Entrepreneurs, leaders and managers know that to achieve success, a business needs a foundation of more than a vision, ambition and talent.
To maximize the potential of your business, check to see if you’ve tapped into the following areas:
Software Applications — for efficiency
Implementing software into your business model is an upfront investment that can maximize time and cut costs in the long run. Also, for a small business that is still establishing itself, marketing is a top priority. With fierce email and direct mail marketing, businesses actively seek to acquire increasing leads and sales. USPS address verification software can help eliminate the monetary and timely inefficiencies, such as sending mail to wrong or poorly formatted addresses. Address verification can also provide businesses with demographic, geographical and attitudinal data about customers, which can help you tailor your campaigns to meet specific consumer needs. If you’re a startup, you may also lack a sufficient bookkeeping system. Intuit QuickBooks is a dependable online accounting system that can secure and track expenses and payroll.
Remote Working — for diversity, productivity & re-focusing
Ever since Yahoo! decided to eliminate its telecommuting policy, the topic of telecommunication and remote working has sparked heated dialogue. According to WSJ.com, Yahoo! believes that “working remotely has some serious downsides.” Despite presumable “communication gaps” and sacrificed “speed and quality” that Yahoo! has experienced, Google and Facebook actually “have informal telecommuting policies.” Google and Facebook inarguably are conglomerates that ambitious small businesses should mimick. Disputing Yahoo!’s move, “telecommuting equates to working more hours”— five to seven more hours during the workweek, according to a study from The University of Austin.
David Fullerton essentially agrees, and advocates remote work within his company StackExchange because it does make “people extremely productive.” In a private office with flexible hours and a short commute, “people just tend to put in more hours and work more productively.”
Fullerton adds that the management of employees who work remotely focuses more on quality and quantity of output than physical office attendance. Emulate StackExchange’s effective remote work policy by utilizing Google Hangouts, chat, email, Trello and Google docs. Keep in mind, even just once a week, work-from-home days can freshen minds and provide a day for employees to refocus and problem solve free of distractions, which is why tredUP CEO James Reinhart enforces it.
Social Networking — for marketability & online awareness
If your business isn’t actively engaged in social media, you’re selling your business short of expansive, lucrative marketing possibilities. Social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and the photo-sharing app Instagram can help establish a brand and promote products and services in real time. Mashable shares a post from American Express OPEN Forum saying brands that have successfully tapped into social networking do it by connecting with consumers’ passions and interests, entertaining followers with personality and providing valuable, useful information.
Messages and content your business wants to promote is free range and unrestricted. Personally connect with loyal customers by sharing inspirational stories and profiles of employees. Drive traffic to your website or increase newsletter signups by hosting a free giveaway or promoting a contest. Market new products and visions by uploading sharable, optimized pins on Pinterest. As you build your online social networking brand, you’ll gain credibility and a prevalent position in the social media landscape.