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What a year it has been! I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thanks. Thank you for the hustle, the laughs, and the shared moments that made this year uniquely ours. Through all the ups and downs, your support has been the secret sauce to our combined successes. Here's to celebrating the wins and learning from the curveballs life threw our way. As we head into a brand new year, let's carry the good vibes, the lessons, and the team spirit that makes us awesome. Wishing you a relaxed holiday season and a New Year that is as fantastic as each of you! See you next year!   When you have a website, you are probably aware that it is not a 'static, nice thing to have', but a living, ever changing asset that you need to work on every now and then.  Keep your website updated Producing regular, engaging content can seem like a “too-hard” task. But at the very least, it’s important to ensure that your website is kept up to date. I was talking to a friend recently who mentioned she was researching for a service, and she found that the websites were mostly outdated with either staff no longer working there or – shock – a wrong phone number. She was very frustrated about this. When you have changes in your opening hours or changes in products or services, then update that content on your website. Check it regularly (or have it checked) to ensure that your message and content is correct and current.  Is your website mobile friendly? Having a mobile friendly website is one of the most important things to consider. Most of us use our smart phone to google for answers; and most businesses get more conversions and traffic now from mobile phones than they do on computers. So it is more important than ever to ensure your website is mobile friendly. When your website is not mobile friendly it will not display in a clear and easy to read way on a mobile phone. Simple as that! I heard that Google penalises websites that are not mobile friendly in search results, giving preference to the ones that are mobile friendly.  How's your website going?Almost every business owner understands that they need to have a website for their business. Sometimes this is part of a very clear marketing strategy. Other times it’s a vague understanding that people are searching for goods and services online, and therefore they need to be there – wherever “there” is. Professional Website When you decided to launch your business, you probably didn’t think about all the hats you might have to wear as a small business owner. From bookkeeper to CEO, from sales person to marketer, small business owners wear multiple hats throughout their day. It can be very tempting to try and do everything yourself, but the simple truth is that it will save you money if you hire the right people for the job. It will free up the time to focus on what you love and are good at. There are heaps of free tools you can use to create your own website, but unless you are trained in web design, it will probably not look professional. Aside from design issues, it can also mean that some major issues are not addressed properly. This may all result in losing sales or leads. Remember, your website is your online shop front, and you want to put your best foot forward. You don’t want people remembering you for the poorly designed website they stumbled across and left quickly. A lot of website companies offer a free audit of your website. This audit should let you know which areas need to be addressed, or if the best solution is a full rebuild. Find several companies, listen to their advice, and compare their recommendations and prices. Clear Message Imagine this: if you asked someone to look at your home page for seven seconds, would they be able to answer the following questions?
If you are not able to answer these questions, you need to clarify your message until those three very important questions can be answered after just a seven second review. It might be a good idea to ask friends or family to do this for you. Write down their answers; this will help guide you to write better content to make those messages clear.  I can help you answering a lot of questions, not only the ones above. Want to experience it for yourself? Contact me now! WHAT IS A GOOD QUESTION?Albert Einstein apparently asked himself: "What would you see if you were traveling on a beam of light?" From there he developed his relativity theory. So, how do you define a good question? Kevin Kelly explored in his book “The inevitable: Understanding the 12 technological forces that will shape our future.” the quality of a good question. Good questions are the key to being ready for new futures and ultimately, when executed well, the most human of our strengths. Kelly writes: “A good question is like the one Albert Einstein asked himself as a small boy ‘what would you see if you were traveling on a beam of light?’ That question launched the theory of relativity (E=MC2) and the atomic age.
Thought Provoking!
Most of us, especially us business owners who rely on technologies to keep our businesses functioning, can't see ourselves living without them. Remote onboarding tools More people nowadays choose remote employment and more firms adopt this new model, so remote onboarding processes are increasingly reliant on technology. When it comes to employing new staff and familiarising them with their roles and the company culture, onboarding is critical. Starting a new job in a remote environment might present challenges for employees. Employers should be aware of this, because around 64% of employees would leave a new company within the first year if they had a bad onboarding experience. Businesses that use technology to ensure that every stage of the onboarding process is seamlessly planned and executed will be able to make their new team members feel valued and welcomed. Live chat and conversational marketing The B2B space is already dominated by chatbots and other conversational marketing activities in order to generate and nurture leads. People expect genuine human interaction that delivers immediate responses to their questions or pain points. It is thought that 90% of customers expect an “immediate” (10 minutes or less) response to their support questions. Nobody wants to send an email and then wait a week for a response from customer service. Businesses are looking into ways to make the sales funnel process seamless by incorporating live web chat, TXT, and social media messaging so they can deliver the quick gratification that people are looking for.  Do you feel overwhelmed by all the technologies? Need help? Contact me and let's sort something out! Around a decade ago, cloud computing and smartphones were new to the business world. Today most of us, especially us business owners who rely on these technologies to keep our businesses functioning, can't see ourselves living without them. HR Technology Organisations in various industries were forced to decentralise, adapt to the virtual workplace, and figure out how to effectively assist their employees in the face of quickly changing conditions. With the shift to remote work, a demand for human resources software and technology arose so that small business owners could keep track of their employees and their needs. This has led to an increased need for online project management tools, payroll and remuneration for employees, workforce analytics, employee engagement platforms, and administration of benefits.  Software integration
Software integration is the process of combining multiple software systems into a single unified system. This allows you to input more data into your systems more quickly, reduce errors, and save money over manual processes. If your business uses multiple applications, a software integration system will allow these different applications to communicate and work together to complete your goals. For instance, when you update a client’s contact information in one platform, you’ll want it to automatically update in other applications you are using to ensure consistency and avoid double entering. Small businesses will have a greater demand for software integration as they adopt new technology solutions. Around a decade ago, cloud computing and smartphones were new to the business world. Today most of us, especially us business owners who rely on these technologies to keep our businesses functioning, can't see ourselves living without them. Despite the fact that there are numerous small business tech trends that can help transform the small business landscape, most people aren't fully utilising these digital tools.  Video communication technologies As a small business owner, we sometimes feel the need to compete against enterprise-level competitors and we rely on our personalized service models. However, decentralized operations and limited in-person interactions forced us small ones to adapt to stay relevant. This started the demand for technological advancements because it helped improve engagement for both customers and employees. In 2020, (obviously) virtual meetings became popular to ensure face-to-face contact, as well as hosting webinars in order to network and generate more leads. There are other apps, such as Loom, that allow employees to record and share video messages of themselves, their screen, or both. Employees find this type of communication to be much more convenient than long emails or unnecessary meetings while adding a personal touch.  Increased cybersecurity
Because more and more businesses move their operations and data online and to the cloud, cybersecurity has become increasingly important. While around 60% of small business owners don’t think they’ll be the target of a cyber attack, 61% of them have fallen victim at least once to a cybersecurity breach. Once your personal information and that of your clients are exposed, cyber attacks put your business in danger of financial losses and brand damage. Around a decade ago, cloud computing and smartphones were new to the business world. Today most of us, especially us business owners who rely on these technologies to keep our businesses functioning, can't see ourselves living without them. Despite the fact that there are numerous small business tech trends that can help transform the small business landscape, most people aren't fully utilising these digital tools. A lot of small business owners are hesitant to adopt new technology for a variety of reasons, i.e. perceived cost barriers, a lack of understanding, or the belief that digital tools such as social media or live chat are irrelevant to their industry. These assumptions are not really true. There has been a rise of various technologies that cause many changes in small enterprises as well as consumer expectations. For many businesses, adopting new technology is the only way to keep up with the fast-paced environment of today. Here are some small business technologies to keep an eye on:
 Automation "The use of machines and computers that can operate without needing human control: office/factory automation Automation and robotics have decreased the need for a large, highly skilled work force." (Cambridge Dictionary) For example, if you ever book an appointment and receive a confirmation email or text message, this is an automated response. Automation can support small businesses save time and money by automating tedious manual tasks, i.e. inputting data into a system. Quite a lot of small businesses cite insufficient time as a major challenge. By incorporating automation into their system, businesses can save time on manual processes so they can focus their efforts on doing work that drives profit. Other examples include automating online pricing to balance profitability as well as inventory management systems to ensure the proper quantity of goods is on hand. I am a human, and I can help you automate some of your time consuming
tasks. Contact Me You probably employ staff. They need to go to the bathroom. They eat a muffin. They say Hi (and more) to their colleagues. Following I have compiled some thoughts about how your time and money get used or even wasted. Today it’s more important to run a lean business than ever before. Business is competitive, the marketplace is ruthless, and you need to keep expenses down. The only way to keep your head above water is maximising the return you make on business investments, especially for managing staff. Here's an example: An employee that earns $50,000 a year and wastes an hour each day will cost your company $6,250. This hour does not get wasted in hour-long blocks but in moments.
And then they need to get back on track. Each minute of interruption takes another minute to refocus on work.
This adds easily up to an hour or more per day. It will cost you around 10% of the wages you pay in actual cash.  When you engage someone working for you remotely, we only charge you for the time we actually work, and NOT for:
- bathroom time - checking our own email - finding a file - talking to a friend Try it out, contact me, and let's save you some money! Just joking... :) Most businesses use the cloud these days — the network of servers that host services on the internet — to store, manage and process at least some of their data. Examples include Google Drive, Dropbox, and iCloud. Read on for some of the things to consider when deciding which one to use. Access You should be able to access data anywhere and anytime you can get online, including on a smartphone. But keep in mind, if you can access it anywhere attackers can too. If you have to access sensitive information out of the office, do it on a secure connection — not an open network or public Wi-Fi hotspot. Make sure staff working from home use a secure Wi-Fi network. Security You could store your data in the cloud rather than relying solely on a hard drive. It means you won’t lose access to it if something happens to your hard drive. To keep sensitive data secure on the cloud, be sure to encrypt it, limit access to authorised people only, and turn on two-factor authentication. Some cloud services encrypt files for you. Cost Check how much storage you’ll need, now and in the future. The cloud can be cheaper when it comes to scaling up your needs. Service Cloud services offer levels of service that cater for a range of business sizes and budgets. If you don’t need 24/7 support the costs can be much lower. Changing providers Usually, it is very easy to change services. Notice times will be in your contract. Be sure to know what happens to your data if you want to switch providers, and how easy and secure it will be to transfer it.
All the Best, Marion Solutionist |
AuthorHi, I am Marion of Marion Metz Solutions Archives
August 2024
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