POST CATEGORY : Management

How to Monitor your Brand’s Online Reputation

If you’re a small business owner that posts about your brand online, you need to pay close attention to what audiences are saying in order to gauge your professional reputation. Many entrepreneurs already recognise the corporate importance of the internet, and 88% of small businesses are monitoring their online reputation at least quarterly, according to research by Clutch.

Your brand online reputation

If you’re not already keeping an eye on how people respond to your business, you might wonder how to do this, or even why it’s important. Managing your online reputation is crucial to securing new business, as more people than ever rely on online research before making any purchases—even when shopping.…

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5 Keys to Writing a Great Business Plan

A well written business plan can make or break your business. With a good business plan, you will be able to attract investors, know what to expect from your industry, and be aware of the strategies and performance of your competitors.

Business planning

Every business plan has different sections, each of which have their own purpose as follows:

  • Executive summary – Places at the beginning of the plan, this is where you provide an overview of what your business is about.
  • Company description – Here you provide details on your business, your mission and vision, as well as your unique selling proposition (USP).
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MOT Testing on Your Business Car: What is it, and Why Should You do it?

The MOT is a statutory check carried out and administered throughout the United Kingdom by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), a collaboration of the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA). The DOT, which helps with the application of the MOT test and other related regulations, supervises these agencies.

MOT testing

What is the need to do MOT testing?

If your vehicle is over three years old, having an annual MOT check is a legal requirement to ensure your own safety as well as the safety of others on the road. The evaluations usually involve stringent rules, and it is necessary to protect certain key elements of the vehicle.…

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Walking the Walk: Why YOU Are the Key to Your Company’s Sustainability Goals

Sustainability isn’t an issue companies fear addressing.

Findings from a 2019 study by United Nations Global Compact and Accenture Strategy confirm that trend. According to the study, 48% of CEOs include sustainability efforts in their business operations. Still, 80% of those leaders believe companies aren’t doing enough.

Sustainable business owner

And don’t think it’s just leaders trying to incorporate more green initiatives — both consumers and shareholders gravitate toward them. According to a five-year study, products marketed with a green focus benefited from higher and faster sales rates than their competitors.

So what’s keeping companies from reaching their sustainability goals? There are practical barriers such as supply chains, resource management, and processes.…

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7 Ways a Customer Journey Mapping Exercise Can Redefine Your B2B Marketing Plan Next Year

Customer journey mapping is one of the greatest marketing strategies in recent times and something that will certainly continue in the year ahead. But what is customer journey mapping?

Helpful salesperson enhances customer experience

Customer journey mapping is a process that creates a visual representation of what customers experience through their interactions with your business. What’s more, this process is a story of what happens for your customer, from that first point of contact to a sale or outcome.

And that’s just part of the story…

What You Should Know About Customer Journey Mapping

A customer journey map can help your business see things from the perspective of your customers.…

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4 Signs You’re Ready for an Office Space

Is your home office your advantage, or is it preventing your company’s growth?

Home office space

During the early phases of launching your business, your home office is your advantage. It enables you to run as financially lean as possible. This means you can focus your time and your budget on building the company.

However, you will reach a point where the lack of an actual office space/building may be a problem. You may find that you can’t reach the next level without it and it’s now become a disadvantage.

Here are 4 common signs it could be time to make the move. If you already feel like you’re ready to take the plunge, we invite you to read some helpful information about commercial leases to help you prepare for the big move.…

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Back to Basic: All You Need to Know About Call Center Outsourcing

Outsourcing of call centers occurs when a business hires staff from an external customer service organization and manages its call center from a different location. The customer service company recruits and trains its staff in such a situation to manage all customer contact for the company. Subcontracting call center services like tasks related to sales and customer care allows operators to manage several customer requests, including queries, reservations, refunds, from inbound to outbound, from all shapes and sizes of companies.

Call center outsourcing staff

Inbound call center outsourcing helps to deal with messages from customers seeking help in getting product/service information, returns/refunds, making orders/reservations/bookings, dealing with defective products, and inconsistent service.…

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5 Top Tips to Keeping Your Small Business in Good Financial Health

5 Top Tips to Keeping Your Small Business in Good Financial Health

There are many motivations as to why we all start-up and sun our own businesses and no matter if it’s a local mom & pop store or the planet’s largest corporation, one thing we all have in common is the desire to make a profit. Even charities and not for profits need to ensure good financial health, as any surplus after running costs can help further their cause.

Managing small business finances

So the way to do this is to monitor your finances and notice any issues and deal with them promptly.

Regularly Do Your Book-Keeping

The first thing any business should do is not neglect regular book-keeping as this is the main tool to enable you to see how you are performing.…

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Creating Virtual Spaces to Facilitate Customer Success

Customer success begins with the first touch someone has with your brand. Every interaction reinforces your messaging. Each contact highlights your product in a different way. These are the building blocks of the relationships you have with your audience.

Enabling customer success

Dedicated account and success managers are a fantastic way to ensure your customers receive the care they need, but they are relatively invasive—they involve scheduling and a lot of active work from both sides to translate objectives effectively between customers and providers.

You likely know that you need to reinforce customer success organically and meet your customers where they are. But what if, instead, you focus on placing them where you both need them to be?…

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Modern Restaurant and Bar Trends That Are Attracting Patrons

With the emergence of food delivery apps, restaurants and bars everywhere have been experiencing a significant decrease in physical patronage. This is not a major concern for your locality’s more established businesses, but for many smaller businesses who are still looking to carve a niche for themselves, it can be tricky knowing how to attract a crowd.

Restaurant setting

Here are a few ways small business owners can reclaim control and effortlessly up their venue’s foot traffic.

1. Your POS system and you

When given a choice between ‘Cash Only’ and ‘Cashless’, the correct answer should always be neither. You want to make sure that your point of sale system (or POS) is able to take payments from absolutely all potential customers.…

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