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Month: July 2021

Things to Do When Unhappy with Your WordPress Website

If you’re not happy with your WordPress website, you’re probably not the only person, but customers are also disappointed. Probably you feel that you jumped into an online business without clearly understanding what it entails and now regret the outcome.

Information Sign on Shelf

Whether you took the DIY route to create a website or involved someone, you have to take drastic measures to protect your brand when you’re unhappy with the website. Things that might make you dissatisfied with a website are

  • Few inquiries, leads, or sales
  • A site not showing up on search engine results
  • A website that is not mobile-friendly
  • A platform that’s not visually appealing
  • Lack of enough site maintenance
  • High maintenance fees

As mentioned earlier, you might not be the only person unhappy with the WordPress website, and it might be affecting your business. To address this, here are things to do

Look for A Reliable Website Designer

Website issues can be avoided by hiring an expert right from the start. A web designer, who understands the profession well, knows how to work with different CMS, including WordPress, and will work hard to meet your expectations. 

They won’t start the job until they understand your needs, products, business operations, and target audience. The experts will also work with you to provide maintenance and insights that help you achieve more business growth. They can also help you effectively market the website bringing in more business.

Analyze What Went Wrong in The Initial Design

Even before starting a new design, take account of everything you don’t like in the current web design or the issues you’re facing. What mistakes did you make that you need to rectify or avoid as you build a new or modify the website?

Probably, you didn’t take time to qualify different experts, or you cut down on the cost compromising quality. Did you effectively communicate your expectations to the designer? 

Another issue is letting the web designer handle all the work independently and expecting an excellent final product. You have to be actively involved in the entire process to make sure it serves your business and clients perfectly. 

Create an Effective Marketing Plan

If your primary concern is a lowly converting website, reduced sales, and not showing up on search engine results, the SEO or marketing strategy is probably inadequate. You still have to go through the website with an expert to decide whether you should go on with the current design or make adjustments before starting an intensive marketing plan.

Make sure to work with an expert website marketer and indicate the target audience. You’ll have to carry out different online marketing approaches from content creation, email marketing, social media engagement, offers, and discounts.

You’ll also have to analyze the site to check whether it has a low conversion rate which means that you’re not offering what your audience is looking for or your marketing efforts are not well-targeted. Understand your market needs, effectively engage your audience, build credibility and have a good reputation.

Look at Your Competitors Sites

When designing the site, it goes beyond choosing a theme that appeals to you. Check what works best for your industry and type of business. Which features, designs, and even designers are your competitors using? 

Can you draw inspiration from their platforms, notice the weak points, and aim to create a better version? For customer-focused competitors, the designs they choose are inspired by their clients’ needs and preferences. Aim to do the same.

Increase Security Features

Potential clients always check the security features on your site even before browsing through the different pages and categories. Start with getting an SSL certificate, then make all the transactions secure. Clients don’t want to risk their data, including bank details. They’ll check whether you have a robust security system.

Talk to a digital expert to understand the steps to take. Also, realize cyberattacks that expose customers’ data can cost you a lot in lawsuits. Which security features are other players in the industry using?

Create Convenience

One thing that quickly drives traffic away from your site is complicated processes. Can clients find what they’re looking for quickly? Is the site user-friendly? Even when the ordering process is simplified, many customers still want engagement throughout the process. They want to ask you questions, get clarifications, and help to make informed choices. 

To achieve this, be available and attentive. Aim to reply to each customer’s message and pick phone calls. Have a dedicated customer care team that handles all the clients’ communication. This will enable you to grow a large following of happy clients.

Understand Your Customers Needs

What issues or problems would your clients want to solve with the information or products on your site? Are you meeting their expectations? To achieve this, spend time studying the target market. Little details such as the language tone, style, and packaging can be a great deal. 

To create a perfect website, involve your clients in the process. Which features would they like to see included in the design? What challenges are they facing? Is the information on the site helpful and easy to understand? Would they recommend your site to friends and family members?

Meet Your Clients Expectations

Clients are looking for convenience when choosing online services but still want quality, reliable services from trustworthy vendors. Do you deliver what you promise? For instance, when you promise to make same-day deliveries, can your clients rely on your word? Other than the timely deliveries, customers will check the condition of the delivered products.

If you’re finding it hard to keep repeat clients, you probably need to evaluate the quality of products and services offered. Anything from low-quality products, delayed or unprofessional shipment service, high prices, and lack of customer care services can drive customers away. This leads to a poorly converting website. 

As you will realize, many factors lead to problems with your WordPress website. When its conversion rate is low, you won’t grow the business unless you resolve the underlying issues.

An excellent marketing plan won’t help either without solving the i. Most often, it’s not easy to detect the problems unless you engage more with your clients to understand their challenges.

How To Make Your Office A More Exciting Place To Work

Offices are not always the most exciting places to be. Seeing as they associate with work, some people dread going into the office. A dull office that lacks fun aspects and character can be uninspiring and demotivating. Thus, enhancing the look of your office and adding new features can make it more exciting, which can boost staff morale and productivity.

Allow staff to personalize their desks

Allowing staff to personalize their desks will help them feel more at home and comfortable, which will likely boost their workplace happiness. 

For instance, you could allow them to add color and fun aspects to their desks such as plants, photos, and lights. You can use 3528 rgb for strip lights to add more fun and color to an office. You can use bright colors to brighten people’s moods. You can even allow employees to choose their own colors to personalize their space. 

Update the software

Using old and slow software can be super demotivating. Thus, kitting out the office with new technology and updated company software will enhance the morale and productivity in the office. 

Rewarding staff with new laptops will encourage them to work better and more efficiently. They will be quicker and much less of a nuisance. Slow and outdated software can hinder workplace performance. Thus, the investment will be worth it for the productivity of your staff and the efficiency of your business. 

Add a recreational space

All offices should offer staff a place to gather, relax, and socialize. It will help them take breaks without leaving the office. They can sit and chat with colleagues and improve their relationships. 

You could add fun decor and soft furnishings to the space to make it more comfortable and relaxing. 

Furthermore, you could use this space for the end of week chats or parties to boost staff morale and make the office a more exciting and fun place.

Enhance the natural lighting

Natural lighting is the best way to feel the most productive and awake. A dull and dark office can make staff tired and demotivated. 

Enhancing the natural light that enters the office will make it a more exciting and relaxing place to work. Staff will be able to maintain better focus and stay on top of the game. 

Tips for enhancing the natural light include taking down dark window coverings, opening the windows, and adding mirrors.  

Encourage an open-door policy

Closing doors in the office can make people feel shut out and unable to communicate. If you encourage an open-door policy, then colleagues can improve their communication and feel welcomed into any space. 

Of course, it is necessary to close doors during meetings. However, leaving them open when meetings are over will help staff build connections and seek help when they need it. It will also brighten the space and allow air and light to pass through, which can help with mood and focus. Enhancing the staff’s mood will result in greater productivity and workplace happiness, which will create a healthier work-life balance.

Why Outsourcing Is the Best Business Model Today

Businesses are always looking for the best way to make money, and there is no shortage of opinions on what that looks like. One popular opinion these days is outsourcing.

In this blog post, you shall see why outsourcing is an excellent option for any business owner and how it can help increase revenue.

What Is Outsourcing?

Outsourcing is the act of hiring a third party to handle any processes that are not core functions for your business. This includes data entry, customer service, marketing and advertising, developing new products, and IT functions from a managed IT service provider.

It’s Cost-Effective

You can outsource everything from IT services to accounting services. This will save you money, which you can invest in your business or use to buy new equipment and assets for growth.

Guaranteed Quality and Timely Services

Outsourcing companies will always provide you with a service that is of high quality and on time. They are experts in their field, so they have the experience to do this without any issue.

It’s Flexible

Most outsourced services can occur remotely, which means your company doesn’t need to allocate space for employees or worry about hiring more staff. This is a massive advantage for any business that wants to grow but can’t afford the overhead costs of new employees. Besides, a company can have more than one outsourcing firm in case of last-minute cancellations or emergencies.

It Saves Time

Outsourcing your business takes all the work off your hands so you can focus on making more money! You won’t need to worry about tedious and repetitive tasks or even hiring someone new that might not be a good fit for your company. Outsourced services save time which in turn leads to saving money and making more profit.

It Saves Money

As mentioned earlier, outsourcing is cost effective and also a great way to spare money which would have been used in various projects. Who doesn’t want to have extra money in their banking account? Choose outsourcing for your business and reap these great benefits.

It’s Scalable

Outsourcing allows you to scale your company up or down, depending on what it needs at the time. You don’t need to worry about hiring more workers just because it gets busier during peak season for your business.

This is why outsourcing services are such a good idea and will help you grow your company. If this sounds like something that might work well for you, it’s worth looking into to see if these benefits would be suitable.

You may have heard the famous phrase, “Think outside of the box.” But what does that mean? In a nutshell, it means to think differently. It’s an approach to problem-solving where you don’t limit yourself in any way – no matter how silly or weird your ideas might seem at first glance to boost work productivity. This is why outsourcing is becoming such a popular business model.

Outsource to a call center for marketing

There are many advantages to outsourcing your marketing to a contact center scheduling software. Here are eight key benefits that every business should know:

First, call centers can provide around-the-clock coverage for your customers. This is important because it means that someone will always be available to answer customer questions or address concerns, no matter the time. This can give your customers peace of mind and make them more likely to do business with you.

Second, call center agents are typically very well-trained and experienced in dealing with customer inquiries. This means that they’re more likely to be able to resolve issues quickly and efficiently. And, if they can’t fix a problem, they’ll know how to escalate it to someone who can.

Third, call centers can help you manage and track customer interactions. This data can be precious in helping you improve your customer service and make sure your customers are happy.

Fourth, call centers can provide a high level of customer service. This is because they’re focused on providing excellent service to their clients. And they have the systems and processes to ensure they meet their goals.

Fifth, call centers can help you save money. This is because they’re often much less expensive than hiring in-house customer service staff. Additionally, they may be able to offer discounts on specific services or products if you use their services frequently.

Sixth, call centers can help you to reach a wider audience. This is because they can make outgoing calls to customers who may not have otherwise heard about your company or its products.

Seventh, call centers can help you to improve your image. This is because they present a professional image to your customers and can help to build trust between you and them.

Eighth, call centers can help you grow your business. This is because they provide an excellent way to scale your customer service operations quickly and efficiently. Additionally, they may be able to offer additional services that can help you to grow your business even further.

As you can see, there are many advantages to outsourcing your marketing to a call center. If you’re not already doing so, it’s something that you should consider. It could be the best decision that you ever make for your business.

Conclusion

This article has discussed why outsourcing services are such a good idea and how they will help you grow your company. If this sounds like something that might work well for you, go for it.

How Technology is Redefining Property Management

Property markets have always played an influential role in the global economy. As the global economy grows, the demand for residential, commercial and industrial property also surges. More investors inject money into new projects to spur the economy’s growth. At the heart of the real estate market is property management.

Property managers play a critical role in the oversight of real estate property. They’re an often overlooked element in the property market despite this critical role they play. If you’re adding property into your portfolio, consider how and who will manage your investment. Technology is now influential in property management and it’s important for the investor and property managers to stay up-to-date with tech trends in property management.

Read on and discover why technology is the future of property management.

Drone Technology

The mention of drones brings to mind military applications. However, drone technology is now readily available on the mass market. Real estate has emerged as a trendsetter in using drones. In property management, you’ll now find state-of-the-art drone aviation technology used to showcase listings.

Property managers use these tools for mapping estates to ensure the facilities are up-to-code. Drones allow a closer look at a property from the air and it’s easier to identify some problems which one misses from the ground.

If you’re in real estate, you appreciate the need for high-quality photos whether you’re marketing a project or carrying out maintenance. Drones can deliver high-resolution images which give you a real-time insight into your property. You get a full view of the property in real-time, which allows you to start maintenance work.

Artificial Intelligence in Property Management

Artificial intelligence (AI) might have looked like a futuristic concept a few years back, but today, its application continues to grow. In real estate, forward-thinking startups have embraced AI property management tools to boost their operations. AI helps with automation of operations to improve efficiency and productivity.  

With AI, you can automate workflows and get a better way to handle day-to-day tasks. This technology can also improve decision making in the fast-paced real estate market. Other applications include an analysis of marketing strategies, and improving your customer service with chatbots. You can also use AI for marketing and lead generation, screening and for predictive maintenance, which reduces the property maintenance cost.

There are multiple repetitive tasks you have to do every day, but the right AI tools can do these for you. From replying to emails, and engaging with tenants and potential clients online, there’s so much potential in these AI tools.

Property Management Software

A property manager has multiple responsibilities to carry out at the same time. It’s one of the toughest jobs in the real estate industry. You need to track the tenants, the property and also update the property owners. Luckily, you can now leverage dedicated property management software (PMS) to make your work easier.

This technology helps streamline all your tasks on one platform. Whether you have a single property or several under your watch, this software can revolutionize your operations. The best software comes with comprehensive capabilities including property accounting, property maintenance, and inspection, communication, reporting, and helping with organizational changes. Some features of property management software include:

  1. Maintenance management and tracking
  2. Online payment processing
  3. Tenant applications and screenings
  4. Contact Management
  5. Property advertising and  marketing
  6. Centralized, efficient document platform
  7.  Commercial lease management
  8. Financial Management
  9. Property management automation

With this software, you save time and money in your work, improve landlord-tenant relations, improve communication, flexibility in your operations, notifications and alerts, and critical insight on your properties in real-time. This is one of the biggest trends in real estate and will continue to impact the industry for a long time.

Cloud Computing

With so much information generated in property management, there’s a need to streamline handling and storage. You have multiple technology tools generating and analyzing data. Cloud computing is now revolutionizing the administration of property management companies. It’s easier to access information about different properties even remotely. If you have a large team in your property management company, you can now run operations more efficiently.  

Many real estate offices are now moving online, which allows easier access to files. This makes your team more productive and responsive. If there’s a tenant case that requires immediate resolution, it’s possible to deal with it as long as you have access to the internet. You can share critical files with inspectors, the government and stakeholders.

Cloud computing offers a more efficient and secure way of running office systems. With scalable operations, you can now find the perfect package to suit. You can now move all your operations online from marketing, renting, to maintenance tasks. Cloud computing allows such seamless operations.

Big Data

Big data has to be one of the biggest trends across industries. Over the last two decades, the proliferation of digital tools has seen an increase in the amount of data available. In real estate, most companies are now online.

These generate a lot of data which they can use for better decision making. With data-driven decisions, it’s easier to achieve your objectives in property management. You deliver better results for your clients, which bolsters your reputation in the industry.

Big data is more than the volumes of data in your possession. It only applies if you analyze and leverage this data to promote growth. Some of the biggest real estate companies, such as Zillow and Trulia, have disrupted the industry by leveraging big data. These platforms help users easily find the right property by using data insight.

In property management, you have a lot of data about your tenants, building systems, and other aspects of your business. You can build a competitive edge by utilizing such data to improve your services or adopt new technologies. For instance, you can embrace more effective predictive maintenance by collecting historical data from previous repairs and maintenance incidences.

Technology now influences every industry. While real estate has always lagged behind in embracing new technology, there’s a big opportunity for property managers who think outside the box. With these innovative ideas, you can build stronger relations with your clients, boost your credibility, and deliver excellent results for investors.

Tips to Improve Communication Within Your Business

Communication is vital for any business to survive, let alone thrive. From internal communications to communicating with customers and stakeholders, it can contribute to productivity, sales, and the overall success of the business. 

Benefits of good communication

There are many reasons why communication is vital for any business to function, for example, it can: 

  • Increase employee and customer engagement 
  • Increase employee productivity
  • Increase customer satisfaction
  • Decrease unnecessary, irrelevant communications and email overload which increases the chances of important information being seen quicker 
  • Improve collaboration and teamwork between teams and departments
  • Improve advocacy between employees and customers
  • Improve the company morale

Now it has been established why communication is vital in business, here are some top strategies and tips to improve communication. 

Make the business mission and values clear to employees and customers

You could have the best employees in the world, who want your business to succeed. But without intention, initiative, or direction on where to go, you can limit your business growth. 

Regardless of the size of your business, when the mission and values of the business are clear and communicated throughout all employees, stakeholders, and customers, it can help and improve how people work together. When there is an increased understanding of the bigger picture and the goals they are working towards, there is more value, efficiency, and continuity with the work and communication. By making the business mission and values clear, you allow people within your organization to connect with the business and be guided with strong values to motivate and drive employees’ work, and in turn, your business forward. 

Making your business mission and values clear, can also help drive more, high-quality sales as it allows customers to get to know you better and find some common ground. Your clear mission could be the reason why someone chooses your business over your competitors. 

Make all information known and accessible 

Whether it is protocols, preparing contracts, industry news, or general best practices, all the important information about your business and how it runs must be communicated from the start. This can help your employees, or anyone associated with your organization, work more efficiently and with fewer errors. This can easily be implemented with streamlined processes that are documented, an online platform, or initial and ongoing training made available to those who want it. When people are more equipped about the business, best practices, and the industry as a whole, it can drive confidence and teamwork, as well as increased sharing of valuable insights that are vital in helping your business grow. 

Open and honest environment

Many businesses champion an open and honest culture in the workplace, but do your employees and clients truly feel listened to and that they can speak up without retribution? If people do not feel they can be open and honest, and voice their concerns regardless of the topic, they will continue to do things the same way and potentially stunt your business growth. 

It is important to acknowledge that there is always room for improvement, and your employees and customers are right in the thick of things, so can shed some light with their unique experiences on areas that can provide huge opportunities for your business. 

To promote an open and honest workplace, you must proactively ask your employee’s and customers’ opinions, listen and respond, and where necessary, take appropriate action. Avoid being condescending or confrontational, as your employees only want the best for the business and this can deter any honest communication in the future and therefore, miss important opportunities. People must feel comfortable speaking up and this must actively be encouraged. 

Useful and efficient tools 

Many different tools can be used within a business to facilitate better communication, from project management systems to IT infrastructure. All organizations will inevitably use systems and tools that will either make working and communication more efficient or will be causing a detrimental effect on the companies performance. This is because it is likely that the majority of internal and external communication is done online. Online systems are where contracts are drawn up, invoices are generated and paid, networks are managed and employee collaboration and customer interaction occurs. Inefficient tools can lead to more errors, timely delays, and in turn, diminish trust with employees, customers and stakeholders while costing you a fortune. 

There are many companies, such as www.bcmone.com that offer tailored solutions that can make connectivity, communication, and collaboration within a business easy and cost-effective. 

Organize External events

Team building events are probably one of the best investments you can make as a business. 

Your employees, stakeholders, and customers are the glue that holds your business together. The office likely is where your employees will spend most of their time, so it is important to create an amicable and pleasant environment. This means that connectivity, collaboration, and teamwork are vital, not only for company morale but for the growth and efficiency of your business. For people to work well together, relationships must be built on trust and communication. 

A great way to facilitate better communication in the workplace is to organize external events. This can be for employees, customers, or stakeholders alike. External events are a great way for people to get to know each other outside of the workplace and have something to look forward to. This can be a party, a team-building day, or simply a nice meal out. A team-building event can increase engagement amongst people as they usually involve spending time together, working towards a common goal of sharing experiences, which can allow for the creation of special bonds, which don’t always happen in the workplace or board meetings when everyone is busy and professional. 

With the right tools and strategies, improved communication has the power to transform your business, make processes more efficient, boost morale and increase overall employee and customer satisfaction. As it can take time for your business to adopt these strategies, start by reviewing where your business currently stands and what improvements you can make within your means, that can create the most impact. Then you can start to change systems and processes one by one.