When creating a successful business, building a reputable name for yourself is key. Having a reputable name will help draw in more customers and help to retain those customers once you gain them. When you have a reputable name it also helps to gain partnerships with advertising and other brands to make sure you remain successful so it is a very important part of building that success.
Focus on brand awareness
To start with building that name for yourself you need to focus on brand awareness. This means getting your brand seen on various platforms, this can be done by increasing your social media presence with campaigns and setting up blogs. Social media campaigns and blogs are great for building awareness as you can push your brand out there on multiple social media platforms, so that you reach the biggest audience. Blogs are great because you can then explain your brand to your followers so they know what it is you do and what you are looking to do going forward. When putting your message across make sure it is clear so it can’t be misconstrued and it relates to your vision and goals for the brand.
Be mindful of what you offer
When offering out your services and products make sure your offering quality. Quality is always important as this will help with customer retention and also make sure that through word of mouth your brand name becomes associated with quality products and services, which will help to increase the brand reputation. When you are attempting to retain customers and increase your reputation then you can offer rewards for loyalty such as discounts and fast shipping like what Walmart offer with Walmart free 2-day shipping. By offering rewards to your returning customer and new customers you can keep them coming back and if they tell their friends and family of your service and what you offer then the reputation of your brand spreads and increases.
Create the right image
Creating the right image can link with offering the right thing. If you want to create an image for your brand you need to make sure your brand is shown in the perfect light by your PR. If there were to be even one or two mistakes in creating your brand image it can jeopardize the whole thing as this will put you in a bad light with the public and bring your image crashing down and with it any chance of a reputable name. When creating your brand image you need to make sure that you find a way to show yourself as a company that cares about its customers by putting them first but also other matters in the world such as global warming and the environment by making sure your company comes across as green and doesn’t pollute.
Creating a reputable name for your business is no easy task and following these tips will get you on your way to this goal. Just make sure to keep your company looking great in the public eye and look after your customers. Surround yourself with the correct team of people and you should have no problems making your brand a success.
As a business owner, you will occasionally be confronted with an ethical dilemma. You will then be faced with the questions…
Should I or Shouldn’t I?
You will face the temptation to do something that could be ethically wrong, and the decision you make could have negative consequences, even if you think there are benefits in doing something that is ethically unsound.
So, our advice today is: Don’t fall prey to them. You need to stay on the right side of temptation, no matter how attractive the alternative is.
Such ethical dilemmas might include the following…
Hiding income from the tax man. Taxes are a headache for any business owner, so there might be the occasional temptation to lighten the financial burden, such as altering your accounts to hide some of your income sources. Not only is this morally wrong, but it could have real-world consequences if the taxman finds out. You might then have to pay a fine because of your wrongdoing, and the overall cost will much higher than what your expected tax bill was intended to be. So, our advice is this: BE HONEST!!!
Using family savings to fund business needs. When you need money fast, there are legal ways to inject cash into your business. What you should never do is use your home finances, as that may have consequences for your personal life, especially if you have a family to support. What would your partner say? How would your children feel? It’s no good taking the money assuming you will be able to replenish the pot later, because what if something goes wrong and you can’t? So, our advice is this: Talk to your partner if you intend to use money from your savings, but wherever possible, find other means to fund your business.
Committing fraud. Misusing company assets. Stealing somebody’s intellectual property. Making false insurance claims. You may be tempted to commit all kinds of fraud for any number of reasons, but you do so at a cost. If found out, you will have to hire a criminal defense lawyer, pay court costs, and face a prison sentence. Ask yourself when tempted: Is it worth it? The answer should be no, as not only will you face prison time, but your business reputation will quickly dwindle once the media highlights your wrongdoing to the public. So, our advice is this: Don’t be a criminal!
Writing a fake review. As a business owner, you will understand the importance of online reviews. With websites such as Yelp, your customers have the ability to share their opinion of your business, be their opinions good or bad. Your priority is to provide good customer service to secure positive word about your business. What you shouldn’t be doing is writing fake reviews yourself (or hiring others to do it for you), as not only is it dishonest, but other people are not stupid! They are unlikely to fall for your deception, so despite the temptation to write something to attract positive attention, don’t, as you only receive negative attention when the public realise your dishonesty. So, our advice is this: Run your business well so you will naturally get good reviews from your customers.
So, if you’re faced with any kind of ethical dilemma today, be that something mentioned here or otherwise, remember the consequences. If in doubt, always opt for the side of good instead of the dishonest alternative. Your business and your reputation depend on it!
Every budding entrepreneur has goals. Setting targets can motivate and drive you, and it’s a great way to steer your new venture in the right direction. The trouble is that making plans doesn’t always guarantee success. To convert plans into profits, you need to turn your vision into a viable business model. If you have objectives in mind, here are some suggestions to take on board.
Laying the foundations
Planning is the most crucial phase of developing a successful, profitable business. It doesn’t matter which industry you plan to conquer, you’ll need to draw up a watertight business plan, which outlines how you’re going to set up your company, how you’re going to market your business, and how you’re going to generate an income. If you prepare meticulously, and you have answers to all the questions potential clients, investors or partners could possibly ask, your chances of hitting your targets will be significantly higher.
It’s very rare for entrepreneurs to hit the big time without the help of at least a few other people. If you have a business plan, which includes hiring a team of people, it’s vital to make the right calls. Figure out what kinds of skills and qualifications you need, and set out a recruitment process, which will separate the best candidates. It’s beneficial to look out for potential employees with skills, training, and educational and professional achievements, but you might also wish to carry out background checks using services like your stress-less global screening solution. Sometimes, information can be missing from applications, and screening gives you peace of mind that you know exactly who you are hiring. Make use of interviews to get to know potential candidates and gauge whether they fit with the ethos of the brand. Personality is often as important as experience and qualifications.
In the most basic, scant terms, making it in the world of business boils down to generating profits. If you can’t balance the books, it doesn’t matter how brilliant your product is or how highly your services are rated by customers. It’s crucial to take stock of your finances and to manage your accounts very carefully. If your expenses are under control, but you’re not bringing enough money in, look at ways you can drive sales and improve your marketing strategy. If your sales figures are good, but you’re spending too much, try and cut back in areas where it’s possible to make savings, for example, staff expenses like travel and overnight accommodation. If you could switch a couple of meetings per month for video conferences, this could save you a substantial amount of money.
If you’re an ambitious entrepreneur and you’ve got your eyes on the prize, it’s essential to be able to action your plans. Once you know what you want, you can work out how you’re going to get there. Surround yourself with the right people, make thorough plans, and keep a close eye on your budget at all times.
Whether you have an established business or a new startup, there are always good reasons to look at cutting down the costs of things; it is never going to be a bad idea to find ways to cut back. Things could be going pretty well in the business, but it can still be a good idea to cut back in some areas, so you can focus the money in a particular area, for instance. But for many startups, costs will be tight to start with. So cutting back on spend can allow you to be in a better place financially, as keeping out of the red is where you want to be.
So with all of that in mind, where are the best places to look to cut down on your costs? Here are some of the best places to start.
Reviewing staffing can be a pretty sensitive area for any business, but a lot of the biggest costs that you will have will be around the people that you have working for you. Even in the early days when you might need the help, you could be better off financially without hiring someone new. If someone leaves your employment, then it can be a good time to look through what they were doing, and perhaps assigning out some of the tasks to others, or outsourcing to freelancers. Employees have much more additional costs like pension contributions and vacation pay requirements, so can cost you money more in the long term than a freelancer might, for example.
Consider Offshoring
Offshoring is something that isn’t going to be relevant to every business, but can be applied to a few industries. In fact, for freelancers, it can save money to source freelancers from another country, simply as they may charge a lot less. But for industries like manufacturing, offshoring refers to a company relocating certain aspects of its business to different country. It can help to reduce costs due to lower wages, as well as there being lower costs for manufacturing or other services. If you look at India vs Philippines you can even look at there being better availability of skilled resources, making the processes out there more efficient and cost-effective for your business. Offshoring also allows you to retain control over processes, because all the manufacturing could be done in one place, rather than all over.
Monitor the Small Things
Being able to retain the staff that you have is a really good thing. And it helps the staff that work there to be happier and hopefully, stay with you for longer. But really, you have to make sure that small things that you might be doing for staff, are going to be appreciated and accepted. So monitor the things like the perks that you offer, to make sure that they are worth the money. The same goes for travel, expenses, and smaller things around the office; keep track of the spend as small things can add up quickly.
Get those online tills ringing. Image via Unsplash
If you run an eCommerce business, you’ll already know that repeat business is the most valuable of all. On average, it costs one third of the amount to retain and even upsell an existing customer than to convert a new one. So it only makes sense to focus your energy on the customers who already know you. Online retailers have a mission to constantly optimise their revenue and boosting repeat sales fits into this marketing strategy exactly. But how to keep their baskets full?
Reward Loyalty With Discounting
The idea of special rewards and access is an alluring one to customers, and this feeling of exclusivity can be a strong motivating factor. Capture repeat business by offering exclusive access to sales before they open to everyone else and special discounts. Exclusive money off deals or gifts with purchase are really popular perks of customer loyalty. Fast fashion brands like Pretty Little Thing are especially good at this, regularly sending customers on their mailing list exclusive discount codes or early access at sales time.
Use Gamification To Influence Behaviour
The idea of gamification is to apply principles found in games – challenges, rewards etc – to your eCommerce site. As humans, our psychology is set up to chance quick rewards – as sites like Casinoseniors.com know well. Create something that challenges the customer to unlock a reward. For example, you could have a spinning wheel of fortune that unlocks a different reward – percentage discount, free shipping etc – like the app Cute. This strategy can raise a customers lifetime value and keep them checking in with you often to see what’s new.
Leverage The Power of Social Proof
Peer pressure is a powerful force, and one that you can use for your business. Track purchase data and social media shares on your site for individual products and use that to target customers in the sales funnel or via email promotions. If you are confident in your product, you could even implement a reviews system, so that customers can see the previous satisfied customers. Or use a widget to showcase a social feed of images or comments from happy customers by promoting a hashtag for them to share their buys using.
Personalise And Suggest In Your Emails
Email remains a really important channel for staying in touch with your customers. Add value to your email content and make sure that you stay on recipients safe sender lists by curating products that are designed to appeal to them based on their purchase or browsing history, and couple it with personalised offers for best results. For example, accessories and add ons tend to go down very well. Use any demographic data you have to hand, such as their age and location, to personalise your offer further. Experian found in a study that personalised email content can boost transaction rates by up to six times! So it’s worth investing in a decent email marketing system to support your efforts.
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