StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Marketing|Market Your Business The Right Way With These Helpful Solutions

Market Your Business The Right Way With These Helpful Solutions

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Marketing|Market Your Business The Right Way With These Helpful SolutionsMarketing your business is directly related to how well it is going to perform on the market, and for this reason, it should be something that you are placing a lot of focus on. However, we also know that a lot of business owners don’t see this as being the case, and then end up missing out on huge opportunities when it comes to marketing. If you are looking for ideas on how you can market your business in the best possible way, then you have come to the right place because we are going to be looking at some of the solutions that you need down below.

Keep Up With Social Media

The very first thing that you should be doing is keeping up with social media. So, if you don’t currently have an account on all of the major social media platforms, then this is something you need to correct immediately. Your company should have a business page on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for this to be most effective. Once you have created the profiles, you need to ensure that they are being updated regularly with SEO content. What this means is that your content will rank well in the SERPs, maximizing the number of people who will see your business when they search for certain keywords and terms.

As well as this though, keeping up with your social media is important to your clients as it lets them know what is going on in your business at any given time, and makes them feel as though they have a closer relationship with you. Using tools like Live is a great way to establish this connection, and being sure to reply to direct messages is always going to go a long way. As long as there is something fresh on your page every day or every few days at the bare minimum, this is going to drive your marketing campaign forward.

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Marketing|Market Your Business The Right Way With These Helpful SolutionsTry Something Different

Something else that you should consider is trying something different. So, there are some of the basic marketing techniques that are employed by almost every business across all industries, and that is because they are effective. We are not saying that you should ditch these marketing methods as they are clearly providing you results, but while you are doing this, you should also be trying something new on the side. For example, video production is something that you can hire an external company to help you with, which will help you create a video for the purpose of marketing your business. This is an excellent way to do something that not all companies do, and show potential clients why they should choose you over your competition. It gives a more personal feel than a post on your website or a leaflet in the mail.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see that if you market your business the right way like with the solutions above, you are going to see more customers in no time.

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Bounce Rate|3 Ways To Tackle A High Bounce Rate On Your Website

3 Ways To Tackle A High Bounce Rate On Your Website

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Bounce Rate|3 Ways To Tackle A High Bounce Rate On Your WebsiteBounce rate is one of the most important analytics that your marketing team needs to consider. It shows you how many visitors to your website are leaving before they explore further. If you have a high bounce rate, that means that people are taking one look at your site and then deciding that they’re not interested, and that’s not good news. A lot of marketing teams focus on conversion rate, which is important, but customers aren’t even getting that far if you have a high bounce rate. The good news is, there is usually a fairly simple fix to a low bounce rate. If you’re experiencing issues, these are some of the best ways to deal with a low bounce rate.

Landing Page Design

When customers click on an ad or a link that takes them through to your website, they’re going to spend a few seconds looking at the landing page before they decide to either leave or explore further and start looking at your products. Often, they choose to leave because the design of the landing page is bad. It might be that it just looks dated or the branding doesn’t really speak to them but more often than not, it’s that the layout is confusing and cluttered and they can’t easily find what they’re looking for. This is a common symptom of websites that have been built without professional help. You can make a half decent website on your own using a free web builder but if you really want quality, you need to outsource to the best web design agency you can find. They will have a better understanding of successful website layouts and they’ll be able to tell you if you’re making mistakes that are likely to cause a high bounce rate.

Targeting The Wrong People

Even if your website is absolutely perfect, you’re going to have a high bounce rate if the people visiting it have no interest in your products. For example, if you’re running a womens clothes company and your marketing efforts are reaching mainly men, you’re going to get traffic from people that assume you cater to men as well, but they’ll soon leave when they realize that isn’t the case. Of course, you’re not going to do this on purpose, it just means that you’re sending the wrong message and attracting the wrong type of customer. It’s important that you identify your target demographic and make sure that your marketing strategy connects with them.

Pop-Ups

People really hate pop-ups, you probably do too, so why would you fill your website with them? If a user goes onto a site and they’re immediately bombarded with loads of pop-ups, it disrupts the user experience and frustrates them, and they’re likely to leave the site immediately. Pop-ups can be good for things like building an email list but you need to use them sparingly and don’t include them on the landing page, give people a bit of time to browse the site before you start asking for email addresses.

These are some of the more common reasons for a high bounce rate and these problems are easily fixed, so you should see a decrease in no time.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Running a Business|Recovering from an Illness or Injury? How to Keep a Business Running in Your Absence

Recovering from an Illness or Injury? How to Keep a Business Running in Your Absence

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Running a Business|Recovering from an Illness or Injury? How to Keep a Business Running in Your AbsenceBeing a business owner entails a lot of responsibility: looking after employees, pushing the company forward, and being the head individual for people to answer to. This can all change if you are suddenly ill or have an accident. Maintaining the same equilibrium and productivity can be hard if you’re not yet feeling up to it, and you don’t think you are fully on the mend. Here are a few ways of approaching your day-to-day management while you recuperate.

Take it slow

Don’t rush back into the hot seat as soon as is possible. Being in a hurry to assume control of day-to-day proceedings could cause you to miss vital signals your body is sending out. Hopefully, if a client or employee was keen to come into work regardless of how ill or unfit they were, you would send them back home.

Delegate responsibly

If you are bad at delegating, now is the time to learn how to do it effectively. You can’t always micromanage every aspect of your business – particularly when you’re incredibly unwell. Ensuring that you hand out jobs to the appropriate people will give you some peace of mind that the work is being done in your absence. Staying in touch to see how everything is going will help you feel calmer about being out-of-action.

Get the legal side sorted

If your injury or sickness is due to a major accident, such as a car crash, then you will need to take time off to fix the legal side of proceedings. As well as taking time off to recuperate, you will need to ensure that you get the compensation and justice that is deserved, so you don’t keep mentally re-visiting it after you go back to work. If your business is based in Florida, for instance, finding a car accident lawyer in Fort Lauderdale would help you get local legal help.

Drop in for visits

If you’re worried about being completely absent from your business, dropping in for the occasional visit could be valuable to you. Skype and conference calls could be a temporary solution when it comes to maintaining order and understanding the day-to-day processes. When it comes to showing face, you may just need to pop in every now and then to say hi and tell them how you’re doing – only if you feel up to it, of course.

Be realistic

As a result of having to delegate and give other employees responsibility, you will have to be realistic about what you personally can achieve. You have to acknowledge that it won’t really be possible for you to get everything done yourself. Being realistic also means acknowledging what your employees can realistically take on, and that it may be a bumpy ride for them initially in your absence.

Running a business while you’re recovering from an injury or illness can come loaded with guilt. Worrying about how your employees are getting on and whether you’re a good boss are inevitable. However, in order to maintain a good relationship, it’s a matter of keeping contact when you can and being pragmatic.

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Corporate Event|Huge Mistakes To Avoid When Planning A Corporate Event

Huge Mistakes To Avoid When Planning A Corporate Event

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Corporate Event|Huge Mistakes To Avoid When Planning A Corporate EventBeing an entrepreneur means making mistakes. A lot of mistakes. Although it isn’t ideal, these situations allow you to learn and grow as a business owner. That being said, there are some errors that you’re better off avoiding. Corporate events are a very important part of business. They provide an opportunity to get your name out there, impress clients, and make money at the same time. The last thing you want to do when hosting an event, therefore, is make a mistake. With that in mind, here are five huge blunders to avoid when planning your own.

Beginning Planning Too Late

Once you’ve made the decision to host your own event, you should begin the planning process as soon as you can. Far too many entrepreneurs underestimate just how much time, and work must go into organizing an event of this size. Many elements of the day will have to be booked or purchased well in advance. If you fail to do this, you might miss out or could be left with a much larger bill. Don’t put your event at risk by waiting until the last minute to get organized.

Hiring Too Little Help

Never attempt to run a corporate event by yourself. With so much to take care of throughout the day, even trying to do so would make it impossible for you to enjoy yourself. There is also a very big chance of you making a mistake, which could cause chaos for both you and the guests. Instead, you should bring in plenty of help. If you can’t spare any employees from the office, then hire temporary workers for the day. You may want to book an event planner to lend a hand too.

Expecting Guests To Show

Putting time, money, and effort into an event won’t make people show. The only way to guarantee this is to promote it. However, you shouldn’t just advertise the event itself. Many guests will come for the local area too, so make sure you highlight that. If the event is in Geelong, for example, you could mention the quality conference centre accommodation within easy reach of Geelong’s waterfront and the Botanic Gardens. Promoting your event at similar ones is also a good idea.

Offering Nothing To Do

Although many people attending your event will be busy with their own stands, most will have nothing of the sort to keep them occupied. The last thing that you want is for these attendees to be stood around bored all day. This wastes your time, as well as theirs, and could damage your reputation. To avoid this, you should organize activities to keep your guests busy. Speakers, contests, bands, and games are all typical ways to pass the time and entertain guests at events.

Forgetting A Backup Plan

There are so many things that could go wrong on the day of your event. While it might cause you stress to think about these potential issues, you can’t afford to bury your head in the sand. If you ignore these risks, you’ll have no way of resolving them if they do happen. For this reason, you should write a list of all of the issues that you can think of and plans to fix them. If a speaker were to not show up, for example, you should have another one waiting in the wings.

Avoiding these mistakes should ensure that your event is a huge success.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Tax Deductions for Small Businesses|"Can I Deduct That?" 8 Must-Know Tax Deductions for Small Businesses

“Can I Deduct That?” 8 Must-Know Tax Deductions for Small Businesses

StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Tax Deductions for Small Businesses|"Can I Deduct That?" 8 Must-Know Tax Deductions for Small BusinessesThere are over 32 million small businesses operating in the US.

That’s a lot of people working hard to sell their products/services and, hopefully, turn a profit!

Let’s face it, money is the lifeblood of any business. It’s a competitive world. With insufficient capital to hand, it won’t be operational for long.

For that reason, it’s vital that small businesses squeeze as much money as possible from operations.

Tax deductions constitute one essential method of doing exactly that.

After all, paying a hefty tax bill is rarely pleasant. For small businesses trying to maximize their profits, it can even mean the difference between success and failure. Are you looking for ways to save money on your business’ tax bill this financial year?

Keep reading to find out 8 must-know tax deductions for small businesses.

1. Business Supplies

Let’s start with the basics:
You can deduct from your tax bill all of the expenditure on essential business supplies.
It might not seem like much. However, any owner knows how much these necessary fees can stack up. For boot-strapping start-ups, every little bit counts!

Look around you. It’s possible to claim for almost anything you’ve bought for the purpose of doing business. Stationary (pens, pencils, paper, staples…), printers, cleaning materials, desks, chairs, sofas, whiteboards, projectors…The list goes on.

You can deduct any and all of them.

2. Travel Expenses

Business travel isn’t cheap.

It’s also essential for many companies. Business travel is commonly a vital aspect of creating leads, meeting with investors, attending conferences, generating interest, and so on.

There is all manner of opportunities to travel for business purposes.

Nicely, almost all of it can be claimed for. Often, entertainment costs can be claimed for too.

All of those flight tickets, bus tickets, train fares and so on are all deductible. Likewise, certain related expenses such as meal costs, room service, dry cleaning and so on can be claimed.

Of course, keeping a solid record of each transaction is important. Equally, certain limitations apply too. You can’t claim for absolutely everything! You must understand your tax obligations in full to be successful in any tax preparation.

3. Personal Vehicle Expenses

Many small business owners use their personal car for work purposes.

The money spent on this process is often tax-deductible. Note that only the business side of things can be claimed for! It’s crucial to separate the business from personal usage.

Granted that’s possible, then you can claim for everything from mileage to parking fees. It’s often tricky to ascertain true mileage for a trip. Be sure to record mileage by referring to the odometer, or a GPS system.

Don’t forget to deduct expenses for insurance and maintenance costs too. Owning a vehicle isn’t cheap. Using it for work can only exacerbate that. Be sure to leverage the tax deductions available!

4. Necessary Overheads

Look at what you fork out every month to keep your business operational:

Rental commitments, utility payments, internet costs, and phone usage are all crucial costs. They’re all unavoidable expenses. You couldn’t do business if you didn’t pay for them all.

For that reason, it’s possible to deduct it all from your tax bill! This can make a big difference at the end of the financial year. Again, accurate record-keeping throughout the year is essential.

5. Software & Equipment Costs

Almost every business has specific demands.

Industry-specific equipment and software is often a necessary expense. Likewise, updates and new installs are vital to staying up to speed.

These costs represent another worthwhile deduction on your tax bill. You can claim for each and every one of them, up to a certain amount of money. That means your actual computers, and all computer software can be claimed for.
Other essential equipment (such as equipment for manufacturing) can also be deducted under this bracket.

6. Your Home Office

Most people think of business and conjure images of swanky corporate offices in the city.
And, of course, that’s often accurate.

However, many small businesses are operated straight out of the family home. If that’s your set up, then you have the benefit of claiming for the costs of your home office.

That said, it must be wholly business-related. You can’t work from your kitchen and claim it’s your office! Instead, a designated space from which you operate is required.

Tick that box, and say hello to deductions for internet, insurance, rent, phone bills…and so on. Likewise, furniture and supplies can be claimed for too.

7. Outsourced Professional Services

It’s rare for someone to actually enjoy the tax process!

Consequently, many business owners opt to outsource the process. All bookkeeping and tax returns are completed by a professional.

Nicely, their fee can be deducted from your tax bill at the end of the year. Even better, it’ll be their job to work it out and complete the forms for you!

It doesn’t stop there. You might work with lawyers and consultants as well. It’s possible to claim for the money you’ve paid them too.

8. The Interest Payments on Debt

If you’ve gone into business, then chances are you’ve taken on debt to fund it.

Leverage, in the form of bank loans, is often an essential means of getting it up and running. After all, almost every business needs upfront investment to become a success. This start-up capital is used for all sorts of reasons. It can amount to a significant sum.

The burden of debt is rarely fun. However, it’s possible to claim for some of it.

Unfortunately, the loan itself is off-limits. But the interest payments are entirely tax-deductible.

Final Thoughts on Tax Deductions for Small Businesses

There you have it: 8 essential tax deductions for small businesses to know about.

Millions of small businesses are currently operational in the US. It’s guaranteed that profit maximization is a priority for every single one of them.

Indeed, the ability to cut expenses and turn a profit is vital to remain in business. Cutting costs wherever possible often comes into it. Tax deductions are an easy and essential method of doing exactly that.
Hopefully, this post has highlighted the main sources of tax deduction out there.