Business

Are you getting all you could out of your employees? When you look around your workplace do you see happy, enthusiastic people working hard and enjoying what they do, or do you see tired, stressed people watching the clock? Employee morale matters, and not just because it’s a nice thing to strive for. It makes your own business experience more pleasurable and it can have a pronounced effect on the bottom line – even if workers who are smiling, chatting from time to time and looking relaxed might not seem to be doing as much, they’re significantly more productive. They need less time off, they get through more work, and the work they do is of a higher quality. What can you do to help bring all this about?

Be ready to listen – and learn!

If you ask stressed employees what really frustrates them about their work, the most common answer you’ll receive is that they don’t feel they’re appreciated. Showing employees that you appreciate their efforts isn’t so much about praising them as it is about listening to them – and that has additional benefits because they often have good ideas. For instance, processes that you might think work just fine when you look down on them from above may have obvious flaws to those on the ground, so that fixing them makes the workplace more efficient and your employees feel that their input is valued.

Be flexible

Another thing that workers often flag up as a problem is working long hours, a culture that leaves them with little time to do the other things that matter to them in life. Still more of an issue, however, is the inflexibility of many employers when it comes to working arrangements. Having more control over which days they work and what time they come in makes a big difference to many people; for instance, being able to start at ten instead of nine means single parents can take their kids to school first. Some businesses even set up virtual offices so that staff can more easily work from home, and allowing some work to be home-based can actually lead to increased productivity as employees adjust their schedules to fit in work when they feel most alert.

Work and play together

Team building is vital to creating a happy, healthy office culture. That doesn’t mean smothering each other with lots of social events outside office hours, and it doesn’t mean trying to make ‘fun’ compulsory (which is often counterproductive), but it does mean that creating opportunities to do things as a group is beneficial. Picking lucky numbers together in a lottery syndicate means that you can share the excitement when the lottery numbers come in and share out any winnings. Few things create such an effective team bond as when everybody is celebrating the same thing at the same time.

Provide treats

Can’t afford to raise your employees’ pay? Then there are other ways to make them feel a little bit spoiled at work. Simple things like ordering pizza for everyone on a Friday afternoon can create a happy atmosphere and make workers feel they have been lucky in their choice of employer. Rewards make a good incentive for hard work but can be dispiriting to those employees who never quite make the grade despite their efforts, but good things that everybody gets to share brings the team together rather than creating favorites. Having good coffee or fruit juice available all day also boosts performance by raising energy levels.

Provide opportunity

In the long-term, what many employees really value about their jobs is the opportunities they get to develop their skills and improve their resumes. This could come from workplace training, from the learning opportunities provided by secondments, or simply from being assigned to a variety of tasks in the workplace. Some employers choose to sponsor their workers to study part time at college, enabling them to gain new skills which are then brought back into the workplace. Some worry that improved skills will lead to workers looking for opportunities elsewhere, but in fact studies show that they tend to increase employee loyalty.

With all these techniques at your disposal, there’s no reason why you should feel helpless about low morale in your workplace. Even a small investment of time and effort can give your employees a big boost and help re-energize your organization. You’ll know if you’re getting it right because you’ll find that it makes you feel happier too.

Telephone answering can be the difference between success and failure, and for some businesses, the inability to answer calls in time is the cause of lost business opportunities. Just how much business a company might lose when failing to answer calls is never clear, but if there is a risk of losing a potential customer, you really do need to cover this one, and the best way to do that is by calling in the experts.

Call Answering Service 

These are highly qualified professional people who are located at a call centre, and each would typically look after a small number of customers, and being fully briefed on each one’s business, they answer calls in a prompt and professional manner. If you look into Reception HQ answering service pricing, you will see just how affordable it is to have this service, and with a wide range of other services, your business will never again suffer due a missed call.

Call Forwarding

You might have an office phone number, and as you are often out and about, you would rightly be concerned that calls are not being answered, but with call forwarding, an incoming call will be automatically forwarded to the client’s preferred number, which could be either a land or mobile number. If you would like some further reading on the benefits of call forwarding to a business, there are excellent articles on various business sites that you can refer to.

Overflow Call Handling

Some companies run special promotions, and coupled with seasonal surges, there are very busy times when you could use some help manning the phones, and with your call handling provider at hand, any overflow above your normal quota of incoming calls can be automatically handled by a virtual receptionist. This is a very cost effective way to do things, as you only pay for the service when you need it, and with a high degree of flexibility, the call answering provider offers the ideal way to ensure smooth communication in your company.

Message Taking

This is a vital part of any organisation or even when starting out as an entrepreneur, and by using a professional provider, you can be sure that all relevant people are informed when taking messages. You might, for instance, have a fleet of mobile teams that service your clients at all hours of day and night, and when a customer calls for support, you want to be certain they get it.

It makes perfect sense to ensure that all incoming business calls are handled in a professional manner, and with a flexible call answering service at your disposal, you really can’t go wrong. If you would like to sample this service, the supplier would be happy to give you an unconditional free trial, so you yourself can experience the many benefits the service can offer. Once you have experienced the benefits for a week or so, you can decide on a suitable package that covers your requirements, and with a level of flexibility, this can easily be altered.

In this day and age, starting a business does not just mean opening up a brick and mortar shop and putting up posters. It will also include these important marketing efforts:

• Creating website – which includes making sure you can secure your preferred domain name through a domain lookup to strengthen your online brand, web designing, and search engine optimisation
• Creating content – which includes blog articles that people can share their feed, videos, and website copy
• Creating social media pages – which includes opening accounts on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

This article will focus on social media and how you can use it to increase sales or traffic. The problem is some social media managers just cannot get it right. They think incorporating memes in all of their posts will get them the right traction. But if you cannot use trends well, that is just pandering to your audience which feels like you are trying too hard. And then there are who think the way they use their personal account is the same as posting on a business account.

There are factors that need to be considered when pushing efforts on social media, and that is what we are going to explore here.

Creating a social media marketing plan

A social media marketing plan is best created while you are auditing your pages. Look at your analytics and see what kind of posts are getting significant traction and which ones lead to conversion. See if the number of engagement you are getting is proportional to the amount of conversion. Then set objectives and goals that you want to achieve in a specific time frame. So for instance, if engagement vs. conversion is disproportionate, come up with strategies that will allow you to increase both.

Additionally, you may be spread too thin if you are managing too many social media pages and not enough audience for all of it. See which ones are popular to your audience and is giving you more value-added results, then just focus your attention there.

Using the proper voice and tone

For this, you need to consider two things:

• Characteristics of the target audience
• Characteristics of the social media pages

What do these mean? People will behave differently depending on the social media channel that they are using. Yes, there will be common traits across all channels, but the words that they use will not be the same on Facebook and on LinkedIn.

So once you have a shortlist of social media pages to retain, observe your users. What kind of language are they using? What kind of posts do they share and engage with more? Usually, channels like Facebook and Twitter would be more open to humour. Which means other than industry related articles, you can put funny posts on your social media calendar. On the other hand, for a channel like LinkedIn, you might need to stick with industry related news, and maybe a sprinkling motivational quotes every now and then.

Paying for sponsored ads

There is a misconception that sponsored ads are expensive. Well, this is only slightly true. The amount you will pay depends on how long you want the ad to run and how many people you want to reach. The most effective strategy for this is to determine the objective of the sponsored ad.

For instance, having a promotion on your page would mean running a sponsored ad until the end of the validity. So if you are offering a 50% discount on room accommodation until the end of the month, you should run the promo until the end of the month. If the purpose of the post is just to get more people to like your page, you can run the ad for at least 3 days to a week.

The great thing about Facebook ads is you have full control over the budget and for how long an ad will run. Don’t worry about spending more than what you can afford because it will stop on the date that you want the sponsored ad to end.

So, when starting up a business remember to consider and include these important marketing efforts.

Whether you own a business in Sydney, Tokyo, London, New York, or Hong Kong, rent is likely to be your biggest expense. In central districts especially, rates rise at a relentless pace, and it isn’t unusual for smaller companies to be priced out of the market.

It is a big problem in Hong Kong, a region that is home to the most expensive office spaces in the world. You have to be cash rich to become established here. Or, you must be clever. Over the last five years, younger businesses have developed a novel solution to this old dilemma.

It is called the virtual office, and it makes corporate resources available, without the need to pay for a full-time lease. Visit www.servcorp.com.hk/en-virtual-offices/ to learn more.

Virtually No Overheads

The special thing about virtual offices is the lack of physical space. This leasing model is not designed for allocating privately rented environments. Instead, the central facility operates a kind of ‘cloud’ office system that tenants pay to access.

Using a combination of online and telephone contact, you can ‘check in’ to your virtual office at any time, from any location. You can get updates on phone calls, voicemails, letters, memos, and more. It’s just like running a regular office; only you don’t spend the day there.

Maximum Mobility 

So, by eliminating the burden of physical space, you also get to rid your business of heating, lighting, cleaning, and a host of other expenses. You don’t need to care for employees because anybody you work with will be in their own location.

There are no rent payments. There is nothing to pay for furniture or décor. Yet, far from having nothing, virtual businesses enjoy all the freedom in the world. With no physical ties, you can use the remote office to take your brand around the globe if desired.

Greater Productivity

Again, far from being a limiting factor, the lack of physical space can end up eliciting better performance from your team. One of the biggest problems with traditional leases is the focus on rigid schedules. They are mostly concerned with whether or not employees are present.

Yet, this doesn’t answer the question of whether they are spending their time wisely. Simply being in the office doesn’t guarantee productivity. When you go virtual, the only proof of performance is the literal work. Therefore, it’s easy to see how much effort is being invested.

All Gains, No Downsides

There is no need to worry about the impact of having no address either. In fact, virtual vendors encourage tenants to direct mail and calls to the facility, as if it were their own address. This is a perfectly legal practice. It is entirely up to you how much you want to tell your clients.

It is easy to benefit from all kinds of reputation boost just by associating yourself with a top spot. While everybody else is paying a high price for theirs, you can be enjoying the benefits and not pay any rent. Having a formal, professional address is also handy for SEO purposes.

Why Virtual Office Solutions Are Worth Your Time

Every year, more businesses realise the advantages of going virtual. As rent rates continue to rise in central Hong Kong, it is often the only way for smaller companies to compete. With the support of these vendors, you get to access the same opportunities for a much smaller fee and it will help you save money.

Therefore, the lack of a private, long-term lease does not have to be a negative outcome. In fact, if you take advantage of the many chances to grow and network, it will open up brand new prospects.

This is the best marketing opportunity that you’ll have this year. Consider some of the tenets of customer service and marketing, those that form the foundation of any successful business. If you have a working list of just a few crucial elements, you’ll have more than enough reasons why you must exhibit. The key is to compress your best service and marketing efforts into the exhibition time period with the display as your primary communication vehicle.

#1: Interaction

There is one ultimate reason for exhibiting at such business events and making that exhibit the best you can afford. That reason can be stated in one word: “interaction.” Having attendees see, touch, and hear is much more effective than classic advertising will ever be. Human beings are visual and emotional creatures so giving them the proper clues can be extremely effective in setting your message firmly in their minds.

#2: Make it Memorable

It’s essential for the visitor at your booth or display to take something away from the exhibition floor, something that will make the connection back to your company. This is why promotional items can be effective. But you must be creative and make sure that these items fit with the interests of your target audience. Exhibitions are a perfect time and having exhibition stands are a perfect method for this.

#3: Return on Investment

If you’re seriously considering an exhibit or display at an exhibition, your ultimate goal must be getting a good return on your investment. That’s why each decision you make about your exhibit, from the very beginning, must be about ROI.

#4: The Right People

 It’s essential for you to think about the people who are at the exhibition in the first place. Almost every one of them is active in your specific industry. But even more important than this is that the majority of those in attendance have authority to buy or can influence purchasing decisions.

#5: Part of the Action

If you use exhibition stands at business events, chances are very good that you’re in a competitive field. This means that the event can be an outstanding opportunity to learn about your competitors and really be part of the action. You’ll learn a lot about the developments in your industry and create some opportunities with what you’ve learned.

#6: Brand Building

If you’re not Apple or Coca Cola, you probably shouldn’t be too concerned about brand building as a primary activity. In fact, you should focus on direct marketing, which in this case means being face to face with your potential customers at exhibition stands.

#7: It’s All Marketing

 Some of the most successful marketers, entrepreneurs, and sellers in the world insist that everything you do is marketing. It just depends on how you view it. For example, you should always make an offer when you contact a customer in any way. What better way to make an offer than to give it to the visitor when he or she is standing at your display? Exhibits are not separate from everything else you do. They are physical evidence of everything you do!

Take note of the points we’ve discussed as this will help you with exhibiting and in your marketing efforts.

To be an entrepreneur, you should love what you do, be willing to learn from others, do things with small steps, develop a positive attitude, always keep moving, look ahead, and be always ready to promote yourself and what you do.

Take some simple steps to learn how to be an entrepreneur and enjoy a new and exciting journey to success.

Find a niche
You should choose an area where you want to work. Being able to use some knowledge you already have, and being able to enjoy learning about your specialized area will make this a more enjoyable and exciting task for you.

Develop habits
There are some important habits that you need to have as an entrepreneur. When you start your activity you will be setting the tone for everything about your operation. By developing good work habits and presenting yourself and what you do in the best possible way, you will be setting the foundation for your success.

Improve your skills
If you need to know more about how business works or how to make an approach to marketing and business development more successful, then learn about these things. It will be useful to understand the environment that you are working in and how you will be able to boost your activity. There are many courses available to help and you can learn from people who have knowledge and experience.

Develop a plan
If you do not want to waste time, then having a plan will make a lot of difference. It will keep you focused on what you need to do and prevent you from heading off on other activities that do not relate to your business. It is important to be able to stay focused on your goals. You may need to adjust that plan as you find out more information.

Determine costs
You should have a budget in mind that will be used when you are developing your business plan. It is important to identify just how much it will cost to do what you think is important. The money you have available will influence some of your choices and impact on the scale of what you are doing. It is important to be clear about not only where you need to spend money but exactly what it is that you need so that you do not waste money.

Take action
To be an entrepreneur, you need to be ready to take action. A well-researched plan is not much use unless you are willing to implement it. You will learn as you go along and you will need to make decisions. There will be challenges but as long as you keep moving then you will find that you progress more quickly
than you realize.

Build a team
It is not possible to do it all by yourself. There will be some areas of activity where you are going to need help. Do some research and find out what you can comfortably pass on to others. As you progress, look for people who you want to continue working with. If you are able to build a good team then you can focus on your core work and leave other activity to those with suitable skills.

Set the attitude
You are the leader and your attitude will flow through all that is done. By creating the right environment with the right attitude you will find that work will flow better and your contacts will enjoy assisting you. There is a lot to be gained from working as an entrepreneur and your attitude will reflect what you offer.

Lastly, remember to believe in what you are capable of and do not let the fear of failure stop you from pushing forward. Be passionate about what you are doing and enjoy the experience. It will come with challenges but it will bring you satisfaction when you look at what you achieve.