Month: September 2019

Inefficiency in business is a big problem and when it’s left for too long, it can quickly spiral out of control and affect productivity. When you’re trying to keep the business on track, it can feel like there is no time to step back and make sense of the chaos.

Luckily, there are many ways in which you can improve operational efficiency, but this article outlines some of the most effective and low-cost ways to streamline your business and improve your productivity. It’s important to remember that making any change to your business needs research, testing and evaluation to ensure it has a positive impact.

Trust your employees

Your employees are often the people who know your business inside and out, especially if they have been working for you for some time. By trusting and empowering these people with important decisions (rather than micromanaging your team) you will not only motivate your workforce to take a more proactive role, but can free up your time to oversee the bigger picture.

Take yourself out of the decision making process where possible and you should see a real improvement in efficiency and productivity.

Introduce a cloud computing system

Cloud computing enables you to save your business data and documents in a virtual storage system rather than on physical computers. This enables your employees to save, edit and collaborate on the same documents wherever they are in the world as long as they have an internet connection.

Visit www.bytes.co.uk for more information on finding the best cloud computing solution for your business. This can also reduce the amount of paper your business uses which is not only more efficient, but can also reduce your costs and is better for the environment.

Choose a consolidated software solution

If your business is using several different software packages for different aspects of your business such as accounting, inventory, sales, etc., you may find that you are spending unnecessary time repeating data entry. This may even result in errors and confusion in different areas of your business. A consolidated software solution could integrate several areas of the business into one platform for efficiency and productivity.

Consider outsourcing some areas of the business

Businesses of all sizes can benefit significantly from outsourcing certain areas of their business. If there are elements of your operation which you don’t have the time, knowledge or experience to be able to perform well, you may be able to outsource to a third party. This could be social media management, content marketing, accounting or administration, for example. While you will be paying them for their support, the increased time and resource you have to focus on the areas of your business which you specialize in will be priceless.

Minimize utilities and cellphone charges

The everyday running costs of a business can be underestimated and overlooked but will quickly eat into a business’ budget. For example, you may be paying far too much for your utilities or cellphones. Most businesses can save money if they shop around, and compare prices as there is often a lot of competition in this area.

E-commerce stores are everywhere, but the electronics industry is a fairly narrow niche. If you’re selling electronic parts and components online, you may be enjoying less competition than others, but search engine optimization is still more important than ever in ensuring that you’re driving organic traffic to your site and setting your brand apart. In addition, good SEO will help you build trust with your target audience and help to improve your reputation. Here are some SEO tips for electronics websites that you may find useful.

#1. Descriptive Product Pages:

Making all product pages as descriptive as possible is important for any e-commerce website, but even more so if you’re selling products such as electronic parts and components, where buyers may need even more specific specifications and information compared to others. Few businesses today think about unique content on product pages, but this is a mistake, as simply pulling the product information from a database can lead to duplicate content issues and harm your search engine ranking. It’s also a good idea to add user generated content, such as allowing customers to write their own reviews and share photos on each product page.

#2. List in Relevant Search Engines:

Another way to strengthen your electronics website’s SEO and gain a bigger online presence is to list your products in relevant search engines, such as how Multicomp Components products can be found at Octopart.com. This gives your brand a bigger chance of being found by users who are looking for the specific products that you are selling, along with giving you the additional trust and reputation boost that comes from working alongside a trusted brand in the industry. And, since your products will come up when searched for, you’re also improving chances of driving organic traffic to your site.

#3. Incorporate SEO into Web Design:

Bear in mind that, today, SEO isn’t all about keywords and quality content. While these are still highly important and shouldn’t be overlooked, you’ll also need to make sure that you are incorporating SEO into the design of your website, too. The sad truth is that no matter how much great content you have or how strong your link building game is, a badly designed website is never going to reach the top rankings. Think about mobile users when putting together your web design. A responsive, modern site is always going to gain more favor from Google. And, you should focus on the user experience by offering a clean, easy to use navigation system.

#4. Optimize Product Photos and Videos:

Selling electronic parts and components can be tricky because, it’s often difficult to get great product photographs of them. So, it’s important to spend some time optimizing product photographs and using product videos to help customers get a better idea of how a certain product can be used. Try to get interesting photos wherever you can; doing something unusual may be better thank sticking to generic, boring photographs, as photos that stand out have a higher chance of being shared to social platforms.

Did you find these tips useful? Leave a comment down below.

The tech-savvy and gadget-obsessed will undoubtedly be on the look-out for most notable tech and gadget releases of 2019. Below are a few examples of the most impressive tech to make its way onto the market this year, all of which have got people talking and hurrying to invest. Will you follow suit?

Lenovo Smart Clock

Just when you thought that your smartphone had completely replaced any need for an alarm clock, the Lenovo Smart Clock hit the shelves in June 2019 – and has been flying off them ever since! This clever clock is equipped to operate Google Assistant, is capable of charging your phone, wakes you up with a gradually brightening clock face before setting off your alarm and, of course, tells time. Believe it or not, while the Lenovo Smart Clock’s specs are endlessly impressive, its real appeal lies in its minimalistic design which is reminiscent of an old-school alarm clock and is guaranteed to add a nostalgic charm to your bedside table.

New iPhone Cases

The new iPhone cases by Bodyguardz do so much more than simply protect your favorite device from damage. Many of these innovative smartphone accessories come with advanced technology for improved functionality and convenience. For example, some come with a wrist strap that can be easily removed or attached as needed. This wrist strap aids in reducing the risk of accidentally dropping your phone, whether you’re using your phone at home or out and about, therefore making it a top choice for runners and people who work on their devices while on the go. 

Waverly Ambassador Translator

Say good-bye to language barriers for good with the new Waverly Ambassador Translator. It’s an amazing little gadget that has the ability to translate speech on the spot. It has a hygienic over-the-ear design to allow for seamless sharing and has been programmed to translate dozens of languages and dialects, thus allowing you to communicate effectively with practically anyone and everyone at any time. While it is still in its very early stages of development, the reviews on the product are promising overall. So, if you’re someone who travels frequently or who deals with people from different countries for business purposes on a regular basis, it’s definitely worthwhile to give it a go and see if it works for you.

Ember 14 oz. Temperature Control Mug

Moms around the globe who are used to drinking their coffee cold after attending to the needs and demands of their children all morning long will certainly appreciate the masterpiece that is the Ember 14 oz. Temperature Control Mug. In essence, this mug utilizes internal heating technology to keep your beverage a specific temperature for up to an hour after making it. It allows you to adjust your ‘perfect’ temperature as you prefer it, from between 120°F – 145°F. The battery life lasts 60 minutes, or you can keep the mug on its charging coaster for all-day use. Furthermore, it’s safe to hand wash and you can control it with your smartphone!

Talk about awe-inspiring technology! Don’t forget to update your wish list.

Knowing your customers is one of the fundamental principles of marketing. For your efforts to be effective you need to know about your customers behaviour. If you are selling online then you will also need to know about how they react and engage with your online advertising and website. 

One of the ways you can gather this information is by using an analytics tool. A good analytics tool will allow you to see your website in a way you’ve never seen it before. You will be able to understand how customers got to your site, what they did when they got there and what factors influenced them in making a purchase. 

Top Website Analytics Insights

For websites in particular, it’s very important to be able to understand how your customers are behaving online. Where in a physical retail location you can see issues like when queues build up and when customers can’t find products. This kind of insight isn’t available online without the use of an analytics tool. Some of the most useful website metrics are covered off below.

Where Your Users Came From

People will find you website in a mixture of different ways. They may come through a search engine or they may come to your website directly. Knowing this is crucial because it will help you to identify which marketing channels are most effective and which are the best at converting. A tool like digivante.com will even be able to tell you which type of website browser is giving you a better conversion rate. 

Time Spent on a Page

As well as driving users to your website you want to know that when they get there you are providing them with the information they want. Looking at a metric like time spent on a page can be beneficial because it can help you to identify weak or irrelevant content on your website. It can also be a sign that you are attracting the wrong website visitors. 

New Website Visitors

Being able to see the percentage of new visitors to your website is hugely beneficial because without new users, you will have issues with making sales. If you keep getting the same repeat visitors to you site then you may have a problem with your marketing in that you are not attracting new customers to your site. A returning user metric on your dashboard will help you to identify where marketing budget needs to be spent to be the most effective. 

Data Driven Insights

In any retail environment be it online or in store, the customer is king. You therefore must be able to collect and utilize customer insights effectively so that you can grow your businesses successfully. Using an analytics tool in your business is one way to ensure that you are keeping the customer at the forefront of decision making. Providing them with a great customer experience will keep them coming back and will help you to win new business.

In the world of business, you always need to make sure that you are keeping both your employees and your customers happy. Many businesses forget that there are two main groups of people that need to be happy if the company is to succeed and will place to much focus on just one group. This means that it is worth knowing a few different ways in which you can improve the customer and employee experience, and there are many ways of doing this which could deliver powerful long term results for the business and ensure that everyone is happy and content at all times.

1. Seek Feedback

One of the most obvious ways to improve the experience of both the consumer and the employee is to ask for feedback. This can be daunting, but it is important for identifying areas in which you could make improvements.

2. Improve The Office

Making improvements to the office is smart because it will improve both the customer and employee experience. Employees spend the majority of their week in the office, so it will be much better for them if this is somewhere comfortable, welcoming, and well-equipped. From the customer’s point of view, this can help to make a good first impression, and it will ensure that they are dealing with staff who are happy and content. A few ideas for improving the office include:

• Maximizing natural light
• Upgrading the furniture
• Potted plants
• Personal decoration
• Using an open plan office

3. Improve Communication

Communication is key to success in the business world and a great way to improve both customer and employee experience. Increasing face-to-face communication is a smart idea for forging important relationships, but you should also think about ways in which you can improve digital comms. One highly effective strategy for this is to use a service like boomerangmessaging.com which can automate communication flows between business systems and customers with text, email and voice messaging. This can reduce operating costs, improve the customer experience, optimize process efficiency and much more.

4. Host Events

Hosting events is an intelligent idea which can bring a host of benefits to the company. First, it is a good idea in terms of improving morale and team-building, but it is also highly effective for advertising the company. It will also paint your company as a brand that cares about its target customer. This will allow customers and employees to relax and socialise, which can break down barriers and create a powerful relationship between business and customer. There are all kinds of events to consider, including:

• BBQs
• Launch parties
• Workshops
• Fun days
• Festivals

Taking steps to improve the employee and customer experience is important and a great way to improve your company. In order for any business to grow and succeed, both of these groups will have to be happy and content, but this requires constant work. The above are a few ideas which should help with both the employee and customer experience so you should soon start to see results after trying these ideas.