When talking about boosting sales of any business, people generally focus on promotions that can temporarily boost sales or long-term plans that involve marketing and advertising. However, another underrated way to grow your business is to add services and products that add value to your primary product. How does one go about this? Let’s take a look.

BOGO Offers

While cash discounts still rule the roost when it comes to advertising, they really eat into your profit margin. Especially in tech businesses, where profit margins aren’t as high as the often 100% profit margins that are there, for example, in bakery products. Reducing your profit margin is a big risk, as it might eat into your capital as you pay your commercial bills and employee salaries.

Instead, why not use a buy one get one offer? Since you can control your product or service cost, you can offer items that aren’t expensive to your bottom line. For example, if you make custom t-shirts for a living, you can think of adding a bandana or a belt to your order free of cost. If you have a tech business, offer an extra month free on every subscription. Customers will appreciate the convenience of extra over a cash discount.

Delay-Adjusted Tracking

Once a purchase is complete, customers get anxious for delivery. Most businesses offer some form of tracking for their products. However, we live in uncertain times. Shipping delays happen, be it because of weather or because of lockdowns and restrictions on movement. While movement restrictions can be difficult to predict, you can check the weather forecast to predict delays in shipment.

For example, you can check the weather conditions on tomorrow.io forecast to optimize how your customers see their packages being delivered. You can also integrate weather API services into your tracking page so your customer can be aware of delays to their delivery.

This is also helpful for event organizers who wish to integrate weather forecasts into their booking pages to inform their customers of what they can expect before they buy the tickets. Several well known companies are already using the technology for similar purposes. For example, Uber is using tomorrow.io weather services to update arrival time for its passengers.

Customer Service

Breaking into any market as a new player is difficult. Global markets are already crowded with a large number of small and large players at an international and hyperlocal level. So how do you make your business stand out? An excellent way to achieve this and build a reputation among customers is to offer stellar after-sales customer service.

Companies are often blamed as being uncaring after the monetary transaction has taken place. Many customers are used to apathy when problems arise after purchase. Thus, to build trust and a relationship with the customer, invest in your after-sales service. Build networks that can help customers resolve their issues with grace and fairness and stick by promises. This will quickly gain you many customers who are tired of lousy service and want the support you provide.

Green Options

If you have a physical product that you retail, you can try appealing to the environmentally-conscious market. Build a system to reuse or recycle your products so that customers who are done with the item have a safe and sustainable way to dispose of them. Motor vehicle companies often offer a service to pick up and safely dispose of car batteries since they can be biohazards if left to decompose in a landfill.

You can also take steps to make your operation carbon-neutral. This is something even technology-based companies can do since servers and server farms consume a lot of electricity and generate a significant amount of heat that takes air-conditioning to maintain. You can donate efforts to plant trees or utilize green technology that reduces the carbon footprint of your operations. Advertising sustainable technology is an excellent way to capture an emerging market.

Conclusion

Every company is unique and different. Your business’s journey can be significantly different from a similar company in the same field because of many factors. Instead of trying to keep up with the Joneses, you need to understand your customers and what they want from you.

These ideas will help you along in the right direction, but you are the expert in your situation. Only you know the ins and outs of your logistics, internal processes, and employee mindsets. Trust your instincts and go forward, but remember to reassess your situation objectively every few months for the fastest progress.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Underrated Ways To Boost Your Business appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

U.S. small businesses “Go Digital, Go Global”

Alibaba offers four new methods to make it easier to do business globally.

Transformation of Alibaba.com hits new milestones as sellers from U.S. grow at fastest rate worldwide, U.S. buyers increase more than 70% year over year and overall transactions by U.S. businesses on Alibaba.com increase more than 100%

“Doing business online is the bridge for American small businesses through this crisis and into the next decade,” and“We are accelerating our transformation to get both sellers and buyers quickly set up for success and provide the critical tools and services that are required for growth – access to supply and demand, shipping and logistics, and working capital. Ultimately, our goal is to give SMBs even greater access to the $23.9 trillion global B2B ecommerce opportunity – which is six times the size of the B2C ecommerce market.” Said John Caplan President Of North America Alibaba.

1. Alibaba Payment Terms – A Powerful Digitised Trade Finance Solution

Maintaining cash flow and ensuring cash on hand have become even more vital for SMBs during the covid 19 pandemic. Alibaba.com Payment Terms is the first-ever trade financing solution made directly into a B2B cross borders e commerce platform, allowing qualified buyers to order goods and pay for them up to 60 days after they are shipped. Before today, the vast majority of cross-border trade between small businesses required full payment upfront. Small businesses could not benefit from the global supply chain financing programs that their larger competitors frequently enjoyed. Alibaba.com Payment Terms1, offered in collaboration with MSTS, addresses this problem and gives qualified SMBs an additional way to stay competitive by helping to alleviate cash flow pressures.

“We typically pay our suppliers upfront, which ties our cash up in inventory costs and keeps us from planning very far ahead and investing in our business,”. “With Alibaba.com Payment Terms, we’ll be able to keep our costs competitive with larger beauty brands, plan for our future product lines and stock up far in advance of the back to school and holiday seasons.” Said aid Necia Boston, founder of Greenville, N.C.-based B.A.A.B.S. Beauty, a makeup and beauty products retailer and early applicant of Payment Terms

2. Freight – A Shockingly Simple Built-In Ocean And Air Shipping Solution

With an average order size of $2,000, Alibaba.com shipments involve containers and pallets, not parcels and envelopes. The newly launched Alibaba.com Freight, powered by digital freight marketplace Freightos, helps SMBs simplify arranging their bulk shipments with the ability to instantly compare, book, manage and track ocean and air freight in real time online, effectively modernizing the analog, opaque and historically slow process for arranging cross-border logistics.

“Alibaba.com Freight’s extremely friendly user-interface takes what is usually a daunting and extremely complicated task, and turns it into a simple, concise step-by-step process without allowing you to make any mistakes before you move on to the next step,” said Casey Heim, founder and CEO of Hoxie, KS-based WAKE 10, a manufacturer and seller of equipment in the wakesurfing and boating industry and early user of Alibaba.com Freight. “Alibaba.com Freight has helped us continue to source from overseas and expand our product line even during this global crisis, and we are set to launch four new products for the summer.”

3. Online Trade Show – Live Curated Connections Between Businesses Buyers And Sellers

According to Alibaba research, trade shows have historically been the most important way for sellers to meet and acquire new customers, and business buyers have benefited by using them to explore new products and suppliers. COVID-19 has drastically limited this critical channel for trade. In response, Alibaba.com is launching Online Trade Shows USA, a series of category-specific, livestreaming experiences designed to convene quality buyers and sellers to meet and transact in real-time over a pre-determined period of days. These events showcasing U.S.-based manufacturers and wholesalers are part of Alibaba.com’s global online trade show initiative2 of over 20 shows in the next 120 days to bring the world’s SMBs together over virtual show floors.

These innovative, digital-first events feature agendas full of insightful keynotes from industry leaders as well as top U.S. suppliers promoting their products to a select audience of verified business buyers. U.S.-based manufacturers and wholesalers are able to showcase their stories, capabilities and products as a way to promote their business, meet new prospects and drive sales during this transition to digital-first trade. Buyers who attend the events can interact and ask questions of the suppliers, schedule one-on-one sessions and place orders through the platform.

“With the disruption of COVID-19, the next era in global trade starts today, from home and online,” said Caplan. “The grit, resilience and needs of American small businesses who face extraordinary challenges right now have inspired and motivate us to re-imagine the trade show experience for our customers. Alibaba.com Online Trade Shows USA will showcase the innovative products and capabilities of U.S. small businesses and connect them to our rapidly expanding community of more than 10 million global buyers.”

The first live event exclusively designed to showcase American businesses will run from July 7-10, 2020 with the Supplements & Nutrition category. Alibaba.com is hosting the event in partnership with the USA CBD Expo, the nation’s largest CBD industry event, and the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA). The event will feature daily sessions designed to facilitate meaningful connections between business buyers and U.S.-based manufacturers, wholesalers, raw ingredient suppliers and brands in the supplements, nutrition and CBD category who offer finished and customizable products. Sellers interested in being featured can apply online and buyers interested in joining the online event can register online. Additional U.S. shows will take place over the coming months for a variety of categories, including Food & Beverage, Agriculture, Beauty & Personal Care with more on the way.

4. Alibaba Business Transformation

Alibaba.com – initially an online catalog of the world’s best manufacturers – was the original Alibaba business launched in 1999. It disrupted global trade by catapulting the global sourcing and supply chain industries into the Internet-era. Nearly two decades later, Alibaba.com began an earnest transformation on its journey to reinvent global trade, this time by disrupting itself and continuing the transition from a catalogue of suppliers to an end-to-end global trading platform with simple search and discovery, efficient communication and trusted payment, financing and logistics options. The platform opened to American sellers in July 2019, and the U.S. has since been the fastest growing market for new sellers and buyers. As a result of the transformation, gross merchandise value (GMV) on the platform has grown over 85% year over year and customers will transact tens of billions of dollars in GMV this year. At the same time, Alibaba.com’s annual revenue growth accelerated from the low single digits in 2017 to a 17% compound annual growth rate (CAGR)3.

With today’s announcement, Alibaba.com continues to transform amid the global pandemic while keeping at its core the mission to make it easy for businesses to do business anywhere.

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Alibaba Announces: Cross-Border Payment Creation Providing Cash Flow Control to U.S. Small Businesses appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

No business is an island, and working with suppliers is something that all businesses do – but how many do it effectively? Third party vendors supply you with many essential goods which, depending on the industry you are in, can be quite specialist – from Gas Oil Drums in the logistics business to packaging in the food service industry. Managing these relationships is a vital part of keeping your company running smoothly.

Taking a Proactive Approach

Although suppliers are an indispensable part of keeping our businesses running, many of us neglect to give these relationships the importance and strategic thinking that they warrant. It’s far better to adopt a forward thinking approach, which ensures that any potential issues are uncovered and dealt with early on, before they can derail the run of operations. The keys to improving performance and increasing profit margins start with improving supplier relationships and processes, which is far easier when you adopt a proactive and inclusive approach from day one.

Part Of The Family

It would be a mistake to treat the companies you work with as just vendors – they are part of your extended business family, and this approach will make your business so much stronger. Suppliers are an important part of your business to keep them up to date with top line strategy, new processes or products in the pipeline and current promotions. If they have concerns, listen to them. If they offer suggestions take them into consideration. They will have an unique perspective that may well help to make your business much stronger.

Leverage The Power Of Technology

Investing in a supplier management software solution is a great idea in order to keep all of the information available in one place. A good one will integrate with your purchase order and financing systems, allow you to track orders, pay for goods and give your suppliers reference numbers for their invoicing. You need to be able to work seamlessly across platforms for the best result.

Make Payments On Time

It’s a basic courtesy, but the biggest barrier to good working relationships with your suppliers is the most obvious – making timely payments without them having to chase you up. Doing this proves that you are not only a good customer, but willing to work with them. If there are going to be any problems in meeting their terms, tell them straight away. Streamline your payment processes so that you can move money quickly and efficiently.

Know The Difference Between Price And Value

The two things often get confused, but the price you pay for something is actually very separate from the value you derive from it. If you have some financial slack available, then utilise it to buy quality in bulk and negotiate a discount. The more open you are with your suppliers, the better the value they will be able to extend.

By having proper agreements in place, working with your suppliers as a team, keeping them informed about your plans, valuing the relationship and making timely payments, you’ll build stronger bonds that will benefit your business.

This is an article provided by our partners network. It might not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of our editorial team and management.
Contributed content

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Working With Suppliers To Make Your Business Stronger appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

Upscaling is one of those aspects that can be done with a smoothly run operation, or it can be an absolute shambles, one that’s so poorly organized it ends up hindering your business before you have the opportunity to show everyone what you’re capable of. When setting up new job roles, or building a new office, the biggest concern to keep your eye on throughout this operation is one of cost. While upscaling is the sign of a business that is clearly doing well, how can you best ensure that the whole operation is well managed, and your finances don’t end up running away with you?

Pay Attention To The Margins

One of the biggest mistakes many entrepreneurs make is to focus on the turnover instead of the margin. Turnover is looking at the glass half full, sure, but if you don’t look at the margins and see that there is enough of a gap to ensure you are able to reinvest back into the new operational costs, and therefore if the new costs are too high, the margin will be too low. If suppliers provide materials at a discount, this is a way to reduce the overheads, and if the cost of the components of a micropile structure is lucrative from one supplier, the building materials to expand your company in a physical sense will be more economical. When looking at expanding your business, whether in staff or in physical structure, have the margins in your mind.

Focus On The Quality Of Allies

Clients, customers, and every aspect of your supply chain are all allies that you need on side. But while you may consider every ally to be important, when your business is upscaling, it’s now time to pick the best ones. Quality, rather than quantity. For example, if you have a client that is constantly paying late, is it important for you to have this client on your roster? Or is it unnecessary expenditure for little return? You’re now at the point where you don’t need to chase after everyone, so by focusing on who really benefits your business, you can utilize these people far more effectively in every aspect.

Cash Flow Is Always Key

While you can nurture business relationships or keep an eye on the margins, if you haven’t got the organizational structure in place, you will not have a well-oiled business engine. Focus on exactly what is coming in and going out, and you will know the state of your company at any given moment. You may not be able to answer how well your business is doing right now, apart from the fact that it’s above board, but this isn’t enough. Monitor your cash flow and you will spot problems as and when they arise. Don’t be the person to spot these issues after it’s too late!

Managing your costs isn’t a difficult task, but it can be overlooked, especially if your business is doing so well. Upscaling is a great thing to be part of, but don’t be trapped by your own success.

This is an article provided by our partners’ network. It might not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of our editorial team and management.

Contributed content

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post Ladder To The Heavens: Managing Your Business Costs When Upscaling appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.

Running a small business can be extremely profitable and less stressful when you put certain practices into place. First and foremost, you need to create policies and guidelines outlining how you and your employees can safely handle cash. Even though there are some pitfalls of using and accepting cash as a form of payment, this option still serves as a way to boost revenue and is vital to meeting the needs of your customers. Let’s explore three tips for safely handling cash in your small business.

Implement a Standardized Process

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires businesses to prove they know how to safely handle cash. When you develop and implement a standardized process for cash handling, this keeps all of your workers on the same page and it also proves to the IRS there is no type of embezzlement or internal theft taking place.

The cash handling processes you create should be easy to understand and must be incorporated into a one-size-fits-all guideline for all employees to follow. For example, all employees should follow the same routine when it comes to counting, balancing, and depositing cash.

You also need to be aware of IRS cash transaction rules and laws. For example, if you make a payment of more than $10,000 to a vendor, this type of transaction must be handled differently than a $2,000 payment. Generally, the most effective way to stay compliant with IRS guidelines is to hire a professional and experienced accountant.

Establish a Petty Cash Account

All small businesses will benefit from establishing a petty cash account. If you are operating a laundromat, for example, having petty cash in a safe as a way to provide customers with change can help you maintain a competitive edge.

You’ll also want to use petty cash to open a business checking account, which can prove to be of the utmost value for bookkeeping purposes. When all of your transactions are made using a business account, this simplifies audits and helps you maintain a bird’s-eye view of your company’s financial status.

Do Away With Slush Funds

Many small businesses operate on a basis of requiring employees to dip into their own pockets to make up for cash shortfalls, such as when a drawer comes up short at the end of a shift. In an attempt to create a solution for this practice, employees often set up slush funds in which they set aside surplus cash to make up for short drawers.

Slush funds hide the reason as to why drawers are coming up short. And they also overlook practices that are causing drawers to have a surplus of cash at the end of a shift. This type of operation blurs safe cash handling policies. In fact, it has the potential to develop into an exploitable system that dishonest employees are sure to take advantage of. If your small business currently has a slush fund, it’s best to do away with it.

Safely handling cash should be a top priority for you as a small-business owner. Not only does it keep you in compliance with the IRS, but it also helps ensure that no internal theft is taking place. More so, it helps you stay on top of your finances.

This is an article provided by our partners’ network. It might not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of our editorial team and management.

Contributed content

Hernaldo Turrillo

Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.

The post How to Safely Handle Cash in Your Small Business appeared first on OpenBusinessCouncil Directory.