Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Don’t just take an inventory…. Let it take you!

Friday, September 9th, 2016

inventory-audit

Inventory Audit

Inventory audit is an accounting method practiced to keep track the product and company’s merchandise. To avoid inventory problems and shortfalls it is necessary to perform an audit on regular basis to gain valuable information.

Usually the word inventory is dreaded word and it is taken as a lot and lot of counting. But businesses consider integrating their inventory at the end of every month some of their most important functions to make sure that the stock is enough to fulfill the future demands of supply.  The inventory audit is important to continue business smoothly and successfully. Having a tight control on stocked units means there is more control on the company’s Cash Flow.

“Inventory is money sitting around in another form.” Rhonda Adams, USA Today.

Inventory audit is crucial

A lot of cash is tied up in the inventory of a business. That’s why inventory audit is crucial, it can make or break the business.

1-Purchasing and Selling

An inaccurate and late inventory assessment cause a business to lose money. Overstating inventory will overstate profits and can increase the potential taxes of the firm. Buying and selling decisions should be made on error free information or it can have adverse effect on the profit.

2-Analytical Decisions

Proper analytical decisions are to be made for the products to meet your sales goals for the present and future season. For example if you are dealing in a product that has an expiration date like food then it will be problematic if you don’t sell it on time. Inventory audit is necessary to prevent unnecessary and fatal spoilage.

3-Avoidance from Dead Stock

To manage your inventory better is to better avoid stock that is gone out of style, out of season or expired. Discarding the stock that can no longer can be sold and gives you room for new stock. Through periodical inventory audits you can stock up on more of your top sellers.

4-Save Storage Cost

Stocking too much product at once or stocking too many units that are difficult to move will drive up your storage cost. To avoid this, make a list of your variable costs that are depending on how much you sell when you are performing an audit.

5-Cash Flow Management

Inventory audits, along with saving your money, also improve the cash flow of your company. Through regular evaluation of money for products you have paid for and product you are going to sell you will have a sound knowledge of your financial stream. It affects both sales and purchasing by stating how much you can sell and what you need to buy.

If you have a solid inventory system that you must make a regular inventory audit to make sure not to lose sales but also you can project your buying plans along with the associated cash.

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Great Ideas for Promoting Locally

Monday, September 5th, 2016

promotion-small-business

We all know that internet is now a powerful source of creating potential customers for small businesses but some still operate on a local level. Here are some hot tips on how to get new customers right on your doorstep.

Public Relations

First thing to remember about PR is that it does not drive an immediate result. You don’t need a separate marketing team for you PR objectives, just keep in touch with your local newspaper, maintain your relationship with media persons and journalists, and distribute a press release on weekly basis. PR events can influence the effects of promotion programs. Buyers and end users can be entertained with free promotional samples.

Local Directories                        

One of the best ways that a local business can be found online is by adding your company into the top online business directories. There are many popular online directories such as Yellow Pages, LinkedIn, Yelp and Foursquare. You should enter your details on all of them to get a maximum opportunity to be found by the customers who are actually looking for your services.  Also sponsor a football match or any other sport event where team wears your logo on their shirts so that their community and friends will become your fans as well.

Donate your time by participating in services clubs or chamber of commerces; offer to be speaker at community events and centers. Donate your products to schools or churches and you will be repaid with significant amount of customers.

Website and Social Media Pages

These days, every size of business must own an attractive website that clearly describes your business and should be easy to find and navigate. While building a website, focus on the quality of your content and communicate your brand identity with an optimal search engine strategy.

Also use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram etc. These platforms let buyers engage in your business by giving reviews and feedback through comments and they can ask question related to your product which you can respond quickly.

Blogging

Great Ideas for Promoting LocallyBlogging is another chance of being noticed and helps in SEO because you can make use of keywords and tags in your in your blog posts. By adding new and quality content, your website will be crawled regularly. It also provides an opportunity to interact with your readers by letting them add comments related to your blog and giving their reviews. Also add social sharing buttons so that followers can easily share the informative and attractive posts and you can have more people to discover and reach your business.

Video Marketing

Video has a potential to grab the maximum attention of the mass of audience to potentially drive the lead. Youtube is one of the world’s largest video sharing websites where you can create your own channel to upload your videos.  It can be beneficial to forego traditional videos of your product and service and instead use animations, colors and effects along with link of your product.

So what are you waiting for? Follow these tips and start promoting your business. For more information just stay tuned.

 

Invoice Essentials You MUST Know

Friday, September 2nd, 2016

 Invoice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT IS AN INVOICE?

An invoice is the legal financial slip or document that is mostly used to keep record of transaction within a company. It is crafted using company’s name, color and logo to be consistent with other branding. It contains list of information such as code, name, date, amount etc.

Every company generates an invoice for protection purposes of both parties. For the growth of your business you need to send an invoice to your costumers to get paid on time. On the other hand it gives an impression on your costumers that you are keeping record of everything and you can get back to them at anytime. It is is a firm proof or evidence of any transaction.

Care should be taken while generating an invoice. The order and detail of information about costumer’s purchase should be taken into account; it should also contain these 3 essential points:

1) Complete product/service details:

How to know that you paid the right amount for what you ordered?

Let’s say your invoice doesn’t give complete information about your purchase and the invoiced amount is double the amount you expected. Would you trust that company to send you more product?

Complete information and details are necessary to be included in the invoice. It is important to cover everything so it doesn’t cause confusion for your customers. On a good invoice, all the goods/products are clearly and individually mentioned on it with the corresponding cost and amount.

2) Order or service delivery time:

The date/time is very important to be mentioned because it determines how long a costumer has to wait for the delivery of a service or order. An exact date and time of invoice keep record  when the invoice was generated or the time and the date of delivery. It ensures that costumers received his order at specified time.

3) A direct number in case of help:

An immediate contact number is provided at the end of invoice for the costumers if they are not satisfied with the product or if they have any query related to it. It shouldn’t necessarily be your company’s main phone line number but it should specifically be of an employee dealing with such queries.

Do keep in mind that satisfaction of your costumers is extremely important for business. You have to set up and maintain the reputation of your company! So it should not be compromised.

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Why you need to identify your customers NOW

Friday, September 2nd, 2016

Valuable-Customers

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s easier to love a brand when the brand loves you back. – Seth Godin

Successful businesses are those who identify their valuable customers, build strong, long-term relations with them, and follow through with them properly. The more you know about your customers, the easier it becomes to have the opportunity to sell them new promotions and offers. Identifying those who are best fit for your business priorities will give you a clear picture of your most valuable customers.

This blog outlines that how you should identify your most valuable customers and how to attract new customers by providing value-added services to the on-board customers.

Customers Persona

Customer’s persona is the illustration of your ideal valuable customers with their demographic data and psychological motivations; basically, a complete profile of the person. It helps you to understand the needs, behavior, concerns, likes, dislikes, preferences and expectations of the customer. After which you can tailor your messages, content and services to their specific interests.

Profiling your customers will give you an idea that how to make new valuable customers with similar profiles.

Type of Customer

How big is their operation?

What is his industry about?

For whom does he work for?

Sorting out the type of the customer is important. Type will vary according to the profile of the customer. Customer can be an individual, a group, a new startup, a small enterprise or maybe a big one. Specifying the type will let you more organized and prepared about the demands and expectations of your valuable customers.

Detailed Feedback

You should try to figure out what they think about your product and services. It’s worth getting a feedback from them on regular basis. By obtaining their reviews you can get an idea that how to improve your existing product and how to come up with your next product which can appeal them. James Cash Penney says

“The well-satisfied customer will bring the repeat sale that counts.”

User feedback and reviews can increase conversions. They can remove doubts your other potential valuable customers may have about your product and guide in making a selection among your products as customers believe other customers more than the sales or marketing reps.

Helping Return Benefits

Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They DO expect you to fix things when they go wrong. – Donald Porter

It’s not enough that you sold your item and the business is done. You have to make sure that your product is functioning right after the purchase. If they are still not satisfied, replacing it with a new one may remove their doubts. Be always ready to help your customers and to resolve their issues immediately. Do more than what is required of you and your customers will feel valuable and will come to you again and again.

Why Following Up Could Be The MOST Important Part Of Your Selling Strategy.

Thursday, September 1st, 2016

follow up

“I just heard, the customer gave the go-ahead. Yeah, tell the boss; let’s go celebrate!”  – Every Sales Guy at Some Point

Not so fast. Closing the deal is actually the beginning.

You don’t close a sale; you open a relationship if you want to build a long-term, successful enterprise.” Patricia Fripp

It’s obvious sales people are more focused on the closing of a deal and getting commission, but a satisfied customer is a gateway to your future sales. So you also need to follow up after the deal is made.

Happy customers become a source of additional value after the first deal. For boosting revenues and profits the on-boarding of customer’s satisfaction is essential. Without a follow up it is quite challenging to estimate your customer’s satisfaction.

Customers need help after closing the deal but are sometimes reluctant to interact with you as they purchased the product and they don’t always understand it comes with support. To create brand loyalty, you always need to be there for your customer. To follow up, make a phone call or send an email to inquire about the product and if they need any guidance. By providing free help you are giving a reason for the customer to make your brand their first choice.

I think that by now everyone knows today’s customer is highly connected through social media, feedback sites and review portals. Give a good experience along with additional values and care to share it in their community. Through well versed follow up you will create a brand advocate who is going to convince his friends that your company gives matchless services.

THIS is the single primary reason follow up is an essential spice in your presentation. Follow up has the most direct impact on your current and future revenue. During the start of your business swift and adequate follow up in your marketing agenda can provide support to make effective deals on long term basis.

Keep Calm and Follow Up!

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