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4 Ways Social Media Marketing Can Benefit Brick & Mortar Retail Stores

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Social Media Marketing|4 Ways Social Media Marketing Can Benefit Brick & Mortar Retail StoresBrick & mortar retail stores are a vital part of the communities in which they exist. By having an established storefront, they’re able to interact with the people who pass by on a daily basis. This interaction makes it easy to improve engagement, as people can stop in when they’re walking by or once they get off of work, walking in to see what this small business is all about or to purchase a product out of support.

Yet, having just a physical location only goes so far. While some small businesses might be staunch about avoiding the digital realm, to the point of being labeled a Luddite, there is a lot to be gained by entering digital spaces. Social media has particularly changed the way that small businesses sustain themselves. In some cases, it has allowed these small brick and mortar stores to survive, as they’ve been able to develop digital audiences that support them in times where the storefront isn’t performing. The benefits are far-reaching, too, where social media marketing techniques like influencer and affiliate marketing measures help to improve the success of business. Interested in how you can start? Here is an explanation of social media platforms and four ways social media marketing can benefit your small business.

The Main Social Media Platforms Simplified

For brick and mortar establishments unfamiliar with social media, here is a basic breakdown of the major platforms and how they can be beneficial to your business:

  • Facebook – For small businesses like brick and mortar retailers, Facebook is the perfect platform for basic marketing and advertising opportunities. If you can develop a following from your local community, you can transform your business’s page into something of a blog, where you can keep local consumers in the loop about products, sales, events, and more. The platform’s “Live” feature also allows you to capture footage from around your storefront, letting you interact with customers by showing off staff and everything going on.
  • Instagram – If your company is more based on aesthetic, Instagram might be the place for you. You can curate a feed where images with a specific color scheme and look can be shared, letting consumers know what products you have to offer, all while hinting at the lifestyle your brand represents.
  • Twitter – Looking for a way to communicate with customers? Twitter can be a good avenue, where the site can be treated as a form of customer service, helping you stay in touch with customers throughout the day.
  • YouTube – If you’re looking to show off the look of your brand, it might be best to move from Instagram photography to video. Minute-long videos can make for great content, where you keep followers in the know concerning your business. You can even take it a step further and film 10-plus-minute videos where you review products or provide educational information to viewers.

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Social Media Marketing|4 Ways Social Media Marketing Can Benefit Brick & Mortar Retail StoresKnowing which platform is right for you will involve studying your business to better understand what it wants to say to the community, and on which platform your audience is most likely to be found. But, with all of this in mind, here are some of the essential ways that marketing on these social media platforms can benefit your brick and mortar business:

1. Utilizing the Internet to Build a Digital Relationship

One of the greatest things about creating social media profiles for your business is that it allows you to develop digital relationships that can transcend to real-life transactions—if you’ve never had a website, this isn’t likely to happen, so that’s something you should do sooner rather than later.

The best part about starting out is that you don’t have to do much, in terms of marketing and advertising. Rather, work to start following other businesses and begin communicating with fellow social media users. On top of this, start posting content that is going to develop a following on its own: Post pleasing pictures to Instagram with relevant hashtags; follow other local businesses on Facebook to start growing a local community that can grow from there.

Once these relationships are established, you can begin moving onto more complicated features of the apps, all while your initial community continues to provide you with long-lasting engagement.

2. Using Referral Marketing

When starting out, one of the best ways you can get yourself up and going is through the help of referrals. Technically known as affiliate marketing, this is the establishment of relationships with other businesses, where a company/person is paid to endorse and promote a business.

This can be an essential way to get your feet on the ground as a new social media user, as you can utilize influencers and fellow businesses to your advantage, having them promote your business’s page to their own larger audiences. In turn, this will hopefully lead to new followers and potential site visitors, helping you gain traction and a digital following of your own. The best part is that this can still be done even once you have an established following, as there will always be room for growth in the digital world.

3. Posting Content That’s Relevant and Eye-Catching

One of the most important things to gaining a following online, and remaining relevant, is posting content that people want to see. Your posts shouldn’t just be pictures of your products followed by a description of what they do. Rather, a story should be told.

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Social Media Marketing|4 Ways Social Media Marketing Can Benefit Brick & Mortar Retail StoresIf you’re a local business, you can talk about how your community’s character is a part of everything you do. If you’re promoting health and wellness products, you can craft a story related to how this product is intended to improve a person’s life by developing a healthier daily routine. The options are endless, but you want to find something that will resonate with social media users, as that’s what is going to entice them to follow your business and stick around.

Ideally, you need to make sure that your content isn’t just creative, but is also professional looking. This means building your own skills in photography through photography online courses and honing your creative writing abilities through creative writing courses and workshops or it means using the skills of a professional and expert third party, such as a professional product photographer and a professional copywriter.

4. Making an Inviting Website

As mentioned before, you need a website if you don’t currently have one. While you can rely on getting business in-store from local followers, that won’t translate to the national or global market. Instead, you need a website that is reflective of your business—a place where social media users can be directed to make purchases with your retail store. This will be essential to your business’s longevity, as it will allow you to create a profitable digital audience, giving you an extra level of protection if anything were to ever happen to your storefront.

Improve Your Business’s Security with Social Media Exposure

The methods you explore when developing a social media presence, from affiliate marketing to website development, will vary, but they’re all intended to improve the security of your business going forward. Think about the ways social media can help your business, and begin posting sooner rather than later.

 

4 Tips to Grow a Successful Bakery Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Bakery Business|4 Tips to Grow a Successful Bakery BusinessAre you currently in the bakery business? Have you experienced modest success but want to push on to the next level? Maybe it’s a market you are planning to enter in the near future? Whatever your situation is, you will understand that growing a successful bakery is far from easy.

Yet, if you get it right, it is an industry that can supply some rather lucrative financial rewards. According to the American Baker’s Association, bakers are responsible for over $153 billion of the country’s GDP.

To ensure you get a sizeable nibble of that $153 billion, read on for four tips on how to grow a successful bakery business.

1. Settle on a niche

When you start a bakery business, you may feel it’s necessary to offer as many products as possible. After all, if there’s another bakery in the area that is offering, say, 50 different food items, why would they visit yours that only has 25?
However, there are multiple reasons to avoid a large menu. Firstly, you may fail to have the financial strength to sell a large assortment of food items at once. The product quality could suffer, and you may also struggle to forge an identity.
The latter point is particularly important. Instead of being just another regular bakery, you should zone in on a specific niche. You could specialize in unique doughnuts for example, or be known for serving the best variety of bread in town. The more distinctive your business is, the easier it is to market and gain customers.

2. Use a unique, eye-catching logo

Every business should have a high-quality logo, and bakeries are no different. This logo will be your store sign. It will be featured on your business cards, website, leaflets, and other advertising materials. If it has an amateurish appearance, this isn’t going to form a strong first impression with your audience.
Fortunately, it is easy to find a professional graphic designer who can produce a unique and remarkable logo for your bakery.

3. Use local online marketing

Online marketing is more important than ever for local businesses. Whether they’re searching for bakeries in the area or your business specifically, you need to make sure your company appears in all the relevant queries from your target market.
The only problem is that, for an effective local marketing strategy, a lot of time and effort is required. This is why it makes sense to enlist the services of a marketing agency. Bubyli is a local SEO Essex company for example, and they are experts in everything from Google My Business to designing a keyword-rich website.

4. Offer a delivery service

To maximize sales, you need to provide a local delivery service in this day and age. You can add your bakery to one of the various food ordering platforms like Uber Eats, or go that extra level and create a unique online ordering app.

If you do decide to go the delivery route, however, make sure you are prepared for the extra responsibility it demands. Slow delivery times could be detrimental to your online reviews, which could harm your bakery on the whole.

As previously mentioned, according to the American Baker’s Association, bakers contribute significantly to the country’s GDP, so be sure to follow these tips to ensure that you don’t miss out.

How To Take Your Career To The Next Level

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |Boost your career|How To Take Your Career To The Next LevelThere may come a time during your career when you no longer feel satisfied with your role, whether this is due to stagnant pay, little to no room for progression or any other hurdle which you simply can’t solve. Figuring out how you can combat this issue and take your career to a whole new level needn’t be as difficult as you might expect, as there are just a few key areas in which you can focus your efforts to achieve complete job satisfaction in no time at all. So, if you would like to find out more about how you can boost your employability and seek out a new and improved role with ease, then read on to uncover some of the best top tips and tricks that you can make the most of today!

Start Networking & Make Connections

A brilliant way to spread your wings and attract a great employee is through the use of networking. Networking is the act of making connections with other professionals in your industry, whether this means attending commercial events or conferences, utilising business social media or taking advantage of any other opportunity to get involved with the biggest and best names in your target area. You need to have good interpersonal skills to network well, as it requires a whole load of confidence and self assurance to provide the best first impression every time. Each interaction with a new person or company is a chance for you to sell yourself as what you have to offer, so don’t be afraid to big yourself up and promote your best points. Networking in person can be tough if you don’t have the right social skills to chat to anyone and everyone, but exploring something like social media or email could be the ideal alternative. You can even set up virtual meetings from the comfort of your home, so you can sell yourself remotely without any hassle!

Get Certified Or Publish Your Work

If you specialise in one subject or area, a great way to improve your chances of securing a more advanced role is by getting your work published or certified. Many employers will research the candidates that apply for a position in their company, especially if it’s one that warrants a large pay packet with a lot of responsibility, and it can be a huge attraction to find a notarised or formally published piece with your name on the bottom, or a prestigious university or college with your name in their alumni. It’s not always easy to take such a step, as it’s a big commitment that can take a lot of time, energy and money to pursue. However, the hard work will most definitely be worthwhile and there are many options that you can make the most of. Online school is a brilliant way to seek out an extra qualification or certification without having to forfeit your daily responsibilities, and you can even find sites like OneNotary that will notarise a document for a super affordable fee if you don’t have too much cash to splash.

Set Your Sights High

Failing to stay motivated by not setting your sights high can have a huge effect on your ability to find a fulfilling career. Reaching for the stars will allow you to take your potential job satisfaction to a whole new level, so have faith in your abilities and don’t allow any boundaries to form between you and the best roles available. It can be very difficult to maintain such a level of commitment, especially if you experience rejection or any kind of similar criticism, however remaining positive and moving forward will ensure you can achieve your goals in no time at all. Realistically, you can apply for any role that’s posted if you have the necessary qualifications or skills listed, and you may even be a candidate if you simply show a great level of commitment to learning what’s required. So, take a chance and send your resume over to any potential employer that offers an attractive opportunity!

Taking your career to a whole new level has never been so simple when you can take the time to make the most of the brilliant tips and tricks that have been carefully detailed above. Start off by networking and make strong connections with the best of the best in your industry, whilst figuring out how you can get your work published or seeking some kind of certification to become a more attractive candidate.

How To Treat Your Customers Like Royalty

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StrategyDriven Customer Relationship Management Article |Customer Service|How To Treat Your Customers Like RoyaltyAs a business owner, you are undoubtedly looking for ideas to expand your customer base and increase your bottom line. One way to achieve that goal is by offering your customers a premium service beyond comparison.

In short, you should aim for excellence and provide nothing short of a first-class service to your customers. It might seem like an odd concept, but many customers feel fed up with poor customer service and sometimes getting treated like they aren’t important.

If you treat your customers like royalty, they’ll feel valued and respected by your company. What’s more, they are almost certainly going to keep spending their money with your business.

Here are some steps to illustrate how you can give your customers a premium service that’s both customized to their needs and solves their problems:

Offer a genuine 24/7 service

Everyone knows that an e-commerce website means a business is theoretically ‘open for business’ 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The thing is, while customers can order goods and services online, they can’t get out of hours help if they need it.

You can buck that trend by offering a genuine 24/7 service to all your customers. You could provide the right support they need at any time via email, instant messaging, social media, or telephone.

The way you can do that is by either employing staff to work in shifts to cover the full 24 hours or outsourcing your contact center operations. If you opt for the latter, it would be better if you did so to a team in the same country as you.

Offer an express delivery service as standard

If you only sell digital products and services, you can probably ignore this section as it’s something you likely do anyway. But, if you need to send physical goods to your customers, don’t make them wait a long time for their orders.
It’s no secret that companies like Amazon offer next-day and even same-day services to all their customers, irrespective of where they live. Nothing is stopping your business from providing fast delivery if it partners with an expedited freight company.

You might be wondering how you can employ such a concept with your company if you only have a small business. The good news is you can use outsourced fulfillment services to stock your goods in various locations across the country.
Expedited freight companies can quickly haul your stock to each warehouse, and you can use local delivery options that promise next-day or same-day services.

Provide exceptional customer care

Lastly, you should go beyond the call of duty to ensure your customers have an excellent buying experience with you. That starts from the moment they enquire about what you sell through to the delivery of their orders.
Of course, your first-class customer care shouldn’t end once your customers receive their orders. You should back up what you sell with an aftercare service that’s beyond compare. Doing so will tempt your audience away from your competitors, even if you charge more!

Company Benefits That Every Skilled Employee Will Look For

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StrategyDriven Talent Management Article |Employee Benefits|Employee Benefits That Every Booming Business NeedsIn the workforce, it is not just the employee who has to compete for a job position. Companies should also have the mindset that they are competing for a limited number of skilled individuals. As such, they need to give themselves an edge over others by offering desirable corporate benefits.

A skilled employee that knows their worth will surely jump to the employer that will give them a better future. If you want to make sure that you don’t lose talent, make sure that you are open to offering these corporate benefits.

Health Insurance

In 2019, the number of Americans that do not have health insurance was roughly 25.5 million people, and that number apparently grew by 1.9 million by the end of last year. An alarming number of people don’t have coverage so despite being something so basic, it can be highly valuable to employees.

Health coverage is not just something to attract new talent, but it also helps existing staff to increase their overall productivity. This protects them from injury or sickness that can hinder their performance. Medical care can be quite expensive for a lot of people. One accident can put a person in incredible amounts of debt without insurance.

As an employer, you can also benefit from this, especially if you are a small business. They are able to offset some of the costs of healthcare by getting tax deductions.

Dental Coverage

Unfortunately, dental is often not included in health insurance. That is why most would get it separately. In some cases, dental care can be expensive, and it’s not something that can be easily ignored. Ideally, people need to get their teeth cleaned every six months. While most can afford that, the real problem is when procedures have to be done. Root canal and teeth removal can be almost like taking a minor surgery.

Additional dental coverage can be seen as a huge benefit for many employees. That, along with vision insurance, are one of the most in-demand benefits. Studies from Harvard even showed that 54 percent of people heavily consider the availability of these types of benefits when considering jobs.

Retirement Contributions

The best workers are those that are career-driven and look to the future, whether it is related to work or personal matters. Many people want to be financially secured in the future, which is why they diligently contribute to their 401k and other similar plans.

While companies are not required to offer retirement plans, this can be a huge benefit that can help retain employees. The existence of a plan such as this will make them feel more secure for their future. Employees who don’t have them will feel more anxious about their finances and would likely switch jobs as soon as something good comes up.

Paid Vacations

Long gone are the days where people believe that working long hours is the way to live. The younger generation highly values their work-life balance, and companies need to adapt to this. Having paid vacations is a big asset for employees, and those that don’t offer this will lose to those that do.

Unlike the previously mentioned examples, vacation leaves are actually the more cost-efficient benefits that a company can handle. A lot of traditional businessmen believe that time not working is time wasted, but that is far from the truth. In fact, an employee that had ample amount of time to rest and recoup becomes more motivated and productive in the long run.

Student Loan Assistance

The total amount of student debt in the United States reached 1.6 trillion last year. Most individuals, regardless of age, have some form of student debt that needs to be paid. Some even reach up to their 30s and 40s and still have student loan debt. If given the chance to pay it off in a more convenient way is available, that will surely be a good deal for them.

As a result, there are companies today that offer the option to directly pay off the loan as one of their benefits. They will not pay the full amount right away, naturally. What they will do is pay a certain amount every month, which is separate from the income they are receiving. The employees themselves can also continue to make their own separate payments.

This is an extremely valuable benefit as financial stress can have an income on employee performance and turnover. Individuals who have a lot of debt are often the ones with highly sought-after credentials, such as university degrees. It can be a way to attract these talents as well as encourage those already working to stay in the company.