Business Plus Baby

Everything in business hinges on planning. Even when some positive development seems to be a stroke of luck, an analysis is bound to reveal the fortunate outcome as the result of previous planning that has brought things clicking into place.

A business starts growing when it finds the key to putting its revenue on a steady climb. With more money coming in, company leaders can make acquisitions, hire more staff, invest in marketing to attract new customers, and keep up with industry innovation. And revenue is basically money from sales made, so a business with ambitions for the future needs a rock-solid sales plan. Here are three essential steps in mapping out a strategy.

Do your market research

A successful company is one whose product or service fills a market gap or offers an improvement on existing solutions. Market research is critical when starting a business, but it’s equally important when laying the foundations for sales growth. Proper market research will help a company understand why its product is in demand or what prevents it from selling better. It will also highlight potential threats and opportunities, including those for the competition.

Market research will allow a business owner to succeed in the critical area of demand planning. Visibility is of paramount importance and precise forecasting is the key to it. The benefits of getting it right are enormous. Demand-driven forecasting allows maximizing efficiency by balancing inventory levels and enables companies to free up working capital. Forecasting is also essential for spotting risks and identifying opportunities.

Set targets

It doesn’t matter whether the plan applies to monthly, quarterly, or annual sales: a company needs to have goals set down. Of course, it’s unrealistic to expect they will always be met. But there is a reason you always read about targets and the stock market reaction to news of a company exceeding or failing to meet its own.

One simple reason why sales targets are essential is the fact that they provide a benchmark. They show whether there’s progress and if the current strategy is working. Targets also make it easier for employees to keep sight of their responsibilities and their own progress.

However, randomly set targets will most likely do harm instead of good. It is therefore imperative to set goals that are specific and measurable. They also need to be realistic and tied to a clearly defined timeframe.

Keep monitoring

Work doesn’t end with the creation and implementation of the sales plan. No marketplace is static and various factors could lead to unexpected changes. This means the plan may need to be revised to take these changes into account. In addition, monitoring will show if the performance is living up to expectations and what tactics can be introduced when improvement is required.

Increasing sales is at the heart of every business growth strategy. However, it can’t be just a vague determination. Without a solid plan and clear-cut objectives management teams will flounder, employees will have no idea what they’re doing, and business growth will prove an elusive dream.

Image: Pexels

The pace of technological change over the last few decades has been incredible and it sometimes feels overwhelming. In how customer service has changed we looked at the huge impact technology has had on customer service. But what about the rest of your business? There are big changes ahead there, too.

Some experts believe that the effect of automation on the workforce could be catastrophic, and that most jobs we know of today will be done by machines within the next few years. The risk is that there could be a huge increase in unemployment unless governments plan ahead in areas such as re-training, investing in those jobs that must still be done by a human being and perhaps even providing a basic income for everyone.

There are experts who don’t believe the picture is so bleak, though. Dr Andrew Charlton says:

“Despite the recent spate of negative reports, the current speed at which machines are taking over human work is no faster than during past waves of technological change. The annual rate of job loss to automation today is less than 0.5 per cent of all jobs – which is slower than the job losses in agriculture in the 1950s as machines replaced farm workers by the thousands, and even slower than the losses in the 1990s when robots were displacing factory workers in the manufacturing sector.”

In fact, he reminds us to look at the positives such as bank staff now being able to spend their time giving financial advice rather than counting cash.

Nevertheless, automation is a force we can’t stop and we need to prepare for it. The factory workers will need support and training if they are to move over to the jobs that can’t be done by robots. It won’t happen seamlessly or overnight.

Here are a few things you might like to consider for your own small business if you want to take advantage of automation rather than lose out to it:

• Don’t be afraid to automate repetitive tasks wherever you can. If you don’t have the tech skills you can hire someone to set it up for you. This could well pay for itself because your business will be more efficient.
• Are you offering a service that will soon be done by a machine? If so, think about what you have to offer that a technical solution cannot. For example, the team behind Canva created a way for small businesses to do their own graphic design cheaply and easily. That doesn’t mean the graphic designers that were working for small businesses are now obsolete, but they do need to be able to offer something that Canva cannot at a price their clients are prepared to pay.
• Do you need to invest in your own training and development to stay on top of the changes that are coming? Don’t forget to work on your business as well as in it.

If you’d like to know more about the effect of automation on business, take a look at Andrew Charlton‘s books.

Image: tmeier1964

 

It can feel like there are many conflicts in life, not least when you are running a business, or trying to start one. It can take a lot of time and effort, but when you are trying to do this as well as raise a young family, one that requires your undivided attention, this is one of the major conflicts you will ever have, and one of the major causes of extreme stress you will ever have! In trying to juggle both, you can, at times, feel a sense of tremendous guilt. So, what is the best way forward? Can you alleviate your guilt, but also do what is right for your family and your business?

Do You Really Need To Do Everything?

When we are trying to grow our business, it can be difficult to offload certain tasks, not because it is hard to find the right person, but we don’t want to do this. But, here’s a fact, you don’t need to do everything! By outsourcing certain tasks, however minimal, it takes the pressure off you a little bit more, which gives you more breathing space, as well as more time to devote to your family. And you don’t even necessarily need to outsource, but find a better way of completing a task. A site like https://websitebuilders.com gives handy tools for you to build your first business website in 30 minutes, and so, if you don’t have the right knowledge of the best tools at your disposal, it could mean you are going about things the wrong way. So, you don’t need to do everything, but also there are ways to do it quicker.

The Magic Word: Compromise!

Remember; when you have a family, there are more important things than you. And most of us feel that our business is our baby, however, when you have a family, you need to put food on the table, but you need to remember that it is other people’s lives you are toying with, not just yours. Having a family is, indeed, a great pressure, but it is a positive one, one that will make you a better business person. You will learn the art of compromise as your business grows. You will know when you should dive into a project, and you will know when to hold back. The great thing about having a family is that it will keep you 100% focused on developing your company.

Treasure The Time With Your Children

This important word, perspective, is something that should stay with you all the way through your entrepreneurial endeavors. Your children will grow up, and they will grow up fast. So, think about it, do you want to miss important moments in their life, because you have to get a project on time? Missing events like these will fill you with regret, not just guilt. The solution? Make time for your children, every single day. If you need a bit more inspiration, http://lifehack.org has some handy tips to get you started. But, no matter how long bedtime takes, if you are there for them, this will make you feel better than any major money-making deal with a client.

Growing a business and being in the entrepreneurial game is a job in itself, and times you will feel that, in combination with having a chaotic family life, you will wonder why you got into this in the first place! But, it isn’t an easy task to accomplish. You need to give yourself the grace of making mistakes, but you do need to put your family first, and whether this means setting aside a little time for them every day, or by working that extra bit after they’ve gone to sleep, it will help to lessen the guilt.

Image: Paul Inkles

 

Life in the office can get pretty boring, not only for your employees but for you too. So much so that production levels can drop dramatically. People assume that it’s the job that people hate so much about coming to work, but in a lot of cases it can just be the atmosphere that gets everyone down. Turning a boring office into an exciting, work friendly one isn’t that hard either. With a few little pointers below, you can make office life enjoyable for everyone again.

Better Working Conditions

Lets face it, some offices can just be a complete dive, especially if they’re unmanaged. As the old saying goes, a cluttered desk is a cluttered mind, so having a little spring clean of the office will help to boost a positive vibe. Nobody likes working in a messy environment, your employees might just be too busy to do so. Dedicate half an hour once a week to having a spring clean of the desks so everywhere looks a little more neat. It isn’t just the desks that will need a bit of tending to, the office in general can be prone to becoming rubbish central. If you know you’re terrible at keeping the whole room clean, then look into a contract office cleaning service. It’ll save you so much time and effort, and will create such a better working environment. Not only that, but if you hold meetings with clients within the office, it gives off a much better impression if the place is neat and tidy.

Let There Be Light

No matter where you work, a dark and dingy office area is just not the best environment to be in. We can all admit that now the nights are getting darker quicker, it is a little bit depressing to be trapped somewhere with such little light, which a lot of offices seem to do so. You need to make the space as open and as bright as you possibly can. The best way of doing this is by creating artificial light, especially as the nights are getting darker. Paint the walls a fresh coat of white to begin with, then purchase some brighter bulbs to make the place look a little more alive. It’ll also help to improve the focus of your employees if the room is a bit brighter.

Additions

It isn’t always about what an office looks like, it’s about what you put in it that makes the improvement. First things first, you need to create an escape where people can go to get away from their desks. Nothing is worse than being stuck at a desk all day. A chill out area is perfect for letting people switch off. Create a corner and put in a few beans bags and a sofa. Add in a TV and maybe a coffee table with some magazines and your employees will love the office again. If you can afford to, purchase a fairly cheap fridge and fill it with different drinks and snacks. It shouldn’t hurt your wallet too much to do so, but it’ll make the whole office happy.

Image: StockSnap

The world of customer service has changed dramatically since the 90’s. The Internet has played a huge role in this, of course. But the changes reach much further than just the increased use of technology. Customers’ expectations and choice of communication methods have changed a great deal, too.

Even the smallest of businesses need to get to grips with these changes because if you’re not up to speed with customer expectations you could find your customers drifting away to a competitor or them airing their less-than-flattering views about you on social media!

Here are some areas to consider when planning your approach to customer service (and customer success):

Technology

Back in the day customers used to drop into a store or call during business hours. Now there are multiple channels that customers can use to get in touch, including the phone, web forms, email and chat. (We’ll look at social media below). This technology allows the business to give customer service 24/7 and done well, it can give the customer a better experience too.

Social media

Customers are often turning to social media for customer service instead of the one-to-one communication channels they used in the past. This means that complaints are now public and the team that handles social media in the business need to be trained in both marketing and customer service. Any negativity needs to be handled sensitively so that the customer feels heard and that the issue doesn’t escalate. Customer service isn’t all about complaints, though. Praise given by customers on social media platforms can be excellent word-of mouth marketing for the business. Here are some great examples of social media being used for customer service.

Data 

The increased use of technology means that there is more data available than ever before. This means that businesses can use their customers’ data to build an even more personal customer experience over time. Customer success software can be used to identify what customers are missing and where you can help them.

Expectations

The availability of 24/7 sales and customer service means that customers expect a response – and a resolution – in a shorter time frame than before. Fail to respond to this and you’ll find your customers going elsewhere. That may be fine for large companies with call centres but it can present a challenge for small businesses. Fortunately, there are inexpensive ways that a small business can offer timely service including automation tool such as Facebook bots that respond to customer requests or using an outsourced call handling service. A page of FAQ videos can help customers resolve simple problems themselves.

Image: Wordandapix