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The Four Pillars of Omni-Channel Strategy

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | The Four Pillars of Omni-Channel StrategyAn effective omnichannel strategy involves orchestration, connection, and fulfillment. Let’s take a closer look at each. What are they? If you’re unsure, here are four essential pieces to consider. First, you should tailor your marketing strategy to your customers’ preferences. Then you can curate an experience around those preferences. 74% of customers prefer to shop online at sites that cater to their interests, while nearly half leave a website that doesn’t provide a curated experience. Personalized experiences make customers feel like they’re a valuable part of your business, and orchestration is part of this process.

Connectivity

The ability to create an integrated experience that spans multiple channels is a key component of a successful omnichannel strategy. For example, omnichannel platforms can integrate all aspects of a customer’s shopping experience, including past purchases, social media activity, email lists, and Internet of Things data. The data from these sources can help automate customer service and marketing while allowing for two-way communication.

As consumer preferences evolve, companies must be flexible enough to keep up. While diversification through every channel isn’t ideal, it is essential for an Omni-channel strategy. For example, Disney pays close attention to its website. Not only does it support all channels, but it also makes the site user-friendly for any device. In addition, it has a new Magic Band program that allows Disneyland and Walt Disney World visitors to unlock their hotel rooms and enter the parks using the same account.

A good omni-channel strategy has many moving parts, but all of them should function as a cohesive system. Ideally, each touchpoint should offer a distinctive experience and build upon previous interactions. The omni-channel strategy also should empower users to make decisions, such as when to react to a specific type of customer behavior. Further, it should enable users with the right information and make decisions based on that information.

Operations

An effective omnichannel strategy is dependent on several different factors. It requires the ability to reach the broadest possible audience with a single marketing message. Still, it also relies on a comprehensive understanding of the effects of the omnichannel strategy across all channels. The four pillars of the omnichannel strategy are visibility, measurement, personalization, and optimization. This article will look at the four pillars of omnichannel marketing and how they will work together to help you maximize your marketing efforts.

Your omnichannel strategy must be effective at integrating different channels to maximize sales and customer satisfaction. While you may have an existing multi-channel strategy, you must determine the channels you want to reach. Ultimately, your goal is to increase your customers’ lifetime value and loyalty. To do this, you must know your customers’ needs and understand how they engage with you. For example, if a customer visits your website from their mobile phone, they should have the same level of service they’d get if they were to visit your store via desktop.


Fulfillment

A successful omni-channel strategy is built upon the premise that consumers are increasingly accustomed to various channels and ways to purchase products. For example, a recent study from the National Retail Federation (NRF) revealed that 83% of shoppers want to be able to purchase products wherever and whenever they want. An omni-channel strategy recognizes these changes in consumer behavior and puts the technology and operations in place to meet customers where they want to shop.

The successful omni-channel strategy includes the integration of various fulfillment channels. The first pillar is order orchestration, while the second is fulfillment. Both require efficient fulfillment operations. A successful fulfillment operation can boost revenue and delight customers. BigCommerce’s shipping and fulfillment solutions make the process seamless for all parties. Customers expect to receive their orders quickly and with minimum effort. Moreover, shipping and fulfillment are essential components of the customer experience.

Behavioral triggers

A successful omnichannel strategy is a multi-channel marketing process. A marketing automation tool can help you track user behavior in order to provide targeted content and services. The data generated by this tool can be used to segment the user base and optimize customer engagement strategies. You can also set up triggered campaigns across channels, including SMS and email. Personalized messages and alerts are sent to users at the moments when they expect them.

Managing various channels simultaneously is difficult and time-consuming, but the rewards are immense. Increasing revenues, customer loyalty, and brand recognition require an omnichannel approach. Moreover, omnichannel marketing requires a complete view of the online and offline customer journey. Behavioral triggers are just one of the four pillars of a successful omni-channel strategy.

5 Business Tips for the New Entrepreneur

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Business Tips|5 Business Tips for the New Entrepreneur600,000 new businesses receive their licenses to commence operations in the US annually. While the business market can be challenging for the new entrepreneur, you can succeed with the right strategies. Although the sheer amount of responsibilities to establish a new brand is enormous, you shouldn’t be discouraged. Instead, you should discover your reins as you get into the entrepreneurial seat. That said, here are some tips to help you out.

Mental commitment to put in the hours

Nothing good comes easy, including starting a business. It requires a commitment to spend more hours to make it work. Therefore you should work extra hard for the following purposes:

  • Implementing business strategies
  • Connecting with customers
  • Setting the groundwork to bring in revenue (with a strong focus on the long term)

It’s prudent to focus on strengthening the business’s framework in the first year or two. Acclaimed entrepreneur Dave Conklin believes that grasping this concept builds your mental fortitude as an entrant in the business world. Moreover, it would motivate you to work harder than you’ve ever done.

Keep your finances tight and smart

For a small business owner, having control of your finances is crucial to business sustenance and survival. Usually, small businesses tend to use fewer resources than bigger establishments comparatively. Therefore, keeping tight control over your finances helps you carefully determine your resources’ utilization. It would be disastrous if you allow your spending to spiral out of control.

Remember that most small business start-ups in the US fail in the first year because of poor financial management. Moreover, Pew Research findings revealed that more than 40% of new small businesses seek bank loans to remain operational each year. While you may think that bank loans are lifelines, they come at interest rates that can cripple your young establishment.

Know your competition

Unless your small business is a unique niche, you do not have the luxury of dominance. This stems from a business need that thrives on winning the most significant customers while offering value. Indeed, it is a dog-eat-dog business environment, making it imperative to stay ahead of others.

Keep your current job

You shouldn’t quit your job immediately. First, you need your regular monthly income to support your expenses, as it would be illogical to depend on business profits in the first year or two. Ideally, business profits made in the first few years should be reinvested into the establishment to make it better.

Work with a plan in mind

More than 80% of the time, small business start-ups have it quite challenging in the first three years. While this is to be expected, you must work with a plan as an entrepreneur. Moreover, you will not be making profits immediately; therefore, never leave business decisions to chance when you’re still finding your feet. Define your goals, expect not to make a profit immediately, and avoid time waste. Stick to the plan to improve your focus.

Hopefully, these tips will be helpful as you embark on your new small business project. No matter how much theoretical knowledge you have on business management, you still need the practical aspect. Therefore, learn as much as you can when you finally get the opportunity to run yours.

Growth Mindset Should Be a Part of Your Business Strategy

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StrategyDriven Strategic Planning Article | Growth Mindset Should Be a Part of Your Business StrategyAn organization that embraces a growth mindset positions itself to thrive. A growth mindset encompasses a set of behaviors and attitudes that reflect a business owner’s belief that their company’s business model is not set in stone. Such an entrepreneur is open to infusing new talents, innovations and creativity into the business to strengthen it and guarantee its longevity.

Aside from adjusting your business model as part of your growth strategy, you should also hire flexible employees with the capacity to learn and grow with the business. Your staff needs to share in your ambition to develop a future-oriented business. They should be ready to take on new roles, advance their skills and evolve with the company’s growth.

You will also rely heavily on integrated learning tools that facilitate employees’ professional development and streamline business operation. An Integrated Learning Systems (ILS) mindset growth arms the learning and development (L&D) department with accessible solutions for the evolving business operations.

Striving to become truly good at what you do guarantees that more customers will want your services. A growth mindset enables your business to stand out because it ensures you put in the work to achieve the company’s full potential. Continue reading to learn how incorporating a growth mindset in your business strategy helps you add value to the company.

Embrace Integrated Learning Systems

So how do you ensure you have talented employees by your side as you prepare your business for exponential growth? Integrated learning systems (ILS) is the solution you should embrace to provide your workforce with the necessary training to withstand the roller coaster ride of change as the business evolves.

How can you train your growth mindset and ensure your employees are more knowledgeable and competent in their jobs? Technology-based employee training offers a stack of solutions that address all parts of their learning needs. ILS mindset growth enables your business to shift towards digital learning and earn the massive benefits of training your team to execute development projects better.

ILS provides your company with a vast library of content suitable for end-to-end corporate training solutions. The system’s continuous micro-learning allows your staff to master new skills in the flow of work. Such a modern integrated learning solution that embraces all types caters to different types of employee development needs.

You also gain access to various forms of skills assessment to deliver skills-driven learning. This way, your employees can be more productive and better positioned to satisfy your customers.

Build a Culture of Taking Risks

To embrace a growth mindset is to accept that failure is an inevitable part of growth. But this should not hold you back from stepping out of your comfort zone. Oftentimes, when entrepreneurs recognize their weaknesses, they end up holding on to their failures as well. But working on one’s weaknesses does not mean you carry your failures as a burden.

When you focus on your failures, you’re distracted from the potential success your business can achieve in the future. Instead, claim and learn from past failures, then focus on growing from the mistakes. Building a culture of taking risks enables you to feed creativity and innovation into the business to fuel it forward, notwithstanding the risks involved.

Ensure you lead by example by practicing controlled risk-taking to allow the business to expand beyond your established market segment. Additionally, allow your employees to take on leadership roles that require them to learn how to think on their feet. If you don’t empower your employees to take some risk, they cost the company money by playing it safe.

Forward-thinking employees will learn from their mistakes and utilize their freedom and independence to tap into new markets. While it will take some time and effort, the risk is worth the reward.

Understand Your Purpose

For your business to stand out based on its specialty, you need to be purpose-driven, doing what you love for the people that love what you do. Purpose helps you define your company’s reason for being beyond profit. Ensure the purpose you establish for your business encompasses the company’s ultimate role in the broader economic, environmental and social context for years to come.

While on the surface, the products and services you offer keep your business running, a clear purpose that defines the impact your company can make guarantees its longevity. Define and articulate your purpose in a way that enlightens your employees and propels positive change. An elaborate purpose will:

  • Inform your long-term business strategies
  • Establish a competitive advantage in a saturated market
  • Inspire innovation
  • Boost brand visibility and brand credibility

Your employees will be motivated to go the extra mile to put your business on the map when you establish a relevant and aspirational purpose for your organization. Your purpose will be like the north star that guides day to day business operations towards a specific goal.

Conclusion

To become a forward-thinking company, you need to incorporate a growth mindset in your business strategy. It’s essential that you think and act differently in order to position your business on the map. Use these solution-driven approaches to unleash your business’ full potential.

Internal Communications Within Your Business

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StrategyDriven Business Communications Article |Internal Communications|Internal Communications Within Your BusinessHow your team communicates could be the difference between a project going smoothly, and some serious miscommunication that blows the budget. There isn’t a single communications style that is applicable to all industries.

For example, those who work within an office will be able to communicate via video calls, instant messaging, and emails. For those who work in construction, or in fieldwork a two-way radio can often be a better option. For more information about that communication type, read here for more.

Internal communication for your business can always be improved and modified to make sense for your company and team. Here are some of the ways that you can improve your business comms within the team.

Be the example

All of the management and team leaders should be in a position to show what great communication looks like. Since we aren’t all blessed with natural communication skills, it might be best to have training.

Work with certified communications experts to improve the skills of your leadership team. You can do it with formal training, having assessments, open feedback sessions, and more.

The better of an example that your leadership and management sets, the more likely it is that your other staff will follow suit.

Online

Face to face meetings, although they can be useful, take up a lot of time. 2020 has leaned heavily on online video calls and meetings. Taking communications online saves time and money. Although there is a balance to find within the online world, it is usually faster to communicate this way.

As leadership, it is important that you research and understand what video call fatigue is, and how you can best support your team.

Value

If there is no value for the people attending the meeting, then ask yourself do they need to be there? Requiring attendance at multiple meetings should serve a purpose for all involved. Make meetings impactful, so they always have a reason.

If there is a value for the project updates or they play a vital role it will be of value to them.

Attending meetings for the sake of it takes up time, resources, and costs money.

Open goals

There will be team specific goals and company-wide goals. Making these public will mean that everyone will always be held accountable for themselves, and within their team too. We know that setting goals are the best way to achieve progress, making the goals transparent to your team will encourage them to achieve more

Tools

When your team is working remotely, you need to make sure they have the tools to communicate well. It might include some of the following tools:

  • Slack
  • Zoom/Teams
  • Asana/Monday/Trello
  • Company email account access
  • VPN or otherwise managed security to keep communications secure
  • Hardware like a laptop, mobile phone, and other items to be able to do their job

Internal communication is one of the keys to ensuring that your projects, services, and products meet the high standards you set for your company. The right communication system can save money and increase productivity – but it starts with management.

How to help your business grow in 2021

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | How to help your business grow in 20212020 will go down in history as one of the hardest years for businesses. Some industries, like nightclubs or stadiums, haven’t been able to open their doors since the very start of the year. Even the businesses that are normally in constant high demand, like fast food restaurants and coffee shops, have faced their own challenges and seen big drops in revenue. The sad reality is that some businesses won’t survive long enough to reopen their doors after the Christmas holidays. Those that do survive will be desperate to increase their profits to make up for the damage caused by the coronavirus. If you’re one of those businesses looking to recover, here are some of the best ways you can help your business grow in 2021.

Employ the right people

One of the most important aspects of any business is the people you employ. Choose the right employees and they will be your most important asset. Choose the wrong people to work with and they can cause all manner of problems, including poor productivity, inaccuracies and they could even damage your brand’s reputation, all of which will impact your ability to turn a profit.

To make sure your business can reach its financial potential, it’s important to choose a talented group of people who can work well together to produce a good product or provide a good service. It’s important that you choose people with the right skills you need to compete those all-important tasks. One of the best ways to ensure you find people with the right skillset is to seek the help of a recruitment agency that truly understands your industry. Whether you work in the construction industry or the performing arts, find a local recruitment agency that can instantly recognise what makes a good potential employee for your business. That way you won’t be wasting your time meeting up and interviewing candidates that are clearly not the right fit for your team. If you suddenly have a gap in your workforce that needs filling, they can find you the right person to fill that position before your productivity is affected.

Introduce yourself to your customers once more

If you’re involved in an industry that has been forced to close temporarily or reduce the services you provide, it’s important to remind your customers of your existence once you are able to fully reopen. Even if you have been able to remain open, it may be that the restrictions have meant many people just haven’t required your products or services. A lot of businesses are in this very situation, for example those who sell travel insurance or even those who sell suits and dresses for big evenings out socialising.

One of the best ways to attract those customers back is to act like those customers are brand new to your business. Create a marketing campaign that explains the advantages of using your products or services. Remind them of how they can buy goods from you or access your services. Make sure this marketing is located in the places where your target audience spends most of their time. For young people, this could be on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. For the older generation, this could be in newspapers and on the radio, although an increasing number of people in this demographic are now using social media.

Revisit your pricing

Over the last few months, it’s probably not just your earnings that have taken a big hit. It’s likely that some of your customers also have a lot less money than they did this time last year, whether that’s because their hours have been reduced at work, they’ve been furloughed or they’ve lost their job completely. If this is the case, the main obstacle stopping them buying your product may be the price. Consider either reducing the price of your products or offering cheaper alternatives for those who have a smaller budget. For example, you could offer a product in smaller quantities or made from cheaper materials.

On the other end of the scale, there could be customers with lots of money saved up as they weren’t able to go on their annual holiday or they just spend less money on things like day trips and nights out. Consider offering luxury packages to encourage these customers to spend more money with you. You could group several of your products together and sell them as a bundle, offering customers a small discount for buying all of the products together.