It is hard to get ahead in the business world when you are constantly having to hire new staff. It is important that you are able to retain your top performers so that you can consistently perform, create harmony in the workplace and avoid the recruitment process which can be lengthy, stressful and expensive.
So, how do you retain your top workers? This can be a challenge particularly when you are a smaller business that may not be able to offer the same wages that they could command at one of the bigger brands in your industry. That is not to say that it is not possible, however, as there are a few highly effective strategies to try.
Flexible Working
The days of working Monday to Friday 9-5 are disappearing and it is important to recognize this as a business owner. You should offer your staff flexible working whether this is remote working opportunities or early starts/late finishes. This can boost morale, show that you trust and respect staff, and help with productivity levels.
Create The Right Office Environment
A job is much more than just a paycheck; it’s a place where people spend most of their week. Creating the right office environment ensures that people can feel happy, relaxed and focused each day which will help with workplace satisfaction. Here are a few tips to create the right environment:
Leading on from this, it is also important to host regular staff social events. This can improve employee retention because it can help to develop chemistry between employees, as well as show that you appreciate your staff. You can throw more formal events, but you may find that it is the informal events which are most effective. These might include:
Afterwork drinks
Team lunches
Staff BBQ
Sport/exercise classes
Listen To Feedback
It is hard to retain your top performers if you are not listening to your employees nor taking notice of what they say. One of the best ways to do this is to employ satisfaction solutions like happy-or-not.com, which can help you to determine how happy your employees are and identify ways in which you can make improvements to boost morale.
Development
The best workers are the ones who want to progress in their careers, and so it is important that you allow them room to grow within your organization. This means that you should provide training opportunities and promotion from within, but you should also listen to their career goals and find ways to help them to achieve this within your business.
It is frustrating to lose your top workers to the bigger brands but this is unavoidable if you do not take action to retain employees. Even if you cannot match wages they could earn elsewhere, there are always ways in which you can keep hold of your top performers.
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Despite your busy schedule, you need to give them your priority. If you don’t, and if you fail in your duties in any way, then you are putting both your employees and your business at risk of harm.
The following are some of the reasons why employee safeguarding needs to be a necessity within your business.
#1: You will protect your reputation
By putting health and safety measures in place in your workplace, you are less likely to fall prey to employee compensation claims should an accident occur. And this doesn’t only apply in the workplace, as you should also adhere to drivers’ hours rules to protect those employees who spend much of their time on the road. In this instance, you would also protect yourself from compensation claims made by injured members of the public too.
Of course, it’s not only compensation claims that you need to worry about. Should your employees complain about you on social media, perhaps because you have neglected aspects of employee care within your business, then word is quickly going to spread. You are also in danger of ex-employees who might whistleblow to the media about any neglectful practices within your business.
And when your reputation takes a hit? Your business will take a financial hit in tandem.
#2: You will have more productive employees
As a business owner, you need to focus on boosting your employees’ health. As we discussed in the linked article, you can do this by keeping the office clean, giving your employees more time off, and by making regular health and safety checks.
And the healthier your employees are? The happier and more productive they will be, and that can only be good news for your business. So, take the appropriate steps to safeguard your employees’ health. Add in more break times, find ways to reduce the need for overtime, hire a cleaner if you need to, and raise morale to promote positive mental health at work. Your employees will then have the capacity to work harder and with more focus on quality, and they are less likely to fall ill and take time away from the workplace.
#3: You will retain your best employees
Why should your employees remain loyal to your business? If you are doing little to protect their physical and mental health, and if you don’t take their concerns seriously, then they have little reason to show loyalty to you. As these employee retention statistics suggest, the job marketplace is in the hands of the employee and not the employer, as staying in an unhealthy job does not have to be a long-term option. So, if you aren’t safeguarding your employees, you can’t expect them to stick around. Consequently, you might lose your best employees, and what’s worse, they might head to your nearest rivals.
So, protect your employees. Keep them safe in the workplace. Take action when they report concerns to you. And do what you can to keep them happy. You will be receiving their resignation notices if you don’t, and your business might suffer without them.
Take heed then and do what you can to safeguard your employees. While this is your moral and ethical duty, it’s also a business necessity, as you will experience hardship if you are neglectful.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/silhouettes-81830_1280.jpg9041280StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2019-10-29 17:00:142019-10-29 16:37:31Safeguarding Your Employees: It’s A Business Necessity
If there’s a job you really want, then you need to take your time preparing and becoming the ideal job candidate. This means that when your interview rolls around, you’ll feel ready to handle whatever the process throws at you, and feel confident that you did your very best once you’ve left. Below, you’ll find 26 job interview tips you can do to become the ideal job candidate:
Be Candid
Candid individuals often make great communicators, and these people are essential for the office. You need a direct, clear way of speaking, and this will help to eliminate crossed wires and anything else that could cause problems. You’ll also engage more people in conversation and encourage faster action this way.
Be Friendly
You should be friendly. You might be a straight-talking fierce and competitive person who wants to land the job, but you should still be friendly to everyone you meet.
Be Ambitious
Ambitious employees tend to always want to come up with an improved way of doing things. They tend to overcome hurdles, and are never satisfied, always working for better solutions. This is what most organizations will want to see.
Be Adaptable
You must be able to change with the business environment, and this goes for any job you get. Having a comfort zone can be nice sometimes, but those who love familiarity and hate change won’t get very far in the workplace.
Show Your Creativity
Many companies want creative employees who can increase innovation. You should be able to both work autonomously and come up with new ways of completing old tasks.
Be Decisive
Making tough decisions is, well, tough. But companies love to be able to see that candidates feel confident doing that. People who can quickly and efficiently analyze the options and potential outcomes of a situation will always be more likely to get hired. Nobody wants a wishy washy employee who struggles to make even basic decisions. Remember, decisiveness is a skill you can practice.
Be Team Oriented
When recruiting, many people will look for those who buy into the system and can work in a team. You should be able to work by cooperating with others, fitting into the company’s culture.
Be Goal Oriented
Escalating your goals is a great trait to have – and you should enjoy the journey along the way, too. If you can show this to an employer, they will be more likely to hire you. They want to see people who can set their own goals and have a passion for the job and industry that they are in.
Be Intelligent
Intelligence is an important part of success. Of course there are variables, but you should be willing to show both your intelligence as well as your willingness to learn new things when going for a job. You may show that you’re intelligent by talking about your PMP Exam Prep or a recent course/study you took part in. Self directed learning and study is a great trait to have.
Make Sure You’re A Cultural Fit
If you’re not a cultural fit, then you should probably give up on the job now. Pretending to be a cultural fit may work, but the truth will come out in the end and you will hate working in this environment. Will you truly enjoy working here on a daily basis?
Be Upbeat
Showing that you can be energetic and upbeat each day is important. This can help others to build momentum, too, and employers love optimistic employees.
Be Confident
Having confidence is not egotistical or wrong. The best companies want to hire people who have confidence in themselves. This spawns a culture of improvement.
Show That You Are Internationally Aware
A global mindset is essential for growing businesses. You should be aware and sensitive to other cultures, customs, events, and perspectives if you’re going to succeed.
Groom Yourself
You may have all of the skills, but if you don’t take care of your hygiene and appearance then employers will think twice about hiring you. Make sure you dress appropriately and that you’re always clean and smelling fresh. Just because you can’t smell your coffee breath doesn’t mean it’s not there!
Prepare For The Questions
Make sure you carefully prepare for questions before you attend the interview. Have answers for questions such as ‘why do you want this job?’ and ‘tell us about yourself’. Make sure you relate everything back to the job and the company!
Research the Company
Having a decent knowledge of the company before you attend your interview is essential, so do your research. If you don’t bother to do this, hiring managers may well eliminate you from the hiring pool. Do your homework on the company’s website, blog, social channels, Glassdoor, and Wikipedia. Make sure you know who their competitors are and why they are different, too.
Find Out Who You’re Interviewing With and Research Them
As well as finding out what you can about the company, make sure you do your research on the person you’ll be having your interview with.
Ask Your Own Questions
Always make your interest clear by asking your own genuine questions. Let them ask you questions first, and have yours prepared at the end of the interview. Write the answers down!
Dress For The Job
How you dress will depend on the job you’re going for. Dress for the job you want, as if you have it already. Show them how you will be arriving into work. Don’t try to be too trendy or fashionable here.
Bring Two Extra Copies of Your Résumé
If you show up to your interview with no copies of your resume, you’re making a huge mistake. Don’t assume that the person you’ll be speaking with has one already. They may know nothing about you. If you have spare copies on you, you’ll never be caught off guard.
Turn Your Phone Off and Arrive Five to 10 Minutes Early
You shouldn’t be tempted to check your phone, and you definitely don’t want it buzzing away while you’re trying to answer a pressing question. Get there 10 minutes early (not too early), and turn your phone off. If you arrive too early then you might mess up the interviewer’s schedule if they feel they must accommodate you. Turning up too early can be just as rude as turning up late. 5-10 minutes before your interview time is a good time to aim for. Find somewhere else to wait if you arrive at the location even earlier.
Stay Engaged During Conversation
Make sure you don’t get eliminated from the process by not showing you are actively listening. Smile, nod, and make eye contact. You will make an impression by showing you are a good listener.
Get the Email Address of Everyone You Speak With
This will be helpful when the interview is over and you’ll be able to easily follow up.
Ask When to Expect a Decision and With Whom to Follow-Up
You shouldn’t leave the interview feeling confused about when you’re going to hear back. Don’t be too pushy, but make sure you have an idea of when you should know by and who you should speak to about it. Pay close attention to how they respond at the end of the interview and you should get a good idea of how it went, too.
Tell Them You Want The Job
If you’re feeling excited at the prospect of having this job by the end of the interview, make sure you tell them so. Let it be known how excited this opportunity makes you and allow your passion for the role to shine through.
Send a Follow-Up Thank You Email
Sending a quick, personalized email saying thank you to everybody you met with earlier on in the day will stand you in good stead. Mention a small detail or topic you discussed to personalize it, and make an even better impression on them even once the interview process is over. A handwritten thank you card could go down really well, too.
If you don’t hear back within 5 business days, it’s ok to follow up again. Make sure you know the point of contact and send a message that is short – you don’t want to come across as pushy or as if you’re nudging them into making a decision. You should seek to provide some value, however.
Becoming the ideal job candidate may take a little time and practice, depending on the role. The more you practice for this, the better the interview process will likely go. Ask somebody you trust to run through questions with you as if you were in a real interview. Don’t leave anything to chance and make sure you feel well prepared. You may never feel 100% ready, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t or that you’re not right for the role. Be positive – you might be just the kind of person that they are looking for!
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/coaching-consult-consultation-1311518-1.jpg8001200StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2019-10-29 16:00:242020-04-11 12:23:0726 Things You Can Do To Become The Ideal Job Candidate
The consumer world today is filled with options. Consumers no longer have to pay with cash or credit card. They don’t have a limited choice of high street shops to get the things that they need. They can choose from countless online shops, offering similar products. Ranges are enormous, and the options are numerous. It can be hard for a small business to keep up. But, you should make some effort to offer at least the basic choices to your customers. Here’s why.
Offer Choice Because Everyone Else Does
Because we’re so used to choice, we expect it, but we also need it. When it comes to paying, for example, there’s no longer just one way to do it. Shops, both online and in-store, give us options. We have different banks and kinds of card. Some people use Apple Pay for all online purchases. Others prefer PayPal. This means that your customers will have their own payment preferences. If you don’t offer them different payment gateway choices, you risk losing custom if they haven’t got what they need to complete a transaction.
Another area that you need to offer choice is the methods in which your customers contact you. Many businesses today speak to their customers via Facebook Messenger, but you may have customers that don’t have a Facebook account. Offer your customers plenty of options, and there’s no chance that someone will be unable to contact you if they need to. This can boost loyalty, improve the service that you can offer, and give you much greater opportunities to keep in touch.
You Need to Offer An Easy Service
If you want your customers to keep coming back, you need to make things easy for them. Offering them choices like how to pay, how to shop, product ranges and different services can make their shopping experience much easier.
More Choice Can Help You To Grow
When it comes to products, giving your customers choices of styles, colours, price points, services and sizes can help you to grow your business. It means that you’ll be able to offer something for everyone, appealing to a broader market. It also means that your customers will keep coming back for more. Say you sell clothes, if they love a dress, and you release the same one in different colors or prints, they’ll buy more, especially if it’s a great fit and good quality.
But There Is Such a Thing as Too Much Choice
While you want to offer exceptional service, an easy experience and enough options to keep your customers happy, you don’t want to dilute your brand, overwhelm your customers or make things confusing. Nor do you want to sacrifice the quality of your products so that you can offer more.
It’s vital that you work to find the right balance. Spend time finding ways to offer your customers the options that they need to make shopping as easy as possible. They should be able to find what they want and buy it easily, without having to worry about how they’ll pay. But, when it comes to products, listen to their feedback. Find out what people love, ask them what kind of options and extras they might want, and don’t offer too much. Make sure quality is your priority.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/choice-2692575_1280.jpg4741280StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2019-10-29 08:00:082019-10-29 04:51:48Why Your Customers Need Choice
More and more new entrepreneurs are looking for alternative funding strategies to gather their starting capital. Indeed, money-lending institutions can make it difficult for new businesses to apply for a commercial loan. Startups, especially, have a hard time convincing banks that their innovative idea is going to be profitable.
However, it is in the nature of banking systems to support businesses that can provide solid sales forecast. If you are looking for an angel investor to take a chance on your new business model or your new product, you need to focus your attention on creative platforms that allow you to interact directly with your audience. Indeed, a crowdfunding platform can act as a market research strategy, as you can measure the appeal of your idea through the monetary backing you receive. However, platforms such as Kickstarter or Fundable are busy. Attracting the attention of potential investors can be tricky without a dedicated funding strategy.
Build an SEO-friendly presence to boost your campaign
You can create a landing page and regular updates on your crowdfunding platform of choice. However, your crowdfunding presence is likely to get noticed only by people who are already actively looking to invest in a project. You need to reachout to a broad audience group to maximize your chances. As a result, you need to create a digital presence, including social media profiles and a website, to introduce your idea. Using tracking methods to follow your web visitors, you can not only identify performing search terms – or keywords – but also redirect them effectively to your crowdfunding page. It’s a good idea to work closely with a marketing agency that can assist you in defining relevant data and maintaining consistency when reaching out to your audience.
Personalize your gifts
In a banking or financial environment, investors agree to backup your business against the shares or repayment with interest. On a crowdfunding platform, backers don’t expect a financial reward. However, many agree to invest in your business against a gift. It’s not uncommon for startups to provide a free sample top their most generous investors. Backers who invested a smaller amount are happy to accept a merch gift in exchange for their support. To keep your cost within budget, you can offer a branded t-shirt, using a vinyl laser cutter to transfer the design, for instance. You can use the Boss laser cutter review page for guidance. A laser cutting machine is a fantastic alternative to personalize a small number of items, which makes it ideal if you don’t have enough backers for a large scale t-shirt order!
Show your face
Only 33% of crowdfunding campaigns succeed without a video. However, campaigns that successfully introduced video marketing achieved 66% successful funding according to Drop Studio. If you’re going to appeal to your audience’s generosity, you need to build a trustworthy and engaging relationship. Videos are not only useful to present your business ideas, but you can also use them as part of your marketing campaign on YouTube. Indeed, you can tie them to an advertising strategy to reach out to users within your relevant demographics.
While crowdfunding is the preferred funding approach for small businesses, it remains a challenging environment for new entrepreneurs. You need to build a presence that not only stands out from the crowd, but that can also encourage potential investors to back your business. That’s precisely why it’s essential to focus on your marketing approach, not only in terms of visibility but also merchandising.
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Five Strategies For Retaining Your Top Performers
/in Talent Management/by StrategyDrivenSo, how do you retain your top workers? This can be a challenge particularly when you are a smaller business that may not be able to offer the same wages that they could command at one of the bigger brands in your industry. That is not to say that it is not possible, however, as there are a few highly effective strategies to try.
Flexible Working
The days of working Monday to Friday 9-5 are disappearing and it is important to recognize this as a business owner. You should offer your staff flexible working whether this is remote working opportunities or early starts/late finishes. This can boost morale, show that you trust and respect staff, and help with productivity levels.
Create The Right Office Environment
A job is much more than just a paycheck; it’s a place where people spend most of their week. Creating the right office environment ensures that people can feel happy, relaxed and focused each day which will help with workplace satisfaction. Here are a few tips to create the right environment:
Social Events
Leading on from this, it is also important to host regular staff social events. This can improve employee retention because it can help to develop chemistry between employees, as well as show that you appreciate your staff. You can throw more formal events, but you may find that it is the informal events which are most effective. These might include:
Listen To Feedback
It is hard to retain your top performers if you are not listening to your employees nor taking notice of what they say. One of the best ways to do this is to employ satisfaction solutions like happy-or-not.com, which can help you to determine how happy your employees are and identify ways in which you can make improvements to boost morale.
Development
The best workers are the ones who want to progress in their careers, and so it is important that you allow them room to grow within your organization. This means that you should provide training opportunities and promotion from within, but you should also listen to their career goals and find ways to help them to achieve this within your business.
It is frustrating to lose your top workers to the bigger brands but this is unavoidable if you do not take action to retain employees. Even if you cannot match wages they could earn elsewhere, there are always ways in which you can keep hold of your top performers.
Safeguarding Your Employees: It’s A Business Necessity
/in Talent Management/by StrategyDrivenDespite your busy schedule, you need to give them your priority. If you don’t, and if you fail in your duties in any way, then you are putting both your employees and your business at risk of harm.
The following are some of the reasons why employee safeguarding needs to be a necessity within your business.
#1: You will protect your reputation
By putting health and safety measures in place in your workplace, you are less likely to fall prey to employee compensation claims should an accident occur. And this doesn’t only apply in the workplace, as you should also adhere to drivers’ hours rules to protect those employees who spend much of their time on the road. In this instance, you would also protect yourself from compensation claims made by injured members of the public too.
Of course, it’s not only compensation claims that you need to worry about. Should your employees complain about you on social media, perhaps because you have neglected aspects of employee care within your business, then word is quickly going to spread. You are also in danger of ex-employees who might whistleblow to the media about any neglectful practices within your business.
And when your reputation takes a hit? Your business will take a financial hit in tandem.
#2: You will have more productive employees
As a business owner, you need to focus on boosting your employees’ health. As we discussed in the linked article, you can do this by keeping the office clean, giving your employees more time off, and by making regular health and safety checks.
And the healthier your employees are? The happier and more productive they will be, and that can only be good news for your business. So, take the appropriate steps to safeguard your employees’ health. Add in more break times, find ways to reduce the need for overtime, hire a cleaner if you need to, and raise morale to promote positive mental health at work. Your employees will then have the capacity to work harder and with more focus on quality, and they are less likely to fall ill and take time away from the workplace.
#3: You will retain your best employees
Why should your employees remain loyal to your business? If you are doing little to protect their physical and mental health, and if you don’t take their concerns seriously, then they have little reason to show loyalty to you. As these employee retention statistics suggest, the job marketplace is in the hands of the employee and not the employer, as staying in an unhealthy job does not have to be a long-term option. So, if you aren’t safeguarding your employees, you can’t expect them to stick around. Consequently, you might lose your best employees, and what’s worse, they might head to your nearest rivals.
So, protect your employees. Keep them safe in the workplace. Take action when they report concerns to you. And do what you can to keep them happy. You will be receiving their resignation notices if you don’t, and your business might suffer without them.
Take heed then and do what you can to safeguard your employees. While this is your moral and ethical duty, it’s also a business necessity, as you will experience hardship if you are neglectful.
26 Things You Can Do To Become The Ideal Job Candidate
/in Professional Development/by StrategyDrivenBe Candid
Candid individuals often make great communicators, and these people are essential for the office. You need a direct, clear way of speaking, and this will help to eliminate crossed wires and anything else that could cause problems. You’ll also engage more people in conversation and encourage faster action this way.
Be Friendly
You should be friendly. You might be a straight-talking fierce and competitive person who wants to land the job, but you should still be friendly to everyone you meet.
Be Ambitious
Ambitious employees tend to always want to come up with an improved way of doing things. They tend to overcome hurdles, and are never satisfied, always working for better solutions. This is what most organizations will want to see.
Be Adaptable
You must be able to change with the business environment, and this goes for any job you get. Having a comfort zone can be nice sometimes, but those who love familiarity and hate change won’t get very far in the workplace.
Show Your Creativity
Many companies want creative employees who can increase innovation. You should be able to both work autonomously and come up with new ways of completing old tasks.
Be Decisive
Making tough decisions is, well, tough. But companies love to be able to see that candidates feel confident doing that. People who can quickly and efficiently analyze the options and potential outcomes of a situation will always be more likely to get hired. Nobody wants a wishy washy employee who struggles to make even basic decisions. Remember, decisiveness is a skill you can practice.
Be Team Oriented
When recruiting, many people will look for those who buy into the system and can work in a team. You should be able to work by cooperating with others, fitting into the company’s culture.
Be Goal Oriented
Escalating your goals is a great trait to have – and you should enjoy the journey along the way, too. If you can show this to an employer, they will be more likely to hire you. They want to see people who can set their own goals and have a passion for the job and industry that they are in.
Be Intelligent
Intelligence is an important part of success. Of course there are variables, but you should be willing to show both your intelligence as well as your willingness to learn new things when going for a job. You may show that you’re intelligent by talking about your PMP Exam Prep or a recent course/study you took part in. Self directed learning and study is a great trait to have.
Make Sure You’re A Cultural Fit
If you’re not a cultural fit, then you should probably give up on the job now. Pretending to be a cultural fit may work, but the truth will come out in the end and you will hate working in this environment. Will you truly enjoy working here on a daily basis?
Be Upbeat
Showing that you can be energetic and upbeat each day is important. This can help others to build momentum, too, and employers love optimistic employees.
Be Confident
Having confidence is not egotistical or wrong. The best companies want to hire people who have confidence in themselves. This spawns a culture of improvement.
Show That You Are Internationally Aware
A global mindset is essential for growing businesses. You should be aware and sensitive to other cultures, customs, events, and perspectives if you’re going to succeed.
Groom Yourself
You may have all of the skills, but if you don’t take care of your hygiene and appearance then employers will think twice about hiring you. Make sure you dress appropriately and that you’re always clean and smelling fresh. Just because you can’t smell your coffee breath doesn’t mean it’s not there!
Prepare For The Questions
Make sure you carefully prepare for questions before you attend the interview. Have answers for questions such as ‘why do you want this job?’ and ‘tell us about yourself’. Make sure you relate everything back to the job and the company!
Research the Company
Having a decent knowledge of the company before you attend your interview is essential, so do your research. If you don’t bother to do this, hiring managers may well eliminate you from the hiring pool. Do your homework on the company’s website, blog, social channels, Glassdoor, and Wikipedia. Make sure you know who their competitors are and why they are different, too.
Find Out Who You’re Interviewing With and Research Them
As well as finding out what you can about the company, make sure you do your research on the person you’ll be having your interview with.
Ask Your Own Questions
Always make your interest clear by asking your own genuine questions. Let them ask you questions first, and have yours prepared at the end of the interview. Write the answers down!
Dress For The Job
How you dress will depend on the job you’re going for. Dress for the job you want, as if you have it already. Show them how you will be arriving into work. Don’t try to be too trendy or fashionable here.
Bring Two Extra Copies of Your Résumé
If you show up to your interview with no copies of your resume, you’re making a huge mistake. Don’t assume that the person you’ll be speaking with has one already. They may know nothing about you. If you have spare copies on you, you’ll never be caught off guard.
Turn Your Phone Off and Arrive Five to 10 Minutes Early
You shouldn’t be tempted to check your phone, and you definitely don’t want it buzzing away while you’re trying to answer a pressing question. Get there 10 minutes early (not too early), and turn your phone off. If you arrive too early then you might mess up the interviewer’s schedule if they feel they must accommodate you. Turning up too early can be just as rude as turning up late. 5-10 minutes before your interview time is a good time to aim for. Find somewhere else to wait if you arrive at the location even earlier.
Stay Engaged During Conversation
Make sure you don’t get eliminated from the process by not showing you are actively listening. Smile, nod, and make eye contact. You will make an impression by showing you are a good listener.
Get the Email Address of Everyone You Speak With
This will be helpful when the interview is over and you’ll be able to easily follow up.
Ask When to Expect a Decision and With Whom to Follow-Up
You shouldn’t leave the interview feeling confused about when you’re going to hear back. Don’t be too pushy, but make sure you have an idea of when you should know by and who you should speak to about it. Pay close attention to how they respond at the end of the interview and you should get a good idea of how it went, too.
Tell Them You Want The Job
If you’re feeling excited at the prospect of having this job by the end of the interview, make sure you tell them so. Let it be known how excited this opportunity makes you and allow your passion for the role to shine through.
Send a Follow-Up Thank You Email
Sending a quick, personalized email saying thank you to everybody you met with earlier on in the day will stand you in good stead. Mention a small detail or topic you discussed to personalize it, and make an even better impression on them even once the interview process is over. A handwritten thank you card could go down really well, too.
If you don’t hear back within 5 business days, it’s ok to follow up again. Make sure you know the point of contact and send a message that is short – you don’t want to come across as pushy or as if you’re nudging them into making a decision. You should seek to provide some value, however.
Becoming the ideal job candidate may take a little time and practice, depending on the role. The more you practice for this, the better the interview process will likely go. Ask somebody you trust to run through questions with you as if you were in a real interview. Don’t leave anything to chance and make sure you feel well prepared. You may never feel 100% ready, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t or that you’re not right for the role. Be positive – you might be just the kind of person that they are looking for!
Why Your Customers Need Choice
/in Customer Relationship Management/by StrategyDrivenOffer Choice Because Everyone Else Does
Because we’re so used to choice, we expect it, but we also need it. When it comes to paying, for example, there’s no longer just one way to do it. Shops, both online and in-store, give us options. We have different banks and kinds of card. Some people use Apple Pay for all online purchases. Others prefer PayPal. This means that your customers will have their own payment preferences. If you don’t offer them different payment gateway choices, you risk losing custom if they haven’t got what they need to complete a transaction.
Another area that you need to offer choice is the methods in which your customers contact you. Many businesses today speak to their customers via Facebook Messenger, but you may have customers that don’t have a Facebook account. Offer your customers plenty of options, and there’s no chance that someone will be unable to contact you if they need to. This can boost loyalty, improve the service that you can offer, and give you much greater opportunities to keep in touch.
You Need to Offer An Easy Service
If you want your customers to keep coming back, you need to make things easy for them. Offering them choices like how to pay, how to shop, product ranges and different services can make their shopping experience much easier.
More Choice Can Help You To Grow
When it comes to products, giving your customers choices of styles, colours, price points, services and sizes can help you to grow your business. It means that you’ll be able to offer something for everyone, appealing to a broader market. It also means that your customers will keep coming back for more. Say you sell clothes, if they love a dress, and you release the same one in different colors or prints, they’ll buy more, especially if it’s a great fit and good quality.
But There Is Such a Thing as Too Much Choice
While you want to offer exceptional service, an easy experience and enough options to keep your customers happy, you don’t want to dilute your brand, overwhelm your customers or make things confusing. Nor do you want to sacrifice the quality of your products so that you can offer more.
It’s vital that you work to find the right balance. Spend time finding ways to offer your customers the options that they need to make shopping as easy as possible. They should be able to find what they want and buy it easily, without having to worry about how they’ll pay. But, when it comes to products, listen to their feedback. Find out what people love, ask them what kind of options and extras they might want, and don’t offer too much. Make sure quality is your priority.
Essential Tips To Boost Your Crowdfunding Strategy
/in Online Marketing and Website Development/by StrategyDrivenHowever, it is in the nature of banking systems to support businesses that can provide solid sales forecast. If you are looking for an angel investor to take a chance on your new business model or your new product, you need to focus your attention on creative platforms that allow you to interact directly with your audience. Indeed, a crowdfunding platform can act as a market research strategy, as you can measure the appeal of your idea through the monetary backing you receive. However, platforms such as Kickstarter or Fundable are busy. Attracting the attention of potential investors can be tricky without a dedicated funding strategy.
Build an SEO-friendly presence to boost your campaign
You can create a landing page and regular updates on your crowdfunding platform of choice. However, your crowdfunding presence is likely to get noticed only by people who are already actively looking to invest in a project. You need to reachout to a broad audience group to maximize your chances. As a result, you need to create a digital presence, including social media profiles and a website, to introduce your idea. Using tracking methods to follow your web visitors, you can not only identify performing search terms – or keywords – but also redirect them effectively to your crowdfunding page. It’s a good idea to work closely with a marketing agency that can assist you in defining relevant data and maintaining consistency when reaching out to your audience.
Personalize your gifts
In a banking or financial environment, investors agree to backup your business against the shares or repayment with interest. On a crowdfunding platform, backers don’t expect a financial reward. However, many agree to invest in your business against a gift. It’s not uncommon for startups to provide a free sample top their most generous investors. Backers who invested a smaller amount are happy to accept a merch gift in exchange for their support. To keep your cost within budget, you can offer a branded t-shirt, using a vinyl laser cutter to transfer the design, for instance. You can use the Boss laser cutter review page for guidance. A laser cutting machine is a fantastic alternative to personalize a small number of items, which makes it ideal if you don’t have enough backers for a large scale t-shirt order!
Show your face
Only 33% of crowdfunding campaigns succeed without a video. However, campaigns that successfully introduced video marketing achieved 66% successful funding according to Drop Studio. If you’re going to appeal to your audience’s generosity, you need to build a trustworthy and engaging relationship. Videos are not only useful to present your business ideas, but you can also use them as part of your marketing campaign on YouTube. Indeed, you can tie them to an advertising strategy to reach out to users within your relevant demographics.
While crowdfunding is the preferred funding approach for small businesses, it remains a challenging environment for new entrepreneurs. You need to build a presence that not only stands out from the crowd, but that can also encourage potential investors to back your business. That’s precisely why it’s essential to focus on your marketing approach, not only in terms of visibility but also merchandising.