Tips & Advice

Boost profits

As an entrepreneur, one of your biggest challenges concerns how and when to make your customers pay more for products or services of your company. This is because the way you increase price or reduce it can mean the potential loss of customers and put you in a vulnerable position before your main competitors.However, in most cases your company has no alternative but to continue with rising prices. Therefore, here are some tips and smart alternatives to raise prices.

Do not delete promotions

While most consumers know the exact price they paid for an item, it is common to remember if it was a good purchase decision and from that generate a position on the product or service.According to the business section of the newspaper Wall Street Journal, companies must maintain their prices and reduce the time in which they offer promotions or discounts in order to prevent rising prices and mitigate the decline in earnings caused by offers.

Keep or raise the quality and quantity

Never try to make more profits by lowering the quality of your main products or services, because that attitude will irritate consumers of your brand.In this case, experts recommend that you keep the quality of your product and serve to market a cheaper, lower-quality product online, so you can meet the needs of other sectors of society.Another initiative that rarely succeeds is to reduce the amount of product that the customer receives but in a similar package at the same price. A soft drink can lose a few millilitres or there may be a few less biscuits in a packet. The price does not go up, but what you pay per unit.The reason this does not work is that most of the cost of a product is usually with the packaging, transportation and other aspects of production outside the product itself. As a result, reducing the amount is unlikely to influence the results of the company.

Price Up

When you decide it is time to increase the cost of your product or service, you will need to take into account the expenses that you incur at the time and how they may affect you in the future.Companies should also make it as clear as possible the reason for the increase. They should tell customers if it is due to higher costs of ingredients or transport, for example.Research shows that consumers respond not only to the price, but what they believe is right. If they feel that a price increase is linked to your desire to increase their profits, they will consider it unfair.

Increase Your Appeal

Improve the image customers will have of your business, develop stronger brand assetts, show off a prestigious office location and show the value you can offer to your clients.

Keep an eye on the competition

When you take a new product to market, ask yourself if it is a good time to raise your prices, because consumers will know that your business is doing its best to meet their needs.At this point you need to keep an eye on the decisions of your main competitors, as the rise can be converted into a price battle where no one wants to take the first step, even if the whole market is facing the same cost pressures.

Subscribing strategic alliances with other productive agents and exploring new markets are tasks that require employers to move from one place to another. There is a phrase in popular culture: "If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed goes to the mountain." In relation, corporate leaders must make numerous trips to extend the scope of their customer base while optimizing business expenses.This dynamic represents certain costs, which can increase or decrease depending on two key concepts:

Financial discipline

Employers should be prepared to settle expenses directly related to their business and especially these three areas: transport, accommodation and food. But they also have to be ready to solve unforeseen circumstances during this journey; therefore, they must have sufficient financial freedom, that is, the ability to meet needs and to make the trip run smoothly.However, the fact that entrepreneurs possess surplus capital to meet the requirements inherent in these movements does not mean you can spend the available resources at will. At this point, the financial discipline becomes important.Men and women in business should understand that their movements are due to corporate objectives and not to holiday purposes. Thus, any excess or personal spending will have to be discarded, except that there are unique resources for it. Therefore, operating in the opposite direction could generate financial irregularities in the company.

To avoid such a scenario, there are these tips to entrepreneurs:

1. Plan trips in advance. Preparing shipments well in advance is essential to optimise costs. This involves exploring all alternatives in transportation, room and board, so shop around and check out promotions.2. Research destinations. Before traveling, employers should familiarise themselves with the places visited. It is essential to inquire about customs, habits and living costs.3. Differentiate costs. Employers must make a clear distinction between personal and corporate resources to rule out any possibility of financial turmoil. Specialists explain that the market has financial instruments that can help them serve this purpose, specifically, business cards. With a debit card, for example, they can afford the costs of their travel safely and accurately, while maintaining the line between the capital of the business and individual.4. Employers must reflect on what expenses are essential in a business trip and what contingencies they may face accordingly, they must establish the ceiling of capital use. They should remember that personal outlays come at their own expense.For any business, access to finance becomes a highly positive tool; especially if such funding means having an accessible means for consolidation and growth support to help you keep up and seize the opportunities within their productive activity.It is important to remember that making a good approach is essential to gaining access to credit.A largely positive response from a bank to grant a loan depends on the employer knowing how to clearly communicate its purpose, the potential of their business, the effectiveness of its infrastructure, as well as the positive results. In short, make your business viable.Enjoying credit is definitely a well-earned privilege. To properly size and assess affordability elements (flow and solvency); generated profit (profitability); operation and collection efficiencies (liquidity); evaluation of real business needs (present and future); and analyse the proper performance of its obligations, employers can optimally determine their credit requirements and translate them in amount, term, destination and use of the loan, using conditions that suit their capabilities and plans.The more experience you have with a business loan, the greater the opportunities for financing. Remember that the history of the company is recorded in the credit information, so having good references is essential to obtaining any financing.

The capital of a company is one of the first things that you must obtain to crystallise your dream of opening a business. Therefore, it is important to know how to attract investors to your start-up.The creator of iRobot, Rodney Brooks, had the idea of building a low-cost robot that could collaborate with workers in a safe, intelligent, low-cost way for companies who purchase the invention.It may only be an idea, but Brooks made an analogy between computers and robots with the argument that the adoption of worker robots would be similar to the introduction of personal computers in workplaces. This would result in higher office efficiency, more productivity and more jobs. This is why investors gave him $62 million to fund its start-up.So that your business idea has the support of more investors, we share a list of tips to help you create a connection with them.

Talk to the right people

The first step is to understand the interests of each investor, so we suggest you investigate your potential investors before talking to them about the ideas you have.This step will help you know if your company can adapt to and will thrive in the investment industry.

Create contacts

Once you determine who may be interested in investing in your business, you should look at ways in which the manager of one of the start-ups can present you with the investor.

Make a presentation

This refers to when you agree to an interview with the prospective investor and make a presentation that will tell your story in non-technical terms. In the presentation, you should talk about your team, the opportunity in the market, the need for the product, its value to the customer, your position against competition, how much capital you require to create the company and have a financial plan to present also.

Acknowledge your areas of opportunity

During the interview with the potential investor you must be honest in answering each of the questions you ask. If you do not have an answer, you should admit it and not lie about something you know about.

Listen carefully

It is possible that in the first meetings with potential investors, you fail to capture the interest of any of them; however, you should not discard the tips that they share.The best practice in such cases is to listen to feedback, absorb information and tailor your pitch.If you enjoyed this blog from Your Virtual Office London you can read more business tips and advice in our startup blog.

Advertising is a factor that helps companies to position their brands on the market. To make this possible, it is necessary to identify the sector that will be addressed, how well it will perform, as well as the duration and knowing what is the competition, among other factors.To make a successful ad campaign, you need to customise it according to the audience you want to reach. In this way, there will be immediate identification with it, which will ensure a good brand positioning.However, sometimes the audience does not identify with advertising messages that are released to the market, leading the campaign to not yield the expected results.To prevent this from happening to your company's products and to make sure the promotion is successful.

8 Different Advertising methods

1. Online Advertising
2. Newspaper Ads
3. Radio Advertising
4. Television Advertising
5. Public Speaking
6. Door Hangers and Flyers
7. Event Sponsorship
8. Word-of-Mouth Advertising

6 tips for an advertising campaign

• Before starting your planning, it is necessary to know in detail the brand and the product that will be positioned in the market; find out who are the main consumers, think of messages that suit them etc.
• During the creative process, think about an idea that suits different communication channels; if your concept is different in each medium, it will be difficult for the audience to understand that this is the same campaign or the same product.
• Setting goals is essential for brand an advertising campaign. These could be: win customers, market identification, make the product memorable, etc.
• Make a preliminary investigation of the location where you will place the ads, because it can determine the level of impact and scope that the audience has. Also take into account that there are media tactics, which can be of low investment such as the Internet or radio that the campaign can operate through satisfactorily.
• Monitor the responses of the audience, as this is key to understanding its impact among consumers. Use analysis tools depending on the environment in which the message is spread.
• Finally, never forget that advertising is a comprehensive set of strategies which if applied correctly will ensure the success or positioning of a product or brand on the market.

If you enjoyed this Virtual Office Blog you can find more on our blog homepage here.

Workers today are constantly looking for new challenges and professional growth, a situation that generates a large percentage of turnover in a business and therefore the loss of talent within them.To avoid this situation, the HR manager must locate those people who always confer an added value to their work and are committed to the company, to reward them. Such incentives do not always have to be economic, as companies are not always in sound financial times; however, a company can implement the following activities to motivate and retain staff:

• Flexible work schedules: What employee would not want a better balance between work and personal life? Today, this desire is one of the most popular. Allowing employees to work one day a week from home can be very motivating.
• Professional Development Programs: This is when a worker receives an evolution in their professional growth activities and reaffirms their commitment to the company. Offering relevant training to update their knowledge is a great option.
• Time to engage in projects of interest: Allowing employees to occupy 20% of their working time on projects that appeal to them and have nothing to do with their regular duties. Various innovative products have emerged from this line of working.
• Entertainment programs: An environment that allows distraction from the stress and workload encourages creativity and a sense of wellbeing. Therefore, recreation rooms are a great ally for employees.
• Rest days: These are not the same as annual leave to which the employee is entitled by law. A day off as a reward for a great result or effort is healthy and well received by workers.
• Activities outside the office. In addition to promoting integration, leaving the usual place of work refreshes the working environment. It will be an action that will stay long in the minds of people and can differentiate your company from others.

If you are looking to boost business then why not check out our mail forwarding services to help increase your companies image?

Today, work environment has changed and it is increasingly common for teams within a company to collaborate in new ways. This helps employees subjected to high amounts of stress to create and implement different things.According to experts, currently for a company to be successful, there is a need for innovation; however, the fact that their workers are not creative could stop their growth.Fortunately there are techniques that help improve the mood and performance of workers, which are directly related to fun, because when a person enjoys their work, they turnabout proposing new things.To do this, companies must make their employees feel confident to innovate and create fun in their environments.

• In the market there are already companies that do not require their workers to abide to a set schedule to work; i.e., they do not start and finish at rigid times every day, but are left to organise their time to work as they see fit, in order to meet their objectives.
• There are also companies that offer their workers a playroom in order to enable them to overcome stress and thus coexist with each other to achieve and establish new projects.
• Another way to achieve a friendly atmosphere is decorating the office with bright colours and funny pictures, in common areas where everyone can see them.
• The HR department from time to time should implement some dynamic activity with all members of the company, as this will be vital to promote integration and creativity of workers.

Remember that the conduct in meetings where all your employees participate could enhance the sense of teamwork, generating an atmosphere of trust where you can be more fun and so innovative.Your Virtual Office London are experts in helping start-ups become successful. A new business needs a lot of support to help it to reach its maximum potential, Your Virtual Office London provide mail forwarding address services including registered office address services, directors service address and telephone answering services.According to Fortune many businesses are ditching the normal office replacing it with a virtual office. This has huge benefits which include a large reduction of overheads which include office rent, full time staff pay and associated accounting and insurance fees.

E-commerce is growing rapidly and represents invaluable opportunities for sale for large, medium and small businesses. This medium helps many business owners to entice new consumers.However, this trend does not imply that the offline trade has become obsolete. Proof of this is that over 70% of purchasing decisions yet- happens in physical spaces, according to information from the global association of retail Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI).These data presents a need that businesses must address: integrating two apparently antagonistic environments, digital and physical, in a global marketing and sales strategy.The idea is to arouse consumer interest and detonate its intention to purchase from both sides. To achieve this, it is essential that firms exploit the specific features of the two environments.

In the virtual realm, companies should consider the following:

• The design of a website. Through the balance between content, product information and technical features like usability, use of links and loading speed, allows them to create brand awareness in online users and generate a buying attitude.
• Using social media to create conversations with customers and promote direct actions, including the purchase.
• Search and use of electronic payment platforms that enable Internet users to complete their online transactions.

In the physical point of sale, you must take into account these aspects:

• Location of the property, based on a thorough market study.
• Visual Merchandising, a marketing technique in situ, which aims to captivate customers through organising various material elements, ranging from decor and lighting of the establishment, to the presentation of goods on shelves and spatial distribution the furniture.
• A sales team perfectly aligned with the business concept and prepared to meet efficiently the needs of customers.
• Using Point of Sale (POS), enabling businesses to receive payments through credit cards and debit cards, and take advantage of the market cardholder has not stopped growing in recent years.
• Interactive installations make the stay more enjoyable for user in the sales point.

Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) unfortunately do not have a department or specialised recruitment area, so sometimes it's the same employer who has to conduct the interview for candidates.During interview, employers should seek a professional conversation focused mainly on the skills and achievements of candidates; however, often they have to apply other questions that reveal more about the person being interviewed.That is why we share some tips here for applying different types of questions, common in a job interview.1. Open: top questions to ask in an interview that seek flowing dialogue between the interviewer and the candidate, allowing the person to give a comprehensive response. With them will be assessed your poise, communication skills and consistency. For example, tell me about yourself, why you were interested in the vacancy? Why do you think you`re suited to this job?2. Fitness: Your objective is to assess whether the candidate has the skills to perform the job. It`s a good idea to enquire about the candidate's experience and skills they possess.3. Behavioural: When making a hiring, it is not only important that the candidate can do the job. Behavioural questions seem to examine what the profile of the person is to assess whether they can successfully integrate into the team.4. Situational: Once you analyse their past records, you may want to ask situational questions to get an idea of what their future behaviour will be.5. Trick: It sometimes works to ask questions that seem out of work context or even absurd or incoherent. Its purpose is to remove some candidates of standard questions and submit to a mental challenge that reveals a little more about their personality.Finally, do not forget that there are also inappropriate questions to avoid, which could put a business-person in trouble because they can be offensive, for example: Are you pregnant? What is your sexual orientation? Why are not you married? Just to mention a few.

One of the most currently used strategies used by companies around the globe to attract the attention of new customers or consumers is sending emails with information about their products or services, or other relevant data. This trend is called email marketing, and has seen such acceptance that a recent study by ExactTarget reported that 77% of consumers surveyed by the company like to receive this information via email.With this in mind, there are plenty of options available to supplement this kind of marketing. Here we offer three such applications that will help you be more efficient with this type of content in order to attract more customers and help your products and services reach more people.

My Emma

This service has very flashy designs and templates, in addition to being able to mingle with your social networks and other analysis tools; it is compatible with mobile devices and has affordable packages to suit your needs. View My Emma here.

Sendloop

The emails you send by this means will be sent in HTML format, which lets you have reports from sent mails, knowing if they were already read, who are clicking, and whether subscriptions have been cancelled, among other things. We should mention that if you have less than 2000 subscribers this service is completely free of charge, besides enjoying segmentation contacts. View Sendloop here.

Mailchimp

With this system you will know how many people open your mails, the target audience, know how many users click your ads and all for very reasonable prices, even free, depending on your level of use. View mail chimp here.

Digital marketing strategies have evolved over time; companies now are not only looking to sell a product but also fill it with valuable information to its users. This is what we call digital content marketing. However, this term does not refer only to notes written, but may also enter infographics, interviews and video tutorials and more.It also offers an important growth opportunity to develop videos of your web content strategies to promote your brand or company.The first advantage of integrating video and animation is that today people who are surfing the Internet have somewhat neglected the reading portion and have quickly become a highly visual public.Added to this, the videos tend to generate human value, allowing the link between brand and user to become more solid and durable.There is no better tool to tell a story than a video; we have stories, books and magazines, but nothing can be better to capture or document an event than video. This is because the visual things attract more viewers and ultimately make it easier for you to capture the audience.In addition, there are numerous free tools that let you create and publish videos for free - such as YouTube or VimeoVine, so you can spread them through these options and automatically redirect a link to your official site.What's more, it is expected that by 2016 videos on the web will be responsible for generating 55% of total Internet traffic, hence the importance of creating and innovating in this area.