As an entrepreneur, you know that success is all about reducing costs, boosting security, and getting better data. That’s why so many entrepreneurs are always searching for the best solutions that combine all three.
As you look forward, these three elements of success can help you focus on your people, support well-being, and allow the technology to do the tough stuff for you. Here are three smart moves for success in 2024.
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Embrace Your ERP Software
ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning software. These are the tools that big global companies use to track workflow and manage operations. The big guys are seeing the big picture, not by tracking everything by hand. No way.
They’re using software to consolidate business processes down to the tiniest detail. What kind of processes? You name it. Human Resources such as hiring, firing, training, and performance reviews. Accounting and finances to cover things like invoicing, payments, and resource management.
ERP is a small word for a huge benefit. It enables you to do the three things you love most. Reduce cost. Get better data. Develop stronger security.
Reduce Costs
What CEO or CFO doesn’t want to reduce costs? But we don’t want to look only at immediate savings. ERP enables you to evaluate spending across your organization. You can slash spending on problems that affect multiple departments. This will not only save money but will also skyrocket morale.
Better Data
You can’t make smart decisions without timely, accurate data. Oddly enough, a lot of businesses seem to forget this and make gut decisions before truly analyzing all the data.
Real-time analytics from ERP will help you and your teams gain insights across your organization. This is a life-saver—and it won’t keep you up at night or miss weekends with your family.
Stronger Security
A single premium software can keep your organization running without downtime from security breaches. Data security is a huge issue in companies, both large and small. Don’t skimp here, because your business depends on having the most robust security.
Use Background Services
As an entrepreneur, you’re evaluating the best candidates to work in your company. To do this you are likely to confirm the information given on an application or in a job interview. This can be time-consuming and one of the best ways to make sure information is accurate is to conduct a fast background check.
Background checks can provide you with valuable information such as verifying employment, confirming academic credentials, talking with references, and checking for a criminal record. These aspects may be used to determine accuracy as well as to inform hiring decisions.
Some hiring managers and employers want to confirm specific skills. For example, a senior sales director may need to be able to sell high ticket items, manage a co-located team, and work seamlessly with senior staff. By confirming previous positions, a recruiter can verify their performance in similar positions.
Instead of doing this manually, many entrepreneurs prefer to use a background services firm. This can help you reduce costs, get better data, and ultimately have stronger peace of mind, being secure in your hiring decisions.
Manage Hybrid Arrangements
More companies of all sizes are migrating or have moved to some form of hybrid work arrangements. Employees are still adjusting to the demands of remote work, either working from home full time or going into the office for a few days a week.
Of course, this will impact your onsite operations. If you have a business that requires onsite employees, you will need to navigate the evolving workplace needs and employee preferences. You’ll want to find employees who want to work at least some days in your headquarters. Plus, to minimize headaches and maximize workflow, you’ll need to make sure everyone uses calendaring software.
Some training, tools, and IT support will help you and your team keep calendars correctly and up to date. In addition to scheduling, look closely at health and safety issues. Wherever employees are working, health and safety continue to be critical issues.
As a responsible entrepreneur, continue the on-site health and safety protocols and check with your employees to find out their suggestions. In response to ongoing input, you may want to create such features as an outdoor kitchen, Plexiglas barriers, or socially distanced seating options.
As we move into 2024, creative entrepreneurs who focus on their people first—while reducing costs, getting great data, and strengthening security—are heading into a remarkable year. And those who don’t can, ideally, learn from them.
Five Tips for Marketing Your Modern Business
The business of marketing has changed considerably over the last few years. It has become nearly an entirely different field. With digital marketing taking over the landscape of the business, the strategies and tactics used to market a business and make ads have changed. Companies are now forced to evolve their sometimes long-established marketing approaches. Whatever field you’re in, mastering digital marketing is essential to any business. Continue reading below for five tips to market your modern company.
Use SEO
One of the most important things in the digital marketing field is search engine optimization (SEO). This is the process of creating website content that lands high up on search engines like Google, Bing, and more. Using keywords, hyperlinks, metadata, and engaging content will help push your website pages up to the top of search engine searches. It is essential to utilize the tool of SEO marketing to get your site and brand out there. Hiring an SEO content writer will help a lot. Build a website that gets you noticed using SEO and update it frequently to keep it fresh and landing high up on search engines.
Take Advantage of Social Media
It doesn’t matter what kind of business you have; social media is a part of any modern marketing strategy. It is where you can create an audience and get to know your customers. Your brand can begin to form, and you can utilize hashtags to get certain messages out. You can announce sales, new products, exciting developments, and events.
On social media, you can use some of the same messaging that you use in your SEO content. Connecting the two can make a cohesive brand message. Furthermore, you should utilize video content in your social media strategy. Look at the benefits of YouTube vs. TikTok for video content that you use as ads. Advertising has changed a lot. Now it’s dependent upon the work you put in and the money you spend.
Buy Ad Space
Where advertisements used to be on billboards and in newspapers, now they are on social media websites, publications, blogs, and more. You can buy ad space on a wide variety of different platforms. It’s important to invest in the areas that you believe will be lucrative for your business. Pay-per-click ad space isn’t as effective as you might think. Promoting ads on Facebook can cost a lot of money. Still, whatever you are doing to promote your business, buying ad space can help get the word out and increase traffic to your website and social media pages.
Try Email Marketing
Another helpful strategy is email marketing. With this tool, you can gather emails and send them promotions, news, and information about your products and services. You can also share details to engage your clientele and keep your business on their mind. As your email list grows, you will have a better idea of how to sculpt the emails, what to say, and how to promote your brand without being annoying. Email marketing is a tactic that nearly every successful company is using these days. If you aren’t taking advantage of this strategy, maybe it’s time to start.
Collect Data
Finally, one of the most integral parts of marketing is collecting data. All kinds of businesses are collecting information about their customers. The ethics are dubious surrounding data collection, but it is undeniably a part of our economy. Whether it’s tech or social media or something else entirely, using the data that you must find new demographics and discover markets that you didn’t know existed. Data analysis is so valuable to any company. It can be an effective part of your marketing strategy if you can properly take advantage of it.
Marketing has changed. It doesn’t matter what your business is in, digital marketing strategies are pivotal to getting the word out there about your brand and products. Every company is different, and therefore each tactic will offer different benefits and drawbacks. This is what makes it so exciting.
There is no one method to market your company and advertise what you are doing. It’s imperative to think about what exactly you represent and how you should present yourself to different demographics. Follow these five tips for marketing your business and you will find your way to promote what you are doing.
About Carson Derrow
