StartupTalky

Tag: Business Community

  • Most Important Business Etiquettes for a Successful Career

    Business Etiquette is important for a professional as it creates mutual respect at the workplace and builds better work relations. While good communication skills and intellect can land you a job, etiquette and manner would help you build stronger professional relationships. For growth in any field, you must be well behaved along with the required technical skills. Businesses are based on trust so maintaining a healthy relationship with colleagues and potential business partners is very important.

    Always Shake Hands
    Use Professional Language
    Avoid Interrupting
    Staying Away From Gossips, Eavesdropping
    Always Be Kind
    Dress Formally

    Always Shake Hands

    Handshakes are highly significant in the business profession. A strong and confident handshake is a symbol of interest and is evident in future possibilities. Handshakes improve the interaction between the individuals and creates mutual respect. You must always take care of the amount of time you hold someone’s hand and professional sphere you must no longer hold it for more than 3 seconds or else it creates a sense of awkwardness.

    Putting the other hand above while shaking hands is an act of dominance law. Thus, one can also get a bit of an idea of the intentions of the individual by the way they shake hands with you. Therefore, a handshake is an important aspect of businesses etiquettes.

    Use Professional Language

    Language is considered as the most important aspect both in personal and professional life. It helps a person to build good work relations and perform well in a team. Inappropriate language in the workplace can cause damage to your company/personal reputation, Undermine your argument and also be fired from your job. In the business world using professional language can project you as a confident, well-mannered and intelligent person. It is very important to effectively communicate to achieve the goals. Using words like thank you, please or greetings like good morning, good evening whenever necessary makes you friendly and helps you in adjusting to your office work environment quickly and easily.

    Also in case of any problem or doubt, you should try asking for help instead of figuring out everything on your own. A person who never hesitates to ask for help. are considered to be smart and are likely to succeed since they are modest and ready to learn from others.

    Avoid Interrupting

    No person likes to be interrupted while they are delivering their speech, putting up a presentation or just presenting their idea. You must always remember never to interrupt someone until they’ve finished talking. Any modifications, enhancements icons or opinions you want to give, wait and give them at the end of the speech. Even if you think you’re interrupting for a good reason – to ask a relevant question, offer your solution to a problem, or show that you understand, it’s rude and it almost always negatively affects the interaction. Interrupting tells the person speaking that you don’t care what they have to say. If you strongly agree or disagree with any point or subject you should try to keep it with yourself and hold it inside your mouth no matter how much you feel like giving it off at the same moment. This is also evidence law that you have self-control and are not driven by strong emotions in business etiquette.

    Avoid Interrupting

    Staying Away From Gossips, Eavesdropping

    Always avoid indulging in gossip in the office. This creates a shady environment and an unreliable personality of yours in the eyes of your colleagues. Gossip in the office results in less productivity, wasting time and hinders teamwork. Even if you get to know any kind of secret talk or rumour, It is advised to keep it to yourself and never pass it on further. Gossip fuels hatred and ends up in situations where you have to take sides. Getting into gossiping will also lead you to unwanted problems which can put you in danger and may cost your job too. To build a trustworthy image you have to become a trustworthy person at work. Always try to keep your private and professional life separate.  

    Always Be Kind

    Business Relations is all about making acquaintances and that is only possible if you are kind enough to your potential business partners groups, bosses or any other colleagues. It is always advised to introduce each other at the first meeting. This is necessary to have work relations and increase contacts. Unless any two individuals already know each other, this step can be ignored. No person should be avoided in the workplace since anyone can help you in any possible way. Therefore, try to be as friendly as possible. Talk to people to make yourself visible in the workplace. Be an assertive yet never arrogant person. To be able to fit into the office environment quickly follow these simple etiquettes. It will take time to learn all of it but to ensure a safe, growing workplace it is advised to adapt to the surroundings system as soon as you could.

    Dress Formally

    Dressing professionally helps you create a positive environment, it shows how much you are invested in the role and it is also considered as the professional image of your organization to others. Even if you are not dressed professionally make sure you look well-groomed. Dressing well in a professional environment boots your confidence and commands respect. Always try to be modest in your professional attire and also ensure that you are comfortable with what you are wearing.

    Dress Formally

    Conclusion

    Business Etiquettes are the most important secret to a successful career. They make an everlasting impression of you to the other which creates mutual respect. Effective Communication is considered the best strategy to express your views at the workplace and helps you in teamwork. Good business etiquette is a valuable skill-set that will make you stand out from others, helps you succeed at work and help you land that dream job.

  • 9 Factors You Must Consider Before Choosing a Business Location

    Before an entrepreneur starts shopping for business space, he needs to have a clear picture of what must he’d like to have or work in, he/she should be clear about what they won’t tolerate and how much they are able to pay. Analyzing the whole scenario feels like it is a time-consuming process that’s both exciting and tedious, but essential to give the attention it deserves.

    One can say that half the success metrics of the business depends on its location. It is more important to select a suitable location for the business than any entrepreneur might consider, while there are many factors to consider when choosing a business location.

    One might have the most exceptional and irreplaceable product/service on earth, but if the location of the company is in the middle of nowhere, it won’t make any money and get lower attention. This is why it is important to conduct a business location strategy and choose a good location for business. Not many people know what should be considered while selecting the place of business. This article will state the major factors to be considered for the location of a new firm.

    Importance of Location While Setting up a Business

    Choosing a suitable or good location for business is all about setting your business up for success. One shouldn’t just choose the trendiest building or the cheapest listing as they should look for the best location for business. Entrepreneurs need to put careful thought into where they want to establish their business. After all, a business location isn’t something that can be easily changed.

    The importance of choosing the right location for a business is that it sets the tone for the business. It also decides what customers think of your business. You should give reasons why you have chosen the specific place for your business, as it determines how well you perform in your business. But in order to find what is the right location for business, you must follow the business location factors.

    There are several crucial factors to consider when it comes to choosing an apt business location for the company. These factors also determine the location having the most companies. So, lets look at the factors that should be considered for a location.

    1. Explore the Community
    2. Affordability
    3. Demographics and Closer to Market
    4. Easy Accessibility and Infrastructure
    5. Distribution Network
    6. Foot Traffic
    7. Competition
    8. The Zoning Rules
    9. Remote Location

    1. Explore the Community

    When choosing a location for a business, most business owners start with exploring the communities. Before planning to set up a business somewhere, study the community by reading some of their local newspapers.

    Also, visit the library and research the history of the place. While choosing a business location you have to communicate with other small business owners in the area and enquire whether their business is succeeding or not.

    2. Affordability

    Create a business budget for the impending expenditure before planning any business idea. Budget is the most important reason for location while choosing a suitable business location. Think of how much can you afford to spend on your business location and find ways for it. You might have many business location ideas but it should be affordable.

    Monthly rent or lease payment is not the only total cost of the location for choosing a location for a business. There are several other costs to the property. Owners need to pay taxes when they buy a commercial building. While most people don’t know how to choose the place where business is located. Sometimes, there are hidden costs to the building, costs like renovation or installation upgrades.

    For example, one might need to add insulation or run communications cables. Expenses like decorating the interior to fit the business style and brand. The affordability also depends on the different types of business locations.

    3. Demographics and Closer to Market

    Demographics are one of the most significant factors to consider when choosing a business location. A good location for business is important to be near the target customer group. One cannot sell gaming consoles in an area populated with older generations. A good location will sales will be higher in an area dense with the target market.

    The benefits of a good location for a business your customers by going near to them, the higher are the chances that they will buy from you regularly. Where are your target consumer group located? Are they other manufacturing companies? or are they an end consumer? How to choose the right location for your business to fit your demographics? Analyze these questions and try to answer them.

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    4. Easy Accessibility and Infrastructure

    The place where business is located good infrastructure is key to any kind of successful business. Uninterrupted power and water supply, good roads are a few significant factors to consider when choosing a suitable business location.

    Lack of enough parking spaces for the employees, or accessibility for people with disabilities, can be an issue in some locations. Another reason for the location being accessible is that nobody wants their employees to spend hours getting to work which is why you want the best location for business. Hence, select a location that won’t cause any problems with daily travel.

    5. Distribution Network

    If a particular business is manufacturing, it requires a good location and network for a business to produce. Unnecessary commute to work can be avoided because nobody likes to spend more money on transportation than they have to.

    Analyze the location of a company before choosing a business location, good proximity to suppliers is key in minimizing logistics costs.

    6. Foot Traffic

    More than many businesses look for foot traffic and this is one of the top factors to consider when choosing a business location. No business wants to be swayed away in a corner where potential customers will pass them. On the contrary, if some business needs confidentiality, they should opt for a low-traffic area. Try to monitor the foot traffic outside a certain location at different times of the week.

    7. Competition

    The business location factor creates both an advantage and a disadvantage. Consider if a location has a huge number of consumers because of the business competitors, your business might attract them as well. This is why competing is an important factor while selecting a city or town as a business location. However, it might backfire if both sides sell the same product, one team will end up losing.

    8. The Zoning Rules

    Local zoning regulations might limit small business locations. Zoning rules might restrict what plot or buildings can be used for commercial purposes, hours of operation, noise levels, signage types, and chemical usage. The need for selecting a suitable location can be competitive and hard, which is why it has to be made sure the building’s zoning designation matches the business’s requirements.

    9. Remote Location

    Having a business on a B2B platform will give the benefit to access and working worldwide. This is one of the most important business location factors as one will have no location as a barrier and can easily collaborate with companies from every location and all sectors.

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    Conclusion

    A final factor to pay attention to is the closer the products are to the customers, the higher the market value. Planning future expansions, relocating to newer offices, or opening new shops in the right location can mean many things for any business.

    Consider and plan a business location strategy to grow the company when choosing a business location. Hopefully, this article helped you find answers to questions like “what is the right location for business?” and “what is to be considered while selecting the place of business?”

    FAQs

    What should be considered while selecting the place of business?

    Some of the factors you must consider are:

    • Demographics.
    • Style of Operation.
    • Nearness to Market and Foot Traffic.
    • Accessibility and Basic Infrastructure.
    • Competition.
    • Zoning/Permit Issues.
    • Proximity to other Businesses & Services.

    How is location important?

    Choosing the right location is important, for example, if you choose a location that is far away from the city many employees will face difficulty in travelling.

    Why is competition an important factor in selecting a city or town as a business location?

    Competition is an important factor while selecting a location as it will guarantee you are in the right target market but too much competition in a particular area can backfire and your business might face loss.

  • 5 Major Strategies for Community Building

    Globalization processes have resulted in greater complexity, interdependence and limited resources. Non-government organizations and corporations are increasingly engaging each other in recognition that shareholder and societal value are intrinsically linked. For both sectors, these partnerships can create an enabling environment to address social issues and can generate social capital.

    This is because entrepreneurs and the business sector has realised that the true potential of customers is not with the size or the number of customers but most importantly, it is with the depth of engagement and interaction. Thus, there has been a global trend where brands have put community building at the heart of marketing strategies.

    Why community building is important?
    Why should Community building be followed by the entrepreneurs?
    5 Strategies to build community
    Conclusion

    Why community building is important?

    There is a growing genuine desire among business people to run a business for a profit, but at the same time to be contributing to the investment and the growth in the community, of a strong community. This is because the entrepreneurs have realised that they actually derive their profits from within a society, they live in society, their employees are citizens within a society, their customers are citizens and they abide by the rules of society. That means they have the same responsibilities and duties to society as anyone else who lives and breathes in the society.

    Benefits of Building Community
    Benefits of Building Community

    Why should Community building be followed by the entrepreneurs?

    Corporate social responsibility is the commitment of business to pursue policies, make decisions and follow directions for actions that are congruent with the overriding objectives and values of the societies in which that business is embedded. The business benefits for doing this are convincing.

    Socially responsible behaviour within a community minimizes the possibility of regulation and tighter controls that will inhibit performance. Loss of reputation, criticism and distrust from the community inevitably threaten the sustainability of business. In this view, therefore, economic performance is dependent on social performance and thus it is important that entrepreneurs dedicate themselves to engage with the community.

    5 Strategies to build community

    In a nutshell, community engagement strategies are a process to help your customers to gain trust in your service. Behavioural studies show, human beings are more attached to groups where they feel more respected and cared for.

    You can use these simple strategies, in your daily business to keep up with your customers within the community and spread a smile.

    Also Read: Top 10 Customer Support Solutions for Startups in 2020

    Provide a platform for your community members to freely express their needs:

    First, plan and chalk out why do you need to have the community and then work towards it to build a space where the members of the community can express and provide opinions. A big part of the community building strategy is understanding the community members.

    Community Building, Customer Satisfaction,
    Community Building as a part of customer satisfaction

    Your feedback form must always consist of these few things:

    • Whether they liked your service?
    • Do they think there is any scope of improvement, if yes what?
    • How can you serve them better?
    • How has the behaviour and overall service of the employee been?
    • Will they recommend your service to any of their friends?

    These questions would help your customers to gain trust in your service and they would feel cared for. Also, feedbacks would help you build upon your business easily and fill up any gaps which you weren’t aware of. The more the community members feel that they are being heard and valued, the more likely they are to remain loyal to your company and express their needs. This makes community engagement a very interesting tool for retention.

    Also Read: How to track customer acquisition in SaaS?

    Build Loyalty, Leads, & Sales in Your Community:

    If you are working on creating an idea and spreading your art into the world, you would definitely want it to grow. You would obviously be looking for attention among the community. This is simply, what marketing does. Be it a small-scale banner that is put along the roadway of a steel bar or having a fashion icon speak about a particular beauty secret, there has been various ways of promoting business which entrepreneurs follow.

    But you need to keep in mind, what appeals most to your community. Is your community a fan of cricket, then you can use cricketers as models to advertise your product. If most of your community members are at an older age group, you must invent ways so that it is beneficial for them. For example, you may introduce a door step delivery of your product to the old members of your community. You can also arrange and sponsor for programs around your community.

    Providing sponsorships engage a lot of attention as it mutually benefits both the businessmen and also the community members. The community members can rely on your service and would continue to reach out to you whenever they need. Some of the benefits in building up the loyalty for your community are listed below:

    • Grow brand awareness
    • Reduce churn
    • Increase ascension
    • Improve customer satisfaction
    • Increase customer loyalty

    Also Read: How to make customer loyal?

    Creating user generated content

    Always keep in mind, business is like a democracy, the power is in the hands of the customers, if they do not like your service, they can very well provide bad ratings or give negative feedback which would affect your business in a tremendous way in the future. Thus, always keep in mind to do the best from your end.

    Creating user generated content implies, you design a tailor-made service or product that is best suited for your community members. For example, not all requires the same shampoo which protects against hair fall. Some might need the shampoo to enrich their hair or have a better shine. Some just need to retain the colour of their hair while some might need a shampoo for their pets. Demands differ according to the needs of your community. Going out of your way to adjust with the desires of a customer makes them feel respected and controlled. Whenever possible, try to provide your customers more than what they expect.

    Use social media to build your own community

    Most people with a fanbase have derived their customers easily from the social media. Social media can be a great way to engage in building a brand community and attract fans. Digital marketing does not imply only reaching through blog post, but also other mediums such as a YouTube video or simply a social media shoutout. Facebook, Instagram, Twiter, Youtube Channels, LinkedIN are some of the most trending areas where you can freely open up your page and promote your work by attracting attention to the vast majority of people without any political barriers.

    You can also be extremely adored by your community members if you follow up their posts, like and share your followers’ posts, comment on them and get to know your followers.

    Be responsive

    Communities are all about interaction. So, it is insane to expect that you can be unresponsive to your customers when they need help and support.

    Relationships between organizations and clients develop with trust. Thus always be patient and Listen and Respond to the problems of your community members regarding your services. We have always been taught to respond and not react, but it becomes quite a challenge to follow this on our daily lives, especially when we deal with customers who provide us with monetary benefits. Whenever there is complaint raised from the end of customers, always listen to all the problems they have been facing, take their side and ask them generously what solutions do they want. See if it is possible for you to provide the community with their demands. Try and do as best as possible for them.

    Conclusion

    Community involvement includes contributing money, products, services and human resources such as time, skills and leadership to meet the social and economic needs of the community by connecting the objectives of the business with the communities. The strategy is to devise new ways in which business interests can be aligned with community interests so that there is a win–win solution to community problems and issues. The commitment to working together strategically, in order to grow business together sustainably, is good business sense and can create an enabling environment to address social issues.