Company Branding: How To Create One For Your Business

We’ve all heard how big companies invest in branding initiatives and how these efforts come back thousandfold. But what really is company branding and how can this affect a company’s success? Is it really important even for small business marketing?

Why is it Important?

They say a company’s brand, as long as it’s highly effective, can be a tool that will bring a company to its success. It is the company’s representation and it is how the audience and market recognises the business.

There are several reasons why company branding is important.

• Identity. Without a brand, a company is considered nobody in the highly competitive world of business. With an effective brand, you’re able to create your own identity and you can position yourself as the only company who can provide a solution to the consumers’ problem. Especially if you’re a small business, you need to develop an identity to be heard amidst the noise made by huge corporations. Only in having an effective brand will you be able to compete.
• Differentiation. A brand is essential for the identification of a company’s services and products and to separate and differentiate it from other businesses.
• Loyalty. Brands foster loyalty among consumers as opposed to products which people usually don’t have an affiliation with.
• Endurance. During tough times companies with effective brands can withstand companies who don’t.

How Can You Create an Effective Brand?

You can incorporate your company branding through the name, logo, design, content, tagline and even through your personality and level of service.

But before you get busy creating a logo, picking the right colour, and creating a design that will best represent your company, there are a few things you must prioritise. First, you must study your market and know what their needs and wants are. Then understand the values of your products or services. And most importantly, you must define your company. Identify and define the key characteristics that describe your company. Use all these factors in creating your company brand.

In the process of creating your brand, consider these tips:

• Identify what sets you apart from other companies. Magnify this uniqueness and use this to sell your brand.
• Focus on your market. You can’t please everybody so instead of trying very hard to do this, focus on pleasing your market instead. Pick a style that your market will positively respond to. Make sure this style suits your company.
• Leave an impression and make people remember your company brand. Make first impressions count. Be sure your marketing paraphernalia, like your company business card and brochures, are produced at high quality. Creating poorly designed materials, will give off a negative impression.
• Keep it clear. Don’t cloud your branding campaigns with too much technical jargon or too much flashy designs. Opt for an uncomplicated and clear design that will put your message in the spotlight. It’s important to make your message clear and understandable.
• Be consistent. Maintain consistency in your message. You want your market to think that whenever they purchase a product or get a service from you, they get the same level of excellence they had experienced before.
• Be fully committed. Company branding is not only followed in the marketing initiatives practiced by the business. It should also be evident in all of the daily functions of the business. You should integrate your company brand from the development of your product down to the sales and customer service you provide to your consumers.
• Always be truthful. Never mislead your market. Eventually the truth will catch up with you and when your market finds out about this, your company branding will suffer.
• Consider asking help from experts. If you are having a bit of a difficulty, consider hiring a marketing consultant that can help you create a strong brand for your company. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help, especially when you really need it.

International brands like Apple, Coca-Cola and Starbucks, and Australian brands like Woolworths, Telstra and Coles. They are among the top companies that have successfully created a brand for their business and have reaped the rewards.

You don’t have to be a big company like them to be able to create a strong company brand. Nowadays, building a brand has become inexpensive. New tools are now easily available, even to small businesses, for companies to make a name of their own and create a brand that will catapult them to global success.

The battle for customers is getting more intense each day, jump into the bandwagon and create a strong and effective company brand now.

Debra Wright blogs about a plethora of topics including business consulting in marketing and other fields. Wright considers Marketing Angels as one of the leading marketing consultants.

 

4 Business Card Must-Haves

Business cards remain a critical part of networking, and their design, as well as the information they contain, helps networkers make and keep valuable connections.

When you’re meeting contacts face to face, your business card is the first thing you should reach for. You really don’t need a professional designer or to spend a lot of money to create a business card that will make a great first impression.

Dress (Your Business Card) for Success

 

Just as you wouldn’t show up at a job interview or an important business meeting in your pajamas, your business card should also be dressed for success, according to a Huffington Post article. A connection will form a first impression of you and your company based upon your business card, so you need to make that impression a favorable one.

To help make your card stand out from the rest, consider using heavyweight cover stock (at least 80-120 pounds); an easy-to-read font like Eras, Impact, or Century Gothic; and an eye-catching color scheme.

Make Your Card a Call to Action

 

According to Gwinnett Network, most business cards whisper, talk softly, or say nothing at all, while the real purpose of business cards should be to give prospects a tangible item to remember you by. They should be marketing tools that ask someone to give you their business by catching their attention, directing them to your website, or giving them a good reason to call you.

One way to make your business card a call for action is to add some text that outlines specific benefits that you provide to your customers. For example, try adding the word “easy” to your card, referring to how easy your business is to find, how easy it is to pay for your products with cash, checks, credit cards (or even your competitor’s coupons), and how easy it is to do business with you — no appointment necessary.

Connect the Dots: From Your Business Card to Your Website

 

QR, short for “quick response,” codes are starting to show up on business cards, according to SearchEngineLand.com. QR matrix barcodes can be read quickly by smartphones and are used to take a piece of information from a transitory media and deposit it into a cell phone via scanning. Other common places where QR codes are found include magazine advertisements, billboards, and webpages.

A QR code can be scanned quickly by an iPhone, Android, Blackberry, or any phone with an auto-focus camera and a barcode scanning app, directing users to visit a webpage, open an application, link to a phone number, or launch an email or SMS message.

QR codes can store and digitally present much more data than standard barcodes, and instead of a cumbersome barcode scanner, all that is needed to access them is a smartphone. An easy Google search for a QR Code Generator will uncover numerous inexpensive or free options for creating and downloading a QR code.

Go Simple, Uncluttered, and Business-Appropriate

 

According to The Huffington Post, the two most important pieces of information on a business card are a business phone number and an email address. A personal cell phone number and company website address are also basic elements that you may want to consider including on your card.

When deciding on the text you want to print on your business card, remember that you’re simply trying to make a positive first impression, not bombard someone with information they don’t want or need. This may mean resisting the urge to clutter things up with your Twitter handle, Skype alias, link to your LinkedIn profile, and IM nicknames.

Most importantly, make your card appropriate to your business. For example, think about the kind of impression a physician would make with a cartoon character or tasteless joke on his or her business card. When crafting a design, begin with a style that supports the business image you’d like to project, and then go about telling your story.

Citations:

• PHOTO: Robert Scoble

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source

Jan Hill is a business professional and freelance journalist writing for Vistaprint, a leading provider of free and premium business cards to consumers worldwide. Jan has written an eBbook about networking, as well as numerous articles on small businesses and career development for magazines and newspapers.

 

 

How Traditional Print Marketing Can Boost Your Business Online

Whilst online marketing has often been described as the best thing since the proverbial sliced bread, it may sound surprising that there is still a place in the world of advertising for the old traditional print-based methods of marketing.

This is particularly true with regard to small and independent businesses.  Unlike large multinational companies, small independent businesses cannot afford huge advertising budgets, or Search Engine Optimisation services which ensure that their businesses achieve high-profile placements in online search results.  In this respect, small businesses are competing not against other similar small businesses on a purely local basis, but against all businesses, globally, and regardless of their size.

Integrated Marketing Communications

Small local businesses can compete more successfully, and more cost-effectively, by combining their online advertising with distributing printed leaflets and using targeted direct mail.  This practice is known as Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC).  One such exercise might be to target potential local customers by sending out a printed flyer which includes a money-off coupon, or details of a particular promotion or event.  This flyer would also include details of the business website – which in turn would showcase the offer on its home page whilst also offering much more information about the business, and, where appropriate, links to online ordering.  The piece of printed marketing acts as a personal introduction to the business, whilst the website provides far more details about the company than can be included on the printed page.

QR Codes and Custom Landing Pages

The flyer could be designed to include a “QR” (Quick Response) matrix barcode which can be read by smartphones, or the URL for a specific landing page on the company’s website which relates directly to the offer (ideally, one which matches as closely as possible the design of the flyer).  In either case, any interested customers are provided with a fast-track route to finding information specific to that offer.  In addition, the business will be able to track the level of direct response which has been generated by the flyer.  This information can in turn be used to develop and determine future direct marketing campaigns.

Think Locally

The same is true of advertising in printed media such as magazines or newspapers.  This is one instance where the choice of the publication will be determined by the genre, customer base or even locality of the product.  There is no advantage to advertising in a town – or country! – where your product is not locally available.

The Power of Direct Mail

Print marketing can often reach out to customers far more effectively than its online equivalent.  By using direct mail, or corporate brochure distribution, a business is actively reaching out and seeking potential customers.  Online advertising, on the other hand, relies on the practice of potential customers actively seeking out suppliers.  With so much competition for effective search engine placement, this makes for a far from level playing field.  As a result, for the reasons detailed above, the chances of a small independent business being located in an online search are worryingly small.

But print marketing and online marketing are not mutually exclusive.  The two methods of marketing can be skilfully combined, or “integrated”, into one marketing message which has a far higher impact.  This is one instance where the whole really can prove to be much greater than the sum of its parts.

Featured images:

•  License: Image author owned

Thanks to Steve at Project Print Solutions – the corporate brochure design specialists – for sending us this post.

 

 

Get Noticed: Promote Yourself With The Right Marketing Tool

As a freelance writer there is one thing I have learned and that is the importance of being seen; the more companies that notice you and know about you, the bigger your business grows. Now this may sound obvious, but these days we are all so technologically driven, we’ve forgotten about getting back to basics. Ways to promote ourselves without the internet as our back bone.

Is the Internet the Right Marketing Tool for You?

My business is internet based and I couldn’t survive without the internet. I have customers from around the world contacting me on a daily basis, so I do use the internet as a tool to get noticed.

A great website, informative blogs and constant social media updates ensures that I am always fresh in a customer’s mind when they think of writing a press release, updating their website pages or even when they think of starting a new blog.

Knock and Drops

I don’t want my customers to only be international. I am based in the UK and a majority of my customers are UK based. I achieved this through hard work and interestingly enough, away from the internet although the computer did help me somewhat here.

Handing out pamphlets made from A5 card combined with a stunning design and basic information on the services I provide has proven to be an excellent marketing tool. The card isn’t too expensive and I designed a stunning design with my contact details clearly shown.

I didn’t just shove these through letter boxes because doing that just gives the person an opportunity to throw them in the bin. I actually took the time to wander around the city, knocking on office doors and explaining what I do and handing them the A5 card with my company name and contact details.

You’d be amazed at the response that I got from handing out these cards as people actually appreciated me taking the time to introduce myself in person.

Charity Events

Another of my marketing explosions is taking part in charity events in my area. You may wonder how a writer can gain business from a charity event, but you’d be surprised the people you meet at these functions.

I arrange with the organisers to write a press release around the event for free as long as I can do some worthwhile marketing. Armed with a table, chair and my A5 card pamphlets I sit in wait, introducing myself to everyone attending the function and ensuring they don’t leave without my details.

The Phone

Lastly I use the phone, when I started my very first job many moons ago telemarketing was a top choice for finding new work and it still works today. While we are all still so engrossed in the internet and using online resources, the old fashioned ways can still bring in great business opportunities if you are willing to make the effort and put some time into it.

I’ve picked up many customers over the phone, on getting their names and details I always post off one of my A5 card pamphlets, this way I know they will always have my details on hand.

You’d be completely amazed how often I use my pamphlets; they are used for knock and drops, charity events and in the mail. The A5 card is affordable and comes in a range of colours, which was great because I could pick the colour that best matched my design.

A basic colour printer is the only other thing I needed, so it’s the cost of paper and ink and I have an affordable marketing option away from the internet and a marketing option that has afforded me a large percentage of my business.

Gem Wilson is a writer who understands the importance of promoting and marketing your business. She recommends printing a design and your contact details on A5 card to hand out to potential customers in person as this gives you a way of starting a conversation with them.

 

 

How To Make Your Business Card Stand Out

Networking remains one of the best ways to get your name out into the professional world. Even with social media, personal contact and meetups with new consumers, clients, or business partners is essential. Having a business card in hand can provide these potential contacts with all your personal information. However, for each contact you make, the ore your name is competing with other potential customers or clients. Here are tips to make your business cards stand out from others.

Visual Stimulation
A simple business card with your name and contacts does not stipulate people enough to remember you in a large stack of business cards. Try to add style to your card with graphics, a picture of yourself, or a picture that can start a conversation. In addition, the business card could show examples of your brand, the goods you sell, or the services you provide so a contact can associate you and your card with your specific niche. Using bold colors and having a good finish and feel to the material of the card will also help.

List all Pertinent Contacts
Do not bombard the contact with a business card that has dozens of ways to contact you. Do not list your cell phone, several e-mail addresses, your website, your social media accounts, your blog and your fax number. Instead, only list all the platforms you use the most for communications. Also, try to list contacts that might get potential clients or consumers interested in your brand. Your blog or video channel might be more interesting to put on the card since these websites can help the client see what your brand or business is all about.

Social Media Connections
A good business card should list the pertinent social media accounts you are on. Since social media is becoming a prominent vehicle for business, showing any contact that you have a social media presence shows that you are maintaining unique business communications with consumers. Examples may include a Facebook page address for your brand or business, a Twitter account for your tweets, a YouTube channel for your videos, a Pinterest board for all your media, etc. Try not to list too many social media connections on the card since there is not enough space. In addition, only list business social media accounts, especially if you want to keep your personal profiles private.

Craft Cards for Events
Instead of having a pile of business cards to provide at any encounter, you should have a set of cards you provide for specific events. More casual, networking events can include more relaxed cards that are graphics rich. More professional events may require cards with staple attributes, like a business logo, professional fonts, and strong logos.

Create Unique Cards
Sometimes a plain old business card does not cut it. To really stand out from others, many professionals craft unique packages with contact information. You can create little brochures or tiny notebooks that explain yourself and your brand. In addition, you can provide clients office goods that have your brand and contact on them, like a notepad or post-it-notes with your brand name and contact information.

Featured images:

•  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://depositphotos.com/

John Lucas, is an aspiring business entrepreneur. For his social events, he relies on http://www.eprintfast.com/ for affordable online printing service.

 

How Female CEOs Can ‘Lead with Impact’

3 Ways to Set Yourself Apart from the Competition

A record number of women are Fortune 500 CEOs.

Women are launching businesses at 1.5 times the national average.

There are now 8.2 million American women running their own companies.

“The numbers are notable,” says executive and business coach Debora McLaughlin, author of “The Renegade Leader: 9 Success Strategies Driven Leaders Use to Ignite People, Performance and Profits,” (www.TheRenegadeLeader.com).

“From 1997 to 2011, the number of U.S. women-owned businesses increased by 50 percent,” McLaughlin says. “And in 2011, the median compensation for female CEOs was 13 percent more than for male CEOs,” according to NerdWallet Financial Markets.

According to Catalyst, a non-profit organization, as of Jan. 1, there were 21 women running Fortune 500 companies, including IBM and PepsiCo, That’s up from seven in 2002-2003. Among the Fortune 1000 companies, there are twice as many, including the CEOs of Neiman Marcus Group, Cracker Barrel and Dun & Bradstreet.

“Nonetheless, business women still face hurdles,” McLaughlin notes. “Keep in mind, while 21 are Fortune 500 CEOs — a record high – that’s only 4.25 percent of the total and the figures hold for Fortune 1000 companies, less than 5 percent have a female at the helm.”

A recipient of the 2012-13 Women of the Year award presented by the National Association of Professional Women, McLaughlin watches the financial trends. While women are launching more businesses, they have an upward climb; studies show that women-owned companies are less likely to hit the $1 million mark and are more likely to fail.

“To claim, own and keep the keys to the corner office, women executives need to be seen, heard and to lead with greater influence and impact,” McLaughlin says. She offers three key tips:

• Develop your personal brand: Let people get to know you, your core story of experiences and how they relate to your drive and vision. As Steve Jobs said, “connect the dots,” then use transparent communication to share your story. People make better connections with people who tell a great story, and they’re most interested in the story behind the person at the top. Transparency encourages greater communication, team building and leadership.

• Develop and use your personal network. Find a mentor and be a mentor; seek out other women at your level; and accept the strength, ideas and energy your connections have to offer. It is no longer necessary to blaze trails alone, and women have more power than they may realize. According to a Dow Jones report, startups with five or more female executives have a 61 percent success rate. It goes further and says that odds of success “increase with more female executives at the VP and Director levels.”

• Stand for something; position yourself as a strong thought leader. It’s not easy being at the top. Women tend to distrust powerful women, and men may view women as weak or too collaborative and sensitive. Take a firm stand on something you care about deeply and rally the organization around that objective. You will gain the respect of your peers, customers and stakeholders.

As the numbers clearly demonstrate, business is changing. Women account for 73 percent to 85 percent of consumer decisions in the United States, which gives female CEOs yet another advantage — insight into their customers’ values, McLaughlin says.

About Debora McLaughlin

Debora McLaughlin, best-selling author of “The Renegade Leader: 9 Success Strategies Driven Leaders Use to Ignite People, Performance and Profits;” the forthcoming book, “A League of Her Own,” and CEO of The Renegade Leader Coaching and Consulting Group combines her experience as certified executive coach and as a top sales performer in New York City and Boston to help CEOs, business leaders and organizations achieve accelerated results.

 

 

Keeping Your Finger on the Pulse: Revamping Your Logo

Although small, a logo stands for much more than meets the eye. A logo is the badge of your company or product, it symbolizes what the product or service stands for. Potential customers look at a logo and form an impression of the company, while existing customers see it as a badge of honour – something they stand by and vouch for. This being said, why should a company redesign their logo periodically?

New Era, New Logo

The concept of redesigning your logo does not mean that the existing one is not designed well – it just shows customers, clients, and potential investors that you keep up to date with how the world evolves. Style, design, tastes and trends change over time – for example, Pepsi and Coca-Cola are two giant companies that revamp their logos slightly ever decade. What the two companies are very successful at is drawing in the younger generation with each logo revamp, keeping their product relevant and promoting market growth.

The How-To Guide

How can you tell if your logo gets a makeover?  Test it out on some people! Go to a busy mall, and ask some random people to look at your logo. Ask them if they can figure out what type of business you run. Is the logo is eye-catching, visually pleasing, does it look sharp and professional? Also, if your business has been around for a while, consider whether your logo represents your business standards, personality, what you stand for. Has that changed since your initial logo was designed? Think about the UPS logo. It is a badge, almost like a police officer’s. That stands for service, honour, integrity and honesty. Consider the USPS logo. It is an American eagle with the front underneath in italics. That stands for speed, national pride, and evokes a sense of duty.

The Do-Not Guide

Avoid extremes at all costs. If you go too trendy, you risk your logo becoming outdated too fast. A fad will not last. Going too cartoonish with your logo also risks alienating customers, or not being taken seriously. On the other hand, leave being old-fashioned and overly traditional to brands like Hermes and After Eight – chic and modern will reflect how you’re in the moment.

You Have a New Logo

How do you get it noticed? Promotions! Print off a banner with your new logo and announce a promotion or sale. Create a specific new product with the logo attached; this will get clients and customers noticing the new logo and associating it with something new and fresh. And of course, have fun ordering new stationary and packaging!

This is a guest-post by Ashley Williamson. Ashley is an occasional blogger currently working for banner4sale a company which offers green and affordable outdoor banner printing solutions. 

 

 

Freight Forwarding Companies Explained

When people bring up freight forwarding companies in a conversation, it is likely you are going to get confused; this is because the systems they follow can be quite confusing, especially if you do not know anything about them. Basically freight forwarding is a system used by businesses who want to deal their goods internationally and multi-nationally.

The freight forwarding company does not actually move the freight itself, instead it acts a go-between the client and the transport companies. If you want to move your products from international destination then you are expected to involve a number of different carriers, requirements, documentations and legalities.  As there is so much to take care of, the client and company may not have the time or expertise in freight forwarding, this is where the freight forwarding company comes in and takes over.

Choosing a Freight Forwarding Company

A good freight forwarding company will guarantee you that your products will get to the intended destination on a specified date, if your goods do not get to the destination then you will have the right to complain and recover expenses from the company as part of a breach of contract.

You should choose a freight forwarding company that has established strong relationships and connections with a number of different carriers; this can include air freighters, rail freighters, sea liners and even trucking companies. Freight forwarding companies will know the best economical route for your goods, saving you both time and money.

Some freight companies will offer you different services, a good company will also be able to offer you warehousing services, a project manager and risk assessment surveys.

Benefits of Using a Freight Forwarding Company

You may wonder why you would want to choose a freight forwarding company, the main reason to why most businesses will choose to hire one is because they will attempt to save you a lot of time and money. When shipping goods internationally, you will have to create the correct types of paperwork, this will include customs documents and insurance, if you do not provide the correct documents then there is a risk your goods will not get to the intended destination.

Rather you having to spend hours doing research into the best potential route to transport your goods across the world, a freight forwarding company with good experience will know immediately the best way to transport your cargo.

You should never just use the first freight forwarding company you come across, as the services they offer can differ quite spectacularly. You should complete plenty of research before you choose a company.

Peter works on behalf of a global freight shipping company and likes to share advice with others. He has listed a variety of services, http://www.thefreightpeople.com, to help people choose what services they need. 

 

How To Turn Your Customers Into Marketing Marvels

Businesses everywhere are working around the clock to ensure that they deliver a five-star service experience and leave their customers raving about them. The reason for this? They know that a customer telling their friends or posting on Facebook how great their product or service was is a much more powerful marketing tool than any advert they could ever dream up.

If it is good enough for the biggest brands on the planet, then every small business in every town and city around the world should also be working towards this mantra.

Turning your customers into your de-facto marketing team removes a lot of stress from small business owners who may be worrying about where their next advertising campaign is going to be funded from.

Of course, it isn’t as easy as just throwing open the doors and inviting your customers to deliver word of mouth recommendations to anyone who will listen. Putting the work in first will mean you reap the rewards later. Read on to find out how to turn customers into marketing marvels.

Help the Customer

How many businesses try to grow their revenues by suggesting items to customers? They all do, now ask yourself again how many do this in a helpful manner? Telling customers that they should spend more money because one product works well with another is unlikely to win many friends.

On the other hand, suggest items that will make a difference to the customers’ life and benefit them in some way. Sell them what they need rather than what you want them to buy. ‘This product has really made my life easier, I feel as if they made a real effort to get to know me,’ is better than, ‘I bought this because they suggested it but it’s useless.’

Keep In Touch

This is a definite must if you operate any form of e-commerce site. When you sell an item, do you allow your customers to track the item, and keep in touch with them regarding their delivery? Or are you a business that takes their money and leaves all responsibility to the courier from then on?

You don’t need us to tell you which scenario you should be looking to replicate. Keeping customers updated after they have parted with their cash will allow you to prevent ‘buyer’s remorse’ from building up because they are thinking too much about their purchase.

Putting the power in the hands of the customer means they can proactively check for themselves where there exciting new product is, and not have to continually log in to your site and look for updates.

The relationship between the product and the customer should begin the moment the sale is confirmed, not when it is delivered.

Ask for Feedback

All roads lead directly to this point. By asking your customer for feedback, you will be enjoying many benefits. Other potential customers will see that you have a reputation for quality products and services. User generated content on your website will make you more attractive in the eyes of search engines.

Either you or the user can then share this content across social media platforms, bringing all of those benefits together.

The key, of course, is to ensure you do everything possible so that each piece of feedback will be positive and paint a favourable picture of your business.

Once you’ve done this, your customers will be your marketing team. You can sit back and enjoy the rewards.

Robert is an online content writer across a number of industries, with a specific interest in business turnaround. Robert’s areas of expertise include transformational change strategies, such as relaunching product ranges and reconnecting with new and previous customers.

 

 

How To Find The Best Apps For Your Business

One of the biggest trends in small business right now is the use of mobile applications in order to make an operation more productive.  Large businesses are increasingly using apps, too, however in these cases they are usually a compliment to what is already in place.

For small companies and start-ups, business apps can be the difference between success and failure. While that statement can seem an extreme one, the financial and time savings that apps can give to a business owner, particularly sole traders, are valuable, and mean that resources can instead be directed towards product development, building customer relationships, and selling.

How can you choose the best apps for your business, and then use them to ensure your company hits the big time?

Do You Really Need It?

When you head to an app marketplace, it is very easy to be taken in by everything on offer. Therefore, write down everything that you need to do that you think an app might be able to achieve for you.

The purpose behind this is simple. By doing it this way, you will write down what you need, and keep your business as simple as possible. If you were to head to an app store right away, you would soon find yourself downloading all kinds of apps that achieve nothing but making your business more complicated than it needs to be.

Look Further for Reviews

Rather than just checking out the reviews on the app stores themselves, find forums where apps are discussed. This way, you will be able to connect with fellow business owners and strike up a conversation and ask questions, rather than make a decision based on a few sentences, which may have been written in hasty joy or anger.

Business magazines and social feeds will also be a valuable resource, as they feature news and reviews on the newest and most effective apps that could make a difference for you.

Think Employee

If you have employees in your business, they will be working to a specific set of objectives and a job description at all times. Should they fall below the required performance level, you review their role and question whether someone else could do it better.

You should take exactly the same approach to your mobile apps. If you are using a profit and loss tool, does it give you a detailed breakdown of all incomings and outgoings? Does your mobile invoicing system allow you to send invoices straight away from your device, or do you have to import the file into email first?

Be clear in your head what each app should do, and if they aren’t making your life easier or performing their role, deal with them as you would an employee.

Taking this approach to sourcing mobile business apps will leave you in a great position to get on with the job of generating revenue for your company, which in turn will see you in a strong place when it comes to expanding your brand.

Robert is an online content writer with a specific interest in the technology sector. Robert regularly writes about emerging trends, such as managed VPS hosting, as well as popular apps that can help to make businesses more efficient and profitable.