If you are running a small business, IT will be an integral part of your day-to-day operations. Do you face any issues within your small business when it comes to IT management? Would you know what to do if there was a potential data breach? Are your systems secure? IT is consistently evolving, but there are several straightforward solutions to help your small business. Follow these steps and watch your business thrive like never before.
Asset Management
You will already be well aware that no business can run successfully without its assets. As this is so, it also cannot run proficiently without an asset management process successfully implemented.
This will ensure that you are using the assets you have to their full potential. Once you have prepared to replace an asset that is approaching the end of its life, you will be able to maintain a schedule and ensure assets are functioning for their entire life cycle. This will ultimately save you money, ensuring that your needs are met with available but unused resources, rather than opting to purchase something new.
Backup and Disaster Recovery Systems
Losing data can prove to be detrimental to a business, and small businesses often suffer worst. Disaster cannot always be averted but having a plan in place can help if the unexpected is to happen. This will save you time, as these issues can take hours or even days to restore, as well as saving you money in the long run.
Implementing a Proactive Process
Being proactive is often overlooked. If you are aware of details such as how quickly servers take to come back once they have crashed, how long support issues take to be resolved and the time it takes to restore lost data, you will be in a proactive, positive position.
Being aware of this is one thing, but if your server never goes down, you may not even need to know. Proactive measures can include:
Software updates
Hardware audits
Preventative maintenance
Apply Security Measures
Managed security services are essential for any small business who wants to keep their data safe. By applying security best practices, you can avoid data breaches. This can be easily implemented by controlling who views sensitive in formation, by having effective password policies, and safeguarding customer information.
Additionally, you should also bear in mind that your company could well get audited. This will mean that you must have the ability to clearly show that there is a process in place that will ensure your company’s critical information is secure. If you can show it can be restored easily at a later date, you will be in the clear. You should keep these 4 process in mind on a day-to-day basis, and always have an IT plan in place. When determining the best processes for a driven and successful small business, explore the many options available.
Having an in-depth plan in terms of IT will help you run your small business efficiently, effectively and with ease.
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It takes a great deal of effort, timing, and entrepreneurial skills to build a business from scratch. Therefore, it can be heartbreaking to see your hard work not paying off or performing as it should. A 2019 report by the National Business Capital indicated that although 6.5 million companies are set up annually in the USA, failure rates still hang around 90%. That’s not good news for the job market when workers cannot vouch for the long-term business survival of the establishments they work for. How can you get your customers back? What options can you utilize to turn things around? Hopefully, these points will be helpful to your cause.
1. Identify what could have gone wrong with the leadership team
This should be the first step to take as you embark on a mission to turn things around. It involves reassessing your business operations, starting with leadership. You may discover that some poor leadership decisions may have been responsible for your establishment doldrums. Leadership is a significant part of any business, and it’s highly recommended to get the right executive team to hold the fort.
A strong executive team is supposed to make decisions to steer business objectives, and that starts with your hiring decisions. So, if you run a print company, for instance, it would be wise to seek the services of packaging headhunters for your C-suite positions. These experts have access to a vast pool of talent that you may not necessarily have and would be in the best place to help you fill those top-level vacancies. You could use their services to fill other positions, which leads to the next point.
2. Invest in your support team
Your employees make up the backbone of your company, and when you treat them right, you will achieve positive results. Investing in your team means making a conscious effort to make your employees feel welcome and appreciated. Keep in mind that the business is failing and staff morale is already low. To get their interests and commitment back to where it was before (or even a notch higher), you must engage them fully. How can you do that?
For starters, recognize their contributions, invest in their training, and improve working conditions (even if minimal). Indeed, you can do so many things to bring the ‘vibe’ back into the team. Perhaps, finance is an issue, and paying for their training isn’t a feasible idea. If that is the case, you have two options to explore. The first is to research online training packages which are less costly. The second option is to recreate enhanced job titles with added benefits to compel them to stay. Investing in your team is a mark of compassion and indicates your entrenched position to turn things around for the better.
3. Institute new money management procedures
According to entrepreneur.com, 70% of business failures are primarily finance-based. With this statistic at the back of your mind, one essential step to take is to restructure your company’s money management procedures. Pay critical attention to your cash inflows and outflows. Additionally, if you haven’t already done so, set up a separate bank account for your business.
Unfortunately, this is a terrible habit of new entrepreneurs. Failure to separate these two critical bank accounts makes it impossible to keep track of inflows and outflows. Another thing you should do is to hire an accounting team or outsource the service (whichever works for you and the business). With new stringent measures in place, you can even detect areas in your company where money leaks, allowing you to fix them. While at it, put a halt to all needless costs your business is engaged in.
4. Focus on a facelift for all company digital platforms
As an entrepreneur, you cannot underestimate the essence of digital platforms in the 21st century. If you need a reminder, think about the COVID pandemic and how it caused businesses to jump onto the digitization bandwagon. Your website and all official social media handles deserve a facelift to give your company a new look. You have everything to lose when your business fails, which explains the vital need for stringent measures.
It’s also an opportunity to add new content to your website, redesign it, and draw appeal to your brand. When it comes to social media, make a deliberate effort to engage the public even more. Where necessary, you can run promos to build up excitement. What works recently for most companies is the story-telling video narrative. And you can put your business story on a roll with the right script and compelling imagery. Use the moment to appeal to the masses and draw new leads. Even though it’s a failing business, it doesn’t mean you’re entirely down.
Furthermore, if you find it necessary, a total rebranding is recommended, but that can be expensive. Therefore, if your finances are weak, concentrate on your digital platforms, easily accessible to the general public. Your online accounts represent the company’s face and play a significant role in customers’ image of you.
5. Re-examine existing marketing activities
For every business, the primary focus is the customer. Beyond acquiring the customer is the need to retain them and draw even more. For a failing business, this may be something you lack. This must be a priority as an astute business-minded individual because repeat business directly influences your marketing activities.
While re-assessing your marketing strategies, find out whether your business’s approach has always been sales-focused, as the opposite can hurt marketing and revenue in the long term. If that is so, your priority now should be adding value to your business’s customer base. That alone will drive publicity and bring in more revenue to revive your company. In addition to that, introduce a limited special offer promotion to get back on the minds of your target audience.
6. Find a business partner
There’s nothing better than locating much-needed help just when it’s crucial. For businesses, partnership means more than just two or more forces coming together. The key is to find a strategic business partner to pull your company out of the doldrums. It would help if you asked yourself whether your new business partner shares the same values as your establishment. Secondly, how much are they willing to put in, and what will be their expectations when things begin to look brighter?
Additionally, what business acumen is that strategic partner coming on board with? In that regard, it’s vital to know whether they experienced a similar situation in the past and pulled through successfully. Now that will be excellent news for your company, won’t it? The fresh pair of eyes you have by way of a new business partner helps you see things you ordinarily wouldn’t have noticed on your own. That can make a huge difference when your business gets back on track.
Be receptive to innovative ideas
If you wish to turn your failing business around, what’s the sense in holding on to old and mundane strategies? Remember that the only constant in life is change, and it’s no different from the business world. Embracing innovative ideas opens the business up to several potentials it wouldn’t have had if you remained unreceptive to them. Do not forget that your open-mindedness as a leader is reflective of your company’s operations. It also has a ripple effect on your staff’s motivation.
It takes a lot of skill, creativity, and unadulterated business intelligence to turn around a failing business. Admittedly, it’s not an easy task to do, but it will be worth all the effort you and your team put in to get things back on track.
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Just because there are newer methods of marketing does not mean the old tried-and-true methods no longer work. The trick is to do it right. Direct mail postcards can still be a great marketing tool if they are done correctly. This means using the best message, the most eye-catching design, and mailing them to the right demographic. So, if a business owner wants to use direct mail postcards, they should identify their target audience, decide on the most productive message, have them designed and printed by the best printer, and choose the best time to mail them.
Do Some Research First
Don’t go off half-cocked on a mailing campaign. Take the time to learn about direct mail marketing to use it to the best advantage. Yes, direct mail postcards are still a valuable marketing tool if used correctly.
Postcards might be one of only a few pieces of mail in the potential customer’s mailbox. Online and email marketing might involve dozens of marketing messages a day. Computer users can have ads directed to spam folders where they are never looked at.
If a person uses a direct mailing company or a list broker, the address list can be tailored to the people and businesses who fit the company’s target audience or potential customers, saving postage and printing costs.
Choose a good printing company that will help you design attractive, effective postcards or mailers. You want your promotional material to be eye-catching with an attention-getting message.
Before going to the printing company, think about the most effective message to send. It should be short but contain important information about the company, its product or service, and special pricing.
Do the research to find the demographic or group of potential customers you are trying to reach. How do you get addresses for potential customers? Using a direct mailing service familiar with your area can be useful.
What Does This Mailing Need to Accomplish?
Every postcard mailing should be well-timed and have a purpose. Is your business new and wanting to introduce itself to the neighborhood? Is a special occasion coming up? Is it time for a big clearance sale? Is your product seasonal? Timing is everything. You want the people getting the direct mail postcard to keep it and use it. A well-designed postcard is sized to carry with you when shopping or to keep handy. If that postcard contains the offer of a discount or other special pricing, it is more likely to be saved and used.
If you have a clearance sale once or twice a year, send out postcards a few weeks in advance to give people notice and get them interested in your sale. Make the postcard design stand out, and make the best deals easy to see. Maybe you remodeled your space or got in a new line of merchandise. This is a good time to send out mailers to let people know what you are now offering. Always have something on the card that encourages people to save it and bring it with them. Special discounts or a prize drawing are always good.
Find out what the customers want and like. Then look at the postcard design and ask:
Does it do a good job representing the brand?
Does it offer the customer a solution to a problem or need they may have?
Do the design and message offer a good call to action? Does it have a compelling reason for the recipient to visit the business?
They can sort by age, gender, zip code, income level, neighborhood, and more. In addition, the business should have its own customer list to add to the mailing list. In addition, they may gather information on people’s occupation, whether they rent or own their home, if they are new homeowners, their occupation, and more. One thing online shopping accomplishes for vendors is that, when people shop online, their interests are added to databases for future marketing.
It is like when a person shops for shoes online and then, for a few weeks, they get online ads from shoe companies. Direct mailing services can also use these customer interest lists for their customers. There may be direct mail database lists available for each type of business or service. The main point here is to send direct mail postcards to people most likely to appreciate and use them.
Plan What To Do When People Use the Postcards
When a mailing goes out, have a plan of action for those postcards when they come back to the business. Each postcard should have a call to action like a special offer for a limited time, a discount when the postcard is presented, or a contest that the postcard is the entry to. When people come in carrying their postcards all the company employees should know what to do.
There is nothing more frustrating for a customer than to bring in an offer and have the person behind the counter not know anything about the offer. The time it takes to find a manager and ask what to do is time enough for the potential customer to turn around and leave. Have an employee meeting when the postcards go out, explaining what to do with them as people bring them in. Have an instruction sheet at every check-out counter. If it is a contest, have a box handy for entries to be slipped into.
When people get well-designed postcards that offer them discounts or special deals, they are more likely to keep them. When the postcards are sent to people who can use the company product or service, they will be more effective. A little advance planning always pays off in a marketing campaign.
Combine Marketing Strategies
Combine all the marketing strategies the company uses in a well-organized sales and marketing campaign. Use the same message and the same colors. Bounce one marketing tool off another to multiply the effect. Use online ads to tell people to look for special postcards in the mail. A well-planned ad campaign can increase business and make advertising pay off better.
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Even in the face of the current global pandemic and financial insecurity, the world of investment seems to maintain steady growth, with new investors taking up opportunities to grow their money. Recent studies showed that 15% of stock market investors in the US alone started in 2020. While this is encouraging, investments always come with significant risks. The last thing you want is to jump onto an opportunity with your eyes closed. So, are you thinking about investing for the first time? Here are some mistakes you might want to avoid.
1. Not doing enough research
As mentioned earlier, investments can be risky. While you may not be in control of the market forces, you can minimize the effect of any possible risk by doing your homework before investing. Thankfully, no matter what you want to invest in, you’ll probably find more than enough information online. For example, suppose you’re interested in stock trading. In that case, you will find valuable information from a platform like Kailash Concepts, FX Globe reviews, like feedback left by traders past and present, to help you develop the trading skills you need.
2. Investing before you’re ready
The last thing you want to do is attempt any investment option if you don’t have a solid financial foundation. Most investments take time to yield returns, and you could find yourself in financial discomfort if your returns take too long. The safest thing to do is create a budget considering your monthly expenses, income, etc. It is also best to make an emergency fund covering at least three to six months of your living expenses like rent and utilities.
3. Focusing on short-term goals
The idea that some investment options like trading in stocks can rake in quick bucks makes them very attractive to many first-time investors. While that isn’t a problem, limiting all your investment goals to the near future alone might be a bad idea. Doing this makes it difficult to think about the long-term effects of the investment decisions, which could be pretty damaging to your financial future. Many first-time investors end up making some uninformed and rash decisions to grab steep profits in the shortest possible time.
4. Putting all your eggs in one basket
Diversification is one of the primary keys to responsible investing. Taking the time to diversify your investment portfolio will help minimize your risk in the sense that if one of your investments underperforms, you won’t end up losing everything. On the other hand, if you put all your eggs in one basket, one poor performance could mean losing your entire portfolio and your financial future as a result.
5. Becoming impatient
You don’t want impatience to drive the decisions you make when it comes to investments. As mentioned earlier, most investment options usually take time to produce results, even though it is always possible to strike gold within a short period, depending on your investment choice. However, it is a bad idea to make hasty decisions out of impotence when your returns are not looking encouraging.
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According to a study conducted by Bentley University in the United States, people value printable materials that can be touched. And why not?
After all, digital fatigue can take a toll on anyone’s life. All you would need to feel human again is the sense of touch. In doing so a booklet comes out ever powerful.
Still unsure how?
Let us explain.
You’ve probably read a booklet on more than one occasion without even realizing it. All those catalogs, pamphlets, or training manuals you witness in your daily life are a form of a booklet.
But if your marketing brains are getting ready to reject the traditional idea of integrating a booklet in your communications, then take a pause and rethink your decision.
Integrating this powerful tool can just be the best decision you take for your marketing this year.
This blog post demystifies all the core advantages that a booklet can bring to your organization in 2021.
Why booklet advertising is still an effective communication tool in 2021?
There are a variety of reasons why a booklet that apparently seems to be old school is still a powerful marketing tool. However, to realize the why, you would have to take a few steps back and understand what really is a typical booklet.
Understanding the typical characteristics will enable you to map the scope and power of this marketing tool. More so, it will help you to devise a strategy to design yours according to your unique market requirements.
What is a booklet?
A booklet is actually a little book. It comes in a variety of shapes and sizes with 8-40 pages and simple saddle-stitched binding.
Booklets are one of the most effective promotional tools that any company should have. Booklets allow you to provide your customers with eye-catching, relevant, and focused information while properly branding your organization and generating sales.
They are commonly used as brochures, catalogs, rag mags, newsletters, Bluray, and DVD inserts and can be utilized as little tale books, instructional manuals, and recipe books (DVD booklet). Annual reports, for example, are essentially special-purpose booklets.
A booklet is often made up of four or more sheets of letter-size paper folded in half. And the number of pages in a booklet is always divisible by four, for example, eight pages, twelve pages, sixteen pages, and so on. Of course, some of the pages can be left blank.
Benefits of booklet advertising
A booklet is a perfect choice to help grow the company’s business because the booklet states everything related to the company’s products through image assistance.
Here are the reasons why booklet advertising is still considered effective and valuable despite the rising popularity of digital marketing.
1. Immersive interaction
In the age of the internet, we’ve lost the pleasure of touching and interacting with a brand. The amount of data available on the internet is mind-boggling — enough to give anyone a migraine. A booklet, on the other hand, can be read, handed on to colleagues, or kept if it is of excellent quality.
The best part is it has the tactile experience that software products fail to provide.
Having a company’s booklet is much more than just looking up information on the internet. It not only shows that you are a valuable prospect, but it also fosters interaction and attention.
Rather than scouring the web for an individual article or page, you solely need to read the information and possibly store it in the draw. Plus, nothing beats the scent of freshly printed paper – or maybe it’s just us!
2. Simplified audience targeting
When you have your target audience’s exact contact information and address, an advertising booklet is guaranteed to reach them. You can certainly target your prospects online, but even those advertisements may go unnoticed or be disregarded.
You can, however, put your booklet through the door of those you think would become customers, and the potential is infinite.
Consider how many takeaway menus you receive each day, each detailing the restaurants in your area. The tangible marketing is far more memorable, as evidenced by the fact that many of us seek the menu when we don’t feel like cooking.
And as your advertising booklet is tangible, consumers are more likely to remember your brand when they need services related to your marketing.
3. Personalized communications
Booklets have plenty of room to discuss each service or product in a concentrated manner. It helps in the creation of an informative version of your branding by delivering:
Your business history to get loyalty
Introduction of new services and product
Explain existing services and products
Relay core ideas
If people find your booklet beneficial, they can forward it to others who might be interested. This helps in the expansion of your company’s reach.
Also, when it comes to digital advertising, there are length and character restrictions. A PPC ad, for example, is limited to 30-30-80 characters (2 headlines up to 30 characters, one description up to 80 characters). A single Facebook image ad can have a headline of up to 25 characters and a description of up to 125 characters, whereas an Instagram ad can have up to 2200 characters, two lines, and up to 30 hashtags.
On the other hand, a booklet allows you more room to discuss your organization, products, and services.
Therefore, choosing a booklet to advertise your product or service is highly effective as there is no length or character limitation.
4. Cost-efficient
Budget is, of course, at the top of everyone’s concern. Online advertising might cost thousands of dollars each month, but advertising booklets, on the other hand, are pretty affordable. And if printed well, it can last a long time.
One of the best aspects of publishing Booklets for advertising purposes is the cost, especially if you order in bulk. The larger your print run, the less you’ll have to pay.
Also, you have a lot of control over the price of your Booklet order. You may easily change the pricing by deciding what you can afford – for example, the number of pages in your booklet, the paper type you want to use, and the product finishes you desire. Customization gives you the ability to make better pricing decisions for your organization.
You can even deliver the booklets by hand or take advantage of bulk postage rates offered by most mailing firms to ensure that your campaign reaches your target audience.
5. Improves Return On Investment (ROI)
Online advertisements do not last long and vanish in a flash. Booklets, on the other hand, being a physical representation of the advertisement, not only stress it but stay for longer. They don’t quickly fade away unless they’re discarded.
6. Improves and retains traffic
Booklets are helpful in capturing the attention of potential clients, especially for small and emerging organizations with limited resources. A booklet designed with the latest graphic design trends is a unique method to catch people’s attention.
An online advertisement is only visible for a few seconds; hence it lacks attention. On the other hand, booklets tend to last longer since clients take them home and keep them for longer.
Booklet advertising is all about the company’s product and service offerings to the customers and enticing them to a visit. It becomes super attractive because it contains little text and a lot of images.
Furthermore, booklets are significantly more effective than digital advertising because they demand the buyers’ whole attention. They encourage the reader to sit and sift through the pages, looking at your products, which is far more effective than simply scrolling through a paid internet advertisement on their smartphone.
If discount coupons or response forms are included, the booklets become even more appealing to potential customers.
7. Improved versatility
Booklets are one of the most versatile tools for informing people about your products or services.
Booklets with product information are frequently displayed at the front of the store or in the waiting area of retail stores and offices with a lot of customer traffic. For example, customers can review booklets on each category of the financial product while waiting in the lobby of banks.
Booklets are also taken to trade exhibitions and presentations by marketers to hand out to potential clients or business partners.
8. Increased business authority
Investing in a proper booklet will establish trust and demonstrate that you value your customers. Furthermore, you can increase your clients’ confidence in your business by including your objectives and goals.
Booklet designs that are professional and eye-catching, along with high-quality printing, lend credibility, authenticity, and respect to a company.
Booklets are so crucial for business promotion, therefore don’t compromise on the printing and design quality. It is worthwhile to invest in good design. A poorly printed booklet can destroy your company’s credibility and value.
A booklet also boosts your company’s authority by demonstrating to customers that you’re a serious organization with regular and reliable business procedures.
9. Effective promotion
Booklets can contain tear-off offers or discounts, making them an effective advertising tool. They can be used for effective promotion, create a time-sensitive offer, or other promotional campaigns. The best part?
It makes the measurement of the efficacy of your campaigns so much easier than the complex digital landscape.
Final thoughts
By looking at the effectiveness of booklet advertising, there remains no reason why you should not try using a booklet as a marketing strategy.
You must have a booklet as a crucial component of your sales funnel to provide more detailed information about what you’re selling or how you’re educating people.
Whether you’re using a booklet for technical specifications, a workplace manual, a product magazine, or something else entirely, you’ll want to make the most of every page to get the most bang for your buck.
To make the most of the booklet, make sure your booklet catches the reader’s attention, entertains them, piques their interest in the offered product or service, and finally prompts them to take a specific action.
It is necessary to have a descriptive and appealing brochure that will stay in people’s minds.
Let us know in the Comments section below what are your thoughts on booklet advertising.
About the Author
Atreyee Chowdhury works full-time as an Instructional Designer and is passionate about writing. She has helped many small and medium-scale businesses achieve their content marketing goals with her carefully crafted and compelling content. She lives in Bangalore, India with her husband and parents. She loves to read, experiment with different cuisines, travel, and explore the latest content marketing and L&D trends in her free time. You can reach her on Linkedin or write to her at [email protected] for any content writing/marketing requirements.
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If you are running a small business, IT will be an integral part of your day-to-day operations. Do you face any issues within your small business when it comes to IT management? Would you know what to do if there was a potential data breach? Are your systems secure? IT is consistently evolving, but there are several straightforward solutions to help your small business. Follow these steps and watch your business thrive like never before.
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