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When you have just launched your very first company, every little milestone can seem huge. Starting from nothing can be incredibly daunting, although you would be surprised at just how many major players in the business game today started out with a mere tiny investment. At this stage in your company’s life, it can be pretty hard to imagine it ever being anywhere near a national level, let alone something global. During those first few years, your main priority will be keeping yourself afloat financially, and trying to avoid being part of all those horrible statistics we see about startups failing within the first few years. Once you have passed the two-year mark, however, you should notice things begin to pick up. When your business has been running for five or so years, and you are continuously turning a healthy profit, you may want to think about expanding it further. This could mean edging your way into other parts of the country, such as opening other branches and hiring managerial staff. But for many entrepreneurs, the main goal is pushing their business overseas. This could even be the reason why you got into the business in the first place, so having the opportunity to bring this dream to life can be incredibly exciting. Fancy a slice of the international pie? Here are some of the steps you’ll need to take.

Establish a due diligence report

Before you even think about signing any forms, you will need to make sure that you have all bases covered when it comes to your international expansion. Getting involved in foreign business can be tricky, so you need to make sure you know the market like the back of your hand. Put together an analysis on how the move will affect your business, and how quickly you will be able to break into the local market once you are there.

Send out your right-hand man/woman

If making a move overseas yourself is not something that is on your itinerary, you will need someone you can trust who is willing to oversee the procedure for you. Building an entire team from scratch abroad can be both challenging and time-consuming. When you are starting a business overseas, it is better to involve people who already live and breath the business initially, and then you can locals later.

Ditch the ‘one size fits all’ approach

Every country is different to the next, and each comes with its own unique culture that you, as a business professional, will need to respect. Tactics that have worked for you in the past back at home may not necessarily have the same effect overseas, and you will need to be willing to familiarize yourself with local customs. It is also worth bearing in mind that tax law, employment law, and business law can be different depending on whereabouts you are in the world. So make sure you comply with the local rules to avoid getting into any trouble.

When you launch a startup, you know that there are many other people doing the same thing. Some of them are even in the same industry as you are, and perhaps even selling similar products. Getting your business noticed among a sea of others is a tough ask, especially if your startup is running on a slim budget. Fortunately, it’s not impossible, even if you are a little strapped for cash. There are infinite possibilities for giving your startup a unique personality and brand so you can differentiate your business from even the most similar products and companies. So what should you do differently?

What’s Your USP?

The main key to making sure your startup has that special touch is identifying your USP or unique selling point. Hopefully, you already know what this is. But if you don’t, you need to find it quickly. It’s possible that your USP doesn’t actually exist yet. Your USP isn’t necessarily embedded in the product that you’re selling. After all, many businesses can sell the same products at similar prices. Your USP can be in the way you sell your product and the service you offer your customers. What can you deliver that other businesses don’t, can’t or won’t? What are people in your target market looking for?

Be Inventive with Customer Service

One way for your startup to be unique and stand out is to focus on customer service. You could have a fairly generic product but beat your competitors on the service front. People want to know that they’re going to receive good service when they buy something. Whether they’re asking for advice or they need to make a complaint, they want to be treated well and looked after. Some startups make themselves special by going above and beyond what’s expected of them or by doing something interesting. What can you do to make your customers happy that no one else does?

Design Everything from Scratch

Your business’s image and branding are essential parts of making it unique. It’s surprisingly easy to research businesses and find several that appear to be very visually similar. If you want to avoid this, the first thing you need to do is design everything from scratch, from your logo to your website. On top of that, you need the right graphic designer and website design agency. You need to know that they’re going to create a bespoke product for you, and not just give you something based on a template. Your branding needs to stand out and work for your company.

Be Ahead of the Crowd

It can seem difficult for a startup to lead the way in any area. After all, bigger businesses have a lot more money to try new things. But a lot of larger businesses can also be out of touch and hesitant to try anything new. It’s often startups that take risks and find out which new technologies and techniques work. Try to lead the crowd instead of following it.

It takes some time to figure out how to give your startup that special touch. Give it plenty of thought to make sure you get it right.

With the changing face of the business landscape, many companies find that they need to find new ways to remain relevant. It’s a very difficult situation to be in, as more and more startups begin, which means the old guards have to put in some additional overtime to find ways to appeal to their target market, especially when there’s another company selling exactly the same product for half the price! Remaining relevant means, on occasion, having a drastic overhaul of your image, and here are some simple approaches to take when addressing this issue.

A new direction or approach to your image is something that can be very difficult, especially when the structure has been long-established. An option many businesses take to restructuring the organization is to outsource to an organization design firm. The benefit of this is, in addition to the perspective from an outside source, that it could be the internal shake up your business needs.

Your customers are always where the buck stops, so why don’t you talk to them and get their viewpoint? The whole customer experience is something you can try to perfect, but as you’re not on the receiving end, it won’t be a piece of genuine feedback if you do it. Instead, draft up a survey to get honest and detailed opinions on the whole customer experience process. Many businesses have the information already on how to improve the customer experience, but not necessarily what it all means. Getting customer feedback helps to not just understand the holes in the process, but it can strengthen the relationship you have with your customers. One of the key issues might be the usability of your website, or the content. Keeping your content relevant and dynamic is usually the main issue with smaller businesses, and this is because the budget doesn’t usually allow for massive changes. However, this needs to be at the forefront of any marketing push. The internet is your window to the world, and there are hundreds of web design firms out there that can give you the makeover you need. From the website to the written content, each segment has to be as uncomplicated as possible, and easy to use.

Sometimes the business image isn’t an external issue, but an internal one. If you have an organization where everyone is reticent to change then outsourcing to firms and freelancers may influence your staff to work in a better manner, one that is in keeping with the ideals you have wanted to push for a while. By shaking up the staff in this manner, it will implement a big change internally, which can make it a gradual process, but a more organic one. This can stretch all the way up to the leaders, and if that’s you, you’re not exempt from a change too! Thought leadership strategies can be a good wheel to set in motion to start building up a line of credibility. If a change has to be made, it can take some time, but it is worth it if it means a more functional, and vastly improved, business image.

Office space is expensive and moving can be a hassle. Not only does it take a while to find a place suitable for your needs, you also need to consider your staff and if they’d be willing to travel to a new location. Sometimes it’s pretty far away and there’s a chance that your new office location might be out of the range they’re willing to commute to. However, there are plenty of ways to give yourself an extra bit of space in your current office.

Moving Server Hardware

Not only does server hardware cost a lot to maintain, it’s incredibly noisy at times and can easily take up entire rooms because of how bulky it is. If you want to save some space in your office, then consider a colocation hosting service to give your servers a better home. Assuming your internet connection is fast enough, you should have absolutely no trouble accessing those files via the cloud. Alternatively, you could resort to cloud storage services and selling off your server hardware to make a bit of extra money. Most small businesses have no real need for expensive server equipment, so you can save not just space but also a lot of money.

Remote Employees

If you don’t have enough space in your office to hire a new employee, then consider hiring someone to work remotely. This doesn’t work all the time (it depends on your business) but it’s a good idea to look at the options you have for hiring a remote employee. For instance, most creative jobs such as writing and design can be done by freelancers, but if you need someone to do regular work for you, then you should consider hiring a remote employee. Your business needs to make ample use of cloud services in order to make use of distant staff, but this should be no problem for any tech-savvy business. You could also allow your current employees to work in coffee shops, at home and while they’re out of town by supplying them with laptops and using cloud services to get work done. This is a great option for businesses that don’t always need their employees in the office, and this could free up valuable desk space in your workplace.

Take Down Walls

Walls can be a problem in some offices. They break up large spaces to create smaller ones which is great if you need privacy, but if you want more area to work with then you should consider swapping to an open-plan office. This helps your staff communicate better without having to walk around the office. It can be distracting at times because they’ll be in constant contact with each other, but it will free up a lot of extra space in your office. You’ll need to hire a contractor to do this work and you might run into issues because electrical wiring, pipes and other cables might be running through walls, but it’s an option if you want to physically free up a lot of space in your office.

There are few things in life more exciting than setting up your own business. If you’ve spent your life doing what you’re told and working for other people, then the idea of getting to make your own rules and call the shots for yourself can be incredibly enticing. Of course, there’s no way to deny that it also comes with its fair share of problems and difficulties. You should definitely not try to set up your own business if you’re not willing to put the necessary amount of work it. However, there’s one mistake that far too many new business owners make that is likely to make their lives much harder than they need to be: they try to do everything themselves. Trying to deal with everything yourself is the fastest way to both let your business down and to send yourself completely insane with exhaustion. It might be difficult to imagine handing over any part of your business when the independence of it is such a big part of why you set up your own business, but here are just a few reasons why reaching out to other people for a little help is one of the best things for both you and your business.

You can focus on what matters most to you

No matter what, there is a very good chance that there are certain aspects of your business that you are more concerned with than others. Some business owners want to focus their energy on the finances of a business, while others are more interested in interacting directly with customers. There’s nothing really wrong with this; it’s just a natural part of running a business. However, the problem many business owners run into is that this leads them to neglect certain other parts of the business. By putting those aspects in the hands of outside agencies or individuals, you can focus on what matters to you, without it coming at the expense of other areas of your business.

It puts your business in the safest possible hands

There’s a temptation to believe that the very safest hands that your business can be in are your own. However, that’s not always the case. There are always going to be gaps in your skill set, just as there are gaps in your interests. You might not have any idea how to market a business effectively so hiring a small business digital marketing agency to help you with that can make a huge difference. The same goes for just about every aspect of your business from finances, to employee management. It’s always worth putting important things in the hands of the experts.   

It helps you maintain a work/life balance

Running a business is a huge undertaking no matter how you spin it. However, this doesn’t mean that it should completely and totally take over your life. A work/life balance is incredibly important both for you and your business. Overworking can have some seriously harmful effects on you as a person, and that means that you’re definitely not going to be bringing your very best to the business every day. By putting things in other people’s hands, you get to take a break now and then, recharge, and then come back more fired up than ever.

Are you hoping to become somewhat of a leader in your industry? You can’t just hope for the best. You need to take deliberate steps to get to where you want to be. Here are some pointers you should take on board:

Becoming The Person You Need To Be

Before you start any kind of business, or attempt to change anything in a current business, you need to be sure that you’re the right person. Who do you want to be? Who do you think you need to be to get to where you want to go? Pretend you are that person already. What time do you get up in the morning? What does your morning routine look like? What do you wear, how do you feel, what do you eat? All of these things need to be considered, and you then need to take steps to become this person! You need to become a leader before you can lead, and your mindset is so important.

Having An Effective Business Operating Model

Having an effective business operating model is crucial if you want to become a leader in your industry. Not only does this make your business more effective, it shows others that you actually know what you’re doing. This is important in a number of different sectors. There are various models that can be used for different sectors, too. The following infographic can fill you in on the healthcare sector, so you get a good idea of what you should be doing.

credit to Marylhurst University Online

You may have the greatest business idea in the world, but the path to making it work can be overwhelming. Whether you are thinking about setting up online, the local high street, or both, there are some important things to consider before getting there. With careful planning, the stress of starting a business can be alleviated. Consider the following advice.

Be realistic

Quite simply, take a look at your life as it stands right now. Considering your family, financial and employment situation, is now the right time to set up your business? If the answer is no, then maybe wait a while. There is no harm in planning ahead for when the time is right.

Research

You need to find out how viable your business idea is. For example, how many other people are doing what you would like to do? If the market is oversaturated with your idea, then it may be time to have a rethink. Also, you need to be visible for people to find you. If considering a high street store, check the geography of your town to find the best place to set yourself up. If online, create a website with a web building tool and use SEO to boost your website’s popularity on search engine listings.

Have a business plan

Without a plan in place, you are almost guaranteed to fail. Ask yourself the following questions, and consider the answers.

Who is my target demographic?
How much money do I need to begin trading?
How will I market myself?
Where do I want to be five years from now?

Having a plan in place is like having a roadmap to help you navigate the tricky world of business. When applying for a bank loan, or in looking for people to invest in your company, a business plan is evidence that you are taking this venture seriously. So consider the short and the long term, and take the time you need to put things in place to help you.

Be passionate

If you have a business idea but don’t have any passion for it, then you are not going to go far. For example, if you are thinking about setting up a dressmaking business, but have no interest in fashion, your customers will see that. Choose something that excites you and makes you get out of bed every day. There will be pitfalls ahead, but having a love for what you are trying to accomplish will spur you on.

Have an online presence

Considering the millions of people using the Internet, the potential for attracting new customers is high. By setting up your own website and connecting it to your social media accounts, the chances of your business succeeding are considerably higher than if you don’t.

It is important to keep your website and social media updated with new and relevant information about your business. By offering promotions and listening to customer feedback, you will be able to keep people coming back for more. Respect your customers, and consider these customer service quotes.

Be wise with money

It is likely you will need some capital before your business can begin. The best way is having saved money beforehand. If you haven’t all is not lost. You could borrow from family and friends, but don’t take advantage of them. Many people take out a business loan from a bank. If you are going down this route, shop around for the best interest rates. You will also need your business plan handy as they won’t normally lend to somebody without one. Whatever else you do, make sure you borrow from somebody reputable and have a plan in place for giving the money back.

When your business is up and running, there are financial implications you need to consider. For example, you will need to register as a business so you may choose to hire an accountant to help you with your taxes, and in helping you work out your income and expenditure. Failing that, there are many accounting apps on smartphones and tablets that can help you work out your finances, though an actual living person may give you better peace of mind.

Sell yourself

You have set up your business, your website is online, and you are ready to go. Great, well done! Don’t rest on your laurels yet, though. You need to shout about it from the rooftops (not literally) and let people know where you are. So advertise your company online through social media, relevant forums and buy ad space. When offline, send out business cards and flyers, get mentions on local radio, and advertise in newspapers and relevant periodicals.

Don’t give up the day job

You will be excited about the possibility of beginning a new venture, but you need to ensure you are financially secure as well. If you are already employed, don’t give up until your business is ready to get off the ground. It is still worth having employment on a part-time basis until your business begins to make a profit and earn you some real money.

Remember, you also need to pay your regular bills, eat food and support your family, so don’t give up on any income until it is wise to do so.

Find support

Don’t be a lone ranger. Enlist the support of family and friends, talk through ideas with them, and share with them your successes and disappointments. Moral support will help you get through the hard times.

Also, consider other people who can help, such as a business coach to take you through the steps you need in making your venture work. Other business owners may be able to give you advice, so talk to people online and off.

Make mistakes

We all make mistakes, so don’t be scared to do so. In the first few months of trading, you can expect to make a loss at first and encounter pitfalls. Recover, learn from them and move on. Nobody can expect to succeed on a first attempt, so persevere and don’t give up!

In business, you can be blessed with a lot of positive. When you first launch your startup, you can often find a few setbacks, but the idea of working for yourself, setting your own working hours, maximizing your earning potential and even creating a product or service that your proud of makes it all worth it. Unfortunately, there can also be a lot of hassles. The good news is, you don’t have to deal with them yourself if you don’t want to. Take save yourself time and to make your business run better, here are five areas that you can outsource today.

Website

Unless you’re a whizz with web design, you might find building, owning and running a website a bit too much. Some people have a passion for it, and that’s great – but if you’re not one of them, why break your back over something that an expert can take of your hands. There are a lot of things you can learn on the internet, but if web design is just one you can’t take too, it’s better off outsourced.

Admin

Every business has admin. Whether you have a ton of emails to answer, paperwork to put in order or even queries and complaints to handle, you might find that it takes up a large proportion of your time – meaning things like strategy and creative concepts take a back seat. When that’s the case, you need to get yourself either a member of admin staff or get a Virtual Assistant (VA) that can do it all for you.

Invoicing

The actual process of writing and sending out invoices isn’t that hard of a task – in fact, some of us actually love doing it (because you know that money will be coming because of it). However, the chasing up of said invoices and constantly being in contact with accounts people can drive you insane. If you spend a lot of timing chasing after your money and not seeing a lot of it, it might be time to look into small business invoice factoring companies that can take that off your hands.

Taxes

And while we’re on the topic of finance, let’s talk taxes too. Alongside chasing invoices and never seeing the money you’re owed, you can often find that filing your taxes is all a bit much too. Thankfully for us all, we don’t have to work on that ourselves – thanks to the accounting industry. If you struggle to keep on top of what you should and shouldn’t be doing with regards to your taxes, it’s definitely time to bite the bullet and hire an accountant to do it for you.

Social Media

Social media is one of the areas of business that we all know we should be staying on top of but we don’t all have time too. Thankfully, the idea of remote workers has made outsourcing your marketing more accessible (not to mention affordable). Instead of having to hire a big expensive agency, you can get a consultant or even a VA to help you out in the social media department – even if they just execute the strategy, you’ve created.

Speaking from a 21st-century viewpoint, it can often be quite hard to imagine the world without the internet. We’ve only been using the Internet as we know it since 1994 when it was invented by British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee – but even in that short time, it has grown hugely. We rely on it for just about everything, from education to maintaining social relationships, and our working lives are no different. Pretty much every workplace in the world now uses the Internet as a primary function, and the vast majority of workers are skilled in using it to its varying degrees. Even jobs that are mainly labor-based use the internet now, whether it’s for marketing or sourcing clients. Companies without access to the Internet will almost immediately fall behind, which is why it’s so integral to be on top of your game when it comes to your internal systems. For example, the Internet operates very differently today than it did twenty years ago, with Wi-Fi replacing dial-up and multiple browsers to choose from. You probably already have Internet access at your company – but are you using it to its full potential?

Fast Wi-Fi

We all know that in business, time is money. For that reason alone, it’s easy to see why your company would benefit from high-speed Wi-Fi. Most Wi-Fis operate on an ‘airtime’ basis, meaning that how well they work depends on a number of devices that are running from the source. One way to ensure that your connection to the online world doesn’t let you down is by taking advantage of regular calibration services – a little bit of maintenance in this department can go a long way! Make sure the provider you choose offers a high amount of megabytes per minute so it can accommodate for all your employees. You may also need to gently remind employees not to download huge files onto your server, as this can easily slow down your Wi-Fi speed as well.

An intranet

It might seem like the most straightforward option, but having public Wi-Fi in your office can sometimes be risky business. Your company will most likely have a lot of important data and private information stored on your server, which could be easily accessible to hackers. Having a private intranet set up – an internet portal hidden behind a firewall – can greatly improve online security for your business.

Backup

As advanced as the Internet is, there will naturally be some occasions where it lets us down. Perhaps the entire service in your area has run into some problems, or maybe your aging router has finally given out. Whatever it is, the last thing you need as a business owner is to be cut off from the internet in the middle of an important video call or client conversation. For this reason, it can sometimes be worth having a couple of old-school backups at your disposal, to quickly re-establish your connection. Backup DSL or modem dial-up connections are your best bets here. Sure, they still take ages to link you up with a workable signal, but slow internet is better than no Internet at all, right?

Something that often happens in the very early days of any startup is that there is a sudden dip, a time during which the previously high or healthy sales suddenly drop. It is perfectly natural in this case for the business owner in question to feel a little disappointed. But as it happens, there could be any number of reasons why a business might suffer such a sudden downturn – particularly a new business. If your business is experiencing such a problem at the moment, then here are some questions you can ask to vastly improve what you are doing fast.

Are You Offering A Solution?

All businesses need to offer something that others are unable to offer. This could mean a new solution to an existing problem, a solution better than anyone else’s. Or it could be that you have spotted a problem which nobody has given an answer to, and provided a solution that people can really benefit from. The latter is the strongest way to run a business, of course, but also the hardest to come by. If your business experiences a sudden drop, it could be that the solution you are offering is not relevant enough to many people, and that is why you aren’t doing as well as you thought you would.

Are You Engaging With Your Customers?

The relationship between the company itself and the customers it serves is central to the success of that business. If your business is going through a bad patch, it could be that your customers do not feel entirely appreciated, understood or engaged by your company. Knowing how to remain engaged with them is a tricky and complex art, but much of it is achieved in the construction of a compelling brand image. If you think your business might need some help on that front, consider getting a digital agency on board. They will be able to point out where you might be going wrong, and offer you some unique solutions.

Are You Taking Note Of Their Responses?

Your customer’s voice is something that you should always pay close attention to. Regardless of how big a company gets, being able to listen to the customer’s feedback is important. But not only should you be listening to it – you should be actively encouraging it, especially if your business is currently going through some hard times. Asking your customers for their opinion and then acting on that word will be the quickest way to get your business back to a state of better functionality and improved profit.

Are You Allocating The Right Resources?

One of the most difficult balances to get right in business is the budget sheet. You need to ensure that every aspect of the processes in your business has the required resources at their fingertips – but that is hard to know without really looking at the finer details. However, if your business is struggling, you might want to consider doing so – you might find a glaring error which had completely escaped your notice before, and it could bring your business out of those dark days.

Regardless of your current position, it isn’t where to want to stay for the rest of your career. Even if you’re at the upper echelons of the industry, there will be a role that keeps you awake at night. As a human being, it’s in your nature to want to break loose and make your way up the corporate ladder. However, there are hundreds of your colleagues that have the same idea, so achieving this goal isn’t going to be easy. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible. In fact, it’s quite probable with the following advice.

Become A Leader

Businesses want all types of people because different personalities have different skills. And, the bigger the range, the more chance there is of success. With regards to management roles, though, there is one quality they rank above the rest: leadership. Anyone that is in charge of a group of people needs to be able to get the most out of them on a daily basis. If you can’t, you won’t last long in the position. Some say leaders are born, but that isn’t true thanks to leadership masters programs. These programs help mold an average worker into management material. Also, speaking out and being forceful can be useful as it gives off the right impression.

Take A Course

People often say that a promotion isn’t about what you know but who you know, and that is true to an extent. Still, you need the relevant skills if you want to make it to the top of the tree. And, these skills need to sharp and ready to go at a moment’s notice. Logically, a manager has to be better than his subordinates otherwise there will be uproar. So, it’s time to think about improving your key skills by taking a course. There are lots of courses for a variety of subjects, so there will be one for you. The trick is to pick the class which boosts your most desirable skills.

Play Politics

Unfortunately, you won’t get anywhere from being the best. Yep, skill only gets you so far because office politics get in the way. Current bosses have their favorites, and they don’t mind doling out jobs to these people for their devotion. Now, there is no need to be a brown nose because that doesn’t get anyone very far. But, you do need to keep yourself in the picture at all times by doing things others wouldn’t do for the sake of the firm. Is there overtime?  Is the company desperate for help? Good, then offer your services. Hopefully, they will remember your sacrifice when the time arises.

Be Ready To Quit

One thing they don’t tell you at school is that you have to be prepared to make big decisions in the workplace. Quitting is probably the biggest one you can ever make, but it is the right move sometimes. Now and then, employers will use you by waving a promotion in front of your face. Sadly, they are never going to give it to you, but they won’t divulge that information. If you feel they are using you, it’s best to move to start afresh.

Okay, it’s a lot of hard work, but at least you know you haven’t hit a glass ceiling.

If you’re an Internet user, there’s every chance that you’ll search online for reviews and recommendations if you’re looking for a local restaurant, a plumber or a new hairdresser. As a collective, we’re more dependent on the web than ever before, and if you own a business, you shouldn’t underestimate the power of rave reviews. If you run a business or you’re ready to get a startup off the ground, here are some simple ways you can deliver outstanding customer service.

Know your customer

You can’t provide a personalized service if you don’t know who you’re dealing with. Every business owner should have a good idea about who their target customer is. What do they do? How old are they? Where are they from? What do they like to do in their spare time? If you run a small business, you can run with this and really get to know the people you’re working for. If you run a bar, for example, it won’t go unnoticed that you stop and have a chat from time to time. If you’re a gas engineer, it’ll make a difference if you pop by and introduce yourself before you take on a job. Whatever industry you work in, it’s important to understand the value of contact, whether face to face or online.

Giving the customer what they want

When you run a business, your aim should be to provide your customers with what they want, as well as to make money. If you can please your clients and deliver what is promised, you’ll go a long way to getting those 5-star reviews. Make use of feedback, and encourage every customer to leave comments and make recommendations. If people take the time to do this, make sure you take notice. If something isn’t perfect the first time, a customer may give you a second chance, but if you fail to improve when problems have been highlighted, they may just choose to go elsewhere next time.

Covering yourself

When you provide a service, you should work on the basis that the customer is always right. It’s human nature to make mistakes, and nobody is perfect. Even the most experienced tradespeople or entrepreneurs can get things wrong. What’s important is that you can bounce back if things don’t go to plan. This is why it’s essential to have insurance. Mistakes can be costly, but i you’ve got the right cover, you’ll be able to sort tricky situations out without losing out financially. If you don’t already have insurance, check out https://www.kingsbridge.co.uk/public_liability.html for more information. Even if you think it’s incredibly unlikely that you’ll ever need to make a claim, it’s best to have peace of mind that you can act quickly if you are facing the prospect of legal action.

Going the extra mile

In business, you need to outshine the competition, and customer service is definitely an area where this is possible. Go the extra mile for your customers, offer a personal touch, and make sure the service you provide is excellent every time. Make sure everyone in your team is on the same page, dress to impress, arrive on time, and read up on the client beforehand. For more useful customer service tips and tricks, take a look at https://www.thebalance.com/customer-service-guide-for-small-business-2948068.

If you’re a business owner, never underestimate the impact of service with a smile!

You think you’ve got all the bases covered in setting up your new enterprise and then someone presents you a whole new ‘to do’ list. Setting up a business can be a relentless stream of tasks and it is easy to become overwhelmed and exhausted.

If only there was some way of cutting through the myths and identifying the key tasks to get your business noticed. A blog is a fantastic way of keeping your site content fresh and exciting and for engaging with your customers. However, blogs are not hassle-free and can eat up a huge amount of time if you let them. This cheat sheet helps you focus on the vital tasks and ignore the rest.

Publish regularly with a schedule you can maintain

In the world of internet marketing, it is important to be consistent so that you appear regularly online and in social media feeds. At first, you may want to post every day but can you keep this up? It is better to post once a week than to post 7 times one week and none the following. Before you start your blog, have some spare content ready in case you don’t have the time to write something new every week. Try to publish at the same time and on the same day.

You don’t have to write everything from scratch

There is so much information on the web today that it is highly unlikely that you will be able to come up with a totally original idea. That is not a problem because you don’t have to. It is perfectly acceptable to use other people’s content as a starting point for own. You cannot copy it in any way because that would be plagiarism and will damage your site and theirs. However, you can use it as a basis for generating your own ideas. You can adapt it tailor it to suit your own business and your own audience.

You don’t have to use a professional photographer

In an ideal world, you would be able to afford a professional photographer to take jaw-dropping shots of your product. That is not always within the budget of a start-up. It is possible to take perfectly acceptable shots with a smartphone and to produce graphics for your blog posts with free software such as Canva. You can use general shots from royalty sites such as Pixels.

You don’t need to smash every social media platform

Well, yes you do actually, but not all at the same time. This will take up every second of your time. Instead, find out which one is used by your target demographic first. For the over 50s you need to focus on Facebook but for teens, Snapchat is where it is all happening. Once you have established yourself on your chosen platform (which can take a few months) you can move on. Don’t forget that you can cross post. Share your Instagram pics on Facebook and they will serve a dual purpose for you.  

If you’ve started a company that provides products or services for young people, you’ll have to think outside of the box. Traditional marketing techniques aren’t going to produce the best results. Instead, you need to look towards the latest technology and advancements to catch their attention. That means you might have to forget everything you were taught about business promotion. There are some fantastic tips on this page that might assist you in achieving your goal. However, the most important thing you need to learn is how to think for yourself. Sometimes innovative and original concepts will work better than anything we can recommend.

Use social media a LOT

There is no getting away from the fact that young people spend a lot of time using social networks. Facebook and Twitter are still the most popular platforms out there. However, you’d do well by taking a look at Instagram too. Experts at https://grin.co/instagram-search/ always advise their clients to use that website. You could get in touch with the top influencers who use Instagram accounts. You could then strike deals where you pay them to promote your brand. Maybe they could post photos holding one of your products? The possibilities are endless. Just ensure you invest a lot of time in building your audience on all the top social media sites.

Consider releasing a smartphone app

Almost every young person you see walking the streets today has a smartphone in their pockets. They’re also fans of downloading fun and interesting applications. So, maybe you could create something for your company? Specialists at https://www.toptal.com/designers/mobile say it’s an affordable solution. It doesn’t have to work in the same way as the Amazon app where it just lists products for sale. You could think outside of the box and do something entirely unique. For example, releasing a fun and addictive game that contains your logo could work well. At least some of the young people who use the app will become curious. They will also notice your logo whenever they see it elsewhere. That could encourage sales.

Contact schools and universities

Sometimes you have to go back to school when it comes to reaching young people. Most schools and universities struggle for money these days. So, they sometimes sell advertising space on their newsletters and websites. If you sell products designed for people in that niche, you could make a killing. It’s a tried and tested promotional idea that always works well. Print advertising is dead in the water in most instances. However, most parents will read school newsletters because they care about their children. That means you’ll reach both the young person and the adult supervising them.

Now you have some great ideas for marketing; we hope you will add them to your strategy this year. When all’s said and done, you just have to attract the attention of young people. That’s much easier if you use technology and advertise on their level. If you need more advice, try speaking to teenagers in your family. You’d be surprised how much you will learn from them.