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 Every entrepreneur aims to grow their venture. However, growing your business from its current small size to a decent size that gives you substantial profits is not an easy task. You have to follow specific strategies to achieve business growth.

The four primary business growth strategies are market penetration, product development, expansion, and diversification. Furthermore, you cannot expect your business to achieve growth exponentially within no time. There are various stages of business growth, including existence, survival, success, take-off, and resource maturity.

On the other hand, you have to acquire new customers, increase your average transaction value and increase your customer`s frequency of purchase to achieve business growth. This article discusses the things to consider as your small business expands.

1. Define Your Value Proposition

A value proposition is a simple statement stating why a customer should choose your product or service. It simply communicates the value the customer would receive if they chose your brand over another.

When writing the value proposition, ensure you address your customers` problems and provide a solution for them. As a goal-oriented entrepreneur, you should be able to track your business's value and come up with a viable value proposition.

A value proposition may outline what makes you stand out among your competitors, but it should focus on how customers define your value. A value proposition can help shape the mission and clarify your company's future.

 

To write a meaningful value proposition, map out a value proposition canvas, then ask yourself who your prospective customers are. This way, you will have an easy task to draft your value proposition.

2. Identify Your Target Customer

It is essential to know who your ideal customer is. Your ideal customer is the one you serve and who needs your services. These are the customers you wish you could pick them up and move with you as your business grows. When you identify your ideal customer, it will be easier to provide services and products that suit your customers` experience.

 

To identify your ideal customer, first, know your product or service. Secondly, determine your goals, analyze past interactions, build a customer profile, and remember your hard work. As an entrepreneur, you have to apply business growth strategies to achieve your desired business growth.

3. Develop a Strategy and Business Plan

A business plan is a written document that defines the objectives of a business and how it will go about achieving its goals. A business plan lays out the roadmap for the firm from marketing, financial and operational standpoints.

 

A business plan has various basic information, including a description of your business, an analysis of your competitive environment, a marketing plan, a human resource section, and critical financial data.

 

Furthermore, some parts of a business are essential, like an executive summary, a market analysis, a company overview, organizational structure, financial analysis, and marketing and advertising. A business plan is vital as it helps you create an effective growth strategy, helps you to determine your future financial needs, and helps you attract more investors.

4. Establish a Marketing Strategy

After you have laid down your business plan and identified your ideal customers, the next step is developing a marketing strategy. There are various steps in which you can create a successful marketing plan.

 

First, undertake the situation analysis. In this step, you will identify your company's current position. Secondly, identify your target audience and market. Then you set your marketing goals. Goals need to be realistic and measurable, whether short-term or long-term.

 

You later have to outline your marketing tactics. Having outlined what your business must accomplish, you need to develop the strategies you will use to reach your customers. The marketing strategies you use are the heart of your marketing plan. Finally, you will have to develop your marketing budget.

5. Build a Relation with Your New Community

As your small business expands, you will realize that you have more suppliers, customers, and a growing network. When you build and support your local businesses, you can achieve a competitive advantage over your competitors.

 

The relationships you create can spread your business name and they may lead to a new business venture. You can begin developing relations with economic development groups, Chambers of Commerce, and industry organizations.

Closing Thought

Finally, business expansion is gradual and you should consider the appropriate steps to take to achieve business growth. Before putting any business strategy into action, consider hiring a business analyst to help you develop realistic plans. Moreover, ensure you communicate with your staff and stakeholders when making any significant steps.

 

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When in the line of business, how you associate with your clients actively influences your performance in the business world. When dealing with customers over the phone, basic attributes like politeness, kindness, and a positive attitude go a long way. All these factors are important but how to offer them is where the problem comes in. In this article, you will get to learn some of the tips to consider while talking to customers on the phone.



1. Etiquette Begins Before You Pick Up the Phone

Most companies offering phone services to their customers tend to receive numerous calls throughout the day. Customers call to inquire about goods, services offered, prices, and working hours among other questions. To make this easier, you might have subscribed to automated greetings before you can attend to your clients.

 

To improve your company name and services, checking and updating your voice menu is necessary. For better business performance, the voice messages should be informative, brief, professional, and all in all, personalized. This ensures that showcase your brand well while creating a better connection between you and your clients.

2. Prepare Your Phone for Work Calls

With the COVID-19 outbreak, many businesses were forced to work from home, hence re-directing business calls to home cellphones has become a norm. Companies have come up with ways to connect business calls to personal phones at the comfort of your home. This made work easier for you but your role comes in when differentiating personal calls from business calls. Installing a caller ID on your phone makes it easier for you as it highlights whether the call is to your business number or personal number. With this information, you can receive business calls more appropriately hence great impressions to the clients.

3. Use Digital Tools

Offering the best telephone services can tend to be a bit hectic and adapting the available digital tools in the market can save you time and money. You can do this by subscribing to the best ccaas solutions in the market. With the best solutions, you can provide a better customer experience, actively engage with your clients, and offer channels for them to provide feedback on your services. With this information, you can improve on your services, hence improving productivity.

4. Take Notes During Important Calls

Part of being a good listener is flowing with what is being said and asking questions where necessary. While taking notes, you can accurately read out the client’s issue as you ask for confirmation ensuring that you understand each other better. This may not be important for all calls but is advisable for calls that are important and ones that may require follow-ups. If taking notes seems like too much work, worry less, as you can always ascribe to call recording for future purposes. This will be easier and less bulky but in so doing, you must first get the permission or notify your client before recording.

5. Improve Your Personalized Phone Scripts

When dealing with a client, you should be polite, confident, and kind regardless of whether it's face to face or over the phone. To simplify this most phone scripts are readily available but what most companies are not aware of is that their standard scripts and customer care employee phrases tend to trigger customers to hang up on them before getting served. To avoid this, try to design your script to be more professional, friendly, and straight to the point.

You can do this by asking relevant questions, stating the purpose of your call, confirming important details, and explaining follow-up plans to your clients. Avoid long conversations and inappropriate humor to save time and to portray the correct company picture.

6. The Customer Is Always Right

This is a phrase that is common in the business world. To provide the best services to your clients, you have to be very patient and kind no matter how unbearable they might seem. This is your responsibility and understanding that you are there because your clients help you serve them better. You are set to receive calls from all kinds of clients running from angry, annoyed to confused ones. This string of emotions might make your client steer away from the point and you have to firmly but politely guide them back through proper service etiquette.

 

With the tips above, you can equip your customer service employees with proper phone etiquette which improves your company’s brand hence boosting business performance.

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Businesses need to work on their growth and focus on making improvements if they want to reach more customers. Doing so helps them make more money when they focus on growth, so they should seek it out. Because of this, you need to look into the best ways for your business to improve its growth strategy.



Utilize Automated Tools

You can start by identifying the best tools to assist your business with its growth strategy. For example, some businesses will use automated tools like automatic emails to help them out. That way, they don't have to send the emails themselves, so they can let the automated software take care of the work for them.

Make sure your business considers the automated tools it has available. As you do so, you can help your business incorporate the tools into the strategy, so you can use them as much as possible. Even if you don't have automated tools, you can consider the tools available and see if you want to invest in them.

Work With a Marketing Company

Sometimes, marketing your business can involve some challenges if you don't have experience in the area. Because of this point, some businesses will hire marketing companies to help them reach more customers. Otherwise, the business needs to think of marketing strategies on its own, which can pose some challenges if no one has experience with marketing.

A great alternative would be to search for a digital marketing company in Las Vegas or anywhere in your city to find help with your digital presence. That way, the marketing company can handle this aspect of your business, and you can focus on other important tasks. Make sure you look into the companies available and see if you can work with them.

Identify Where You Grow the Most

Your business also needs to figure out where it sees the most growth. For example, you may notice you get more customers to your business when you focus on your social media marketing. On the other hand, you may see more growth when you get people to visit your store in person, so you need to consider the options available.

If you can figure out where you see the most growth, you can strengthen those areas. Since they lead to more sales and money, you should work with what you do well and make improvements as needed. Doing so will help your business become an expert in the area and stand out.

Improve on Your Weaknesses

You shouldn't only focus on your strengths, but you should also identify your weaknesses. When you understand where your business falls short and identify those issues, you can build on those weaknesses. Make sure your growth strategy involves working on your weaknesses and finding ways to make your business stronger overall.

For example, if your business doesn't have a great website, you should improve it and make changes to make your website more appealing. Doing so will help your business get more customers since some people may turn away from a business with a poor website. It comes down to finding out your business' weaknesses and working to improve them when possible.

Focus on Your Customers

As you work on your growth strategy, you should also focus on your customers and their needs. For example, you can focus on the customer experience and also make your customer service better. Doing so will encourage your customers to become regulars since they appreciate the service and want to stick with a business focused on its customers.

Focusing on your customers shows them how your business focuses on its customers. This includes helping them have good experiences, making improvements to benefit them, and listening to their criticisms. As you do this, you can figure out what your customers want and make improvements to your business, so you can gain more customers later on.

Conclusion

You have the opportunity to improve your business through its growth strategy, so it can progress. Make sure you identify the best ways to improve your strategy, so your business can focus its efforts in the right areas. As you do so, you'll figure out the ideal strategy for your business and provide excellent products to your customers.

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Running a successful business requires an owner to make many important decisions. One decision that an owner may need to make at some point is to move their business to a new location. If you are considering relocation for your organization, there are several important factors to take into consideration. These can help you choose a location that will help grow your company into a successful one.

Location of Potential Customers

No business will be able to operate successfully without a strong base of customers. Due to this, you will want to be in a location where you have plenty of current and potential customers that are within your target customer base. If you already an established base of customers, it will be important that your business move does not interrupt your ability to provide great service to them going forward. This can ensure that you are able to continue to serve your existing customers and are also able to find new ones in your new location.

Competition in the Area

While it is important that there are plenty of good customers in your new target location, you should also make sure that you understand the competitive landscape. If you have a new business idea for a certain market, it may make it easy for you to win new business. However, if you are moving into a market that has a lot of competition, finding this new business could prove to be more challenging.

It will continue to be important that you fully assess the competitive landscape. This can include doing research and diligence on who provides similar services in the area. If you find that the new location has a lot of established competitors that offer similar products and services, breaking in could be challenging unless you have something that will differentiate your company from the rest.

Impact on Employees

The most important asset that a business can have is a good set of employees. When you are going to move your business, it is very important that you consider the impact that it can have on your team. If you are going to stay within the same metro area, it is important to consider what impact it will have on the commute for your team members. Ideally, you should move to an area that will continue to be accessible for your staff. If you are moving to a new area and will likely need to hire new people, you should choose an area that is located near public

transportation and has a good base of skilled workers.

Change in Business Taxes

One factor that can have a major impact on your bottom line is the taxes that you have to pay. When you are going to move your business to a new location, you need to make sure you understand the impact that taxes can have on your company. Businesses will have a variety of different taxes that need to be paid based on the location of where they operate. You should carefully consider all of the state and local business and sales taxes that will need to be paid. Depending on where you are moving to and from, this could have a dramatic impact on your bottom line.

How to Move the Company

While you may have found a great place to move your business to, you do need to consider the effort and cost that will go into making the actual move. More than likely you will have many business assets, vehicles, and other items that need to be moved to the new place of business. To ensure that your items are moved properly, you will need to hire a moving and the best car shipping company to help. Leaving this type of work to the professionals can help to ensure that your business is moved properly and that all of your business assets get to the right spot.

Choosing a place to operate your business is a very important decision. At some point, you may decide to relocate your business to a new area. When it does come time for a business relocation, there are several factors to take into consideration that can help you choose an ideal new location.


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Forbes indicates that an average person spends 90,000 hours working in a lifetime. In the contemporary business environment, you may find it challenging to set aside time to camp without sacrificing a considerable workload. Driven by the desire to attain your business goals, you may get burnout. At this point, you require an out of office environment to rejuvenate your mind. New environments enhance creativity and innovation, and as such, it is crucial to embrace camping. It becomes challenging to create time for camping if your schedule is tight. Luckily, you can feature in your camping adventure on a business trip. In the end, this saves on time and resources as you engage in camping and working concurrently.

 

Here are six strategies to go camping while on a business trip.

1. Plan the Whole Trip

Planning is a fundamental factor to make these activities a success. Here, you should incorporate the elements of budget and time. Besides, you should prepare your team for their roles and when to handle them during the trip. Set your priorities right as you do not want to compromise your work quality due to the camping exercise's distractions. Once your team understands their roles and balances these activities, you are set to go.

2. Pick the Best and Conducive Spots

You should pick the best places to visit, depending on your business trip destination. For instance, if your business trip is within California, you should consider glamping in California. You should research the best and conducive sites to give you the best in both the working and camping worlds. Ensure you carry necessary office supplies during the camping exercise. Ultimately, you will meet your business and camping goals.

3. Set Right and Reasonable Expectations

Ensure you set the right expectations to minimize worry and doubt as you go for your business and camping trip. If you are going on the trip alone, you should delegate some tasks to your employees or colleagues where necessary. For instance, you can prepare outlines for specific projects and set reasonable expectations to be met by the time you return. Also, you should encourage progress reports even when you are away. With these preparations, you can remain updated during the business and camping trip. Ultimately, you won't be doubtful, and as such, this will make your business trip and camping successful.

4. Remain as Connected as Possible

During the business and camping trip, you should embrace internet connectivity. Consider investing in internet gadgets that are suitable for camping. With this, you can run your business trip affairs as you camp. Therefore, you will remain updated on your business affairs.

5. Embrace Time Management Skills

One of the reasons for combining business and camping trips is due to lack of time. Therefore, your attention shouldn't lie entirely on one activity. You should learn to balance both camping and business to avoid consuming into other activities' time. Set your time right and stick to that plan. For instance, you should list the activities to engage in during your free time to help you enjoy the trip. Any time management indiscipline will result in procrastination of your camping or business trip activities, leading to the combined trip's failure.

6. Set Your Trip Goals

Business trips give you opportunities to clear your mind and offer the best. Therefore, you should establish your ultimate goals to enhance your focus amid the camping exercise. For instance, you may want to tackle a project that has been bothering you. Also, you may consider brainstorming ideas to input in your business to enhance its growth. Given the refreshing camping environment, you will increase your creativity towards your primary focus. Thus, your goals will be your driving force towards enjoying the business trip alongside camping.

 

Business camping trips can be satisfying as they give you a glimpse of the outside world. However, if you lack the right preparation strategies, you may find it tedious and boring. There is a need to open up your mind through new adventures to enhance your creativity and innovation skills. Therefore, you should embrace various strategies, including proper planning of the combined trip, picking the best and conducive spots, and prioritizing connectivity. You should also set your trip goals, embrace time management skills, and set right and reasonable expectations. With these strategies, you can be sure to enjoy camping during your business trip.

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When starting a business, you might have a lot going on that requires your attention and budget. This list might include your business objectives, promotional activities, storage solutions, marketing plan, and many more. However, you may forget to include in your things-to-do list one of your company's most essential aspects – customer service.


Customer service seems to be at the bottom of the list for some business owners. Some even think that it just a waste of money to invest in a customer service team or customer service development. Nonetheless, customer service is an essential part that can improve your business, establish your online presence, build your brand authority, and strengthen your relationship with your audience.

Investing in customer service is an essential move because it helps retain your customers and help them provide your business value. Delivering a fantastic customer service experience to your clients can signal a start in building a loyal following among your target audience. When loyalty is established, your audience can act as your brand ambassador, refer you to family and friends, and provide you with a positive review without making any effort.

AI and Customer Service

Technology continues to evolve as time passes, and while the world is yet to witness a flying car, artificial intelligence (AI) now slowly starts to dominate different industries. AI has proven its ability to improve the various sectors correlated to technology.

One of the niche industries that AI is slowly being embraced is in the business sector. AI is utilized to drive personalization, create customer segmentation, help in marketing automation, automate processes, and improve customer service.

Artificial intelligence can also be a successful tool to drive an excellent customer service experience to your audience. AI helps companies improve the quality of their customer service and provide better response time leading to positive customer experience. As technology, through AI, give you additional resources and tools to enhance your customer service, you also improve the interaction with your audience and provide valuable impacts in your business.

With the promising result that AI can provide with married off with your customer service tactics, you might want to jump instantly and start leveraging this technological advancement. A word of precaution, though, leveraging on AI cannot be done overnight. You need to understand how AI works fully, and you need to prepare your business to be ready with the integration. Diving into the use of AI without proper strategy and planning can lead to less successful results.

Ways To Make Your Business AI-Ready

To have a successful AI-powered customer service, you need to prepare several factors in your business adequately.

  1. Identify Your Specific Needs in Customer Service

To make the most out of your AI-powered customer service innovation, you must identify your need. Leaning on AI for your customer service without a specific need can lead to poor performance. If not specified, you cannot maximize AI to make an actual impact on your customer's satisfaction.

Do not rush in identifying where AI would fit in your business needs. Take time to do research, conduct surveys, make analysis, and strategize with your team. Knowing where to implement AI in your business' customer service model is mainly its key to success.

  1. Specify Your Goal and Create A Way to Measure It

After identifying your needs and finding in which particular place of your business model structure you want to implement AI, you need to set your goal for your AI-powered customer service. Determine what you want to achieve in upgrading your customer service system.

Do you want to establish your connection with your audience? Do you want people to associate your brand with top-notch customer experience? Do you want to get valuable data from your audience to help improve your business?

Always make sure that whatever your goal is, it is specific. Ensure that you have a way to measure it to know if you are doing the right thing. If you do not have an idea of how to calculate your progress, develop a way to quantify your advances. It will help you check if your goals are met. This method will also allow you to check if AI implementation is making a massive difference with your customer relationship.

  1. Evaluate Your Data On-hand

This one is a crucial step to make your business AI-ready. After identifying your needs and goals in implementing and leaning on toward AI integration, you need to check on the data you have. Identify and segment the data at hand. You may classify it as information from your current customer support, customers' demographics, qualitative data from past innovations, and other significant data that you have.

Doing so will be easier for your AI-powered customer service structure to access data needed when checking for analysis. Make sure that these data are accessible. When data are restricted, it leads to inaccurate results.

  1. Use the Right Technology

Switching to an automated solution for your customer service support can be an exciting thing. Aside from it will free your employees' hands in answering queries, it can give a wide range of benefits. When you plan to make the switch, you might be tempted to jump right in and leverage AI-powered customer service instantly.

However, you have to remember not to utilize the first AI solution you came across. Depending on your need, you need to make sure you leverage the right technology for your AI-powered customer service. When you lean on the technology that does not support you need, but instead you lean on it because it is cheap, it will hinder the possible maximized experience of your customers.

Failing to find the right solution for you and being too quick to decide will not provide valuable data and analytics you are looking for. If, for example, you want an AI solution that would do create auto-tickets for your customers, but instead, you installed a solution that only updates records in real-time; it would provide a different result that you want.

  1. Develop A Way To Protect Your Customer Privacyaa

Customer trust is one of the most critical factors that ensure your business a success. If your audience trusts you, they lean on your brand, use your product, and refer you to their family and friends. Trust is an integral part that you need to achieve in whatever business you have.

As you continuously interact with your customers, they entrust you with valuable data. These may come in forms of personal information, bank details, and other information that is of value to them. If you, in any way, misuse these data that your customers have provided, they will break the bond that they shared with you. This situation will not only affect your relationship with your existing customers but will do damage to your reputation.

As you move on to an AI-powered customer service technology, more data will be required for your audience. Plan your privacy measures seriously. You have the responsibility to make sure that these valuable pieces of information be thoroughly protected. When you put security measures in your AI-powered customer experience, you protect your customers and safeguard your business.

Final Thoughts

Technology continues to create an impact on businesses. To remain competitive these days, you need to leverage technological innovations to make a massive impact on how people perceive brands and companies. One of the many technological advances you can realize is the importance of artificial intelligence in your customer service system.

AI-powered customer service can be one of your greatest assets. It can make a big leap to ensure you get more with interacting with your customers. There are huge benefits you can get, and it will make your business refrain from being stagnant. Your business will be competitive, and it will provide valuable insights to help your company improve over time. If you still haven't made any plans to switch an AI-powered customer service, now is the time to do so.

AUTHOR’S BIO

MARICAR MORGA

Maricar worked as a marketing professional for almost a decade and handled concerts, events and community service-related activities. Leaving her corporate job for good to pursue her dreams, she has now ventured in the path of content writing and currently writes for Softvire Australia the leading software e-Commerce company in Australia and Softvire New Zealand. A Harry Potter fan, she loves to watch animated series and movies during her spare time.

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Advertising is an essential component of marketing, and there are various means of promoting business by using a variety of advertising media. When it comes to promoting your business at minimal cost, there is hardly anything better than custom flags that are available in various shapes and sizes. Having your company message, slogan, or logo printed on the flag is the easiest way to start a business promotion campaign, and you can use it for any other purpose to draw people's attention.



Flags are cheap advertising media that you can customize, and it is easy to launch an advertising campaign by just digging the telescopic pole in the ground to see the flag fly high and display the message all around. You can also hang it from any other place in the store if used indoors.

What are feather flags?
Advertising flags, also known as feather flags shaped like feathers from which it derives the name, are made from any fabric of your choice. Using a symbol or logo is the most effective way of spreading brand awareness by conveying a message. Flags have the ability of repetition and association through which it can communicate a powerful message to viewers.

Your company logo is a symbol that becomes the face of your business, and by using flags and other signs, you can convey the desired message with the help of proper image association and repetition. Anyone who sees it will start relating the logo or symbol to the business and gradually discover the other aspects of the company as they get closer to it.

Increasing visibility of flags
Branding is the topmost agenda for marketers by using flags customized to spread the brand message. The flags are highly versatile and suitable for use in outdoor and indoor advertising. Flags help to gain high visibility, and you must consider various factors when creating a marketing campaign by using them. Here are some ways of increasing high visibility from the marketing campaign.

Location - The place where you set up the marketing campaign is most important. The best places are the ones that experience high footfalls so that it attracts a broader audience. Look for places in the vicinity of your business or near the entrance. Follow the flow of traffic to and from your company to decide which would be the best place for flags to gain high visibility. Take advantage of the portability of the flags and set up the campaign at places where it draws maximum attention.

In addition to your business location, you can use feather flags at events and tradeshows as well as community festivities where the flags genuinely shine.

Designing flags - Although flags draw attention on its own by fluttering, you must convert it to an advantage for your business by customizing flags that carry the message of your business. Create attractive designs by using suitable colors and graphics that make the flags more attractive and appealing and helps to serve the purpose of business promotion.

Pay attention to the layout of the design to ensure that you make good use of the available flag size.


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Although it is a sign of prosperity, business expansions are fraught with risks that entrepreneurs are often unprepared for. Insufficient capital to execute proposed expansion plans, wrong market locations or target audience, and the lack of a transition plan for your existing customer base and workforce are only a few of the many mistakes you could potentially make while attempting to expand your brand. Before you get all excited and start renting out more space or hiring more people, make sure you're doing it properly. Here are five ways to do that:

Figure Out the "Why"

Why are you expanding in the first place? Answering the "why" of it will help you determine if you are ready to make the leap. Increasing gains is not enough reason to expand to a new market as poor execution and picking the wrong market/location can lead to more cost than profit. It makes sense to expand only if you have a firm grip on your current territories and have the resources to pour into a new space.

Figure Out the "Where"

If you're expanding a physical business, such as a retail store or manufacturing company, location dictates a great deal of whether or not the expansion is successful. Figure out if you want to build the structure from scratch or simply lease or rent out an existing office space. Each option has its own pros and cons. Building the space from the ground up gives you more control and customization, but leasing into an already built workspace means a faster transition. Consult an architect in San Francisco CA or your current locale to figure out which option best fits you.

Figure Out What Product/Service to Introduce

Adding new products/services to your existing offerings can be tricky as it adds to your operational costs. You don't want to just blindly introduce a new product/service without conducting enough market research. Figure out which product/service is missing from your current offerings that your existing customer base wants. Then, figure out how much they are willing to pay for that product/service. Lastly, see if your new product/service can be integrated seamlessly into your existing offerings. This will make it easier to upsell to your customer base with minimal changes in marketing approach and effort.

Merge or Acquire

Acquiring another business is perhaps the fastest approach to expansion. A merger or acquisition executed precisely can literally double your business' size in a day. However, it all depends on who you acquire or merge with. Due diligence is key to pinpointing the right candidate to invest in. Furthermore, not every business will suit a merger or acquisition. You may be too small or too big to execute either strategy effectively. Mergers and acquisitions also involve a lot of red tape and paperwork, so only pursue this course if you know what you're doing.

Introduce a Loyalty Program

Keeping your existing customers is far less expensive than acquiring new ones. During business expansion, you might be too busy chasing new leads and territories that you forget to pay attention to your existing customers. Loyalty programs help them stay on board. If there is a concrete incentive to spend more cash with your business, a loyalty program pays for itself in the grand scheme of things. You'll find this strategy being used by both small businesses, such as cafes and delis, as well as multi-billion dollar corporations including Target and Costco.
Without proper planning and meticulous preparation, expansionary measures will fail to achieve its desired effects and, in many cases, can lead to unintended damage to your business' growth and profits.
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Coronavirus is demonstrating an especially troublesome test for some, organizations given waiting vulnerability on the length and degree of the flare-up. While your neighbourhood sanctioned bookkeeper can help with general business exhortation during intense occasions, there are some particular issues to tolerate as a primary concern.


  1. Your workforce

A reasonable correspondence technique is basic to keep up associations with representatives. Offer subtleties of the real and conceivable future business effect of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). Approach your representatives for help as well as their thoughts on how the business can get past this.

Get exhortation about helping representatives with crisis wellbeing related advantages – including bringing ex-pat families home – without pulling in Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) in Australia. Work environment immunizations against known strains of influenza are without FBT, as are working environment cleanliness programs (counting the arrangement of hand sanitizers).
A business' use in giving such help would be charge deductible as a business cost of utilizing work.
On the HR front, there are numerous delicate issues, for example, creating arrangements for:
Representatives who express a craving to keep away from working environment contact with others circumstances, where a specialist is feeling unwell or is associated with being unwell, however, is as yet appearing for work (for instance, since they don't meet all requirements for wiped out leave)
For temporary workers, survey contract terms to decide the rights and commitments of the individual gatherings.

  1. Dealing with a downturn

The friendliness, travel and tertiary instruction areas have just been seriously influenced, and the stream on impacts is developing day by day.

Normal siphon preparing reactions to downturns will become an integral factor, for example, limited time offers and limits, yet be careful about motivators that offer deferred instalment plans: now and again like this, income is critical.

A few organizations can and ought to alter their promoting procedure (for instance, changing from an attention on abroad crowds to residential ones).

With regard to cost decrease, there is a scope of subjects to talk about with your contracted bookkeeper.

Oversee obligations owed to your business proactively.

For obligations owed by your business, contact providers and look for their help. Proprietors might be available to brief lease decreases or rent varieties.

Audit every single arranged cost on sources of info, for example, consumables, exchanging stock and gear.

Realize that business strength has as a lot to do with recuperating after COVID-19 for what it's worth about overseeing transitory misfortunes. Hurried choices can demonstrate exorbitant over the long haul. This is especially valid for work costs. Inactive representatives with important aptitudes could be urged to withdraw or acknowledge diminished hours. Businesses need to think cautiously before falling back on redundancies.
In the event that decreasing worker numbers becomes essential, there is a scope of alternatives to think about, for example, custom-fitted courses of action for those previously examining retirement (referred to in charge hovers as "endorsed early retirement plans").

  1. Production network

Converse with basic providers about their capacity to convey dependably. Consider incidentally looking for elective providers where the present business inventory network includes China or different nations seriously influenced by COVID-19.

System with comparative organizations to check whether they have surplus supplies to sell. Advance those product offerings less influenced by store network issues.

For your clients, correspondence and work-around arrangements are vital.

Lawful guidance might be expected to oversee legally binding danger on business sources of info and yields. For instance, does an agreement have a "power Majeure" condition and, assuming this is the case, does coronavirus fall inside its extension. Or on the other hand could the authoritative convention of "dissatisfaction" apply to end the agreement on the grounds that a mediating occasion – COVID-19 – emerged through no flaw of the gatherings.

  1. Travel limitations

The executives and HR groups should keep on observing government admonitions about the movement to nations with major COVID-19 flare-ups. Numerous organizations have just gone further and halted business travel to nations not yet formally recorded.

Various limitations may apply contingent upon the person's movement history (nations visited), regardless of whether they are Australian inhabitants (section consent and isolate courses of action) and the wellbeing related passage rules of the goal nation.

Address the loss of an eye to eye contact with online specialized techniques.

Executive or executive gatherings that must truly be held seaward for a charge or other administrative reasons ought to be conceded without endorsement to direct such gatherings remotely.

Remember that moving representatives to protect them may, contingent upon the conditions, have unintended outcomes (for example charge residency may change). Consider whether such representatives stay on or off the neighbourhood finance and whether the wellspring of their salary for charge purposes changes in light of the migration.

The living arrangement of key senior representatives could be pertinent to the expense habitation of organizations that they control and oversee.

  1. Your online system

On the off chance that a business is encountering a downturn in passing exchange, can the web-based showcasing methodology be increase to draw in another pool of online clients?

For representatives, check whether your IT frameworks encourage telecommuting courses of action and video conferencing. Are workers sufficiently prepared to utilize such apparatuses successfully in a manner that lessens digital hazard?

Clients and providers may likewise want to draw in on the web, so consider whether they can likewise be set up with the product important to connect with your business on the web.

  1. Pay receipts

Check current protection arrangements cautiously to check whether there is an extension for asserting and examine with your guide the assessable idea of any remuneration receipts got.

  1. Financing responsibilities

Connect ahead of schedule with agents if there will be trouble in meeting interest and credit reimbursements. These conversations should be formal and ought to incorporate the means at present being taken to deal with the downturn.

Tip to prevent by Corona Virus (Covid_19)


AUTHOR:
Muhammad Anas is a content writer & founder of Techolicious, where he can write blogs about latest technology, business, & covers motivational topics.
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Self-isolation, lockdowns, working remotely and physical distancing can get you down
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, April 15, 2020/ -- Bizcommunity (www.Bizcommunity.com) is the daily 'virtual commute' that brings you closer to 19 industry communities.



The massive interest in Covid-19 related articles has contributed to a 28% increase in our global page impressions. This is just one of the reasons why continuing to publish on Biz makes sense for companies wishing to stay top-of-mind. As all stakeholders in the world economy unite to rebuild, and in many cases repurpose, economic models, we invite you to stay connected and share your business-to-business journeys with 19 industry communities in Africa!

Ways to stay connected on Biz:

1. Advertising

Keep essential services rolling and scrolling. The right display ad messages get great responses, drive traffic to bespoke landing pages, causes, bookings or orders. We can assist with ad concept and design. Great value at 50% off rate card prices till end lockdown.

2. Issued by

Join over 350 companies publishing regularly on the indispensable daily snapshot of business-to-business from South Africa and Africa. Content from our contributor partners includes links to the profile of the issuing company, blending seamlessly into editorial flow with high visibility and readability. Submissions via a Biz Press Office appear on the homepage of any of our 19 industry portals, while Promoted Content appears as a top story.

3. Virtual events and webinars

Cancelled events that teams and sponsors have put so much work into are disappointing for everyone, not least guests and delegates. But it’s not necessary to let all that equity totally go to waste. Bizcommunity remains the virtual event partner of choice - Our platforms can still provide all the amplification of a real event - invite awards entries, create pre- ’virtual event’ hype, showcase speakers, stakeholders or sponsors, live tweet virtual events as they happen, publish embargoed awards or industry bursaries and offer post- ‘virtual event’ coverage. Benefits can include reduced costs and carbon footprints which can even attract wider audiences from any location.

4. Altruism and doing good

Purpose has been at the heart of a winning brand strategy for some time, but for brand reputations to survive and thrive in a post-pandemic world it is now pretty much non-negotiable. Companies that have risen to recent coronavirus challenges will be able to forge stronger stakeholder, customer and staff relations in the long run. Is your company using slowdowns and lockdowns to redefine and reset future culture and values? This is the raison d’etre of business-to-business publishing – an under-one-roof showcase for policies, initiatives and good intentions, distributed via a Biz Press Office to help maintain moral compasses and position your company proactively in your region.

5. Will the SA healthcare sector take a bow?

As the sector being lauded and applauded globally for proficiency, selflessness and courage at Covid-19 frontlines, it’s time for the real SA healthcare industry to please come out. Vital updates from local virologists, immunologists, healthcare providers, medical manufacturers and laboratories are eagerly awaited as is information about supply chains, medical procedures, claims and spokespersons.

6. Manufacturing matters

As tourism and hospitality revenue streams dry up, the long-overlooked manufacturing sector should offer a lifeline for employment and youth employment. Globally, manufacturing companies have been seen to be repurposing production lines for urgently needed essentials such as masks, sanitisers and ventilators and some local companies such as apparel and 3D printers with capacity are following suit. Recent research (https://bit.ly/2yY1O7L) shows increased demand for locally produced goods and foodstuffs. The African Development Bank has identified ‘Industrialise Africa’ (https://bit.ly/2ydlTa2) as one of its High Five Sustainable Development Goals and new demand could also offer opportunities to look beyond our borders at the growth in African trade. The famous Biblical quote from the book of the prophet Isaiah about turning ‘swords to ploughshares’, seems prophetic indeed as the world questions its values. Which existing and future resources and facilities will government, medical, motoring, apparel, agricultural processing and other manufacturing sectors repurpose for better outcomes?

7. Remote recruitment

Favourable exchange rates and a wealth of skill sets in South Africa’s creative, tech and other sectors, make us an ideal remote recruitment destination. Bizcommunity is fertile ground for international gig economy recruiters and companies.

8. Lockdown logistics

Published last week on Biz was the insight: "Without trucks, South Africa stops!" Never has this been truer than now, in the time of the coronavirus pandemic. With the national lockdowns and more and more countries in Africa introducing strict measures, it is the road freight operators sure that much-needed products are delivered – on time, to the right people, at the right place. What opportunities do the millions of global locked down consumers provide for e-commerce transactions, air, sea, rail and land freight services, ports and people?

9. Virtual connections and teams

ICT and virtual services, especially those that connect people or businesses, are continuing to prove vital. As home working and isolation measures extend – databases, analysis and tracking apps are proliferating. Companies who have been intending to strengthen digital or e-commerce footprints will likely do so now and we predict that virtual managers, remote team building and coaching will lead to a whole new managerial skill set. An explosion of entertainment and technology enablers such as VR, AR and CGI are likely as every sector from labs to manufacturing, office to the workshop, tradeshow to test kitchen goes virtual. Culturally museums, art galleries, theatre, virtual travel and mass educational platforms offer opportunities. We’d love to hear opinions and predictions from the service- and solution-providers sector.

10. Blue chip, green chip

Green chip stocks are defined as shares in companies whose primary business is beneficial to the environment such as alternative and renewable energy, pollution solutions, etc. An early April headline from Forbes called Covid-19 “the wake-up call the energy sector needed”. Local initiatives such as Wesgro’s GreenCape , Atlantis SEZ  and government greenlights for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) point to opportunities in the sustainable energy sector as possible alternatives to tourism and hospitality sector losses.

Local load-shedding and energy price hikes combined with global scenarios paint a bleak outlook for the energy sector. Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy cites “era-defining events: the Covid-19 pandemic, the resulting global financial contraction, and a collapse in oil prices” as causes behind energy being the worst-performing sector in the S&P index. On the plus side, is the time finally ripe for renewables, which ‘blue chips’ might still be profitable in post-Covid economies? Let us know and watch this space.

Open for business-to-business

Bizcommunity is privileged to share a daily 360° snapshot of the generosity, solidarity, agility and ingenuity of 19 industry sectors. We are here, and invite you to stay connected on the focused platforms for South Africa’s finest minds, entrepreneurs, business strategists and service providers. Our team is fully operational; working remotely to promote company news, virtual events, courses, seminars and activations on the indispensable business-to-business website from South Africa to the world.

SOURCE
Bizcommunity
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Hospitals and clinics may directly procure these products as necessary to provide for the infants in their care
CAPE TOWN, South Africa, April 9, 2020/ -- The regulations published by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs under Government Notice 318 of 18 March 2020 were amended by regulations as published in Government Notice R398 of 25 March 2020 as well as by regulations in Government Notice R 419 of 26 March 2020.

The regulations published on 25 March 2020 included, under paragraph 6(a), the following inclusion as an essential good: “(iv) Products for the care of babies and toddlers.”

Following requests for clarification, we confirm that this provision includes baby clothes, blankets, towels and other essential accessories for new-borns, infants and toddlers up to 36 months old.

To ensure the effectiveness of the lockdown in containing the spread of COVID-19, all stores that are currently permitted to remain open for the sale of other essential goods, including supermarkets, may therefore sell these products. We have been in contact with the CEO’s of the large retailers, who have undertaken to sell these products at prices which simply cover their basic costs of production and distribution for the period of the lockdown.

Hospitals and clinics may directly procure these products as necessary to provide for the infants in their care.

Any further queries in this regard may be directed to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.

Issued by: Department of Trade and Industry

SOURCE
South African Government
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African Development Bank has released 19.64 billion CFA francs, that is, 87.9% of the total budget
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, April 14, 2020/ -- Increasing numbers of women can be seen around the goat and sheep pens of Saria, in the province of Boulkiemdé, in Centre-West Burkina Faso. But not for the typical scenario - as animal herders; nowadays, they are there because they own them. One of them, Salimata Kaboré, runs a small penwith four animals- two ewes and two rams.

"I built the pen myself with help from the Sahel 1 programme to build resilience to food security (Ed.: P1-P2RS, a programme funded by the Bank), which gave us animals to raise. I'm taking great care because I'm hoping to have a dozen animals in two- or three-years' time and to gradually become a larger sheep farmer, like the men. Meanwhile, I can meet my family's needs with my maize and cowpea crops," said the mother of three.

Tapsoba Marietou, another entrepreneur from Saria has become a go-to person in her area, for her experience in breeding poultry. Young people from Saria say that that they often visit her hen house to learn from her experience. Marata, yet another happy beneficiary of the programme, received 10 hens and one cock to launch her business plan in Torodo, in the Central Plateau Region, and is now celebrating the birth of six chicks.

These women are among 1,250 beneficiaries of steps to promote rural entrepreneurship and strengthen nutrition within the broader framework of Project 1 of the Programme to Build Resilience to Food and Nutrition Insecurity in the Sahel (P1-P2RS). Established in 2015 in Burkina Faso, this project is intended to fight malnutrition and extreme poverty that affects some 5 million people in several parts of the country: Boucle du Mouhoun, the Central Plateau, the Centre-West, the Centre-South and the Centre.

Its main financial partner, the African Development Bank has released 19.64 billion CFA francs, that is, 87.9% of the total budget. The Burkina Faso State has contributed 2.7 billion CFA francs and project beneficiaries have made a contribution of 500 million CFA francs.

Significant achievements since 2015

Many projects have been completed between 2015 and 2018, crucially including the restoration of three irrigation dams. "Our dam had fallen into disrepair and the water shortage had driven me to leaving the region," said Amidou Bourahima, a fisherman from Bani, in the Sahel. Many of us went to Côte d’Ivoire. Personally, I spent two years in Saudi Arabia […]. I was glad when I got back and found that the dam had been rebuilt, because it gives our community renewed hope and life."

"Life was wretched before they rebuilt the dam," recalls Hama Amadou Cissé, president of the village development committee at Bani. "It could take you more than four hours just to get a little water at the water point. Even the plants couldn't withstand the lack of water. Now, the project has more than relieved us." 

This project has trained 305 young people in rural entrepreneurship and constructing business plans.

The young people of Saria who won the contest to write the best business plans in the project, have received carts, watering cans, protection grids and sprayers and have had the benefit of working capital of 100,000 CFA francs to kick-start their projects. Kaboré W. Adjaratou and Kaboré Rémis were awarded loans under the Economic Empowerment Programme for Young People and Women. They have started their projects and started repaying their loans.

"Life was wretched before they rebuilt the dam"  -  Hama Amadou Cissé

A great deal of work has been successfully completed in the space of just 3 years: the rebuilding of 3 dams, the development of 400 hectares of rice lowlands and 38 hectares of irrigated areas, the construction of 3 livestock-water storage tanks (known locally as 'boulis'), six 250-tonne animal-feed stores, 9 agricultural input shops, twenty 100-tonne warrantage stores, twenty-two 250-tonne warehouses, 200 family latrines, 2 phytosanitary stations, 3 standardized health centres, 1 simplified solar livestock-water supply system and the signage of 13 km of water-access corridors. This is not to mention the 26 livestock and 60 community boreholes, a fish farm, 11 multifunctional platforms with non-wood forest-product processing units and 10 vegetable gardens.

Women in charge

The signs of change are equally visible in the village of Torodo, on the Central Plateau, one hundred kilometres from Ouagadougou. Fati Dipama belongs to the 100-member Tégawendé Association. Organized into four subgroups, the women of Torodo look after the management of the platform and offer grain milling and husking services, as well as cracking and grinding services for shea and peanuts, in addition to a phone and vehicle battery-charging service.

This platform is also a processing unit for non-wood forest products. It is used to make shea butter, soap and shea-butter based ointment, liquid soap soumbala (a well-known spice) and soumbala mustard. "Not only did we receive mills, we were also trained in how to look after them, and that's good for us. We have been trained in how to process non-wood forest products such as shea and locust beans. Our products are sold in the market place. Thanks to their mills, local people no longer have to travel great distances to mill their grain products. We've gained time," said Ms Dipama, who went on to add, "Crops that we want to sell, we process ourselves and this helps us get good prices and have better incomes."

Like Tégawendé, other women's associations are taking active roles in managing their daily activities. On Goumédyr site, in Réo, in Sanguié province, a group called "Yidjan Durega" that is also a beneficiary of the project manages a vegetable garden that produces two species, Moringa oleifera and Adansonia digitata, both recognized for their nutritional qualities and particularly for their contributions to infant diets. In Kamanlélé, members of the Relwendé Association grow up to 30 tonnes a year for sale of cowpeas, an African bean variety that is also well-known for its nutritional qualities and drought-resistance. The next step is the creation of a local microfinance institution to support their business activities.

To further boost nutrition in the region, the project has supported the health district of Manga to promote nutrition practices for infants and young children, by establishing child-nutrition help and support groups known as GASPAs. GASPAs use  interpersonal communication strategies to help change behaviour: women are brought together in small groups according to their physiological status (pregnant women, nursing mothers, and mothers of children aged under 2 years). There, they learn good nutrition and health and hygiene practices and are offered cooking demonstrations. This programme has led to the establishment of 1602 GASPAs, which have reached out to 20,081 women.

Meeting once a month since July 2016, these groups have led their members learn better nutrition practises and to a fall in the numbers of malnourished children.

Dabré Bimata has been a GASPA member since the beginning: "I have three children. When I had my first two, I wasn't a member of a support group. I didn't know enough about children's diets, so I gave them water and herbal teas. Both my children had repeated stints in hospital. By the time I was pregnant with my third child, the GASPA had been set up and I joined it. I was given a lot of information on pregnancy care and infant feeding. When I gave birth, I breast-fed my child for the first 6 months. I noticed that he was in good shape and didn't fall ill. I took him to the health centre for growth monitoring and immunization. He is very different from the other two; he hasn't been ill like they were."

In the Tuiré Health and Social Advancement Centre, four villages are supported by the P1-P2RS nutrition support programme. The nurse in charge of the centre reports that no cases of severe acute malnutrition have been detected there since 2017. The beneficiaries of GASPA have even been given dairy goats to dietary diversity of children and pregnant and nursing mothers.

The GASPAs in Tuiré, have the benefit of a vegetable garden, mainly composed of moringa and baobab trees. Their produce is used for cooking demonstrations during events. Moringa powder is sold at the health centre pharmacy and the proceeds from sales are used to help buy new inputs.

About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org
SOURCE
African Development Bank Group
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As you try to make the most of your business's advertising strategy, you need to be certain that you are using technology to the best of your abilities. In fact, there are five ways your business should be using modern tech to advertise.
  1. Social Media
Social media is a great way to advertise, and you do not even have to spend any money. You have great social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter, and YouTube that you can utilize in your efforts.
When you make use of social media, you need to be certain that it is fully integrated with your company's website. If you fail to ensure that you have this integration, then you will not get the most out of your social media advertising efforts. And don't forget to make sure all of your videos include captioning. This will help you get the most out of yoursearch engine optimization (SEO) strategy.
  1. Email Communications
Part of your communications calendar should include an in-depth plan to use email communications to advertise your business. And all of your company's email communications should have some advertising tie-in, even if you just mention promotions in your email signature.
When you create emails that are supposed to boost your advertising efforts, you must be sure to make sure of photos and videos. Avoid fluff and be very specific. Make use of bullet points, and be sure that you keep emails short. Make sure that all of your email communications are consistent when it comes to layout and talking points, and also make sure you prominently feature links to your social media.
  1. Mobile Apps
You can have your own app that helps your company conduct business and advertise, and you can advertise through other companies' apps. If you have your own app, you must make sure to integrate your website and your social media. You also need to make sure you have all the technology in place to support the bandwidth needed and the intricacies of your app.
If you are not experienced with mobile apps, you might want to find an IT consultant in your community or online that can help you. Customers out there are wanting to use apps more than ever, and if you can swing it, you should look into having your own. And you should always be on the lookout for ways to advertise your business through other businesses' apps.
  1. Digital Displays
Digital displays are an innovative breakthrough that definitely can help you advertise your business. And what's really cool is that you can make your digital displays interactive. You can not only advertise your company, but you also can capture data. Whether you want an interactive digital display or not, you can find the technologies behind these products to be very effective.
Consider placing adigital display board in high-traffic areas out in communities. Or you can place one at your business to further market your brand and build more customer loyalty. And with digital displays being more popular than ever, you can find a way to work this advertising strategy into your budget.
  1. Data Management
If you want to make sure you get the most out of your advertising efforts, you need to be certain to make the most of your data first. To streamline your advertising and maximize your impact you need to advertise to the appropriate people. Having accurate data and access to that data makes that possible for your business.

 And technology today makes data management more efficient than ever for you. You can easily find a modern tech approach to handling your data that will work for your business. You can deliver communications to the people who need to hear from you most, and you can accurately house the results of your advertising efforts. This helps you plan for and adjust advertising strategies as needed.
Each of the five topics above shows you just how easy it is for your business to make the most of modern technology. Through one or more of the benefits covered above, you will be able to get the most out of your advertising strategy.
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