Posts

Invest To Improve: Where To Spend Your Money In Business

If you run a business, continual improvement is probably top of the list of your goals. If you can continue to grow, make more money and improve the service you offer your customers, you’re on to a good thing. When you’re a company director, you have a lot of decisions to make, and it’s important to spend money wisely. Often, it’s essential to make the right decisions when it comes to investing your capital. If you want to invest to improve, here are some suggestions you may find useful.

StrategyDriven Budget Development Article

Investing in your staff

Most successful entrepreneurs have a team of people around them. Not even a superhero disguised as a business mogul could run every single aspect of a growing company, and as the boss, you may be reliant on tens, hundreds or even thousands of people. Your staff should mean a lot to you. Investing in them is a means of showing how grateful you are for their hard work and demonstrating that you have trust in them. Training is incredibly valuable for both the business and your employees. Training programs, courses and workshops enable your team to gain new skills and develop existing skills, and the outcome could be incredibly beneficial for your company. Consider how important confidence and the ability to speak with clarity and passion are for a sales team or how beneficial skills related to brand new technology or software could be to a cutting-edge e-commerce store. Training existing members of staff often enables you to offer more as a business without outsourcing or hiring additional employees, and it can also give your team more confidence and encourage them to want to develop their skill set further.

If you operate in a competitive industry, it’s worth investing money in trying to keep your star players. If your best workers start looking at roles and positions offered by rival companies, and you can’t compete, there’s every chance that you’ll lose them, even if they love their job. Consider salaries and employee benefits packages carefully and be prepared to outdo competitors if you’re desperate to keep your team together.

StrategyDriven Budget Development Article

Investing in business premises

Whether you work from home and you’re self-employed, or you have an office or a chain of stores or warehouses, you may reach a stage when you think about investing in new premises. Buying property can be incredibly lucrative, especially in the long-term, but it’s essential to make the right decisions.

If you’re home-based and you’re looking to improve your business, you may consider looking at a new location or a larger house or making your current home more suitable for work purposes. Location is incredibly important in business, and if you intend to work from home, your current location may not be ideally suited to what you do. If you’re a therapist or you specialize in consulting, for example, this probably means that you’re going to come into contact with clients on a daily basis. If you’re out in the country, this could put clients off if they have to travel to you or increase your running costs if you’re constantly driving into the city. If this scenario sounds familiar, it may be worth considering a move and having a look at new condos for sale. If the location is right, and the property works on both a personal and professional level, this could be an ideal investment.

If you run a company and you’re looking to expand or buy premises rather than renting, there are lots of factors to consider. If you’re buying, you need to make sure that the move makes financial sense. Consider the importance of location as a priority. If you’re opening a new clothing store or a café, for example, location is everything, and you should look for areas where footfall is greatest. If you want to buy a warehouse, you don’t need to be in the city center, but being close to transport links will be hugely beneficial. If you’re on the lookout for an office, but you don’t need to be close to the action, searching in the suburbs is a good idea. Once you’ve identified potential locations, consider the size of the premises and the cost. Set a budget at the outset, and don’t go for the first option. It’s worth shopping around, getting an idea of what’s out there and comparing different properties. Weigh up the pros and cons, be prepared to negotiate and consider the long-term benefits of each option. Buying property can drive down costs, as mortgage repayments are often lower than rental fees. You’ll also be putting money into an asset that you own, rather than lining somebody else’s pocket.

StrategyDriven Budget Development Article

Investing in growth

Every business owner dreams of getting to a point where their business is expanding, and the demand for products or services is increasing. If you’re doing well, you’re in profit and consumers want more, it’s worth investing money into trying to make your growth plans a reality. Spend money on marketing methods that work, develop products based on trends and consumer demands, and look at ways you can expand without increasing your running costs. Negotiate with suppliers, manufacturers and distributors and promote efficiency and productivity. If your business is booming, don’t forget to share the rewards with your employees. If they feel valued, they will be more likely to show loyalty and put maximum effort into their job.

StrategyDriven Budget Development Article

In business, you often have to speculate to accumulate. If you’re keen to hit the big time, you may have some pretty tough decisions to make along the way. One of the most important things to do is spend your money wisely. Sometimes, there are opportunities to invest, which could improve your business and ultimately lead to increased profits and better customer service. If you run a team, don’t underestimate the value of investing in your employees and giving them a platform to fulfil their potential. If you’re expanding, or you’re keen to attract more clients or reduce running costs, it may also be worth looking into buying new business premises. If you are heading in the right direction, consider which areas to invest more money in and plan a strategy carefully.

7 Ways to Improve Your Site’s Ranking


The internet is rife with competition. To compete online, you must implement effective SEO tactics to rank higher than your direct and indirect rivals in the search engines. To ensure your online success, read the seven ways to improve your site’s ranking.

1. Write & Publish Relevant Content

Companies who want to rank highly in the search engines must write and publish quality content on a regular basis. It is easily one of the most effective SEO tactics to boost your place in the search engine results pages, increase your traffic, boost your site’s domain authority, and can even help you to remain relevant.

2. Incorporate Keywords

To maximize your visibility, it is important to use a target keyword for each page. Try to identify how a visitor might search for a specific page. For instance, if they were looking for a bakery in London, a web user might search for phrases in Google such as “London bakery” or “birthday cakes in London”. Once you have identified the different phrases they might use, aim to naturally incorporate the phrases several times throughout a piece of content, but avoid stuffing the copy with keywords. If you are unsure how to find the best keywords for your website, consult an experienced SEO company to help increase your rank in Google.

3. Create a Link-worthy Website

Aim to incorporate relevant links into your web content, as this is in an effective way to improve your search engine rankings, while increasing the ranking of the page you have chosen to link to on your landing page. The anchor text should, therefore, link to the relevant landing page you want to rank highly for in the search engine results pages.

4. Utilize Alt Tags

It is important to describe both your visual and video media with alt tags, also known as alternative text descriptions, as it can help the search engines to successfully locate your landing page, which is essential for those who use text-only browsers. As the alt tags can increase your website’s opportunities to be found by Google, it can boost your search engine ranking.

5. A Mobile Responsive Website

Nearly 60% of all web searches are performed on mobile devices, such as a tablet or smartphone. Google has therefore stated that a mobile responsive website is a ranking factor. It is essential to improve the user experience and your ranking by developing a mobile responsive web design if you haven’t already done so. You’ll be surprised by the difference it can make to your place in Google.

6. Add a Sitemap

Simply put, a sitemap is a page that both lists and creates links to major pages across your website, which allows the search spiders to locate your landing pages quickly. The important pages will, therefore, be easier for both the search spiders and users to discover, as they can be accessed with fewer clicks.

7. Avoid Flash

Modern websites must avoid Flash like the plague, because Google will always rank a website lower in comparison to sites that operate on an alternative platform. The main reason is that you are unable to link to an individual page. So, while Flash might be easier and cheaper to launch, you will have a greater chance of increasing your rankings with a WordPress website.

How to Increase Your Golf Business Revenue


Do you want to ensure the success of your golf company for many years to come? If so, you will need to thoroughly review your strategies, programs, and pricing to attract players year after year. Check out the many ways you can increase your golf business revenue.

Introduce Memberships

Introduce a range of memberships that offer a variety of rewards. For example, members might be able to book earlier tee times in comparison to non-members. They should also receive a discount on food, drink, and golf lessons. Also, ensure the golf course manager contacts every member once a year to find out the incentives they like the most, and if something is missing in your membership package.

Consider Golf Course Management

There are golf course management companies that can catapult your business into the 21st century. They have a forward-thinking approach to growing a golf course, as they will have the knowledge and tools to help you reach your desired goals, as they will analyze and alter your processes, such as staffing, scheduling, cost control, budgeting and more.

Utilize Social Media

Social media should be your company’s best friend. The online platform will provide a forum to reach out to new and existing customers, which will allow you to boost brand recognition, web traffic and your conversion rate. It will also provide the perfect outlet to share golf tips, company news and exclusive discounts. You could even improve engagement by holding contests to win a free day on the golf course, lesson, food, or drink.

Review Your Pricing

Do you know how many customers your employees need to turn away once a course is fully booked? If you don’t, ask your members of staff to start tracking how many times they need to say no. If you continually have many customers on a waiting list to use a golf course, you should consider raising your prices during peak times. Conversely, you should consider lowering your prices if there is little demand at a select time. As a result, you will maximize your revenue while attracting customers.

Develop Lesson Packages

One lesson is often never enough to perfect a swing, add distance to drives and remove slices. You should, therefore, develop packages that can help others improve their handicap. Promote the benefits of signing up to packages of four or more lessons, as it can help them to iron out any mistakes and improve their time on the course.

Family Friendly Golf Opportunities

Host family-friendly golf opportunities to encourage parents and children to enjoy a fun day out on a golf course. Not only will it increase your revenue, but you can encourage young children to embrace the sport, who could become a member of your club in the future. Create a parent/child package that includes a game of golf, food, drinks, and a gift, or you can even host parent/child lessons or contests. It can be a fun day out for all the family.

6 Effective Ways to Market Your Law Firm

Every law firm needs to develop an effective marketing strategy to compete with rival firms. Yet, you might not know where to start when building a professional, trustworthy brand. To help you attract clients, find out the six effective ways to market your law firm.

1. A Professional Logo

Clients want to work with talented, experienced lawyers. For this reason, you must create a logo that reflects your professionalism and experience. You also do not need to hire a graphic designer, as you can create and control a DIY logo using the right template, which can encourage trust in your legal services.

2. A Mobile Responsive Website

Your website will provide informative information about your law firm and its services. The right design and content can, therefore, turn visitors into clients. However, to prove to prospective clients that you are a professional firm with an eye for detail, you must create a mobile responsive website that is adaptable to various devices, such as desktop, smartphone, and tablet.

3. Engaging Email Marketing Campaigns

Email marketing campaigns allow you to remain in your subscribers’ minds, so they will turn to your firm if they need your services. An engaging email newsletter cannot only attract new clients, but it can also encourage past clients to hire your legal services once again. For instance, you can use segmentation to target past clients with a free consultation, will writing service or a discount, which should be sent to their inbox.

4. Create High-Quality Videos

Approximately 8 billion videos are watched on Facebook every day. It is, therefore, one of the most innovative marketing tools at your company’s disposal, so video should certainly be incorporated into your firm’s marketing strategy. Aim to develop videos that will engage your target demographic, reflect your brand, and increase your brand recognition. Also, remember to feature text on your videos, as 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound.

5. Word of Mouth Advertising

Word of mouth advertising can determine your firm’s future success. You must, therefore, strive to provide every client with the best possible service to ensure they recommend your legal services to their family and friends. So, in addition to providing exceptional legal services, you must also provide a helpful, friendly, and transparent service that will make people want to turn to your firm repeatedly.

6. Regularly Publish Helpful Blog Posts

Once you have a mobile responsive website up and running, you must focus on writing and publishing high-quality blog posts to attract visitors’ attention. Rather than writing a detailed list of your services, provide your readers with industry news, case studies, top legal tips, and information on successful cases, which you should promote across social media. The informative, well-written articles will boost confidence and trust in your brand, while increasing your visibility in the search engine result pages. As a result, the blogs could encourage visitors to contact your firm to learn more about your solicitors’ experience and legal services.

Staying Relevant as an Older, Small Business Today


Today’s world is an entrepreneurial one, and it seems more so than ever before. Indeed, how many times do you find yourself reading the business pages and discovering, yet again, that a small start-up has positively exploded onto the scene; you try at the same time of this discovery, not to spill your coffee and thereby ruin your suit before that crucial meeting with your investors in an hour? How is it that these newcomers seem to hold the secrets to success in this somewhat strange modern world?

Communication Technology

In a highly competitive digital world, the key is to keep up with the latest technology. It really does pay dividends. If you’re still operating on a fax machine when your competitors are speeding their way ahead with emails (an extreme example, but it serves the point), how can you hope to keep up, let alone win? At the very least, your company needs to be on high-speed internet, working on computers that weren’t just dug up from the early 90’s, and connecting with customers via a communication system enabled by VoiceOnyx telephone companies or other such providers. Further, bear in mind that if you’re well connected in this manner, you’re unfortunately a target these days and so the latest in cybersecurity is crucial, too. Everything is pretty much online in the modern day and age – including as this does eCommerce and Cloud usage – and so it is that theft has sadly become digital as well.

The Economic Climate – A Question of Strategy

What you might overlook, when you feel yourself turn green in discovery of yet another successful newcomer to the entrepreneurial pool of competition, is the state of the economy when those companies began and thrived. It is often those who made it in the toughest of economic climates whose praises are sung the loudest, as trust in their ability has been established. Look at your own firm’s history – can you compare? Further, what of your business strategy (including lead generation), when studied side by side? Are you still paying out for those big poster ads? Stop now and get online, and get marketing by using social media platforms and other internet-enabled means. For one thing, it’s quicker and the most expensive commodity of the present day is time.Again, prominence comes digitalized this day and age and so if your company lacks a website, even the most archaically developed, and doesn’t have an up-to-date blog, then your chances of keeping up with your younger, savvier competitors is sliding quickly away.

Greyer; Not Necessarily Greater

Loyalty from customers to businesses is a dying quality and so, though you may argue that you’ve been at this game for far longer than your competitors have been around, adapting to the mindset of someone just starting out is the largest and most beneficial step you can take to stay relevant in the modern marketplace. As the saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them.