Legal Aspects of Running a Business

Launching a small business is a life-changing move for every businessperson. It brings a certain degree of excitement, together with passion for professional improvement. However, there is also another side of being a small business owner – the legal aspects of business conduct. Even before you make up your mind to start your own business tale, you need to master some legal basics, to work in accordance with the law from the beginning of your career.

The importance of a catchy name

Just try to think of a brand whose products you use and ask yourself whether or not you would use them if they had a different name. As you can see, coining a catchy name is one of the most important steps taken along the business-founding avenue. When you look at the names of some of the most famous global brands, they rarely have more than two words. Even if it is a case, they force the use of acronyms. So, try to think of a catchy phrase that would consist of your surname and a common noun depicting your basic business activity. Incorporating your own surname into the name of your business is especially important when it comes to local small businesses. Also, check if the name you wish to give to your business is already taken. For instance, businesses in Australia can check the availability of business names by following this link.

What business type is your type?

This is probably the hardest decision to make when you want to launch your own business. Your whole business policy will depend on the type you choose for your business. From your own personal taxes to your income and your employees’ wages, the type of your company will determine your collaboration with the tax and insurance authorities. Basically, businesses that do not exceed the number of five shareholders should register as Limited Liability Companies (LLC). Also, you can also choose to register as an S corporation. It offers its shareholders a limited liability, but the earnings and losses are part of their individual tax returns. This type of business must have up to 75 shareholders. Finally, a C corporation is an option for larger players, who are planning to go public in the near future. It is based on stocks and is considered a single entity by the tax authorities.

Get in touch with the taxman

No business can work without the knowledge of the tax authorities. So, once you have registered your enterprise, it is time to go and ask the tax authorities in your region, state or country to give you your very own tax identification number. It will be your main business number, with which you are going to pay all your business-related taxes. What is interesting it that this number is called differently in different countries. For instance, in the USA it is called the employer identification number (EIN), while in Australia they call it the tax file number (TFN). In UK, it’s called the unique taxpayer reference (UTR).

Education on employees’ rights

Only sole proprietors do not have a right to hire employees. All other types of businesses are allowed to recruit workers in order to achieve better business results. You have to learn how the payroll is calculated and when the incomes of your workers are taxed. Furthermore, it is necessary to follow the strict anti-discrimination rules and regulations, since this is a delicate area. Also, you have to know when you are obliged to give them a day off, as well as how much they should be paid for overtime work. Since this is a wide area which can be very important for your everyday work, it would be smart to seek business legal advice, so as to avoid unpleasant mistakes.

The legal side of entrepreneurship raises numerous questions. Businesspeople should try to learn as much as they can about the finance and business law. However, sometimes consulting an expert is the only reasonable option to keep their business actions on the bright side of the law.

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How a Bilingual Employee Can Be Vital In Your Company

Bilingual Employee – English isn’t the only important language anymore. Simple as that. While it is still the most dominant one, at least in terms of business, French, German and Spanish languages are getting there very fast. Europe is much like a big family and English speaking people aren’t the only ones that are important for doing business.

Bilingual Employee

In fact, there are a whole lot of positions that would help their business owners greatly if they can speak at least one other language except English and those positions are very common today. Take social workers, nutritionists or marketers for example. The non-English speaking population is growing day by day, and if you want to increase your customer range, you need to consider hiring bilingual employees seriously.

Increasing your customer base with a Bilingual Employee

Having bilingual employees on key positions in your company can make a huge difference. Let’s consider two examples: HR and health specialists (just about any branch in healthcare).

Having a bilingual HR specialist will allow you to hire employees that are great at their work (IT sphere, writers, bloggers etc.), but can’t speak English (or are very bad at English) for any reason. Those employees can become vital for your company since:

They will require a lot less salary in most cases compared to similar professionals who are proficient in English, but still be able to do an outstanding job for you.
They can help broaden your reach. You will have the opportunity to dip into new markets, ones that still require your product or service, but can’t communicate in English.
They can increase your customer satisfaction by a lot. While it may seem a minor thing, but people love to be spoken to in their mother tongue, even if they do speak other languages. If you ever encounter a delicate issue with one of your customers, an employee who speaks their language may become your life saver in those dire situations.

Bilingual health specialists can be even more important. If you are in healthcare business (psychology, therapy or run a hospital/clinic, etc.) bilingual medical staff can be the difference between a loyal customer and a passerby, or in some cases, even the difference between life and death.

If a non-English speaking patient comes to your clinic with some serious health issues and can only speak French or German, your bilingual employees will suddenly become life savers, no matter whether they are nurses or janitors, as long as they can properly translate everything for the doctor.

Training the rest of your staff

What’s really great about bilingual employees is that you don’t necessarily need to have a lot of them to increase your customer reach, retention rate, satisfaction level, etc. Just a handful of them will be able to train the rest of your staff to become more or less proficient in another language, which can lead to even more opportunities.

When communicating with customers, even a few words in their mother tongue can make a big difference. Great bloggers for example, know about this very well and use it to their advantage along with other blogging secrets.

Finally, bilingual employees, regardless of their position, can be very handy when it comes to business negotiations abroad. If you consider entering new markets, those employees can become half-time or full-time translators for your negotiators to ensure that everything goes on smoothly.

You might think that you can always hire professional translators when needed, but there is a difference between hiring a translator and having somebody from your team that cares for your company help you succeed abroad.

This will not only increase that employee’s motivation, but also show your business partner that you have taken the first step towards entering a new market seriously, since you already have people that speak the necessary language, not just hired translators.

When it comes to business, every opportunity should be weighted seriously and taken if there is a positive risk-reward scenario. The absolutely beautiful thing about having bilingual staff members is that there is no risk whatsoever: only opportunities. And depending on your business, those opportunities can make all the difference in the world.

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How to Create an Acquisition Strategy as a Small Business

Many start up companies hope to eventually get acquired but don’t have a clear acquisition strategy or plan on how to get there. In order to create an effective acquisition strategy as a small business, there are several aspect of their business that must be carefully planned out. While transparency is important, the particulars concerning the companies finance and legal aspects play a vital role in the success of the acquisition. In addition, there are organizational concerns, communication tasks and stakeholder assessments required. Let’s take a look at developing a good acquisition strategy…

1. Be Clear With Yourself On Goals And Motivations Before Developing a Acquisition Strategy

The first things you want to consider when positioning your company for an acquisition is your reasoning for selling your business and how you want that goal to be executed. Ensure that you understand the impact of the acquisition, and prepare the company for a smooth transition into that direction. Any company looking to acquire your start-up is going to be interested in understanding the vision you have and the potential you see in your respective industry..

If your vision is not visible to others, chances are you will have a difficult time attracting a complimentary investor or buyer. On the other hand, a clear vision could make the difference between thousands and millions of dollars. Elastica’s recent acquisition by Blue Coat is a perfect example of this.

2. Get Your Business Affairs In Order

The complex and lengthy process of the acquisition will require a full and thorough transparency of the inner workings of your business. Financial statements and other discovery documents will be vital as you make appeals to potential buyers and establish your company’s’ value. Do your due diligence by organizing all pertinent documents, ensure all taxes and licenses are current, and satisfy any outstanding issues that may be viewed as an encumbrance or threat to your company.

3. Get The Experts Involved

As an entrepreneur, your expertise is in providing your service or selling your product. Just like you seek the best personal doctor or the best hairstylist, establish a team of the best investment bankers, tax attorneys and advisers who are experts in their fields. An acquiring company will be impressed by the quality of reports that will be delivered, especially since it will be prepared by an outside expert, as it gives authority to the testaments given.

A business that is being micro-managed and macro-managed by the same person does not give the impression of a serious, established and profitable business worthy of being purchased, but rather more of an entrepreneurial endeavor that needs additional time to flourish before it is sustainable. Besides, if you allow the experts to handle those crucial tasks, that leaves more time for you to confidently focus on the other aspects of the acquisition.

4. Open The Lines Of Communication With Your Management Team

Create an open environment where your talented employees remain involved and informed. Prepare the team for the transition and encourage them to take a personal stake in the transition. By remaining cultivated with the best and brightest on your team, you ensure that you will retain their loyalty and dedication, which make the strength of the business as a unit more appealing.

5. Make Sure Your Key Stakeholders Are Aligned To Avoid Last Minute Crises

Make sure every member of the board and all key stakeholders are on board for the sale. Try to predict any conflicts that might arise at the least opportune time. Large corporations are easily scared away from strife within a company that visibly poses a threat to the companies’ potential success. They’ve seen businesses like Hewlett-Packard lose millions as a result of bad acquisitions, so naturally corporations want to proceed with caution. Any last minute disagreements can stall the acquisition, or even permanently dismantle the agreement all together.

6. Re-Establish Significant Partnerships and Clients

One of the most important reassurances that you can offer is that the current customer base is established, strong and loyal. Part of the process of nurturing that loyalty is to customers them selectively informed. You want to avoid scaring them off towards your competition after the acquisition. Your investors also may want to engage with the customer base to evaluate their level of support and loyalty. This critical assessment serves as a vital reference for investors and buyers when predicting future growth potential of a business in the aftermath of the acquisition.

7. Understand Your Company Narrative

When conveying your journey and passion to a buyer, your narrative will be more effective with it is compelling and credible. Every aspect of your company will be in the spotlight, and it is important that your narrative is inspiring, confident and convincing. The interested parties are not the only ones who need to feel your passion. The stake holders, board member, employees and customers all alike must be in sync based on your conveyance, Without that harmony, you will find it difficult to convince them to sign on the bottom line.

Once you have all of your business affairs in order for your business acquisition will become probable, but almost certain. You will attract the right type of company who will be able to envision your dream and implement strategies that will elevate the value and positioning of your business.

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CoderDojo Community Platform Hackathon

The CoderDojo Foundation recently relaunched Zen as a new open source community platform! With the awesome support of Code For Ireland, Dogpatch Labs and Ulster Bank we are hosting a 2 day Hackathon at Dogpatch Labs to show you how to contribute to this opensource community platform!

About Zen

This new system allows CoderDojo community members (Mentors and Champions) to fully manage their Dojo activities like issuing tickets to individual Dojo events, posting in forums, editing and setting up profiles etc. The system is completely open source.

Below are some of the really cool community features:

– A forum for community members
– A forum especially for youths over 13 years of age
– An improved Dojo listing where you can book tickets to a Dojo event
– Profiles for individual community members where you can showcase your skills and the Dojo you belong to

We’re using some cutting edge open source technology for the system:

– NodeJS
– AngularJS
– PostGreSQL
– Mozilla Open Badges
– Jenkins

About the hackathon

If you’re interested in developing for this open source project please come along to our Hackathon in Dogpatch Labs, the top tech start up hub in dublin! On the day there will be 2 streams, a coding stream and a translation stream.

Coding Stream

We will cover how to get set up for development and open your first pull request! Don’t worry about having / not having lots of experience, we will have experienced developers present to help you, and we have a list of issues that are “suitable for beginners”!

This is an ideal opportunity to:

– Showcase your development skills on an open source repository. Employers love to see open source activity on Github so it is an easy way to prove your skills.

– Learn from experienced developers in the tech industry. The system was developed by a leading NodeJS development house, NearForm

– Learn how the peer coding reviews and deployment processes work in a real world scenario.

Translating Stream

We are also looking for people to help us translate the community platform. If you are fluent in any forgien language we would love your help on the day. We are using Crowd In to translate the community platform. More details about helping translate on the day can be found here.

This is an ideal opportunity to:

– Showcase your language skills

– Contribute to a open source community project that impacts youth all around the world!

What you will need:

Your Own Laptop and charger

You don’t need to be an expert but you will need to be very familiar with javascript.

Resources

View repository here https://github.com/CoderDojo/community-platform where you can see issues and the Readme if you’d like to get started pre-workshop.

Where can I contact the organiser with any questions?

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us directly via: info@coderdojo.com

If you are interested in contributing to the platform outside this event, we are always looking for developers to help out, get in touch via the mailing address above.

A special thank you to the event sponsors Dogpatch Labs for providing the amazing venue for this event and to Ulster bank for providing the food.

Hope to see you there!

WHEN: Wednesday, 6 January 2016 from 18:00 to 21:00 (GMT) – Add to Calendar
WHERE: Dogpatch Labs – Unit 1 CHQ Building. North Wall Quay. Dublin, Dublin D1 IE – View Map

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Climate Launchpad launched

Climate Launchpad, which is part of Climate-KIC Europe’s largest clean/sustech accelerator, is launching again.

Climate Launchpad

Sustainable Nation is running Climate Launchpad, the ideas competition of Climate-KIC again this year. Last year one of the finalists Orbas (internet of food, http://www.orbasconsulting.com/) got to the last 20 out of 80 finalist and 700 submissions. Not bad, but we like to win this year.

Tallinn, Estionia

Same set up this year, 3 finalist from Ireland will compete with finalist of 28 counties. The finals are in Tallinn, Estonia in October. Anyone with an idea in the climate/green/clean is welcome. The size of the problem/opportunity is 37 trillion.

Programme

The programme will consist of a number of orientation/preparation sessions across Ireland, between February and April followed by a two day workshop with an international trainer from Climate Launchpad in May.

The 2 day workshop delivers a new, very sharp methodology to get to a realistic proposition and a pitch (it bleeds). It is loosely based on “Disciplined Entrepreneurship, 24 steps to successful startup” by Bill Aulet. Happy to share the methodology with anyone interested.

Mentoring

The workshop is followed by 6 mentoring and coaching workshops and a pitching final. The 3 winner get to pitch at the international final in October in Tallinn.

Help

If you could spread the word, or make any introductions, I would be much obliged. More details you can find here http://sustainablenation.ie/.

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Climate Launchpad launched

Climate Launchpad, which is part of Climate-KIC Europe’s largest clean/sustech accelerator, is launching again.

Climate Launchpad

Tallinn, Estionia

Programme

Mentoring

The workshop is followed by 6 mentoring and coaching workshops and a pitching final. The 3 winner get to pitch at the international final in October in Tallinn.

Help

If you could spread the word, or make any introductions, I would be much obliged. More details you can find here http://sustainablenation.ie/.

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10 Green Business Ideas for Eco-Minded Entrepreneurs

Are you considering to start your own business but are concerned about the impact it will have on the environment? Green businesses are ecofriendly, and they go beyond the regulations to show their commitment to sustainable development. You do not need any particularly brilliant new idea. What is more, most of the green businesses are alternatives of the standard businesses, but with a nature-conscious management and production processes. Check out the following green business ideas.

1. Green Business Ideas – Organic farming

While businesses are going green, so are their customers. Everyone nowadays is switching to healthier lifestyle choices, and this particularly concerns the food they consume. The effect of this is that organically grown vegetables and fruits are highly sought, and this trend is sure to continue in the future. The market for these products is very developed, so you will have no trouble finding buyers. What do you need to start this business? A piece of land and love for outdoor work.

2. Organic menu restaurant

If you do not want your hands to get dirty, but still wish to take your piece of the pie in the ongoing healthy-eating trend, why not be on the other side of the transaction? Open a restaurant that would serve only organic meals, made from organic ingredients that you would be buying from organic farmers.

3. Green construction

Become a green contractor. Green construction simply means construction with eco-friendly materials and incorporation of energy saving systems, such as solar heating.

4. Recycling pickup

Recycling is also very popular these days. But no matter how determined people are to recycle, there is always the problem of what to do with bulk trash, like computers and house appliances, once you no longer need them. If you want to start a recycling pickup service, take a page out of the book of Sydney’s rubbish removal services, for e-waste. It is a very lucrative business, yet in deficit.

5. Green developer

Develop applications that will help people help the earth. These can be simple guides to local green stores, or complex energy consumption calculators.

6. Green consulting

If you are familiar with green technologies and standards, you can easily become a consultant to other businesses on ecological issues. Help other people start a green business, or turn their current business into a more environmentally friendly one. This consulting can involve anything from efficient energy consumption to sustainable production. Get certified to gain more credibility among customers.

7. Upcycle

Furniture upcycling has quite a hipster vibe. Take any piece of old, unused furniture and repurpose it in an unusual and preferably unexpected way. All you need is some tools and a few original ideas. Once you clear your attic and basement of all the unused furniture, you will find that flea markets are a great place to find new ‘raw materials’.

8. Green blogs

If you like writing, and like to work from home, start a blog. But not just any kind of blog. Start a green blog that will promote green activities.

9. Bicycle business

Bicycles are the most eco-friendly means of transport there is. They emit no gas into the atmosphere and so do not pollute the air. Buying and reselling bicycles has become a huge part of the green revolution. Consider participating in it. You can also open a small local bicycle café where you will sell drinks, while you are repairing your customers’ bicycles. Take tourists to bicycle sightseeing tours of your town, or your neighbourhood.

10. Eco-cleaning

Start a cleaning services company which will use your own natural house cleaning products. Make more money by selling these products to households and other cleaning service companies.

What green business do you see yourself managing?

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How to Value Your Business

The market can be a fickle thing, and whether you’re currently running a thriving business that you want to make some money on, or you’ve been having a few issues, it’s not necessarily always the right time to sell. Getting out quickly is one thing, when you finally make the decision to let your business go, but getting out at the right time is a much more sensible way to go, so it’s important that you regularly ask “how much is my business worth?” in order to ensure you’re ready to make a move when the time is right. Read on for some tips on how to value your business…

The benefits of being on top of your company value calculation

Any business is an investment, even if you started up with little or no initial capital, and it should be treated as such, ensuring you look to grow your investment’s value in the time that you have it. Being aware of the value of your business during your time in ownership will give you a clear idea whether what you’re doing to grow your investment is working. If an unexpected offer comes in, you run into health issues, or there’s another reason you’re looking to sell your business – perhaps you’ve found the perfect investment but you only have a small window to raise funds, knowing how to value a company and getting a quick and accurate business valuation can help you decide on your next course of action more easily. Similarly, valuing your business regularly, whether you use a professional company offering company valuation services, or use a company valuation calculator you can trust, will give you an idea of when the right time to sell is.

How to value your business

Whether you’re wondering what you’d get for your business as an idle possibility, or you’ve realised that perhaps you’d like to enjoy retirement or move onto other things, it’s essential that you know how to value a business. There is, however, not just the one ‘how to value a business calculator’. There are several methods of working a value out, and here, we briefly look at some of the most common business valuation methods that are used to come up with a figure.

Multiples of Earnings

Businesses with a well-established financial history sometimes use this method, working out a Price/Earnings ratio, based on the value of the business divided by its profits after tax. However, the ratio will differ depending on the industry your business trades in, and an IT firm for example, may command a higher ratio than one such as a high street estate agent.

Discounted Cash flow

Estimating the cash flow of a business over a certain period of time can also be used as a business valuation method. However, this is not the only value used. The final figure is worked out as the terminal value of the business after the period mentioned above, plus the cash flow is then discounted. This method is normally used for online businesses, and those with few assets but much potential.

Asset Valuation

If a business were to have a glut of tangible assets, such as properties or vehicles, then asset valuation may be used. The net realisable value of all of the properties or vehicles would be used as the valuation for the business.

Entry Cost

This is a fairly simple way to value a business, as it works on the premise of working out how much it would cost to set up a similar start up. Included within the costings would be gaining a customer base, developing services or products, training and recruitment and purchasing any assets required.

If you’re struggling with working out your business value, there are businesses that can help you calculate the value of your business, but do consider running these figures regularly, as keeping on top of your business’ value can give you a great way of working out the best time to sell.

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How To Retain Customers Using Real-Time Adaptive Marketing

Imagine for a moment what it would be like if your favorite brand (e.g. a clothing company, a local restaurant, an e-commerce store) started treating you like royalty:

they remember your name, your preferences, and
send you personalized offers and recommendations based on your previous purchases, visits to their store/site, surveys and feedback

Too good to be true? Not anymore, thanks to real-time adaptive marketing technology that brings a whole new level of personalization to the game of business.

The Roots Of Personalization through Adaptive Marketing

Personalization is not new, it’s been used by local shops, restaurants, tailors and barbers for decades. In the old days, business owners knew each and every one of their customers personally. This degree of intimacy allowed businesses to understand the real needs and wants of their customers and provide deeper levels of attention and, as a result, retain those customers for life.

It’s through this type of commitment to their customers that local restaurants, tailors and even bookstores would always have stock of their customers’ favorite merchandise and keep them coming back again and again.

Mass-consumption, however, turned customers into anonymous Excel figures and the old-school customer care was gone. What seemed like the lost art of salesmanship is now making its way back into the digital market under a different hat: personalization.

Imagine your favorite e-commerce store displaying a popup message the next time you land on their site:

“Hey, welcome back! You were looking at these sneakers last night. Why not buy them right now?”

Hey Jeff, your X-Men t-shirt is still waiting for you in the shopping cart! Complete the order today and get a 20% off.”

“Hey Lynda! Your gym membership will expire in 5 days. Check-in on Foursquare and get 20% off next month’s bill.”

Or, what about letting your favorite restaurant know you’ll be arriving in 30 minutes and by the time you get there the head waiter has already prepared a nice table for you? All of this being done using a simple app that syncs your intention to buy a service with the in-house logistics.

Wouldn’t it be great if brands started implementing this level or customization in their communications and bring the targeting to this amount of granulation? Wouldn’t you be impressed by such a service? Of course you would!

And the future is here. In the SF movie “Minority Report” there’s a scene where Tom Cruise walks into a shopping center and immediately after his retina scan, the billboards start to talk directly to him: “Hey, John Anderton! You could sure use a Guinness right about now.”

Anticipating customer intent and interacting with customers with super targeted ads has already been implemented by giants like Amazon who believes they can anticipate what you’re going to purchase and will ship items to a regional distribution center before you even placed the order.

Personalization… Today

Here is a typical example of personalized user experience: you browse through the newest items added on your favorite home décor e-store and suddenly the store displays a personalized message for you saying “Welcome back! Buy this lamp in the next 10 minutes and you get 10% off.” The coupon code would fit perfectly into the context and has great chances of conversion.

How would you feel? I know I know I’d be excited that my favorite store acknowledged my presence on their site and enticed me to buy using some sort of urgency trigger. That would be a really intense shopping experience.

Another example is Flipboard, an app that allows people to customize the way they discover and consume content. Amazon displays “similar” products to people, based on their purchase or browsing history and even on the items listed in their “Wishlist”.

The beauty of personalization is that it gives people the chance to create their own experiences and choose the type and format of the content they want to consume. No more cookie-cutter template emails and ad copy. Just imagine what personalization could do for your own business, knowing that every piece of content fits perfectly on your prospect, just like a custom-tailored suit can.

Interconnectedness In The Digital World

Today, 80% of internet users own a smartphone, which means they are almost always connected and are interacting with their favorite brands via multiple channels. These users have become no only tech savvy, but they also demand more attention, they expect to be acknowledged and treated well.

Why? Because they know they have options and that your competition is eagerly waiting to get their money. These always-connected users are even willing to share a lot of information if that’s what it takes to receive personalized offers and services.

An Infosys study of 5,000 consumers worldwide (including 1,000 in the UK) revealed that 78% of British respondents would buy from brands that made them more targeted, relevant offers.

This is where adaptive marketing and personalization help you align your marketing with real-time events (e.g. #CecilTheLion). Adopting real-time marketing techniques can help you take the pulse of what’s going on in the world and leverage big social movements by putting your own spin on the situation.

How To Create Your Omni-Channel Infrastructure

Consumers are coming back and forth among multiple devices, from smartphones to desktops and from laptops to tablets to TVs. They can interact with a business in a physical store, on a website or mobile app, through a catalog, or through social media.

Here are the 3 core steps to create an omni-channel user experience:

1) Have a seamless and consistent messaging across your print, digital, social and mobile marketing channels.

A print ad might supply a QR code to drive viewers to your website or Facebook page. Or, an e-commerce retailer should strive to preserve items in a cart across devices – if you add an item to your mobile shopping cart, it should still be in your shopping cart when you log in on your desktop computer.

A great example of a brand that has created an effective, seamless physical and digital user experience is Victoria’s Secret. Victoria’s Secret Angel Card program allows members to share & earn points by shopping in-store and online. Cardholders receive personalized e-mails with special offers and promotions, free gifts and birthday presents and access to exclusive shopping events. Members also receive extra rewards for syncing their social profiles and sharing the company’s news, effectively unifying omni-channel experiences.

2) Understand your audience’s path to engagement or purchase.

The ability to track your customers as they flow and make purchases through all the channels and capture all this data from online and offline sources allows you to find various touch points (physical store, desktop site, email list, social media, TV, mobile site, mobile app, catalog, customer service representative, etc.) on your customers’ journey. Tying multiple channels together helps you to understand which data points are most useful to you and segment your audience / budget accordingly.

Today’s marketing automation systems all have omni-channel marketing automation. Platforms like HubSpot, Marketo, Pardot, Act-on, or Silverpop help you manage your data, automate your marketing strategy and keep track of your data across multiple channels.

3) Capture attention once you’ve reached your audience.

That’s where relevance comes into play. Create customized content to intensify the power of your messaging on every channel. For example, you can send recommendations for complimentary products (a shirt to a pair of jeans).

Adding social features like sharing, ratings and reviews, and comments to your website allows customers to easily interact with your brand and seamlessly share their actions and opinions with their peers. Generating an actively engaged user community and nurturing user-generated content boosts SEO and increases referral traffic, time spent on site, and, ultimately, lifetime customer value.

Here is how Macy’s uses the omni-channel marketing system.

Shifting From Acquisition To Engagement

Check out this innovative ad campaign from a Swiss advertising agency. This is a really cool example of what’s possible with the new adaptive marketing techniques. The ad promotes a remote ski resort in the Alps and it was displayed in live video format in Zürich’s main railway station.

This way, urban commuters could connect in real time with the person making the invitation and receive a free train ticket (printed on the spot) if they decided to hop on the train that would leave in 15 minutes. Great urgency factor! The man from the ad even agrees to talk to people’s bosses to get them a free day to go on the trip.

The Swiss ad is just a glimpse of what marketing of the future looks like, in both creative angle and technology. This will definitely stir some waves among creatives and make ads more fun, spontaneous and minimize friction.

The key benefit of real-time marketing is that brands can use content marketing to create stories and experiences around products or services – pretty much like what museum have always been doing. Create installations where each piece of art would take the viewer to the next one and guiding them on a path of discovery.

This approach to marketing will mark the shift from the information age to the conceptual, experience age, where ads will become integrated experiences that build upon previous user interactions with the brand and get them involved into meaningful conversations and transactions.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, personalization comes with huge benefits for both customers and brands. This is the beginning of more targeted ad campaigns, improved customer service, more sales and higher rates of retention.

Customers are already starting to look for the royal treatment and are very diligent with their money. The better you can acknowledge your customers, show them appreciation, nurturing and letting them know that their voice is important to you, the easier it will be to stand apart from your competition.

Brands that will build omnichannel experiences for their users and optimize customer interactions across all devices will rise to the top. Adapting to change is the key factor for staying in business and this time change means creating unique customer experiences and personalized journeys throughout the entire sales funnel.

What are your thoughts on the future of real-time adaptive marketing? How do you see your business adopting it? What kind of content works best for moving your customers down the sales funnel?

We’d love to hear from you and see how you’re adapting to real-time personalization to enhance your customers’ experiences.

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A Hangover Cure for Your January Finances

Christmas is a busy time for many small businesses. Paying wages early, an expensive Christmas party, and the increased chance of being paid late by your customers all mean you might find yourself in pain in the first few weeks of the New Year. And just as people make resolutions for themselves at the start of the year, many businesses get ready to hit the ground running in January. It’s not an ideal time, then, to be hit with a big tax bill. But this is exactly what happens to a huge number of businesses in the UK — whether it’s PAYE, VAT, or even corporation tax that’s due, a lot of different quarterly or annual bills can come up in January.

So what can business owners do to avoid a financial hangover caused by their January tax bill?

We’re not going to suggest raw eggs, hair of the dog, or a cold shower — but here’s a few ways you can shake it off and get your business’s New Year’s resolution back on track.

What are the implications if you don’t pay your tax bill?

It’s risky business to delay paying tax you owe. Last year, they ordered 3,000 businesses to shut down because of late tax bill payments. Of course, in some cases, businesses receive a slap on the wrist. This might tempt you to take your chances, but it’s really not worth the risk, and here’s why:

If HMRC take enforcement action because you haven’t paid your tax bill, it can cause your business serious problems. They might take you to court, pass your debt on to a debt-collection agency, or even close down your business. None of those options are good — and it doesn’t matter if you can’t or won’t pay.

So the best thing you can do is pay the bill as quickly as you can. If you don’t have enough working capital to do it, or paying the bill in full would leave you in a tight spot in terms of cashflow, short-term finance might be a good idea. If you’re really struggling, talk to HMRC!

Be honest with HMRC

It sounds obvious, but keeping the lines of communication open is really important in times like this. It’s no use running around trying to get the funds together to pay if HMRC don’t know — they could take enforcement action in the meantime. So make sure you’re honest and open with them, and they know that although you can’t pay now, you’re making plans to do so.

Bear in mind that if HMRC agree for you to delay payment or pay in installments, you’ll still have to pay interest and late fees. In other words, coming to an agreement with HMRC might save you from enforcement action, but will still leave you worse off than paying the bill in full before it’s due.

If you need any more convincing that it’s a bad idea to delay paying HMRC, bear in mind that many lenders will turn you down for finance if you have an outstanding tax bill, which limits your options even further. Overall, you need to be proactive and make a plan — with an overdue bill from HMRC, the absolute worst thing you can do is nothing.

What can you do about it?

If you don’t have the working capital to pay your tax bill outright, you might consider getting short-term finance to see you through the first few weeks of the New Year. At times like this, your accountant could prove very useful — talk to them to figure out an action plan, and see if there is any wiggle room on your balance sheet.

As we’ve seen, if at all possible the best thing you can do is pay the bill in full as soon as you can. If doing that leaves you without much working capital left over, think about what would happen in an emergency. And if there’s no way you can pay it, look at all your options — talk to HMRC, and think about approaching finance providers if you need to bridge the gap. Here are some of the options worth considering:

Overdraft alternatives

If you don’t need a huge amount to make up the difference, a cashflow facility similar to a bank overdraft makes sense. Lenders differ in exactly what they offer, but generally you’ll agree a maximum limit, borrow up to it whenever you need to, and only pay interest on what you use — useful for short-term hiccups like a big tax bill after Christmas!

Short term loans

Term loans aren’t as fashionable as peer-to-peer lending (or so-called ‘marketplace lending’) at the moment, but could be perfect for getting you through a few weeks or a few months of temporary difficulty. They’re suitable for a wide range of businesses, although you will need some kind of security or a robust trading history.

Invoice finance

If your firm trades on credit, January can be particularly bad for late-paid invoices from clients. With invoice finance you can get an advance of cash before your client has paid, so you don’t have to be left hanging. That means you can pay your bills on time, even if your customer isn’t doing the same!

Conclusion

Tax bills catch everyone by surprise — believe it or not, even accountancy firms can get a nasty surprise from HMRC in January. It’s always going to be hard to come up with a lump sum, particularly for the larger quarterly or bi-annual payments, so be prepared and have a plan. If it doesn’t work out perfectly, there’s a range of alternative finance that can help.

The post A Hangover Cure for Your January Finances appeared first on Small Business Can.

Monthly Archives: January 2016