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How a Slow Internet Connection is Costly to Your Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | How a Slow Internet Connection is Costly to Your BusinessThe internet is an integral element in the functionality of every business. Every business needs to invest in a reliable internet connection to ensure that everything runs smoothly, from communication to eCommerce. An established company can lose a lot if disconnected from the internet for even the shortest time possible. Here are some ways a slow internet connection hurts your business.

Lowers Employee Morale

A reliable internet connection has a significant impact on the morale of your workforce. Since a company’s success relies on employee performance, your business stands to deliver performance shortcomings to its true potential. It is only through investing in a fast, reliable internet connection that you can boost their morale, increase productivity and realize company goals.

Increases Stress

There is a possibility that a slow internet connection can increase stress within the workplace. Work is bound to pile up, and some activities cannot be done, which will result in a stressful and unproductive environment. You could be putting your workforce in danger of mental health complications by creating a stressful working environment. To avoid such employee concerns, you can browse through providers offering dedicated business internet in Ashburn VA.

Operational Failure

The Internet is a necessity in modern business. It would help if you had it as a tool to facilitate numerous transactions, send emails, research, and even access past data saved to the cloud. A slow internet connection can cause delays when performing these activities, limiting productivity and efficiency in the firm. Being disconnected from the internet will stop almost everything; you cannot access the cloud or communicate via electronic channels. You can avoid operational failure by ensuring your internet provider provides a connection that meets your business needs.

VoIP Lag

VoIP services also prove essential in running a business, and you need an internet connection that can support your requirements. Most of these services require at least 256kps for quality video chatting needs. If your connection doesn’t meet this specification, you are likely to experience video or audio quality complications. You can avoid echoes and disconnections on your VoIP calls by upgrading your bandwidth to a strong and stable internet connection.

A slow-speed internet connection is unacceptable in any business. It creates an inefficient working space that prevents reaching its true potential.

The Essentials Of Keeping Your Manufacturing Floor Safe

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Keep Manufacturing Floor Safe|The Essentials Of Keeping Your Manufacturing Floor SafeWhen it comes to promoting the health of your workers, in an industrial setting, there is nothing more important than making sure that the floor is as safe a place to work in, as possible. However, that’s not always an easy thing to do. Here, we’re going to look at some of the steps that you can take to prevent risks or to take notice of them and quell them as soon as possible.

Train your workforce as best as you can

You should ensure that your workforce is trained regularly on the safety procedures they need to take to make sure that they’re able to work while minimizing their risks as best as possible. Aside from training the workers directly in basic safety, you can also train and manage your own safety officer that can keep an eye on the floor on a more active level. Their role can be in pointing out potential hazards that you and your team might miss in the day-to-day work you do.

Make safety audits and inspections regular

Of course, it’s the equipment in the manufacturing setting that is going to be providing the lion’s share of the risk. This dangerous equipment can cause injury, both when operated incorrectly or when there are malfunctions that stop it from working properly. Just as you should regularly train your team on safety matters, you should invest in regular safety audits and inspections of the workplace and machinery through services like a machine safety assessment survey. This can allow you to pinpoint the risks that are most worth inspecting in your workplace and, upon fixing them, to allow your team to work with a little more reassurance.

Provide the equipment that your team needs

The machinery they work with isn’t the only equipment you should be providing them with. The need for personal protective equipment, from gloves to safety goggles and hearing protection, is likely to be outlined in the regulations that your business is legally required to follow. However, aside from just buying the supply that you need, you should inspect this equipment on a regular basis to make sure that it’s all working, safe, and available to use. PPE can suffer from wear and tear, too, and not noticing it can put your employees in danger.

Make a culture of prevention

Many safety hazards can be addressed before they constitute a serious threat and you can make it easier for your team to do just that by making prevention an important part of the workplace culture. This can include training your team to provide preventative maintenance to the equipment that they work with, but it also includes things such as safety signage reminding them to keep vital areas clear of clutter and to perform what safety checks they need before they start their work.

Manufacturing floors can be very dangerous places to work, so you need to make sure that you’re constantly on top of the ball when it comes to safety. Hopefully, the tips above can help with that.

Lower Comms Costs Don’t Have To Mean Worse Communication

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StrategyDriven Business Communications Article |Comms Costs|Lower Comms Costs Don't Have To Mean Worse CommunicationThe old saying goes that time is money and, in business, you need to make sure that you’re managing that well. As such, effective and efficient communication are vital. However, the tech that it takes to manage that communication can start to get costly. Here, we’re going to look at how you can manage those costs before they loom too large, without cutting back on your ability to communicate both internally and externally.

Collaboration is happening in the Cloud

One of the most crucial parts of internal communication is your ability to share the resources that your colleagues might need. Any sticking or slowness when it comes to either sending or receiving those resources can reduce profitability which, in turn, reduces profitability. As such, you should look into options like using Cloud storage instead of having to rely on personal storage on local drives as often. First of all, small businesses can benefit from that Cloud storage at a very low cost, sometimes even for free depending on your needs. It can also allow you to reduce your reliance on costly hardware such as hard drives. What’s more, when you store files on the Cloud, others are able to access it instantaneously, so long as you give them permission and the link.

Taking your phones digital

It should be no surprise that the online world is helping a lot of companies manage both their internal and external communication much more effectively. There is plenty of free and low-cost software that allows you to communicate with people in a variety of ways. However, you might not immediately think of going digital when it comes to how you make phone calls. However, unified phone systems that make use of VoIP solutions like Agencybloc integrations can help you manage a whole network of phones using the internet. This way, you might be able to save on the costs of setting up traditional phone lines throughout the business and you might not even need physical phones, just the headsets that your team uses to manage their calls.

Make your meetings remote

We’ve all likely gotten very much used to doing things remotely and now that restrictions are easing, the temptation is to go back to meeting in person. Sometimes, that can work just fine but, in other cases, the costs of traveling and eating out can add up to a lot, especially if you have to go far. To that end, options like Zoom video conference software can be a lot less costly. You still get that all-important face-to-face time which can be crucial for selling a pitch, but you don’t have to take a huge chunk out of your day to maintain those same standards of communication.

Communication truly is vital, but like anything, it can start to become unmanageable if you let the costs run away from you. Hopefully, the tips above can help you better manage both aspects of the communication question without too much trouble.

What Your SEO Campaign Needs to Look At in 2022

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |SEO Campaign|What Your SEO Campaign Needs to Look At in 2022Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the essential marketing tactics for any business, large or small, local or online, and across just about every sector. In an industry that’s constantly changing, where even the most established players are continually looking to stay ahead of the curve, SEO is an absolute must to ensure your business shows up when someone searches for it.

SEO isn’t just about getting your website ranked high on search engines; it’s about creating a strategic, ongoing plan that’s tailor-made to meet the needs of your business. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at everything you need to know about SEO so that you can optimize your site and get the most out of your digital marketing efforts moving forward.

Measurable goals

When thinking about SEO, the first thing you should do is figure out your goals. What are you trying to accomplish with your site? Do you want people to find your site easily? Do you want them to stay on the site for a specific time? Are you trying to increase conversions or make more sales through your online store?

Once you have established what you’re trying to achieve, it’s time to start planning how best to reach those goals.

Video content

Video content is a crucial way to reach your audience. As it turns out, video is the most popular form of content on social media, with 82 percent of people viewing videos daily. But it isn’t just about how many people are viewing videos; it’s about how much attention people pay to these videos.

When you create a video for SEO purposes, you want to ensure it’s grabbing viewers’ attention from the start and maintaining it throughout the video. Use a thumbnail that grabs people’s attention—like one showcasing your product or service—to draw attention to your video. This means that while they might not be watching your video all the way through, they will at least be clicking on it when they see the thumbnail in their news feed.

For social media, aim for short snappy viral content that is sharable. Work with experts for high-quality animated video production to share your brand with the world and use within marketing campaigns to support your SEO efforts.

Site speed

Search engines, like Google, don’t just look at what you publish. They also consider how fast your site loads when someone visits it. These days page loading speed can affect a website’s rank on Google.

When you have a slow website, it is more likely that people will get discouraged and click off before they even see what you have to offer. This can cause your conversion rates to drop significantly.

Many site owners are unaware of how much time their website takes to load; it’s essential to monitor your site speed with a tool like Google Page Insights and GTMetrix. If you don’t know how long your site takes to load, there’s no way to optimize the issue and rank your site higher on search engines.

Website loading speed is not easy to improve in-house (even though it’s something you should be targeting). For this reason, many businesses outsource their SEO efforts to specialists who are more familiar with the tools necessary to ensure your site runs as smoothly as possible.

Mobile responsiveness

Websites need to be built with mobile responsiveness in mind. As more and more people use their phones for internet browsing, over 90% of the world’s population access the internet via mobile phone devices, your site needs to be fast and look good when scaled down to fit on a smartphone screen. This is especially true for ecommerce sites as “m-commerce” (shopping via a smartphone) continues to grow in popularity.

Keyword research

There are many great tools out there for keyword research. Some of the best include Google AdWords, SEMrush, and Keyword Tool. These tools will help you determine the more popular keywords in your industry to use throughout your SEO campaign. It’s also a good idea to keep an eye on what other websites are ranking for keywords you want to rank for to see what kind of content they’re creating.

Long-tail keywords are becoming more common as SEO changes, meaning no longer should you aim for one or two words, but phrases and standard search terms, for example; instead of using”optimize SEO,” you should use a longer phrase “top ways to optimize SEO” “how best to optimize SEO for restaurants.”

Once you know the keywords you want to be using, you should make sure these are constantly reinforced throughout your website and the additional content you publish on other sites. Use your keywords in product descriptions, titles, meta descriptions, images, and more without stuffing them, which can have the opposite effect.

6 Ways to Improve the Customer Experience in Your Restaurant

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Improve Customer Experience|6 Ways to Improve the Customer Experience in Your RestaurantEven the most successful restaurants can struggle to keep customers happy. In fact, according to a recent study, as many as two-thirds of Americans have left a restaurant without feeling fully satisfied with their experience. To turn things around and win back disappointed customers, you first need to identify the issues currently hurting your restaurant’s rating on Yelp and other review sites.

Once you have a clear idea of the obstacles impeding your customer service, you can begin implementing solutions. In this article, we’ll discuss 6 ways to improve the customer experience in your restaurant.

Improve employee satisfaction

It’s vital that your employees are content and happy at work. If they’re not, it will prevent them from providing the optimal customer experience. It’s also worth noting that there are many low-cost ways to increase employee appreciation and improve work satisfaction. Here are a few ideas:

  • Provide an opportunity for staff to offer feedback about company policy or service
  • Offer a flexible schedule for personal time off
  • Emphasize teamwork, collaboration, and cooperation
  • Create opportunities for professional development
  • Provide ample opportunity for staff to have input on company matters
  • Incorporate cross-department training opportunities

Introduce digital ordering

One way to improve customer experience in your restaurant is by introducing digital ordering. This technology can help you eliminate waiting times for customers, increase the accuracy of orders, and reduce operating costs.

A restaurant ordering system is a huge convenience for customers. Digital ordering eliminates wait times and makes it easy for customers to place orders anytime with just a few clicks on their phone or computer screen.

Digital ordering also helps restaurants avoid mistakes when taking orders because all information is stored electronically instead of written down on paper forms that have a tendency to get mixed up or lost. This reduces the likelihood of sending out incorrect orders and saves time for both staff and customers by eliminating the need to double-check every item on an order form before handing it over to the kitchen staff.

Allow deliveries

One of the most common requests from restaurant customers is the ability to order food to be delivered. With digitalization comes the ability to offer delivery services. Now, diners don’t have to leave their homes to enjoy your delicious cuisine. Allowing delivery can also be beneficial for you as a business owner. For example, if you own a chain of restaurants, you could use one location as a distribution center for your other locations in the area. This would save you money because it would cut down on overhead and allow you to keep more of your profits.

In addition to improving customer service, deliveries are an excellent way to increase revenue and profits. Some restaurants that offer delivery services see as much as 15 percent higher profit margins than those that don’t. Offering delivery benefits everyone involved: customers get convenience, employees earn tips, and business owners can make more money without increasing overhead costs.

Streamline your menu

We understand that you want to offer customers various options, but too many choices can be overwhelming for many diners. There’s no need for customers to feel confused or overwhelmed when they order from your restaurant.

The best way to provide customers with the convenience of ordering dishes they know and love is by streamlining your menu. Offer a few items that you do well and make them available in different styles, cooking methods, and ingredients. This will eliminate confusion and give people the opportunity to choose something they might not have considered before.

Introduce loyalty schemes

A loyalty scheme can be as simple or complex as you need it to be. You could offer points based on the amount spent in a single transaction, or you could have a tiered system where customers earn more points for consuming more each time.

You could also consider linking your reward scheme with other brands. For example, if you have a coffee shop that offers free Wi-Fi, you might offer discounts on food when customers spend an hour working at the café on their laptops. This would be to strengthen customer ties by encouraging them to use your services in tandem with another brand.

Be open and responsive to feedback.

The first step to improving your restaurant’s customer service is to be open and responsive to feedback. As a restaurateur, you have the power to change your business for the better by implementing a new system or adjusting the way you interact with customers. If you are constantly listening to customer feedback, you can create a more positive experience for them in the future.