Tips For Improving Your Small Business Using Technology

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship ArticleThere are many advantages to using more technology solutions in your small business that are worth you learning more about. Now is a good time to work through any fears you have and start to become more open-minded about bringing these types of advancements into your workplace.

Although you may be apprehensive about this transition, keep in mind how much more productive you and your employees will be. There will be less time spent on completing mundane tasks offline and more chances for you to innovate and outperform your competition. Educate yourself on the topic further and then spend time deciding what’s worth you implementing at your office.

A Website & Blog

Improve your small business using technology by launching an attractive website and blog so consumers can learn more about you. The reality is that shoppers want to find out more information about a brand before spending their hard-earned money with a company. A website and blog will give you the chance to present your business appropriately and quickly inform consumers about what makes you unique and better than your competitors. Use your blog to show that you’re the experts in your industry and as a way to provide added value to those interested in working with you.

File Sharing

Another way to enhance productivity and efficiency at your office is to move your tasks online and file share through the Internet. For example, you can use programs such as DropBox for cloud computing so all of your important documents are stored in one place, and any member of your team can access them at any time, wherever they are. No longer do you have to be next to someone to edit their work and waste paper printing off assignments for review. You can move all of your files online to the Internet and then allow your employees to work from their own laptops to complete their assigned projects.

Online Advertising

It’s important to consider working online advertising into your marketing strategy if you want to guarantee you’re reaching your target audience. You have control over the creative aspects and who sees your promotions, so you know your money is being spent wisely when using this tactic. Consumers are spending a lot of time online these days, and it’s a great opportunity for your business to increase brand awareness and boost the visibility of certain products or services. It’s a useful option for helping you to get your small business in front of the right people in a timely manner because you’re the one calling the shots.

Social Media

You should also consider using social media to help you build a stronger fan-base and following and as an additional way to engage with customers. Improve your small business by using social media to ask for feedback, collect user-generated content and run contests. It’s a quick and easy way to make your mark online and instantly get in touch with those who are interested in what you’re selling. Not only do you need to be consistent about posting content but also listen and see what people are saying about your business online. It’s a wise idea to put a team of employees in charge of your social media strategy to make sure you’re constantly present and don’t disappear for weeks at a time.

Ability to Work Remotely

Technology will allow you to offer your staff the ability to work remotely from anywhere in the world. Not only will they be able to work from home and have a more flexible lifestyle, but you too can stay connected to your business while you’re away traveling to see a client or on vacation. You’ll be able to attract top talent when you’re able to offer this benefit at your workplace and will enjoy being able to connect into what’s going on at the office whenever you choose. It’ll be easy to join a video conference or dial into a phone line when you’re away and in need of speaking with someone on your team or a client over important business matters.

Customer Service

Enhance the customer experience for your clients through technology by offering more options for how they can get in touch with you. For example, online chat, email and social media are great alternatives if someone isn’t able to physically walk into your office and get help. It’s still important you train your staff and make sure they know how to handle all types of customer inquiries and complaints regardless of the channel they contact you on. The easier it is for customers to get in touch with you, the more satisfied they’ll be with your service, and more likely that they’ll leave you positive reviews online.

More Communication

There’s no excuse for not communicating promptly when there are so many different technology solutions available to you. Improve your small business by communicating more often using email and your mobile phone. There truly isn’t any reason someone shouldn’t be able to reply to you or that you can’t contact someone back within twenty-four hours. When you move more of your business processes online, you’ll also be able to get in touch with the right people and update or download necessary files within seconds. Take advantage of all the different communication channels that exist to help you do a better job of keeping in touch with clients and managing your employees.

Conclusion

The word technology may sound a bit overwhelming at first, but you should now be able to see for yourself all the ways it can help your business. You’ll quickly be able to improve your operations and client satisfaction scores when you’re willing to adopt new and trending solutions in your office. Avoid worrying about what could go wrong, and try to focus on all the benefits that are possible when you decide to take on a little bit of calculated risk. While technology may not always be the answer, more often than not it’s a wise choice that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Proven Ways To Make More Money

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Interested in making some extra money? The reasons for wanting extra cash could range from wants such as fancier clothes, shoes, gadgets, vacations on exotic islands to escaping tough times, paying for loans, paying bills, and buying a house. Whatever your reasons are, this article is going to guide you on a few proven ways to make more money.

1. Rent Out Your Spare Space

Do you have an extra space in your home? Maybe there is an empty bedroom, or your garage is empty. One option to consider is renting out that space out and get some extra income. You can also rent out the spare bedroom to people on vacation in your area while your garage could serve as a storage space for people who need storage or a place to park their cars. This is a simple way to get extra money, and it does not require you to work. You can start by placing your space on rental apps to help get noticed.

2. Trade Stocks

Armed with just a PC and an internet connection, you can make a good living trading stocks. Not only will you be able to make a good income, but you will also be your own boss, and have more free time. However, trading is not for everyone; you must have the relevant skill set and be very risk tolerant. For instance, if you want to convince an investor on the best blockchain stocks to buy, you must have a good understanding of the cryptocurrency industry – the volatility of prices – and the ability to sell a pitch.

3. Become A Blogger

Another good option is to become a blogger or vlogger on a topic you are passionate about and knowledgeable about. Blogging pays good money if you have the right amount of traffic.

There are several ways a blogger can make money from this blog; they include selling ads through Google AdSense, publishing sponsored posts for businesses in your niche, and affiliate marketing. You can get inspired and read more about blogs that make the most money.

4. Become an Online Coach

As an expert in a topic or industry, you can make some extra money by setting up an online coaching program. Content Management Systems (CMS) makes it easy to create membership websites where people can register for your coaching programs.

If you are an expert, especially one with social proof, people will pay to be coached by you; this is because most of the information on the internet are not experts’ info. As a fashion expert, trading expert, writing expert, finance expert, and pet expert, you can make extra income by coaching people on these subjects. Udemy is a fantastic online service to launch your online course.

5. Get A Second Job

A no-brainer option is to get a second job. This is one of the most popular ways to make extra money. You can decide on taking a weekend shift or night shift in a different company to bring in a little extra money if necessary. Also, if you are skilled in painting, carpentry, building, flooring or plumbing, you can offer these services to supplement your primary income.

Top Ways to Promote Your Business

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales ArticleGetting your business to stand out from the rest is something that every company struggles with at some point. With more businesses emerging every day than the last, there is no surprise that this is a struggle that is deepening. However, that doesn’t mean it is impossible. When more people are dealing with the same issues, there are more solutions for businesses of any kind to follow. Whether you are a new start-up hoping to make a storm, or a business giant falling on hard times, there are some old and new tricks you can follow that are the best ways to promote your business.

Flawless website design

When you are thinking of promoting your business, you must always bear in mind that it is not just customers you should be impressing. Investors, clients, prospective employees, and competitors should also be at the forefront of your strategy. Ideally, you should start by visually impressing people. Often, the first thing they will see is your website; moreover, its design. Focus your efforts on building a sleek website that can tell everyone what your business is about from a first glance. You can do this with color, font, and your logo, and it’s best to employ a trusted professional to help achieve your vision.

Regular blog posts

Content marketing is one of the oldest methods of promoting a business. The reason it has stuck around is that it works. If you put out regular content related to business practices and your company’s relation to the wider world, you will be able to put a more human face to your brand. Where content used to mean just the written word, it has now moved on to include high-quality images, sound and video, which you can use to connect with readers more. These are also an excellent way to bolster an ethical message, which is an important business feature in today’s world.

Social media

Having great content is always a plus, but it means nothing if you don’t promote it on social media, as SEO only does half the work. As a tool which is becoming increasingly hard to ignore, you should make sure your business has a presence on every social media platform appropriate to your business, even the smaller ones. Once there, you can engage with your target market, and run advertising campaigns that are guaranteed to help your business make a name for itself. When it comes to selling a product or service, it becomes even more useful.

Marketing influencers

Businesses have always made use of marketing influencers, where they partner with people who can promote their brand or products on different platforms. Where it used to mean having contacts within the press, it now also alludes to those who have a big online following. From bloggers to social media influencers, there are many people you can contact that can promote your product for either a small cut of the business profits or simply a free product. Sometimes, this helps you reach a much larger audience, but it will also ensure your conversion rate is much higher.

Good customer service

It seems that social media is shaping the way businesses promote themselves, and customer service is no exception. Although it’s wise to have customer service providers active on telephones and via email, there are some other ways you can connect with customers. Social media allows businesses to engage with customers in a more efficient, friendly way. There is no better publicity for a business than your customers going on to tell their family and friends about the great care they have received. Make sure you capitalize on this the most by making use of instant messaging services like WhatsApp.

Build a community

Building an online community has never been easier with innovations like social media, but you should also build one in your local area. If your business has humble roots, you should make sure you never pull yourself away from these. Holding charity days and promotional events are just a few ways you can maintain your community at home. Even better is if you document these days on your blog, as this will encourage your online community to grow even more after connecting emotionally with your brand.

An effective pitch

You will be aware of the business ideal of always having an elevator pitch saved in your head. Before you can start giving your pitch out to investors, it’s wise to make sure it’s polished, snappy, and effective. Sitting down and working this pitch out may seem tedious, but you never know when you need to pitch your business. It often happens in times you don’t expect, hence the nickname of being an elevator pitch. If you have a pitch that works, you can successfully promote your business to investors and business partners alike.

Networking

This pitch should also be reserved for special networking events, where you can promote your business to a wide range of prospective investors. It is also great to have if you want to do a one-off partnership with another business. At such events, you should remain cool and collected, but it is also essential to take promotional products with you. Having the right ones made by expert companies such as Dynamic Gift will ensure that anybody you meet is reminded of your business long after you have met them. They are also great to give out to your target consumer market at promotional events.

Free samples or trials

Consumers love free products in all their forms; giving out promotional ones like pens and bags is a great start. What they also love is having free samples of products and free trials of services. These are a great talking point and will create a handy ripple effect among your target market’s friends and family. If they like what they are using, they will more likely talk about it online and come back for more. If they don’t, you can collect feedback and make the appropriate changes to market your product the next time around.

Making the most of your brick and mortar premises

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship ArticleIn the digital age, most business strategies are focused solely on the importance of a strong online presence. While there’s no disputing the fact that making use of social media is a proven way of reaching new people and encouraging sales through a variety of online strategies, it’s important that you don’t neglect your real-world business premises as well. Your premises are just as important as your Facebook page, and for those customers that prefer to buy in person, your physical store is even more critical. Making sure that your store reflects your business branding, your business ethics, and your commitment to your customers is a solid business strategy that you should not forget about.

Making sure of curb appeal

The frontage of your business premises is perhaps the most important thing to consider when establishing the persona of your business. So-called ‘curb appeal’ is a realtor term that applies to the outside of a home that’s up for sale. Just as homeowners hoping to sell a property need it to look appealing from first glance, so too does your business. That’s why you should make use of banners and flags on the exterior of the business property. These are not just eye-catching, they also act as advertisement too. This can have long-lasting positive effects on your business, with the branding that you choose on personalized banners outside your premises being seen on a regular basis by potential customers.

Customized interior

No matter what your business sector is, having the right lobby or reception to greet customers is essential. It doesn’t matter if it’s a retail outlet, a restaurant, or an office space, you want customers to be inspired by your interiors. There are a number of ways that you can personalize your initial interiors, and they needn’t mean costly refurbishments or total redecoration. Instead, invest in indoor banner displays from suppliers like New York Banner Stands, with your logo and slogans printed across them. These are very useful because not only can they be moved as and when needed (especially useful if you plan on using them for external events like trade shows), but they can also be moved around the property as necessary. If you have a reception system in place, it is also worth looking at backdrops as well, so that your branding is as prevalent as possible.

Be more easily seen

Billboard advertising is expensive, but there is a much better solution. If your premises takes up a number of floors, then you have the fantastic opportunity to attract passing trade by using window decals. These come in both solid and transparent designs, meaning that you don’t have to compromise on either customized designs or lighting. These are highly visible forms of advertising, and can help to make your real-world awareness much more impactful.

With so much attention paid to online advertising, promotion, and marketing, it can be very easy to forget that your real-world presence offers a variety of options for a better business model. Make the best use of your premises, and you have an untapped resource that may provide many more benefits than you expect.

Money, Money, Money: Why getting into trading could be the best thing you’ve ever done

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article
 
Everyone wants to work hard and try their absolute best to acquire the most wonderful life they can possibly have, getting to have the brilliant experiences life has to offer, such as seeing the world, living in a beautiful home, and dining out at swanky restaurants every weekend. This is a goal most people can agree they would love to have for themselves and you, surely, are no different. When you are determined to make something of yourself, you will know that being financially secure is the first step towards the life of your dreams, but the security of your money is not enough; you want to flourish. One way of doing this is to investigate getting into trading. Trading is a lucrative way of making money quickly and easily if you know what you are doing. In this guide, you will learn some vital information and steps to getting into the business of trading and making the money you need to achieve the lifestyle you have always wanted through financial freedom.
What is trading?

Before you start to think about getting into trading seriously, you will need to be one hundred percent clear on what it entails. Being a trader means you buy and sell instruments of finance, such as stocks, bonds, and shares for a monetary gain. It is something that is largely done by big corporations but, with some seed money, you can begin to trade as an individual and start making money for yourself. Read more