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3 Most Overlooked Factors in Your B2B E-Commerce Success

Published on 31/05/2016 by wp_blogLeave a comment

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Just to get the most pertinent of introductions out of the way: B2B (business-to-business or e-biz) refers to the occasion of a business offering its products and services to other businesses, while B2C (business-to-consumer) refer to instances of a business offering its products and services directly to the consumer. In other words, B2B ventures caters to businesses as their customers, while B2C ventures cater to consumers as their customers. And, while these terms (i.e., B2B and B2C) refer to both offline and online businesses, the terms had only come into use during the dotcom boom.
Now, most ecommerce websites generally follow a B2C model. But there are also enough online ventures out there whose main target customers are other businesses. And, while B2C and B2B obviously will have some similarities, the approach that is needed to run either is, predictably, pretty different.
However, considering the rising levels of customer-engagement that is possible today, there are factors that are overlooked when it comes to B2B, simply because these factors seem inherently more suitable for B2C. But that’s a grand oversight. In fact, merging the following three factors into the running of your B2B ecommerce business could very well spell the difference between your venture’s success or failure.

Factor 1: Personalization

The last thing any business wants to seem is unprofessional or amateurish. And for good reason. Giving either of the two impressions to customers, especially when you’re a B2B ecommerce business, is a sure-fire way to lose potential customers. However, there is a strong misconception that appearing casual, friendly, or personal in one’s interactions with other businesses is equivalent to appearing unprofessional – which is definitely not the case.

Now, chances are that if you were running a B2C business, you would be adopting a light-hearted and casual tone to connect with your individual customers as the norm. Because it’s pretty obvious that people prefer to do business with those they feel connected to. However, as, in running a B2B business, you are trying to reach out to other businesses, you will most likely adopt a formal, detached tone with plenty of jargon and marketing-based overtures, thinking that this is what your business customers will appreciate. After all, your customers are businesses, not individuals. So it is obvious that you can’t employ personalization and should rather treat them as a mechanical unit, right?

Nope. Very much wrong.

For you see, although in a B2B your customers are not individuals, it does not mean that it is absent of “people” either. Businesses, in fact, are made up of people at its very core. And as a B2B, you should not forget that. Because, even in a B2B, your business customers will be more likely to want to do business with you if they feel like you’re connecting to them. In fact, leave off the annoying business jargon and blasé marketing terms in your communications; they don’t work anymore. Rather, try for light and casual, with friendly overtones that make it clear to your customer that their business is important to you.

In short, your customers will be much more receptive (and more likely to continue doing business with you) if you take a more personalized approach.

Factor 2: Shipping

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In storytelling, one common piece of advice is that what the audience will remember the most about a story is it’s ending. And the same advice can be applied to B2B ecommerce in a sense as well. Only here, the “ending” refers to the final stage of a business placing an order with your B2B: the shipping and delivery of the ordered product(s) or service(s). However, while most B2Bs spend a lot of time optimizing all their other processes, the shipping and delivery aspect is what is most often overlooked – which can often trigger a business pulling away as your customer. In fact, statistics show that a lack of reliable and affordable shipping options is what makes B2Bs lose the most number of customers. For, up to 61% of businesses have indicated that they have abandoned a cart because of unexpected and ill-affordable shipping costs. And up to 50% indicated their orders not qualifying the minimum requirement for free shipping being the reason they abandon their carts (and as B2Bs usually run as wholesalers, the minimum requirement set for free shipping is an important aspect to consider).

Thus, re-organizing your shipping and delivery options to be affordable and reliable for your customers will greatly reduce customer abandonment of your carts.

Factor 3: Segmentation

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The segmentation factor is directly tied to the personalization factor mentioned earlier. In simple terms, segmentation here means categorizing your buyers (i.e., customers) based on various factors like price, timing, etc., while also categorizing your buyers, according to demographics, size, business needs, order volumes, and the likes. Basically, segmentation will allow you to personalize your B2B approach for various buyer categories, thereby intriguing them towards higher levels of engagement in your business.

Simple Tricks for Getting More Conversions for your Online Business

Published on 30/05/2016 by wp_blogLeave a comment

Talking about conversion rates, the primary goal of all business is to convert a lead (obtained from various online or other promotional campaigns) into a buyer (who finally purchases the product). Now, this conversion statistic is in turn based on many other dependent conversions. A few of these are mentioned below:

Conversion of views to form submissions – This is one of the most common sources of online leads
Conversion of form submissions to subscribers (be it to newsletter or any other offers etc.)
Conversion of subscribers to repeat website visitors
Conversion of repeat visitors to first time buyers
Conversion of first time buyers to repeat buyers

Therefore, optimizing each of the steps in the customer life cycle would in turn cause an increase in percentage or probability of converted deals from online leads which are captured in the system.

Now, the question arises – how to optimize the content so as to ensure that the maximum customer progresses in the customer life cycle stages of ecommerce websites?

Majority of sales (especially B2C) do not involve a rational decision

This may sound erratic but it is not! There have been instances in the recent past wherein online stores with inferior products have recorded higher sales than online stores with better content and better pricing. This is because of the persuasion skills of these ecommerce sites. Most customers have been found to make purchases out of an emotional connect rather than judging on the rational utility of the product. Therefore, ecommerce’s who are able to present and position their products in a better way often get away with higher sales than otherwise.

All the glitters, at times, is gold

“All the glitters is not gold” may not be always true for online sales. This is because statistics (i.e., overall ecommerce statistics for 2016) show that 93% of the online consumers base their sale patterns and decisions on the visual appearance of the web portal or the ecommerce portal. And, approximately 52% of them decline to visit a particular web portal more than once in case they are not amused by the aesthetics of the website. The overall content involves the inclusion of videos, illustrating the utility of the product, chat widgets in the website, the ease of use and transition from one page to another and more importantly, the mobile responsiveness and the performance of the page – i.e. the time taken to load the web portal or the app.

Statistics and customer reviews have stated that more than 96% of visitors find videos to be more useful than static content, and the overall conversion may increase by more than 12% with the replacement of images with videos on the landing pages.

Apart from that, the loading speed is of extreme importance especially in economies wherein the internet bandwidth is less as compared to the number of users using it. Statistics say that about 73% of users accessing the landing pages from their mobile are not satisfied with the speed with which the website loads, and more than 65% of the online users are not willing to wait for more than 3 seconds for a website to get loaded. Therefore, it is important that the weight of the website is also light.

Live chat widgets do play a crucial part in customer engagement on the website. This, however, is more critical for B2B sales, which show a great improvement in conversion rates on having the live chat option on the website.

(Statistics are based on Brainfox’s infographic: 65 Proven Statistics About E-Commerce Consumer Psychology.)

A/B testing could be one of the options to ensure website optimization

Now, given the customer behavior and the trends, the question arises as to how designers should offer a landing page catering to the terrain which is being targeted by the business because the customer value perception may differ from one geographical region to another. A/B testing could be one of the solutions to this dilemma. It captures the customer behavior to each of the webpage variants that has been launched by the designer. Now, each of the variants can have different positioning of components – one with video vs. one with the image, one with the chat option vs. one without the chat option and so on. Therefore, analyzing customer behavior on these variants may help designers to get a better and a more customized insight on the customer preferences in that particular geography.

Payment Security – a major reason behind shopping cart abandonment

Trust seal is a non-negotiable factor which needs to be considered by online players before launching it to customers. Most online shoppers have declined transactions due to risks in the payment process. In addition to that, the pricing of the product should be realistic and competitive. The cart abandonment rate has been the maximum in the payment gateway stage of the transaction, where the customer has declined payment due to such reasons.

The All New POS System For Modern Businesses

Published on 14/04/2016 by wp_blogLeave a comment

One of the most important parts of business operations is related to your point of sale (POS) system. It is the lifeline of your business and must be in good shape because it wields a direct impact on your sales and revenue. In the past, a POS system meant cash register or some manual accounting system which was never a pleasure to use. It also had many limitations, but things have changed a good deal.

Nowadays, it is very easy to manage sales and revenue, thanks to the modern-day software that make for excellent POS systems. Fit for the traditional business needs as well as the new-age online transactions, these systems are tailor made to go with the present-day requirements of businesses.

Benefits of POS system

The Point of Sale systems has many benefits over their predecessors. They have overcome the limitations of the traditional systems and also offer many more advantages to merchants and businesses. Let us take a look at them.

Simplicity of usage and maintenance

The software loaded systems are competent and ease the load of the administrator/finance personnel. They do not have to leaf through hundreds of receipts or pages to find the requisite information. The system self-generates reports at adequate intervals and also dishes out data with a simple click. If you want, you can also create reports as per your needs. They come with complete customer support and you can update and maintain them effortlessly.

Efficiency of inventory management

These days, almost all businesses deal with online transactions and inventory management is a big task while handling these transactions. It is at the heart of customer satisfaction and sales. But thanks to the POS systems, there is no need to make a separate arrangement for the same. Most of the time, these systems come preinstalled with an inventory management feature which you can use to track orders, stocks and other related aspects.

Ease of customization

Every business is unique in some way and hence, also has some unique needs. POS systems understand this fact very well and allow for customization so that you can synchronize it to align with your special requirements. You can create your own reports and check out the best selling products, profit margins, etc.

Fast, computerized and error-free

These software eliminate the chances of human error and even if you press a wrong button or make a wrong entry, they notify you about it. With its help, you can automate the processes and speed up your operations during peak seasons and rush hours. It brings down the chances of fraud as well and your finance personnel can learn them easily. The computerized programs can handle loads of data and have huge storage capacity.

Better customer service

Customers also gain a lot through these systems as they produce detailed receipts, with much more information than the older versions which only carried date, product name and amount of sale. The modern day systems offer much more insight as they are synchronized with the inventory control system. The customers get a line by line detail and complete description of the purchase which is not just empowering but also flattering.

How to select a POS

The icing on the cake is that you can easily find a host of POS systems that will fulfill all your needs. The internet is abuzz with many software programs that let you manage your operations without any problem. But, there is also a caveat. You can get overwhelmed by the numerous options with charming features. To aid you in the selection, we acquaint you with the desirable features that make a system worthy of possession.

Easy-to-use – The system should have an easygoing and user-friendly interface. The finance personnel should be able to learn it easily so that they can perform in a satisfactory manner.
Affordable – Thanks to the multiple options, the systems are pretty pocket-friendly but you must investigate for hidden costs, up gradation charges and subscription fees.
Secure – The system should have in-built checks to safeguard customer data so that the transactions are seamless and there is no scope for fraud or breach of customer’s trust.
Flexible – With time, operations undergo change as a business may expand or venture into new fields. So, the system must have enough ability to fit in with the new requirements.
Future-proof – The face of business is changing at a fast pace and the system should know how to keep abreast of the developments. Be it mobile payment or cloud computing, it should be receptive to the upcoming changes and challenges.

If you keep these points in mind, you will not find it tough to get the best system solution for your business that will not just facilitate operations but also act as a driver of growth and evolution.

Retail 2020: Trends In India

Published on 07/04/2016 by wp_blogLeave a comment

Retail is absolutely booming in India right now. And experts are of the opinion that it will only get better. In fact, statistics indicate that the retail sector in India is growing by a whopping approximate value of 12% per annum, meaning that, by 2020, retail could very well value at about 1 trillion dollars in India.

But before we get to the trends in question, here’s a look at the major factors currently influencing this speedy growth:

Current Factors Aiding the Growth of Retail in India

Advancements in online technology:

There is no doubt that the rapid advancements of technology – especially in the online realm of business – have had a huge influence on the retail sector in India. This is also probably why the Indian retail sector is working at its peak in the current era.

Modernization:

Urbanization and attitudinal shifts in people and businesses in India have greatly affected the growth of the retail sector.

Extensive numbers of offline and online retail stores:

In addition to traditional retail channels (such as small grocery stores and the like), the retail sector in India also includes supermarkets, hypermarkets, all other kinds of organized retail outlets, and even online retail markets. In fact, a large chunk of this retail growth is both dependent on and consequent of the largest ecommerce market that has been steadily growing in India during the last couple of years.

So, now that that’s out of the way, check out the assumptions for retail in India by 2020:

Definite Trends to Watch for Regarding the Indian Retail Sector for the Next Five Years

Expect the considerable growth of the retail sector as a certainty:

Now, there are plenty of statistics that often predict the growth of a sector, but often (in the end) falls flat. However, why we are pretty certain that won’t be the case here is because of certain facts and trends: For one, modern trade (on a global level) in itself is expected to double in growth in 2020. And with Indian ecommerce stores firmly established in the online sphere, India automatically shares in that prediction for retail growth too.

Availability of goods and services will no longer be limited based on location or area:

Right now, everything from goods to various kinds of services has already entered the retail sector of India – which makes these goods and services much more easily available as well. For instance, think of how it was to book a train ticket before with only a single outlet or two available in a single location. While now, there are umpteen travel agencies as well as a number of online platforms available to you.

Add-on services in addition to the primary function will become the norm:

Consider again the above example of travel agencies: You don’t just book one-way and two-way tickets anymore. You can book for anything from the type of meals you take, to whether you want a car or a mini-van to pick you up at your destination – as well as many other things. Consequently, the availability of such services and options will only continue to grow.

Ecommerce establishments will continue to grow exponentially:

From a time when online shopping and the like were still new and rare, we’ve shifted to an age where we’re literally spoilt for choice when we shop online. And, such instances are only growing in India thanks to the obviously booming success of ecommerce.

As such, digital retail stores are bound to grow. And here’s why:

One, the relatively lower cost of running an online store when compared to a brick and mortar store.

Two, customers generally get a lower price for their goods and services online due to the fact that online store owners have fewer overhead costs. And when you pair that with the many discounts and offers that flit around online almost daily, it’s no wonder more and more customers move to shop online.
Three, the mobile platform is growing exponentially and e-stores have already started building mobile apps for their stores, thus making it even more accessible.
Four, Internet costs are lower than ever and are predicted to reduce even further, thereby making online shopping even more of an enticing prospect for Indian customers.

Mobile platforms will be the reigning platform for online retail:

As the era of the smartphone shows, adapting to the mobile platform is already a must for e-stores. And expert opinion and research only support that the mobile platform will continue to gain power in the coming years. There are a few hitches as well to watch out for though – which is the only reason why Indian retail growth is not progressing as smoothly as it could. Shaky economics is one of the hitches. Also, changes are needed regarding the way goods are priced and the effectiveness of Indian retail workflows (both online and offline).

Marketing and Analytics: The Cornerstones of Success in E-commerce

Published on 26/03/2016 by wp_blogLeave a comment

The mother of all internet businesses, e-commerce is a constantly evolving segment. The galloping pace of evolution is certainly exciting and if you are looking to match steps, you must get a handle on marketing and analytics. These two are the cornerstones of success in the field of e-commerce. Unfortunately, many businesses do not give them due importance, realizing little that it will give their competitors a huge edge and the latter can easily become the go-to destination for customers.

Why are marketing and analytics important?

Probably, the reason behind the lack of interest is the inability of entrepreneurs to understand the significance of marketing and analytics in the success of their business. Well, the fact is that e-commerce is a highly competitive niche and the customers are spread far and wide, who can be only engaged through intensive marketing and quality service. The second reason is that multiple variables operate in the e-commerce sphere at the same time and to tap into their potential, businesses need correct analysis and reports. Last but not the least, the decision-making process of this segment demand quick thinking and detailed analysis.

So, which are the areas where marketing and analytics come into play?

Below is a detailed explanation.

Product/service offering

Your key offering i.e. products/services gives you great insights regarding consumer behavior and needs. Your product page is a source of huge data and you can dig into it to perform better. It will help you find out the satisfaction rate, identify the customer queries/interests, demographic specific demands, engagement density and many more things. You can also make a sales forecast on this basis, and modify your marketing and sales accordingly.

User experience

User experience plays a very important role in the success of your business and thus, it is important to understand what is engaging and annoying the user. The user related data, such as how much time they spend, how do they search, which is the best landing page, what holds their attention, reviews, etc. form a part of the analytics. It is studied to improve the user experience so that there are more conversions and your position is solidified as a brand.

Supply chain management

Supply chain management is an integral part of e-commerce, especially in retail, and it revolves around logistics. Logistics involves heaps of data related to pricing, transportation cost, human power, etc. In fact, this is one of the pillars on which e-commerce industry stands. It plays a key role in customer satisfaction and can make or break your operations. Therefore, only those businesses which manage this aspect skillfully can hope to flourish and make profits. And to manage logistics, nothing is more suitable than analytics.

Merchant management

Merchants are the lifeblood of e-commerce business. They need to be managed and engaged so that they can help you grow as a successful enterprise. With their numbers quite high, you need to employ analytics to track the dealings, their relative performance, ability to cater to a growing customer base and other variables. With insights gained from customers’ data, you can easily engage the merchants by offering them more contracts and rewards.

Fraud detection

E-commerce is not devoid of frauds and cheating. Since it involves online transactions, the chances of getting duped are quite high. It may come from the merchant’s side or in some cases even customers. Such cases need to be handled with tact and must also be tracked carefully. With analytics, it becomes a cakewalk to detect frauds and handle them.

Marketing

E-commerce marketing is a lot about analytics. Be it SEO or AdWords spend or social media marketing, every business gets huge unstructured data on these fronts and needs to study them properly so as to get optimum return on investment. Even in terms of content marketing, one needs to analyze customer data to understand what is trending, what is being searched, which keywords are performing, what kind of content is impactful and other related things.

Bottom line

A strong data analysis framework is must for every e-commerce business as it helps you at every step in your business. And thankfully, there are many tools out there to help you in this regard. Available for free as well as at a price, these analytics tools help you a great deal in forging correct strategies for sales and customer engagement. Names like Google Analytics, KissMetrics, CrazyEgg are well-known for their efficiency and ease of use.

If you want, you can also develop personalized tools. You may need to hire an analytics expert to perform this task or you may choose to do it yourself. But if you do it yourself, you must possess great analytical skills. Whatever you invest in this area is bound to bear fruits and therefore, you must choose the right option, even if it seems costly.

Boost Your Sales with the Changes in Shopping Trends!

Published on 23/03/2016 by wp_blogLeave a comment

In the world of e-commerce, the orientation is always changing its position. Hence, as an owner of the business or being a marketing specialist, one will always need to be on his toes to make the trade stand firm in its position. In order to carry on with the uprising sales structure, the professionals need to be able to evolve, and look for changing the technology which will definitely sway the customers while sustaining the profit margins. It is also being predicted that the customers will be spending over 427 billion on online retail shopping. Thus, in order to increase the profit margins, maintaining such dynamic trends, then one needs to jump on these latest styles, patterns, and appearance for the upcoming conventions.

What changes can be seen?

With the continual connectedness, circumstantial pertinence and a multiple screen world, shopping trends are actually bringing about advancement in both the online and offline shopping methods. With this, it can be said that some appealing potentials are paving its way for traders who are willing to make the changing trends as their medium for moving ahead. Experts are stating how linking classic retail truths with digital acute can really encourage the retailers to do what matters the most to them that serve their customers in a better way.

These are few schemes, working on, which will really boost the sales higher up. Read on:

An Enhanced Mobile Shopping Acquaintance

Now, smartphones can rightfully be categorized under the essentials category. The consumers are utilizing them not only for texting or for browsing the internet but also for shopping purposes. Recent studies also emphasise that the mobile shopping trend is a trend that will be around for long. And to keep up with this ever increasing advancement, different brands will have to upgrade their mobile shopping mediums to provide a great experience to their consumers.

Personifying the shopping knowledge

According to research, it has been identified that personification provides a great opportunity to boost the sales figure. Using data that deciphers the consumer behaviour and thereby presenting the consumers with related products will give a great push to the sales figure and thus attract high profits. However, this is just one process to personify the online shopping methods and these days many stores are adopting such features to upgrade their sales methods. Like they are personalizing various marketing emails and discount coupons for their customers. This is yet again one huge opportunity for online traders as big retailers are not yet subsidizing on it.

Elevated Consumers Impacts In Online Shopping

Shopping through online methods has become a quite abstract experience for the users. Customers mainly browse through their required products online, make decisions on any specific item, and clearly make a deal with the retailer silently, without even making anybody aware of its prospects and whereabouts. This is totally different with the experience that they have while buying an item from offline retail stores, where they would get sales representatives is they have any query about anything as such. In fact, the shopper can get through real interactions only when their encounters a problem right after the sale. Hence, the online markets are looking forward to providing real-time business interactions with their customers. Therefore, live chat features are being installed in the website or app itself to improve the shopping experience.

Aiming At Contents

Marketing mix doesn’t really limit itself to blog posts only. Many e-commerce stores strive with identifying their product topics they can display and write about on their specific blogs. However, they end up thinking that they might give up on content marketing rather than doing a scruffy job. Content marketing is a great way to attract the consumers by exhibiting the full details of the product and thus improving the shopping experience which does lead to better sales.

Providing Videos For Products

The important characteristics of most of the products which attract the customer’s attention are clear photography, subjective descriptions, perceptible specifications and product options. Product videos, despite such aspects, also turn out to be quite appealing for many of the customers. With this, the consumer tries to find more information about the product, thus increasing the sales margin of the company.

Other such methods include-

Rapid and timely delivery
Focusing on proper social media marketing
Enforcing e-commerce constructive sales forces

Conclusion- The online shopping trend is ultimately replacing the decrepit way of shopping. Not just one, now there are hundreds of thousands of online retail stores providing such aspects and guiding through a method of how to improve and enhance sales structure in such mediums of trade.

A Legal Checklist for Every Business Owner

Published on 21/03/2016 by wp_blogLeave a comment

Starting your own business is like living your longtime dream but your dream easily becomes a nightmare when you think of the legal angle. Well, corporate law and legal paraphernalia can boggle the most sensible and sorted entrepreneurs. So, it is not a big deal at all if you are getting goose bumps but if you overlook the legal aspect or deal with it casually, you are bound to encounter troubles in future that may also destroy your dream forever. So, it is mandatory that you do your homework in this aspect.

Of course, it will take up a good deal of your time and energy but it will also ensure a rock-solid foundation for your enterprise. So, do not back out. Take the bull by its horns. To help you out, we have compiled a legal to-do list that every business owner must memorize.

Select a name

It might seem very insignificant and many businessmen think that the company name is limited to thinking of something unique or catchy or cool. Well, coming up with a catchy name is certainly important for it affects you as a brand but legal implications are also associated with your entity’s name. First of all, you need to think of several names and then search the database of companies to find out if your proposed name is available or has been taken. Once you finalize a suitable name, you should get it registered with the appropriate authority. After this, you should go after the domain name. Google search to verify the availability and then register it through a domain service.

2. Choose the business structure/type

Whether you want to operate as a private limited company, sole proprietor, partnership, limited liability company (LLP) or in any other manner has to be decided beforehand. The company structure is a very important matter as it will have an impact on your liability, taxation, profits, succession planning and many more things. You should finalize it after taking the business nature, funding needs and risk involvement into account. To get more insights, do consult other businesses, lawyers or accountants.

3. Get license

No business can operate without a license and you need to get one from an appropriate authority in your city or state or town. You must know about the timeline, requisite documents, clauses and other related tidbits to procure the license. The license and permit laws are a little complex and you have to tread the territory carefully. So, you might need the help of an expert such as chartered accountant or corporate lawyer.

4. Create founder’s agreement

As is the trend, most businesses are helmed by two or more than two founders, who makes for a prudent strategy but it also makes complete sense to get everything in writing. You must put together a founder’s agreement in the proper way as soon as you go ahead with the setup formalities. The agreement must carry clear explanations regarding ownership, liability, intellectual property and other important matters. Consult a legal professional for best advice and notify all the owners before finalizing the draft.

5. File for patent/trademark

Many businesses, in the present times, revolve around an idea or intellectual capital which makes you vulnerable as well. The corporate world is full of cunning crooks who do not mind harvesting money from another’s concept. So, it is important to protect the core of the company. Your idea is a valuable asset and needs to be safeguarded under all conditions. So, whether it is the patent of your products or trademark of your logo, you must get things in place.

6. Get a business account

Finances are the lifeblood of a business and to ensure smooth running, it is very important that you do not mix personal and professional finances. So, get an account opened in the name of your business and make sure that all the professional transactions are made through it. It will also help you in getting tax benefits, concessions and other facilities provided by banks to businesses. You will also be saved from fines and other legal troubles.

7. Set up the contracts

A business enters into multiple contracts with multiple people and entities in order to operate successfully. They may be suppliers, agencies, clients, distributors, marketer, workers, etc. These contracts are loaded with legal obligations and you can be held accountable if you fail to follow them. So, it is important that you enter them after careful assessment. Do get legal help if you do not understand anything or are unsure and also learn some contract law.

Conclusion

The detailed to-do list mentioned above does seem challenging but if you want to become the showman of your niche, you have to master it. All the tasks are important and the sooner you finish them, the closer you will come to your dreamland.

Savings Solutions: 5 Ways To Save Your Small Business Money

Published on 18/03/2016 by wp_blogLeave a comment

There is a very old proverb that says one should cut one’s coat according to the cloth, meaning one should plan things according to one’s resources which is really a sensible approach to adopt in every sphere of life. It holds great universal value but is most suited for a small business. Why? Well, such businesses are hard-pressed for resources and work in a volatile economic environment, marked by intense competition, which makes them quite vulnerable to failure and collapse.

To head off these setbacks, small scale enterprises need to follow a prudent approach. They need to be supervised minutely so that they can face the challenges and reach the milestone without any injury. And nothing can safeguard them better than savings which has always been hailed as the hallmark of prudence.

Savings- Importance and Benefits

For a small business, savings are as important as making profits. They are like those trusted old friends that stand by you in your hard times and help you sail through. You can count on them to take care of the emergencies that often come uninvited. Apart from this, savings are important because:

It comes across as a good business habit that not only makes you more efficient but also helps in optimum utilization of resources. Financial discipline is a virtue for any business but for small enterprises, it is a necessity as it gives you better control and encourages risk-taking to expand your operations.
It helps in further wealth creation. You can invest more in your enterprise with the savings you have made. You can hire more and better staff, purchase superior equipment, take more risks and also deal with bigger clients.
It is easy to begin with and once you get into the groove, it becomes a part of your business ideology that guarantees quick access to liquidity in crucial times and also acts a safety net.

The Savings Tips

Savings are easy to make as there are various ways to cut the costs, without hurting the operations or compromising with the quality of your work. Here are five wonderful tips:

Collaborate with competitors for supplies – This will help you get the discounts on bulk purchase like big businesses without having to place big orders. Most of the time, competitors have same needs in terms of supplies and it makes for a good savings strategy to check out in advance and bargain together. It can be for equipment, stationery, internet connection or just about any requirement that you have in common.
Side with second-hand stuff – A fabulous savings measure, buying second-hand equipment/furniture lets you save big. There is no point in investing in a fancy coffee maker or chairs or computers when you can make do with used ones. So, go for the second-hand stuff but make sure they are in good shape otherwise the repair cost will render all the saving efforts null.
DIY (Do It Yourself) – A very popular savings measure, DIY is also a skill that helps you cut down day-to-day expenses without much ado. As a small business owner, you will regularly encounter tasks which require you to hire people with small skills. For ex, repairing the loose wiring or tweaking images with Photoshop. If you take the rein in your hands you won’t have to pay the electrician or the designer. There are numerous YouTube tutorials to help you out in this endeavor.
Offer low-cost incentives to high-performing employees – Employees are a huge asset for any small business. But it is quite challenging to keep them engaged through high salary and bonuses, which is very easy for big businesses. So, it makes sense to offer flexible working hours, recognition/reward, and business shares as incentives because they do not cost anything and bring great returns. They are not just popular with employees but also foster commitment and motivation.
Outsource – A highly effective, popular and prudent cost-cutting strategy is outsourcing and it has helped many businesses. Instead of hiring full-time staff for every work, it is a smart approach to hire part-time or freelancing staff. For ex, you can deal with a digital consultant for social media marketing as an alternative to hiring a social media executive. It helps you save on salary, bonus, insurance and other overheads related to employees. Also, it brings you better expertise and varied experience.

Conclusion

Savings are the soul of every small businesses without which you cannot expect to flourish and find fulfillment. Practiced since centuries, it is a surefire success recipe that will always keep your business on track. Of course, it demands caution and homework on your part but every effort is worth it. By doing proper research, planning and micromanaging, you can easily build your safety net and growth engine.

4 Steps to Building a Successful Online Store

Published on 17/03/2016 by wp_blogLeave a comment

So, you have decided to give your shop an online identity but still find it difficult to set the ball rolling. Don’t worry. You are not the only one going through the launching travails. Every entrepreneur goes through this situation. Even the premium players have experienced the grind and pondered over countless ifs and buts before making it to the top ranks. Hence, all you need to do is set aside the worries and get going with the task at hand.

To help you out, we will tell you about 4 simple and effective steps to get going. Following them, you can easily begin operations. These steps are tailor-made to suit an exclusive online store as well as a physical store looking to expand with an online avatar.

Research and regard your customers

Customers are the lifeline of every online business and if you want to sell more and attract more footfalls then you have to look at things from their perspective. From the look of your e-store to the shopping cart to subscription pop-ups, everything should be customer friendly. It must load fast and the customer should find it convenient to navigate through your site while looking for different items. The entire process, from arrival to checkout, ought to be seamless and simple. You must make sure that the site’s aesthetics and functionality go hand in hand. Just go through a shopping trial on a site that you find exemplary and incorporate all the desirable traits in your e-store.

Focus on product images

Studies have proved that visuals grab quick attention. They also possess higher engagement value. So, it is important to make sure that your products have good display. It will easily enamor the customers and help you to sell more. Your e-store should look like a well decorated physical store with all items showcased properly. Add zoom-out, side display, back display and other features to the images as it enhances their value. Also, write good copy for the products with complete information and catchy titles. Keep the search terms and keywords in mind as well.

Incorporate customer reviews

Customer reviews play a key role in increasing sales. They act as credible sales pitches which customers value greatly. So, if you want visitors to loosen their purse strings you should make space for reviews. Showcase the star ratings, testimonials and words of praise on your site, below or alongside the products. Do not be afraid of criticism or negative feedback. But if you want to obliterate it altogether, switch on the filters that track negative reviews or allow for review via the email method only.

Market intensively

E-commerce is a highly-contested niche and there are scores of competitors vying for the same target customers. So, you have to be proactive and market aggressively to get your store noticed. Luckily, you can rely on the multi-pronged online marketing and you should never underestimate its power. To make the most of this strategy, it is suggested, you go whole hog. Utilize every marketing tool like social media (esp. Instagram, Pinterest because they are images-oriented) SEO, Google AdWords (be discreet as it is expensive), content marketing, emails/newsletters, YouTube videos, etc. to grab the eyeballs. It is completely worth it and results in sustainable traffic as well as more sales.

Important points to keep in mind

Do not waste time being a perfectionist. Launch quickly because there is nothing like the perfect time or right time. Set up a time-limit for the research, cover all the aspects within the same and set the ball rolling.
Pick up an easy-to-use and customer friendly shopping cart as it impacts the customer experience. It has an important role in driving sales and profits. There are many options like Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Big Commerce, WP EasyCart, OpenCart, Prestashop to choose from.
Keep it lean in the initial phase and do as many things yourself. This will make sure that your financial resources are not unduly stressed and you can also save a fair deal.
Watch out for your competitors and always keep an eye on their innovations and strategies. You do not have to copy them but if they help to enhance sales without affecting your brand value, you can certainly take recourse to them.
Last but not the least, keep doing regular analysis of your performance. Modify the strategy as per the results and always focus on the target that you have set for your business.

Bottom Line

An online store has huge potential for growth because e-commerce is a cost-effective and simple business model. It is very popular and is being used by thousands of entrepreneurs, all over the world, to earn profits and make a name for themselves. So, just follow the steps and tips we have mentioned above and get ready to join the coveted league.

Finance and Bookkeeping Apps Your Small Business Needs to Succeed

Published on 16/03/2016 by wp_blogLeave a comment

Importance of financial mobile apps to Business:

Challenges related to finance and accounting are faced by every small business. Be it related to finance or book-keeping, these obstacles are encountered by all. Great care and utmost caution are required while dealing with these factors as even a small accounting error may cause a multiplied effect on the balance sheet as a whole. Now, the best way that one can employ to deal with these challenges is by preventing it in the first place. And the best way to combat these obstacles include developing a system and standards, using an integrated software system that needs less manual entries, using versatile cloud-based accounting software system, educating yourself on accounting, tax and accounting problems, and partnering with a certified public accountant.

One can keep a tab on finance, accounting and book-keeping using apps on their mobile phones or tabs. Let us take a look at some useful and handy finance and book-keeping apps for your small business:

1. Zoho Books

Zoho Books organizes and manages all of your business transactions. You pay less time invoicing and chasing due payments. On-line payments offer the advantage and convenience to encourage faster payments. With Zoho Books, you’ll be able to simply keep a record of all of your estimates, invoices, credit notes, and continual invoices. Convert estimates to invoices in just a click, and with the filter you can also trace invoices which require your attention.

Zoho Books is stress-free and an easy-to-use accounting app that tracks the cash incoming and outgoing of your business. With Zoho Books, you’ll continually keep up-to-date on your business finance and create choices instantly. Some of features include-

Sales – Manage Money Coming In
Purchases – Manage Money Going Out
Purchase Order
Banking
Quick widgets
Tax Exclusive / Tax Inclusive rates
Invoice Templates
Track time accurately
Download and Print Reports
Accept Online Payment
Add Attachments and Receipts

2. QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks makes accounting, billing, and payments as simple as a breeze. Run your entire business with this small business cloud accounting solution and enjoy the liberty of operating at any place from your smartphone or tablet. Some of the benefits of using this app are-

Create and send professional looking invoices and estimates
Get paid faster by sending invoices with a Pay Now link
Receive payments directly on an invoice via credit card
Do business in multiple currencies using the latest exchange rates
See overdue invoice notifications to make sure everyone’s paying you
Manage expenses, sales and customers on the go

3. Freshbooks

FreshBooks enables you to create Professional Invoices in seconds. You can create professional-looking invoices complete with your own logo. When you’re ready, simply print off your invoice or email it to your client in a snap. It is exclusively designed for Small Business Owners

Create and send professional-looking invoices and estimates
Easily capture and manage expenses on the go
Turn on the timer while on the clock for your client and never lose another billable second again
Your FreshBooks account is accessible everywhere, on all your devices, to let you work from where ever you want and whenever you wish to
Your data is backed up and secure across multiple data centers, behind a firewall with 256-bit encryption – that means if you ever lose your phone, all your data remains intact.
The cloud accounting saves your time and helps you get paid faster.

4. Tally

This app is a tool to keep up business or personal accounts on android device in “Tally Way”.

A person having no knowledge of accounting can also utilize this tool as it is very simple and user friendly. This app makes it very simple to manage day to day accounting transaction on a mobile or a tab. The screens and operations resembles known Indian accounting package “Tally”. Even zooming is additionally provided, i.e. from final report one can reach till voucher entry.

Some of the features are –

Creation of Masters for all sort of Accounts like Capital, Assets, Debtors, Creditors etc. Entering and maintaining Daily Transactions like Payment, Receipt, Sales and Purchase. Contra entries to manage cash deposited or withdrawn from bank. Journal Vouchers for cross account entries and final settlement entries.
Generates Reports like Daybook, Ledger, Registers, Trial Balance and Final reports – Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss Account.
Data is always backed up and used from the device itself. But for safety, user can take a backup in a company wise manner and store it at a desired location or can directly mail on his own mail-id. So, in case the user has formatted his phone, there is no accidental loss of data.

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We @NeoGrowth Credit help online sellers & retailers grow their business by providing business loans.