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5 Innovative Software Systems For Your Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Software Systems for Business|5 Innovative Software Systems For Your BusinessMany businesses fail because the owners often find themselves preoccupied with internal business processes instead of the actual business. Owners are thus encouraged to automate most of their internal processes, to prioritize their sales and marketing.

Businesses can automate their processes by implementing governance risk management and compliance (GRC) software to help them achieve their goals and objectives while robustly addressing risks.

An excellent example of a GRC is the Service Now GRC, which enables swift business transformation based on risk-informed business operations.

Software systems are perfect automation tools that businesses can eliminate unnecessary time spent on menial and repetitive internal processes.

These applications increase and measure productivity while performing other business functions accurately and efficiently.

Here are five innovative software systems for your business.

Accounting Or Payroll System

Accounting is by far the most tedious of all business processes. A business must keep track of its salary payments, tax calculations, and day-to-day bookkeeping records.

Although people can do all these operations, the high probability of human error is a significant risk leading to destructive financial and legal issues.

Project Management Software

Projects typically consist of many sub-tasks that are done concurrently or simultaneously. These subtasks have to be adequately monitored and managed through the project lifecycles. Usually, each task has its timeline, budget, and personnel.

Managing these tasks requires incredible transparency and oversight, which many businesses often struggle with. Implementing a project management system will consolidate sub-tasks into one central hub where the responsible parties will update each subtask’s progress, budget, and timeline.

This amalgamation of information will allow businesses to monitor the progress of each task closely and hence stipulate the overall budget and timeline of the project.

Communication Software

For a business to run operations smoothly, it must develop an open and direct line of communication between all involved parties. Without this direct line, a company may experience many omitted or incorrect flows of information, thus leading to poor productivity and outcomes.

With the rise of remote working amid the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have had to figure out a way to keep their workers connected and informed about various operations.

As a result of this surge in demand, the use of video communication tools such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, and Skype have skyrocketed in the last two years. Along with messaging or chat-based apps such as Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Web Development Software

Another surge influenced by the pandemic is the demand for functional and visually appealing websites. Many blue-collar brick-and-mortar companies found themselves out of business due to the lockdowns. As a result, they had to pivot their business models to suit the new normal. Business owners had to get online to get to their customers.

Web development is not an easy skill to learn, and it is also very costly. In response to the demand, web development companies like WordPress made it easier for people to create their websites by creating a simplified drag and drop methodology that anyone with a computer can master.

Customer Relationship Management Software

Customer satisfaction is an essential aspect of driving sales and business growth. A customer relationship management (CRM) tool helps businesses establish and nurture long-lasting relations with their clientele.

The software allows direct and continuous communication with customers from the beginning to the end of their purchase. CRM provides support to customers even months after they have made their purchase.

Businesses can conduct email-based surveys and collect feedback on the buyer experience and service satisfaction.

Software systems are a practical approach to improve business processes, reduce lead times, and minimize overall costs. Businesses are highly encouraged to use these applications to avoid redundant tasks and solely focus on their core competencies.

4 Tips for Scaling Your SaaS Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Scaling a SaaS Business|4 Tips for Scaling Your SaaS BusinessOnce your SaaS business is up and running, the next thing to do is start thinking about how to scale the business. Scaling the business is important because it allows for continuous business growth, growing profits, and customer number growth. Once a SaaS business stagnates, its competitors can overtake it, considering that this is a very competitive business environment. With scaling being so important, what can SaaS business owners do to ensure their businesses keep scaling?

Streamline Product Adoption

Product adoption is crucial for SaaS businesses because it makes referrals and renewals easier for your customers and those championing your products. Streamlining product adoption means adopting effective, targeted custom support so anyone who has an issue using your product can do so easily. Providing this level of support means your staff walks customers through every step of getting started with your products.

It is also essential that SaaS businesses offer as many options for product adoption as possible. These include free trials, walkthroughs and even scheduled calls with high-value customers to make the product adoption process as simple as possible.

Streamlining product adoption has various advantages – one of the most notable ones being an increase in the number of customers not only buying your products but also making recurring subscriptions. The subscription-based model is the reason for the uniqueness of SaaS businesses and should be protected and monitored at all times. An increase in the number of subscriptions and recurring customers increases the value of the business.

Improve Customer Satisfaction

Keeping customers happy is the backbone of any business that wants to remain profitable. Unhappy customers will leave and use your competitors’ products. Improving customer satisfaction helps you scale your business by helping increase not only your revenue but also your market share. Increasing customer satisfaction is also the best way to reduce customer churn which can hugely hinder your business’s growth.

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to improve customer satisfaction. Making product adoption easy is one way, but asking for feedback, being interested in customer satisfaction through evaluations and paying attention to negative reviews will also work.

A low customer churn rate is also great for your exit strategy, especially after you have scaled your business as far as you would like and want to exit the business.

Leverage Referral Programs

Referral programs are a great way to create brand awareness and to turn loyal customers into brand ambassadors. To get started with a referral program, reach out to existing customers to ask for feedback about your products. Once you have the feedback, you should then inform them you will work on this feedback and introduce them to your referral program. You can incentivize them to share your business and its products on the platforms they have access to in exchange for potential rewards. Getting your customers to become your advocates can have various positive effects including increased brand awareness and an increase in revenues and profits.

Enter Global Markets

Entering international markets can be a scary prospect for SaaS businesses, but it remains a great scaling strategy. Doing so gives you access to more markets and opportunities, many of which might be unavailable or hard to acquire in your home country. Additionally, entering international markets allows you to provide 24/7 support while boosting your standing in the SaaS market.
Before you take this step, do your research first to see which markets would be compatible with your business. Next, establish a headquarters in the new markets and partner with other businesses to bring your products to this new market.

Scaling your SaaS business can position your business for growth and success, especially in a very competitive sector. The tips above are a great place to get started and offer something to think over as you weigh up your options.

Developing The Ability to Spot Opportunities

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StrategyDriven Professional Development Article |Spot Opportunities|Developing The Ability to Spot OpportunitiesIn life — and especially in a professional context — we tend to admire and envy individuals who are good at spotting opportunities, and capitalising upon them.

In business, there are typically a wide variety of different considerations that need to be taken into account at any given time, with the specifics varying depending on the particular field you’re operating within.

If you work in the mining industry, making sure you have high quality stackable core trays may be very significant, for example. Whereas if you work in digital marketing, it’s important to be able to generate favourable SEO outcomes through high quality and original content.

In all cases, though, the ability to spot opportunities that others may miss can be very beneficial and can lead to you having the professional edge, as well as a more professional and personal journey.

Here are a few tips for developing the ability to spot opportunities.

Develop a breadth of perspectives by doing many different things over time

Spotting opportunities tends to have a good deal to do with being able to consistently “think outside the box,” and being able to think outside the box has a lot to do with being able to see things from a range of different perspectives.

Individuals who have a great breadth of experience — such as comes from having worked on many different projects, across a number of different industries and disciplines — will tend to be much more insightful and dynamic in this regard.

Look for opportunities to develop yourself in new directions, professionally speaking. Work in different fields, take up different projects, and broaden your range.

Get in touch with your intuitions

Intuition always plays a role in the ability to spot and capitalise on opportunities. Although this doesn’t mean that you should automatically follow your “gut feeling” in every professional situation, it’s certainly a good idea to learn to identify your “gut feeling.”

Getting a bit more in touch with intuitions can be as relatively straightforward as slowing down every so often and checking in to notice how you feel — physically and emotionally — about a particular path you’re on, or a situation that you are confronted by.

It’s also important to develop the skill of differentiating between the kind of internal resistance that comes from nerves or lack of self esteem, and the kind of resistance that comes from feeling that a particular path forward isn’t a good idea for more substantial reasons.

Make a point of being action-oriented by and large

Opportunities tend to increase and become more apparent the more active you are, as a whole.

When you are more action-oriented, in a general sense, you will tend to create more opportunities as you go along, while at the same time obtaining more valuable hands-on feedback that can help you to refine your approach to things, and to reevaluate whether or not your previous assumptions hold up well in practice.

By not taking action at all, and instead sitting around and trying to find the perfect moment, however, you’ll tend to lose more opportunities that you create.

Commercial Building Maintenance Tips

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article |Building Maintenance|Commercial Building Maintenance TipsOwning a commercial property is a hands-on job, and maintenance should be a top priority. Wear and tear is natural, but in order to generate a profit, there are some routine maintenance steps which you should carry out every year. Commercial building maintenance is generally pretty routine. This way, you can also avoid costly renovations which could hurt your profits.

Audit Your Energy Consumption

An energy audit of your commercial building is important to establish where you can lower your costs.

Energy costs are often one of the biggest overheads for commercial building owners, so doing an energy audit is a good way to determine what is eating up your budget.

An energy professional will carry out an inspection of your building and will determine where costs can be lowered, such as:

  • Swapping old lightbulbs for energy-saving alternatives
  • Repairing insulation around doors and windows
  • Replacing window glass
  • Replacing roof insulation and more

An energy audit will also allow you to determine whether your tenants are happy with and comfortable within your building.

Fix Your Fixtures

Another important part of commercial building maintenance of simple things, like the fixtures. You can use preventative maintenance software to help you keep track of what needs to be done and when.

Leaving damaged fixtures to sit will lead to more accidents and damage to the building. Damaged fixtures like broken lights, door handles, small windows, or damaged doors can make the building look shabby too.

Make sure you replace these fixtures when they need it to avoid a backlog of work and annoyed tenants.

Conduct A Monthly Safety Audit

Another major priority for your maintenance should be safety mechanisms and fixtures.

When it comes to an emergency, these safety fixtures need to be in full working order to avoid accidents and lawsuits.

Safety fixtures include things like emergency lighting systems, emergency exit signs, emergency doors, and fire detector systems.

Make sure you carry out a monthly audit of these safety mechanisms to make sure that they are all operating correctly.

Prioritize Remodeling

Remodeling can go a long way to keeping your property looking modern and well-kept. This is what your tenants pay you for too.

Keep your commercial property in the same condition as you would your home. If remodeling work is needed, get it done.

Replace ripped carpets, repaint chipped or peeling walls or ceilings, and refresh the building’s exterior with fresh paint at least once a year.

There are just some of the basic maintenance and remodeling requirements for any commercial building.

Stay On Top Of Pest Control

One of the worst issues to deal with when it comes to any commercial property is a pest infestation. This can cost you a lot of money in extermination, as well as having to temporarily remove tenants while you deal with the problem.

Keep in mind that even if your tenants haven’t complained about pests, this doesn’t mean there isn’t an issue. Stay on top of pest control by carrying out a pest audit with a professional at least once a year to keep pests at bay.

Eliminate Fire Hazards

One of the most devastating hazards which faces any property owner is the potential for a fire to break out. The only way to avoid a fire breaking out is to identify and eliminate all fire hazards throughout your property.

Do routine checks on smoke detectors throughout the building once a month. Replace the batteries once a year.

Make sure all fire exit doors are fully operational and passageways are kept clear. Make sure each floor of the building is equipped with fire extinguishers.

Keep Your Backup Generator Firing

Stagnant parts in a backup generator can spell disaster. As these parts remain motionless, air can get into the unit injector solenoid and render your generator useless. All emergency generators should be started for at least five minutes, once a week, in order to rev all the moving parts and keep things alive.

Transfer load testing should generally be done once a month, while a scheduled full load test should be carried out every year.

Prioritize Maintenance Of Facilities And Utilities

Staying on track with the full function of your building’s facilities is an essential part of keeping your tenants happy.

These facilities include things like elevators, escalators, public bathrooms, staff rooms, and HVAC units.

You should carry out a monthly inspection of the operation of all of these facilities to prevent accidents and maintain the high quality of your commercial property.

Driving Your Business Growth by Focusing on Marketing

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Business Growth|Driving Your Business Growth by Focusing on MarketingWhen you think about business growth, what do you think about first? You probably think about diversification, but is this the answer, and is this the right way to think or approach business growth. When you focus on marketing, you can drive new business to your door, and you can increase your reach to both new and existing customers alike. So, when it comes to utilizing marketing for growth, what should you be focusing your time and efforts on, and of course, what should you be planning for?

Deciding What Growth You Want to Achieve

To begin with, you want to walk before you can run, and to achieve this, you have to think about what growth you want to achieve. For example, are you looking to increase your companies’ turnover by a set figure or percentage? Or, are you looking to increase how large your customer base is? What does growth look like to you, and what does it mean? When you can establish what growth you want to push for, you can then start setting goals, and targets, which you can then begin working towards.

Creating a Marketing Plan

Knowing what marketing channels and methods to use and when is crucial to your business growth. Not all marketing methods that you utilize or employ will be well received or well-valued by your target market, and this is something that you really need to take into account. Knowing what marketing your target audience/customer base responds to and knowing when to implement marketing can be challenging, but with a marketing plan, you can have the information there and written down, ready to use, and ready to implement. When creating a marketing plan, you need to focus on both short-term efforts as well as long-term efforts. Looking at marketing as an ongoing concern is the best thing you can do because it is intrinsically linked to pushing your business forward into the future.

Utilizing a Marketing Company

Trying to tackle marketing all by yourself could be foolish, and it could be a costly mistake that you cannot afford to get wrong. Looking at marketing companies and getting one on board to assist your business and your efforts are crucial. A marketing company will know what channels to use, when, and why. They will know how to drive positive growth and know which mediums are more valuable than others. Utilizing others’ expertise, knowledge, and awareness in marketing are crucial, and you can do this by getting a marketing company on board.

Having a Budget in Place

Business growth and development is going to cost you money, and it is important that you invest as and when required. Establishing a budget for your business growth and deciding what cap you want to put into place is essential. If you do not have a budget in place, then how will you know what it has cost you to achieve growth, and how do you know what it will take to sustain this business growth?