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Ensure That You’re Covered Before Things Go Wrong

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We’re sure that you have heard of the phrase ‘expect the unexpected’, and that’s the kind of idea that we’re going for in this article. It’s important when you own a business that you ensure you are covered before things start going wrong so that if they do, you don’t have to panic. Obviously, it’s never good to see things go wrong for your company, but at least you’re in a position where you are covered and not left to hang out to dry. So, in this article, we’re going to give you some ideas on how you can ensure you’re covered. If you want to know more, keep reading down below.

IT Services

StrategyDriven Risk Management Article | Ensure That You're Covered Before Things Go Wrong

The first thing that we are going to look at is IT services. Now, if you don’t currently have strong IT services for your business, this is something that you need to change fast. Unfortunately, even though tech has made the business world easier and more efficient in many ways, it is also one of the ways that people can get to your business. Hacking and cybercrime is a real problem, and don’t make the mistake of thinking that it can’t or won’t happen to you. Take the necessary precautions and keep yourself one step ahead by hiring experts to set up and monitor your systems. This way, you know that a professional has handled everything, and will be keeping an eye out for any kind of suspicious activity. This is the best thing you can do to keep your business safe in terms of the online world, so don’t forget to do it.

Insurance

Something else that’s going to be helpful to keep your business covered is having all the necessary insurance. If you go to a broker, they are going to be able to help you figure out what insurance your business needs, and which policies aren’t going to be relevant to you. This way, if something does happen to your business, such as a halt in operations due to the Coronavirus, which is a big issue right now, or if there are any problems with an employee, then you should be covered. Take precautions, and listen to the expert when they advise you about what policies you need, you never know when you’re going to need to be protected. It could be the case that you think you’ll never need the policy, but it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Have A Lawyer On Retainer

Finally, we highly recommend that you have a lawyer on retainer in case of any legal issues that you might get involved in. Like we mentioned above, some businesses have issues with employees, such as if they think they have been terminated unfairly and so on, which means you need legal advice. Having a lawyer on retainer means that you can get this advice quickly, without having to try and find a reputable law firm to take you on at the last minute.

We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see that you need to be covered before things go wrong to protect your business.

Tips for Giving Your Business a Successful Global Presence

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When you are trying to run a global brand it is so important to understand what this entails. You need to try to make the most of any opportunities you get to improve the business. There are a lot of things you can and should do in order to help take your company international and develop a strong global presence.

Modern businesses develop in a lot of ways, and one of the best things you can do is to think about the changes you need to make in order to help make the most of this. Now, there are a lot of things you are going to have to get right when it comes to giving your company a global presence, and these are some of the best ideas that can help with that.

Diverse Employees

One of the best ways of turning your business into a global brand and trying to make positive changes in the future is to ensure that you are hiring a diverse body of staff. Trying to bring in people from all walks of life, and with different backgrounds and cultures is really important. You are going to have to figure out the best way of being able to achieve this. Do as much as you can to figure out some of the best employees you should be hiring as a business right now.

Professional Translators

Something else you could do to really set your business apart from the rest, and make a great impression moving forward is to hire professional translators. This is a hugely important move when it comes to impressing foreign clients, and showing them that the business cares about them. Head over to this website and check out the services they offer, so you can see what it takes to make the most of this and find the ideal translators for your business.

Rebranding

You have to do as much as you can to ensure you have a business that is perfectly suited for a foreign marketplace, and the way to achieve this is to work on rebranding. You have a lot you need to keep in mind when it comes to improving and assessing the best ways of being able to do this. Sometimes, you might find that things get lost in translation, and this means you need to consider a rebrand so that your company is in the best condition it can be to thrive in a foreign market. One of the things that is going to help you the most is to think about the cultural differences between the country you want to build a presence in and the one you are from. Getting this right could make all the difference when protecting your company.

As you can see, when you are trying to run a successful business it is important to look at how you can turn it into an international brand. Now, there are plenty of ideas that will help you with this, and trying to launch a business abroad isn’t exactly an easy proposition. Follow these ideas and you will be well placed to make the most of this right now.

How to Successfully Market a Niche Business

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article | How to Successfully Market a Niche BusinessMarketing any business is a tricky process. There are many different elements to consider, from the target audience to the allocated budget. Then there are all the different advertising channels available, where you have to try and figure out which ones work best for a business.

It’s difficult, right? Well, throw a specialised niche into the mix, and the challenge becomes even more severe.

Or is it?

While working in a particular niche will limit the options available, there’s still plenty of potential to craft a killer marketing plan. It just depends on how you approach the task. To help you out, here are a few tips on how to successfully market a niche business.

Know the audience

As with any business, any marketing plan begins with getting to grips with the audience it is targeting. You need to understand why customers decide to shop at your niche business. You also have to figure out what might be turning them away, and if there are any potential opportunities available that are currently untapped.

Remember: this is more than just the basics like gender, age range, and income. You must gain a deep understanding of their behaviour patterns and preferences.

Use the right content

Once you understand the audience, you’ll already have a firm grasp on what type of content will work to bring them in.

For instance, if you were promoting a law firm, flashy graphics and funny videos are not exactly suitable. The audience you are targeting is one that seeks a company that exudes professionalism and expertise. Posting cat memes is only going to reflect badly on the law firm.

Get the content right, engage with the audience, and start reaping the rewards.

Don’t avoid local customers

When you’re marketing a niche, it can be easy to try and cast a net wide in an attempt to capture every potential customer. This is a possibility depending on just how specialised the niche is, of course, but you shouldn’t lose focus on an important aspect: the local audience

In fact, certain specialised businesses depend on their local customer base. To use an example, a reputed accountant, Liverpool based firm is Alliance Accounting. Despite their reputation and expertise, their main targets are clients that are in Liverpool and Sydney. The reason is simple: people from other areas of Australia are less likely to travel across the country for an accountant.

Listen to feedback

If you’ve created a business from scratch, you might have a tendency to ignore any feedback that goes against your grand vision.

Never do that.

It is fine for you to feel proud and be protective of your company. However, any business needs to listen to its customers. If they have a valid point, require assistance, or are simply there to complain, respond to them. If you do it in a respectful, self-assured manner, this will reflect well on your business and may even turn complainers into loyal customers.

Feedback will also help you to shape your marketing plan. After all, your marketing strategy should be one that’s open to change. Continually refine your approach, and you will be able to reach a more considerable number of targeted customers.

4 Ways to Optimize Your Team for Success

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article | 4 Ways to Optimize Your Team for SuccessIn today’s modern world, words like “leadership” and “optimization” can feel a bit like cheap buzz words that are thrown around casually at business seminars.

Whilst there are definitely some companies that use these buzzwords to try to seem modern, being one of those companies and one of those managers that understands they don’t cut it anymore is a skill that will propel your business to the next level.

Working for Change

When we think of optimizing a team, invariably those team or personality questionnaires get thrown around, then glanced over by someone in HR only to be thrown in a drawer and never looked at again.

If you’re serious about being the change you want to see, it’s time to do some serious thinking about how you can lead your team to success by being the leader they need, not the manager they have.

Here are four things you can implement for optimizing your team for success

Lead With a Coaching Mindset

There has been a LOT of talk in the last few years about leadership coaching and the need for good leaders in organizations. Coaching in the workplace has become something that great organizations encourage as they know they can get more out of their leaders, and in turn, more out of the wider workforce.

Implement some of the coaching techniques into your day and see the difference it will make to your team.

Ensure Systems and Processes Are Up to Date

Nothing will frustrate a team more than having processes and systems that just don’t work. Take a transport management system as an example; teams need to ensure that everything is running smoothly and that they aren’t slowed down by a clog in the system or angry customers ringing up needing an update.

A good system allows clients to log in at any time, and employees to bring up information at the drop of a hat.

Give Them the Tools to Do the Job

Along with a system that doesn’t work, equipment that doesn’t work properly is a huge bane on team output. For example, if your video editor needs a high-performance laptop with a killer graphics card to do their job, listen to them and work to find a solution.

Employees will be happier when they can work to their full potential without technological hindrance.

Play to Strengths, Not Weaknesses

Employees from all sorts of backgrounds can be a huge benefit to your company. This is especially true for neurodiverse employees. Conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia, autism, and other forms of neurodiversity can be a huge benefit to your company, but only if you are willing to play to strengths and not weaknesses. GCHQ in England understand this and specifically recruit dyslexic employees for their ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking.

Richard Branson of Virgin is a hugely famous entrepreneur who is also severely dyslexic. He set up the charity Made By Dyslexia to showcase some incredible stories and share the strengths of this diverse way of thinking.

4 Things You Should be Looking for When Picking a Contract Management Solution

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article | 4 Things You Should be Looking for When Picking a Contract Management SolutionBad contract management costs companies in many different ways, and it exposes them to unnecessary risks. This is why contract management is essential to the long-term success of your business. Fortunately, there are many contract management systems on the market to choose from. The challenge is finding the right one for your business’ needs. Here are four things you should be looking for when picking a contract management solution.

Ease of Use

Many firms are reluctant to adopt a contract management system because of the time, money, and effort involved. When picking an option, you aren’t just spending money on a software application and its support, you also have to train people how to use it. This is why ease of use is one of the top factors to consider when researching contract management systems.

Lifecycle Management

Before you start shopping for contract management software, it is important that you understand what contract lifecycle management is and how important it is. It isn’t enough to have a decent data repository. You need a system that manages contracts from initial negotiation to completion. This ensures that salespeople present contracts from approved templates, have any changes to the standard contract approved, and save the final version in an accessible database.

The ideal contract management system ties into your task management system and email servers. This allows your legal department to know what contracts need to be reviewed as soon as possible and how much work is in their queue. Salespeople can also look up the state of the contract, and the system may send a final version of the contract to the customer for approval or just their own records. The best contract management systems notify management when contracts are up for renewal or may no longer be legally valid.

The ideal contract management system is customisable, allowing you to integrate it with your finance, customer relationship management, and enterprise resource planning system. Then your customer support staff can view a customer contract when someone calls in with a complaint, and approved contracts automatically feed into your financial planning systems.

Collaboration and Sharing Capabilities

A good contract management system should allow you to create, assign, manage, collaborate, and execute in minutes instead of days. For example, a good tool would allow a salesperson to upload a draft contract to the repository and have it available for legal review within moments. Team members should be able to share relevant documents and discuss them in real-time, and approval should arrive within minutes of legal signing it off.

Risk Management

You should also make sure that the contract management tool you choose has risk management capabilities. For example, the tool may notify you when contracts expire so that you don’t continue to work without a valid legal agreement in place. Or it may warn you when there are risks associated with various contracts. Not all contract management systems have legal analytics built-in but knowing when contracts are now null and void due to changes in the law allows you to work on mitigating that risk or renegotiating the contracts.

Email and spreadsheets aren’t good enough for managing your contracts. Choose a contract management system that streamlines your administrative processes, manages risk, and provides the legal protection you expect from your contractual agreements.