BSI Launches On-Line Business Academy

The Business Sustainability Institute has taken business development to a whole new level with the launch of a world class on-line business academy.

With over a $1 million worth of "done-for-you" marketing and advertising collateral, small business owners can gain massive exponential growth for their company immediately. This innovative E-Learning Marketing System is designed to help generate more leads, attract more clients and make more money than business owners can imagine.

Members are walked through a proven and tested "5 Step Profit Formula" and shown the exact strategies and tactics, others have used to increase their leads, conversions, numbers of transactions, sales price and net profits. Members are then taught how to systemise their sales process, document them from start to finish and then "franchise their business and marketing" by licencing these proven processes to others in their industry.

For a short time, those who take the guided tour will receive a massive reduction in their monthly membership fees and be given access to a $5,000 business development grant for future"Group Coaching" sessions. For more information go to the BSI Business Academy web site.

Growing Your Business Through Social Media

There is a new hype about advertising and spreading the word about your business. Old fashioned advertising doesn’t work, at least not like it used to. Placing an ad in the newspaper is just not enough. Now you put it in front of millions of people through social media marketing networks, and it is archived for years to come.

So, what is social media and how does it works? In short how can you use social media to grow your business.

Social Media is an interaction through web-based and mobile technologies; it is all those sites we use for fun and for business: Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress, Youtube, LinkedIn and so on. Having a business advertised is no longer one-way and static technology; now you can create and distribute your content through the web using various social media options. Whilst there are potential costs, in the main It is free, not time consuming, easily accessible and interactive. Though simple as it is, it’s crucial that you invest some time and skills to work it to your advantage. One of the main attraction of social media in growing your business is that it gives small businesses and entrepreneurs the equal opportunity to make a big name along side already existing large and well-known corporations.

Social media comes in many forms – blog, microblog, social networks, media-sharing sites, social bookmarking and voting sites, review sites, forums and virtual worlds are only some of the most popular.

A blog is best described as writing articles or posts. Its software allows different social features that include blogrolls, subscriptions and comments making it ideal for marketing purposes.

Through blogs, company speaks to its customers about the new and cool things it does.  Posts are what make the blogs; they can be any length from few words to many pages but to make the most of it, sticking to one topic is crucial. The most important element of blogging is consistency. Making sure that you blog regularly by setting a clear goal of posting either daily, or weekly for a whole year.  Long posts have to be structured in such a way that they include scannable items like images, lists and subheadings.  Use comments made by readers as positive or negative feedback. Use permalinks or permanent links to link your blog to other social media platforms. Making sure your site image establishes authority, themes and designs as well as content is what attracts readers and makes your blog trustworthy to read regularly. Getting to know other bloggers in associated industries or your area of expertise increases visibility of your own blog. Use them to help gow your business.

Micro blogging is type of blogging that limits the size of posts to a certain number of characters. The best known is Twitter, which has a limit of 140 characters. It is easy to use and requires little investment of time, but it quickly creates buzz and insight. Through micro blogging you can promote your other social media content, which contains more news and information, informs about new blog posts and keep your readers in the know about your business. Having a good avatar and bio ensures an optimized following and tweeting, allowing the people you already know to tweet about your business for others that may be interested in your business news.

Social networks such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn allows you to build direct and personal relationships with your customers. While for people it is customary to create profiles, a company should create pages. Social networks offer a wide range of special features, which are important to use in order to have the best possible introduction of your company's business. Make sure that you don't just rebuild your website, offer content that is exclusive for social network. Interaction is the key component to all social media, through social networks your customers can create content about your company making it organic and more convincing. Another step to help grow your business.

Media sharing are sites that allow users to upload and share multimedia content. Available today through a wide range of digital cameras and camcorders, media-sharing has become extremely popular. Most known sites for media sharing are YouTube and Flickr.

In short, with media sharing you can grow your business by creating and distributing multimedia content to millions of viewers. As with all other social media, it is important to create a name that is short and easily searchable, high quality and eye-catching content making it likable to viewers and in the top of the media sharing search options

To summarize, whichever is your preferred social media, be it one or all interconnected, the key ingredients to itilise them to grow your business, is to have a clear plan of what and how will you attract consumers to your company, creating interesting and engaging content that makes consumers want to interact through commenting on, or recommending it and therefore spreading the word on your business.

 Your customers are using social media as is your competition. With almost no cost, easy to get started, it can make  an enormous financial impact on your business.

To find out more on how you can grow your business through social media, contact Stephen & Kerrie on 1300 697 377 or download our free ebook here.

Increasing Your Business Through Networking

Many people do not realize that they can increase their businesses by 25%, 50% and even 100% by simply liaising with other like-minded professionals as they.

Business networking groups are making waves as they are contributing to the success of businesses. They mostly take advantage of the world’s best technique of growing business: word-of-mouth. The technique may seem rudimentary, but it appears to still have the center-stage when it comes to advertising.

The import of word-of-mouth program has been brought to the limelight by BNI, a business networking organization which has over 6,200 active chapters and 140,000 members in about 50 countries in the world. With regards to business referrals, BNI is widely recognized as the most successful organization in this domain. This success is based on principles that ensure that qualified referrals are made. Qualified referrals are serious in nature with the potential of positively impacting the business network. For this purpose BNI provides a structured system and a supportive environment for its members to give and receive business.

Indeed BNI founder, Dr. Ivan Misner strongly believes that “Givers Gain” and this philosophy is communicated to BNI members to encourage them to bring referrals to other members as “what goes around, comes around”.

BNI employs an effective word-of-mouth method to help increase the business opportunities of members through worthy, beneficial relationships with business professionals. Over time, BNI has proven that successful businesses flourish through word-of-mouth strategy. It is another major advantage that new participants are guaranteed to gain in a business networking group of this nature.

If you are a business person or professional, you have the choice of increasing your business as much as you desire: all you may require is to get in touch with a BNI chapter closest to you and start participating in referral meetings. In Australia alone, members of BNI reported generating more than $A200 million from business referrals in the year 2011.

Referral meetings are regular meetings where participating members have the possibility of finding their dream referrals to boost their business. But while expecting to get referrals, members are also exhorted to come with their own referrals for the benefits of the other members: for more effective results members share their business cards, website address or brochures with one another. This way, the various members of the business networking chapter could be playing the role of sales representatives for one another; indeed if they met people they think will benefit from the service or products of a fellow member, they aptly recommend him.

BNI meetings are generally held weekly. In as much as personal presence of BNI members is ideal during these meetings, it is obvious that it will not always be possible. In that case members can plan for substitutes. Substitutes are simply people that you are confident enough that they can ably represent your business. They are also considered by BNI to be great sources of referrals.

Nobody and no business is either too small or too big to network with others. But to effectively do this and avoid disappointment it is advisable to go through established groups. However, it is worth noting that how well you will do in a business networking group will also depend on your capabilities and your drive.

Financial and time commitment is a very important factor to take into consideration when planning to join a business networking group like BNI. This determines the level of success you will get by virtue of your membership.

In a nutshell, we can say that participating in a business networking organization like BNI helps you gain the following:

l Patience: the fact that it takes time to build relationships with members of the chapter and to get to understand their business helps you grow more patient about the realization of your ambitions. You could use time to your benefit.

l commitment: at BNI you learn to stick to your desire until you see it materialized.

l Learning new things: you are exposed to new knowledge, new businesses and therefore are presented with opportunities to probably make new choices.

l Low cost advertising: you do not need to spend much money to organize advertisement or run public relations for your business. Your fellow networking members have become the voice for your business.

As the saying goes “no man is an island”. To do well in your chosen field of endeavor, there is need to rub minds together with others. Networking with others has become the necessary requirement for sustainable success. And business networking offers the necessary impetus needed to take your business to the next level. 

To find out more on how you can be increasing your business through networking, contact Stephen & Kerrie on 1300 697 377 or download our free ebook here.

What Is Business Sustainability

Many people ask us - what is business sustainability...it is not only about the environmental benefits a business creates but also the social, economic and operational benefits. It is about being here today and in the future. It is about creating a business model that can sustain through any economic climate while giving, in a holistic sense.

At the Business Sustainability Institute, when we further examine what is business sustainability, we discover:

• that the consumer is more aware than ever and looks to do business with eco friendly organisations.
• that businesses benefits from the social benefits they create
• that sustainable systemised operations means a business continues where others fail
• that it results in better bottom line economics and increased profits

When you consider what is business sustainability, you understand that it is not just the new buzz word. It is the balance between your economic, environmental and social obligations within which your organisation operates and how they all work in synergy.

Paying due diligence to your social and environmental practices in concert with your economic responsibilities will help your business run more efficiently and effectively. This will have a positive impact on your bottom line. Business is changing and so are consumer attitudes, so you must continually evaluate what you do as a business and how it benefits you? Remember your sole purpose as a business owner is to generate a maximum increase in company, consumer, and employee value by embracing opportunities and managing risks derived from your economic, environmental and social developments

So to answer - what is sustainability - it is a business strategy that drives long-term corporate growth and profitability by mandating the inclusion of environmental and social issues in the business model. Unlike corporate social responsibility, which retroactively addresses issues, business sustainability utlises a forward focus. In other words, CSR looks to the past actions of a company while business sustainability looks forward by changing the nature of the company.

For more information on how to make your business more sustainable, call Stephen & Kerrie on 1300 697 377 or download our free ebook here.

Grasping The Idea Of Good Customer Service

Every business looking to flourish in its industry recognizes the importance of giving their customers center-stage in their dealings. They acknowledge that success consists in satisfying the customer in order for them to continue patronizing the business, but beyond that, the customer could also be their downfall.

Knowing this, managers, sales people and business owners should strive to put in place structures and strategies that strive towards customer satisfaction. However, if you are a part of the governance of the organization, you should firstly need to have the following understanding well established:

l The understanding that business sustainability is not a mere expression but is very vital. This is particularly relevant in today’s business world where a lot of companies are winding up for several reasons some of which are beyond their control.

l The understanding that the sustainability of the business is inevitably predicated on the way you treat your customers. Their perception of the company will depend on that and it will determine whether they will come back.

l The understanding that the customer could actually be an “extension of the business”. Their impression is what they will pass across to others who might not have known the company.

l The understanding of the human aspect of customer-ship: as an entrepreneur, you are not just seeing customers as a means of increasing the company’s revenues. The customers still remain human beings whether they are dealing for themselves or on behalf of another corporate organization.

Basically, good customer service can be defined with respect to the size of the business and the customer base that it has. But the fundamental thing about customer service is getting to know what the customers think about your products and services; this knowledge prepares you to take the necessary steps toward improving the image of the company and thereby give the customer every reason to want to come back again. And in coming back, the customer is likely to introduce his/her friends to the company.

Excellent customer service can be organized along the following lines:

1. Customer support/technical support: this is a set of provisions aimed at assisting customers in the way they spend on and use a product.
2. Social networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Myspace and other social networking services are taking people’s concerns far with regards to the marketplace and are greatly determining the ways in which people make purchases. Organizations are now hardly hidden; customers can search them out online and then get to ask other people their experience with the company. That way, recommendations are given and gathered through social networks about products and services. Usually, individuals can say whatever they want about a business, without fear or hindrance. Of course this kind of interaction can be heated up as some participants on these social networks can exaggerate what they are saying. Nevertheless, more and more companies are not taking the opinions expressed on the social networks lightly. They are looking for ways to profit from these conversations by taking part in them.
3. Automated customer service: customer service may be provided by a sales person or by automation. Automated service is provided via Internet. Automated service does not necessarily cancel customer service by persons but rather complements it. Automation helps companies ensure non-stop service to customers. The automated method can be based on artificial intelligence. In this case, online assistants appear online as avatars.
4. Possibility for instant feedback: many corporate organizations have been putting in place feedback packages that allow them to capture feedback at the point of experience. It could be done by electronic mail, mobile call or SMS.
5. Cooperation among departments of the same business: sharing of information among sales, service and marketing departments. Technology plays a role here in the sharing of the required data. Thus, feedback from a technical support centre can assist marketers in knowing the specific services and products that customers are longing to have.
6. Customer helpdesk: having this helpdesk at the premises of the company or in its various branches could be useful to clients that choose or need to revert to the company on a one-on-one basis.

Good Customer service is one of the major pillars upon which a business thrives. Defective customer service in an organization leads to it losing its customers. Irrespective of how powerfully and wonderfully a business is organized, if its customer service does not care about the expectations of its customers being met, it will not take long before it closes its doors.

To find out more on how grasping the idea of good customer service can change your business, contact Stephen & Kerrie on 1300 697 377 or download our free ebook here