Business Tips - Vyde

How to Stay Organized on Your Business Calendar

It’s all too easy to let our day jobs rule our lives. With technology at our fingertips we can constantly be in contact – checking emails, answering texts, and fielding phone calls. Our work schedules quickly feel up with business meetings, and collaborating with teams on projects, new product launches and much, much more. As small business owners, we’re guardians of our time and our success and the two are definitely linked. Today we’re sharing our top tips for keeping organized when it comes to your business calendar.

Make an Optional Calendar

Life is busy. We say no to lots of things… even good things that might help us take our personal and professional lives to the next level. The reason? Time. But if you’re like us, you’ve had the occasional afternoon open up and you’re left coming up with what to do or worse, wishing you could remember the dozens of tasks that you’ve been meaning to get done.

You’ve probably seen on your own digital calendar that you can set up multiple calendars and have them appear at a click of a button a master calendar. Events are color coded and it’s not only pretty to look at but effective. That said, it can still cause a lot of stress and an over-programmed life. When you say no to an event or project that you’d like to say yes to, slip it onto a “Optional Calendar” that way you’ve got the information at hand when your afternoon seems to open up and you’ve got free time you didn’t know you had. And you can shut down the regret of having to say no by simply turning the view option on that calendar off. With an Optional Calendar, you can spend the time doing more rather than figuring out what to do with your free time.

Work in Blocks of Time

You’ve heard of batching tasks and we’ve even talked about automating processes, but there’s something to be said for blocking off chunks of time so you can hunker down and get things done. You’ve probably heard of many an entrepreneur or CEO that hits the office early so that they get a jump on the day – they’ve scheduled blocks of time for answering emails or brainstorming projects – often those things that aren’t easy to accomplish amidst a dozen interruptions.

Take a look at your schedule. Can you move your meetings all to the afternoon so you’ve got time in your office to take care of daily tasks? Maybe it’s best to schedule out reading and answering emails before 10 AM. No matter what you do, look for tasks that you do often or that require similar circumstances (like peace and quiet to return phone calls, etc.) and then group like tasks together.

Prep for Tomorrow

Half the battle of a successful day is being ready for what it holds. Some of the most successful small business owners we know make it a habit to spend the last few minutes of the day getting ready for the next. So what is it that they do?

Some review their schedule for the next day? Others write the last few emails and hit send, others clear off their desk, close out of tabs in their internet browser, and scribble down a short list of to do’s so they can hit the ground running. The best way to figure out what to do to prepare for the next day is to take note of what things you’re doing first thing in the morning – then add those tasks to your end of day and you’ll start the next day ahead.

Prioritize Tasks & Do What You Can, Now

The almighty to do list can get awfully long, so make sure you prioritize it once you’ve created it. Most efficiency experts say that planning to accomplish 3 major tasks each day is a definite win. But what about all the little things you put on your list – where do those fit in? Instead of pushing them into tomorrow’s schedule stop and do them now.

Don’t wait to respond to that employee that needs an answer tomorrow – craft a short response and send it now. Once you prioritize your tasks you’ll be able to see which items need more thought and which ones can easily be accomplished or eliminated completely.

So what are some of the ways you stay organized in your business calendar and life? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below.

FAQs: Staying Organized on Your Business Calendar

1. What is an optional calendar, and how can it help me stay organized?

An optional calendar is a secondary calendar where you can add events or tasks you would like to do but are not essential. This helps you avoid over-scheduling and provides a list of productive activities when you find unexpected free time.

2. How can blocking time improve my productivity?

Blocking time involves scheduling dedicated chunks of time for specific tasks. This minimizes interruptions, helps maintain focus, and allows you to complete similar tasks more efficiently, improving overall productivity.

3. What are some tips for preparing for the next day?

Spend the last few minutes of your day reviewing the next day’s schedule, sending any final emails, clearing your desk, and making a to-do list. This preparation ensures you start the next day with a clear plan and focus.

4. How should I prioritize tasks on my to-do list?

Focus on accomplishing three major tasks each day. Prioritize by importance and urgency, and try to handle quick tasks immediately to keep your list manageable and prevent procrastination.

5. Why is it important to respond to small tasks immediately?

Addressing small tasks immediately prevents them from piling up and becoming overwhelming. It also ensures timely communication and keeps your workflow smooth and efficient.

4 Ways to Raise Your Small Business Credit Score

When it comes to test scores, salaries, batting averages, or pretty much anything other than golf scores – the higher the better. The same goes for credit scores. And a good credit score means a lot if you’re starting or running a business.

Why Your Credit Score Matters

A credit score is a way that financial institutions and lenders attempt to predict your future financial behavior. They look at your financial past- what types of loans you’ve taken out, if you quickly repay or default on a loan altogether, and if you’re consistent in your payments and even pay on time. Then based on their assessment they assign you a score between 850 and 300.

The higher the score the better of an investment you are, so your ability to take out new loans or work with lenders with better rates increases.

This can be essential if you’re looking to start a business or expand the business you already have. It even can come into play if you’re sourcing large amounts of raw materials or other resources for your business – many wholesalers are more likely to extend larger tabs to clients with higher credit scores because they know they’ve got a good financial history.

How Do You Increase Your Small Business Credit Score

Remember, you didn’t get your current credit score overnight, so raising your credit score isn’t going to happen that fast either, but you can always do things to help it improve.

Take a look at your current credit report – review you’re current credit report and look for areas that might include false information or items that have a negative impact. Verify your story to the best of your ability by collecting related paperwork and any bank or credit card statements. Then contact the credit agency and ask to work through these concerns.
Pay on time. Every time – Making sure you can pay your bills and that you do so on time is the best way to improve your business credit score. To do so, consider setting things on autopay, paying a little extra each time so you’ve built up a reserve and setting reminders on your phone so you can check to see that you’ve paid in full by the required monthly deadline.
Pay Down Your Debt – for most individuals and small businesses this can be a monumental task, but it is possible and it makes a great impression. If you’re looking to acquire a loan or are putting things on credit, go into it with a plan on how to pay it off. If you’re stuck with debt, take a look and see if you can consolidate it by using a debt snowball method. No matter what, pay the minimums so that your current schedule credit score doesn’t take a hit.
Improve your Credit Utilization Ratio– lenders take into consideration just how much you utilize your credit. The higher your utilization rate the greater the risk of not being able to repay your debts. So work to keep your credit utilization rate low, preferably under 30%. Lenders want to see that you can properly manage your debts and are much more willing to extend credit if there is a lower risk.

No matter what don’t give up. Pick a strategy and stick with it. Don’t get frustrated when you don’t get immediate results – like we said before, you didn’t get your current credit score overnight and you won’t undo it that fast either. Making wise financial decisions consistently will not only improve your credit score but also help your financial standing overall.

FAQs About Credit Scores for Small Businesses

1. Why is a good credit score important for my business?
A good credit score is crucial as it influences your ability to secure loans, negotiate better interest rates, and even establish relationships with suppliers. Lenders view higher scores as a sign of financial responsibility, making you a more attractive investment.

2. How is my credit score determined?
Your credit score is calculated based on your financial history, including the types of loans you’ve taken, your repayment history, and how consistently you make payments on time. Scores range from 300 to 850, with higher scores indicating better creditworthiness.

3. What steps can I take to improve my credit score?
To improve your credit score, start by reviewing your credit report for inaccuracies. Make timely payments, reduce your overall debt, and maintain a low credit utilization ratio (ideally under 30%). Consistent positive financial behavior will gradually enhance your score.

4. How long does it take to see improvements in my credit score?
Improving your credit score takes time and consistent effort. While some changes can lead to quick improvements, many factors will require ongoing attention. Be patient and stick with your strategies for the best long-term results.

5. What is the credit utilization ratio, and why does it matter?
The credit utilization ratio measures how much of your available credit you’re using. Lenders prefer a low utilization rate, ideally under 30%, as it indicates that you manage your debts responsibly. A lower ratio can positively impact your credit score and increase your chances of securing new credit.

Save Time & Stress Less – Process Automation

Entrepreneurs and small business owners are often one-man shows. But just because your headcount is small doesn’t mean that your business has to be. In fact, you can save time, stress less and earn more by spending a little bit of time thinking through your daily tasks and implementing process automation where you can. For many small business owners, process automation sounds like something that’s only for large corporations or businesses that have exponential growth – but we’ve seen that process automation doesn’t just cut down on stress and save time, it also helps businesses grow – and grow quickly.

What Process Automation Can Do For Your Business

Just so that we’re clear, they type or process automation we’re talking about is anything that brings structure to repeated tasks or eliminates additional work. If you’ve created your business from the ground up, you probably either remember the days (or are still in them) where you’re crafting the same emails over and over, or feeling like you’re reinventing the wheel for every client, new product launch or customer service issue. The start up phase of any business is so focused on bringing in enough cash to support the business that we spend a lot of time spinning our wheels.

Why Process Automation Helps You Grow?

The simple answer – it frees up your time so you can focus on other tasks. But it also helps in a bunch of other ways. Process automation can save you money. For example, we have lots of clients who tell us that they’re super busy and need to hire an assistant. But when we look at their books, we can see that they might not be able to pay an assistant and that the income their brining in doesn’t seem to match up very well with the hours they tell us their spending. Hiring an assistant seems like a great way to reduce stress, but it could actually increase it. Instead, we recommend taking a brief look at the work you’re completing every day. Are you still drafting out customer service emails when needed or do you have a file of templates that you can tweak as needed? Do you process and package orders individually or do you batch tasks? You can see that answering a few simple questions and then putting together a little bit of a structured plan can quickly convince you that you actually don’t need an assistant you need process automation.

How to Get Started with Process Automation

We touched on this slightly above – the first step is to stop and look at what you’re doing over and over again. If you feel like you’re having to recreate the wheel, chances are you’ve got an area of your business that could benefit from process automation. Before you rush out and buy new equipment or purchase expensive software – make sure you stop and see if there isn’t an easy fix. Here’s our short list of process automation ideas that don’t require spending a bunch of additional money, but rather just a little bit of time:

emails – dig through your sent email box and pull out those you’ve already drafted and that seem to need to be written again and again. Make a file of email templates, even save them in your drafts folder right there in your inbox and then make sure to just cut and paste and tweak as necessary. Even if you only have a template or two, you’ll be saving yourself at least a half hour each day.
batching tasks – it’s one of the first things people suggest but also one of the last suggestions people actually take. But the time you can save by batching tasks is amazing. And it also simplifies your work day so that you’re not stressing about the fact that you didn’t get much done. Take 20 minutes and brainstorm all the areas of your business. You may only answer customer service emails during lunch time, and spend mornings picking product, packaging and getting it ready to ship. If you find yourself constantly brainstorming ideas for marketing or new products – schedule time to do it once a week rather than every day.
bring in technology only when it’s needed – it’s true, tech and additional software can help streamline a process, but learning that software or implementing it can take time. If it’s a good trade off, then by all means bring on the tech, but if it’s going to take longer to learn/implement than the time it will save – it might not be worth it, at least not at this point. We find that lots of our clients have purchased software in hopes to save a buck and DIY their own taxes and monthly bookkeeping – we’ve also found that most save more money by outsourcing it to us than they ever did trying to do it themselves with a fancy software program. This isn’t always the case, but hiring an expert or specialist might be a better fit so don’t rule it out before you’ve checked into your options.
buy in bulk & subscribe if possible for repeat purchases – when your business was new, you might have saved a buck or two by buying only what you needed right then. But a great way to cut cost and time is to buy in bulk. Packaging materials or raw material you use for product/services is a great place to put this method to practice. If you’re constantly shipping goods, consider purchasing larger quantities of packing material from a supplier rather than picking up just what you need at a retail store. If you’re a service based business requires that you keep certain tools or equipment on hand (like if you’re window washer and you know you’re going to need cleaner, rags and window cleaning tools) plan to not only buy in bulk but utilize a subscription option for your products if it’s available so you don’t even have to spend time filling your shopping cart with the needed products each month.
keep a history – writing down how you do certain tasks while you do them will help you figure out what processes need or could be automated. It will also help you streamline how you attack events that happen over and over again in your business. Product launches, marketing campaigns, seasonal tasks – they’re all important but they might happen more infrequently than the day to day tasks. Keeping a history of what you did and then referring to it when it’s time to do it again will help save time and even help you pinpoint areas where you want to improve.

So what areas of your business could use a little streamlining? We’d love to hear what areas you’re going to add process automation to first!

Top 3 Business Strategies That Will CHANGE The Way You Do Business

There are many different types of consultants. Business, IT, HR, Marketing, etc. IT consultants can fix hard drives, cloud problems; HR consultants can protect you from wrongfully terminating an employee and teach you how to hire in order to get the best candidate for the job; Marketing Consultants can help you launch a product. Business Consultants offer strength in business strategy and an overall picture. Without a doubt, professional Business Consultants help clients by utilizing at least some form of these 3 analytical assessment tools: SWOT, SLEPT, and Value Chain. Below, we discuss what these are, and how YOU can start streamlining your business for success today!

SWOT (Inside your company: Strengths, Weaknesses; Inside Your Industry: Opportunities, Threats)

This analysis is often the hardest for an owner/manager to do on their own company as we are either our company’s harshest critic, or biggest fan. This analysis asks what are your company is good at and what could your company improve upon. It also asks what opportunities industry has to offer, and what threats do working inside that industry entail?

Challenge: Always remember strengths, especially when you are feeling like you just can’t get ahead. Never forget that weaknesses can become strengths when you identify and fix them. Take advantage of the opportunities in the industry you are in. Turn your threats into opportunities by doing what it takes to become first to market or research to fix the mistakes other companies have made launching their product ahead of yours.

SLEPT (Inside your Industry-Social, Legal, Environmental/Economic, Political, and Technological factors)

This tool helps to analyze the industry within which you are competing, in order to find Opportunities and Threats in the areas listed above. For example social trends play a huge role in opportunities available in an industry just based on what large percentage of purchasing target markets are wanting to pay for. Legal generally has to do with threats due to regulations of the area or industry. Environment and Economy play a huge role in whether a product or service is sustainable or affordable and if that happens to be an opportunity or a threat to the position your company is in. Politics plays a large role in what is available as tax rates either skyrocket or are given a break to business owners. Technology is either a disruption or offers an opportunity base on what industry, skills, and commitments are needed.

Challenge: Taking 5-10 mins per day for a week to read a few top articles/posts on what is going on in the world that affects your industry. This can be immensely important to staying ahead of competitors.

Value Chain-(inside your company)

This one goes a little more in-depth than the others do. It focuses on the Support Activities (what helps the business run: Infrastructure, HR, Technology, Inventory) and what’s called Primary Activities (minutia, details of how the business runs: what happens when stuff comes in and out of the company, how the product is created, what marketing and sales pieces are applied, how customers are served).

Challenge: When you are able to analyze what you are doing well and what you are struggling with in each of those areas, the next step is to take a look at the rest of your industry and even other industries. Do they have ways they have fixed those issues you have? Is there another way to perform business or support the company that will lead to lower costs and higher return on investment? Once you have made these considerations, take a look at 1-3 items your company can improve on. Open up ideas to the members of the company and get some cross functional answers. Implement changes in a steady and consistent manner.

These tools should be performed biannually, scheduled just before the annual company meeting and the 6-month check in meeting. It’s also a good idea to follow up on progress of the changes at quarterly meetings. As with any business strategy, it’s best to get a professional outside opinion, and have courage to follow through consistently on your specific goals.

How to Get a Tax ID for Your Small Business

What is a Tax Identification Number?

A Tax Identification number is the same as an Employer Identification Number (EIN). The IRS uses this number to identify your business entity, just like they use your Social Security Number to identify you for your personal taxes. Applying for a Tax ID is simple and can be done online. Don’t be fooled by companies offering to file for a Tax ID for you – it’s a simple process you can accomplish on the IRS website for free and most people don’t need any help to complete the application.

Do You Need a Tax Identification Number?

Figuring out if you need a Tax ID is just about as simple as applying for one. The IRS says that you need a Tax ID if:

your business operates as a corporation or or partnership
you have employees
you without taxes on income others than wages paid to a non-resident alien
you have a Keogh Plan (tax-deferred pension plan); or
you’re involved with organizations including:
- trusts, except certain grantor-owned revocable trusts, IRAs, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Returns
- estates
- real estate mortgage investment conduits
- non-profit organizations
- farmers’ cooperatives
- plan administrators

In addition to filing taxes you may also need an EIN to open a bank account or apply for a credit card in the name of your business. Even if you’re business entity is currently a sole proprietorship you can still get an EIN and use it the same way, although it’s only required for those businesses that fall under the details listed above.

What You’ll Need to Apply & What to Do With Your EIN

Now that we’ve established what an EIN is and if you need one, lets talk about the nuts and bolts of securing your EIN from the IRS. You can apply for an EIN by fax, phone or email but the quickest way, and the way the IRS prefers, is online. The process will take only a few minutes, but you’ll need to have the answers to a few questions beforehand:

the type of EIN are you applying for – sole proprietorship, corporation, LLC, partnership or estate
the reason why you are applying for an EIN – it can be as simple as starting a new business or banking purposes or any number of other reasons
your legal name and Social Security Number

With the online application you’ll have access to your newly generated EIN as soon as you submit your application. The IRS provides an official document that you’ll download to your computer – make sure to save this digitally as well as print a paper copy to save with your other business records.

How to Offer Health Insurance as a Small Business Owner

When it comes to running your own business – the sky is the limit. You’re in charge of your hours, the size of your business, how much you bring in as profit and whether or not you bring on employees. But even though the list of perks is long, there are parts to running your own small business that seem difficult , time consuming, and complex. Offering health insurance to your employees or even making sure you have your own health insurance because you self-employed can seem daunting. Even though it takes some time to complete, offering health insurance as a small business owner brings benefits in many ways and is well worth the effort.

Do You Need to Provide Health Insurance as a Small Business Owner?

When it comes right down to it, offering health insurance to your employees is required by law if the size of your company meets the laws specifications. At the point of this writing, whether you feel like you’re a big company or not, you are required to provide health insurance to your employees if you have 50 or more full-time employees or the equivalent. You can search for a company to provide health insurance for your small business on your own or work with a broker. Using a broker can save you time and they can help you complete the paperwork required and provide you with all the ins and outs of the plans you’re considering. however, brokers earn their living by making a commission and you’ll be footing that bill – it’s well worth it if you’re looking to make the process as easy and painless as possible but worth considering going it alone if you’re working on a budget.

Finding insurance for your business will take some money in addition to time and effort but there are benefits that come by offering health insurance to your employees.

What You’ll Need to Apply for Health Insurance Coverage Plans

Apply for a health insurance plan for your small business is similar to applying for a business loan -the company requires documents and paperwork to complete the process. Gathering these items up in advance will make the application process easier, so here’s what we suggest you gather to get started:

employer name
business address (needs to be a physical street address, not a PO Box)
list of employees to be covered (if you’re covering one full-time employee, you’re required to cover them all)
Tax ID or Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Business start date
Payroll records (this will prove that you pay out salaries over $50,000 as stated in the law and also will help come tax time)
Industry Code (SIC)

You’ll also want to pull together information on your employees because you’re looking for group coverage. The health insurance company uses this information to decide on premiums and other costs to match your employee risk levels. Information to include here are:

names
ages
number of dependents
zip codes

How to Figure Out How Much Coverage You Need

Once you’ve decided if you need to legally offer health insurance, whether or not to use a broker, and have gathered up the necessary documents and information, you’ll also want to spend a few minutes looking at your financials to be sure you know how much you can spend. Now is a great time to check in with your accountant or bookkeeper if you’re not sure how much money you’ve got available for this. If you’re going it alone, you’ll need to consider the number of employees you have, how much you pay them, and how much you can afford to pay per employee each month for health insurance. The answer varies based on company but if you’ve got more questions, we’re more than happy to answer them.

How Offering Health Insurance Coverage Benefits You as a Small Business Owner

We’ve given you the details of why and how and now it’s time to let you know how offering health insurance as a small business owner can bring you big benefits. Here’s our list:

you can qualify for a tax credit(up to 50% of your contributions based on the specifics of your business) – to do so you need:
- fewer than 25 full-time employees or the equivalent based on working hours ( this is where paying attention to those that work part-time comes into play
- pay salaries of less than $50,000 per full-time employee, on average, each year
- front at least 50% of the premium cost of the small business health insurance
you can write-off health insurance premiums you pay as tax deductions – saving even more money
with a little bit more paperwork, you can set up your small business health insurance so that your employee can pay their portions of the premium with pre-tax money – that means they save cash and are more satisfied making it a win-win!
employees that have health insurance are more likely to go to the doctor when they’re sick and get yearly checkups – they’re healthier and that means less sick days and more productive employees

Now it’s time to start shopping for health insurance plans!

How to Define A Niche Market & Why It’s the Best Thing for Your Small Business

Odds are that even though you run a small business, you’re not a professional marketer or some type of marketing guru – unless, your business is marketing and then this post probably doesn’t apply to you. But for the rest of us hustlers and small business owners, learning everything we can about marketing is going to make growing and promoting our small business that much easier and that’s a win in our book. Today we’re talking about niche markets – what a niche market is, why you might want one and how to define a niche market for your business.

Lets get started.

What is a Niche Market?

A niche market is a subset of a larger market with it’s own particular needs and preferences. Often times you’ll hear marketers talk about market segments and although that’s similar to a niche market it’s usually more generic in purpose meaning that we segment by age, gender and so on. These same segmenting tactics are used in defining a niche market but they help us to pinpoint a group of people who are not only similar in general but also in specific details. For example:

Segmenting a market – we sell to women with young children between the ages of 0 months and 3 years because our product is diaper bags

Defining a niche market – we sell to women with young children between the ages of 0 months and 3 years because our product is diaper bags AND they also want a stylish boutique-level diaper bag that keeps them highly organized and falls within a moderate price point.

Basically, defining a niche market is drilling down until the particulars are highly defined making it a super-powered version of segmenting.

How Do You Define a Niche Market?

Defining a niche market really isn’t as difficult as it may sound or look. To do so, you’ll take any current market segments you have and then take it one step further. Some of the most common ways to define a niche include:

geographic (the buyer’s precise location – this can be a physical location or it can be a way to purchase – big box store, farmer’s market, craft fairs, holiday boutiques, etc.)
price (high, moderate, discount)
demographic (gender, age, income level, education level, employment, etc)
quality of goods (premium, high, moderate, low, cheap)
psychographics (values, interests, attitudes)

Remember a niche market is a subset of a larger market or market segment that has particular needs and preferences. While you’re looking to drill down to your niche market with the items bulleted above, you should also be asking yourself what the needs and preferences of this particular group are. You want to figure out what problem you can solve for them, or what need doesn’t seem to be being met by other products that are out on the market. This will help you target your niche market and outline the ways you’ll promote your product or service to them – by helping them with a problem or fulfilling a need!

Tip: Once you’re drilled down and gotten the specifics on your niche, the best way to define a niche is to basically write up a potential buyer profile. It sounds a little intense to make up a bio for an ideal customer, but we’ve seen it work dozens of times. An example would be:

Heather is a young mom who works part time. She has 2 small children – Sarah (2) and Aiden (6 mos). She’s at work a few hours every day so she drops her kids at a babysitter in the morning. She loves working out, so the kids also get to hang out with friends athlete gym play place why she works out 4 times a week. In addition, Grandma watches the kiddos on Friday mornings while Heather is at work, because that’s her babysitter’s day off. Heather is extremely organized and she’s a great mom because her diaper bag always has a change of clothes for each child, extra diapers, snacks, any medications they may need, and a variety of small toys or educational activities in case the kiddos need a change of pace. In addition, Heather loves high style, and because she’s often out and about with the kids she’d like a diaper bag that displays a sophisticated look but still is made of child-friendly fabrics so that it’s safe and effective for the kids. She’s looking for a superhero diaper bag – stylish for mom, organized so that everything has it’s place, not to big, not to small, easy to clean, and cost effective.

Why a Niche Market Can be Good for Your Business

We’ll cut straight to the point on this one and you don’t have to look far to see why a niche market can be good for your business. Here are just a few:

it’s a great way to attract new business
great way to increase in sales
simplifies the process of promoting, pricing and distributing your product or service
lowers the cost of promotion, pricing and distribution of your product or service

What niche markets are you going to serve? We’d love to hear about them in the comments.

LIVE WITH BEN – Basic Financial Questions to Ask Yourself Each Month

Want to grow your business? Don’t know what financial questions you should be asking yourself to do so? Being fiscally fit is more than just making MORE money – it’s knowing what your money is doing and having a plan.

Ben Sutton, CPA and co-found of Vyde, gives his expert advice on being fiscally fit, in this episode of Live With Ben. Grab a pen, paper, and your favorite beverage and get ready for these useful tips!

Have questions? We’d love to answer them and talk to you about setting up a strategy for bookkeeping and taxes for your business. Contact us here.

3 Ways to Boost Your Client Load

Business Owners have good times and bad times. It’s important to test your idea out, have a good support team, and work really hard–consistently. If you are doing that and feel like you need a little boost or are experiencing a slight down time, consider thinking of your down time as an opportunity to prepare for future business. One of my clients runs a successful restaurant in a college town. Their lag time used to get them down. It’s hard to be okay with less money when everything is stretched thin already! They learned that the summer was a great time to focus efforts on their catering business which they hadn’t had time for during the school year. After one summer of doing that and being “patiently consistent” (my term), their next year was record income!

Here are some ideas for your business:

Organization

Focus on: All the projects you haven’t spent time on. 🙂 Some ideas: CRM, email segmentations, automations, software, clean up timecards, processes, taxes, hold the quarterly meeting you’ve never held (you can call it a bi-annual meeting 😉 ), work on negotiating lower rates as your purchases have risen to deserve a discount for bulk rate.

This may seem daunting but re-visit a project here with fresh eyes. Do a little new research to bring it back up to speed, and get working on it as quick as you can before you talk yourself out of it. Twenty minute increments can get an amazing amount of work done! If it’s a project like a CRM, you may be able to do a simple version of it right away and then have an assistant trained to do the tedious steps after you’ve figured out how you’d like it to work best.

Follow up

Focus on: Email subscribers, prospective clients, past clients, clients who have slowed down in purchases, comment in different social media groups, admin work that’s been put off, etc.

We all know there are those prospective clients/customers who have signed up for something but never reached out to us when we responded (or maybe we never responded). Take some time to reach out to them personally and offer them a freebie for taking interest in your company. They may not remember signing up but a freebie will put them on the positive side and then they’ll remember the product they were interested in buying from your company. **Extra mile: Personal touch for current clients-arrange to share an additional product with current clients at a special “current client discount.” This could be a free treat or discount off of a product you know they can use. Think of something that’s not a big deal for you to give away and use it as a marketing tactic to remind customers that you are thinking about them.

New Ideas

Focus on: Marketing new products, test marketing, sponsoring events, attending events, signing up for events, advertising, collaborating with other companies, gaining more knowledge/research for your trade/industry, etc.

If there’s something you’ve been curious about creating, take time to market test it during the slow time. Sign up for outdoor fairs to share your new idea, or your current ones, give small gifts/freebies for filling out a survey about it. This is the right timing to test out adding onto your business too, not when it’s brand new but when it’s been established and you happen to have a lull. Re-examine your marketing and targeting approach too. Are you sending the right message to the right people that will actually buy your product (sometimes this is a different group than the people you want to sell to).

All in all, don’t give up. Whether times are slow or good, a boost will come if you take care of these 3 areas and keep consistent with your marketing and social presence. Before you know it, prospective clients will be reaching out to you nationwide, and you’d be surprised at how many past clients are happy to hear from you and were just trying to get to their follow up list as well.

Best of Business to you!!

How to Respond to An Angry Customer

It’s inevitable really. When you run a small business, or any business at all for that matter, you’re bound to find an unhappy customer. It could be your product, your offered services, your shipping and return policies, or just the fact that they’re having a bad day – but when it comes to angry customers, there are right ways, and wrong ways, to handle it. So what should you keep in mind while handling a unsatisfied customer? Here are our top tips:

Know your Return and Refund Policies Well

Although you should strive for a 100% satisfaction rate, it’s just not always possible in the world we live in. Some unhappy customers will be displeased enough that they might aim for more than what’s fair when it comes to returns and refunds.

But satisfying unmet (and often unrealistic) expectations isn’t worth going out of business or putting your bottom line at risk. Knowing your refund and return policies inside and out allows you to get creative when working to help unsatisfied customers. By doing so, you’ll know just how much you can give without losing money because no one ever stays in business by paying their customers.

Tip: A good rule of thumb when managing poor reviews and complaints is to take it in perspective. If they’re complaining about something that you’ve heard quite a few times already, it might be something you really need to investigate. If it’s an issue you’ve never run into before, work to make amends, keep the issue at hand in mind, but don’t stress over a solitary complaint unless it’s something that warrants more attention (i.e. safety concerns on a product or service might be an exception)

Listen to Understand

No one likes to feel like their concerns are falling on deaf ears. If you have employees who might be the first person to make contact with an angry customer, make sure you let them know the approach that’s expected. A great phrase for an employee to follow up with after hearing a complaint is, “I can understand your frustration with fill in the blank. I’d love to introduce you to my manager so that we can make sure this issue gets resolved and we get you what you need.”

Always treat every customer as if their concerns are important to you. Listen to really understand, asking questions when needed. If an angry customer turns irate, simply address that you can see this is creating a large concern for them, and then ask that they lower their voice or suggest that you have the rest of the conversation in a quiet and more private location.

Communicate With Respect

With online review sites, social media rankings, and a myriad of other places for customers to log their complaints, it seems like you and your business might be under fire. The anonymity that accompanies these methods often leads clients to believe they can say anything without hurting anyone. But it isnt’ true, individuals and businesses alike can suffer dire consequences from a lack of communicating with respect. Here’s what we suggest:

Take a moment before you respond – how long you take depends on the situation, but it allows you to manage emotions and also think through what options you’re really to offer
Discourage inappropriate language or name calling – there are plenty of ways to communicate without these options and they should always be used when in a business or professional setting – by all parties
Keep venting to a minimum – talking through a situation with another employee or a manager is fine. Hashing out a bad customer experience with everyone is just fueling the fire. If you’re having a hard time shaking it off, take a break, or ask your boss or business partner to handle the next few customer interactions. Then work to figure out a way that you can develop a thicker skin when handling customer complaints and put it into practice.

Wow Them with Your Approach

So far, we’ve covered how to handle the basics of customer complaints. Now we want to cover how to turn a poor interaction into a good one so you leave your previously unhappy customer with a good taste in their mouth. Here’s a few ideas on how to make that happen:

Respond in like manner – we don’t mean match their tone or attitude, but rather communicate with them in like kind or one step above. If a customer leaves a bad review, promptly respond to the review online, but also consider calling or emailing them to follow up and see if their are additional concerns. If they come into your office or store to complain, discuss the concerns face to face – to step it up a notch, consider introducing your manager or the owner
Gratitude goes a long way – whether we like it or not, negative feedback is probably more effective for us as small business owners than any positive reviews we might receive. Why? Because with complaints we can start to explore ways to improve and grow our products and services. Saying a sincere thank you for helping you understand, improve, or make things right is going to make a major impact – and those customers often are the ones that become your biggest fans.
Make it known that you want to make it right – when conversations get heated or turn into a laundry list of complaints it’s easy to just jump to the quickest solution and hope that it stops the complaint dead in it’s tracks. But before you go to work on firing back excuses or solutions it helps to let the customer know that your top desire is to make it right. After you offer any retribution or refund that you’re willing to provide, you can ask if there’s anything else that you can do. If they give you an answer you can’t say yes to, then simply apologize for the inconvenience and express again that you’re grateful that they were willing to communicate with you so you could do your best to make it right. There is no reason to make excuses or give details as to why you can’t fulfill their additional requests.

How else do you handle angry customers and negative reviews? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments.

FAQs about Handling Angry Customers and Negative Reviews:

What’s the significance of knowing return and refund policies when dealing with unhappy customers?

Understanding policies helps balance customer satisfaction and business sustainability. It allows flexibility in resolving issues without compromising profitability.

How should businesses approach complaints that seem repetitive or unique?

Repetitive complaints signal systemic issues needing investigation. Unique complaints merit attention but shouldn’t cause undue stress unless safety or critical matters are involved.

How crucial is respectful communication when responding to negative feedback?

Respectful communication is paramount for reputation management. It entails thoughtful responses, discouraging inappropriate language, and avoiding public venting, fostering professionalism.

What strategies can turn negative interactions into positive experiences for customers?

Respond promptly and considerately to complaints, showing willingness to address concerns personally. Express gratitude for feedback, emphasizing the commitment to rectify issues and improve.

How can businesses navigate customer demands beyond their capacity to fulfill?

Prioritize customer satisfaction while acknowledging limitations. Offer sincere apologies, express gratitude for communication, and strive to resolve within feasible boundaries, maintaining goodwill.

Resources

Category: Business Tips