50% are forced to cease operations within 5 years of starting up. Of course, numerous factors separate the best businesses from the worst. One thing’s for sure though:
Companies with employees that don’t work together face an uphill battle.
Collaboration boosts everything from operational efficiency and effectiveness through to the working environment and company culture. Communication, morale, and teamwork all get better.
In other words, it’s good for business.
Want five tips for improving collaboration among employees? Keep reading.
1. Set Up Post Work Activities
Getting to know each other better is key to collaboration.
After all, employees are more likely to work well together when they’re friends and not just colleagues. Setting up activities outside of the office facilitates that relationship-development.
Being outside of the working environment is important. Without their usual tasks and responsibilities to complete, employees will relax and strike up a conversation; they’ll hear each other’s stories, laugh, and find common ground.
This is a recipe for better communication and relations within the office as well.
2. Run Team-Building Exercises
Team-building is another classic route to better collaboration.
Every aspect of these activities and exercises is intended to bolster relationships and communication. They bring people together around common goals and foster team-work in the process.
More to the point, they’re fun!
Good team-building tasks inevitably make people smile, laugh, and bond. They learn lessons to take back into the office.
3. Ensure Strong Leadership
This one’s a little out of left-field.
However, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of strong leadership in encouraging collaboration. Someone that leads from the front and by example will set the standard of what’s expected from their employees.
Good leaders set their expectations of employees and support their development. They’ll keep people on track with roles and responsibilities, and work to improve their confidence.
All told, employees feel empowered, supported, and valued. Feeling like an important part of the team, they’re more likely to contribute to it and collaborate with it.
4. Create Sharing Opportunities
Employees should feel empowered at work.
They should have the chance to speak up, voice their ideas, and share their thoughts with the group. Everybody should have a turn to talk and to feel part of the discussion.
It’s the job of any manager to make this happen.
Quick-fire morning meetings, scrums, time-outs, and group-thinking opportunities will help.
5. Employ Collaborative Technology
A dynamic team will also benefit from tools specifically designed to improve collaboration.
Software or apps, such as Slack, that enhance communication provide a good example. Employees can share messages with ease, post notifications, share documents, and discuss particular issues.
Utilizing these resources, alongside others such as an appointment scheduler, will keep everybody in sync and on task. Productivity will improve and operations become more streamlined.
Time to Improve Collaboration Among Employees
Businesses are more likely to succeed when staff members work together.
Hopefully, the tips here will help your company improve collaboration among employees and boost your chances of success in the process.
Want more articles like this one? Check out more of our blog today.
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Switchers are unhappy customers who switch from one company to another. Across the nation, businesses are losing close to $62 billion every year because of switchers.
As a business owner, you work hard to provide your customers with incredible experiences. However, sometimes things that are outside of your control are going to happen. Thankfully, business owners can learn to build customer relations that survive bad experiences.
Are you ready to find out how to create loyal customers? Read on to find out the secret to building resilient customer relations.
Build Customer Relations
The first step in learning to build customer relations that last is by knowing where you stand.
Here’s a short quiz to evaluate your company’s current customer relations:
Are your customers recommending your company to family and friends?
Are you attracting new customers regularly?
Do you have a positive customer retention rate?
If you can’t answer yes to the questions above it’s probably because you need to improve your customer service in one or more areas. If you want to be a customer service expert, that means you want to build meaningful relationships with your clientele. Depending on the nature of your business and the budget you have at hand, you can achieve this goal by investing in phone systems for small business or training your employees to improve their customer service. Any of these strategies will require resources from your business, but as long as they’re implemented with consistency, these can serve as bridges for your business upon which to build customer relations.
The best way to lay the foundation for any relationship, whether business or personal, is with trust — and it’ll be very easy for customers to trust your brand if you prioritize their needs and provide excellent customer service whenever they reach out to you.
Be Real With Your Customers
Customers can’t trust you if they don’t know who you are. One of the biggest steps in learning to build customer relations involves learning to be yourself.
Customers want to know the real you. While it’s true you can’t come to work and behave the same way you might at home, this doesn’t mean you have to be fake. Authenticity will go a long way with each of your customer interactions.
If you want to be real with your customers, start by letting them know what your business does and what your brand is. Are you a business that prioritizes customer service? Or do you want to be known as a business that provides high-quality products and services? Regardless of what you want your business to become in the eyes of the public, it’s important that you communicate this message properly.
As a business, you should be real with your customers by setting their expectations and letting them know what your business can and can’t do. Transparency is always key when building customer relationships with your target audience.
Ask the Right Questions
One way you can be truly authentic with your customers is by asking them questions that matter. Let’s say for instance that you work in the hospitality industry.
As the customer is getting ready to leave your hotel, ask them, “Will we be seeing you again soon?”. After you ask the question, be quiet and give your customers a chance to answer. There are typically 3 answers your customer will give; Yes, Maybe and No.
Aside from building customer relations that can’t be broken, asking the right questions at the right time can also help your business improve its process. The information you can gain from your customers during this phase can help your business streamline its efforts, so you’ll end up providing products and services that suit your customers’ needs and wants.
Retaining Happy Customers
It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in. You can always ask customers if they’ll be bringing their business to you again.
If the customer says, “yes”, you’ll know you provided A-class service. However, just because a customer says they’ll return, that doesn’t mean you should end the conversation.
A happy customer is likely to want to share details about their interactions with your company and employees. Taking the time to listen to a customer talk about their positive experience, shows them you truly care. If the competition isn’t willing to really listen, you’ll instantly have a loyal customer.
You can also use the conversation as an opportunity to learn more about what you’re doing that’s working. Perhaps the customer loved the way you packaged their documents, or they enjoy your user-friendly website. The more feedback you can get from customers, the easier it’ll be to keep making them happy.
Winning Back Unhappy Customers
Let’s pretend you ask a customer if they’ll be returning to your business and they say, “maybe”, or “no”. When a customer feels comfortable saying they’re unhappy, you have a golden opportunity to win them back. However, it’s a delicate situation and you have to be careful to position yourself correctly in the conversation.
Contrary to popular belief, winning back unhappy customers is an attainable task. When you come across unhappy customers, take the time to listen to their concerns or complaints. Often, customers are unhappy about a specific business if they were unsatisfied with the products or services given to them. If this is the reason why your customer is unhappy, provide a guarantee that your business will do better moving forward.
Stop Saying Sorry
You never want the customer to feel as if you’re arguing with them or pushing them to choose your company. This is why you should avoid saying “sorry”, and instead show sincerity by actively listening.
Statements like, “I’m sorry to hear that”, can sound like an excuse to customers. It’s also a bad idea to say sorry since you don’t know what the customer’s experience was yet.
One of the best ways to have difficult conversations with customers, is by asking open-ended questions. An open-ended question is one that you cannot answer by saying yes or no. Instead, open-ended questions cause people to think, speak, and reflect on how they’re feeling.
Ask Open-Ended Questions
After a customer tells you they might not be returning to your company, or they’re not coming back, politely ask them why they won’t be returning. You can say, “I don’t want to bother you, we pride ourselves on the experience. Please tell me, why wouldn’t you come back?”
The main idea here is to ask an open-ended question that will help reveal the full story of your customer’s experience. After the customer explains why they’re unsatisfied, make sure you reply with a real response, not something fake.
To keep it real, avoid having employees use scripted responses. Instead, summarize and speak back the story you just heard to the customer. Now, they’ll know you were listening, and they’ll be able to offer any details they may have left out.
Express Genuine Interest
Chances are you’re super excited about the product or service you have to offer customers. Your excitement is contagious and people want to know that you care about your brand and your products. When you’re interacting with your customers, listen more than you talk.
Focus on Customers Life
When you speak with customers, the majority of the conversation should focus on things that have to do with the customer on a personal level. Ask the customer how they are doing, how their family is, what life goals they’re achieving, and so on. If you’re providing a service for their business, find out how their company’s doing.
The more you can learn about your customers, the more you’ll be able to find ways to provide value to them in your relationship. Oftentimes, companies fall into the trap of promoting their specials or deals or packages to customers that don’t need it.
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Actively listening to your customers will help you avoid suggesting products or services they don’t need. Sure, a company’s package deal may be great for somebody looking to get a bundle, but what if the customer just wants to buy one thing?
If employees try to push the package deal on them, the customer may leave upset, or worse buy the product and not get enough value. A customer that doesn’t feel heard, or doesn’t receive value from your company, isn’t going to come back.
Small Words Big Sales
Listen to your customers, the smallest things they say can sometimes lead to the biggest sales. Not only will you get sales opportunities, but you’ll also be building meaningful relationships.
Another benefit of listening closely is you’ll create a work culture that cares about the customer first. When new customers see the way you treat your existing customers, don’t want to be a part of it.
Strengthen Every Relationship
Now you know how to use expert customer service to build customer relations. Taking the time to listen to what people have to say, is one of the strongest ways to show you care.
Remember, customer relationships aren’t static, they’re always changing. For more ways to keep up with your customers in the ever-changing market, check out the rest of the site.
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With the growth of online side hustles and Digital Age focused businesses, most people don’t consider all the benefits that a manufacturing startup offers. Even though an online business provides you with the flexibility to deal with digital products, there are some drawbacks.
For example, several online businesses require physical products to ship to their customers. This means the rise of today’s online businesses heralds the need for fair suppliers and manufacturers. This is your chance to start a manufacturing business.
Now the question is – how?
Before jumping in, there are a few things to consider. Keep reading to learn what these things are.
1. Create a Quality Business Plan
A new manufacturing company can be extremely lucrative. However, before the profits begin rolling in, you have to create a business plan.
The business plan you create is where you are going to outline the methods for your company moving forward. This is where you can figure out things like material sources, product projections, ethical standpoint, and the marketing strategies you will use.
This is also when you will outline how you will conduct business with other companies, along with how you will treat your clients and employees through your business processes.
Remember, the manufacturing industry is changing, and democratizing knowledge is a must to achieve success.
2. Consider Location
As you are planning to begin your manufacturing company, location is an important factor. Figure out where you are going to set up your manufacturing operations. You also need to decide where you are going to sell your products.
In the beginning, you may be able to operate from home. However, as your business grows, you will need specialized equipment and a bigger commercial space.
Thinking about where you are going to sell your products can be found out by researching various marketing channels.
3. Take Baby Steps
Opening your own manufacturing unit is something that takes a lot of money and time. You can’t afford to make mistakes.
It’s best to avoid risks during the initial stages by renting or leasing space and equipment rather than buying it upfront. Depend more on low-investment tools and manual labor for the initial months because your product is likely going to go under several last-minute changes during that time.
A smart mantra to follow when opening a manufacturing company is to start at a crawl.
Are You Ready to Start a Manufacturing Business?
If you want to start a manufacturing business, there are more than a few factors to consider. If you want the best chance of success, be sure to keep the tips and information here in mind.
In the long run, when you have the right strategies and tips, you will be much more likely to find success. If you are searching for additional information about business practices and more, be sure to check out some of our other blogs. We post regularly to keep you informed.
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The manufacturing industry is one which is always in demand, so it is easy to see why so many entrepreneurs look to start a business here. Manufacturing can also be a complex industry to work in and highly competitive, so success is not as straightforward as it may seem, especially when you consider how hard it is to compete with the much larger manufacturers.
This is why it is so important to focus on the right areas when you first start out so that you can hit the ground running and find some success early on.
Market Research
Much like with any new business venture, the first stage will involve thorough research. This will help you to determine if it is a viable business idea, which sector you should operate in, who your competitors are and who your target customer is.
Business Plan
With this information, you can then create a detailed business plan which will act as a blueprint to your success and guide you through the early stages of the startup. In addition to this, a business plan will also be important for securing funding which will be crucial for getting the operation up and running to a high standard.
Premises & Location
Manufacturing operations often require a lot of space so you need to find suitable premises that will allow your team to work safely each day. In addition to being a large enough space, this should also be somewhere that is easy to access with plenty of parking so that staff and suppliers can easily reach the site each day.
High Quality Equipment
High-quality equipment is essential for any manufacturing business so that you can create products of the highest standard. For those working with liquids, this is likely to include float switches designed by a specialist, so that you are able to increase productivity and allow staff to work to a high level each day.
Staff
Following on from this, you also need to make sure that you take the time with recruitment as it will be impossible to succeed without a skilled and hardworking workforce. A good way to keep costs down is to outsource certain areas of the business, but for the key parts of the operation you need to find the right people for the job and keep them happy in their role.
Marketing
It is important to start marketing your manufacturing company early so that as many people are aware of your business as possible from day one. As previously mentioned, it can be hard to compete in this industry, which is why marketing is so important and also why you should use the services of an experienced agency to raise awareness about your new business.
Focus on these areas when starting a manufacturing company and it should pave the way for future success, as well as help you to hit the ground running in what can be a challenging industry to succeed in.
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Starting a business can be exciting and daunting at the same time. However, if you get it right it can lead you to success and a completely different way of life. It can be difficult to know where to start and what you should be prioritising, especially when you are expected to wear many hats and complete several tasks all at once.
Let’s have a look at some of the things you need to think about when starting a business:
How To Fund
One of the first things you’re probably going to want to think about is the funding for your business. You need to take into consideration what you’re start-up costs will be. When thinking about this you need to think about things like:
Are you going to outsource any areas of the business?
Do you need working space or are you working from home
What do you expect your running costs to be each year?
And more.
Once you’ve collated an idea of all the costs that you may come across, specifically in your first year and then your next 4 years, you can start to think about how you’re going to fund your new business. Do you already have the start-up costs saved? Or do you need to look at startup business loan options? If you do look at business loans, make sure you include the repayments in your running costs until it is paid back.
Your Name
This is one of the most important areas that you need to think about, it’s the way that your customers and clients are going to identify you. Are you planning on using your name or are you thinking about using something unique? Once you know your name, it’s advisable to check that this trading name is available on places like companies house. If you move away from being a sole trader, you don’t want to trade as one name and be forced to change it because someone is already using it later down the line.
Your Marketing
This is something that you will need to think about as a priority. It’s the way that you are going to be able to get your services and products out there and spoken about. Think about who your products and services are aimed at and do some research about how these people like to see their products. A lot of people now make use of social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter as viable ways to market their business. If marketing isn’t your strong point, it might be worth either employing a marketing expert or using outsourcing. If you outsource you have access to skilled freelancers or marketing services that are experts in the field. Many new businesses use this as an option because it saves a lot of time and often money.
These three areas are three important areas to consider when starting a business. Of course, there are others to factor in. Do you have any important areas that you could share in the comments below?
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The manufacturing industry is one which is always in demand, so it is easy to see why so many entrepreneurs look to start a business here. Manufacturing can also be a complex industry to work in and highly competitive, so success is not as straightforward as it may seem, especially when you consider how hard it is to compete with the much larger manufacturers.
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