When a customer buys a product, they decide based partly on whether they like that product or not, but their perception of you as a company is just as big a factor in their decision. People don’t want to deal with companies that are going to take their money and then stop bothering with them. They do want to deal with companies that offer some value outside of the product itself. Things like customer experience, aftercare, and warranty all affect people’s view of your company. If you want to outsell your competitors, try these simple methods for demonstrating your value to potential customers.

Keep Records

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There is nothing more frustrating for a customer than calling up your helpline and getting put through to somebody different to the person they had previously been dealing with. They have to start from the beginning again and all of the time they spent explaining the problem to somebody else was wasted and they’re still no closer to a solution. It’s not always possible for them to speak with the same person every time but what you can do is make sure that whoever they get through to is up to date on the issue. That means keeping detailed records when you speak with customers so somebody else can pick up where you left off and avoid causing the customer more problems.

Useful Marketing Materials

Have you ever wondered why companies always use keyrings or printed calendars with their logo on it? One reason is that people use these things often so they’re constantly being exposed to your advertising, but it also helps to show value in a very simple way. If you need to open a bottle and you use an opener with a company logo on, the value of that bottle opener becomes synonymous with the value of that company in your mind. It’s a very simple link to make but your subconscious will make that jump when you’re using these kinds of products.

Environmental Responsibility

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The main driving factors behind a customer’s choice to buy, aside from the value you offer, used to be price and quality of the product. The quality of the product is still top but the price isn’t necessarily the most important thing these days. People are often more concerned with finding a company that has reduced the environmental impact of their manufacturing and packaging process and they’re often willing to pay more money for it. You should seriously consider updating your operation because soon, everybody will be operating an environmentally friendly company and if you aren’t, you’ll soon fall behind.

Show Customers Their Outcome

Letting customers know what they’re going to get out of your company is the best way to convince them that you have value. That means every time you speak with a customer, you should be outlining exactly what they get out of your product and how it can make their life easier. You also need to make clear how simple your warranty process is compared with competitors so that they feel comfortable that they can get a quick resolution if there is a problem at all.

Getting your product right is step one but if you want to be a success, you need to demonstrate your value to customers.

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It’s so easy to see why accountant offices or banks can look quite boring. They’re in the business of boring. But when you’re a creative, you’ve got no excuse for working in an unappealing space. Why? Because you’re creative by nature – it’s who you are, and worst of all, it’s what you do. So when you’re working in an uninspiring space – somewhere that looks like an accountant’s office, then you’re in trouble. So if your office is looking a little worse for wear, it’s time to turn in into the place of inspiration that it deserves to be. If you want even your cleaning team to be in awe of your office, here’s what you need to do.

Stand Out

But before you get started with your ideas, you need to know that a lick of paint isn’t going to cut it here. Okay, so if you haven’t got the biggest budget to work with, you’re going to have to get creative with your ideas and making your money stretch too. But don’t play it safe. Some of the world’s coolest offices will definitely be putting you to shame right not. And while you may not want to work from an air balloon style spot like Google, there’s no reason why you couldn’t hang a hammock or two to put your own spin on standing out on a budget.

Inject Your Personality

Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but you know what – you’re a creative. So you should have no need to copy. Instead, work with your own style. Because you do have one. So project it baby! If you’ve got a thing for clowns, then good for you. Use it in your designs. Wacky and weird it might be, but if its you then it’s going to be your office. With a little slice of your personality, you should find that you’re able to create a space that suits your company but is ultra-creative at the same time.

Image: Tim Gouw

Dress The Walls

If you’re not working with a lot of space, and you can’t get too creative with the square footage that you do have, turn to the walls. You can always make an impression with the walls. So get yourself a banner hanging kit and go to town. Or hang some quirky art pieces or slogans. Or even draw your own mural. You just need to think about how you’re adding your own stamp but looking to inspire your staff at the same time.

Focus On Motivation

But you don’t have to use your wall art as the only source of motivation in your design. Some of the best office designs in the world focus on sensory experience to boost inspiration and motivation. So think about what you can do with sight, sound, touch, smell, and even taste to increase inspiration. From a barista style coffee machine to comfortable leather seats, there’s a lot you can do if you just let your creativity take control.

 

Effective communication is vital to any business and ensures a streamlined operation and customer satisfaction. Many businesses today organize requirements workshops as a method of gathering accurate information about their business operation. A requirements workshop brings together stakeholders and management teams to assess whether specific business requirements or objectives are being efficiently met. Although they take some time to prepare, there are many benefits including improved communication that businesses can take from a requirements workshop.

Common Ground

If you are working with several people to achieve a common solution to a business issue, a requirements workshop can assist in making the best choices. This is facilitated by building consensus with inputs from various team members and stakeholders and creating steps and opportunities to improve and streamline the business model. The common ground is naturally the business you’re in and it’s important for all parties to focus on that to prevent competing wishes from derailing the requirements workshop.

Time and Space

There are often geographic barriers or other physical factors standing in the way of people working together as one unit. A requirements workshop creates the opportunity to join together in one location where the focus is very much on business. Workshops create the time and space to form a better agenda for profitability, offering much closer communication than alternatives like teleconferencing. This means that decisions are made and set in place much faster than if your team is scattered around different locations.

People, People, People

It’s always important to make sure all the right people are present when the big decisions are being made and a requirements workshop is a great way to make this happen. If you don’t bring the right people to the table, the workshop won’t be anywhere near as effective as if you have the movers and shakers of your business working as a group. It’s important to have a proportionate number of leaders to followers in any kind of organization and a requirements workshop creates a better structure and strategy for your business to follow.

Purpose and Planning

The most important thing about a requirements workshop is that you should know what its purpose should be. There is little to be achieved in organizing a workshop that has no defined objectives as there’s no clear way of moving your business forward. To get the full benefits of requirements workshops, you should have a specific purpose behind it so that you can gather your requirements more effectively for the specific needs of your business at any time. For these reasons, it’s essential to take time in the planning of your requirements workshop and set clear objectives for it to achieve.

The most effective requirements workshop techniques are based on a holistic approach to your business that encompasses the operation in its entirety. The kind of decisions and changes made as a result of a productive workshop can have an enormously positive effect on your bottom line through the creation and implementation of more streamlined processes.

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As the head honcho of a firm, it’s up to you to deal with any staffing issues. Unfortunately, this isn’t an easy task especially when your members of staff aren’t adhering to rules that you have put in place, or they have had to have a considerable amount of time off work due to illness or family issues. While illness and personal issues can’t be avoided, any other problems may be falling onto you and they might even be partly your fault. So are you the issue with your staffing problems? Here are some ways of solving your staffing issues.

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Promotion

One of the reasons that your staff may be going awol is because they don’t feel like they have a senior to look up to and be led by. While you’re their boss, if you’re not around as much as is needed chaos can form; therefore making business suffer. While it may be difficult to choose someone to be a supervisor, you should consider promoting a member of staff to take on this role so that normality can resume in the workplace and business can get back to normal.

Doing this will also allow you to give more responsibility to that person, which in turn will take some of the workload and pressure off your back. Remember though, that a promotion and more responsibility will mean that you will have to give a pay rise to that person too.

Hiring the right people

Have you hired the right people for the job? Interviewing processes are difficult, even for the most experienced of bosses, and while someone might look great on paper, in reality they might not be of any help to your business. A great way to solve this is to use headhunters, who will find the right kind of people for the jobs you need doing. Http://www.eagleheadhunters.co.uk/ are perfect for all of your hiring needs, and will be able to help you find the perfect candidates for the job at hand.

Sticking to your guns

When all’s said and done, you’re still the boss of all of these people and they should be listening to you. The first thing to do is have a meeting with everybody explaining changes that you want to see, and let your staff know that if things don’t improve there will be consequences. Ensure they have the right training so that the blame doesn’t fall on you, and see whether anything changes.

If it doesn’t, then it’s your job to discipline your staff members. Just make sure that you’re adhering to employees rights and that you’re not breaking anything in their contract.

 

The final word

Apply these three ideas to your workforce today and you will hopefully begin to see an improvement in your staff. Remember, you’re the boss here and they need to obey direct orders from you. Make sure you’re not the problem when it comes to your staffing issues!

Business isn’t all about skyscraper offices, suits and formalities. For more creative types there are plenty of business opportunities, and thanks to the internet you can turn lots of skills into lucrative business ventures these days. If you are a creative, practical person with a skill here are some ideas to turn your passion into cash.

Metal Work

If you’re a welder, fabricator or other skilled metalworker, it’s definitely possible to set up a one-man business venture. Many businesses outsource their manufacturing needs these days and are therefore in need of local skilled metal worker to put together their products. You will need somewhere to work, metal is a cost-effective option for a workshop and they can be put up quickly and easily. If you’re planning on running your business from home you could have a workshop set up in your back garden, which would save you travel time and make everything very convenient. Metal forgeries also make good businesses, you could create home decor, decorative weapons and all other kinds of object which can be sold online. For metal work on a smaller scale which won’t need a workshop you could go into jewellery making. Whether it’s fine jewellery or more costume designs there’s a huge market for it online.

Cooking and Baking

There are plenty of business opportunities out there for those who are keen in the kitchen. Meal prep services have really taken off, so one idea would be to create healthy meal prep dishes for those who are after tasty and convenient food to help them achieve their goals. You could create your own range of jams, jellies, chutneys, pickles or sauces which could be put into pretty jars and sold.  If you are more of a baker, you could create occasion cakes for things like weddings, christenings and birthdays. You could hire a kitchen premises or you could run your business from home, but be aware there are strict rules for doing this. For example, you have to have a separate refrigerator for your business, and pets aren’t allowed in the kitchen- even to pass through to go into the garden. And of course you have to follow food hygiene laws to the letter, once you have registered your business you could be randomly checked at any time to make sure you’re doing this.

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Photography

Whether it’s portrait photography, for weddings, even specialist photographers too like pets, property or cars, it’s a fantastic way to make a living. If you have some photography experience or have enjoyed it as a hobby for a number of years, you could consider doing some official training and turning it into a business. If you’ve been practicing as a hobby chances are you already have plenty of images you can use for your portfolio so it gives you a headstart. Photographers can also make money selling images online to sites like Shutterstock. You get a small amount of money each time someone downloads your image, so if you have a number of them that are in high demand it can earn you a chunk of money each month.

 

Mobile App Designer

There’s a huge market for mobile apps these days, many medium and smaller sized businesses have gotten on board and know exactly how much they can do for them. A mobile app makes a business look smart and professional, it get their details onto the phones of their potential customers which is a great place to be. If you have software or IT experience, do some training and learn how to make mobile apps. You’ll never be short on business and it’s something that could potentially earn you a lot of money.

 

Musician

If you’re the musical type, there are a few different ways you can go when it comes to business ideas. One would be to become a DJ, people always need them for weddings and parties and it could be a fun way to spend your working hours. You will need a basic setup such as CD decks, speakers, lights and things like fog machines are always popular. If you have a talent playing a particular instrument, you could create a band and play at live events, or pass your knowledge onto others by becoming a tutor. Another option would be to use software to make music on your computer, these could be sold or picked up by companies looking for jingles or theme music for their company, tv show, video or anything else.