10 marketing automation examples businesses must know

10 marketing automation examples businesses must know

10 marketing automation examples businesses must know

June 29, 2024

Marketing automation examples

Marketing automation continues to push forward its influence on digital marketing and when utilized in the right manner, it can be largely beneficial and valuable method that can assist businesses in creating increased web traffic and leads

Now, this is something that will eventually lead to increased sales volume, while also reduce unnecessary headcount or redundant activities. 

But how big of an impact can marketing automation possibly have? A study from Forrester reveals businesses investing in marketing automation tools are predicted to reach a growth of $25.1 billion by 2023.

Marketing Automation graph

10 marketing automation examples

For those B2B leaders keen on investing or considering marketing automation, here are 10 marketing automation examples worth reading through (and possibly adopting in the future!)

Lead nurturing and email marketing software

About 96% of website visitors come unprepared to buy and when these new leads enter the system, how can one ensure they become acquainted as customers?

Well, most companies handle this by hand, but it mostly results in multiple phone calls and email correspondence. However, the loophole in this procedure is automating those email correspondence along with other tactics.

Lead nurturing with marketing automation example

As marketing automation utilizes email sequences for informing and educating those leads, it enables you to add sales-focused materials and move them closer to sealing the deal with email marketing.

Centralize social media via automation

Mapping out various asset publication over several media channels can get quite messy, particularly in the absence of a centralized tool for managing those channels and assets. 

This is exactly where social media automation helps in saving tremendous time and provide consistency across those social platforms for your business as many of its tools can proactively monitor your brand mentions and/or alert you of interesting topics. If you want to easily manage your social ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram we suggest to utilize some kind of PPC management software like Adplorer.”

Hence, the presence of an automated tool for scheduling and publishing content across various, if not all social media platform remains unmatched.

Onboarding new customers 

A concerning task for SaaS companies is getting those trial and fresh customers to understand your software and integrate it well into their business plan

Through marketing automation, you’re able to send off a chain of automated emails that walk the customers through the use of your product and offer reliable advice to help them maximize their investment. Onboarding doesn’t just mean integrating a few features; it requires a smart, structured approach. One powerful method is using client onboarding SAAS to streamline this process. These tools guide new users through your software’s capabilities, ensuring they transition from novices to proficient users effortlessly. For SaaS businesses targeting expansive growth, it’s crucial to optimize customer experiences right from the first interaction.

Onboarding email sequence

Buyer intent engagement

Another instance of marketing automation executed fluently is engaging with companies and contacts with an interest in your products/services through an automated manner. 

This leads us to buyer intent vendors. These vendors look for trends within the web behavioral organization to detect variances in comparison to historic trends. 

There are several vendors found within the buyer-intent space and when utilized properly, it can require minimized human interaction while producing increased results.

Action-triggered notification on sales

It’s no surprise that certain web pages are visited by leads that share a high interest in your product and these pages could be anything from price page to terms and conditions. 

Visits to any of these pages could indicate a possible purchase from the customer’s end, hence, failing to contact them during this time can result in a huge missed opportunity.

By utilizing emails to contact leads that visit your page with sales materials, it helps your business to familiarize with buy-ready prospects and capitalize on that.

Reducing churn rate via automation

For SaaS or other companies with monthly product subscription, churn remains a serious issue as securing continuous customer subscription is incredibly essential for growing a stable and reliable revenue stream.  
Companies in the field are fiercely competitive, all vying for valuable B2B partnerships which can be made easier by implementing a SaaS SEO strategy. This will allow you to grow leads, generate sales and improve online marketing funnels.

As customers often cancel subscriptions for various reasons, automating the questioning process when they cancel helps in reducing your churn rate.

Effective tactics used to reduce customer churn

Offering a discount to those that cancel is a great start for reducing the churn rate and let’s not forget, it’s an excellent automation task as handling it by hand is extremely time-consuming. 

Managing CRM data

Clean data is extremely vital for maintaining effective marketing campaigns, however, CRM database gets messy in an instant – this is something marketing automation tools can help out with. 

Such an automation tool is offered by our member ZoomInfo. Their tool automatically updates or appends the CRM records based on your specified rules. With clean data, sales and marketing teams can interact at the right time with the right crowd.

But there are several data fields you should keep intact, such as contact and company owner, phone, lead source, company revenue, and employee count, etc.

Referral marketing and B2B customer retention

Referral marketing is no doubt the best source for many companies to garner new leads. After all, nothing can beat the legitimacy of a product recommended by a trusted friend/source. 

So, why not automate those mundane tasks involved in performing referral marketing operations? You can offer discounts for customers that refer to products and track those referrals through automation.

While promoting referral program via regular broadcast emails helps in informing new customers about the program and its benefits.

Relevant content

For leads that are already interested in your product/service, the key to keeping them further engaged is ‘relevance’

As such, automating the dispatch of relevant content is worth the keep as it educates them and narrows the amount of information they receive from your end. 

By blocking out other emails and putting more focus on the product/service of their particular interest, you’ll be able to rope them in and move them further down the tunnel while qualifying their interest.

Automated website live chat

Live website chats are great for capturing leads, but a recurring issue here is employing someone to oversee the live chat. Now, for those with an existing hectic customer support team, this will surely take up enough time to hinder daily duties.

However, thanks to marketing automation, today various solutions enable B2B businesses to maintain a beneficial live chat without hiring employees to oversee it.

Take, for example, the Collect.chat tool that provides customers an automated interaction with your company and connect them with your customer support reps. 

Conclusion

While marketing automation remains highly successive for B2B businesses, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of your buyers and putting up content that resonates with such an audience.

Because this is something that will ultimately define the success and reliability of marketing automation for your brand. 

Hopefully, with the marketing automation examples provided, you’ll now have a profound insight into how marketing automation can be efficiently utilized to drive success for your business.

CRM Data Management-test

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How to build an effective CRM strategy for your business?

How to build an effective CRM strategy for your business?

How to build an effective CRM strategy for your business?

June 29, 2024

Effective CRM strategy

In this era, people have knowledge about digital platforms and are well aware of all the techniques followed by businesses. This is the reason a power shift has been made from companies to the customers. Now, it is very essential for businesses to create or modify strategies that can manage the customers and the problems faced by them. So, a CRM strategy has been introduced for maintaining a good relationship with the customers

CRM stands for customer relationship management and it is very essential to implement it by all business owners.

What is CRM strategy?

The customer relationship management strategy, aka CRM strategy, focuses on transforming every prospect into a client on the basis of every piece of conversation and communication with them. This method has encouraged good communication with the clients and help in solving their problems related to the services in their field of business. It helps to interact more with the audience and achieve their target and goals.

The benefits of CRM when applied multi-level

The CRM strategy should be applied equally and followed in all aspects and business levels if you want good results from it. All the departments have to equally follow the website marketing strategy to make it work efficiently for your business. 

If you are able to follow the strategy properly, you will be able to experience the benefits of customer relationship management soon enough.

  1. It will help to reduce the cost of customer acquisition.
  2. It will increase customer loyalty and lifetime value.
  3. Decision-making will be done on the basis of precise data, so no need to fear decisions.
  4. Enhances forecasting and communication with the clients.
  5. Enhances efficiency in marketing.
  6. Boost sales volume.
  7. Better visibility in execution.
  8. Reduce the volume of email

All these are the benefits of CRM when applied ideally. If you are unable to follow it, you have a high chance of risk and disadvantages in your business.

  1. With a lack of communication, customers can feel dissatisfied and might not like to trade with your organization.
  2. If you are not able to communicate properly with the prospects and audience, you will not be able to cross-sell or upsell your services and goods. Missing such opportunities directly refers to lesser profits.
  3. You will be unable to attract a new audience and retain the older ones.

You will lose in the competition in your field and your brand awareness will become low with time.

CRM strategy best practices for maximum effectiveness

All of the above-mentioned factors make it clear that it is very important to develop a CRM strategy for your company. According to research, it is stated that most of the business will struggle in building and developing a CRM strategy that can be proved efficient for your business. 

Set a goal

It is very important to have a clear vision so that you can set goals and achieve them with the help of your CRM strategy. Your strategy can be designed and developed in such a way that you are able to meet up your goals and measure your progress easily. You can check metrics for measuring progress for different factors and accordingly reset the goals. 

Your ultimate goal should be clear in your mind and CRM strategy should be designed accordingly. It should also be designed keeping in mind the customer experience as it plays a major role in making a business successful. 

Synchronise the CRM strategy with other strategies

An effective CRM strategy should show progress in every quarter of the business. It should determine the scope in every single phase so that the wholesome goals can be achieved. This strategy should actually act as a roadmap that makes a positive impact in every business process.

CRM strategy focuses on strategic goals for example better efficiency in marketing and increasing customer’s long-term value. However, the companies have other corporate strategies that focus on boosting revenue growth and providing a good experience to the customer. These strategies focus on different factors for achieving the goals for the company. But, it is very essential that both of these strategies align and complement each other. The CRM strategy should also focus on corporate goals for fulfilling your goals. If your CRM strategy is not able to address the corporate goals, it is very difficult for your business to sustain. 

Check and examine existing data

The existing data plays a great role in developing a CRM strategy as it contains all the details about the customer choices and their experiences with your company. It helps to get insights into customer’s journey and based on that journey and experience, analyze their personas. Data analysis also helps you to understand the problems faced by the clients while trading with your company. Now, you can improve and work on such problems so that the new clients don’t have to face the same issue.

You can segment customers into different groups based on their experiences with your company. Dividing the audience into different groups will help you to initiate a conversation differently and target them according to their choices and demands. Regular customers can be given more preference and can be given special discounts for keeping them connected. 

Provide effective support channels

The main aim of a solid CRM strategy is to provide support channels and communicate more and more with the audience. Communication with the audience helps in encountering the problems faced by them.

When you listen to your client’s problems and try to solve them, your customers will be satisfied with your services and stick by you. One of the methods of support channels is to create an option of live chat which will provide customers with instant solutions to their problem. It also helps in increasing conversion rates. Other than this, you can also go for social media channels for solving issues faced by customers. The method is not important, listening and solving customer’s problems is what is needed the most.

Use the best CRM software

Most of the companies often select inefficient CRM software for their business and regrets their decision later. It is very important to research and gather information about the software you choose. Good CRM software is one that integrates with your business operations and works efficiently for your work. You can also compare and collect data on the software used by your competitors. 

You can also check reviews and experiences of the other customers by visiting the forums for choosing the perfect CRM software for you. CRM software uses CRM strategies for getting good results in their business. An ideal CRM solution helps to manage the communication and interaction with all the customers through a digital platform.  

Different CRM software is available in the market, you can get into the details and research each one of them. Research as much as you can but ultimately choose the one that fits best for the operations performed by your company. Always remember that your CRM software should provide you with good results in every field of the business. 

Sometimes, a company is not ready for a CRM strategy and does it in the wrong way. Here are some warning signs that define if your company is ready to develop the strategy and what needs to be done in the case it isn’t:

  • If you are not able to make long-term investments and are not able to process and work that way, you should first do a good job on CRM projects and learn.
  • If your company is not able to achieve the strategic goals even after the proper execution of all the strategies, then you should try to focus and learn about tactical gains.
  • If your company lacks in the integration of data and is not able to clear up the databases, then you should try to limit the dependencies from external data and go for outsourced services.
  • If you have numerous CRM solutions, and support systems and it gets difficult to manage the overall strategy, then you should reduce it for fewer business units.
  • If an external competition is going on between VP’s of different departments, then you should limit it to a single domain.

Improve Business Workflow With CRM Integration

When you use CRM integration correctly, it can become one of the most powerful tools your company can have.Building relationships that cater to the wants and needs of your customers is never done by accident. It takes time and effort, but it is the most important part of your business.

CRM integrations streamline your email and social media marketing, your leads and customer contact information, and your sales process. The quicker you simplify things, the faster you can grow in other areas of your business that demand your attention.

You can start with automated emails, social media engagement, and SMS promotional campaigns to get more eyes on your new product line after a launch for example. You can craft pre-written emails to save time when sending out reminders to prospects about new offers. Set them up once and that’s it.

CRM software allows you to laser focus on targeting new leads and prospects, while strengthening existing relationships at the same time. Integrations help you use the customer qualities you find to your advantage—with little to no effort. You will instantly improve your workflow by knowing what to focus on, and removing manual errors in the process. That’s what makes CRM integration so worthwhile.

Conclusion

Developing a CRM strategy is a very important aspect of business no matter which industry it belongs to. It helps to interact and communicate with the customers in a proper way and provides them with solutions to their issues.

Technological advancement has made huge progress and made it an important key factor of success for all kinds of business. In order to sustain a business, it is very essential to adapt to these modifications. Along with the time, CRM will implement various changes for making a good impact in business and helping it to grow. If you want to increase sales and increase your conversion rates, you should definitely follow these tricks and increase conversion rates for your business.

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How to get customers in the door and increase sales

How to get customers in the door and increase sales

How to get customers in the door and increase sales

June 29, 2024

How to get customers in the door

We have now officially entered the Q4 of 2020. And instead of looking forward to the busiest shopping season of the year, brick and mortar businesses worry about how to get customers in the door. This is not the case with online retailers, although they too have to complete some steps to ensure a lucrative quarter.

Of course, looking for ways to increase sales in retail has somehow become a norm in recent years due to the growing popularity of eCommerce. But this year, especially, the need for retail business ideas and strategic retail partnerships to boost sales is significantly higher. The measures imposed by the governments as a response to the pandemic have been ruthless for brick and mortar businesses.

While Jeff Bezos has cashed in billions during the lockdown, traditional retailers are desperate to figure out how to maximize sales in retail.

 1. Curbside pickup

 2. Customer Loyalty Programs

 3. Build a community

 4. Enhance safety

 5. Geo-targeted digital marketing

 6. AR experiences

 7. SMS marketing

 8. In-store discounts

 9. Pre-order strategy

 10. Visual merchandising

 11. Prep your staff

 12. Conclusion

11 ideas about how to maximise sales in retail

If you’re wondering how to maximise sales in retail during the Holiday season and even beyond that, there are several ways you can do this. More often than not brick and mortar retailers would have to opt for more than one way in order to make it work for them. In other words, you can’t expect that only one of the retail ideas to boost sales presented below will be your magic trick. Instead, you’ll have to find the right mix.

Curbside pickup

One of the most simple retail ideas to boost sales is offering curbside pickup. This is especially important as some customers are elderly or immunocompromised and still concerned about Covid-19, and if we should have another uptick in the fall it would be great to have this system set up and ready to go instead of scrambling to get it setup.

John Frigo, Digital Marketing Lead at BestPriceNutrition.Com

Hybrid models such as “buy online pickup in-store” (BOPIS) or curbside pickup will continue to grow in importance for customers who are hesitant to return to brick-and-mortar stores.

In-store retail owners who have invested in those fulfilment models will see further growth. Retailers that have considered adopting those models or have emergent versions will accelerate their efforts to adopt similar capabilities given how widely used they have become during this period of time.

Carlos Castelán, Managing Director of The Navio Group

Customer Loyalty Programs

One of the most effective ideas to increase sales in retail stores is a Reward or Loyalty Program to nurture the loyalty of regular customers loyal and bring them back to your store recurrently. 

We work with many brick and mortar clients, and especially during the pandemic it is essential that they are still generating in-person customers. Some of these businesses don’t have an eCommerce offering, so their survival is dependent on attracting new and repeat customers.

I recommend starting with your existing customer base. Develop a Customer Loyalty Program and exclusive marketing offers for existing/repeat customers. Moreover, consider setting up opt-in email or text outreach to communicate promotions and reasons for customers to come into your store.

Alex Membrillo, CEO at Cardinal Digital Marketing Agency

Build a community

Another thing that’s less tangible, but one of the best ideas to increase sales in retail stores, and we’ve had great success with is starting to build more of a community among our customers, hosting special events, etc. Basically, just building a stronger brand. 

For reference, we have started a fitness club that meets Saturday mornings to go for a hike, ride bikes, etc, that really brings customers together. We’ve also been having more special events like an axe-throwing event, martial arts events, we have a haunted bike ride coming up for Halloween where we’ve partnered with a local brewery for the event. So that’s another great tip: connecting with other local businesses to collaborate on events and things to share your customer bases with each other for a mutually beneficial arrangement.

John Frigo, Digital Marketing Lead at BestPriceNutritoin.Com

Enhance safety

It’s important to ensure that safety is prioritized in your store. As an example, are you considering a more seamless checkout experience for customers that allows for greater safety such as self-checkout or contactless payments? 

Identifying a more efficient checkout experience can not only increase safety for customers and employees alike but also enhance the customer experience if done well while reducing the cost to serve customers. Furthermore, creating clear signage to guide customers if there’s a change in protocol is important to communicate to customers.

Carlos Castelán, Managing Director of The Navio Group

Geo Targeted Digital Marketing

Shoppers search for goods and services on Google before visiting stores, and most searches include the words “near me.” Example: a shopper will likely search “shoe store near me.” With that in mind, brick and mortar owners need to invest in good local SEO: have a solid website with your name, address and phone number (NAP) clearly listed, create a Google My Business (GMB) listing with the exact same NAP info, and gather reviews and photos. Then, build “citations” in business directories across the web – these rank you higher in the map pack.

Secondly, connect a Google Ads account to your GMB listing and build a campaign targeting shoe store terms – that way, when people search for “shoe store near me,” they will see your advertisement at the top of the map pack. Dial in your location targeting!

We’ve seen a lot of success following this exact strategy for the Yao Clinic in Denver – local SEO has directly grown in-store traffic.

Adam Gingery, Partner at Majux Marketing

A large portion of consumers actually prefer in-store shopping, but physical retailers have to compete with the constant accessibility of online stores. Oftentimes, physical retailers do not realize they have access to powerful data analytics and marketing tools like geo-framing, IP-targeting, and more that allow them to identify and target shoppers actively looking for products.

For instance, retailers can use geo-framing to observe in-store traffic within their region to gauge which customers are shopping for which products. Once their marketing team has identified these shoppers – the store can then target them and offer them great deals for products they can pick up in their local store immediately.

Eric Grindley, Founder & CEO of Esquire Advertising

Almost everyone has a Gmail account and it’s very easy to set up a Google My Business profile. GMB profiles are usually local and are a great advantage to those having brick and mortar stores. Make use of the post feature it provides and consistently post about the various offers you run. There’s a high possibility of your post being shown to people searching for those products or services. What’s nice is that it allows you to upload photos for each individual post making it quite unique and distinctive. It also allows you to offer a discount code that they can use if they visit your store offline.

Noman Nalkhande, Founder of WP Adventure

AR experiences

While many people have become comfortable shopping online during the pandemic, when things open back up there will be a revival of in-store shopping and retailers should focus on creating amazing experiences to bring customers in.

The use of QR codes to activate Augmented Reality experiences isn’t a new concept, but a great thing to leverage today as it can help personalize the shopping experience while making customers feel safe.

For example, sales representatives can provide in-store shoppers with take-home QR codes, allowing them to use their smartphones to bring the couch or other items they are considering to life, true-to-size, in their own home to ensure it fits and looks good. In-store, QR codes can also be placed next to products so customers can obtain more information while minimizing human contact.

Brands that have been early adopters of AR technology have seen a significant lift in sales for several years. Seek’s customer data shows a 150% increase in conversion and a 25% decrease in returns. Time to make buying decisions has been cut in half.

Jon Cheney, CEO and Co-Founder of Seek

SMS marketing

Brick-and-mortar retailers succeed when they leverage their local presence as a competitive advantage over e-tailers. How? Offer a level of convenience, personalization, and safety that even Amazon can’t. At Switchbird, our retail clients invite customers to order and pay for whatever they need via text message and then arrange quick and streamlined curbside pickup.

Small and medium retailers who’ve been building their SMS contact lists are well-positioned to outperform this holiday season since text is emerging as *the* channel for contactless local commerce during the pandemic. If you provide the tools for potential customers to get answers, product images, pricing, and even order and pay by text, the convenience (and safety) of doing business with your store goes way up. And so do your sales.

Jon Hall, Founder and CEO of Switchbird

In-store discounts

Offering discounts that are available in-store only is a great way to increase sales for brick and mortar businesses. They have to come to your store to get the discount, and they will if it is attractive enough. Next, institute an online pick-up plan, where the customer gets a perk for placing an order online and then coming to the store to pick up the item. Including shipping is a given, but you might want to offer a nominal additional incentive. Finally, leverage social media. That’s where most of your customers are now anyways but if you can come up with a sales campaign or discount offered strictly through social media, not only will you build your following, you’ll hopefully increase sales as well.

David Bakke, Sales Department Head at National Air Warehouse

Pre-order strategy

It’s not a secret that traditional brick and mortar stores are facing one of the worst years and patrons and loyal customers are very cognizant of the struggles that local stores are facing. To combat this a strong communication strategy that enables stores to inject some cash into the business by virtue of asking customers to pre-order popular products by paying for it up front is an extremely sound strategy for the busy shopping season.

Pratik Jain, Founder of OutreachBolt.com

Visual merchandising

You can’t ask how to attract customers in retail store without mentioning the importance of visual presentation of your products and brand overall. Appealing to the eye of the customer is not easy, but utterly necessary. Because the first contact they will have with your brand is through their visual sense. 

For instance, you have to have a visually attractive display in order for them to come in. And even inside, all products must be arranged in a way that catches the attention of the customer.

Speaking of that, for fashion retailers it’s really important that the clothes display enables your customers to find what they are looking for quickly and easily, whether that’s achieved by displaying the clothes by colour, style, or collection.

Nour Eissa, Content Writer at Stacks Market 

Moreover, check with your local city on ordinances for putting out exterior signage (or balloons) to show you’re open. We have noticed that some local communities have relaxed their sign ordinances right now as a way to help small businesses show that they are open.

Alex Membrillo, CEO at Cardinal Digital Marketing Agency

Prep your staff

You can implement all of the ways to increase sales in retail mentioned above, but if your staff is uneducated about the things they sell, it’s all in vain. Customers don’t always know what they need, and they can often have dilemmas, but it’s your staff’s job to give them the right solution.

Most of the store owners don’t prepare their staff and educate them on what they are selling, and therefore they aren’t able to help the customers. This will lead to the customer not trusting the shop and leaving, so it’s important to prepare your staff to help whenever they are needed.

Nour Eissa, Content Writer at Stacks Market

Conclusion

Answering how to get customers in the door and ensure they will spend their money in your store is not achievable without a multi-layered marketing plan. Everybody wants to know how to maximise sales in retail but you can only figure it out through trial and error. One thing is for sure, you have to be consistent in your efforts and measure the results.

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5 unique reasons why is competition good for business

5 unique reasons why is competition good for business

5 unique reasons why is competition good for business

June 29, 2024

Reasons why is competition good for business

Although many entrepreneurs are scared of small business competition, at least in their early days, the benefits of competition in business are too many to ignore. The list of why competition is good for business is endless. And those who fail to see them often become the victims of competition.

So, why is competition good for business?

You may ask yourself why is competition good for business when it’s Doomsday for so many companies. The truth is, small business competition is the driving force. 

Without competition in business, the market will be flat and still. 

The benefits of competition come in many forms, like innovation, creativity, pricing, expertise etc. To understand them better take a deeper look at the following examples of why competition is good for business, provided by entrepreneurs and professionals who were smart enough to take advantage of competition.

Did you know that Adidas and Puma, one of the largest sportswear manufacturers in the world, are a product of direct rivalry?

The importance of competition in business for your online visibility

This may be an unexpected answer to why is competition good for business but the fact is competitive analysis in SEO, gives valuable insights into a number of areas to improve your online visibility.

Using your competitors to discover what content they are creating, the keywords they are targeting and the strategies used to reach potential customers can be valuable.

Another area to improve your website is discovering high authority and relevant backlinks pointing to rival websites. Reverse engineering and replicating these backlinks can improve your online business reach and customer potential.

Ben McLaughlan, Founder of Easy Mode Media

Specialisation is one of the main benefits of competition in business

Without the competition, there wouldn’t be an incentive for specialisation. The rivalry challenges firms to find their niche areas and enhance expertise. That fosters long-term, fruitful ventures that bring real value to the customers. It also organically eliminates the short-sighted businesses driven only by short-term profit. In turn, relationships with clients are not formed out of necessity, but because they are mutually beneficial. That promotes meritocracy and creates more satisfying careers and cooperations.

Rebeca Sena, Consultant of Marketing for Architects & Designers at GetSpace.digital 

As a strategy consultant and executive coach to high-growth tech start-ups, competition is often at the heart of conversations and at the heart of my own practice.

It’s so easy to think that in the absence of competition we would thrive – whether we’re thinking about our business, our colleagues or even a search for a mate. But, competition is both an important indicator and a valuable circumstance.

As an indicator, it tells us something about how much the market demands our product or service. No competition? Either there is no need for what you’re selling, or you’re in the unlikely situation of having a monopoly.

In my own work, there is lots of competition. A CEO seeking a coach or strategy consultant can choose from thousands. But, the fact that there are so many choices has improved my own company. It has required us to hone our expertise, improve our messaging, and offer far better coaching and consulting than we would otherwise. I often send clients to other professionals because they are not the best client for Beyond Better, and we are not the best provider for them. Competition leads to specialization and to higher degrees of excellence.

Amie Devero, President of Beyond Better

Business competition drives improvement

Competition is what makes businesses grow and turn them into the best version of themselves. Being the only one in the market gives you an advantage because people will surely buy from you since you are the only business offering such a product but what’s not good with this set-up is the fact that you only get customers out of their necessity and not because they want it. You may survive for the first months, but it will be hard to thrive when people find an alternative or get tired of sticking with what you offer. 

Competition drives a business to improve and explore its potential in the field. When you don’t feel the threat, you won’t make a move to protect or defend yourself. This goes the same for business. You will only learn to be protective of your assets, your customers, and the business as a whole when you see someone trying to take them over. Moreover it will inspire you to look into other creative ways to make the most of your operations. In many occasions it can be extremely beneficial to form an LLC in order to compete in the country. As long as the competition is healthy, both businesses would benefit. 

Willie Greer, Founder of The Product Analyst

Competition in business forces you out of your comfort zone

Competition is great for business because it forces businesses to be resourceful, nibble, and demonstrate the value of every customer to their business. In highly competitive industries, those mastering all three of these characteristics, combined with efficient operational standards, will have an edge over their competition. Non-competitive environments tend to take much for granted, including those who use their services – the customers. 

Competitive environments demand the very best from those playing in that sandbox. The best product will not guarantee a winning position. And taking one’s eye off the company’s “raison d’être”, is not an option. Those able to respond quickly to changes, leverage technologies and tracked data to innovate quickly, drive loyal customers, and optimize price points by way of efficient operations will stay ahead of others.

Jenn Drakes, Founder of ICANNWORLD INC. 

Having competition forces you to always improve your business and stay on top of the game. There is no time for relaxing because you need to maintain the quality at all times. 

I have seen a lot of business owners who became too comfortable in their positions and didn’t pay much attention to other competitors. Slowly, other companies started taking over the market simply because they were hungry for success. Therefore, as long as you manage to stay up to date with your competition, you won’t risk losing relevance and you may be able to get additional inspiration in the process. 

The more actors there are in the market, the more creative you will have to be, which is great for your business.

Mikkel Andreassen, Customer Experience Manager at Dixa

Customers get the most benefits of competition in business

One thing that I have come to see is that competition ultimately benefits the customer.

In an effort to stay competitive, brands keep their prices within the average price range of the market. There is no undue exploitation of the consumers through charging exorbitantly high prices.

Now, since brands are not competing on price anymore. Brands and market players will adopt a more value-based pricing. In an effort to stand out from competition, brands will bundle in unique offers and services into their products.

Brands or business owners will be more creative and think of out-of-box strategies to capture their customers’ attention. They will work towards understanding the finer details of their target customers – their pain points and triggers for purchase, which can also help discover some new untapped customer needs.

With much value-based offerings, brands and businesses will continuously work towards improving their products. 

So for me, Competition is definitely good!

The customer gets to be the ultimate winner. Not only are they paying for what is appropriate, but they are also getting more value for their money.

Smruti Ghag, Owner of PharmaDigiCoach

Conclusion

Looking at the examples above there’s no doubt that competition is good for business. The benefits of competition in business are mostly felt by the consumers but employees and owners are not left out of the equation as well. It is pointless to talk about small business competition in a negative tone when it’s the cause for constant improvement.

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Running a business with your spouse: A dead-end or golden opportunity

Running a business with your spouse: A dead-end or golden opportunity

Running a business with your spouse: A dead-end or golden opportunity

June 29, 2024

Benefits and drawbacks of running a business with a spouse

Owning a business is a big enough risk in itself but running a business with your spouse can set all alarms off. Is working with your spouse really a bad idea? Or is this another myth of entrepreneurship

We have already prepared you with the costs of doing business, filing taxes for your business for the first time, but what to do when it comes to starting a business with your spouse? Simply stay away from unfounded opinions, especially from those coming from people who have zero expertise in the matter.

To help you make a rational decision if owning a business with your spouse is a journey you want to be a part of, we’ve listed the pros and cons of running a business with your spouse. So, read them carefully and see if the benefits outweigh the negatives for you

Benefits of running a business with your spouse

Someone said to always look on the bright side of life, so let’s start with the benefits of running a business with your spouse. Let’s go through the values it can bring to your business and to your marriage as well.

It can give a new dimension to your marriage

According to many, being business partners as well as spouses can put a whole new dimension on your marriage. Since you both run the business, you are more invested than an employee you could hire. Apart from that, you can completely trust your partner and openly discuss sensitive topics which makes this an ideal partnership. Lastly, growing together professionally is an amazing opportunity you can’t replace with something else.

You improve the financial stability of your family

Owning a business with your spouse provides you the opportunity to share something you are passionate about as well as create something you can leave behind. The entire profit will go to the family so if your business goal is for the financial future of your family, this will be the right way to do it.

Open communication

Open and honest communication is key to every successful partnership, whether a romantic relationship or a business partnership. Being business partners with your spouse will make it easier to adjust since you know each other better, thus, communication will be more honest, which will result in better decision-making for the success of the business. Also, your communication and listening skills will really improve both in working together and on a personal level. 

Always there to support each other

The most valuable benefit of running a business with your spouse is having someone to celebrate successes with and support each other’s failures. You will be always there to support each other, brainstorm new ideas, and work on your projects all day long without getting bored or frustrated.

The challenges of owning a business with your spouse

Running a business with your spouse certainly has its challenges as well. Therefore, to weigh the pros and cons, we are listing the negatives as well. Keep reading to find out why working with your spouse is a bad idea?

No balance between work and personal life

When running a business with your spouse, business and personal can never be separated. Even though, for many, creating their own schedule has proved better for achieving work-life balance, not being able to leave work at work is challenging.

When you start a business, you are prepared to sacrifice things to achieve greatness, but it’s good to know that at least for a few hours a day, you can stay away from work and clear your mind.

But, if you work and live together, it is likely that the stress caused by the business will affect your home life and you’ll find yourself during family time talking about business. It can be hard to distinguish boundaries between family issues and business matters. It may create tension as well and put your business under serious pressure.

Not knowing when to give each other space

Another reason why working with your spouse is a bad idea is not knowing when to give each other space. If you have strengths and weaknesses in different areas, dividing up the work can be challenging as well.

Couples testimonials: 4 tips for successfully running a business with your spouse

Going into business with your spouse has been the reason for ruined marriages and companies many times before. It seems like it’s hard to find the right balance and to separate work from private issues. However, for some of them, it has proven to be quite a success. 

Business certainly won’t get in the way of these romantic partners to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Remember you are both focused on delivering this business together

My wife and I sold our house to set up our business Untamed. For over three years now we have been developing a styling tool designed to let you say goodbye to frizzy hair. 

How is private life affected? We are a startup, everything revolves around our business. Private life needs to be put aside if it does not benefit our business. As a small business person, you are involved in everything from warehousing to sales and marketing. There is no real-time to switch off. This will come later when our dreams and goals are achieved.

Do we always agree on what to do? Yes, I do. As Clare tells me! In all seriousness, there have been little or no arguments so far, we are both focused on delivering this business together. At the end of the day, we make a good team as Clare focuses on products and I concentrate more on the operational side of the business. Clare’s is heavily focused on marketing, and I am focused on manufacturing, distribution, and sales. 

Would we do it again? Of course, working on your own business is liberating, there is pride in building something from the ground up and hopefully making it a success.

Clare and Sean from Untamed

Recognize what each brings and stick to that

My husband and I run a business called Manley Talks. He started the company in 1999 and I did not really become involved until 4 years ago. I had my own career as a teacher and we have 2 children – now grown up.  

The biggest advantage of working together is that we can travel together and we have the flexibility to write our own timetable. The downside – we are very different. Manley is creative, a dreamer has very poor admin skills, and does not think logically. I am the opposite – I like admin! Tidy and logical thought processes. 

However, after the initial blow-ups, we have come to recognize what we each bring to the company. We still have crosswords, and sometimes work talk will dominate – but we are in it together – working towards shared goals, and that’s one of the best things that happened in my life.

Manley and Catherine from Manley Talks

Be supportive

My husband Kelly and I have just set up our own consultancy and it’s the first time we’ve officially worked together. We did work briefly together cleaning shoes at Melbourne Boat Show when we first got together and ever since then we’ve wanted to set up our own business! 

We love working together and find that it plays to both of our strengths as we are so different. 

I was already freelancing, when my husband decided he wanted to set up his own business. So I suggested we work together. I do PR and social media and my husband does web design, so it made sense to join forces and launch a consultancy together. 

It can be hard switching off in the evenings and it’s all too easy to grab the laptop on the sofa and get some work done. 

I’m super chatty and Kelly is more of a thinker so it’s great having such a balance between us. We both encourage each other to do our best and are really supportive, which I think you need when you are a team.

Thankfully, we have never really argued, even though we work together, which surprises a lot of people. I think a lot of people think we are crazy being married and working together but launching Hudia is really exciting and I wouldn’t want to share this new adventure with anyone else.

Kelly and Hester from Hudia

Having complementary skills works best

Jools and I run a small food business making healthy cooking sauces and we also import pasta from southern Italy. As small business owners, and it is just us two, we work very long hours. Our time away from the business is pretty non-existent.

If we aren’t physically working at the commercial kitchen we built ourselves, we are at home either working on social media, eating, or sleeping! The line between our business and our private lives (which I have taken to mean our time away from our business) is very blurred and switching off is almost impossible.

Jools has run his own business for 30 years so has an understanding of how a business works and Karen was in the education sector for 30 years. Hence, because our skills are complementary we work well together. 

Starting a business in your 50s is exhausting! We’ve had to learn skills that come naturally to the younger generation, i.e. the use of social media, but on the upside, the skills we have gained over the years have allowed us to approach the business with a more rounded experience and we have also been able to build our own commercial kitchen.

Karen and Jools from Nowt Poncy

Conclusion

There is not a person who can tell if running a business with your spouse is a good or a bad idea. It works differently for everybody as it depends on the people and their individuality.  Therefore, the only thing you can do is analyze your significant other as you would analyze a potential business partner you just met.

Can their qualities bring good to your business? Will they be supportive and be able to handle taking work at home? If he or she seems like a perfect business partner, the fact that you are married shouldn’t get in the way of building something amazing together.

And the other way around, if you don’t share the same goals about your business, the fact that you can trust him or her more than you trust any other potential partner will probably not be enough to succeed and it may even harm your marriage.

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11 signs your business needs emergency dental care services

11 signs your business needs emergency dental care services

11 signs your business needs emergency dental care services

June 28, 2024

Signs your business needs emergency dental care services

Dental emergencies can strike businesses unexpectedly, causing disruptions and potential financial losses. Just as individuals need urgent care for severe toothaches or injuries, companies may find themselves in situations where immediate dental attention is crucial. Recognizing the signs that your business requires emergency dental care services can help you address issues promptly, minimizing downtime and protecting your employees’ well-being. This article will explore key indicators that suggest your organization needs emergency dental care services.

Acute toothache

A severe toothache is a clear indicator that immediate dental attention is necessary. Pain often signals underlying issues that require professional treatment. Encourage employees to seek help from an emergency dental clinic Queens or their regular dentist promptly, even if over-the-counter pain relief provides temporary respite.

Bleeding gums

Persistent gum bleeding, lasting more than 10-14 days, warrants professional evaluation. It could signify an underlying condition needing prompt intervention. Advise employees to schedule a dental appointment to prevent potential complications.

Dental abscess

A dental abscess involves inflammation, gum swelling, and pus formation, necessitating urgent care. Whether it requires a root canal or extraction, prompt professional treatment is essential to prevent further infection and complications.

Sudden tooth loss

Unexpected tooth loss, whether due to trauma or other reasons, requires immediate dental care. Quick intervention can prevent complications and address any associated injuries to the teeth and jaw.

Broken or chipped tooth

Even if a broken or chipped tooth remains in place, it needs urgent attention. Such damage can lead to further decay and infection if left untreated. Encourage employees to schedule a dental visit to restore the tooth’s integrity and functionality.

Severe swelling of the face or gums

Facial or gum swelling indicates an inflammatory process that needs professional treatment. This is more than a cosmetic issue and requires prompt dental care to address the underlying cause.

Unusual spots or wounds in the mouth

Spots or wounds in the mouth can signal gum disease or other serious conditions. These symptoms should not be ignored and necessitate a professional evaluation to determine the appropriate treatment.

Inability to open the mouth

Difficulty in jaw movements or opening the mouth fully can indicate significant dental issues. Immediate consultation with a dentist is necessary to diagnose and address the problem.

Toothache while chewing

Pain during chewing may indicate inflammation or deep cavities. Promptly addressing this pain with professional dental care can prevent further damage and discomfort for the employee.

Loss of a filling or crown

A lost filling or compromised crown leaves the tooth vulnerable to further damage. Advise employees to seek immediate dental care to restore the tooth and prevent additional complications.

Persistent bad breath

Chronic bad breath can be a sign of underlying dental or gum issues. Professional evaluation and treatment are necessary to address the root cause and restore oral health.

These signs highlight the need for emergency dental care services. By recognizing and addressing these symptoms promptly, your business can provide clients with the timely and effective care they need.

Conclusion

Emergency dental care services are not just about employee well-being; they are a strategic investment in your business’s overall success. By minimizing downtime, maximizing productivity, and demonstrating your commitment to employee health, you can create a more resilient and successful workplace.  Consider partnering with an emergency dental provider to ensure your employees have access to the prompt care they need when unexpected dental emergencies arise.

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