Determine the type of business that you have

Before you push through with business registration, you need to identify the kind of business that you have. Here are the three main business structures and their characteristics. 

Sole proprietorship

If you own 100% of your enterprise, you may apply for registration under the Sole Proprietorship category. Sole Proprietorship is ideal for those starting a business for the first time, as it’s easy to establish and cancel and inexpensive to start. Moreover, the business registration is active for five years and renewable.

Partnership

Business partnerships can take on a variety of structures. For instance, a general partnership can be built between two or more people who hold equal shares and liabilities within the company. Meanwhile, those in a limited partnership setup can either be a general or a limited partner.    

Before processing your application, it’s essential to determine the type of partnership you have in your enterprise, as it will also affect other aspects. It includes taxation and the authorization required from the owners to push through with the registration. 

Trade name

Business owners also have the option to register a Trade Name, allowing them to operate a secondary business name. Essentially, it’s owned by either an existing incorporated business or a registered corporation in the Province of Ontario.  

Many opt to operate under a Trade Name for various reasons. For one, they can use their Trade Name for advertising without the legal ending, such as Incorporated or Limited.

Decide on a business name

You’ll need a unique business name to distinguish your company from other companies. Also, you need to avoid using a name already associated with another business. If you use your name as a business name, you won’t be required to register. However, if your company name includes your name and another element that’s not included in your legal name, then registration is required.   

There are other restrictions when applying for a business name. These restrictions include names with obscene or malicious tones, individual names that the business owner does not own, words that imply an association with the Federal government and its associates, and some non-Alphabetic symbols or characters.   

You’ll also need to verify if the business name you wish to use is available to avoid infringement. For instance, you can conduct a New Updated Automated Name Search or NUANS to see if other companies are using the business name you want to use or similar terms.  

If an incorporated business within your jurisdiction is already using your proposed business name, you can no longer proceed with registering a Business Name Registration under that name and will need to choose a different name that is available. 

Submit the required information

Here are the details you’ll need to submit to proceed with your business registration in Ontario:  

• Your chosen business name  
• Business address or principal place of business in Ontario  
• Owner’s name and address   
• Nature of business   
• Authorizing the person in charge of the application procedures  

The Canadian government also requires business owners to indicate the NAICS code applicable to the nature of their business. The government uses the North American Industry Classification System or NAICS to classify business establishments, which is why you’ll need to put this code in your application form.   

You can browse the NAICS 2022 manual or other versions from previous years to determine the correct code for your business.   

Finalize your registration

Once registered with the Ontario Government, you’ll be issued a Business Identification Number (BIN). Your registration is valid for five years after it’s finished, and you’ll need to file for renewal after the said period to keep your registration active.

Amendment of business name

However, amendments are only limited to the three details mentioned above. It means you’ll be unable to change the owner or business name on file. You’ll have to apply for a new registration if you need to change these details.   

Conclusion

After you’ve completed the registration process and received your BIN, you’ll have to stay updated with the regulatory requirements per specific period to maintain your business status and keep a good record. In Ontario, you’ll have your business registration active for five years, and the renewal should be done within the first 60 days after its expiration. If you miss the deadline, you’ll have to complete your registration as a new application.   

An overview of SMS marketing

Short message service (SMS) marketing is the process of sending adverts to customers by text message. It’s another term for text message advertising. You can use this strategy to communicate time-sensitive offers and updates.  

You’d want to invest in SMS marketing for various reasons. For one, creating and sending messages doesn’t generally require investment in expensive tools. You can even use your personal phone to deliver promotional messages to customers. Essentially, this approach can provide you with a convenient and cost-effective way to market your business and engage with your customers.

In addition, today, most people use mobile phones to communicate. Therefore, leveraging the power of SMS marketing enables you to connect with a vast audience, increasing your chances of generating more leads. Another benefit of SMS marketing is that it has a higher open rate than most other promotional options. Therefore, more people will view and consume your content, boosting your conversion rate.

While that’s the case, your SMS marketing won’t be as effective if you’re going to disturb your clients with promotional messages. Irritated clients will likely ignore or opt not to respond to your messages. Fortunately, you can leverage the power of ringless technology. Ringless technology allows you to deliver pre-recorded messages to customers using a non-intrusive method and the friendliest delivery model. In this approach, clients have the option to open your messages when it’s most convenient for them, enhancing customer responses. 

As a good start, you can check out Drop Cowboy Ringless Voicemail or any similar service provider to aid you in exploring SMS marketing.

Tips for leveraging the power of SMS marketing

If you’ve decided to invest in SMS marketing, here are some effective tips to ensure success.  

Know your clients

One of the great strategies to build an effective SMS marketing strategy is to know your customers. That’s true since you can only personalize your marketing messages or pitches by getting to know your target audience. As such, you can enhance the customer experience to generate more leads. 

Among the best ways to know your customers is to utilize customer relationship management (CRM) software. It enables you to know and gather information like your customers’ interests, purchase patterns, age brackets, and where they live, to name a few. From there, you can segment your target audiences for targeted promotions. You can use tools like Power Dialer to send bulk messages if you’re targeting many clients. It’ll help you to save time and money. You can also use such technology to streamline other telephone operations.

Build an SMS marketing team

Connecting with many customers via text messages may require you to be hands-on since you’re likely to be on the phone or computer distributing messages and responding to clients. Therefore, you might not get enough time for other tasks. This is where creating a dedicated team to focus on and manage various SMS marketing activities can come in handy.

Some of the specialists you can hire for your team include a social media expert, a digital creative designer, and a marketing professional. On the other hand, you can also opt to partner with marketing agencies to seek proper assistance when implementing SMS marketing strategies.

Always include calls to action in your SMS campaigns

The primary purpose of any marketing campaign is to allow clients to engage with your content. The same applies to SMS marketing. When more people engage with your messages, the more they consume your content, which goes a long way in boosting the visibility of your brand.  

One of the best ways to ensure customers engage with your messages is to include clear calls to action. This involves adding a small phrase or link to your texts to encourage clients to take desired actions, like visiting your website to make a purchase or subscribing to the service your business is offering.

Respond to customers in real time

Once you message customers, you’re forming personal connections with them. And when they respond, it means they’re interested in your business. It, therefore, makes perfect sense to respond to them.

However, you must respond in real-time. A delayed response could negatively affect customers’ experience, and most may consider finding assistance elsewhere. Therefore, ensure you promptly respond to clients’ concerns and give them valuable feedback. 

Conclusion

Whether you’re a startup or your company has been operating for a while, investing in SMS marketing can be beneficial. It enables you to connect with many clients in no time. You can consider the tips above to leverage the power of SMS marketing for your company.  

7 outstanding ways to boost your teams engagement level

Low-engagement teams are less productive and struggle with collaboration. This blog post will explore eight ways to boost your team’s engagement level.

Have a purpose

Communicate clearly and often

Engaged teams communicate with each other effectively. Collaboration is much easier when team members are clear about goals, expectations, and priorities. When teams communicate effectively, they experience less misalignment and confusion. When it comes to effectiveness, there are several strategies you can use to help your team communicate more clearly. You can host regular team meetings where members discuss progress towards goals and priorities. You can also set up team chat channels or use collaboration software to help team members stay in touch. It will help if you communicate with your team members regularly. This will help reduce misalignment and confusion.

You can use collaboration software to send your team regular updates on key milestones and achievements. This will keep your employees informed while helping them feel connected and valued.

Hold weekly collaboration meetings

In addition to hosting regular team meetings, you should also regularly host collaboration meetings. Collaboration meetings are hosted by one team member and attended by the rest of the team. Collaboration meetings are a great way to overcome misalignment by getting your team members in the same room and discussing progress toward goals. 

When hosting collaboration meetings, it’s essential to follow a few fundamental guidelines. First, you should host regular collaboration meetings. This will keep meetings from feeling burdensome and unnecessary. Holding collaboration meetings once a week is a good rule of thumb. You can also use collaboration meetings to set goals and provide feedback to team members on their progress. Thirdly, make sure that the meetings are not time-wasting and that the technical part is working smoothly (no Bluetooth issues with the headphones or battery problems). 

Encourage team-building activities

When teams get to know each other, they’re not always eager to collaborate. Engaged employees, however, are always keen to collaborate. To encourage collaboration between team members, you should promote regular team-building activities. You should schedule team-building activities at least once a quarter. These can be as simple as getting your team together for a meal or coffee date. You can also host team retreats or send your team members on field trips from time to time. It is a great idea to plan a retreat for your team, as this will allow them to communicate and get to know each other on a more personal level. 

Whatever activities you choose, they should be designed to help your team members collaborate with each other more effectively. Team-building activities can also be used to support your team in identifying its strengths and weaknesses. Regular team-building activities can also take the form of charity team building events, which enable employees to give back to the community while bonding with their colleagues. Besides fostering teamwork, these activities align with corporate social responsibility goals. You can use an exercise where team members share something about themselves, and the rest of the team rates them. The team should be encouraged to give constructive feedback. 

Provide recognition and rewards

It’s easy for employees to start feeling like their contributions go unnoticed. Engaged teams are rewarded for their efforts and contributions toward the organization’s goals. When your team members think their work is valued and appreciated, they’re much more likely to be engaged and motivated. If your team members are feeling unappreciated, you can use collaboration software to remind them of their contributions. You can also host regular one-on-one feedback sessions with each team member to help them feel more valued and appreciated.

 When rewarding your team members, you should always be mindful of the frequency and type of rewards you are giving. You do not want to create a culture of gift-giving and rewards that is unsustainable. Instead, you should reward your team members with praise, recognition, and increased responsibility. You must celebrate wins that are not expected as well. This will help your team members feel more connected and engaged.

Celebrate milestones and achievements

Celebrating milestones and achievements is another excellent way to boost engagement. You must celebrate milestones and accomplishments as they occur. You should not wait until the end of the year or the next development review to celebrate your team members’ hard work. 

When celebrating milestones and achievements, you should follow a simple rule. It would help if you always celebrated more than what was expected. If your team member was expected to complete a project in three months, you should observe their accomplishment and the project’s success when it was completed in two and a half months. Celebrating milestones and achievements will help your team members feel valued and appreciated. You must celebrate wins that are not expected as well. This will help your team members feel more connected and engaged. 

Establish a culture of quality feedback sessions

When you encourage team members to provide feedback to each other, you help them become more engaged and productive. Employees who regularly provide feedback to their peers are more active than employees who don’t. Things will likely get awkward when you first begin hosting regular feedback sessions. Feedback sessions are designed to help your team members improve and grow. It’s natural for team members to be hesitant and nervous about speaking up.

Don’t forget to encourage your team members to take their time when providing feedback. It’s essential that you actively promote feedback sessions. You should host feedback sessions regularly and invite your team members to participate. Providing feedback to each other on a daily or weekly basis can also be a great idea.

Conclusion