Solutions For Small Businesses

Managing the day-to-day operations of a small business can be extremely challenging! Small business owners must meet with clients, communicate with suppliers, and tend to their daily business operations, all while maintaining excellent customer service and providing personal attention to each and every person they come into contact with.

Juggling all those tasks while keeping everyone happy can really be tough sometimes, and in some cases, small business owners may even miss out on a potential opportunity because they spread themselves too thin.

For instance, think of a small one-person photography firm. If the business owner goes to a morning photo shoot, meets with her landlord over lunch to discuss rent on a new office space, then has to spend the afternoon in the darkroom developing the morning's pictures, she has, by necessity, spent an entire day away from her office phone.

When she finally gets back to the desk at 6:00 p.m., she finds she has a message from a potential new client who was referred to her by an existing client. She is excited to hear from a new person, but that excitement quickly turns to dismay when she realizes the new client wanted to schedule a photo shoot for that weekend, and needed to confirm a time by 3:00 p.m. Our photographer has missed out on a golden opportunity to work with a client who was referred to her by another satisfied customer.

Now imagine this scenario - what if client could schedule appointments online rather than on the phone?

The new client calls the photographer who was referred to him. He listens to her voicemail, which directs him to go to her website and access her online appointment scheduler, since she is unavailable to take the call personally.

The new client goes to the photographer's company website and clicks on the "schedule appointment" button that is prominently featured on her website. An appointment software program allows the client to schedule a time to meet with the photographer, at his convenience. The online booking software shows available times for the weekend and the client picks one.

When the photographer checks her email at 6:00 that evening, she is thrilled to learn she has an appointment for Saturday afternoon, and that it's from a referral!

Having the ability for clients and business owners to schedule appointments online is a huge benefit. And you can do it today. So why wait?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4908152

Working From Home - Plan Ahead For When Disaster or Tragedy Occurs

Disasters or family tragedies can strike families in many forms – Mother Nature, sickness and even computer problems can cause major difficulties for your business. Do you have a plan of action on how you will handle your home-based business if disaster were to strike? If not, you absolutely need to. Having a plan ensures that you can not only keep your business running, but decrease stress because you have already prepared for the unexpected.

Below are four tips to help you handle the unexpected.

1. Work around the events –Your customers will understand as long as you communicate with them. Be honest that things may take a little longer than usual, but keep your customers updated as often as possible. Communication is the key. Most people will understand the delay as long as they are aware of it. If you get to the point where you cannot work or cannot finish a project, but sure to be clear and honest about the situation and try to make an arrangement that will be acceptable. Also, let them know as soon as possible so they can prepare. Don't wait until the last minute to advise them of a potential problem.

If you're struggling because of a child being sick, try to work when the child is sleeping and don't stress yourself out to work at other times. Make a schedule of what needs to be done, so that you can accomplish as much as possible during these times.

2. Don't be afraid to ask for help – As moms, we tend to feel that we should be able to handle everything that is thrown at us. Unfortunately, this just isn't always the case. There are times when we need to allow ourselves to ask for help. When a tragedy occurs and you are simply overwhelmed, find someone who you trust and ask them for help. Many times, just having someone reply to customers on your behalf can take the pressure off your shoulders.

Allowing someone to help you when necessary can also be uplifting to them as they feel they can be a part of helping in a difficult situation. So don't' shy away from letting others know. We all benefit when we work together and help one another.

When our one-year old had surgery he didn't handle the pain medication well. He was wide awake for the better part of two days. In this case, I knew ahead of time when the surgery would occur, but I had no idea what his recovery would entail. It was impossible to work while he slept, because he wasn't sleeping. I realized that I not only needed help business-wise, but I needed help with him as well so that I could get some rest. While it was humbling to admit that I needed help, that I couldn't do it all, it turned out as a great time spent with family that we would not have had if I hadn't asked for help.

3. Prepare for the worst – Because we never know what the future holds, it is always better to be prepared. As the old saying goes, "Better safe than sorry."

One of the best resources to help you prepare is the Home Office Recovery Plan: Disaster Preparedness for Your Home Office by authors Diana Ennen and Patty Gale. This e-book covers all the bases of getting a Disaster Recovery Plan in place now so that if disaster strikes your home business or an emergency arises, you are able to get your business back up and running quickly and smoothly.

Ennen states, "In my case, this guide has been a lifesaver as a resident of South Florida. I have prepared for eight major hurricanes in the past two years with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Wilma taking a direct hit on Broward County where I live. I was without power for two weeks with Hurricane Wilma. Had I not prepared, my clients would have suffered as would my business."

Gale also knows the importance of this book having lived in New York after 9/11 and had the task of preparing a similar guideline for a company she was working with at the time. Both know the importance in ensuring your business will withstand whatever this hurricane or any disaster (including a theft in the office or fire) has to offer.

4. Get a Plan - There are times when life becomes overwhelming and you simply aren't able to accomplish everything on your own. It's for these times that you need to have some type of log of what you do and what needs to be done. Keep a spreadsheet of tasks that you do, how often they are done and mark them completed as you are able. Keep a list of passwords in a safe, secure place. Make sure that your family (or whoever may be helping you during this time) is able to carry on even in the event that you are away from home.

If possible, train someone that you trust to do the things that you do each day (at least the key things), so that when the unexpected arises you won't be caught off-guard.

Tragedy comes in many shapes and forms, but if you are prepared much of the unnecessary stress can be avoided. When tragedy strikes, you want to be focused on the important things in life, your family and you. By advance planning you are able to do so.

One of the keys to running a successful small business or home office is learning to control costs. Even the smallest expenses can quickly add up and cut into profits, leaving you with a business that won't move forward.

Many small-business owners know where their money comes from, but are not as clear on where it goes. This can have a significant impact on their businesses' cash flow.

It's important to review your expenses regularly - every quarter if possible - so you can accurately manage your outgoing expenditures and look for ways to save.

Demos Parneros, president of U.S. stores at Staples Inc., provides the following suggestions to save your business money.

* Buy last year's model. Furniture, computers, PDAs - there is always something new. This also means that there is always something old. If you wait until the end of the year or for sales throughout the year, you can save on your office needs.

* Buy in bulk and buy ahead. By buying commonly used items in large quantities, you can save a lot. Replenish your supplies before you run out. Thinking ahead, and thus buying ahead, gives you a chance to comparison shop and take advantage of sales.

* Buy products that save money. Consider quality alternatives to national brands. Staples ink and toner products, for example, offer consumers quality products at a 15 percent to 20 percent cost-savings per cartridge.

* Take advantage of discounts. Professional and trade associations often offer their members discounts on insurance, travel, shipping and other common expenses. Similarly, some credit cards, like the American Express Corporate Card for Small Business, may get you discounts as well.

* Save on mail costs. Mail costs for your business can add up fast. To save money, use postcards or consolidate shipping. You also can buy or lease a postage meter or get a mail scale to eliminate overpaying.

Blogs and Social Media - Moving From Monitoring to Networking

In recent years, blogs and social media monitoring have become a fundamental part of the press office operation and many PR agencies' bread and butter services.

As social networking has matured, companies need to engage proactively to ensure their brands are effectively supported.

Traditional media such as magazines, newspapers and TV channels have increasing numbers of journalist-written blogs as part of their online presence, meaning a top tier of blogs are seen as being just as influential in the media landscape as their e-zines and print media counterparts. There has also been an increase in the number of business-led social networks, business users of blogs and micro-blogging tools such as Twitter and Google-owned Jaiku, and multimedia social sites like Flickr.

However, a huge portion of the blogosphere and social media landscape is not professionally produced and individually these sites do not have huge audiences. Collectively though, these smaller outlets comprise as much as 99 per cent of the social media landscape and together form a powerful force that the PR industry is looking to harness. As the majority of blogs and social media sites contain personal content written in the first person, viral issues and stories can spread quickly. The sites connect people and when issues spread virally across social networks, they become big news for organisations that they affect. This is why tracking blog buzz across the whole of the web is critical for reporting on brand image, online coverage, and building a picture of customer perceptions.

An example of how effective a viral campaign can be, was when an online grass-roots campaign was formed on the social network Facebook. Protesting against an overdraft charge that the bank HSBC was imposing on recent graduate accounts, thousands of students joined forces online through a viral Facebook group which generated massive media attention, and forced a u-turn at HSBC. Within just a few weeks of the group launching, the bank scrapped the overdraft charges.

Over the last year, the fact that blogs impact a company's brand image online has become more established. Marketing, PR and communications departments are increasingly exposed to the impact blogs have on a brand's reputation, whether that's negative coverage of a product or an online petition or a campaign across social networks. As this issue has gathered momentum, companies have realised that blogs and social media need to be actively managed not just monitored.

Some progressive brands are already doing this successfully. US retail bank Wells Fargo for example has a team dedicated to responding online to bloggers' issues and complaints in order to increase positive sentiment around the brand online and reduce the amount of negativity that might emerge.

What caused the need to move from monitoring to engagement? Early adopters have led the charge. And the masses have followed. We are seeing social media's evolution in the business ecosystem move from early adopter to mass market status and web tactics are rapidly becoming better understood tactically and strategically as part of the PR mix. The challenge is to turn the opportunity into action.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1677747

How to Maximize Retail Display Space

Why Maximize Display Space?

Have you ever experienced visiting a supermarket and only coming home with half of what you had on your shopping list? This is quite disappointing especially when you expect to get everything that you need. The next time you go shopping, you will probably go to another store.

One of the keys to getting ahead of the competition in the retail industry is to provide all the shopping needs of the customers. In retail merchandising, the concept of "out of sight, out of mind" applies. When customers see the item in the product display shelf, they will most likely buy the product. They seldom ask whether a product is available or not. With the increasing need of the consumers nowadays, and the constant change in trend and consumer preference, it is a wise move on the part of the vendor to maximize the potential of their merchandise display. The more product variations there are in the store, the more attractive it is to the consumers. This could result in increased customer satisfaction, sales and profit.

What Are the Benefits of Maximizing Display Space?

Maximizing display space can give the store owner multiple benefits. The most important benefits are the following:

• More products SKUs. The more space you have to display merchandise the more products you can stock in your store.

• More supplier support. With tough competition in the retail business, all suppliers want their products to be allocated a space in a store, preferably in the most conspicuous area. Most suppliers are willing to bargain for marketing support and higher space rental just to get the space that they want.

• More organized and controlled displays. An organized and well-controlled display area results in the maximization of space. When your store is well-organized it is easier to monitor your stock. There are also less incidents of pilferage and theft.

• Increased consumer satisfaction. Aside from good quality products and services that the store offers, availability is also very important to the consumer. Product prices prove irrelevant in comparison to convenience and quality.

• Increased sales and profit. With increased consumer satisfaction, increase sales and profit follow. A word of mouth based on personal experience is the oldest but still the most effective marketing tool.

How to Maximize Display Space:

Maximizing display space does not necessarily mean overcrowding of stock. Disorganized and rambled stock are a total turn off to customers. It does not provide the appropriate mood for a wonderful shopping experience. When maximizing display space, a retailer must bear in mind that the main goal is to properly allocate a space for as many products as possible. All merchandise inside the warehouse must be displayed on the store floor. A good result begins with a good plan and a good plan is a result of a knowledgeable, well-informed and creative mind. The first thing therefore is to equip one's self with the concepts of retail and visual merchandising.

How to Implement Display Space Allocation:

In maximizing display space, the following simple suggestions can be proved effective.

1. Clean the shelves and remove products that are either expired, over stocked or discontinued.

2. Categorize your stock according to size, type, usage or brand.

3. Tighten up peg proximity if possible. Products should be so close as to almost be touching.

4. Avoid too much product duplication.

5. For clothing, check the sizes. Display only one unit of the item for each size available.

6. Use display fixtures that can hold several items such as shelves, drawers, hooks, etc.

7. Check the warehouse. Be sure everything is represented on the sales floor.

Benefits In Building a Corporate Image

Corporate image is seen as one important factor that can influence the effectiveness of marketing and business. Therefore it is very feasible if the image is seen as one of the most important asset owned by a company or organization.

According to Zinkhan There are several reasons underlying the importance of companies establishing and managing the corporate image, namely:

1. Can stimulate sales
2. Company can build a good name
3. Build an identity for its employees
4. Affect investors and financial institutions
5. Promote good relations with a community, with the government, with community leaders and with the opinion leaders
6. Get a position in the competition.

To Socialize The Brand

You know the slogan or ads "Orang Pintar Minum Tolak Angin". If you heard the slogan, your mind must be directly fixed on the packaging of liquid herbal medicines taste sweet rather mint. To popularize the slogan, they took famous artists and bands like Dewa, Sophia Latjuba, Renald Khasali, Lula Kamal, Ikang Fauzy, and so forth as a brand endorser.

Demonstrated expertise when new products Kuku Bima Ener-G was launched. Drink which is a derivative of a strong herb Kuku Bima brand was positioned as an energy supplement. In communicating these products, they are classified as daring as holding endorser ads that can be said is not known at all before. Mbah Marijan, for example, coupled only shortly after Mount Merapi erupted. Gatekeeper of volcanoes in Central Java was chosen because he refused to participate displaced when Mount Merapi would erupt.

In their minds, a character that's become an icon that fits Kuku Bima Ener-G, because it reflects the strength of Mbah Marijan. Because of that, "Rosa! Rosa! "Became the slogan of a cute and adorable, but still show the desired image. Supplement drinks targeted the lower middle class market is combined with the power of Mbah Marijan, who incidentally is a local community role model, very precise.

Appears Sido case gives an idea of ​​how to build brand strength through brand relevance and brand resonance. Both of these components is crucial in brand building. Building a brand must be "relevant", means shall be in accordance with the needs, desires, and expectations of consumers, as well as to follow the changes that occur in the market, especially to understand the changes in buying behavior of customers. Advertising agency Young and Rubican (Y & R) develops a model of the famous brand equity with brand name asset valuator (BAV). They researched about 200 thousand customers in 40 countries, and one of the four pillars of brand equity is a key component of relevance. Measurements performed to determine the brand relevance of how broad the appeal of a brand.

Marketing research consultancy Millward Brown and WPP has developed a model of brand strength called BRANDZ. In BRANDZ model, the measurement of brand relevance is more focused on how meaningful the company bid for the consumer. In terms of brand relevance, Sido appears always trying to expand its brand, and his offer has always managed to make consumers buy. We can see the expansion of a variety of flavors from the Kuku Bima Ener-G, or for example to expand the brand Reject Wind so that we know of Refuse Wind Flu, Cough, and Reject Wind for children. Even to venturing into the candy industry. The use of a very populist endorser is also one of their ingenuity could not think his opponents. Outlook on life such as defending the weak and in life should always seek a balance translated into business step.

The second component in the construction of a brand to watch out for is the brand resonance (resonance brands). Kotler says that the brand resonance is usually always begins with the identification of the customer's brand and brand associations in consumers' minds. Then build a solid sense of the totality of the brand into the minds of customers with a strategy of linking a lot of brand associations tangible and intangible, as well as see the consumer response and creating strong customer loyalty. In essence, there should be an emphasis on the dualism of the brand, which is preparing the route rational and the emotional route. Just look at the communication strategies developed by Sido appears, always on the preparation of emotional route and rational route.

The ad message is very rational and clear, but we always feel the emotion on their brand promise. The programs are always based on a populist program that always makes an emotional bond is formed. Customers always feel "in line" with brands Appears Sido, such as Reject Wind and Kuku Bima Ener-G.

Translating a history of successful ads like Sido through model brand relevance and brand resonance is just one example of the success of the company that runs the socialize brand program. At least, they has succeeded in carrying the brand by involving the wider community that became the target market. Remember, the name without the idea, even if washed down by billions of advertising value, not a brand. He is just a name and a name without a message. So, try "Socialize your brand", then success would come.