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5 Ways to Effectively Motivate Your Team as a Manager

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article | 5 Ways to Effectively Motivate Your Team as a ManagerHiring capable candidates that are a good fit for your organization is just the first step of building a happy and motivated workforce. If you fail to take steps to ensure that your employees are content in your organization, you risk having demoralized and inefficient staff. In addition, when team members are unhappy with management, they are far more likely to leave a company. In this case, you will lose stellar employees and increase expenditure.

Many businesses attempt to motivate their employees through money and other benefits. While these are undoubtedly effective, studies suggest that these are not always the most critical factors. Peer motivation and recognition are often more important aspects of a workplace when it comes to motivating staff. With this in mind, here are some management tactics you can implement to keep your team loyal and motivated.

Make the Workplace Somewhere People Enjoy Being

Unsurprisingly, not many people relish the thought of being stuck in dingy and dull office spaces while they work. Consequently, as a manager, you should take steps to make your workspace a visually enticing and aesthetically pleasing area.

One of the easiest ways to make an office a more pleasant place is to focus on the lighting. You should take the time to ensure that the spaces are well-lit. A poorly illuminated environment can quickly become mentally taxing for employees, reducing productivity and contributing to dissatisfaction in the workplace.

You don’t need to spend a fortune when revitalizing your office. Consider finding interesting art and furniture on local sales pages or in thrift stores. Regardless of what you decide to purchase, bringing a degree of character into workspaces will help to ensure that your employees are stimulated and happy when they are at work.

Support Your Team

This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how often managers forget this fundamental aspect of their jobs. Bad management is one of the primary factors contributing to staff turnover, so if your staff do not feel respected, listened to or supported, expect them to not stick around for long.

There are some fundamental aspects of managing a team that you should not overlook. For example, promoting honesty, support and communication in your organization is essential. However, if you are newer to management, you might be wondering where to begin when it comes to motivating your team. Consider reading up on the subject. Like any other skill, effective management takes time and knowledge to master, so reading material related to management could help you hone your management style.

Embrace Agile Principles

The agile manifesto helps to improve focus and motivation within your organization by focusing on continual improvement based on feedback. Additionally, it stresses the importance of technology as a tool to enable cross-team collaboration to create a workplace where teamwork and interaction between individuals are priorities.

Therefore, it is relatively clear how agile business management principles can help make your workplace where employees want to be. These principles are particularly suited to software development companies, but they can be applied across various industries. In fact, the majority of Fortune 500 companies utilize agile principles in their day-to-day operations. Therefore, if you want to create a happy and motivating environment, it is an excellent idea to promote engagement and collaboration using these. For more information about these agile principles and how they can help your company, check out Easy Agile.

Recognize Achievements

Often, all your staff expect from their employer is to be recognized and celebrated when they do their job well. As a result, you should not hesitate to offer honest praise to your team members when you notice them going above and beyond. For example, when employees put a lot of time and effort into completing a project, or you see them helping their co-workers, let them know that you appreciate it.

While this might seem like a minor thing, it can make a world of difference to your staff. The principle of recognizing efforts makes people feel more appreciated in the workplace and will compel them to continue to deliver maximum effort while performing their jobs. This is well documented, as employees whose hard work is regularly praised report that they enjoy their jobs more than those who are not.

Ultimately, this is one of the most effective ways of motivating staff. It helps individuals feel more connected with and loyal to a company, which will boost their performance while at work. Keeping your team happy and invested in the company is essential to avoid losing valuable team members. Losing employees can damage morale, reduce efficiency and lead to significant expenditure, so you should avoid it at all costs. Thankfully, simply recognizing their efforts is one of the most effective ways of developing a happy workforce.

Be Flexible in Your Scheduling

The ways of working have changed a lot over recent years thanks to technology. This was never as clear as during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many office workers were forced to work from home to prevent viral transmission. Restrictions on working from shared spaces provided many valuable lessons for both employers and employees. One of the most significant takeaways was that working doesn’t need to fit into a regimented nine to five schedule.

With modern communication and remote working solutions, it is possible to pick up and finish work when convenient. For many, this has been a massive boon for their work/life balance, as it allows them to fit their working hours into their busy schedules. Therefore, flexible working arrangements can be an excellent way to motivate employees and entice them to stay at your organization. So, whether you offer opportunities to work from home or schedule the working week on a flexi-time basis, a flexible approach is often the best one.

The Takeaway

Motivated and happy employees are a cornerstone of any successful business. Therefore, your management style should incorporate tactics to ensure that your team members enjoy coming to work and feel like they are a valued part of the business. This can be facilitated by following the tips outlined above. Additionally, take care to regularly hone your management skills to ensure that you are constantly improving your methods of motivating your team.

How Social Media Benefits Your Business

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When it comes to designing a fully comprehensive marketing strategy, you have to include social media. Social media has given companies a level of access into human behavior unparalleled in the world before. It also gives companies huge scope to widen their reach and attract new customers. There is also scope to use the insights you gather to create better marking material going forwards and connect with your potential customer base in a more meaningful manner. Therefore it is a vital tool for showcasing your brand and increasing awareness.

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article | How Social Media Benefits Your Business

Align Messages with Core Values

Whenever you post something meaningful on social media, ensure that it relates in some way to your core values. Core values represent the underlying ethical principles of the organization. It helps if these values are present across all your campaign material and website. By using social media, you will express your key messages and communicate and connect with people from all walks of life. When people visit your website as a result of this material, they can see that you are exactly what you say you are. Having a coherent strategy is essential in order to get your messages out there and appear genuine. This builds trust, and therefore loyalty and social media is a huge asset in this way.

Boosting Brand Awareness

When you upload a post on social media, you don’t really know where it will end up. What that means is that the reach social media gives to your material is extremely large. Users have the chance to share, comment, and likes which keeps the posts relevant. You need to have a great social media strategy to keep people interested; you need images and stories to share. You need to post regularly up to three times a day to become recognizable. It takes at least seven viewings of your brand name to become a recognized brand, so you need to keep posting. But social media is a way to get your brand out there and in people’s heads.

Customer Engagement

One of the major advantages of social media is the scope it gives you to embrace customer engagement. Never has it been so easy to communicate with your potential customer base. You can talk directly to people in a fun and social way, which engenders meaningful chat. It is through this type of engagement that valuable insights can be gathered. Arguably the most important aspect is that you will really come to know your key customer type. You are likely to be engaging with people who have a stake in what you are offering, so you will be able to create an ideal customer profile through this. With this information, you can create better products and services which suit your customer’s needs better, and you can create better marketing material that powerfully speaks to these people. Customer engagement offers a whale range of other benefits, too, such as humanizing your brand and having that emotional connection. If you want more help with building this sort of engagement, why not try some community software.

How Social Media Benefits Your Business

With the development of sophisticated communication apps that connect millions of people, businesses can now maximize and reach a wider audience with strategic marketing. However, sometimes it may be challenging where to start and what methods to use to get a specific group. So, begin by solving seo challenges by having a professional seo service provider run this process.

After you fix your seo, you’ll be able to tailor your marketing to a specific audience. Therefore, you can be assured of increased traffic to your website and increased sales in the long run. But, of course, you also want to incorporate other methods to give your business more traffic and exposure.

Why do Most Start-ups Fail? Find out Here

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If you want to make sure that your start-up has the highest chance of success, then you need to make sure that you have a solid plan and that you also take the time to avoid some of the top mistakes that most entrepreneurs make. If you want to find out more, look below.

A Poor Market

A poor market is one of the biggest reasons why a lot of companies fail. It may be that you don’t have a compelling value proposition or that you don’t have a compelling reason to make your buyer purchase your product. Good sales reps will often tell you that if you want to make a lot of sales, you need to have a product that people need to have, as opposed to one that they want. If you want to make sure that this is the case with your product, then you need to take your time when planning out your business idea. You need to make sure that you have analyzed your competition, and that you have an edge. If you do not have this edge, then everything will work against you.

StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article | Why do Most Start-ups Fail? Find out Here

Model Failure

Another mistake that a lot of entrepreneurs make is that they are far too optimistic about how easy it is going to be for them to acquire new customers. They assume that if they make an interesting website or service, that customers will come beating on their door. This may happen with your first few customers, but after that, you may find that it is a constant uphill battle to get more. You have to make sure that you are acquiring customers for less money than the sales you’re making. If you want to do this, then you have to make sure that you work out the true cost of customer acquisition. This is the best way for you to come out on top.

Bad Management

Next up, bad management. If you have a poor management team then they may have a weak product. They may end up making a product that nobody wants to buy because there wasn’t enough time spent on the research and development stage. They may also be very poor at execution, and this can lead to products not getting made properly, or on time at all. This will trickle down your business and it will make it much harder for you to generate a good income.

Running out Of Cash

When you start a business, you have to make sure that you plan out your expenses. It may be that you need Metrology Parts or that you need to invest in a commercial space. Either way, you have to make sure that your expenses are never more than the income you have coming in. Many start-ups don’t plan out their expenses as well as they could, and this can lead to major issues. Take the time to plan out every single thing you need to buy, and then work out a profit plan to get your business to where it needs to be.

The Five Pillars of Modern Marketing Success

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StrategyDriven, Business Management, SMS marketing, Email Marketing, Marketing Campaigns,Marketing is everywhere in modern life, and understanding it is crucial to entrepreneurial success. Everything you purchase has been advertised to you through strategic marketing, from the food you eat, to the furniture in your home, to your car, to the software you use daily!

When you start a business and are trying to find the right marketing strategy to take it to the next level, it can be difficult to know where to begin. There’s so much saturation online these days when it comes to marketing advice, how do you know who to trust?

In this post, you’ll learn the five pillars of modern marketing success – no bias, no pitch, just straight-up advice from experts. These are also known as the Five P’s – product, place, price, promotion and people.

By learning these Five P’s and applying them to your business strategy, you’ll have a clear idea of how to proceed with your marketing campaigns in the future.

Let’s get going!

Pillar #1: Product.

Of course, the primary feature of a great marketing strategy is the product. Without an amazing product, the remaining pillars are all holding up a concept that simply won’t be strong enough against your competitors. Even with amazing promotion and prices, a weak product will not stand the test of the modern sales climate.

Whatever your product or service may be, it needs to be watertight. That means that you must invest solidly in the manufacturing, sourcing and researching stages before your final product is ready to hit the shelves. Rushing the product creation stage is a mistake that so many new entrepreneurs make, and it comes back to bite them down the line.

Not only is having a great product important for your customers, it is also important for your company and your team. Having an incredible product that everyone believes in 100% will help rally your troops when times inevitably get tough. Believe in the product with all your heart, and the other pillars of marketing will serve to support this with strength and integrity.

Pillar #2: Place.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the concept of “place” has been, well, displaced. Whether you want your company to be local to your community or an online sensation that ships worldwide, you need to decide on the appropriate place in which to market it. Using the wrong platforms will hit the wrong customers, thereby making you miss out on key opportunities to expand your customer base and build a solid foundation.

When considering where to market your product, it is crucial to think about who you want to market the product towards. If your customer demographic is Gen-Z and Millennials, your product or service needs to be purchasable online, and marketed via social media and email marketing in an extremely effective way. On the other hand, if your product or service is designed to catch the attention of older generations or local people, making it available in a physical store and supporting it with great customer service is a must.

Pillar #3: Price

The price of your product or service is dependent on a huge number of external factors at play. These include:

  • Inflation or reduction of prices across your industry as a whole.
  • The coronavirus pandemic’s effect on pricing.
  • The location in which you are offering these services or products (for example, a massage therapist appointment in a metropolitan city will be priced more highly than one in a more rural area).
  • The quality of the product you are producing. If you are producing a mass produced product for little money, there should be a low price to reflect it – as opposed to a more elite product that costs more.
  • The reputation of your business. A new business might not be able to price as highly as similar competitors, because they will need to pull clients away from those competitors with lower pricing.

Pillar #4: Promotion

So you’ve got an awesome product, the right price point and the perfect place to sell it. What’s next? The next stage of your perfect marketing strategy is promotion. In order for people to know your product or service even exists, you need to promote it in the right place, in order to reach your customer demographic easily.

Nowadays, targeted ads and personalized marketing are the way forward. Email and retail SMS marketing are on the rise, as customers are searching for a more personal, unique experience from their retailers. They want the retailer to anticipate their needs and meet them. Getting a one-up on email and SMS marketing is one of the first things you should do as a new business.

Social media marketing is also an essential in this day and age, as we move into an age of social media being the go-to platform for shopping and socialization. Promoting your products using promotion ads, hashtags, giveaways and influencer gifting is a great way to make your business relevant in today’s world.

Pillar #5: People

The people who make up your business are of paramount importance when it comes to creating a successful marketing strategy. Without people who are experienced, hardworking and positive in the workplace, you might find that your brilliant ideas slip through your fingers.

Nobody achieves entrepreneurial success, even if the ideas and concepts come from their own brain. You need a team of dedicated individuals around you who have their finger on the pulse of modern day marketing, in order to achieve the success you dream of. Don’t underestimate how people can make or break your marketing strategy when push comes to shove!

It’s also worth noting how vital high-quality marketing materials are throughout this process. The most fundamental aspect of this is your website; it should be as high-quality as possible. Doing so will ensure customers find your site attractive, which makes them more likely to convert. Working with a web design agency can ensure you accomplish this.

Final thoughts…

The five pillars of modern marketing success are absolutely essential for any entrepreneur to learn. Marketing is becoming more and more intricate and complex, and in order to stay relevant and keep pushing to new heights you need to put huge investments of time, money and energy into your marketing campaigns.

Use this comprehensive guide to get you started if you are an entrepreneur looking to better your marketing skills!

Leadership Development Programs Can Help You Succeed

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |Leadership Development |Leadership Development Programs Can Help You SucceedThere are all types of options to consider, when it comes to advancing your goals. But one of the most important things you’ll need to do is learn how to be a good leader. Not only does that help you focus on your future, and move forward, but it can also give you opportunities to lead others who can work with you for a stronger future. Whether that’s going to be for your personal goals, or for your business, being able to rally people and lead them can be a very helpful skill to have. Here’s what to know about it.

Programs Can Help You Learn to Lead

When you want to learn new skills that help take you into the future, there are several ways to do that. You can study on your own, of course. You can also find a mentor, or a leader you can shadow. Both of those can be helpful, but a good program that will provide you with leadership information may be the very best way to go. Choosing the right leadership development programs means you can advance your goals more easily. That will help you learn everything you need to one, all in one place.

Developing Your Skills is Vital

Truly being a leader is about much more than just getting people to follow what you have to say. Good leaders work with others, and aren’t just sitting back, while others do all the work. If you want to develop your skills as a leader, leadership development programs are what to consider. They can help you focus on all the little details, and the kinds of skills you want to develop. Then you’ll be able to confidently lead people, and allow them to make their own choices and set their own goals while they follow your lead.

It’s a great feeling to have the skills that can get you to a better future. When you look for leadership development programs, also consider how you want to bring other people along on your leadership journey. Good, strong leaders have the skills to help and encourage others, even while they’re developing their own skills, as well. That way, everyone involved benefits from what that leader is offering to the world. You could find yourself in that position, with the right leadership development programs as a guide.

Good Leaders Change the World

A true leader is someone that people want to follow. They see that leader as having something very valuable, and they want to make sure they’re finding ways to be a part of it. With quality leadership development programs at your disposal, you can choose the one that helps you change the world. Not only will you improve things for yourself, but you’ll be able to encourage changes in others that will have a ripple effect. Those ripples will move out into the world, and cause change on a wider scale.

Choosing the Right Program Matters

Choosing from available leadership development programs is an important first step. While they all have the same basic ideas at their core, you want to get one that’s going to give you what you really need for success. That may look different from what works for someone else, simply because everyone is different in what really resonates with them. You can find a great focus for a leadership program by considering what speaks to you and the kind of leader you want to be, as you plan for your future.

Don’t Settle for Less Than a Great Future

There’s a great future out there for you, and the right choice of leadership development programs can help you get there faster and with more confidence. Whether you’re already leading people and need to work on how you’re doing that, or you aren’t yet leading people and want to get started, leadership development programs are great ways to get the information you need, so you can get moving. There’s no reason to settle for anything less than what really matters to you, when it comes to leadership goals.

Consider the Skills You Want to Encourage

The skills you already have, as well as the skills you want to learn, both need to be encouraged and developed if you’re going to be a successful leader. You’ll want to focus on those skills, and cultivate them through the right leadership program. That can help send you down the path of true leadership, and also give you more skills and abilities to encourage yourself, too. Not only can you help others with your new skills and mindset, but you can focus on the qualities that will increase what you can do in the workplace and in your personal life. The right leadership development programs can make a significant difference for all you want to do.