Saxon, Secord, Thaney & Associates LLC | Accounting Services Kissimmee, FL

Save Money in the Clouds

There may have been a time when business owners were feeling iffy about cloud storage. Its intangibility reeked of instability and a lack of security. Plus, what is that saying about keeping your head out of the clouds?

But times have changed, attitudes have evolved and these days cloud storage is providing the most secure and affordable data storage method for small businesses.

“Cloud has financial benefits and time-and-space saving advantages.”

Store tax information, client data, supplier invoices, contact data, personnel records – all in one place. Data is safe and accessible throughout your office network- and the added advantage is that it’s also there for you when you are on the go. This is some of what cloud storage brings to the table.

Damage to servers, computer crashes, security breaches and theft are costly, sometimes devastating, in a small business and have the capability of setting your business back significantly in time and money.

With cloud storage, these threats are virtually eliminated.

When choosing a business storage service evaluate the following features:

• Storage capacity- usually, a simple analysis can be provided based on the number of employees

• Special features- initial transition to the cloud, levels of encrypted security, automatic back-up, automatic reduplication, etc.

• Collaboration capabilities- remote access options, syncing, branding tools, etc.

• Help and support- customer service availability and options

Switching to the cloud has financial benefits, time-and-space saving advantages and staffing reduction solutions. When used effectively, it can also increase productivity and enhance collaborative projects.

Allowing employees to work remotely can also increase motivation and provide a more flexible path to task completion, improving morale.

When files can be shared through the network, printing is reduced by leaps and bounds. Cutting down on paper and printing costs can leave extra room in the budget of a small business.

Initially, making the switch to cloud storage may seem like a costly investment, but in the long run this investment has a worthy return across the board.

Space-consuming on-site storage and the grumpy never-available-when-you-need-them IT techs who manage them are no longer necessary.

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Rev Up Your Search Engines

Set up a website and sit back and watch the money roll in, right? Wrong. A website is not magic, it cannot simply exist and create traffic, clients and profits.

A website is hard work, work that must be maintained, updated and serviced regularly.

Websites are dug up from the depths of the Internet and offered up for consumption through the powerful tool that is the search engine.

SEO (search engine optimization) is no longer a newfangled trend- its par for the course when it comes to hosting a successful website.

Already taken care of that? Think again, SEO has to be revved up and oiled every once and a while, in order to drive traffic to the site.

A small business with an online presence can only hope to get customers through powerful SEO techniques, and the introduction of SEM (search engine marketing).

Consumers have upped their expectations these days. Competing with the big guys is an uphill battle for small business owners.

So start with an assessment of the keywords being used. Hire a freelance copywriter to rev up the copy. Outsourcing using sites like Elance.com or Guru.com is affordable and reliable.

Landing pages and squeeze pages are most effective in promoting sales, however the formula for writing the code is complicated- consider outsourcing this as well.

Tracking stats daily can allow you to make quick and effective changes in a timely fashion.

To raise a ranking, a site must provide valuable and exciting content as well as cross-linking to high-ranking sites.

Large businesses are stressing the quality over quantity method when it comes to content. Utilize organic traffic, but cultivating a strong social media presence is just as important.

Speak the language of your target market- know what the ideal client is looking for and provide it, in a way they want to consume it.

Search ranking is a trial and error methodology, don’t be afraid to take risks and try new methods.

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Answering the Call

In this digital world it is easy to let phone etiquette slip through the cracks…phones? They’re always with us and often ring at the most inconvenient of times.

“Most of your marketing expenditure is encouraging people to call.”

So it makes sense to have a system in place to convert those calls into sales. And a voice through the phone can be almost as effective as an in-person meeting and can never be replaced by an email or text.

Train your team to focus on their telephone manner and watch this underutilized skill pull in the results.

Start with a smile. No, literally! Putting on a smile before answering the phone automatically changes the tone of the voice and avoids sounding grumpy or too busy from the get-go.

Make it a mission to answer ON the second ring. Challenge your team members, create an incentive to have them push harder to get to the phone faster.

The client will feel important to the business (which they are), starting things off on a positive note.

Give an immediate timely greeting (good morning, afternoon, etc.) and introduction. Letting the client know immediately that they have reached the person/place they are looking for creates the right dynamic for a positive interaction.

Provide your full name, each and every time. It creates a sense of authority. “First name, speaking” suggests there may be someone else the caller would like to speak to. The caller can clearly hear you are speaking, they don’t need to be reminded that you are.

Be pleasant, engage in the obligatory small talk when necessary but always try to keep things brief (without sounding impatient). Brevity combined with politeness is most effective in showing the client their time is valuable.

Think before shooting off an automatic response. If the person the caller is after is not in, ask if there is something you can do in the meantime.

“X is out to lunch, X is on holiday and can I take a message” are not useful responses for your customer, who most likely expects their needs to be addressed immediately.

End the call by offering additional help or information. Asking if there is anything else you can do or offering a solid means of follow-up implies that the listener has been attentive, knowledgeable and reliable – Reflecting your brand.

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