There are so many components to think about as a business owner and to succeed, each element has to be just right. Here are just a few of the things to consider to ensure the smooth running of your business.
Branding
Branding really is everything when it comes to business. Good branding improves recognition which builds trust with customers. Customers are more likely to use a brand that seems legitimate and well polished, and it helps to generate interest in your business. A recognisable brand also makes your company more financially valuable. It’s not just the name and the logo (although these are of course both important). Unless you’re experienced in business then investing in branding services from Flagship Digital and other similar companies can be worthwhile.
An App
An effective mobile strategy is more than just a mobile friendly website. Mobile apps allow customers to have all your information at their fingertips. This can result in much better interaction and lead to more sales. It can help you gain new customers (and keep the ones you have), and is an excellent tool to increase your company’s profits. Having an app installed on your customers’ phones means your website is always just a click away. You’re able to send things like offers and coupons directly to their smartphone via notifications, even when they’re not using the app. An app that’s visible and available on your customer’s device is likely to result in them using it, or at least acknowledging it. Regularly seeing it whenever they use their device all helps to create a stronger brand image.
A Website
The perfect business website will be aesthetically pleasing but without putting style over substance. You want it to look nice but without being confusing or have fancy transitions and things which detract from the main content. It will have clear navigation, be intuitive to click around and have a search box. This makes it easy to find anything that’s not on the main page. It should have clear contact information and social media information which customers can access if needed. Any errors that crop up should be fixed immediately as slow loading pages and errors can hurt your brand image much more than you might realise. Research has shown that if customers have to wait more than three seconds for a site to load, it would put them off so badly they wouldn’t be likely to return. The same applies if they click on it and the site is down. You will need to employ a professional web designer- knocking up a two-bit site yourself will look cheap and is likely to put off potential customers.
A Blog
The benefits of running a blog for business have been well established. It puts out more pages from your site to be indexed by search engines. It helps to generate more traffic to your website and can interest potential customers. Plus well-written blog posts are the types of pages that people share on social media; this helps to spread the word of your website more. Decide on your blogging platform, Blogger and WordPress are two of the most popular choices. Then write regular engaging content, to draw in potential customers in and boost business. If you aren’t much of a writer yourself, you could include this in one of your employee’s job roles. Or use a writing mill type website and hire a freelancer to write something to your specifications. Ensure that your blog is optimised for all devices, and include share links at the end of your posts.
Motivated Staff
You can put in all the hard work and effort in the world, but for your business to succeed- you need good employees. After all, there are a lot of roles within the average company and you can’t possibly do them all yourself! Ensuring your staff are kept happy and healthy will boost morale and productivity. You need people that are dedicated, hardworking and as serious about the success of the company as you are. Offer good employee benefits to snag the best workers. Along with a competitive salary, you could provide fantastic extras to make your company an attractive place to work. You could provide health or life insurance, disability plans, pension and retirement packages. You could also offer added extras like a company smartphone, laptop or car. It’s important that your staff don’t just work well individually, but as a team too. Excellent communication and trust are vital for the smooth running of your business. As well as employing people that have been shown to work well in groups and teams, you could also arrange team building activities for your staff too. This could be anything from a day of activities in the office or even an outing. Social gatherings such as parties and dinners can also be useful too.
A Great Office
A well designed office will help your workers to feel happy and motivated. Put some thought in here. It has been shown that daylight boosts productivity levels and mood, so position your desks close to windows. You’ll need decent equipment such as supportive chairs and powerful computers. This way your staff are kept comfortable and can do their job quickly and efficiently. You should also pay attention to the layout too. For example, unless you have separate meeting rooms you’ll need an area that’s suitable for meetings and collaborative work. Then separate desks for individual tasks or things like phone calls to clients and customers. A calming space makes workers happier, plus a modern aesthetic can be beneficial for both your employees and clients. First of all, providing your employees with a spacious and calming environment for working in can help with their productivity. An aesthetically pleasing place can also gives a better impression to customers and clients who come into your office for meetings.
Business Software
A business that ‘runs itself’ is the dream for many entrepreneurs, and is a stage most would like to get to eventually. Turning over a healthy profit without a massive pile of work on your desk each day? Sounds perfect! These days this is much more easily done. Although of course, you will still need to be an active leader and oversee everything. Having the right staff in place is the first step, and the second is having the right software. Many tasks can be incredibly tedious and time-consuming to do manually, but can be done in seconds with the right software. This also reduces the risk of human error and means you do not have to employ and pay additional staff members. Accounting software is one example. While you are still likely to need an accountant, much of the work can be done on the computer saving you time and money. That way you don’t have to pay an accountant for more hours than necessary. Traditional methods of accounting such as paper records or Excel can slow down or even jeopardise your business. Updating and familiarising yourself (or the staff member who will be looking after it) with the software is the way to go. Other software includes things like customer relations management (CRM) software. This allows you to plan your interactions with customers extremely quickly. It works by keeping all of the customer’s contact information in one place, alongside other detailed information such as the products they have purchased, the feedback they have given you and any marketing materials you have already shown them. By doing this, you can offer excellent customer service as well as target information based on their purchases and preferences.
Social Media
A good social media marketing strategy is crucial to the success of your business. It’s important to understand just how valuable this is as a tool for brands. One of the best things about it as a business is that you essentially get a free source of advertising. An honest and genuine recommendation from someone in a customer’s social circle means others are likely to trust the company. Every time customers leave reviews and share your business with their network, you reach even more people. And best of all, you do so without spending a penny. Using social media as a marketing tool can help you grow your brand awareness. This is useful for all businesses, regardless of what you sell. It shouldn’t be thought of as an added extra and is instead something that needs to be an integral part of the marketing approach of your company. Research has shown social media to be twice as effective at leading to sales than traditional outbound marketing methods. As well as being a great way to promote and advertise, a good social following makes you look reliable and provides customers with another way to contact and interact with you. Using it right will build your relationship with customers. It will make you look more reputable, boost your website with Google and so much more. Getting a social media expert on board your team could something to consider. It would need to be someone who can look at the information, and come up with a good marketing strategy.