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Operation Getting More Value In Business

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As a business, providing customers with value for money. However, you mustn’t forget to ensure that your spending generates the best results too. Making your capital work harder will lift a great weight from your shoulders while also enabling you to pass some of the savings onto your clients.

So, how exactly can you ensure that all decisions are made in the best interests of your customers? Here’s all you need to know.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article | Business Financies

Assemble The Strongest Possible Team

The majority of business matters will be handled by your employees. Therefore, getting the recruitment process under control should be the first item on your agenda. This should be followed by an ongoing investment into their development both individually and as a team. The best ways to achieve this are through training and team building exercises. When they work harder, you’ll get more value for money on a daily basis. There is no stronger foundation for success.

Keep Assets In Good Health

Taking care of your business assets will unlock greater performance levels and prolong the lifespans. Keeping business vehicles in good health with the right gas oil is a significant step in the right direction. Meanwhile, computer system updates should bring telling results too. Even though the daily maintenance can have a very significant impact, you must learn to spot signs of faults. The sooner you act, the sooner you’ll restore their health. This should save a lot of money in the long run.

Research Your Purchases

You already know that customers want to get the best value for money when buying products or services. You should take a similar approach before completing your transactions. Simple ideas like using price comparison sites can work wonders. Likewise, you’ll want to check that any company you plan to do with business can be trusted. Falling victim of fraudulent activity or inadequate supplies will harm the venture and could be very hard to recover from. It’s best to be safe rather than sorry.

Know Your Demographic

Marketing is an area where only the best will do. Efficient marketing should be built around targeting a key audience. It’s impossible to impress everyone, but smarter research and insights will allow you to focus on the people that are likely to purchase. SEO, PPC, trade show stools, printed materials, and social media marketing can all be used to great effect. Remember to analyse the success of every campaign and make the necessary adjustments for ongoing success.

Avoid Bad Debts

While you obviously want to get as many sales as possible, you must not force thing when dealing with repayment plans. Good sales figures count for nothing if the money never arrives. Understanding bad debts and how to avoid falling victim to them is vital. While some people will default on payments, but you don’t want to let this become a major problem. Protect yourself in this manner, and your hopes of maintaining a positive cash flow will be greatly increased.

When the financial elements are under control, you can focus on actively driving the venture in the right direction.

How to grow sales on a downsized marketing budget

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article | How to grow sales on a downsized marketing budgetBusinesses are often quick to slash marketing budgets in times of disruption, and the response to the recent economic upheaval has been no different. Global ad spend is predicted to fall by nearly $50 billion in 2020, with major organizations like Google cutting marketing budgets in half for the rest of the year. Most companies are either in startup or turnaround mode and looking to reduce expenses while maximizing the impact of their remaining resources.

Though marketing is largely seen as a “nice-to-have” versus an essential business function, it’s actually a critical aspect of any business that works to drive sales. For organizations already struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, freezing or scaling back on marketing can have dire consequences on business growth when it’s needed most.

How can business leaders confidently continue to invest in marketing during such a volatile time when both budgets and timelines are tight? The key is not necessarily to invest more in your marketing budget but to invest more wisely with strategic, data-based initiatives. That’s where segmentation comes into play.

By using data you probably already have on hand to group your clients or customers based on their value to your business, it’s possible to make the most of your digital marketing efforts to grow your revenue, fast. Though the concept of segmentation is nothing new, what is new is how quickly you can derive them and garner insights. In the past, investing in segmentation for your business could take months and millions of dollars. But with advances in technology, today it’s possible to get it done in days, not months or years, and take immediate action on the insights to boost your bottom line.

Whether you’re the leader of a startup without much digital marketing prowess yet, or a business that’s had to make marketing cuts in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, segmentation can help you spend less and make more by empowering your marketing team to:

1. Target the right people

Segmentation allows you to identify the shared characteristics of your best customers and create detailed personas to inform your approach. Most businesses will have several distinct high-value personas, which can be grouped by a number of segmentation techniques, such as demographics, geographics or psychographics (the way people think, feel or behave). For example, a luxury car dealership might segment its customers by the attitudes and beliefs that motivate purchases (the need for speed versus family safety), whereas a grocery retailer might segment customers by demographics such as their age, education or profession.

A common mistake is taking a cookie-cutter approach by spending the same amount of money going after your high-value customer segments as your low-value segments. By determining the margins each type of customer brings to your business, you can stop wasting resources on unprofitable segments and instead more strategically focus your marketing efforts on targeting the customer segments that will deliver the greatest ROI, such as lookalike or adjacent audiences to your high-value customers. What’s great about digital advertising is that you can be incredibly specific about who you target. All the major platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn allow you to display ads to return customers, go after new audiences who are similar to existing customers or target an entirely new segment based on criteria you select.

2. Adjust your messaging

It’s not only important to determine who you need to target through digital marketing, but also what you need to say to those valuable audience segments. Generic messaging will likely have your best customers scrolling past your ads or tossing your email in their junk folders, so take what you discovered in your research about your high-value personas and tailor your content accordingly.

How you communicate with one segment versus another may be wildly different based on several motivating factors. For example, young parents and well-off retirees might consider the same pieces of furniture from a high-end retailer, but their motivations for purchasing them are very different. While young parents are more likely to purchase furniture that holds up well to long-term wear-and-tear from kids and pets, retirees might be drawn to more expensive pieces because they feel they’ve earned nice things. Segmentation allows you to truly understand these unique (but equally high-value) groups and create different pieces of marketing content that speak directly to each one.

This may seem like an obvious step, but when is the last time you really performed a robust segmentation and used that to inspire your messaging? The information you uncover may surprise you — especially if you have never segmented in the past, or haven’t for a long while. We have experienced such a significant cultural shift recently that the usual wants, needs and motivating factors of your clients or customers may have shifted as well. It might be time to take another look at your segmentation to craft more impactful messaging.

3. Tailor your product offering

In addition to who you’re targeting and how you’re targeting them with your digital marketing content, segmentation can also inform what you’re offering. With consumer needs and concerns changing over the past several months, this ability to strategically pivot your products or services based on data is more important than ever before.

Perhaps your data reveals that one high-value customer segment desires a trimmed-down version of your product or service, while another prefers a more robust option. The best course of action might be to create a streamlined version and a premium version in addition to your core product or service, and then map these offerings to their corresponding segments throughout your sales and marketing efforts. But you won’t know how to make this pivot until you really understand your customer segments and determine what needs they have.

Transitioning from a one-size-fits all marketing strategy to high-level segmentation, with the eventual goal of one-on-one personalization, simply won’t happen overnight. It’s an evolution that will take time, patience and trial and error. But the good news is, if you’re asking the right questions and tracking what’s working and not working, your segments can actually get “smarter” and more effective over time. Likewise, your creative team will become more experienced crafting the right messaging for the right clients or customer segments at the right time. This is where the art and science of data segmentation can really come together to enhance your marketing strategy and content for greater ROI.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Rob RistagnoRob Ristagno is the founder and CEO of Sterling Woods Group and a keynote speaker focused on sharing new ways to use data to drive business results. Rob combines his expertise in data science with proven sales and marketing strategies to help established middle-market companies quickly generate new revenue by improving the way they gather and utilize data.

Rob earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Dartmouth College and his Master of Business Administration in general management from Harvard Business School. He currently lives in Newton, Massachusetts, with his wife, Kate, his daughter, Leni, and his black lab, Royce. For more information, please visit www.sterlingwoods.com.

5 Money Management Tips for Entrepreneurs

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article

As an entrepreneur, you know how important money management is. Both inside and outside of the workplace, it can be the difference between struggling to make ends meet and paving your way for financial success. What’s more, it can be the difference between making and losing a profit. For this reason, money management simply must be a skill that you work on and try to become well versed with regards to.

If you feel that your career as an entrepreneur is being held back by a lack of knowledge on your part in the art of money management, then make sure to check out the five pieces of advice below.

1. Establish personal financial goals and steps to reach them

In order to turn over a profit in your career and grow your entrepreneurial portfolio as a result, you must, first, be able to manage your money on a personal level. Well, if you can’t look after your own money, how are going to be able to look after a business’s or even another person’s?

To learn how to look after your own money, you should establish some personal financial goals. It means setting targets and being proactive in the steps that you take to reach them. Whether this means aiming to have a specific amount of money saved by a particular time, or whether this means spending a certain amount in a week, you should set your targets and put plans into place so that you can reach and hit them. By becoming well versed in the art of goal setting and step taking as a person, you’ll succeed as an entrepreneur because these are skills that are exchangeable.

Something else that you should do on a personal level is to know what your credit score is. You’re never going to get anywhere as an entrepreneur if you don’t know what your rating is. What’s more, you could actually be held back from making future investments based on past discrepancies. It means that knowing where you stand with regards to credit is essential.

2. Get educated

If you want to become a genuinely great manager of money, then you need to educate yourself financially as often and as fervently as you can. It doesn’t necessarily mean taking a course in finance or accounting; this just means throwing yourself into tasks in which you have to be on the ball in a financial sense to stand any chance of success.

A good first port of call is to throw yourself into the deep end with investing and stock markets. By learning all about what it takes to study and manipulate ever-changing financial markets, you will soon understand how to stay afloat financially no matter what financial fiasco comes your way. By educating yourself in regards to bull and bear markets and what kinds of investments can and should be made within them, especially, you will set yourself up for a lifetime of financial strength and longevity. In this instance, you should check out Dr Kent Moors stock picks, specifically the information that details oil investment, as this will help you to have a better grasp on what, how and when certain investments should be made.

3. Learn to crunch numbers

By learning how to crunch numbers, you will be able to make sense of every financial figure that comes your way, which means that you’ll never be left dumbfounded by anything that you come across, and you’ll find yourself missing out on profit far less. To learn how to crunch numbers and reach financial figures easily, spend as much time as you can with your company’s accountants. Also, you could try playing games that rely heavily on one’s ability to read and understand financial patterns, one such game being poker.

Learning how to crunch numbers will also benefit you in your quest to become a great marketer. This is because number crunching will teach you what it takes to translate the impact of trends and then turn them into tangible results for yourself.

4. Become well versed in the art of organization

You’re never going to become an entrepreneur that has a reputation for being great with their money if you aren’t good at organization. It doesn’t just means learning how to organize your money, either. You should treat organization as if it is a way of life. You should know where everything is at all times, and you should know where you have to be at all times too.

In regards to chronicling your financial information specifically, start by organizing everything into categories. Put information of the utmost importance and outgoing payments that are deemed urgent at the forefront of your financial plans, and sums that can afford to be left unattended for a while on the back burner.

5. Find yourself a mentor

If you aren’t a professional accountant or financial advisor, you will struggle from time to time when it comes to money management. Sometimes you’ll feel like you can’t keep up with all of your monthly outgoings and incomings, and sometimes you’ll spend far more than you can afford to. To stop yourself from inflicting irreparable damage on yours or your business’s financial status, you should find yourself a mentor who can guide you. It could mean working alongside an accountant at your firm, it could mean hiring a financial consultant to help you from time to time, or it could simply mean talking to an older friend or relative of yours that has some experience in equity and asset holding.

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, then learning how to manage money is an absolute must. To do this, you should ensure that your personal finance is as strong as it can be, you should educate yourself with regards to investment, you should learn how to number crunch, you should organize yourself in a business sense and as a person, and you should align yourself with a mentor. By doing all of this, you’ll be well on your way towards being able to handle even the largest sums of money. Lastly, don’t forget to check out https://www.moneyexpert.com/za/ for all the best deals for helpful financial purchases from loans to insurance for your business.

IT Expenditure: What Should a Realistic IT Budget Look Like in 2020?

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article | IT Budget | Entrepreneurship | IT Expenditure: What Should a Realistic IT Budget Look Like in 2020?Every business needs to have an IT department of some sort, whether on-site or remotely, in order to keep their company afloat. So much relies on computers that if they suddenly stop working, your business stops moving.

That being the case, it’s not uncommon to see much of a business’s finances go directly into making sure their IT services continue to run smoothly. But how much do you really need to be spending on an IT budget – and how much are you already spending?

There are limits to how much you should be putting out for the services you receive. This article goes in-depth with how your 2020 budget should look like for your IT software and troubleshooting needs, so you won’t spend any more than necessary. Read on to find out more!

Your IT Budget Will Increase Most at the Beginning of the Year

New year, new you – and new business. Your company is bound to shape up and adopt the “out with the old, in with the new” rhetoric. That most likely also means you’ll be getting rid of old hardware and software and investing in new tech.

Of course, this is bound to bring up the IT bill initially, as the purchasing and the installation of new equipment will be added to the tab. In most cases, however, it will pay for itself in the long run, so the initial purchase shouldn’t be seen as something scary.

Streamlined Operations Will Save You Money

As technology gets better, it becomes easier to use the software to our advantage. These streamline operations will allow you to not only better serve your customers, but will save you money as well.

There will be minimal confusion on what you need to conduct B2B and B2C interactions as well as in-house operations, and the lack of complexity will free up the IT department from working on the small stuff and allow them to focus on what really matters.

Internet Is Faster at Relatively the Same Price

Businesses need internet, and it’s good to know that each year companies are able to make their services faster. It’s even better to know that, due to competition, the internet is still being sold at the same price – or in some cases, even less.

This is good news for you as that means you get better services without the higher price, allowing you to place the money you’ve saved onto other important aspects of your business.

To make sure you stay up to date on how much you’re spending on IT needs, you’ll want to use an organizational tool such as a NetSuite price cheatsheet to make sure you know where every penny goes!

Stay Driven. Be Successful

You know what you should be spending on your IT budget for your computer needs, so now you’ll be able to watch your money flow and still get things done. But that’s only the beginning of what you need to know to help your business succeed.

At StrategyDriven, we help focused and goal-oriented business owners like yourself take on the competition and succeed in their field. We offer help from all angles, including formatting and executing business strategies, management and organizational programs, and more.

Ready to get started? Click on any of the tabs on our site to learn more about what we have to offer you. We’re sure that we can help your company to win!

Unsecured Business Loans: A Comprehensive Guide

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article | Entrepreneurship | Unsecured Business Loans: A Comprehensive Guide

Have you ever felt the need to apply for some sort of business funding? If yes, then I am sure you must have gone through a million options before you came to the right conclusion about your loan. For any business, whether it is a big or small business, funding can actually make a huge impact. Getting the loan that suits your business best is very important. There are various types of loan options available for you to choose from but one option that can really work for you faster is an unsecured business loan. Here is a comprehensive guide that can fully educate you about an unsecured business loan.

What Is It?

What exactly is an unsecured business loan? If we look at the basic definition then this is one type of loan that actually does not in any way require the business owner to pledge any sort of asset or collateral against the debt they receive. The usual protocol for when you get a loan from the bank is to secure any sort of leverage that the business has to the lender to ensure some sort of guarantee. Unsecured business loans are a sort of financing option for those businesses that do not have or do not want to put up collateral for the loan. Through this type of loan, they can still access it and use it in their business in their own way. To get this type of loan all you need to do is apply for financing and also have a good credit score. It is the easiest way to raise funds for your business.

Types Of Unsecured Business Loans

There are certain types of unsecured business loan options out there that you can pick and choose according to the needs of your business in every way. The time period and the amount of loan can be huge indicators for the type of unsecured loan that is the most viable option for you. With options like term business loan, the candidates are mainly given a large amount, which can be repaid over a period of one to five years. This is a type of unsecured loan that is best used to pay off substantial one-time purchases. Another option that works best for short term financing resolutions is an unsecured business line of credit that is indeed a more adaptable finance choice, which is perfect for numerous purposes. Rendering to your long term and short term financing needs, you can check which type of unsecured business loan works best for your company.

Reasons For Need

The question of the need for this type of loan is very important. Identify the clear and concise need for an unsecured business loan that you are going for. An unsecured business loan can have many uses in your company. See whether you want the loan to increase the size of your inventory or to improve the cash flow of your business. Some businesses even require this type of loan to increase the quantity of their staff. Every business has different needs for using an unsecured business loan. Many business owners might get a unique opportunity for which they might need extra funding. In that case, they then go for an unsecured business loan as it can help them in completing whatever they want. Many companies that want to create a good credit rating so that they can prepare their business for a much bigger loan in the future also use this type of loan.

Selection For Lenders

There are many lenders who actually offer an unsecured business loan. When opting for this type of loan make sure that you actually look into all the options for lenders that you have. The reason for this is that many lenders tend to vary and have a different interest rate that they give. Work your options and see what kind of lender best suits your needs and gives you the most favourable conditions for the loan. Times have changed and now when you need a loan the only option available is not your bank anymore. There are various online sources that also offer safe and secure lending procedures that you can go through. As the application procedures for banks and institutions like these have tightened up, people are looking for alternative lenders. You can go for alternative commercial finance lenders or peer-to-peer lenders according to the terms and conditions that suit you best for your unsecured business loan.

Things To Consider Beforehand

There are various things that you must consider before you go for an unsecured business loan. Things like the time period when you need the funds matters a lot. Some places might offer you funds pretty quickly while some actually take their sweet time. When exactly you need the funds needs to be clear so that then you can work according to your timeline. Another very important factor is that make sure that you are absolutely aware of all the terms and conditions of the unsecured business loan that you are about to acquire. The reason for this is that if there are certain conditions that are unfavourable then you should know about them from the get-go. You may be required representing certain financial documents to get your loan approved also. These are things you must know beforehand so that you can work around them before you actually do get the loan. Once you have gotten that loan then there is no going back so make sure you are mindful of such things in the beginning.

May Require Personal Guarantee

The level of risk attached to an unsecured business loan is much higher than a secured one. Thus, it is possible that you may be required to give some sort of personal guarantee against the debt you are to obtain. This means that in the case that your business is not able to pay back the loan it has gotten then the holder of that loan must take a personal responsibility to pay that loan back. The structure of a personal guarantee can vary from lender to lender. Apart from a good credit score the lender will look into your situation and see if you will be able to take a personal guarantee against your loan. This is done to put the lender at ease and lower their level of risk as well.

These are the main and basic principles that are attached to an unsecured business loan. This type of loan can actually be very beneficial to give your business the boost that it needs to move forward. Just make sure you are fully aware of an unsecured business loan before you actually go for it.

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StrategyDriven Budget Management Forum

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Fiscal responsibility without being chained…


Effective budget management centers on the responsible, proactive deployment of financial resources to achieve mission goals… not the hoarding of funds or stifling of activities needed for business growth.

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