Whether you’re a freelance writer used to holing up in coffee shops to earn a living or a remote employee working on a job site or satellite office, there are many occupations in which your laptop is your lifeline. Even if you don’t rely on your machine for work, it is still a valuable source of entertainment and social connection. That said, buying one can be a serious investment. Depending on the model, size and functionality you require, you can expect to spend between $700 and $3000 on a new laptop.

That said, you want to protect your purchase as much as possible. While you might not be able to fully safeguard it from every incident, there are proactive measures you can take, starting on Day One, to keep it as high-performing, quick and clean as possible. Today, we’re sharing seven tips to help your machine run its best. Ready to learn more? Let’s get started!

1. Update it when required.

Sure, it gets on our nerves when those pop-ups appear at every startup, reminding us to upgrade our operating system to the most recent version or download the latest update for our anti-virus software. Yet, what might be a minor inconvenience and a few minutes of our time can save our machines in the end.

These notifications are there for a reason. You can press “ignore” or “remind me later” all day long, but eventually, your laptop will be running in an outdated, archaic mode that is unable to support the functions of its newer, flashier peers. It’s also far more likely to break down, run slowly and give you other issues. The bottom line? Update as soon as you’re notified. Go pour a cup of coffee, check the mail or call it a night. When it’s time to log back in, you’ll be glad you took that step.

2. Don’t let it overheat.

Have you ever been working fervently at your laptop, only to notice that it sounds like an airplane is taking off inside of it and it’s actually emitting heat? It’s not your imagination. Your machine can easily overheat and when it does, it can permanently damage its internal mechanisms. So, give it a rest if it appears to be under distress.

Moreover, try to not leave your computer in direct sunlight or near anything that could accidently cover its vents. It needs plenty of ventilation to work properly and ensure its components aren’t compromised.

3. Embrace defragmenting.

In the days of dial-up internet and oversized floppy disks, defragmenting your computer meant taking off an entire afternoon while the dinosaur worked through the files at the pace of an inchworm. Today, the process is much quicker and still essential to the longevity of your computer.

Especially if you own a Windows laptop that comes equipped with a hard drive rather than a solid state drive (SSD), you’ll want to perform this step on a monthly basis. Your machine should perform this function on a routine basis without any extra interference from you. Yet, if you can tell that your laptop needs a little more juice and isn’t running as quickly as it could be, you can also manually perform the step yourself.

4. Protect it on the outside.

We’re rough with our laptops. We eat around them, drink hot beverages near them, toss them into our tote bags and expect that they will be resistant to any signs of wear and tear. If you want yours to last for as long as possible, try to avoid letting things like dust, dirt, food particles and hair strands accumulate in it. While there are specific tools you can use to clean out your keyboard and the surrounding ports, you may also consider taking into a professional computer cleaning specialist. This way, you can rest assured that any cleaning measures taken won’t harm your machine.

Of course, one simple way to protect your laptop is to outfit it with a heavy-duty case that can keep it safe from dings, dents and scratches as you move it around. From a Macbook Air Case to one designed specifically for your make and model, you can research some of the top-performing ones online to help you make a selection. This is one computer accessory that’s well worth the extra money.

5. Don’t neglect the cord.

Power cords tend to get the short end of the stick when it comes to computer care. We wrap the cord around the base, toss it into our bag and never think twice about it. It’s easy to forget that they are comprised of delicate connectors, wires and joints that can break or fray in a snap.

Keeping that in mind, resist the urge to pull too tightly on your cord or bend it into awkward spirals just to get it into your tote. You may also consider investing in a surge protector to ensure that if a random power spike occurs, your data isn’t lost.

6. Don’t turn it on and off all day.

Yes, when you know you’re done using your computer, you can and should turn it off for the day. Yet, if you’re going to need access to it throughout the day, leave it on. Why? Every time you shut it down and fire it back up again, you put a little bit of stress on the machine. If this happens every now and then, it may not cause any damage. Yet, if you’re performing this function on a daily basis, you could shorten the lifespan of your laptop.

7. Remember to perform routine maintenance.

If something seems off about your laptop, don’t put off taking action until it’s more convenient. Rather, address all concerns as soon as they appear to make sure they don’t snowball into bigger issues. Take inventory of how well your machine is running. How are response times? Do files take longer than usual to load? Is it taking longer to start up than usual?

Often, the signs that something is wrong are more subtle in nature. Thus, it’s helpful to be tuned into your machine so you can notice as quickly as possible if something looks or feels amiss. While you might be able to perform some basic repairs yourself, you may be more comfortable (and better off) taking the machine to an experienced repair specialist.

Getting the Most From Your Laptop Investment

Buying a new laptop is a major step that can benefit both your professional career and your personal life. Yet, as soon as you unbox it, it’s important to begin taking care of it, looking for signs of stress, and responding to those circumstances wherever possible. If you treat your machine well, it can last you for years down the road, making every checkpoint, update and yes, defragmentation, well worth the effort.

You could have the most impressive inventory in the world. Your staff members could deliver top-notch services with an unmatched dedication to their craft. Still, unless you’re investing a substantial amount of energy into your customer relationship management (CRM) strategy, your business will fail to achieve the level of continuous success it’s capable of.

Why? For a brand to stay top-of-mind, it must deliver a tailored experience to every customer that walks through its brick-and-mortar doors, hops on its website or interacts over social media. This has always true, but it’s an even more critical objective in today’s fast-paced digital world. Where interactions are a dime a dozen, finding ways to bring customized content, relevant data and genuine connection to your target audience can set you apart from the competition.

Taking a customer-centric approach isn’t just a corporate initiative that some board member dreamed up. Rather, it’s a direct response to what the modern consumer craves. Industry research reveals that an overwhelming 90% of customers want to work with and purchase from brands that deliver customized content.

This means that gone are the days of generic, one-size-fits-all marketing approaches. Mass email blasts won’t work anymore. Nor will printing 500 of the same flyers and sending them to everyone on your mailing list. Rather, forward-thinking businesses are those that tweak the message of each to make it feel personalized and tailored to the recipient. These conversations are more likely to convert and can lead to the kind of long-term brand loyalty that differentiates flash-in-the-pan small businesses from industry pillars.

Yet, before a customized marketing strategy can be crafted, a company must truly understand its customers. This begins with a robust CRM approach and here’s why: As you actively seek to organize, manage and oversee your client interactions, you learn more about them along the way. You are better able to distinguish patterns and trends in the things they ask questions about, the components that stump them, the features that delight them and the hot topics they’re most interested in. It’s precisely this kind of data that can help you determine how to best reach them to promote new offerings.

With so many initiatives pulling at the attention and purse strings of C-suite managers, CRM should be at the top of the list, though it’s often pushed down to make room for more pressing concerns. Still, the case can be made that unless CRM is attended to first, almost every other corporate aim will ultimately fall flat.

Still not convinced? Let’s review a few reasons a CRM strategy is so important and how businesses can get theirs off the ground.

What is Customer Relationship Management?

Put simply, CRM is a strategy that encompasses organizing all of the details of every client interaction. From initial sales contacts to closed deals and open trouble tickets, your team will keep track of it all, in a format that’s easy to understand, quick to access and a cinch to share. The data isn’t kept in a large folder, with everyone’s content interacting with the other’s. Rather, it’s compartmentalized for timely retrieval, meaning that when you search for one client’s name, you only see relevant records for that person or group. The results aren’t muddled with irrelevant data that could confuse you or slow you down.

While the exact features vary across solutions, CRM software is designed to provide a sleek interface for this type of data management. Those with authorized access can all log in and see the same, shared portal. From there, they can select different data points, pull up customer contact information, access records and perform advanced analytics. This approach is critical for both current customers as well as prospects. Team members can track a deal from initiation to close, helping them to see what worked, what didn’t and where they can improve next time.

In addition, CRM allows call associates and other support personnel to immediately recognize a customer and provide personalized service. Say, for example, someone calls with a troubleshooting inquiry about a technology device. Armed with only an account number, last name or of information, the employee on the other end can pull up that person’s entire purchase history. From there, they can access the specific model of equipment purchased and provide support. This same connectivity allows marketing managers to craft campaign materials that are targeted to each customer, improving the odds of conversion.

Let’s review a few more reasons why even the smallest businesses should take a customer-centric CRM approach.

It Offers Companies the Chance to Learn Their Audience

You can’t anticipate a customer’s needs unless you know their pain points. You can’t upsell to them and offer them similar inventory unless you first know the kinds of things they’re most interested in. You can’t answer their questions or point them in the right direction if you don’t know what they’re holding in their hand as they type in a support ticket on an online portal.

This is where CRM shines. By organizing client information into manageable sections, team members learn as much about them as possible. From their web visit metrics, they can tell which pages they’re clicking on and how long they’re staying there. From their purchase history, they can tell which items ultimately caught their eye. From their call records and email open rates, they can tell what types of advertising they respond to the best.

It’s unwise to invest in a costly marketing campaign if it’s on elements that your target audience won’t respond to. The same goes for your sales team’s efforts. They could spend a ton of time working on a great pitch, only to have it fall on deaf ears because they aren’t saying the right things that their customers want to hear.

It’s an Unparalleled Chance to Connect

Today, CRM efforts aren’t just isolated to one area of the company. Rather, everyone from service technicians to salespersons can use the centralized portal to connect with customers and leads across myriad platforms. From email and social media to in-person meetings, brands and clients interact in various ways and determining which outreach methods are the most fruitful is an essential aspect of establishing a successful customer connection.

This is where it pays to research the various CRM deployment options on the market today. From traditional software suites to virtual client management that allow you to manage multiple clients alongside your Google Adwords pay-per-click marketing campaign, you’ll have your pick from a slew of options. If it’s the latter you need, you should read more about the benefits of using this solution, known as My Client Center and how it can benefit your business.

It Boosts Organization and Automation Efforts

With the proliferation of Big Data across almost every industry, companies around the world are slammed with vast amounts of data every day, coming in from multiple portals. As such, it’s not uncommon to find that business leaders are swimming information, but unable to mine it for insight because of its sheer size.

To this end, CRM solutions allow you to make sense of every piece of data that passes over your desk. It can also be an ideal way to jumpstart automation in your workplace. If you’re still organizing clients into physical folders and storing them in a filing cabinet, it’s only a matter of time before something gets mixed up. Storing the data in a virtual environment means less room for human error, improved security and a more streamlined way of making sure everyone is on the same page.

It Improves Customer Satisfaction Ratings

In a world where there are few unique business ideas left and even the most innovative company has at least some level of competition, a positive referral is . A recent survey shows that nearly half of shoppers (49%) will buy something they didn’t initially intend to if they receive a personalized recommendation.

Catering to the customer by utilizing CRM results in an uptick in overall satisfaction scores. It can also build sales and improve feedback ratings. All of these aims are industry gold, but they are unachievable with an outdated, tangled mess of customer information sitting in piles on your desk.

Companies that value their public perception should take the time to organize their client data into a comprehensive CRM strategy. This is a small that can completely transform their outreach methods and improve their brand reputation for the better.

Finding a CRM Strategy That Sticks

If you think your company is too small, niche or too under-staffed to invest in a CRM solution, think again. Today, there is a wider variety of platform options than ever before and most can be customized to fit your unique business model.

Take the time to meet with your staff, discuss your objectives, and create a plan to implement CRM tactics in your workplace. When you do, you’ll help improve efficiency, motivate team members, boost sales, convert on-the-fence prospects, and keep track of every opportunity that passes over your desk. Those rewards alone make it the investment.

Though the majority of a sales team’s work will happen on the lot or in the office, there is another aspect of customer marketing and outreach that sometimes goes unnoticed: the dealership website. Yet, this is one of the simplest and most straightforward ways that business leaders can establish their brand, appeal to interested buyers and showcase their inventory. The key to making casual browsers stick around for the long haul? Make sure your website is as interactive, user-friendly and responsive as possible.

Studies reveal that 86% of car shoppers perform online research before heading to a dealership to check out their options in person. That said, is your website one that they’re bound to land on? If you’re unsure, read on. Today, we’re sharing five ways to drive traffic to your dealership website. This simple step can help you drive conversions and build both your brand loyalty and bottom line along the way.

1. Optimize your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy.

For maximum visibility, you’ll need to make sure your dealership’s website appears on the first page of Google when a web query is performed on your target location. For instance, if you’re a Ford dealer in Greensboro, North Carolina, when someone types in “New Ford in Greensboro, NC,” your website should appear at the top of their list.

Though there are myriad ways to improve your SEO efforts, it all begins with selecting the right keywords in your online content. As you’re preparing your webpages and crafting your blog posts, try to incorporate relevant keywords that are trending in your industry and have a high search volume, but aren’t overly saturated or competitive. Though important, keywords aren’t the only aspects of successful SEO marketing. You should also consider your internal/external linking strategy, page titles, meta tags and more. You can read more here on SEO beginner basics and how to create a comprehensive approach to the practice.

Then, establish a presence in an online business directory or a few business directories. One of the most popular and well-established options is Google My Business. Make sure your contact information is up-to-date and as thorough as possible so people can find you easier. This will also help in your local search standing.

2. Blog often on interesting topics.

Sure, a blog post or two about what your dealership has been up to lately or any industry recognition you’ve received is interesting. Yet, to drive continual traffic to your dealership website, you’ll need to post more often on topics that people are actively searching for online.

This might mean discussing maintenance issues that are common with the manufacturers you represent. Or, you may provide buyer’s guides or step-by-step instructions on how to perform basic repairs, like changing a tire. The idea is that when people search online for these topics, your blog content will appear. It’s unlikely that too many web visitors will be looking for detailed information about your company potluck, so keep posts like those minimal.

Then, once you have a calendar of content established, be sure to post consistently. Your readers want to hear from you on a regular basis, or they may abandon their visits altogether.

3. Get social.

In today’s digital era, social media is king. There is no quicker or more effective way to reach your target audience than by interacting with them across these platforms, which can include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more.

To this end, establish a presence on any social media channel that makes sense for your brand. Then, just as you’re consistent with your blogging, endeavor to be as active as possible with your account. Simply opening them is the first step, but if you’re not an active part of the ongoing conversation, your followers will quickly abandon your profile for one that’s sharing, tweeting and commenting on a more regular basis.

Every time you blog, share it on your social media channels. You may even offer discounts or promotions to your followers or host giveaways to encourage participation. If you receive any comments that require a response, be sure to follow up as quickly as possible. Though this step doesn’t take long, it can do wonders to improve your brand’s trustworthiness and reputation.

4. Begin an email marketing campaign.

Though it might sound like an antiquated form of customer outreach, email marketing is still very much alive and effective. In fact, 60% of customers state that email marketing influences their decision-making. This makes it an ideal way to connect with your target audience. It’s also cost-effective, saving you an investment in print material marketing and associated shipping costs.

Remember: Shoppers crave personalization and this is a great way to incorporate it into your marketing strategy. Once you have your list of interested shoppers who opted in to receive your emails, create subject lines and body content that include their name. Then, make sure your messaging is consistent with the interests and goals they expressed.

You may use your email outreach to host giveaways, offer promotions or pass along exclusive discounts. Then, you can analyze how many people took advantage of such offers to determine the effectiveness of your campaign and ways to improve on the next go-round.

5. Make sure your website is responsive.

In addition to a user-friendly design and intuitive layout, you should also ensure your dealership’s website is responsive. In short, this means designing it so that it looks just as great on a smaller, mobile device as it does on a big-screen desktop. Studies show that customers use up to five different devices when they’re browsing the internet. You want to make sure they’re using all of those to get to your content.

There are myriad considerations that go into developing a responsive website and it can be difficult to get them all right. Not sure where to start? Google offers a mobile responsiveness tool. You simply plug in your URL and it tells you whether or not it passes the responsiveness test and how to correct it, if not.

Attracting and Retaining Your Target Online Audience

Though foot traffic is still a vital way to interact with your dealership’s customers and close valuable deals, the first step often begins online. Taking the time to fine-tune your SEO strategy, establish a social media presence, create blog content and test for mobile responsiveness isn’t wasted energy.

Rather, these steps help to lay the groundwork for a successful and profitable online marketing campaign that can ultimately improve your visibility and bring more customers through the door. To that end, it’s worth every penny and hour of the investment.