There are a lot of content optimization tools out there which can help you maximize your online impact; but you should be advised that if you’re properly successful in your client expansion endeavors, you’re likely to see some additional stresses to your operation that may not have been expected.
One thing you’ll want to do is source regular consumer feedback. This can help you determine whether or not your online marketing efforts have been making an impact. Additionally, it can tell you what kind of impact is being made. Sometimes you’re making a negative impact and sometimes you’re doing something worthwhile.
Application Exceptions
Sometimes you’ve got an application you’ve designed that isn’t working properly, and if you’re not monitoring it on the back-end, consumer feedback may be the only thing which alerts you that operations are amiss. However, there are ways to get ahead of such problems before they develop into a PR nightmare among consumers.
What you’re going to want are professional organizations, and professional IT solutions, which are designed to log, monitor, and report on varying online applications. From smartphone apps to cloud apps to IoT solutions like edge computing that essentially make a “cloud on a cloud” through endpoint devices that process data, you can find monitoring solutions.
One thing you’re likely to come against on a regular basis are exceptions. These are different than errors. An error can happen due to hardware malfunction, programmer mistake, or any of countless exigencies that cause applications to act funny. But an exception is expected.
Stackify.com defines exceptions this way: “Exceptions are a type of error that occurs during the execution of an application. Errors are typically problems that are not expected. Whereas, exceptions are expected to happen within application code for various reasons.” You can get more info here.
Increased Traffic Can Cause Exceptions
One way you might experience an exception is through sudden traffic increase that is larger than you anticipated. A successful marketing campaign can do this, as can unexpected positive press. Maybe the manager of your business pulled a child from traffic, was caught on the morning news doing so, and managed to say a few words about his business as well.
For a few days, operations will see a spike. This is good monetarily, but if you don’t properly prepare for the spike, then you could lose some customers through faulty applications. Likely, today’s customer will find you over the internet. They may find you from an online application, content-marketing, or the aforementioned unexpected positive PR.
What they’re going to do before visiting your store, in most cases, is check out your online presence. When you’ve got tens of thousands bombarding your network, that suddenly taxes things in a way they haven’t been taxed before. In such scenarios, you’re likely to see some exceptions on application execution.
Different exceptions happen for different reasons, but however they come, it’s essential you understand what they are and how to deal with them. This requires having resources available which are requisite to the task. It also can involve outsourcing to Managed Service Providers (MSPs)—but that will depend on your operation’s size.
Structure App Management To Fit Your Business
A smaller operation stands to benefit from MSP services, but a larger organization stands to see greater benefit. In order to maximize your infrastructure in business, you’ll have to do a cost-benefit analysis. It may make the most sense to handle IT issues internally until you hit a certain threshold.
Whatever you decide, continuously monitoring applications for errors and exceptions is the best way to catch problems before they become operationally-threatening issues.