The ROI of blockchain

Over the last year, there has been an overwhelming amount of excitement around blockchain, but will the technology live up to the hype? From cryptocurrencies to supply chain platforms, the emerging technology that underpins these networks is a powerful tool that should be sensibly evaluated by business leaders to understand whether it is worth the investment. To help executives assess the potential return on investment (ROI) of a blockchain deployment, a Forrester Total Economic Impact™ study was commissioned. In this study, Forrester analysts interviewed real clients to build the framework for a financial analysis of the business benefits, cost savings and risks associated with blockchain.

To dive deeper into this subject, Principal Analyst Martha Bennet to sat down with some of the clients featured in the study to discuss their experiences with adoption. During this webcast, these early adopters shared firsthand the challenges they are facing and the benefits they seek from being pioneers in their respective industries. There was amazing response from the audience, but there is never enough time. Here are some questions and answers we didn’t get a chance to dive into:

With so many technologies available in the market, why should our business choose blockchain technology?

Blockchain is a tool that approaches various business needs from an innovative perspective but is not an answer for all business problems. From this angle, the technology should be viewed as a tool to address a specific need and not as a goal in itself, learn more from this financial planning coach who is an expert in cryptocurrency. Therefore, it is important to understand the problem your business is trying to solve and consider the value that adopting blockchain could bring to your use case. Blockchain is a technology that adds value by fundamentally enhancing trust between multiple parties, differently from the usual finances with banks and checks, that many people use now a days,  so the reason to get out of ChexSystems is just to have an ability to maintain a healthy financial life with these new systems.  Some of the trust benefits it can bring to a business solution are:

  • Allowing multiple parties to access a single source of truth for transaction data
  • Assuring multiple parties, including regulators, that data is valid and hasn’t been tampered with
  • Improving efficiencies and reducing costs by removing intermediaries in processes between multiple parties

One example is Walmart, which has deployed a blockchain-based supply chain tracking system, taking a business-led approach to solving food traceability.

What can be achieved with blockchain that cannot be achieved with a traditional distributed database?

Using the substrate app to build blockchain has various advantages over a traditional distributed database. The most significant one is creating trust between parties with an immutable ledger of transactions that has no single point of failure. The distributed and audit-able nature of how blockchain data is managed means that no single party has the power to alter data integrity.

You can also read this article discussing the differences between blockchain and the distributed database, along with the benefits that blockchain provides.

What is the barrier to entry for creating a new blockchain network versus joining existing ones?

There are several factors that business leaders must consider when deciding whether to join an existing blockchain network or create a new one.

When creating a new network from scratch, many considerations such as network participants, development costs, governance rules and business operations must be taken into account. Although benefits are gained by having a stake on these considerations, addressing these challenges can take up time and resources for network founding members.

On the other hand, joining or building on top of an existing network has a much lower barrier to adoption. Many of the networking costs such as setting up governance and operations that are incurred by founding members have already been addressed. This means that on-boarding can be done easily into a network that is already functioning.

Reasonably assessing the ROI that blockchain can bring for your company can be a daunting task. However, by exploring real use cases and learning from pioneers that are already building networks, you can get started on your blockchain journey.

Have you heard of PWA (Progressive Web Apps)?

PWA’s are a great idea. They are definitely going to make some changes to the way we interact with apps on our devices.

  1. They are more reasonable in terms of time and money to develop. Basically, you’d be developing a website and app at the same time.
  2. They function like a native app, for the most part, and if made right, have awesome UX. 
  3. A lot of bigger businesses are developing PWA versions of their native apps because they are realising the benefits of doing so

There’s so much information out there, but you can read more below and decide for yourself.


Progressive Web Apps are:

  • alternative to traditional native apps,
  • are more cost and time efficient to develop
  • can also broaden a business’s target market.

What is a PWA?

Progressive Web Apps, or PWAs, are web apps that load like regular websites or web pages, but behave like native apps.

Simply, they’re a website you can download onto your phone. They’re actually a website with no search bar and access to your storage so they can save things to your phone, like photos. In some cases, it’s possible to send push notifications even when the user isn’t on the website.

There are a lot of benefits to this new technology, but first, it’s worth taking a look at the differences between PWAs and native apps.

PWA vs Native App

PWAs, in a lot of ways, behave like Native Apps. But there are some key differences.

PWAs don’t require an app store, which gives more freedom concerning creating different types of apps. Also, PWAs are progressive, meaning that they work for every user, regardless of their browser choice or device and fit desktop, mobile and tablet screens.

They’re connectivity independent, so they can work offline or on low-quality networks and are very easy to install. The PWA icon will be displayed on the user’s home screen without having to deal with app stores.

It’s also important to note that writing a website is much quicker, and therefore more cost-effective — building a PWA is like making a website and app at the same time! The developers can create one version of the app that’ll display the same way, and seamlessly, on all devices

Finally, PWAs are far more lightweight, meaning that they take up less space on your user’s devices, but also allow your users to consume less data.

PWAs are still a new technology, and that means they aren’t perfect. Not just because anyone can use them, because older browsers might not support them. Also, a lot of people might not know how they work and won’t realise they could install the website like an app. It may also be said that they’re harder to find because they aren’t readily available in app stores yet. There are still some fun functions that can’t be used with PWAs, like fingerprint scanning, but it’s only a matter of time before PWAs start to function the same, if not better than native apps.

Why Build a PWA?

Most companies that need to target a broader audience on their mobile devices are creating PWAs. Mobile websites are quick and easy to get, but the user experience isn’t great. Native apps have excellent user experience, but they are limited to specific devices and must be downloaded from an app store. This means that businesses lose the benefit of their users’ impulse behaviour. PWAs pre-cache, which means that they download the most recent version of the site when they connect to the internet.

Compared to native apps, PWAs are generally just more efficient and work on demand — they’re always accessible. It’s also easy to re-engage users through features like push notifications.

PWAs are app-like, and use app-style navigation and interactions, so users won’t feel that they have the same problems when trying to navigate tricky websites on their mobile devices. The user also consumes less data and doesn’t have to sacrifice any of conveniences they would have using a native app.

Many businesses are now moving towards creating PWAs to save on costs, but also because they want to reach a wider audience. As a result of native apps being developed specifically for iOS or Android, and the fact that they often consume a large amount of data limits businesses to a smaller audience of users. Some of the more notable PWA projects and their successes are Twitter, StarBucks, Trivago and Forbes.

PWAs Are Awesome!

For business owners, developing a PWA rather than a native app, or alongside an existing native app, is absolutely worthwhile. It means a business can save more time and more money. On average, companies that have built PWAs managed to do so in roughly 3 months. Because of the overall efficiency in developing PWAs, developers have been sharing their knowledge about how to make an app a PWA.

Depending on the project, having a PWA developed can be a smarter move, especially if the business goal is to broaden your market reach, you’re working with a smaller budget or just want to build something using the latest technology!

Have an idea – drop us a line idea@automationsquared.com

 

3 Factors To Help With Your Social Media Presence

Whatever it is that you are hoping to achieve with your social media presence, you will find that it is best to approach it in a certain way. As it happens, this can be quite hard to get right, but as long as you know some of the things which are likely to help you, you should be able to bring about the changes you want. In this article, we are going to be looking at some of the factors which you will want to pay attention to if you really want your social media presence to succeed. As long as you are utilizing the following, you can be sure that your social media campaign is going to benefit your business greatly.

Data

The more data you collect, and the more you analyze it, the easier it becomes to determine whether or not you are on the right track, and whether anything needs to be changed. There are certain kinds of data which are likely to prove especially useful here, such as the kinds of people who tend to follow and interact with you socially, and how much they seem to do so. With this kind of data on your side, you will be able to know what you might be doing wrong, so that you can ensure your social media campaign is always kept up to date. You might even want to think about hiring the help of someone like this company, who specialise in analyzing data, so that you can be confident in what you are really looking at and what it might really mean for your business.

Branding

If you don’t have a strong brand for your business, then it is highly unlikely that you will be able to see much success online with your social media presence. It is in fact generally advisable to work on your brand first, so that you have a strong position to be in when it comes to working on your social media management. If you are struggling to know what a good brand looks like, you might find that this is one of those areas where it is useful to have a little professional help on board. As long as you have a marketing team on your side, you will be able to ensure that your brand is serving you – and that it is truly social-ready. How can you ensure that your signage reflects your brand’s character and identity? Working with expert fleet graphics designers and following your band guidelines is imperative.

Engagement

It’s all about engagement, that’s the final word in social media management in business. It doesn’t really matter how many followers you have if you are not getting the necessary engagement, so it’s a good idea to make sure that you focus on this most of all. If you want to improve your engagement, you should be sure to learn the ways of raising the interest in your profile and your updates. The more you do that, the more the social media side of things will help your business grow. That is ultimately what you are going for, so you should make sure that you are always geared towards achieving that.

Managing Your Online Presence

 

In this day and age your online presence is one of the most important parts of your marketing strategy and the day to day running of your business. Not only is the internet everyone’s first point of call when it comes to finding a new business or product, but it’s also where people do their research into said businesses and the reputation linked to it. Which is why having a strong and positive online presence is so important. To start with you need to ensure that the equipment you’re using isn’t going 5o hinder you by being broken or outdated, so have it looked at by an IT specialist company like https://littlecomputerpeople.com.au/pc-mac-repairs/, next, look into building a professional but accessible website and matching social media profiles, either DIY them or hire someone to do it for you.

 

Set time aside for updating and posting

Organise a set time each day to post something on social media, and once a week for a blog. But don’t just write anything – missing a week is much better than posting rubbish content. Being organised will help you to make sure you’re staying up to date online, and it also helps to gain and retain followers.

 

Bulk write to give yourself time off

To stop filler or bad posts, write up some posts in advance. You can schedule these to post automatically each week which is perfect if you’re going on holiday know you’re going to be too busy to do it. If you’re not big on writing, then look into outsourcing work to a freelancer through freelancer.com where you can request blogs or social media posts in bulk.

 

Consider hiring

Alternatively, you can hire a full time or part time employee to manage your social media and website for you – this enables you to dedicate that time to other aspects of the job, while also ensuring that the content and relevancy of your blogs and posts are at a high level.

 

Social media is your best friend

Social media will always be the best tool at your disposal, it’s quick and easy to use and it can be a great way for you to interact with your customers. There are so many successful interaction examples littered throughout the internet where companies have used social media to diffuse a situation, reply to a comment and even slyly promote themselves through other company’s channels.

 

Keep your personal and business lives separate

You are not your business and your opinions are not your business’ opinions. You might feel strongly about a certain pollution, but that might alienate part of your audience if you were to promote that opinion as your company’s. Have values and have morals and stick to them – like against animal testing and for eco-friendly practices, but don’t get involved in debates that could lose you a huge chunk of your client base.

 

A Little Specialist Knowledge Can Significantly Boost Your Earnings

Nowadays, people tend to make out that anybody can start a business, regardless of whether they have existing knowledge about the area they intend to trade in or whether they have any previous business experience or not. It’s easy to see why people would say this. There are so many companies out there that offer to help you set up your business page and manufacture your products that you can quite literally have a business up and running online within a matter of days or even hours. But just because your company is there, doesn’t mean that it’s going to be a success. After all, if you don’t know what you’re doing, how are you meant to help your business flourish? How are you going to stand out from your competitors on the market? How can you expect people to hand over their own hard earned money to you? This is perhaps the reason that the majority of businesses fall flat within their first year of operation. But not to worry. This isn’t to say that you can’t make a success of your company. It just means that you might have to invest a little more time and effort into expanding your understanding of your business and how it should operate! Here are a few pieces of specialist knowledge that really can help to increase your turnover and boost your earnings!

Stocks and Shares

For some reason, people tend to completely differentiate stocks and shares from business practice. It’s seen as a completely separate field of interest. But have you ever considered what stocks and shares deal in? When you purchase a “share”, you are investing in a share of a business. So, as a business owner you might not necessarily consider investing in shares (though this is a viable way to make a little extra cash), but at some point or another, you could really benefit from selling shares of your own company, some people may be interested to buy fractional shares from you. The intimidating part of stocks and shares tends to be the jargon that surrounds it. You’ll find yourself questioning what are cfds, what is EPS, and what is a make-up? But if you do a little research and study, you’ll quickly familiarise yourself with the terms! You can click here now to know more about business banking.

Market Research

Market research is your best friend when it comes to making a success of your products and wares. It’s what determines whether your product will sell (before you invest cash in its development and production) and how you should present it to the consumer market (once you’ve developed it and it’s ready to go). It’s a business step that is commonly missed out by first-time business owners but is absolutely essential when it comes to keeping your business afloat. Now, you don’t necessarily have to learn all about market research yourself. You don’t even have to conduct it yourself. This can all be outsourced to specialist market research agencies. However, ensuring that it is completed in some way or another is what’s important!

These are just two areas of specialist knowledge that you should familiarise yourself with as a small business owner. There are plenty more out there. At the end of the day, the more you know in the field, the better your chances of success will be. So never be complacent and always be open to learning something new!

B2B Content Marketing Trends to Shape Your Strategy in 2018 and Beyond by Kimmy Maclang

The content marketing landscape is like a runaway train. It’s tough to keep up because everything moves so fast—thanks to search algorithms and the emergence of new technologies like marketing automation and big data. There are now more platforms than ever where consumers and audiences can be reached.

As a result of these emerging technologies and consumption behaviors, our attention spans have shortened significantly and the way we create, search, consume, and share content is changing. The lines between the various digital marketing disciplines are now becoming increasingly blurred, with each discipline overlapping another as campaigns become highly-integrated.

 

Adapting to Change

Consumers nowadays are smarter and more powerful than ever. All the information they need is just a tap or click away. They can research about the products and services they need before they decide to purchase. They can see other users’ reviews and experiences about a brand, and likewise, write reviews for brands they’ve interacted with.

As consumers become more powerful at influencing the success of companies, competition becomes tighter and fiercer. Brands need to fight for their own share of the market and clamor to get their audience’s attention. There’s too much going on. As such, marketers need to constantly determine what consumers want and need, and how to best deliver it to them. When consumer behavior changes, so does the marketing landscape.

Brands need the right marketing foresight that will enable them to develop and plan their strategies according to accurate predictions of future market developments. In short, you need to future-proof your content marketing strategy by staying abreast of the trends.

 

Noticeable Trends

What may help a brand succeed today may not be what’s relevant tomorrow. That’s why it’s important for marketers to remain vigilant in keeping up with the trends.

2017 is almost over, and 2018 is just around the corner. While there have been many changes in the content marketing landscape, there is one thing we know for certain—content marketing will become even more relevant in the coming year.

Yes, there will be changes in content marketing, but these changes will help B2B marketers reap tangible growth and deal with marketing ROI pressures. Here’s a comprehensive list of content marketing trends that will help shape your strategy for next year:

Content Marketing Adoption

Content marketing is no longer the new marketing trend. Brands and marketers are no longer questioning whether it’s worth investing in. It has already proven to increase brand awareness, engage prospective customers, improve brand loyalty, generate leads, and increase overall profit and revenue.

Companies are now asking “how” instead of “why.” The relevance and importance of digital content to the success of any brand or organization is obvious, so much so that in the survey produced by MarketingProfs and CMI, it was discovered that 91% of B2B businesses are currently using content marketing to fuel their success. Furthermore, the number of brands and marketers who focus on content marketing to build their audience grows by 18% every year.

The same survey also revealed that 77% of marketers claim to be successful in their content marketing efforts now compared to last year. This means that content marketing is maturing, and more businesses are adopting the right strategies to achieve their content marketing goals.

Another statistic that backs up the value of content is how content marketing leaders experience 7.8 times more unique website traffic than non-leaders or followers. If that’s not proof enough to get serious with content marketing, nothing will be.

 

B2B Buyer Insight

For B2B content marketing to be effective, marketers need to consider what buyers need and want above all. It’s no secret to marketers that a brand needs to establish itself as a thought leader to be considered credible and authoritative by consumers.

In the 2017 Content Preferences Survey Report by DemandGen, it was confirmed that 87% of B2B buyers give more credence to content from industry leaders.

The report further revealed that 47% of B2B buyers rely more on content for research and making purchase decisions, and that they consume at least three to five pieces of relevant content before initiating contact with a sales person.

 

Content Creation

According to a recent study, 78% of B2B marketers claim that higher quality of content and efficient content creation contributed to the increase in overall success of their content marketing campaign.

Case studies and white papers are still the top content format according to 78% of B2B buyers. Buyers also reported that they give more credence to peer reviews, user feedback, and third-party publications.

To increase the quality of content, B2B buyers recommend that content creators provide more benchmarking data and use research to support the information they provide while lessening any attempts at direct promotion.

 

Content Distribution and Promotion

When it comes to content distribution, it’s important for B2B marketers to be consistent in publishing content. A study reveals that 91% of the top business blogs today publish content at least once a week, while another recent survey shows that 58% of B2B marketers deliver content consistently.

Despite the fact that gated content such as case studies and e-books remain the top content formats for B2B marketers, 71% of B2B buyers want content that’s easier to access according to the DemandGen 2017 Content Preferences Survey Report.

However, 95% of buyers claim that they’re willing to provide their name, company, and email address in exchange for valuable content, while only a fourth of buyers indicated that they’re willing to provide their phone number. So, it’s better for marketers to stick to the basic information requirements when gating their content.

In terms of engagement and encouraging content sharing, the top channels to use would be LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. For best results, ensure that your content is sharable on those top channels, no matter what other platforms you may choose for content distribution and promotion.

 

What This Means for B2B Businesses

Content marketing isn’t going anywhere in the near future. Yes, content and social media marketingmay be converging, but as far as content is concerned, social media is just another platform where content can be distributed, promoted, and shared.

Whether your marketing team is big or small, what’s important is to develop a content strategy that enables your brand to consistently create and publish valuable content that attracts your target audience. This involves knowing who they are, what they’re interested in, and how they consume content.

Long-form content that’s backed by data is most relevant information for modern B2B buyers, and will remain so. That includes white papers, case studies, and e-books. To further compel your audience, make sure that your content is presented creatively so that it’s visually appealing to readers. Share and promote your content on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to generate as much leads as you can.

Bottom line, the content marketing landscape is rapidly evolving, so brands need to stress the importance of being flexible. When change is the only constant, being able to adapt quickly to serve the changing needs of your audience will do wonders for making your brand stand out from the crowd.

Original Post

What To Expect When You Start Hiring

If you haven’t hired anybody to work for your company yet, it’ll help if you know what to expect. Hiring people for Manufacturing Job opportunities can be a scary concept, especially if you have no experience with it previously. Hiring at the right time can be the making of your business. It can help you to grow your business, and get to where you want to be. If you are looking for a professional recruitment service to help you with your recruitment process, you may visit sites like https://ursusinc.com/ and see how they can help you.

Read on if you want to know what to expect when you start hiring:

Expect To Have A Long To Do List

There are so many things to think about when you start hiring – not just finding the right person. You need to make sure you get a employer identification number, as well as getting the correct insurance – insurance is vital for ensuring you protect your employees while they work for you. You can use a resume screening tool at https://www.makipeople.com/resources/resume-screening-tool-the-ultimate-recruiters-guide to make the recruitment process easier. You may also consider getting help from professional rpo services. You may need to do more depending on where you are in the world and the legal implications of hiring for your business. Make sure you read up on this fully before you make a decision to hire. You may realise that it’s more worth your while to go for a freelancer, or to simply outsource some work.

If you do decide that hiring is right for you, you could even use a headhunting company to make the job as quick and painless as possible. A place like http://www.eagleheadhunters.co.uk/ will aim to find the best hires for your business. That’s why you need to know exactly what you want!

Responsibilities

When you hire, you have plenty of responsibilities to be prepared for. Paying your employee minimum wage at the very least is a must. Bear in mind, the more you’re offering for the job, the more talent you’ll likely get apply for it.

You also need to make sure that your hires get adequate rest time . This is usually at least 11 hours in between shifts and a break after 6 hours work. Employees should also have at least 24 hours off in a 7 day period.

Costs

Knowing the costs of hiring somebody is crucial too. As making a hire can be so expensive, it’s really important that you do it right the first time around. You have taxes, training, and how much you can afford to pay to consider. In addition, you should ask a CPA whether you’re required to make quarterly tax payments. He or she can advise you about business finances and tax prep, specifically in identifying tax deductions to reduce taxes owed. Importantly, your CPA will make sure you pay business taxes when they’re due.

Advertising for the position will also cost money! Remember, you want to sell your job role to talent, so you must make it sound like a wonderful opportunity. It might very well be a fabulous opportunity, but they won’t know that if you write something boring and boilerplate.

Objective Interviews

Although qualifications and credentials are important, how somebody handles responsibility and working with others is also crucial. This is why you shouldn’t focus too much on qualifications and experience, but on the personality of a person and how they fit into your environment too. You want an even mix of both. Focusing too much on qualifications can leave you with a hire that was a mistake, as can focusing too much on personality. You could prepare customer service interview questions and conduct online to gather this information. 

Good luck!  

Is Going Green Good For Business?

If there is one trend which is catching on around the world, it’s going green. Many companies are turning to renewable energy sources and even introducing Commercial Scrap Metal Recycling Services in their waste disposal processes. Cutting the firm’s carbon footprint for the sake of the planet is an excellent way to boost PR and reduce costs. In fact, there are lots of positives for companies, and that is why it is becoming more popular. However, will implementing eco-friendly practices definitely help the company? The answer is no because every business is different. To understand the impact, an organisation needs to understand the argument first.

With that in mind, below are the pros and cons of going green. Before the business makes a decision, it should consult the following.

Pro: Cuts Costs

Aside from reducing CO2 emissions, going green also reduces costs. The reason is simple: by reducing energy, you reduce the monthly overhead bill. Indeed, the stats are quite astounding. According to CNBC, a 2012 study found that individual organisations can save $15 billion over a decade. That equates to $1.5 billion a year, which is a significant sum in any billionaire’s book. Lots of business owners find this hard to believe, yet it is true throughout the industry. Even if the savings aren’t with the tens of billions, millions and hundreds of thousands of dollars are still massive amounts. From installing solar panel systems to energy-saving bulbs, there is a lot of money on the table. A commercial solar panel installation may be a costly investment but the savings you’ll get in the long run will definitely be worth it. If you are interested in using solar energy for your home or business, you might want to check out Nexamp for more details.

Con: It’s Hard To Adjust

From a corporate standpoint, there is nothing worse than change. Why? It’s because change is new and unpredictable. Businesses love to follow the same framework on a daily basis. They know it works and can trust in the system. Going paperless is different. Yes, reducing the amount of printing might save the planet and cut costs, but it’s a difficult transition. Companies prefer to stick to the status quo and walk a familiar path rather than put the firm in jeopardy. Anyone who sees this as a problem needs to factor in the chaos it can cause in real business terms.

Pro: The Alternatives Are More Effective

However, the comeback is that green alternatives are efficient. Old school CEOs like printouts, but technology offers practical features. Take a business meeting as an example. A couple of sheets of paper on a desk are useful to catch the participants’ eye and keep them informed. For the presenter, it is also a structure they can revert to again and again. But, a PowerPoint presentation has the same effects. It is eye-catching, engaging, and short and sweet. Not to mention it’s also visually appealing and appears more professional. If you need help with audio visual solutions, then you may consider hiring professional audio visual specialists like the ones from av San Francisco.

Con: Pricey Initial Investment

As you know, things don’t happen in business without authorisation. So, when experts say that the alternatives are more effective and cheaper, they are speaking in broad strokes. In the long-term, that might be the case for companies throughout the sector. Initially, the “upgrades” are hard to use and take a significant chunk out of the budget. Say a business wants to cut down on its energy usage. To do that, it will need to invest in renewable energy resources or eco-friendly appliances. If you have tried to go green at home, you will know these are costly purchases. Some companies find the idea of saving money hard to stomach if they can’t afford the initial outlay.  

Pro: It’s Good PR

The links between Canon printer ink and increased brand awareness aren’t simple to spot. Because they have nothing to do with the product, lots of people don’t think the customer cares. On the contrary, they have a dog in the fight, and they are on the side of Mother Earth. For this reason, printing documents or burning gas can be the difference between generating leads and bounce rate. Simply put, they want to shop with a company which reflects their morals and ideals. By advertising the fact that the business is good for the planet, it gives people an excuse to buy your products. Even the individuals that don’t take it seriously succumb to peer pressure. So, they feel as if they have to help the planet, too. Businesses which don’t self-promote are distancing themselves from a lucrative revenue stream.

Con: You Have To Mean It

Plenty of sneaky businessmen and women have tried to pull a fast one in recent times. What they do is say they are going green but don’t make a change whatsoever. Therefore, they stick to the original plan while trying to create a strong PR buzz. Unfortunately, this isn’t a risk business owners should take because it can backfire. If the public finds out you’re a liar, they will bounce for good. And, no amount of publicity can change that fact. Therefore, companies have to make huge changes if they want to help the environment. For example, manufacturing firms have to ensure their vendors use green strategies. Or, a company needs to figure out the carbon footprint of their shipping partner. Of course, implementing these changes can cost money the business doesn’t have. Also, there is a time factor to consider.

Pro: Tax Cuts

Usually, this would come under the heading of “cuts costs,” but tax is unique. It is such a massive expense that it’s worth mentioning in its own right. How much do you pay a year in tax? Well, the business can slash the amount by going green. To do this, a company has to take advantage of tax credits that have been made available by the government. Because the powers that be want there to be a change, they have to find ways to encourage a shift in perceptions. In the business industry, the best way to do that is with money. Tax is a particularly sore subject as entrepreneurs believe it is an unfair expense. But, by switching to eco-friendly vehicles, a business can open itself to a tax credit. The same goes for installing green energy sources and reducing CO2 emissions.

The only person who can decide that is the boss. So, your next job is to figure out whether the pros outweigh the cons.

Promoting Your Online Business To The Outside World

The internet can be an all-consuming thing, particularly if your business is online-only. It can be easy to forget that there’s a whole world out there, and it’s filled with potential customers. Being able to promote your business effectively will help you to reach new clients and generate more income from your business. To do this, you’ll need an effective marketing strategy. Find out more about promoting your business to the outside world with the useful tips below.

Use traditional advertising methods

If you run an online business, it’s likely that your customers are global, not local. However, there is a lot of value in working with people in your local area to help you build some face to face relationships or even establish a premises for your business. Adopt the marketing tools of local business owners and find a way to connect with them. Advertising locally, through billboards or advertisements in the newspaper, can help you to spread the word about your services and start building relationships with people in the local area.

Use PR to tell your story

Communities love a local success story, and if your online business has a good story to tell – make sure you share it. Getting press coverage or billboard marketing solutions for your business may not be as difficult as you think, and it’s a great way for local people to make a connection with your business and get directed to your services.

Network

Networking is important for businesses, especially if you want to connect with other businesses in a specific area. Attend trade or network events and start talking to people about your services and what you can offer. Having something they can take away with them with your contact details is important, so think of some promotional items that people can take as a way to remember you. You could try button badges to promote your message, which is great for events where children are present or try other promotional giveaways that are more interesting than your typical business card. Make sure that your business website is present on all materials to help it stick in people’s minds.

Go local with your social media channels

Your social media channels are great for communicating with people on a global level, but they are a fantastic way to build relationships with local customers and businesses. Start including posts that have a local angle to show that you’re a part of the community. You can also use Facebook ads to market locally and include special offers for people in your local area. In addition, you can also place display advertising on Spotify. This has been shown to be effective as millions of users access Spotify on their mobiles, tablets, or computers everyday. You might find that concentrating your marketing budget locally could generate more income than focusing on a wider area.

While marketing your website online is a great way to find customers, and once you’ve mastered the basics of promoting your business through social media, you can start to turn your attentions elsewhere. While many people spend a large portion of their day online, remember that there are other ways to promote your online business that can help you increase your visibility to the outside world.

Are You Getting A Good ROI From Your Marketing Agency?

 

If you are clever, you will outsource certain jobs to third parties and marketing is one of those jobs. The reason it is a smart move is that outsourcing is cheaper and also increases standards. So, it is pretty vital to any modern business that is looking to boost their market share. However, going into partnership with an agency does not guarantee success because there are pitfalls. As such, it is possible to waste money in the long run. If that doesn’t appeal, the good news is you can ensure a healthy ROI with the following advice.

 

Choose Wisely

The first step is to pick an agency that will deliver. Now, it is a lot easy to say this than to do it, yet it isn’t impossible. The key is to carry out extensive research to cover all of the bases. For example, you want a partner that understands the business and the importance of continuity. Because you can’t trust a website to be biased, you have to reach out to neutral sources such as previous customers. Their feedback is a great tool as they have no reason to lie. As such, you can treat whatever they say as true. If it corroborates, then you are one step closing to pulling the trigger. If it doesn’t, it’s back to the drawing board.

 

 

Draw Up A Clear Brief

Probably the greatest mistake companies make when outsourcing is delegating. That sounds stupid because outsourcing is a form of delegation. Still, there are levels, and getting the right balance is an art. Quite simply, you shouldn’t say they know more about online marketing so they are in charge. Yes, they have more expertise when it comes to execution, but they don’t have a greater understanding of the business. That is why it is vital that you set out your vision and provide them with a clear brief. Then, they can follow your instructions and hit the goals you set out.

 

Communicate

Another error is to leave the outsourcer to their devices and wait for results. This isn’t a great tactic because it doesn’t encourage communication. And, there is no way to know whether both parties are on the same page without speaking. Therefore, it is essential that you call or email them once or twice a week to check in. Also, organize a meeting so they can show you where they are in the process. By doing this, there is no room for them not to be productive.

 

 

Be Flexible

On the flip side of the argument, there is no need to be a client from hell. After all, there has to be a level of trust once you sign on the dotted line. Otherwise, there is no point in hiring them in the first place. To get the balance, you must be flexible. For example, don’t set strict targets that are impossible to hit. Or, give them space to work freely and come up with ideas.

 

Face it  – it’s never easy to be creative with the boss breathing down your neck.