5 Simple Ways You Can Improve Your Operational Efficiency Right Now

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Operational Efficiency|5 Simple Ways You Can Improve Your Operational Efficiency Right NowYou’ve heard this popular phrase more times than you can count: time is money. Of course, time isn’t literally money – but it’s pretty close.

Many managers throw money into marketing when trying to increase profits. While marketing is undoubtedly an essential part of a successful business, if you’re overlooking operational efficiency, you’re going to miss out on a portion of the returns that come from a great marketing campaign.

To improve your operational efficiency, consider these five simple tips that you can implement today.

Improve and increase your analytics tracking

First thing’s first: if you don’t know where your operational efficiency is lacking, you can’t fix it. To improve efficiency, you’ll first need to make sure you’re able to see your data and analytics in real-time.

This means that if you’re still using Excel spreadsheets to track data, it’s time to make an upgrade. There are many different types of analytics software on the market today, including SAS Business Analytics (SAS BA) and Tableau Big Data Analytics.

Take some time to research your options, and invest in a software program that fits your company’s needs and goals.

Increase automation

If your IT and administrative staff are filling their time with tasks that could easily be automated, you’re wasting both their potential and your company’s operational efficiency potential.

Any task that has a repetitive nature can easily be automated. Using your data analytics, pinpoint tasks that are taking up a lot of your employees’ time and automate these. Automation will allow your staff to spend more time on the non-repetitive tasks, which is where they really shine.

Emphasize training

Poorly managed companies don’t just hurt their employees; they hurt themselves too. If you’re not putting your employees first, your business will never flourish as much as it could.

One important way to put your employees first is to make sure they receive substantial training. Don’t just do the bare minimum; make sure they don’t just know how to complete their job duties, but they have the tools they need to excel at them.

Proper training also prevents workplace injuries, thereby keeping your employees at work.

Use load boards

If your business regularly ships supplies or products, you may be able to increase operational efficiency by using a load board. Load boards are similar to a job board in that they are a resource for both shippers looking for carriers, as well as carriers looking for loads.

Load boards are mutually beneficial, as they help shippers quickly find a carrier without spending time calling and emailing. Additionally, carriers benefit by maximizing their earnings by filling their trucks to the maximum load.

Improve cross-department communication

Though your department may be communicating effectively top-down and vice versa, if there are communication issues between departments, your operational efficiency is being sacrificed.

Improving your communication software doesn’t have to be costly; it just has to work for your company’s unique needs. Set up a meeting with departmental heads and come up with a strategy to improve communication between yourselves.

This will save all departments substantial time, which at the end of the day is what operational efficiency is all about.

How to Choose the Right Proxy Server for Canada

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Proxy Server for Canada|How to Choose the Right Proxy Server for CanadaThere may be a situation when you need to check a certain site to see how it looks in Canada. Maybe it’s because in your country it’s banned, and any other location will do. Maybe you specifically need a Canadian mock location to see how the Canadians see a certain page. If you cannot visit Canada in person, you may use a proxy. This is how to choose the right one among popular Canada proxy servers for your activity.

Right Proxies and How to Choose Them

The first question many of us ask when searching for a proxy: free or commercial? If you need to pretend to be a Canadian resident just once, you may be good with one of those free proxies or VPNs that offer their browser extensions and lots of ads. But if it’s a systematic part of your activity, you better choose a commercial service with defined terms and responsibilities. After all, you share your sensitive data with these services: your actual IP address and system data, the sites you visit, and so on.

There are other important details about proxies you should consider:

  • Legal aspects. If your relations are not regulated, it may be risky.
  • Connection speed.
  • Simultaneous connections. A number of them may be necessary for certain jobs, like logging in through multiple test accounts or checking the functioning of your website.
  • Data volumes they offer under various plans.
  • Uptime (which should be at least 99.99%)
  • Setup ease. Usually, you don’t need any extra software to use a proxy on your computer. You just receive the IP address, login and password you enter in your browser or in your network settings. Some providers, though, may offer it a different way.
  • Precise location selection. This is one of the aspects that matter in Canada for website managers and admins, and here is why.

What to Know About Canada When Choosing a Proxy

The main thing everybody knows about Canada is its bilingual status. Two languages are official in Canada, namely English and French. They are both widely spoken but spread unevenly: most French speakers dwell in the Quebec province.

If you are making a multilingual website, and you are concerned about displaying it in the right default language for potential viewers, you should not settle for just checking how it opens in Canada. You better check it from various Canada proxies, at least one in Montreal (or other location where French prevails) and one in Ottawa, Toronto, or any other English-speaking place. Catering to your clients this way will show your attitude.

This is one more reason to use commercial proxies. Free ones usually don’t let you adjust your location that precisely, only offering you to choose the country. With Canada, your business may require more.

The Conclusion

If you appreciate your privacy, security, time, and correctness of the results, a proxy is not a thing to save on. Especially if you run an ecommerce project that requires correct and precise feedback. Accessing sites under a Canadian disguise without the necessity to leave home or hire a Canadian resident is a great advantage provided by proxies. So if your business or everyday activity has something to do with this country, Canadian proxy will ease your life.

Why Aren’t Customers Entering Your Retail Store?

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Retail Store|Why Aren't Customers Entering Your Retail Store?You invested a lot of money into a retail unit in a fantastic location. In fact, the heavy foot traffic that comes through this area is the main reason you moved your business there. Strangely, despite opening your doors a few weeks ago, you’re struggling to attract any passers-by to your retail store.

Some may stop outside, intrigued by the new store, but they rarely enter. Why is this the case? Why aren’t customers entering your retail store? A whole plethora of answers can follow this question, but we’ve narrowed it down to the most obvious ones:

Your storefront is unattractive

Nobody will enter a store if it looks really unattractive. The signage seems cheap, the shop windows are dirty, the paint is chipped, and you just generally don’t have a very inviting storefront.

It discourages people from paying you a visit, so you need to work on this right away. Start by investing in commercial cleaning services to get the front of your store looking shiny and clean. Then, work on improving your sign so it looks bold and professional. Finally, improve your window displays to encourage people to come inside. A better storefront will instantly boost the chances of seeing foot traffic in your store.

You have no online presence

That’s right, your online presence will heavily dictate your foot traffic.

How? Well, think about how most people start their journey as customers. They begin by searching for products online, which is when they are likely to find your store. Good local SEO means people can see that your shop exists and get directions to it via Google Maps. Thus, they travel down to pay you a visit and buy what they need.

You’re lacking foot traffic because you assume that everyone on the street is already interested in what you have to offer. This isn’t the case; your store might catch some people’s eyes, but most of your customers will start online and come down to see you.

You offer nothing unique

Your retail store is in a fantastic location, but the problem is that you’re surrounded by other retail stores all offering similar things. Even worse, some of these stores are big brands that have well-established reputations.

So, why would someone walk into your store when they could walk a few yards down the street and enter the one that they know they can trust?

To gain more foot traffic, you need to either set your store up in a location where it’ll be more unique or offer something that makes you stand out. What’s different about your store compared to similar ones? Do you sell a particular product that nobody else stocks? Have you got deals that they don’t? Work on making your store more unique, and this can help you gain more foot traffic.

This is why people aren’t entering your retail store. If you make some changes and things still don’t improve, you have to reassess whether or not a physical store is a good idea. Perhaps you’re destined to struggle for foot traffic as your business would operate much better as an online-only entity? Still, a lot of stores will see improvements after tackling the issues discussed above.

Signs You Are Ready To Start Outsourcing

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Start Outsourcing|Signs You Are Ready To Start OutsourcingOne of the best decisions that you can ever make when you’re a business owner, is to hand over pieces of your business to other people. It’s not that you’re giving your business away or allowing them to have a stake in it, it’s about outsourcing. Outsourcing is not a bad thing – it doesn’t mean you’re losing control. Instead, outsourcing is about getting some help.

You want your company to grow, and whether you’re hiring a virtual assistant, or using Azumo to help you with your software development, you should choose outsourcing to help your company get where it needs to be. You have to think about your goals and your end game with your company. You want your business to be a success, don’t you? Below, we have got all the signs that you are ready to start outsourcing.

  • You get to step back for a moment. Running your own business can be very full on, you have a lot of plates to spin at once and you have to do them well otherwise you’re not going to be a success. When you outsource, you get to step back from your business but you’re not stepping away from your goals. You remain in the loop and you’re making all of the right decisions, but you’re not handling it by yourself. An outsourced expert is there to work with you as a partner.
  • You’re ready to let go. As I mentioned, you’re not handling all of this by yourself. In fact, it can take some guts to let go of things and let somebody else take over. This is a huge sign of your own strength as a business leader that you’re able to do this. You can feel things piling up on you, and you’re smart enough not to burn out. That’s a great sign that you’re ready to start outsourcing.
  • You can see that it’s an incredible investment. Do you know everything there is to know about technology? Of course you don’t. You’re not expected to. It’s an investment to put money into other people‘s talents and other people’s education. When you outsource certain areas of your business, that’s exactly what you’re doing. You’re hiring somebody who knows better than you do, and that’s a great reason to outsource.
  • You’re ready to branch out. When you’re ready to expand on your business and exceed your current goals, it can always help to have a second set of eyes in the most important areas of your business. Let’s take software development for example, you need somebody who knows exactly what they’re doing to bring the software you currently have into the future. They are there to upgrade it, maintain it, and manage it so that it doesn’t go wrong. If you can find the time to fit that into your day, you wouldn’t need to outsource – but here you are!

Outsourcing could be the best thing that you ever do for your business, so what are you waiting for?

Simple Ways To Spruce Up Your Business Premises

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |business premises|Simple Ways To Spruce Up Your Business PremisesThe way that your business premises is presented can have a huge impact on the way it is received by your audience, as an unkempt, untidy and poorly planned storefront can encourage your customers to doubt the value or quality of the products and services that you provide. Unattractive business premises may damage your reputation by giving out the wrong impression and cause you to actually lose out on customers, so there’s truly no time like the present to start improving your aesthetics today! So, if you’re interested in finding out more about how you can spruce up your business premises, then read on to discover some of the simplest steps that you can follow now to make a noticeable difference in no time at all!

Revamp Your Signage

One of the easiest ways to spruce up your business premises is by revamping your signage. Your signs are a way of your audience identifying your business, so they need to be bold, eye-catching and easy to read. There’s no point in using dark text on a dark background, as this is going to be hard to identify and your customers may not even recognize your business as a result. Always maintain a white or light colored background with large dark text, as this way your signs will be visible from far away! Use the opportunity to inject a little creativity and individuality in your signage, as you need to find a way to stand out from the crowd! Just don’t go overboard with graphics and patterns, as this can end up forcing your business into looking tacky and somewhat unprofessional. Hang your signs in clear view of any roadways, sidewalks or similar high traffic areas to ensure they benefit from the largest amount of exposure possible!

Address The Need For Curb Appeal

If you can’t draw new customers in, then you will need to rely upon repeat clients to keep your business alive. This will be more than tricky, as every business requires a certain percentage of new customers each week in order to benefit from sufficient income to cover costs and generate a profit. So, if your business premises lacks the curb appeal needed to draw in every person that walks past, then you’re likely headed for choppy waters. Curb appeal encompasses everything from your walls and external structure to your parking lot and the driveway or sidewalk that leads up to your business, so you need to get outside and take a long hard look at your premises to understand whether any improvements can be made. Hiring a paving contractor or professional painter to spruce up your business premises can be such an affordable yet effective way to revitalize the aesthetic and upgrade your curb appeal.

Sprucing up your business premises has never been so simple when you can take the time to utilize some of the brilliant tips and tricks that have been carefully detailed above! So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and transform your store today!