Is Your Business Online? Your Competitors Are There

Is Your Business Online? Your Competitors Are There.

The use of online asset is no longer a fib but it is a profitable marketing strategies which yields better return on investment (ROI) in this competitive and evolving industry. The new marketing strategies take products/services to customers placing it where they can both see and review at anytime and anywhere with ease.

The world has changed and there is need to understand market trend using modern techniques to make proactive and fact-base decisions. The world has gone digital and as such business owners do not have a choice but to exploit the opportunities presented by social media platforms.

This is a fundamental shift in the way we market.

The old marketing practises use broadcast and print advertisement tools for promotion, advertising and campaign. These tools include magazines, flyers, television, radio, billboard and roadshow to name a few.

Though these have common limitations such as:

 Miss It and Miss Out: Brand advertisement on billboards are only noticed by those who care to look, but with Social Media Marketing whatever goes to the Internet remains there for anyone to see anytime and anywhere. Facts and figures have it that 70% of people skip Billboard, Radio and TV advert. The social media marketing allows One to One target marketing.

Whatever goes to the Internet remains there

 Higher Cost of Advertisement and Marketing: Though advertisement is an investment, the cost of placing advert on TV and radio are higher when compared with social media advertisement. The ordeals of getting APCON certification and placing advertisement do not exist on social media platforms. Social media marketing makes advertisement much easier and cost-effective.

Advertisement is an investment.

 Measurement Metrics: Business owners should not be making intuitive decision; the desire to have an idea of the demography reach of advertisement and the effect on sales immediately and thereafter. Social Media Marketing (SMM) makes measurement simple, the audiences are known, their location, social demography (age, gender and social class), thereby creating a better avenue for classification and fact-based decision.

Social media creates a better avenue for classification and fact-based decision.

 Accessibility: Marketers can’t engage every merchants and clientele at the same time, but social media marketing creates an avenue to talk to customers on a one to one basis. Just a click connects customers to the company and vice versa. This is a fundamental shift in the way we do business.

You can engage customers on a one to one basis.

May I ask? How do you feel when you start to see advertisement of your competitors on social media platforms like Facebook, FixitSME and BBM? There is no question you MUST start advertising on Facebook, FixitSME and BBM too. Because if you are seeing the advertisement, it is 100% likely your current customers and prospective customers are seeing these advertisements too.

Create a FixitSME business profile today, we will take your business to the right audience. Click here to start!

Social media is no longer an optional tool rather it is a crucial tool of any marketing and advertising campaigns

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Business Terms : cashflow, Breakeven, Tax

This section equips users with business terminologies which enhance their performance on the job.

Cash-flow

It describes the movement of money into and out of a business account. Cash flow shows the liquidity of a business and their ability to settle debts. Most investors see the cash flow statement as the king because businesses with greater cash-inflows are perceived to be good for stockholders.

Breakeven

This is the point of safety for a business, at this point the business is not making a loss rather sales revenue can cover total fixed costs. Business needs to understand fixed costs relative to the profit earned by each additional unit produced and sold. Breakeven point is the point where profit is equals to zero.

Operating Profit

This is used to evaluate business efficiency, it is the profit made from business operations before deducing cost of interest and tax. It is otherwise known as earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). It is calculated by deducting gross profit from operating expenses, if the value of gross profit is greater than the value of operating expense then the business will have operating profit.

Bank Statement

This shows the company financial activity in a bank. It could be in printed format or sent electronically and it should state all inflows and outflows of cash with description. It lists deposit, interest, withdrawal, charges such as service charge, cost of transaction (COT), credit card maintenance fee etc. it is otherwise known as account statement.

Feasibility Study

This is the activity business owners undergo before commencing a project or plan. It is the assessment of how valuable a proposed plan is. This study tells business owner how profitable or unprofitable the outcomes of a project will be before investing a considerable amount of time and money into it.

  

Tax

It is a compulsory levy imposed on a business by state or federal government to fund various public expenditures. The amount payable is based on the net income companies obtain while exercising their business activities during a business year. Nigeria tax authorities charge 5%, 24% and 30% for sales, personal income and corporate taxes respectively.

Mark-up /ˈmärˌkəp/

An amount added to the cost price of a product in order to arrive at its selling price. The amount added is expected to cover overheads (such as administrative cost) and profit. This amount is reviewed as overhead increases to give the business reasonable profit.

The Game Changer Is Here! - FixitSME Business Blog

Why get little when there is more for you? Beyond registering your business online, easy connection with those that need your products and services, brand development, business networking etc. FixitSME promises users tasty morsels of business information, insightful business resources and more in-depth business analysis.

The blog section promises to enlighten readers with business resources in text, audio, slide and video formats creating more option for readers’ pleasure. We will curate and develop business information to meet the needs of readers and to grow their businesses. You do not need to look further for business resources!

Expect business news, recap of major business headlines, business terms, health tips, legal tips, business contest, funny articles to light up your business mood and well-crafted biography of iconic entrepreneurs and interviews of stakeholders.

Our update can easily be shared via over twenty-one (21) social media platforms of your choice which include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+ and many more. We implore readers to join FixitSME social communities  on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  Share articles that trigger their interest on their social community.

The Secret Of Business Is To Know Something That Nobody Else Knows - Aristotle

We are excited to have you here. This is the game changer!

Thank you.

The FixitSME Blog Team.

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5 SUCCESSFUL GOAL SETTING AND ACTUALIZATION STEPS

Goal setting is critical to the success of any business; sometimes you need to hit the “reset” button, this will avail the opportunity to think ahead with hope and excitement about what new idea to actualize.

As a business person you need a level of self discipline towards setting and actualizing  a goal, get the below successful steps towards goal settings and actualization.

Be Specific

It is important for every entrepreneur to clearly communicate the tasks or expectations that team members must accomplish or demonstrate to achieve successful results. Performance goals should function in a way that aligns with the growth and development of each member / team along with that of your business.

Be Realistic

We should set goals that are challenging but attainable based on our knowledge, skills and access to necessary resources when carrying out our daily tasks. We can also seek input from more experienced business colleague alike, not forgetting to monitor and update your goals as circumstances change in order to sustain and improve performance.

Be Deadline-Driven

Realistic time-frame for achieving goals to increase productivity should be set. For ongoing or long-term goals, regularly monitor progress and provide feedback to keep subordinates/team motivated and focused on the desired outcome of all set goals.

Prioritize

When goals are numerous or complex, it is easy for us to lose sense of priority and simply jump from one task to another without order or focus. However, ranking is helpful because it helps guide us and gives understanding on the relative importance of each goal.

Be Measurable

We need to clearly understand how our appraisals are measured individually. Some performance, such as sales numbers, can be measured quantitatively, while others, such as customer service, are qualitative. This helps to shed more light on areas that needs improvement and adjustments.

Success is the sum total of small effort repeated Day-In; Day Out... Robert Collier

How To Integrate Environmental Sustainability Into Business

Sustaining the environment has become an everyone affairs. With the need to protect the environment, individuals, companies and government agencies are contributing their quota to caution the bad effects on our life and business. Climate change effect could result in shortage of food, disaster, water scarcity, business degradation and many more.

With the rising campaign from experts, Civil Society Organisation (CSO) and other organisations major stakeholders have developed strategies to save the environment.

A reasonable number of developing countries have integrate policies to make their environment better and Eco-friendly, afforestation has been encourage, they have encourage The-Plant-A-Tree initiatives, encourage clean energy machines in other to reduce carbon-dioxide emission, proper recycling process and reuse initiatives.

Extract from 4 Barriers to Overcome in Achieving Corporate Environmental Sustainability an article written by Samantha Putt del Pino and Alex Perera highlighted that it is increasingly becoming standard practice for Implementing corporate environmental sustainability strategies, companies now perform environmental accounting, disclose carbon project, long term investment to reach renewable energy procurement targets and developing strategies reduce the environmental impact of their products, services, and supply chains. 

Janet Ranganathan in her article connect the dots between "environmental trends" and business risks Responding effectively in ways to protect businesses requires collaboration with stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, communities, local and national government policymakers to revert the epidemics of climate change.

These stakeholders need to move forward and recognize the significant link between environmental sustainability performance and financial performance. 

"If you really think the economy is more important than the environment, try holding your breath whilst you count your money... Dr Guy McPherson"

Milano 2016: 2 Top Reasons Why We Watch Football

MILANO 2016 is where all eyes will be looking to see the most prestigious football finals. You can either watch for the fun, money or both. This year's final have top Spanish clubs go head-to-head ATLETICO MADRID Vs REAL MADRID this will be a repeat of 2014 finals.

Road to Milano 2016
Real won all their last Six (6) Champions League home game with an astonish 8-0 victory over Malmo FF last December while Atletico won 4 Champions League home game, 1 draw and lost 1-2 to Benfica FC. Real only lost a game against Wolfsburg Fc in Germany while Atletico lost their last (2) two away games by 1-2 score line against Spanish rival Barcelona Fc and Bundesliga Champion Bayern Munich.

Coaches
Atletico Former Player and Present coach; Diego Simeone will love to have a pound of flesh after losing 4-1 to Real in 2014 Finals. Zinedine Zidane who took over coaching earlier this year from Raphael Benitez was also a Real former player and one time World Footballer Award Winner.

The Prize
Real will be going for their 11th title while Athletico will be going for their second attempt in the last 3 years. Atletico & Real have earned the sum of €37m and €38.5m respectively in prize money and could rise to €47.5m- €52m for Athletico and for Real €49m-€53.5m for a lose or win case.

Other benefits that could come as a result of this final is growth in social media presence, market-pool which is base on the value of TV market in the club's country, increase in the sales of number of Jersey and club merchandise. All these could attract additional €42m-€47m as this has been the case with previous winners.

"If it doesn't matter who wins or loses, then why do we keep scores?"- Vince lombardi

Either you are watching for fun, it is vital  to note  that money is part of the game. That is the beauty of football; you laugh or cry but money is surely earned.

Problems Associated with Micro-Businesses

Small scale businesses help the economy to grow faster because that is where a larger measure of citizen functions. The growth of small business activities influence standard of living and open doors of better economy opportunities. When the reverse is happening, How do stakeholders react? This implies that persistent decreases in small scale businesses need government speedy intervention.

Credit: Wealthresult.com

Government intervention must not be limited to finance alone as this is the case with most government agencies and ministries. The problem of micro-business is not limited to funding rather there are other factors that government should examine and profile corrective measures. Fixitsme sampling reveals that entrepreneurs need training and re-evaluation in this volatile economy.

"Hope is not a strategy".-USAF
 

The current economy has made price fixing difficult to most business owners, cost apportioning skill is poor as most micro-businesses charge base on what competitors are charging without putting all costs into consideration. Below are tips government and entrepreneur should improve on to ensure sustainability in this unstable economy:

Enabling Environment

We live in an environment where government pay lip service to basic amenities, utilities such as electricity, pipe borne water, good road, and good health services etc. Report reveals that 45% of businesses spent 25% of revenue on fuel and generator maintenance as a result of inadequate electricity supply, some spend avoidable costs which is solely because basic amenities are inadequate for example car maintenance as a result of the bad road. Government should intensify effort in project that can tackle this situation as this will save cost and increase profit on the part of business owners.Entrepreneur can review their route, outsource this function or/and get a closer market to save carriage cost.

Poor Management Knowledge

Most Nigerian entrepreneurs are autocratic and domineering, in several cases they feel too big to take advice from employees or subordinates. 72% of them do not engage in literate reading associated with their business and see no reason why they should attend workshop or seminar. Business owners who fail to understand the market trend will live in the ditch. Government should encourage trade union and association, hold periodic meeting and seminar with this association to understand their ordeals. Entrepreneurs must understand that their business network is vital to business development.

Basic Business Statistics

Most start-ups do not have strategy plan as to who, why, where, how the business should be position. Statistics data is important for planning and business decisions. This is where feasibility study comes in understand who needs your product, why is it important to them, where and when is it needed and how should i present my business to them. Government should give business statistics that will help entrepreneur for example, how much is the country spending on cosmetics? What is the foreign demand for our local product?

Lack of Adequate Financial Capital

Capital is a sine-qua-non in any business, It is amusing that 25% of startups do not know the exact amount needed to start a business, some did not recognize the cost of labour, administrative expenses, advertisement and many other cost elements. Financial institution operations should be review to help startup. Loan repayment plan, loan security, interest rate etc are on the high side and must be reviewed. Government agencies and intervention programs such as NAPEP, YouWIN!, BOI and other ministries need to be popular at the local, go to them if need be. 

Stable Government Policies, Fines and Tariffs

Business activities are controlled & sometime restrained by numerous laws enacted by the government. Fines and tariffs are no not fixed, this makes planing difficult for entrepreneur. A stable fee will help business, i hear startup complaining of different tariff from different agencies and government authority. Waiver of some of these tariff will encourage entrepreneurs.

Business Development Strategy

Over 50% of small medium enterprises see advertisement as an expense not an investment. 75% of them still embrace the tradition marketing system which is expensive compared with social marketing systems. Most employees complained that they employer do not recognise the important of training and motivation. Business development strategies should look through human resource, marketing, training and accounting of the business.

Problems associate with startups are not limited to the aforementioned. Businesses and government should carefully look into these and implement strategies that will make businesses survive.

What DO YOU think?

Please feel free to add your comments, questions or suggestions below. Connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn. 

Read related articles here.

Start-ups: Service Culture for Business Growth

Customer service is a day to day activity that occurs all around us. Businesses engage in customer service activities of some type during their daily routines at work. All of us experience customer service when we go to the store, call a company on the phone or visit a business’s web site, some experiences are wow, fair while some are bad even worse. These experiences defines whether you are going to make your next purchase there.

However, simply being exposed to customer service doesn’t mean you understand how to do it well or how to evaluate whether you are receiving an acceptable level of customer service. Let review how business owners can make customer service better to enhance sales revenue and business brand.

When we think about customer service, the first idea that pops into our heads is probably the call-center operator or the service employee. These are people we come to when we need help fixing a problem or when we have questions about a purchase. While they do represent part of what customer service is, that isn’t the whole picture of customer service.

“Making sure customers are satisfied and will continue to buy products or services of a company”.

The term Customer Service explains activities that ensure customers are satisfied and will continue to buy products or services of a business. This function is a job task all employees who has any contact with the customer starting from the security personal (gateman), receptionists, salespeople and business owner must exhibit with smiles and courteously.

Customers can be classified into External Customer and Internal Customer depending on their relationship with the business, who is giving? Who is getting?

External Customer: These are usually walk-in customers. They simply come make an order for goods or services, pay and walk away. They have a choice and could be your loyal customers if properly taken care of. Our advertisement, marketing, products or/and services are directed towards these customers. They dictate the growth of the business, they could be our unpaid advertising tool, and they pay our salary!

“Once a customer has been unsatisfied with our service, it will be twice as hard to bring them back”.

Business owners and employees must create and maintain good image, build relations, quick response to issues, professionalism, courteous and chivalrous.

Internal Customer: These are usually colleagues of the same/other departments within an organization, as well as vendor and anyone else an employee interact with to get their job done. This could be the Human Resource Department, IT department for technical assistance, Administration department and so on. A good and effective interactive relationship must be maintained to speed up service turnaround time.

Maintain an effective customer service culture will increase customer’s loyalty. Business owner must see their business from a customer’s view because that will dictate the rate of business growth. Service does not show in a company financial statements but it is a determinant for financial growth and sustainability.

It is a must that business owners train all employees to development a customer-centric skill and behavior as this will enhance a satisfactory customer’s experience. Employees should be trained on the job all least twice or more a year depending on financial strength of the business or/and rate of services failures. Here is a list of what staff should be trained on:

• ·        Product and Industry knowledge: Customers will speak to any staff about their need and they need a pleasing response.

• ·         Friendliness: Customers want someone who makes us feel special and who seems to be keen to assist us.

• ·         Knowledge of our needs: Customers want someone who understands what they need so that they can help them fulfill that need.

• ·         Problem-solving skills: Customers want a solution finder, a problem solver.

                                     

Business owners can use appraisal, feed-backs and misery shoppers to evaluate their service delivery from time to time, to plan and build a better service culture.

“If the service is below you, the business is beyond you”.

What DO YOU think?

Please feel free to add your comments, questions or suggestions below. Connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn. 

Read related articles here.