Archive for August 2012
How to reduce your business overheads
Posted by Jacqui Keep in Guides & Useful Info on 31st August 2012
Profitability is at the forefront of your business, so here we give our top tips on how to reduce your overheads to maximise your success.
1. Operating Costs
Before you can think about cutting overheads, you need to know how much your operating costs actually are so you can work out what you are dealing with! A good way to do this is to look at the previous year’s expenditure. If you are a start-up then you don’t have this to go on, so there will be an element of guessing, but get quotes from people about office, technology costs etc. and you should be able to predict a rough figure for running your business.
2. Negotiation
An effective tool in getting the price that best suits you! You will need to develop strong relationships with either suppliers or customers in your business; reach out within your networking circles and see if any of them can make recommendations. Solid relationships will allow you to generate deals that you might otherwise not have access to. Make sure you negotiate the best deal that works for both of you. These relationships will help out immensely if you are ever in a tight squeeze.
e-CRM – is it good for you?
Posted by Shahnaz Awan in Guides & Useful Info on 28th August 2012
So you have a marketing team that creates and designs all sorts of communications for your customers to promote your product/service. Does it work? What’s the level of engagement? How many customers interact with your marketing? Is it cost effective?
If you’re not entirely clear on the answers then it may be time to consider your options.
CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, is in its simplest form, is a company-wide business strategy designed to reduce costs and increase profitability by strengthening customer satisfaction, building customer loyalty, and mining advocacy. If implemented successfully, this strategy can provide a holistic view of your customers in real time thus allowing you to learn more about your customers’ needs and behaviours so that you can develop stronger relationships with them.
eCRM is simply an electronic version of this and in this post we’ll focus on email as the chosen method of communication.
Why do you need a business plan?
Posted by Jacqui Keep in Opinions on 24th August 2012
Businesses get started every day; some fail and some go on to succeed beyond all expectations. So what is it that allows a business to do well? One of the core values of a business should be a business plan, if you ask yourself the question, do I need one, the answer should always be – YES!
Why your business needs a business plan.
© Krisjacobs | Stock Free Images &Dreamstime Stock Photos
Here we give you our top tips for why you need a business plan.
Shall we have a brainstorm?
Posted by Jacqui Keep in Opinions on 14th August 2012
Getting people in a room and forcing them to be imaginative isn’t exactly conducive to being creative is it?
Not sure about you, but we hate it when we are pulled into a creative brainstorm and forced to come up with crazy ideas and concepts of how to grow the business or get greater brand awareness. Being forced to come up with ideas at the drop of a hat simply doesn’t work, your mind is limited to the ideas it can generate if it is thrown into panic, or others are bouncing ideas around.
Shall We Have a Brainstorm?
© Tilholm | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos
How to protect your brand…
Posted by Jacqui Keep in Guides & Useful Info on 10th August 2012
So we have mentioned before how important brand identity is to your business and in generating a name for yourself. So it is equally important to protect your brand. But how do you do this?
Well, there are a host of ways you can protect your brand legally as well as socially. Here we give you our top tips on how to keep your brand protected.
Protect Your Brand
Your questions answered…
Posted by Jacqui Keep in Guides & Useful Info on 7th August 2012
We aim to provide the best service possible and are often faced with a range of questions from customers on a daily basis on details of our services.
Therefore we thought it would be useful to pull together a blog post which has our most frequently asked questions; this can then be a reference point if you have any questions in the future. And don’t forget, if you have any questions that aren’t here, you can always contact us and we will be happy to help you out.
Your Questions Answered
© Zalakdagli | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos
Powwownow Frequently Asked Questions
Staying in touch is as easy as 1, 2, 3 (4 & 5)
Posted by Jacqui Keep in Opinions on 1st August 2012
Whether you are working from home, out and about or stuck in the office, keeping in touch with colleagues and clients is vital to the success of your business. There is a need to keep in touch 24/7 nowadays and downtime whilst you run and catch that train to a meeting is no longer a luxury we have. We need to stay in contact with each other at every turn, whether this is to stay ahead of the game, or to keep ahead of competitors, or just to keep your start-up going, keeping in touch is vital.
Communication is as easy as 1,2,3