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6 Modern Business Growth Strategies Every Entrepreneur Should Know

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Business growth strategy|6 Modern Business Growth Strategies Every Entrepreneur Should KnowAbout 83% of successful business owners start their business from scratch, and while it is challenging, it eventually pays off. One of the biggest challenges that you will face as an entrepreneur is identifying various means to expand your business, but that does not mean it is highly impossible. Growth is a significant indicator that your business is on the right track and involves taking more risks, developing innovative ideas, and identifying the right audience. So, what can you do to grow your business in a way that suits the current times? These few strategies should help answer that.

1. Expand your locations

You will sell more if you are open and available in more places. Of course, that does not mean you have to open up your business just anywhere. It takes a fair amount of research, and you would have to consider several factors, such as its proximity to your target market, among many others. When you open your business at a new location, you aim to gain access to new markets and customers. You can choose to open a physical store at another site, and you can either run it or operate it as a franchise. Alternatively, if you run a digital business – or your current business has an online presence – you can expand your sales channels. You can list your products on other websites like Amazon or even use social media.

2. Diversify your product offerings

If you are into manufacturing, then it will not be a bad idea to expand your product lines. It could be as simple as adding more colour options or creating new product styles and designs. Scope out your competition to see what sort of product upgrades they have to offer, or you can identify a gap and fill that need. Before you expand your product offering, it would be best that you conduct research. Apart from researching your competitors, find out what your existing and potential customers would like for you to add.

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3. Have a reliable team

To run a successful business with growth potential, ensure that you have a reliable, dependable team behind you. Take your hiring processes seriously and employ high-quality motivated staff members who share your business’ ideals. Invest in your staff members by organizing training sessions to help them become more adept with their tasks and to make proactive decisions. As a business owner, you must motivate your employees by ensuring that they are adequately compensated. You must also ensure that you are as transparent with them as possible and let them know they can trust you too. You will see that your business’ turnover rate will be less when you build and maintain a healthy relationship with your team.

4. Get your business online

Every modern business must have an online presence, especially if you want to stay relevant. The internet allows you to reach a wide range of potential and existing customers. If you have not done so already, you should make your business’ digital marketing efforts a priority. You can hire digital marketing companies skilled at optimizing your website for better search engine results. They can also help you with retargeting, website building, and content creation. They create campaigns that are designed to generate traffic to your website and social media pages. Whether you are an influencer like Sierra Skyee, or you run a bakery, digital marketing companies can help expand your business.

5. Expand your customer base

Your customers are one of, if not the most important, drivers of growth for your business. You must maintain your current customers by ensuring that you regularly keep in touch with them. After all, a 5% boost in client retention might increase your profits by 25% to 90%. It is also equally vital that you reach out to new customers to expand your base. So how do you expand your customer base? You can share free newsletters on company news and updates. You can also ensure that your company has excellent customer service. You will also gain more clients by promoting your business on social media and always updating your website.

6. Merge or acquire another business

Another way to grow your business is by merging or consolidating or purchasing another business altogether. This move can reduce your competition, expand your product lines, and increase your market share.

Successful businesses do not grow overnight; they take years of commitment and smart strategies to succeed. If you desire your company to grow, why not consider these strategies and set targets to track your efforts?

Bitcoin: The Future Global Currency?

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StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective Article |Global currency|Bitcoin: The Future Global Currency?Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency today. Similar to normal currencies, they are used in online transactions and paying for products and services in person. One key difference is that bitcoin is mostly decentralized and is not controlled by banks or governments. This has not cryptocurrencies from absolutely taking off, and notable futurists see the lack of regulation as driving their incredible growth.

Why Is It a Big Deal?

With everything in the world going more digital, the expectation is that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will come to replace standardized ‘fiat’ currencies. Bitcoin is a secure store of value that transcends borders. It can be used anywhere and the value of it is the same everywhere. This is a key attraction for many people.

Going Mainstream

Bitcoin maintains a degree of anonymity. Wallets (where the funds are kept), are void of a name as you would have on a bank account, and can instead be identified by their own individual ‘address’, made up of numbers and letters. Investing in bitcoin is basically made on the assumption that it will go mainstream eventually, and when it does start to get used in a more natural way, the value will rise.

A Limited Commodity

This idea is helped by the fact that bitcoin is a limited commodity. There are only 21 million bitcoins in total that will ever be in circulation, and there is no way to make more. The same cannot be said for fiat currencies. For these reasons and more, it has become one of the hottest asset classes in the last few years and has received huge amounts of investment from backers all over the world.

How Can I Get Involved?

In the past, investing in bitcoin was a difficult process as the technology was rather new, however, a lot has changed in a short space of time and the market has really opened up to the average consumer. Companies that back bitcoin not only offer easy ways to buy in but also ways of protecting your investment. Paxful lets you exchange bitcoin to PayPal, and will also give you a medium to securely hold and sell this bitcoin whenever you want to. This is one of the easiest ways to invest, and you will also have the added protection from PayPal when you exchange bitcoin to Paypal.

Do be aware that there are lots of platforms like NiceHash that make it easy to invest in different cryptocurrencies. So, if you’re looking to begin your journey here, the building blocks are already in place. These platforms often have a short learning curve so you’ll be trading in your favorite cryptos in no time.

Investing in bitcoin may not be as stable putting money in the stock market, but it has seen some incredible growth over recent years, and you should be sure to check it out as many people genuinely believe it to be a future-proof, global asset.

 

This article has been contributed on behalf of Paxful. However, the information provided herein is not and is not intended to be, investment, financial, or other advice.

How to Transfer Business Skills to Manage Your Life

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Business Skills|How to Transfer Business Skills to Manage Your LifeStarting and running a successful business requires a great number of skills, including fantastic organization, great financial planning, and people management. If you are an entrepreneur, chances are you have worked to hone these skills to the peak of your ability. Yet they don’t have to be confined to your business world. These abilities can help you manage your personal life, ensuring you stay on top of your finances, personal investments, and work-life balance. By taking a holistic approach to your life, you’ll find you make better decisions, and that you’re able to approach your business with greater focus and positivity.

Managing Personal Property

When you buy a new house, it is never simply a personal decision. You are also investing in a property, one that you can profit from in the future if and when you decide to sell, and it’s worth using all your business acumen to ensure you make the right decisions. Properties come in all shapes and sizes, with all different circumstances attached, and it’s worth doing your research. For example, if you’re buying an apartment that falls under an owners corporation, this can have many advantages, but it’s worth investigating strata law as the bylaws that govern these bodies can be complicated. A specialized lawyer may be able to advise you and make sure you’re getting the best deal possible in this situation. Whatever the type of property you’re considering, treating it as a business decision as well as a decision of the heart will ensure you are investing in your future.

Overseeing Your Accounts

For some reason, many business owners with an incredible grasp of their company’s accounts and finance can fail to apply this same attention to detail to their own personal financial situation. Don’t let this be you. Keeping a close eye on the state of your accounts is a vital part of living a successful life, one that allows you to plan for the future and accomplish everything you desire. There are also tips and tricks you can pull from business models to help you manage your finances more easily. Just as you may have ‘pots’ of money separated for different departments in your business, why not apply this same structure to your own bank account? Put aside a budget each month for clothes, groceries, and casual spending, and make it more efficient for yourself to keep track of your expenditure.

Scheduling and Prioritization

Do you ever feel like achieving the perfect work-life balance is an impossible task? You’re not alone. Many business owners find it difficult to make time for themselves. One solution to this is simple: schedule personal time and social events into your calendar just as you would a meeting or a work deadline. This may seem frivolous, but in fact, taking time out to destress and spend quality time with family and friends is vitally important in maintaining your physical and mental health. In turn, this will affect your ability to concentrate, and therefore the health of your business.

9 Tips To Improve Your Customer Service

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StrategyDriven Customer Relationship Management Article |Improve Customer Service|9 Tips To Improve Your Customer ServiceEvery business knows the importance of good customer service. However, sometimes procedures can slip, and of course, everyone is only human when it comes to dealing with situations that arise. The scale of business that can be lost due to poor customer service techniques is surprising. Now more than ever, people place companies on a pedestal when choosing where to buy. So, getting this aspect right is essential to get the right balance for your business.

So what does excellent customer service look like? Check out some of the top ways to incorporate typical company characteristics and techniques into your company processes.

1. Become an expert

Nobody likes a know-it-all, but when your company displays knowledge and expertise in a product or service, you can give precise and specific solutions to their issues. If the customer has to go through five different people to have a query resolved, they will not be happy. It’s also essential to have a troubleshooting or FAQ section on your website that can help in the first instance. If a customer can resolve an issue without needing to speak to someone, the more likely they’ll return.

2. Empathy

Companies should not act like robots. People want to talk to someone that understands their issues. To build a strong relationship with consumers, your team needs to be active listeners and establish a common ground.

3. Be personable

As mentioned before, customers want to be able to communicate with a human. Contact details should be clearly available on your website. If possible, integrate an option such as live chat to help people get answers quickly and easily without picking up the phone. This function can also help convert people. Suppose they have any immediate questions about an item. In that case, they’re less likely to leave the site to go and compare the information.

To help make your staff more personable, allow then to incorporate their personality into the customer experience while staying on brand. This is also important for any communication type, such as social media, live chats, and phone conversation. Consumers like to feel the personality of the brand and its staff, so they know they’re not buying from a faceless entity.

4. Clear communication

In short, don’t waffle or hit customers with sales jargon when they have an issue! If they contact customer services, it’s typically because they have questions or queries regarding an order. So don’t avoid the problem, just get straight to it and communicate clearly to resolve issues. If this does not happen, you could risk losing the customer and receive a request for a refund, as the issue was not resolved.

5. Flexible

The saying ‘the customer is always right’ is mostly true. However, this is only possible if your company is flexible. Adapting to different situations is vital for all team members. Unfortunately, some people try their luck when querying or communicating issues. The key to customer service excellence is to remain level-headed and calm. This can be easier said than done. However, investing in good training for your teams will help them tackle different scenarios and put their skills into practice.

6. Open to feedback

No company is perfect. While you may have a good reputation for excellent customer service, there’s always more than can be done to improve it. One of the best ways to ensure improvement is to be receptive to feedback. Of course, you may get the odd discrepancy in negative feedback. Still, constructive criticism is always important to take on board. A good way to collate feedback and reviews is to conduct customer satisfaction surveys. These will highlight areas of improvement and tackle any lingering issues that customers have, however small.

7. Listen to staff

One of the most significant aspects that can help improve customer service is by listening to your staff. They are the people face to face with the consumer and experiencing the issues they face. By collating staff feedback and frustrations they have with delivering good customer service, you can create a plan to implement changes. Staff may have various input from requiring more training on products to having insufficient authority to issue refunds, which hold the process up. Looking at each area and determining what can make the customer experience better will help consumers and staff in the long term.

8. Act on your promises

Getting feedback from customers and staff is all well and good, but what are you going to do about it. A company that says they’ll change and fails to doesn’t hold onto a good reputation for long. Act on your promises and give solutions to issues that are affecting the customer journey. In some cases, it may not be possible to implement changes straight away. Still, it’s also important to communicate this to customers and staff. An announcement such as ‘you told us this, and we’re working towards making it possible’ is a great way to let people know you’re listening but can’t do it straight away. If feedback is ignored, then it shows.

9. Don’t bombard the customer with surveys

While it’s essential to try and get feedback from customers, some companies make the mistake of bombarding customers with surveys about their experience. There are many ways that consumers can give reviews, including incorporating tools to encourage feedback on specific products. Giving customers the option to leave feedback is crucial, and if they say no – don’t push it. One of the best ways to drum up engagement is via social media. People love to suggest brands and let others know about their experiences, so be sure to interact and engage with others on your platforms to encourage tags and mentions in consumer social posts.

These are just some of the ways to improve your overall customer service experience and success rates. By implementing good practices and remaining consistent and on-brand, you will ensure customers get the information they require without confusion and hassle. Does your company cover the above?

Help Your Employees Perform At Their Absolute Best

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Employee Performance|Help Your Employees Perform At Their Absolute BestThere’s something of an unbalanced impression among employers that employees will do all they can to work less, get paid more, and generally lower their morale if they haven’t anything better to do. That’s simply not true. Most staff care about their jobs, care deeply, and are willing to work extremely hard to keep them. This is especially true in these uncertain times, where the health of your business could quite easily mean if they have a job or not for the foreseeable future.

Employees just want to be given the tools to perform their jobs well, while enjoying fair compensation in the process. It’s really rather simple when we boil it down that way. Managers that fail to care for their staff are often managers (or owners) that care little for truly getting to the heart of the matter.

What daily protocols could your staff use assistance with? How can you make sure they can perform their work well, and limit the possible mistakes they may make? How can you alleviate the grunt work to help them apply their best, most creative potential? A few of the following tips could work well here:

Make Security A No-Brainer

Making security a no-brainer is essential for your business, and essential for your employees. Sure you should educate them in how to care for their devices, what SSL certificates are, the importance of VPN’s and encrypted website access, but it can also be that through Enterprise Email Security Software and more, careful protection against cybersecurity threats are taken care of in advance. This gives them the chance to actually focus on their work, something they won’t argue with.

Keep Employees Updated

It’s essential to keep employees in-the-loop, particularly at a time where remote work might be one of the most important and essential measures of staying productive and safe from COVID. Keeping employees updated means holding regular morning briefings over Zoom, disseminating newsletters, or publishing announcements to shared workspaces.

There’s no reason why these updates must be at the same time every day, but a daily summary can be very effective in helping people attend work with care and attention. Keeping employees updated can also mean reminding them of protocols and policies that need adhering to, and more.

Regular Training Investments

Regularly investing in employee training is more than something you would read in a light business advice column on Forbes. It’s an essential measure of retaining skillsets, of keeping staff motivated to stay at your firm, and to help dispel poor action, and misdirected intentions. Regularly investing in training, even if that’s just in public speaking or customer handling will emphasize the standards and principles you hope to evoke as a brand, and from there, how you will be perceived. Training can help rejuvenate a team, and it will keep them prepared for the future. In that context, it’s reliable and worthwhile to focus on this approach.

With this advice, we hope you can help your employees perform at their absolute best, no matter what.