The Services That Can Pull Your Business Together

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There are many services that you should be trialing for your business, with trialing being the key word here. Your business should have a lot of services that it relies on, and these will grow over time. From the moment you establish yourself as a trading business, you will begin building those connections. You’ll find yourself an accountant who can help you manage your books. You’ll dabble in companies that offer marketing solutions. And one by one, you’ll have a team of people who you rely on to keep your business ticking, without even thinking about it. But there are no doubt going to be some services that you might be missing out on at the minute, simply because you’ve been managing it in house, or haven’t thought about it before. But it’s these services that might mean the difference between steady growth, and struggling growth. So, keep on reading, and we’ll show you what services we think you should look into.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Entrepreneurship | Business Services | The Services That Can Pull Your Business TogetherCustomer Related

Customer related problems are ones that we’ve all experienced at some point or another. In fact, the biggest headache we often have problems with customers, is trying to retain them, and trying to bring in new ones. And that’s often because we don’t understand how to build and secure that relationship with them, and work on it so that your customer base only keeps on growing. WhiteOwl is just one company that can help you to do so if you choose their CRM service. CRM stands for customer relationship management, which will be right up your street if this is what you’re struggling with. It will focus on customer relationships, and building bridges with them so that you can progress. The more your business grows, the more important this is going to become simply because there’s just so much to try and understand in terms of customer relationships and how to keep them strong, and you might have so many age ranges to try and connect with, that will require different tactics to be used.

Financial Saviours

Financial saviours are what nearly every small business is looking for. It’s hard to find a small business that has not long been established, that isn’t struggling financially. Often the investment can be crippling, especially when profit is slow to build. So, the perfect people to liaise with, are business financial advisors. These can help you to decide where your money should be going, where you might be able to get more from, and how to progress your business financially. All you have to do is find a trusted one that can understand how your business works.

Investment Gurus

Investment is one you should be thinking about as soon as profit starts to build. It’s so easy to find an investment route that will suit your business. From small investments to big investments, you can use them all depending on the profit you have to play with. But an investment broker can help you properly manage them, making sure that you’re getting the most out of them, rather than losing out all of the time.

6 Strategies for Staying Ahead of The Competition

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Staying Ahead of The Competition|6 Strategies for Staying Ahead of The CompetitionIt can be hard to stay ahead of the competition when you operate in a competitive industry, as there will always be brands looking to lure your customers away. Staying ahead of the competition will require constant work. When you stand still, you will lose out to other brands. You need to be aware of key strategies for building your competitive advantage, improving the customer experience, and keeping the competition at bay.

1. Competitor Research

The most efficient way to stay ahead of the competition is to research your competitors carefully. Identify what their strengths and weaknesses are and find ways in which you can use this information to your advantage by making timely and informed business decisions.

2. Differentiate Yourself

Differentiating yourself from the competition is a great way to stand out from the crowd and provide a unique experience for your customers. Identify a unique selling point that will appeal to your target customer, and you should soon start to notice an improvement in your customer base and further cement your position as an industry leader.

3. Retain Existing Customers

If you are to defend your position, then it is vital that you are able to retain your customers. The competition will be trying to lure your existing customers away, but you can avoid this by providing a high-quality product/service at a competitive price, by making customer service a priority and through rewarding loyal customers.

4. Improve Customer Experience

Ultimately, customers want to have a positive experience, and they will always gravitate towards a brand that can provide this for them. Improving the customer experience with the help of an experienced contact centre consultancy can help you to retain your current customers, whilst also benefitting from customer referrals. If an individual has a good experience with your business, they will become advocates. These figures are invaluable when staying ahead of the competition.

5. Increase Marketing Efforts

It is much easier to maintain your position when you stay in the mind of the consumer. Increasing marketing efforts can increase your visibility, establish your brand is a key player in the industry and keep the competition at arm’s length.

6. Plan for Growth

Sometimes, a company is so busy looking over their shoulder that they forget to look forward and plan for the future. While you certainly need to think about the competition behind you, you must always be moving forward and have plans for your own growth. This will require staying current on industry trends, embracing new technology, tackling new markets and expanding your offering.

It is vital that businesses know how they can stay ahead of the competition so that they can maintain a positive reputation, attract and retain customers, and cement their position as an industry leader. These are a few of the most effective strategies which will help you to thrive in a competitive industry and be the brand that consumers turn to when they are looking for a positive experience.

A Small Business Guide to Coping with the Festive Rush

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Festive Rush|A Small Business Guide to Coping with the Festive RushFor most businesses, the festive period is tough, especially those that are focused on retail. You might be busier than ever before, which is excellent in many ways. You might be making more money, finding new customers, and growing your business much more successfully than you ever have before. But, while big companies cope with the festive rush easily, for small businesses, especially those battling through their first festive period, it can be hard to keep up. Many small businesses find that quality and customer service suffers while they are busy and that everyone has a hard time dealing with stress.

But it doesn’t have to be like this. The holidays can be fun, profitable, and great for business. Here’s a look at some of the things that you can do to help your business cope with the festive rush.

Plan Ahead

It might seem a little late to plan if you haven’t started already, but depending on the nature of your business, you might still have a little while before the hectic period kicks in. Plan and prepare as much as you can. Make sure your staff levels are right, think about opening extra and consider any sales and offers that you plan to run, and how they might affect your business. You may also want to prepare things like packing, deliveries, and anything else that you can do in advance to make life easier.

Get Some Extra Help

Remember, you don’t have to do it all alone. You can hire temporary staff to cover the busy period. You could outsource work to Managed IT services. You could even hire freelancers and VAs to take care of your social media feeds and other online work. Getting help can ease the strain and help the festive period go more smoothly.

Prioritize Your Tasks

When we’re busy, prioritizing is more critical than ever. You might have a massive to-do list. It might be so big that you couldn’t possibly get it all done. So, prioritize. Do what you need to, leave the rest for a quieter time.

Leave Non-Essentials for a Quiet January

Most retail businesses have a quiet January. You might be a little busy for the first few days if you are running sales, but things quickly die off. Leave any jobs that aren’t essential, such as deep cleaning and stock counting, until January.

Have a Cut Off Date

Let your customers know your cut off dates. Have clear information about the end of sales and offers, as well as your last dates for Christmas deliveries. If you are taking time off over the holidays, let people know these dates now, so they are prepared.

Simplify Processes

Try to make things easier for you and your team by simplifying tasks and cutting unnecessary work. Try to streamline as much as you can, and things will run more smoothly when it’s busy.

Look After Yourself and Your Team

When it’s busy, you need to be able to work at your best. This means looking after yourself and your team. Make sure everyone has time to rest, fill your break room with healthy snacks, and take the time to celebrate the hard work and success.

Effective Strategies To Grow Your Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Effective Strategies To Grow Your Business | EntrepreneurshipThe ultimate goal of most businesses is to develop and increase revenue potential. While scaling your business can be challenging, there are plenty of ways to improve business operations, increase sales, and boost profits within your company. With this in mind, here are some effective strategies to grow your business.

Utilize an inventory management system

In today’s society, businesses must advertise and sell on multiple sales channels to remain competitive in the modern business world. However, multichannel retail and distribution can lead to several difficulties such as wasted stock, overselling, and customer complaints. These issues can have a hugely detrimental effect on your business, both in terms of cash flow budget and brand image. Fortunately, multichannel inventory management software can be utilized to manage inventory and fulfill orders in a multichannel structure. Inventory and warehouse management can be complex and difficult to manage when you are using multiple sales channels. For that reason, an inventory management system is essential if you want to scale your business quickly.

Create a customer loyalty program

Customer loyalty programs can be a fantastic way to boost sales and increase profits. While it’s important to look for opportunities to acquire new customers, it’s equally if not more important, to nurture your existing customer base. According to Linkedin “it costs between 4 and 10 times more to gain a new customer than to keep an existing one.” Offering a customer loyalty program shows your customers that you value their business. This will help you retain customers and gain valuable repeat business. An attractive loyalty program may also help you attract new customers as it gives people an incentive to spend money with your business.

Take your business global

Advancements in technology mean that all businesses now have the opportunity to expand globally. Scaling your business globally offers several incredible benefits; it allows you to increase sales and revenue potential, build brand awareness, and access a more diverse marketplace. Global selling platforms like Amazon and eBay make it easy for businesses to advertise and sell their products to overseas customers. Setting up an account on an international marketplace is quick and simple. Once registered, you will have the opportunity to advertise your products and services to potential customers in countries all around the world. Joining an international selling platform and expanding your business globally can be an extremely effective way to grow your business and increase revenue potential.

Hire a social media manager

Social media is a powerful marketing tool that can be utilized to build brand awareness, connect with customers, advertise products to a global audience, and increase sales. All modern businesses should be taking advantage of the power of social media in their marketing strategies. If you don’t have the skills or time to maintain an active presence on social media, then consider hiring a social media manager to run your campaigns for you. Social media is constantly growing and evolving. A social media professional will help you stay on top of this growth and remain competitive in the online business world.

Three Reasons Why You Need a Tech Consultant

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Tech Consultant|Three Reasons Why You Need a Tech ConsultantThere are many things that you’re good at in your business. You know you’re product inside and out, you’ve got a track record at driving through sales and you’re a great manager.

While you can be great at many things, there are some things that you’ll always lack and one of those might be an in depth knowledge of IT. You know what you company needs, but how to put it in place? That’s one for the experts. In this blog we take a look at three reasons why you need to get a Technology Consulting Company on board and how they can help you.

Getting Outside Help Gives You the Competitive Edge

You’re talking to teams who have a great deal of experience in helping businesses like yours and if you’re serious about investing some money in your technological and IT infrastructure then this is where the best advice is going to be found.

Yes, you could talk to your local internet provider about setting you up some business broadband but a consulting company goes much further than this and gives you IT solutions that put you ahead of the game.

The only thing you’ll be limited by is your vision and your budget.

Integrated Systems

Your consultant takes the time to look at your business needs as a whole. While it’s often cheaper to provide piecemeal solutions to the various IT problems that arise while setting up a business, having someone who sees the bigger picture is, in the long run, a more efficient and cost effective solution.

Integrated systems also mean that your team works better together, that mistakes are less likely to happen and that you can offer your customers a seamless experience when they deal with you.

Future Proofing Your Business

Having an IT strategy in place means that while your business continues to grow and succeed, your IT systems can support that growth and contribute to it. By setting out your growth forecasts with your consultant you can put in place the kind of technology that helps support an increase in sales, more visits to your websites and so on.

No need to panic as your software struggles to cope with the growing demand on its functionality. Instead you can rest assured that your technology is running exactly as it should be with the capability of handling much, much more.

It’s time to let the experts work their magic on your business and get in place tech that will help drive your business and your profits forward. You’re not an IT expert and you don’t have to be, just find a consultant that comes with a stellar reputation and the experience to know exactly what it is that your business needs.

Do your research, take a look around and give your business the edge over the competition. Your tech should support and help your business to grow so get it doing just that.