Business Advice Archives - Page 14 of 14

67% of businesses do not use a form of customer relationship management system (CRM)

Posted on September 5, 2017 Written by Administrator

A recent survey by Applied Business, providers of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, discovered that 73% of SMEs who aren’t using any form of workflow management software are “constantly” or “frequently” facing errors in manual processes.

Half of the respondents also admitted to never carrying out daily backups of IT systems, indicating that a considerable number of files, data and customer information could be lost.

Having No CRM Throws Away Opportunities

67% of those surveyed admitted to not using any form of CRM. A previous survey conducted by Applied Business also found that 28% of businesses believed manual operational errors were frequently affecting their CRM.

A strong CRM helps a business to organise and segment their customers based on their interactions with the business and maintain stronger relationships with them, providing more opportunities to upsell. Furthermore, a streamlined CRM is crucial to delivering a competitive edge by retaining existing clients through outstanding service.

Resistance to Change Delaying IT Updates

Change is a big deal to an organisation that is still using traditional methods or antiquated IT systems. According to the survey, 81% of respondents who aren’t using a CRM admitted “not knowing where to start” is the main change management challenge they face: 41% of all respondents said that not knowing where to start was the biggest hurdle.

Respondents also acknowledged how employee resistance is a major barrier, delaying system upgrades and achieving organisational change.

Having No ERP Results in Poor Workflow

73% of businesses who constantly or frequently face errors in manual processes are not using resource planning or workflow management software. For some businesses, poor project management could put their reputation on the line and seriously affect revenue.

Disaster Recovery Plans

When asked how often “do they back up their business systems and files”, 50% of respondents confessed to not conducting daily backups of IT systems. This represents a much higher potential risk of suffering losses due to having a lack of suitable systems in place and poor project management.

A thorough backup and recovery plan could make or break a company in the event of a disaster, which was the case for Zurich Insurance when they were fined £2.3 million after losing the personal details for over 48,000 customers during a routine data transfer to a data storage centre in South Africa. Considering the enormity of the data transferred, backing up the data beforehand could have prevented this catastrophe and the resulting damage to their reputation (source BBC).

How Often Should You Upgrade or Change Your Software?

Only 55% of businesses have updated their ERP, CRM, or project management software in the last two years, whilst 26% say they never upgrade theirs.

Running on outdated software can seriously affect productivity, but constantly changing software would cause mayhem in any operational environment. So, what’s the answer?

Employee resistance was found to be greatest for businesses that change or update their systems every three years, compared to shorter or longer time frames. On average, planning for updates, upgrades, or changes every two years reduced employee resistance.

What To Consider When Starting A Small Business – Where Will Your Premises Be?

Posted on July 6, 2017 Written by Administrator

If you are considering starting your own business, the location of your office / shop will be one of the most important considerations. Here we share some tips on what to consider:

Home or away?

First of all, what sort of business will you be running? If it something where people won’t generally need to visit you (for example, you provide an internet marketing business or a virtual assistant service), you may wish to weigh up the pros and cons of working from home.

If you have a spare room at home and know you’ll be disciplined in treating that room as your “office” and going there every day, this may be an option for you.

Also note that if you do work from home, there may be tax implications (good and bad), so do speak to an accountant for further advice.

If your business is to be one where people visit – whether it is an insurance brokers or hairdressers or fast food restaurant – then choose your location very carefully.

While this will be initially driven by any budget you have allocated, location is key. So, a hairdressers on a high street or near a railway station where getting to it is easy may do better than one where it is a drive away, from other shops. Also, take in to account the “treat” factor – if your premises is somewhere where there is lots of footfall, you are likely to get more people just walk in off the street to “treat” themselves, whether it is to a new haircut or something to eat.

Grants

Once you have narrowed down the location, talk to other shop owners in the vicinity to see if any properties are due to come up for rent /sale or whether there are any special government assisted grants available. Ask if there are any rumours about the local area (for example, if you are thinking about opening a coffee shop, make sure there are no plans afoot for a Costa Coffee or Starbucks to open up nearby). The less competition you will have, the better.

6 Top Tips On Setting Up A Small Business

Posted on July 3, 2017 Written by Administrator

A small business normally starts up for one of two reasons – by accident (a sole trader suddenly expands, takes on staff and becomes a small business) or is deliberate (someone sits down with a business plan and creates a business). How or why you intend to start a new business doesn’t matter – it’s about making sure you get all the “background” stuff sorted as soon as you start, so you don’t have any issues further down the line.

Here are some top tips …

Open a bank account in your business name even before the money has started coming in. This will make it easier for accounting purposes;
Take advantage of any free courses in start-ups – some of the banks offer online courses. See if your local governments offer any schemes. Even if you only pick up one bit of advice, it will be worth it;
If you are setting up a home business, do have a separate telephone line for work calls. If you don’t, when the phone rings, you never know whether it is a business call or a parent or friend “ringing for a chat as I know you are at home”;
Make sure you meet all legal requirements – for example, if you are employing people, then you’ll need employers’ liability insurance;
Find a trusted accountant – ideally someone recommended to you. It is all very well trying to save costs and getting a friend or friend to do it “who knows about book keeping” – a qualified accountant will help you make the most of your business income, such as telling you about tax breaks or grants;
Make sure you have adequate business insurance for your particular trade. In some cases, professional indemnity insurance may also be required if you are giving advice or certain services.

These tips are just the tip of the iceberg of what you need to think about when starting up a new business. They are very important, however, and getting them right first time will enable you to concentrate on building your business – rather than dealing with irate tax officials / customers etc!