Tag Archive for: business development

Using Data as an Asset

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Did you know that as of recently, “data” has become a buzzword in the business world? Usually when people think of data, they envision their company’s proprietary information, but statistics have continuously shown that organizations that leverage data use as a business value are the ones that skyrocket to success. This is because the growth of a company is largely determined by data surrounding their industry and how they use it to evolve.

By finding ways to strategically implement data collection into your business plan, and using your findings to tweak your operations and marketing tactics, you will set yourself apart from your competitors as well as build the reputation of expert within your industry.

Here is a list of ways data will benefit you if you choose to make it a part of your business model.

1. Get to Know Your Audience

Everyone wants to believe they know their audience well, but as times change, so do people. Things such as convenience due to emerging technologies and preferences due to the influence of social media constantly change consumer behavior, so keeping up with your audience will make all of the difference in your revenue generation. You can get to know your audience through market data via polls on your social media pages and/or asking informative questions when you meet with clients/customers in person.

2. Improve Quality of Products and Services

By using data to get to know your audience and finding innovative ways to collect data from your competitors, you will be able to make changes to your products or services that you know your client/customer actually wants. Making changes can be risky, which is why data is so beneficial. It allows you to base decisions based off of factual information instead of having to guess.

3. Establish Expertise

When you make claims to your audience and can back it up with actual percentages and statistics, you will begin to be seen as experts to both your audience and your competitors. People will wonder where you get your information from and will look to your company as an example to model after in hopes to achieve the same results. It’s always great to be the first in your industry to do something.

4. Make Decisions Easier

When you make decisions based off of what you’ve done in the past or what seems to be working for other companies, you are essentially gambling. If you go based off of your findings, you can be assured you are making the best decisions whether they are about internal operations or your sales strategy.

5. Improve Operations

Data collection does not have to be limited to your external processes. You can collect data from your internal employees through things such as a suggestion box, anonymous survey, or a company-wide vote. Keeping your employees happy is just as important as keeping your clients/customers happy, so find a way that the ideas and opinions of your personnel can be heard.

6. Contribute to Campaigns

No matter what industry you’re in, there is nothing more powerful than social proof. When people are going to invest money into something, they want the reassurance that it has worked before and will benefit them. If you collect data, you can use numbers in your campaign which is sure to influence your audience’s buying decisions.

If your company is in need of employees, we at Award Staffing are here to help. Contact us here with your staffing needs.

Make Social Issues A Part of Your Marketing

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“A little over half of consumers (57 percent) are more likely to buy/use a product if a brand takes a position on a social issue similar to the consumers’ views. That figure was 77 percent for Gen Z and millennial respondents.” – A List Daily

It’s nothing new that in today’s world, there are a multitude of social issues that society is passionate about changing. Everyone wants to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves and depending on their upbringing, often choose to support causes that they have been affected by in one way or another.

With so many different walks of life out there, everyone has a different ability to contribute; some able to offer thousands of dollars on a monthly basis and others solely able to offer patronage in the form of time. However, no matter whom you are or what your fiscal capabilities are, we are all regular consumers of both goods and services. By adding the support of social issues into your business model and marketing game plan, you will give people of all different socioeconomic statuses the ability to give back through buying from or partnering with you.

Over the past few years, online buying has increasingly become the preferred way to purchase since it is convenient, and ever since the pandemic began, fewer people feel comfortable in public spaces with large crowds. To capitalize on this new norm, marketers have pivoted their approach to reach more people in the online space. Currently, the businesses that are thriving the most are the ones that have implemented the support of social issues into their marketing strategy.

As quarter four approaches, both marketers and consumers will increase their spending on account of the upcoming holiday season. As we are still in Quarter 3, this makes it the perfect time to map out a plan that brings your support of social issues to the attention of your audience. Whether you are service or product based, this tactic is sure to bring in more business and publicity as well as contribute to positive change and the common good.

 

Here are some things to keep in mind as you plan:

1. Increase Your Marketing Budget

As the highest consumer quarter is right around the corner, if you want to see an increase in your sales, you must be willing to spend more to get the word out about the cause you are supporting. It may feel like a bit of a stretch in the beginning, but the return on investment will be worth it as new clients and customers discover you.

2. Use Social Media

If your company has a cause that you have been supporting for some time now, remind you audience by discussing it on social media. Reintroduce the cause/organization you support and inform them of how and why you chose this cause. Then make it a weekly practice to talk about this cause on your platforms. It will only be effective if you make it a long-term part of your strategy. If supporting a cause is not something you have done before, choose one and then inform your audience about this new endeavor.

3. Make it Clear the Impact They Will Have

In order to get consumers to partner with or buy from you, you’ll need to be clear about how spending with you will make a social difference. If a percentage of every sale or contract goes to the cause you chose, let them know that. People want to know how their contribution matters, so be sure that they know what will happen as a result of doing business with your company.

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If your company is in need of employees, we at Award are here to help. Contact us here to see how we can support you.

How Much Are You Investing In Your Future?

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When running a business, investing in the future is one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. Though it can be easy to only be looking five feet in front of you, especially if you’re a startup or are in the middle of a rebrand; industries evolve quickly. Therefore, if you want to continue to keep up with your competitors and have a consistently lucrative enterprise, staying ahead of the game will be a key contributor in doing so.

If you were to take an honest audit of all of the things you presently do to invest in your business, how much would you be able to come up with? For continued growth and success, it’s imperative that as you take your audit you consider all facets of your company. When most people hear the word invest, they automatically think of the financial aspects of a venture or establishment. While that is most definitely a major segment of your business, there are multiple ways to invest in the future of your organization. Here are some:

Research and Development

There are a few ways you can approach this…You can hire an internal employee to do research whether it’s their entire job or part of their job. Or, you can work with a consulting company that specializes in your industry to keep you updated on the latest industry trends. This well help you forecast how the market will be in the coming months or years, which will give you the opportunity to plan and make adjustments accordingly. You may just find yourself with information that surprises you or that you didn’t know was even a topic of conversation within your industry. Even though having a designated employee or company to do your research and suggest modifications will be an upfront investment, it is an expense that help your company reach its 5 and 10 year plans.

 Process Improvement

When things are working out well as they are, the easiest thing to do is keep everything the same. However, this “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it mentality” could be holding you back from making even more progress day-to-day than you already are. It may be a good idea to look into other businesses and companies within your industry to see what platforms and tools they may be using that help them keep pace. It is always intimidating to change your systems if they have been successful up until now, along with time consuming as you and your team will have to learn everything from scratch. This is why you must look at the bigger picture and be open to adapting. You will produce results quicker, therefore drive more business if you transform your processes and protocols.

Integrate New Technology

In a technology based world, this is inevitable. Yes technology is expensive, but it is also created to eliminate unnecessary work and streamline functions that need to be constantly addressed. Because it is a large investment, it’s in your best interest to be strategic about the type of technology and programs you use. Different industries use different makes and models of computers depending on if they are more creativity based or data based. In a warehouse setting, some machinery may need to be upgraded every few years, while other machines on the market haven’t changed nearly at all. Communication platforms are evolving almost daily and there are constantly new apps and programs that allow you to communicate virtually within a workspace. If you work in a fast paced environment or a place with dozens to hundreds of employees, investing in some of these platforms will take a lot of weight off of your shoulders.

Investing in Your Employees

Every year, turnover and employee mistakes cost companies thousands of dollars. This is why it is absolutely vital to ensure good employee morale, especially among your most valuable team members. There are so many factors in ensuring your employee morale stays high, including: training, appreciation, company culture, and promotion. The key to ensuring employee morale is that things have to happen on an ongoing basis. It is not enough to have a team pep talk every two months, or promote a few employees a year and call it good. You must make things like employee continuing education and appreciation a part of your model. This means setting aside funds specifically for that. As and owner or manager, ask yourself questions like:

*Is the office/site a welcoming space where people want to come to work every day?

*Do we have an employee incentive program or monthly events to show appreciation for our employees?

*What opportunities do we currently offer to make sure employees feel adequately trained and/or like they are regularly learning new skills?

*Are we promoting from within and offering room for growth and pay raises in our company?

Your answers to these questions will determine what areas you currently excel at and what areas could use some changes to make certain you are continuously investing in your people.

All of these investments are going to require both time and money, but if you are in your business for the long-haul, such improvements will catapult you forward so that your business meets the long term vision.

If you or someone you know is looking for a job, we at Award Staffing are here to help. Check out our latest job opportunities here.

 

Why It’s Important to Keep Up with Trends in Your Industry

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“Companies that will not change according to their environment will disappear. Follow trends and transform your business.”

In the ever-changing world that we live in, one of the best things your company can do is keep up with industry trends. Just like we all keep up with one another on social media, it’s important to do the same as trends emerge within your industry. While it can be tempting to stick with the tried-and-true things your company has done over the years, integrating trending things as they come up will set you apart and keep you in the know about your industry. Here are some reasons why it will benefit you to stay up-to-date on trends and how you can do so.

1. Forecasting

If you stay in the loop by implementing the latest trends into how your business operates, it will be much easier to predict things that are to come in the future for your industry. When you can make predictions based off of findings from your own research, observations, and conversations, you will be better equipped to plan for the future from all angles.

2. Be Seen as a Leader/Build Credibility

When you go first and are the first to integrate trending industry things into your operations, other businesses will view you as an authority. They will see your organization as “in the know” and not afraid to try new things. This will make them want to keep up with you on all platforms and model some of their business decisions in a similar way.

3. Better Business and Branding Ideas

By keeping up with trends, you’ll constantly be learning; new tools, new events to participate in, new ways to be efficient. This will give you a wider variety of things to work with- therefore, you will be able to experiment with more things and use them to generate new ideas. This ensures that anything you come up with will be modern and up-to-date.

4. You Won’t Be Caught Off-Guard

New trends within your industry are going to come up in conversation regularly. If you want to be seen as a leader, you’ll want to be able to take part in those conversations and discuss your experience with trending tools and topics. By staying on trend, you won’t get caught in awkward conversations where you’re the only who doesn’t know what everyone else is talking about.

5. New Opportunities

By participating in trends as they come up, you’ll be introduced to new people, new skills, new events, etc. This will inevitably present you with new opportunities more frequently. By having these connections and skills; you will have more to offer clients and will be able to charge more of a premium for your services.

6. Growth

As things in the world change, it is crucial to change with them. Although it can be difficult to want to change, especially when things are going well as they are, change means evolution, therefore is a good thing. You will never truly know how efficient or effective you can actually be if you don’t try new things. Don’t deprive yourself the opportunity to reach even more success by being closed off to the idea of implementing new trends.

 

Ways to Keep Up with Trends in Your Industry

1. Sign up for email lists

2. Take advantage of trainings and webinars

3. Keep up with your competitors on social media

4. Find an industry “buddy” that you regularly talk to

5. Subscribe to an industry publication

6. Follow industry exports across all platforms

 

If your company is in need of employees, we at Award are here to help. Contact us here with your staffing needs.

 

6 Ways to Grow Your Business with a Personal Touch

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Growing your business is an exciting task. After all, it speaks well of your connection with your customers. It is also a challenging task. And one of the most critical challenges is simultaneously growing the business while still holding on to that personal-touch dynamic that was instrumental in getting the business off the ground. It takes a dedicated commitment, but the benefits are indeed worth it. We’ve put together a list of best practices to help you grow while remaining connected to your customer base.

1. Define your mission, your values, your vision –

Reaffirm the basis that made your company successful and ready for growth.

• What defines your brand in the marketplace?
• What defines your employer brand?
• What type of experience do you offer those who come in the front door . . . and those who come in the back door?
• What impact do you want to have on both your employees and your clients?
• What three words sum up the essence of your business? Integrity? Reliability? Expertise?

When employees understand who/what the business is, and experience those attributes in your employer brand, they will create an environment that shares that brand in the marketplace. They will maintain that brand of a warm personal touch even as you grow.

2. Don’t limit decision-making –

When a company revolves around a few c-level staff, where every question, every strategy must be approved, it stifles the business.

• Create systems that anyone can follow for key tasks from hiring and onboarding employees to accounting and finance to research and development, production, and marketing.
• Communicate policies, procedures, goals, visions, and the reason behind them the whole company. Ensure that everyone understands their task and how it fits into the big picture.
• Empower your employees to make those decisions and follow those systems by giving them the authority to match their responsibilities.

Involve your staff.  Share your plans for growth. Ask for input from staff. If they’ve been in the company for a long time, their experience and insight will be invaluable. Creating a sense of respect, pride, and ownership among your employees will result in being surrounded by an army of people who protect and grow your mission, as well as your business. They will ensure a positive connection with customers.

3. Don’t build too fast –

Growth is terrific – a sure sign that you are successful at identifying a niche, meeting demands, and building a loyal customer basis, but slow growth has its advantages.

• Focusing on the fundamentals of building your business with a slow growth philosophy allows you to make wise strategic choices and keep employees loyal, which helps maintain the personal touch.
• Hiring additional employees is vital in the growth process. Slow growth allows room to put more thought into hiring; ensuring you hire employees who will uphold the company values and maintain that personal connection.
• Slow growth is sustainable growth and less likely to put cash flow and finances at risk. It helps you plan for the long-term, which is beneficial for your company, your employees, and your customers.

4. Bring in automation carefully –

Integrating automation into your business is critical to company growth, but don’t allow increased effectiveness and streamlining for you be a frustration to your clients/customers.

• Customer engagement is essential. Build trust, establish loyalty, and while integrating automation, keep your human connection open – including a menu option for speaking with a person.
• Allow Customers to choose how they will engage. If they want short and sweet automation – they have it. If they desire discussion, provide chatbots. If they want “real” people, deliver that too.

5. Connect Through Social Media –

Keep your social media up-to-date and informative. It’s a great way to stay connected and personal with your customers even as you grow.

• Involve your customers in the growing process, such as the company who chose three updated logos and then let their customers vote on which one to use.
• Keep your website in align with growth. Keep it fresh – revamp your fonts, colors, and layouts. Make it interactive.
• Email and/or post on Facebook interesting, relevant information. Don’t’ get spammy. Don’t sell your product/services. Simply share information that will be helpful, interesting, or fun. Offer the occasional contest with desirable prizes – no gimmicks.
• Send out a company newsletter. Include helpful articles, fun stuff, recipes, and a way for customers to interact. For example, if an employee or customer is involved in a local charity, spotlight them on a monthly newsletter. Spotlight a different employee or customer each month.

6. Hire wisely –

With growth comes the need for additional employees. Take the time to hire talent who not only have the skills you need but also fit into the culture and will uphold your business values.  This way, you will maintain a staff that cares about the personal connection. Hiring in a rush increases your chances of a bad hire, interferes with growth, and damages the brand you work so hard to build. It’s a loss/loss in many ways and certainly does not maintain your personal touch. Enough said.

Yes, you can grow your business without giving up the personal touch. Before you jump into the race, take time to prepare. Reiterate your mission, values, and vision; don’t run alone or too fast; bring in both automation and growth slowly; connect with both current and potential customers via social media, and hire carefully. Following these tips will be sure to land your company in the winner’s circle.

Through Award’s Cross-functional Recruiting model will be able to help you grow your business with the best talent through our Scalable Recruiting Approach while maintaining the personal touch you need. If you’re searching for more tips and trick on how to improve your company’s workforce, check out our hiring solutions blog.

FINDING YOUR TALENT

Want to learn more about how Award Staffing can help your organization with your staffing and employment needs? Start by providing our team with a few pieces of information about yourself, and we will take care of the rest.

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