A. Hopkins Insurance & Financial Services

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  • Business Process: Is it time to rethink it?

    Business Process: Is it time to rethink it?

    Process. The word strikes deep into the hearts of business owners because we never stop thinking about it, or questioning it.

    · Is my business working at an optimal level?

    · Did I only need one meeting to accomplish what I just did in three?

    · Could I have accomplished this task online or over the phone and saved the effort and time of meeting in person at this stage of the client relationship?

    Overall, business process can be described as a collection of linked tasks which, at completion, result in delivering a product or service to your customer or client. Some companies outsource this, others manage it internally; however, business process management (BPM) is also a growing industry, expected to be grow to a $16 billion market by 2023.

    There are many reasons to rethink your process:

    · Growth, new market environment

    · A restructure after acquisition

    · Improve quality control

    · Changing expectations of the customer or client

    · New and better technologies available

    An online business will have a much different set of processes than, say, a retail operation, vs. a non-profit organization, of course, but many of the same questions about process apply.

    Explorance, a provider of survey software advises that if you are changing up any one or more processes in your business, start with the following steps:

    1. “Start with identifying any need for change.” What does your current process look like? Are you not making deadlines, or spending more money in one area of the business than you think you should be? Is a process putting more pressure on one department or member of your team? Also, ask, “What are current issues or current risks for the company?”

    2. Identify how one process impacts another. Is one process standing in the way of, or slowing the execution of another? Are there steps in the current process where you commonly encounter a roadblock? For example, is your client online ordering process straight forward, or does it frustrate the user enough that you are losing sales, or needing human interaction? Is a process presently slowing the efficiency of how your team works, and adding no value? Is there a step in the approval process that can be removed, for example?

    3. Ensure your managers are on board with any changes to process. A process change can be as small (but important) as implementing a strategy for fixing broken links on your website, or as big (and important) as adding a position to your team to alleviate one step in a bigger process. Get your team involved, especially managers to make sure they are in agreement, or don’t have a different or better idea for fixing any process issues.

    4. Set some process improvement objectives and goals. Commitment to a process change is paramount if you want to see a difference in efficiency, revenue, or any other aspect of your business. Setting those objectives and getting your team excited about the possibilities the change can bring will help in exploring your business’ optimal performance.

    Though a team may be open to change in the process, it is not always successful. According to John Kotter, writer for Business Harvard Review’s article “Leading Change: Why transformation efforts fail,” more often than not change fails. Not establishing a sense of urgency and momentum for change is often what leads to its failure. “Sometimes executives underestimate how hard it can be to drive people out of their comfort zones,” says Kotter.

    But the change doesn’t have to happen overnight. Set reasonable expectations, and accept that there might be a trial and error period; results may be better than you ever thought. Either way, there is nothing to lose—in the end, you will know your business better.

    Author: ChamberPlan.ca

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  • Start a New Decade with These 5 Noteworthy Lessons from Small Business Owners

    Start a New Decade with These 5 Noteworthy Lessons from Small Business Owners

    Entrepreneurs, in particular small business operators and owners, are not strangers to trial and error and misstep. What is important is what we learn and take away to fuel our next move. Here are a few lessons from small business owners to lead us into a new decade!

    Hiring Key People. Susan Guillory, President of Egg Marketing & Communications, and contributor to Forbes says finding success is easier when you have the right people on your team. She admits to designing her own logo when she started her company 13 years ago and that it was a big mistake. “I can tell you that this DIY strategy is not effective as your business grows,” she says. She encourages all business owners to, in the very least, find one person who can support you.

    Take action on new projects. Neal Schaffer is a social business coach and author of Maximize your Social. His advice is to push new projects forward. “Sometimes if means simply turning down things that we used to accept or deciding to simply unplug from other activities,” he shares. What does unplugging, or disengaging from usual practices look like for you and your business in 2020?

    Collect your own data. How do you examine your own customers’ behaviours? Their spending patterns? Their aversions? What questions do they frequently ask? No one knows your business better than you do. Or rather…no one should know your business better than you do. But we are not always great at tracking our own data—that is customer demographics, how they found you, their likes and dislikes, etc. For Larry Kim, founder of Wordstream and CEO of MobileMonkey he believes the key to success is to “fail slightly less often by using more data rather than gut feel in project planning phases…”

    How do you plan on gathering more of your own business’ data in 2020?

    Tune out the noise and follow your instinct. Instinct—we know it’s there, and yet, we don’t always listen. Sometimes it’s because there is A LOT of noise to break through, but, also, listening to our instincts actually takes practice. Not only is it tricky to pin down that initial feeling we had about a certain business move or hire, but to ignore the other pressures that exist in business environment or society in general can be difficult. Caroline Ghosn, co-founder and CEO of Levo League, says there are always warning signs. “As an entrepreneur, the latitude of failure and of success is directly correlated to people. I am growing more and more attentive to my first instincts, even if I can’t justify them, as they apply to people.”

    Keep it simple.

    That’s Neil Patel’s simple advice. He is an entrepreneur, investor, advisor and well-known blogger, with expertise in online metrics and analytics. He admits to having many of his start-ups fail. “Typically the failure wasn’t due to the idea. Instead the solution was complicated and hard to use.”

    Wishing you every success for your business ventures in 2020!

    Author: ChamberPlan.ca

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  • Local Marketing Tips: Benefits of Event Sponsorship

    Local Marketing Tips: Benefits of Event Sponsorship

    Sponsoring a local event — like a fun run or a festival — is a great way to boost exposure for your small business and connect directly with potential customers, while also contributing to your local community.

    To maximize the benefits of event sponsorship, you’ll want to do it right. Learn how hosting or sponsoring events can be an effective part of your local marketing plan and find out how to make the most of the event for your business.

    Sponsor events that align with your brand

    As with any marketing plan, efforts should be specifically tailored to your target audience. Sponsoring an event is no exception. The most important decision will be choosing the right event. For the partnership to have the most impact, it needs to be a good fit for your brand.

    Consider Lululemon. The athletic apparel giant hosts immensely popular running events in cities across Canada including Vancouver, Edmonton, and Toronto. More than just a running race, these are full-scale events often with entertainment, pop-up shops, food vendors and, of course, premium post-race swag and goodies. Co-sponsors include brands that appeal to Lululemon’s target demographic — mainly women between the ages of 25-40 — like Saje, a natural wellness retailer, or Flow alkaline water, which comes in fully recyclable packing.

    While any brand might jump at the chance to market itself to thousands of people riding the post-run adrenaline high, Lululemon and its sponsoring partners, as well as the vendors selling product on site, are aligned value-wise with a focus on health, overall wellness, and eco-consciousness.

    Not only is it in Lululemon’s best interests to ensure that sponsoring partners reflect their brand’s values, but sponsors also benefit from access to the perfect audience for their products. It’s a symbiotic relationship that works on all levels. The right partnership ensures that your brand makes the right impression with the right audience.

    Don’t feel obligated to say yes to every sponsorship request

    Be selective about the events that your business sponsors. It might be difficult to say no when someone knocks on your door, but realistically, both parties will get the most benefit by investing in partnerships that share a similar brand and audience.

    Having said that, it’s important to give back — even in a small way — to the local community that supports your business. You shouldn’t expect a huge ROI especially when supporting non-profit or charity events, but giving back and fostering goodwill in the greater community is incredibly important too.

    How to get involved in sponsoring local events

    So, what is actually expected of you as an event sponsor? Generally speaking, an event sponsor is a business or company that provides support, usually funding, to help with the planning and execution of an event in exchange for marketing exposure. Other ways to get involved may include contributing product (for a raffle or silent auction) or providing venue space to host the event. There are plenty of ways to lend your support to help get an event off the ground.

    And in return, there are many ways you can leverage the partnership to gain important exposure for your company. Depending on the event, maybe you can set up a booth onsite, deliver a presentation onstage, or hand out prizes. The best results will involve more than simply having your logo appear somewhere on the website.

    Promote the event on your social channels

    It will also be important for both your business and the event organizer to effectively market the event on all appropriate channels — to not only promote the partnership, but to also ensure the event is well attended.

    Don’t forget to post an event followup on social media. If your company installed a free furnace to a family in need, write a blog about it on your website. If you sponsored a charity gala by providing a silent auction item, post a photo with the recipient on Instagram. Consumers increasingly expect that businesses will be active in their community and give back in meaningful ways. People want to see those partnerships in action and see the real ways in which your business contributes to the betterment of the community.

    Event sponsorships provide value not only to the event organizers who rely on extra funds or gifts to make their event a success, but also to the sponsors who benefit from local marketing efforts and, if nothing else, some good community mojo. Get out there and work with local partners that reflect your brand’s values and make it a regular event! It will go a long way in securing your position as a business that is committed to contributing positively to the local community.

    Author: ChamberPlan.ca

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