New Tricks | Equipping Your Business For the Modern Age
Some years back my partner and I decided to formalize our little side business and make it a full time concern. Whilst we were both experts in our respective fields and could confidently speak with authority at any level, when it came to technology we were well out of our depth. In retrospect we wasted too much time, money and effort attempting to muddle through without the expertise of a full time techy on board and I can safely say we shot ourselves in the foot as far as our best interests were concerned.
My loss is your gain though and I am happy to share with you some tips and tricks I have come to accept as vital for any successful business in the modern age.
The Virtual Office
Sometimes called a remote office, the virtual office is one of the greatest boons to start-up businesses and established concerns, that I can think of. Many a shaky hand has hovered over a 3 year office lease. How can you know if your business will last the month out let alone 3 years? Welcome to the virtual office! If I had known then what I know now I would have built up my business from home and utilised a remote office for client meetings and presentations in their state of the art boardrooms. Virtual offices such as can be found here are equipped with technology that I could have only dreamed of back then and I didn’t have to lift a finger.
Virtual offices can also supply a dedicated receptionist, conference call and boardroom facilities and offer the ability for you to utilize a multitude of offices in cities all over the globe. Ensuring that clients and customers are responded to swiftly and professionally is a critical facet of any business and one that I was happy to entrust to their services as it saved me the time and expense of locating and training my own reception staff.
Alongside the many benefits of a local virtual office, consider the cachet associated with having access to a myriad of offices around the world. This opens up a market share you may not have imagined being attainable up to now.
Social Media and your Online Presence
Every teen knows the power of social media and whilst some of us are still dragging our feet, in a couple of short years those teens will be in the workforce and there will be no compromise for those who haven’t kept pace. Making platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook work for you is critical. Get a media savvy whizz on board and behold the difference that things like SEO, SEM, CRM and digital marketing can do for you. There are a multitude of companies that you can outsource this to and it is vital if you want to keep up with your competitors.
Along the same lines as this is utilizing the expertise of an infomediary who will gather information on your behalf which relates to, and will link you to, your prospective client base. This information can be gold as far as enabling you to pinpoint where to focus your attention and channel marketing strategies.
Branding
Ensure your brand has a cohesive face by fusing all areas of design – whether architecture, interior, website or logos, utilizing color and symbolization to make you instantly recognizable. If you are just starting out, you can use your own creativity to consolidate a business brand which reflects how your business is perceived by consumers. It pays to keep in mind that your competition have these tools available to them as well, so make sure your brand is solid enough to withstand any comparisons.
Whilst many businesses will balk at some of the suggestions I have made, consider them an opportunity to give you a leading edge. The beauty of them is that they can be implemented and running without making large demands on your valuable time. That means that you can get down to your real business knowing that your brand is flourishing on the global stage.
