24 Tools You Can Use to Run Your Business From Anywhere in the World

Nearly a quarter, 23 percent, of Americans worked from home in 2014, according to a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics survey. If you’re one of the lucky few that enjoys the ability to work from anywhere you like, the following tools will help keep you productive -- no matter where you are:

1. Basecamp

Even on the road, you need to connect with your staff. Basecamp allows you to manage projects, communicate with your team and stay on top of who’s assigned to what tasks. Never be out of touch, no matter where you are.

2. Boomerang

When you’re working abroad, your time zone may not be lined up with your employees or customers. No worries -- Boomerang allows you to schedule your Gmail emails and send them out at specific times using Chrome, Firefox or Safari.

3. Dropbox

This tool should be a given, but I’ll say it. When you’re working abroad, you need a virtual location to safely store documents while allowing everyone access that needs it. Dropbox is that solution.

4. Join.me

A reliable virtual meeting and screen-sharing software is another tool you can’t do without as you run your company remotely. Join.me is intuitive and doesn’t require any downloads or subscriptions from you or your clients -- a big bonus in my book.

5. Narrow.io

This great tool allows you to grow your Twitter following quickly and easily. And that doesn’t mean fake, meaningless followers -- Narrow.io delivers a targeted Twitter following and makes it effortless to engage with them.

6. Trello

Tracking a project visually is important -- it can help lay out clearly where you are in a project and what step is next. Trello is a great tool for that. You can create tasks in various lists, drag them from one list to the next, assign them to team members and more.

7. Toggl

Looking to track your time but tired of using pen and paper? Toggl is a great tool that helps you understand where your time is going -- a must if you’re going to be productive remotely.

8. Skype

This is a well-known tool, but it’s one that’s essential for keeping communication going affordably. Sometimes you just need a voice-based or video chat. Forget high international phone rates -- Skype keeps you connected no matter where you are in the world.

9. Trade Ability

If part of your business involves moving products, even if you just need to ship once, Trade Ability makes it easy. This free UPS tool helps you estimate costs and makes you aware of duty fees and international-trade restrictions.

10. Evernote

Get tired of having papers everywhere and fear you’ll lose your key documents? Me too. Evernote is a lifesaver, especially since you can easily clip notes from webpages and emails.

11. Freemind

Freemind lives up to its name. An amazing mind-mapping software available for free, this open-source tool allows you to plan your work graphically. It’s a great tool for visual learners.

12. PayPal

This is another common tool, but it’s one that’s essential when you work abroad. No worrying about exchange rates, corrupt banks or mailing payments -- just use PayPal to securely send money wherever it needs to go. You can even get a PayPal MasterCard linked to your account to make purchasing easy as well.

13. Infusionsoft

This small-business email provider is an amazing solution for anyone, including those working from around the world. Infusionsoft allows you to automate huge portions of your business with customized funnels, email chains and more. It’s a huge lifesaver.

14. Zendesk

If part of your business involves providing customer service, you need Zendesk. This is especially true if you work remotely. Zendesk allows you to track all interactions -- nothing is ever lost or hidden, no matter where you are in the world.

15. Time Trade

Having others able to set up appointments with you automatically is a massive time saver. Time Trade allows clients or colleagues to see your availability and syncs automatically with Google Calendar. This makes scheduling easy when you travel and have sporadic availability.

16. Pingdom

So you’re running your business from a foreign country, relaxing and enjoying the sights, but who has an eye on your website? Enter Pingdom. Use it to easily keep an eye on your website and its uptime and average response time, any time.  

17. Express VPN

A VPN, or virtual private network, is a lifesaver when you visit certain countries. In China, where almost all social media is blocked, or Thailand or Indonesia, which also have restrictions, it’s important to have a VPN so you can visit your usual sites. Express VPN will make sure you’re set up before you travel.

18. Skype Number

You want to use Skype to keep costs down when you travel, but others need to call you as well. By setting up a Skype Number, you have a phone number you can give clients and staff that will forward directly to your Skype or cell phone. It’s a win-win.

19. Prey

No matter where you travel, theft is an unfortunate possibility. With software such as Prey, you can keep your devices safe and locate them quickly. The software sends you location information, hidden camera pictures and screenshots. Hopefully you won’t need it, but if you do, it’s invaluable.

20. Bluehost

When you run your company from anywhere in the world, you need really good technical support for your hosting service. When something breaks, you need someone you can contact to fix it -- stat. Enter Bluehost. Reliable and affordable, you’ll be glad you chose them as your hosting service. 

21. LogMeIn

Sometimes, you just need access to your desktop -- a challenge when you’re thousands of miles away. LogMeIn is a program that allows you to access and control your desktop no matter where you are.  

22. Buffer

If you’re in a distant time zone, real-time social-media interaction will be a challenge. However, social media is essential to building your online authority. Buffer allows you to schedule social-media posts on a huge variety of platforms, allowing you to automate this task to occur at times that make sense for your audience.

23. Freshbooks

If your company is big enough that you have a dedicated accountant, great! If not, consider Freshbooks. This intuitive online business-accounting program will help you track expenses, income and more, while having a variety of reports at your fingertips.

24. Prezi

Creating great presentations on the go is very helpful for an entrepreneur, especially since you never know when, or where, you’ll meet your next client or partner. Prezi allows you to create great presentations that are cloud-based and that auto-sync across all devices when changes are made. Now your amazing presentation is ready anywhere, anytime.

What other tools can’t you live without when working remotely? Share your recommendations in the comments section below.

Source: www.entrepreneur.com

How Waking Up an Hour Earlier Every Morning Can Transform Everything

Ben Franklin had it right when he said, “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Perhaps he got the idea from the philosopher Aristotle, who said, “It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.”

Even proverbs like “the early bird gets the worm” suggest that getting up early enables you to be more productive. But just getting up early doesn’t automatically create the outcome you want. Rather, it’s the daily rituals you implement that make the difference. Here are some tips to kick the New Year off to a great start.

Rise early.

Get up one hour earlier and give yourself time to ease into the day. Enjoy your coffee, read something inspirational or educational, then think about what you want to accomplish for the day.

Take a moment to review your plan for the day, making any alterations as necessary. Write down action items you’d like to take, and prioritize them into A and B lists. Do the A items first. Try to accomplish the most tedious or daunting tasks in the morning when you’re fresh and more energized.

Exercise.

Morning exercise stimulates both the body and the mind, working out the kinks, releasing endorphins and allowing your brain to fire up for the day. To conquer your day, both your body and mind need to be healthy, fit and active. Daily exercise is also a great stress reducer. Military.com offers a quick 15-minute workout that includes crunches, jumping jacks, pushups, squats, dumbbell exercises and cardio options. If you don’t belong to a gym, get outside and go for a vigorous 20-minute walk.

Meditate.

Meditation allows the mind to calm, which in turn reduces stress, brings clarity and peace of mind while enabling creative thought to enter. Give yourself the gift of 15 minutes in a serene environment to mediate and “just be” each morning. If you don’t have time to meditate, start your day with a gratitude list. Before your feet hit the floor in the morning, visualize three things for which you are grateful. Try to think of three different things each day.

Healthy eating.

Haven’t you heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Plot the time in your schedule to eat a healthy breakfast with protein or complex carbohydrates that release energy throughout the day. Some of the best foods, according to an article at Health.com, include oatmeal, Greek yogurt, grapefruit and eggs.

Keep a journal.

According to Michael Hyatt, author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, journaling helps him process previous events, clarify his thinking, understand life’s context, notice his feelings, record significant lessons and ask important questions. Keep a small notebook handy for those creative ideas that come to mind when you’re exercising, meditating or eating breakfast. No matter how crazy, write them down. Reflect on them at the end of the day to see if any of them can be implemented in your daily or work life.

Continue learning.

Successful people are lifelong learners. Use your quality time in the morning to read business articles, read something inspirational, or listen to a book on CD during your commute. Make it a point to read books by or about business leaders you admire.

Getting up an hour earlier and working these rituals into your day will provide benefits beyond what you expect. They may, in fact, help you to become healthy, wealthy and wise.

Source: www.entrepreneur.com

Self Employment: The deadliest business trap ever and how to avoid it

AS an entrepreneur, being self-employed is the deadliest business trap ever!
Business, whether online [virtual] or offline [brick and mortar], small or big is governed by the same principles and calls for the same set of basic functions – production, marketing, finance, staffing and so on. Any difference that exists at all lies only in tactics. Marketing is still about finding, keeping and growing profitable clients, whether your business is online or offline, big or small.

The same goes for value creation [production], whether it is a product or service business you run, the reason for offering those products/services is the same -generating income by solving people’s problems. Also, online or offline, big or small, every business needs workers [staffing] and the same principles and functions of leading them apply. You see, in both business and in life, principles and functions rarely change, what changes is tactics. ‘The why’ [principle] and ‘the what’ [functions] are fundamentally the same, what differs is ‘the how‘ [tactics]. So, that you run an online or small business, is no excuse for not structuring  and running your business on fundamental principles and functions that has been the bedrock of every successful business.

Having this consciousness is what makes successful business owners exceptional. They understand from the outset that being self-employed is limiting and from their small beginnings, they begin to lay the foundation for building a company that has the potential to grow and someday operate without them.

Are You DOING Business Or BUILDING A Business?
Doing business is the definition of being a self-employed entrepreneur [freelancer]. When everything about your business is dependent on you as the owner, you’re simply doing business. The keyword here is ‘dependency’. Being a self-employed entrepreneur means everything about your business revolves around you the owner. When you don’t work, your business is down. Why? Because you are ‘working in’ [doing] your business rather than ‘working on’ [building] it.

This is the danger of being a self-employed entrepreneur –you and your business is inseparable!
Building a business is the definition of being a Chief Executive Officer [CEO].  When everything about your business is NOT dependent on you as the owner, then you’re building a business. The keyword here is ‘independence’.

Being a CEO means you run your business as a company and everything about your business doesn’t revolve around you as the owner. When you don’t work, your business is still working. Why? Because you are ‘working on’ [building] your business rather than ‘working in’ [doing] it. This is the benefit of being a CEO –you and your business is separable! Being self-employed [doing business] is the deadliest trap of business ever. That you are small is no excuse for wanting to be a one-man army.

Someday soon, you will no longer be able to do all the things you so easily do now as a result of age, so what will become of your business then? Someday soon, your small business will outgrow your capacity to meet your entire customer’s increasing demand, so what will become of your business then? Then, you’ll suddenly realize that your entire ‘can-do-it-all-by-myself’ attitude as a self-employed entrepreneur is counterproductive. Then you will come to terms with the universal truth that one tree does not make up a forest and that one is too small a number to achieve greatness!

Successfully running a business is about profitably helping your clients achieve desired results consistently through the products/services you offer to them. It demands a high level of coordination and execution of several key activities. These activities cannot be handled successfully by only one person over a long period of time, so there’s need to create an operational structure/system for effectiveness and efficiency. Creating this operational system/structure for your business is crucial to your success as a small business. At the head of this structure/system, is where you must operate from as the owner of your business. And the formal title given to anyone occupying this position is Chief Executive Officer [CEO].

Running a Business as a Company is the Essence of Being a CEO
Recently, I began to notice a general misconception among many small business owners especially the self-employed internet entrepreneurs that the CEO title is for the bureaucratic corporate organizations and not for those who want to ‘do their own thing’. In fact, the other day I read the entrepreneurial journey of Ingrid Abboud of nittyGriddy and it really made me think deeply about why many online entrepreneurs shy away from the reality that someday their own thing will outgrow them. While I can relate with the fact that most small businesses are started from the efforts of only one person at first, this is not enough reason to want to inhibit the growth potential of your business by still running it as a one man show. From the outset, it’s important to consciously go about your small business with the mindset as if it were already a big business.

Thomas Watson Jnr., once said about his father, Thomas Watson, the founder of IBM when the company was still a very small business, not even yet known within their locality. His father came home one day and suddenly announced the change of the business name from what it used to be to IBM [International Business Machines]. He said out of surprise he had to ask him why such an audacious global name for a business which was at that time only a one man show. His father replied him by saying that; you start acting from small the way you’ll like to be when you eventually become big.

The CEO title as corporate or bureaucratic as it may seem, comes with its own unique responsibilities and functions. Business is a team sport and every team needs a coach in order to be effective and successful. The CEO is the coach of a business. Being a business owner is about performing certain functions, these functions are governed by certain fundamental principles that cut across all kind of businesses, online or offline, big or small. Performing these functions is what being a CEO is all about. The function supersedes the title or position. The title simply serves as an encapsulation of the fundamental functions and corresponding roles required of every business owner. 

(TO BE CONCLUDED NEXT WEEK
Tito Philips Jnr. is an unusual Nigerian that is M.A.D – Making A Diffrence.)

Source: Guardian Newspaper

5 Habits of the Wealthy That Helped Them Get Rich

Why do the rich keep getting richer? Most of the time, it’s not because of luck. It’s not because of the family they were born into. It’s not because they won the lottery.

Wealthy people simply do things differently.

It may not seem fair, but the fact is the “income gap” is increasing and most financial experts only see this trend continuing with no end in sight.

In preparation for this column, I sat down with someone who knows far more wealthy people than I will likely ever meet: Jeff Rose. Rose is a certified financial planner, author and blogger at GoodFinancialCents.com, as well as a millionaire himself, who dedicates a good portion of his time to helping people become, and stay, wealthy.

I asked Rose why he thought the income gap was growing. He mentioned five primary things that wealthy people simply do differently than the rest of the world. Here are those five, in no particular order.

1. They take risks.

2. They invest in themselves.

3. They associate with those they want to emulate.

4. They have a dedicated morning ritual.

• The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

• The 10X Rule Daily Planner by Grant Cardone

5. They review their goals consistently.

Rose explains that the wealthiest people he works with routinely “throw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.” In other words, they try a lot of different things, knowing that a lot of it will fail.

They take those risks because they know that failure is just part of the process in discovering what will truly work to build more wealth. Furthermore, as Rose explains, the rejection of those ideas invigorates the wealthy into finding what will work, a stark contrast to most of the population that simply looks at failure as a road block. 

According to Rose, “wealthy people don’t look at the money spent on personal growth as an expense, but an investment.” 

While many individuals conserve every penny equally, the wealthy understand that strategically investing in themselves will produce a far greater return than any stock, real-estate investment or business venture.

Whether it’s purchasing a book, hiring a coach, joining a paid mastermind group or another source of paid self-improvement, the wealthy see this as an investment. Do you?

When the human body gets too hot, it produces sweat in an attempt to cool down. When it becomes too cold, it shivers to produce heat. In other words, the human body is constantly adapting to keep its temperature at the same comfortable spot. This automatic leveling is a biological process known as homeostasis and is found in numerous aspects of life.

From human biology to the temperature of the earth to a car’s cruise control to the thermostat in your house, homeostasis is a fact of life that governs nearly every aspect of your existence. And, as the wealthy have discovered, homeostasis can also be a powerful way to build wealth.

As Rose stated bluntly to me, “If you want to be rich, hang around rich people.”

Or as financial TV personality Dave Ramsey often says, “if there are four broke people in a room, you’ll be the fifth.”

Wealthy people have discovered that they can grow their wealth simply by associating with those who are even more wealthy. Humans pick up the habits and strategies of those in their immediate surroundings, and the wealthy have learned to use this homeostasis to their advantage.

While most of the world is hitting the snooze button 14 times in a row each morning, the wealthy have already begun increasing their net worth.

“Most of the multi-millionaires I know have a dedicated routine, a ritual, that they do each and every morning,” Rose says.

This morning ritual could include exercise, affirmations, goal reviews, breakfast or whatever else helps them start their days with a bang. They start strong, accomplishing more before noon than more people accomplish in a week.

For those struggling to get started each morning on the right foot, Rose recommends two books:

In my own life, I've found this truth incredibly powerful. Since instituing a morning routine, I've quadrupled my income, written and published a bestselling real-estate investing book, lost 10 pounds, bought my dream house and deepened my relationship with my wife. Not bad for just a few minutes each morning of dedicated routine. 

Finally, according to Rose, the rich have clearly defined goals and continually review them to track their progress, make changes and develop strategies for meeting those goals. This process of immediate feedback allows the wealthy to make quick changes to their plans to keep the course in a rapidly-changing world.

While most of the human population gives little to no thought on their futures, the wealthy are reminded daily of where they are headed. Like a family taking a cross-country trip in their minivan, the rich have their road map spread out on the dashboard so they can navigate the fastest, easiest route to their destinations.

Rose admits that the wealth gap is far more complicated than a simple “five-point blog post.” However, he continually witnesses these five traits guiding the lives of those who are getting richer and has used them in his own life to create multiple businesses and build some serious wealth himself.

These five actions create a positive-feedback loop that will continue to make the rich richer, and there's no sign of that ceasing. The good news is, however, these five actions are all things that the average American can put into practice today. Will you?.

Culled from www.entrepreneur.com

GLOBAL INTERGOLD Business Opportunity { Key To Financial Freedom }

GLOBAL INTERGOLD BRIEF

Global intergold specializes in the buying and selling of investment gold bars of different value. Our investment gold is procured and provided only by the top producers internationally.

Gold is a unique product that maintains its value, steadily, through time. There is only a few if any other commodities that can be compared to gold in terms of maintaining a steady value through time.

Gold has always embodied a sign of power and wealth. Who had gold, always had money. Nothing has changed in our days. Whoever controls the gold, will control money and power.

Civilizations vanish through time, currencies dissapear, but gold remains constantly a stable measure of goods and services. It is a unique product that never loses its long-term value.

Gold is the only commodity that can buy for you peace of mind. This is an indisputable fact!

Gold is traditionally is the most important element of the global financial system and considered one of the most reliable tools for saving investments. Currently, the World Bank gold reserves are estimated at 32 million tonnes (if all this gold is melted together, we will get a cube with the side of only 12 m).  Gold is a unique product that never depreciates!

Emgoldex has been operating since 2010 and in over 120 countries and still standing strongggggggg

We have joined team with some amazing women from Philippines based in USA . What we do in my team (Pinoy Millionaire. Pinoy means Filipino/Philippines) is we took advantage of the offer provided at Global Intergold.

      We invest in Global intergold stocks/shares.

Once we invest, our order is placed on the table of order. Once you cycle round the table, you exit and get payout.

You will Love this, It’s very Rewarding and worthwhile. NO Upline, No Downline, Not Multi Level Marketing (MLM)

$850 (N187, 000) is the cost for being an official client of Emgoldex, and once you exit the table, you will receive payout of $4,250 or 3,500 EURO (N875, 000).

But alternatively, team Pinoy has made it easy for those who can’t afford the $850.

      1 share   price is $85 and at exit you get  $425They have reduced it to investment per share:

      2 shares price is $170 and at exit you get $850

      3 shares price is $225 and at exit you get $1,275

      4 shares price is $340 and at exit you get $1,700

      5 shares price is $425 and at exit you get $2,125

      6 shares price is $510 and at exit you get $2,550

      7 shares price is $595 and at exit you get $2,975

      8 shares price is $680 and at exit you get $3,400

      9 shares price is $765 and at exit you get $3,825

      10 shares price is $850 and at exit you get $4,250

Please find the following Images

  - Table of Share and Cost.

  - Samples of Accepted ID card for Official Clients who Invested into solo ($850)

 - List of Accepted Proof of Billing for Official Clients who Invested into solo ($850)

 - ASK US HOW HERE at https://goo.gl/ng5TrQ (Global Intergold Success Team)  On

Facebook or Like Our page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1588296791419293/ and ask us any question about GIG

Thanks

Global Intergold Success Team

UK. Bank stress tests: Co-op fails as Lloyds and RBS scrape through

Three banks – the Co-operative Bank, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland – were found to be lacking financial strength by the Bank of England after being subjected to tests designed to measure their ability to withstand economic shocks.

In order to test the resilience of the financial sector, the central bank created a hypothetical scenario involving a deep recession, an unprecedented collapse in house prices, soaring unemployment and a sharp rise in interest rates.

Threadneedle Street stressed it was not handing out a pass or fail on the eight lenders exposed to the extensive exercise, nor did it intend to order any system-wide changes to the banking industry.

Only the Co-op Bank – whose capital would be “exhausted” under the most severe stress test – was ordered to submit a revised plan to the Bank. It was the only one to fall below the 4.5% minimum core tier one capital ratio – a key measure of financial strength – set by the central bank.

Owned by the Co-operative Group until last year, the Co-op bank had already warned it might fail the test.

The results published on Tuesday showed its capital would fall into negative terrority, knocked by losses on commercial property loans under the hypothetical scenario.

Bailed-out RBS, 81% owned by the taxpayer, would have been required to submit new plans had it not already begun to raise its capital buffers at the end of 2013, which was the starting point for the tests. .

Lloyds, which is 24% owned by the taxpayer, was not required to submit new plans although it may now face questions about its ability to resume paying dividends to shareholders for the first time since the 2008 banking crisis.

The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, said policy makers had been reassured about the banking sector after the first ever industry-wide stress tests, which are to become an annual event.

“This was a demanding test. The results show that the core of the banking system is significantly more resilient, that it has the strength to continue to serve the real economy even in a severe stress, and that the growing confidence in the system is merited,” Carney said.

Publishing its half-yearly outlook on risks to the financial system, the Bank of England also said the global economic outlook had weakened from six months ago. It added: “The recent sharp fall in the oil price should support global and UK growth but it also entails some risk to financial stability.”

The bank also said its financial policy committee had been worried in June about the risk of the housing market and debt levels in UK households, which remain high relative to income.

HSBC, Barclays, Santander UK, Standard Chartered and the Nationwide building society were the five other institutions tested and were not found to have any capital inadequacies. They were not required to submit new plans to the Bank of England’s regulation arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Over the three-year test period, which ran from the end of 2013 to the end of 2016, the banks made £13bn of losses before making profits in the third year. Without the series of economic stresses, the lenders were projected to make £100bn of profits over the three years.

Impairment charges would rise by £70bn under the stress tests. Capital ratios are also severely affected, with systemwide ratios falling from 10% to 7.3%.

The Bank of England also took into account actions that banks could have taken during the three-year period, which included cutting staff costs and dividends, and changes in lending patterns. But banks were not allowed to reduce their lending to the economy.

The Bank has stepped back from including more banks in the tests next year and warned that the leverage ratio – another way of measuring financial strength – would become part of the test in the future.

The Bank of England said that while the banking system was stronger than the 2008 banking crisis there were still other concerns. “Recent misconduct and other operational failings have highlighted that rebuilding confidence in the banking system requires more than financial resilience. That, and changes to banks’ business models in response to commercial and regulatory developments, make it important for banks to continue to enhance the effectiveness of their governance arrangements,” the Bank said.

Source: The Guardian(UK.)

Investing wisely in uncertain environment

The National Bureau of Statistics in its trade statistics for the third quarter of this year stated that the country recorded N359.6bn or 5.4 per cent drop in merchandise trade from N6.65tn to N6.29tn.

The decline was attributed to a fall in the value of exports and imports in the third quarter relative to the second quarter of this year.

Similarly, the Nigerian Stock Exchange recorded 35 per cent decline in foreign investments to N153.28bn in October from N226.68bn in September.

Experts say the reduced foreign investment is as a result of the unstable business environment due to insurgency and the fears of 2015 elections.

In view of these, experts advise that business managers have to make investments decisions in line with the changing business landscape for them to record success.

According to them, the old business models that guide investment decisions may not be effective as it used to but proper understanding of the business terrain and the risks involved may help out.

A report by Accenture states that firms face a number of challenges that complicate their efforts to choose the right ways to invest capital or operating funds.

The report titled,’ Invest to Win: Placing the right bets in a shifting competitive environment,’ said traditional approaches no longer meet stakeholder expectations; blurring industry lines and make the playing field less transparent than before.

It states that the current unprecedented changes taking place across industries have compromised many traditional investment approaches that worked adequately in the past adding that most companies cannot repeat historical investment patterns and expect to receive the same returns because their industries no longer grow at their former pace.

More so, organisations grow today by expanding into existing markets or creating new markets or product segments that meet customer needs, it adds.

The report advises business leaders to challenge themselves by identifying what customers really value and are willing to buy, and seek out new ways to exploit their current assets.

In the main, it says that companies aspiring to grow start by identifying how to deploy their assets in the following areas:

Opportunities in technology

The Accenture report states that advanced technology which involves the use of advanced mobile devices, digital software and sensors to monitor and maintain patient health on a 24/7 basis is a growth opportunity.

Moreover, it says the emergence of location-based apps that are transforming everything from hailing a cab to the convenient shopping experience online provides other opportunities.

New customer-centred initiatives

Customer-centred approaches make companies to offer one-stop shopping for current customers that goes beyond their traditional offerings. It adds that the goal is to understand what else consumers might want to purchase, and use the insights to sell more offerings or provide a service that enables it to increase its share of wallet.

Extending brands and generating customer bonding

The report says these can work, if the company’s assets and brands provide a plausible rationale, adding that leaders need to determine how they can improve the customer experience and what product add-ons to offer.

Areas of concern could include the expectations of new and innovative products that offer good value, as well as a positive, expedient customer experience with purchased products and subsequent service.

As a result of increased consumer expectations, the report explains that people also want companies to engage them digitally before and after a purchase, by having an online presence.

It says, “This implies that simply expanding a company’s brick-and mortar footprint will not generate the same levels of retail growth that it once did. Many customers also expect firms to exhibit good corporate citizenship and have effective sustainability strategies.”

Disruptive new entrants make an impact

Evolving customer demands keep raising the bar on expected company performance and the arrival of disruptive new entrants is changing competitive dynamics.

In the process, they are challenging incumbent business models and investment choices and in many cases, roiling established markets.

Citing the example of businesses with strong online presence, it says Uber, which digitally connects drivers that have cars for hire with people looking for transport, Gilt Groupe, an online fashion retailer, and Pinkberry, a restaurant franchisee in upscale frozen desserts have carved a niche for themselves.

It notes that in their early stages, each of these upstarts could have been a low-priced opportunity for existing players to develop a new market but they now represent competitive threats.

Companies need a clear rationale for any investment, which means that before deciding where to invest, they need to clarify why they are spending the money, what they expect in return, and over what time frame.

Choosing where to invest

To make wise investment decisions, the report suggests that companies can develop new products, services and solutions, investing to develop innovative offerings that consumers seek.

According to it, they can invest to maintain or expand an already introduced product’s position in the market, or focus on sales and specific channels, spending to improve their go-to-market capabilities.

It says, ”Strengthening marketing performance and brand image can be a way to go. Boosting the company’s pricing capabilities also makes sense. Actions here could include investing in capabilities to improve the organisation’s understanding of target customers, revising the positioning and promotion of offerings, and optimising the company’s returns for its offerings.”

Another option it suggests is simplifying and optimising the company’s internal capabilities in areas such as manufacturing, supply chain management or at the corporate centre by introducing new processes and technologies.

Source: Punch Newspaper