Building a solid customer base is something that every new business must concentrate on to begin with. Getting people to want to work with you, and then getting them to stick with you in spite of your competitors, can be a challenge. It’s not just about getting as many new customers to work with you as possible; it’s about ensuring your customers are always engaged so that they stay loyal to you. Here are a few pointers you can use to build your own solid customer base:
Go Above And Beyond
Do the unexpected and make sure you go above and beyond for every customer. Could you include a handwritten note? A small sample or freebie? A discount for their next order? Make this a special experience for them and they are unlikely to forget how you made them feel.
Provide The Best Customer Service
Having unbeatable customer service is one of the most effective things you can do in 2021. Ensure your team are all on the same page and well trained - inexperienced customer service reps could make things worse, especially if the service is inconsistent. Consistency is a must when providing customer service and solutions to problems. You can’t stop issues from arising, but you can make sure that each customer who has a problem feels more than happy with the result you provide.
Providing value in the form of videos, blogs, tips, and even just Instagram posts can help people to see that you are an expert in the industry and make them come back to you when they have a question. It’s no good being precious about your knowledge and keeping it to yourself.
Create A Community
Could you create a community, such as a helpful Facebook group where you can answer questions and provide advice? This can help people to feel a part of something bigger and ensure they stay loyal.
Provide Consistent Training To Your Team
Make sure you invest in team training - your team is just as important as your customers. If they are unhappy and disengaged, this will rub off on your customers and they may decide to leave.
Track Your Marketing Efforts
Tracking your marketing efforts will help you to see what is really working for you and what you need to tweak. You can look at things like social media marketing, direct mail marketing, and email marketing to get an idea of what works best for you and what you should continue to spend money on.
Partner Up With Other Businesses
Could you partner up with another business? Perhaps a business with a similar customer base, but not one that is a direct competitor? For example, a sweet shop could effectively partner up with a party planning company or venue and both businesses will benefit.
Ask For And Act On Feedback
Value the feedback your audience gives you. Ask for it, and act on it. Show them that you care about what they think and that you’re always improving!
We’re all going through a very similar situation at the moment. The pandemic is making normal life difficult for everybody, and we can’t always be expected to work at maximum productivity. That being said, there may be a few ways we can maximize productivity and get the most out of this tough time.
Let’s take a look at ways to increase business productivity during the pandemic:
Focus On Creating And Sustaining A Routine
When you have a team working from home, routine can be something they struggle with. Encouraging them to keep a routine can be a huge help. Arranging a video chat can also encourage your team to get ready for the day and stick to the routine because they feel more accountable.
It can be extra challenging for those who have kids and other family members at home, so being understanding and allowing flexibility is also key. Family disruptions are to be expected. Asking for a check in at the start of the day can help you to see who is able to stick to your preferred schedule and who may need to make changes. Here are some tips to make this work:
Ask for a regular start time as much as possible.
Be flexible.
Encourage communication and honesty.
Encourage your team to set up a separate area for work and emphasize how this can help with mindset.
Send occasional reminders about routine. Encourage a healthy breakfast, physical activity, and other things that can enhance a routine and make the day better and more productive.
Not everybody will have the equipment or the right setup to work from home. If they are using low quality equipment, you’ll see productivity drop. Ask employees if they have everything they need, and let them know there’s a budget if there is anything they do need. Purchasing a new mouse, keyboard, or microphone for them could make a big difference.
Consider Using This Time As A Reset
The ripple effects of COVID-19 will likely be seen for some time. It has likely thrown you off trajectory significantly, but you can make this better by aiming to use this time as a reset. A crisis time like this can point you towards flaws that you may not have noticed before, or may have been able to ignore. You can make the changes to your infrastructure that you have been ignoring and reevaluate your business. Would you be prepared for this if something similar were to happen again? Aim to:
Streamline your meetings.
Figure out ways to manage projects remotely and stay in touch with one another.
Look at an upgraded network cabling solution to avoid downtime and ensure everything runs smoothly when you’re back at work.
Ultimately, you should use this time to prepare your business for future setbacks and success. The whole world is struggling right now, but you could experience benefits from this if you handle it correctly. How are you going to increase your business productivity during the pandemic?
The objective of telling a story is to make known how something came about. A story can be memorable or dull, depending on how it is narrated. Companies often desire to reach out to their target audience by telling a compelling story about how the company began. While some succeed at it, others fail abysmally. A US Business Analyst, Allen Hillary, believes messages delivered as stories are 22 times more impactful and memorable than mere facts. Read on to find out how to tell your compelling business story.
Establish who or what the character of the story is
Every good story has the main character around whom the narrative spins. Therefore, you need to establish who or what must be your main character in telling your compelling business story. If the company began as your idea and by dint of hard work and commitment, you managed to get it off the ground, portray yourself as the protagonist. However, if you prefer to remain in the background and project the business as the main character, let your story do that.
Nonetheless, no matter who gets to be the protagonist, you must establish what kind of character they will be. For example, is your goal to project the main character as a team builder, savvy analyst, or a dream builder? No matter what you choose to go with, the rule of thumb is to remain consistent and authentic throughout the story.
Employ audio-visual means to show your audience why you care
The moving image is the new language of today and the future. Fortunately, the 2020 smartphone penetration rate in the US stood at 72.2%. This provides fertile ground for more than two-thirds of the US population to have easy access to audio-visual content every thirty seconds. Convincing your target market or audience about how much you care has to be handled tactfully without coming across as patronizing. Many business storytellers make the mistake of pulling their audience down the rabbit hole. That shouldn’t be your style.
Today, with the help of digital technology, you can tell your story via corporate video production services. Videos capture attention even more than a PowerPoint presentation would. Also known as the moving picture, videos can capture the entire essence of a compelling narrative in a matter of minutes.
With the help of social media platforms, your corporate videos will reach a wider audience than traditional media channels can. As a tip, avoid using long, winding story-telling techniques that will most likely bore your target audience. You will achieve better results with a more concise and succinct method. More companies are putting up 2 - 3 minutes’ videos on their website’s homepage to draw more people in recent times.
Get Personal
Getting personal in your business storytelling requires a great deal of creativity. It is necessary to make your target audience identify with the subject matter and the theme of the entire business story. This is the one crucial part of storytelling, which makes people agree that the protagonist (as mentioned in point 1) must be a person and not the company per se.
Naturally, people identify with animate things and see themselves reflected in like characters. Therefore, highlighting challenges or struggles and how you overcame them are necessary topics to tackle. Always remember that your target market will identify with a personality and not a faceless company.
Finally, make it a point to weave truth into your story. Your audience is discerning and can quickly point out grey areas in your account. Many businesses have fallen into this trap and paid heavily to redeem their image. Others who couldn’t work through the damage went down under. Therefore, always be mindful of the points raised here.
It’s no surprise that many businesses both large and small hire outsourced services to help their business grow. Companies rarely do everything in-house and even the largest companies in the world will outsource manufacturing, production, and even maintenance to other businesses. This helps the company save a lot of time and money, but it also ensures that they’re getting specialists to help them take care of their business.
Outsourcing is essential as part of a long-term business plan, but it’s important that you don’t just hire anyone. In this post, we’re going to talk about the importance of hiring services that are familiar with your industry instead of going for general options.
Knowledge of your industry is important for technical concerns
Technical knowledge of your industry is important because it helps the service understand your exact needs. If they have experience working with companies in your industry or if they use tools that are considered an industry standard for you, then you’re going to get a much better service compared to a more generic company that offers services for every kind of industry.
For example, Nadcap certified companies understand exactly what is required when it comes to metal coatings in the firearms industry, so they can get your products finished to a high spec, IT systems are generally specialised for their industry. Healthcare IT systems different drastically from logistics IT systems, so a general “IT services” company is too vague and you could get better services with a specialist. You can find more details about industry specialists and perhaps even get a recommendation from another company that you’re friendly with. The goal here is to seek out specialists that understand your needs so that you can skip straight to optimising your business.
When your business is in dire need of help, a specialist can help you find a way out
There are many situations where businesses will hire some kind of service to get them out of a challenge. For example, legal battles are one of the most terrifying things for an entrepreneur to explore. The cost of hiring a lawyer is extremely high, but the cost of losing a legal battle might be even higher. Depending on the case, it’s important to hire a specialist that gives you the best chance of success to ensure that you don’t lose your business and don’t end up being bullied by larger companies with more legal power.
For instance, if another company has copied your products and you have proof of their plagiarism, it’s imperative that you hire a copyright lawyer to help you navigate the law and win the case. Most general lawyers will likely refer you to a colleague or another office that provides specialists in the field you need, but you should always look out for any lawyer that claims they can “do everything”.
Hiring is a tough job and it’s important to pick people that will go well with your business. Sadly, this is a lot easier said than done and it’s a good idea to always research your options, get quotes, and look at reviews. Getting recommendations is arguably one of the best ways to hire services that you can trust, so make sure you start networking and get to know others in the industry.
As a business owner, you are probably aware of the fact that your cybersecurity is of great importance. It does not matter whether you are about to start a small business from home or a large international company - you need to pay close attention to your company’s cybersecurity. Here’s why.
What is cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity refers to the systems that businesses use to protect their online data and networks from hackers. This helps keep the company in good running order but can also be used to protect the customers’ purchasing your products/services. This means you are protecting data such as:
Passwords.
Banking details.
Important documents.
Personal information (names, addresses)
Potentially sensitive information.
What are the benefits of cybersecurity?
The benefits of cybersecurity are clear. They include:
Sensitive or restricted information is stored securely, minimizing the chance of data breaches.
Your company is protected against hackers and any legal repercussions that could follow data leaks.
Your data is securely backed up, preventing you from accidental loss. This also means data can be easily recovered.
You can build a relationship with your customers and clients that is based on a foundation of trust. They know that any information they give to you will be handled with the appropriate care and discretion.
How can I improve my cybersecurity?
There are various different ways in which you can improve your company’s cybersecurity. Here are some examples.
Make the most of available tools. F1networks.comprovides those who deal with particularly sensitive information with enhanced cybersecurity tools. They are particularly useful for those who deal with controlled unclassified information (CUI), International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), alongside other highly classified information. Each of their platforms are compatible with your usual computer software, such as Microsoft.
Provide employees with the appropriate training. Sometimes, breaches in cybersecurity occur due to poor staff training or negligence. Therefore, you must ensure that each and every member of your team is aware of the importance of good cybersecurity. This minimizes the chance of human error leading to data breaches.
Focus on your passwords. It goes without saying that all important information should be password protected. This helps ensure that no unauthorized personnel (both inside and outside of the company) gain access to classified folders or documents. You should take proper care to ensure your passwords are strong and encourage your employees to do the same. For example, do not use passwords that are too closely associated with you - such as your birthday. You should also ensure that you change the passwords frequently - perhaps once every few months.
Bring in professionals. Right now, companies are racing to hire cybersecurity professionals to help manage their companies’ cybersecurity. This means that you are able to focus on running your business while a specialist team takes control of your cybersecurity on your behalf. Though this may be a considerable investment, it is definitely worth it in the long run when you consider the additional protection and peace of mind you will receive as a result.
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