Month: February 2020

No matter what industry you’re in, if you want to succeed, you need to ensure that your customers are having the best experience possible when purchasing an item or service from you. The benefits that come with good customer experience are undeniable. 

For example, according to Lucidpress, exceptional customer service will help your business to grow, become more profitable and remain loyal to you over time. These benefits aren’t to be ignored – especially for startup businesses who are still trying to get a foot in the door. 

Once you know who your customers are, you can start to build a strategy that incorporates their needs. But how do you do this? Here are 5 tips that you can use:

1. Invest in Customer Service 

You want your customers to know that they can contact you if they have any queries regarding a product or service that they want to or have invested in. And this is where a customer service team comes in. 

Able to handle any calls or messages that your business gets through a variety of channels, you can have the peace of mind that your customers’ needs aren’t being ignored. 

This is perhaps the first step towards ensuring good customer experience and an essential investment that every new business should make.

However, you’ll need to make sure that the staff is fully trained in customer service and that they are aware of the correct way to handle different situations. 

If they provide your customers with a negative experience, it could wreak havoc on your business. So take the time to ensure that they are qualified and offer them training if they require it.

2. Frequently Improve The Quality of the Product or Service 

In order for your customers to keep purchasing from you and to guarantee that they recommend your business, you’ll want to frequently improve what you have to offer. 

The quality can have a big impact on what your customers think of your business and whether or not they will remain loyal to you.

So it’s a good idea to look at the quality and see ways in which you can improve it. You don’t want a subpar product and to fall beneath your competitors after all.

3. Address Each Customer’s Needs Quickly and Efficiently 

Whenever a roadblock comes up, it’s essential that you address it quickly and efficiently. 

You don’t want to face further frustration or lose revenue because you handled a situation poorly. So ensure that as soon as an issue arises, your team fixes it in a way that satisfies your customers.

4. Reward Loyal Customers

To retain loyalty, you’ll need to show your customers how much you appreciate them. This can be by offering them incentives such as discounts or vouchers. 

Once you’ve done this, not only will they continue to opt for your business above others, but they will spread the word about your brand in a very positive manner – which could result in new customers.

5. Create A Customer-Centric Culture 

Within your business, ensure that every team member strives for excellent customer service. 

This way, the experience that they have will be unforgettable no matter who they come in contact with. It’s not only your customer service team that should be aiming to impress customers but others in the workforce as well.

Businesses to exist, distinguish, highlight, and astonish need strategies known as marketing strategies to achieve the defined goals.  

The strategies are required for small businesses, newly established businesses, succession businesses, and businesses that have a long history in the market too. 

These strategies include leadership strategies, employee management strategies, in-house handling strategies, goals achieving strategies, and, most importantly, marketing strategies. 

Marketing strategies, however, if dealt separately, are the milestones for the success and profit earning chart of the business. 

Marketing types, however, involve:

• above the line,
• below the line
•  catalog
• digital
• ethnic
• field
• global
• industrial
• mobile
• newsletter
• etc. 

Other types include ”online,” real-time,” retail,” social media,” technical,” vertical,” etc. the viral and trendy type of marketing in the contemporary technological world, however, is digital marketing. 

For this purpose, there is assistance available online, especially with the online marketing gurus. The purpose of SEO companies is to present and increase online sales and offline customers.

Online Marketing Gurus (OMG) was established in 2012 with the purpose of making websites of companies simple for the consumers and profitable for their clients. 

Having a global approach, a company can easily search for local SEO companies near me to get the benefit and earn the profit. 

SEO, moreover, catapults the company’s rating due to which it appears on top of the screen when a consumer searches online.  

Depending on search results, the consumer then contacts the company on the contact number available online on the website. Both the online and walking customers can easily be entertained and assisted in their queries. 

TYPES OF MARKETING

To attract consumers, business companies use different marketing strategies. These strategies not only boost the sales of the company but uplift the morale of employees and the trust of the consumers as well. 

Perfect marketing, along with product price settlements and quality and risk control management are different sub-parts of the marketing strategy. 

Below are the types of marketing that are effective, in trend, and 100% result guaranteed as well. 

1. Above the line marketing

This is the type of marketing and publicity done on TV, radio, and the internet. Adds are made of 30-60 seconds generally to attract the consumers of every age.  

Selecting medium, moreover, from any of them, is tricky and assisted by many professional agencies. The trend of watching TV and listening to the radio has generally been recorded as low as compared to using the internet since its invention. 

Therefore, the perfect platform of advertising to target the right consumers and their needs is mandatory in this line. 

2. Acquisition marketing

The acquisition is the type of marketing strategy that brings in new customers by addressing and fulfilling their needs. 

This, however, takes double the cost to attract and sell the same product to the new customer than to the old one. 

This includes targeted and uncomplicated content, emails, and search engine optimization features. 

SEO is the best example of an acquisition strategy that is followed by proper process planning and implementing steps to improve search engine rankings. This is to have more online traffic as well. 

3. Brand marketing

Each business has an inspiring story of starting up, followed by a logo that attracts the consumers as well. 

Brands then market in the name of their logo, design, and not certainly the product. 

Brand marketing can be of any company selling mobiles, clothes, electrical appliances, home appliances, cosmetics, fashion accessories, etc. Shell, PSO, Coca-Cola, iPhone, McDonald’s, KFC, Daraz, etc. are the brands that do digital and print brand marketing. 

4. Buzz marketing

As the name identifies, it is the type of marketing that is to create a hype of the product.

A trailer, teaser for the product in a humorous, exciting, and dramatic way is revealed. The trailer, etc. can be on social media platforms or on mass media. 

This marketing is appealing, results guaranteed, but much risky as well as the anticipation of the product can be positive and negative both if found discriminatory or discouraging to others. 

The super bowl buzz marketing strategy is the perfect example of this category. 

5. Catalog marketing

An old but authenticated marketing strategy to attract consumers directly is catalog marketing. 

In this catalog, printed in a digital way or in hardcopy display the list of the products by size, by price, by year or by season, etc. catalogs are emailed to the subscribers of the company or regular clients as well. 

Many brands selling home appliances, shopping malls, and clothing brands have catalog printed for their customer’s ease. 

6. Celebrity marketing

Celebrity marketing is one of the effective and sales guaranteed ways of marketing. By celebrity endorsing a product, fan-base of a certain product is increased, enhancing its demand and supply. 

Many electronics, food, cosmetics companies, etc. use this way to market their product. While celebrities depending on the budget and the right choice of the brand can be both national and international as well. 

7. Digital marketing

The most effective way of marketing nowadays is digital marketing. 

In this way, advertisement is done through the internet, TV, radio, smartphones, tablets, etc. to promote the product and its services. 

This is the money-saving marketing type in which customers can be entertained personally as well. 

This, if used perfectly, enhances brand loyalty as well. The other names of it can be global, social, internet marketing. 

8. Direct marketing

Direct marketing is the way to engage with consumers directly. 

This direct engagement can be through promotional and new launch information messages, calls, emails, brochures, flyers, and letters. 

This not only includes certain product details but a catalog having all product details with name and prices and regularly updated models.

9. Ethnic marketing

Ethnic marketing endorsing diversity and cultural marketing is the best way to boost the sales of the company. 

Many cosmetics and food companies use the cultural products that are native, specialized, but non-discriminatory to others as a tool for enhancing sales. 

10. Green marketing 

New but effective of them all is the green marketing strategy. 

Green marketing can be on social media, print media, digital media, or any other platform highlight the environment-friendly procedures in creating, producing, and even selling of the product. 

Many clothing brands, milk selling brands, cosmetic brands especially use this technique of marketing to attract consumers. 

CONCLUSION

Marketing is a basic and challenging task for a business to grow. 

There are many types of marketing, including digital, direct, green, ethnic types of marketing to attract more and more consumers. 

The most important point, however, is that a company should be aware of the right tools, techniques, and most likely results of the product after marketing. 

Moreover, a reliable source of marketing should be preferred and regularly updated. 

Companies that use accounts receivable financing transfer some or all of their open accounts to lenders to obtain an advance. That is done for a fee. Accounts Receivable AR Financing permits organizations to receive early amounts on their unsettled invoices.

Compared to asset-based loans, firms have more flexibility to select debtors for transactions and trades. But investor fees may be higher and credit lines lower comparatively.

Like ABL, all trade accounts receivable are recognized as bad debts pending in the company’s balance sheet.

The essential kinds of receivables finance:

Asset-Based Lending (ABL)

Asset-based loans are also called commercial loans. They are also sometimes known as traditional loans. They are an on-balance sheet method that usually comprises of a substantial fee. Organizations covering most of its debtors from this scheme has limited flexibility to deal with debtors.

Traditional Factoring

Unlike the reverse factoring, a company sells its accounts receivable to a third party through traditional factoring. However, the amount of the down payment is less than the total amount receivable. For instance, a company may get an advance payment of 80% of the invoice amount net of the processing charges.

Selective Receivables Finance (SRF)

Selective receivables finance permits firms to select which debtors to advance for prompt disbursement. Moreover, selective receivables finance permits organizations to secure their prompt payment for the full cash money of each debtor. Financing rates are usually less comparing to other alternatives. This approach may not be considered as debt-dependent on the program structure. The reason is that selective receivables finance is ignored during the creation of the balance sheet. Also, it does not influence the debt ratios or other unsettled credit lines.

Why Selective receivables finance always considered as a preferred choice?

Matching with the ABL as well as traditional factoring, SRF offers cash flow profits efficiently. It also comprises of low costs and risks. One of the main reasons is that it is not counted as debt.

When created adequately, SRF is not reported as a transaction in the financial statements. It does not have any influence on unsettled credits or future requirements for lines of credit.

Moreover, it is the organization that has the option to select which debtors are paid promptly. Firms can select the debtors from their choice. It is their preference that receivable should submit early disbursement.

As an outcome, they can more adequately monitor their capability to trade-off profits and funding expenses.

Also, selective receivables finance encourages firms for participation only when it requires. That is essential for companies that face seasonal risks in demands or during times of economic downfall.

SRF can encourage a company to incorporate various funders into a scheme. This decreases the internal risk based on a single financial association. 

How Does Selective Receivable Finance operate?

The most effective selective debt financing program is backed by a state-of-the-art software platform. It allows companies to sell prepaid invoices before the actual payment deadline.

However, in most cases, it does not require any participation from its consumers. The platform allows the real sale of claims, not factoring or loans.

The platform automatically processes all transactions between various clients and offers additional cash flow to organizations. That is mostly done in different countries and currencies. 

Structuring

With the development and integration of new technologies, accounts receivable financing is becoming more common. Moreover, new technologies help link corporate bonds with accounts receivable financing platforms.

AR financing is generally easier for companies to access than other forms of capital financing. This is especially true for small businesses that easily meet loan financing standards. Similarly, big companies can also easily integrate technology solutions with AR financing.

Dating the invoice

Another element to consider in the contract is the date of purchase. Under normal circumstances, you will be billed within 180 days. Companies prefer new invoices that have a higher collection life comparable to those that have a short-life. 

Duration of the Agreement

The duration of the AR financing agreement is important for the company. Either they are months, years or more than that; AR financing can have fluctuating influence on an entity.

Make sure that you understand the duration of the agreement. It does not matter if it is a short or long-term contract; it is still vital to your business. 

Pros of Accounts Receivable Financing

In general, every opportunity to finance a company has its advantages and disadvantages. Accounts receivable financing also possess some key benefits. First, no mortgage or warranty is required.

This is an unsecured commercial financing service that does not require a guarantee in the form of ownership. It helps you retain ownership of your business.

You do not need to get rid of part of your business ownership to finance this type of capital funding.

In addition, accounts receivable financing allows companies to receive money immediately without waiting for long. Comparatively, you do have to do that in obtaining a commercial loan.

When an organization assigns the factoring firm to collect the pending amount, then there is no need to worry about recovery. When a company collects a factoring loan, it immediately receives 100% of its value. No additional charges are deducted.

With the development and integration of new technologies, accounts receivable financing is becoming more common. Moreover, new technologies help link corporate bonds with accounts receivable financing platforms.

AR financing is generally easier for companies to access than other forms of capital financing. This is especially true for small businesses that easily meet loan financing standards. Similarly, big companies can also easily integrate technology solutions with AR financing.

Even though accounts receivable financing has many advantages, it can also have negative consequences on your business.

In particular, the cost of financing the factoring firm may be higher than that of traditional methods. This is majorly for accredited companies.

Companies can lose money through the distribution of debt when selling debtors to factors.

Conclusion

In a loan structure, interest costs may be high or exceed the amount of late payment or amortization interest. Accounts receivable financing procedures are often referred to as factoring companies.

Factoring companies generally focus on debt financing. However, factoring firms can generally be the product of any financier. Funders can prepare themselves in different ways to structure the available contracts with different contingency reserves.

Regardless of its size, a business owner will always need a commercial loan to support its business operations on a daily basis. Companies may need quick resources to improve their businesses.

Unfortunately, credit channels have become particularly narrow, especially for small businesses. Many traditional lenders are reluctant to offer practical help. Accounts receivable financing can help companies overcome these financial challenges.