Signs Your Business Could Benefit From a Mobile App

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Mobile App|Signs Your Business Could Benefit From a Mobile AppWhether you’re aiming to capture new customers or delight the existing ones, creating a mobile app is a fantastic opportunity to improve and market your business.

With the rapid adoption of smartphones comes a great deal of opportunities.

To enhance your business and create more effective communication with target customers, you need to determine whether your customers would embrace the app.

What kind of app do you need? Who is your target market, and who are your competitors?

Here are a few ways you can do that and create more business opportunities!

Check your mobile traffic visitors

The first and the most important clue that your business could benefit from a mobile app is checking your website traffic. If you determine that a large share of your overall traffic comes from mobile users, there is your sign!

Use online tools such as Google Analytics to count the number of visits and check the mobile traffic ratio.

These kinds of tools also allow you to detect priority markets by looking at the countries that your traffic comes from. This will additionally help you to examine your website traffic and develop your app according to the demand.

According to Statista, mobile traffic accounts for about half of the website traffic worldwide, with almost 51% of global website traffic, and this has been consistent since 2017.

When you examine your website traffic, you will be able to determine whether a mobile app is the right solution for your business.

Then you can follow up by taking the necessary steps, such as using a responsive design and optimizing the user experience.
Do your customers need to use your service offline?

Depending on the type of your business, it is up to you to determine whether your customers could benefit from using some features of your website offline.

What is it that the offline access to your app would provide for them? Is it your content or maybe the tools you offer in the app? Or are they more attracted by constant availability and the speed of search?

Firstly, your customer won’t be frustrated with poor connectivity issues anymore.

These kinds of apps are especially popular with businesses like games and mobile entertainment, news, and guides, training and education, online shopping, and traveling.

Some of the basic examples of successful offline apps are Spotify, Kindle, TripAdvisor, and Google Maps. Although the app requires a connection to download and install updates, you can continue to use all its content offline, unlike with a classic business website.

By granting offline access to your services through an app, you are gaining more customer loyalty and providing them with a faster loading process. It also saves their battery and simplifies work with storage.

Try to look at things from your customer’s perspective. Would you as a customer prefer offline access to your app?
This allows you to determine whether this option would make sense for your type of business.

Who are your competitors?

The next question for you to consider is: are your competitors using mobile apps?

If so, then chances are that there is a demand for an app in your industry. The competitors have already tested the waters for you, so you can use that to your advantage.

When you conduct detailed research on your competitors and study their efforts and strategies, you will easily get an idea of whether your business will benefit from introducing a mobile app.

The app market is huge and you can surely find a dozen competitors with a mobile app. Learn from them, improve their approach and examine their marketing plan.

Use your competitors to your advantage. Check whether they are using the offline approach and better working conditions. Notice if they are focused on a top-notch UX/UI design. Do proper competitive analysis and make sure to check reviews from current and previous users.

This will allow you to find the best fit for your business.

Examine your demographics

You need to adjust your marketing efforts and observe how user behavior varies depending on different factors.

Did you know that 49% of people open an app more than 11 times per day? And even more so, that 21% of Millenials open an app more than 50 times per day?

As mentioned before, it is not just a way to gain more customers, but to keep the old ones as well, especially if they spend a lot of time on their phones!

A mobile app has many advantages over a website and offers many new possibilities to personalize marketing and improve customer experience.

Going back to your competitors, you should determine the regions where their site traffic comes from. Define your typical app user. Define his age, gender, language, education, and familial status.

All of this information will help you create your target group, which is of crucial importance for creating your app.
Your target group needs to share similar demographics and interests. You start by defining them and go further into planning. You adjust your features and design according to their preferences.

Find out their occupation. You will know their purchasing power, whether they have time for your app, and whether they’ll need it for professional purposes.

Conclusion

To determine whether to introduce a mobile app for your business, it is important that you follow these steps and cover all aspects.

Bear in mind- all information you can gather is valuable.

When you examine your mobile traffic, competitors, and demographics, you will get a clear idea for the next step in your business. Mobile apps are on the rise, and this could largely affect your business’s future.

So do your research, adjust your app features and bring your business to a whole new level!

About the Author

Joe Peters is a Baltimore-based freelance writer and an ultimate techie. When he is not working his magic as a marketing consultant, this incurable tech junkie devours the news on the latest gadgets and binge-watches his favorite TV shows. Follow him on @bmorepeters

What Can Be Done To Attract More Clients To Your Business?

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Attract Clients|What Can Be Done To Attract More Clients To Your Business?The war for customers is fiercer than ever, especially after the challenges that all companies have faced in recent months. Therefore, finding ways to attract more clients should be a major feature of your business plan for the rest of 2021.

So, what steps can be taken to ensure that your brand reaches the right people and makes a bigger impact when it does? Here’s all you need to know.

Know Your Niche

It’s very easy to fall into the trap of trying to reach everyone. Ultimately, though, your company will only ever appeal to certain audiences. So, while you want to reach the largest client base possible, you must also respect your place. Working with a digital marketing agency allows you to identify your niche and build a brand that targets this client base. From web design to color schemes, resonating with the customers is key.

When there is a sense of connection, you won’t just see increased awareness. Crucially, it’ll bring more conversions, which means increased revenue.

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Attract Clients|What Can Be Done To Attract More Clients To Your Business?Try New Selling Environments

You can only sell products to consumers who know of your existence. Therefore, allowing potential leads to find your brand and products in new spaces can transform your future for the better. A good example is to try out a pop-up store in a different town. Alternatively, your online ventures may focus on opening a Depop, Amazon, or eBay store. Some clients will only trust those outlets rather than your business directly.

In turn, they may come directly to your brand once you’ve established a sense of trust. Still, if you need to get noticed, those external places are ideal.

Get Outside Support

The value of a digital marketing agency has already been discussed. However, professional support doesn’t have to end there. You can look to use social media influencers, who will direct their fans to your business. When they have a similar demographic to yours, this vote

of confidence from an impartial source can impact their decisions. After all, they want to emulate their favorite social media stars.

Client reviews and affiliate schemes are also very effective tools. It’s one thing to hear positive thoughts from your brand, but outside support carries far greater weight.

Be A Better Company

It’s important to remember that your business will be judged for far more than its products. Consumers want to buy goods from the brands that they actively like. As such, making a commitment to be more responsible may be one of the smartest steps of all. This will increase your appeal to audiences that want to lead eco-friendly lives. Besides, the moves will often yield significant financial savings.

As well as encouraging better responses from potential leads, it should improve employee mindsets. And if you gain positive PR on the back of it, you can stretch your reach in style.

Good branding and marketing won’t deliver success without mastering other aspects of the business. Nonetheless, they will give you a far stronger platform to build upon. Embrace it.

A Guide for First-Time Entrepreneurs: How to Strengthen Your Startup’s Foundations

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |First-time Entrepreneurs |A Guide for First-Time Entrepreneurs: How to Strengthen Your Startup's FoundationsThe actions that you take during the initial stages of your startup’s inception will make or break its chances of success going forward. If you want to ensure your maiden business venture’s long-term success, you must go above and beyond to strengthen its foundations.

Here are three things you must do to provide your first company with the best possible start to life:

Make great recruits

Your talent, hard work, and vision will only get you so far in your maiden business voyage. If you are to succeed in your first entrepreneurial endeavor truly, you need to surround yourself with a dedicated support network. Above all else, this means that you must go above and beyond to optimize your hiring process. Once you start making great recruits, you will begin to build a team capable of taking your startup from strength to strength.

As an inexperienced recruiter, you must empower yourself with an expert recruiting enablement platform. With Oleeo’s Recruiting Enablement solution at your disposal, you will be provided with the support you need to pinpoint and expedite the top candidates in your target talent pool. This will save you a lot of time and effort in your attempt to unearth potential employees, which in turn means that you will be able to dedicate more of yourself to the interviewing process.

Become a great leader

No matter how many employees you hire during the initial stages of your startup’s inception, you need to showcase that you are a great leader right from the off. This will aid you in your bid to maximize the day to day efficiency of your workforce, which in turn will have a profound impact on your startup’s capacity to turn over a profit.

To become a better business leader, you must:

  1. Don’t just work over your team — work alongside them as well
  2. Remain humble and grateful at all conceivable points
  3. Understand that nobody is perfect
  4. Commit yourself to continuous learning and professional development
  5. Attain regular feedback on your leadership performance

Build a robust business plan

Building a robust business plan is one of the most important tasks you face as a startup company owner. As well as providing you with some much-needed direction, this strategy will also help to make your organization more appealing in the eyes of investors.

To build an effective business plan that actively grows with your company going forward, you must:

  1. Determine the exact purpose of your plan (guidance, investment, etc.)
  2. Create a company profile
  3. Document the financial aspects of your business (including your prospective fiscal aspirations)
  4. Research your target market and study your competitors
  5. Draw up an executive summary

If you want your startup business to grow from strength to strength over the coming decade, you must fortify its foundations. Performing this crucial task will provide you with the robust platform that you need to scale your market in the future.

Top Small Business Branded Merch Ideas in 2021

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Branded Merch|Top Small Business Branded Merch Ideas in 2021It’s not just big companies that need to prioritize a branding strategy. Branding is one of the best marketing areas to focus on simply because it brings with it so many advantages. From standing out in a competitive environment to being the first company that customers think of when they need what you sell, branding is just as vital for a small business as it is for a globe-spanning corporation. All companies must take the time to develop a strong brand, with consistency and adaptability at its heart. There are so many branded merchandise options to consider that it can be hard to narrow down what’s best for you. Here are some ideas that are well worth considering.

Clothing

Branded clothing is always a popular option when it comes to merch. You could have branded hats that your team members wear or hand them out as part of an after-sales process. The best thing about branded clothes is that they get seen. If you have customers that wear a sweatshirt branded with your company logo, name, and contact details, then those customers will advertise your business wherever they go. When it comes to extending your brand reach, branded clothing is always an option worth considering.

Stationary

It’s easy to overlook branded stationary. Whether it’s a corporate gift or a treat for customers, those branded pens and notepads might have a lot more value than you think. That’s because those items will be used, and every time that someone writes with your branded pen or scribbles an idea on your branded notebooks, they will see your company. The more that they get used, the more likely it is that those customers will think of you whenever they need you. Brand familiarity is a high-value marketing tool, and branded stationary has a lot of power.

Food

When it comes to corporate gifts, food is hard to beat. Whether it’s as part of an outreach strategy and introduction process, or a way of saying thank you to suppliers or high-value employees, there’s nothing quite like branded food gifts. When it comes to gifting food, you have to be careful. Some foods will spoil, so it’s always a smart idea to choose food items that will last a while. One of the best options to look at is corporate chocolate gifts because it’s very hard to find people who don’t like chocolate! High-quality chocolate is always a treat, so it’s particularly useful for brands that want to highlight their commitment to luxury.

Tech Accessories

Particularly good for tech startups and those businesses that sell any form of technology, branded tech accessories can be a pricey but high-impact option. Giving away a free branded keyboard or mouse that gets used every day has obvious value, but you need to be sure that those tech items will be used. It’s always a good idea to look at the technologies that will get seen by more than just the person receiving them. Branded USB memory sticks will get used on the go, as will branded Bluetooth speakers. Those items will get eyes on them, and your brand will get noticed by potential customers.

Branded merch should always be a marketing option, even for small, local businesses. No matter your industry, niche, or the products that you sell, match your branded merch to your brand voice, and you’ll have a marketing resource that’s hard to beat.

Is Your Business Sinking? 12 Holes You Need To Plug

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Failing Business|Is Your Business Sinking? 12 Holes You Need To PlugMany entrepreneurs become so invested in their struggle for success that they forget a crucial reality which is business failure. Startups tend to collapse, and only a minor portion of them manage to stay afloat after a few years. But business owners – thanks to their enthusiasm for innovation – ignore the fact that cash-flow can make or break a business. If your business encounters money problems, you’ll find yourself in a financial crunch. That’s when you need to make some tough decisions about your company’s commercial future for protecting your sinking business. Are you considering packing up due to monetary complications? Don’t! Just follow these simple checks and save your brainchild.

Cash-flow leaks you should fix

A failing business is every entrepreneur’s nightmare. Many business owners incline to surrender when faced with the possibility of a near-failure. Though some accept monetary impediments as another challenge to examine the effectiveness of their business strategy. These courageous individuals manage to anticipate when the next iceberg’s coming and save the Titanic with their careful calculations. How to become one of such individuals? Here are some simple tricks that’ll help you avoid sinking:

1. Review your finances

A quarterly review of your company’s cash flow can help you apprehend any financial threat in advance. It’ll also allow you to consider your income, net profit, and expenditures. Reviewing your expenses is probably the single most important technique that may prevent bankruptcy. Moreover, avoid reaching a decision impulsively. The intuition is unreliable; hence trust data-driven decision-making. Craft your budget carefully, and then faithfully stick to it.

2. Curb needless spending

Your marketing department is the lifeblood of the whole organization. Though spending money excessively on advertisements may lead to financial downfall. Failure to arrange promotional campaigns strategically is a money-leaking tactic. If you aren’t marketing to your niche, the money’s just going down the gutter! Also, don’t waste funds designing a custom website without premature marketing research. In short, there’s no need to spend on stuff your company doesn’t need.

3. Try online tools

Modern digital tools help business managers, freelancers, and even homeowners organize their finances effectively. It’s better to purchase cost-effective online accounting software with unlimited support and expert advice. It saves your time so you can focus on other important business matters. These tech tools also make communication and collaboration among colleagues easier. You can share documents and information to enhance productivity and diminish time-wastage.

4. Focus on what’s important

Building on the previous point, spend only on projects that are making your company profitable. When Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he discontinued the Project Newton that drained $100 million from the company. And that’s just one of the failed products canceled by him besides the Pippin and the Cube. On the other hand, your company must focus only on money-making products/services. Don’t try to bring innovation when the project lacks interest among your target audience.

5. Cut extra costs

Eliminating all discretionary expenditures must be your topmost priority. Reduce anything that seems unnecessary or mere wastage of an almost-bankrupt company’s funds. No more summer holidays or birthday parties! But that’s just an easy decision. The most challenging choice is laying off hardened employees. But, if there’s no alternative available, firing your folks can be a cruel but inevitable policy. Also, consider lowering costs on office supplies or shipping expenditures.

6. Prioritize what to pay

Your payment options vary according to their respective importance. That’s why it’s necessary to prioritize which payment must be issued first and which can be delayed. Pay the vital obligations first, not clearing, which can collapse your business. For instance, paying your employees’ salary is essential because you can’t afford their departure from the company. Paying your vendors and suppliers is your next priority. Similarly, paying taxes should be on the top of your list of expenses.

7. Reshape your fiscal plan

Rethinking your entire cash-flow management can help you avoid bankruptcy and find methods to enhance your productivity. How to perform this action? Try SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. It’ll provide you information required for strategic planning and identifying undisclosed holes you haven’t plugged in yet. You also discover marketable opportunities – internal/external – which you’ve failed to use for maximizing the company’s profitability.

8. Strengthen your networking

Networking shouldn’t be underestimated! It’s the life-support your company sometimes needs to survive obvious failure. Your connections come to your assistance and bail you out when the ship’s sinking. Your associates help enhance business awareness and finding better clients for your organization. Make friends not just with shareholders but also with your customers. Utilize promotional gifts (pens, purses, or air fresheners) to raise your company’s profile.

9. Your customers do matter

Receive utmost feedback from your customers. Their opinions are important, and you must continue creating products that solve their problems. That’s why you need to collect information from consumers and analyze this data to modify your services. Surveys are beneficial tools for gathering information. Focus on what your consumers want, not what you wish to sell. If your services don’t resonate with the customers’ requirements, you might lose these people to your competitor.

10. Safeguard your assets

Your assets might be your last hope when your company encountered unavoidable collapse. Protect these assets since these are the lifelines you might need to save a failing business. This stuff you own can generate cash flow in the future and improve your organization’s financial situation. For instance, you can sell the machinery owned by the company or rent office space temporarily. These assets can become your much-needed backup for the business.

11. Trust your team

Your employees are your most precious asset. But it’s your responsibility to ensure their correct utilization. Employees who’re working just for the paycheck might not be the right choice for your company. You need to connect with them and ascertain that they understand your business model. Your workers must be dedicated individuals who’ve committed themselves to success. Train them to become more efficient and listen to their recommendations to promote communication.

12. Cherish the risk

Entrepreneurship thrives on risks and challenges. Some business owners prefer playing it safe during a time of crisis. In reality, avoiding risks may diminish your productivity and tamper with your innovative essence. Making brave decisions is often the route to save your failing company. When Private White decided to release branded products, they faced the responsibility of handling inventory and marketing. But this decision ultimately contributed to their growth and popularity.

Conclusion

As an entrepreneur, you might’ve speculated the most dominant reason for business failure. Here’s what the experts agreed upon after a careful investigation. According to the U.S. Bank, 82% of small businesses collapse due to poor cash-flow mismanagement! No wonder there’s an 80% chance that your company’s toast after two decades of service. Moreover, startups crumple since around 80% of them begin with insufficient funds or haven’t created a well-established business strategy. In short, money problems can rupture your smooth-sailing vessel and leave you a veteran of financial bankruptcy. So, avoid financial losses and develop a fiscal awakening. Follow our suggestions and avoid failure.