Category: Software Development

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Virtual Fundraising Event Ideas To Take And Tweak Today

Virtual Fundraising Event Ideas To Take And Tweak Today

Virtual fundraising has always been prominent, however, it has picked up more pace over the last two years. Ever since nonprofit organizations have begun taking the virtual path of hosting events for raising funds, at the same time, they find it quite challenging to host a successful fundraising event. 

Even though the audience and potential donors enjoy the event without stepping out of their homes, it can be quite tedious to keep them engaged throughout the fundraising event. 

As a virtual event marketer, you need to make sure that to host a successful event, you should include a mix of all elements to keep the event balanced and running smoothly. 

Your virtual fundraising event ideas should not only be about serious sessions, but it should also comprise entertaining elements to keep the audience engaged throughout the session. 

Make your way through the post to get an insight into a few fundraising ideas that can help you run a successful event and raise funds for your nonprofit organization. 

Without any further ado, let’s get started with these innovative ideas! 

Best Practices To Host A Super Successful Virtual Fundraising Event 

Online Auction 

Auctions are a classic way of generating funds for your cause. If you were hoping to host a regular auction, then don’t lose heart as it can happen virtually too. 

You can display all the items online and ask your attendees to bid on them one by one. Make sure that you define all the rules to your audience much before the event in the form of a mail or verbally. 

Another thing to keep in mind is to promote your items and make the starting bid clear to your audience. Since the event will be virtual and your audience will not be able to see the displayed products in real, make sure that you leverage high-quality pictures. Lastly, it is not necessary to host a one-day event, make it a multi-day auction to generate maximum donations. 

Virtual Concert 

If there is one thing that people would not mind spending on is to see their favorite band or performer play live. Since times are not the same, you might as well adopt the ‘new normal’ and host a virtual concert instead! 

Collaborate with a famous artist, band, or performer who enjoys a good following and generate funds by selling tickets. Moreover, watching a concert from the homes will be a good change from the same old boring routine of your attendees and they would look forward to it. 

Include A Social Media Wall 

Engagement is crucial especially when it comes to virtual events and including a social wall can be a game-changer. If you are new to the concept of a social media wall, it comprises live and aggregated social media feeds from various platforms. 

Just like a regular audience, a virtual audience also likes posting content on their social media handles in the form of photos, videos, selfies, etc. They use the event hashtag for posting the content. Further aggregating the content and posting it during the virtual event is a great way to engage your audience the most. Moreover, everyone loves getting featured during the event and this would lead to more participation from your audience. 

Host A Virtual Dinner Party 

Sometimes, all that the attendees want is to have a good silent time, having conversations over a glass of wine. Make the most of it by hosting a virtual dinner party for your guests. You can make them indulge in a conversation related to the noble cause that you are supporting and how their donations would tremendously benefit your organization. 

There is a high chance that they may feel the need to donate right after the night gets over. You can leave a link in their mailbox after dinner. If your budget permits, you can send a few munchies to your attendees for them to enjoy during the event. 

Include Games 

Speaking of entertainment, make sure that you lighten the environment of the event and nothing can be as result-driven as games! If your event includes sessions, make sure that you give a break to your attendees and include games. 

You can include a few rounds of housie or virtual UNO. Include a few multiplayer games like Call of duty to ensure more interaction between the attendees. 

Promote The Event 

Lastly, always make sure that all your potential attendees are aware of your upcoming virtual fundraising event. You can leverage various methods of marketing including social media marketing to target your audience. Run ads and create posts comprising details about your event. 

Moreover, make it a point to inform your previous attendees and also push them to spread the word and inform their knowns about the cause that you are supporting! 

Final Thoughts 

We are at the end of this post and you are now aware of a few tried and tested virtual fundraising event ideas that can help you host a successful event and also achieve your desired donation numbers! 

Go on now, include these strategies into your upcoming fundraising event and you will for sure notice positive results! 

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The Advantages of POS Systems for Small Businesses

The Advantages of POS Systems for Small Businesses

Excellent point-of-sale systems provide numerous advantages to small businesses. They will not only assist in the management of day-to-day sales and inventory, but they will also assist in the growth of businesses through the use of built-in loyalty and marketing software, as well as provide business intelligence.

The following are the top eight advantages of POS systems for small businesses:-

  • Reduces the amount of time spent on administration

Effective POS software will be able to provide you with relevant reports in a timely manner to assist you in making profit-enhancing decisions. It is critical to have point of sale software that is simple to install, gets up and running quickly, and is simple to use. A streamlined point of sale system will reduce administrative hours and free up time for owners to work ‘on’ their business rather than ‘in’ their business.

  • Increase the profitability of your store.

POS solutions have the potential to boost store profitability. This can be accomplished through effective inventory management as well as the capture of buyer behaviour, which will allow for more personalised and targeted marketing campaigns. Next-generation retail software can also boost profits by allowing you to sell, order, and market from anywhere, at any time.

  • System of Inventory Control

A good point of sale system will include inventory management software. This is critical for any small business to ensure that the right stock arrives at the right time. Inventory management systems enable you to make informed ordering decisions based not only on available stock, but also on buyer behaviour and historical data.

  • ‍Loyalty

Loyalty programmes for valued customers should also be possible with POS solutions. Such programmes have been shown to assist in the growth of small businesses, the creation of repeat customers, and the increase of sales. This can be accomplished by utilising loyalty points and vouchers. Furthermore, they enable you to collect buyer information and track buyer trends. This data can be used to create targeted incentives, marketing campaigns, and, most importantly, a better overall customer experience.

  • Marketing

A POS system can be extremely useful in assisting you in the planning of marketing campaigns. You can use the information gathered to ensure that your marketing efforts are personalised and relevant, resulting in increased profits.

  • ‍Business intelligence

Point-of-sale systems should have a single central database that is real-time, accessible, and receives automatic updates. It should be able to generate meaningful reports, allowing small businesses to make more informed business decisions.

  • Instant access.

The ability to access your POS solution from anywhere and at any time is now required. Small businesses must be able to work from home or while on the road, and instant access is critical. New generation technology has transformed the way retailers operate, allowing for real-time access to financial and operational data. Another significant advantage of having immediate access is that it allows small businesses to provide better customer service. Finally, POS systems should allow for the integration of physical storefronts and online shops.

In conclusion, there are numerous advantages to using point of sale systems for small businesses, and an efficient system is critical in today’s digital age. They have the ability to improve the efficiency and profitability of all aspects of day-to-day operations, from initial stock ordering to post-sale, targeted marketing.

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Ask Essential Queries Before Hiring Software Development Outsourcing Companies

Ask Essential Queries Before Hiring Software Development Outsourcing Companies

You need to know how outsourcing can be a great solution that provides immense flexibility in meeting your business goals. Therefore when searching for software development outsourcing companies, it is important to find the right one. Handing over important tasks like custom software development to an external unit can save you a lot of time and money. But it also comes with risks which are very important to ignore. Choosing the right people to work always proves, at some level or the other, a leap of faith. We talk a lot about what your outsourced software development partner should be like:

  • Understand the needs of your business.
  • Make a solid plan to achieve your strategic goals.
  • Design a final product that looks, feels and functions according to your imagination.

Most software development companies will tell you that they do all that and more. The trick to reducing your risks is to hire a person who will actually do it. How do you do that? By asking the right questions.

Problems Finding Software Development Outsourcing Companies

Experts agree that there are several reasons why half of software projects fail. The same common, costly mistakes are often made. Work areas are underestimated, deadlines derail, and stakeholders fail to monitor progress. To avoid making your project suffer from the same fate, do your homework as well as ask these questions, and look at these telltale signs to determine if you are choosing the right outsourced software development partner.

Check in with your first resource

Before you ask any questions to software development outsourcing companies, ask for referrals from your network. While you will still need to assess things like cultural fit and cost, recommendations from satisfied customers are one of the safest ways to find a reputable company. Once you have a list of prospects, a Google search can help you research suggested companies and find others like them.

Conduct an internal assessment

When you have a healthy list of candidates, do a brief preliminary assessment on each:

  • Check if their website is on point or not. See quality of work, experience and expertise, company culture, and whether they demonstrate thought leadership in the industry.
  • Find out if they have a portfolio of projects. The portfolio reflects the value they bring.
  • You should be aware that they manufacture the type of software that you want to build.

Companies that match these three points with an answer should include it in your shortlist.

First Interaction

Whether it is a phone call, email, or video consultation, your first contact with any software development company should be to find out if they will prove suitable for your project in the most basic of ways, such as scope, budget, and timeline. Be honest with each company about their goals so that they can be clear with you about whether they can meet them.

Questions to ask the software development company

By the time this article is read, you are likely to find at least one or two potential partners. While there may not be an obvious factor highlighting the best candidate, there are ways to make the decision a bit more clear.

  • Ask about what is currently going on in the company. How many projects are they working on? Who are his major talents? How long have they been working with the company, and are they all knowledgeable in their area of expertise?
  • Ask them to describe their developmental abilities. Which approach do they use? How big is each team? Where are they located
  • Ask how they evaluate the client’s strategy, identify business goals, and build consensus. What drives decisions during the development process?
  • Ask about their communication process. Larger software development projects can take months to complete. Without good communication, your project is more likely to fail. At Winklix, we follow a practical agile method, which allows us to organize goals flexibly. Customers and customers are always welcome to attend scheduled meetings and progress the project.

Hopefully, these questions will help you get the answers you need to make a wise decision in your choice of software development partner. This is especially important for the success of your project. However, one of the things you want to keep in mind during this phase is how well the company is able to communicate overall with you. In other words, at the end of any conversation with them, do you think this is a partner you can trust? How well they communicate with you during the “knowing you” phase is a good indication of how the rest of the project will go.

Low Risk Outsource Software Development

At Winklix, the focus has been on providing an exceptional customer experience from the beginning. Our practical, transparent approach to software development ensures you:

  • Experienced and highly-skilled engineers who have the necessary expertise to make your project a success.
  • Strategic Consulting.
  • A point of contact and constant communication with our engineers.

It is tempting to choose a software development based only on questions about the budget, but finding out if the outsourcing partner is suitable for your needs and culture will, ultimately, help keep your project on budget and long-lasting. Will help beneficial relationships for all parties. To know more, contact us today.