is a powerful tool as it facilitates data break down into categories and criteria, simplifying the process of creating focused lists. With such a segmented list you can run a customer-specific campaign and assess your sales process. By understanding your target audience, you can easily customize your offer and tactics in line with the needs of your customers.

3. Aids in retaining customers

Retaining the customers is more important than finding new customers. This is an important job of every business. CRM is an expert in customer retention as it assists you in reminding you about your appointment or dispatching follow up mails. Also, the CRM system aids you in contacting customers who have not been in touch for a while.

Better anticipation of needs

If you know what to expect then it boosts your confidence. The same holds true for businesses as well. It becomes easier to deal with a customer especially if you have been following their buying pattern. The buying pattern can be conveniently had with an efficient CRM. Further CRM helps in offering better customer service. The easy access to the communication history facilitates in offering help to customers on time. So, CRM has many benefits.

Takes communication to a different level

In business, it is not appropriate to make customers wait. It is better to avoid such a scenario.

A CRM system goes a long way in addressing such problems. It saves your and your customers’ time, by providing a host of customizable, readymade email templates, letters, documents, proposals etc. These can be easily used to establish communication between your customers.

Better protection of data privacy

Data privacy is prone to malicious abuse these days. So, it becomes important to protect the data of your customers. A CRM software with inbuilt GDPR-related functionality is potent enough to safeguard against any attacks. The other benefit of CRM is the time saving potential as GDPR will do everything for you. A CRM system helps in getting your contacts’ consent to store and utilize their personal particulars, send automated notifications to all the latest contacts intimating that you want to store their data.

Conclusion

Never commit the mistake of assuming customers as mere sales opportunities . You might have some incredible things at your disposal but if you treat your customers badly, then there won’t be any takers for your products. That’s why it has become very essential to have cordial relationships with them. And for the same reason you need a CRM as it assists in forging good ties with customers. Also, having a GDPR-compliant CRM system ensures that there won’t be a security breach with regard to data. Hence, a CRM Software Development system is something that needs to be implemented in every organization.

September 1, 2020September 1, 2020

Who is ideal for the app project: Developers, agency or partners?

Introduction

Let us assume that you are working on an app project. In case you don’t have the team for the same then you will have to create one. While scouting for talent, you might come across people who are pretty economical or very expensive. You want the best people on board for your app project. However, money is also a concern as well and not all cheap purchases live up to your expectation. The option before you is simple: you have to get the ideal candidates without loosening your purse strings much. You need to strike a perfect balance between money and talent. There are other considerations as well. Whether you need to hire a developer, agency etc. So, the question is how to kickstart the pricing part of the project?

What is required for a Development Project?

Firstly, you require a developer. Is that the only talent you require for the project?

No, you require a designer for the purpose of designing the app as well. This apart, you also require a QA engineer to ensure that the app is working fine. There will be a requirement for a project manager as well to make sure things are panning out according to the deadline or not. Hence, you need more than just one developer. Therefore, it has to be remembered that you need a team and each component in the team is significant to your app project.

Do you require the help of an App Development Agency?

Agency might look like a viable option as you don’t have to look for people individually. As an agency will have an exclusive team for app development. But agencies deal with man-hours and you might end paying a lot. Also, they will not challenge or contest your ideas in any way as they will be more than willing to do what you ask them to. This is where a partner can come in handy as he can guide you when you are going wrong and would suggest you in circumstances when you are stuck. Also, being a partner, he or she might be interested in taking your company to greater heights. Hence, you need to be sure as to what you require: partner, agency or create a team of your own. It has to be remembered that money is important but don’t base your decision merely on the basis of finance. There are things that can’t be quantified monetarily.

5 methods to employ while looking to build your team

We have already broached upon the basic requirements. Now let us get into the methods to be employed while handling developers, agencies or partners. These points will assist you take the best call.

Method #1 — Break down quotes by line items

Quotes need not be super detailed, but they should clarify how the developer or agency decided their prices. The ideal manner is to break down a quote line item by line item.

The whole intention behind the exercise is to make them justify the price.

This is done to ensure that no one cheats you while hiring their services.

Also, this makes sure you pay appropriate prices to everyone and not shortchange anyone in the process. This instills a sense of honesty and diligence in your team. So, be fair to them.

Also ensure that a proposal from a developer, partner, or agency fits into your scheme of things. After all, you don’t want anything that is not required for your project.

Method #2 — Differentiate Quotes in minute details

Once you get quotes from various sides, it is imperative to compare them one by one.

Find out if these quotes gel well with your business. Also, consider any additional service you might require. For example, you’ll have to take into account hosting expenses for your backend data. Push notification servers, analytics servers, servers for user notifications, and user authentication these things are there. All of them have to be added in the list of expenses and these might not be there in the initial quote. For instance, if you are dealing with an agency or a developer they might only quote what you have asked for and not what you require. So, once you get actively involved in the project and some additional expenses crop up, you are bound to get annoyed. You cannot back out as well, so it is better to opt for partners in such circumstances. They won’t throw up any surprises for you in the middle and can always assist you in pointing out what is amiss in your initial demand.

Method #3 — Be organized while differentiating line items

One needs to be organized while comparing line items. Let me explain the same in detail.

After getting several quotes from various developers or agencies things are dissected the way you have asked for. Now you need to compare everything in detail. While doing this

you need to weigh in on every feature that’s important to your business. This enables you to make a decision based on data. You need to factor in aspects such as longevity, marketing time, features involved etc. After this you will get a clear picture about your efficacy of the project.

Method #4 — Product or Solution

So what are you looking to get: a product, or a solution.

A product is basically a kind of widget that you are buying. It might be software or something tangible. While purchasing the items you can assess the price involved. This will be appropriate if the size of your problem is quite small. However, if you are confronting a huge problem, then the product won’t be of any use to you as you would require a solution.

For example, we are currently reeling under COVID-19 global pandemic. For businesses rhis is a huge problem as they have to devise a map for the next 1 year or so. It is true that this type of problem is tough to predict. However, with a partner it becomes easier to adapt to shifting markets. A partner can also help you plan a minimum viable product (MVP).

Hence, the crux of the matter is that a solution is more appropriate than a product. Solutions are ideal if you have a partner, who can deal with constant changes or problems confronting you.

Method #5 — Contest the Quote

By contesting or debating about a quote you can easily get a hang of the agency’s or developer’s intentions.

Simply ask them what difference it would make if we put in more money. They might come up with some excuses like your servers are not secure enough, so they need to protect them with encrypted data or your servers need to scale up to accommodate more users for your app.

Hence listen properly to what they are saying carefully. Are they giving new features? Or are they plugging the gaps that were already baked into the quote?

Alternatively you can also challenge the quote by asking them what they would do if you don’t have enough money. In case they have to do away with three features, what would they be.

So by requesting them to revise the quote you are cutting some flab from the same.

Therefore contest the quote in several ways. This manner you can assess the commitment of the developer or agency and also eliminate unnecessary frills from the initial quote.

Conclusion

With these methods you can assess your quotes in different ways. These would help you take the right call, whether you are dealing with an agency, developer or partners for your next big app development . For finding the best solutions opt for these methods.

August 25, 2020August 25, 2020

How is NFC different from other payment mechanisms?

Introduction

We have heard a lot about Apple Pay and Google Pay. However, does anyone know what they represent? They are nothing, but NFC mobile payment types. NFC happens to be a major technological breakthrough, which has given consumers the facility of tap-and-go. At the heart of every mobile action is a tiny microchip and radio antenna performing the tap-and-go functions that is near field communication (NFC). This encryption technology is changing the manner in which users are obtaining information, offering payments, and exchanging data across devices. This write up is nothing but a genuine effort to intimate people about the entire spectrum of the NFC mobile payments.

What do you mean by NFC?

This is nothing but a mechanism that permits contactless communication to facilitate data exchange between devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. With NFC at your disposal, you can simply wave your phone in the direction of an enabled device and exchange information without the need of a connection. Given the ease and swiftness, the technology has become a widely used one.

Its way of functioning

It is very convenient to conclude that NFC is nothing but another form of Wi-Fi or Bluetooth technology. All the three work on the mechanism of wireless communication and data transfer, however there is a difference. The NFC functions by utilizing electromagnetic fields, but both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth rely on radio transmissions. NFC happens to be a section of RFID (radio-frequency identification), a technology that helps spot things via radio waves. RFID is not a new phenomenon, in fact, the technology has been in vogue for decades in the form of activities such as scanning things at grocery stores and luggage on baggage claims. The basics behind the technology are very similar, but the operation is restricted to the extent of proximity. For the majority of users the proximity control is an important security aspect considering the crucial part it plays in mobile payment.

Types of NFC devices

NFC devices are of two types: active and passive. Passive devices comprises things such as smart posters, merchandise beacons, and contactless POS terminals. These can make available information for active devices, but cannot obtain external information. As for Active devices, they can dispatch radio-frequency currents that communicate and get data from enabled hosts.

Not a mere digital wallet

NFC can be easily restricted to the aspect of mobile payment, but the reality is that it can be used in many other arenas apart from tap-and-go purchases. NFC can be a potent tool for interactive marketing. Armed with NFC, marketers can easily reach out to their target audience by using instant data and delivering personalized messages. With the help of NFC, it becomes easier to promote loyalty programs and cut out the possibility of gathering multiple rewards cards. The NFC’s ability to engage customers can be best illustrated with the real estate market. By tagging NFC on real estate, signs, or listings a buyer can be helped in various manners. Apart from providing details regarding a property, agents can also give images, floorplans, graphical representation of the whole property, and other things buyers would love to know. This type of interaction can be a very meaningful way to establish valuable connections between brands and their consumers.

Security Concerns

It can be worrisome for some people to perform transactions via mobile phones. After all, everyone desires safety of their data and money. Even with banks and credit card safety is of paramount significance. As far as electronic transactions are concerned there is a modicum of risk. However, payments made via NFCs are considered they are very safe and secure. The data in an NFC transaction is encrypted and dynamic, implying that it keeps on changing, dissimilar to the data on a swipe card, which happens to be static—data remains on the rear of your card. So, NFC is a mechanism that ensures secure monetary transactions.

The way of functioning of Dynamic Encryption

Instead of storing the credit card number of the device, mobile payments utilize something called tokenization. In case of Apple Pay, once a snap of a credit card is taken and loaded into their iPhone, Apple dispatches every particulars to the bank pertaining to the card or network. After this, banks and networks hide the bank details through a series of randomly generated numbers. The number is then sent to Apple, which programs it back into the phone of the user. This implies that the particulars of the account on a phone can’t be exploited by the scamsters. Whenever there is a transaction, the phone dispatches a short-term number to the point-of-sale and this can be used only for that particular transaction. This number is different for any new transaction. Thus the encryption process involved severely restricts the risk of manipulation or theft. On top of this security feature, Apple Pay is also fortified by Touch and Face ID, fingerprint technology of Apple. This means even if you misplace or lose your phone, nobody can do anything with Apple Pay. As it requires either your fingerprint or face to recognize your identity. This also explains why the Apple Pay functions only with the latest iPhone models, that comes with the added layer of protection like Touch ID.

Google Pay and HCE

Contrary to Apple Pay, Google Pay works with HCE, or host card emulation. Over here, the user’s physical card is imitated in a different manner as the account information is kept in the confines of the cloud, as against the device. In this payment mechanism as well a certain degree of tokenization comes into play as the payment data is kept safely in the cloud, however the tokenization method is also cloud-oriented, which according to a few is not that secure.

Emvco

EMVCo enables worldwide interchangeability and availability of safe mobile payments. The organization is gradually progressing towards stating the architecture, specifications, needs, and type approval processes to complement the EMV mobile NFC payments. These include:

Needs related to the sanctioning of product type
Prime operational criteria for mobile devices
Substantiation processes of a Cardholder
Certification needs like a security assessment for the SE having the payment application
Needs for recognizing EMV application on an equipment
Conforming to a reference application activation user interface (AAUI) on the mobile phone

What future holds for NFC

In the times to come , NFC has a huge opportunity to eliminate every cash card in your purse. Considering the current scenario, the various digital technologies are quickening the prospect of a cashless society. NFC mobile transactions not only lessen the variety of surfaces we come into contact with (i.e., credit card, POS terminal, etc.), it is also very convenient, quick and safer. The time is ripe for companies to look for every possible way to integrate NFC into their mobile strategies. With NFC at your disposal, a safe, swift and smart money exchange environment is within your grip.