Blog | The Small Business Assistant

14 Nov 2022

Omolade Agbotoba Advice, Growing your business, Marketing Permalink

Building a Customer-Centric Culture in your Business

Omolade Agbotoba November 14, 2022

A business needs to understand their customers to be able to bring out products and services best suited for them.

Most businesses are product-focused, sales-driven and only consider customers as important when it comes to marketing.

To achieve a customer-centric culture both the employers and employees have to be on board for it to work out.

Here are 5 tips on how to achieve a customer-centric culture:

Put customer empathy first:

Customer empathy is the ability to identify a customer’s emotional need, understanding the reasons behind it and responding appropriately. This is about gathering information, user interviews, creating personas, trying to find out who you are making the service for. Empathy drives innovative solutions, one has to do the right research so as not solve the wrong problem.

If you do not know your customers, whatever experience you have for them will be wrong. Empathy helps in crafting the right experience for your customer. There is the misconception that empathy is about feeling what the customer is feeling, it is about understanding.

Hire people who are customer oriented:

At the first point of contact with prospective employees, organizations should make thinking about customers and their needs a priority. During the interview, hiring managers should ask candidates irrespective of the roles, questions to ascertain their customer orientation. This helps you to know if they have customer-centric thinking and ensures everyone is on the same page on the importance of customer experience at the company.

Make customer insights available:

The employees have to understand the organization’s customers to be able to make the services that meet their needs. There are systems or softwares in place that allows access to customer insights for all employees instead of just granting access to only the sales and marketing departments. This will aid the departments in working together seamlessly to create amazing products/services that address customer’s pain points.

Employees should be able to interact directly with customers:

Businesses need to create avenues where employees can interact directly with the customers, this way the employees get a better sense of what the customers needs are either through focus groups, support calls, customer visits.

The link between employee culture and customer impact should be tracked:

If one cannot track whatever is done, one will not be motivated to continue. If the employees know how the results of customer-centric culture affects the company, they would want to be more involved.

This involves getting the customers involved in the reward system, everyone will be motivated to work towards the same goal as they see that they are part of the system working towards creating a special experience for the customers.

A customer-centric culture can boost the business revenue and customer retention rate. Checks and balances should therefore be put in place, where everyone involved in the customer-centric culture of the business will be held accountable.

30 Jul 2022

Gloria Adegoke Growing your business Permalink

3 ‘Little’ Mistakes That Cost Your Business

Gloria Adegoke July 30, 2022

Not all startups are able to remain a success for long. Some last for a few weeks, months or even years. But in the long run, they can’t keep up and they have to shut down.

This is not because of Village People or even the government, (though the government has a role to play) but, it is because of seemingly little things that business owners tend to overlook before or moreso while running their businesses.

In order to prevent you from unknowingly sabotaging the growth and long term success of your business, here are three (3) mistakes known to cost businesses:

1. Not standing out:

There are quite a number of businesses out there offering the same service as you are. And so, consumers/customers would always have a second option. Now, if you’re doing things differently from what your competitors are doing, what’s to stop them from not buying from you? You’re Right. Nothing!

It is advisable to offer what others don’t, and this shouldn’t be at the risk of losing your business. Add juicy offers to attract customers and keep offering excellent services to keep them.

2. Not having a strategy:

If you want to ‘go with the flow,’ you will flow out of business. If you don’t know the exact things you need to do to get positive results, you will struggle.

Ensure to map out a plan that covers all aspects, ranging from registering your business, marketing, sales and cost of operation. Make sure you are clear on these, and the outcomes you hope to achieve.

3. Not having a team:

We know you like being independent, but how far can you go on your own? This is not to doubt your abilities, rather, it’s to help you cover more ground.

Find a person (or persons) to offer assistance in areas you can’t cover. Look at the strategies listed in item (2). You most probably can’t handle everything without burning out. Hence, it’s important to get helping hands that would support you in areas you cannot handle on your own.

These mistakes are avoidable and even if you’ve already made them, they can be remedied.

The Small Business Assistant is a consulting agency that supports businesses with a range of services to ensure well-run business operations with a professional touch.

We create a unique style of presenting your products or services to the public, while guaranteeing clear and consistent message through all mediums.

We also help to put detailed planning in place to make sure your business goals are met with little or no hassles.

A team of experts are readily available to help with all your business needs.

Let’s discuss how we can help you. Contact us at hello@thesmallbusinessassistant.org to get started!

21 Jun 2022

Edwin Blessing Finance, Growing your business Permalink

Quick Tips on Staying Relevant in Busines

Edwin Blessing June 21, 2022

Sometime in history, owners of large herds and flocks of animals were rich. It was common to associate stables of horses with wealth and power. That era is past now.

The Nigerian economy in the 60s and 70s saw a thrive in novel technologies. NITEL, Postal service and the railway workers were among the elites.

Modern innovations in telecommunications, with the introduction of smartphones has pushed NITEL to the trenches. The narrative isn’t different with railway and the postal workers, those sectors have been pushed behind.

What happened to those once thriving sectors?

The world transitioned. Technology got better and people customarily opted for better options.

Many workers in those sectors lost their jobs and countless enterprises folded up.

Every business owner, employees too should know and understand the dynamics of time and seasons.

An understanding of how and when to transition, where and when to invest and expand keeps you at the top.

Unless you want to wake up one morning to the rude shocks of being smothered out of business, keep your eyes focused on the next big thing and invest smartly.

The economy will always evolve, you should too. Know where and when to put your time and resources.

14 Jun 2022

Suliat Oyinkansola Ganiyu Advice, Growing your business, Marketing Permalink

Why your Small Business should have a Website

Suliat Oyinkansola Ganiyu June 14, 2022

Business websites have become more crucial than ever! In the age of mobile internet browsing, you need a user-friendly website where people can find all the information they need about your business. In promoting your business, you might be able to advertise in magazines and on the radio, but these channels will cost you a lot more than online advertising does.

So how do you get your message out there at a cheap rate? By creating a website for your business! Here are 4 top reasons why you need a website for your business;

It makes it easy for potential clients to find information about your business

People can easily locate you, learn about your company, understand what you do, and get answers to questions they may have about your business if you have a website. Having A FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) section provides customer care support by answering most questions your customers have in mind.

When you have a website, it aids marketing and boosts sales by making your content accessible to users at any time of the day or night. It is also a significant step towards enabling good customer service and relationship development, particularly if you have specific features such as AI-powered chatbots that can handle the basic concerns of your customers on the website when they need it the most.

Global exposure of your business

Having a website for your business is comparable to placing it on the world map. Thus, your reach is expanded, giving you more customers which equals more revenue.

Customers could come from any country in the world if your company has a website because it is accessible to everyone over the internet. Not only is it easily accessible, but it also makes it very easy to place an order at any point in time thereby enhancing sales.

Accelerates business marketing and sales

Marketing and increase in sales become much easier when you develop a website for your company. It enables you to pitch and sell to individuals simultaneously. Additionally, it enables the effective use of digital marketing tools/strategies such as paid search, SEO, social media, or content marketing.

Imagine adding the link to your website in all your ads! It makes it easier for your prospective customers to place an order and to learn more about the products you sell or the services you have to offer.

Boosts the online visibility of your brand

Finding customers in a congested marketplace can be a difficult task. Increase your online presence and set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry by establishing a website for your company.

A website for your company does not only give you an instant presence on the internet but also makes other forms of online marketing, such as blogging, more effective.

Before making a purchase, many customers look up information on the product or service online. Your website may be the best tool you have to make a great impression on a potential customer. Creating a website for your business should be on your list of to-do’s if you are seeking strategies to make your business more successful.

05 Jun 2022

Gloria Omolade Adegoke Advice, Growing your business, Marketing Permalink

How to Increase Productivity in Business

Gloria Omolade Adegoke June 5, 2022

Are you tired of not meeting the Market’s demand and losing customers because of inefficiency in supplying their demands? This post is for you.

Every entrepreneur desires to have a productive business because, as this is part of what guarantees success and the needed cash flow needed to keep the business afloat.

“Productivity means a balance between all factors of production that will give the maximum output with the smallest effort” Peter F. Sticker.

Productivity in business refers to how efficiently and effectively you (and) or your employees achieve the goals and tasks set before them.

It is important to note that spending more working hours does not necessarily translate to an increase in business productivity.

Here are some tips to help increase productivity in your business:

1. Be Strategic

Commit yourself to a realistic goal and have plans on achieving it. As your business is growing, you review your plans and goals for your business.

Also, creating a marketing calendar that covers your marketing activities for a certain period helps keep your business organized and in check, thus making it easier to track and manage your marketing budget.

2. Have Access to the Right Tools

Studies show that businesses that utilize modern technology tend to be more productive and profitable as it helps support the employee in their tasks. It increases individual production performance, efficiency levels, and overall productivity. It accelerates work rate and ensures good management of resources which could cost the business

3. Effective Management and Supervision

Have a system and structures that maximize employees’ ability. Therefore, there is a need to communicate clear goals and instructions to the employees. A well-written job description clarifies the role of employees and helps managers and the employees develop specific performance objectives that are important.

An established driver of employee productivity is periodic contact with their direct boss. This is because their boss hopefully helps them overcome roadblocks, brainstorm ideas, and better understand how the overall company is served by their individual or team activities.

4. Delegate Tasks

Have a structure for delegating tasks instead of multitasking yourself or your employee (s).

Multitasking can hurt an employee’s productivity by 40%. According to Forbes (2021), multitasking will damage employees’ productivity rather than improve it. Studies have shown that it can be exhausting for the brain to continually move from one job to another, making an employee less successful. The result shows that multitasking kills productivity at a faster rate because it eventually hampers workflow, resources, and profit.

5. Employee Training and Development

Research shows that employees’ lack of proper training is the most common cause of low productivity in business. Inadequately trained employees may slow down productivity.

Training and equipping them with the necessary knowledge and skills will boost their efficiency, and make them reciprocate the same value given to them.

These tips are sure ways to drive profit, reduce operational costs, maximize resources, and improve customer service.

01 Jun 2022

Gloria Adegoke Growing your business Permalink

What should be on your business bucket list?

Gloria Adegoke June 1, 2022

Bucket Lists are not just for exciting individual exercises like jumping off a plane, climbing the highest mountains or surfing in the largest seas. Your business is also a part of what you can plan and set goals for that would help you nurture and encourage growth and development.

Your Business Bucket List is a mix of the things you would love to do for your business and what you would love to achieve as a business owner. Having a Business Bucket List helps you have a little more perspective in handling your business and it helps you work towards achieving positive results.

Don’t know what should be in your business bucket list? We’ve got you!

1. Keep learning! Yes. There are new discoveries everyday, and you wouldn’t want to be left behind. Take courses that are relevant to your field, build knowledge, and gain experience. Attend business seminars and conferences. No knowledge is lost.

2. Keep trying to reach a wider audience. Don’t be satisfied with having just a hundred customers when you can have a thousand. Employ ways to reach more people. Run more ads, don’t get tired of telling more people about your business.

Search for means to improve your services, so your customers can tell more people. But make sure, you’re putting out quality products and services.

3. Build a team. Get help! You can’t do it all on your own. Being overwhelmed with a lot of tasks can cause burn out. Thus, you can hire experts from various fields whose services would be needed. They would help put your business out there in more appealing and professional ways.

Make sure though, that you have the resources to manage them properly.

A business Bucket List shouldn’t just be limited to these three items. It is important to know what you want out of your business and how you plan to attain it. Make sure to do a review monthly, quarterly or whenever works for you.

Note that you don’t necessarily have to start with really BIG things. Take it one step at a time. You’d get there!

01 Jun 2022

Olamiposi Osunsami Advice, Growing your business, Marketing Permalink

Quick Life Hacks for Entrepreneurs

Olamiposi Osunsami June 1, 2022

Starting a business or you’ve been in it for a while now? Here are some life essential hacks that you must know and aptly apply in your business and I assure will help you start and/or grow your business.

1. Knowledge

Knowledge they say is power. In this life, you’re only valuable to the degree of what you know. Your success in any field is all dependent on the range of what you know, business inclusive.

Thus, whether you’re just starting or you’ve been in the business for a while, you need knowledge that is relevant to your area of specialisation. You must know the pros and cons and must get yourself updated every now and then.

2. Networking

A popular adage says, your network determines your net worth. The power of networking cannot be overemphasized. Since you won’t be selling only to your family members, then you must grow your network and thereby find the right audience for your business.

You can’t reach everyone by yourself but when you carefully grow your network, it will work for you.

3. Mentorship

Like the popular saying, there’s nothing new under the sun. Whatever you may want to do now, you can be sure someone has probably done it before or done something related to it.

When you have someone who through his/her wealth of experiences guides and mentors you, you are sure to have a faster growth than those who do not, because by leveraging your mentor’s experience, it makes things easier for you.

4. Time Management

Proper management of time is one thing nobody should joke about, not to talk of businessmen or women. A lot in our lives is dependent on how well we can manage our time. How successful we become is all dependent on how meticulously we use our time.

As a business person, invest tangibly in your time. Have a to do list and make sure you follow through. Don’t mismanage your time for it is the greatest and most valuable currency you have.

5. Consistency

To be a master in life, consistency is key. You can’t be the best in what you do apart from consistently doing it. For instance, Ronaldo and Messi ruled the football world for 12 years. One thing made them stand out, consistency.

They keep doing what they choose to do, practicing, learning, training until football became their surnames. This also is applicable to business. You can’t be called a Business Mogul until you’ve proven over time that you’re truly a businessman/woman.

Consistency is what you keep doing despite several failures, mistakes and downfall until you get to the top; and while on top, you keep doing it.

All these and many more are life hacks that will help you build a successful business.People don’t just become great, it is the application of these hacks that makes men.

26 May 2022

Olamiposi Osunsami Growing your business Permalink

Quick Tips for Business Growth

Olamiposi Osunsami May 26, 2022

Starting a small business is a huge, yet worthwhile endeavor. Part of starting a small business is figuring out what works best for you, but getting some advice can also assist. Consider the following suggestions for beginning your own business and use them as needed:

Recognize your assets and liabilities

Every small business owner has unique talents, abilities, knowledge, and experience that provide them an advantage when it comes to starting and growing a company. However, no small business owner is capable of being an expert in every step of the process of starting a new firm.

While you’ll have to wear several hats, especially in the beginning phases of your firm, don’t put too much pressure on yourself for too long or expect yourself to jump into a very intricate activity without any prior training. Develop a thorough awareness of your strengths and shortcomings so you can decide where to focus your efforts.

Begin with a basic business plan and expand as needed.

As a small business owner, one of the first things you should do is create a business plan. It’s critical that you create this crucial document to guide future work and hold yourself accountable, but you shouldn’t go into too much detail in the early phases of developing your concept.

When it comes to starting a business, ABC News contributor Tory Johnson says that a simple business plan is typically the best strategy.

A shorter plan, roughly one page or 500-600 words, can provide guidance without having you to answer questions for which responses will not be provided until later in the process. Focus on your products or services, according to Johnson, target market and clients, basic prices and costs, and the work required to bring the vision to life. You can expand your business plan as work proceeds and your idea gets closer to actual operations. Include more precise estimates, real costs, longer-term projections, a mission statement, a company overview, and other features found in fully completed documents over time.

Concentrate on something you enjoy

Doing something you enjoy doesn’t have to be your all-time favorite activity or type of business. It does imply that you will not rapidly tire of running that form of business, that aspects of it appeal to you, and that you will be able to use some combination of existing knowledge or abilities relevant to parts or all of the operation.

So, whether it’s offering accounting services to other businesses or opening a bakery, identifying and targeting an existing need is an important part of beginning a successful small business. When you combine that need with something that thrills, fascinates, and motivates you, you can achieve significant growth and profits.

Be aware of your target market and customers.

It’s possible to create a great company concept but implement it incorrectly. That is why it is critical to comprehend the industry in which you wish to launch your business as well as your target customers.

In a smaller, less densely populated location, an idea that would work effectively in a large, highly populated area might not get the foot traffic or number of customers it requires. Assessing the market for your products or services, looking for potential competitors, and doing a hypothetical analysis of how your business would perform can all help you move your idea forward.

Although indirectly, you can get ideas and assistance from competitors and similar businesses. Visiting their businesses, looking at their websites and marketing materials, and participating in other intelligence-gathering activities can all help you fill in the gaps.

Don’t be afraid to seek assistance.

Even when a business is on track, unanticipated difficulties and opportunities for development and improvement might arise at any time. For long-term stability and development, it is necessary to address these issues and opportunities. You should not be scared to seek alternative business finance in the form of a business loan from any financial institution who are business friendly as a business owner.

In conclusion, paying close attention to and making use of the business tips above will make your business journey, whether as a startup or a pro both a smoother, less stressful process and go a long way towards ensuring that your business lasts and thrives.

25 May 2022

Oluwapelumi Olaniwun Advice, Growing your business Permalink

5 Soft Skills Every Business Owner Should Have

Oluwapelumi Olaniwun May 25, 2022

Asides from building a business around a product or a service to meet a need that you have recognized, running a productive business is largely dependent on whom you are and the skills you intentionally put to work.

Here are 5 top soft skills you should have as a business owner:

Communication

How you communicate with others determines how smoothly a business runs. Internally, communication with employees and team members sets the tone for a company’s culture.

Communication is also important from a business-to-business standpoint, as a business owner, you often need to communicate with suppliers, vendors and potential investors.

Negotiation

You engage in negotiation daily, whether you realize it or not. Most times these negotiations happen informally, such as discussing what to have for dinner or where to go on the next family vacation.

However, formal negotiation skills are critical for success in your business and involve reaching consensus, compromising, cooperating, strategizing and effectively communicating. Being able to negotiate with also customers is key to making sales.

Leadership

Leadership skills are important for a business owner who wants to succeed in a business environment. Leadership is focused on people more than processes.

You need to be strong leader to build a productive and amenable work environment, and this can happen by using interpersonal skills to help foster collaboration and effective communication.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence, or EQ, is the ability to understand both your and other people’s emotions and how those feelings influence a situation.

As a business owner having a high EQ would involve the use self-awareness, self-regulation and social skills to improve the level of productivity in your business.

Organization

Organizational skills mean more than just keeping your desk tidy, although that can be a component. On a broader scale, organization means the ability to define and prioritize goals, then create a plan to accomplish them.

Strong organizational skill tends to make you more productive. You are also likely to be a better time manager and be less inclined to procrastinate. All of this, is key to be able to run your business like a pro.

23 May 2022

Edwin Blessing Advice, Growing your business Permalink

Essential Tips To Stay In Business

Edwin Blessing May 23, 2022

It’s not uncommon to find people who want to own and run their own businesses, make their decisions, call the shots and not be bossed around.

To be honest, those are really cool aspirations, but owning and running a successful business comes with a lot of demands, hardwork and smart work. And without the requisite skills, your business will sink, trust me, nobody cares.

Here are a few handy tips you should have in your pocket to run a successful business:

1. Have a clear goal and a sense of direction

It’s so easy to lie to yourself. If you want to succeed and last in business, then you’ve got to be ready to be realistic and honest with yourself.

Set business goals and stick to them with flexible approaches.

2. Be willing to learn and commit to mentorship

Admitting ignorance can be embarrassing for some persons, we know that. If you want to succeed, you can’t do without learning from people who have gone ahead of you.

Experience is the best teacher, yes, but learning from the experiences of others is safer. Even if they’re people you feel above.

3. Be disciplined and principled with your finance and business funds

One sure way to run out of business is constantly taking your business funds for personal use. By all means, avoid it. Most preferably, keep it in separate places, it helps. Growth comes with discipline and respect for principles.

4. Learn to invest smartly and actively

Now this is where so many business owners get it wrong. Be intentional about your financial (investment) education.

Before you invest in anything, do your homework, be in the know of the pros and cons. Stories abound of business owners making uninformed investments that hit the wall.

You want to succeed, so you need to know how your money goes and what it goes into. Be actively involved, totally commiting your investments in someone else’s hands can be fatal.

Looking to start and grow a successful business? Keep these tips handy and watch your business thrive.

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