Michael Levitt's Blog, page 110

The Best Apps for Small Businesses

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Startups and online entrepreneurs are on the increase, meaning that there's a new need for mobile apps and integrated cloud-based software to support new businesses in a modern environment. With this in mind, we look at some of the best app to support your small business or startup. 

Microsoft 365 - The best office software app

There has been stiff competition in the market for office software over the last decade, but Microsoft Office has managed to find them off to retain its status as the number one platform. Perhaps that' because of its user-friendly platform or excellent integration. Microsoft 365 - once called Microsoft Office 365 - contains the main software platforms you need to run any small business: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. However, it offers far more than this on its integrated cloud-based service. 

RingCentral Office - The best business phone system app

If you're running a business of a certain size and require a single integrated phone system to work with, you will have to invest a little. Luckily RingCentral Office has it all under control. They provide your business with a cloud-based phone system with a focus on business services. The app allows your employee to operate on a singles phone number and access business services from any device in any location. RingCentral Office also has their pricing structure well-mapped, allowing your business to get started for just $19.99.

Fax From Home - A better way to send fax 

You might think that fax is an outdated technology, but you'd be wrong. Fax has also been vital for legal and sensitive documents and has become more relevant than ever now due to cybersecurity concerns - Fax From Phone is one of the safest ways to transfer information. With this in mind, your small business could benefit from Fax from Home, the best way to send fax from mobile devices. It features easy to send fax and document detection for added security.  

PayPal- Best online payments app

If you need a payment system for your small business, look no further than PayPal. It has become the go-to payment system for the majority of small online businesses, mainly due to its ease of use and low fees. In fact, PayPal has zero monthly fees and only charges transaction fees of 1.9% to 3.4%, depending on sales volume. A further benefit of using PayPal is its integration with other websites and businesses around the Web. Most customers are familiar with the platform and comfortable using it. 

Hubspot Marketing Hub - Best sales and marketing app

If you need a CRM for your small business or you want to improve your website's traffic to drive more sales, you could benefit from the Hubspot Marketing Hub. They provide tools for content management, sales and marketing, and social media management. But in reality, the platform offers far more than content management tools. It is called a hub for a reason, meaning that there is a community and a wide range of tools to support your business and improve its performance. If you need an excellent marketing platform and community, look no further than Hubspot. 

How To Get More Out Of Home-Based Employees

Image by Luis Ricardo Rivera from Pixabay 

COVID-19 has caused many companies to alter their approach to business. The growth of remote workers has been one of the most noticeable changes by far. While it may be the best option for human safety, you must not ignore the need to see optimal performance levels.

Employees are the greatest asset at your disposal - when they work as they should. However, their natural work ethic is only one contributing factor. They still need guidance and support, here's how to provide it.

Keep Them Motivated

An employee that wants to work hard, will. So, you should want to be a better leader that keeps them motivated and eager to provide great results. While liking the boss will provide an incentive to perform, the biggest source of motivation comes from within. So, providing clear insight into the potential for promotion and career development is key. This could come from a set path to success or through seeing colleagues climb the ladder. Give employees a goal to aim for, and it will be reflected in their work.

Provide Quality Equipment

If a staff member is going to work from home, you need to ensure that the right tech is in place. Inferior products and online connections will slow their daily output. In turn, this can severely harm their efficiency levels. As well as the right systems, you want to know that the machines are working at peak condition. File management is a key factor, and removing duplicates will free up more space on hard drives. Likewise, providing cloud storage can allow their systems to work faster and better.

Invest In Development

It would be easy to fall into the trap of “out of sight, out of mind”. In reality, the need to keep their skills updated and relevant could not be greater. Interactive staff training modules will help them grow as workers. Moreover, this is a key step to encouraging a sense of consistency across the team while also uniting staff members. So, you will be left with a group of workers that are connected in their thoughts and feel a part of the family. This is the best achievement of any remote workforce.

Save Their Time

Remote workers want to spend their time actually solving problems and working on the tasks that help the business thrive. Fielding client calls or other admin is not ideal, unless this is their area of expertise. So, outsourced IT management or customer care can play a big role even when you consider the remote nature of your workforce. The less time they spend on these issues, the more time they can spend on actually working. In turn, this should feed into their motivation and general happiness levels.

Be Flexible

One of the best things about remote working is that it gives employees a little flexibility. This perk can have a telling influence on their motivation and productivity. Do not stifle it. Let them show a little autonomy by solving problems with their talent and skills. After all, this is why you hired skilled candidates in the first place. As long as workers meet deadlines, allowing them to set their own hours is ideal too. When they can enjoy a better work-life balance, views of the company will soar. 

 

Pitch Teams: What Are They, What Do They Do And Do You Need Them?

When you are a business, you always need to put your best foot forward. Whenever you’re setting out on a new project, a new task or meeting a client, you have to make sure you are financially secure, able to fund the project, meet your objectives and go the extra mile if you can. So when you’re pitching to a business, investor, or client, you must always be ready to impress. That is what pitch teams are for. These will comprise your most talented staff in the sales, marketing and research and development departments. Three different approaches, different disciplines and ways to pitch an idea is pretty much the industry standard. However, with them, they will have their own smaller teams. These people are also very good at what they do. You need everyone to work together, and here’s why and how.

What their primary role is

Pitching teams are created to sell a product or idea. They will be making presentations, which requires research, statistics, PowerPoint slides and a whole raft of other things such as in-person demonstrations. This means they need to do a number of things.

Know the product and or idea they are pitching. They must know why it is needed, what kind of gap in the market it is intended on plugging, why people would want it and what the design and development of it entail.

How much does it cost to research, make, product and improve? The finances are the most important thing of all. They must work with the financial team to know the costs of everything involved, including estimates.

Convince a client to invest or buy the product. They have to be great public speakers. They must be masters of brevity and yet, articulated speech as well. Be precise and concise, but be friendly and want to be as extroverted as possible. 

Why do they matter?

Pitch teams are kind of like your special forces. They are rarely used, but when you need them, they have to be the best in the world. Bear in mind, when you're speaking with clients and making pitches, you’re most likely not the only one. There are countless other businesses all doing the same thing. So you have to bat it out of the park on your first go! 

They matter because they will further your connections with professionals in the industry, convince rich clients to invest in your business or fund a project to get it off the ground. They will also be needed to mingle with potential clients at industry events and trade shows. They can be the difference between getting the backing you need both financially, professionally and publically, and not. 

What they need to operate

Pitch teams need a lot of things to be able to function to a high standard. Firstly, each member of the team requires their own business phone. A mobile phone strictly for business is the best way to go about it, rather than asking them to rely on their personal phones. Don’t mix work and leisure, as they say.

They must have a phone network which is able to transfer a lot of data and be able to work speedily in order to send and receive documents. But 4G is kind of on the way out and 5G is going to revolutionize the pitch teams of the world. So, you’re probably thinking will 4G phones work on the 5G network? Yes, they will. All 5G networks will continue to provide 4G services into the 2030s. They will provide a mixture of 4G and 5G network services, as the new technology is phased in and the old is phased out. You can expect to buy smartphones, which have both 5G and 4G technology already present, so you don’t need to buy one or the other.

Do you need them?

If you are a business in search for partners, you'd definitely need a pitch team. If you are a small business owner, seeking to expand and merge with another business, you need a pitch team that can show the best side of your company. Maybe you are looking for some extra investment because the investment you got from their previous client has dried up. You will need to put together a professional pitch team.

If you are a business that wants to get into the export/import markets, you will need a pitch team that can relate to different cultures, and nations. It's vital that you have a pitch team to enter new markets, as they can convince foreign companies to see you as a risk worth taking.

Are they limited?

Yes, pitch teams by their nature are limited in their roles. They are however able to be used in different ways.

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay 

It's not all about the products! If you need to merge with another company to survive, then you can train a pitch team to make a presentation that shows how your business has been performing. They can be utilized to present to clients that want to buy a business too. 

Distributors will almost always want to demonstrate the product they're going to be selling. So a small pitch team to meet with distributors like Amazon, Walmart and Kroger etc, can be given a presentation on what they are going to be buying and why. 

They can also be used to present to industry experts and professionals at industry events. If you have booked time on the stage, your pitch team will be speaking to the media, live stream audiences and the general consumer, all in one.

How much do they cost?

Well, they are not a permanent fixture, so they actually can’t be cost unless they have a project to meet. Again, your pitch team is made up of full-time employees, C-suite ranks and their closets aids, advisors and or workers. They might also be composed of other workers that are key to the product or idea.

However, they are not a body in a company, thus they don’t have an annual expense or expenditure sheet. They may not be needed every year, and just formed when you need it. A pitch team will have expenses costs, however.

Travel. The most important thing is meeting clients outside of the office. Therefore, plane tickets, taxi rides, coaches, trains, etc. All of this needs to be accounted for.

Food. Your pitch teams need to eat while on the go. This will require a daily food budget for each person. It could be $30 each or more if you can afford it, but that is the average.

Special costs. These will be things like hidden border-crossing fees. It could also be for things like emergency flights back home when a close relative has died. Special costs can also be for things such as buying things at the location, that could help the pitch. Maybe a tablet has broken and they need to buy a new one to make the pitch as effective as it was supposed to be. 

On average, the cost will be determined by the number of people, the scale of their travels and how long they will be away on pitch meetings. 

How have they evolved?

Pitch teams have evolved to include junior members as well. Before, business owners would not want low-level employees to be involved in the pitches when meeting high-level clients. However, junior employees that have proved instrumental in the development of an idea or product are required to be part of the team.

It's also good to have junior employees be part of the pitch team because you want to project an image of having confidence in your young talent and allowing them to be more involved in key decisions. Investors will want to know you’re in it for the long haul and your relationship is set to last. So having multiple generations present when making a pitch, is a good idea for showing continuity potential of an idea. 

New technology

Rather than just relying on pitching skills, utilizing modern tech to get your posting across is very welcome. For example, implement a virtual reality headset demonstration into your pitch. Allow clients to put on a VR headset to experience the product or idea. 

If your plan is to build a new attraction, the client would be able to walk through it just by virtue of the VR headset. 

Other tech you could implement is video journeys with multiple choice answers and pre-recorded results. This can lead clients down multiple possibilities and show them how well you have researched the various outcomes. 

Pitch teams are very useful and versatile. They can be used to present to large consumer crowds, to potential clients, and investors. They are needed when you want to merge your business and equally as great when you want someone to buy your business during financial difficulties. 

You need a top pitch team to be able to connect with people. They need to be factual and information, educational and patient. This is their primary role and point for existing as pitch teams.

Lack Of Care In The Transport Industry Can Affect A Company's Reputation

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Lower wages and worse working conditions for drivers and unfair competition among road freight companies. It is a problem because not only does it affect the driver directly but the company as a whole if these working conditions are not met. It can affect the company’s reliability and their reputation. Every company should treat their workers well. How can the company ensure that the needs are being met? There are a series of checklists and here are some of the major ones.

Allowing drivers the respite they deserve.

Rest is important and as the manager or CEO, you should be well aware of the regulations and ensure that the drivers are able to meet their deadlines without having to compromise on rest. Road safety is vital and should be instilled into all drivers prior to them leaving the warehouse/start location. Road safety can be divided into three parts: primary (or active), secondary (or passive) and tertiary. The drivers should be allowed rest so that they do not need to pull over as frequently. 

Banning certain red flags that can cause accidents. 

The use of phones during the journey should always be prohibited unless they are speaking through a headset. If calls are needed on route (frequently they will be), you should provide them with a headset to ensure safety. Answering a call and even sending an SMS or WhatsApp while driving misleads whoever is behind the wheel and makes them not pay attention to the road and this can cause crashes, making errors with their GPS or other types of collisions that may cause injury, or even death. 

Ensuring exceptional maintenance of all vehicles. 

Preventive maintenance basically means conducting regular inspections and repairs to avoid problems on the truck. These reviews are based on the time of your vehicle, fuel, mileage, engine and include actions such as lubrication, adjustment, cleaning, etc. If it is not done according to a schedule, the consequences are a reduction in the useful life of the vehicle and an increased risk of accidents. An 80,000 pound truck for example, would need regular checks ups because of its weight. The driver has a limited responsibility but still an obligation to themselves at least, to check certain things before they drive. They should try to detect potential problems and to do this correctly, the vehicle operator must be trained in the inspection procedures. The main components that you should always check are tires, oil, suspension, there is a long list, which can be found here. 

As a business, do not be hindered by your own errors and mishaps by not taking essential care of your employees. This can lead to problems with clients, and may even lead you to penalties in the future. Look at ways to ensure safety and security and happy employees so that they can meet targets and enjoy working for you without having to worry about potential safety issues. It’s an essential way to take care of your business. A form of safeguarding, you will certainly not regret implementing this. 

Boosting Efficiency With Machinery

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There are many different ways to boost efficiency at your business, but one of the primary ways is to make sure you have the right machinery and equipment in place. So, with that in mind, we are going to take a look at some of the best options out there for you to make the most of.

Double deck vibrating screens

Vibrating screens are used across a wide scope of industries and because of this there are many different makes and models for you to choose from. When choosing a vibrating screen there is a lot that needs to be considered. To begin with, you need to make sure the machine has been designed for the type of materials you wish to separate. Aside from this, you will want to ensure it ticks the boxes in regards to efficiency and capacity. It is also a good idea to read reviews that have been left by previous customers as well. 

One option to consider is the circular double deck vibrating screen. This machine presents many different benefits for customers to take advantage of. 

The circular double deck vibrating screen is available in many different sizes. These machines have been specifically designed to focus on industries whereby there are liquid, granule, or powder materials that are tough to separate. They may be abrasive materials for instance, or they could be fine, wet, or sticky. 

Whilst the circular double deck vibrating screen has been designed for materials that are difficult to separate, it is a machine that can be used across many industries for different applications, including fine chemicals, metal powders, minerals, and food. 

There are many business benefits associated with using this machine. You can be confident of optimal levels of precision, as the screen has been designed to achieve a cut point of fewer than 10 microns and has an exceptional screening efficiency of up to 99 percent particle size separation purity. 

In addition to this, there are other advantages you can expect. You will be able to increase the screen mesh lifetime, while also creating new streams of revenue, reducing energy consumption, eradicating or significantly reducing waste, and significantly increasing screening efficiency and capacity. 

Air mixer

The other sort of machine that we are going to take a look at in this blog post is an air mixer. Air mixers have a very important role to play because they can assist you when you need to mix materials together that are flammable. A good place to start is arrowmixingproducts.com/ should you need more information on these mixers and the different types available. 

When you are looking for a mixer, there are a lot of factors that need to be considered to find the right one for you. This includes the speed of the motor, the batch size, and material viscosity. This should help you to determine the right route to go down.

You also need to think about whether you are going to need any accessories. This will, of course, depend on your application, but it is vital to look into it.  

How To Grow Your Business Quickly

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When you run a business, you’re going to want to achieve all the good things about being a business owner as soon as you can; the freedom, the money, the success, and so on. The sooner your business can grow, the sooner these things can be yours because instead of working on the business all by yourself, you’ll be able to hire staff, you’ll be able to take breaks, and you’ll be able to enjoy the dividends (sometimes literally) of being a business owner. 

 

Of course, you don’t want to rush into this position; doing that could risk failure. You do need to make sure you are ready for growth and can handle what it will bring. If you are, and you want to know how to start the process sooner rather than later, here are some great ideas. 

 

Be An Expert 

To ensure you are offering everyone who comes to you the very best advice, products, and services, you must be an expert in your sector. In this way, you will become the business that customers trust most to give them what they need and help them when they need assistance. This will push you over and above your competition too, ensuring that you are the first pick. 

 

There are many ways to show you are an expert, and some include: 

Writing a blog or eBook

Giving talks

Making explainer videos 

 

Outsource 

It might sound odd to suggest that one way to grow a business is to spend money on outsourcing, but it really can work, as long as you pick the right companies and individuals to outsource to. 

 Outsourcing means you pay a third party to take on some element of your business for you. This might be marketing, accounting, deliveries, and outsourcing even benefits administration. When you do this, you will have more time to dedicate to the things you’re good at, whether that’s sales, finding investors, creating the products, or anything else. 

 Rather than spreading yourself too thin and delaying how quickly you can grow your business when you outsource, you can boost the way your business is working and even speed up the process of success. 

 

Use Social Media 

Social media being used for business is something that, just a few years ago, would have been considered a very odd thing to do. Yet today, it is expected. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and other social media sites have dedicated business areas, and these are ideal for business owners to grow their business. 

Firstly, social media is where you can find your customers; they are sure to have an account on at least one platform (market research will tell you which one). Plus you can boost your posts and advertise directly to the people who are most likely to buy from you, using specific analytics. This will increase your overall presence, your brand identity, and your sales.

One of the best ways to grow your business quickly is to have your customers give you excellent testimonials and reviews, and tell their friends, family, and colleagues about you. Word of mouth like this costs nothing and is absolutely invaluable when it comes to success and growth. 

How Modern Manufacturing Is Enabled By Cloud Computing

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Manufacturing is one of the sectors that benefit most from advances in technology as experts aim to ease manufacturing processes through automation and integration of technology. Advances in technology in the recent past have led to the adoption of Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and the Internet of Things. 

To facilitate heavy data use and generation that comes with such advances, cloud based computing is being adopted as a solution because it offers massive data storage, with flexibility and scalability. A simple description of Cloud computing is the practice of delivering different services through the internet.

 It is a different approach to computing architecture where the central characteristic is that computing services and resources are accessed and stored virtually over the internet. Computing services can then be accessed in real-time as an on-demand service which ensures infinite scalability and flexibility and access over broad networks.

Cloud computing can be used to transform the different aspects of modern manufacturing. It can change the way the organization operates and the relationship with the supply chain. Inside the manufacturer, cloud computing can be used in:

 

Designing products

Fabrication of products

Use of the products

Cloud computing also facilitates the use of different production systems such as:

 

Industrial robots

3D printing

Internet of Things

High-performance computing

Cloud computing can be applied to not only resolve technical difficulties but also in the development and promotion of business benefits. While the introduction of cloud computing is a complex process, it allows for a gradual shift of infrastructure with some remaining on the premises.

Ways that cloud computing is driving manufacturing

Accelerated manufacturing cycle times: The manufacturing cycle time is the time that lapses from when a manufacturer takes an order to the time the order is completed and included in the finished product inventory. Cloud computing offers better insight into the manufacturing cycle through its intelligence systems.

 A manufacturer develops a better competitive edge depending on the level and accuracy of insight provided which enables them to make effective changes. More manufacturers are adopting cloud-based execution models that provide analytics and seamless data handover to increase integration, visibility, and operational flexibility.

Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)

Cloud computing offers stronger insights into OEE levels per machine and how the machine interactions affect teamwork flow of work and overall productivity. With this information, the organization can adjust the operation to get more work done in less time. 

Cloud platforms often incorporate a system that tracks the OEE at the machinery and tool level and thus can provide insight into the performance of machines and highlight areas that require improvement. Manufacturers can track efficiency, curb losses, and plan maintenance of equipment by using cloud computing to observe, track, and evaluate the health of machines in the plant.

Automation of compliance and reporting: Various manufacturers are required by various authorities to maintain records of their products at the batch, unit, and lot level. Regulators in fields such as food, drugs, and medical equipment are very strict on this requirement and the manufacturer has to ensure compliance before the products leave for distribution. On an international level, manufacturers are also expected to comply with ISO standards. 

Manufacturers are now using cloud-based compliance applications which also maintain historical records of the product. This removes the need to manually track and catalog records for the preparation of organizational, industry, and government records.

Supply Chain Integration 

Cloud-based inventory management system (IMS) and ERP systems are being used for the generation of data sets that observe patterns in the supply chain, enabling the manufacturer to anticipate changing demand.

Being aware of the levels in inventory with various vendors in the supply chain enables the manufacturer to plan and manage efficiently for production and dispatch in different locations. Such insight is valuable as it improves forecast accuracy which in turn contributes to the optimization of manufacturing and production planning leading to better distribution and revenue growth.

New product introduction 

Cloud-based applications are being used to integrate the various teams involved in the development of a new product such as product development, engineering, supply chain, and production planning. The teams’ activities are managed on a singular platform which may even be on a global scale to reach high product quality levels. 

The manufacturer performs readiness reviews, fixes any bugs in the production process, and adjusts the schedule as necessary to ensure the final product is of the highest possible quality. With such new product management processes, the manufacturer reduces the risk of product default.

How to Make Your Business Stand out From the Competition

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In order for any business to succeed today, they must do two things: 1) Deliver a product or service that people need. 2) Stand out from the crowd. If you’re a business owner who wants your business to stand out, you have to offer something different in order to get noticed. It’s no good being generic or offering the same old thing as others locally. 

For example, there could be three companies in your area who sell car engine parts, but due to their broad nature, could take a while getting hold of the correct spherical roller bearings needed by a particular industry. This is why being a specialist while also meeting customer needs is an important element of standing out from the crowd. Here, we’re going to discuss how you can be a flamingo amongst the flock of penguins. 

Address areas of consumer pain 

If you’re looking to win the custom of the people, the best thing to do is to offer a solution that alleviates areas of pain for them. For example, many people dislike the experience of buying school shoes for their children. The whole experience is stressful for both them and the child. Crowds, getting their feet measured, having to choose shoes. Some stores will meet customer needs in that they sell all sorts of shoes for various members of the family. 

However, a lack of assistance for young children may mean that a customer may not want to return in a hurry. A company who pays special attention to the needs of children is more likely to win parents over. 

The key to successfully standing out from the crowd is working out how to solve a common customer complaint.

Do something differently to the competition 

In order to stand out from the crowd, you need to do something differently to them. It may be finding a niche area. For example, looking back at the school shoe example. If your business sells children’s shoes, maybe offer an additional service for parents of children with special educational needs who need extra time and attention. Looking for the missing link in your competition and filling it is a great way of making sure your business stands out from the crowd. 

Become an expert in your field 

When your business attempts to serve everybody, you end up serving nobody. Develop expert knowledge and a niche means that people are likely to know that your company will serve them in meeting their specific needs. 

Having a unique, niche service also assures customers that you have the expert knowledge that they can trust to deliver to them. 

Make unbeatable offers and guarantees 

If you eliminate hesitation for customers wishing to buy a product or service, this will eventually lead to more sales over time. 

By offering unbeatable offers or guarantees, you are reducing some of the ‘risk’ that customers may find themselves feeling when faced with buying your product or service. 

This can also make your company become more likeable and trustworthy- creating a loyal customer base.

Be the ones who go the extra mile 

Most companies will pride themselves on their excellent customer service. However, being proud of it, and following through with that are two different things entirely. 

In order to properly stand out from your competition, you must turn the words into action. 

Time To Give Back In Business, It Benefits All Parties

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Giving gifts to employees is a common practice in many companies and it has a series of positive repercussions in the day-to-day of the company. The existence of an incentive plan for workers improves productivity in companies. Incentives that can be embodied in many different ways, even in the form of gifts for employees. It is a way of recognizing their work and helps your business too.

Employee gifts are an incentive

Obviously, employees must fulfill their obligations with the greatest possible efficiency and diligence because for this they receive the corresponding salary. This is out of the question, but gifts to motivate employees can significantly increase job performance. What's more, the company can even create a scale of gifts to motivate employees, so that when the worker achieves better results, they will also receive a more desirable reward. This can be measured with performance evaluation software. It is a tool that allows different types of evaluation to be carried out, which avoids biases and allows the worker to be monitored over time. With detailed reports and in the cloud.

Employee gifts improve the work climate

Giving gifts to employees can help improve the work environment in the office, while considerably smoothing the relationship between staff and management. Managers can bond with members of their teams and show them that their work does not go unnoticed by management. Especially during these times of COVID-19, we need to boost morale. 

Examples of gifts to motivate employees

There are many ways to give gifts to motivate employees, and companies can choose one or the other according to the reasons that justify each recognition. These would be the most common and effective:

Vouchers and gift cards : it is a simple option for companies and very well received by the staff. Gift cards are available in a multitude of supermarkets and also on the main digital platforms. There are also networks of businesses that accept the same voucher. Another advantage of this gift is that the company can vary the amount of the card by virtue of the importance of the prize it wishes to deliver. Other gifts may include tea sets, hampers, radio (https://altechradio.com) or coffee machines!

Team trips: this is one of the best solutions when it comes to rewarding the performance of the entire squad or a team. These trips also serve other purposes, since they contribute to improving the cohesion of the group and reinforcing ties with the management and the company itself.

Time off and other work flexibility measures: Work flexibility does not have to be a reward, since many companies have found that introducing measures of this type significantly improves results. However, free hours can be a good reward to recognize the most productive employees and motivate others to carry out their tasks more efficiently.

Individual or group experiences: one of the gifts that has become more fashionable outside of business activity is experience chests. Massages, stays in spas, romantic dinners, getaways to disconnect, concerts ... There are multiple alternatives to give to workers and with a wide variety of prices. This gift can have an individual character or be directed to an entire team.

Building A Better Understanding Of Customer Needs

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There’s only one group of people who are essential for a business’s success and they are the customers. If you want to make it, you need them on board and you need to keep them on board. In order to do that, working to understand them, their needs, and the barriers to what they want is crucial. Here are some of the ways you can develop the understanding you need of your customers.

See if they bite

One of the easiest ways to see your audience’s relationship with your brand is to see how they react to it on the surface level. When you are marketing your brand, ensure that you’re making use of the analytics available to see how they react to different measures and strategies. On social media, in advertising, and through SEO, you can get a better idea of which approaches are more successful and which aren’t getting the same attention, allowing you to better understand which approaches appeal to your customer base.

Get the stats

Hard data can often help you better understand the market than simple sentiment, though both are important. However, your own analytics aren’t the only data you can rely on. Market research organizations collect and collate data across entire sectors, from retail to hospitality to the insurance industry. By looking at the overall market share and how the market is growing or shrinking, you can get a better idea of changing customer needs as well as which services out there are currently fulfilling them, as well as which needs aren’t being fulfilled right now at all.

Ask them

Not everything has to be gleaned from numbers, however. When you want specific feedback on needs and the barriers between customers and their aims, you should simply take the time to ask them. There are all manner of customer survey tools you can use to collect information from customers, but it’s a good idea to make sure you’re investing in getting the invitation for the survey out as wide as possible. You want to learn about not only those who are already customers of the business but also those you are aiming to convert, as well.

Think like a customer

As a brainstorming exercise, you should get together with your team and try shifting your own perspective. Try to look at your business as if you were a customer who was seeing it for the first time. It might be wise to even get staff members and contacts who haven’t interacted with the public-facing side of the business to join in on this. You can also use testing services that specifically have people unaware of your business come in to put some fresh eyes on it. It can give you a whole new perspective.

Understanding the customer isn’t something you aim to do once, then forget about it. It’s an ongoing effort that you must continue to invest energy in for as long as you want to keep the business growing. Don’t forget that.