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Keeping Abreast: Aligning Managers With Your Orders

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One of the greatest difficulties in business has been and may always be, maintaining a good level of communication. This is especially true for the people you rely on to make your business function from day to day. It goes without saying that the most numerous employees will be junior and or regular staff that are the individuals making things happen at ground level. Here is where the most action takes place, but the most difficult decisions take place higher. As the business owner and leader, it’s your job to keep your workers functioning at a consistent level, getting everyone to pitch in and do their best. However, you’re only one person, and cannot reach out to every single person every day. Your managers are essentially your long arm strength. These people are the ones you trust to make sure your decisions are implemented and carried out as and when ordered. If your managers aren’t in the know and aligned with the company’s direction, this can lead to fallout and massive disruption. Keeping them abreast and knowledgeable should be a part of your modus operandi.

Meetings of superiors

Every week businesses around the world, conduct meetings with employees and superiors. Whether it be in the boardroom, or at the managerial level everyone in the business must be updated and give updates too. Generally, managerial meetings take place after the boardroom meetings whereby executives, partners and stakeholders discuss how various parts of the business are progressing. One way to be ready for the meeting with the managers is to be clued up on all aspects of the business that are divulged to each section and or department. Another way to be planted in this meeting is to know what you require of each manager even before the week has started. This could be things that aren’t even related to the general proceedings of the day and or week. It may be just to get employee holiday paperwork in on time, or discussing sick pay for those who are off work will an illness. The key to keeping your managers abreast is to inform them when you’re ready. All too often leaders just want to get the show rolling and show managers that they are competent enough to lead them and not be hesitant. Unless you have a clear picture of how things are going at ground level, don’t give out orders as this will result in a wastage of time.

A cohesive backroom

Every business has an advanced software interface that employees utilize to remain in the business mainframe. Using their company accounts, managers can sign in to access memos and statistics in their department. Anything from orders, sales, work history, task allocation, reports, and updates are all accessed via the managerial interface. However, the process of signing up and re-signing in are the most fraught moments in this procedure. For security purposes use two-factor authentication with plivo’s sms api. When a manager is first signing in to his or her account, proper verification of who they are must be made not just for security purposes, but to officially have them on record on the servers. If a manager somehow forgets or loses their account information, when resetting a password or changing a username, must also be met with the same level of integrity testing. This can lead to a cohesive backroom of your business, whereby only those permitted are allowed access to sensitive information, which protects your business from wannabe saboteurs.

Encouraging managers to communicate in real-time

When work is being allocated, and in the process of completion, things can often change. It may be because an order has to be altered or cancelled, an error that has been carried over from another department, or simply because the client changed their mind. Managers must communicate with other not just in the interface, but face to face also. When something needs to be changed, it’s all well and good to do so digitally through software because it’s the fastest and easiest form of relaying alterations. However, there is always a culture of rivalry and sometimes egos to play a part. If used properly these are actually great traits to have because it allows your employees to feed off of each other’s energy. However, there should be no such room for invisible territorial lines. Every manager no matter what department must feel welcome in other sections of the business, and if something needs to be discussed in person, this should be encouraged.

Keeping managers abreast of developing situations is the key to aligning your orders with employees. Not only must they be working in tandem in the business online interface, but communicating in person too.

Loud and Proud: Spreading The Word About Your Business

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You want to let the world know about your company. You’re delighted with how you’ve managed to build your own business from scratch and now your aim is to spread the word as far as it can go. There are many ways in which you can go about this, but you need to get your advertising game on point. With marvellous marketing methods you can get your business from local to global in a short space of time. Take a little bit of time in refining your target audience and your brand. Then you’ll be ready to share the name of your business with as many households as you can.

Social Media Sensation

In the modern world, a business cannot get by without a strong social media presence. There are many different online platforms in which your business can make itself known. Depending on the type of company you’re running, you might wish to choose which one would be right for you. Instagram is a very visual too, which is handy if you want to share a lot of pictures. Twitter is a more instantaneous form of communication in which you can spread a short and sweet message using a certain number of characters. Try out a few and see which ones work for you. It’s okay to choose multiple platforms as well, as long as you keep them consistent and stick to your brand message.

The Wonderful World Wide Web

Make a website, which is the main pointer towards your business. Make it the point of contact for potential customers and clients. You can fill it with all sorts of information about your company and include all the relevant contact details for people to get in touch with you. Your website can be a much more in depth online platform than your social media as it is most likely the place that people will check our first for all the information they need. It’s not expensive to buy a domain name or hire a website designer so be sure to take your time and do it right before it goes live.

Wave Your Banner High

Sort out your professional signage and consider buy some brand new banners or new eyelets for signs. They are sure to be the most weather proof way to hang up your beautifully branded symbol. It will be an eye catching way to capture passing customers. Opt for bright and bold lettering and ensure that you can clearly see a contact phone number or email address on the sign too.

You’re bound to find the technique which works for you and your company. So take the leap today and progress your business gradually from little to large. Whichever method you choose to work with you’ll be on the road to success, by creating a successful marketing strategy. You may find that more than one of these ideas works for you, so why not give them all a go? Some of them are so low cost, they’re absolutely worth investing some time in.

5 Ways to Generate More Sales Leads

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The objective of every for-profit company is to increase its bottom line, and if you’re in the business of selling products or services, that ultimately means you’ll need to generate more leads. But where are these prospective buyers and how can you make your brand visible to them in an effective manner? Answering that question successfully and executing based on experience are the keys to managing any well-rounded sales campaign. With that said, you’re practically guaranteed to attract a higher volume of quality sales leads if you master the following five lead generation methods:

1. Promote Email Newsletter Opt-ins

If someone is willing to give you their email address in exchange for a piece of content or another incentive you’re offering, that means they’re more likely to convert into a customer. To take advantage of this concept, all you have to do is make an email subscription form easily viewable on your site, or make it a prominent pop-up that shows up whenever a visitor arrives. Opt-in leads are a well-studied and reliable branch of marketing that has been covered extensively by blogs like 4ra and others.

2. Listing in All Major Map and Business Directories

When sales leads are your top priority, visibility is the name of the game. To ensure potential customers are able to easily find and communicate with your company, it’s imperative that you start by listing your website and/or place of business and contact information on major directories like Google Maps, The Yellow Pages, Yelp, etc.

3. Start Advertising on Social Networks

Unlocking the traffic and exposure potential of social networks is one of the best ways to generate a viral surge in sales. Although social media marketing and contextual advertising on sites like Facebook are other topics in and of themselves, if you commit to this type of marketing in the long-term, you’ll have more sales than if you hadn’t.

4. Launch a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Traffic Campaign

Pay per click traffic is a very reliable way to generate sales leads if you have the initial start-up capital to fund a sizeable campaign. With PPC, you pay to have your site displayed at the top of search engines like Google or on Facebook Ads. There are many PPC networks to choose from, but essentially the idea is the same – you pay a certain amount for every person that clicks your link and comes to your site. Since a percentage of those will convert, all you have to do is optimize the conversion rate and scale up from there.

5. Inventing and Promoting a New Product or Service

If you can establish your brand as the sole provider of something, then you’ll be in a more favorable position in any market. Sometimes doing this is as simple as modifying or adding a feature to an existing product, service, or another monetization model.

Putting it All Together for a Failproof Marketing Strategy

In closing, if you diligently pursue all of these sale generation methods, there’s a 99% chance that you’ll be receiving more quality leads than if you were to not do all of the above.

Is the Customer Always Right?

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Consumers and company owners alike are familiar with one of the most well-known sayings in business: the customer is always right. This saying has been used for years on end. It is most often attributed to the Marshall Field’s Department Store (which later became Macy’s), and Harry Gordon Selfridge who worked for Field at the turn of the 20th century and later founded Selfridges, a high-end department store. These two individuals clearly experienced profound business success, which goes to suggest that perhaps there might be some truth or worth in the old saying as a rule to go by. But what does this phrase actually mean and does it ring true in the modern day commercial field? Here’s everything you need to know.

What Does “The Customer is Always Right” Actually Mean?

“The customer is always right” generally suggests that whatever the customer says goes. After all, they’re the one who has final control over the completion of a sale and the turnover of a business’ profit. It’s fairly clever. Think about it. If a business declares that the customer is always, consumers are more likely to believe that they will receive high-end, high-quality service when shopping with said company. It also encourages staff members to offer the best customer service possible, doing everything in their power to meet customer needs. The success off this can be found in any feedback left on your customer focused ecommerce platform.

oes This Ring True?

Now, there are varied opinions on whether this is the best approach to take towards running a business. After all, nobody is ever truly “always right”. Here are the main arguments for and against implementing this ideology to your own company and the way that it is managed and run.

The Customer Is Always Right

You can learn a whole lot from your customers. After all, they are the individuals purchasing what you’re putting out there on the market. One area where customers are almost always right is demand. You need to take a look at what your customers want and cater to their wishes. This is why market research and customer feedback are so important! These are two methods of directly interacting with your potential customers and existing customers alike. By understanding what they’re looking for in products and services, you can tick all of their boxes, which means that they will be much more likely to invest in what you have to offer. Feedback following their purchase and experience with your company also allows you to make changes to your current practice, constantly improving your brand and what it is putting out there into the consumer market! Never underestimate the value of your customers’ opinions and suggestions.

The Customer Isn’t Always Right

Nowadays, customers tend to be a bit more savvy with the business process. You no longer need to be a business owner to know the tricks of the trade. Think about it: anyone can read up on business practice and process, learning what extremes companies will go to in order to maintain a contented and loyal customer base. More abrasive customers will actively use this to their advantage, purposefully complaining and feigning dissatisfaction as they know that by doing so they can get something for nothing. This isn’t all too surprising. After all, if someone knows that they can make use of a service and then receive it for free at a discounted rate simply by uttering a complaint, then a whole lot of people will give it a go. Sure, this isn’t exactly moral. But there are plenty of people out there who want something for nothing and will take advantage. If your company’s policies are too lax or lenient, they will be abused. Sometimes it may actually prove more beneficial for you to put your foot down and lose a customer who isn’t actually bringing much profit to you than to pander to their demands and hand over your wares for free. Certain people cannot be pleased, no matter how much time or effort you put into making things good for them. That or they will be pleased but won’t express their contentment for their own benefit. You should also prioritise good staff members. Demanding or abrasive customers may talk down to your staff or act in an aggressive or inappropriate manner. To suggest that the customer is always right would be to condone this kind of behaviour and marginalise your staff members who work hard to keep your company and brand afloat. Instead, weigh up each situation individually and determine the best outcome on the facts at hand. It is always best to be fair.

As you can see, there isn’t a clear “yes” or “no” answer to the customer always being right debate. The key to success is to take each case individually, assessing it and making an informed decision each time.

How to create a buzz around your brand

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If your business is going to be a success, it is vital that you get people talking about your brand. This is an extremely effective way for you to generate sales and to stand out from your industry peers. In a competitive market, you can’t afford to sit back and wait for people to come to you. For advice on how to improve your company’s brand, read five suggestions for creating a buzz around your brand.

Invest in your branding

Make sure that you have a deep understanding of what your brand represents. You need to be aware of your core company values, along with your ambitious goals for the future. You also need to make sure that your audience is on board with your branding. Why not work with a professional team to create something that you can be proud of? Establishing an interesting and exciting brand is the first step towards creating a buzz around your business; you want to be different, and attract your demographic of choice.

Promote special offers

You should also make the most of any opportunity to promote special offers. Perhaps you could offer a discount code to your most loyal customers. Maybe you could introduce a seasonal sale of your products. Or, alternatively, you could hold a flash sale that you promote via social media. The most important thing is that you provide your audience with a strong reason to engage with your company. They should always feel as though it is in their best interests to pay attention to your brand.

Create your own lifestyle brand

Instead of simply selling products or services, you should try to sell a lifestyle. This is an especially effective technique in the age of social media. Your audience wants something that they can aspire to; something that will make their lives better. Say you are a company that sells beachwear. You should invest in a social media campaign that creates a story about your brand, or you should network and connect with other brands for collaboration. For example, why not visit Jet Surf NY and ask to team up? Then, you could take amazing action shots to share online, promoting one another’s brand and product.

Work with other companies

You should also consider working with other businesses to build momentum. This will give you the opportunity to pool your resources and attract more attention to your brand. Just make sure that you are careful about the companies that you associate with. Working with the wrong people could result in your brand standing out for all of the wrong reasons.

Get your staff involved

In business, it is vital that you view your staff as an important marketing tool. You need to remember that your workers are representing your company at all times. That is why you should do everything in your power to help them promote your brand. You should also ensure that your employees enjoy working for your company. This will help them to be more enthusiastic when talking to potential clients, contacts, employees, and investors.