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Do You Do Enough for Your Employees?

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No matter the number of employees you have under you, it is important for you to do all you can to keep them happy. In doing so, they will tend to give you their all in return.

That said are you taking steps to provide them with the resources and motivation to get the job done. If not, you could be hurting your business in the process.

So, where do you need to do more for your employees?

Providing the Answers to a Successful Company

As you look to do all you can for those under your employ, focus in on the following:

  1. Resources – Be sure you give your workers all the necessary resources to get the job done. Without such resources, you can be leaving them and your company short. Worst of all, it can have a negative impact on your customers. Those resources not only help to get the job done, they also reward your workers for all their efforts. For example, when you have a sales team in place, do you have tools needed to properly record their work? This is where sales commission software enters the picture. Such software allows you to correctly track each sales team member and their efforts to sell. In doing this, you can avoid having sales members miss out on the proper commissions. Other resources to look at include the right amount and kinds of computers, phones and more. Make sure your team has the resources at their fingertips to serve your customers.
  2. Hiring – It goes without saying that making the right hires proves critical too. Don’t be one of those employers not all that focused on the hiring process. The right hires can help you to steer clear of different problems. Those problems are everything from the job not getting done to high turnover and more. As part of the hiring, be sure either yourself or someone else hire up in the company sits in on the interviews. This can make it easier to pick the right people for the job.
  3. Incentives – For many workers, having the ability to move up in a company is rather important. So, does your company do all it can to provide incentives for its workers? If people feel as if they are stuck in a dead-end job, it can have repercussions for you’re a business. With growth possibilities, more employees are likely to go the extra mile for you. They also are likely to stick around for a longer period of time. Given the cost of living tends to go up on a regular basis; you also want to address this matter. By giving regular raises, you can address cost of living increases. You also take a little less worry out of the lives of your employees along the way.
  4. Thanks – Last, it never hurts to tell your employees thanks. Sure, they get paid and many may also get health benefits and more. That said saying thank you on occasion for all they do is a good thing. So, when is the last time you did that?

As you look to do enough for your employees, any particular areas you want to start on?

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

 

3 Signs Your Company Needs Financial Assistance

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The warning signs can be easy to spot or a bit murky.

That said do you know when things are pointing towards your business needing help?

While many go through some challenges at times, being in a money drought for too long can be problematic. If things are not rectified before too long, one’s business can be left hanging in the balance.

With this in mind, is it time your company got some financial help?

What Are Your Options?

Signs of issues can range from a notable slowdown in sales to higher costs for supplies. Over time, these issues can present you with quite a problem.

If you feel your business has reached a point where finances are in trouble, consider these:

  1. Business line of credit – Have you toyed with the idea of seeking a business line of credit? Such a line can help you put funds towards one or more important needs with your business. From new equipment to hiring more help, the possibilities are endless. If you decide to go down this route, look into what the business line of credit requirements are. This will make it easier for you to see if you are apt to qualify in the first place.
  2. Paying less for supplies – No matter the supplies you need, you can’t afford to be overpaying for them all the time. With this in mind, are you getting deals for the things you need or are you being taken to the cleaners all too often? Even if you have some vendors you’ve been with for years, don’t be afraid to shop around. Remember, you have the right to find the best deal for your wallet. It may come down to severing ties with some to go elsewhere for a better deal.
  3. Customers not paying up – Last, depending on the business, you may or may not require customers to pay up front. That said you want to be sure you get the payment sooner than later. If some customers lag too far behind in paying you, do you have concerns they will never pay at any point and time? If this happens, you may have to end up seeking collections. Keep in mind that doing so will cost your company time and money. This is why you want to try and work with customers to pay what they owe you to avoid collections. Do all you can to give them reasonable time to pay their bills. If it seems like they are unwilling to, then you may be left with no other choice than to seek help.

Given all you have on your plate in running a business, the last thing you want to do is always be worrying about money.

That said you won’t be in business for too long if money is always an issue.

When your company finances can be better, do all you can to right the ship before it is too late.

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

 

Let Your Customers Help Market Your Business

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How much marketing of your business do you do? Of even more importance, are you doing the right things to market your business?

Unfortunately, too many owners come up short in marketing their businesses. As a result, they can be missing out on some great opportunities to pull in more business.

One of the best ways to market your business is by letting your customers spread the word.

With that in mind, is it time your customers went to work for you?

Have You Been Missing Out on Good Marketing Opportunities

In deciding to let your customers help market your business for you, keep these ideas in mind:

  1. Social media – Given many of your customers are likely on social media, let them spread the word. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and more are all top-notch social sites. As such, customers talking social in regards to your brand can help lead to better marketing. This is true whether marketing the best steak knives or countless other products. When you see your brand mentioned in social circles, get involved in the conversation. For instance, a customer goes to your Facebook page and has a question or even an issue with your business. Do not let the matter go unnoticed. Consumers appreciate when business owners lend them an ear. Even if you do not get more business from that customer, he or she may be happy enough with a response to recommend you.
  2. Testimonials – It is not uncommon to do testimonials in hopes of landing more business. You should ask customers if they’d be willing to do this with you. Whether a TV ad, online note or others, customer testimonials can help generate sales. To increase the chances of testimonials, be willing to give your customers incentives. This can be discounts on future sales and more. A good testimonial from a satisfied customer can lead to bringing in other consumers.
  3. Word-of-mouth – Even with how great social media and testimonials are, word-of-mouth is big. That said make it so your customers want to tell their family and friends about your brand. This all starts and ends with great customer service. Your customers want to be treated like kings and queens when they come to you for business. As such, don’t drop the ball in this all-important endeavor.

In letting customers help market your business, are you getting the job done?

Photo credit: Pixibay

About the Author: Dave Thomas writes about business topics on the web.

Is Your Business App Getting the Job Done?

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Having the right mobile business app in today’s digital age is nothing short of essential.

As your brand looks for sales and revenue that goes with it, is your mobile business app doing all it can to assist?

If your mobile business app is not getting the job done, are you missing out on prospective sales and money?

Review Your App on a Regular Basis

Once you’ve come up with the right business app, the work does not end there.

It is important that you review your app on a regular basis. Doing so helps you to make sure it does all it can to promote and secure sales for your brand.

Among the reasons your mobile business app can benefit your brand:

  1. Consumer visibility – Your app has the potential to get in front of millions of consumer’s eyes on a daily basis. With that in mind, make sure your message is being seen and heard in a clear manner. Instead of consumers finding you on computers, your app can download on a device in seconds. Once it is on there, it is easy for consumers to open it up to browse information or buy goods and services from you. Whether you offer the Bismanonline mobile app or others, get to millions of consumer eyes.
  2. Marketing tool – Any successful business can tell you that marketing is key to success. That said your app can be the tool you need to interest a consumer in your brand, in all hopes leading to a sale or two. With that being the case, use your app to market info on your brand, when you have sales and more.
  3. Spreading the word – Another app benefit is a consumer spreading the word among themselves. If you have satisfied customers, they will more times than not spread the word for you. They get family members and friends who have an interest in your brand to download your app. Before you know it, word is spreading like a wildfire.
  4. Offers convenience – Unlike the days of calling a restaurant for a table or doctor’s office for medical care, more consumers are going the mobile app route. As such, allowing customers to check in via your mobile business app saves time. Your customers appreciate the feature. They do not have to spend more time on the phone trying to book appointments.
  1. Seen as an innovator – Last, having a mobile app can allow your brand to stand out from competitors. If some or much of your competition does not offer consumers a mobile app that can help you. Many consumers may view you as innovative and having a handle on today’s technology. As such, you get more consumer eyes and increased sales.

If your company does not have a mobile app or the one you have is not getting the job done, change things moving forward.

With the right app in your corner, your small business stands to be the beneficiary in more ways than one.

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

Avoid Letting Your Business Go Down the Drain

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dollar-941246_640 (1)Do you ever stop as a business owner and look to see where your company might have some leaks taking place?

No, not the kinds of leaks that typically goes on in Washington, D.C. and other political settings.

The leaks here are those where money is being lost, specifically your money.

With that in mind, what steps can you take in order to keep your business from ultimately going down the drain?

Check to See Why You’re Losing Money

In the event your small business is leaking money more times than not, will you not only recognize where the problems are, but also do something about them?

With the answers hopefully being yes, here are a few ideas to keep in mind:

  1. Customer payment issues

One of the most well-known (yet devastating) problems is when customers ultimately decide not to pay for the goods and/or services they purchase from you. For those not aware, these are called chargebacks.

While a number of chargebacks occur when a customer has changed his or her mind in terms of actually wanting what they initially purchased, others revolve around fraud.

Yes, some customers will buy something and charge it to their credit card, only to then decide they don’t want to pay for it. In the end, you the business owner are left with the payment issue square in your lap.

So that you can do a better job of fighting chargebacks and recovering profits, work with a company that will assist you in the fight.

For instance a company that offers a chargeback recovery revenue service can get you the assistance your business needs, thereby preventing you from losing countless dollars over and over again.

Best of all, using such a service will help you when it comes to better identifying issues to begin with, permitting you to have more sound chargeback prevention measures in place.

Lastly, be sure you make it as easy as possible for customers to pay in the first place.

For example, if you offer an online store, make sure the process is simple all the way through, a process that goes from a customer starting to place an order, and running all the way through checkout.

         2. Missed marketing opportunities

Another gaping financial hole can likely be closed when you spend the right amount of time and effort with marketing and social media initiatives.

For your marketing efforts, you should be marketing each and every time you get the chance.

For too many small business owners, they go light on the marketing efforts, figuring such activities will cost them too much money. If you’re one of these people, fall back on the old adage of having to spend money to make money.

Not only should you be marketing offline (newspaper ads, some television and/or radio, networking conferences, and community events), but also online. Those online efforts should include email marketing, mobile marketing etc.

When it comes to social media, this is about as free a marketing opportunity as you can get.

Use social media to push your blog content, engage with consumers, see what the competition is up to and much more.

While some small business owners might claim that they can’t see much return on investment (ROI) when it comes to social media, don’t believe them.

Make sure you do your own social media outreach, seeing if it truly can prove effective for your bran

          3. What you pay for office supplies

Last but not least, are you overpaying for office supplies?

Sure, you might think that an extra roll of copy paper or a few more ink cartridges for the printer do not add up over time, but the reality is that they do.

You will be best-served when you shop around for the best vendor deals out there, saving money whenever and wherever you can. By doing so, this will be one less area that you have to plug in terms of potentially losing money.

If money for office supplies is rather tight, you might even think about some trading options, options where you get a discount on some supplies in return for promoting the vendor or vendors supplying you.

Although you hopefully never get to the point where you have to close your small business due to financial issues, knowing where and when the leaks may come is something you want to be aware of.

Photo credit: Pixabay

About the Author: Dave Thomas writes about money and business topics on the web.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep Your Customers in the Communications Loop

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agent-18741_640How good of a job would you say your business does when it comes to keeping your customers in the loop?

Keeping them in the loop typically revolves around your products and/or services, any issues that you’re having with one or the other and of course letting them know about payment issues etc.

With that being the case, you may at times take for granted how important it is to maintain good customer communications.

For one, you may get so inundated with other tasks at hand that you drop the ball with customer communications. If this happens, some customers may feel like you just treat them as dollar signs and do not really take a genuine interest in them. If that occurs, those current customers could become former ones in quite a hurry.

So, are you ready to review your customer communication initiatives, making sure your customers are in fact in the loop?

Use Various Methods of Communicating

So that you are best able to communicate with customers as much as possible, remember these keys:

  • Channels – What type of channels are you using to communicate with customers? While some businesses are able to get by without using what most would consider today’s modern channels of communication (emails, texts, apps, social media etc.), countless companies use those methods just mentioned and others. In today’s digital age, you have to embrace technology, not literally run away from it. As such, review your communication options to make sure you leave everything on the table;
  • Efforts – Even if you have countless channels with which to communicate with customers, are you putting the time and effort into properly using them? As an example, what if you are aware of a potential hazard with one of your products and/or services? Do you immediately get that word out to those customers who purchased said product or service? If you do not, you not only run the risk of customers being injured, but also potentially facing a personal injury lawsuit. When the latter happens, it can have a major financial impact on your business. Whether it is an issue involving a recall with heaters at Home Depot or another such major home improvement retailer, vehicles with GM, outdoor lawn care equipment with John Deere, you hopefully get the idea. Make sure you alert current and potential customers about the problem through recalls ASAP, thereby lessening the chances of one or more people being injured.

Truth Certainly Does Matter

  • Truth – Although you may be embarrassed and even quite worried about the public relations fallout from dealing with a major recall, be honest with customers. The worst thing a company can do is blatantly lie to its customer base. Not only is it wrong, it gives companies a negative PR image. Just ask some of the businesses over the years that were befallen with a negative public relations image. Many of them simply never recovered to what they were prior to that;
  • Feedback – Lastly, always be open to customer feedback. You can do this via polls, emails, texts, social media and more. By getting feedback from your customer base (positive and negative), you give customers a platform, one which many in fact will end up using. That platform leads many customers to believe that you care about them (and you should). While you will receive some negative feedback, don’t just automatically dispute it as rubbish. Learn from that negative feedback, allowing your business to improve itself on a regular basis.

When you truly learn how important customer communication is in your company, you are much more likely to keep customers in the loop, a loop that includes maintaining their business.

Photo credit: Pixabay

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.