5 Things to Consider When Finding the Right Commercial Premises

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Commercial Premises|5 Things to Consider When Finding the Right Commercial PremisesWhen you are looking to take your business to the next level, you need to start looking at commercial premises. However, where do you even start when it comes to looking for premises, and what do you need to be considering?

Commercial premises can help to elevate your business to the next level, so it is a decision that you do not want to get wrong.

1. Is the Premises Fit for Purpose?

To begin with, when you are starting your search, you need to look at whether or not a premises is fit for purpose. Changing the use of business premises, or trying to change something to fit your use will be costly and timely. It is better to get premises that are fit for purpose straight away, as opposed to trying to alter (or completely change) what you are looking at. Knowing what you need is crucial, even in the early ages of your search.

2. What Location Do You Need?

Creating a checklist will aid your search. For example, do you need a location that has great footfall? Are you looking for an out of town location, or is a huge parking lot important to you and to your business?

3. Is it Well-Built and In a Good State of Repair?

Some commercial buildings can look great on first inspection; however, when you start to look closely, you notice that work needs doing. For example, it may need a new commercial roof or it may need extensive repairs to make it watertight. If possible, try and visit the premises you are looking at on several occasions before committing or making a decision. To further aid your decision, you may also find it beneficial to seek assistance from a surveyor, or another contractor, who may be able to see things that you may have overlooked.

4. How Much Will It Cost Per Month?

Whether you are buying or leasing new commercial premises, you still need to know the cost per month. When you factor in everything from insurance, to business and trading rates – right down to electricity, water, and other utility costs, can you still afford it? You do not want to take on a large property if realistically you will only be using a quarter of it.

5. What Rates Will You Have to Pay?

Speaking to the owner, or asking the property agent, is always a good thing to do (even at an early stage in your search). Establishing what rates you will have to pay to the owner, or even to the local state, will help you see if the location is still affordable. For example, a lot of town center premises will have extra rates placed on them, to ensure that the area is kept clean and tidy for all visitors and residents. These costs will all add up, and they will be added to the top of your purchase price, or lease price. So, before committing, check not only that you are in the right location, but also check the property is affordable both now and moving forwards in the future.

Everything you Need to Know About Influencer Marketing

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Influencer Marketing|Everything you Need to Know About Influencer MarketingSocial media marketing is one of the fastest-growing and effective marketing tools. With the recent pandemic making people more digitally engaged, influencer marketing has proven very powerful. This is a great way to significantly increase engagement with your products, increase sales and strengthen your brand image. Before engaging in this type of marketing, you need to understand it fully. Hence, the article below has been tailored with information to guide you through influencer marketing.

Influencer Marketing- Explained

Have you ever bought a product simply because it was advertised by a certain celebrity or brand influencer? Influencer marketing is the type of marketing in which a brand collaborates with an online influencer for endorsements and recommendations of their products and services.

Through the influencer marketing platform, mostly social media, the signed influencer uses different strategies orchestrated by the sales and marketing team to reach the target audience. This mode of social media marketing is highly beneficial in generating leads since the target audience trusts and can get a testimonial from these content creators.

Tips to ensure a successful Influencer marketing campaign

Set your goals, budget, management, and strategy

It is important that you clearly define the purpose of your campaign. For instance, is your goal to strengthen and increase brand awareness, increase conversions or push a certain product? With this information in place, it will be easier to determine the strategy you intend to use for the campaign. For example, will you use tutorials, testimonials, or engaging social media trends to push your message? Most importantly, predetermine your budget to avoid any mishaps and setbacks along the way.

Define your target audience

Whether you are the influencer or intend to involve an influencer for your business campaign, you first need to determine your audience. This will help you create personalized content and give a voice and experience that resonates. This way, the people can relate to and bond with your product. Moreover, this can help build brand loyalty. It would help if you were specific about your target audiences, such as age, gender, education level, background, area of residence, and preferences. Keep in mind that there is a difference between a target audience and a target market.

Select the right team of influencers

The primary reason for getting an influencer to run your campaign is for your target audience to get a voice they can trust and relate to. The authentic content creators organically gain a following by creating content, videos, and blogs that the audience can identify with, building loyalty. You need to comprehend the different types of influencers to get an impression of who will best promote your brand with high quality. Ensure that the influencer content is relevant to your brand and genuinely engages your audience.

Problems you are likely to encounter

As lucrative as this marketing move maybe, you are likely to encounter problems in the process. They include:

Misalignment with your brand ethics

Partnering with a brand influencer can sometimes adversely affect your brand’s image. This occurs in cases where they get caught up in scandals. In some cases, they do or say something that triggers negative emotions in the audience, which will then reflect on the brand the same way.

Social media implausibility

Influencing being a lucrative business, some content creators tend to take shorter routes to gain followers. Some buy accounts, while others use fake followers to appear extremely influential. This could hurt your campaign as the audience is not legit.

Final Thought

Ensure you thoroughly research the feed first as you aim to boost your brand and business through such an influencer marketing platform. For effectiveness, ensure you track analytics that shows your progress since you took this step. Remember to check for any rules or regulations surrounding such partnerships to avoid problems. The brand influencer or ambassador should always advocate for your brand and have integrity.

5 Workplace Design Factors That Boost Employee Satisfaction

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Workplace Design|5 Workplace Design Factors That Boost Employee SatisfactionToday’s employees are a miserable bunch. Yes, their wages have been stagnant for the last twenty years, but it’s more fundamental than that. Most of them are essentially dissatisfied with their work, and their lives.

Part of the solution, according to some companies at least, is to change the workplace. Altering the design is seen as a way to drive engagement and make workers a little happier. Google and Facebook have turned their offices into what looks like kids’ playgrounds. But are there sensible ways to appease today’s generation of fussy workers? Let’s take a look:

Blended Activity Design

In the past, offices were home to quite simple work. Clerks would sit in row upon row of desks, signing off forms, checking statements, and approving applications. It was all pretty easy and banal stuff.

Then things began to change. Computers automated most of the rote tasks, freeing workers up to do messier, harder-to-define things.

Unfortunately, many offices didn’t keep pace. Employers designed their layouts on the assumption that most people would be working alone, most of the time. But that’s not always the case. In fact, in most organizations, constant collaboration is essential.

The solution is blended activity design. The idea is to create spaces that allow workers to do multiple things at once. Huddle spaces, project rooms, conference rooms – they’re all helpful.

Accessibility

Workers want accessible workspaces. They don’t want to have to walk up flights of stairs to pokey offices, or step over annoying thresholds.

That’s why many firms are now working with companies, like Sheridan Lifts. The basic idea is to make it easier for everyone to get around, including wheelchair users.

Wellbeing Design

As stated in the introduction, today’s workers are not the happiest bunch. While you’ll sometimes get a smile out of them, it’s not the norm.

General angst is a major issue. Employees are anxious all the time, sitting at their desks, sweating nervously over reports that they write.

Companies know this, which is why many are designing their offices for wellbeing. They include plenty of natural daylight, uplifting colors and plants. The overall effect is to turn the office into a much more welcoming and joyful space, not something that looks like it came right out of the 1980s.

Employee Appeal

Employees also want workplaces that appeal to their priorities. Including amenities such as gyms, outdoor break areas and pingpong tables in the canteen can make a big difference.

While these additions seem trivial to management, they send out a clear message that the company is interested in looking after its employees. Wellbeing is top-of-mind for many firms that implement these strategies.

Integrated Technology

BYOB is great for employees and businesses, but it can make life difficult for workers when the office isn’t compatible. Make sure that you make room for employee equipment by keeping desks and other countertops free from clutter. Eliminating wires by using structured wiring solutions can also help, and it allows you to shift your office around in the future, if you’re not happy with it today.

The Three Things Any Business Owner Must Have To Succeed In The Future

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Business Owner|The Three Things Any Business Owner Must Have To Succeed In The FutureIn order to be successful in the future, businesses will need to keep an open mind to change, embrace new technologies and prepare for a future where automation dominates many industries. By keeping these essential points in mind, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and continue to thrive well into the future!

1. Why Businesses Need To Keep An Open Mind To Change

The world is constantly evolving, and businesses that don’t keep up will quickly fall behind. In order to stay competitive, companies need to be willing to embrace change and adapt to new technologies. They’ll be well-prepared for the future when automation dominates many industries if they can do this.

One example of a business that didn’t adapt to change is Blockbuster. They refused to embrace new technologies, such as online streaming, and as a result, they went bankrupt. Another example is Kodak. They were a leader in the photography industry for many years, but when digital cameras became popular, they failed to embrace the new technology and went bankrupt.

2. Why Businesses Need To Embrace New Technologies

New technologies are constantly emerging, and companies that don’t embrace them will quickly lose ground to their competitors. By embracing new technologies, companies can gain a competitive advantage and stay ahead of the curve. They can also find new ways to improve their products and services.

Some examples of new technologies in the business world include open source web crawlers, which can index websites and track changes. Other examples include big data analytics, which can gain insights into customer behavior, and blockchain technology. This, again, can be used to secure online transactions. By embracing these new technologies, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and remain competitive in the future.

3. Why Businesses Need To Prepare For A Future Dominated By Automation

Automation is rapidly changing how businesses operate, and those who don’t prepare for it will be left behind. Automation can help companies to save money and become more efficient. It can also help them reach new markets and customers. By preparing for a future dominated by automation, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and thrive in the years to come!

Businesses can save money with automation by automating their payroll processes. Automated payroll systems can help companies save time and money, and they can also help ensure that employees are paid accurately and on time.

Another way businesses can save money with automation is by automating their marketing campaigns. Automated marketing systems can help enterprises save time and money, and they can also help ensure that campaigns are executed flawlessly.

An industry that successfully embraced automation is the manufacturing industry. Over the years, automation has slowly replaced human workers in many factories. This has helped factories become more efficient and produce more products at a lower cost.

One example of a factory that embraced automation is Foxconn. They are a Taiwanese company that manufactures electronic products for Apple, Dell, and HP. To keep up with the market’s ever-changing demands, they have slowly been replacing human workers with robots. As a result, they have reduced their production costs by up to 60%.

The Future In Now

So, if you want to be successful in the future, make sure you have all three of these things in place. And if you don’t currently have them, don’t worry – it’s not too late to start working on them. Just remember, the key is to keep moving forward and always be learning.

Organizing the Perfect Company Retreat

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Company Retreat|Organizing the Perfect Company RetreatA company retreat is an excellent way for your employees to bond, learn some new skills and get out of the office. They can range from a simple day out or a more extended weekend-style retreat but are worth considering to strengthen the bonds between your employees. A company activity outside the office can also be an opportunity for you and the rest of your company to take a break and come back to work rejuvenated.

What are Company Retreats?

A company retreat is an opportunity for you and your employees to spend some together outside of the office. This is a great way to get to know your colleagues in a more social setting and take a break from work. A company retreat could also involve different activities designed to increase productivity and trust within your team.

What are the Benefits of a Company Retreat?

There are many benefits to organizing a company retreat. It can be an excellent way for your employees to learn new skills and adopt new attitudes that may increase their productivity inside the office. By encouraging bonding and trust between your employees, you may also see an increased level of efficient teamwork.

A company retreat is a great way to improve your company culture, like flexible working schedules, benefits, and opportunities to give positive feedback. A company retreat could be a way to demonstrate to your employees how much you value them and reward their hard work with some fun activities. Even a small out-of-office activity, like a day out or an organized dinner, can help you and your colleagues approach your work with renewed vigor.

Choosing the Right Retreat for your Business?

Firstly you’ll need to consider the external factors like when everyone is free, the budget for the retreat, and time constraints. If you don’t have the money or time for a multiple-day retreat, something more simple may suit you and your team better.

A classic retreat is to take your team outdoors and learn survival and camping skills, as well as spending some quality time in nature. If that sounds like the perfect idea, you’ll need to ensure that everyone is safe at all times. You may want to consider a wilderness first aid course in case of any unexpected danger. The first aid course could be a chance for your employees to bond and learn in of itself.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you can even hire an external company to organize the retreat for you to make sure that whatever skills you think your company can benefit from are being taught by professionals.

A simple company outing to go out for dinner, bowling, or a group trip to see a film can be a good way for your employees to get to know each other outside of work. However, a more intense company retreat could be even better to do workshops together, to build or learn certain assets. Either way, you’ll find that your team has become closer and can come back to work refreshed and energetic.