Business Management | BizSieve.com

From Arts To War Games, It is Time to Get Excited About Team Building!

What’s missing from team building today? Imagination! Don’t book your local sports hall and hire a load of gym mats or make chairs out of newspapers, do something exciting! Bring some thrill to your workplace and get the office enthusiasm kicked up a notch.

creative team building — photo credit: tim caynes via photopin cc

Adrenaline Pumping Extreme Sports

Give your team something to plan for and look forward to with a foray into extreme living. A sponsored event is a great way to get everyone in the office involved and invested and it’s a great way to raise money. Get a few enthusiastic go-getters together and send them off on a hike up a mountain or running a marathon, it’ll bring them together and anyone who doesn’t want to be involved can fundraise and sponsor. Give your staff an incentive: sponsor the athletes and all funds go towards that stylish new coffee machine in the staff room or a posh meal out for the whole team; alternatively, for the philanthropists among you, get everyone to vote for their favourite charities and send the money raised to a worthy cause.

Release Frustrations With War Games

Now we’re talking, they’ll be no groans in the office on team building Saturday if you’re taking them out for an afternoon of paintball! Pick their teams at random and get people mixing, the atmosphere gets very real very fast so they’ll have to start trusting each other and working as a unit to ‘survive’. Paintballing has always been popular and your team can let their individual skills shine, you’ll have strategists, defenders and people with a soldier’s spirit who will take the lead and bring their side to victory! At the end of the day get everyone together down at the pub for a wind down and a relax after a hard day in the trenches.

Having Fun And Keeping Costs Low

We all know it’s a recession but team building doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, gather everyone together in the boardroom and get them laughing and talking.

Little white lies: this is a great way to get everyone to know each other a little bit better. Have everyone in the office write down 2 interesting facts or stories about themselves and 1 lie, go around the room and have everyone read out their list of statements while the rest of the team votes on which one is the lie, the person who’s lie gets the fewest votes wins! Everyone learns a bit more about each other but do try to keep the statements office appropriate!

Minefield: give your team some time away from their desks for free. Place random objects around a field or car park, use: furniture, bags of rubbish, office plants, other employees, anything you can think of. The objects act as mines and your staff are put in pairs, put one in a blindfold and get their partner to direct them across the minefield without being blown up (it’s harder than it sounds).

Get Arty In The Office

For a unique team building experience that will stand the test of time have your team channel their inner Picasso. Get your team to express themselves by having them paint a group mural, you can split them into groups and have them each design a section or do it all together and once it’s done why not hang it in reception? Let your team de-stress and get messy! You can really find your own style, if you run a library why not paint Dickens? Or if you work in a city then get into some graffiti. Whatever your inspiration art is a great way to bring people together, whatever our differences we all appreciate the process of creating something. The beauty of it is everyone can get involved; whatever your age or ability no one is hindered and what you can do with art is limitless so you can really let your team run wild, you’ll learn more about each other, have fun together and create something you can enjoy every single day.

Team building should be something we look forward to, it should be like office Christmas, not something we dread. Do something special on your next team building excursion and do more than boost morale, make memories.

About the Author: This post was written by Emma Smith on behalf of Graffiti Pro’s, Graffiti artisis who want to bring some excitment back to team building!

Investing In Public Relations Could Save You Money

Public relations (PR) is important for any business. Businesses are no longer completely separated from their consumers. They no longer just offer consumers a service. Nowadays, businesses have to build networks and personal connections with their consumers. PR is the interaction between your organisation and your target market. The interaction is achieved using online methods, the media, and direct communication. Competition between brands and businesses is extremely high (and getting higher), thus, it is always important to keep your brand a cut above the rest.

PR is important as it has a direct link to the amount of sales a business can make. Sales are largely determined by the number of satisfied customers. Thus, bad press can also be responsible for decreasing sales in many businesses. It is always important to keep an eye on how the public responds to your products, and that is why having a person responsible for PR is important, especially for growing businesses.

Relationships are important

Information spreads easily, so it is important to always make sure that the information being spread is vital and informative about your business. PR will ensure this happens.

The biggest public relations tool is word-of-mouth. When a consumer is satisfied with a service, they will tell a friend, their family, hairdresser, and anyone else who is willing to listen. Good service on its own is not enough, however. Consumers have to be made aware of your successful efforts; public relations officers take care of this.

If your business has a strong online presence, it is important to be consistent in your communication with your online users. For instance, if a customer lays a complaint online, it is best to have someone on stand-by to attend to them as quickly as possible. This helps build a strong relationship between the brand and the customer, and can be the difference between never having that customer again and having that person bring three more people with them the next time they visit you.

Because your PR department will also deal with the media, it is very important that they are consistent when submitting your promotional items to media professionals. This also fosters a good relationship with the media houses.

Making plans

A good PR consultant or department will have a PR strategy that plans a year ahead in terms of campaigns and activities. The strategy should outline the goals and objectives for the year, and show how they plan to keep people talking about your business. There should also be a focus on how the business aims to utilise social media to its own advantage.

Honesty is key

The relationship formed between customers and the businesses should be one of complete trust. The PR department should not be there just to cover up problems and represent the company in a good light. It should rather be there to put matters into perspective for current and potential clients.

New businesses

It is important for all businesses to have a PR department, but sometimes new and small businesses cannot afford the expense of hiring a professional. Doing your own PR maybe an option, but you will need to dedicate the appropriate amount of time to it. Make sure you interact with people on your social media accounts, and regularly update your accounts with interesting news, photos, and information that are industry specific. Contact relevant newspapers, magazines, and journalists, and start your own blog just to show your audience that you know what you are talking about.

The idea behind PR is to influence your consumers into buying into your brand. Good PR can help your brand shine above all others and bring you potentially loyal customers.

About the Author: Zimasa Mpemnyama is just starting out in the world of digital marketing and PR, but already she can see the important interplay between traditional PR strategies and modern techniques that use social media and other online forms of communication.

Planning a customer loyalty programme? Try these

Customer loyalty programmes are one of the most innovative ways to show to your customers that you value them. Businesses that have always aimed at keeping their customers coming back for more without actually letting them wait, know what these programmes can bring to them. Customer loyalty programmes play an instrumental role in helping you gather relevant information about the customer demographic. These are the kind of programmes that go on to boosting your marketing efforts by also helping you fetch the best outputs in the long run. Loyalty programmes outperform several other strategies and campaigns but still a lot of businesses seem to overlook its growing importance.

However, only realising the benefits that these programmes can bring to your business is not enough. Planning them with care and getting them right should be the concerns that follow. We believe that the key to creating a well thought out and successful customer loyalty program is its accessibility and user friendliness.

If you’re planning to start a customer loyalty programme soon, here are the tips that can help you get the most out of it and finally plan it according to your expectations:

# Your first loyalty punch card

The punch card formula is a great way to give it a start. Make sure that you design a card that is specific to your business and aims at offering FREE and attractive gifts after a particular number of purchases being made by the customer. Suggest them to carry the card and let them know the benefits they can gain from the card, well ahead in advance.

# Opt-in programmes

Encourage your customers to avail the benefits of the sign-up in the form of plenty of offers and rewards. Let them share their email addresses with you and you can then add them to your opt-in list. This can be either done online or right at the time of sale. Email sign-up options will ease out the pressure on the application processes and your customers won’t have to download apps every now and then. They won’t be required to share all the personal information, as in most cases, they are denied by the customers.

You can then choose to send them a draft on the attractive and personal offers as well as the regular communications that can only be availed by the loyalty customers. If the recent surveys are to be believed, email campaigns that have mostly been targeting the loyalty members have gradually emerged as an amazing source of revenue. Additionally, these are also easy to track; you can’t deny that you wanted something like this.

# Premium loyalty programme

This is where you can bring the customer relationship management software into use. Track most of the higher value purchases, study them and invite specific customers to join the programme. Find out the customers who have been contributing majorly to boosting up your sales and invite them to join the programme.

# Branded loyalty membership cards

With the help of loyalty card services, you can design branded cards that are specific to your business, activities and brand. They will paint a brighter picture of your image; such services can largely help you in tracking and managing the customer behaviour and lot more. You can track the number of customers that have actually visited your store. The customers that spend a good amount for making a purchase with your store and that too frequently must be noticed.

These loyal members can also be chosen for sending targeted emails; you can also text the campaigns to them. Services that you’re going to add can also include branded gift cards and much more. Think about your brand, its activities and what you would want from your customers in the present scenario and you will see an influx of unique ideas good enough to boost your sales.

# Adding the digital component

All your customers may not be digitally savvy but we still believe that most of them would be and this is what brings the incorporation of digital component into picture. It is important for the businesses to cater to the growing demands of customers addicted to apps which indicate a mobile loyalty trend growing with time. There are plenty of apps that can be tapped into for a fee or for free!

This is getting more important for the businesses that are already involved with the mobile payment platforms. Make sure that you explore all the available options and finally hop onto the services that can also offer a seamless social media integration. Get liked, shared and consider the pace of your progress with the help of online reviews as they also get you a slice of some honest feedback.

# Choice of incentives

The incentives or rewards you have for your customers should be as unique as your business. Make it appealing and moreover – a desirable one. You can go for experiential awards that can serve the purpose of actually ‘rewarding’ your loyal customers. A hair salon can always try and offer interesting monthly workshops to its loyal customers where they can be offered free makeover tips.

These are the kind of experiences that go on to building communities, adding value to the lives of your customers and assisting your business to stand out from the crowd. Don’t forget that these opportunities can be utilised for offering your customers amazing reason/s for coming back.

# Regular communication with customers

If they are your loyal customers – they deserve special treatment. Segment out this section of your customers and don’t forget to communicate with them more often than not. Share the upcoming events with them, let them know about the incentives and lastly – don’t forget their birthdays. Make them feel special at each stage and you can also consider offering them something unique in their birthday months. They deserve a great treatment – after all they are your loyal customers!

About the Author: Michael Evans is a passionate blogger and he occasionally writes for Rope-barriers.com, a leading UK based budget post and rope barriers manufacturer and supplier.

The Most Popular Kinds Of Customer Reward Schemes And How They Can Benefit You

Customers of all kinds of businesses are now being treated to reward schemes that offer all kinds of free stuff and money off. Loyalty schemes have been around in one form or another for as long as modern marketing has existed, however with internet technology and advances in the way data can be collated and used, these days they are more innovative and rewarding than ever before.

Here are some of the most common types of loyalty scheme, and how you can take advantage of them to save money and get some fantastic treats!

Punch Cards

One of the most common loyalty schemes around, along with one of the oldest, are those punch cards you see in coffee shops, restaurants, sandwich shops and so on. The basic idea is that you take a card and the cashier stamps it every time you buy something. Once the card is full, you get something for free, such as a coffee or sandwich.

These reward systems may not save you a fortune, but if you buy a coffee every day, you could be getting a free one every week or two by going to the same coffee shop and remembering to give them your card. These schemes usually have no registration (though you may need to give basic information like your name and email address on the back of the card when you hand it in to get your free gift), and they essentially reward you for buying something you’d be buying anyway – the scheme simply encourages you to keep getting it from the same place.

Store Reward Cards

Supermarkets large and small along with many department stores and other popular chains offer their own reward schemes, where you accumulate points as you shop which get you specific benefits. This could be credit to spend in the same store, or preferential prices on specific items. Some supermarkets, for example, have points systems that allow you to save money on gas at the pump.

These are usually fast to register for, and once you have your reward card you may not only be saving points, but also paying less for products. Some chains like Kroger offer lower prices for almost everything in store to their loyalty card holders!

Air Mile Schemes

Credit card air mile schemes have been around for a long time now, and have changed very little in format, with only the range of available incentive travel gifts becoming greater as these schemes have evolved. Some credit cards, for example those branded with popular airlines, offer flexible points (known as ‘miles’ in most cases), which are worth different amounts depending on how in demand the thing you try and redeem them for is. This means if you want to use them for a flight outside of the busiest times of the year, you get extremely good value.

Other brands, for example Capital One, offer special fixed value points that are worth the same amount no matter when you want to use them. These offer far better value when you want to travel at peak times, like holidays, or on very popular routes.

About the Author:Today’s guest author, David Waters, heads the sales department of a prominent bank based in Georgia, US. He enjoys cooking and calling friends over for dinner and socializing in his spare time.

Brand Strategy: What It Is and Why Your Business Can’t Afford to Go Without One

Simply defined, brand strategy entails everything that goes into communicating and delivering your brand and your company’s message. Two things go into strong branding: consistency and strategy. Think about Sprite versus lemon-lime soda. Because people are exposed more to the brand, Sprite, they find it intrinsically more valuable. Other ways to build value into your brand is by associating some emotion or persons with the brand. For example, makeup ads regularly use actresses to advertise their products. So how do you develop a brand strategy? Where do you even start?

Answer Some Basic Questions

Before you start figuring out how to represent your brand or how to market your brand, you have to determine what your company stands for. How do the services and features of your products appeal to or benefit your prospective clients? You need to determine how you are unique from your competitors, because that will be an important consideration in how you sell yourself. What do customers already think of your business? How does what customers believe relate to what you want them to think of your business? For example, consider the car manufacturer, KIA. At first, customers saw KIA as nothing more than an economy car. KIA responded to customer belief by launching an ad campaign that featured KIA as a car associated with a luxury lifestyle. They addressed a customer belief by shifting their ad themes.

Fabricate the Definition

Once you’ve defined your brand, your job is to put it into material form. You need a good logo and good key words that you can use as catchphrases you want associated with your brand. Even on your blog, make sure that your brand is coming through. Forbes.com uses Warby Parker’s blog tagline as an example: “Musings, inspirations, and fun stuff from your friends at Warby Parker.” The tagline shows their fun and creative spirit, which is part of their brand.

Once you have your brand keywords, teach them to your employees. Make sure they are constantly using those words in order to create a cohesive vision of what your company is. Integrate your brand into everything that your business does. Include it on what employees wear; include it on e-mails; include it on all literature created for the business. In short, make sure that your logo gets out there. A logo needs to be recognizable.

Next time you think that branding doesn’t matter if you have a good product, check out the difference between Coca-Cola’s product sales and the generic brand sitting next to it in the grocery store. It’s not enough to offer a good product or service anymore. Clients are drawn to brands they understand, relate to, and desire. Determine your mission statement and turn that into a provocative logo and appealing catchphrase. And that’s not enough. Make sure that you incorporate your brand into every single aspect of your business.

About the Author: Susan Braud writes for several online colleges that offer MBA’s. Check out Best Online MBA.net and mba rankings.net for more information.