Have you heard the analogy, “winking at a girl in the dark”? Just like a product without marketing - nobody knows about it. It is one thing to have a quality product, and quite another to let customers know about it. Behind every thriving product in the market is a comprehensive marketing strategy that includes a survey to understand the customer’s needs. Remember there are many others with similar products. Remember, you’re not only showcasing your product to potential customers but also convincing them to choose yours over your competitor’s. If you’re unsure about how to differentiate your business from competitors, you can opt for marketing consulting with an expert.
Advertising costs are another common issue. First, you have to consider the return on investment for every penny you spend. If you’re running a small or medium enterprise, chances are you’re on a tight budget. Advertising can be quite expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. We have cost-effective marketing solutions that you can use to boost your market position without overrunning your budget.
Improving Customer Experience
Improving Customer Experience
How do you treat your customers, from the moment they make the initial contact to the point where you convert them into paying clients? Customer experience is just as important as the quality of your product. If anything, the experience a customer has will form their first impression. Before a prospect interacts with your product, they communicate with sales representatives. Then they perceive your brand based on they were treated along the way.
For instance, think of your experience in a restaurant. Even before you taste the food, you already have an opinion of the establishment based on the reception that you receive. Happy customers are an instant ticket for your business to improve its market position.
How do you improve customer experience in your business? There are countless different strategies that you can use. We’ll discuss some of the most effective ones. Let’s start with the speed of your response. How long do you take to respond once a potential client expresses interest or posts a query on your product?
Most business interactions today take place online, specifically on social media. Always respond as fast as possible, even in real-time when possible. If not, you can set up an automated response that lets people know how soon they can expect a response. Something like, “Thank you for getting in touch with us, our customer service agent will be with you at the earliest convenience. We should get back to you in an hour or so.” Social media platforms also track the speed of your response. You may have come across something like “Typically replies within 5 hours” or something similar on social media pages. If you take too long to reply, customers will seek answers elsewhere.
Secondly, collect and act on customer feedback. Many companies ask for customer feedback, but few actually consider it in their decision-making processes. Customers see your product from a different point of view. Unlike you, the business owner who is emotionally attached to your products, customers rate them rationally. Their opinions, ideas, and even complaints can help you develop innovative solutions for your business.
Improving Processes Through Automation
Improving Processes Through Automation
Automation is revolutionizing every area of our lives, and business is no exception. If you’re wondering how to increase market share for your product, you can never go wrong with automation. Process automation utilizes various software solutions to carry out repetitive tasks, allowing employees to concentrate on high-value work. This is one of the major advantages of automation. Once you automate the routine tasks, employees can focus their energy on strategizing, creating, and innovation. If you’re looking for cost-effective marketing strategies, consider using software to send periodic emails and messages to your clients. Marketing automation solutions might be costly, but they save you money in the long run. You can now do with fewer employees and save on the salaries and other resources required to retain employees.
Automation of business processes improves efficiency and streamlines operations. Mistakes become significantly easier to point out and rectify before they affect the business. Working remotely becomes an option once most of the processes are automated. Employees only need to log into the company portal and carry out their tasks no matter where they are.
Customers enjoy the convenience of automation, where they can interact with your business at their convenience. For example, in e-commerce stores, customers don’t need to interact with your employees to make purchases. They can visit your online store at any time, check out your products, and buy what they need. You then get a notification of a complete transaction and track your delivery. Such convenience will keep customers coming back and boost your market position.
Embracing Technology and New Trends
Embracing Technology and New Trends
Technology is evolving every single day. Your business should strive to embrace technology and keep up with new trends as they emerge. Start by defining your core needs as a company. There are so many solutions out there competing for your attention. Picking the right one begins by defining what exactly you want it to do for you. If your goal is to offer cost-effective solutions, research the kinds of solutions designed to achieve just that. By going for targeted technology solutions, you streamline the marketing operations and guarantee a higher return on investment.
Embracing technology also helps you enhance collaboration with colleagues and other partners. Working remotely is now the new norm. Thanks to platforms like Zoom, you can stay in touch with everyone involved in the project. Travel restrictions are restricted in some parts of the world, and nobody knows how much longer. We now have people holding entire conferences online. Make sure your business keeps up with such new trends before it gets left behind. As they say, “you snooze, you lose.” If you can’t figure out how to take full advantage of technology for your business, you can opt for strategy consulting with the experts to put matters into perspective.
Technology also makes work fun and vibrant. As mentioned earlier, most repetitive tasks are automated. Employees would otherwise have to deal with these monotonous daily tasks, which breeds lethargy and affects productivity. Technology is hardly ever static. There will always be new technology to explore. Some people are followers of technology, keeping their ears on the ground for new relevant trends. Others are creators who employ technology to offer solutions that the market needs. Either way, technology keeps them bubbling with ideas. Customers love businesses that are always coming up with new ideas. With so many companies in every industry, using targeted technology can help you stand out from the rest.
Innovative Workplace: Improve Employee Relations
Innovative Workplace: Improve Employee Relations
What has innovation got to do with employee relations? Plenty! Innovation stems from creativity, and creativity can only thrive in a positive working environment with favorable employee relations. Employee relations refer to the interactions of employees amongst themselves and their bosses.
The first step in ensuring happy customers is to enhance your communication network. Let the employees know whom they should report to if they have any complaints, which are common among workers. If you do not create a platform for workers to report their grievances, they vent amongst themselves. The disgruntled ones influence even those who were previously content with their job. The resultant poor attitude affects productivity, and your brand ultimately suffers.
Consider offering your employees reasonable perks and flexibility. The dynamics of the workplace are shifting. The rigid 9-5 schedules are giving way to less strict arrangements. The COVID-19 period taught us that workers could work remotely with satisfactory results. Unless you’re part of the service industry where workers must be physically present, consider allowing your employees to work from home on various days. They can utilize the time they’d otherwise spend in traffic to get more work done.
Avoid micro-managing every small task. Nobody likes to work with a manager who is constantly breathing down their necks. For instance, let’s say you have a company offering marketing operations consulting. You’ll be formulating marketing policies for various companies. Once you agree on what needs to be done, you would assign the separate tasks to individual employees and set a deadline. After that, you’d be able to let them work at their own time, and pace provided the deadline is adhered to. Giving your employees such freedom takes undue pressure from their shoulders to work without stress. Once you take care of your employees, they transfer the same energy to your customers. With happy customers, your market share will be on an upward trajectory.
